Carnival Pride Review Feb 12 - 19 with photos

[Sir Cruise-a-Lot]

Amazing how two people on the same cruise can have such a different time. We would never sail Carnival again after this cruise. We found the staff mostly untrained and unpleasant. The activities boring and not enough of them. The food was ok but nothing better than previous cruises. We basically felt bored and uncared for the entire time.

Glad you had a good time though.

 

And we just came off this same cruise, our 11th and had a great time. Our wait staff and room attendant was great. Everybody smiling and saying “hello” really made us feel welcome. I think more so than any cruise we have been on. Didn’t want to get off the ship on the 19th. Bummer! Had to go home and back to work.

[sparks1093]

Enjoying the review so far (although it does make me wish we were on the Pride next week instead of 229 days from now).

 

What was your cabin number? And you had about 7 and a half hours at Islands of Adventure, is that right? Thanks for the info!

[bunchesofun]

Thanks for the review with the right mix of text and photos. We went on the Pride in May and are booked to sail again in early December. We didn't do many of the activities last time but are thinking of joining in more after your review. Thanks again!

[BandM]

Awesome review! Can't wait for April!

[silvertonsiren]

thanks for your fantastic review! I am going on the Pride on May 6th and it will be my first ever cruise so your review has been of great interest and help to me. Five of us are going to celebrate our 60th birthdays!

[a3593]

What a wonderful review! And how neat that your pilot took notice & posted. :p

[aam3]

This is a great review so far! I love the mixture of writing and photos. Reminds me of our two trips on the Pride. You are really fortunate that Universal wasn't too crowded. When we were there we had a 5 hour wait to get into Hogwarts, then another 2 hour wait for the ride...crazy! We only did got in 4 rides the entire day because the lines were so long!

[Crazeecat5]

Great review! Thanks for sharing. Will be aboard the Pride for the third time on May 13th. Can't wait.......:D

[tammi0916]

LMAO at the first towel animal!! cant wait to hear the rest of your review. sailing on the Pride in July

 

 

Hey me too! Love reading about the ship will will be on soon. Keep it coming!!!! (Hi Michelle!):D

[cruzlovr75]

Great review, I am enjoying your photos too it brings back good memories of our first cruise on the Pride. :)

[nickiford]

Enjoying the review so far (although it does make me wish we were on the Pride next week instead of 229 days from now).

 

What was your cabin number? And you had about 7 and a half hours at Islands of Adventure, is that right? Thanks for the info!

 

We were in cabin number 6235, which was a perfect location IMO. Close to the atrium elevators, the fastest ones, I think, but not so close that you could hear the lobby.

[nickiford]

Enjoying the review so far (although it does make me wish we were on the Pride next week instead of 229 days from now).

 

What was your cabin number? And you had about 7 and a half hours at Islands of Adventure, is that right? Thanks for the info!

 

Sorry forgot to answer about IOA, we got there at approx 8:45 and had to be back for th bus at 4:30, plenty of time I thought.

[sparks1093]

We were in cabin number 6235, which was a perfect location IMO. Close to the atrium elevators, the fastest ones, I think, but not so close that you could hear the lobby.

 

Sorry forgot to answer about IOA, we got there at approx 8:45 and had to be back for th bus at 4:30, plenty of time I thought.

 

Thanks for the info!

[jhnsnfamily]

And the first night, we got the towel vagina!!

 

 

ROTFL! I have NOT seen this particular towel animal before, nor have I seen it described that way! I had to re-read that and do a double-take! Hilarious! I will never look at a towel animal the same! :D

 

ETA: DH wants to know what is it supposed to be anyway???

Edited February 27, 2012 by jhnsnfamily

[CruiserJul]

So glad you are doing this review! We are sailing her in about a month :D!

Love the bling over the seabands - lol! The martinis looked really good too. Do you remember when the casino opened the first night - since we have a long way until we are out of the bay area?

[nickiford]

ROTFL! I have NOT seen this particular towel animal before, nor have I seen it described that way! I had to re-read that and do a double-take! Hilarious! I will never look at a towel animal the same! :D

 

ETA: DH wants to know what is it supposed to be anyway???

 

It's a seal.

[nickiford]

So glad you are doing this review! We are sailing her in about a month :D!

Love the bling over the seabands - lol! The martinis looked really good too. Do you remember when the casino opened the first night - since we have a long way until we are out of the bay area?

 

Sorry, I'm not too sure when it opened.

[schittenden]

So glad you are doing this review! We are sailing her in about a month :D!

Love the bling over the seabands - lol! The martinis looked really good too. Do you remember when the casino opened the first night - since we have a long way until we are out of the bay area?

 

Unless something has changed from my Pride cruise in '09, the Casino opens after passing under the *Key* Bridge into the Bay. You do not have to wait until you pass under the Bay Bridge or clear the Chesapeake Bay (which would be the next morning. As I recall, it was less than one hour after setting sail.

[nickiford]

We woke on Thursday am to a beautiful day and we were to arrive in Nassau at about 11 am. We went for breakfast in the dining room. Eggs benedict for both of us again! I know people make a big deal about ordering the sauce on the side, but they were just fine to me.

 

After breakfast we went back to the the room to pack for a day on the deck. I should say we had no plans for the Bahamas. We have stayed at all inclusives before in the Bahamas, we have been to Atlantis, we hate the beach, so for us there really wasn't anything we were interested in doing. We had thought if we felt like it we might go to Señor Frogs for a drink or get off for a quick shop, but in the end we did nothing!

 

We went up to the serenity deck and pulled two loungers under the shade between the two hammocks, because I absolutely will not sit in the sun.

