Carnival Pride--Our goal is a stress-free cruise

[clearwaters]

Trying to avoid as much stress on board as we can is our plan. We would like a pleasant cruising experience. If anyone can contribute to the stress reduction list, please do, it will be greatly appreciated.

 

After having poured over these boards frequently during the last few months (We booked in summer 2015 for summer 2016) we believe these may be ways to avoid the oft mentioned pitfalls:

 

1. Book a balcony cabin, if you can afford it.

 

2. Completely avoid the pool/Lido deck chair area for sitting. At all costs. There are pics on this site of an older woman sun bathing in her undies and a primary school aged kid jumping in the hot tub in the Adults Only Area. No enforcement by ships personnel of the Adults Only rules at all.

 

3. Use your balcony for outdoor seating or

 

4. Use some out-of-the-way deck chair area instead.

 

5. Try to purchase FTTF, if possible.

 

6. Various cold items are sold online before you arrive and you may bring a limited number of small liquids (milk, for example). But where are you supposed to put them in your cabin when Carnival has put liquor and other items in your fridge? And LOCKED the fridge door, no less? Where am I suppose to put my allowable cold drinks? Begging the steward for ice and an ice bucket(can we convienently get our own?) seems demeaning and not relaxing, to me.

 

7. Eat in the Steakhouse as often as one can afford. There are many, many complaints about the "new" dining room procedures, lack of service, bread and water on bare dining tables (btw are those items left out and not changed from group to group)? I have always felt those colossal dining rooms wasted a lot of space when so many other dining venues-both free and fee based-became available.

 

8. Lots of complaints on these boards about dining room servers working short staffed. Why not have the dining room serve all meals buffet style? (Of course disabled folks would be served if they wish). Apparently the days of first class dining room service seem to be over anyway. Fine. Let's adapt.

 

Repurpose those dining room personnel...concentrate them on the activities passengers really want.

 

9. Lots of complaints on these boards about the green water slide being unmanned and unusable much of the time. Can some of those dining room servers or other employees work the slide instead? Keep it open as much as possible? (I will not be sliding, btw... lol).

 

10. Create a brain trust to update the entertainment, which no one on these boards seems to like. I guess at these cruise prices no professional entertainers will work on board so... Repurpose personnel. Break activities up. People love card/board/trivia games. Maybe have some type of NON MONETARY card tournament or NON MONETARY Bingo game or Scrabble-like tournament (if trademark infringement is a problem). Prepare people for the trivia games by telling them what the general topic will be earlier in the day. Maybe build excitement? Prizes? A Carnival keychain, those adorable little "ships" Carnival gives out now and so on.

 

I have not been on Carnival since 2005, so I am going by the comments I have read over the last year on these boards. We have a trip planned on the Pride this summer.

 

Really want to relax. :D

Edited January 17, 2016 by clearwaters

[TomAceEsq]

My biggest piece of advice would be stop overthinking it. It appears to me you're already looking for ways to not enjoy your vacation.

 

My first thought while reading your post was, if you need a stress-free "list" on vacation, you probably already chose the wrong vacation for you.

[crookedhalo]

Trying to avoid as much stress on board as we can is our plan. We would like a pleasant cruising experience. If anyone can contribute to the stress reduction list, please do, it will be greatly appreciated.

 

After having poured over these boards frequently during the last few months (We booked in summer 2015 for summer 2016) we believe these may be ways to avoid the oft mentioned pitfalls:

 

1. Book a balcony cabin, if you can afford it.

 

2. Completely avoid the pool/Lido deck chair area for sitting. At all costs. There are pics on this site of an older woman sun bathing in her undies and a primary school aged kid jumping in the hot tub in the Adults Only Area. No enforcement by ships personnel of the Adults Only rules at all.

 

3. Use your balcony for outdoor seating or

 

4. Use some out-of-the-way deck chair area instead.

 

5. Try to purchase FTTF, if possible.

 

6. Various cold items are sold online before you arrive and you may bring a limited number of small liquids (milk, for example). But where are you supposed to put them in your cabin when Carnival has put liquor and other items in your fridge? And LOCKED the fridge door, no less? Where am I suppose to put my allowable cold drinks? Begging the steward for ice and an ice bucket(can we convienently get our own?) seems demeaning and not relaxing, to me.

