Carnival Pride-June 5 to June 12 Review-Honeymoon Cruise

[clearwaters]

We reserved our cabins 9 months ahead. Never could get FTTF. Reserved most excursions 7-9 months ahead of our cruise date. The exception: The snorkelers in our family bought what turned out to be their favorite excursion, Power Snorkel Adventure in Grand Turk, on the ship.

 

SATURDAY 6-4:

There were 8 family members in our group. We all arrived in Baltimore June 4th.

 

Two drove from Pennsylvania (they parked at the hotel during the cruise), the rest flew in from California, Oregon and Upstate New York. We used Super Shuttle to get from BWI to the hotel on Saturday.

 

We stayed at the Best Western Plus Baltimore 5625 O'Donnell St, Baltimore, MD 21224. Wonderful hotel. There is a nice restaurant on site for dinner and they served a lovely complimentary buffet breakfast the next morning.

 

SUNDAY 6-5:

We boarded the hotel shuttles about 12 noon and we got to the port about 12:30pm or so. Everything was well organized. The shuttle drivers deserved their tips!

 

The process-sans FTTF-of getting from the parking lot to our cabin took about an hour or so. Everyone working at the port was very nice and helpful. We boarded the ship at ground level. Walked up a few stairs (one can take elevators all the way) and took an elevator to Level 7.

 

We had 4 cabins near/adjacent to each other. Our luggage was waiting at the door for us when we got to the cabin. As was our terrific steward, Wijaya. We did our part that week by not mucking up the cabin and he did more than his part by keeping everything more than tidy. We left the auto tips in place and we were happy to tip him a bit more at the beginning & the end.

 

One of my daughters and son-in-law kept all of the towel animals Wijaya had made for them until the last day. They arranged every towel animal on their bed with a note saying how much they appreciated him and stuck their additional tip in the middle! He loved it!

 

Will continue with Monday 6-6 shortly. Have to go to work!

[Jackie81]

following

[louanne93]

Me too!

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Me also!

[clearwaters]

SUNDAY 6-5 (continued):

(Sorry, I mis-titled the review: This is my oldest daughter's honeymoon cruise, not mine.:eek:

 

Anyway, We went to the Sail Away Party on the Lido Deck. It was raining. That did not stop any of the fun!

 

We watched as the ship traveled under the bridges. That was amazing.

 

We ate at the Steakhouse on Sunday. I brought some champagne to celebrate, the server charged me $15 corkage fee.

 

The picture I tried to attach said "upload failed." I will wait until my daughter gets home and have her help me put the pictures on the review.

I will keep trying on my own in the meantime. Unfortunate, because the only people missing out are the readers. I have already seen the pix...just a thought.

 

I have all of the Fun Times between 6-5 and 6-12, if anyone has a question about those.

 

A couple of the younger members of our group LOVED the Alchemy Bar. They were on a first name basis with the bartenders. One of the youngsters (he is 28) told me how the bartender briefly lit a piece of spice and with other ingredients to make a mouth watering martini.

 

We went to the Comedy Show every night we could. It was great. Never saw the same comic twice. YES there is standing room only. But the sets are short...about 20-30 minutes.

 

During the week the places I never found/went to were the Pizza Pirate, the Piano Bar, the Red Frog Pub, Carnival Deli, the Alchemy Bar.

 

We did go to Guy's Burger Joint, Bonsai Sushi, The Steakhouse, The Spa (for the hot tub and a multi faceted shower), Mini Golf, The Casino (I hit a slot machine for about 15 minutes, won $10 and quit), the Trivia Games and into a game room with board games and cards. The kids (they are 26, 28, 29 30, 31, 33) went down the green slide. They were terrified and had tons of fun. They also went down the yellow slide. Not as terrifying, but fun for them. I watched.

 

We saw Starwars and Spectre a couple of nights at the Dive-In movie. LOVED that. Very peaceful experience. In fact, we dozed off on Star Wars and got up and went to bed before the movie was over :o

 

There was an anemic Afternoon High Tea on sea days. Very weak. One or two type of sandwiches, a few sweets. Weak tea. Speaking of weak, the food in the MDR was bland every day. No flavor, no spice. Except Elegant Night, of course... The servers were wonderful, though.

 

In the next installment I will talk in depth about our dining experiences. Hopefully I can post pics.

