Just off the Pride - 2/21-28

[alex_drew]

Recap of the perfect (except for the weather) cruise. This was the first Carnival Cruise for my husband and (other than a 2-day "cruise to nowhere" out of Norfolk a few years ago) myself. We have cruised on Holland, RCCL, Princess and Celebrity several times and each of those lines has some really positive things going for them. I have to say that after this experience on the Pride, Carnival is my very favorite cruise line. There were too many positive things to enumerate. Embarcation in Baltimore was a breeze. We arrived at the port around 12:20 and were having lunch by 1:15 pm. Rooms were not ready until about 3:30 and muster was at 4 pm. We had an outside cabin on the lowest (Riviera) deck. (We usually have a balcony but I just didn't think it was worth it for this particular cruise since it was only 7 days, most of which would be c-o-l-d, and this was the perfect cabin for us on this cruise.) Big cabin, full-sized sofa, best quality robes I've ever had on any cruise, great mattress, nice thick towels in the bathroom, plenty of shelves in the bathroom for your toiletries, a MAGNIFIYING MIRROR in the bathroom (my very favorite thing in life!!! OK, I'm old and have crummy vision...this was the best!), ice delivered 2X per day, our cabin steward (Sarjana, the best!) moved the sodas & beer to one side of the fridge so I could keep my wine cold. I brought a couple of bottles in a little soft-side cooler on board with me. Bought a bottle w/dinner most nights; sometimes left the rest for the next night & sometimes took it back to the room. I really liked their wine list and they also had a good N/A beer (Buckler) available. I got the by-the-glass Beringer Chardonnay which was $9 a glass and they had one of my favorite Chardonnays by the bottle, too, so I was very happy! Sarjana was amazing. He always seemed to know when we left the room and only once all week was the room not made up when we got back from breakfast. This was the friendliest staff I have ever encountered. The ship is lovely and very clean and well maintained (my husband notices the maintenance stuff, not me...) The only thing that I would suggest is that you take with you skirt/pant hangers as there were none in our closet. I had taken a couple of skirts on hangers so it wasn't a problem for me but might be for others. Plenty of closet space and adequate drawer space. A ton of room under the bed for your luggage. We had 2 large suitcases, one smaller suitcase and a case of water under the bed and there was still room to spare (no problem with bringing water on board, just slapped a couple of room tags on the case and it showed up along with the suitcases.) Food was excellent. We had lunch in the Lido restaurant (Mermaid's grill), always had breakfast and dinner in the Normandie Restaurant. Did not try David's. Our dinner was the "anytime dining" which was available from 5:45 until 9:30 pm and we never waited to be seated. Now, having said that, we always said we were willing to share a table and that makes a difference. I did see a few couples being given beepers to wait for a table for 2 to become available. We just enjoyed meeting a lot of different people during the week. Coffee, iced tea, hot chocolate, hot water with an excellent selection of Bigelow's teas, lemonade, OJ all available at Mermaid's grill and frozen yogurt and ice cream available on that deck also, I think 24-7. We did not try any of the specialty coffees; we did not go to the casino this cruise. It will take a while for me to get used to the whole "account" system at the casino. I just really liked putting my quarters in and pulling the arm on the slot machines... Debarcation was the fastest and smoothest ever. We did the self-assist and our floor (deck 1) was first to be called. The gangway was on deck 2. We were docked around 8:30 am and in our car at 9:15. Well, that's all I can think of right now. We absolutely love Carnival! Hope they will start doing longer itineraries out of Baltimore. Tomorrow...back to reality...

[family cruisers]

We too loved the pride as it was our first Carnival experience. I'm with you on the longer or just different itinerarys from Baltimore.

I could do without port canaveral , We loved freeport and would like a full day there to enjoy their beaches , Nassau ...Eh....and add on something else other than florida.

Are you listening Carnival ????

