Pride recent cruisers

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

We sailed her in Feb and had an absolute blast. Great crew, great food, great experience. I prefer the smaller ships like the Pride because they feel less crowded.

We sailed her in Feb and had an absolute blast. Great crew, great food, great experience. I prefer the smaller ships like the Pride because they feel less crowded.

how many days before you got to warm weather. we are on the Pride in Jan.

I'm on the Pride for her Journey Cruise in November. I'll let you know when it's warm.

Karen

We also sailed in Feb. Sunday was cold, of course, Monday was chilly but pleasant and warmed up by Tuesday. Of course it is all a matter of perception. I live in upstate NY so even Baltimore was a slight warm up for us...The Bahamas were beautiful as far as weather. Enjoy! It will be great!

What are some of the main differences between Fantasy class vs Spirit class?

What are some of the main differences between Fantasy class vs Spirit class?

Obviously size. Spirits have Steakhouses as an additional dining venue and Fantasy to do not. Spirits have tons of balconies, Fantasy have zero or minimal. Really it is going to depend on the ship if they have alchemy bar etc. The easiest thing to do is go on Carnival and pull up a ship comparison of the two you are looking at.

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!

There's a link to our recent (and past) Pride review in my signature. If you have any questions just ask!:)

Just off the Pride 7/15/18 - What would you like to know?

Simply put, we had an amazing vacation and would not hesitate to book the Pride again.

We had thought the CD was Dr E but it was Ryan Rose who was amazing. I never cared about a CD before but he was a lot of fun, tons of energy. Everyone's tastes are different but I thought the food in the dining room, lido, Guys, Blue Iguana were all terrific. May I point out, dining room service was always quick, never in there more than 75min, we had YTD.

It's summer, do lots of kids. It was great, everyone so well behaved and friendly. Pools were busy but you could certainly get in them and cool off.

Had an extended balcony on deck 7, with 2 adults, 12 and 14 yearold, more than enough room for us, never felt crowded. Cabin Steward was amazing too.

Was disappointed in the beach at Grand Turk, but that's not Carnival's fault. The pool at Margaritaville was lots of fun. Half Moon Cay was the highlight of the trip, would move there if it were possible. Freeport is Freeport, no complaints or issues.

We did the Behind the Fun Tour, highly recommend to anyone who has never done it, but be warned it was 4hrs.

We did not get the internet package and I heard others complaining. We did however get the HUB app and were always able to contact each other when we split up. Never an issue or a delay, instant contact at all times.

Any specific questions let me know.

we sailed in February. Arrived at port with a balmy 57 degrees. was nice to sit on that balcony that day but the temps never got much higher then that in all our ports-- including the bahamas

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

i just added more of our review

@darwal, how much did the HUB app cost for the messaging feature?

I'm sailing on Sunday on the lovely Pride, been on her twice but not since the 2.0 so I'm PUMPED.

There's a link to our recent (and past) Pride review in my signature. If you have any questions just ask!:)

Thank you for the wonderful review! We're cruising with my 5 year old, 3 year old, and 9 month old on Sunday. Here's hoping they have as much fun as your SGD did!

Thank you for the wonderful review! We're cruising with my 5 year old, 3 year old, and 9 month old on Sunday. Here's hoping they have as much fun as your SGD did!

You are most welcome! I hope that you miss any storms like the one we ran into (although for me, being former Navy, it was the best part of the trip:D). (Oh, and as I recall the message feature in the Hub app was $4.95 for the cruise per device, but my memory isn't always the best).

@darwal, how much did the HUB app cost for the messaging feature?

 

I'm sailing on Sunday on the lovely Pride, been on her twice but not since the 2.0 so I'm PUMPED.

5 bucks per person for the week. family of 4- 20 dollars.

in laws used it too.

with two teens (16 and 14 years old)- it was a blessing the hub chat feature

5 bucks per person for the week. family of 4- 20 dollars.

 

in laws used it too.

 

with two teens (16 and 14 years old)- it was a blessing the hub chat feature

I'm glad my memory wasn't faulty.:D Several people in our party had the chat feature and it greatly facilitated planning things.

@darwal, how much did the HUB app cost for the messaging feature?

 

 

 

I'm sailing on Sunday on the lovely Pride, been on her twice but not since the 2.0 so I'm PUMPED.

Apologies for late reply but as others stated it is $5/device. Those over 13 can find and chat with others too. My daughter made a friend but both were 12, so the moms connected in hub app to help the kids organize times to meet up. Hub also contains your fun times and account summary too, very useful app.

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We sail the Pride again in 2 months. I have a few questions/comments in your quote:

Just off the Pride 7/15/18 - What would you like to know?