 

ttfn

Edited June 19, 2016 by clearwaters

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

I can't wait to read the rest! What a well written and interesting review!

[clearwaters]

MONDAY JUNE 6th

Thanks to the Carnival Hub application, and $5 each for the Chat Plan which all of our group bought, some of our family members from Back East-who happen to be on an internal clock that is 3 hours ahead of ours--:eek: always woke us up after they had taken their seats and had their breakfast plates before them in the Mermaid's Grille. We always stumbled out of bed-at what felt like 4am :( , got dressed and met them up there on Level 9.

 

IT IS a charming, relaxing experience watching the sea early in the morning while one has a full hot breakfast. There is something about the Pride, either by design or consequence, that causes people to congregate in public spaces vs. in their cabins. The passengers are not pretentious. It truly is a gregarious experience. Quite pleasant.

 

After breakfast, my daughter and I discovered the Spa and the Gym. Wonderful. We exercised and then showered in the spa. Brace yourself for a lot of powerful shower jets-some of them quite vigorous. They are adjustable, though. Then we got in the hot tub. Actually, while none of us had planned to do so, two of my daughters (the honeymoon couple & the Alchemy Lovers) and their fellas eventually got massages and whatnot in the spa. They were pleased with the experience. They did not buy any products but tipped the masseuses well.

 

It took me the entire week to figure out where I was going, although the Pride is well laid out and relatively small. Helpful hint: Remember the picture on the wall near the elevator closest to your cabin. That way you will have a landmark to go by when heading back. Oh, and our cruise had some prankster teenagers (we guess) who turned all of the fancy restauraunt pictures in the elevators upside down. The pics are just stuck on with velcro. (lol).

 

Speaking of money, there were some small oddball "refundable onboard credits" on my account. I never checked to see what they were for... too busy! Too many other things to do! :D

 

We went on The Chef's Table experience. I believe it was Day 3. It shows up on your Sign and Sail Account as a bill from David's Steak House. It was a really cool experience. Some background info was provided by the very professional head chef who showed us all kinds of behind the scenes stuff. He let one of the kids mix something in a bowl: complete with her chef's hat on. lol. We all got a chance to try to make a decorative food piece.

 

Then we went in one of the nightclubs to eat (Beauties, I think. It was the one with the multicolored dance floor and the florescent Greek statues) a MULTI course dinner. Tiny servings but we were all stuffed at the end. We got some recipes and a group picture at the end. I would do it again. Only this time on an empty stomach! :D

 

We ate at Bonsai Sushi 6-9-16. YUM. Plus we got an extra bottle of warm Saki. :eek: We split a Sushi Boat between each two people.

 

We got pretty delicious food the first "Elegant night" which was Monday. Once again, I got hit with a $15 corkage fee for the champagne I brought to dinner.

 

Guys Burgers are straight up American greasy spoon. Quite good. And free. :D

 

Shore Excursions next. ttfn

[riclop]

Thanks for posting.

[clearwaters]

It has dawned on me a strict chronological review is out of the question...since the cruise week was a blur. Not a substance abuse blur, a doing-many-things-one-after-another blur. So, I will stick to catagories.

 

Shore Excursions:

 

June 8th: Poolside Cabana Rental at Margueritaville, Grand Turk.

After we got the cabana door key, we split into two groups. Our group took the tour called "Top 10 Best Of Grand Turk." It was a ride on an open vehicle throughout the island.

 

We saw the old defunct salt mines, the lighthouse, some adorable burros, the old cemetery, a church, the shoreline and we made a couple of shopping stops. While the tour operators were very professional and quite nice, the state of the outlying areas of the island are decrepit. The island never fully recovered from Hurricane Ike. Apparently the British own and run the island and government. It is easy to see why they are not letting it go: Grand Turk's ocean and beaches are stunning.

 

The most baffling aspect for me was the sheer number of partially built and then abandoned buildings intersperced with occupied dwellings. The guide mentioned a couple of American superstars who were, according to him, owners of a few of the abandoned buildings in the nicer part of the tour. (In September 2008, he said, Hurricane Ike destroyed a lot of the island's buildings).

 

I believe the most beautiful part we passed through was called Governor's Beach, and for approximately 1 mile, we saw some absolutely enchanting buildings. They seemed to be of British architecture. In fact, most were amazing. Like stepping back in time. And many were for sale.

