Pirate's JOURNEY on the Pride...March 13-28 Photo Review

[almendrada]

We were on the Pride the week before you! I'm loving your pictures; it makes me feel like I'm back there again. What I miss most are (1) Bonsai Sushi, (2) our awesome dinner team, Piotr, Rahmat, & I Made, (3) Blue Iguana shrimp burritos, and (4) the gentle rocking that put me to sleep almost immediately every time I lay down, even if I was just trying to read.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review!

[pirate4me2]

Great start.....looking forward to the rest of your review!

 

Thank you! I am getting ready to work on another segment now. ;)

 

We were on the Pride the week before you! I'm loving your pictures; it makes me feel like I'm back there again. What I miss most are (1) Bonsai Sushi, (2) our awesome dinner team, Piotr, Rahmat, & I Made, (3) Blue Iguana shrimp burritos, and (4) the gentle rocking that put me to sleep almost immediately every time I lay down, even if I was just trying to read.

 

Looking forward to the rest of the review!

 

I miss the rocking too, I have not been able to sleep at night since we got home! :( And darn it, you just reminded me of something I kept meaning to try but never got to in the whole 14 days....a lunch burrito from Blue Iguana! I am addicted to their breakfast ones (I wish I could have one right now for dinner!) but I have yet to do a lunch one. What I really wanted to do, but wasn't sure if they'd let me, was have them put some of the makings (shrimp, pico, guacamole, cheese) in a bowl and then I could go load it up with shredded lettuce and jalapenos from Guy's toppings bar, and then go back to the salsa bar and load it with the black bean and corn salsa. yum! I didn't really want a tortilla.

[pirate4me2]

Yay, it is finally time to start the port days, and we begin with one of my absolute favorite ports...Grand Turk!

 

 

We were scheduled to be in port from 9 to 5 today, and we were docked and cleared by 9. One thing that Chris and I both love about Grand Turk is that for us, it is a laid back port day. We never plan excursions, so we let the mad rush of people leave the ship while we relax and enjoy breakfast. Today I enjoyed one of my many, many, many breakfast burritos I ate during this cruise from Blue Iguana (they are so addicting!) and Chris rummaged something up from the buffet. When it looked like the mass of people getting off the ship had died down, we went back to the room, grabbed our beach bag, and headed off the ship to our favorite place: Jack's Shack!

 

I always feel so small when I look up at the ships from the dock.

 

Pride and Sensation in port today

 

I LOVE the water in Grand Turk, it is so clear and beautiful!

 

Ahhh, this is my view for the day! All settled in at Jack's.

[pirate4me2]

Once we got settled in our place at Jack's Shack, I ordered my favorite drink from there, the Reef Recker. Yum, it is so delicious!

 

 

I also decided to try a shot of the local rum. I also got one for Chris, but he took a sniff of it and handed it to me to have. Hehehe, I am going to be feeling good today!

 

 

After downing that I decided to get in the water for a few minutes. Oh, how I love Grand Turk and the beach there. The water felt so refreshing! I stayed in until I started to feel the effects of my drinks, and then went back to order something to eat. It was about 11:45, so I didn't feel bad ordering lunch. Feeling brave, I decided to try conch fritters.

 

 

OMG....they were DELICIOUS! I will be ordering them every time we go to Grand Turk now, and when I see them on menus other places. They were so yummy! Chris ordered his favorite thing, the jerk chicken.

 

 

As always, he said it was great. He's not hard to please...unless I am the one trying to make jerk chicken. Then he just makes an ugly face and asks me if we can go pick something else up to eat from in town. Haha. I have tried and tried, and each time it is an epic failure. Now we just make sure to cruise to Jack's Shack once a year so he can get his fix!

[pirate4me2]

I ordered a Pink Flamingo to go with lunch. It was really good too!

 

 

We ended up with Steve and one of his entertainment team members, Nooki, at our table for lunch. A bunch of the Playlist cast sat next to us as well, and they were all very friendly. While we ate, another ship, which was on a 105 day world cruise, arrived. I have never seen 3 ships in port at Grand Turk before! They had to tender passengers in with their lifeboats.

 

 

We enjoyed lunch and talking with Steve, Nooki, and the Playlist cast for a while, and then we went back to the water. I never wanted to leave! However, by 2 Chris and I were both pretty sunburnt and realized we needed to get back on board and out of the sun. We forgot to reapply our sunscreen because we were having too much fun in the water! We went to the room to clean up, and I snapped a shot of Sensation leaving and Amadea taking her spot on the dock.

 

 

Bye Sensation!

