Ava_Girls PRIDE August 15th-22nd Review!!!

[MrPete]

Love the pix! They're HUGE! I'm glad I'm on a 17" monitor.

 

(Just surprised PB is not resizing them for you!)

[ava_girl_123]

Love the pix! They're HUGE! I'm glad I'm on a 17" monitor.

 

(Just surprised PB is not resizing them for you!)

 

 

Wish I knew how to.. I am on a netbook... :eek:

[KCMarie]

Love the pix! They're HUGE! I'm glad I'm on a 17" monitor.

 

(Just surprised PB is not resizing them for you!)

 

Love the pics too, making me dream of ocean breezes and salt air...and other things!

Wish I was on a 17inch monitor, but alas, also on a netbook right now.

Size does matter.

<cough>

[TinkyPatz]

Thank you. I know what you mean. I read these boards everyday.. I still am as I await the day I book another!! Soon I think, soon.. Lol. Are you going on the Pride to Bermuda next year in September?

 

I'm dying to go to Bermuda, so I'm thinking about it! ;)

[TinkyPatz]

My stepson and his new wife will be sailing with you, on their first cruise, honeymoon, going away cruise. They both go in the Navy at the end of Sept.

 

Don't wanna hijack buuuuuuuut tell them to come join our roll call! We're having a meet and greet on embarkation day!

[beachgirl75]

Hey Gail..I'd love to ask ya afew questions about cruising...maybe we could facebook each other? Let me know...my email is cinnamonevans@yahoo.com...drop me a line...love the review!! I sail sept 6th...honeymoon cruise...woot woot

[ava_girl_123]

Hey Gail..I'd love to ask ya afew questions about cruising...maybe we could facebook each other? Let me know...my email is cinnamonevans@yahoo.com...drop me a line...love the review!! I sail sept 6th...honeymoon cruise...woot woot

 

 

Sent you a friend request!

[louigi]

FABULOUS review! ;) Thanks so much for the fun you are providing all of us out here in cc world as we wait for our cruise!

We are on the Pride next October to Bermuda and can not wait! Love reading each Pride review out there, and yours by far is the most entertaining!

[ChefSusan]

Gail,

 

I am LOVING your review! The pictures are incredible!

 

I have never been to either of the ports that you visited, and if I do, both of the things you guys did will be on our agenda!

 

If you do decide to book Legend in September/October, two excursions to consider:

1. Nachi Cocum Beach Break in Cozumel - book it with Island Marketing as soon as you put down your deposit. $49.00 all you can eat and drink, and they only take 100 people. They have an incredible beach, swimming pool/hot tub with swim-up bar, and all of the water toys are available for a nominal fee.
   
2. Victor Bodden Tours in Roatan - $20.00 per person will get you your own driver for the day. Head down to the West End, and check out the Mayan Princess Hotel and Resort. $15.00 per person to get on the premesis; food and drinks are really cheap, you will not be bothered by the locals, and the water is absolutely beautiful!

I can share pictures with you on facebook (Susan Jacobs Leonidas) if you want to see them for yourself.

 

Cannot wait to see the rest of your review!

[littlesnit]

Hi Gail,

Love your review and your writing style. Very entertaining! Thank you.

 

Hate to bother you with a question, but we're sailing in 5 weeks and we're wondering where we will be allowed to smoke on ship. Noticed a pack in one of your pics, so wondered if you'd be kind enough to check the Fun Times and let me know where they allowed smoking on your cruise. They've been changing it quite often recently.

 

Would appreciate this info very much. I can refrain much easier than my darling BF, but since he picks up the better half of our tab, I hope to be able to steer him in a smoker-friendly direction as often as possible once on board.;)

 

Thanks so much in advance.

[ava_girl_123]

FABULOUS review! ;) Thanks so much for the fun you are providing all of us out here in cc world as we wait for our cruise!

 

We are on the Pride next October to Bermuda and can not wait! Love reading each Pride review out there, and yours by far is the most entertaining!

 

 

Thanks! I will get around to Freeport over the weekend.. Yes, I have been looking into Bermuda too.. Looks amazing!! All hinges on MIL now..

 

 

Gail,

 

I am LOVING your review! The pictures are incredible!

 

I have never been to either of the ports that you visited, and if I do, both of the things you guys did will be on our agenda!

 

 

If you do decide to book Legend in September/October, two excursions to consider:

1. Nachi Cocum Beach Break in Cozumel - book it with Island Marketing as soon as you put down your deposit. $49.00 all you can eat and drink, and they only take 100 people. They have an incredible beach, swimming pool/hot tub with swim-up bar, and all of the water toys are available for a nominal fee.
   
2. Victor Bodden Tours in Roatan - $20.00 per person will get you your own driver for the day. Head down to the West End, and check out the Mayan Princess Hotel and Resort. $15.00 per person to get on the premesis; food and drinks are really cheap, you will not be bothered by the locals, and the water is absolutely beautiful!
   

