Just off the Pride yesterday....

[chikwithstix72]

Hi everyone! I just want to thank these boards for keeping us occupied until our sailing. Even though we have cruised before a few times, these boards gave great tips, advice, and even just general advance information that was good to know before we got on board.

 

Here is my review, sorry no pictures yet. My son hasn’t taken them off his disk yet, but he will and I repost with pictures, hopefully in the next day or two. But here are some general thoughts.

 

My family on the Pride was me, DH and my two DS (25 and 21). We have cruised several times before on Princess and RCL. The main reason we chose this cruise was the Port of Baltimore, we are 1 hour away and love this convenience.

 

The ship is really pretty and laid out quite well. It is a good size, big enough to offer the amenities we are used to, but small enough that we could get around easily, and if we were looking for someone, it was usually pretty easy to find them. I kept thinking it was like the 3 bears story, not too big, not too small, just the right size.

 

The cabins: DH & I had a balcony, the boys had an inside cabin. As I had read on these boards, the cabins are very roomy and lots of storage space. We also had a sofa. Our cabin was a good bit bigger than the balcony cabins we had on Princess and RCL, and also the bathroom was large as well. It was a good thing, as our cabin became somewhat of a meeting spot with the boys, and my 25 y/o can really snore, so the 21 y/o ended up sleeping on our sofa a couple of times! Lol! Our cabins were on different decks, we were on 6, they were on 7. Our cabin steward was Noli, he was excellent. Once the boys needed to get into our cabin for some medicine, and since Noli knew them, he let them in, which we really appreciated. In fact, the boys commented several times that he was much nicer to them than their own steward. But my theory on that is it could be their age…I see this a lot in upscale restaurants…20-somethings don’t get the service that my DH & I do, and I believe there is a perception that older patrons probably will spend more than the younger kids. Which is a shame, because we live just outside of Washington DC and there are plenty of 20-somethings who have some very good paying positions, probably make more money than us. The one thing we didn’t care for in the cabins were the room safes, locking and unlocking with a credit card is a pain. The boys didn’t like it because if one of them needed to get into the safe, he would need the same card and if other had it and was out, he couldn’t get in. We didn’t like it because we like to lock up any credit cards we bring with us, we don’t like to carry it around on the ship, so we had find a spot where we felt it would be safe.

 

 

The food: we loved the food. Our usual pattern on cruises is usually eat a nice big breakfast, small snack in the mid-day (like an ice cream), enjoy a nice early dinner, and depending on how late we are out, a late night meal/snack around 1 or 2. However, once we discovered how you can build your own nachos at the hamburger/hot dog grill by the pool, we kept doing that more and more in the afternoon. The nacho chips were outstanding. The chips are warm, appear to be slightly thick, but yet are crisp and light in your mouth. Those were my downfall, I would pile them with the melted cheese, chili, sour cream and salsa…yum! We had breakfast at the buffet a couple of times, we also went to the Main Dining Room for breakfast, which was very good. We had the early seating at dinner, which all of the meals were very good. Our service was a tad slow, but tolerable, we would arrive promptly at 6, be done and out by 7:30. Not really too bad when you have appetizer, salad, entrée, dessert and coffee. However, the last night, we didn’t get out until 8:00, it was really slow. I don’t know why, our servers seemed very busy, maybe they have too many tables? Also, while I did love the singing/dancing routines by the wait staff, maybe that was just too much for the wait staff? One night, they were getting started with the singing/dancing and our waiter actually came running out with DH’s dessert, said “here you go!” and literally slid it (almost tossed) across the table. He was running to get in line for the singing/dancing. So if Carnival is making the wait staff work more tables, maybe they should reconsider the entertainment part, just seems like an awful lot for those folks to do. I am not complaining, just making an observation. Overall the food was excellent, I would say on par, possibly better than our previous cruises.

 

Entertainment: We saw most of the shows, we thought they were good to fair. It was amusing enough to pass the time, but since we have cruised before, it seems like most of the shows are similar. We do like to catch the comedians, they were pretty good. The Starry Nights lounge was filled with karaoke most nights, and the piano lounge (Ivory Bar) was a popular spot. We also spent time in the Sports Bar, that was a good place too. The boys usually ended up at Beauties Dance Club in the wee hours, then make their way to the Aft Bar. We also spent a lot of time (and unfortunately money) in the casino, we actually closed it a couple of nights. While the boys did win a bit at the Black Jack tables, the slots are quite tight, we usually would have some give and take on slots on other cruises, but these were just take take take. I did to start finally hit on one machine that last night, I was playing a $1 machine, and I was up $800. A couple of our cruise critic pals caught up with me and immediately started on me…”cash in, cash in, CASH IN NOW!!!” So I did…they probably saved me that last night! Lol!

 

Overall, we had a great time, the Pride is a lovely ship, and we would definitely recommend this ship and cruise to everyone. It was clean, staff was friendly, food was excellent, lots to do on board, something for everyone. DH & I felt this cruise tops our list as one of our favorites. The boys felt that ship-wise, they liked Princess better, due to size and amenities, however, they liked the activities and the way the staff engaged the passengers better on Carnival. The four of us are quite mopey this morning, wishing it was last week again, and trying to figure out when we can do our next cruise.

