Pride Review - 6/21/15 with Pictures, Fun Times and Other Shenanigans

Hi everyone! We’re just back from the June 21-28 sailing of the Carnival Pride from Baltimore with stops in Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport. My review will include each day’s Fun Times, plenty of food porn, and photos and commentary on the ship and ports. Also, please feel free to ask me any questions you have, and I will try my best to answer them.

If you stick around, I will eventually reveal the answers to all of the most recent burning questions on Cruise Critic, including:

Does the Pride really have a horrible vibration issue?

How was speed-of-service service and food temperature in the Main Dining Room?

Is Half Moon Cay really the most beautiful place on Earth?

Did our room have a flat-screen or tube TV?

How much weight did I gain from all the food I ate on this cruise?

Before I begin, here’s a little background:

I’m Cara. I’m 32 and work in retail management at the drugstore down on the corner where on a daily basis, I get yelled at for not carrying enough varieties of XXXL ladies' Depends, chastised for not taking a coupon that expired in 2008, and swore at for refusing to write a raincheck for sixty dozen eggs. So I’m ALWAYS ready for a vacation. My cruising buddy is my husband, AJ. We live in Rochester, NY and have two adorable fur-kids that are unfortunately unable to cruise with us because of their dependency on a litter box. This was my sixth cruise (my first being on the Jubilee with my family when I was 14) and our fifth one with each other.

We last cruised on the Breeze in January with my brother and his now-fiancee. Everyone but me (of course) received a bounce-back cruise offer from the casino on the last night of sailing. We were required to book within two weeks of debarking, and were limited to specific sailings through the end of June. AJ and I were luckily able to take advantage of our offer and booked our seven-night trip for only taxes and port fees ($237), plus $70 each to upgrade to a balcony, for a grand total of $377. AJ won quite a bit on the slots on the Breeze, and ended up with about 3500 points at the end of the sailing. He earned his Drinks on Us card around the third or fourth day, and also earned us a free bottle of wine in the MDR on the last night of the cruise. He found some slot machines that kept him entertained and paid out well, so his actual money-in was low enough that we felt like really got a bargain for our “free” cruise.

We booked this cruise in early February and checked out flights to and from Baltimore, which were pretty cheap but poorly timed (i.e. flying out at 10:30 p.m. on debarkation day). We decided to drive down, and since we’ve always cruised out of Florida, the possibility was very exciting because we didn’t have to try to fit ALL of our stuff into one suitcase. After checking religiously from day one, we finally snagged a Faster to the Fun on May 5, about a month and a half out from the cruise.

So, without further ado …

Saturday, June 20th – day before embarkation

We left Rochester around 8:30 a.m. and after a lunch stop in PA and a few bathroom stops, we arrived at our hotel around 4 p.m. We decided to stay at the Best Western Plus – BWI Airport/Arundel Mills solely based on Mitsugirly’s review. Thanks, Mitsugirly, for all of your great reviews and the help you give others!

We booked the hotel's Park n’ Cruise package for $165 for the night and to park our car for the duration of the cruise.

Upon check-in, we reserved our spot for the free shuttle to the port for 10:30 a.m. the next morning. The hotel was clean, safe, and the bed was very comfortable. We used the pool and hot tub twice during our stay, and even though the jets didn’t quite work in the hot tub, it was still relaxing.

The hotel is within five minutes of the airport, and the real bonus is the free shuttle. It runs pretty much around the clock and there is always a driver there to take you to the port, dinner, the mall, etc. It also offers a complimentary breakfast buffet, and there is a restaurant right across the parking lot called the Stained Glass Pub that’s convenient for those who would prefer not to venture too far.

After our first dip in the pool, we headed to Bo Brooks for authentic Maryland crabs for dinner. They had a sweet outdoor tiki bar overlooking the marina that was featured with two cornhole sets.

