swodog94

Thank you for this review! Leaving Sunday and cannot wait. One of the best and most informative reviews I've ever read.

Thank you! Enjoy your cruise!

Booked our 4-day cruise on Victory with 21 days to go until sailing and I was shocked to find that FTTF was available. It's only $59.95 but since we booked a suite, the only thing FTTF gains us is early access to our stateroom. No tender ports on this cruise so I think we'll pass.

I just swore my little brother in as a SWO. He leaves for OCS in Rhode Island this Friday.

Congrats!

Thank you so much for this amazing review Swodog94!! I'm sailing the Pride (2nd time) this coming Sunday so as you can imagine these last few days before the vacation are torture. I'm also on the waiting list for a Cabana and hope I luck up like you did. Thanks for the reminder to print my email confirmation and take it with me. You two sound like a bunch of fun.

Thank you! Enjoy your cruise on Pride...as you can tell from my review, we love that ship. I'm counting down the days until our cruise on Victory next month!

i would love to hear recent cruisers experience. Whether 1st time or welcome back cruisers

I see from your signature block that you sailed on Pride in 2016; we did as well, in October of that year. We sailed her again in July 2017. Links to reviews of both those cruises are in my signature below if you're interested in more details (and pictures!). We'd sailed her in 2012 and '13 as well, so there was a huge difference after she recieved the 2.0 upgrades in 2014, but nothing really has changed in the four years since. Her crew is invariably professional, friendly, and fun, and that's one of the main reasons we keep going back! The Baltimore cruise terminal has gone to the staggered check-in process but not the new system where you don't get your S&S cards until your room is ready, at which time they're placed in the mailbox outside your stateroom door. Rumor has it that will change by the end of the year, but recent reports in other threads indicate that the old system is still in place and you will receive your S&S cards at the check-in counter in the cruise terminal. John Heald's Blog shows that Dr. E is the CD, whom I've never sailed with (reviews always seem to be positive, though, describing him as "high energy" and "hilarious", FWIW). Ken Byrnes (the Singing Maitre'D) is off on another assignment currently, but Pride appears to be his favorite ship, so I expect he'll return before the year is out. Hope this was relevant and useful info!

Yeah, still adults only. Surprised we didn't see more kids trying to get away with it. Then again, there 2 other pools anyway.

Awesome, great to hear! Appreciate the info.

For Miami they card will be in the mailbox after you board.

Thanks! Much obliged.

Do all CCL ships out of Miami use the new system?

Bump. I'm also curious as to whether ships sailing out of Miami use the onboard mailbox system or provide S&S cards at check-in. Sailing on Victory in three weeks.

21 days! Just booked it today...basically a last minute cruise on Carnival Victory departing Miami 06 August! However, we leave for Florida in 16 days! Can't wait...I think my wife started packing last night.

I would also choose a balcony midships somewhere. Vibrations back aft on Pride can get pretty bad...I've seen silverware rattled off tables in the MDR. It might not be as bad as you go higher up, but I've read reviews by folks who are light sleepers getting zero sleep in aft balconies. Here's another consideration...how's your significant other deal with motion? My wife uses a scopalomine patch when we cruise, but if the stateroom was shaking the whole time she would be unhappy (therefore I would be unhappy...happy wife=happy life).

I'll make a suggestion: if you're getting married on Pride, look into splurging on an Ocean Suite. We've sailed on her in OS's three times and love them. Plus, priority boarding and priority tendering (if you go to Half Moon Cay) is totally worth it. The OS's are roomy, they're on deck 6 so no danger of loud venues near you, and they're centrally located amidships, so it's an easy walk to anywhere on the ship. Take a look at my reviews listed below, or go on youtube and search for my channel (Swodog94) where I've posted video tours of our three Ocean Suites on Pride. Good luck!

We were on the Victory last week and sailed in our first suite (#7238). We had a great time. Zero issues. If you have any specific questions let me know.

Is Sirens Pool still an adults-only pool? Did you hang out in the Serenity area and if so were there chair hogs? Were the Serenity hot tubs crowded?

