Carnival Pride Review 6/27 - 7/4

[vavasmom]

Day 1: 27 June Cont.

 

When I opened the door to the cabin, I was pleasantly surprised to find it set-up correctly (2 twin beds). This never seems to happen on RCCL. One of our three bags arrived a few minutes later so I unpacked those clothes. I was pleasantly surprised by the room. It had more storage than our E-1 on Freedom of the Seas last year. Two of the three closest had hanging storage; the third had shelves. The first closet had lifejackets on the shelf and two robes for our use and two beach towels were in the room. There were charges at the end of the week if the robes or beach towels were missing. The room also had a full length sofa that could have been a twin bed of the third person if booked that way. The safe (located in the cabinet below the TV) used a magnetic striped card to open and close. I forgot to bring an old gift card but my health insurance card worked just fine.

 

 

[vavasmom]

The vanity area contained a drawer with a hairdryer and the one outlet for the stateroom. The TV was mounted on a swivel base and was tube style (not flat screen). We also had a storage cabinet by the mini-bar (which was locked the entire trip).

 

[vavasmom]

The bathroom was typical for a cruise ship. The shower had a clothesline that was useful for wet bathing suits. It had quite a bit of storage by the mirror and one electrical outlet that only had power when the light was turned on.

 

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

I'm enjoying your review. I will be on the Pride in 40 days, yeah!!!!

[ava_girl_123]

Great review so far! We also booked an Extended balcony for our August cruise. If you have any pictures of your balcony area I would love to see how much space is out there.. :o Thanks!

[vavasmom]

The balcony completed my tour of the room. The first thing I noticed is that the pride has a door instead of the slider on RCCL. While not a concern with a teen - this door and the lock (a turn mechanism in the handle) were easier to operate than RCCL or DCL. This may be a concern for a parent of a curious toddler. The door was still fairly heavy bit I know that some small people have amazing strength when they want to explore.

 

The next thing I noticed (since in nearly fell head first into the chair) was the little step from the door to the balcony. I thought the watch your step sign was for the lip of the door not a step. The balcony had 2 chairs and a table. If I looked straight down I saw a lifeboat, to my left was the wall of the ships jut out. Sitting down and looking out I could see the parking lot (ocean once we sailed). I enjoyed the balcony but it was very hot in the sun because we had no breeze. I paid for the extended balcony for a size similar to what I have had on RCCL. I would have loved to see a standard balcony since the size is so much smaller.

[vavasmom]

Day 1: 27 June Cont..

 

My DD came down to meet me for the 4pm safety briefing. It is very different without the life jackets. We were still very warm at the back of the group. We stood against the wall and listened to what was said. I also noticed that no one check off cabin attendance – that has always been done on prior cruises. I honestly don’t think they know who did/did not attend. One major concern was making sure all kids under the age of 12 had the correct muster station band. It was emphasized a couple of times these had to be worn at all times in case of an emergency. At the end of the briefing, it was announced that our sailing would be delayed a few hours because we were missing some necessary produce.

 

After the safety briefing, DD and I walked around a little bit more. Somewhere in our wandering, I bought my soda sticker for the week. The employee who sold it to me acted like I was the most evil mother in the US since I did not buy DD a sticker. He also explained that we could not share. I assured him that I knew the rules and had no intentions of cheating the system. What he did not know was that she does not drink carbonated beverages. A little before 5pm, DD and I decided to return to our cabin and get ready for the Circle C meeting and dinner. We were still missing 2 of our 3 bags but had brought sun dresses in our carry-on.

 

The Circle C/Club 02 briefing was my first clue they have not adjusted to the higher load for the summer months. People were still in line to get paperwork as the event was ending. Basic info was offered; parents had to sign forms (which were available on the internet ahead of time) and drop off the paperwork. The presentation was disorganized since one of the 2 employees was still handing out paperwork. I think the initial plan had been to look over paperwork with the parents but that was abandoned. Instead we dropped it in box on a chair. Once everything was verified later that evening, the kids were to come to the clubs that night to get their stickers and participate in ice breakers. Several parents asked about moving their kids into the club (11 yo) most were approved if their 12th birthday was before the end of the year. After this we headed straight to dinner.