Our fridge was not locked. We were able to put bottles of water in there to chill (bought the water thru ships online store - no stress having to lug a case of water on & price is reasonable).

7. Eat in the Steakhouse as often as one can afford. There are many, many complaints about the "new" dining room procedures, lack of service, bread and water on bare dining tables (btw are those items left out and not changed from group to group)? I have always felt those colossal dining rooms wasted a lot of space when so many other dining venues-both free and fee based-became available. It will be what you make of it. The butter, bread and water are removed before they serve dessert. We ate at the steakhouse on our trip and were not impressed. Wasn't worth the extra money IMHO.

 

8. Lots of complaints on these boards about dining room servers working short staffed. Why not have the dining room serve all meals buffet style? (Of course disabled folks would be served if they wish). Apparently the days of first class dining room service seem to be over anyway. Fine. Let's adapt.

 

Repurpose those dining room personnel...concentrate them on the activities passengers really want.

 

Seriously? Not everyone enjoys the Golden Corral - I don't even go to the buffet except for quick breakfasts and snacks. But with this said, you can go there every night if that's your thing.

 

9. Lots of complaints on these boards about the green water slide being unmanned and unusable much of the time. Can some of those dining room servers or other employees work the slide instead? Keep it open as much as possible? (I will not be sliding, btw... lol).

 

10. Create a brain trust to update the entertainment, which no one on these boards seems to like. I guess at these cruise prices no professional entertainers will work on board so... Repurpose personnel. Break activities up. People love card/board/trivia games. Maybe have some type of NON MONETARY card tournament or NON MONETARY Bingo game or Scrabble-like tournament (if trademark infringement is a problem). Prepare people for the trivia games by telling them what the general topic will be earlier in the day. Maybe build excitement? Prizes? A Carnival keychain, those adorable little "ships" Carnival gives out now and so on.

 

I have not been on Carnival since 2005, so I am going by the comments I have read over the last year on these boards. We have a trip planned on the Pride this summer.

 

Really want to relax. :D

 

If you really want to relax don't plan anything at all. We recently took that approach and only got off the ship in one port for a private fishing trip. The rest of the trip you could find us in the serenity area (though you need to get there fairly early for a good spot) or the Alchemy bar. There was great comedy basically every night and we were there most nights for two hours.

 

I agree with the PP, you are over thinking this. Hope your trip is great!

[StolidCruiser]

For your first 8 points, you're absolutely right. In summary, stay on your balcony and out of the main dining room and you'll have a perfect stress-free vacation.

 

As for the last two:

 

No amount of "extra staff" will help when a piece of equipment is malfunctioning and/or unsafe to operate.

 

There is already a lot of non-monetary activities offered - especially trivia, which is scheduled several times per day. Search out a sample Fun Times from more recently than the decade since you last cruised Carnival.

[Adge01]

Similar to the OP, I booked summer '15 for a fall '16 cruise on the Pride. Don't know the specifics to your cruise history but I haven't cruised since 2000 on the Ecstasy when I was single and had no child. I do not have a lot of favorable memories from that cruise as I don't think short booze cruises are my thing but I am willing to give it another shot.

 

From the various points provided it seems as if we have read a lot of the same reviews. The only difference is it seems you have digested only the negatives from the reviews. When reading reviews I like to look for themes. Each of the points stated seem to be isolated, well except for the chair hogs. You need to take that with a grain of salt as you will see that on every cruise ship, the decks are only so big and everyone wants that lounger.

 

The one theme I am seeing over and over is the Pride is a wonderful ship. If you stop letting yourself get stressed over negatives you may start seeing the positive reviews which I think far outnumber the negative ones.

[griz400]

We really liked the Pride, has all the updates, what we most enjoy is ( our time dining) , why put yourself on a schedule ... Here is a thread on the pride, if you read from start to finish, it will show you the whole ship, http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2199226&highlight=pride

She always has a rock solid review of every cruise

The comedy shows on Carnival are always good and we like the seaday brunch in the main dining room on sail days only ... the menu on seaday brunch is the bomb ..... Also the grill has the best Ruben sandwiches, (open till 11 i believe)

[RuthlessBoss]

I think you've set yourself up to not fully enjoy a stress free cruise by trying not to stress over small stuff that bothered others. I can see you analyzing the food, the entertainment, timing waiter service, hibernating on a balcony, checking to see if kids are in the hot tubs (an unsolvable irritant, so don't bother). Unless I had read about these things, I didn't realize those things were supposed to stress me:eek:

[Jamman54]

OP, you are setting yourself up to be stressed and disappointed. If you truly want to relax, just roll with the flow. Don't take every comment or review here to heart, both good and bad, (even mine :D ), and you will be just fine. Experience the ship, and all that it has to offer for yourself. Have a GREAT cruise.

