Review of the Pride sailing out of Baltimore 5-10-09

[skay]

Carnival Pride Out Of Baltimore On 5-10-09 Review:

 

 

The van from cruiseshuttle.com arrived on time (11:50 a.m.) and got us to the Port of Baltimore by around 12:20 p.m. There was a small line at check-in, but it moved quickly, even factoring in an additional “flu disclaimer” form that needed to be filled out. Things bogged down after that, however, and we weren’t able to board the ship until around 2:20. We found out later on that the customs dogs had sniffed something in one of the bags from a passenger debarking from the 5-3-09 cruise, which meant they then had to check every bag coming off from that cruise, resulting in a very unusual and lengthy delay.

 

Once on board, we headed to the Lido deck for lunch. The staff handled the crowd effortlessly and there were few if any lines. I tried the grilled Reuben, which was pretty good, and my father had the corned beef, which he thought was a little tough. The servers walking around with the welcome/sail away drinks had a sign on their trays stating that the drinks were NOT free, and cost $7.95. I appreciated that after having read threads in which people said they were under the impression that the sail away drinks were complimentary.

 

After lunch – around 3:00 – we were able to go to our cabin. We had an inside room on the Verandah deck (#7197) and I was very satisfied with the size and the layout. There was plenty of space for all of our clothes, our luggage fit under the bed (and one bag was placed inside one of the closets), and there was plenty of space in the bathroom for stuff like toothbrushes, soap, shavers, etc. The only thing that didn’t quite work out too well was the table and chair, since we had the beds set up as two twins, vs. one king. But that was relatively minor, and we didn’t feel crowded at all throughout the entire cruise.

 

The muster drill went off without a hitch, and seemed to be more of the full detailed variety, rather than the rushed through, abridged version. The only glitch as far as the ship itself was towards the end of the cruise – there was a fire in a battery room, but it was handled immediately and did not result in any other problems.

 

The first night in the dining room we tried the sweet and sour shrimp, which was delicious. The service, however, was a little slow. We then switched to the flexible, “Your Time Dining”, and had better servers the remaining nights of the cruise. It really made a difference in terms of enjoying the meals. We didn’t eat at David’s during this cruise. The best meals were the sweet and sour shrimp, lobster/shrimp, and barbequed ribs/prime rib. The other nights were good, but not quite as memorable. My father ate all the dinners in the main dining room; I ate 4 meals in the dining room (I tried the Spa fish one night in addition to the 3 mentioned above, and it was ok), and 3 on the Lido deck. The chicken parmesan on the Lido deck was good, and I can’t remember the other two meals. I also tried the Sushi bar a couple of times and it was ok, but not all that great.

 

The pizza on the ship was ok, but not really as crispy as I like. The Asian section on the Lido deck was nothing to really write home about. The hamburgers on the Lido deck were good, as were the chicken tenders. One afternoon they had India-themed food, and I tried some things I’d never even heard of before and enjoyed them. Another afternoon they had Mediterranean-themed food (falafel, hummus, pita, etc.) and I enjoyed that as well, although I wouldn’t say that the falafel was all that authentic. (The same for the New England crab cakes in the main dining room the last night. For anyone from Maryland, it was more like a fish cake than a crab cake. But it wasn’t offensive; it just wasn’t authentic for those of us who are more familiar with what “real” crab cakes actually taste like.)

 

And I must admit – I fell in love with all of the soft ice cream machines. :o

 

The omelets on the Lido deck in the morning were great, as were the croissants, the orange-passion fruit-guava drink, and the fresh fruit. The French toast was also good. The only thing that they didn’t seem to know how to make at all was cheesecake. I tried at least 4 different types, and each one was way too light and not creamy at all. They did better with most of the other desserts. And I now understand the love affair people develop with the Bitter ‘N Blanc bread pudding.

 

The waiters and waitresses did not sing every night, but when they did it was fun. And for the most part, the assistant Maitre D, who was from the Czech Republic, was very nice, but one night a table was not ready when it was supposed to, and she said to one of the waiters, in an irritated tone of voice: “Well, zey will just have to deal wiz it!”

