TwinDani

14 minutes ago, tombec1 said:

I was running the slot pull for the Epic TA in Nov 2018.  We had about 140 people sign up, but had about 35 people actually pony up the money at the M&G.   Many folks just didn't show up to the M&G, and we had some 'walk ons' who attended the M&G that hadn't signed up in advance.

I've been involved with other slot pulls as well, and it's been a similar turn out.

 

So, my guess would be that you won't have everyone show up who who signed up.

I am thinking the same thing. We have had a very active group so far but I guess people may change their minds the day of.

I am sailing on the Escape in a couple of weeks and am in charge of the slot pull for our roll call. I have over 125 people signed up for this and at first I was not going to involve the casino but I am thinking at this point I should. Does anyone have advice on how to handle this? We have a great group of people on here and another forum , I truly think we will get most of the people who signed up to actually come. 

I have read mixed things about involving the casino. Some say they will pick a machine for you, some say they give prizes, some say they rig the machine to lose (not sure how true that is). I want to make sure I am doing this the right way. If we have 100 people standing around a machine that will cause some congestion I am sure.

Please any advice you can offer me is appreciated. I don't want to be overwhelmed the day of. 

We used one on the pride in November and it was never touched, erased or stolen. I was traveling with my sisters family and my parents and it worked well for us.

So sorry to hear you were sick! This is my biggest fear! I have never had a problem while on the ship (Paradise or Sensation) and only mildly on tenders but had my Bonine. I have never cruised from Baltimore but have heard that the seas are a bit rougher going down to the Caribbean. I will be going in February so now I know to stock up on my Bonine and preemptively take it on our sea days!

Thank you! I was not has bad as the kids and my sister. A lot of people were sick it was empty in most areas. Coming back was a bit better then going to Florida. Enjoy your cruise the Pride is wonderful.

I forgot on the second sea day there was the Dr. Seuss Parade. We met in the Atrium and the Cruise Director Steve and his staff let us through the casino to the theater. The kids were given tambourines and pom poms to use for the parade. The older kids held signs with book characters. It was really really cute and well done. At the end of the parade there was the Cat and the Hat Story Time. They had guests act out parts and we all enjoyed it. The kids were able to sit on the stage and loved that.

I think I figured out pictures so here are some from the first few days:

Day 3 - Port Canaveral

Today we were docked at Port Canaveral. Although Disney is not too far we opted not to do that. We go almost every year and felt it was not enough time and a long drive to spend only about 6 hours in the park. After debating what to do for a while we decided to rent a car and for to the Brevard Zoo. We rented a car using Costco travel. We chose enterprise and paid $68 for the day which included two car seats. I thought that was a great deal. Enterprise had a shuttle at the port that picked us up and dropped us off at the end of the day. It was very easy and the staff was fantastic. The zoo was only 30 minutes from the port. It was very easy to get to. It was a hot day 87 degrees but felt a lot hotter to me. The zoo cost us $51 for 2 adults and 2 children. There was a $2 off coupon at enterprise. The kids loved the animals and seeing many animals they have never seen before. Throughout the zoo were mini gift shops which were a pain since the kids want everything. I bought them a couple of toys and they were happy. The toys were pricy but hey we are on vacation and it was the girl’s birthday cruise after all. Some of the bigger animals were not coming out I think it was just too hot for them. You cannot predict what animals will do. The kids didn’t mind and we just kept moving on. They loved the bird sanctuary where they were able to feed birds. I am kind of afraid of birds and did not participate much in this. After that part we had lunch. They had a bunch of items to choose from and the prices were good. After lunch we did the train ride tour around the zoo. It was fun the kids loved every second of it. After this I can see my kids were exhausted and it had been a few hours of walking around so we left for the day.

