bluehenfan

After 6 cruises on the Pride with YTD we only had to wait one night to get a table for two. While we were told the wait would be about 15 mins, we only waited 10 mins. We always ask for and get a table for two. Also I have mobility issues and the hostess always gets us a table near the front so I don't have to go far. Will be using YTD next month on Pride cruise #7

With all your past cruise experience, I'm sure you know to contact Carnival's special needs department for information about traveling with a scooter . It can't be stored outside your stateroom and unless you have a handicap modified room it has to be a certain size to fit through regular cabin doorway. Happy cruising !!

The cabanas go quickly because there is a limited number of them, but not the clamshells- plenty of these available. You rent one right as you get to the beach area once you get onto HMC. There were lots of them still available on our cruise and we were late getting to the beach area.

There is also the Bonsai Sushi House restaurant on the Pride

I have sailed on Disney, RCCL and NCL and tried Carnival for the 1st time six years ago. I have been on 7 more with Carnival since, and I always brag to my friends about how the food on Carnival is so much better than what I had on other cruise lines. I was on the Pride for 5th time in April and I was disappointed in the food. I love the Maryland corn chowder and usually order 2 for appetizer. This time I'm glad I got just one. It had very little corn and left a gritty taste in my mouth. The 1st night I ordered the pot roast. Now I know pot roast can be fatty, but this was nasty ! For every little sliver of meat there was a big chunk of fat. I love beef but this was unedible. Also, prime rib was paper thin and it was like chewing a piece of rubber. My friend said there were more fish choices in the past. Salmon was available nightly but it's one of the few types of fish she isn't crazy about. The food at the brunch was better then what was served in MDR for dinner. The roasted tomato soup was yummy as well as the pasta dish (would have been even better with a meat ball ) . I loved the potato salad at lunch in the past. This time some potatoes were mushy and others uncooked. Also the potatoes were watery and dressing was tasteless. Did enjoy sandwiches from the deli. Loved Guy burger, but was disappointed the "special seasoning " on the fries was Old Bay. Wish they'd offered plain fries and just sprinkled on Old Bay on request. Fries in dining room were better. I found plenty to eat, but just felt it wasn't as good as it use to be. Still can't wait to go again !!

I just got off the Pride today and I am craving the delicious fire roasted tomato soup that's served at brunch. Best tomato soup I ever ate. Anyone have the recipe ?....please.

Carry on only.....our friends luggage was by someone else's luggage that had soda in it and the cans exploded. Their clothes were nasty! I'm sure you wouldn't want your vacation to start off with ruined clothes :(

This happened to my friend on our last cruise. When our luggage came to our room she had some of her clothes in a canvas duffle bag. Another guest's soda had leaked through and we spent the 1st evening doing laundry. Her bag and everything in it were soaked in cola. We ended up washing her stuff twice trying to get brown soda stain out, but they looked awful. Book she'd packed was wet too. In first port we had to shop for a new bag so she'd have something to carry her stained clothes off the ship. The original bag was sticky and never did dry well, so she threw it out.

Not trying to flame OP or anyone else, but please - rules are rules for a reason. Carry on your wine, sodas and water.

I love the Pride. Passed by her so many times on Sundays when I was driving home from visiting my gr. daughter at college in College Park, Md . I decided to give her a try and fell in love with the layout, the crew and the food. Pride cruise #5 in two weeks.

My sentimental favorite is Disney Wonder. Took my mom on her first and only cruise on the Wonder. Five days after we returned she had a stroke and never fully recovered. We lost her the following year, but she had a picture from our cruise next to her bed and often talked about how much she'd enjoyed it.

Disappointed to see the chicken fajita wrap and vegetable sticks are eliminated.

veggie platter with dips is still on the free menu. It's listed under "salads"

we are goin on the glory to western Caribbean. I have a category 4c interior room. I don't know how they are goin to get a mobility skooter into this room. can you tell me about that.

