Pride dry dock wishlist

[JimmyTheSaint]

As Pride is due for dry dock next year what would you put on a wishlist to be changed / updated on board.

 

A few suggestions from me: update the speakers at the Dive in Movies, the sound quality is so bad you need to read the subtitles.

Remove Bonsai Sushi and replace it with JiJi's Asian kitchen. I rarely see anyone in Bonsai and JiJi's is the best restaurant Carnival has. They can also make it bigger by updating Pixels to digital screens and using at least half of the current Pixels space for a larger restaurant.

Update the Taj Mahal theatre with some video screens behind the stage to enhance the Playlist shows. There's a huge difference in the production of theatre shows on the newer ships because of the modern facilities they have available.

 

Anyone have other suggestions?

[staceyglow]

Pride is possibly my favorite ship, but I do wish they had a Cucina del Capitano and a Big Shaq's chicken.  Unfortunately, I don't think they have enough time to do any of the larger projects in this dry dock.

 

And as far as Carnival Theatre shows in general, I don't problem with the sets or the stage.  I just think the shows (scripts, choreography, etc.) themselves are not particularly entertaining, and I don't care for the singers they cast.  The women in particular tend to be screechy, especially in the upper registers.  I wish they would just put the comedians in the main theater more often, and have more variety acts like magicians or jugglers.  I was on a recent Pride cruise where they had a solo singer (Jonothon Timpanelli) who was very entertaining.

[kwokpot]

*Update the whole buffet area. It's extremely dated tacky decor. 

*Reupholster all theater seating. 

*Remodel the atrium and most of the public spaces using the template established with the Alchemy Bar installation. Remove all the sliver urn-looking doodads and all the extra wood moulding. If you look at it it's ridiculous. There moulding on top of molding on top of molding. If you see what they did with the Alchemy Bar area they did just that - removed all the silver urn decorations and removed 3/4 of the wood molding. The Alchemy Bar still retains the darker brown tones but in a more contemporary and modern look.

*Total remodel of cabin bathrooms

 

[TxTeach79]

Miracle went in for two weeks. Got the new livery, ripped the casino bar out. Pride is going in for four weeks, so it'll be more than that. 

 

All I know is I'm booked on the May 28 Barcelona to London the day after drydock which has disappeared from all booking engines yet John Heald assures is still sailing, so let's hope the drydock is done on time for my sake!

[bguppies]

Just got off her Saturday.

 

Love the Spirit class but Carnival has let her go downhill toThe lifeboat pulleys just below our balcony were so rusty I can't imagine they function anymore. (most of the exterior equipment looked super worn out)

Tons of rust on our balcony. (but no holes in the floor like on the Sunshine in September)

The interior of the entire ship needs a major overhaul. (blue wave like decor in buffet were so cracked and broken, they should all be removed.)

One of the 3 glass elevators was broken through the entire cruise.

The theater needs alot of work.

 

Even with all the wear and tear on the class, I'd still prefer to cruise on a Spirit class ship than any of the newer ships. (Mardi Gras, Vista, Dream, etc.)

The layout and space around the ship throughout the cruise makes for a much better cruise experience.

[ninjacat123]

I really like Bonsai Sushi and would hate to see it go, but if that means JiJi's is coming in, okay.  How about keeping both?😉

Edited December 12, 2022 by ninjacat123

[asalligo]

My wish would be that they do not add any more cabins. The Pride is perfect just like she is and is hands down my favorite ship. Don't change anything, just repair anything broken. 

[Eli_6]

Paint!  Bigger TV's, please!  And update the cabins!  Paint the balconies or do something so they don't look so dirty and in disrepair. 

 

The common areas didn't bother me, but some of the cabins are in rough shape. The shower in our Vista suite didn't work the entire time even after three visits by maintenance. We gave up after that. And my son's cabin next to our suite was in terrible shape.  

