Just got on the Pride and not impressed so far

[jimbo5544]

2 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Sometimes your surroundings can affect you more than you plan, especially when you're on vacation and you want your surroundings uplift you, not depress you. I had a very negative visceral reaction when I first stepped on the Carnival Splendor and unfortunately it colored my whole Caribbean cruise on that ship. It's such a dated design and I really don't know who thought it was a beautiful design choice to have big pink circles plastered on every wall. I didn't purposely want the Splendor's decor to bother me but it just did. 

Splendor Pox

[Jamman54]

8 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Splendor Pox

Yep, but we had 4 great cruises on her, including a repo and Hawaii. Would sail on her again in a heartbeat. She's even better since her upgrades, even with the strawberry donut decor! Plus,  it's where we met Jimbo! 😁

Edited July 23, 2022 by Jamman54

[lazydayz]

16 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

What am I talking about:

 

https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2022-07-22/critical-incident-declared-at-port-of-dover-amid-summer-getaway

wow, that sounds awful.  Glad you made it onboard and that things are improving.  Did you get the adjoining door unlocked?  If not, talk to the hotel director.  Good luck and hope you and your family enjoy the cruise.  

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

I do not have hot water in my Vista suite.  It isn't even luke warm.  It was feezing.  Luckily, I could go next door to the other room to shower...only it was luke warm.  Then, halfway through my shower,  it went cold.  I think this may be the problem with the pools.  I do not think the water heaters are working properly.

Pools have their own electric heaters.  Domestic water is heated by steam.  The two systems are not allowed to interconnect in any way.  Do you get hot water at the sink?   If so, the most likely problem is a simple one for them to fix.  The shower has a temperature balancing valve in the mixing valve (what you turn to set the temperature), that won't allow too much hot water if the cold water pressure is low.  Each side of the mixing valve has a strainer in the line to keep scale from entering the mixing/balancing valve.  The hot water side strainer always seems to clog faster than the cold side, stopping the hot water from getting to the mix valve.  I suspect that the Pride is taking on a lot of shore water (don't know the itinerary details), and this water is circulating more minerals around the ship than normal, and the hot water strainers are clogging.  It's about a 15 minute job to remove the strainer and clean it.

[maryann2]

30 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Yep, but we had 4 great cruises on her, including a repo and Hawaii. Would sail on her again in a heartbeat. She's even better since her upgrades, even with the strawberry donut decor! Plus,  it's where we met Jimbo! 😁

I love the Splendor too. Sailed on her out of New York a few years ago and a couple of weeks ago to Alaska. Booked again for next month.

[Old Fart Cruisers]

I'm so sorry to hear that your cruise started out so badly.  Glad it's getting a little better, but I understand when you spend so much money and time planning a wonderful vacation, you expect more than just a little better.  Hopefully, the rest of you cruise makes up for the disappointing start.

 

I’m a bit concerned about the condition of the ship, as I have 44 days planned on the Pride, 32 days B2B2B starting October 11, and another 12 day next May when she’s fresh out of Dry Dock.

[kwokpot]

5 minutes ago, Old Fart Cruisers said:

I’m a bit concerned about the condition of the ship, as I have 44 days planned on the Pride, 32 days B2B2B starting October 11, and another 12 day next May when she’s fresh out of Dry Dock.

Certainly there are nicer areas on the Pride than others. The main dining room looks very nice and the area around where Alchemy Bar is located has been totally renovated and looks quite nice since they striped away all the unnecessary decor but the final results still blend in with the rest of the ship.  

 

The buffet really needs an update and there are many windows, doors where the seals have broken and they are all fogged and numerous switches were you can't tell what it's function is. 

 

When it comes to your cabin one needs to speak up if there are serious issues. Our cabin had a malfunctioning HVAC and the cabin was freezing despite turning it all the way to max heat. A call to maintenance fixed the issue. As previously mentioned we did have occasional hot water issues in the bathroom but that seemed to resolve itself. As I had mentioned on other threads the cabin balconies aren't particularly clean, they do their best but I would never walk barefoot on balcony floor and the general condition of the balcony really turned me off from spending any time on it (I had mentioned the permanent congealed oil/varnish/yellow gunk with other dirty particles that sat in the water channel directly below the glass balcony railing and couldn't be washed away).  

[Sinbadssailors]

10 hours ago, Despegue said:

There are NO issues AT ALL here in the EU. This is purely a UK issue, and this due to their choice of leaving the EU.  Here in Europe our supply of food items is running near normal and our supermarkets are fully stocked.

 

The US is experiencing food shortages and we didn't leave the EU. It's unfortunately a problem in many parts of the world. Hopefully they can restock at another port.

 

 

I sailed out of Dover years ago.  Sounds like the experience hasn't improved.  Pull up chairs on that fantastic VS balcony and enjoy the view of the cliffs at sail away.

