Surprise! Pride 1/19/14 Review (with Random Photos)

[schittenden]

My wife and I planned last July to take a cruise our third cruise on the Pride and the second one with our son (who turned 2 in October). My wife’s 40th birthday is this year, and we had discussed trying to get a group of friends and family to join us for a cruise around her birthday in June, but one of our nieces is getting married the weekend after her birthday in Texas. The time away from work for that trip, combined with a work trip in May, made the group cruise an impossibility. Not being one to miss the opportunity for surprise, I managed to convince 14 people to join us on board our cruise in January to celebrate her 39 2/3 birthday. (It wasn’t hard to convince some of them, since I was paying. The ones who had to pay their own way required a little more effort.) I’m going to focus the review on the on-board experience, but if you have any questions about my fruitless efforts to form a group, the pitfalls of organizing an actual group, and my great experience working with my PVP to get all 7 cabins booked, I’m happy to answer them.

 

 

Debarkation Day

As you can imagine, having begun planning for the group surprise six plus months in advance led to some nerve-wracking experiences. Knowing that two boys—six and eight—are responsible for keeping the secret every time they see their aunt for that long is one of them. Having my boss over for dinner and her repeatedly insisting that she thought we have a big group going with us while I keep insisting she’s mistaken was another one. After all the worry, the one absolutely critical day—debarkation day—was upon us and everything needs to go right to avoid ruining the surprise too soon.

 

I had purchases FTTF to get us on the ship early and make sure our cabin was ready. We showed up at the port earlier than advised and I did everything I could to make sure we’d be among the first on board, and we were, but first—we waited, and we waited, and we waited. In our two prior cruises on the Pride, we were on board before noon both times. The first time in general boarding, and the second time in a suite. In consultation with my PVP, we thought that if we purchased FTTF, my wife, son, and I could be on board and having lunch by 12:00, maybe 12:30. The plan was for us to have a quick lunch and head to the cabin, so that our son could take his afternoon nap. We were on the port side (which faces away from the port in Baltimore), and everyone else could arrive and get on board starting at 1:30. You know what they say about the best laid plans?

 

We weren’t on the ship until nearly 1. My son, kept saying he wanted to go to bed, but refused to actually sleep. He wouldn’t go to the buffet, so my wife went up to the buffet and grabbed some lunch and brought it back to the room. I did the same. After a quick lunch in the cabin, we did our best to convince our son to take a nap. He was way to amped up about being on the “BIG booaaattt” to care about napping (even as he kept saying, he was going to go to sleep, climb off the bed, run and look out the balcony door, climb back on the bed, rinse and repeat).

 

 

In an effort to keep my wife from going crazy (and most importantly leaving the room), I took my son to visit Camp Carnival. Along the way, we ran into my sister and her two boys. At this point, we had a problem, because my son kept saying LoganHayden here. Of course, he told my wife on Friday when she picked him up from daycare that he was excited about LoganHayden on vacation. Of course, he didn’t know they were going to be on the trip, and neither did my wife, so when we returned to the room, we had a good laugh about how obsessed he is with his cousins.

 

The next problem was that having been warned (by me) that our boarding had been delayed, people had not yet made it on the ship at our designated meet-up time to reveal the surprise (2:45). One group, who had been sitting in the parking lot since 11:30 (2 hours before they were supposed to arrive at the port) was on board along with my parents, my sister, my nephews, and a couple of friends, but four people were still stranded in the check-in line. So, we pushed the reveal back to 3:15. At 3:15, we pushed it back again to 3:30. At 3:25, I got the all clear that everyone was in place. We got my sons shoes on, and moseyed on down one deck to the Rafael Lounge on the pretext of prepositioning for the muster drill. When we rounded the corner… there was the entire group… or at least the back of their heads. One person turned around, and saw us, and quickly the group shuffled, rotating the banner, and half-yelling “surprise”. The look on my wife’s face was one of pure confusion. Once she got over the shock, she was excited about having a big group with us.

 

 

Rather than go through the whole trip day-by-day, I’m going to give a thematic review.

 

(Pictures courtesy of my sister and my wife's aunt.)

