Pride European cruisers, tell us all about it

[kwokpot]

14 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

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.

Love the Summit! We were on her last Thanksgiving. I've said it before and it's worth repeating the 88-90,000 ton class of ships from any cruiseline is probably still the best sized cruiseship, not too small, not too large. Since you're very familiar with both ships do you realize they're both about the same age? The Summit looks really great for her age due to the constant updates. The cabin bathrooms on the Summit,which have all been totally remodeled,put the Pride's bathrooms to Shame. While the Pride has had some updates she needs a bit more now.  

[EllieinNJ]

We will be on the Pride next year for a BtoB.  Do you have to get off the ship early or can you wait until later to get off on turn around day?

 

Also. Isn't there any kind of excursion on debarkation day that will wind up at the airport?

[kwokpot]

22 minutes ago, EllieinNJ said:

We will be on the Pride next year for a BtoB.  Do you have to get off the ship early or can you wait until later to get off on turn around day?

 

Also. Isn't there any kind of excursion on debarkation day that will wind up at the airport?

You can leave the ship later on turnaround day but it would have to be after embarkation has started for the new cruise, which has been around 10:30am. Otherwise you would have to leave right after they process you as a B2B passenger. 

Yes, there are tours you can take that combine sightseeing and airport transfer. Here are some examples:

Edited June 11, 2022 by kwokpot

[cyntil8ing]

I have a question about time zones. Does the ship stay on departure port time, or does it switch between BST and CEST? 

 

We're doing the Paris on Your Own excursion and trying to figure out timing for tickets to the Eiffel Tower. 

 

Thanks.

Edited June 11, 2022 by cyntil8ing

[kwokpot]

34 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

I have a question about time zones. Does the ship stay on departure port time, or does it switch between BST and CEST? 

 

We're doing the Paris on Your Own excursion and trying to figure out timing for tickets to the Eiffel Tower. 

 

Thanks.

I think it depends on the itinerary. On our cruise ship time was London time zone for the LeHavre port stop, so ship time was one hour behind LeHavre. That was due to not having a seaday before disembarkation day, so the last two port stops ship time and local time didn't match. 

[cyntil8ing]

Our cruise is round trip Dover, so I imagine we will just stay on London time. At least, that's been my experience with Carnival -- timezone changes are minimal, but I've never cruised in Europe so I thought I should ask.

 

I ended up getting tickets for 2:00pm. Seems like it will be fine either way.

[cyntil8ing]

So, I am back with another question -- wine. I understand if I buy wine in the ports, I can just bring it onboard. It is not confiscated until the end of the cruise like in the Caribbean. 

 

Is there a corkage fee if I bring the wine to dinner?

 

And John Heald answered my time question. The Pride DOES change timezones, so we will be on local time throughout.

[Clairescurtains]

Any new comments from those of you that just disembarked?

What time were you able to get off the ship and through customs?

How did you get to your airport and how long did it take?

I hope you all had a wonderful cruise.

[maryann2]

On 6/16/2022 at 11:00 AM, cyntil8ing said:

So, I am back with another question -- wine. I understand if I buy wine in the ports, I can just bring it onboard. It is not confiscated until the end of the cruise like in the Caribbean. 

 

Is there a corkage fee if I bring the wine to dinner?

Officially yes there is.

We did not try it though .Filled glasses and carried them into dinner. You can get wine glasses at any bar.

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

2 hours ago, Clairescurtains said:

Any new comments from those of you that just disembarked?

What time were you able to get off the ship and through customs?

How did you get to your airport and how long did it take?

I hope you all had a wonderful cruise.

 

I disembarked Carnival pride this morning about 8am. I picked a middle number for disembarkation but stayed slightly later to finish breakfast with a friend. As with every European and Norway cruise I have done there was no immigration or customs checks.  The ship staff scan your cruise card as you leave, you pick up your luggage in the terminal, and then just walk out. It make it all very quick. 
 