Maria

[andychris]

Glad you had a nice time and shared your review with us. We are sailing in august on the pride and can not wait!!!

How were your ports? Did you do anything/excursions?

Thanks

[chikwithstix72]

Glad you had a nice time and shared your review with us. We are sailing in august on the pride and can not wait!!!

How were your ports? Did you do anything/excursions?

Thanks

 

 

Grand Turk was fun. My younger son did a power snorkel excursion, he really liked it a lot. DH & I went to Margaritaville, we had a good time. I didn't realize they had a flow rider there, my younger son would have liked to have done that if there was time. I thought it was kinda interesting at Margaritaville, we saw lots of folks with plates of nachoes and burgers, and since we have to get back on ship at 2:30, we thought that was silly since we could get that on the ship and not pay someone else for it.

 

Half Moon Cay. Quite possibly the most perfect beach I have ever seen. Clear water, powder-like sand. We got a cabana, pricey, but worth every penny. It included water, soft drinks, chips and dips, veggies and fruit. Also had a mister, a misting fan, shower, snorkel gear, float rafts, and even an air conditioner, table, 4 chairs, and 2 padded loungers. The family enjoyed that cabana so much, we stayed the entire day, which we probably would not have done normally. The boys said the cabana was the best 'excursion' so far. It was $225 for the 4 of us, so actually at approx $60 per person, it was probably the cheapest 'excursion' we did.

 

Freeport. Ugh. When we woke up, we thought we were back in Baltimore! Add a few palm trees to Baltimore and the ports look the same, lol. There isn't anything really to do unless you have an excursion. We did the Dolphin Encounter and that was great fun. We were going to have someone in the group take our pictures with the dolphins, however, it started pouring rain right when we were in the water with them. And of course, the Encounter's photog had an umbrella, so we ended up buying his pictures.

 

It would be nice if there was a way to break up the itinerary some, 3 port days in a row is exhausting, it would have been nice to have a sea day in between. But I figure there are some time restraints here since our home port is so far away and I would guess the cruise line is trying give as many options as possible.

 

Maria

[sallyb]

Maria,

Great review, thanks for posting. We are on the 8 day sailing with the addition of Nassau to the other ports. I am looking at booking the Dolphin Encounter in Freeport myself. I have heard good reviews on it.

[QUEENBOSS]

I did the Dolphin Encounter in Nassau on my Honeymoon in 2003, I loved it ! Dolphins are so magical ....ENJOY:)

[kevinandrenay]

Thanks for the report. We are on our first Carnival cruise, Sept 15, 2009. I have always been a little leery of Carnival but all the reports I see are positive.

 

Thanks again,

Kevin

[clb6110]

We were on the Pride 6/6 and have a couple of comments regarding the excursions.Grand Turk we did the Snorkeling Adventure.Pretty good,you snorkel at 2 spots and they were decent.I've snorkeled probably 20 times in the Carribean/Cancun area and I'd say this excursion was in the top half.Decent.

Half Moon Cay.A cabana is a must to me.It made the entire stop top notch.As was mentioned earlier you get plenty of extras that more than make up for the $225.**hint** you could easily put 6-8 in one without anybody being the wiser.Especially if kids are involved cause they're in the water most of the time anyway.

Freeport.Ugly docking for sure.We did Sand Dollar tours with Capt Tony and this was a great adventure.Great snorkeling spots and service.We had approx 20 on board and we all really liked it.This isn't offered thru CCL but research it and you won't be disappointed.

[sallyb]

clb, thanks for the ideas. I'm flirting with the cabana rental, maybe we can meet up with others and share one. We usually sail with friends, but they couldn't go this time. Then it would have been a no brainer.

[halos]

Nice review. Thanks for taking the time to post :)

[glrounds]

Thanks for the great review, Maria . . . always enjoy hearing about my favorite Carnival ship. It seems like she's welcome at her new home. :)

[Dave85]

Great review! Thanks!

[andychris]

Thank you for answering my questions about the ports. We have been to hmc and also loved it. We are thinking of the cabana as well. Which ones would you recommend?

[Nacwolin]

Thanks for mentioning the Dolphin Encounter excursion - we have this one booked, and I've been wondering what folks thought about it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post a review :).

[chikwithstix72]

Thank you for answering my questions about the ports. We have been to hmc and also loved it. We are thinking of the cabana as well. Which ones would you recommend?

 

 

We had cabana #2, and thought it was just fine. We were close enough to the restrooms for it to be convenient, and the food buffet wasn't that far either. I hear that 8 and 9 are good, more centrally located I guess. The higher number the farther down the beach, so numbers 14 and 15 are farther away. I forget how many they have.

 

My advice is (and I got this from these boards and they are spot on) if you want to book one, go straight to the excursion desk the very second you get on board. We got on board between 2:30 and 3:00, folks had been boarding for about an hour, waited in line behind 3 people, by the time we got to the desk, there were only 4 left.

