Pride - Jan 6-13, 2008 - Review

[cmsmuse]

Pictures are almost organized & ready to be uploaded to my gallery. Hopefully will get them done tonite. Will post when it is done. :) Port review will come after that. But in a nutshell: El Eden Canopy Tour - great, Randi's Happy Horses - fanastic AGAIN; Clear Bottom Kayak & Snorkel - BIG disappointment.

I did the clear bottom kayak/snorkel in Cabo...the water was a bit murky, couldn't see much (saw a few fish) through the "clear bottom" but I had a great time kayaking by the rocks and seeing the great rock formations and the seals up close. Snorkeling...the water was a good temperature (i can't stand cold water) not Caribbean hot, but refreshing and not too cold. The water was still a bit murky, but I saw tons of fish and got an underwater picture of a puffer fish our guide caught with his hands for us. The guides were great but the main boat was suprisingly small. And for refreshments they had a few sodas and some water...I expect a bit better from a Carnival contractor. But we had a lot of fun!

[cmsmuse]

Thanks for a great review.I,too,am going on the Pride on Sunday and enjoyed what you wrote.Have done this cruise a few times on Carnival,the Elation 3 or 4 times,Jubilee and the Pride once.I remember a comedian,Jerome,was on every time.Is he still on?I remember him being quite good.We always go to the shows.WOuld not remember if they were repeats,that is the production shows.Have been on many cruises and enjoy watching the singers and dancers.I remember the weather being rainny last Sunday.Felt bad for you guys going on the cruise.It is not supposed to rain for us this Sunday,we hope.

 

JeRome was on the Pride's New Years cruise!

[suziehmkr]

I remember a comedian,Jerome,was on every time.Is he still on?

Yes - Jerome is still on the Pride. He is very funny! Here's hoping great weather for you!

 

I did the clear bottom kayak/snorkel in Cabo...the water was a bit murky, couldn't see much (saw a few fish) through the "clear bottom" but I had a great time kayaking by the rocks and seeing the great rock formations and the seals up close. Snorkeling...the water was a good temperature (i can't stand cold water) not Caribbean hot, but refreshing and not too cold. The water was still a bit murky, but I saw tons of fish and got an underwater picture of a puffer fish our guide caught with his hands for us. The guides were great but the main boat was suprisingly small. And for refreshments they had a few sodas and some water...I expect a bit better from a Carnival contractor. But we had a lot of fun!

 

I am glad that you had a good time with this excursion... maybe we caught them on a bad week. But it was nothing like what you experienced. I will go into it depth in my port review - but in the end, Carnival ended up giving us 50% of our $$ back.

[suziehmkr]

Photos are uploaded:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/562145937zJxCop

 

Enjoy!

[tickles]

We were also on the Pride in Nov of 06 and my daughter and I had a great time together. It was out first cruise so nothing to compare it to but everything was great. We are looking into another one asap so hopefully soon we will be able to go again.

[lnew1gd1]

Awesome pictures, thank you!!!

[cruzingagain]

Great pics!! We will be on the pride in 25 days!!!!

 

Thanks!

[Honeymoon_cruisers]

Cool pics we actually saw ourselves in your pic of the Atrium. Wished we could of met.

[MEOWSMURPHY]

Great pictures...I was extremely interested in the cabin shots..we will be taking our two granddaughters with us next year as a16th b'day present and the cabin looked ideal..when I look at the Carnival site and the Pride deck plans it appears that 8230 is on the port side of the ship and not an extended balcony..am I not looking at the right deck plan?

 

Thanks, Emmy

[melika091900]

I will be taking my first cruise 2/24/08 on Pride and wanted to take a white dinner jacket tux. Is that to much or would you say most men wore suits?

Thanks!

 

 

hey there

we will be on the pride with you !! have you checked out our roll call ?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=577895&page=3

 

theres the link !! its almost here

[melika091900]

great Pics !! thanks for sharing, i cant wait to get on the pride !!!

[Anni_M]

A couple of questions - were the formal nights monday and Friday? How many late night deck parties, and can you remember what nights? Also on the deck parties did they have a band or DJ? Is there a band or DJ out at the pool? Finally - the "big shows" in the main theater, what's the rating (per se - we're bringing the kids) do you give them a G - PG - PG13 or R?

Thanks so much!!

Anni

[suziehmkr]

I am glad everyone is enjoying the photos. I am trying to get the port review done, but real life keeps getting in the way. Oh! and researching our next big one! :D

 

when I look at the Carnival site and the Pride deck plans it appears that 8230 is on the port side of the ship and not an extended balcony..am I not looking at the right deck plan?

 

Thanks, Emmy

 

Emmy - when looking at the deck plans - any category that has diagonal lines for the shading, then it has an extended balcony (well, except the 4e's, which obviously don't have balconies to extend. :D) This just means the balcony is deeper than the standard ones. We had three chairs and a small table out there. Nice sized balcony. Some of them have the longer balconies, but they don't sleep more than 2 (such as 5236 which we had last year, 8232, 8234, 8239) Those are like little secret cabins that most don't notice. :)

 

A couple of questions - were the formal nights monday and Friday? How many late night deck parties, and can you remember what nights? Also on the deck parties did they have a band or DJ? Is there a band or DJ out at the pool? Finally - the "big shows" in the main theater, what's the rating (per se - we're bringing the kids) do you give them a G - PG - PG13 or R?

Thanks so much!!

