Pride out of Baltimore??

[valancy1]

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I have cruise fever since we had to cancel our September cruise and were looking for one on T'giving week. We came across the Pride out of B'more to the Bahamas.

 

Anyone want to comment on this cruise? The ship? The Bahamas?

 

We've only sailed in the Caribbean. Air fare is more than the cost of the cruise to sail the Caribbean (out of Florida) for Thanksgiving and I cannot use my air miles because of black out dates.

 

I'd really be interested in anyone's experience with this cruise, as it is one we can drive to this port in B'more.

 

Thanks in advance!

[asylum575]

The Pride has been cruising out of Baltimore for a little over a month now. There are several reviews on the new itinerary in the member review section.

[vacruizer]

Here's my take on it if you want to read a really long review with some pictures. :o

 

I loved the ship, sailing from Baltimore was so easy and it was so much more relaxing not to deal with flying. The food was the best of any ship I've been on yet. Entertainment staff was great as well.

 

We did have some service issues but I refuse to let that kind of thing ruin my vacation! Others have reported great service so that can be luck of the draw. I would sail her again in a heartbeat!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=992333&highlight=vacruizer+pride+review

[valancy1]

Here's my take on it if you want to read a really long review with some pictures. :o

 

I loved the ship, sailing from Baltimore was so easy and it was so much more relaxing not to deal with flying. The food was the best of any ship I've been on yet. Entertainment staff was great as well.

 

We did have some service issues but I refuse to let that kind of thing ruin my vacation! Others have reported great service so that can be luck of the draw. I would sail her again in a heartbeat!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=992333&highlight=vacruizer+pride+review

 

I am going to read this right now. The itinerary for the T'giving week sailing is to the Bahamas. I'm wondering if anyone has done this itinerary--where Port Canaveral is one of the ports.

 

I'm truly wondering what one does all day at Port Canaveral!! :)

 

Going to go read this now... thanks for your review!

[asylum575]

I'm truly wondering what one does all day at Port Canaveral!! :)

 

 

Port Canaveral is close to Disney/Universal/Seaworld and Nasa.

 

It's a 45 minute bus ride to the attractions.

We did the Magic Kingdom a couple of years ago and plan on NASA on the next cruise.

[valancy1]

Port Canaveral is close to Disney/Universal/Seaworld and Nasa.

 

It's a 45 minute bus ride to the attractions.

We did the Magic Kingdom a couple of years ago and plan on NASA on the next cruise.

 

I've vacationed in Orlando/Kissimmee many times and have been to Cocoa Beach many times, but it seemed to me that at the port, there really is nothing to do; one might have to rent a car or join a ship-sponsored excursion, I suppose. Also, is there really enough time to go all the way out to Mickey's World and get back in time?

 

Just wondering...

[BeachyLisa]

We're leaving on this cruise July 3rd and honestly is was not my first choice of itineraries because of the stop in port Canaveral but we got an awesome military discount that was too good to pass up. Sooo....what we will do in PC I still have no idea. Most seem inclined to do Kennedy but I'm not sure I want to go that route and I definately would not attempt Disney or Universal-big waste of money if you ask me as it's probably not a full day and very rushed. We'll probably just take the shuttle into Cocoa Beach and do some shopping/exploring and maybe head back to the ship early and take advantage of it being empty. I'll post when we get back.

[valancy1]

We're leaving on this cruise July 3rd and honestly is was not my first choice of itineraries because of the stop in port Canaveral but we got an awesome military discount that was too good to pass up. Sooo....what we will do in PC I still have no idea. Most seem inclined to do Kennedy but I'm not sure I want to go that route and I definately would not attempt Disney or Universal-big waste of money if you ask me as it's probably not a full day and very rushed. We'll probably just take the shuttle into Cocoa Beach and do some shopping/exploring and maybe head back to the ship early and take advantage of it being empty. I'll post when we get back.

 

BeachyLisa,

 

We'll be watching for your review. Thinking about it, were we to do this cruise, we might be interested in going to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge or go to Cocoa Beach for the day (Ron Jon's is there and there seems to be a Sunsations on every street corner like here in Ocean City :eek:). I too, feel it wouldn't be worth the money to go to Kissimmee. We've always gotten off ship on port days; maybe we would try the "stay on the ship" route at this port.

