Carnival Pride Review 4/27-5/3

[metalmuff26]

Just returned yesterday so figured I would write something for you anxious cruisers awaiting to go on the pride.

 

Embarktion: We live 20 min away from the terminal in Baltimore so getting to the terminal was a breeze for us. We were dropped off so didn't have to worry about parking. I don't know what time everyone else got there but get there EARLY. We got there around 1130 and were onboard by 12. I dont know how to stress this enough, please get there early. We were having a drink and watching everyone stand in line that came on at 2pm. For newbies, you drop your bags off to porters, tip $1-2, then head to the building. Go through metal detectors and stand in line for S&S card. This was fast and easy. Picture, then on board. We all did cash so we just put money on our cards as soon as we got on. No line at all. It was nice being the first 200 people on board. Took a lot of pics of the ship and had some drinks and lunch. You sail under the key and bay bridge which was great!

 

Ship: I love the layout of this ship. You can walk the entire length of the ship without going down a deck. Ok so they have the nudes all over the wall. Its not raunchy, its art of the Greek/Roman period. People need to get over it. Love the architecture of the ship.

 

Lido deck: Pools were ok, a little crowded during the day but thats to be expected. They were salt water in case you didn't know. Jacuzzis were nice. The adults area was nice. If anyone says that they had a hard time finding a deck chair, they are LYING! They were an abundance of deck chairs everywhere on different decks. In fact, we were laying on a portion by David's that no one was on. It was very nice and private. We werent trying to cram by the pools. So if that is your thing, brace yourself for the crowds. Also some decks have shade that you can lay under and take a nap so this was very nice! Mini golf was great! We played a couple games during the day. Hairy chest contest was hilarious!

 

Food:

 

Breakfast was spent at the buffet on Lido. Very wide selection of eggs, cereals, fruit, yogurt, omelettes, oatmeal, juices, french toast, and more! We usually got omlettes or scrambled eggs. They were the best! Loved the selection. Also the times worked out great for us since we usually didn't get up til 10am. Lunch was also at the buffet. We definitely took advantage of the deli-ruben, aragula/mozz, grilled ham/cheese sandwiches and burgers were great!

 

Water: was a little funky the first day but it tasted fine the rest of the cruise. We didn't end up bringing any kind of soda on but we saw plenty of people with the soda cards walking around

 

Drinks: We usually got the DODs but you can get the souvenier glass for 7.50 plus 15% grat filled up for 6 something. Not bad. Beer was $5 but you should definitely get the bucket (4) its cheaper. $13 domestic, $19 imports. Long islands, margaritas, mojitos, and signature drinks were $9.50. Great quality, not watered down at all! Stick to one bartender and TIP TIP!

 

Room Service: definitely took advantage of this when the lines were too long at the buffet when we got back on board at Freeport. Sandwiches are ok. We liked the chicken fajata and PBJ. No costs, just tip $1 per sandwich.

 

Sushi: Very good, not like back at home but back at home, its not free either. Different every day. We were there every night right before dinner at 815 except for the captains dinner its not open. Hours are 5-8 usually.

 

24 Hour Pizza: was a life saver after drunk nights at the piano bar and disco. We usually ended up there around 230am.

 

Normandie Dining Room: Please go here for dinner. Dont just go to the buffet. Fabulous dinners! If you cant find something you like then there is definitely something wrong with you. They had such a wide selection of everything from duck, lamb, ribs, steak, prime rib, lobster tail, seafood newburg, tilapia, salmon, grouper, snapper, pasta dishes, etc. The portions were a little small, acoording to the guys, so they each got 2 entrees every night. I was fine with 2 appetizers and 1 entree. Appetizers usually consisted of soups galore: hot and cold. We loved the soups so much!!!! Get at least 2 appetizers since they are small. Desserts were delicious! Of course we got all the signature ones (warm choc melting cake, creme brulee, grand marnier souffle, cherries jubliee, baked alasks, and the list goes on..)

 

The waiters were very good. We had Rando and Dexter. Awesome guys, knew all our names and we saw them usually during the day working the buffets. Very good service. They sang and danced twice throughout the cruise. It was nice.