Did you ask about a handicap modified cabin when you booked your cruise ? If you contact Carnival's special needs department they can let you know if your scooter will fit or they may move you to a cabin where it will fit.

You can just call Carnival and ask for Special Needs Dept and they can answer your questions.

Enjoy your cruise !!

I spoke with Jen regarding the lack of activities. Jen said that the Entertainment Director onboard is responsible for planning the activities. She said she would pass my comments on to him.

I think the position of Entertainment Director is fairly new position. It's suppose to free up the CD to do other things. I never gave a thought to CDs until I went on the Glory once and had a very non active CD. I attended a Q and A he held and he ended up telling us this would be his last cruise. He was tired of being at sea for months and was going home at the end of our cruise. I personally felt that mentally he had already left. Hardly any activities were planned and he always looked sad !! Like others have said, no CD is going to make or break my cruise, but a good one can add to the fun.

Loved reading this review. I will be on Pride cruise #5 in late April. I did the Turks, HMC, Bahama route once before but didn't enjoy it. Didn't have a cabana, too hot, shady spots taken and got a bunch of mosquito bites while watching my Gr dtr do the sting ray excursion. After seeing your amazing pictures, I'm ready to give that route another try but with a cabana this time.

By the way, Carnival has changed smoking rules and have set up several smoking areas with comfy looking chairs and shade. There is no smoking on balconies anymore from what I've read.

Thank you for the great report and pictures - one of the best I've ever read.

I've shared my story before, so I'll condense it. I'm handicap and when I cruise I need a wheelchair or scooter. A couple years ago, due to a mix up, my scooter rental was delivered to the wrong cabin. My adult grandson managed to walk me down to guest service desk to see if scooter had been delivered there by mistake. The young lady at guest services immediately got me a wheelchair and said there would be no charge since we weren't sure whose fault it was my scooter hadn't been delivered. She could see I was upset but she had such a great smile and reassuring voice I found myself smiling too. She got the scooter rental company on speaker phone and when the person she spoke to implied I was pulling a scam and actually had the scooter "hidden" in my cabin. This tiny lady got that person straightened out real quick!! She asked if he'd ever seen the size of a cruise ship cabin and assured him I didn't have his scooter hidden. Next she told him to have a scooter delivered to me bright and early when we docked in Florida and finally, she took responsibility to store the scooter once we debarked in Baltimore and see it went back to Florida where it was picked up. She called my several times at my cabin to make sure I was okay using the wheelchair until I got to Florida. Without her help I'd have just been confined to my cabin all week. I rewarded her for her kindness and help but she was very reluctant to accept it.

thanks for the heads up about the hot dogs.

 

Can I ask - with your scooter, did you have an accessible cabin? My mother is a full time wheelchair user and has 4207 booked. I've seen photos of the bathrooms and they seem well laid out but I do have some (very) minor concerns about turnaround space in the cabin.

 

As well, did you experience any accessibility issues on the ship?

 

thank you.

If 4207 isn't HC or modified HC cabin, which have built in shower bench, you can ask cabin steward for shower chair

My granddaughter and I went on a cruise together when she was that age. I just had her birth certificate and a notarized note from her parents giving me permission to take her and giving me permission to have her treated if there were any medical problems. I was advised to take that letter with me when we went ashore, but nobody ever asked for it. At dinner we were at a table with a couple and their son who was close in age to my granddaughter. Of course, this was just months before 911 and times have changed. If she was 11 now and I wanted to take her I would get her a passport as well as the note.

(in fact, I did get her one soon after 9/11 so she had a passport on her next cruise )

One thing worth mentioning....the chocolate melting cake is not offered in the Lido buffet. So if that's something you must have, then the MDR is your venue.

I've had the chocolate melting cake for dessert several times at the Lido dinner buffet. Not served every night but it is served there. Maybe it depends on the ship. I've had it on the Pride, Glory and Sensation. I actually liked it better than in MDR as it wasn't quite as "soupy".

