On the Pride and Impressed so far

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

If it costs the same to cruise on Carnival or Seabourn, which cruise line offers more room service choices?

Let me start off with I hope you view this as friendly conversation and discussion.

 

As you probably know people that earn fully complementary cruises from casino programs aren't spending $200 to get those cruise offers and probably spend at least the base cost of their cabin and probably hundreds if not thousands of more dollars. 

 

I agree with another post on this thread that food preparation is not static and can vary from cruise to cruise, ship to ship, line to line. Having said that to say it's all about the same is a bit disingenuous. Why is it when people say that they had a great time and everything was good there's no questioning, but the minute someone puts a not so favorable review or discussion then everything is suspect?

 

If you read some of my earlier posts on my Pride experiences you'll see I enjoyed my meals at Guy's, the Deli, and the Pizza. I loved all the desserts in the buffet and in the MDR. When a show was good, I praised the performers, and when it was obvious that the main performers were out sick and the backup's backup was doing a poor job I noted that too. If you look at my postings about the Mardi Gras this year and last (I was on the 5th sailing of the Mardi Gras last year) you'll note that even on the flagship my experiences this year were better in some areas than when i was one the MG last year. 

 

Lastly, just because I'm critical of things on my cruise doesn't mean I didn't have a good vacation. Why is it OK to rate the comedians but not the food? 

 

 

[M&A]

On 8/23/2022 at 4:32 PM, Out of Iowa said:

75 Euros for one person, for a single-day hop-on, hop-off bus tour with harbor cruise?  That seems very expensive...did I miss something?

No it’s 35 euros each

[M&A]

On 8/23/2022 at 4:27 PM, BasicSailor said:

How are they showing the movies these days, get any pictures ?

They have installed a large screen by the main pool area, just to the right of Guy’s burger place

[M&A]

Our third day was the port of Warnemunde which is a suburb of Rostock.  Most people signed up for the train or bus to Berlin but we did a tour of Rostock in the afternoon.

In the morning we walked into Waramunde a short walk from the ship.

A very quaint beautiful town, there is a canal with restaurants, bars, shops lining both sides.  Waramunde also has a beach area with cabanas and a long concrete boardwalk.

The guided tour of Rostock was interesting, the tour guide told us about life before 1990, it was in the old East Germany, showed us the Soviet era apartment complexes.  It’s a beautiful old city and worth the visit, we had lunch there and the best coffee!!

 

Just had lunch a Guy’s burgers, and no lineups!!  A sea day today and Talin tomorrow 

Sitting in a cabana in the Serenity area, very few people out here, cloudy and cool.  So far we have had hot sunny weather.

Edited August 25, 2022 by M&A

[BlerkOne]

12 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Let me start off with I hope you view this as friendly conversation and discussion.

 

As you probably know people that earn fully complementary cruises from casino programs aren't spending $200 to get those cruise offers and probably spend at least the base cost of their cabin and probably hundreds if not thousands of more dollars. 

 

I agree with another post on this thread that food preparation is not static and can vary from cruise to cruise, ship to ship, line to line. Having said that to say it's all about the same is a bit disingenuous. Why is it when people say that they had a great time and everything was good there's no questioning, but the minute someone puts a not so favorable review or discussion then everything is suspect?

 

If you read some of my earlier posts on my Pride experiences you'll see I enjoyed my meals at Guy's, the Deli, and the Pizza. I loved all the desserts in the buffet and in the MDR. When a show was good, I praised the performers, and when it was obvious that the main performers were out sick and the backup's backup was doing a poor job I noted that too. If you look at my postings about the Mardi Gras this year and last (I was on the 5th sailing of the Mardi Gras last year) you'll note that even on the flagship my experiences this year were better in some areas than when i was one the MG last year. 

 

Lastly, just because I'm critical of things on my cruise doesn't mean I didn't have a good vacation. Why is it OK to rate the comedians but not the food? 

 

 

I'm not sure why you quote me, but more on my opinion.

 

If I were offered free cruises on various lines, would I still cruise on Carnival? You betcha. Would I complain? Probably not. 

