Our Carnival Pride Spring Break cruise - 4/5/15 (with pics)

[Jamman54]

We have 2 friends who will be taking their 1st cruise. Sure hope they enjoy. Did the Bon Voyage decoration for their cabin. Its not much but I thought they would get a kick out of it

 

That's a really nice touch!

[SenatorsFan]

Another great review, Jeff. I enjoyed all of Patti's pictures of HMC. I can't believe I've only been there once. Lucky Ryan bringing home all those winnings. :D:)

Heather

[MSseawind]

I'm sailing on the Pride in 21 days (and again the end of June thanks to the affordable casino offer!). Looking forward to seeing the new 2.0 additions. Thank you so much for the preview!

Edited May 3, 2015 by MSseawind

[Jamman54]

Another great review, Jeff. I enjoyed all of Patti's pictures of HMC. I can't believe I've only been there once. Lucky Ryan bringing home all those winnings. :D:)

Heather

 

Thanks for following along again!! Ryan bought himself a new computer with his winnings.

[Jamman54]

I'm sailing on the Pride in 21 days (and again the end of June thanks to the affordable casino offer!). Looking forward to seeing the new 2.0 additions. Thank you so much for the preview!

 

Thanks for reading!! Enjoy your cruises on the Pride.

[gapearl]

Another great review from you Jeff! That's so cool that your son won a good bit of cash in the casino. Lucky him! :D

[carolinagalcruise2011]

Another great review! The pictures of HMC had me wishing I was there! I was there last year for the first time and it is definitely the prettiest beach I've ever been. I cannot wait to go back!:)

[sjn911]

Oh just a wonderful ending..you are all so handsome and pretty. Yeah on your son winning and all the good solid learning with dad and mom...

 

Getting to meet the Captain and senior staff..it is so great they were all so personable...and such a pleasant time...well back to sleep..I had an intermission and came to check...thanks sooo much..you have me ready to go...Sarah

 

PS..One more thing.....I love those Sinatra songs...love the singing Maitre'd and all those great photos..hip hip hooray for the new computer...sarah

Edited May 4, 2015 by sjn911

[Jamman54]

Another great review from you Jeff! That's so cool that your son won a good bit of cash in the casino. Lucky him! :D

 

Thanks Kim!! Don't know what Ryan liked more. Winning the money, or partying at Senor Frog's !! :D

 

Looking forward to your "Magical" review!! :)

[Jamman54]

Another great review! The pictures of HMC had me wishing I was there! I was there last year for the first time and it is definitely the prettiest beach I've ever been. I cannot wait to go back!:)

 

 

Thanks for following along!! We LOVE HMC, and we're so happy we'll be back there in early July!

[Jamman54]

Oh just a wonderful ending..you are all so handsome and pretty. Yeah on your son winning and all the good solid learning with dad and mom...

 

Getting to meet the Captain and senior staff..it is so great they were all so personable...and such a pleasant time...well back to sleep..I had an intermission and came to check...thanks sooo much..you have me ready to go...Sarah

 

PS..One more thing.....I love those Sinatra songs...love the singing Maitre'd and all those great photos..hip hip hooray for the new computer...sarah

 

Thanks so much again Sarah! I think my favorite Diamond perk is the get together with the Captain. I've cruised three times now as a Diamond member, and my new favorite pastime is "collecting" Captains!! :D

[mainepaddler]

Thanks so much for another detailed review. I read your Splendor reviews before our first Carnival cruise and they were so helpful. And look, now you've helped me prepare for our next cruise.

 

I love your life philosophy and your reviews make me feel like I'm sitting down having a drink with you.

 

Best wishes to you and your lovely family, Jeff.

[FirstAlto]

Thanks so much for the wonderful review !! We will be on the Pride in September, so I am devouring all the post 2.0 reviews !!

Did you happen to notice if the Tervis Tumblers were available to purchase at the Blue Iguana and Red Frog bars ??

I real want to add them to my collection :)

Thanks !

Jane

[starslayer74]

but, being that I'm from Baltimore, I instantly recognized the tunnel you drove through - it is the McHenry Tunnel - the Harbor Tunnel only has two bores and is much smaller. They run next to each other but the Harbor Tunnel is part of I-895 where the McHenry Tunnel is part of I-95.

 

Still, I'm enjoying the review!

[Jamman54]

but, being that I'm from Baltimore, I instantly recognized the tunnel you drove through - it is the McHenry Tunnel - the Harbor Tunnel only has two bores and is much smaller. They run next to each other but the Harbor Tunnel is part of I-895 where the McHenry Tunnel is part of I-95.

 

Still, I'm enjoying the review!

 

You are absolutely correct!! Thanks for reading. and the correction. :)

[Jamman54]

Thanks so much for the wonderful review !! We will be on the Pride in September, so I am devouring all the post 2.0 reviews !!

Did you happen to notice if the Tervis Tumblers were available to purchase at the Blue Iguana and Red Frog bars ??

I real want to add them to my collection :)

Thanks !