 

Nassau: We got in around 8am Thursday. Since we didn't have an excursion until 1pm, we did the shops and the straw market. Locals are a little pushy asking if you need a taxi or if you want a horse and buggy ride. Just say no thanks and keep walking, its that simple. They had a Harley Davidson store we checked out. Prices were a little high for T shirts so we kept walking.

 

Straw Market: Sketchy! Mostly its all the same stuff down each aisle. Purses, bags, wood statues, towels, etc. I bought my sister a pink Prada bag and talked the lady down to $30 so I was fine with that. My bf bought a Bob Marley towel for $15. Just watch your money when you pull it out, they all definitely stare and look at you.

 

Tortuga Rum Cake Factory: About 5-10 min from the ship, Went here and bought the big rum cakes(they only sold the small and medium ones on the ship) and the Tortuga rum. Check out the store instead of the ship, the selection is a lot better. We ended up buying the dark rum, the aged 5 year old rum, spiced rum and a original cake.

 

After our shopping spree, headed back to the ship and dropped off the purchases and ate lunch at the buffet (it was a ghost ship since everyone was on excursions, nice!) Then back out to meet our excursion at 12:45pm.

 

Barefoot Sailing Charters: They picked us up at the water fountain right in front of terminal. 10-15 min ride to boat deck. Greeted by Capt. Randy and first mate Travis. They tell you to take off your shoes (I guess they take this Barefoot sailing literally!) Then its about a 30 min ride to the reef. If you want to do snorkeling, do a private excursuion on your own and not with the ship. It was awesome. Only 8-10 people on board a sailboat (not like 20-50 people with the ship) that took us out to a reef that had a HUGE collection of coral, different kinds of fish everywhere and we even saw a SEA TURTLE! It was great to swim with the school of fish! Swam for about an hour looking at all the different things, then headed back on board for rum punch and cheese/crackers. Nice scenic/peaceful sail back with music by Jimmy Buffet and the Eagles. This is not a booze cruise so if you are looking for a peaceful sail/snorkel. Definitely look them up! We got back to the dock and the captain dropped everyone off. It was a great day!

 

Freeport: Not really populated as Nassau, more of an industrial port. They have shops as soon as you get off which is pretty much the same stuff they had in the straw market in Nassau. You pretty much have to take a cab to get to the city since you are about 30 min away from everything. Cab rides are flat rates $5pp. We booked an excursion at 10am so we were off the boat by 9am. Got a cab (try to get a group with you since they wait for their van to fill up before they leave) and rode to Our Lucaya. We were dropped off at the Westin/Sheraton hotel. Wonderful resort. We waited there to be picked up for our horseback riding excursion

 

Trikk Pony Adventures: Leo picked us up in truck with the horses in tow. We drove to Barbary Beach (nice secluded beach) about 20 min away. This tour was the best! It was just the 4 of us and her on the tour. Each person had their own horse and we rode on the beach and into the water. The hour and 1/2 tour was great and was definitely one of the best tours in Freeport! Leo dropped us back off at the Westin and we walked through the shops then headed back to the ship.

 

After our excursions, we were definitely wiped out. Took a power nap and then was ready for dinner.

 

Night Life: We did it all. The only shows we really went to were the "R rated shows" of the comedians(they did G rated stuff too at different times) so I cant really comment on the other ones. The comedians were hilarious! My bf even bought Percy Crews Cd! Dance club/disco was ok. It was packed the first night then dead for the rest of the cruise. Nice light up dance floor and the couches were comfy! Piano bar is the BEST kept secret on the Pride. That guy was AWESOME! We ended up there all the time til late. There were always people in there. The guitarist in the atrium bar was very good too! Karoke in Starry Nights was great! We pretty much hit every bar on that ship but the piano bar was our favorite! Deck party was GREAT! Mexican buffet, dancing and more!

 

Misc: A couple of other things we did was the Free Liquor Tasting the first night (Amarula was great!, they had coffee liquers, rums, tequilas, and vodkas), Margarita tasting, Sangria Night (you could buy a glass of different kinds) Galley Tour (tour of the kitchen) was AWESOME! It was huge! The soup cans look like vats and we got a ton of pics of the slabs of beef in the oven! Also, we bought the Carnival Cocktail and Cookbook so you can make the stuff at home :) Game shows such as Newlywed, not so Newlywed game! Hilarious! Bingo was good too even though we didnt win. Trivia was fun!

