obx_fintoo

12 hours ago, Linsuesue said:

Lovely photos! I will be on that cruise in less than 2 weeks. Your photos affirm what a marvel the Panama Canal is today. Do you, by any chance, have a map of the muster stations for the Pride? 

I don't.  They seemed to be typical though. If you are in the front of the ship, most likely will be in the theater.  We had to visit ours out by the lifeboats and watch the quick demo, then done.  I think we were D, but really don't remember.  It is so much easier than the old days!  

It really is amazing!  Enjoy your cruise!

They have things moving pretty smoothly...  and we made it out, just as the rains came down.  Perfect time for a nap!

Here's that building again.  Seems taller...

Aft balcony view is amazing for this part!  Here the water level is going down...

Heading back out...

In Gatun Lake.... we were here for about an hour and change...

This row boat goes out and catches the ropes as the ships come back out...

Pay attention to this building and our height related to it...  

The first lock and a passing ship...

Lighthouses - the white one is near the entrance and the black one is near the lake.  If you are a Stephen King fan, like me, the black one could remind you of a certain tower...

Heading in and the t-shirt sale...

Panama Canal partial transit!

As mentioned before, this partial does not offer the excursions where you get off the ship and explore the locks, then meet up with the ship again later.  They do bring on an expert who works for the Panama Canal authority who provides updates and information as you go into Gatun Lake.  We were warned by the CD the night before that this would be an early day.  He said we would be nearing the bridge at 7:15am, so we put out a room service order for 6:30am.  We were eating breakfast when we started to hear the expert with his annoucements. Now, we could not hear what was being said, so we rushed to finish eating and get ready and up to deck 10 we went.  

We spent the trip in around the middle of deck 10, watching the locks and the ships going out.  It takes approxiamately 30 minutes to go thru each lock and there are 3 going each way.  It is a slow process and fascinating to see up close.  They held a t-shirt and souvenier sale during this and it was the most unorganized thing I have seen in a while, but I did score a couple of cute tees.

After we went through, the expert was going to do a Q&A in the theater for a bit before getting off, but we wanted to go down to our balcony and get ready to watch us head back out.  We grabbed some lunch on the way down and settled in.   

Fair warning, there are about to be a lot of pics.  I took about 150 pictures which is a LOT for me.  Enjoy!

Still more...

More Costa May pics...

Ports - Costa Maya

We were supposed to port at Costa Maya around noon, but got delayed because of winds.  Just before 1pm, we arrived and had to wait for the Norweigan Breakway to leave so we could dock in her place.  We were parked by 2pm along with Adventure of the Seas and the mega-ship Oasis of the Seas.  That thing is big!  We waited a bit for the mad rush off the ship, since we had no plans but to stroll around.  

The port area is pretty nice with lots of shops, restaurants, bars, a beach and pool area and an aviary.  It was really threatening rain, so we did not climb up into the aviary bridges, but it looked pretty cool from the ground.  I would like to come back here sometime when we had plenty of time to explore and play.

And finally for Limon - as I took this picture of this tree, a man walked up and said that there was a sloth in that tree that he would climb up and get if I wanted him to.  I told him, that was ok, just let it rest!  😉  More to come...

And more Limon pics.

Ports

Limon - off the ship ~ 11:40am.  We did not have an excursion planned as the weather had been a little iffy and we were not looking to get soaked on a tour bus.  In hindsight, if we visit this port again, we would take an excursion.  There was a guantlet of people offering tours as you walk off the port, then even more folks offering to take you in their car to see the sights.  We were not comfortable so just kept walking.  There is a shopping area before you head out into town, then there are several souvenier shops and a couple restaurants and a park just outside of that.  One block past that and you are in a business part of town.  We bought a couple of souveniers, took some pictures in and around the park and the water and called it good.  

These are Magnificent Frigatebirds that escorted us into port...

That's all for a bit.  Busy day ahead, so will likely be tomorrow before I get a chance to finish.  Will cover the ports of Limon and Costa Maya and then a longer part of the Panama partial transit and some other random thoughts and pictures.  Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer.

Cheers!

Seafood Shack food - a pound each of shrimp and crablegs one night, then a bread bowl of New England Clam Chowder and the fried seafood platter another afternoon.

More Elite stuff - I completely forgot to mention two other perks that are part of the Elite cruises.  Drinks On Us all over the ship for both guests and Complimentary Social WiFi Packages for both guests!  I can't believe I forgot these, because we made LOTS of use of both.  

Typically, I get the Social Package to keep in touch with family at home, but hubby doesn't.  This time he used the Social and What's App to keep up with family and I upgraded to the Value plan for I think $24 which allowed me to check work emails.  

DOU everywhere was great as well.  We typically have free drinks in the casino, so it was liberating to be able to get free drinks anywhere.  I got adventurous and tried the Alchemy Bar out for my first time.  It is located in the aft area on Deck 2 and suprisingly was rarely crowded.  

Purative Peach Cosmopolitan and Perfect Storm

Our free booze and room service options - wings and shrimp, cheesesteak and quesadilla.  Not pictured - our 6:30am breakfast sandwiches on Panama day as I was not awake enough to take a picture.  More on Panama and other ports to come...

Elite stuff - We were contacted a couple of weeks before the cruise to fill out our requests.  We chose to drive, so parking at the Port Tampa Bay Parking deck was complimentary.  If we flew in or lived in the Tampa area, transfers would have been arranged from the airport, hotel or house and back.

Each guest is allowed to select one bottle of alcohol and mixers which are in the room upon check in.

Each guest may select one excursion or spa treatment.  The excursions were a rainforest tour in Limon and a ruins tour in Costa Maya, but the weather was iffy and we weren't sure about either.  The spa certificate was for $149 each and it included tip.  We each booked a swedish massage and they put us in the couple's massage room.  It was one of the best I have had on a ship and they did not try to sell us a bunch of smelly goo during or after! 😉

Elite gifts we got during the cruise:

• Personalized door decoration
• fruit, cheese and wine basket on day 2
• free room service for upcharged items ( we had to remind them each time we ordered)
• Cookies (4 chocolate chip and 5 macadamia nut) day 3
• Elite logo Day in the Sun kit and round beach towel day 5
• Elite logo travel bags (2) day 7

We also got some $$ for Seafood Shack and for Pixels, but I think those were just from Sharon, not necessarily part of the Elite event.

Our loot...

22 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

 

First thank you for writing up a trip report. We'll be on the Pride in Europe for a B2B2B, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to say about the ship.

 

I'm assuming Carnival picked up the Parking fees since you're on an Elite Offer (Our Europe cruises are Elite offers as well). How does it work when you take free parking instead of free Private transfers? 

Yes, parking was comped.  We paid up front, then at the Elite meet up at 12:30, we took the reciept to the cashier's in the casino and were reimbursed.   More on the Elite stuff coming soon!

Some room pics...  The weather in Tampa was grey.