[vavasmom]

Day 1: 27 June Cont..

 

Dinner the first night is held at your assigned times but is a “come as you are” event. They did enforce not swimsuits and shoes required. I had read that dinner the first night was open seating but that was defiantly not the case. We had any time dining which is on the left side of the 3rd floor entrance of the Normandy dining room. We had a nice table for 2 by the window where I could see my car in the parking lot and the dock.

 

 

Our dining room team was headed by Frank. We requested them the other nights – this request was honored on all but one night. We always had a table for 2 sometimes by the window other times near the window. The Any Time Dining worked very well – unlike RCCL no one pestered us to make reservations for the rest of the cruise- I don’t even think that was an option. The dining team (including the excellent Bar Waiter whose name I can not spell) got to know us like a traditional seating but we had the added flexibility of coming in a larger time window. (the pics were taken during/after the farewell song on the last night). We never had to wait for a table – the 2 formal nights were the busiest. We were normally dining with the early seating (Arrving between 5:45 and 6:15) and the waiters sang and dance along with the traditional dining room waiters.

 

 

 

I know that some groups had to wait – they provided buzzer/coasters like a traditional restaurant. I do not think that anytime dining is a good option for a party larger than 4. Parties of 5 had a chair stuck at the end of a booth. Parties larger than that appeared to need to wait for a group of tables to empty.

[vavasmom]

Day 1: 27 June Cont..

 

I have included my food pics – I admit that they are not nearly as good as found in other reviews. Also, I was very hit/miss if I took pictures of the food each night. I also usually remember after we had taken a bite or two of the item.

 

For dinner that night, DD had the pasta as an appetizer, the flat iron steak as the main entrée, and the Chocolate Melting Cake for Dessert. I had the shrimp cocktail, the sweet and sour shrimp, and Melting cake. Dinner was very good – DD’s pasta was dryer than we expected but she said the sausage had a very good flavor. A few of the garnishes I could have done without (a black olive in the Mac & Cheese!). We both agreed that the melting cake was to die for. We both love chocolate and fudge so it was pure heaven. I can understand that others would find it too over the top and/or disgusting. The crème brulee also appeared to be a very popular dessert

 

 

We saw a Lancaster Produce tractor trailer arrive part way through our meal. I assume it was off loaded and we sailed a little while after it pulled off (dessert was being served). After dinner, we hurried back to the room to change so we could be on deck for the Key Bridge.

[vavasmom]

Day 1: 27 June Cont..

We made it up onto the deck to see the Pride sail under the Key Bridge around 8:15. A few people were convinced we were not going to make it. I also noticed the wind was very gusty and the sunset was beautiful.

 

 

Since no one had verified the Circle C paperwork, I walked DD up to Circle C at 8:30 to get her sticker and was planning to see the shows in the Taj Mahal lounge. The first show was a game show called the “Gender Showdown”. By the time I made it to the theater it was in full swing. Instead of trying to find a seat, I decided to go back to my cabin and try out the pools again instead of watching shows.

 

RANT ALERT – It was close to 9:30 pm by the time I arrived at the adult pool. The pool had several children doing cannonballs, seeing how hard they could splash each other, etc. All are great activities for kids but do not belong in the adult (or a quiet) pool. I noticed that none of the Carnival employees that walked by said anything to the kids or their parents. This repeated itself throughout the week. I also saw diapered children in the pools on several occasions.

 

After about 10 – 15 minutes most of the kids left with their parents. That left a few kids swimming quietly – which was fine with me. I enjoyed the pool for about an hour and a half. I then went back to the cabin to change and catch the late night adult comedy show. It was in the Butterflies lounge and was very full when I arrived. The comedian was Al Ernst and I enjoyed the small part of the show I heard. This was also the first time I saw Eli the very capable assistant cruise director. I honestly saw more of him the Kirk the cruise director (maybe because I tended to be at events he was running like the comedy club). After listening to part of the show I grew tired of standing in the back of the theater so I then went back to the cabin to go wait for Virginia to return and to go to bed.