We made our way back to enterprise. The shuttle driver was on lunch so someone from enterprise drove us back to port in a minivan. The port was about 2 miles from Enterprise. We arrived back at port around 2:00 pm. It was still really warm so we went to the Lido pool and were able to get chairs since sail away was at 8 pm. We enjoyed the pool and kids splash park again. We all got a little hungry and grabbed some snacks from the buffet area. I loved the cubed cheeses and the shrimp they used in the burritos so I had that. It was really good.

At 4:30 the ladies had reservations at the spa for the head to toe package. It was $139 for a full body massage, scalp massage, and hand and foot massage. It was a great massage. When we first arrived at the spa we were told we could go to the relaxation room. The girl then remembered it was being used for a seminar and we could just wait in the lobby. I remember on my last cruise loving the relaxation room having cucumber water and tea. It wasn’t going to ruin my massage but I thought it was odd they had a seminar in that room when they had a massages booked. After my massage the girls came back in and told me well usually we give water but we are out of water glasses so just drink a lot today OK. I though that was odd but again it did not ruin anything. My sister was waiting in the lobby for me and had a nice big glass of cold lemon water.

After the spa it was time to get ready for the Steakhouse! The kids went to camp dinner again which they loved.

I had been at the Steakhouse on the Splendor two years ago and it was delicious. I remember everything being really great. Well this time was the same if not better. Our waitress was wonderful. She answered any questions and made suggestions to our tastes. Everything came out perfectly cooked and hot. I started with two starters and opted not to get a salad. I had the crab cake and the grilled Portobello mushroom. For dinner I had the Filet Mignon and my husband had the steak. A few people had the surf and turf and my dad at the cowboy steak. Everyone raved about their meal. For dessert I had the chocolate sampler and my husband had the cheesecake. Again it was all delicious. We were really full so we barely finished our desserts. I really could not say enough good things about the Steakhouse. It is worth every penny. After dinner I decided I would pick up the kids and order them room service and the other adults could go out. My husband went to the casino. My sister and husband felt bad after a little while and came back to get there kids. It was a lazy night but we were all exhausted from the long day.

Sea Day 2

Today everyone woke up feeling great and ready to go. It was starting to get warm. We decided we would go to sea day brunch in the dining room. We took the children to the lido for breakfast. We found that eating outside by Guys burgers was empty most mornings and loud with music so the kids did not bother anyone. We then dropped the kids off at camp and met up for brunch. We were seated right away and brought a basket of breads and pastries. Everything I tried was really good. I ordered an omelet and a side of sausage. My sister ordered the Eggs Benedict and my husband ordered the Huevos Rancheros. Everything was really good. I also had the banana cream pie which was just ok. I really enjoyed the brunch and we had good service.

After brunch we walked around to see what was going on. We decided since the slides were opened we would go on deck to get some chairs. All of the chairs on the lido deck were taken including the serenity. We went up to deck 10 and there were plenty of chairs in the sun (when the sun actually came out from the cloud). My sister and her husband went on the green slide many times and loved it. I was enjoying reading my book and being in the sun so I opted to just relax with my parents. At around 12:30 we picked the kids up for lunch and pool time. They loved the kids splash area and had a really fun time. We also took them to the pool which was not too crowded. The water was a little cold for me but that was understandable because it was not really too warm weather yet. For lunch this day I had tacos and everyone else had either pizza, sandwiches from the deli or a burger. Again everything was great.

After spending a few hours in the pool area it was time to get ready for dinner. We decided to let the kids join camp for dinner and the adults went to the dining room. This worked out so well. The kids loved the camp dinner and we enjoyed the adult time. It seems that the children really confused the wait staff because the service was perfect. The kids are 4 and 2 so yeah they get a little loud but nothing to get confused over but dinner was easier the nights the kids did not come. This night I had the quesadilla for an appetizer and the spring rolls, for my dinner I had the Braised short ribs which were ok not the best but not bad. For dessert I had pineapple sherbet which was really good.