 

The only real negative thing about the entire cruise was the drinking water. It was absolutely rank. I’d read about that in other reviews, and was hoping that the problem had been fixed. It has NOT been fixed, and was something that even cruisers who’d been on 10+ cruises were talking about. They said they’d been on other Carnival cruises before and the water NEVER tasted so rank. I switched to iced tea with no ice, because as soon as the ice began to melt, it infused whatever you were drinking with that horrible taste. Other people put in lots of lemon to try to kill the taste. I didn’t find that it affected the coffee and iced tea (as long as I didn’t add in any ice) but other people found that it affected the taste of everything. I also found one water fountain – in the gym – that had good tasting water. Apparently, the filtering system that was in the water fountain somehow managed to remove the nasty taste that was in the water throughout the rest of the ship.

 

And speaking of the gym, I spent most of my time there – approximately 3 hours/day. They had a nice selection of equipment, and they also had a nice adults-only hot tub, sauna, and steam room. The only thing that was at times bothersome was the fact that Carnival employees were allowed to use the gym, even when it resulted in passengers having to wait in line to use the equipment.

 

The entertainment was ok, but not all that great. There was a trio in the Butterflies lounge that was not very good, a nice acoustic guitarist (Scott) who played at various venues throughout the ship, a seasoned duo that played Reggae music out by the rear Lido pool that was so-so, a piano player who played at various places throughout the ship, another acoustic guitar player, and the Carnival dancers/singers. The best night at the Taj Majal, IMO, was the Carnival Legends night – when the best of the Karaoke bar (The Starry Night Lounge) hit the stage for some good old fashioned fun. The Disco seemed to be the hottest place around, and even though I'm not a big fan of hip-hop music, I enjoyed watching the people dancing. (That was also one of the times I wished I'd been there with my girlfriend instead of my father.)

 

The best port for me was Half Moon Cay. I’ve never seen a more beautiful beach in my life. I could have definitely stayed there for another day or so. Grand Turk and Freeport were ok, but Half Moon Cay definitely wowed me. (Note: Seeing Freeport for the first time was kind of shocking, at least in the dock area. It looked (and smelled) like an industrial wasteland. But the city and beach were nice, and from what people who went on the swim with the dolphins excursions, so were those areas.)

 

It rained on several of the sea days, but they closed the roof over the middle Lido deck pool, and it made it even easier for me to spend time in the gym, since I didn’t feel as if I were missing anything. Talking to folks around the ship, it didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits – there always seemed to be something to do to take the focus away from the weather. For me, one of the things I enjoyed was the free liquor tasting that was available on the main deck twice during the cruise. I got to taste a liqueur that was a little bit like Bailey’s, but it was called Sheridan, and it came in a unique bottle with two separate sides – one brown, and the other white. And after it was poured, the brown liquid went to the bottom, and the white liquid rose to the top. There was also another liqueur from South Africa that was made from some fruit that was rather tasty. And they also had several different flavored rums. The samples were tiny, but added up, they probably equaled a shot, and it was enough to get a little buzz. There was also the traditional “Meet The Captain” party, which I missed because I was finishing up a workout in the gym, and a meet and greet for previous passengers, which my dad went to.

 

I found the staff throughout the ship to be very pleasant and helpful, and our room steward, Yasa, was top notch. There is no doubt that this cruise packed the most bang for the buck of any vacation I’ve ever taken. After having read a lot of reviews, I was surprised that I did not feel pressured to buy anything. They took our photos a couple of times, and a lot of people seemed to want to have their photos take on formal night, but all in all the promotions were much more low-key than I’d expected.

 

As far as seasickness goes I think things would have been better if my doctor hadn’t prescribed 12.5 mg of Meclizine instead of the standard dosage of 25 mg. I didn’t realize the lower dosage for a couple of days, so during that time I was kind of queasy. But as soon as I started taking 25 mg in the morning, everything was fine.

 

In terms of helpful tips that I got from this board…getting the lanyard for my sail and sign card from the casino was a winner. So were the tips about bringing a power strip, the info that room service was complimentary (my dad ordered shrimp salad for lunch one day and said it was very good), the info about how much wine could be brought on board, the info that it was ok to order multiple meals (we did that on lobster/shrimp night), and the info about the sail away drink not being free.

 

Our cruise director was Kirk. His voice was reminiscent of an 80’s-ish disc jockey, which was ok for a while, but it got old by the end of the cruise – especially since he was making more and more announcements by the end of the cruise. The assistant cruise director was Jamie, who was real “perky”.

 

The coolest person involved with entertainment was Donna, who ran the karaoke and the Carnival Legends show. She was from Australia, and had only been with Carnival for a week or two. She would fill in at times when no one wanted to sing at karaoke, and on the first formal night she wore one of the nicest looking little black dresses I’d ever seen.

