Matt & Ashley's Carnival Pride Review - (New Year's, Pictures, FunTimes)

[DCCruiser1013]

Just past the Raphael Lounge is the balcony area that overlooks the main atrium. The paintings towards the left of the below picture open up and display the pictures that guests pose for throughout the cruise. They have these on either side of the atrium.

 

 

The whole ship was nicely decorated for the holidays, especially the atrium.

 

 

 

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Just past midship are the Fun Shops. On the starboard side of a curved walkway are your shirts, magnets, souvenir-type stuff, liquor, cigarettes, and toiletries you may have forgotten.

 

 

On the port side is the stuff that is the jewelry and other more expensive stuff.

 

 

 

While the shops were open, they were constantly running promotions and had employees outside acting as the town criers to make sure everyone knew what was going on. They seemed to be a little more aggressive about getting people's attention than on previous cruises, but that could have just been selective memory.

 

Moving forward, on the same side as the jewelry store is the Cherry on Top shop.

 

 

 

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Beyond the fun shops is the Via Veneto Upper Promenade, which is a nice, quiet sitting area.

 

 

 

[DCCruiser1013]

Across from Via Veneto are a few areas of interest. First is the Ivory Piano Bar. On previous cruises we intended to venture in to check it out, but the one time we tried the place was packed, and it seemed like we were interrupting something, so we did an about face and got out of there. We got brave on this cruise and ended up spending a lot of time here.

 

 

 

 

The booths of the Piano Bar are all lined with little ivory statues.

 

 

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Next to the Piano Bar is the Chapel.

 

 

 

 

Then the Nobel Library

 

 

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In between the Via Veneto and the Piano Bar/Chapel/Library is a cool double staircase that goes to Deck 2’s Piazza area. More on that later.

 

 

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I’ll get to the Taj Mahal Main Lounge in a bit, but surrounding the theater is the Sunset Garden Interior Promenade. This is a very, very quiet area towards the front of the ship. Every once in a while kids will run through en route to Circle C or the Arcade, but for the most part this place is deserted. It’s a great place to sit and relax, and look out the window.

 

 

 

 

 

[DCCruiser1013]

The forward area of the Sunset Garden is flanked by two sets of staircases that lead up to Circle C and the Real Virtuality Video Arcade. We didn’t get any pictures of Circle C (or any of the kids’ areas), but we did venture into the Arcade.

 

 

 

 

[DCCruiser1013]

Back to the Taj Mahal, this is the large theater of the ship. There were productions here every night. Embarkation night had the Welcome Aboard show. The remaining nights had 4 Playlist Production shows with the 8 singers/dancers, and 2 nights of smaller-scale shows, one of which was Hasbro. They also held bingo here during the day.

 

 

I haven’t looked at older pictures, but we are pretty sure they reupholstered the place while they added the upgrades to the Pride. I don’t remember the Taj Mahal being so red.

 

 

 

Below the Taj Mahal, on Deck 1 is the Butterflies Lounge. This was primarily used for the Punchliner Comedy shows. For some reason we only got one picture of the Butterflies Lounge. By the way, the Punchliner shows filled up early. We made it a habit to get there 30 minutes prior to get easy seating. I think if you are less than 15 minutes early, it may be tough to find seating.

 

 

There are stairs on either side of the Lounge that go up to Deck 2 that have glass cases with butterflies in them, but those stairs were closed every time we saw them, so unfortunately we weren’t able to get many pictures.

Edited January 4, 2017 by DCCruiser1013

[DCCruiser1013]

Back on Deck 2, moving aftward from the Taj Mahal, the first thing you’ll see is the Crystal Card Room. This place was always packed when we went by. They have a collection of board games that are available for people to play.

 

 

 

Just outside the card room is the Piazza area. There is a large sitting area that hosted most of the ship’s trivia sessions, and a coffee/milkshake bar nearby.

 

 

 

 

Just around the corner are 5 or 6 computers if you want to access the internet.

 

[DCCruiser1013]

This area is where the cool staircase from Deck 3 descends to. Underneath the staircase is normally a fountain that descends down the blue cylinder, but there was no water during this cruise. The couch surrounding the fountain acted as an overflow when trivia was full (and it often was).