 

We were able to watch as we backed into the pier. The Magic was also in Port that day.

 

 

Serenity Deck and the partial shade cover we moved under.

 

 

Our setup, you can also see my cruise critic tote bag and my Bubba keg full of water!

 

It was a perfect day. I read the entire Hunger Games book on my Kobo this day. The only thing that was slightly disturbing is the numerous sirens you kept hearing from downtown Nassau all day long! Sort of solidified our decision as two females alone not to go wandering around Nassau. I know they could have been ambulances or for accidents or something, but it was a lot. Also, one note about the Pride, the serenity deck as beautiful as it was, was located almost right under the water slide. So for an adults only zone, you could hear kids all day. The no children rule was enforced, we saw a staff member informing someone that had wandered on to the deck with a child that it was adults only. Other than the water slide issue, it really is a great spot, it has it's own bar, hot tub and pool and was very close to the buffet. It was pretty empty most of the day. We went and got buffet lunch and then brought it out to eat. That way we wouldnt have to give up our chairs!! It remained pretty empty most of the day because we were in port until 10:00 pm. We stayed out until around 4 pm. I tried the thirsty frog red beer for the first time today, it was good!

 

 

 

After that we came in and rested a bit, I hung out on the balcony. My scaredy cat sister didnt like it out there because she said it was too high.

 

Balcony

 

Slightly zoomed Atlantis from the balcony, starboard is definitely the "good" side of the ship to be on.

[nickiford]

After a little rest we got ready and went down to the lobby bar for a drink before dinner. Tonight at dinner we had the cream of mushroom soup and casear salad. Erica had the flat Iron steak and I tried the filet mignon and the boneless rib. It was alright but I actually liked the flat iron steak better! Then we shared WMC for dessert. We had drank the rest of our bottles of wine with dinner and had a couple of cocktails before so we were really feeling no pain.

 

We decided to stop by the casino where I made an $80 donation which maxed out my gambling budget for this cruise. I did play for a long time on the slingo machine. After that we went to check out Superstar Live that they had this night in Butterflies instead of Starry Nights so it was no smoking, yeah!!! It was a small crowd with a lot of repeat singers. Erica got up and sang Pour Some Sugar On Me. People got up and danced it was fun. Then we decided to call it a night. Towel animal tonight was the frog. I really love coming back to the room at night and seeing the animal and checking out the fun times before bed and kind of planning out the next day.

 

[CruiserJul]

Unless something has changed from my Pride cruise in '09, the Casino opens after passing under the *Key* Bridge into the Bay. You do not have to wait until you pass under the Bay Bridge or clear the Chesapeake Bay (which would be the next morning. As I recall, it was less than one hour after setting sail.

 

Thanks for your reply! DH will be happy with this news if true :rolleyes:.

 

After a little rest we got ready and went down to the lobby bar for a drink before dinner. Tonight at dinner we had the cream of mushroom soup and casear salad. Erica had the flat Iron steak and I tried the filet mignon and the boneless rib. It was alright but I actually liked the flat iron steak better! Then we shared WMC for dessert. We had drank the rest of our bottles of wine with dinner and had a couple of cocktails before so we were really feeling no pain.

 

We decided to stop by the casino where I made an $80 donation which maxed out my gambling budget for this cruise. I did play for a long time on the slingo machine. After that we went to check out Superstar Live that they had this night in Butterflies instead of Starry Nights so it was no smoking, yeah!!! It was a small crowd with a lot of repeat singers. Erica got up and sang Pour Some Sugar On Me. People got up and danced it was fun. Then we decided to call it a night. Towel animal tonight was the frog. I really love coming back to the room at night and seeing the animal and checking out the fun times before bed and kind of planning out the next day.

 

 

Did you say Slingo? I love that game..played it in Vegas :D. Also, glad to hear that starboard is the good side - our balcony room is on starboard for our upcoming cruise!

[CapsR1]

Lovely review and I appreciated your wonderful photos of inside the Pride. She is one of our favorite Carnival ships. So happy that you have fond memories of your cruise!

Ah, the "Hunger Games;" several of my students were reading the series and I borrowed their books and now am almost done with the second one. The author truly has a knack for drawing the reader into her stories . . . I'm curious to see how it all ends with the third book and will go with some of the teenagers to see the Hunger Games film when it comes out soon.

Being part Canuck (mom from TO), I especially loved your description of your experience getting into Buffalo and then flying to your destination. All of my relatives from Canada drive to Buffalo to fly southwest almost everywhere in the U.S.! Much cheaper and convenient.

[nickiford]

Lovely review and I appreciated your wonderful photos of inside the Pride. She is one of our favorite Carnival ships. So happy that you have fond memories of your cruise!

Ah, the "Hunger Games;" several of my students were reading the series and I borrowed their books and now am almost done with the second one. The author truly has a knack for drawing the reader into her stories . . . I'm curious to see how it all ends with the third book and will go with some of the teenagers to see the Hunger Games film when it comes out soon.

Being part Canuck (mom from TO), I especially loved your description of your experience getting into Buffalo and then flying to your destination. All of my relatives from Canada drive to Buffalo to fly southwest almost everywhere in the U.S.! Much cheaper and convenient.

 

I fly out of Buffalo whenever I can I love it, I actually read the whole trilogy on this cruise, I liked them all but the first one was the best.

[raerae]

Enjoying the review!! We board this coming Sunday, March 4th!! WAHOO!!!!

Cindy :)

[CMHCruiseCouple]

Thanks for the review. I was on the Pride during the first year in service. I enjoyed your pictures and commentary. Well done!