I can share pictures with you on facebook (Susan Jacobs Leonidas) if you want to see them for yourself.

 

Cannot wait to see the rest of your review!

 

WoW! What a great deal for that first excursion! I have also been looking into the Legend that goes into Isla Roatan and it looks incredible!! I will send you a friend request shortly :)

 

Hi Gail,

Love your review and your writing style. Very entertaining! Thank you.

 

Hate to bother you with a question, but we're sailing in 5 weeks and we're wondering where we will be allowed to smoke on ship. Noticed a pack in one of your pics, so wondered if you'd be kind enough to check the Fun Times and let me know where they allowed smoking on your cruise. They've been changing it quite often recently.

 

Would appreciate this info very much. I can refrain much easier than my darling BF, but since he picks up the better half of our tab, I hope to be able to steer him in a smoker-friendly direction as often as possible once on board.;)

 

Thanks so much in advance.

 

 

Not at all.. I was allowed to smoke on our balcony but did so when we knew no one was out there. Starboard side of the ship was smoking. Most bars as well as the dance club. Not the comedy shows or Taj Mahal. Good enough areas to do so in without disrupting the non smokers I think..

[ava_girl_123]

Gail,

 

I am LOVING your review! The pictures are incredible!

 

I have never been to either of the ports that you visited, and if I do, both of the things you guys did will be on our agenda!

 

 

If you do decide to book Legend in September/October, two excursions to consider:

1. Nachi Cocum Beach Break in Cozumel - book it with Island Marketing as soon as you put down your deposit. $49.00 all you can eat and drink, and they only take 100 people. They have an incredible beach, swimming pool/hot tub with swim-up bar, and all of the water toys are available for a nominal fee.
   
2. Victor Bodden Tours in Roatan - $20.00 per person will get you your own driver for the day. Head down to the West End, and check out the Mayan Princess Hotel and Resort. $15.00 per person to get on the premesis; food and drinks are really cheap, you will not be bothered by the locals, and the water is absolutely beautiful!
   

I can share pictures with you on facebook (Susan Jacobs Leonidas) if you want to see them for yourself.

 

Cannot wait to see the rest of your review!

 

 

Nothing is coming up when I search? Hmm, send me one.. Gail Marino- McHugh

[littlesnit]

Thanks Gail. That sounds much more lenient than a few weeks ago. At least I know I'll have a happy camper (uh, cruiser) with me.

[TheCalicoCat]

Thanks for the review. We are doing the FL/Bahamas cruise on the Pride this year, but I want to eventually do GT & HMC. In the past while reading reviews I have wondered if getting a cabana is worth it or not.

 

My son & I are both fair - so it now sounds like it is worth it, base on your review.

 

BTW Our cruise after this one will probably be to Bermuda - I want to be able to experience the island without worrying about missing the ship too.

[ava_girl_123]

Thanks for the review. We are doing the FL/Bahamas cruise on the Pride this year, but I want to eventually do GT & HMC. In the past while reading reviews I have wondered if getting a cabana is worth it or not.

 

My son & I are both fair - so it now sounds like it is worth it, base on your review.

 

BTW Our cruise after this one will probably be to Bermuda - I want to be able to experience the island without worrying about missing the ship too.

 

 

 

Yep, docking somewhere would be nice..

[sjn911]

Yes, my Aunt was telling me this morning about doing Bermuda. My Mother in law can really only watch the kids during the summer months. I was going to book the CC group cruise to Bermuda but the September dates won't work for us..:(

But yes, I was thinking Bermuda just so we can dock there a few nights.. I have only done land all inclusives before this. Those felt more laid back to us without the rushing. But I would also like to look into going out of Miami as those port times look to be somewhat longer then what we had..

Had a blast though, hands down a great time on a beautiful ship.. I read someones review today about the ship seeming to dark. We did not think so but again we have nothing else to compare it to. And some people seemed offended at the "naked" statues and pictures for their kids. Come on, they are paintings. And if someone did the research about the ship which I am sure they do when you book something they would know that is what is on the ship.. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

Really? They are dating? He too seemed annoyed with her in the morning shows they were on.. Hmmm.. maybe they were in a fight and she wasn't giving it up? :rolleyes: Lol...

 

 

Hey can anyone suggest a good FREE picture web hosting site other than Photo Bucket? They are horrible. Taking forever to upload pics.. It is driving me nuts!!

 

I'm only this far without readin all the text...lousy and unlearned on the photo stuff..thank you for yours..once again confirming I will be a Fantasy and Spitit Class are my favorites on Carnival Camper...the Sprit class are the prettiest to me in the Carnival Zany way..I love all thsoe glass tulip things and I like the "classic" art...it's just part of the zaney mix they do..sjn.

 

Thank you so much and looking forward to spending more time with your review.

 

 

sjn

[SoonerOne]

Thanks for the great review, leaving in 62 days, but whose counting:D

I re-size my pictures in PhotoBucket and then paste....did you try that?