Recap of the perfect (except for the weather) cruise. This was the first Carnival Cruise for my husband and (other than a 2-day "cruise to nowhere" out of Norfolk a few years ago) myself. We have cruised on Holland, RCCL, Princess and Celebrity several times and each of those lines has some really positive things going for them. I have to say that after this experience on the Pride, Carnival is my very favorite cruise line. There were too many positive things to enumerate. Embarcation in Baltimore was a breeze. We arrived at the port around 12:20 and were having lunch by 1:15 pm. Rooms were not ready until about 3:30 and muster was at 4 pm. We had an outside cabin on the lowest (Riviera) deck. (We usually have a balcony but I just didn't think it was worth it for this particular cruise since it was only 7 days, most of which would be c-o-l-d, and this was the perfect cabin for us on this cruise.) Big cabin, full-sized sofa, best quality robes I've ever had on any cruise, great mattress, nice thick towels in the bathroom, plenty of shelves in the bathroom for your toiletries, a MAGNIFIYING MIRROR in the bathroom (my very favorite thing in life!!! OK, I'm old and have crummy vision...this was the best!), ice delivered 2X per day, our cabin steward (Sarjana, the best!) moved the sodas & beer to one side of the fridge so I could keep my wine cold. I brought a couple of bottles in a little soft-side cooler on board with me. Bought a bottle w/dinner most nights; sometimes left the rest for the next night & sometimes took it back to the room. I really liked their wine list and they also had a good N/A beer (Buckler) available. I got the by-the-glass Beringer Chardonnay which was $9 a glass and they had one of my favorite Chardonnays by the bottle, too, so I was very happy! Sarjana was amazing. He always seemed to know when we left the room and only once all week was the room not made up when we got back from breakfast. This was the friendliest staff I have ever encountered. The ship is lovely and very clean and well maintained (my husband notices the maintenance stuff, not me...) The only thing that I would suggest is that you take with you skirt/pant hangers as there were none in our closet. I had taken a couple of skirts on hangers so it wasn't a problem for me but might be for others. Plenty of closet space and adequate drawer space. A ton of room under the bed for your luggage. We had 2 large suitcases, one smaller suitcase and a case of water under the bed and there was still room to spare (no problem with bringing water on board, just slapped a couple of room tags on the case and it showed up along with the suitcases.) Food was excellent. We had lunch in the Lido restaurant (Mermaid's grill), always had breakfast and dinner in the Normandie Restaurant. Did not try David's. Our dinner was the "anytime dining" which was available from 5:45 until 9:30 pm and we never waited to be seated. Now, having said that, we always said we were willing to share a table and that makes a difference. I did see a few couples being given beepers to wait for a table for 2 to become available. We just enjoyed meeting a lot of different people during the week. Coffee, iced tea, hot chocolate, hot water with an excellent selection of Bigelow's teas, lemonade, OJ all available at Mermaid's grill and frozen yogurt and ice cream available on that deck also, I think 24-7. We did not try any of the specialty coffees; we did not go to the casino this cruise. It will take a while for me to get used to the whole "account" system at the casino. I just really liked putting my quarters in and pulling the arm on the slot machines... Debarcation was the fastest and smoothest ever. We did the self-assist and our floor (deck 1) was first to be called. The gangway was on deck 2. We were docked around 8:30 am and in our car at 9:15. Well, that's all I can think of right now. We absolutely love Carnival! Hope they will start doing longer itineraries out of Baltimore. Tomorrow...back to reality...

[scgirlatheart]

thanks for your review, sounds like you had a good time. We leave on the Pride in December. We're excited about Carnival, have only sailed on Royal Caribbean before. What did you think about the ports you visited? Did you do any excursions?

[SugarCharlotte]

Thank you for the nice review!

We were on the Pride last Spring for her first trip out of Baltimore and are going on her again this Spring.

Cannot wait!!

 

Glad you had such an enjoyable trip! :)

[alex_drew]

Hi scgirlatheart,

 

The only excursion we did was to Epcot. We did this through the ship and thought it was well worth the $$. It was pouring rain on the way there (and off and on during the day, too) and some rain on the way home. It is about an hour and 10 minutes each way and we were really happy we didn't have to deal with the traffic. We had never been to Epcot and, while I thought it would be too long a day for us, it was fine. They moved the excursion up from 8:30 to 7:45 (ugh) and the bus left promptly at 8 am. We were at the Disney parking lot at around 9:10 and you could go to any of the 4 parks from that parking lot. Everyone was asked to be back at 4:30 for a no-later-than 5 pm departure. We were back by 4:15 and the first bus was full around 4:20 and it left then so we were back on-board the Pride by 5:30. The 2nd bus was going to leave at 5 pm or earlier if everyone was back. We had planned to hop a cab to Atlantis to go to the beach but it was sooooo windy and cold that we settled for walking around Nassau (they cancelled almost all of the ship excursions that day because of the wind). Again in Freeport, it was really breezy and cool so we didn't go to the beach there either, just hung out on the ship. If the weather had been warmer, I think the ports would have been fine.

