Review: Carnival Pride

[Terre]

Ship:  Carnival Pride

Cabin:  8195, Category 8F (Balcony Stateroom)

Dates:  April 18-24^th

Ports of Call:  Maya Chan; Roatan; Cozumel; Belize

Our Total Cruises:  47

Our Total with Carnival:  17

 

 

This review will be shorter than most of my reviews and although not in my usual format, it is still somewhat in sections. 

 

We started our vacation on the morning of April 18^th when we stepped into the cruise terminal in Tampa.  Check-in was quick and easy, but then we had everything we needed to make it quick and easy.  We had a 10:15 boarding time and had an area to wait in, but they started putting people with other times in our section so when it was time to board at our appointed time, those people went as well.

 

Once on board, we put our luggage in our cabin, and headed to the buffet, then to check out the ship.  I have to say, the décor is quite different from other Carnival ships we’ve been on.  There were no neon lights, and actually, the ship looked very dark and almost had a dungeon feel to it with very low ceilings in some areas.  The style was old everything…heavy dark wood around the elevator doors, made those areas very dark.  There was a little bit of décor from Mid-evil times, Greek, Spanish, and décor I didn’t recognize from any period.  I did get used to it by the of the cruise, but if I hadn’t known I was on a Carnival ship, I wouldn’t have believed it.

  

 

 

 

 

 

The food in the buffet was good most of the time as was the food in the dining room.  It was not as good as we remembered it being.  We did  have trouble at times finding anything we wanted from the buffet or the dining room.  Dishes we got that we liked were roasted tomato soup, mahi mahi, prime rib, lobster, wild mushroom bisque, spring rolls, stuffed portabella mushrooms, salmon, cheesecake, broccoli soup, mozzarella sticks, strip sirloin steak, and bitter & blanc.  Crab cake, pumpkin soup, filet Mingnon, Grand Marnier soufflé, onion soup, shrimp Creole, praline cake, shrimp cocktail, fried shrimp, braised short ribs, steak ale & cheddar soup.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our cabin was comfortable and our balcony was adequate.  The desk had a great mirror with very good lighting on the sides of the mirror and above for applying makeup – actually the best for applying makeup I’ve ever had on a ship.  The bathroom was typically small, but there was plenty of room for all of our meds and toiletries at the sink.

 

Our ports of call were Costa Maya, Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. 

 

At Costa Maya we made reservations at Maya Chan.  We have been there before and enjoyed our day there, so we decided to go back.  They have two dogs that live there, Rodas and Lola.  The last time we were there, there was another dog, who has since passed away.  We took a big bag of treats for Rodas and Lola.  They are the official greeters at Maya Chan and couldn’t wait for the treats…Rodas made sure the bag was opened right then!  I got a wonderful massage there, ohmigosh!  I did an hour, but wished I had gotten a two hour massage!  My massage therapist was wonderful!

 

After that I spent the day under our umbrella enjoying the drinks and sunshine!  They have a small pool there now, and I kinda got in, but it was a little cold.  My husband spent his afternoon floating around in the ocean in a float.  The lunch was wonderful as well with an assortment of delicious food, all made right there.  Your price includes your umbrella and chairs, bed, drinks for the day, lunch, and spending time with the official greeters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Roatan, we booked an excursion with Monkeys, Sloths, and Iguanas.   We loved this excursion so much!  We first went to the monkeys and sloths that was a reserve or something like that.  We each got to hold a sloth!!  They are so sweet, and sit in your hands while holding onto your shoulders.  I wanted to hold him all day!  After that we went into the monkey area where our guide put a peanut on our heads and the monkeys would jump on your head to eat the peanut and sometimes look for fleas in your hair!  They moved so fast, it was hard to get good pictures of them.  Next was the macaws where we held out our arms and a macaw would fly onto your arm and sit for a minute.  They were quick flying around the caged area a well.

 

From here we headed to the iguana farm where there were hundreds of iguanas all over the place!  We fed the iguanas and walked down to the water where our guide fed the fish so they would come up for us to see them.  We went to a chocolate factory after that and learned how they make chocolate and could purchase some if you wanted to.  We had the option of going to a rum factory, but everyone was tired and said they didn’t want to.  Once you’ve seen one rum factory, you’ve seen them all, right?