After dinner we went to the casino. I love those machines that you try and win the cash bundles. It was fun and we all took turns. We had no luck on this. It is fun though. I also played the quarter machines where you put a quarter in and try to push other quarters, bills and chips off. No luck there either but again it was fun. My husband played table games. We saw people lining up by the casino and realized it was for the comedy show. One of the entertainment staff members was on the line counting people she said it was at 125 and the theater had 300 seats. I jumped on the line and my mom called everyone over. We went in soon after that. I cannot believe I forgot the names of the comedians we saw but they were both really funny. This one was a male comedian and he was really funny. This was held in the butterflies lounge. I really loved this lounge, it was really pretty. It was definitely full that night and there were people standing. Once the show was over it was time to pick up the kids from camp. We ordered them room service snacks and food. They watched some TV and went to bed.

Sorry no many pictures today...

Sea Day 1:

Today was my twins 4th Birthday! The weather was still chilly so we did not allow the kids to go in the pool but other people were in the pool already. It was just too cold. We went to breakfast on the lido. I had a breakfast burrito that was amazing. It was very full of flavor I really enjoyed it. My children had waffles, pancakes, and fruit and were very happy. My husband had an omelet and he really enjoyed that too. During breakfast Natalia who I believe was a manager came to our table with two cupcakes and candles and a few staff members to sing to my daughters. She had to have seen their birthday tshirts they had on and did this all on her own. I thought this was so great and the girls felt special.

After breakfast we brought the kids to Camp Carnival. The first time dropping the kids off did take quite a bit of time. It was also very rocky in the front of the ship where the camp is. We all were feeling sick waiting to check the kids in. It took long because they had to distribute phones for the parents in case of an emergency. Drop off after that was very quick and easy. My niece who is 2 was upset and my sister had gotten a call to pick her up. This day we took the kids to Cherry on Top to get candy. It was a birthday celebration that day so I thought it would be nice to take the kids. They LOVED this and enjoyed picking the candy they liked. I also bought candy for myself and it was really good. I loved everything chocolate. From about 12:00 pm on the decks were pretty empty and some people had gotten sick in elevators. I think most people were really sick and opted to stay in their room.

We went to Friends trivia which was a lot of fun. I also won a raffle that day in the store. They had $10 specials (bags, shawls, jewelry type stuff). If you bought 4 items you received the 5th item free. If you bought 4 items then you were entered in a raffle. The raffle was you would be refunded for your purchase. I was shocked when they called my name. They credited me the $40 right away. After that we planned to go to the tea time in the dining room. I was OK ordered the tea but looking at the food and the ship being so rocky made me sick and that was it I had to lay down for a little bit. I took some more Dramamine and was good to go to dinner.

This was the first formal night. Our waiter Ronaldo apologized a few times for the slow service the night before and we assured him it was ok. This night was a little better but still it was not what I have encountered before. This night I had the baked stuffed white mushrooms and the spring rolls for the appetizer, for dinner I had the prime rib and all was delicious and the prime rib was perfectly cooked. For dessert I had the caramelized apples on puff pastry which was really good. I really enjoyed the puff pastry part of it. The kids had ice cream and fruit for dessert. My one daughter loves steak so we ordered her the prime rib which she loved. The waiters sang to my daughters for their birthday. Lucky girls got to blow out candles twice that day! The did not enforce the dress code at all in the dining room. Many people in Jeans on formal night, shorts and flip flops on other nights. It did not ruin my meal I really do not care what other people wear. I just wish they enforced it.

After dinner that that night we dropped the kids off at camp carnival. They all were feeling great and even had great appetites are dinner We headed to the piano bar and was waiting for it to open up.. Well after about 15 minutes the camp called and the 2 year old had gotten sick. My sister and her husband took her to the doctor on board who had to sign off saying she was ok to go to camp the next day. The Dr. said it was sea sickness and signed off. My sister was headed back to her cabin when the camp called her and also called me that my daughter and nephew were now sick. Back to the Dr. we went. Same situation with them they were seasick. After that we watched a movie with the kids in bed and fell asleep.

Can anyone see my photos? I am using Flickr but my work computer is being a pain.