 

Dembarkation: Chaotic! Do the self assist. The elevators were crowded with people trying to cut in line to get off. Oh well, its normal. Customs was a breeze. Just fill out the card and you hand it to them at the terminal. We saw a ton of people waiting in line on the ship to get cleared but you could of just done it at the terminal when you got off. Plus I didn't understand why people were bringing their luggage up to the buffet for breakfast. You have plenty of time to go back to your room, leave your stuff there.

 

Well I hope that covers everything. I should have some pictures up soon. Let me know if you have questions! Oh and I got another monkeyhead!!! YAY! Hope everyone has a great cruise on the pride! We loved it!

[manmtnmike]

Thanks for the review!

 

Maybe you could help out with this one....Having a hard time finding out the names of the lounge bands and styles, but I'll keep trying.

 

13 days for us!

Thanks!

 

Mike

[RickyandLucy]

Awesome review, hit on all the topics I was interested in. Thank you very much.

[metalmuff26]

Thanks for the review!

 

Maybe you could help out with this one....Having a hard time finding out the names of the lounge bands and styles, but I'll keep trying.

 

13 days for us!

Thanks!

 

Mike

 

There was definitely a wide range of styles. They had jazz, rock, reggae

The Breeze was one of the band's names. We usually hung out in the Ivory Piano Bar, Starry Nights for karaoke, Guitarist in atrium lobby bar, Jazz music in Raphael Lounge some nights, Calyapso music on the lido deck by the pools. We just kind of walked around until we found something we liked. Decks 2 and 3 pretty much have everything you are looking for. Butterflies also had some people in it. Beauties was the club scene even though they did some 80s, 90s rock.

[manmtnmike]

There was definitely a wide range of styles. They had jazz, rock, reggae

The Breeze was one of the band's names. We usually hung out in the Ivory Piano Bar, Starry Nights for karaoke, Guitarist in atrium lobby bar, Jazz music in Raphael Lounge some nights, Calyapso music on the lido deck by the pools. We just kind of walked around until we found something we liked. Decks 2 and 3 pretty much have everything you are looking for. Butterflies also had some people in it. Beauties was the club scene even though they did some 80s, 90s rock.

 

 

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Were they any good?

 

Mike

[lukegr]

Nice review - sailing her out of Baltimore in August. Ours goes to Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay as well.

 

We'll be sure to get there early like usual to beat the lines and start the vacation off early.

 

Did you ever eat breakfast/lunch in the dining room? It's usually pretty good.

[metalmuff26]

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you!

Were they any good?

 

Mike

 

Yea we thought so. It would depend what kind of mood you were in. Like the Calypso music was great for laying by the pool and for the deck party. The Piano bar was great because you could request anything and he would play it. Plus this was the place to be at late hours since everything else was kind of dead. The guitarist and the jazz music was great before and after dinner. The dance club/disco was fun the first night but definitely dead when we tried to go again. Karaoke was fun as well. Like I said, its all mostly on decks 2 and 3 so you can just wander in and out of places until you find something you like.

[metalmuff26]

Nice review - sailing her out of Baltimore in August. Ours goes to Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay as well.

 

We'll be sure to get there early like usual to beat the lines and start the vacation off early.

 

Did you ever eat breakfast/lunch in the dining room? It's usually pretty good.

 

Yea definitely get there early. I'm so glad we did! There were long lines after 130pm. Nope, we never really had breakfast or lunch in the dining room since we got up at 10am. We weren't sure if you had to go at certain times so we just went to the buffet. We loved the dining room at night though for dinner. Loved the food at all of the places.

[jerseygirl2609]

Awesome review!!!!! Do you happen to have any capers you can scan and post?

[andychris]

Thank you for your review. We are anxious about our trip in august.

What room did you have?

We have an obstructed balcony and hear mixed views on that.