 

Everywhere else we just walked around the town area since we have been to all these ports so many times before.  I looked in the shops for ceramic thimbles since I collect those from every place I go to.  I didn’t look in Roatan because when we got back I was so tired from our excursion I just wanted to take a shower.  I did find one in Cozumel and Belize though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belize:

 

Entertainment was good.  The comedian’s were Valeria Storm, Carl Strong, A-Train, and Jason Andors.  I would rank them from best to worst as Valeria, Carl, A-Train, and Jason.  After a night or two, though, I was tired of all of them.  The production shows were all very good as well as the magician, and others.

 

Our favorite band to sit and listen to was Mashup from Brazil.  They are wonderful and can sing anything, and I mean anything!  The female singer has an incredible voice that can reach any high or low note, she’s absolutely amazing!  The drummer is also fun to watch because he is really into playing those drums…don’t miss this band. They play in one of the bars, but I can’t remember the name, sorry.

 

 

 

This was a nice cruise and we would probably sail the Pride again.

 

Miscellaneous Pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Edited May 18, 2022 by Terre

[SDPadreFan]

Great review! We will be on Pride next year in July for a 12 night Baltic Sea Cruise.

[arctickitty]

Thanks for the short story!

[ew101]

Thank You.  We were on the Pride years ago and it was nice but we are dancers and found no dancing aboard.  Also it has the 3/4 Promenade Deck, and we like a good stroll.  It seems you found a nice band in the back of the RedFrog Pub, which can have a passable dance floor area.  Latin dances often do not take up much room.  

[Guest BasicSailor]

Enjoyed this quick review. A ton of information was offered without having to wait weeks for the full bloom.  Come on, one of you smile, just a little bit 😉

[CarolSW]

THANK YOU for the review and the pictures! 
Glad you enjoyed your cruise, and your review will help others enjoy theirs too 😎

[Terre]

3 hours ago, BasicSailor said:

Enjoyed this quick review. A ton of information was offered without having to wait weeks for the full bloom.  Come on, one of you smile, just a little bit 😉

We both smiled a lot with the sloths, I did not want to put in all the pics!

[Terre]

9 hours ago, ew101 said:

Thank You.  We were on the Pride years ago and it was nice but we are dancers and found no dancing aboard.  Also it has the 3/4 Promenade Deck, and we like a good stroll.  It seems you found a nice band in the back of the RedFrog Pub, which can have a passable dance floor area.  Latin dances often do not take up much room.  

Yes, Red Frog Pub!  Thank you!

[finoky]

We were on the Pride back in March and agree about MashUp Band. They are so good!

[Terre]

27 minutes ago, finoky said:

We were on the Pride back in March and agree about MashUp Band. They are so good!

Ohmigosh!  The female singer sang an Adele song that sounded just like Adele was singing!  She can sing absolutely anything.  I loved watching the drummer...he's crazy, but super good!  He would climb up on a chair to reach the ceiling to find the sound he needed.  We all asked for a drum solo, but didn't get it.  The lead male singer said they have to muffle him.

[Terre]

12 hours ago, ew101 said:

Thank You.  We were on the Pride years ago and it was nice but we are dancers and found no dancing aboard.  Also it has the 3/4 Promenade Deck, and we like a good stroll.  It seems you found a nice band in the back of the RedFrog Pub, which can have a passable dance floor area.  Latin dances often do not take up much room.  

Now that you mention that, I don't remember anyone dancing anywhere except RedFrog where MashUp played.  We didn't spend a lot of time at the Promenade once we found MashUp.

[finoky]

1 hour ago, Terre said:

Ohmigosh!  The female singer sang an Adele song that sounded just like Adele was singing!  She can sing absolutely anything.  I loved watching the drummer...he's crazy, but super good!  He would climb up on a chair to reach the ceiling to find the sound he needed.  We all asked for a drum solo, but didn't get it.  The lead male singer said they have to muffle him.

 

Yes, she does an amazing Adele cover. We loved the drummer too. Did you get to see him come out front and sing Back in Black by AC/DC? The female lead played drums during that song. It was amazing. They are all so talented. We lived in Red Frog when they were playing.

[Terre]

3 hours ago, finoky said:

 

Yes, she does an amazing Adele cover. We loved the drummer too. Did you get to see him come out front and sing Back in Black by AC/DC? The female lead played drums during that song. It was amazing. They are all so talented. We lived in Red Frog when they were playing.

No!  Ohmigosh, I wish we had heard that.

[BBQluver]

Thank you for the review. If all goes according to plan, we will be boarding Pride in August for a British Isles cruise. The sloths look fun. I hope the same Red Frog band is there when we cruise.

