Pride European cruisers, tell us all about it

[EllaDuChien]

8 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I would be interested in hearing how and when you got tested for the flight back to the US.

 

7 hours ago, jsglow said:

One more topic vote.  We're sailing Pride out of Rome this Fall. Know the ship well and absolutely love her. But our one big question remaining is regarding the as of now pre-flight test when returning to the US.  Has Carnival made any arrangements, even if for a fee?

 

We stayed one extra night in Barcelona because of flight schedules but we tested at the airport.  Made an appointment ahead of time for 30 euros.  There were some SNAFU's as the system went down on Monday for about 2 hours so there were no tests being given but once the system was back up, it went very quickly.  Our flight was at 1:30pm and we made an appointment for 10:30am.  That was plenty of time.  

 

https://flycovidtestcenter.com/test-rapido-de-antigenos/

 

This is where you make the appointments.  Walk ups are risky.  Several people in that line could not make their flight.

[freeholdfriends]

8 hours ago, michelleveade said:

This was the letter we got in our cabins. 

What type of port to airport shuttle  is available? We were going to take Carnival’s shuttle but now I’m not sure we would have time to get tested at the airport before our 4pm flight. If we schedule at the port how can we make the Carnival shuttle? Can anyone suggest the best way to schedule the test and coordinate a shuttle to the airport?

Edited June 7, 2022 by freeholdfriends

[80sGal]

New Question for those of you who've done European itineraries -- what do you recommend for the transfer back on the morning of debarkation?   I know how smoothly the process has been going for us with 4 cruises now since the restart in the US -- straight through the customs line, out to the taxi and at MIA in under 30 minutes from the time we are called to debark.  But what about Europe?  I had planned to just take the Carnival transfer, but how long does that process take??  I assume we would have to wait until a shuttle was full.   Would it be easier to pre-book a car service?  That's how we are getting to Dover (a couple of days early, pre-cruise), but if I go that route, then how would I choose a time for them to pick us up?   Would 8:30 a.m. be reasonable?  9:00?   I don't want to be charged for the service waiting on us, but I also don't want to have to sit and wait on them .... and I'm assuming that taxis aren't just standing by to go to London/LHR.   Or are they?  That's quite a long haul.   The private car to Dover ran 205 (in pounds), while Carnival's shuttle would be 200 USD for the two of us.   So, price wise, it makes sense to take a car back, but I have no idea how long the debarkation process takes, or how to plan a return car to be at the port at the right time.   Flight Time is a non-issue, as we are staying an extra day, but I want to be able to go into London for some sightseeing by early afternoon after we drop our bags at the LHR hotel.   Any help from seasoned Pride cruisers?   Thanks! 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2022 by 80sGal

[kwokpot]

17 hours ago, ew101 said:

This is a good Chengkp75 question.  You can certainly deep clean a balcony floor/deck any time, but is there a way to remove rust or even topcoat with deck or topside paint in a few hours on a turnaround day?    That paint can be slow drying and or stinky.  The guest expects access to the balcony.  

Most ships hose down the balconies with a water hose that they snake through all the balconies by opening up the balcony doors. This has never been done so far on the Pride and I'm on the Pride 20 days now. There's been pieces of dirt on my balcony floor that's been in the same place since I've been on the ship,which is why I know the balconies haven't been hosed down. Its a practice done on every ship. What I think they do instead is have the cabin attendants occasionally wipe down the balcony glass railings and balcony doors. But without hosing down the floors it's a mess. If you think about your own home patios and balconies it's the floors that you clean first and give the most attention. If the Pride isn't doing that that's how you end up with grungy,gross balcony floors.

 

Edited June 7, 2022 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

13 hours ago, let's go cruising said:

What am I missing here?

The floors are filthy dirty because they are not regularly hosing down the balcony floors like the do on every other cruiseship. Think about your own patio at home. Don't you hose down and use a boom to clean you patio floors? They don't do that on the Pride, so the floors are filthy. 

