Pride 4/28-5/3/13-Few random thoughts

[TikkiTembo]

I just got off the Pride and am ready to book my next cruise, however, finances state otherwise. Anyway, here are a some random thoughts. I’m rambling so there is no specific order to this.

 

· We had room 6232; now I can’t imagine having any other balcony than that one. It was so spacious with two lounge chairs, two or three regular chairs, and a small table. I did not hear any noise from the elevator or other passengers but this room is right next to a crew area where they wash pots and other bakery stuff (pans, ramekins, etc.). You could hear the clanging of pots being moved around and some banging sounds. This didn’t bother me but it did my husband. This occurred only during the day but it was not every day and it didn’t last long when it did. I so want this cabin again or something better. The weather was chilly and rainy so I didn’t spend as much time on the balcony as I thought I would but we still had some great time out there.

 

· Embarkation – Our goal was to arrive at the port by 10:30-11:00 but, due to unexpected house guest at 9:00am, we did not get there until 12:30 and we were on the ship within 30 to 40 minutes. It was a very smooth process. I’ve heard that mentioned on this site in the past and everyone was so right. Easy peasy!

 

· Debarkation – We decided to do the zone debarkation this time because we had more luggage than on previous trips. It wasn’t too bad. We were Zone 15 and were called to debark at 10:40 am. We were off the boat, thru customs, and had our luggage in the car within 45 minutes. I never knew how easy it was. Since we had to be out of our cabin by 8:30 we decided to get a light breakfast delivered between 6:30-6:45; we also used that as our wake call too. In the words of Saul (pronounced like Raoul but with a ‘S’), that was an epic fail because hubby and I both fell back asleep and didn’t really get out of bed until 8:00. Fortunately, all of our stuff was already together and clothes laid out so we got the kids up, got dressed, gobbled down our food and was headed to the Lido deck by 8:30. We then had another bit to eat and spent the rest of the time relaxing on the lounge chairs near the pool just waiting for our number to be called.

 

· Steakhouse – Amazing! Any future cruises must have a steakhouse onboard. We went the first night and got the free bottle of wine. They didn’t offer to store it for us (but we didn’t ask either) and we simply took it back to our cabin. I ordered the lobster bisque, shrimp cocktail (in lieu of my salad), 18oz. ribeye with béarnaise sauce on the side, mashed potatoes (w/o wasabi), broccoli, and the chocolate sampler. Hubby got the French onion soup, spinach salad, mashed potatoes (but they forgot to add the wasabi), mushrooms, and the chocolate sampler without the ice cream. They also served us two types of bread and a special mini chef’s creation. Let me preface that I am a food snob. It’s hard for me to enjoy most restaurants because my husband is a great cook and he deals with restaurant supply places for a lot of our food. He and I were both amazed at how good everything tasted. Even the butter for my brioche was tasty. I couldn’t finish my steak so I took that back to the cabin and ate a little more later that evening. Even with my daughter’s help, I still could finish it. Everything was so great that we went back later that week. For our second visit, we both ordered the surf and turf. It was good and prepared perfectly but I enjoyed my ribeye more but I didn’t want to feel so stuffed afterwards. We also got the New England crab cake for an appetizer and it was just okay. Nothing to really write home about but that could be because we’re from MD and we are known for our crab cakes. Also, the waitress told us that we could order two appetizers (I could do three because I don’t eat salad) and there was no limit on the sides. We still only got two sides. Forgot to mention that we were celebrating our wedding anniversary so they sent us a special mini dessert with two candles and Happy Anniversary written on the plate in chocolate. They had us make a wish and blow out the candles. It was kind of embarrassing because we had three or four servers around us while we did it.

 

· Onboard Shows – I enjoyed the family friendly comedians but not so much the Carnival performers. They were just okay but I still looked forward to the evening shows. Due to bad weather in Freeport, Carnival was not able to pick up the comedians for that evenings show so they had to improvise with a “never before tried” comedic show performed with some of their staff. It was billed as strictly for adults 18 and over. I did not attend that show but I heard a lot (or maybe I should say some) of grumbling about it from other passengers. From what I understand it was just way too over the top with the sexual humor and innuendos. Some people were actually angry that the cruise director thought it was okay to be that graphic with things but again, I wasn’t there and I’m only relaying what I heard from others. Earlier in the week they did the Love and Marriage show; again this was geared to folks 18 and over. This was printed in the Fun Times and stated a few times at the beginning of the show. Hubby and I attended this and I was amazed at the number of small kids in the audience. I mean these were not teenagers that happen to sneak in but were kids under 8 who were brought by their parents. Kirk, the cruise director, was aware of this and gave fair warning that some of the stuff being said may not be appropriate for younger ears and to not come up to him later to say that things were inappropriate for your kids.

