Carnival Pride in Europe?

[craig01020]

I've only been on three cruises, one each with Royal, Celebrity and Norwegian, and they were all great.

 

I'm looking at 2023 Europe sailings on the Pride and the itineraries and prices are attractive. Has anyone in this forum sailed in Europe on the Pride?

 

I've heard some not-so-nice things about Carnival in general, but from what I can find about the Pride it seems pretty good.

 

Thanks.

[mar214]

We are Carnival cruisers no matter the destination! We sailed the Vista on a Mediterranean cruise September 2016. Loved the port stops, the meals highlighting each stop, etc. We are booked on Pride for northern Europe/St. Petersburg for August, 2022. Our fingers are crossed that the cruise will happen! Carnival does a great job!

[DrSea]

What are some not so nice things you are concerned about? 

 

TBH, all the main stream cruise lines are more similar then they are different

 

The exception I would say is Princess, which has the medallion class. The app actively makes my cruise worst though. 

Edited December 2, 2021 by DrSea

[mar214]

I forgot to mention we have also cruised on Cunard and Princess. We are sticking with Carnival from now on. 

[craig01020]

15 minutes ago, DrSea said:

What are some not so nice things you are concerned about?

Nothing specifically. When something is a bargain, it can make one wonder if there's a catch.

 

Thanks.

[craig01020]

26 minutes ago, mar214 said:

We are booked on Pride for northern Europe/St. Petersburg for August, 2022.

I'm booked on a Baltic cruise in May 2022, but, with final payment just 2 months away, the prospect of five different European countries (and their individual covid restrictions) seems like no fun.

 

I may just go to Alaska instead. Domestic air/sea trip seems much easier these days.

[DrSea]

2 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

Nothing specifically. When something is a bargain, it can make one wonder if there's a catch.

 

Thanks.

There are catches, but they are the same catches on NCL and RCI. And it is usually a party ship atmosphere (a plus in my book bc I like the fun atmosphere). 

 

Enjoy your cruise. Relax. Go in with an open mind. 

[DrSea]

3 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

I'm booked on a Baltic cruise in May 2022, but, with final payment just 2 months away, the prospect of five different European countries (and their individual covid restrictions) seems like no fun.

 

I may just go to Alaska instead. Domestic air/sea trip seems much easier these days.

They are not the same experience. Cruising in the Mediterranean has much more to do. 

 

Alaska is a lot of staring at trees, ice, and nature. Not for me, but it appeals to people.

[BlerkOne]

18 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

Nothing specifically. When something is a bargain, it can make one wonder if there's a catch.

 

Thanks.

Carnival, even in Europe, is largely an American brand. Americans can be fickle and cancel as a knee jerk reaction. Carnival is likely trying to sell more cabins or else they will have to depend on the UK to salvage the season.

[K_e_short]

I could tell you after August 2022. I have a 12 day scotland/iceland/ireland cruise in July.

 

I got a very good deal.

 

The ship seems to be older and not as fancy as the other newer ships.

 

I think of my trip as using the Pride as a floating hotel. 

 

 

[nybumpkin]

We've sailed on Pride 3 times (not in Europe) and sailed a Baltic cruise on Legend (Pride's sister). We're booked on Pride for a Norway cruise in 2023. I think this class of ship is ideal for Europe cruises. They don't have all the bells and whistles of the newer ships, but Europe is so port-intensive that you'll never use those features anyway. (For the record, we sailed Vista on an Athens-Barcelona itinerary with two sea days. One of those sea days wasn't scheduled, but a port was canceled. We never used many of the ship's amenities on that cruise.)

[EllaDuChien]

I was scheduled to take Carnival Legend from Barcelona this past May, that one got cancelled.  Now I am scheduled to take the Pride this coming May again from Barcelona but this time with better ports and a couple of extra days for less money.  Even if the ship doesn't have all the bells and whistles like the Mardi Gras (we just got off on Friday) I am already winning!

[crzndeb]

I sailed the Vista back in 2016. Two 10 day, and the 13 day TA. The 2 Europe cruises were very port intensive, and I had to do 2 just to see everything. It was NOT a party ship. Europe is much different from a Caribbean cruise.

The nice thing about Europe, is they don’t seem to care if you bring alcohol on board, even from the ports. In fact, in Barcelona, there is a store to buy it, after security. Don’t know if it will still be the same in 2022 and beyond.

I sailed on the Spirit and Legend, sisters to Pride, and it’s a great class of ship. Easy to navigate.

[jsglow]

We've got over 30 days scheduled on Pride both in the Mediterranean and the British Isles/Iceland over the next couple years.  Wonderful ship. Great crew.  Just spent two weeks on her in November so I know where the light switches are!  

[pogoism9]

19 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Wonderful ship

 

I couldn't agree more. Pride, and the rest of the Spirits are fantastic ships. I'll be coming back from Europe on Pride next October.

Edited December 3, 2021 by pogoism9

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, craig01020 said:

I've only been on three cruises, one each with Royal, Celebrity and Norwegian, and they were all great.