[Eli_6]

18 hours ago, TxTeach79 said:

Miracle went in for two weeks. Got the new livery, ripped the casino bar out. Pride is going in for four weeks, so it'll be more than that. 

 

All I know is I'm booked on the May 28 Barcelona to London the day after drydock which has disappeared from all booking engines yet John Heald assures is still sailing, so let's hope the drydock is done on time for my sake!

John Heald told me Europe 2021 was definitely sailing less than two weeks before it was canceled.  The only thing that makes me think it may not cancel is that they did recently add additional excursions about 2-3 weeks ago that were not on there before and I don't know why they would do that if they were just going to turn around and cancel them. I am on that same sailing and already have decided that I will switch to Venezia TA if it cancels. 

[TxTeach79]

6 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

John Heald told me Europe 2021 was definitely sailing less than two weeks before it was canceled.  The only thing that makes me think it may not cancel is that they did recently add additional excursions about 2-3 weeks ago that were not on there before and I don't know why they would do that if they were just going to turn around and cancel them. I am on that same sailing and already have decided that I will switch to Venezia TA if it cancels. 

Been eyeing that Venezia TA as well. Just a potential bummer since I booked the Pride sailing on a promo that isn't available any longer. 

 

If I may ask, how far in advance was your '21 sailing cancelled? Was that also a drydock gone long?

[bguppies]

6 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Paint!  Bigger TV's, please!  And update the cabins!  Paint the balconies or do something so they don't look so dirty and in disrepair. 

 

 

Yeah the cabins need a bit of  refreshing.

 

The TVS are still first gen flats screens and tiny.

 

Our balcony had apparently tried to be refreshed paintwise in quite the slapdash manner. (more paint on the window than all the rust on the dividers)

Edited December 13, 2022 by bguppies

[Eli_6]

17 minutes ago, TxTeach79 said:

Been eyeing that Venezia TA as well. Just a potential bummer since I booked the Pride sailing on a promo that isn't available any longer. 

 

If I may ask, how far in advance was your '21 sailing cancelled? Was that also a drydock gone long?

No, it was canceled due to Covid restrictions in Europe.  Other cruise lines (Royal, NCL, etc) were canceling their 2021 Europe seasons and Carnival was still saying they were going ahead. I needed to book airfare and so asked John Heald and he swore they were definitely cruising that upcoming summer in Europe.  So, I booked 4 business class roundtrip tickets based on his promise. Aaaaannnd two weeks later, the entire Europe season was canceled.  I *think* it was about February if I recall correctly for May/June sailings. 

 

After that, I take what John Heald says with a chunk of salt. It isn't that I think he is being dishonest. I just think he doesn't always know and only says what the "beards" tell him to say. 

Edited December 13, 2022 by Eli_6

[TxTeach79]

9 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

No, it was canceled due to Covid restrictions in Europe.  Other cruise lines (Royal, NCL, etc) were canceling their 2021 Europe seasons and Carnival was still saying they were going ahead. I needed to book airfare and so asked John Heald and he swore they were definitely cruising that upcoming summer in Europe.  So, I booked 4 business class roundtrip tickets based on his promise. Aaaaannnd two weeks later, the entire Europe season was canceled.  I *think* it was about February if I recall correctly for May/June sailings. 

 

After that, I take what John Heald says with a chunk of salt. It isn't that I think he is being dishonest. I just think he doesn't always know and only says what the "beards" tell him to say. 

Thank you! Yeah, I completely agree with that assessment. I'll just continue to be nervous for a few months! Just about buying that airfare.....

[Eli_6]

12 hours ago, TxTeach79 said:

Thank you! Yeah, I completely agree with that assessment. I'll just continue to be nervous for a few months! Just about buying that airfare.....

Actually, I thought about it some more and I *think* they canceled after final payment was due...which means it was within 90 days. I remember this specifically because I felt like it was so clearly aimed at getting those final payments. I had this happen more than once during the shut downs. It didn't bother me as much with the domestic cruises, but it really irked me for the Europe cruises because the amount of time and money (beyond the cruise fee) invested in planning those vacations is on another level. 