Edited June 7, 2022 by kwokpot

[let's go cruising]

4 hours ago, kwokpot said:

The floors are filthy dirty because they are not regularly hosing down the balcony floors like the do on every other cruiseship. Think about your own patio at home. Don't you hose down and use a boom to clean you patio floors? They don't do that on the Pride, so the floors are filthy. 

We don't really do all that. Our patio is outside to us. The lawn service uses a blower after they mow, and we sometimes clean it, but not every week. However, you are there and seeing it and I am just looking at a picture. It is disappointing when standards fall.

 

I will be seeing the deck with my own eyes in 2 days and 23 hours! YAY!

[jimbo5544]

12 hours ago, EllaDuChien said:

 

 

We stayed one extra night in Barcelona because of flight schedules but we tested at the airport.  Made an appointment ahead of time for 30 euros.  There were some SNAFU's as the system went down on Monday for about 2 hours so there were no tests being given but once the system was back up, it went very quickly.  Our flight was at 1:30pm and we made an appointment for 10:30am.  That was plenty of time.  

 

https://flycovidtestcenter.com/test-rapido-de-antigenos/

 

This is where you make the appointments.  Walk ups are risky.  Several people in that line could not make their flight.

Thanks

[Eli_6]

Has anyone on the Pride used the Kid's Club?  Were they open for the full time on port days like normal?  Wondering because I booked a couple of excursions without the kids.

[M&A]

On 6/6/2022 at 9:44 PM, 80sGal said:

New Question for those of you who've done European itineraries -- what do you recommend for the transfer back on the morning of debarkation?   I know how smoothly the process has been going for us with 4 cruises now since the restart in the US -- straight through the customs line, out to the taxi and at MIA in under 30 minutes from the time we are called to debark.  But what about Europe?  I had planned to just take the Carnival transfer, but how long does that process take??  I assume we would have to wait until a shuttle was full.   Would it be easier to pre-book a car service?  That's how we are getting to Dover (a couple of days early, pre-cruise), but if I go that route, then how would I choose a time for them to pick us up?   Would 8:30 a.m. be reasonable?  9:00?   I don't want to be charged for the service waiting on us, but I also don't want to have to sit and wait on them .... and I'm assuming that taxis aren't just standing by to go to London/LHR.   Or are they?  That's quite a long haul.   The private car to Dover ran 205 (in pounds), while Carnival's shuttle would be 200 USD for the two of us.   So, price wise, it makes sense to take a car back, but I have no idea how long the debarkation process takes, or how to plan a return car to be at the port at the right time.   Flight Time is a non-issue, as we are staying an extra day, but I want to be able to go into London for some sightseeing by early afternoon after we drop our bags at the LHR hotel.   Any help from seasoned Pride cruisers?   Thanks! 

 

 

There are regular trians from Dover - they stop at Charing Cross, Victoria or St Pancras stations - 2 hours.  If you buy your tickets on-ine in advance it's only around $20

Wouldn't it be easier to stay at a hotel in central London instead of going all the way out to LHR and then back into London ?    LHR is a long way out.

[el344]

I am seeing posts on Facebook that say that people waited in line for 50 minutes for the single Carnival shuttle bus. Is there any other way to get off the pier, or do you have to take the Carnival bus?

[el344]

I am also seeing that in Dover passengers have to clear their staterooms by 6:15 am. Is that normal for Carnival arrivals in Dover?

[Eli_6]

31 minutes ago, el344 said:

I am also seeing that in Dover passengers have to clear their staterooms by 6:15 am. Is that normal for Carnival arrivals in Dover?

Oh wow. That is way earlier than I had planned on!!!

[maryann2]

1 hour ago, M&A said:

There are regular trians from Dover - they stop at Charing Cross, Victoria or St Pancras stations - 2 hours.  If you buy your tickets on-ine in advance it's only around $20

Wouldn't it be easier to stay at a hotel in central London instead of going all the way out to LHR and then back into London ?    LHR is a long way out.

There are also National Express coaches, much easier than dragging luggage on and off trains.