 

Almost as an after thought, the one thing I noticed is that a lot of women seemed to like taking the elevator up to the 10th deck, even when they really had nothing to do on the 10th deck. Maybe the fact that the larger than life naked statue of David was there had something to do with it? Hmmmmmmmm….all I know is that every time I joked with someone about that, regardless of age, she blushed. Well, whatever works for ya…that’s my philosophy.

 

Without a doubt, I’d rate this cruise an “A”. I think that it helped that we took the cruise in May, when most young kids were in school and it was past college spring break. At some point down the road I’d like to take a cruise with my girlfriend, because most of the passengers were either couples or families. But for a first cruise, and under the circumstances of being there with my 87 year old father, it was a great experience.

[texascat]

Thank you for the review! It sounds like you had a great time!!! I can't wait until October. :eek:

[skay]

Thank you for the review! It sounds like you had a great time!!! I can't wait until October. :eek:

You're most welcome. I really did have a great time. It's a beautiful ship with a wonderful crew. I hope you have a great time on your upcoming cruise.

 

NOTE: I forgot to mention that comedian Kim Harrison was extremely funny, both in her G-rated show, and in her adult rated show. She was able to poke fun at herself, and, as she said: "I'm built for comfort, not for speed". :D

 

She was a riot.

[kids1stcruise]

very good to hear your review

[Nacwolin]

Thanks for taking the time to post this detailed review! :)

[malittlefoot971]

Thanx for the review. We're contemplating a cruise from baltimore next year and are curious about the timing when you left. You said you weren't able to board due to baggage searches. How long would you say it took you to get "out to sea" from the port and also how long did it take you to get to the bay bridge? Thanks for any input you can give.

[CruiseinNJ]

Thanks for the review!

[StephanieS]

Thank you for sharing your review! Only a little over a week to go!!

[michelle1836]

Thanks for your review. I wasnt thinking of seeing the comedian but since you said she was very funny, I may rethink that.

[skay]

Thanx for the review. We're contemplating a cruise from baltimore next year and are curious about the timing when you left. You said you weren't able to board due to baggage searches. How long would you say it took you to get "out to sea" from the port and also how long did it take you to get to the bay bridge? Thanks for any input you can give.

The timing on this cruise was all messed up because it took so long for everybody to be able to board. We were supposed to sail away at 5:30, but it ended up being more like 6:15 or later. I was feeling a little queasy so I wasn't looking out the windows in the dining room to see when we went past the Bay Bridge, so I guess I'm not much help to you in that dept. Sorry.

[skay]

Thanks for your review. I wasnt thinking of seeing the comedian but since you said she was very funny, I may rethink that.

At least for the adult show, Kirk said: "If you're easily offended, you're GOING TO BE OFFENDED. And if you're not easily offended, you're still going to be offended". So let that be a warning, if you're easily offended. :cool:

[Bill Friendly]

Wow, you work out A Lot...

[skay]

Wow, you work out A Lot...

Yep. And towards the end of the cruise, I saw one of the guys who runs the gym, Anthony, early in the morning, after having seen him late in the evening the previous night. I joked that it was really comfortable sleeping under one of the tables there in the gym. He looked at me for a second, then when I smiled he knew I was only kidding. (But I'm not 100% sure he knew that initially.)

 

:D

 

One note about the gym: it's open until 10 p.m. When I'd called Carnival before the cruise, they weren't sure, and told me they thought it was only open until 8 p.m. I was glad it was open later.

[indiaksue]

Skay,

Thanks for the review. We were on that cruise as well and it is always fun to read other peoples viewpoint. Funny about the water, I didn't have any problem with it, but I suppose water from different parts of the country taste different. We liked the dance club too but we found there not to be too many people participating. Sometimes it was us and 1 other couple out there. It was always between 10:15 and midnight when we were there, when did you go? I totally agree with you about Half Moon Cay, it is the most beautiful of the Cruise lines private islands out there and we are going back in August.

Did you go to any of the meet and greets for cruise critic? We never made it unfortunately, we had planned on it but it just never happened.