Great review! I truly appreciate the perspective since we're also thinking of taking an August cruise. It looks like Serenity is pretty small...did you have issues finding seating up there? Also, you mention Siren was an adult only pool, was the Carnival staff enforcing that?

I cannot for the life of me remember the CD's name. I want to say Felipe but I'm not sure that's correct. He was good. He always ended his announcements with "Chow for now" and a Woo-hoo. When we were disembarking, he was talking to guests as we got of the ship. My daughter told him "chow for now" and he laughed.

Good to know, he sounds fun!

According to a recent post by John Heald on Facebook, Late assigned dining is the least requested, so you should be OK. YTD is the most requested and first to reach capacity.

Yeah, it's been my experience as well that late-seating is not as well attended as earl-seating or YTD. Thanks for the response!

Thinking about booking a last minute cruise...6-10 August! I prefer to dine in the later dining slot (8pm) but I'm afraid that booking this late means I'll be assigned YTD by default. Has anyone had success checking with the maitre'd on embarkation day and getting YTD changed to assigned seating/time slot? BTW, who is the maitre'd on Victory right now? And who is the CD?

We love cruising on Pride! We also sis that same itinerary last year and had a blast. Following to see how the rest of your cruise went.

Great review! Informative and entertaining...well done!

From the internet so must be true...

 

This was repealed with the passing of the 21st Amendment in 1933, which was followed by the adoption of minimum legal drinking age policies in all states, with most states electing a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21. Between 1970 and 1975, 29 states lowered the MLDA from 21 to 18, 19, or 20.

Drinking age in Texas when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's was 18. The Republic of Texas raised the drinking age to 21 in 1986 , mostly because the Federal govt cut highway funding to states that kept their legal drinking age below 21.

Ironically, drinking age on Federal reservations (i.e. military bases) was 18 until well into the 90's...I was a beneficiary of that largess!

Following!

Is the walk from 11 far from the tender? I worry about our walk back to the tender area. We have two kids and want to milk the beach for all it’s worth. I didn’t want to have to hustle to make the last render pickup. Are the instructions for when to begin getting back clear?

No need to walk. They have trams that run you to your cabana, and then pick you up afterwards.

Which cabanas are the best to reserve? We have two kiddos ages 11 and 9. We don’t mind to be near action but not so close that people encroach on our space. Don’t want #15, but #1 doesn’t sound great either.

We had cabana #10 last time and it was great! Halfway down the beach so you don't have huge crowds, but you're right next to the bathrooms, too.

We'e cruised on Carnival Pride four times. Two of those were supposed to be the same itinerary, but weather forced changes to two out of three ports on one of those cruises. I love the ship, it's very convenient to cruise out of Baltimore, and I like having a balance of sea days and ports (most of Pride's itineraries have three sea days and three ports). I'd sail her again but I think we're both ready to try a bigger ship.

In Freeport we've gone off the ship to the Lucaya shopping area. There are some nice shops and a few restaurants. We had some great cracked conch there! But...just didn't feel it was worth the 20 minute an ride. Last time we were there we just went to the pier and walked around. The vendors are only pushy if you look like you're going to buy (i.e. handle their merchandise). I never have any issue saying NO. Also, there's a Senor Frogs and a Fat Tuesdays there, so you can buy a couple of drinks, too.

Nassau is fun, and you can do it without paying for an excurrsion! We walked down to the British Colonial Hilton and paid for the day passes. They are $65pp but $45 of that is a food voucher. You get a private beach, pool, towels, chairs, etc. Waiters come to your chairs and take you food/drink orders. We also walked from there to the Watlings Rum Distillery and too the tour and had some complimentary drinks at the end of the tour. From there we walked to Grey Cliff and visited their chocolate factory and cigar factory (separate operations, no chocolate cigars LOL). And finally after we waled back to the port area, we took a cab to Atlantis for a little casino fun.

8145 is directly below the forward pool area. Expect to hear deck chairs being dragged around at all hours...especially late at night when the crew is cleaning up there. Might not be a problem if you're a heavy sleeper.

We do both. We pre-pay, which is the bare minimum if you ask me, and then we'll tip cash at the end if we feel the attendants have done a great job. I've never been given a reason to not tip at the end.