 

The problem is that for international airfare, you really have to buy it well in advance or you are going to be paying a premium or not able to get the flights you want.  And if you (like me) fly on miles upgrades and/or business and are booking for 4 people, you pretty much have to book is soon as the airline posts the tickets to get everyone on the same flight and sitting together. My husband will not do two 10+ hour flight with our kids in coach.  He will tell me to cancel the entire trip before agreeing to that.

 

The thing that annoys me about this is that if Carnival is going to cancel, they need to tell us as soon as they know. I feel like they play this game of waiting to get more money/keep our money longer and it just isn't fair to us. I had them cancel a Vista sailing out of my local port of Galveston last minute one time and I didn't really care because I was out no money.  But a TON more time and money goes into planning a Europe cruise as compared to one here in the states and their pittance of a 25% FCC doesn't come close to covering that. (Nor does buying insurance help in my situation.) The cruises are longer and require more time off and away from home. (For me, arranging my husband's time away from his business is the biggest deal.) The flights are several times the cost of domestic. Making other travel arrangements (like cabs and hotels) is much more difficult and time consuming because of things like language barriers, the fact that some places don't have Uber/Lyft, time differences, etc. Getting travel documents together, etc.  I had to get passports for my children for the first time, and it took me 2-3 months to even get a passport appointment. (The process of getting minor passports is more involved than getting adult passports.) Some places were booked out 6 months and not even taking appointments. 

 

I am going to get on some of the port websites and check them again to see if the ship is showing up. The TA over there to drop off the Pride was showing up and it seemed to me like it didn't allow much time for the Pride to be in dry dock.  

[Eli_6]

Ok, I checked and the Pride Transatlantic over there is April 13-26.  So, basically, it appears that Pride will be in dry dock for just under a month. How much are they going to be able to do in a month?  I honestly don't know the answer to that because I don't know how quickly they can make these changes.  It certainly makes me think that they won't be remodeling all of the cabins...

[Eli_6]

12 hours ago, TxTeach79 said:

Thank you! Yeah, I completely agree with that assessment. I'll just continue to be nervous for a few months! Just about buying that airfare.....

 I just looked and the Carnival Pride is NOT on the schedule for Barcelona on May 28th.  The Carnival Venezia IS on the schedule for May 29th. I find that HIGHLY suspicious!  Highly.  

[TxTeach79]

4 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Actually, I thought about it some more and I *think* they canceled after final payment was due...which means it was within 90 days. I remember this specifically because I felt like it was so clearly aimed at getting those final payments. I had this happen more than once during the shut downs. It didn't bother me as much with the domestic cruises, but it really irked me for the Europe cruises because the amount of time and money (beyond the cruise fee) invested in planning those vacations is on another level. 

 

The problem is that for international airfare, you really have to buy it well in advance or you are going to be paying a premium or not able to get the flights you want.  And if you (like me) fly on miles upgrades and/or business and are booking for 4 people, you pretty much have to book is soon as the airline posts the tickets to get everyone on the same flight and sitting together. My husband will not do two 10+ hour flight with our kids in coach.  He will tell me to cancel the entire trip before agreeing to that.

 

The thing that annoys me about this is that if Carnival is going to cancel, they need to tell us as soon as they know. I feel like they play this game of waiting to get more money/keep our money longer and it just isn't fair to us. I had them cancel a Vista sailing out of my local port of Galveston last minute one time and I didn't really care because I was out no money.  But a TON more time and money goes into planning a Europe cruise as compared to one here in the states and their pittance of a 25% FCC doesn't come close to covering that. (Nor does buying insurance help in my situation.) The cruises are longer and require more time off and away from home. (For me, arranging my husband's time away from his business is the biggest deal.) The flights are several times the cost of domestic. Making other travel arrangements (like cabs and hotels) is much more difficult and time consuming because of things like language barriers, the fact that some places don't have Uber/Lyft, time differences, etc. Getting travel documents together, etc.  I had to get passports for my children for the first time, and it took me 2-3 months to even get a passport appointment. (The process of getting minor passports is more involved than getting adult passports.) Some places were booked out 6 months and not even taking appointments. 