 

 

 

One of the changes Ashley and I were most eager to see was the transformation of the old Starry Nights Lounge to the Red Frog Pub. Before the 2.0 upgrades, the Starry Nights Lounge was a great place to see live music, but the issue was that it was incredibly smoky. They did a great job renovating this area. We spent a lot of time in here, especially towards the beginning of the cruise.

 

 

 

 

[DCCruiser1013]

They had a shuffleboard table and a foosball table. They also had board games available. I spotted Jenga and Chess, amongst others. There were a few nights on the cruise where the ship’s rocking back and forth would have made Jenga very interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DCCruiser1013]

Neighboring the Red Frog Pub is the SkyBox Sports Bar. There were several college football bowl games during this cruise, and week 17 of the NFL season. Thus, this place was consistently packed.

 

 

 

 

Just outside the Sports Bar they had a screen that gave you the upcoming games that they were planning on showing.

 

 

Staying in the Piazza area, just outside the Sports Bar is the Taste Bar. Just around dinnertime on 4 of the 7 nights, they handed out hor d’oeuvres from various Carnival brand eateries. This was a nice place to come hang out for few minutes before heading down to the dining room.

 

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by DCCruiser1013

[DCCruiser1013]

Moving aftwards, just before midship is the Winner’s Club Casino. On previous cruises I spent a lot of time at the blackjack and craps tables, but I just wasn’t feeling it on this one. I played blackjack maybe 4 or 5 times, and craps just once.

 

 

 

 

 

[DCCruiser1013]

Here are some closeups of a blackjack table, for those that are interested. I was disappointed to see that the blackjack tables pay 6:5 on a blackjack, unless you want to go up to the $25 table. It also bothers me that the minimum on some of the 6:5 tables is $6.

 

 

And here’s a closeup of the craps table. Whenever I walked by, the minimum was always $5. I had read in a previous review that it went up to $10 when it was busy, which may have happened, but I didn’t ever see it.

 

[DCCruiser1013]

Continuing aftwards, one finds themselves in the Renaissance Atrium. This is the focal point of the ship. There is a large bar facing the elevators, and ample seating throughout the area. Guest Services is here, along with the Shore Excursions desk.

 

 

 

 

 

These pictures are looking up the atrium towards the Lido Deck.

 

 

[DCCruiser1013]

Just off the Atrium is the new Bonsai Sushi restaurant. This is a pay restaurant that Ashley went to on our final day on the Pride.

 

 

 

At this point, Ashley and I decided to pause the tour and have our first drinks of the cruise.

 

 

Ashley had a Sex on the Beach, while I had my trusty Thirsty Frog.

[DCCruiser1013]

Finally, between the Atrium and the lower level of the Normandie Restaurant is the Alchemy Bar. We hung out here before dinner on a few evenings. The drinks here aren’t cheap, but they are well worth it. The bartenders also put on a great show while they make them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entrance to Beauties Dance Club is right by the Alchemy Bar, but we never ventured inside. Thus, no dance club pictures.

Edited January 4, 2017 by DCCruiser1013

[DCCruiser1013]

Between the Atrium and the Alchemy Bar, they had put together a holiday village that was not for eating.

 

 

 

 

They had a large menorah up in the Atrium, and at 5:30 every evening there was a small ceremony where the next light was lit. On New Year’s Eve, they lit the final light.

 

 

And of course, kids could drop off mail to Santa. This seemed appropriate since the Pride was probably heading towards Santa, who must have been taking a vacation somewhere in the Caribbean!

 

[DCCruiser1013]

That's all for me for tonight folks, I'll continue embarkation day tomorrow afternoon.

 

Thanks for reading!

[KPfromCT]

Great review! Love your pictures and writing style!

The Pride was our first cruise, well, theoretically our second, but first after a looooooooooong hiatus.:D:D

 

Patiently waiting for more......Thanks for taking the time to do this.:D

[Jamericannn]

I love this. Thanks for taking us along for the ride.

[JaniceB]

Following along, enjoying your pictures and I love the Pride! I haven't been on her since the 2.0 upgrades. she looks really nice.

[JerseyGirl105]

Great review so far! I have 96 days to go until I am on the Pride. I will follow along.

[jancru12]

great review!! We are on the Pride out of Tampa on 01/15 and Love seeing the pictures.