Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Pride 12/31/06 Review – First Time on Carnival!

suziehmkr

By suziehmkr,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

Recommended Posts

suziehmkr

suziehmkr

Posted
Posted

Let me just start out by saying that this was our 4th cruise (2nd time on this itinerary,) but our FIRST time on Carnival - and we have already rebooked on the Pride for Christmas! This time we are taking our daughter! But is will be a surprise, so don’t tell her! Shhhhhh ;)

 

All pre-conceived notions of Carnival’s reputation have been shattered. DH didn’t have much to complain about, and that says a lot! Hee hee

 

We boarded the Carnival Pride on New Year’s Eve and had a wonderful time. We arrived early enough for early check-in on the back of the Queen Mary. This was smooth & painless. We walked around the Queen Mary for a little while and went over and waited in line for boarding. I could see where this could be a problem in rainy weather – but we were pretty lucky to have a beautiful day. I didn’t check my watch when we got onboard, but it was probably around noon. We headed to Mermaids where we ate our boarding lunch. We also had champagne offered to us, which we enjoyed. This continued thru the day. I am not sure if they do this every week, or if it was because it was New Year’s, but it sure was a nice touch!

 

Cabins were ready by 1:30pm. Our cabin (5236 – 7A with the long balcony) was larger than we expected. Our cabin steward, Amporn from Thailand was wonderful. He was very attentive and we didn’t have any complaints about his service. He made a point to come in and introduce himself, etc. He ALWAYS called us by our first names and checked on us a couple of times to day to see if we needed anything. Only complaint from DH here was that the bed was too hard. I LOVED it, he just likes it soft. Next time I will pull the extra duvet out from under the couch and put it on his side of the bed to soften it. We didn’t find it until later. Loved the bedding!

 

We had late seating on the lower level. The service was spotty in the dining room. Our waiter was Nigel and we rarely saw his assistant. He worked very hard, but missed some simple things that would have made the experience better. I think the fact that he didn’t have much help, kept him from doing a better job. The food was wonderful. The appetizers are small, so don’t be afraid to order more than one.

 

What did we love?

* The ship was beautiful!

* The service, on a whole was wonderful. We did not let the dining room service spoil our time.

* The activities were plentiful. You could be as busy as you wanted to be. This was a plus for us. We enjoy doing things at different times of the day. On our RT Hawaii on Princess, it seemed there wasn’t much going on at night. One or two deck parties, but nothing else to that effect. They would even close the pool bars early to drive people down into the casino, we assume. This was not the case on the Pride. Jeff Brrronson & Karl with a K did a fine job of keeping activities on the menu at all hours.

* The shows that we saw were pretty good. The comedians were hilarious…. We enjoyed them both, but if you are easily offended you will probably want to skip the midnight shows. ;) We skipped the Legends show because motion was rocky and the show is in the Taj Mahal in the front of the ship.

* FREE ice cream, 24 hours a day. DH is a kid at heart and he loved that whenever he felt like it, he could swing by any of 4 stations for ice cream/frozen yogurt. And I enjoyed the sundae setup in the afternoons.

* The Passion-Guava juice at breakfast is GREAT! Hint: it makes a great mixer for rum.

* The little goodie basket in the bathroom is a nice touch. Robes in the closet were nice too.

* Towel animals were adorable. If you are going to get the book, wait until you get a flyer from your cabin steward. On our sailing, they were having an incentive for the cabin stewards and he benefited when we purchased thru him, rather than the Formalities store.

* They break out the “monkey” on the afternoon of the 2nd full sea day. A fun souvenir for $15 +tip. Basically a coconut that is made to look like a monkey that holds a frozen drink inside. All fun! It is a bank when you get it home so you can save for your next cruise. And a great conversation starter!

* I loved that I could lay by the pool and NOT be asked to buy a drink every 5 minutes. They were there if you wanted to order, but you weren’t hounded.

* The Pride has a comedian to entertain during debarkation in the Taj Mahal. Jeff Brrronson mentioned that this ship is the only one that does this at this time. Although we were off early and didn’t get to see him, we applaud the fact that the cruise director found a way to entertain you one last time during the most boring and often frustrating part of your cruise. BRAVO!

 

 

What were our very few & very minor complaints?