 

I am going to get on some of the port websites and check them again to see if the ship is showing up. The TA over there to drop off the Pride was showing up and it seemed to me like it didn't allow much time for the Pride to be in dry dock.  

I'm curious what you find. When I checked the port sites a few weeks ago, I feel like about half showed Pride scheduled, and half showed nothing at all. That, combined with the drydock end date being pushed to the day before our cruise and the complete removal of the sailing from booking engines (which is not what happens when a sailing is sold out) is HIGHLY suspect. 

[TxTeach79]

9 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Ok, I checked and the Pride Transatlantic over there is April 13-26.  So, basically, it appears that Pride will be in dry dock for just under a month. How much are they going to be able to do in a month?  I honestly don't know the answer to that because I don't know how quickly they can make these changes.  It certainly makes me think that they won't be remodeling all of the cabins...

 

Yep. Four week drydock. As a comparison, Pride's sister, the Miracle, had a two week drydock a month or so ago to add the new livery, take out the casino bar, basic maintenance. Pride already has more upgrades than Miracle (Bonsai, Big Screen), yet the drydock was changed from two to four weeks recently. That's not just the new livery and (i assume) removing the casino bar. 

[TxTeach79]

11 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

Ok, I checked and the Pride Transatlantic over there is April 13-26.  So, basically, it appears that Pride will be in dry dock for just under a month. How much are they going to be able to do in a month?  I honestly don't know the answer to that because I don't know how quickly they can make these changes.  It certainly makes me think that they won't be remodeling all of the cabins...

 

Oh, and that easy two week Miracle drydock? It ran long and took days off the Panama Canal cruise scheduled immediately after. 

[ninjacat123]

DH and I are booked on Pride October 18, 2023.  I just booked Fly2Fun to Rome from Charlotte and my PVP said I didn't need to pay on that airfare till final payment.  I hope we all have good news regarding Pride's drydock!

[TxTeach79]

14 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

 I just looked and the Carnival Pride is NOT on the schedule for Barcelona on May 28th.  The Carnival Venezia IS on the schedule for May 29th. I find that HIGHLY suspicious!  Highly.  

There's a sailing specific thread here where I commented when I first noticed the inconsistencies...

 

 

And I started a thread that didn't get much traction here:

 

 

[Eli_6]

 

 

 

Carnival Pride is NOT on the schedule for Barcelona, but the Carnival Venezia is for the next day:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/barcelona-port-82?tab=schedule&month=2023-05#schedule

The Carnival Pride is NOT on the Port schedule for Lisbon (but the Venezia is😞

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/lisbon-port-65?tab=schedule&month=2023-05#schedule

The Carnival Pride is NOT on the port schedule for Porto, Portugal:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/porto-leixoes-port-3739?tab=schedule&month=2023-06#schedule

The Carnival Pride is NOT on the port schedule for Vigo, Spain:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/vigo-port-745?tab=schedule&month=2023-06#schedule

The Carnival Pride is NOT on the port schedule for La Coruna, Spain:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/la-coruna-port-564?tab=schedule&month=2023-06#schedule

The Carnival Pride is NOT on the port schedule for Bilbao Spain:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/bilbao-port-697?tab=schedule&month=2023-06#schedule

The Carnival Pride is NOT on the port schedule for Le Havre/Paris (in June):

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/paris-city-port-378?tab=schedule&month=2023-06#schedule

And, of course, the Pride is NOT on the port schedule for Brussels:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/zeebrugge-port-50?tab=schedule&month=2023-06#schedule

The Carnival Pride IS on the schedule for the rest of the summer in Dover starting June 9th:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/barcelona-port-82?tab=schedule&month=2023-05#schedule

 

The fact that the Carnival Pride IS on the schedule for later in the summer AND the fact that the Carnival Venezia is on the schedule in the same ports for a day or two later that the Pride is supposed to be visiting (but the Pride is noticeably absent) would lead one to believe that the Pride is going to be canceled.