[schittenden]

Staterooms

 

We had a balcony on deck 4 (4174), which was lovely. This was our first time in a standard balcony. We travelled in an extended balcony that was more than twice the width of our cabin our first time on the Pride and in an Ocean Suite the last time. The layout of the cabin itself seemed the same as in the extended balcony, but the extra balcony space was really nice. The balcony has two standard chairs and a small table. Unfortunately, much of the cruise was chilly, so we didn’t use it as much as we might have.

 

Having a group provided me with an opportunity to see a new category of stateroom. My parents and my sister were both in the Category 4K, Interior with French Door. I’d read about this room type online, but never been in one. First, it’s a bit of a misnomer, as the door in the cabin are exactly the same as that in a balcony cabin. So, they aren’t really what I think of as French doors. Regardless, they did allow in some light. Both of their cabins (4124 and 4118) had extremely obstructed views (think all lifeboat), and it was difficult to see much sky or ocean around them. They still represented a great value. Interestingly, the doors had a sign on them saying they should be kept closed at all times for safety. Of course, that seems to defeat the purpose of having a door in the first place. My sister’s cabin (4124) also had an issue with the lock and seal on the door such that on the last sea day and occasionally on other days, when the wind would pick up, the door would be pushed slightly ajar (even though locked), which led to a rather loud (and cold) wind rushing through the small gap. It didn’t bother them too much, but I could see that it would bother some if not repaired.

 

 

The furniture in the cabins is really starting to show signs of aging. The edges of the desk and closet doors were all shipped and peeling. That said, the beds were firm and comfortable, the sheets were clean, and the bathroom didn’t give me any concerns—I didn’t see any mildew or mold hiding in the shower. We did have an issue where on the last day, our cabin phone started acting flaky—the buttons wouldn’t work, and then they would, and then people couldn’t call our cabin. Not sure what the issue was, but none of the issues with the cabin affected our enjoyment of the cruise in any meaningful sense.

 

 

Ship Condition

 

The Pride is a lovely ship. I know that not everyone cares for its dark wood or faux renaissance art, but for the most part, I think it’s nice. It is, however, showing signs of needing a drydock. The carpets in the hallways are getting threadbare. Kids (or drunk adults, I’m assuming) have felt the need to scratch off parts of the renaissance wallpaper (you can imagine which parts of the ladies seem to be missing in all of the elevators). Other than that, the public areas of the ship seemed to be in good shape. The serenity area was clean and all of the various lounge chairs seemed functional.

 

 

The lounges also looked good—I didn’t notice any rips or tears in the cushions that you might expect. We took in shows in the Taj Mahal main theater and the Butterflies lounge (home of the Punchliner). We also spent time in the atrium, Florentine and Raphael lounges, all of which were in good repair. We had a private event (discussed below) in the Ivory Piano Bar, which was in great shape. The bar stools aren’t the most comfortable because they lack backs, but they were fine. The banquettes and chairs were all comfortable.

 

 

The Normandie Dining Room looks the same as it always has—and it has the same very noticeable vibration from the ship’s rotors. This was worse on some nights than others, presumably correlated with our sailing speed.

 

 

There was, on occasion, a noticeable sewage smell present in various parts of the ship. Walking back and forth between various cabins in our group on Deck 4, you would be hit with it and after a few dozen yards, the smell would pass. The spots weren’t always the same and it wasn’t clear where it was coming from. We never experienced any issues with odor in our cabin itself, but it was unpleasant when we encountered it in the hallways. No one on other decks in our group mentioned it to me, so I don’t know if the smell was limited to Deck 4 or not. In any event, whatever the issue is, I hope they get it resolved when they go to drydock later this year.

[schittenden]

Meals

 

We did dinner in the main dining room every night except for Tuesday. The food was generally very good, and in some cases, better than I remember it. On the first formal night, the lobster was flowing freely, with every member of our party receiving multiple entrees—often more than were actually ordered. The lobster itself was perfectly cooked—it melted in your mouth and wasn’t the slightest bit chewy. A really great job by the kitchen. The brisket was also a big hit with several who tried it earlier in the cruise. People also seemed to enjoy the chateaubriand (even though it was somewhat overcooked to my liking), the roast chicken, the mahi mahi, and other options. The warm chocolate melting cake continues to be done quite well. The fruit salads were surprisingly fresh and ripe for the time of year.

