Review: Pride Bahamas 10/12/14-10/19/14

[KevInPitt]

Background Information: Myself (47) and spouse (57) taking our second cruise in celebration of 25 years together. Our prior cruise was on the Miracle (a sister ship to the Pride) in 2009.

Embarkation: The four hour drive from Pittsburgh to Baltimore was uneventful and relatively easy. This being the first time sailing from Baltimore, there was a hint of “where do we go, what do we do” jitters upon arrival to the port which I think was compounded by excitement. Once we both took a deep breath, followed the signs, paid attention and listened to those politely directing traffic, we were able to figure it all out easily. If you drive to Baltimore and need to park, you are first directed to the parking lane after being handed a green “Parking” paper to place on your dashboard. You then proceed (slowly, but not agonizingly so) to stop at the baggage porters who will help you unload the bags you wish to check before pulling around to the fee collectors. If paying by credit, you stay to the left. If paying by cash, you stay to the right. The rate is $15 per day payable in full in advance. After finding a “convenient spot”, you saunter over to the cruise terminal. This can be tricky as we arrived around 11:15am and the crowds were in full swing. Pleasant and helpful staff pointed us in the right direction which first involved getting all checked in with a gate agent after going through security. We had Faster to the Fun (FTTF) so we were able to skip the very long line of people waiting and breeze right through. They do screen bags and ask if you have any “naughty stuff” (like alcohol or beverages) which we did. A quick check of our limit of 12 cans of soda, the “shake shake shake” of the 12 bottles of water and on to the next check-in point which is photo op and getting our Sign-and-Sail cards. Again, staff was pleasant and helpful. We were directed to the FTTF seating area which was already half full. All this took approximately 15-20 minutes from parking lot to seat. Actual boarding didn’t start until almost 12:45 and we were the second group on board behind the Diamond/Platinum guests. Not sure of the reason for such late boarding but I suspect there was some delay with the previous cruise. Anxious? Yes. Frustrating? No.

Cabin: We had a Premium Balcony cabin 7299 (Cat 9B) which is what I would call a “mini-suite”. Bigger than a standard balcony cabin but not as big as a suite. We booked this cabin class as on our last Miracle cruise we personally found the standard balcony cabin to be a little tight for our tastes. Even though it is just the two of us and the comparatively little time spent in the cabin, we found the Premium Balcony cabin 7299 to be better than expected. Two closets (one by the door the other by the bathroom) provided more than ample storage with generous hanging space on the right and shelving space on the right in each. There is also a cabinet with three drawers beside the bathroom door which we never even used. The bathroom is the standard compact style of all cabins (except suites, that is). The only “goodies” we had were samples of Breathe-Right strips and sunburn relied ointment. (FYI, the sunburn relief can in handy because I threw all caution to the wind and put on no sunscreen during the trip. Ouch!) There is liquid shampoo and body wash dispensers in the shower; these do the job but recognize they are generic. If you have a strong preference, take the packing plunge and bring travel size versions of your own soap/shampoo. There is a generous console with full mirror backdrop for a dressing area, the safe cabinet and the mini-fridge. Note: leave the door of the cabinet holding the mini-fridge open if you can. I am not sure if it is an old wives tale, but I read somewhere this helps the fridge stay cooler due to the heat generated by the fridge. It was indeed very warm inside the fridge cabinet with the door closed so I just left it open. After removing the standard “mini bar” contents and stocking the soft beverages we brought with us, they seemed to stay nicely chilled. Not cold-cold but cold enough for our tastes without needing ice.

Speaking of cold-cold, this cabin was cold. I mean long-sleeve, light coat wearing cold. Now, I am one of those people that prefers it on the cool side and even for me, this room felt cold. The thermostat was dialed all the way to the warm side, but it never really seemed to change until day 5 when it because truly comfortable. We chose not to say anything for fear of any change being made resulting in it being too warm. This was our choice; others may do differently. However, for those who appreciate a cool room (or for those afraid of all those cabin-too-hot reviews), have no fear of this cabin.

The bed was firm and, to me, comfortable. I suspect others may find it too hard as it did have an extra-firm feel with not much of a top plush. Suggestion? Lay down the extra comforter stored in a drawer under the couch (if you bed is not set up as two twins) and you’ll get a bit more of a “pillow top” effect.

The Premium balcony was much better than our last Extended balcony. There was more than ample room for one fixed-back chair, one reclining-back chair, one full reclining lounger and a small end table. We did spend a fair amount of time (from minutes to hours) enjoying the balcony during the week and for those who like private space, this balcony provides it. Others find it a negative (I don’t) but if you look straight down from the balcony railing, the lifeboats are there. Otherwise, the balcony view is pretty darn amazing.

We met our stateroom attendant once who introduced himself to us the second day as we were leaving our cabin. He was polite and relayed that if there was anything we needed all we had to do was let him know. We are low-maintenance people so we had no special requests and appreciated that we never saw him. Our cabin was attended twice daily and was kept clean and orderly. Beds made up early in the day and turned down at night with the usual towel animals strategically placed on the bed. Several times we found our little creature wearing a pair of our sunglasses which made us smile at the attendant’s creativity.