* Kids in the adult aft pool. We did see security out there once in a while asking them to leave, but as soon as they left – they hopped back in. DH had me take pics! ;)

* Selection for the dinner buffet wasn’t very plentiful. DH felt that we were being penalized by not eating in the dining room. They just don’t have the variety that they do at lunch. MY suggestion to Carnival (when I write to them and tell them what a GREAT time we had) is that they should at least leave the hamburger/hot dog grill open until 8:00 or so, instead of 6:00. The pizza was very good, so that is always a good one to fall back on. Again – minor, and not that big of a deal, but noted nonetheless. We also felt the buffet set up was too spread out and you and to go all over the place to see what was available. But again – minor and nothing that wasn’t manageable… just a notation.

* Twice in port when we opted out of taking a photo (or three!) when leaving the ship, the staff made a smart comment. I let it pass, but this is something I will bring up in my letter to Carnival. We only bought one photo… it was hard to find one that we liked.

 

Other things to mention about our sailing ---

 

* I believe there were over 500 kids onboard and as a group, they were well behaved. They had plenty of activities for them and I think our DD will enjoy it when she sails with us next time.

 

* We hit some weather on the way home on Saturday. Winds from 20-30 mph & 18 ft swells. Very rocky… DH kept himself from feeling the effects as we kept occupied in the casino. Normally he doesn’t like to gamble, but I preferred that we lose a little in the casino than have him sick. It was a fine trade off.

 

* The weather caused us to be late back into port on Sunday morning. While we waiting in Butterflies for Priority Debarkation, it was nice that they gave us updates. It’s the little things that help! Unfortunately, some of the people waiting to board were not so understanding. They didn’t understand why the porters wouldn’t take their luggage… it was a zoo and I just wanted to tell everyone to chill out and not start they cruise this way… but to each their own. ;)

 

* We sat thru the short presentation for Carnival Vacation Club – for the heck of it. The nice thing was that as soon as we mentioned that we already owned Worldmark/Trendwest and that we use the heck out of it, he let us know that the club would NOT be a good deal for us (which we knew, but we soooooo appreciated that he was honest and didn’t keep pressing for a sale.) He finished a shorter version, gave us our gift and off we went. We saw him several times throughout the cruise and he always chatted with us. The entire staff was as friendly as if we had purchased… it wasn’t like they didn’t get the sale and then snubbed us. That was refreshing.

 

* It was a treat to see the Spirit sailing past us in the opposite direction while she was on her way north back to San Diego. Our cabin steward even asked if he could peek at her from our balcony. We had the Vision of the Seas in our sights until she stopped in Cabo.

 

* The ports were wonderful. I will post a separate review on the Ports of Call board over the weekend. We didn’t have any issues getting on or off the ship in any ports. We were a little late leaving Cabo due to late arrivers.

 

* Our neighbors above us were rather loud a couple of nights. It sounded like they left the children in the cabin while they went to party at night, or something. It was as if the kids were jumping from the couch to the floor to the bed, etc. The first night I complained, it didn’t stop until after we finally fell asleep. The 2nd night, DH called the purser’s desk and asked them to send security to our room after they visited the other cabin, just so we would know they were there… which they did. The nice thing was that the following day, we received a letter apologizing for the inconvenience. This was a nice change from Princess who could not care less about any issues that were to be had on the ship. Although it was a short letter, the fact that they even made the gesture gave big points to Carnival.

 

Our final impressions are that we enjoy Carnival AS MUCH AS Royal Caribbean and more then Princess! The fact that we booked the same ship again so quickly and that my husband suggested it, says a lot for Carnival. Way to go Carnival!

 

I am sure I am missing a lot, so if you have any questions – just ask. I hope to upload photos this weekend. When I do, the link will be in my signature.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
smashley

smashley

Posted
Posted
* They break out the “monkey” on the afternoon of the 2nd full sea day. A fun souvenir for $15 +tip. Basically a coconut that is made to look like a monkey that holds a frozen drink inside. All fun! It is a bank when you get it home so you can save for your next cruise. And a great conversation starter!

 

this made me soooo happy.... it is one of my goals for the cruise!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Curt Jerome Wild

Curt Jerome Wild

Posted
Posted
* Twice in port when we opted out of taking a photo (or three!) when leaving the ship, the staff made a smart comment. I let it pass, but this is something I will bring up in my letter to Carnival. We only bought one photo… it was hard to find one that we liked.

First of all aboslutely fantastic review!

Thank you so much, very balanced, and detailed! Well done!

Secondly, just side note (forgive me if I'm mis-reading this)...

But, general photo and photography note...