The lido Mermaid Grill had everything open and ready. I had to try a Guys burger right away and wow it was fantastic! I loved it and so did everyone with us. I loved the toppings bar. My daughter loves extra pickles so she was thrilled with many pickles. My sister tried the burrito and that was also very good. I had read before leaving many complaints about the Lido food but I never had an issue finding something we all could enjoy.

After lunch we went back to our room and our bags had arrived. I unpacked while my husband and children enjoyed the balcony. Our steward came by and introduced himself, his name was Sutopo. He was great, we barely saw him but our room was always clean. When we did see him he always said hello and greeted us by name.

Before we sailed I was in contact with John Heald. I had asked a question about ordering cakes and he said when the time came to let him know our sailing date and he would send us something for our birthdays. He did not disappoint. My room was decorated with birthday decorations, I received a box of delicious assorted cookies, and on the final sea day he sent a ship on a stick, a medal and some desserts to the cabin. I thought that was very nice of him. My children LOVED it all.

After unpacking we walked around the ship for a bit. We checked out some of the bars, the casino and shops. Then before we knew it was time to get ready for dinner.

We had 6:00 PM dining in the Normandy Dining room. The dining room is beautiful. We were at table 284 which was in the captains lounge area of the dining room. It was off to the side and not really part of the dining room but that was good with kids. Our waiter Ronaldo was fantastic. The first night everything was slower and the waitstaff seemed confused. I know most 1st nights are this way. Our food came out hot and delicious. I ordered the spring rolls which I loved and ordered most nights for my appetizer. For dinner I had the Chicken a la greque which was very good too. It was my birthday this night and I think John Heald had sent a cake for me too. The servers came over and sang to my sister and I. We brought the cake back up to our cabin since we had already ordered dessert. The Warm Chocolate Melting Cake did not disappoint. It was really good and I was looking forward to this for months. Everyone enjoyed their meals and no complaints. Everyone ordered this at our table since I was talking about it for so long. They all enjoyed it. The children most nights ordered chicken nuggets, pizza or plain pasta. Each night they also had the fruit appetizer and they all loved their food.

After dinner we brought the kids to the camp carnival welcome party in the Beauties nightclub. It was very cute. They met some of the staff, played games, won prizes and overall had a great time. After this the kids were exhausted. My husband stayed with all four kids and they watched a movie and went to bed. The rest of us went to the welcome aboard show which was ok. I remember from my last cruise the show performers came out and did a song or two but that did not happen this time. There was some audience interaction and games, and the two comedians came on and gave a short show. Both comedies were great. I cannot remember their names. We did see one of their shows and he was really funny. After this show we went to bed.

Sea day 1 coming up...

Introduction:

My family and I traveled on the November 8, 2015 sailing on the Carnival Pride. There were ten of us total. We had 6 adults and 4 children. Three of the children are 4 years old and one child is 2 years old. The adults were my parents, my sister and her family, and my husband and my children. We were celebrating my sister and my birthdays (we are twins) and my twin 4 year olds birthday. I have pictures of some things but with having the kids with us it was not always easy to take many pictures.

Baltimore:

We all traveled separately to Baltimore but all stayed in the Best Western Plus and Conference on O’Donnell Street.

Our ride from Long Island to Baltimore was great. It was 4 ½ hours long. Traveling with twin 4 year olds we had to stop a few times but overall it was great. We stopped over at a friend’s home for a night close to the hotel. The next morning 11/7 we checked into the hotel around 10:30 AM and our room was ready. The front desk staff was great; they were very nice and informative. They provided us all of the information for the shuttle to the harbor and also information for the shuttle to the port. We had the park and cruise package which includes parking for the duration of the cruise. That day we went to the inner harbor and had lunch at Phillips Seafood. It was fantastic. We all wanted to try crab cakes and Phillips had amazing crab cakes. We ordered many different items and all were great. After lunch we walked around the harbor, did some sightseeing and shopped. It was a great day.

