Pride Review - 7/1-7/8/2012

[roscoegirl]

My wife had a few more pics of the room on her Iphone...here they are

 

Very much enjoying your review! We are going on the same itinerary(sp?) in late August...I can't wait to see your pics from Turks/Caicos since I've never been there. BTW: We had suite 7298 for a New Year's cruise in 2010. Loved, loved the balcony...You guys seem to keep a much neater cabin than we did (our teenage son used the small room!) :)

[Mustangdrew]

Hampton Inn question. Did they include parking there??? Or did you park at the port? How did you get VIP status? Was it because you got a suite?

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review - looking forward to more.

[bgul99]

Hampton Inn provided valet parking...$30 added to the bill, which was fine since most parking garages around the area charged similar prices. It wasn't about finding a cheap hotel the night before...Camden yards and the inner harbor were the reason for the stay.

[LisaT12]

How is the temperature on the ship....in the main areas -- showrooms, diningroom etc? I have been on ships that are very warm and very cold.

[novinha]

How is the temperature on the ship....in the main areas -- showrooms, diningroom etc? I have been on ships that are very warm and very cold.

Bring a sweater cause you never know from venue to venue what you'll get temp wise. I've been on three different cruise lines and have needed a sweater even on a July cruise. It doesn't need to be an Arctic style covering; I have a light weight hoodie that gets me by nicely.

[Mustangdrew]

I understand that it 30 with dollars for but were you able to park there until you got back from your cruise? If so was there a shuttle.

[luv2gocruzin]

loving your review...........66 days till I sail!!

[cantwaittocruise12]

Very much enjoying your review! We are going on the same itinerary(sp?) in late August...I can't wait to see your pics from Turks/Caicos since I've never been there. BTW: We had suite 7298 for a New Year's cruise in 2010. Loved, loved the balcony...You guys seem to keep a much neater cabin than we did (our teenage son used the small room!) :)

We were also on that 2010 New Years Cruise! We had the aft wrap cabin on deck 8 for that one - nice. Funny enough, I was also on this cruise the OP is reviewing! Deck 8 suite next to the aft wrap cabin - 8266. Had 4 of us (me and 3 kids, 11, 18 and 21). Was a great cabin. We also had a fantastic cruise, although my 18 and 21 year olds somehow had trouble finding/meeting folks their own age. The people in the dance clubs seemed to be older they said. The ports were all great. The food on the Pride was...different...since the cruise in 2010. Still good for the most part...but I missed some of the choices. Over all an excellent cruise. Much different cruising in July than Dec/Jan! :-)

[nybumpkin]

I understand that it 30 with dollars for but were you able to park there until you got back from your cruise? If so was there a shuttle.

Bgul99, hope you don't mind if I chime in here - we were also at the Hampton Inn and used the valet parking. Essentially we arrived on Friday, handed our keys to the valet, and didn't see our car again until Sunday morning. (Not that we needed it - everything we wanted to see was an easy walk from the hotel.) There's no shuttle to the port and no way would I leave my car there for a week at $30/day even if the hotel allowed it (which I doubt) - the port parking is half that cost.

[bgul99]

So we finally hit land again on Day 4 and it was the beautiful port of Grand Turk. We arrived around 7:45am or so and my wife and I order room service that morning. Melons, yogurt, bagels and some coffee were all good and we were good for the morning. We decided this was a cruise to relax and we headed to the beach for half the time in port and margaritaville for the rest of the time. Hit the few shops beforehand, nothing out of the ordinary, some random souveniers and I think my wife got a skirt. Here are a few pictures of grand turk, I will be back more to get in more detail of Margaritaville and the night's activities later....

[bgul99]

So after we stayed down at the beach area and did some swimming, it was fun to have fish just swim right by you. We headed to Margaritaville for lunch, now I know some have said it is expensive...and it is but it wasn't the first time I've eaten at a Margaritaville, so prices are what they are...had a very good buffalo chicken sandwich and the mrs had a wrap of some sort, we both had yummy drinks...after that we stayed by the pool area, which is similar to a resort type atmosphere with a swim up bar and a dj playing. We watched some of the flowrider which looked fun but with back problems, something I stayed away from. Some pictures attached of some of the stuff around Margaritaville. Everyone seemed to be having fun in and around the pool, dancing, drinking, just a good fun crowd, no one out of hand and everyone enjoying themselves.

[bgul99]

So the ship left around 2pm or so, it was kind of quick at Grand Turk but with a beach and pool day in mind, you don't need alot of time to enjoy yourself. We headed back to the ship, which was decked out in some 4th of July decorations. The big flag hanging from the atrium, the casino had some decorations hanging, bars, lounges, etc....Carnival did a nice job adding a little Red, White and Blue to the ship. I booked a night out at David's Steakhouse awhile ago and we headed there to dinner this night. It was a wonderful meal, well worth the money, I booked it early so I did get it for the cheaper $60, but I have a few steakhouses around me, I easily would have paid $100-$125 in my area for the food we had. So even the extra $10 I would have dished out. Service was fantastic, food was great and it even was fun to have the captain of the ship sit to a table right next to us. He was with his wife and he did ask us if we were having a great time and told us to enjoy the rest of the cruise. He was very cordial and pleasant with us, he didn't even have to stop and say hello but he did, which was a treat.

