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~Pride Review with pics~ April 6-13, 2014

swalton85

By swalton85,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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swalton85

swalton85

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To start off, here is some background information about dh and I. I am 28 and dh is 29. We live only an hour from the port of Baltimore in York, PA. We’re pretty easy going people so some things that may annoy others or ruin their vacation doesn’t really bother us (ie. Other people’s behavior, something being broken on the ship, chipping paint, etc.) we sailed without our 2 young children (yay) and were just really looking to get away and have some time with each other and just relax. We got exactly what we were looking for! We spent pretty much all of our time in Serenity and laid in the sun and had drinks :)

 

Embarkation: We were told boarding would not be until 2pm, but we left our house at 11 am because these things usually run ahead of schedule. We got to the port around noon, dropped off our luggage, went through security, got our S&S cards and walked right onto the ship! No sitting around and waiting. It was perfect. It seems like they are really cracking down on security in Baltimore. They thoroughly shook all of our water and our bottles of wine. They were also taking out every can of soda if people brought 12 packs and inspecting everything. There was a large collection pile of confiscated drinks!

 

After getting on the ship we went to the grill and had lunch because we were starving. After that, we headed to Serenity and got a drink and just laid in the loungers until the rooms were ready. (side note: I have no food porn pics!)

 

A little after 1:30pm we decided to see if the rooms were ready and they were! Dh’s suitcase had already arrived and mine showed up a little while later. We had a balcony room #6250. I love being in the aft of the ship because it's so convenient to lido, Serenity and the MDR. We unpacked and decided to walk around a little and get ready for the muster drill. After muster, we headed back to Serenity for sailaway.

 

 

I won’t go into detail about what we did every single day because every day we just went to Serenity and laid out in the sun. Our stops were Charleston, Port Canaveral and Nassau. We only got off in Nassau to walk around festival place and look for souvenirs for our kids.

 

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swalton85

swalton85

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We purchased the Cheers! package on the 2nd day for $344 apiece for the 6 days. We debated over getting it and figured what the heck it’s our vacation and it was nice not having to worry about how much we were spending on drinks because it was a set amount. It is pricey, but we drank about 10-12 drinks each day so I think it was worth it. If you have a cocktail get premium liquor in it for $2 more, since any drink under $10 is included so you might as well get the good liquor! (I drank a lot of cranberry and vodkas that were like $5.50, but with gray goose it was $7.50 and still included in the package)

Now I’ll just get into the basics… food, entertainment, ship…

Food: we ate breakfast twice in the MDR. We did the seaday brunch once and then just the regular breakfast the other day. The seaday brunch was ok. They sat us with other people without asking if we only wanted a table for 2. I had the huevos rancheros and it would have been better if I didn’t crunch on eggshells my first few bites and if the chicken didn’t have hard things in it. Kind of turned me off to the whole meal lol. Dh had eggs benedict which he enjoyed. For the rest of the cruise we had breakfast from the buffet. We always got an omelet which were very good and then would sit out in the Serenity area and eat. Usually for lunch we would get a salad from the salad bar area and split a turkey on country roll sandwich which was always good. We had dinner in the MDR each night and the food was always really tasty. Usually it seems like things are hit or miss, but this time everything was always really delicious. A few of my favorite things were the spring rolls app, fried shrimp app, sweet and sour shrimp main, penne mariscos main and the lobster. Dh really enjoyed the lasagna. We always had great service at dinner except for the last night things were really slow. We had anytime dining and never had to wait for a table. We always had a table for two without a problem.

Entertainment: we watched a few of the carnival singing and dancing shows, but they really weren’t that great. I don’t think the singers were very good and the dancing around just isn’t very entertaining to me. We did go to the comedy club a few nights to watch the adult comedy and they were very funny! First we had Mike Macy and Lars Callieou and then Kelly Terranova and Merl Hobbs. We really enjoyed each of them. Some were funnier than others, but they all made us laugh. The butterflies lounge for the comedy shows fills up fast so you have to get there early. We also saw the “magic” show by Bob Brizendine and it was a total bore! He babbled on about nothing rather than doing magic tricks. It was not worth the time to watch it.

Ship: the Pride is showing a little wear and tear, but nothing so horribly horrendous that it will ruin your cruise. I really like this ship and the whole spirit class layout as a whole. The ship is easy to navigate and get from fwd to aft J the staff was fantastic. Everyone was friendly and always smiling (except for the pizza employees. They seemed like the most miserable people ever!) the ship was impeccably clean and you would always see employees wiping down railings, cleaning windows, maintaining bathrooms. I never saw a dirty or unkempt area of the ship.

here's some photos of Charleston:

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swalton85

swalton85

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Debarkation: on the morning we had to leave, we went to lido, had our breakfast then went back to the room to grab our carryons and went to hang out and wait for our number to be called. We had luggage tag #15 that was supposed to debark around 12:15. We docked earlier than expected and were off the ship around 11 or so. Got through customs, grabbed our bags and were home before 1 pm.

I love the Pride and cannot wait to sail her again next year after the 2.0 upgrades. The port is so convenient for us and it’s great not having to fly.

I hope my review wasn’t too all over the place and random. I always have all these thoughts in my head or ideas of what I want to say and it comes out frazzled sometimes lol. Plus it’s hard when I have a 2 year old and 4 month old :) if anyone has any questions please let me know and I’ll try to answer them!

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kmc500

kmc500

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thanks! :)

Thanks for taking the time to write the review; great pictures.

 

I have been considering cruising from Baltimore to avoid flying (we're 9 hours from the port, but it is drivable). Your review was helpful.

 

Kevin C

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