 

I really enjoyed have a comedy show each night in addition to the production show in the main theater. They offered both family and adult shows. Most nights the shows were packed - standing room only. I think that Carnival has a very successful concept with the comedy club. We were short the second comedian (who missed the ship) the second half of the cruise because of a delayed (canceled??) flight into the Bahamas.

[vavasmom]

Day 2: 28 June – Sea Day

 

My review of this day starts earlier than most days – 1am before going to bed on the 27th - When I was getting ready to go to bed a little after midnight I noticed that the toilet did not flush when I pushed the button. Next thing you knew there were a lot of strange sounds and it had a delayed flush 3 minutes or so later. I thought weird but I would deal with it in the am if it kept happening. I turned on the TV to wait for Virginia to come back to the room. Virginia came in at 1am (her curfew) and went in the bathroom. Next thing I know it sounds like a jackhammer is coming through the floor. In my best half asleep mom tone I ask what the heck are you doing? She replies she had only turned on the water to wash her face/brush her teeth. The noise continued after she shut the water off. I will admit to feeling guilty for my very accusatory tone to her. The noise is getting really bad at this point so I open the door to the hall. Three Carnival employees are working in an open access panel 2 doors down with what looks like a super sized plumbing snake. I realize I am hearing it running through the plumbing lines. It stops after a few minutes and all seems well.

 

Virginia and I both go to bed planning on sleeping in for our first sea day - the next thing I know the noise is back much louder than before – I look at my travel clock it is 7:15 am. I decide I need to see what is happening and how long they expect this to last. I open the door the same time as the guy in the next room who seems more concerned than I am. This time it is three or four Carnival workers and an officer (judging from his white jumpsuit) who are working in the panel. I make some comment about what the heck is going on. The guy from next door says the toilets are not working and possibly something was coming up theirs (not sure exactly what he said - I was 1/2 asleep). The Carnival guys note that it appears an inappropriate item (I think I heard diaper) was flushed down a toilet and messed up the system for our part of the floor. They worked for about 45 minutes (jack hammer sound from the snake, vacuum sucking noises, etc). They checked at 8am to make sure the toilet in our cabin was fine and verified we did not need special housekeeping. On the bright side – there were no more toilet incidents on our deck area after that morning. I don’t blame Carnival – there were signs in every bathroom explaining that only toilet paper could be flushed down the toilet.

 

I had just laid back down when the bing-bong went off in all the cabins making the announcement that 2 passengers needed immediate medical attention and we were going back to a buoy near Norfolk to meet the Coast Guard. What happened with meeting the Coast Guard is discussed in this thread (I posted some pictures) - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1229685 so I will not repeat it. I heard at least four different rumors about what happened. We will probably never know for sure.

 

Since we were wide awake, DD and I decided to grab breakfast. We ate in the dining room. I was very disappointed in our meal. The waiter that day would not let me order any omelet other than a cheese or ham and cheese omelet (I usually order cheese and onion). I received the wrong one (ham is not my first choice but I will eat it) and my side of hash was missing. DD’s pancakes would have made a perfect Frisbee on the beach in Freeport and her bacon was far from crisp. I noticed the waffle served to another person at the table looked very soggy. We did enjoy the company of other cruisers. DD and I noted that Carnival had the exact same menu in the dining room for breakfast each day. We missed the daily pancake special of RCCL. I also noticed the waiters really discouraged mixing and matching (i.e. a double order of hash or both bacon and sausage). We did not receive offers to refill juice glasses or a second pastry. It took forever to get a soda with breakfast (I only drink an occasional cup of coffee with dessert) and at one meal the coffee of the other diners was not refilled. Maybe we just had bad waiters the two times we tried the dining room but I think RCCL has the clear advantage on breakfast.

 

After our less than perfect meal, DD and I returned to our room. She was tired so she laid back down – I went out onto the balcony to read.

[vavasmom]

Day 2: 28 June – Sea Day – Cont.