[IslandToIsland]

Great review! Glad to see you are hooked like the rest of us.:)

[richstowe]

Thanks for the heads-up on the value of aft-view cabins. We have a regular extended cabin (8J)

and we were thinking of upgrading to a 8m or 8n but after reading your comments, probably not.

Our Pride itin. only has Freeport in common with yours so am looking forward to your comments.

Your posts on how you thought and thought about your cruise plans and once on board didn't do and get to

some of the things you thought and thought about have impressed me

even though I will probably do the same. LOL

Keep posting

[ardnassac79]

I'm sorry if you were already asked this, but how did you get the Bon Voyage bottles of Captain Morgan delivered at the beginning of the cruise?? I'm on Carnival's website, and can only find wine selections... I'd love this alternative!!

[KCMarie]

I'm sorry if you were already asked this, but how did you get the Bon Voyage bottles of Captain Morgan delivered at the beginning of the cruise?? I'm on Carnival's website, and can only find wine selections... I'd love this alternative!!

 

You can only order the liquor by calling the Bon Voyage Dept, it is not posted on the website.

[ava_girl_123]

Ok, busy weekend here.. Sorry friends..

 

 

Freeport:

 

 

Again this was an early port so the alarm went off by 5:30. Room service by 6:30.. Off the boat by 8 or so.. We decided to get off the ship as we have never been to Freeport and we wanted to be able to see this country for the little bit of time we were in port. I have to admit that if we were to have a cruise that had this stop in it again, we would most likely stay on the ship. I would try to avoid having it in our itinerary all together. It was ok, but I felt that the markets in Port Lucaya had the same items that we found right at the port without the drive into town. Carnival should do away with this and add an overnight stay in Grand Turk in our opinion. But that is just us. Don't get me wronng, we had fun, but GT was just amazing and Freeport did not compare at all with Half Moon Cay or Grand Turk.

We still made a great day of it and wouldn't have not gotten off the ship, but would really not want to go back. Maybe an excursion would have been a better choice. We love to see the diversity in other countries so we were happy for that.

 

 

We had a great cab driver. His name was Freddy and he was a doll. As we were driving he gave us a verbal description of where we were, and the history of the island and such. He dropped us off right in Port Lucaya and we asked him to be back by noon. We took the van ride with a few other people that were also on the ship.

 

 

Port Lucaya at 8:30 a.m. is not even awake. It looked like a ghost town which we were surprised at considering that most of these countries depend on the money that is spent from travelers on the ships. We walked around. Went into the hotels. Walked down to the beach and waited for the shops and vendors to open. We were hungry and earlier asked Freddy where he eats when he was down this way. He told us of a Greek place called Zorba's so we headed there. The food was awesome. We each got a Gyro, fries and a drink. Me and hubby's bill came to $17.00 even. When we returned home and I checked my bank on line, there was a .15 fee from Zorba's for an international credit card use. Zorbas was nice and cold inside which was a welcome as this particular morning was very hot and humid..

 

Basically walked around the area. Once the vendors and shops opened we bought some items. It was approx 10:00 a.m. and we were all pretty bored at this point so we decided to take an earlier van back to the port. Sorry Freddy, not much to do here..

 

 

Took the van back and had a great day at the Lido pool. Next day was our last full day at sea. I felt myself getting sad already that our cruise was almost over. We missed our children and home and were ready to get back, but the sadness was starting to hit and has not went away since.

I am going to end my review here with pictures of Port Lucaya and then some random pictures of the cruise.

 

We had a great time. Hands down will do it again and hopefully soon. Sitting here thinking about it, I actually miss my balcony. I miss feeling care free of the everyday tasks that I have since taken on again. I miss the sound of the water churning off our balcony. I miss watching the sun rise and set from the ship. I miss getting ready for the evenings festivities. I miss it all.. Uuugghh, I need to book something soon.

 

 

Some pictures of Port Lucaya and our last few days, sorry if some are repeats:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ava_girl_123]

Second formal night:

 

 

 

 

 

[trptplayer22]

I love the dress, you lookin good. So glad you had a good time.

[ava_girl_123]

Thanks for the great review, leaving in 62 days, but whose counting:D

 

I re-size my pictures in PhotoBucket and then paste....did you try that?

 

Still can't figure it out..

 

Great review! Glad to see you are hooked like the rest of us.:)

 

 

Yea, didn't want to be but think I am..Lol

 

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the value of aft-view cabins. We have a regular extended cabin (8J)

and we were thinking of upgrading to a 8m or 8n but after reading your comments, probably not.

Our Pride itin. only has Freeport in common with yours so am looking forward to your comments.

Your posts on how you thought and thought about your cruise plans and once on board didn't do and get to

some of the things you thought and thought about have impressed me

even though I will probably do the same. LOL

 

Keep posting

 

 

Yes, for us at least we will go with the extended next time but will miss the view from the AFT..