 

 

We realized that our balcony door was broke at this point. When we would go to shut it, it would shut, then a few minutes later pop open and have a very loud whistling noise. I called Guest Services, and let me give them and the maintenance staff a huge shout out here...within 5 minutes of me calling, a maintenance crew member was knocking on our cabin door to fix the problem. After sailing on Splendor last year and having a shower that hardly drained and kept flooding our stateroom even though we called to Guest Services multiple times, this was a welcome surprise. He worked on the door for about 15 minutes and had it fixed. Yay! :D

Tonight we had reservations for the Chef's Table for dinner. Chris surprised me with them as a present for us being together 10 years. We were to meet in the atrium at 6, and we got down there and saw that a couple we had become friends with would also be eating with us. Once the group was all present, the chef took us down to the galley, and he gave us a tour. It was very interesting to see, and we also got to learn how to make chocolate melting cake. I will spare you all the nutritional information on that yummy, sinful dessert. Let me just say that when you eat it, plan on not eating anything other than celery for the rest of the day. :p

[nybumpkin]

I also decided to try a shot of the local rum. I also got one for Chris, but he took a sniff of it and handed it to me to have. Hehehe, I am going to be feeling good today!

 

 

We love Bambarra Rum! I've never seen it for sale in the States, so we buy when we visit Grand Turk. We just finished the bottle we bought last year on our Breeze cruise.:(

 

Your review is great - looking forward to more!

[happy cruzin]

So....we keep saying we are going to go to Jacks - but never have made it! [emoji20]

 

How far is the walk along the beach??

[pirate4me2]

While in the galley, we were served appetizers and complimentary, free flowing champagne. I do not remember some of the appetizers, the ones that I do I will post the name of. Also, I did not get pics of 1 or 2 of the apps as I was not sure if we were allowed to take photos. After the first or second app the chef informed us we would take pictures, just not of the galley itself.

 

This was yummy, and I love the presentation! It was something with air dried bacon. Mmmmm, bacon....

 

Lamb

 

One app that we were given (the first one in fact) was a mango something or other...the flavor just exploded in your mouth. It was good. I remember we were also given some kind of salmon appetizer that came in a cone type thing, and it reminded me of a mini ice cream cone. OMG that was yummy, and I wish I had gotten a picture of it.

After that we were taken to the nightclub, where they had set up a table for everyone. The chef explained how we would be served and that he would come explain each dish to us, and then we were left with our waitstaff and our fellow diners. Red and white wine was poured for us, and throughout dinner they continued to top the glasses off. We all had bread to start us off.

 

 

It was a blue cheese bread, and it was frigging delicious. I loved it.

Next, we had a beet soup. It was....interesting. Chris hated it.

After they poured the soup into the bowl...

[pirate4me2]

This was a crab stack, it was REALLY good!

 

And now for the dish I just couldn't eat. I took a bite and gagged it down, then gave the rest to Chris. It's duck. To me, it was tough and just yucky.

 

Now for a soup that I loved! It was tomato, and I love the presentation!

 

This was a sea bass dish. It had potential, but was very, very salty. Everyone at the table agreed.

 

Now for the highlight of the meal. The best, most amazing part. Wagyu (did I spell that right?) that was so tender and just downright DELICIOUS!

 

Now, I hate to admit it, but by this point in dinner I had drank probably 6 glasses of wine. Dessert came, and we each got a plate with a bunch of mini desserts on it. I think there were 6 total. In my not drunk (ok, probably somewhat drunk) state, I totally forgot to take a picture of dessert. Sorry.

The whole dining experience lasted until 10, and I feel that it was well worth the $75 per person charge. The chef came out and explained each course to us, and he was so friendly. He talked about how he joined Carnival and became a chef, his life back home, the ships he has been on, and anything we asked him he would answer. We all also got a group photo and a little menu of what we ate. I loved the experience, and I will probably sign us up again in the future to do this. It was a fun, memorable evening.

After we got done Chris and I walked around for a few minutes, and then decided to call it a day. Tomorrow was the first of SEVEN new ports for us...San Juan!

[pirate4me2]

We love Bambarra Rum! I've never seen it for sale in the States, so we buy when we visit Grand Turk. We just finished the bottle we bought last year on our Breeze cruise.:(

 

Your review is great - looking forward to more!

 

Thank you!!

 

So....we keep saying we are going to go to Jacks - but never have made it! [emoji20]

 

How far is the walk along the beach??

 

Maybe 1/2 a mile, if that. It's near the 2nd pier, and a lot of the crew go to hang out there. It's a fun little spot!

[PTAngel]

We were also on this cruise. I showed the interior stateroom with a picture window (modified). I did go to the M & G, the slot pull (both), & the sock hop. I had a really good time but forgot to write anything down. I did keep all my Fun Times though. I'm happy to be reliving our cruise through your review. We did something at every port so did not go to any of the beaches.