 

I read on the balcony for a little while but it was getting very warm. I decided to walk around on the desks for a few minutes. As I go into the cabin, I noticed that Virginia is sound asleep. I left her a note on our communication white board and went out for a quick walk and soda break. While walking, I realized that Carnival does not have deck chairs on the lower deck that encircles the ship. I usually enjoy sitting in these and watching the scenery go by. I returned to the cabin where Virginia is still fast asleep. I went back onto our balcony but it was too warm in the sun. About this time, a PA announcement is made that we had reached the buoy where we were going to met the Coast Guard.

 

I went back onto deck 2 and watched the events happen. When I returned to the room, Virginia was just waking up. I told her she missed the excitement. I asked about her plans for the day. It was at this point I realized that she did not really enjoy the club the night before. She was going to go by the club to see if she could make some friends or try and meet up with a couple of girls the night before. A comment was made that she did not come on the cruise to play video games in a windowless room.

 

I went up to the buffet to grab lunch. It was packed. It seemed like I was going to need to sand in a couple of lines to get what I wanted so instead I ended up with a very good hot dog from the poolside grill and had a soft serve cone for dessert. I will say that the poolside grill (fresh hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fries) and the 24 hr per day ice cream surpass that type of food on RCCL. I am not sure the main buffet had chicken tenders.

 

After this I tried to find a pool chair. The chair hogs were in full force by the pool but there were plenty of chairs on the sun deck. I noticed how slippery the pool deck was. I saw several people (children and adults) slip during the cruise. I am surprised Carnival has not installed a non-slip surface. I also noticed that the pool deck can be very hot on the feet and several mosaic tiles are missing around the pool. Also, one afternoon I had a chair in the shade on deck 9 and there were constant ping-pong balls coming down from the table above. Seems like there could be a better location for the table (especially since it pretty much blocks the walkway on deck 10). I read and relaxed until it was time to get ready for elegant (formal) night.

 

Virginia and I both dressed and had some pictures taken. I bought a few of these (almost $200 though out the cruise) but would need to scan them to post (and I am not certain abut the copyright issue). Here are a couple from my camera:

 

 

We walked through the Captain’s reception (it was very busy). We were seated in the same section of the dining room with the same waiters. I noticed all types of dress in the dining room from formal dress/tuxes/dress blues to jean and shorts. It personally does not bother me how someone else is dressed but the varying levels of formality was really noticeable on the two elegant (formal) nights. I did not take any food pictures but we had: the Spaghetti Carbonara as the appetizer, the lobster tail/shrimp for the main course, and for dessert DD had the melting cake and I had the caramel apple tart. I also tried the chilled strawberry soup that was not as thick or rich as RCCL or DCL. I think that most of the chilled soups were not as good as on the other two lines. I would like to point out how much I enjoyed being able to get the pasta in a smaller portion as appetizer. I also purchased a bottle of wine that they marked for future evenings. At the end of the dinner they also discovered that my TA had purchased a bottle of wine for me (also marked for future use). Overall dinner was another very good meal.

[vavasmom]

Day 2: 28 June – Sea Day – Cont.

 

After dinner, DD and I returned to the cabin so I could change my clothes and she could change her shoes. The cabin had been serviced and we had our first towel animal and mints. We also caught a spectacular sunset from the balcony.

 

Inside of our Fun Times for tomorrow was a detailed note about three bags that were missing - this was the cruise for the strange occurrences. I never did find out if the bags were found. They also ran the notice on the ship's TV.

 

After watching the sunset, I walked DD to the teen "Prom Party" in Beauties to try and encourage her to participate. We waited outside to see if anyone she knew was going to come. After several minutes (10 or 15) she agreed to go in and look around. I hate to admit the teenager was correct - most of the kids I saw participating looked to be several years younger than she was. Also, a lot of parents were checking in to what was happening - not very typical for a teenage event. I know she did not stay long because when I went back by the room to leave my camera she had changed. She met-up with the kids her age and they hung out at the pool for the evening.

 

After leaving DD at the Circle C party, I watched some of the Karaoke from the benches outside of the Starry Nights lounge before the first comedy show. Some of my shipmates were very good singers. I also caught a minute or two of the sing-along with Paul in the Ivory Piano Bar between the show and the second comedy act. I noted that I wanted to come back another night because this looked like a lot of fun.