 

The first day can be chaotic, not sure why. There's a chance they'll work out the kinks.

 

We were just on a Spirit class ship and food was good and hot/warm when seated by the railing - but cold when we were seated in another area, even after it was sent back (which we usually don't do). Tell the maitre d' and maybe things will improve.

 

I hope the rude crew was a one-off. Spa staff is a concession, but I would still say something.

[M&A]

3 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Things are better today.  Breakfast food was good.  

 

I do not have hot water in my Vista suite.  It isn't even luke warm.  It was feezing.  Luckily, I could go next door to the other room to shower...only it was luke warm.  Then, halfway through my shower,  it went cold.  I think this may be the problem with the pools.  I do not think the water heaters are working properly.  This is not just an issue of us being unrealistic Americans.  I am not even interested in getting in the pool. It is my kids...and TRUST ME my children are far more immune to cold than any adult.  They went down the water slides on The Splendor in Alaska when it was in the 40s, windy, and raining. The outside pool is cold. NO ONE has been in it when I have been out there.  No one.  Only in the hot tub. 

 

The cruises before were to Iceland and the Norwegian Fjords so the hot temps in southern England don't really matter because that isn't where the boat has been for the majority of the last 3 weeks.  

 

But everyone on board (passengers) are very friendly.  And most of the staff is very nice.  So, all-in-all, things seem better today.  I am very much enjoying our room and balcony. 

Great, glad things are better, we are going to Dover on Aug 21st - the Dover chaos made the news over here.

We do plan on walking from Dover station to the ship.

 

Where did you get your pre-cruise covid test?  we haven't decided whether to book an in-person one in the UK or do an on-line test. 

Edited July 23, 2022 by M&A

[freeholdfriends]

The Dover port is a mess but we took the Carnival shuttle from central London right to the terminal in Dover. It took 31/2 hours but we boarded at 3. Original sailing was 4 then 7 and finally pushed to 10. passenger boarding was problematic for some happyand delayed but so was the take on of supplies. This really wasn’t the worst boarding and everyone we interacted with was very pleasant and happy to be on this cruise. All staff is 100% masked but it’s easy to see that they are very friendly and pleased to be employed and sailing again. Our wait staff is outstanding and conscientious as my friend has food allergies and they check and double check that her food is safe.  So, we’ll see how the rest of the cruise goes but so far our only complaint is we don’t like the cookie selection in the buffet. LOL😁

 

 

[shiner6]

6 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Things are better today.  Breakfast food was good.  

 

I do not have hot water in my Vista suite.  It isn't even luke warm.  It was feezing.  Luckily, I could go next door to the other room to shower...only it was luke warm.  Then, halfway through my shower,  it went cold.  I think this may be the problem with the pools.  I do not think the water heaters are working properly.  This is not just an issue of us being unrealistic Americans.  I am not even interested in getting in the pool. It is my kids...and TRUST ME my children are far more immune to cold than any adult.  They went down the water slides on The Splendor in Alaska when it was in the 40s, windy, and raining. The outside pool is cold. NO ONE has been in it when I have been out there.  No one.  Only in the hot tub. 

 

The cruises before were to Iceland and the Norwegian Fjords so the hot temps in southern England don't really matter because that isn't where the boat has been for the majority of the last 3 weeks.  

 

But everyone on board (passengers) are very friendly.  And most of the staff is very nice.  So, all-in-all, things seem better today.  I am very much enjoying our room and balcony. 

We have a Vista Suite for 2023. I am following your thread. Good to hear you are having a better day. I know how much you looked forward to this cruise!

[kwokpot]

58 minutes ago, freeholdfriends said:

So, we’ll see how the rest of the cruise goes but so far our only complaint is we don’t like the cookie selection in the buffet. LOL😁

You don't like the chocolate chip cookies? They are so crunchy and yummy!

[mz-s]

1 hour ago, freeholdfriends said:

The Dover port is a mess but we took the Carnival shuttle from central London right to the terminal in Dover. It took 31/2 hours but we boarded at 3. Original sailing was 4 then 7 and finally pushed to 10. passenger boarding was problematic for some happyand delayed but so was the take on of supplies. This really wasn’t the worst boarding and everyone we interacted with was very pleasant and happy to be on this cruise. All staff is 100% masked but it’s easy to see that they are very friendly and pleased to be employed and sailing again. Our wait staff is outstanding and conscientious as my friend has food allergies and they check and double check that her food is safe.  So, we’ll see how the rest of the cruise goes but so far our only complaint is we don’t like the cookie selection in the buffet. LOL😁

 

 

 

Yesterday you said boarding was quick and organized. Today you admit the port was a mess and it took 3.5 hours. Why should we listen to anything else you say about this cruise I guess is my question now.

