Christmas on the Pride - with comparisons

[Giulia]

Sorry but there aren't any pictures in this review- would you believe I didn't take more than a few. . . I usually take hundreds when we vacation, but I wanted a break from that duty as well.

 

We decided to give Carnival Cruise Lines a try this year due to two main reasons - the availability of anytime dining, and the proximity of the Baltimore port. Although we don’t have that many cruises under our belts (4 before this one), we previously cruised on other lines and have loved the Princess ships. We like the classy look and feel of the ships – the brass, wood, etc. and were somewhat afraid of Carnival’s neon reputation. When we saw the décor of the Pride we thought this might be a good match for us – and it really was! I don’t recall seeing any neon at all – although they really pushed it to the limit with the theme (no one can accuse Carnival of being “understated), and we found it to our liking.

 

Embarkation

After a 4 hour drive we pulled into the Port of Baltimore parking lot at 3:00 and were walking up the gangway at 3:45. We purposely waited until this time to avoid the long lines. Everything was smooth with no issues. We were glad we decided to stop at the Inner Harbor for lunch beforehand. By the time we boarded our rooms were ready and we were able to drop off our carry on luggage before taking off to explore the ship. Our final piece of luggage arrived at about 7:00 pm.

 

Cabin

We had a standard balcony cabin, mid-ship, and it was comparable to others we have had on Princess, NCL, and RCL. Since our last cruises were on Princess, I’ll make my comparisons to Princess. There were a few differences – nothing major and would not make me choose one line over the other. The set up of the closets and shelves made for a very narrow entry and I preferred the Princess set up better with the open shelves next to the bathroom and off the main walkthrough to the corridor door. Carnival provides a small couch while Princess only had a chair. Carnival’s set up was much better for relaxing without having to use the bed. We preferred the sliding glass door on Princess to the door on Carnival. The shower in our Carnival cabin seemed larger, with no feeling of claustrophobia or fear of dropping the soap or being hugged by a shower curtain! Being a bath person, the only reason I might upgrade to a suite would be to have a tub. Reading this back – it looks like it’s a draw on cabin features!

 

We had an absolute jewel of a cabin steward. He greeted us as we arrived and never forgot our names throughout the entire cruise. If one of us would see him alone, he would always ask after the other. Our ice bucket was kept full, our room was cleaned and restocked twice a day, and we had the fun towel animals and chocolates awaiting us every night. This was our first cruise where we got the animals, and although we are a just a tad past middle age, we still got a kick out of them.

 

Public Areas

General

There were many areas to meet, read, play games, have a drink or people watch. We really enjoyed sitting at the area near the sushi bar which is just outside the Taj Mahal theatre on deck two. Deck three also offered nice areas to relax indoors. Surprisingly our least favorite public area was probably the atrium. Although it towered through all the decks, it just didn’t thrill us. Just an opinion, however, as many loved it.

 

Theaters and Bars

We preferred the second floor of the Taj Mahal. The seats were very comfortable, with high backs and arms. If you want a drink on the second level, you can get it from a bar set up outside the room before the show as the waiters don’t bother, er.r.r um, wait on you, on this level. This theater is a very nice size and was perfect for the shows.

We didn’t care too much for the décor of the Butterfly Lounge where they hold the comedy shows. The size was okay though and I never saw anyone not being able to get a seat.

Liked the Ivory Lounge for karaoke and piano bar. Beauties looked like a nice disco bar for those who like to dance and mingle but we just stopped in to take a quick look.

 

Restrooms

We never had a problem finding public restrooms as they are all over the ship. Nice not having to travel back to the cabin after a few liquid refreshments!

 

Dining Rooms/Areas

The Normandie was the main dining room and was fine. We had anytime dining and were seated on the upper level. This was the first dining room I have seen with booths.

We found a table and wait staff that we liked very much and asked for the same each evening. After the second or third evening, the hostess knew our preference and we wouldn’t even have to ask. We had to wait only one time for no longer than five minutes, even though our dining times varied from 6:15 to 8:30. We had a table for two alone so I don’t know how it would work if you had a larger party. Our headwaiter and her staff were absolutely perfect – just enough attention and remembered our preferences. The waiters danced a few times – we weren’t fans of this tradition, but some seemed to enjoy it.

The Mermaid Grille was the buffet area on the Pride. Definitely prefer the setup on Princess. Too much walking around to find what you want. I think if Carnival would publish what is being offered each day at the entry to the room (they do have a list next to each station), it would make things a little easier. Of course, you know that you can get pizza, burgers/hotdogs/salads/desserts from those stations each day but the rotisserie and Asian station offer different things on each day, so we had to check those out before making our decision.

 

We did not try David’s so no comment.

 

Lido/Sports Deck/Spa

Although we left in frigid weather, having the dome over the Lido made it bearable. Some brave souls enjoyed the pools and hot tubs (not us). One thing that I preferred on Princess is the fresh water pools. I only saw people using the slide on our day in Freeport, but they may have used it on other port days as well. We played mini-golf on one of the port days as it was too windy otherwise. The same goes for ping pong, but we noticed that groups of young men were really enjoying the basketball court.

 

No comment on the Spa services as we did not use.

 

Food

Food is so subjective, but here’s our take – others may be completely different. We found the food to be at least comparable to Princess offerings, in some instances better, others not. We like our food hot, and our dinners were always served warm. . not cold, but not quite hot enough.

*Good – ribs, shrimp, lamb, salmon, lobster (much better than Princess), the pork cutlet at the Mermaid Grille at lunch, the specialty salads

*Not AS good (nothing was NOT good) – escargot (which we were really looking forward to!), the “award winning” fish entree, can’t remember the name)

*Lots is said about the chocolate melting cake –didn’t care for it at all. Try the amaretto cake – absolutely the best dessert I had on this cruise. The beurre and blanc – a nice variation on bread pudding was also good.