From Dover Central to London Victoria for as cheap as 6 pounds per person.

9.35 bus gets into Victoria at 12.50.

Take a taxi from the port to Dover Central pick up.

Then Victoria Coach station to Heathrow the next day for flight home.

Lots of hotels around Victoria.

 

https://book.nationalexpress.com/coach/#/choose-journey?journeyType=single&departureStopId=57366&destinationStopId=65136&departureDate=06%2F12%2F2021&departArrive=DepartAfter&outboundTime=09:00&returnDate=06%2F12%2F2021&departArriveReturn=DepartAfter&returnTime=00:00&adults=1&children=0&infants=0&euroAdults=0&euroChildren=0&euroSixtyPlus=0&euroInfants=0&ouiAdults=1&ouiChildren=0&usingCoachCard=false&youngPersonCards=0&seniorCards=0&disabledCards=0&partnerId=NX&campaignId=DEFAULT&request_locale=en

[EllieinNJ]

Is there an excursion when you get off in Dover that will end up at the airport?

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, el344 said:

I am seeing posts on Facebook that say that people waited in line for 50 minutes for the single Carnival shuttle bus. Is there any other way to get off the pier, or do you have to take the Carnival bus?

Various ports have restrictions on whether you can or can't walk from the ship to the main Port terminal. Today's stop was in Zeebrugge. The Port doesn't allow anyone to walk themselves from the ship to the main terminal, it has to be by shuttle bus. There was only 1 bus,which was free to ride, hired by Carnival to get passengers from the ship to the main terminal. 

[Clairescurtains]

4 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Various ports have restrictions on whether you can or can't walk from the ship to the main Port terminal. Today's stop was in Zeebrugge. The Port doesn't allow anyone to walk themselves from the ship to the main terminal, it has to be by shuttle bus. There was only 1 bus,which was free to ride, hired by Carnival to get passengers from the ship to the main terminal. 

A friend on your cruise mentioned a shuttle for $20, per person into Bruges, is that in addition to the free one or ?

[ashkir]

How is the Wifi on the Carnival Pride? I want to go on it for 25 days next year. My boss said it's okay. But I probably will want to work remotely for a few hours a day on sea days. 

[kwokpot]

14 hours ago, Clairescurtains said:

A friend on your cruise mentioned a shuttle for $20, per person into Bruges, is that in addition to the free one or ?

I took a private shuttle bus called Cruise Express, to Bruges and back for 20 Euros/rt. You had to pick up the shuttle beyond the main cruise terminal, so we did need to use the free pier shuttle bus to get from the ship to the main cruise terminal. The ship has it's own Bruges on your own for $59pp. The cruise director did also mention there was a separate Bruges shuttle bus for 20 Euros/rt but in order not to compete with Carnival's own excursion he was very vague about where to find this independent Bruges shuttle bus. I assume the CD's other shuttle was the same one that we took since there were two shuttle services from Bruges to the cruise port, the ship sponsored shuttle and the Cruise Express shuttle. The ship sponsored shuttle picks you up right at the ship, so no port shuttle is necessary. But at 3x the price. 

[kwokpot]

20 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Oh wow. That is way earlier than I had planned on!!!

You have to vacate the room at 6:15am but not necessarily the ship. Buffet and sit down breakfast along with other waiting areas are available until 8am, when everyone not doing a b2b must disembark the ship. 

[Eli_6]

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

You have to vacate the room at 6:15am but not necessarily the ship. Buffet and sit down breakfast along with other waiting areas are available until 8am, when everyone not doing a b2b must disembark the ship. 

The annoying thing about this is that for those of us not going straight to the airport, not very many places are open at 8 am on a Sunday in Dover. Car rental place doesn't open until later.   I don't think Dover Castle or any of the "sites" open until much later.  So, basically, unless you are going to the airport, you are hanging out at the terminal or roaming the streets of Dover with nothing to do for hours with a massive amount of luggage in tow.  