 

@TxTeach79

[EllieinNJ]

I am also on the May 28th cruise with a b2b for the June 9th cruise.  I kept checking the flights from Newark to Barcelona and back from London every week for several months.  The only nonstop flight was on United and the total price for just the two of us was over $3000.  Fly2Fun was around $2200.  I noticed the available seats were staring to dwindle so then I decided to book with FTF but now they were not offering this flight anymore.  So I wound up using an exorbitant amount of miles plus cash to book with United.  I have also put in tons of hours researching the ports to try to pick the best excursions. 

 

I have also contacted John Heald and he also assured me that this cruise is still on.  In addition we have received a special upgrade email from Carnival which we did not take because we wanted to stay in the same cabin for both segments.  Why would they do this if they might cancel?

.

[ninjacat123]

7 minutes ago, EllieinNJ said:

I am also on the May 28th cruise with a b2b for the June 9th cruise.  I kept checking the flights from Newark to Barcelona and back from London every week for several months.  The only nonstop flight was on United and the total price for just the two of us was over $3000.  Fly2Fun was around $2200.  I noticed the available seats were staring to dwindle so then I decided to book with FTF but now they were not offering this flight anymore.  So I wound up using an exorbitant amount of miles plus cash to book with United.  I have also put in tons of hours researching the ports to try to pick the best excursions. 

 

I have also contacted John Heald and he also assured me that this cruise is still on.  In addition we have received a special upgrade email from Carnival which we did not take because we wanted to stay in the same cabin for both segments.  Why would they do this if they might cancel?

.

I booked American (our go to) through F2F and thought it was a pretty good rate at $1,000 per person.  

[Eli_6]

11 minutes ago, EllieinNJ said:

I am also on the May 28th cruise with a b2b for the June 9th cruise.  I kept checking the flights from Newark to Barcelona and back from London every week for several months.  The only nonstop flight was on United and the total price for just the two of us was over $3000.  Fly2Fun was around $2200.  I noticed the available seats were staring to dwindle so then I decided to book with FTF but now they were not offering this flight anymore.  So I wound up using an exorbitant amount of miles plus cash to book with United.  I have also put in tons of hours researching the ports to try to pick the best excursions. 

 

I have also contacted John Heald and he also assured me that this cruise is still on.  In addition we have received a special upgrade email from Carnival which we did not take because we wanted to stay in the same cabin for both segments.  Why would they do this if they might cancel?

.

To put off having to provide the refunds.  Or to postpone it until after final payment. They did the same thing with Europe 2021.  Royal, NCL, etc. had all canceled their sailings and John Heald was saying it was a definite go.  But the writing was on the wall.  I don't think John is purposefully lying. I think he just repeats what the "beards" tell him.

 

And who knows? Maybe it will go forward.  But why is Venezia on the port schedule and Pride isn't?  Why is Pride on the port schedule in Dover for the rest of the summer but not on ours?  And why is ours the ONLY Europe cruise that has been removed from the website for 2+ months?  My opinion is that I don't think they could get the dry dock for when they wanted or they suspect it will run behind schedule so they have pulled it from the ports and the website. 

 

Also, the fact that they are offering room upgrades means the sailing is NOT sold out!!!  They keep saying it isn't on the website because it is sold out but clearly that isn't the case.

 

And I feel your pain.  4 business class roundtrip airfare tickets booked from Houston to London.  And 4 more tickets booked from London to Barcelona.  Even using miles for upgrades, we still have about 9k-10k (or maybe more) invested. And we have my husband's alternative coverage for his medical practice arranged.  

Edited December 13, 2022 by Eli_6