[bgul99]

So after dinner, we changed into some comfortable clothes and we headed to LIDO where they were having a 4th of July Celebration with hats, banners, pom-poms, beads, you name it they had it decorated and handing out lots of stuff. DJ played some hits, people danced, line dancing, you name it, people were having fun. This started about 9:30-10pm and went to about 11:30pm when they had their late night BBQ Buffet, can't say that I ate anything, too full from dinner but there were people eating and there was a big spread of food. We just took a look and passed on that, walked around the ship for a bit on LIDO and called it a night. A great day and night, with lots of Independence day fanfare. Tomorrow night, I'll let you in on a piece of paradise which was Half Moon Cay....

[Scrapenthusiast]

Great review so far...I'm really enjoying reading about your time on the Pride!!:) Just wondering, did you guys have Your time dining?

[bgul99]

Before I start with the ultimate place to stop...just to answer someone's question, we didn't have anytime dining we had the late seating, we enjoyed having the same waiter and eating late we didn't have to rush to get ready for dinner.

 

Now onto the port everyone should stop at least once, because it is pure paradise. I'll attach some photos. But we got to anchor a bit early about 8:30am or so...I booked a cabana about 9 months back, IT WAS WELL WORTH IT, the only hiccup and it wasn't a big deal for me as we were on the 2nd tender, it makes note in the description of the cabana rental that you will be the first to tender...i thought they might ask for cabana rentals first or what not, even showed the ticket but it didn't matter. I didn't make a big deal about it as the island wasn't going anywhere and I'd only be around 15 minutes or so behind the first tender. I did note this to John Heald who did say he would contact those on the ship to change the way the tender was done as this is not what should be followed. So we got off the tender about 9:10 or so, took the quick shuttle to Cabana #10...which was a bit down the beach but if you want a little quiet but can still hear the sounds from the pirate ship, this is a good spot. Also near the restrooms, we found this to be a good # for being part of the activity but away from it as well. I will say Half Moon Cay is unbelievable, the sand on this beach is probably the softest I've experienced, cleanest too. I've been to Jamaica, East Coast, Southeast Coast Beaches and California beaches, as well as other caribbean Islands and none can come close to this beach. The water is like glass...see right to the bottom and there is nothing on the bottom except for sand. Quite amazing. The cabana came with all it was advertised and I would suggest to anyone who is contemplating whether to get one or not...GET ONE!!! It is so worth it, did a little snorkeling with the gear they provided and saw a few different fish. We had a few drinks from the pirate ship, got lunch from the lunch bbq (which was tasty) and brought that back to the cabana. We just relaxed the day away...it was a bit warm as the afternoon progressed and it was nice to lay back in the shade of the cabana with a fan. Also we were in no rush to get back to the ship but left around 3:45-4pm to catch the tender...most of the crowd was headed back around that time too...no problem, just hung out and waited for a tender back. This day won't be forgotten, my wife and I loved this so much. Got back to the ship and went to LIDO to watch our paradise island become a spot in the distance as the ship left. That night we really relaxed around the ship, dinner, atrium lounge for some music and later on in the night we went to the butterflies lounge for Carnival Quest which was a hoot, first time I've been involved with that. The mad dash to find something and get it to Jay the ast. cruise director....it was fun to be part of. Again, this cruise was amazing and this port just added to the whole cruise. Any question specifically about Half Moon Cay, I'd be happy to answer.

[nybumpkin]

Now onto the port everyone should stop at least once, because it is pure paradise. I'll attach some photos. But we got to anchor a bit early about 8:30am or so...I booked a cabana about 9 months back, IT WAS WELL WORTH IT, the only hiccup and it wasn't a big deal for me as we were on the 2nd tender, it makes note in the description of the cabana rental that you will be the first to tender...i thought they might ask for cabana rentals first or what not, even showed the ticket but it didn't matter. I didn't make a big deal about it as the island wasn't going anywhere and I'd only be around 15 minutes or so behind the first tender. I did note this to John Heald who did say he would contact those on the ship to change the way the tender was done as this is not what should be followed. So we got off the tender about 9:10 or so, took the quick shuttle to Cabana #10...which was a bit down the beach but if you want a little quiet but can still hear the sounds from the pirate ship, this is a good spot. Also near the restrooms, we found this to be a good # for being part of the activity but away from it as well. I will say Half Moon Cay is unbelievable, the sand on this beach is probably the softest I've experienced, cleanest too. I've been to Jamaica, East Coast, Southeast Coast Beaches and California beaches, as well as other caribbean Islands and none can come close to this beach. The water is like glass...see right to the bottom and there is nothing on the bottom except for sand. Quite amazing. The cabana came with all it was advertised and I would suggest to anyone who is contemplating whether to get one or not...GET ONE!!! It is so worth it, did a little snorkeling with the gear they provided and saw a few different fish. We had a few drinks from the pirate ship, got lunch from the lunch bbq (which was tasty) and brought that back to the cabana. We just relaxed the day away...it was a bit warm as the afternoon progressed and it was nice to lay back in the shade of the cabana with a fan. Also we were in no rush to get back to the ship but left around 3:45-4pm to catch the tender...most of the crowd was headed back around that time too...no problem, just hung out and waited for a tender back. This day won't be forgotten, my wife and I loved this so much.

We were in Cabana 9! We ended up with #9 tender tickets; they didn't ask about excursions at all (unlike our prior visits to HMC). We were still ashore in plenty of time and had no problem getting a truck to take us out to the cabana. We sailed with our 17 YO nephew whose entire beach experience has been ... New Jersey. He was absolutely amazed by HMC.

[Paratina]

Thank you so much for the review and pictures. Doing this itinerary in October on the Pride and yes - booked a cabana months ago - yay!!!