 

Things to ponder! Looking forward to your review and I hope you have a wonderful time!

[green eyed lady]

We're doing Pride same itinerary for New Years this year. We've done this itinerary before...not the best but better than NO cruise ;) Port Canaveral we went to Kennedy Space Center...kids were bored. :( This year we might try to rent a car a go to MGM or Universal. :D The reviews lately have all been very good.

[crisperjr]

My wife & I are going to Epcot when we are in Port Canaveral in Nov. For us, the trip to Disney works out great. We've been sitting on Disney "Forever" Park Hopper tickets for 15 years now. We each have 1 day left to use up, so no cost for us to enter the park. We are renting a car from Avis and are using some of my credit card "miles" to pay for the car.

 

And since we are both in our 50's, five hours at Epcot will about do it for us. So, a nice "free" rental car, "free" disney tickets - works for me!

 

Oliver

[valancy1]

My wife & I are going to Epcot when we are in Port Canaveral in Nov. For us, the trip to Disney works out great. We've been sitting on Disney "Forever" Park Hopper tickets for 15 years now. We each have 1 day left to use up, so no cost for us to enter the park. We are renting a car from Avis and are using some of my credit card "miles" to pay for the car.

 

And since we are both in our 50's, five hours at Epcot will about do it for us. So, a nice "free" rental car, "free" disney tickets - works for me!

 

Oliver

 

No kidding!

 

That reminds me, I have free rental car days; I might be able to use one. I also need to look at the itinerary to see how long we are in port. My husband's daughters might actually just want to go to the beach, too.

 

What do people (those of you reading this thread) do in the Bahamas? I have gone to the ports of call and haven't really gotten info. If there are nice beaches and snorkeling, hey, I'm good. :)

[green eyed lady]

Oliver,

Does Avis pick you up at the port?

[kids1stcruise]

We did cocoa beach--right outside the ship were buses---?6p/p to get there and on return buses ran every half hour. We had a great beach day even though not what we expected--really not pretty-- but we had a great day:)

[mom2tcdx2]

I looked this morning into a rental car, checked Avis and Budget both were about the same cost for a single day rental. I went ahead and reserved with Budget, when I called Avis the woman at the local center was very rude and said I had to book online, but when I tried to book online it said it couldn't do something or other and to contact the local office to continue my reservation she refused to offer me any assistance.

 

We did just a small economy car for $38 and we have annual passes to Busch Gardens, Sea World so we figured we would drive over to Sea World and spend the afternoon and leave there around 3-4. We are in Port Canaveral from 7-7 the Wednesday that we are there. The excursions to Disney, etc list excursion time as 10 hours.

[crisperjr]

Oliver,

Does Avis pick you up at the port?

 

 

When I book the car from Avis a few months ago, they said yes Avis does have a shuttle at the pier to take you to their terminal (about 2-3 miles away). She also gave me a direct phone # to the Port Canaveral Avis and suggested I call them just before we sail to confirm everything.

 

Oliver

[crisperjr]

No kidding!

 

That reminds me, I have free rental car days; I might be able to use one. I also need to look at the itinerary to see how long we are in port. My husband's daughters might actually just want to go to the beach, too.

 

What do people (those of you reading this thread) do in the Bahamas? I have gone to the ports of call and haven't really gotten info. If there are nice beaches and snorkeling, hey, I'm good. :)

 

 

For us (DW & I), the ports of call were not a high priority. We love cruising, but can't afford it every year. We've been to the Bahama's several times, but it's nice to go back. But being able to drive, NOT FLY to cruise is a huge plus, plus, plus! Add in the fact that the cost for this cruise (Nov. 1st) is well within our budget, it became a no-briainer.

 

Oliver

[kevinandrenay]

We booked this cruise for September. it is our 1st Carnival cruise and I was a little hesitant. After some CC research we decided to go. The ship has gotten great reviews. Port Canaveral we are going to stay on the ship. We caught a cruise form there last year and there is not much to do in the area. Cape Kennedy is close and I loved it when I was younger but I know my wife will not like it. The beach is ok but the beaches in the Bahamas are much better. In the Bahamas we are going to hit a beach,a casino and go to check out Atlantis. Check out CC for many reviews on the Pride.

 

Kevin