 

While you are entitled to your opinion, I don't believe you speak for the majority of Carnival cruisers. I also don't believe your opinion is shared by most Carnival cruisers. I think both of those are fair to say.

 

I guess lastly, I'm really not interested in debating opinions. Too much is subjective and no two people will agree on everything. That is why I encourage others to live their own lives, and decide for themselves. How sad if someone misses out on a life experience they would have enjoyed, because they accepted another person's opinion as gospel.

 

 

[shiner6]

5 hours ago, M&A said:

Our third day was the port of Warnemunde which is a suburb of Rostock.  Most people signed up for the train or bus to Berlin but we did a tour of Rostock in the afternoon.

In the morning we walked into Waramunde a short walk from the ship.

A very quaint beautiful town, there is a canal with restaurants, bars, shops lining both sides.  Waramunde also has a beach area with cabanas and a long concrete boardwalk.

The guided tour of Rostock was interesting, the tour guide told us about life before 1990, it was in the old East Germany, showed us the Soviet era apartment complexes.  It’s a beautiful old city and worth the visit, we had lunch there and the best coffee!!

 

Just had lunch a Guy’s burgers, and no lineups!!  A sea day today and Talin tomorrow 

Sitting in a cabana in the Serenity area, very few people out here, cloudy and cool.  So far we have had hot sunny weather.

This is exactly the type of information that I look for!  Thank you for posting.   Very helpful to me in my planning. May I ask what you chose to do in the other ports?  

Edited August 25, 2022 by shiner6

[Joanne G.]

12 hours ago, M&A said:

Our third day was the port of Warnemunde which is a suburb of Rostock.  Most people signed up for the train or bus to Berlin but we did a tour of Rostock in the afternoon.

In the morning we walked into Waramunde a short walk from the ship.

A very quaint beautiful town, there is a canal with restaurants, bars, shops lining both sides.  Waramunde also has a beach area with cabanas and a long concrete boardwalk.

The guided tour of Rostock was interesting, the tour guide told us about life before 1990, it was in the old East Germany, showed us the Soviet era apartment complexes.  It’s a beautiful old city and worth the visit, we had lunch there and the best coffee!!

 

Thanks for the info about Rostock and Warnemunde.   I will visit Warnemunde next year on the Pride, and a long day going to Berlin is not appealing, much as I would like to see the city.  It's good to know you enjoyed your day staying close to the ship.   

[M&A]

I have been slow to update, too busy in the various ports and occupied on the ship.

Tallinn was beautiful and well worth seeing. we just walked around the old town for hours, so much to see.  The historic old town is amazing.

In Helsinki we did the hop on hop off boat and bus tour.  
 

Stockholm was canceled due to weather but we had a fun time on the ship.

They are enforcing the 45 minute rule in the Serenity area, we showed up around 9:am and the attendant was removing towels and books from cabanas, we got one but then an hour later some guy showed up and asked us where his stuff was!!

Had an extra sea day and the weather was cool and cloudy we sat out anyway.

Did karaoke and then listened to the resident rock band CIA

The wifi isn’t bad so we can watch movies in our cabin later on.

 

Today we are in Kiel, no trips just wandering around, shopping- prices are really reasonable and drinking German beer and eating bratwurst 

 

 

 

 

 

[M&A]

On 8/30/2022 at 12:35 PM, M&A said:

I have been slow to update, too busy in the various ports and occupied on the ship.

Tallinn was beautiful and well worth seeing. we just walked around the old town for hours, so much to see.  The historic old town is amazing.

In Helsinki we did the hop on hop off boat and bus tour.  
 

Stockholm was canceled due to weather but we had a fun time on the ship.

They are enforcing the 45 minute rule in the Serenity area, we showed up around 9:am and the attendant was removing towels and books from cabanas, we got one but then an hour later some guy showed up and asked us where his stuff was!!

Had an extra sea day and the weather was cool and cloudy we sat out anyway.

Did karaoke and then listened to the resident rock band CIA

The wifi isn’t bad so we can watch movies in our cabin later on.