Anni

 

Formal nights are Monday & Friday. I don't have my capers out right now, but I remember one late night deck party (Mazatlan night, maybe?) We didn't make it up for the deck party - but I believe it was a band. The pool deck has a band sometimes, other times they pipe in music. The DJ at the aft pool is no longer... :(

 

The ratings of the shows vary depending on the time of night. They will put warnings in your Capers so you know if it is child appropriate. Most of the big shows would be fine... but they give a warning about some of the costumes being skimpy. There are two comedians that do late night comedy - definitely no kids should see. But they also do earlier shows that are more family friendly. Hope that helps. :)

[Wylie Coyote]

Do the formal nights have some type of theme?

 

Thanks in advance...

[suziehmkr]

No, not really... The Pride doesn't emphasize the themes as much as other ships/lines do. Lobster is on the first formal night. It is actually 1/2 of a small lobster tail and a couple of shrimp. We fell asleep after Cabo so we were too late to participate in the dining room - so I am not sure what they did for that one.

[melika091900]

do they have a mardi gras party ?

[suziehmkr]

do they have a mardi gras party ?

 

Not on the Pride.

[melika091900]

ahhh

thank you for responding !! loved the pics !!!!

take care

Melissa

[suziehmkr]

You are very welcome....

 

Port review has been posted on the Mexican Riviera board.

[MEOWSMURPHY]

 

Emmy - when looking at the deck plans - any category that has diagonal lines for the shading, then it has an extended balcony (well, except the 4e's, which obviously don't have balconies to extend. :D) This just means the balcony is deeper than the standard ones. We had three chairs and a small table out there. Nice sized balcony. Some of them have the longer balconies, but they don't sleep more than 2 (such as 5236 which we had last year, 8232, 8234, 8239) Those are like little secret cabins that most don't notice. :)

 

Thanks suzie for the input...We are actually going to be in 5238 in 23 days and I CAN'T WAIT:D ..we will definitely be looking at 8230 for next year with our granddaughters although DH thinks that maybe we should get them their own cabin..maybe an inside across from our balcony..that way they can have a bit of privacy...just not sure which way to go on that..but at least I now know we have an option...looks like your daughters are teenagers..did you find you had enough room to get ready for dinner when you were all in the cabin..or did you end up letting them get ready first and then you took your turn?.. I haven't had a chance to read your port reviews, but wondered if you happened to get a look at the zodiac ( Carnival excursion) in Cabo? Just wondering if they have seats in them...we are booked on this but still deciding if the ride will be too chaotic and rough for us "old folks"...thanks again for all your input..and with regards to the 1/2 lobster tail and shrimp...I just might have to order two of those to get my "lobster fix";)

[suziehmkr]

Thanks suzie for the input...We are actually going to be in 5238 in 23 days and I CAN'T WAIT:D ..we will definitely be looking at 8230 for next year with our granddaughters although DH thinks that maybe we should get them their own cabin..maybe an inside across from our balcony..that way they can have a bit of privacy...just not sure which way to go on that..but at least I now know we have an option...looks like your daughters are teenagers..did you find you had enough room to get ready for dinner when you were all in the cabin..or did you end up letting them get ready first and then you took your turn?.. I haven't had a chance to read your port reviews, but wondered if you happened to get a look at the zodiac ( Carnival excursion) in Cabo? Just wondering if they have seats in them...we are booked on this but still deciding if the ride will be too chaotic and rough for us "old folks"...thanks again for all your input..and with regards to the 1/2 lobster tail and shrimp...I just might have to order two of those to get my "lobster fix";)

 

While we had enough room most of the time, getting ready on formal night was the toughest. I had planned to stagger, but I accidentally fell asleep and got behind on steaming my gown. :( We have sailed with one of our daughters before and didn't have any problems. But if we were to sail with both girls again, I would put them in a seperate cabin. Since we added our oldest a little late in the game, we had to stick with the quad. I have a clingy 18YO and we had a hard time finding some private time for ourselves.

 

We saw people in the zodiacs and they sure looked like alot of fun. The ones we saw had seats. The one that was used for our excursion was smaller, thus had no seats.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!!

[DugoutNut]

Hi,

 

Great review and great photos. Question:

 

Which horseback excursion did you to and where is Victor's? I have to have that shrimp. MMMMMMMMMM

 

Carl

[suziehmkr]

The horseback riding is in Mazatlan with Randi's Happy Horses. It is the 3rd time that we have done this excursion and I can't imagine NOT at least going to Stone Island if we were to make it to Mazatlan again. It is a great tour which takes you over to Stone Island. So many people get to Mazatlan and think the only things there are the Golden Zone & old downtown - but Stone Island is wonderful. Check out my port review on the Mexican Riviera board. It is always our favorite day - 3 years running!

[MEOWSMURPHY]

While we had enough room most of the time, getting ready on formal night was the toughest. I had planned to stagger, but I accidentally fell asleep and got behind on steaming my gown. :( We have sailed with one of our daughters before and didn't have any problems. But if we were to sail with both girls again, I would put them in a seperate cabin. Since we added our oldest a little late in the game, we had to stick with the quad. I have a clingy 18YO and we had a hard time finding some private time for ourselves.

 

We saw people in the zodiacs and they sure looked like alot of fun. The ones we saw had seats. The one that was used for our excursion was smaller, thus had no seats.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!!

 

Thanks Tina...again for all your great info...we are definitely looking forward to this cruise...weather doesn't seem that warm..but hey ...3 weeks could mean a drastic change..so we'll go with the flo...anything has gotta be better than the "ZERO" with double digit wind chill we will be experiencing this weekend...:D

[suziehmkr]

It really is a crapshoot with the weather. Last year, we were on the New Year's cruise (so a week earlier) and it was perfect. The weather in Long Beach was the worst of it. It got a little chilly in Mazatlan in the afternoon, but otherwise it was fine. Have a GREAT trip!