Dining: I’ll start out by saying what most say: food is subjective. Also, it is important to remember Carnival is an “affordable” cruise line and the offered food is line with that identification. In my opinion the food was good. The buffet was plentiful morning, noon and night. Accepting the fact that is, after all, a buffet serving thousands don’t have high expectations. There was reasonable variety of average quality and we didn’t go hungry. The main dining room offered a little more finesse to the offerings. There was a reasonable variety of appetizers, entrees and desserts however I personally found most to be on the bland side. Again, its food prepared and served for the masses and all-in-all I thought it was done well. This time around our servers were a little more sedate than the high-energy ones we experienced on our previous cruise but the service was still excellent. We were waitlisted for early dining and assigned late so a quick visit with the maître d (a very friendly Irish man named Ken) upon arrival the first day kindly arranged us a table for two at the early seating per our request.

Ports of Call: Our itinerary called upon Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport.

In Port Canaveral, we had originally pre-booked a kayaking excursion which we were advised the night before was cancelled due to lack of participation. Bummer! We scrambled to find something else and Luke at the Excursion Desk assisted us with selecting an Airboat ride. Not our first choice but since the majority of the alternatives involved theme parks or shopping – not for us. The high-speed Airboat ride was exhilarating and we did enjoy it. We didn’t get to see any alligators (which was mentioned as a possibility) but we did get to see a tree full of snakes (it was explained they “hibernate” when waters get high and can’t come out until the waters recede). Another bizarre sighting was a group of cows – yes, cows! – that had wandered into the shoulder-high glades from a nearby farm. We were able to spot them and stop due to all the gulls resting on their backs. Our tour guide said this wasn’t all that unusual as most farms in the area are “free range” and they always find their way home. After the Airboat ride was a brief showing by a local non-profit animal rescue group of exotic animals that had been abandoned by their (pardon my interjected bluntness) idiotic owners. A python, a gibbon monkey and a baby bobcat were among those brought in front of the crowd with a brief history of how they had come into the care of the rescue agency. After the general discussion, for a small donation, you were invited to interact with the animals. Being cat lovers, we jumped at the chance to interact with the baby bobcat who was an absolutely beautiful creature. It was explained that, for the safety of other animals and handlers, the bobcat had been declawed and neutered (as the agency doesn’t facilitate breeding of any rescued exotic animals).

In Nassau, we pre-booked the Balmoral Island Beach Day which is advertised as a private island. Also offered here, but which we did not do, were dolphin and stingray interactions. After a seemingly too long pile up of a large crowd of people to walk to the boat which would take us to the island, we were off on the 30 minute ride (which was the same time it took to get back as well). Based on departure and when we needed to be back on the ship, this afforded us about 3.5 hours on the private beach. Initially, we were fearful it would be crowded with the number of people in the group, but the island was generous with more than enough space for everyone. There was a plethora of available loungers on the beach which were set up in pairs with a shared umbrella. There was also a stand to rent snorkel equipment, “noodles” and the like. A bar for drinks and a sandwich shack were also a fixture and there was a pool as well. The island is “cashless” and you use your Sign-and-Sail card for anything you wish to purchase. Upon arrival was a posted sign that said no outside food or drinks were allowed and would be confiscated if found. Well, we didn’t know that ahead of time and felt sneaky with the one bottle of water and one can of soda we brought with us. It wasn’t taken from us, however. We had chosen the pre-purchased drink/sandwich option and the selection was good (wraps, burgers, etc) and an accompanying fountain beverage. They did have available bottles/cans of soft drinks and beer for purchase in addition to the adult-beverage bar. For a quiet, relaxing and less-crowded beach experience, this would be an excellent choice (even if it was a little short in my opinion).

In Freeport, we pre-booked a bicycle tour of the island which (yes, that’s right) was cancelled due to lack of participation. Bummer #2! This time, we didn’t choose to scramble for an alternative and just chose to briefly walk around the souvenir shops surrounding the port before returning to the ship to lounge on one of the sun decks.

A note here: for those seeking a truly quiet relaxing area, head for Serenity which is the adult-only area on the aft Lido deck. Cushioned deck chairs, hammocks and wicker “clamshells” are here but are quickly occupied.

Entertainment: Not being night owls, we tended to turn in early most nights. However, we thoroughly enjoyed the comedy shows (went to three of them!) but found the one main stage show we opted to see a little amateurish. We didn’t try again.

Activities: There was always something going on ranging from karaoke to dance lessons to contests galore. If you prefer go-go-go, you could certainly do it. We preferred to rest and relax which we were able to do quite well.

Disembarkation: Well, true to form the Pride was a little more than an hour late returning to Baltimore and this led to all kinds of back-ups (and grumpy people). It seemed to us that almost half the ship chose the Self-Assist option of disembarking and those are permitted to exit first. Having FTTF allowed us disembarkation immediately after Self-Assist and we were off the ship around 10:45am. After trucking through Customs and the pandemonium of baggage claim, we were in our car around 11:00 for the return drive to Pittsburgh.

Summary: We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise for the simple fact we were on vacation and knew what to expect from Carnival. It’s not five-star luxury and anyone with the expectation of such will indeed be disappointed. However, Carnival provides a solid experience with great service and good entertainment. So we decided to book another sailing on the Pride in October 2015 while still on the ship. Our current sailing was the last before she goes into dry dock for some “upgrades” so we will be excited to see how this solid middle-aged lady looks after her face lift.

[LindseyButlerWilson]

Thanks for the review. We're going to the Bahamas this Thanksgiving and we opted for Balmoral for our excursion. We wanted to do something relaxing and special for Thanksgiving Day. I am glad you enjoyed it.

[BattyL]

Thanks for the great review.. I love being on the Pride, going again in April and can't wait to see all the changes. Cruising from Baltimore is super easy and close to home.

( 20 years ago home was Indiana, Pa not too far from you) ;)