*The coffee was pretty decent for cruise coffee and I’m pretty particular (no Starbucks for me, thank you). The espresso in the dining room was not good, but the cappucini were very good.

*The sushi from the sushi bar was excellent and we made numerous trips to get our plates refilled.

*We did not like the Carnival pizza at all – EXCEPT for the Le Chevre which was excellent. I think Princess wins for pizza, as well as for desserts in general.

*After reading a couple of comments on how good the hotdogs were, we made a point to get one. Mistake – could not even eat it. Sheetz makes better. However, the hamburgers were very good.

*There was a constant line at the ice cream machine – big hit for everybody.

*Wine – we opted for the mid-priced package and it included some very nice wines. Unfortunately, the one that we really wanted was not available throughout the entire cruise. We were told they would get some in Port Canaveral, but it didn’t happen. No biggie, but felt a little cheated.

 

Entertainment

The production shows in the Taj Mahal were outstanding. The dancers and singers were amazing and the effects alone are worth seeing. We enjoyed them very much. This is coming from a couple who spent about five minutes in a show before walking out previously. A++ Carnival!

That being said – we did not enjoy the comedians very much, and this is the entertainment we were originally looking forward to. We enjoy a good dirty joke as much as the next, but, it does have to be funny. Unfortunately, we found the comedians, not so comedic. Pretty much twelve year old boy humor. . . .

We did not attend many of the activities on the Lido, so we can’t comment. Things like the hairy chest contests didn’t appeal to us. The Caribbean duo was very good.

We did go to a couple of the trivia games and karaoke sessions and they were okay for passing time.

 

Passengers

There was a good mix of people on this cruise – so many different ethnicities and folks of every age. There was not one group of people in the majority and almost all the people were decent, friendly, and fun-loving. Of course, when considering this many people, you will have a few exceptions. To be honest, the only really irritating person observed was a past guest who didn’t think she was being treated special enough or her “entitlements” weren’t up to her standards.

This was a holiday cruise and there were lots of families with kids – one bartender said there were about 700 teenagers onboard. If we hadn’t been told, we would not have known. As a whole all the kids were well behaved and must have been kept busy by the youth activities. We saw a bunch of “tweeners” getting to know each other and it was really nice – they seemed to have made good friends on the cruise as later in the week they were having dinner together on the Lido.

 

Ports

We definitely did not pick this cruise for the ports – and we were right about that. Port Canaveral – unless you have an interest in the Kennedy Space Center, or want to go to one of the Orlando parks is a waste of time at this time of the year. If it was warmer, it might be more enjoyable. Sorry, can't understand why Ron Jons (sp?)is listed as a place to visit.

 

Nassau – been there, done that – too many times. Don’t care to go back again but did enjoy walking around Atlantis and viewing the aquariums. Also enjoyed checking out the big private yachts at their marina.

 

Freeport – this was the saving grace for us. We had never been before and enjoyed visiting the town, markets, and casinos. We would even consider a nice “warm weather” land vacation here in the future. The people were so hospitable and friendly.

 

Weather

Leaving from Baltimore, you know that the first day or two is going to be cold in December. By the second sea day we were able to enjoy our balcony with jackets on, and by the third day the weather was nice – not hot, but pleasant, and remained that way until the last sea day. Much better than expected.

 

Ship

We had read horror stories about how rough the seas would be going down the Atlantic, the vibrations on the Pride, etc. Don’t believe everything you read! We didn’t have any motion problems at all – and there was a 40 mile an hour wind blowing while doing 22 knots on the way down to Florida. There was a vibration at the rear of the ship at times but nothing extreme. On other ships we were able to tell when we were docking – but on the Pride we heard and felt nothing. Very smooth.

 

Disembarkation

We opted to carry off our own luggage. Ship docked at 9:00, we were in our car at 10:10 and hurrying home to beat the snow storm. Welcome home, yuk.

 

Summary

What a pleasant surprise this cruise was. Our expectations were not real high, but we were very pleased. From our personal experiences, the cruise lines are more alike than different. We liked certain features better on each and are very glad that we now have Carnival to include if we decide to cruise again in the future. The if is only because cruising is not at the very top of our list for vacations. The Pride is a ship we can definitely recommend.

[spencercoop]

Great review!

[tazz66]

Thanks for the thoughtful review!!! You are making us even more excited then we already are!! We will be on the Pride in 23 days according to the Carnival countdown!!! YIPPEEEE!!!

[racegrrl]

Thanks for the review! I love reading reviews from people who are trying Carnival for the first time after cruising on other lines. It's often very informative. Someday we will try a line other than Carnival and these reviews really help me think about what's important, what we might like, might not like, etc. Very helpful!

 

And I was curious about a cruise leaving from a colder region this time of year. I didn't know there was a dome over the lido - that's much better than having to shovel the snow off of it! LOL

[cmjb4ever]

Thanks for the review! Leaving on the Pride on Jan. 9 and absolutely cannot wait!!!

[Seago2]

thanks! We leave this Sunday. What cabin did you have?

[Upper Decker]

Thank you for the detailed review! I've been reading a lot about those stabilizers and wondering if I made a mistake booking a balcony in the aft of the Pride, but you've set my mind at ease. Glad you had a good time!

[rrraydon]

Great review!

40 and few and I'm back on!

[serene56]

We are carnival junkies but sailed Princess 3 times. THose cruises were awesome--but sad to say-- i like vacations and Carnival is more affordable for us.

 

I have to agree with the pizza. In our 15 cruises Princess wins that hands down-- it was that good. I also love their room service menu too

[sky_blu_eyz]

What a wonderful, very detailed review. I'm so glad you had a good time. :)