 

 

The other group went on the POWER SNORKEL ADVENTURE off shore. They had a ball. All of them. From 25 yrs old to 60 years old. My daughter did tell me she is now spoiled and does not want to snorkel manually anymore. Too slow. She will only power snorkel in the future. :D

 

We all met at the cabana after our excursions. We got in the crystal clear Margueritaville pool. LOVED IT. I would definitely get the cabana again.

 

****************************************************************

 

June 9th Beach Villa at Half Moon Cay

 

We were on the first tender into port. Note: Some of the tenders are double deckers with no top. So it is very hot up there, if it is a hot day.

 

We were shuttled to our Villa. We were assigned Villa C at the ship's excursion desk the first day onboard. They will ask what type of sodas you want and what size shoes you wear (for the snorkel flippers). Villa C is close to the buffet pavillion & the road but not too close to the kinda loud music from the pirate ship bar. Perfectly situated.

 

HMC is like a dream. It is the most stunningly beautiful beach I have ever seen.

 

Double up on the sunscreen or whatever you need to do because it is so clear the sun's rays have nothing to tone them down. Pure sun. The sand is snow white, clean and clear, as is the water. Crystal clear. I got a pretty dark swimsuit line. And two weeks later I still have it.

 

The villa has its own very clean restroom, but know the shower is not putting out warm water. Only two of us showered in the villa, everyone else waited until they were onboard ship to take a warm shower.

 

Servers come by frequently. All beach equiptment is waiting at the villa for you. The hot tub is nice and warm. The fruit, veggies, chips and sodas & water are all there when you show up.

 

At the end of the day, try to pack up and leave a bit early. Waiting in tender lines is not fun.

 

I highly recommend the villa. There were eight of us. It was perfect.

 

***************************************************************

 

June 10th VIP Luxury Sail in Freeport

 

Being from Los Angeles, I am accustomed to looking at really busy ports. Yeah, well, the ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach-San Pedro have nothing on Freeport. A person could park themself on the top of the ship and just WATCH the port activities--all day. There are dry docks. Interesting. NCL had a ship in dry dock. There is so much going on! Container ships, loading and unloading, it is endless.

 

We took the VIP Luxury Sail excursion. We were picked up at the port and taken by air conditioned bus to the sailboat. Must be a British country because everyone drove on the right. (?). The sailboat looked about 50-55 feet long. It is truly beautiful.

 

I cannot say enough good things about Kiko, the First Mate. He took the snorkelers out and they had a wonderful time. When they got back he served a tasty lunch.

 

The ocean was a tad choppy. For those of us sitting in the back in the shade (actually it was cloudy) a few got queezy. Including me. Prescription patch behind my ear and all. One man threw up. However, I noticed that the folks who sat dead center, near the mast, were just fine.

 

Even the outlying parts of Freeport we saw on the way to and from the sailboat were nice. Nice homes, well built up communities.

 

Maybe that port provides substantial revenue for the government. Who knows? But franky, Freeport is bustling. Reminded me of our beloved Terminal Island-San Pedro area of Los Angeles.

 

I will not take the sailboat tour again. But those who snorkeled and those who enjoyed the breeze blowing through their hair ;) seemed to have a very good time.

 

Next: Shipboard activities

ttfn

Edited June 22, 2016 by clearwaters

[xbriannao]

Following.(:

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[clearwaters]

Following.(:

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Thank you. I am determined to figure out how post pics. Sorry if the timing seems all over the place.:o Unless I wrote a diary every evening of the cruise, (which I wish I had done) I am counting on my memory :eek:.

 

Please if you have any questions or comments, feel free.

[clearwaters]

Lobster in the Steakhouse

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=388557&stc=1&d=1466732578

 

Now if I can just repeat what I did here, I will add the rest of the pics. It's quite tricky until you do it a few times I would imagine...

Edited June 24, 2016 by clearwaters

[clearwaters]

Steak at the Steakhouse the first night. Pulling out of Baltimore

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=388559&stc=1&d=1466734497

[clearwaters]

Family members during the chef's Table Experience

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=388561&stc=1&d=1466735934

[Clarea]

Enjoying the review, but the last two links show up invalid for me.

[cincicruisers]

Great review, the pics are showing invalid so far.

[clearwaters]

Great review, the pics are showing invalid so far.

 

Enjoying the review, but the last two links show up invalid for me.

 

They posted fine, at first. Now the links are invalid...

 

Interesting.