[scgirlatheart]

Hi scgirlatheart,

 

The only excursion we did was to Epcot. We did this through the ship and thought it was well worth the $$. It was pouring rain on the way there (and off and on during the day, too) and some rain on the way home. It is about an hour and 10 minutes each way and we were really happy we didn't have to deal with the traffic. We had never been to Epcot and, while I thought it would be too long a day for us, it was fine. They moved the excursion up from 8:30 to 7:45 (ugh) and the bus left promptly at 8 am. We were at the Disney parking lot at around 9:10 and you could go to any of the 4 parks from that parking lot. Everyone was asked to be back at 4:30 for a no-later-than 5 pm departure. We were back by 4:15 and the first bus was full around 4:20 and it left then so we were back on-board the Pride by 5:30. The 2nd bus was going to leave at 5 pm or earlier if everyone was back. We had planned to hop a cab to Atlantis to go to the beach but it was sooooo windy and cold that we settled for walking around Nassau (they cancelled almost all of the ship excursions that day because of the wind). Again in Freeport, it was really breezy and cool so we didn't go to the beach there either, just hung out on the ship. If the weather had been warmer, I think the ports would have been fine.

 

I'm worried about the weather being cool also, especially in early January. But I'm sure it will beat the weather in Baltimore!

[Laurab23]

We were on the cruise the week before you and our cruise was very cold and windy also.I love Carnival,really liked leaving from Baltimore but they need longer cruises from there in the winter months so people can get to the warmer weather!The weather was the only bad part of our cruise.

 

Laura

[bermudagal56]

Your review was very nice. what did you mean by "whole "account" system at the casino" can you use cash like a ten or a twenty?

[alex_drew]

bermudagal56, we walked into the casino and saw signs that said to put your room key (I think, and please, someone who knows how all of this works, please jump in here...) into the machine and set up an account. Then, as I think I understand it, all of your winnings (or losings) go on your on-board account. I just want to put quarters in the machine and pull the lever... *sigh*

[sryoung44]

You can use cash $1 - $20, or you account card. However, the machines are set to allow only the higher bets. EX: Penny slots minimum bet is 18 cents and 2 cent slots minimum is 20 cents.

 

The casino in Freeport, Lucaya has the old time slots that aren't restricted.

[sryoung44]

Did you notice how bad the drinking water tasted and smelled? I asked other guests and they said they noticed.

[alex_drew]

sryoung44, The water in the dining room always tasted fine. The water out of the tap in the bathroom had a strong chemical taste. The water out of the machines at the Lido (Mermaid Grill) was fine sometimes but other times had a strong chemical taste. We actually took a case of water with us on this cruise and were happy that we did as we drink a lot of water in the room.

[tomsgirl3]

Love reading your thoughts! We're going on the Pride in May for our first cruise. We can't wait!!

[alex_drew]

tomsgirl3, I can only say that I wish I were going with you! :)

[MrsP_29]

I really enjoyed reading your comments. My parents embarked today on that same cruise, hubby and I go next month. Between the threads I've read here, photos, and my mom's information, we will be ready to have a wildly enjoyable vacation!

[scgirlatheart]

You can use cash $1 - $20, or you account card. However, the machines are set to allow only the higher bets. EX: Penny slots minimum bet is 18 cents and 2 cent slots minimum is 20 cents.

 

The casino in Freeport, Lucaya has the old time slots that aren't restricted.

 

For our first 2 cruises aboard RCCL, I had saved quarters for the entire year leading up to them. Did the same for cruise #3, only to find out they no longer accepted quarters. I was able to cash them in, but somehow it doesn't seem as much fun.

[PA Dutchman]

OK how was the rocking and rolling on the way to Fla this trip?. We go next Sunday. We thought the water had a after taste last time we were on the PRIDE.

[cruisinmchugh]

Yay! I'm so excited after reading this! We're going on the Pride in almost exactly two months. I soooo need a vacation. Reading this gives me a little taste of what's in store. I realize though, that not being able to get in the cabin until 3:30 may mess up my son's nap schedule... Hopefully I can get him to nap in his stroller. Hopefully. We'll be on vacation though, so no worries!!

[alex_drew]

PA Dutchman,

 

We thought this was the smoothest sailing we've ever had. We've sailed out of Baltimore before, Norfolk, NY and Florida, and this was the least amount of movement we've ever experienced. We had a little bit of movement on Monday, I believe, but that was it, and we really didn't even notice it until we heard some first-time cruisers mention it.

[TrinaLC]

Any problems bringing the wine onboard? I was planning on carrying 2 bottles (we are 2 over 21), but my husband may be checking in a couple of hours later. Were they "counting"?

[alex_drew]

We had no problems bringing our wine on board; we had 2 bottles in a small cooler w/ice and when we checked in, at least, no one seemed to be counting at all, they didn't even open the cooler to check to see that it was actually wine bottles.