 

 

On Tuesday night, a small group of us broke off for David’s steakhouse. We took advantage of our “priority” reservations and called that morning for a reservation. We were told the only times we could be accommodated were 9:00 or 9:30. We made a reservation for 9, and arrived just before to a nearly empty restaurant. We were then sent to the bar to wait 10 minutes for our table to be made ready. I understand that things happen, but I am somewhat at a loss to understand how the entire restaurant could have been full at 8:00 or 8:30, given the time it takes to dine there, and been nearly empty at 9. I’m also at a loss to understand why our table wasn’t ready as most of the staff seemed to be standing around when we arrived (then again, maybe that explains it). In any event, the food was fantastic. The menu was completely unchanged since our visit in 2012. I would hope for a little more creativity than that, but they do what they do well. I had a the strip steak (excellent), others had the filet, or the sea bass (interestingly, the same “fish of the day”, prepared exactly the same way as 16 months earlier). We never received 3 of the side dishes that the table ordered. After dessert was delivered, we began to notice the staff peaking around the corners at us from both directions, so we took our cue that it was time to go. The food was great, but the service and experience left a bit of a bad taste on the lips.

 

 

The dining room services was generally very good. The waiters were very friendly and diligent. Only one night did we have an issue with locating the bar waiter when we needed him. We did have a bit of an issue with seating, however. All 17 of us had your time dining. My plan was that groups of various sizes could form and have dinner together any given night. As it turned out, most nights, the lot of the group would show up about the same time and hope to have dinner together. Despite arriving many evenings before the dining room even opened, they would be unable to seat our group at two tables near each other. The hostess at the front was generally dismissive and unhelpful. On the first formal night, their plan was to seat our group of 15 at a table for 8 and two booths for four across the dining room. We noted that there was a table for 8 and two booths right across from it in a corner that were all empty. We were told those tables weren’t being used because that server was working downstairs (in set time dining) to cover for someone else. They offered to give us the table of 8 and a table of six that were two tables apart. We asked if they couldn’t please just give us the second table for eight (that was closed) and right next to the other table for 8 they were giving us). Then they could just not seat anyone at the six-top and have the waiter work the 8-top we were at. There was one table between two tables and it was being waiting on by the same waiter. They were unwilling to do that, so we ended up shoving a 9th person into the table for 8 (which took 20 minutes to get an extra chair and place setting and another 5 minutes after that before they finally brought my son’s booster seat). Odd seating arrangements were the theme of the day after that. Whenever more than 8 of us were together, we got split up into smaller groups… once into a table for 8 and a table for 2. That left two of us feeling a little excluded. We rolled with the punches (well, some of us did), but for someone who organized the group and promised 17 people a great time, the complete lack of understanding or compromise on the part of the dining room staff was upsetting.

 

We ordered room service for breakfast the last morning. Everything was as we ordered it. The lack of napkins and silverware made it a little challenging to spread butter or jelly on the toast and bagels (we made do with the backs of the spoons that came with the cereal bowls).

[schittenden]

Activities

 

The stage shows were the same as the last time we were on board, so we didn’t bother with any of those. We did make a lot of us of the Punchliner. The comedians were generally good. The best was Doug Williams or Dougie Doug (who also caught my toddler in the air when he tripped over my sister’s shoe on Lido deck). His routine was controversial, I imagine, and involved a lot of jokes about race and explicit sexual content. I didn’t have a problem with it and those of us who attended thought he was fantastic. I would warn that he can be a little preachy about buying his CDs to help fund treatment for his son’s ADHD. Dennis Regan, who we’ve seen open for his better known brother, Brian, before, was also funny, but strangely bombed at the first family friendly comedy show. His adult show (which is still fairly clean) was better with some of his material with which we were already familiar. That said, some people on board did complain that they didn’t like him.

 

 

The other show we attended was the Love & Marriage show. It was typical of the show if you’ve seen it on any Carnival cruise (or really any cruise). We had a great time and enjoyed the answers. In a less typical moment, the cruise director (who has been our cruise director on all three Pride cruises we’ve taken) introduced a couple celebrating their 85th wedding anniversary. They were on stage for the show during the very first Pride cruise out of Baltimore. The gentleman was also the oldest living veteran on board having received a Purple Heart for an injury sustain in service during World War II. He had served in D-Day and received a well-deserved and hearty standing ovation.

