stephen@stoneyard.co.uk

We often requested a table  in the Carnival app just after 7pm. About an hours wait. We were often called or out table at the same time as late sitting and sat in the area for late sitting. We did not mind but it is not really Your Time Dinning. 
 

it is join the queue at your time but eat but eat at Carnivals choice of time. 

I did this in June. They did warn me it was a small part glass with each course. I had guessed that based on the price. 

On 7/7/2022 at 1:12 PM, stephenSJ said:

We boarded in Dover around 11am on 19th. Terminal was almost deserted of passengers just lots of staff. Was asked if we did Verifly and i said no. Girl at desk said " I dont blame you its a waste of your time" and quickly looked over the printed paperwork we had. We boarded straight away after that.

Ship was experiencing a power outage when we boarded but it was soon sorted. 

When we disembarked I asked the CPS parking guy how many cars they had booked in for their parking on our cruise and the total was 6. We are used to southampton and portsmouth where the queues to drop off your car are the longest bit of the boarding with many hundreds using the CPS service. He said there was more bookings for the current cruise.

I got the same feeling about CPS on my cruise.  It was much quieter than Southampton. I had free parking as part of my booking. It was booked with another company based near the Channel Tunnel Terminal in Folkestone. I thought a ten mile shared bus transfer was not a good idea with COVID about. I booked CPS and paid myself.  I did unexpectedly get a refund from the including parking.  CPS were well over twice the price. May explain why the are quiet. 

15 minutes ago, Velvetwater said:

Also Dover port is experiencing huge delays and massive road queues stretching for hours as usual this time of year.

 

Amplified by staff shortages and most UK schools breaking up this week.

 

This Dover delay will be happening until early September so if you have booked the Pride be very wary forgetting to port on the day by road.

Really good advice about Dover. We also have various rail strikes and closures. Hopefully weather disruption is over for a while. It is not much fun at the moment.
 

If possible I would try to stay the night before a cruise in a hotel near the port in Dover. Planning flights after the cruise, and thinking what is the earliest time you could get to the airport seems impossible. Unfortunately it might mean another hotel near the airport. 

That does not sound very good. It is very different from my experience of a well maintained ship, friendly service, good food and definitely no queues.  
Dover is a quite typical of European cruise ports. They are often converted or shared use with other types of ship. More ferry or cargo than  cruise passenger. Some are even just big tents. 
 

I wonder if the fruit delivery was stuck in the Dover traffic. We can, on the whole, get the food we want in the UK at the moment. Soft fruits particularly, and also cheap, at this time of year. We have no bacon shortage here too. 

Facilities were open and properly crewed I thought. Some events did not happen but I believe this is accords the fleet.

The weather in northern Europe even in the summer can be cold. For my cruise wet and windy also featured. Food served and eaten by the pool will go cold quickly. I wonder if they have closed the pool roof.  Ships designed for the Caribbean may not ideal here. Having a closable roof and outside decks protected by glass does make Carnival pride better than many. 

I have read about tendering delays. That does need resolving.  My cruise to Norway did not have any tender ports so I do not know how it would have gone. 
 

Pride was my first Carnival cruise and I was impressed by the ship, service and food. As good as many more expensive ships I have cruised on. For me it was just not formal enough.

P&O Cruises is you could say is the UK version of Carnival. Also owned by Carnival as a group.  They have had adults only ship (in any otherwise family friendly line) for years.  I believe often selling for a higher rate. So never say never. 

One difficulty would be which homeports. Wherever the adults only ships are based will not be great for many who would like them. For example, if I am from Texas I might like Galveston but the adults only ship is in Baltimore. Do go I from my local port with other peoples children, or fly across the country to avoid such children.  What about families near Baltimore too? Can Baltimore support two ships? P&O only have one home port so no problem. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

Did not realise it was a feature of the Spirit Class.  I would definitely do another Spirit Class ship cruise. I thought Pride was very spacious and everything was arranged well. 

40 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

Glad you enjoyed it.

Thank you.  I did enjoy my cruise. Weather and COVID were the only downsides.
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

8 minutes ago, Tnlynch81 said:

I think we probably need to go on another cruise just to make sure... for the sake of science 

I agree. For research purposes only. Not for fun. 

3 minutes ago, Tnlynch81 said:

I experienced the same thing a couple of weeks ago on the Miracle in Alaska. Thought it was an Alaska cruise thing. Who knew!

Good to know it is not just me. Perhaps we need to form a support group. 

19 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I know the ED is the  CDs boss.

 

Met an ED from Illinois at at CC M&M when they used to have those.

 

Thank you. Interesting to know. On other lines I have cruised on the cruise Director is the senior person and manager in that department.  They have generally been older, less hands on and more management like. 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

Carnival Pride did not meet my expectation. I had been told to expect queues/lines. I never had to queue for:

Guest Services

Bars

Buffet

Elevators

Corridors

Main Dining Room entrance

Guys Burger

Buritos or Tacos

Coffee Shop

Shops

Gym Equipment

Theatre

Comedy 

Disembarking at port

Embarking at port (perhaps a few seconds for a security scanner)

Occasionally there might be one person being served but I would be next and that was it. Perhaps I was just lucky, or I do things at different times to everybody else. As I did not get the full Carnival experience do you think I should get a free cruise?