Jane

 

Thanks for reading the review! No we didn't notice if they had the tumblers, and Patti just told me that she had planned to check but forgot. :eek:

[Jamman54]

Thanks so much for another detailed review. I read your Splendor reviews before our first Carnival cruise and they were so helpful. And look, now you've helped me prepare for our next cruise.

 

I love your life philosophy and your reviews make me feel like I'm sitting down having a drink with you.

Best wishes to you and your lovely family, Jeff.

 

Thanks for reading and your kind words. Glad we were able to help in some way. That's what doing these reviews are all about!! :)

[Jamman54]

Here is our debarkation information. Since we almost always have too many bags to handle, self assist doesn’t work for us, so we use the zone debarking. As Diamond and Platinum guests, we will be meeting in the EA Sports bar at 10:15am…..

 

 

We got up around 7:30am, just in time to see us approaching the Key Bridge…….

 

 

Sailing back under the Key Bridge…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We made our way up to Mermaids Grille, for one last omelet before leaving the ship. As you can see, we are almost back at the Cruise Port…..

 

 

We are approaching the pier……

 

 

We are docked. It’s about 8:45am…..

 

 

They are tightening up the lines. The cruise is officially over…..

 

 

One last look at the slides, and the Serenity area…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Self Assist debarkation started right at 9:15am. They had requested that all cabins be vacated by 9:30am, so we grabbed our carry-on bags, and made our way to the EA Sports Bar to wait for our turn to debark. They had coffee, tea, juice, and Danish available for those that wanted it, along with plenty of seating. Nice touch!

 

At 10:15am, we were led to the gangway to debark. Jase, the CD, was right there, wishing everyone a safe trip home.

 

There was a steady line down the gangway, and into the terminal building, but it moved ahead steadily. Here in Baltimore, you get to see the nice customs officers BEFORE you get your luggage. I for one, like it that way. Once through customs, you go through the doors into the luggage claim area, which is divided by number. Ryan easily located our bags, and there were plenty of porters to help get them to our car.

 

After we were loaded up, I got these shots of Patti and Ryan in the van…..

 

 

 

A look at our fellow passengers leaving the terminal building, and heading into the parking lot……

 

 

The last shots of the Carnival Pride from the parking lot……

 

 

 

As we pulled onto I-95, we say goodbye to the Carnival Pride…… for now!!

 

 

It was an uneventful three hour ride back up to New Jersey and home, and no, we didn’t stop at Maryland House on the way back. Lol. THE END.

[Jamman54]

A few final thoughts and ramblings.

 

Being that this was a spring break cruise, there were over 800 children, or a third of the ship, onboard. We had absolutely zero problems with any of them this cruise. Kudos to the parents, and kudos to Carnival for keeping them busy and involved!

 

Sailing from the northeast, eight months out of the year, it will be cool (or cold), the first sea day out, and the last sea day back. It is what it is, and the price you pay for having a drive to port. That is why the retractable roof over the Venus pool is a blessing. I know from experience that the pool can be heated, but don’t know if it was this cruise. For us the cool days are not an issue.

 

Ken Byrne is the best Maitre D’ in the fleet by far, and if you have never heard him sing, you are in for a treat. He loves the Spirit Class ships, and requested to be on the Pride. He will be onboard until the end of September, and he told me he would like to come back after vacation, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he wound up bringing out the Vista.

 

As many of you know, my favorite class of Carnival ships is the Spirit Class. I loved the Carnival Pride on my two cruises on her before the 2.0 upgrades, and feel she is even better now. The Serenity areas on these ships are second to none!

 

What can I say. Give me an itinerary with both Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay on it, and I’m there!! To me, the short stop at Freeport is a waste. I know why they do it. To get back to Baltimore on time, without sailing near full speed, they needed a port more north of Nassau, and need to sail at 1:30. My solution to this is to go to eight day cruises like they do out of New York. Then they could do a full day in Nassau, instead of Freeport, and take two days going back to Baltimore. Then they could add an itinerary such as San Juan, St.Thomas, and Grand Turk, and drop that hideous Pt. Canaveral, Nassau, Freeport itinerary. Just my opinion.

 

I had a great time in the casino, and the casino hosts, Merci and Gonzalo, were a lot of fun. They fawned over Ryan, and went out of their way to make him and us feel special.

 

Finally, kudos to the ENTIRE crew of the Carnival Pride. You were all AWESOME. Thank You!!!

 

I you have any specific comments or questions, just post them here and I will do my best to answer them. If you have a cruise booked on the Carnival Pride, you are in for a treat!!

[wendynat]

Thank you so much for this detailed review! Now I really can't wait until our Pride cruise in July :)

[shoppingfever]

Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!!! Excellent Review and we were excited to see such great pics! Hoping to be on her next year! Can't wait for your next adventure.

 

Also, you and your family have been in our prayers the last couple of days since I read more about your son's accident last year in another review of yours.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to do this review!

[carnival03]

Thank you so much for the nice review, we're only 27 days away from being on her. Question, with the zone one luggage tags and going to the EA sports bar, was FFTF included in that too, or was it just diamonds and plats? Do you recall?

[georgeone]

Great review!!!