 

I guess it is already apparent that I caught most of the early (9:45) and all of the late (11:45) adult comedy shows. In addition to Al Ernst who I saw the first night the second comedian was Carl Strong. I also saw the Wonderful Wold show in the theater and now understand some of the comments on the costumes that appear here on CC. It was a typical cruise ship show (singers and dancers) but showing more skin that I am use to. DD and I both returned to the room around 1am to go to bed.

 

I wanted to add that we only saw the room steward a few times during the trip - Once the first night when he brought ice and checked we had received all of our bags (the last two came during dinner), the third day in the hallway, when we came back from Nassau he was cleaning the room, and the last morning. He kept the room very clean but I missed the interaction I had on past cruises with my room steward.

[vavasmom]

Day 3: 29 June – Sea Day

 

We slept in until 10am and went to the Lido for breakfast. We had basic buffet food. I did not discover the omelet station until after we had eaten (mental note made for tomorrow). DD mentioned that all of the Circle C activities the day before were duds. The Karaoke that was to be in club O2 was merged into the ships early Karaoke in Starry Nights, the games turned into video games, etc. After breakfast DD and I split-up. She went to the pool to meet her new friends (I had learned not to mention Circle C at this point) and I planned to make the cooking demonstration in David’s at 12:30. We agreed to meet in the room at 5pm to get ready for dinner.

 

The cooking demonstration was crowed. The had a pastry chef icing a cake, a chef making marzipan flowers, the fruit carver working on a watermelon, and two chefs from the ship. They made the beef stroganoff and a crab cake. There were samples of the beef – I did not get any because they ran out. At times it felt like a big add for David’s and especially the Chef’s Table.

 

After the demo, I grabbed lunch in the dining room. I had the ribs which were okay but the baked beans on the side tasted like a luke warm can of Campbell’s. I did notice that the burger served to a man at the table looked very dry (he did not seem to enjoy it). The fish and chips seemed to be the best choice. I missed having the made to order salad from RCCL. After lunch I enjoyed the Love and Marriage show. I saw first hand what the celebrity of the week had to do – he had to run on stage, recite a saying, and jump 4 times “with flair” each time Pennsylvania was said. He was great sport about it (he was on our behind the scenes tour). After the show, I hung out by the pool and read until it was time to get ready for dinner

 

 

DD and I met up at the room. She let me know that her friends were spending the night with their families and she preferred to hang with me instead of doing game time with the club. While I was very happy with this I was also shocked.

 

A few pics of the Taj Mahal where the production and game shows were held:

 

[vavasmom]

Day 3: 29 June – Sea Day – Cont.

 

That night for dinner we were not seated in Frank’s section (I was surprised). Overall the service was very good but the bar and assistant waiter could not find either of my bottles of wine and never sent the manager over when I requested it. I not too happy about that (but I had a lot of wine to drink on the last few nights of the cruise!)

 

Virginia had the chicken quesadilla appetizer and I had the French Onion Soup and a Shrimp Cocktail; she had the jerk pork as a main course and I had the short rib. she had Melting Cake for dessert and I tried the strawberry cheesecake. I would not rate this as the best meal of the cruise. My French Onion Soup was missing the normal cheesy layer on top, the fried rice side (served with both meals) was very salty and otherwise had no flavor, and my cheesecake was served warm (yuck).

 

 

[willow0325]

Really enjoying this review!! Quick question for you -- we're considering booking an 8J extended balcony too. Would you book it again? What did you like/didn't like? And -- why is it called an "extended balcony"? Thanks again!

[zfam]

Vavasmom, excellent review and pics. We were on this sailing, too! VERY much enjoyed the cruise, and wonderful to see it thru another's eyes. We were just down the hall from you on Empress deck, cabin 6327. I loved your pics of the hallway...memories...ha,ha, found my cabin many times by remembering the boobies..and the lady holding her pet ferret.