While this may normally be true, our cabin steward took the cans I had placed on the countertop on our last cruise. I had intended to take them home for recycling and they were gone everyday. I also bring plastic cups for our cabin since I won't touch the glasses in the room. I don't trust that they are cleaned properly.

You are very wise ! I was custodial manager for 33+ years and learned that even the best employee would cut corners if rushed. On more then one occasion I'd find someone cleaning the restroom sinks with the same brush they had just used to clean the toilet!! Yuck !!

I have often wondered about what shortcuts room stewards might take to get cabins ready for turnover in short time between guests leaving and next set of guests arriving. Especially now with the FTTF requiring some cabins to be done even faster. I would never drink out of a glass in a cabin. Paper cups are one of the first things I pack regardless of what cruise line I'm on.

The lido buffet was not open during dinner?!?

 

 

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This surprised me too. I have been on the Pride 4x already and never heard of the Lido buffet not being open during dinner time - not on the Pride or any other Carnival ship. OP, what time did you check and find it closed ??

Have heard more con than pro things about current cruise director. I really liked Kirk Benning, who was CD on all 4 of my previous Pride cruises, but CD doesn't make or break a cruise for me, so I'll be okay with whoever is my next CD.

I wish they'd put the Italian restaurant on Pride instead of sushi. I know lunch in Italian restaurant is free while dinner has a charge. Is sushi restaurant free at lunch time ? (Not that I care - I don't like sushi. I'm just curious ).

Can't wait for Pride to return home to Baltimore and for my cruise on her in April. Despite some problems, I'm glad you were able to enjoy your cruise.

Loving your review. We have sailed with Disney 4 times and finally left for Carnival because the prices just kept climbing and climbing . Also, we wanted a ship with a casino. One reason Disney is so expensive is because there's no casino. They are big money makers for cruise lines. The thing I miss from DCL is Castaway Cay, but when I'm sitting on my huge balcony on Carnival, I'm happy, happy, happy.

I have a long wait until April, but I'm still checking every 5 mins. for anything from people who were aboard last week. LOL !!

This is a pretty unusual condition in dry dock, and I would suspect it is caused by the "Triumph" upgrades to the cabling in the engine room, and possibly the installation of the new "backup generator", if that is actually happening.

 

A lot of housekeeping staff will need to continue servicing the cabins that the contractors use. The galley and wait staff are needed to feed the contractors, since the crew galley/mess will be operating as usual at full capacity. Those who are not doing their normal duties will be used to prep areas for the contractors (removing furniture), cleaning up after the contractors, and as fire watch in various areas including the engine room wherever the shipyard is doing cutting/welding, and there could be a fire hazard.

You're right about the new "backup generator" getting installed. It was actually already in place when my friends were on the Pride this summer, but wasn't working yet. They were told it would be installed during dry dock

Also, on his FB page, John Heald said the dancers and singers were in Miami learning routines for new shows.

12 years ago, when I first started cruising, I booked a cheap cruise for myself and my adult DD. It was less than $500 for both of us. I booked it 4 weeks before we sailed. I knew nothing about trip insurance. To make a long story short. My DD got sick the 3rd night and ended up spending the last 2 nights of the cruise in the ship's infirmary. The doctor talked about possibly evacuating her by air but luckily decided not to do this. It ended up costing us about $1,200 in medical bills before we got off the ship, but it could have cost much more. I always use travel insurance now. I now have health issues so I always buy it as soon as I book a cruise so it'll cover pre existing conditions. (Carnival insurance doesn't cover pre existing conditions so I get mine from other source ).

Also read the cabin where couple were in quarantine will not be used on current cruise, even though it was deep cleaned and disinfected. I think Carnival has gone over and beyond to protect their guests and in trying to make up to them for missed ports.

Cruising on the Pride for the 6th time in April. Will be anxious to read postings from CC members after 1st cruise from Tampa to hear about the changes. Hope OP has smooth sailing on the rest of their cruise.

It would take a free major upgrade to get me to give up a lido deck cabin. I loved ours. So convenient to pools, hot tubs and food.