 

 

We also attended the ice carving demonstration, which my nephews really enjoyed. It’s impressive to watch. It was kind of surprising to see the carving take the same form as one of the two from our last cruise—an Indian chief, which also seems like an odd choice. Perhaps it’s an homage to that other football team that plays in Maryland.

 

 

My son wanted to spent the vast majority of his vacation with his much cooler cousins and aunt, so mom and I spent a good amount of time in the casino. Fortunately, they let us get off relatively cheaply. The casino staff—from the hosts to the pit boss to the dealers—was all top-notch, friendly, personable, and great to be around. They all knew my name the by the second night (many on the first) and recognized my wife and I as a couple quickly. The free drinks were flowing freely from my first night. I don’t know if there’s been a change in approach or a change in my gambling, but I have never been comped so many drinks by the casino staff. Most nights, I’d no more than sat down when someone would come over and ask if I’d like a drink. The casino bar staff was also great—remembering my drink preferences and always asking if I wanted one of those or something else. I was a popular player at the PokerPro table as a couple of times, as soon as I moved from blackjack to poker or asked the host about a free drink for the table, a round was purchased. Though I think it was coincidence more than not, people seemed to associate me with the free round. On my last Pride cruise, I think the poker table received one comped drink the entire time I played, and that was only after a lot of complaining and whining by the players. (For what it’s worth, the rake on the PokerPro table is terrible – 15% to $8 for 3 or more players.) By the third night, my wife and I both earned our “drinks on us” cards—her for slot play and me for “comparable table play.” An interesting distinction, when you use the drinks on us card, you get a receipt and you have to sign for them (they are free though). With the comped drinks, I didn’t sign anything, the pit boss or host took care of it.

 

 

Camp Carnival

 

Well, we’d hoped to use Camp Carnival some, but it was largely a bust. My son was super excited to go and begging them to open the door the first day. Once inside though, he didn’t want any part of it. They called us after 10 minutes to come get him. Any mention of Camp during the rest of the cruise was met with an immediate scowl and “No Camp!” However, later in the cruise, we did have some success with going to a “party”. Even on nights where there was no actual party, he was willing to go to Night Owls (from 10pm – 3am) because his cousins are in the same room with him. So, the three of them and one of my wife’s friend’s sons would hang out, play, and watch TV. We only left them until 11 or 12, but all three nights we did that were successful. It gave us a little time to go to the comedy shows and the Love & Marriage show with my sister. My sister, who adores our little guy, was more than happy to have him hang out with her and her boys (who also didn’t like Camp Carnival for their own reasons). So, he spent a lot of the cruise on vacation with them. We were happy that Night Owls made it possible for get out and have some adult time.

[schittenden]

Private Event

 

 

I planned a private event for our group through Carnival's groups department. This is possible even though we weren't an actual "group". Planning the party was easy enough--I picked the food items that I wanted from the list and sent it to Carnival with my booking information in advance of the cruise. I also picked a beverage package for each person. I chose the open bar for adults and everything but alcohol package for the kids. I had to pay for 20 people (the minimum group size) even though we had only 17 (in the end, one of our guests randomly ran into some friends on board, so the three friends joined us to eat the food and drink from the open bar).

 

 

The setup was wonderful. They really went above and beyond and I was really surprised when I walked into the Ivory Piano Bar and saw the care they had taken in setting up the food presentation. The cake was fantastic, and the rest of the food was just as good. The liquor selection was superb--Grey Goose, Hendricks, Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, and other premium selections. Here's the kicker--the party was, in my opinion, a steal. For 90 minutes, the open bar was $14.50 per adult plus 15% gratuity. So, for the price of 2 drinks anywhere on the ship, we drank as much as we wanted for 90 minutes. Let's just say many of our guests left with a buzz. (For reference, the package for minors was $7.50 + gratuity for 90 minutes.)

 

 

The bartender and waiter were both great. We left them all slices of cake and our gratitude. They were especially sweet toward the kids, who thought they were hot stuff sitting at the bar drinking their virgin daiquiris.

