HLR

Thank you! That helps - it narrows it down for me. We will plan to watch one or both of those shows, but not bother with the others. :)

You can always pop your head in if you've got time...like food; Entertainment is subjective to the individual!

HLR

This is why I should have kept the daily papers! It was the last show and I think it was 80's to the Max, but it might have been Heart of Soul. I just found a link to Carnival which lists the ships with Playlist Productions and designates which have LED Screen technology. The Pride Doesn't!

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1155/~/playlist-productions-and-stage-shows

HLR

Carnival Pride - August 14, 2016 – 7 nights

It was a good cruise! Not great…but good. It was pretty much exactly what we expected. Like others have said it was never really crowded even though a full sailing and children behaved [and there were a lot of them]

We had excellent weather; Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay were WONDERFUL! Freeport…was Freeport. [Not enough time to merit going to a beach club unless you got up at 6 am to be off the ship at 7]

EMBARKATION IN BALTIMORE…was one of the slowest I’ve ever had! Others said the same. We had a check in time of 11 – 11:30 am. Arrived too early at 10:23 am and we knew we’d have to sit in the car line up for a wee while. That was fine as the ship docks later than most. Once we were moving and luggage was off loaded from the car, we paid for parking and parked, walked to the terminal…no problem! At no time did anyone ever look to see when our check-in time was. Hmmmm… It is now 11:25 am. Security line took a LONG time! Don’t know why. It wasn’t even a long line. Just didn’t move. Once inside the line for check-in went quickly. Then wait to board. It was after 12:45 pm when we were on the walkway to board the ship. At no time did anyone ever look to see when our check-in time was. Hmmmm…

THE HUB APP: Very handy! My online Bar Credit was on my account upon arrival and signing in the first time. At a kiosk I easily swiped, set a pin and added a gift card with no trouble at all and the credit instantly appeared on the Hub App. All charges appeared instantly on my account screen.

THE SHIP looks in very good shape, though a little worn around the edges [i.e. bathroom stalls, edges of balcony metal work rusty] Décor mostly intact, but you can see where things have been broken and motifs attempted to be fixed. No big deal.

The new additions, however, just don’t match the original décor and look out of place. The Alchemy Bar for instance is a lovely space…but doesn’t look like it belongs on this ship. On other ships it seems to work. There is no continuity between the old and the new décor to bridge an old space to the new. And I like them both…though the hundreds of New bare LED light bulbs in the hundreds of Old Joe Farcus candelabrum…I bet it looked quite amazing with “real” light bulbs!

THE CABIN was very nice! A GTY Balcony got us an extended Balcony mid-ship on deck 7. Spotless room and the extra balcony depth of 2 feet really DID make a difference. Our cabin crew had the room cleaned without ever seeing them in the room! We saw them in the hall all the time working on other cabins, but we never left to come back to an unmade up room; cleaned morning and night/turn down. Very impressed!

THE STAFF was nicer and friendlier on this sailing than almost any sailing I have been on [18] and used our first names constantly and consistently from the stewards to the dining room hostesses/wait staff, etc… Many took what seemed like a personal liking to us and two unexpected gifts showed up in the room which was really nice!

THE DINING ROOM was fairly consistent to past experiences. We had Anytime Dining and being two people we were usually seated right away. If given a beeper and it was never more than 10 minutes before a table was ready. And this was always between 6:15 and 7:15…prime time! Of seven nights we only had one meal that we felt the service was sub-par [the waiters seemed distracted]…but the first 6 nights service was very good and fairly quick!

Sea day Brunch had good service…though port day breakfasts in the dining room were kinda slow. I thought portions were of nice size and not over-sized, though I think the appetizers are often the stand outs on a menu and another few bites of each would be nice! [Order another one you say?] Desserts I particularly enjoyed were the warm Date and Fig Pudding Cake, Melting Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Amaretto Cake.

THE TAJ MAHAL THEATER is pretty high tech and we always found seats downstairs even without going to the “Pre-Show”. We never had trouble getting good seats at the shows…maybe got there 15 minutes before show time and a waiter, Nikoli, was right there for our drink order. Every night the minute he saw us he made a bee line over to take care of us! Nikoli was friendly and remembered our drinks and adorable as well!

PLAYLIST PRODUCTIONS: I just don’t get it. I wanted to like the shows! We have 8 talented singer/dancers who are given material that they just can’t make all work!