[ScottsSweetie]

As I read this, I think to myself, "Wow, that's a lot of stress thinking about not being stressed".

 

I am also looking forward to a stress free cruise this month. We will arrive at our leisure, have two sea days with no pre-planned activities or expectations, have a day at Half Moon Cay (most stress-free place in the world), and have a day at Nassau with no plans (may do something; may not as the urge hits us). Nowhere to be at any particular time except for dinner at 8:15 each day. This is what we consider a "stress-free" cruise.

 

And regarding your list, I just have to say that I have never once had to "beg" my steward for ice. A simple "Would you please provide us with an ice bucket and keep it full" will work.

[Angiet75]

My biggest piece of advice would be stop overthinking it. It appears to me you're already looking for ways to not enjoy your vacation.

 

My first thought while reading your post was, if you need a stress-free "list" on vacation, you probably already chose the wrong vacation for you.

 

My thoughts exactly. Just go and cruise I have never been stressed on a cruise and I stress easily lol. Half your worry list is not something to even worry about

[trixiegal]

I agree with the other comments about not looking for things to be stressed about. You can find trouble or stress anywhere you go looking for it.

 

My advice is to realize, as I do every cruise, that the people that write reviews and complain have a different personality than you so they can only shape YOUR cruise if you let them. You know what experiences you enjoy and which ones you don't, so seek out the ones you enjoy and don't sweat the small stuff. Be kind to the employees, learn your steward's and dining staffs' names and treat him/her as a newfound friend and you will have the best service guaranteed!

 

I've been on 3 CCL cruises in the past 3 years after I swore off cruising in 2007. Each one of those cruises continuously surprised me and made me loyal to the CCL brand. Yes, some things weren't perfect but my overall perspective is that I had 3 awesome family vacations that have lifetime memories for my kids and I. Go enjoy yourself and stop making lists! [emoji6]

Edited January 17, 2016 by trixiegal

[clearwaters]

Copy. I will just roll with the flow. And relax. :) Thank you, everyone.

Edited January 17, 2016 by clearwaters

[CruiseBride926]

We were married on the pride this past October and from your worry list I couldn't help but think "is this the same boat?". We had a wonderful and relaxing time. We didn't pre plan any activities on board and if we went to one that didn't seem like us we would just move on to something else. We had wonderful service in the main dining room and ate at the steakhouse twice where the service was great as well (and delicious...the main dining room food is good but the steakhouse is wow). We had requested a table for just the 2 of us in the mdr to have some alone time but loved sitting with and meeting new people at breakfast/brunch. Just go with the flow. The great thing about a cruise is if one thing isn't for you than there is plenty more to experience including doing "nothing" which is just as great.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[clearwaters]

We were married on the pride this past October and from your worry list I couldn't help but think "is this the same boat?". We had a wonderful and relaxing time. We didn't pre plan any activities on board and if we went to one that didn't seem like us we would just move on to something else. We had wonderful service in the main dining room and ate at the steakhouse twice where the service was great as well (and delicious...the main dining room food is good but the steakhouse is wow). We had requested a table for just the 2 of us in the mdr to have some alone time but loved sitting with and meeting new people at breakfast/brunch. Just go with the flow. The great thing about a cruise is if one thing isn't for you than there is plenty more to experience including doing "nothing" which is just as great.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Congratulations on your marriage. This my daughter's honeymoon cruise. There will be 8 family members on board including the grooms parents! :)

[Babycat]

Prior to my last cruise, I had been on five cruises as a couple. My sixth cruise was with my toddler and it was stressful because I tried to make it what my other cruises had been. Lesson learned. My next cruise will be an evolution of my cruise expectations and will be built around my daughter. We will pack lighter and be better prepared mentally. I'm now comfortable with the idea of walking out of the MDR or missing it altogether. Perhaps I'll find a bit of magic in having dinner on the Lido deck watching a movie. All of my "me time" will take place when she's asleep and I'm fine with that. The struggle to strike a balance between my time and hers along with unjustifiably trying too hard not to allow my daughter to disturb others because she is a toddler was my source of stress.