 

· Onboard Games – Over the course of our trip we played Win, Lose, or Draw; Scattagories; various trivia games like ‘Where in the World’, ‘Very Brady Bunch’, and ‘Cryptic Trivia’. We had a blast with Saul and Sassy. My daughters and I won a total of three Ships on a Stick and five Medals between the three of us. I didn’t expect to have as much fun as I did with these games but I’m so competitive at heart that it’s frightening to see that same attribute in your kids.

 

· YTD – we were a party of four and fell in love with our serving team. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to a set dinning time again. On days we had reservations at the steakhouse we still took our daughters to the MDR. They like to get dressed up for dinner and prefer the served dinner at the MDR over the buffet on the Lido deck. Plus our wait staff so great that we really enjoyed being in their company. I was actually teary eyed on the last evening of the cruise. There was something really special about Clement, Eka, and Stella. Forgot to mention that we never really had a wait our table. We sat at table 370 almost every night except one and even on that night we were still in Clement’s section. Table 370 is at the back of the Normandy restaurant on the 3rd floor so we were able to look out the windows during dinner.

 

· Waitstaff (again) – Clement (head waiter), Eka and Stella!!!

 

· Weather – was not the greatest. It was chilly and it rained quite a bit. I think the only day we enjoyed the deck near the slide was Tuesday. It was nice and sunny that day. The weather for other days was crappy but we still had a great time on the ship. The winds were so bad Friday that they canceled our Freeport stop. I was a little bummed by this because we were scheduled to go to Deadman’s Reef for snorkeling. This might have been a blessing in disguise because I caught a cold or something and was able to stay in bed most of the day. Also, the seas were really rough that day. Many people were seasick even the crew complained about not feeling well. Lots of people couldn’t enjoy eating in the MDR because of the rocking. During lunch in the MDR some glasses were tipping over on tables. The wait staff removed them. Many people left and took their lunch back to their cabins. Thankfully, the rough seas didn’t bother me, hubby, and our older daughter. Our younger one, on the other hand, had to take a Bonine. She was fine after that. Because of the rough seas, not too many people were in the MDR for dinner.

 

· Port Canaveral – we rented a car from Payless Rental. They are the closest rental company to the port and they offer a discount, 10% I believe, for Cruise Critic members. I was a little leery about using them because (1) I had never heard of them and (2) I tend to stick with Enterprise or Hertz. Payless was almost 50% cheaper than other rental car places I check. And, the service was great. We requested a compact and the vehicle we received was a 2013 Kia Soul. As for activities, we had a reservation for parasailing but it was cancelled at the last minutes because the winds started to pick up and a storm was rolling in. The service there was nice too and they were so sorry that we couldn’t go out for our activity. Safety was their main concern and I was thrilled with that because they safety over money. Instead, we drove around Cocoa Beach and did a little shopping. We also hung out at one of the local free beaches and played in the sand and surf. Later we got lunch and ate at another park in one of the pavilions. Very relaxing day. We were supposed to be back at the ship by 5:30 but we got back at 4:30 just so the girls and I could play Win, Lose, or Draw. Plus, I’m terrified of missing the boat; I don’t want to be captured in a You tube video running for the ship.

 

· Atlantis – As usual, we spent the day at the water park via Comfort Suites. I always book thru one of the online discount sites and save a lot of money. Again, it was cool but not too cool to enjoy the facility. It was very crowded either. We did not do The Dig or the aquarium because we’ve done that before and once was enough for us. We spent a lot of time in the lazy river and on many of the slides. We also, went to the beach area where my husband cut his foot on the coral. He had to be seen by the nurse on the premises. It’s a good thing they had one because I don’t do feet well. The nurse bandaged him up and sent us on our merry way. Best of all is that there was no charge for this service. Afterwards, we wanted to go back to the Fish Fry but we didn't have enough time. My oldest was not happy about this at all.

 

 

· Bon Voyage department – I ordered the birthday decorations for our cabin. I was hesitant about spending $35 for decorations but glad I did. They did a wonderful job and my daughter was very surprised when she entered our room. They were hung while we were at brunch and we kept them up for the whole trip. There were easy to remove because they were held up with magnets. I also ordered the chocolate cake. It was really, really good! Again, well worth the $10 price. It was so good that I didn’t even order WCMC at all during the cruise.