Don’t get me wrong: Cheesy, flashy shows are fine, but they have to be done well. And there were some fine individual performances and one particularly fine dance piece with one male dancer juxtaposed with a male singer. But on a whole the Pride’s Playlist Shows just were not very good.

I have seen the Playlist Shows on two ships now: The Conquest and the Pride.

CONQUEST: Really slick, technical LED screen, lighting effect powerhouses…costumed and choreographed to an inch of their lives, but the cast just seemed too overworked. Their dance skills amazing, but their voices just could not deliver the notes.

THE PRIDE: Only one of the shows had the technical WOW factor and in all shows the vocal selections seemed inappropriate for the singer’s vocal ranges. They were also noticeably UNDER miked: songs began and their microphones were not turned on until maybe the second line of each song. This really stresses singer’s voices. I know…I’m a singer! Is it the wrong people in the wrong parts? Give us back the production shows!

THE SHIP TRIVIA sessions were extensive! I’m usually not one for trivia, but this is a strong suit for this ship between the many categories, difficulty of questions and very entertaining host! [We never found out his name!]

THE GYM was again both good and not so good. Elliptical and treadmill machines were great. Whirl pool was really cool in the center of the area. The terraced weight areas were awkward though and some of the machines need some upkeep. The free steam and sauna were in perfect condition. Many of the lock mechanisms on the lockers were broken and sometimes you could not lock your stuff. The showers were spacious and had multi-head sprayers so you could wash all your private parts at the same time! Well…not in all of them. One shower was missing two of the four heads and didn’t work at all…so I tried another and it was great! Though when I went to turn the water off the knob came off in my hand! I quickly shoved it back in place and turned off the water! I thought it was kind of amusing at the time, but again I don’t quite get it; these things seem like easy things to fix and not things that “just break” all the time. They just aren’t being fixed?

THE PIAZZA CAFE was very good! Good service and delicious espresso drinks. Prices were fine.

CHERRY ON TOP candy store…like you need to buy more sugar on a cruise? We popped in when the proprietress waved at us as we strolled by. We had a lovely conversation and I asked if she knew what the name of my favorite chocolates “Non Pareils” means. I explained it was French for “Nothing Can Compare” and the next evening a box of them was waiting in our stateroom as a present! That’s really nice! It was a “Carnival Moment”!

DEBARKATION was the opposite of arriving. GREAT! Since the ship docks at 9 am there is no need to wake up at 6 am! Up at 7:30 am, retrieve liquor purchases and then breakfast in the dining room. We waited in the theatre and were called to debark ½ an hour earlier than it said in the paper handout and our luggage was in the neatest rows I have ever seen in a terminal! We found our bags immediately.

 Final Note: I don’t remember hugging staff members when leaving a cruise before. When leaving on Sunday morning we hugged Alina in the dining room, Anak our cabin steward and Anna at Cheery on Top.

HLR

I make personalized luggage tags for some of the officers and staff and like to be able to put their correct names on them. It's a little thank you for all the hard work they do to make our vacation special and they really seem to love them.

That is so cool! Yea for you!

It is nice to hear such a nice reason explaining a post that might not make sense to you. Nice work!

HLR

Do your know who will be the Captain on the Anthem on the Sept, 8th sailing. I got conflicted info from RCCL. They said it was going to be Henrik Sorensen. But I also see Dustins name on your sheet and Erik. I'm confused to say the least. Wish I knew for sure.

I'm curious to know why it matters who the Captain is? Why would you need to know "for sure"? Are some more fun than others? Does one steer better than another? Or are you related and you want to see your Uncle Dustin or something?

HLR

Thanks all for the insights!

I'm in a D6 with only a 33% Single Supplement and it's a hump [if that is the correct term for this] balcony which has the bigger balcony at an angle. Would love a Jr. Suite...but the price would be $1620 more at this time! It's just me...

HLR

Hi All!

What is it like sailing the week before Christmas and returning the day before Xmas Eve? Booked on the Anthem returning on December 23rd.

It looks to me when I check prices that the ship is empty so far! I got a great deal initially and already upgraded to a far better cabin for a cut in the price. I know it is 5 months out and cruise ships don't sail empty...but every category I click on has 25 cabins available...rows of dots showing bunches of empty cabins on the deck plan.

What might it be like?