 

This was our first Carnival cruise. I do not want to compare it as there were pros & cons on both this ship & the RCL Grandeur of the Seas that we have previously cruised on. I did enjoy it & that's all that counts.

 

I'm glad to have met so many people on this cruise.

[Cruzoholic]

Grand Marnier 35.99

Ketel One 26.99 or 2 for $40 special

 

Sorry to jump in Stephanie. We also had a great time and looking forward to our return on the Pride 9/18. Memories!

 

Evie

[pirate4me2]

Our stop in San Juan was for 12 to 8, so I got to sleep in today. I love sleeping in, and I don't get to do it much at home, so this was a treat. At home when I try and sleep in the cats jump all over me to get up and feed them, and it was weird not to have a fuzzy little body start harassing me when I began to stir around 9 on this day. Oh, who am I kidding, I missed my furry little monsters during this cruise. A LOT. I even broke down and bawled like a kid one day because "the bed is too empty without them!" Those were my exact words I believe.

Today we enjoyed the sea day brunch, even though it wasn't really a sea day! That was a nice surprise. I decided to try the Caesar salad here with chicken, as well as eggs benedict with no meat.

 

Salad...it was OK

 

Eggs Benedict with no meat. REALLY GOOD!

 

Steve let everyone know via the PA system when we began to get close to San Juan since he said it was a great port to sail into. Oh my, he was right, sailing past the fort is stunning! We were sailing by probably about 11, and the decks were crowded with people to get pictures. I was glad we had gotten a good spot early!

 

 

Since we had never been to San Juan before I decided to play it safe and booked an excursion through Carnival called Fortresses of Old San Juan. We were to meet at 12:15 inside the terminal, and we were escorted to our bus that would take us to the forts. Our first stop was El Morro, and we were given 1 hour to explore on our own.

 

Graveyard

 

View from on El Morro

 

[pirate4me2]

The "front lawn" as I called it, of El Morro

 

 

 

 

The lighthouse of El Morro. They wouldn't let you climb all the way to the top.

 

A little chapel in the fort

[pirate4me2]

This little guy scared the heck out of me! I jumped and let out a little squeal when I realized he was near me.

 

He had a friend in another part of the fort, too!

 

It's so beautiful at the fort

 

 

Our next stop was Fort Christanbol. We had 45 minutes to explore this fort.

 

Is this like a fireplace for the soldiers that lived at the fort?

 

Hi Pride!

[PTAngel]

Next time in San Juan, try the free trolley around Old San Juan. We also had our National Park cards (Golden Eagle Passes) so getting into the forts was free. It truly was a "free" day for us.

[vaka08]

Following

[pirate4me2]

A closer shot of Pride

 

After touring the second fort, we were taken to a spot downtown to do a little shopping. Chris and I have a tradition of getting a Christmas ornament at every port we visit, so we went in search of that. After we found one, we wandered around and Chris said he was hungry. We saw a little street vendor with empadas, and we each got one and 2 bottles of water, total cost came to $8. The empada I had (cheese) was very good! We were then taken back to the ship.

 

 

Our adventure was not over yet though! The empada didn't fill my hubby up, and we went in search of some dinner. We ended up at....

 

Leave it to me to get Mexican food. I love it, I eat it at least once a week at home. I ordered fajitas.

 

 

I love the tortilla holder!! I seriously wanted to stuff it in my beach bag to take home. Haha.

 

[pirate4me2]

Chris ordered a quesadilla I believe. Our total bill came to around $40, so it wasn't a cheap meal but it was pretty darn good. We began wandering back "home" at about 6.

 

 

Once onboard we cleaned up, then went to check out the hypnotist in the Taj Mahal. We didn't stay for whole show, we ended up going to the Red Frog to play shuffleboard (turns out I am pretty good!) and then we went to the Ivory Piano Bar. I ordered a Music, Sweet Music drink.

 

 

Mmmmmm, it was yummy! We hung out listening to Rob play until about 10:15. There was a pub crawl gathering in the atrium in honor of St Patrick's Day, it was $20 for I think 4 drinks, one in each of the bars the crawl would visit. However, Chris and I decided to call it a night since tomorrow would be an "early" day for me. I'm lazy and like to sleep in, remember?

[pirate4me2]

We were also on this cruise. I showed the interior stateroom with a picture window (modified). I did go to the M & G, the slot pull (both), & the sock hop. I had a really good time but forgot to write anything down. I did keep all my Fun Times though. I'm happy to be reliving our cruise through your review. We did something at every port so did not go to any of the beaches.

 

This was our first Carnival cruise. I do not want to compare it as there were pros & cons on both this ship & the RCL Grandeur of the Seas that we have previously cruised on. I did enjoy it & that's all that counts.