Sounds like you enjoyed the comedy shows, my DH was in the open mic night for aspiring comedians (Thurs night at Butterflies). You may have seen him?! He was the first act, right after intro from Eli. He also went to every comedy show.

Thanks so much for posting such a detailed review and beautiful pics, especially the food at Normandies. Looking forward to reading more. :)

[family cruisers]

Your food pics are killing me here. Only 117 more days to go !

Your Daughter is just beautiful and looks like she really enjoyed herself.

Keep the review coming. Awesome job so far.

Carrie

[Bilu444]

Vavasmom, excellent review and pics. We were on this sailing, too! VERY much enjoyed the cruise, and wonderful to see it thru another's eyes. We were just down the hall from you on Empress deck, cabin 6327. I loved your pics of the hallway...memories...ha,ha, found my cabin many times by remembering the boobies..and the lady holding her pet ferret.

Sounds like you enjoyed the comedy shows, my DH was in the open mic night for aspiring comedians (Thurs night at Butterflies). You may have seen him?! He was the first act, right after intro from Eli. He also went to every comedy show.

Thanks so much for posting such a detailed review and beautiful pics, especially the food at Normandies. Looking forward to reading more. :)

 

I was on this sailing too. If I remember correctly then, that would make your hubby the one with the joke about your son getting a job? And the lawn mower????? FUNNY STUFF!!!!! We really enjoyed him and several of the other acts, although, some were painful to sit thru!!

[vavasmom]

Really enjoying this review!! Quick question for you -- we're considering booking an 8J extended balcony too. Would you book it again? What did you like/didn't like? And -- why is it called an "extended balcony"? Thanks again!

 

I would probably book the room again. It was a little hot with limited airflow but otherwise fine. It is an extended balcony because it is approx. 50% larger than the standard balcony (60 sq ft as opposed to 40 sq ft). Both rooms are 185 sq ft. As a comparison the E1 we had on the RCCL Freedom of the seas was 200sq ft room with a 53 sq foot balcony. I could not picture a 40 sq ft balcony so I booked the extended.

[vavasmom]

Sounds like you enjoyed the comedy shows, my DH was in the open mic night for aspiring comedians (Thurs night at Butterflies). You may have seen him?! He was the first act, right after intro from Eli. He also went to every comedy show.

 

I missed open mic night - I had planned to go because I was enjoying the comedy so much but I was falling asleep in the grown up game show. I was so tired (and sun burnt) from spending the day at Atlantis. I set an alarm to wake up and make sure DD made curfew that night.

[vavasmom]

Your Daughter is just beautiful and looks like she really enjoyed herself.

Keep the review coming. Awesome job so far.

Carrie

 

Carrie thanks for the complements. She had a great time on the cruise - she found friends her own age to hang out with and they had a blast. I will try to finish night 3 before I go to bed - I need to get up for work a 5am tomorrow :(

[vavasmom]

Day 3: 29 June – Sea Day – Cont.

 

After dinner we went back to the room and changed clothes. Virginia and I hung out for the evening. I was able to hear more about her day as we walked around the ship and took photos – they (she and her friends) saw a lot of the activities on the pool deck like the Pool Games and the Hairy Chest Contest. We decided to go the family comedy show (Al Ernst) instead of the Ventriloquist (Jerry Goodspeed). After the comedy show we went into the Ivory Bar Sing Along with Paul. I don't think Virginia believed me at first that the goal was to sing along. Paul was great and got the whole group going. I had a “girly drink” (my only one of the cruise) and she had a glass of water. We had a lot of fun singing along. One of the large family groups with teens/tweens was also in the room and several people came and went. We called it a night somewhat early (10:45 or so) since we had to get up for Port Canaveral the next day. When we went back to the room we were greeted by our towel animal friend for the night.

 

[ava_girl_123]

LOVING your review! Thank you! :D

[eas2225]

Loving your review and the pics are great! Especially the food! I like how you describe the good and not-so-good things, so we get a real feel for the cruise and know what to expect. We're going in Sept. and can't wait.

 

Your daughter is just beautiful and I hope she had a good time.

Can't wait to hear about Atlantis.

 

Eileen