 

 

The food was well worth the price. The cake was $34.50, which is a steal for how good it was and compared to prices for cakes on land. I know it can be hard to justify paying for food when so much is available for free on the ship, but they really did a wonderful job and I'm more than happy with how it turned out.

[schittenden]

A few more pictures from the party...

 

 

 

[2 cruzen]

What a great job you did. I hope your wife was impressed with your efforts. :D

[turning40withMickey]

Great job with the birthday surprise! I hope all 17 had a wonderful week.

 

I have also booked the 4K room, interior French door. I notice you have a pull down bunk bed, I am guessing that was a room for four? And one person slept on the couch? Or was that a three person room and no one used the couch?

Edited January 31, 2014 by turning40withMickey

[schittenden]

What a great job you did. I hope your wife was impressed with your efforts. :D

 

 

She was definitely impressed that no one slipped and really enjoyed it, I think.

[schittenden]

Great job with the birthday surprise! I hope all 17 had a wonderful week.

 

I have also booked the 4K room, interior French door. I notice you have a pull down bunk bed, I am guessing that was a room for four? And one person slept on the couch? Or was that a three person room and no one used the couch?

 

 

We did. (Although I got sick with a flu-like virus on the last day, that infected 5 of us by the time we were home. I don't think it was related to the cruise, just one of those things. Ended up putting my dad in the hospital for four days, me in the ER for fluids one day, and my wife, son, mom, and a friend app varying degrees of sick.)

 

That was a four person cabin, but it was booked for three. For certain sailings, they won't let you book three into a four-berth cabin, but this sailing wasn't capacity controlled.

[schittenden]

And one person slept on the couch? Or was that a three person room and no one used the couch?

 

 

I should say that the room was set up for my sister and her two boys, 6 and 8. In the end, all three of them (and on many nights, my son) slept in the king bed and the other two beds went unused.

[JeanieTheMom]

Great review. Thanks for posting. I leave Sunday and I just can't wait!

 

BTW, your son is adorable!

[5Hawkeyes]

What a great review. You've given me some great ideas for our party of 24 cruising in a couple months. The food for your party looks great!!! I'm sure your wife was very impressed with everything.

 

Well done!!!

[KPfromCT]

Great review!!!! Your son is GORGEOUS!!! Those EYES!:D:D:D:D

[WetToes]

Nice review and pics. We've been on the Pride a few times, and will be again, now that's she's coming 'home'. :)

[DKane]

We did. (Although I got sick with a flu-like virus on the last day, that infected 5 of us by the time we were home. I don't think it was related to the cruise, just one of those things. Ended up putting my dad in the hospital for four days, me in the ER for fluids one day, and my wife, son, mom, and a friend app varying degrees of sick.)

 

That was a four person cabin, but it was booked for three. For certain sailings, they won't let you book three into a four-berth cabin, but this sailing wasn't capacity controlled.

 

Hi there,

 

We were on that same cruise and my husband started sniffling and coughing by the end of the cruise. When we got home on Sunday he was having trouble breathing. After a doctor's visit Monday morning, he was diagnosed with a viral lung infection.

 

January is not an optimum time, in my opinion, to sail. Being on a ship with so many folks during flu season is risky. I still prefer to sail the last week of March or in summer.

[jigger]

cool !!

[schittenden]

Great review. Thanks for posting. I leave Sunday and I just can't wait!

 

BTW, your son is adorable!

 

 

Thanks! Have a great trip. We obviously think so too, but we're way biased.

[schittenden]

Hi there,

 

 

 

We were on that same cruise and my husband started sniffling and coughing by the end of the cruise. When we got home on Sunday he was having trouble breathing. After a doctor's visit Monday morning, he was diagnosed with a viral lung infection.

 

 

 

January is not an optimum time, in my opinion, to sail. Being on a ship with so many folks during flu season is risky. I still prefer to sail the last week of March or in summer.

 

 

Could be. Hope I didn't make him sick! A speedy recovery to him.

[DKane]

Could be. Hope I didn't make him sick! A speedy recovery to him.

 

Thanks and no, you didn't make him sick:)