Carnival Pride - Mini review 4/23-5/1 2016

[Cyber Kat]

Thought I'd pop in here and give a mini review of our fantastic cruise on the Pride. I usually do long detailed ones with pics, but the last couple I didn't finish. So this is short and hopefully sweet :)

 

We sailed out of Baltimore to GT, HMC and Nassau - one of my favorite itineraries.

 

 

The Pride is a great ship, IMO - not too big, not too small. 2.0 upgrades and some bells and whistles. I just love the old time ocean liner feel of the decor. And cruising from Baltimore is a breeze - easy on - easy off. Although we did have to wait longer than usual to board because the people who were supposed to be getting off - were not getting off!

 

 

We did a Stay and Sail package with the Best Western on O'Donnell St. It's in an industrial area, but the room was clean, the beds comfy and the hotel staff was great! They have a free shuttle to the Inner Harbor and you get a shuttle to the port for the cruise. You can leave your car for up to 30 days (I think) and breakfast is included.

 

 

We had a fabulous room on the Pride - premium balcony - 6277 (last year we had 7299 - same room, one deck up). You get lounge chairs on these bigger balconies - love it. And the room is set up like a suite, but without the bathtub.

 

 

The crew were fantastic! One of the best we've sailed with - awesome steward who gave us great towel animals and fresh ice twice a day. Fabulous MDR crew - Fernando - did magic tricks! So cool. We had the new Comfort Cards. I asked for twice a day - no problem. Eladio was all smiles, all the time!

 

 

Food was great! Last cruise, June 2015 on the Pride, I thought the food was a cut above Carnival's usual fare. I was a little worried after reading bad reviews of the American Table, but we were happy with the menu and the food quality and taste.

 

 

I did have issues with the table set up - sorry, I'm one of those who really likes the tablecloths. I didn't like that plates, utensils, cups and glasses kept sliding around. You couldn't cut anything because your plate would move! I thought the wine bottle decoration was nice, but the old numbers take up much less room. When you add the bread basket (loved the bread and we were just too, so not having them give you the bread individually wasn't a problem) and an actual bottle of wine, the table is very crowded. But in the overall scheme of things, it really wasn't a big issue.

 

 

We ate in David's steakhouse one night and it was wonderful - great food and service as usual. We also had lunch in Bonsai Sushi - love it, but I'm a sushi fan. My husband - not so much, but he got the Waygu beef appetizer and a salad and really liked both.

 

 

We did the Behind the Fun tour and that was also fun, entertaining and interesting. The head chef was fabulous - very informative and personable. And Paulo the head engineer who did the Engine Control room talk was very handsome, with a great personality. He actually took photos of the azipods when the ship was in dry dock and he had them blown up so we could all see them. He also made a working model. Above and beyond!

 

 

The one thing we weren't happy with is that they are cutting down on the bartenders. Where there were 2 there is only 1 and they are working so hard. That's the part that made me sad. Give them a break, Carnival! And they are also cutting back on the brands of liquor available - no Tanquery Gin, no Goslings rum and no Courvoiseier cognac (much to my husband's disappointment. Also no prosecco - good thing I brought my own!)

 

The ports were as expected, since we've been there before. GT and HMC fabulous - Nassau - meh :D Pier runners at Nassau didn't have to run - they got brought to the ship in golf carts! Takes all the fun out! :o

 

 

Oh - and this is odd - we were the only ship there except for some mega yacht - we looked it up. It's one of the biggest yachts! Luna.

So that's it - all over fabulous cruise! Can't wait to sail on the Pride again, but we're going to Canada next cruise, so we're on the Sunshine - hope it can live up to the standard set by the Pride.

 

 

I've got lots of pics, but I'm switching computers so I don't have them handy, but I will post! Feel free to ask questions - I'll help if I can!

[pantherpaw]

Thanks for the review! We're sailing on the Pride this Sunday and I'm really looking forward to a new (to me) ship and itinerary.

[JMAE]

We love the Pride, taking our sixth Pride cruise next April. Did you use the Hub app and if you did how did it work? Thanks

[Adge01]

Thanks for the great review. We are actually sailing 11/6 on the Pride and have room 6279. Have 2 questions. 1) how was the noise level in the room from both the elevators and people? 2) Did you feel any aft shake?

 

Thank you, Adrienne

[Steve Dore]

Great review. Funny you mentioned 7299, that was our cabin for the sailing prior to yours (4/15).

 

This was our third time on the Pride. All three times we have had aft cabins and only time I ever noticed the aft shake was in the main dining room.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[Cyber Kat]

We love the Pride, taking our sixth Pride cruise next April. Did you use the Hub app and if you did how did it work? Thanks

 

Yes! Loved it!

[Cyber Kat]

Thanks for the great review. We are actually sailing 11/6 on the Pride and have room 6279. Have 2 questions. 1) how was the noise level in the room from both the elevators and people? 2) Did you feel any aft shake?

 

Thank you, Adrienne

 

We had no issues with noise either from the elevators or people in the hall. The ship does vibrate a lot when they are going fast, but it's mostly in the dining room . We weren't bothered much in the room, but you could feel it a bit

[Cyber Kat]

Great review. Funny you mentioned 7299, that was our cabin for the sailing prior to yours (4/15).

 

This was our third time on the Pride. All three times we have had aft cabins and only time I ever noticed the aft shake was in the main dining room.

 

Thanks! Both were great rooms . We notice more of a vibra-message feeling than a shaking - and definitely more in the dining room .

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for your review, we love the Pride and are sailing her again for a NYE cruise this year.

