djyellowsub

We stayed at the Best Western at Arundel Mills, Md booked through Trinity Travel. It was quiet and clean and had a nice pub on the site. It wasn't fancy but met our needs. It has a great shuttle service to and from the airport and cruise port which is only about 15 minutes away. I would definitely recommend this hotel and coming into Baltimore the night before the cruise so you can relax and let them get you back and forth to where you need to be.

The main dining room (Normandie) restaurant is included with the cruise, and you can order as many appetizers, main meals, and desserts as you want. Room service has many free items and some paid items. Guy's Burgers and The Blue Iguana (like Chipotle's) are also free and located at the end of the Lido buffet where the main pool is. This is also where the 24 hour frozen yogurt machines are.

The Pride is an easy ship to navigate through because the main decks go all the way through from one end to the other.

Cruising is basically a cashless situation which means you set up an on board account which covers the cost of alcoholic drinks, sodas, on ship shopping etc. You can get drink packages which are explained on the Carnival site. The water on the ship is fine to drink and tea, coffee, and lemonade is included in the price. Carnival does sell bottled water on their website for a good price, so that's an option. If you order room service, have dollar bills handy as tips. About $2 per plate. You will see a lot of advice about tipping in general. They are many, many opinions. Do what ever you feel comfortable with and don't worry about what others do and don't do.

My best tip is keep reading all the Cruise Critic posts that apply to you. It's fun and so helpful! There are many great Pride reviews with tons of pictures. You will have a great time especially if you go with the attitude that, even if something doesn't go perfectly, you will basically love cruising.

Is there a way to tell by the room number if the bed or sofa is by the balcony?

I personally don't need any prizes to read your whole review. In fact, I like pictures of you more than the pictures of the food because you are just so very cute. Hang in there with your mom. When you get older and have your own little H's, you might actually realize how smart she really is!

It's worth going just for the basket of pastries. I could eat just that and be totally satisfied. Definitely get the sauce on the side for the eggs benedict. They are much better that way.

The only activity my husband and I did was go to the costume contest, but I know the adults and kids had parties. The ship was decorated and was cute--not too over the top. Our cruise embarked on Halloween day. By the next day, the decorations were all gone. The costume contest was amazing. The costumes were creative and some quite elaborate. I have a hard enough time packing shorts and t-shirts. I so appreciate the effort people put into their costumes. You can participate in Halloween as much or as little as you want. I feel there was plenty for people who like Halloween but not too in your face for people like us who don't get in to it as much. The special Halloween dessert in the MDR was one of the most creative desserts I have seen in a while. It was a piece of cake with a tombstone white chocolate candy and three little puffy whipped cream ghosts. I enjoyed the fun and taste of it. If you like Halloween, you will have a fun time if you go on a Halloween cruise on Carnival.

This was our first cruise (DH and me), and we thought it was great. We, of course, don't have anything to compare it to, but we would definitely cruise again based on this experience. It wasn't perfect in every way, but our delights far out weigh any small complaints we have. We just got our book from one of the photo sites and have looked at it numerous times smiling at all the wonderful memories. We enjoyed the ports. We did the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau which was a relaxing day for us and Half Moon Cay was my husband's dream beach day. We would definitely cruise again, so thank you Carnival Pride for getting us addicted to a great way to vacation.

H, I tried to get tickets to your August Carnegie Hall concert, but they were all sold out. Let us know if you decide to expand your tour to other venues!

It's official. You have completely taken over Jack Sparrow's first place spot as my favorite pirate ever! You and your mom and dad are one cute family. We are going on the Pride in October and always enjoy your reviews. Thanks for the picture of your dad ordering multiple desserts in the MDR. That give us confirmation that it's ok to do that!

I read your reviews from beginning to end. "H" you are so cute, funny, and entertaining. You sure are a smart one to know your ABC's so well!:)

This was one of the best reviews I have read on this site. Thanks for all the time you took to do it. I loved the story and couldn't wait each day to see what happened. My husband and I are celebrating 25 years of marriage on the Pride this October. I feel certain you and Annie will have left some happy dust sprinkled around to make our time on the Pride as special as yours. Congratulations and I hope you have a blessed life together.

For people with any time dining, when is the best time to go eat to avoid the singing and dancing? The napkin swinging definitely doesn't sound all that appetizing.

Does NYC have thrift stores and places like Goodwill? They usually have capris and T-shirts all year long for $3-4 a piece here in Virginia. Since you don't really need casual clothes that much it would be a small investment, and, if you don't need them after your cruise, you can pass them on. On maybe pack them away for your next cruise! Have fun. It sounds like this cruise is a well deserved break for you.

Enjoy your trip. I will pray for a safe and healthy time with much enjoyment of the beauty that God has created.