 

The chair hogs are just a reality we have to deal with unfortunately.

[stargate fan]

Trying to avoid as much stress on board as we can is our plan. We would like a pleasant cruising experience. If anyone can contribute to the stress reduction list, please do, it will be greatly appreciated.

 

A stress reducing list??

 

After having poured over these boards frequently during the last few months (We booked in summer 2015 for summer 2016) we believe these may be ways to avoid the oft mentioned pitfalls:

 

1. Book a balcony cabin, if you can afford it.

 

We LOVE balcony cabins.

 

2. Completely avoid the pool/Lido deck chair area for sitting. At all costs. There are pics on this site of an older woman sun bathing in her undies and a primary school aged kid jumping in the hot tub in the Adults Only Area. No enforcement by ships personnel of the Adults Only rules at all.

 

Pride has Serenity (21+) all the way aft. It's huge and wide open, plus has a pool. On Legend there were security personnel telling families with children that the kids were not allowed, even on our Alaska sailing. Hopefully it will be the same when we sail Pride later this year. If not, I'll get security myself.

 

3. Use your balcony for outdoor seating or

 

Great place for a mid-day nap.

 

4. Use some out-of-the-way deck chair area instead.

 

Plenty of those available.

 

5. Try to purchase FTTF, if possible.

 

Only if the benefits offset the cost.

 

6. Various cold items are sold online before you arrive and you may bring a limited number of small liquids (milk, for example). But where are you supposed to put them in your cabin when Carnival has put liquor and other items in your fridge? And LOCKED the fridge door, no less? Where am I suppose to put my allowable cold drinks? Begging the steward for ice and an ice bucket(can we convienently get our own?) seems demeaning and not relaxing, to me.

 

We've never had a problem asking our cabin steward to empty the fridge. We've also never had a problem getting an ice bucket to chill our wine.

 

7. Eat in the Steakhouse as often as one can afford. There are many, many complaints about the "new" dining room procedures, lack of service, bread and water on bare dining tables (btw are those items left out and not changed from group to group)? I have always felt those colossal dining rooms wasted a lot of space when so many other dining venues-both free and fee based-became available.

 

I disagree.

While the steakhouse is a great experience, we've always had fabulous service, even with Your Time Dining.

 

8. Lots of complaints on these boards about dining room servers working short staffed. Why not have the dining room serve all meals buffet style? (Of course disabled folks would be served if they wish). Apparently the days of first class dining room service seem to be over anyway. Fine. Let's adapt.

 

Repurpose those dining room personnel...concentrate them on the activities passengers really want.

 

They call that Lido Buffet!

 

9. Lots of complaints on these boards about the green water slide being unmanned and unusable much of the time. Can some of those dining room servers or other employees work the slide instead? Keep it open as much as possible? (I will not be sliding, btw... lol).

 

Green Thunder was always open and manned, or womanned, on our cruises. Wind does affect hours of operation.

 

10. Create a brain trust to update the entertainment, which no one on these boards seems to like. I guess at these cruise prices no professional entertainers will work on board so... Repurpose personnel. Break activities up. People love card/board/trivia games. Maybe have some type of NON MONETARY card tournament or NON MONETARY Bingo game or Scrabble-like tournament (if trademark infringement is a problem). Prepare people for the trivia games by telling them what the general topic will be earlier in the day. Maybe build excitement? Prizes? A Carnival keychain, those adorable little "ships" Carnival gives out now and so on.

 

I don't even know what to say to this.

 

I have not been on Carnival since 2005, so I am going by the comments I have read over the last year on these boards. We have a trip planned on the Pride this summer.

 

It looks like you have absorbed only the negative comments written. Surely you've seen lots of positive as well.

 

Really want to relax. :D

 

I'm sorry, but it looks like you've already set yourself up to be stressed. You're on a cruise ship. You're celebrating. You're not home. Case closed.