Thanks again

[anamanxs]

Great review, You did a Great job! I agree with everything said. You have to try the MONKEYBALLS at the tasting! Well worth the time, free and FUN! The shows and the comedy shows were all good.

 

I agree the dining room is so much better for dinner than the Lido buffet for dinner!

[TonyaJune]

Thanks for the review, very informative.

 

We will be sailing on Carnival for the first time in January, sounds like we will have a fantastic time.

[metalmuff26]

I dont have the capers but maybe Annette does. We had room 4154, it was a obstructed and it was GREAT! so much room for us! I loved the couch to put our things on. They also had 2 closets to hang up clothes and shelves to put things on. The bathroom really wasnt that bad either.

 

Annette-we loved the monkeyballs! they were great! I loved your review as well. How did Sailaway go? I'm sorry we didn't make it, the newbies wanted to walk around the ship. How did the rest of your trip go?

[kimmy624]

Hi Metalmuff,

 

I would love to ask you a few questions about the Baltimore area in general. Is there a way that I can contact you? I don't want to hijack the thread.

[careywv]

Was the anytime dining available in the dining room?

 

What time were you off the ship in Nassau? We are wondering if we have time to catch the first ferry over to Blue Lagoon - but it will be cutting it close.

[metalmuff26]

Hi Metalmuff,

 

I would love to ask you a few questions about the Baltimore area in general. Is there a way that I can contact you? I don't want to hijack the thread.

 

Sure my email is labell@tasrc.com

[metalmuff26]

Was the anytime dining available in the dining room?

 

What time were you off the ship in Nassau? We are wondering if we have time to catch the first ferry over to Blue Lagoon - but it will be cutting it close.

 

Yes there was but we still did the 815 seating. We were off the ship by 9am in Nassau. It takes a little bit but I'm sure if you are first in line or go early then you should be fine. The ship docked at 8am so people got off then

[Shoresan]

Thanks for the awesome review! You answered almost all of my questions. I'm so glad to hear about the Piano Bar. When we cruised the last time it was awful (my only disappointment on my last cruise)

 

We're heading out on June 6. Hope to see some of you then:)

Cathy

[lorriv20]

Thanks for taking time to do an awesome review. We will be going in January. Did the Pride have the legends show, and if so, do you remember what artists they did?

[metalmuff26]

Thanks for taking time to do an awesome review. We will be going in January. Did the Pride have the legends show, and if so, do you remember what artists they did?

 

Yes they did, its the very last day. So it was on saturday since we got back on sunday. It was at 1015pm and they had auditions for it all week. Not really sure what kind of music it was though.

[june2006]

Great review! Can't wait to see the pics ~

 

Do you have any idea regarding the time frames of going under the bay bridge and the other bridge???

 

thank you

[metalmuff26]

Great review! Can't wait to see the pics ~

 

Do you have any idea regarding the time frames of going under the bay bridge and the other bridge???

 

thank you

 

I think it was around sunset so maybe 6 or 7ish. We were going under the key bridge I think around 6ish cus we were doing the liquor tasting at the same time. Not sure about the bay bridge probably closer to 730ish. Just guessing here.

[cruisefanatic01]

Thanks so much for your review. I'm glad to see that you had good service in the dining room since that has been a hot topic lately. Also, thanks for letting us know what shore excursions you booked. I was actually considering not even getting off of the ship in Freeport but I think I may like to book with Trikk Pony now.

[metalmuff26]

Thanks so much for your review. I'm glad to see that you had good service in the dining room since that has been a hot topic lately. Also, thanks for letting us know what shore excursions you booked. I was actually considering not even getting off of the ship in Freeport but I think I may like to book with Trikk Pony now.

 

Yes the dining room service was top notch. We didnt wait long for anything. Loved our waiters! Trikk Pony was so much fun! It was great to be on a secluded beach without anyone but our little group and her. Leo is so friendly and you dont have to put down a deposit or anything. Plus the riding in Freeport is so much cheaper than Nassau. Its $150 in Nassau and $95 in Freeport. HUGE difference! You should definitely check it out on www.tripadvisor.com Just put in Trikk Pony Adventures and all the reviews will come up! Happy cruising!

[jem77bfp]

Great review, thanks for all the information