 

I would not hesitate for one second about getting one, they are great!

 

Maria

[chikwithstix72]

Thanks for mentioning the Dolphin Encounter excursion - we have this one booked, and I've been wondering what folks thought about it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post a review :).

 

You will really enjoy it, the dolpins are just amazing. Obviously, you wear bathing suits, but I must warn you, the trainers will tell you that you get wet during the experience. You won't get just wet, you will get drenched! Besides the time you are in the water petting the dolphins, there are times we are sitting around the platform, feet dangling in the water and the dolphins will swim by and splash, and it is like a tidal wave. Those things weight over 400 pounds each, so they are capable of making a huge wave. My son had a video camera, and when the trainers gave the warning that we would get wet, he wrapped it in a towel and put it behind him. After the dolphins did their thing, the towel was soaked! We were worried the camera was damaged, but it still works. Whew!

[sailingbuddy]

We were on the Pride 6/6 and have a couple of comments regarding the excursions.Grand Turk we did the Snorkeling Adventure.Pretty good,you snorkel at 2 spots and they were decent.I've snorkeled probably 20 times in the Carribean/Cancun area and I'd say this excursion was in the top half.Decent.

Half Moon Cay.A cabana is a must to me.It made the entire stop top notch.As was mentioned earlier you get plenty of extras that more than make up for the $225.**hint** you could easily put 6-8 in one without anybody being the wiser.Especially if kids are involved cause they're in the water most of the time anyway.

Freeport.Ugly docking for sure.We did Sand Dollar tours with Capt Tony and this was a great adventure.Great snorkeling spots and service.We had approx 20 on board and we all really liked it.This isn't offered thru CCL but research it and you won't be disappointed.

 

 

We were on the Capt. Tony excursion too. Which family were you? We had the two girls. Snorkeling was great and the extra stop to watch the dolphins was fantastic for our girls. We would recommend this excursion too. We also did the cabanas. We were in number 10 which was perfect, far away from the crowds but close enough to get to the bbq and the restrooms. Just didn't want to leave Half Moon Cay. We are still feeling the rolling motion of the ship.

[ews]

We always take some expired gift cards or ones that we pick up at Wal-mart or somewhere that have not been activated and use those for the safe. We lock the safe with it and leave it hiddened somewhere in the room so my husband and I can use it when we were need to get into the safe and the other person is not in the room. It works well for us.

[clb6110]

Sailingbuddy,I was a family of 4.I had two boys with me,1 teenager about 6'3" and a 12 yr old that found about 20 sanddollars.We were in orange cabana #4 and we really liked that location too.Close to bathrooms and buffet area.

[chikwithstix72]

We always take some expired gift cards or ones that we pick up at Wal-mart or somewhere that have not been activated and use those for the safe. We lock the safe with it and leave it hiddened somewhere in the room so my husband and I can use it when we were need to get into the safe and the other person is not in the room. It works well for us.

 

That is a good idea! I told my DH that someone on the boards probably had a tip on how to use the safes without using a credit card. Oh well, we will know for next time. My son wants to go on the Pride in January for his birthday, so I will pass this idea along to him. Thanks!

 

Maria

[jamscckmc]

Hi! What time did you arrive at the port and how long did it take you to get on board?

[chikwithstix72]

Hi! What time did you arrive at the port and how long did it take you to get on board?

 

We arrived at the Port about 12:30, got on board around 2:30. We thought the process was pretty smooth, had to sit and wait for a bit in the terminal, but we didn't mind. Since we drove, we could have arrived later to avoid the wait, but we figured why wait at home, we had nothing better to do, and also I wanted to get on board as soon as I could so that I could get our cabana booked for HMC.

[mom2tcdx2]

Can any type of card with a magnetic strip work? I don't want to have to carry around a credit card all the time. Wondered what other type of cards I may have that have the magnetic strip - does it have to be a card that isn't valid for something? I wondered on old credit cards that either aren't any good (bad card numbers) or perhaps my older sam's club card? Guess I will take a couple different things and see what works.

[5by5]

Can any type of card with a magnetic strip work? I don't want to have to carry around a credit card all the time. Wondered what other type of cards I may have that have the magnetic strip - does it have to be a card that isn't valid for something? I wondered on old credit cards that either aren't any good (bad card numbers) or perhaps my older sam's club card? Guess I will take a couple different things and see what works.

 

Someone posted on another thread that any card with a magnetic strip will work. They used expired gift cards.

[lakehouse6009]

Thanks so much for the review. Can't wait to see the pictures. We are sailing July 31 with myself and DH, my two teenage boys and my parents. We are hoping that we are going to be able to get a cabana and we are really looking forward to HMC.

[sailingbuddy]

Someone posted on another thread that any card with a magnetic strip will work. They used expired gift cards.

 

 

We actually used our AAA card with a magnetic strip on the back and just hid it in the room where we knew it was so any one from our group could access it. Worked out perfectly and never carried anything but our sign and sail card with us outside of the room.