[Jamman54]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. The Pride is our favorite ship, and we can't wait to get back on her for 14 days next February!

[Bodycruise]

What are Comfort Cards?

[jimbo5544]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. The Pride is our favorite ship, and we can't wait to get back on her for 14 days next February!

 

 

We will just miss each other again.

[audcc77]

We were on the Pride a month ago & we had Fernando as our waiter as well.

 

He was also our waiter on the Fantasy a few times.

 

He is awesome!

[eas2225]

We were on the same cruise, in 7290! This was our 5th time on the Pride and brought 3 other couples with us.

 

I looked up the Luna as well. Two helicopter pads and a pool! Crazy!

 

I went to the Meet and Mingle, and there was about 7 people who showed up. Steve(cruise director) was there and they had a nice spread of pastries and cookies. He asked how they could make it better and I said that not everyone reads the entire Fun Times, and maybe we could have been emailed or texted the time and place.

[ellen4257]

We were on board too. Didn't see the meet and mingle until after it was over. It was buried in the small print of the fun times. I think an email or note to the cabins of those signed up would have been much better. Also we thought the vibration throughout the entire aft of the ship was the worse I have ever felt and effected dinners in the main dining room very negatively. Otherwise the ship was clean, service was awesome and Steve and the entertainment crew worked SO hard and were great!

[vaka08]

Can you post pictures of your cabin. We have a premium balcony booked later this year

[Cyber Kat]

Can you post pictures of your cabin. We have a premium balcony booked later this year

 

 

I will as soon as I get them uploaded to Zenfolio. I'm switching over to a new computer so right now they are only on my laptop. Both 7299 & 6277 were awesome rooms!

[atthebuzzer]

:)Thanks for the great review.

 

I noticed you stated:

We did a Stay and Sail package with the Best Western on O'Donnell St. It's in an industrial area, but the room was clean, the beds comfy and the hotel staff was great! They have a free shuttle to the Inner Harbor and you get a shuttle to the port for the cruise. You can leave your car for up to 30 days (I think) and breakfast is included.

 

How did you book this thru Best Western or another site.?

Do you mind me asking the price for stay and keeping you car there ?

 

Thanks

[Andoria]

I was on that sailing and LOL on the pier "runners" WTH? It's one of the reasons I get a balcony.

[Cyber Kat]

:)Thanks for the great review.

 

I noticed you stated:

We did a Stay and Sail package with the Best Western on O'Donnell St. It's in an industrial area, but the room was clean, the beds comfy and the hotel staff was great! They have a free shuttle to the Inner Harbor and you get a shuttle to the port for the cruise. You can leave your car for up to 30 days (I think) and breakfast is included.

 

How did you book this thru Best Western or another site.?

Do you mind me asking the price for stay and keeping you car there ?

 

Thanks

 

You need to call the hotel direct and ask for the front desk. Main Best Western has no clue :) The price for a double room was $139 and that included the shuttle to the Inner Harbor, the shuttle to and from the port, parking for the week (I think you can park for up to 30 days if you are doing a longer cruise) and breakfast in the morning.

 

The numbers on their contact page

http://www.bwhotelbaltimore.com/baltimore-hotel-reservations.aspx

 

Tell them you want the Park and Cruise package.

[happy cruzin]

:)Thanks for the great review.

 

I noticed you stated:

We did a Stay and Sail package with the Best Western on O'Donnell St. It's in an industrial area, but the room was clean, the beds comfy and the hotel staff was great! They have a free shuttle to the Inner Harbor and you get a shuttle to the port for the cruise. You can leave your car for up to 30 days (I think) and breakfast is included.

 

How did you book this thru Best Western or another site.?

Do you mind me asking the price for stay and keeping you car there ?

 

Thanks

We booked our room - with the Stay and Sail package - though the Best Western webpage.

 

Search for Baltimore - then pick the one with the O'Donnell Street address. Easy peasy - and they say they "best rates" are available through the website. Hopefully that's true! ;)

Edited May 9, 2016 by happy cruzin

[Freckle53]

Thanks for the great review. We are actually sailing 11/6 on the Pride and have room 6279. Have 2 questions. 1) how was the noise level in the room from both the elevators and people? 2) Did you feel any aft shake?

 

Thank you, Adrienne

 

We stayed in 6279 a couple of years ago and there was no elevator noise or noise from people waiting for elevators. Deck 6 is all cabins so there aren't ever really people congregating for the elevator there.

[Cyber Kat]

What are Comfort Cards?

 

 

Sorry - missed this question. Carnival is trying something. They give you a card and you can choose to have morning clean up, night turn down or both. You can also check that you want extra pillows or blankets or robes.

 

I've heard some mixed things from people on other ships about this - some people said they were told you couldn't choose both. Our steward came in, introduced himself and explained the card. We told him that we would like both tidy ups, but that we were good with pillows and blankets. We had robes in our closet, so I'm not sure what's up with that. We also asked for ice, and he filled the bucket twice a day also.

 

We were very happy with our steward.

 

Some people are saying that it's a cut back. Carnival says it's because people were asking not to have the steward come twice a day - and some didn't want the steward in the room at all. I like being pampered on vacation :) And I love the turndown with the towel animal. I liked the old chocolates too - but the ones they had before they stopped doing it were awful!

[Cyber Kat]

We booked our room - with the Stay and Sail package - though the Best Western webpage.

 

Search for Baltimore - then pick the one with the O'Donnell Street address. Easy peasy - and they say they "best rates" are available through the website. Hopefully that's true! ;)

 

Were you able to book the Stay and Sail through the web site? I called the general Best Western 800# and they had no clue what I was talking about.