[Velvetwater]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

Yesterday you said boarding was quick and organized. Today you admit the port was a mess and it took 3.5 hours. Why should we listen to anything else you say about this cruise I guess is my question now.

They said London to Dover shuttle took 3.5 hrs not the boarding process. I took the mess comment to mean Dover isn't very pretty. It really isn't except the cliffs and beach.

 

3.5 hours London to Dover in the busy channel crossing season with staff shortages isn't too bad of a time. It's normally 2 hoursish in off season.

Edited July 23, 2022 by Velvetwater

[jimbo5544]

7 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Yep, but we had 4 great cruises on her, including a repo and Hawaii. Would sail on her again in a heartbeat. She's even better since her upgrades, even with the strawberry donut decor! Plus,  it's where we met Jimbo! 😁

As would I

 

[MoCruiseFan]

We sailed the Pride on our only Carnival cruise ever.  She was very dirty, had a LOT of rust in many places, the only late night food was pizza that was served half raw and dripping with grease, AND the casino poker table did not have a live dealer (it was one of those horrid automated things).  We have not been back and probably never will, especially on that ship.

[crazyank]

22 hours ago, Despegue said:

There are NO issues AT ALL here in the EU. This is purely a UK issue, and this due to their choice of leaving the EU.  Here in Europe our supply of food items is running near normal and our supermarkets are fully stocked.

Absolutely not true.  Maybe Belgium isn't seeing any shortages but here in Germany we are seeing empty shelves that we have never seen before.

[Velvetwater]

In the UK we have some empty shelves but it has improved.

 

Food prices have increased rapidly though....that is the most notable. 

[Eli_6]

Update on day 3:  I am having a great time!  I think my initial crankiness and annoyance over more minor things was over the stress of trying to get to the port and embarking.  Dinner last night was good and the female comedian was AMAZING.   Best PG show I have ever seen.  

 

I still don't have hot water anywhere in the vista suite and it has been a comedy of affairs trying to get it fixed.  But since we have hot water in the adjoining room, it isn't a big deal for us. 

 

I will say this: Anyone who claims getting to the port and the initial boarding process was easy peasy is either lying about being on the cruise or did BTB or boarded MUCH later in the day than we did. 

 

As for the condition of the boat: I did not make a big deal out of it in my original post.  All I said was the others who had commented on it were not wrong.  It is not in horrible condition.  However,  it is showing its 20 year age in *SOME* places.  Other places still look great.  I just got off the Splendor and it is in better shape than the Pride.  Pride is scheduled to go in dry dock next spring so this isn't shocking.  Is it ruining my cruise? Absolutely not. 

 

I will add that some people noticing the age of the ship may also have to do with what they are used to.  If you have been sailing on Mardi Gras, Vista, Panorama, or even Breeze, etc. then it looks older and more worn than those ships.  Not to mention the decor style is different from those ships.  In fact, I have been getting a kick out of how "offended" my younger child is at the nudity. (This must be something from school because I don't have any issue with nudity. Further, he spends half his life naked at home so not sure why other people's nudity is offensive to him...but it is pretty funny. 😁 )

 

If the people who are going on the Pride in the future take anything from this post, take this: Stay in Dover the night before, plan on walking a mile or more to the port and plan on a wait to board.  

[Eli_6]

15 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Sometimes your surroundings can affect you more than you plan, especially when you're on vacation and you want your surroundings to uplift you, not depress you. I had a very negative visceral reaction when I first stepped on the Carnival Splendor and unfortunately it colored my whole Caribbean cruise on that ship. It's such a dated design and I really don't know who thought it was a beautiful design choice to have big pink circles plastered on every wall. I didn't purposely want the Splendor's decor to bother me but it just did. 

Do you see the potrait of the man on the toilet in the elevator on The Splendor? 😆 

[Eli_6]

Another suggestion for future cruisers in tender ports: If you do not have priority debark, you need to take a carnival excursion or schedule any excursions late in the day at tender ports.  They have very limited tenders and a lot of platinum and diamonds.  This is the priority lounge 20 minutes before debark starts and there are people lined up in the hallway still.  They are even doing zones for priority. I have seen people with zone numbers as high as 30 for priority guests.  My guess is not priority and non ccl excursions will be hours getting off the boat. 

[Eli_6]

[Saint Greg]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

the female comedian was AMAZING.   Best PG show I have ever seen.  

  

Who was that?

[ray98]

I hope your cruise turns around.  It sucks to be disappointed because Carnival can't get the basics right.

[bucfan2]

55 minutes ago, ray98 said:

I hope your cruise turns around.  It sucks to be disappointed because Carnival can't get the basics right.

If ya read all of her comments (thru day 3), they're having a great time...doubt they desire to have it turned around.