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Carnival Pride review, May 28

tortuga1975

By tortuga1975,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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tortuga1975

tortuga1975

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Hello all! I'm tortuga1975 and I just got off the Pride. I love the reviews that people do here so I'm going to try and do one once I figure out photobucket, but I thought I'd start with some basic information.

 

This was my sixth cruise, all with Carnival. I caught the cruising bug three years ago on a cruise with my parents and we've tried to do one or two cruises a year since.

 

On this cruise is me (41) and my dad (74). It's a bittersweet occasion because my mom died suddenly early this spring of pancreatic cancer, and this is our first cruise without her. It was sort of a spontaneous last minute decision to go. Easter was so sad without her that I didn't like the thought of my dad spending Memorial Day alone (he lives in Cincinnati and I live in Chicago) so I did the math, realized I could work it to take the days off and said "let's do a cruise that week!" We got the last balcony room according to our travel agent.

 

I don't know how exciting this review will be - we don't drink, smoke or gamble. Nothing against those that do, we're just boring people. :). We only take carnival backed shore excursions and we're up by 6:30 most days.

 

I'll put some basic review info in my next post...

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tortuga1975

tortuga1975

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First things first...we had an awesome time! :cool:

 

The Pride was my first Spirit class ship. The layout took a little bit of getting used to but I came to really like having the Promenade and the MDR being on the same floor. We eat most of our meals in the MDR and hanging out on the promenade and people watching is some of our favorite things to do so it worked out for us. Our room was very close to the atrium elevators and i really like how they dropped you off to n the middle of the buffet.

 

SMOKING - I'm not a smoker, can't stand the smell of it, but understand that smokers are people too and deserve to have a nice vacation. You stay in your area, I'll stay in mine and we'll get along great. :) I think if you were a smoker, the Pride would be one of the most smoker friendly ships available. The front pool allowed smoking so that seemed like a nice bonus. I didn't like that you had to walk through the smokey casino to get to the comedy club and theater.

 

MUSIC - the music was okay. Three acts that played in the atrium and Alchemy lounge were essentially the same - singing pop music backed by an acoustic guitar. I would have like a little more variety. Dad says "more country music!" Lol.

 

FTTF - this was our first time usIng FTTF and I liked it. I always thought it was a scam to get more money out of customers for not much benefit, but with the HMC tender port plus this was my first time with staggered check in so we got a super late time (I like to be on the lido eating a Guy's burger by 12:30), so I pulled the trigger.

 

To be continued...

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tortuga1975

tortuga1975

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ARRIVAL TIME- we got an email from Carnival saying that the doors wouldn't open at the port until until 12:30. We ended up arriving at the port by taxi at about 10am because we figured we could wait at hotel or wait at the port and they might let us in early, which they did. They started letting people in at around 11:15. We were on board and eating our guys burgers by 12:15.

 

ROOM SERVICE - we met our steward the first day and he gave us a form where we could choose morning, night or both for room cleaning. I chose both. I like to nap in the afternoon and it feels luxurious to have my bed made twice for me. ;) Plus we like having the towel animals at night. I didn't see our steward much after that but we did see him on Thursday afternoon and he greeted us by name. I don't know how they can remember everyone's names like that.

 

 

THE SHIP - I did see some places where there was rust and one elevator had the trim held up by screws using pennies as washers (!?), but none of the bothered me in the slightest. But I can understand how some people expect better. Generally the ship was always very clean, although i didn't see as much cleaning staff as usual. If you have mobility issues, I think the ship might have been a little difficult. I couldn't see a way to get into theater or butterflies lounge without using stairs.

 

MDR - great food, great staff. Thanks to this board I was able to email the Maitre D and get us a private table ahead of time instead of waiting in line on the first day.

 

Serenity- this ship has its adults only area by the back pool. Personally I don't mind kids, but after driving a school bus for 31 years, my dad has had his fill of screaming and horseplay. Lol. We spent a lot of time back there. It was great to have the comfy serenity chairs and a pool. Unfortunately the water slides were right by the area so you did hear screaming.

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tortuga1975

tortuga1975

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Can you post the email info for the the MDR and how you requested a private table? So far I have been lucky and have never had a group table.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

This thread has all the information. I just said that I was traveling with my dad and we'd like a private table for two. Maitre D responded that it wasn't a problem. You can also go to the MDR on the embarkation day (usually around 1pm) to request a private table.

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JMAE

JMAE

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Can you post the email info for the the MDR and how you requested a private table? So far I have been lucky and have never had a group table.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Here you go. Remember they don't have to reply but most do.

prmaitred@carnival.com

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

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rtfnl

rtfnl

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You have my condolences regarding your mom. My grandmother lived 17 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My mom is currently in remission for pancreatic cancer. She caught it early and was able to have a whipper surgery done. It has been about 4 years now for my mom. Hang in there. Please make your family aware of the symptoms that is how my mom was able to catch hers early. Yes, i was tested and i look out for symptoms. Thank you for review.

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