Best wishes, Stephen. 

PS. Carnival Pride was nearly full with well over 2000 passengers

Please could I ask purely out of curiosity what an Entrainment Director does?  We had one on Carnival Prides, in addition to the usual Cruise Director. I never met the Entertainment Director to ask?

Thank you, Stephen. 

Bacon as in short supply on the buffet on Carnival Pride out of Dover. Some days not available, or served by the staff. Not sure why, as there is no shortage in the UK that I know off. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

I did not see afternoon tea offered on my nine night Carnival Pride cruise. We had two sea days.  I looked in the app and printed daily programmes.  I would have like to try it.

Best wishes, Stephen. 

Just back off Carnival Pride. The ship was almost full. THe only queue I experienced was for dinner with anytime dining. It was often 60 minutes but we just joined the queue in the app before our pre dinner drinks.
 

There was no real queue for embarkation, disembarkation, lifts, drinks, buffet food, burger, burritos, guest services, or coffee.  Occasionally somebody might be being served before you but you were next. I did not try the pizza though. When returning back to ship from port you might have to queue a few minutes but hardly a wait at all.  
 

I have cruised on many ships with many lines from budget to luxury, and I have probably never queued for less time. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

2 hours ago, Clairescurtains said:

Any new comments from those of you that just disembarked?

What time were you able to get off the ship and through customs?

How did you get to your airport and how long did it take?

I hope you all had a wonderful cruise.

I disembarked Carnival pride this morning about 8am. I picked a middle number for disembarkation but stayed slightly later to finish breakfast with a friend. As with every European and Norway cruise I have done there was no immigration or customs checks.  The ship staff scan your cruise card as you leave, you pick up your luggage in the terminal, and then just walk out. It make it all very quick. 
 

I had my car at the port so cannot help regarding transfers. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

I try to do carry on only. Most of my cruises seem to depart from Barcelona, Marseille or Genoa. I always take the train from the UK so there are no real limits on carry on. I have a big wheeled duffle which I can do a fortnight with, and it fits down train carriages. The limiting factor is my strength and endurance for the rolling.  It is always a relief to get to a hotel room or cabin, leave the luggage, and go out to explore without the impediment. 
 

My next cruise involves driving to the port. I will not have to handle my own luggage for once.  I have not done this for many years. I have already selected 25 tshirts for the trip of only 11 nights. It will be nice to have a choice each day. To me a real luxury. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

Quite a few European ports sell alcohol in the terminal after security checking.  Carnival could search for bottles themselves as you then board the ship, rely on your honesty in handing them over, or just not worry at all. 
 

Some ports do not have a terminal building to sell alcohol or do security check. In that case Carnival will do the security check as you step back on the ship. Again they may or may not be concerned about bottles.

Alcohol prices in Europe in local shops are generally quite cheap.  There are exceptions, like Norway, where the prices make me wince.

Best wishes, Stephen.

Thank you for the information.  It is just what I needed to know. It will be fine. The tub will be sealed when I board. I will take a shaker and scoop too. 
 

I will also get a good amount of protein from the steaks, chicken, fish and eggs served on the ship. My personal trainer has set me a high protein target which is hard to meet with just normal foods.  Particularly as I watch fat and salt too. 
 

Thank you again, Stephen. 

I am very much looking forward to my first cruise with Carnival. I am sailing on Carnival Pride from UK, and driving to the port. Please could I ask. I intend to use the gym each afternoon. I was hoping to take a tub of protein powder. I think that if it is sealed, then I will be fine to take on the ship. I would pack it in my checked baggage.

Please could I ask if I am reading the prohibited items list correctly.

Thank you in advance, Stephen.  

1 hour ago, TFS89 said:

Just seen this too. What I can’t figure out is whether we need another booster if we are beyond 6 months since our initial boosters (as UK started boosting earlier than US I believe). 
 

I’m also presuming the NHS Covid Pass app will suffice as proof of vaccines and that AstraZenica is recognised as a vaccine as it’s not mRNA (although I had Moderna as booster in November).

 

Slightly confusing to say the least!

Same for me. I am in the United Kingdom with more than six months between my last primary (AstraZenica) and booster (Moderna). Many of us in the UK had early primary vaccines as the UK was early with the primary vaccine programme. What a mess. 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

25 minutes ago, Cruise, J.D. said:

Yes, you can order multiple apps/entrees/desserts 😀

Thank you.  I shall definitely go for that. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

Please could I ask as I am new to Carnival. I am from the UK and cruising on Carnival Pride.  People talk about ordering multiple portions of Lobster on the first Formal night. Would it be possible to order the beef and lobster? That way I can try both. I apologise if I am being too greedy.

Thank you, Stephen. 
 

PS. I have nearly finished reading a book about the early Carnival Ships.  It was written by Mr Farcus. I think it is going to be different from my usual cruise ship. 

Thank you both that is very useful. Just what I needed to know. I will probably use iMed who did it for Virgin Voyages. It was included with them but is not expensive. I had wondered if it would be done at the port. 
 

Best wishes, Stephen.