I would definitely recommend the restaurant – the crabs were tasty and fresh, the view was great, and our server was extremely patient and willing to explain the whole crab-eating process to us neophytes.

On the way back to the hotel, we got caught in a nasty storm. We received two emergency alerts on our phones – one for a tornado and one for flash flooding. It was raining so hard that people were pulled over with their hazards on both sides of the highway. The storm did not delay the return of the Pride, though, and we ended up embarking on-time the following day.

After another dip in the hot tub, we headed to bed to rest up for embarkation day.

I'm in! We, too, have two small fur babies that we wish we could take.

Sunday, June 21 – embarkation day

We woke early and hit up the hotel’s breakfast buffet. It was standard fare, and included a selection of hot and cold items. It wasn’t anything amazing but was good enough. It’s advertised to run until 9:30 on weekends, but there was still food out well after 10.

Back up in the room, we transferred our wine, soda, books, and important documents to our carry-on bag. I had printed out our luggage tags at home, and they stayed on perfectly well with just a staple from the front desk. We checked out and were in the shuttle right at our requested time of 10:30 a.m.

Overall, we were impressed with the Best Western Plus - BWI Airport/Arundel Mills. We would definitely stay there again pre-cruise, especially for the convenience of the free shuttle and being able to book it for any time. We’ve stayed at other hotels pre-cruise in other ports that have only a few set times to drop people off at the port and they usually fill up quickly, so this was refreshing to be able to name our own time and ride in peace.

After dropping one other couple off at the airport (who ironically were also from Rochester and had missed their flight home the previous night due to the storm), we were officially on our way to the port! We definitely got the crazy shuttle driver that Mitsugirly wrote about in her review. He didn’t drive too quickly or erratically, but he moved in and out of lanes frequently and for no reason. We arrived at the port in about 20 minutes and in one piece.

Can you see the whale tail?

Catching those first glimpses of the ship from the road is one of my favorite things. I look forward to it so much. And the Pride was GORGEOUS. We could not wait to spend the week on her.

The shuttle driver dropped us off right at the porter area at 11 a.m. As Jamman stated in his awesome review, they started to let the line of cars waiting to park at the port in at around 11 a.m. also.

We gave our two checked bags to the porters and they DID have orange priority stickers on them when they arrived to the room. I’m not sure when the stickers were put on, but it was definitely not at this point in time.

We proceeded through security, where they inspected each bottle of our 6-pack of Coke and had to ask a supervisor if my bottle of Gewürztraminer was a legal beverage to carry-on (no winos at the security checkpoint, I guess). We entered the Faster to the Fun/priority check-in line, but there was no one waiting in the regular line either. We were checked in and seated in a FTTF area off to the side of the terminal by 11:15.

We had received an email and two separate phone calls a few days before embarkation, asking us to arrive at the terminal for boarding no earlier than 12 noon. We of course totally ignored them.

At around 11:35, they boarded a wedding party, the Platinums and Diamonds, and then called the two rows of FTTF guests. We went up the gangway and officially set foot in the atrium by 11:40.

I would cruise again from Baltimore in a heartbeat. The terminal seemed less chaotic than Miami and Port Canaveral, and all the staff we encountered was extremely friendly. The drive and ability to pack what we wanted was so convenient, and sail away was unique and beautiful.

Can't wait to read the rest of your review. We'll cruise on the Pride for the 3rd time in September. Made final payment recently.....can't wait!!!

Looking forward to the rest of your review! We left the ship the morning you arrived! We got a bounce back from the casino and will be returning to the Pride on Aug 9. Can't wait! It was also our first time sailing out of Baltimore and loved it! We live in the Philly area so it was only a 2 hour drive for us.

:)

We cruise on the Pride August 9th! Addicted to your review already!!!

So happy to see this review! We sail on the Pride in September!

Kim

POST MORE!!!! I have 10 days...

We cruise on the Pride August 2nd. Looking forward to details from your cruise! Great start!