 

I'm looking at 2023 Europe sailings on the Pride and the itineraries and prices are attractive. Has anyone in this forum sailed in Europe on the Pride?

 

I've heard some not-so-nice things about Carnival in general, but from what I can find about the Pride it seems pretty good.

 

Thanks.

If you come aboard with an attitude that something must be wrong because I have heard so many bad things about Carnival, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. That happened to me on our first Carnival cruise. I enjoyed the next 2 much more when I came in with the attitude that I would enjoy them.

[craig01020]

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm going to go ahead and book a 12-day European cruise on the Pride for May 2023. 😁

[kwokpot]

6 hours ago, craig01020 said:

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm going to go ahead and book a 12-day European cruise on the Pride for May 2023. 😁

I'll be on a b2b2b next May/June on the Pride and very much looking forward to it. Never done Europe on Carnival but was on her sister ship to Hawaii and I agree this class of ship is a great size (actually the +/- 90,000 ton ship class of ANY cruise line is an ideal size and I venture to say all the cruiselines really, really did some great things with this tonnage!)

 

Craig0120: I'm looking at your past cruises from your signature and looks like those from three different lines are the same ship size as the Pride, so you'll know about the size and general amenities the Pride will offer. Looks like your future cruises again are on varied cruiselines but it seems you're moving up in size (but then again the Vision will be the smallest and oldest ship you'll be on)

 

The only thing I will say about the Pride and older Carnival ships has to do with the aesthetics. Older Carnival ships went kinda overboard with designing the interiors of their ships with a distinct repetitive and frankly gaudy themes. With the Pride you'll see giant silver urns adorning every surface of the ship. While lots of long time Carnival cruisers love the wacky themes of their ships I don't think the interiors age well as opposed to some of the design choices of say Royal Caribbean's older ships which relied on brass and wood as design elements. In any event other than the Interior decoration the Pride will be a great choice for a European cruise. Enjoy!

[craig01020]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Older Carnival ships went kinda overboard with designing the interiors of their ships with a distinct repetitive and frankly gaudy themes.

 

I watched this helpful video tour of the Pride. The interior design doesn't bother me; it gives the ship some personality.

 

 

[let's go cruising]

We are booked for the June 10 Norway sailing on the Pride. It sails out of Dover. We are concerned that sailing out of England will be a problem. Norway seems to be doing much better with Covid. I wish we were just sailing out of Norway. 

 

Renee

[kwokpot]

5 hours ago, let's go cruising said:

We are booked for the June 10 Norway sailing on the Pride. It sails out of Dover. We are concerned that sailing out of England will be a problem. Norway seems to be doing much better with Covid. I wish we were just sailing out of Norway. 

 

Renee

I'm on that sailing as the last cruise of my b2b2b and since it's six months away I'm not concerned. My flights are booked (Using Frequent flyer miles) and pre and post cruise hotel stays are booked (three nights in London post cruise using hotel points). Everything is refundable if plans change. My last two cruises are in the same cabin so I'm looking closely to see if the 1st cruise my existing cabin becomes available. Not going to look into touring or testing until much later when things become a bit more clearer. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

On 12/2/2021 at 6:04 PM, craig01020 said:

I'm booked on a Baltic cruise in May 2022, but, with final payment just 2 months away, the prospect of five different European countries (and their individual covid restrictions) seems like no fun.

 

I may just go to Alaska instead. Domestic air/sea trip seems much easier these days.

We're booked on the Pride out of Rome in September 2022.  The Pride's theme for decor is Europe with Italy being the main focus.  David's Steakhouse has a somewhat smaller but otherwise fairly convincing replica of David in Florence.  

 

We've sailed Pride 4 times before and we've been on 21 cruises total, all Carnival. 

 

We were struck by the value, but also a chance to see Pompeii and Taormina again, and Mykonos and Santorini for the first times, plus add another country to our "been there" list - Turkey.  

[IntrepidFromDC]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:30 PM, craig01020 said:

 

I watched this helpful video tour of the Pride. The interior design doesn't bother me; it gives the ship some personality.

 

 

It's a good, thorough video-assisted review of The Pride but it gives the impression of less Italian art than you really experience walking around.  On the walls of the decks there are many Italian and other-European inspired prints and faux tapestries.  It's fun to walk by a Medici or Caesar print and quiz yourself... "who is that, I know I know it..."

[kwokpot]

3 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

It's a good, thorough video-assisted review of The Pride but it gives the impression of less Italian art than you really experience walking around.  On the walls of the decks there are many Italian and other-European inspired prints and faux tapestries.  It's fun to walk by a Medici or Caesar print and quiz yourself... "who is that, I know I know it..."

The ship that really is over the top is the Splendor. I don't know why the higher ups thought that big round Pepto Bismol Pink circles plastered on every surface of the ship makes for a pleasant environment.  

[AK2CA]

I'm looking forward to the Pride but that cruise isn't until Oct 2023 from Rome.  Enjoy your cruise.