[beachnsnowbunny]

We were married on the pride this past October and from your worry list I couldn't help but think "is this the same boat?". We had a wonderful and relaxing time. We didn't pre plan any activities on board and if we went to one that didn't seem like us we would just move on to something else. We had wonderful service in the main dining room and ate at the steakhouse twice where the service was great as well (and delicious...the main dining room food is good but the steakhouse is wow). We had requested a table for just the 2 of us in the mdr to have some alone time but loved sitting with and meeting new people at breakfast/brunch. Just go with the flow. The great thing about a cruise is if one thing isn't for you than there is plenty more to experience including doing "nothing" which is just as great.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Have to agree. We were married on July 5th 2015 on the Pride. Our wedding and cruise were both everything we hoped they would be. We have been on the Carnival Breeze and Splendor and didn't know what to expect from the smaller Pride. So glad we chose her. We had 15 in our group that sailed with us and another 18 just for the wedding. They treated everyone great. We still get complements on it. Can't wait to go again Sept. 4 to Bermuda.

[bar1068]

Biggest mistake was reading to much of the junk that is posted here...that alone raises the "stress level".....Somehow in over a dozen and a half cruises we've managed to have wonderful vacations, explore and find things on our own, with little to no input from here. Just go, let it and enjoy the experience. Btw...4 of those cruises were on the Pride...one of our favorite ships.

[JMAE]

We love cruising and are at the point we are cruising for R&R from work. We are lucky that the Pride sails from Baltimore as it is only 3 hour drive and don't have to worry about air ports, etc. We have been on the Pride 4 times and scheduled for our fifth on Feb 14. We find cruises to be very relaxing, we go into it with nothing planned except attending the comedy shows, very funny! When we go to the deck we select chairs one deck up from Serenity and stay towards the back of the ship. Short walk to everything and not crowded. ;) Don't plan anything so you won't be stressed if your plan doesn't work. We love the Spirit class of ship, great layout.

 

Enjoy!

Edited January 17, 2016 by JMAE

[Glock19]

The best stress free cruise I've ever taken was on the Pride. It wasn't planned it just worked out that way. We sailed the cruise right after new years. I've been on 29 carnival cruises and that dated by far was the most relaxing laid back cruise I've ever been on.

[Just Another Member]

6. Various cold items are sold online before you arrive and you may bring a limited number of small liquids (milk, for example). But where are you supposed to put them in your cabin when Carnival has put liquor and other items in your fridge? And LOCKED the fridge door, no less? Where am I suppose to put my allowable cold drinks?

 

My biggest pet peeve - and it perfectly represents many of the clientele that sails CCL. It's a mini-bar, not your personal refrigerator. Go to any high-end hotel and ask them to clean out the mini-bar so you have a place for your leftovers. They will laugh at you. And thanks to RFID technology removing the items yourself will leave you with a nice surprise at the end of the stay.

 

I won't purchase items from the CCL mini-bar any longer thanks to people that demand items be removed. Who knows how many times that $7 can of beer has been removed and replaced from that fridge.

[stargate fan]

I won't purchase items from the CCL mini-bar any longer thanks to people that demand items be removed. Who knows how many times that $7 can of beer has been removed and replaced from that fridge.

 

We've had the items stored behind the tv and in a drawer under the couch. I can't imagine that the drinks are very good after the week.

[clearwaters]

My biggest pet peeve - and it perfectly represents many of the clientele that sails CCL. It's a mini-bar, not your personal refrigerator. Go to any high-end hotel and ask them to clean out the mini-bar so you have a place for your leftovers. They will laugh at you. And thanks to RFID technology removing the items yourself will leave you with a nice surprise at the end of the stay.

 

I won't purchase items from the CCL mini-bar any longer thanks to people that demand items be removed. Who knows how many times that $7 can of beer has been removed and replaced from that fridge.

 

Here is an idea. Ask passengers at time of booking if they want the minibar stocked. Just like one is asked if they want a twin or king bed configuration. That way nothing is repurposed. Everything in the fridge would be fresh.

 

The issue for me is there is limited shelf and fridge space. Carnival sells these items all over the ship in bars and small stores. Even through room service. While I'm sure there are people who appreciate the items I just happen to see them as taking up valuable space I can use for my own treats. And believe me we spend as much on additional items as we spend on cruise fare. Probably more, actually.

 

The newlyweds chose Carnival. They were given the opportunity to sail on any line. This is the ship and the line they chose. They like Carnival. Good past memories, I suppose. So Carnival it is.

 

I'm sure we will have fun. I hope to post a review shortly after we return. 😊