I am enjoying your review! Thanks for posting it. I would love to take a cruise from Baltimore some day, as it is closer to home:D Maybe even I could drive there:eek: Yikes...easy for some, but not for nervous nellie me! But it is a thought! Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Can't wait to hear more, my first cruise ever will be on the Pride in October!

Perfect timing -- we're sailing the Pride (same itinerary) on Sunday. Thanks for taking the time to do this. You have me so excited already! :D

Looking forward to the rest of your review. We sail on 08/30.

Perfect timing -- we're sailing the Pride (same itinerary) on Sunday. Thanks for taking the time to do this. You have me so excited already! :D

Another H review will be forthcoming? I get on when you get off, so I will get to read it from the ship. :)

Subscribing!!! Can't wait for the rest of your review!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Also sailing this Sunday the 5th...looking forward to the rest of your review along with the Fun Times.

We sail on the 12th, looking forward to the rest of your review!!!:D

Loving the review!

3 more weeks for me!!!⚓️

Thank you all for your nice words! I am SUPER jealous that all of your sailings are coming up so soon. You will have an AMAZING time.

Perfect timing -- we're sailing the Pride (same itinerary) on Sunday. Thanks for taking the time to do this. You have me so excited already! :D

I'm also crossing my fingers for an H review. "He's" so hilarious! :p

Can't wait to hear more, my first cruise ever will be on the Pride in October!

you picked a great ship for your first cruise. you will love her! :D

(My apologies for only the tear-off portion of the Fun Times for today. I swear the rest of the days are complete).

A Caribbean-music duo, Middle C, was playing on the atrium stage. One member played the guitar and the other played the keyboard, which was set on the steel drum setting pretty much every time we heard them during the cruise. AJ and I have never really minded the DJs too much, but it really got us in the mood for the cruise to hear the steel drums.

We were some of the first guests on the ship and a lot of people were still hanging out in the atrium, so we speed-walked over to the Red Frog Pub to try to be the first guests there. For those of you who don’t know, the first people in the Red Frog Pub get their picture taken and posted on Facebook by John Heald, and they also get a complimentary pint of Thirsty Frog Red.

Unfortunately, we were the second group to arrive in the Pub. We grabbed two Funship specials from a traveling bar waiter in the atrium, and used our FTTF clout to head up to our stateroom.

The view of the atrium from the 7th floor walkway was gorgeous.

We stayed in room 7281, an 8K extended balcony.

It was a pretty standard Carnival balcony room – turquoise rubber bathroom, orange vinyl couch, plenty of storage space in closets, drawers, and under the bed, and … a tube TV. It worked well so I don't think they'll be swapping it out anytime soon. We didn't really watch any TV, but when we were in the room, we kept it tuned to channel 18, which showed information like the time, our coordinates, and wind direction on the left side of the screen, and had a rotating image of the Lido deck cam and the ship's geographical location on the right side of the screen. It was very helpful to be able to see the time on the TV when we were sleeping. We only wished they would add the temperature to the left side of the screen.

Our Gold VIFP goodies – two large bottles of water and our complimentary drink coupons for the use during last night of the cruise after 5 p.m. for a beverage under $9 when there’s a lunar eclipse and Channing Tatum joins me in the Beauties lounge for a dance while small rabid kittens take over the world – were laid out on the desk with the Fun Times, the new room service menu, and some propaganda from the spa that we ignored. We never did receive our 2015 Gold-level VIFP pins, but we’d just gotten some in January on the Breeze, so we weren’t upset.

We had ordered a $2.99 12 pack of bottled water from the online Fun Shops to be delivered on embarkation day and it had not yet arrived. It ended up being delivered at some point during our dinner. The new $2.99 water is a great deal, and it saved AJ so much energy from not having to lug water around in our carry-on. After July 9, bottles will not be allowed in carry-ons at embarkation, so definitely order this water from the Fun Shops if you like to keep some on hand in the room.