HLR

Last Shout Out.....hmmmm

Check back. It is listed for all three sea days. It is under breakfast but is listed as sea day brunch Normandie dining room deck 2 from 8:00 or 8;30 until 1:00. Once we discovered brunch in the MDR I don't think we will ever go back to breakfast on Lido. We love it!

And there it is! Thanks! I didn't think to look "one line up" at the breakfast section...silly of me!

HLR

Nobody Else yet...hmmm.....

Our cruise is already fully paid for. Can you take the card with you to your cruise and apply it for your bill?

[sorry..I'm sure it's on this thread somewhere but it's 82 pages!]

HLR

I bought $1000 worth today and fees/shipping were $2.18. So actually the savings is about 9.78%. For our cruises in July and January we've accumulated about $4,500 worth to cover paying off cruise and use for onboard expenses. So basically we've got about $450 in free money. That makes it well worth it to me.

Well that is worth it! You need to plan ahead before final payment...aha!

It does say "Sales tax computed at check out"...wonder why if there is no sales tax? Hmm...

HLR

Just got $400 worth thanks for letting us know

What do you end up saving? There is a .59 cent fee for each $100 card and then sales tax on top of that?

I feel nickle and dimed just trying to save 10% which comes out to what? 6%?

HLR

Hey Jamman54!

It doesn't appear that there is Sea Day Brunch in the MDR? I have seen current Funtimes and it isn't listed. Is this the case?

HLR

It doesn't appear that there is Sea Day Brunch in the MDR? It isn't listed in these Funtimes. Is this the case?

HLR

Hello!

Any Gaysters on Carnival Pride leaving out of Baltimore August 14th 2016? Two friends here going!

HLR

I used Verizon Smart Rewards to book our cruise in October. So far no problems. When you pay your deposit you can pay as much as you want - I noticed that you can't make partial payments - your next payment has to be for the remaining balance of the cruise. I think when you book through Royal Caribbean, you have the option of making payments up until the final payment date.

 

Our booking shows up under our Royal Caribbean account.

Hi! Hopefully you will see this message soon as we are looking to book now saving about 10% on the cruise price using Verizon Smart Rewards Points. I have tons more points but they will only let you apply a certain amount to the cruise price.

Did all go well with your booking? Once booked...who do you deal with? The cruise line or Verizon?

HLR

if you have a star class cabin, they personally escort you on the ship to your cabin as soon as you get there

I have to ask...why is there a "bug" walking on the screen SISOCIALWORKER in your message??? It's cool...but creepy! I almost called the IT department as I'm at work!

HLR

Hello!

If you use the gym....are there at least showers in the locker room? I know the Anthem has no free steam or sauna....

HLR

Hi Daisy!

You mentioned in your first post at the WWRY show they weren't checking ID's and later for Spectra you said "Our seats were left of center, on a small platform". Do you need to make reservations for the shows and are they assigned seating?

HLR

Hey Chris!

Won't need to follow you on here... I will be there in person on-board on Tuesday!

Howard

Nope...you'll have to use your imagination!

The Regal Princess is sailing up North the next 3 Saturdays and leaves NYC on October 24th sailing 10 days to the Caribbean and docking for the first time in Fort Lauderdale on the 3rd...when you....and I!...will be taking the only 5 night sailing...before they settle into their Caribbean routine. Alas..There won't be a patter to reflect our November 3rd sailing.

HLR

SQUEAKY WHEEL HERE! And it worked! Three phone calls and my TA finally got a Princess agent to upgrade me from an inside ID GTY to a obstructed balcony BY assigned cabin in an excellent location! The current posted price of the BY is less than I payed for the inside GTY.

If I had not seen this thread I would never have called back [twice] and just waited and been sad. Not because I wasn't upgraded when I DID save money getting an inside GTY as a solo paying the solo supplement...but because the carrot was dangled in front of my nose...the online TA said I would get it...and then it was taken away.

Luckily...I got it back!

HLR

Oh my goodness! I am in the exact same situation and I JUST called my TA who Called Princess and they said no....it is only for new bookings...but now I am on a list.... I'm going to call again right now. Same cruise inside gty...they said no...price is less for a balcony than I paid for the inside gty.

Size of the room not-withstanding....

1) Who likes to sleep in and would be bothered by one who is up at the crack of dawn?

2) Who snores?

3) Anyone use a cpap machine?

4) Who is really really neat and who is really really messy?

Those things might matter more!

HLR