[firefly4423]

Thank you for your review!! and the time you spent on it

[skay]

Skay,

Thanks for the review. We were on that cruise as well and it is always fun to read other peoples viewpoint. Funny about the water, I didn't have any problem with it, but I suppose water from different parts of the country taste different. We liked the dance club too but we found there not to be too many people participating. Sometimes it was us and 1 other couple out there. It was always between 10:15 and midnight when we were there, when did you go? I totally agree with you about Half Moon Cay, it is the most beautiful of the Cruise lines private islands out there and we are going back in August.

Did you go to any of the meet and greets for cruise critic? We never made it unfortunately, we had planned on it but it just never happened.

1. I enjoyed reading your review as well. It's definitely interesting seeing someone else's perspective on the same cruise.

2. I popped into the dance club at various times throughout the cruise -- usually after 11 p.m. When I was there there were either lots of folks on the dance floor, or else it was dead. It was fascinating watching the people when it was crowded. I don't know if I saw you or not, but if you were dancing up a storm, and I saw you, I enjoyed it. :D I think I stopped by the first night and there was a blonde haired woman who was wearing one of those glow necklaces, and she was dancing all over the place. I saw her the next morning on the Lido deck with her husband and two daughters, and I said: "HEY...you're the dancer from last night". She smiled. Seeing the dancing was one of the things that really made me wish I'd been on the cruise with my g/f instead of my dad, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

3. I don't know how anyone drinking that water could not notice it, but if it didn't bother you, more power to ya. :)

4. Things got very hectic here right before the cruise (we moved my mother to a different assisted living, which ended up being exhausting, and in the process it caused a lot of friction between me and my dad in the days leading up to the cruise, etc.) so I really fell out of the loop as far as the meet and greet for cruise critic members. Maybe next time.

[skay]

Thank you for your review!! and the time you spent on it

You're welcome. Actually, this ended up being double work, because the on-going review I wrote using my laptop during the cruise got accidentally deleted, and using programs to try to un-delete it was unsuccessful. So I basically had to try to re-create what I'd written from scratch, and some stuff got left out. But for the most part, I think the review captured the cruise experience for me pretty well. It was my first cruise, and the tips I got here definitely helped. And from what I learned on this cruise, I think it'll help me enjoy the next one even more.

[indiaksue]

I was not that person. We were usually at the club really early when it opened, and really didn't want to dance by ourselves. The only time we would do that would be if a good song came on that we really couldn't miss.

[skay]

One thing I forgot -- the cool towel animals. There wasn't one the first night, but after that there was one every night. The first night was an elephant, then a dog, then THE BEST -- a hanging monkey! It was hanging in front of the large mirror, and was most memorable. Then there was a frog, and a shark, and a snake. I thought after not getting one the first night that they'd stop making them. But after that first night they were always there, and it made the cruise that much more memorable.

[sallyb]

Can you tell me more about cruiseshuttle.com? I tried going to their website, not very informative. How much did it cost? We are local, about half an hour to port.

Thanks!

[skay]

Can you tell me more about cruiseshuttle.com? I tried going to their website, not very informative. How much did it cost? We are local, about half an hour to port.

Thanks!

Well...cruiseshuttle.com got us there and back, but honestly, we won't be using them again. They're a small outfit, and as the season got busier, their communications got fewer and further between. I'd go with Zebest or another local sedan service, or just drive down to the port and park. The cost with cruiseshuttle.com was about the same as just parking at the port. But since I was with my 87 y.o. father, and I'd never been there/didn't know the logistics of the layout, I wasn't sure how far it was from the ship to the parking lot, so I decided to go with cruiseshuttle.com. Next time, we'd just drive down and park there.

 

It was also a little complicated dealing with cruiseshuttle.com in terms of what we had to do after the ship docked and started the debarkation process. To the best of my knowledge, other sedan services just require you to call them when the ship gets in, and they work their schedules around you. With cruiseshuttle.com, we were instructed to request an earlier debarkation time, then call them, and there was a threat that they could charge up to $10/15 minutes per person if we caused them to have to wait for us. So next time, we won't be using their service.

[Weeziblu]

GREAT review! Thanks for taking the time to put it together. We're taking our first cruise on the Pride in June so I appreciate the details!

[sallyb]

skay,

We plan on having rides to/from the port from our children who owe us this payback.;)

We were at a Holiday Inn near home for a wedding lately and they had a port shuttle. I asked if we had to stay there to book the shuttle, or could we just park and pay, they said no. Just checking all our options in case no kids are available to shuttle us. I'm sure that won't actually happen.:p

[andychris]

Thank you for the detailed review. We are looking forward to the pride in august.