I had my car at the port so cannot help regarding transfers. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

Edited June 19, 2022 by stephen@stoneyard.co.uk

[cruises42]

8 hours ago, stephen@stoneyard.co.uk said:

 

I disembarked Carnival pride this morning about 8am. I picked a middle number for disembarkation but stayed slightly later to finish breakfast with a friend. As with every European and Norway cruise I have done there was no immigration or customs checks.  The ship staff scan your cruise card as you leave, you pick up your luggage in the terminal, and then just walk out. It make it all very quick. 
 

I had my car at the port so cannot help regarding transfers. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

Was there a specific time they made you be off the ship today?

[JimmyTheSaint]

We were in group 21 for Disembarkation, the last numbered group. We were off the ship by about 07:30. Disembarkation started before 06:00 for those doing self disembarkation. The process seemed very well organised and was quick.

 

There were a lot of porters available if required and there were distinct areas for those using taxis, coaches, private transfers, etc.

[MommytoAsquared]

Just off the Pride on June 19 - A couple of thoughts...

 

Book your taxis early. I heard people saying all taxis were booked at debarkation.

 

Yes, the ship was cold-ish.  I couldn't figure out to adjust the temperature.

 

Yes, the ship short staffed, not terribly, but we could tell there were fewer workers.  It might have taken a little longer to get drinks.

 

I don't think we waited longer than 10-15 minutes for Anytime Dining.

 

The crowd seemed much older to me.  I went with my 15 and 20 y/o and there were not many young people on the ship at all.  In fact, it felt like a Holland America cruise.

 

Even though the cruise sailed out of England, I would guess it was 75-80% Americans.

 

And this surprised me - We had to be out of our cabins by 615 and off the ship by 8.  Maybe this is the new standard, but it surprised me.  This was probably the most disappointing part for us.  Getting two teens out of bed that early is challenging.

[MommytoAsquared]

On 6/19/2022 at 4:01 PM, Clairescurtains said:

Any new comments from those of you that just disembarked?

What time were you able to get off the ship and through customs?

How did you get to your airport and how long did it take?

I hope you all had a wonderful cruise.

 

Book your taxis early.  I heard a lot of people say they thought they could just get in the taxi lane, but all taxis were pre-booked.

 

No customs that I saw.

 

I booked a private taxi to and from the airport.

 

And beware - London is about to have a train and bus workers strike on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  With the strike being every other day, it means the trains will be out of position on non-strike days.  People also won't be able to get to work and taxis will be in short supply.

[Eli_6]

Not looking forward to the early morning debark.  That will be like getting out of bed at midnight for me.

 

I am going to book my flight for next year for BCN to Dover.  Can anyone tell me how long they would recommend staying in Barcelona ahead of time? Is 2-3 days enough?

[thekidsandi]

21 minutes ago, MommytoAsquared said:

 

Book your taxis early.  I heard a lot of people say they thought they could just get in the taxi lane, but all taxis were pre-booked.

 

No customs that I saw.

 

I booked a private taxi to and from the airport.

 

And beware - London is about to have a train and bus workers strike on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  With the strike being every other day, it means the trains will be out of position on non-strike days.  People also won't be able to get to work and taxis will be in short supply.

Great tips. Thank you very much.

[cellfree]

24 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

 

I am going to book my flight for next year for BCN to Dover.  Can anyone tell me how long they would recommend staying in Barcelona ahead of time? Is 2-3 days enough?

We did a TA Barcelona to NYC couple years ago. We did not plan to tour Barcelona so only went in one day ahead, just to be safe. We took a Cab from airport to hotel then hotel to cruise port next morning. We were able to walk to a mall and purchased “beverages” to take on board. There is also a store inside Barcelona cruise terminal to purchase beverages. 

[FlaMommy75]

On 6/19/2022 at 11:01 AM, Clairescurtains said:

Any new comments from those of you that just disembarked?

What time were you able to get off the ship and through customs?