 

Today we are in Kiel, no trips just wandering around, shopping- prices are really reasonable and drinking German beer and eating bratwurst 

 

 

 

 

 

Gothenburg Sweden today, beautiful city with canals and lots to see.

The port is out of town and Carnival has a shuttle ($19) return 

A sea day tomorrow before returning to Dover

[NCTribeFan]

Great to read they're doing something about the Serenity Deck.  When I was on the ship at the end of January (in the Caribbean), all the sheltered seats had stuff on them.  And I'm an early riser.

 

Unfortunately, it isn't serene at all on those sailings.  It's just an Adult Party Deck. 😑

 

I expect that by the time we leave Lisbon for the TA portion of our B2B2B (on 10/30), it may be too cold to get any use out of it anyway.  Still, I may be tempted to just wrap up in several beach towels and sit there to read anyway.  I don't suppose Carnival has any blankets on the pool decks in the colder-weather sailings, do they?  I loved that HAL had both beach towels and wool blankets available in Alaska.

 

Is there a string trio on the ship now?  They played at the atrium bar in early evenings.  We'd go there for our before-dinner drink and enjoyed listening to them.  So much better than the guy with the guitar.

[SDPadreFan]

Glad you are having a great time. We are sailing that itinerary next July on the Pride. My sister did a Baltic Sea cruise several years ago and said she loved Tallinn (and she also got the 2 days in St Petersburg back then). She said Helsinki was her least favorite port.

[Jeepers385]

In one week we’ll be flying to Rome for 3 days precruise until we board the Pride. This will be our 11th time on her and I love this ship, she feels like home. I’ve been in contact with a crew member who will be on board so it will be nice to see them again.  
 

I had friends who sailed her in June and have been frequent cruises with her and didn’t have the best experience with the MDR but since then I’ve heard things have gotten better. I’m sure we’ll be fine.  
 

I’m so excited to go to the Greek Islands and have new adventures.  I’m also hoping there’s a good piano player since I’ve seen the shows many times so Piano Bar here I come. 
 

[I Luv Crusin]

On 8/23/2022 at 3:47 PM, kwokpot said:

I'm happy for you that you enjoyed your meals on the Pride. Having said that I can very honestly say with 100% confidence that the food was not as good as other Carnival ships, much less other cruiselines. 

I was on the Pride for 31 days from the middle of May to middle of June. Just two weeks prior to boarding the Pride I was on the Mardi Gras for 14 days. And 7 weeks prior to the Mardi Gras I was on the Celebrity Reflection for 9 days. Overall the Mardi Gras prepared the food to a much higher standard than the Pride. And the food overall on the Celebrity Reflection was to the standard of the steakhouse on the Pride, or Rudi's on the Mardi Gras. 

I think it may have improved over summer.  My TA was on the beginning of July and said that the food was as good as in a prison, not sure how he knows!  BUT we were on August 12 and it was fine!  I don't expect gourmet food on Carnival but just GOOD food!

[Ulsteinvik]

How many guests are onboard this Baltic cruise?

[M&A]

20 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

Great to read they're doing something about the Serenity Deck.  When I was on the ship at the end of January (in the Caribbean), all the sheltered seats had stuff on them.  And I'm an early riser.

 

Unfortunately, it isn't serene at all on those sailings.  It's just an Adult Party Deck. 😑

 

I expect that by the time we leave Lisbon for the TA portion of our B2B2B (on 10/30), it may be too cold to get any use out of it anyway.  Still, I may be tempted to just wrap up in several beach towels and sit there to read anyway.  I don't suppose Carnival has any blankets on the pool decks in the colder-weather sailings, do they?  I loved that HAL had both beach towels and wool blankets available in Alaska.

 

Is there a string trio on the ship now?  They played at the atrium bar in early evenings.  We'd go there for our before-dinner drink and enjoyed listening to them.  So much better than the guy with the guitar.

Sea day today and cool but sunshine.

you can sign out a few big towels if you want but no blankets.

 

There is a string trio on board