Happy Cruising!🍹🚢

[Terre]

14 hours ago, BBQluver said:

Thank you for the review. If all goes according to plan, we will be boarding Pride in August for a British Isles cruise. The sloths look fun. I hope the same Red Frog band is there when we cruise.

Happy Cruising!🍹🚢

I hope so, too, you will love them.  Your cruise sounds great!

[Ofmyheart]

I thought cruising on the Pride was like the olden days of cruising when only high society could afford to cruise. It is like cruising on a museum.....I LIKED IT !!!

[sgttami]

7X on Pride and always had a great time.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[jetsfan58]

Our most favorite Carnival Ship!!! 

[Terre]

5 hours ago, Ofmyheart said:

I thought cruising on the Pride was like the olden days of cruising when only high society could afford to cruise. It is like cruising on a museum.....I LIKED IT !!!

Hahaha!  It felt like we were in a museum when we first boarded.  Once I got used to it, it was ok.  Honestly, I don't care what they look like as long as I'm on it!

[NCTribeFan]

I sailed Pride from Baltimore a few years back, then again this past January.  I think the decor is hideous (as are all of Joe Farcus' designs), but I don't cruise for the ship's appearance.  I'll be on her for about 32 days this fall (B2B2B Med/TA).  One of my favorite places is the area shown in your first pic.  It's about the only place I could find that didn't have bad blaring pop music and is quiet enough to sit and read.

 

Did you only eat at the buffet?  I never, ever eat dinner there and I typically don't go through the buffet line for lunch (prefer a deli sandwich or pizza).

 

We had a different band in the Pub in January.  They were very good.  Hope we have a good band there in October.  It will be unfortunate to sail for a month and not have a good band to listen/dance to.

[Terre]

8 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

 

Did you only eat at the buffet?  I never, ever eat dinner there and I typically don't go through the buffet line for lunch (prefer a deli sandwich or pizza).

 

We did not.  We ate the majority of our meals in Luminae or Blu.  We ate breakfast in the main dining room.  We would some lunches inthe buffet.

[kwokpot]

4 minutes ago, Terre said:

We did not.  We ate the majority of our meals in Luminae or Blu.  We ate breakfast in the main dining room.  We would some lunches inthe buffet.

Wrong cruiseline. Carnival,not Celebrity. Unfortunately the food pales in comparison to Celebrity. On the Pride now. Buffet not good,very limited selection. Deli opens at 2:30!!!! Guys is good. Main dining room is ok for dinner, hit or miss for breakfast. Went to the Steakhouse for dinner tonight. Very good it great. 

[NCTribeFan]

I was on my first X cruise in April, on Summit.  Liked it very much.  Felt it was much like HAL but with a slightly younger demographic.  Honestly, there just isn't THAT much difference in any of the lines I've sailed (Carnival, RC, HAL, NCL, MSC, X).  Currently prefer HAL (sailing next Wednesday on an Alaska B2B).  Love their ships.  Very similar to the Spirit-class ships without the hideous decor. 😄

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, NCTribeFan said:

I was on my first X cruise in April, on Summit.  Liked it very much.  Felt it was much like HAL but with a slightly younger demographic.  Honestly, there just isn't THAT much difference in any of the lines I've sailed (Carnival, RC, HAL, NCL, MSC, X).  Currently prefer HAL (sailing next Wednesday on an Alaska B2B).  Love their ships.  Very similar to the Spirit-class ships without the hideous decor. 😄

Have to disagree with you. On the Pride now and it's night and day from the Summit (was on it in Nov). Not even accounting for the decor, the food on the Pride is a 4 vs a 9 on the Summit. The cabin on the Pride is falling apart, peeling paint chips on the balcony. Our cabin on the Summit was brand new renovated, with brand new bathroom. Buffet on the Pride has 10% of the variety of the Summit. No comparison between the two ships. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by kwokpot

[Terre]

On 5/24/2022 at 4:23 PM, kwokpot said:

Wrong cruiseline. Carnival,not Celebrity. Unfortunately the food pales in comparison to Celebrity. On the Pride now. Buffet not good,very limited selection. Deli opens at 2:30!!!! Guys is good. Main dining room is ok for dinner, hit or miss for breakfast. Went to the Steakhouse for dinner tonight. Very good it great. 

Sorry...we were on X in  March.  We ate the majority of our meals in the MDR, some in buffet.