How did you get to your airport and how long did it take?

I hope you all had a wonderful cruise.

We disembarked yesterday.

Everyone needs to exit rooms by 6:30am. I heard a lot of complaining but Carnival said it was the port of Dover that required such an early debarkation.

Did not bother us because we had a 12:20pm flight out of Gatwick.

 

We are Platinum and Platinum had to meet in Normadie at 5:15am and they walked us off the ship by 5:40am. We were on the 6:30am charter bus to Gatwick, which left at exactly 6:30am.

We arrived at Gatwick about 8am and were checked in an ready to go by 8:40am so had plenty of time for out 12:20pm flight..which also left on time 🙂

Heads up to any Priority Pass/Platinum lounge people that even though Gatwick has 5 lounges only one was open. They claim it is due to Covid. The only lounge open was at 100% capacity and refused to let anyone in without a reservation. I tried to make a reservation online at they charge around $50 a person just to make a reservation (even though you have the Priority Pass). 

[socalcyn]

44 minutes ago, cellfree said:

We did a TA Barcelona to NYC couple years ago. We did not plan to tour Barcelona so only went in one day ahead, just to be safe. We took a Cab from airport to hotel then hotel to cruise port next morning. We were able to walk to a mall and purchased “beverages” to take on board. There is also a store inside Barcelona cruise terminal to purchase beverages. 

We spent 4 full days in Barcelona in 2017 and it was perfect...we spent 3 days in the city and 1 day taking a day trip to Montserrat.

[Tommy friend]

On 6/11/2022 at 4:32 PM, cyntil8ing said:

I have a question about time zones. Does the ship stay on departure port time, or does it switch between BST and CEST? 

 

We're doing the Paris on Your Own excursion and trying to figure out timing for tickets to the Eiffel Tower. 

 

Thanks.

We sailed June 10 and DID change clocks on the ship between Dover and first Norwegian port we changed clocks forward one hour as did the ship, and the Hub App had a reminder on home page. Reverse happened between final port in Norway and Dover. 

[Tommy friend]

On 6/11/2022 at 5:30 PM, cyntil8ing said:

Our cruise is round trip Dover, so I imagine we will just stay on London time. At least, that's been my experience with Carnival -- timezone changes are minimal, but I've never cruised in Europe so I thought I should ask.

 

I ended up getting tickets for 2:00pm. Seems like it will be fine either way.

Nope. June 10 sailed in and out of Dover and did change to Norway's time zone prior to arrival there and changed back after leaving final port in Norway. And there are plenty of notifications by intercom, signs in stairwells and on Hub App. 

[Tommy friend]

On 6/19/2022 at 11:01 AM, Clairescurtains said:

Any new comments from those of you that just disembarked?

What time were you able to get off the ship and through customs?

How did you get to your airport and how long did it take?

I hope you all had a wonderful cruise.

I was in dining room at 5:15 and walked off ship about 20 minutes later. (Carnival) Bus to Heathrow terminal 3 was waiting and departed within 15 minutes, as soon as it was full I think. We got to Heathrow by 8:45 with a 15 (?) minute stop for coffee/ bathroom. The security line at Heathrow was long and took a full hour. I easily made my 12:15 flight but would not want to leave ship any later due to security line. I should mention we traveled on a Sunday so the bus transfer was probably quickee than weekday. 

 

[letsgo39]

On 6/2/2022 at 6:16 PM, Aladdin22 said:

I don’t understand why you’d cruise and avoid others. Not my idea of a holiday 

It IS definitely my idea of a Holiday.

[letsgo39]

On 6/10/2022 at 1:42 AM, ashkir said:

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. 

You can't expect reliable WiFi in the middle of the ocean.

[ashkir]

1 hour ago, letsgo39 said:

You can't expect reliable WiFi in the middle of the ocean.

Oh of that I am aware. But, on Panorama it was still reliable enough to do some work. Downloaded spreadsheets, emails, etc. 🙂