[kwokpot]

32 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

The annoying thing about this is that for those of us not going straight to the airport, not very many places are open at 8 am on a Sunday in Dover. Car rental place doesn't open until later.   I don't think Dover Castle or any of the "sites" open until much later.  So, basically, unless you are going to the airport, you are hanging out at the terminal or roaming the streets of Dover with nothing to do for hours with a massive amount of luggage in tow.  

The best thing to do in that case is to arrange a car service and have them for several hours for sightseeing in and around the London area. Won't be particularly cheap but it would be the best use of all the excess time that you have and it does solve all the issues albeit at a price. 

[Eli_6]

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

The best thing to do in that case is to arrange a car service and have them for several hours for sightseeing in and around the London area. Won't be particularly cheap but it would be the best use of all the excess time that you have and it does solve all the issues albeit at a price. 

Yeah, on a Sunday and to get someone to come out to Dover who has a big enough vehicle for 4 people and their luggage, that would be INCREDIBLY pricey.  I looked at doing a private tour out of Belfast for 4 (and with no luggage) and that was like $1600-1800 for day.  We are staying in England for several days after our cruise so we will probably just go to Breakfast and try to be the last off the ship. Still, it is a little annoying that they are making people disembark so incredibly early.  I don't mind having to be out of the room by 8 or 9, but 6 am is just a bit much.  Considering we have kids, that means we will be having to get up about 4 am. 

[cyntil8ing]

@kwokpot, I just want to thank you for your posts. We are doing the same itinerary you're doing now at the end of July, and your discussion of port transportation is really helpful. We are not cruise line excursion people, and trying to plan for all of these ports, not to mention four days prior in London, has been overwhelming. Just added Cruise Express to my spreadsheet for Zeebrugge. 

 

Thanks again.

[kwokpot]

4 hours ago, cyntil8ing said:

@kwokpot, I just want to thank you for your posts. We are doing the same itinerary you're doing now at the end of July, and your discussion of port transportation is really helpful. We are not cruise line excursion people, and trying to plan for all of these ports, not to mention four days prior in London, has been overwhelming. Just added Cruise Express to my spreadsheet for Zeebrugge. 

 

Thanks again.

Your welcome. I think I'll do a separate recap post, but as a quick summary so far after being on the Pride for over 20 days I'm softening my opinions just a little bit. Overall the ship is just fine. Dated , yes, but it's extremely clean throughout.

The MDR looks fine and of course the area where the Alchemy Bar is newly updated and this is where you can see what Carnival probably would do when they update the Spirit class of ships. On the Pride the Alchemy Bar area keeps the overall design theme of the ship but takes away all the unnecessary doodads so it's a cleaner,more updated design.  

The buffet can use a redesign and there are plenty of over the top design elements that over the course of 20 years now look cheap and tacky.

The cabins are fine but I'll stick with my initial comments about some of the bathroom fixtures and the cleanliness of the balconies. My balcony door and glass railing is clean but the balcony floor still hadn't been hosed down.

The staff overall are very friendly and hardworking. Occasionally there are service hiccups but I attribute that to staff shortages.

My biggest disappointment with the Pride is the uneven food quality in the MDR and buffet. Sometimes things are good and even very good, but many times the food is mediocre or even poor. What's consistently excellent are Guys Burgers and the dessert offerings throughout the ship. In past years I've seen on various ships those beautiful cakes at the Lido buffet taste nothing like they look. Not so on the Pride. From the buffet cakes to the tiramisu in the MDR the desserts have been EXCELLENT. 

The other areas that needs a little more work are the ports of call experience. Hopefully Carnival learned from these first of season Europe sailings. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by kwokpot

[cyntil8ing]

I'll look forward to your recap.

 

This will be my family's fourth time on Pride. It used to homeport in Baltimore. It was my kids' first cruise in 2009 when they were pre-schoolers; now one's in high school and one's in college. My oldest daughter got married onboard in 2014. And it was my late dad's last cruise for Christmas 2017. The only ship I've been on more is Celebrity Summit. Both feel like home.