We then returned to the hotel. The kids all wanted to swim. We took them to the pool which was a little run down but overall ok. The hot tub is being redone and it was a mess. The kids did not care about any of this they were happy to be swimming. We were the only people in the pool. My sister and parents had stayed the night before too and they said the night before they were the only people in the pool that night too. We ran over to WaWa to order sandwiches for dinner since we wanted to stay in the hotel that night and relax before our big day. It was really close by. There is also a McDonalds in the same parking lot.

Embarkation Day!

The next morning we woke up early and met for breakfast. The breakfast was included in the price of the hotel. There were hot selections (eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, pancakes) and cold selections (Bagels, muffins, fruit, yogurt). They also had a few different juices, coffee and tea. The staff kept refilling everything and kept it all clean. Many people having breakfast were also on the cruise with us.

We were scheduled for the 10:15 am shuttle to the port. The shuttle company Elite transportation was great. Only negative was they split up our party and it was confusing but we all got to the port in one piece and the drivers were all very nice. They provided us with a ticket to use upon return to the port to get the shuttle back to the hotel.

At 10:15 we were on the road and heading to the port. The hotel is very close to the port. It only took us about 10 minutes to get from the hotel to the port. On our way we saw the Pride! My children were very excited. They have been looking forward to their “Birthday Cruise” for many months now.

We got to the port and people were still coming off from the prior sailing. We had Faster to the Fun for this cruise. My parents also had it but my sister opted not to get it. When we arrived they saw we had the FTTF and had us go to a separate line for security. Once through security we waited about a half an hour before being able to check in. We again were escorted to the FTTF line. They then sat all of the FTTF passengers together. We waited about two hours before we were able to board. I heard some people say that passengers weren’t getting off the ship and were hiding so that took a while. They did not make any announcements until about five minutes before boarding letting us know we would board soon. Many people were getting upset because there was no communication. We were finally able to board around 1:30 pm. My sister was in Zone 1 so she boarded right after us.

The atrium on the pride is beautiful. I actual loved everything about the décor on the pride, it is a beautiful ship. It was very well maintained and very clean. I did not notice any issues with cleanliness anywhere.

Our room was ready upon boarding. We were in cabin 7256. This is an extended balcony cabin. The bunk bed was down and the couch was made into the bed. We had the steward leave it this way the whole trip. We dropped off our stuff and went to have lunch.

As a continuation of the cutbacks, they have replaced the forks and spoons with disposable sporks.

I noticed that the butter went from being in a plate with a lid on it to a square dish. We also were able to wait in the dining room waiting to debark and I watched the staff take off table clothes and set tables for dinner.

I just got off the 11/8 sailing and we had the old menu. During the cruise table settings changed. We were told they were switching over to the new menu the next cruise.

Just got off today and because of a medical evacuation we did not get back to Baltimore until noon. We were zone 1 and got off at 1:45 pm.

I have twin girls. [emoji130]

Maybe you could negotiate a lower price as they are so young. The manicures are quite high on the ships. My last pedicure I had was close to $90 with tip.

ugh really! I wonder if it is just to do nail color they will charge less. We will see. No way I will spend $90 for 4 year olds.

Thank you so much for the info!

I have no idea, I just love that your taking the Twins on a cruise for their birthday. Our 3 yo twins will take their first cruise in December --- (go Long Island!)

They will love it! This is their second time on a cruise but they were almost 2 last time. They are very excited. YAY Long Island!

My twins will be turning 4 years old during our cruise on the Pride in November. We will have a sea day on their birthday and was wondering if anyone knows if the spa does manicure for kids this young. We went to a local place for their 3rd birthday and they loved it. I really just want them to polish their nails. I am trying to figure out special things to do for them on their birthday. I have already sent candy and cookies to our room and will be decorating.

Thank you!

Great review!!! We are sailing in November, I can't wait.

Thank you!!

How much is this? We are sailing in the pride in November for my birthday and would love this.