 

Simply put, we had an amazing vacation and would not hesitate to book the Pride again.

 

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May I point out, dining room service was always quick, never in there more than 75min, we had YTD.

Glad to hear this. On our February cruise it was painfully slow (and we enjoy leisurely dining). Hopefully service time has improved.

snip

 

Was disappointed in the beach at Grand Turk, but that's not Carnival's fault. The pool at Margaritaville was lots of fun. Half Moon Cay was the highlight of the trip, would move there if it were possible. Freeport is Freeport, no complaints or issues.

What was the disappointment at GT? We plan walk to Jack's Shack and maybe do some snorkeling from a quiet area of the beach.

I'm one of the weirdos that actually liked Freeport when we visited, but your commentary is one of the kinder, gentler assessments I've seen;)

We did the Behind the Fun Tour, highly recommend to anyone who has never done it, but be warned it was 4hrs.

Do you remember the cost (and what you get for the cost? Am I correct that this can only be booked once on the ship? Is it at shore excursions or guest services? We have some OBC and not sure if it is something we would like to do.

snip

Any specific questions let me know.

You are most welcome! I hope that you miss any storms like the one we ran into (although for me, being former Navy, it was the best part of the trip:D). (Oh, and as I recall the message feature in the Hub app was $4.95 for the cruise per device, but my memory isn't always the best).

Not former Navy here (but thanks again for your service:)), and I agree that it was a highlight of the trip. Since I recognize others might not agree;p I join in your wish for smooth sailings for others. (I'd prefer to not have mal debarquement (sp?) post cruise too;))

We sail the Pride again in 2 months. I have a few questions/comments in your quote:

We always ate early, by 6pm. Never waited to get sat. Service was always excellent. I heard bar service was slow so we always grabbed any drinks we wanted in our walk to the dining room. Now, when we did leave dinner there were many waiting with their pagers and I would imagine they may have complaints. My last cruise we ate later and didn’t mind getting a pager and waiting 30+ minutes, just went to a bar and enjoyed drinks and music.

Even lines in lido moved quick. Lines were scary to look at but I don’t think it took more than 10 minutes at its worst. Guys and Blue Iguana always look like there are 50 people in line but they kept it moving very well.

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We always ate early, by 6pm. Never waited to get sat. Service was always excellent. I heard bar service was slow so we always grabbed any drinks we wanted in our walk to the dining room. Now, when we did leave dinner there were many waiting with their pagers and I would imagine they may have complaints. My last cruise we ate later and didn’t mind getting a pager and waiting 30+ minutes, just went to a bar and enjoyed drinks and music.

 

Even lines in lido moved quick. Lines were scary to look at but I don’t think it took more than 10 minutes at its worst. Guys and Blue Iguana always look like there are 50 people in line but they kept it moving very well.

 

 

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We usually didn't have a wait for seating (we went early too), but once seated the service just seemed off. Glad to hear it's improved.

I will agree that the lines moved quickly in most of Lido - especially omelet station, Blue Iguana, and Guys. Deli was a bit slow, and since pizza was made by scratch they were slow but hustling.

We were also in the Pride last week.

I was hoping to see Dr. E but was told he was on a 3-week vacation and will be back.

Was also hoping Ken in the main dining was going to be back already. He'll be back in August.

All in all, had a great time on the Pride our 2nd time around.

Didn't love Grand Turk as much as I was hoping. We rented chairs and umbrellas on the beach but the staff there was smoking weed right by our umbrellas. The beach had a bit of seaweed and there were too many small boats around. I really liked the pool. We should have just spent more time there.

Loved Half Moon Cay. It was the best part of the trip.

We didn't get off the boat at Freeport. Been there a few times before and wanted to experience staying in the boat on a port day.

Had an extended balcony on Deck 6. This was way better than the regular balcony we had on Deck 5 the first time around.

I also was on j7ly 15

It was my 4th time on the Pride

Great vacation

Great food

Grand Turk beach is really nice away fr9m the crowd

Jus5 walk down by jacks shack

Wondering if anyone has tried streaming Sirius/XM through the Premium WIFI on board? We are heading to Bermuda in September and the Journeys in November. If no-one can answer I may try it for one day during the Bermuda Cruise, to see if it is worth taking my Bluetooth speaker (for the cabin only!) on the 14 day cruise.

I heard bar service was slow so we always grabbed any drinks we wanted in our walk to the dining room.

 

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I've noticed this issue not just with Carnival, but with all the other lines we've sailed as well. You'd think they would be quick to bring drinks, they could make more money, right?