 

I'm glad to have met so many people on this cruise.

 

Thank you for opening your room for the cabin crawl!

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Marnier 35.99

Ketel One 26.99 or 2 for $40 special

 

Sorry to jump in Stephanie. We also had a great time and looking forward to our return on the Pride 9/18. Memories!

 

Evie

 

 

Thank you for providing that info! :)

 

 

 

 

Next time in San Juan, try the free trolley around Old San Juan. We also had our National Park cards (Golden Eagle Passes) so getting into the forts was free. It truly was a "free" day for us.

 

 

Awesome, thanks for the tip!! We have 2 more cruises coming up with stops in San Juan.

 

 

 

 

Following

 

Welcome!

[pirate4me2]

Oh, before I move on to St Thomas, here are some pics of the Pub crawl gathering in the atrium.

 

 

 

[pirate4me2]

Another new port for us! Hooray, this cruise is awesome. :D

Pride docked in St Thomas about 8, and I stumbled out of bed to grab a breakfast burrito from Blue Iguana. This was my view as I ate.

 

 

Our excursion (St John Trunk Bay and Snorkel Trails, or something like that) was to meet on the pier at 10. We finished breakfast and went back to the room to get our beach bag, and this was what I saw from my balcony.

 

 

I want a little boat like that!! It looks so cool. Anyway, we met our excursion and boarded a ferry for a 30ish minute ride to St. John.

Bye Pride!

 

 

Once we got to St John, we had a short (maybe 15 minute) bus ride to get to Trunk Bay. On the way, the driver stopped at an overlook point for us to take pictures.

[pirate4me2]

When we arrived at Trunk Bay, we were told we had about 2.25 hours to spend there. We were shown where the snack bar was, the showers and changing facilities, and if you wanted to snorkel, they had a short meeting about that. Neither DH nor I are snorkelers, so we took off for the beach. All I can say is....it's GORGEOUS!

 

 

 

 

Some random person in my pic...is that any of you?? Haha.

 

You could rent beach chairs from the shop, but Chris and I were in the water almost the entire time we were there. The water was crystal clear and felt fantastic. To everyone on here who has ever said to visit St John when your ship docks in St Thomas, THANK YOU for that advice!

We did get hungry for lunch at about 12:30, so we left the water and went to the snack shop. We each got a cheeseburger and we split an order of fries. We had our own water to drink, and the total came to $21. When we finished eating it was about time to board the bus to head back to the ferry.

[pirate4me2]

I love their license plates! I wonder if I can buy one like you can in other ports? I must remember to check when we go back in October!

 

I like the sign...I've seen hurricane evac signs, and even "snow route" ones. Now I have seen this one.

 

We were back on the bus at 1:20, and back to our ferry at 1:45. We docked on the pier at 2:35 and decided to do some quick shopping before we had to be back on board. We had to find our Christmas ornament, after all! We did find one, and Chris wanted to go into the Crocs store. He ended up buying the ugliest pair of Crocs that look like slippers, but he swore that they were the most comfortable pair of shoes, especially on his super sunburnt feet. I just shook my head and told him to NEVER wear them in public. We boarded Pride at 3:15, and back on board was 3:30 today. We made the most of our time in port today! :D

We showered and then just chilled until dinnertime (6:30). I snapped a picture of the sunset before we headed to the MDR.

Tonight was elegant night, and we had Felix and Fernando for our servers. Unfortunately, I forgot my phone and camera at dinner, so I have no food pics for you all tonight. Sorry. :o I can tell you that I ordered another Caesar salad (I refused to give up hope! It was just OK tonight), and I ordered one of my favorite apps....the stuffed mushrooms. Mmmmm, they are so yummylicious! Since I love mushrooms so much, I also ordered the pasta with mushrooms (I forget the name of it, sorry) and it was really, really good. For dessert Chris and I were both curious about the Key Lime Mousse, so we ordered that to share, and I also got the chocolate melting cake and he got orange sherbert and vanilla ice cream. We were both glad we got the other desserts because that mousse was disgusting. Sorry if any of you like it...we each took a bite and pushed the dish far, far away. My chocolate melting cake was perfect tonight.

After dinner we walked around looking for something to do, but there didn't seem to be any live music tonight. We went to the Red Frog and it was quiet, so we played a few games of Shuffleboard, then went and wandered some more. The Piano bar had nobody in it at all, so we wandered back to the room and ended up watching something on TV. I fell asleep around 10:15 probably, with big plans for tomorrow...Dominica!

[pirate4me2]

Alright, I am done for tonight! I managed to get 3 ports in, I feel accomplished. :) I will post more tomorrow, goodnight!