Just back from Pride 12/24 sailing

A quick review and happy to answer any questions.

This was our 14th cruise and 2nd on the Pride. While this was certainly not in our top five cruises there are no major complaints.

Let's start with the positive. Saffie, the CD, works tremendously hard.

Food is good, not great. Never had a meal that had to be turned back. At lunch there is always an Asian line and one other ethnic line. The burrito, pizza and burger stations are always better than good alternatives. By the end of the cruise the Asian station seemed repetitive. Missed some basic lunch staples like fish and chips. Dinner in the MDR was also good. The Maître D, Ken, was amazing. He sang every night and we wondered if he was really that good or was lip synching. It was real. The guy should have a lunge act. There was a lack of mid afternoon or late night snacks. At 11:30pm there were hot dogs and burgers but the time between the late show and 11:30 was vacant, except for pizza.

Singers and dancers also put on good shows. Comedy was also good.

Saffie is everywhere changing costumes as she goes. Not sure if it is just that she doesn't delegate but the rest of the entertainment staff doesn't exhibit her charisma. Usually we are trivia players but gave up halfway through the cruise as some of the topics were narrow and there was usually some cheating going on. Also, the entertainment staff did not seem to enjoy banter with the guests.

We had some OBC so were looking for a shore excursion. The shore excursion desk person we dealt with did not know much more than was written in the one paragraph description in the book. This is different than on other cruises where the desk staff were good advisors. We made a choice in Freeport and (Garden of Groves) that exceeded our expectations based on what was written. At some point I will go through my pictures and set up a web site.

Embarkation was unbelievable. We were on the boat less than an hour from leaving our house. We live 20 minutes from the port, but still. My guess is that today's guests did not fare as well as we came in 75 minutes late and traffic was backed up from both I-95 N and S to get into the port.

Debarkation was as organized as could be.

Carnival seems to over sell and under deliver on the on board merchandise, but so do the other lines. I really wonder how many Invicta watches they sell in a week. At 75% off they are still $175. We don't really by much so this was not a distraction, although I did buy a couple of T-shirts on the last day at $10 each with my last $20 of OBC..

Bottom line is that we had a good cruise and would cruise Carnival/Pride again. After all, the convenience can't be beat.

Again, happy to answer any questions.

Appreciate the feedback.

Glad you had a good cruise! Thanks for the report.

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Thanks for your review! I've never sailed with Ken and would love to hear him sing.

I have some video that I will have to download.

Ken is the head Maitre D for Carnival---he trains all the new Maitre Ds and sets up the ships. We've been lucky enough to be on 4 of his cruises (I gave him this "light up" bow tie on the last one). Twice he performed a night of Sinatra music when performers did not show, his concerts were packed! Hoping he'll sail with us on the new Horizon for the transatlantic.

Thanks,

Great picture of Ken. Better than any I have.

Thanks for the review! We'll be on her in a short while.

I would love to hear about what was done for Christmas. Was there a special menu?

Thank you for your report.

Keith

I would love to hear about what was done for Christmas. Was there a special menu?

There was a special menu. I do not have a copy but it was posted on another thread. There were XMAS services in the morning and a Christmas show in the afternoon. The Grinch also made an appearance.

Ken is the head Maitre D for Carnival---he trains all the new Maitre Ds and sets up the ships. We've been lucky enough to be on 4 of his cruises (I gave him this "light up" bow tie on the last one). Twice he performed a night of Sinatra music when performers did not show, his concerts were packed! Hoping he'll sail with us on the new Horizon for the transatlantic.

 

Since we didn't have any food yet we went out to lunch. The restaurant played a Sinatra song and we looked at each other wondering if Ken was in the house.

Is Guy's onboard the Pride? I can't remember if the upgrades have been done yet.

A couple of other things.

Dave in the piano bar is very good although was not well attended.

Breakfast was good but there were only minimal differences from day to day. French toast was freshly grilled and excellent. Pancakes also made fresh. Waffles looked like they were out of the bag.

Usually we sleep well on a cruise (between very active days and the rocking of the boat). On this cruise the bed was most uncomfortable. I woke up with a stiff neck on day one. Thank goodness for some pain killers. When we were walking off the ship it looked like the Pride was getting some new mattresses. DW immediately commented that they were a week too late.

Yes, there is a Guy's on the Pride

Yes, there is a Guy's on the Pride

Woot! Thanks!

Thanks for the review.

thanks for the review. we look forward to sailing on the Pride this summer. any tip? tricks ?

Thanks for the review; glad you enjoyed it.

thanks for the review. we look forward to sailing on the Pride this summer. any tip? tricks ?

Things are different in the summer in that you don't have an indoor day (due to weather) on both ends. If you are not travelling with children remember the Serenity area in the back of the boat is for adults only. Assuming you have a similar itinerary with three sea days bring something to do/read in case the planned activities are not in your area of interest. There was a lot of down time.

A couple of other things.

 

On this cruise the bed was most uncomfortable. I woke up with a stiff neck on day one. .

We were on the Pride the week before and had the same issue. Never had a problem with the bed on any Carnival ship before.

any tips for blue iquana and guys burger joint? times to avoid?

Thanks for your review. Enjoyed reading it. We will be on the Pride on Sunday.

We were on the Pride the week before and had the same issue. Never had a problem with the bed on any Carnival ship before.

Us too. Usually the beds are just fine.

any tips for blue iquana and guys burger joint? times to avoid?

Never really saw a long line at Guys. The lines at the B.I. were longer right around peak lunch times (as you would expect). However, the line moved fairly quickly.

Thanks for your review. Enjoyed reading it. We will be on the Pride on Sunday.

Have an awesome cruise.