The more pictures that you take (regardless of if you feel like it in the moment or not), the better odds that you are going to get some great pictures...

My professional opinion is to just take as many pictures as you can, all the time...

Then you have more odds of getting some great pictures...

I have several pictures (throughout my lifetime of cruising) of my past family, my current family, my friends, etc. where we were "thinking" in our minds, we look bad, coming off or on the ship, we're scummy, we look bad, we don't feel like it, etc.

And several of those are the best pictures of us ever!

Captured a moment in life that we will always have now, and we all looked better than we thought!

So, just sayin':o

Take the pictures regardless...

You can always choose not to buy later, but if it turns out good, then you can never buy back that moment in time...

Curt Jerome Wild off of the "take as many pictures as you can for potential memory sake" platform/soapbox now...

Just do what is good for you and your particular vacation!

(This rambling is not directed at OP, but just to any CCers who may read this in the future...:) )

Again, great review!

Done now.

CJW

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mkitchy

mkitchy

Posted
Posted

Great pictures Tina! We were in cabin 8232, three decks above you and Pete. If you zoom in on picture 0133, you can see my wife and I standing on our balcony. Congratulations on your new booking. We can't wait for our Hawaii cruise on the Spirit in Oct. Happy cruising.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
suziehmkr

suziehmkr

Posted
  • Author
Posted

CJW - I completely agree! We normally take tons of pics.... we know it betters our chances, that is for sure. I definitely won't argue with you there. However, when we were getting off the ship in Mazatlan, we were in a hurry since we knew Randi was waiting for us. This was where we got two backhanded remarks about not stopping. I am all for taking pics.... however, when someone declines, I don't think they should be made to feel guilty about it. We probably took a total of about 15-20 pics on the cruise.

 

But again - I totally agree with you about the odds of getting a good pic. No arguements there. And glad you liked the review. These days, some people are afraid to post any comments that MIGHT be taken as negative.... but I do my best to be balance.

 

mkitchy - I am going to go look at my pics now!! How fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LHP

LHP

Posted
Posted

Glad you had a great cruise!!

 

Amporn was our Cabin Steward back in March on the Pride and he was indeed the best we have ever had. (and we have had many)

 

He always remembered our names....and was there when we needed him, but not in the way. He was indeed a wonderful person to sail with.

 

We sailed with Jeff Bronson years ago and he is a hoot.

 

Sadly, the free champagne was just for New Year's. (but that was a nice touch) They did that on the Conquest years ago when we did the New Year's sailing.

 

May all your future cruises be as nice (or nicer) than this one!

(and we don't spoil the surprise for your daughter...promise!! sshhhhh)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mkitchy

mkitchy

Posted
Posted

We just happened to be out there enjoying the view while waiting to head down to the Krystal for our massage. Read on another website that Karl with a K is now Cruise Director on the Paradise, so we'll get to see him in less than three weeks. Come on Feb. 5th.!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lincdax

lincdax

Posted
Posted

Tina - Thank you for the detailed review. It will help greatly for our trip this coming spring.

 

I noticed some of your pictures were from the Pirate Dinner near Knott's Berry Farm. I've read some pretty horrible reviews of the dinner, especially bad seating assignments. Did you enjoy the dinner and show? My family is thinking of going to it after our Pride cruise in March.

 

Excellent pictures BTW!!!

 

Thanks - Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites
suziehmkr

suziehmkr

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Glad you had a great cruise!!

 

Amporn was our Cabin Steward back in March on the Pride and he was indeed the best we have ever had. (and we have had many)

 

He always remembered our names....and was there when we needed him, but not in the way. He was indeed a wonderful person to sail with.

 

We sailed with Jeff Bronson years ago and he is a hoot.

 

Sadly, the free champagne was just for New Year's. (but that was a nice touch) They did that on the Conquest years ago when we did the New Year's sailing.

 

May all your future cruises be as nice (or nicer) than this one!

(and we don't spoil the surprise for your daughter...promise!! sshhhhh)

 

LPH - Thanks! We enjoyed Amporn, I just wish we could request cabin stewards. It was helpful, but not intrusive. We have never had a bad cabin steward, but we appreciated his attention.

 

We had a feeling that it was just for New Year's, but I did let Carnival know in our letter that we appreciated it. We didn't even get Champagne at on New Year's Eve for the countdown on Princess, so it was a nice touch.

 

We are very much (secretly) looking forward to being back on the Pride... especially since it has been so darn cold here the last week!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...