Sailed Carnival Pride 12/14/14-12/21/14

[I<3toCruise]

This was our family Christmas trip. Mom, Dad, two kids - 16 and 12.

We left on time. (I saw posts of habitual delays.)

The ship was beautifully decorated for Christmas, even had lighting of the Menorah for Hanukkah, and though we aren't Jewish, we thought was neat. The last night, it "snowed" in the atrium while staff passed out Santa hats and a group sang carols on stage. (It was soap.)

 

We had a pleasant time overall, but a few things were off-putting.

(This was my 3rd cruise, and our kids' 5th.)

1. Our waiters in the main dining room were not as good as others we've had. They didn't ask if we wanted anything other than water to drink (no tea or lemonade, or anything from the bar...) and we had to ask for refills 3 different nights.

2. During the times the Normandie (the dining room) was open, there was no other options for dinner. (Unless you wanted pizza. And the pizza was thin and greasy.) Other ships we've been on have had the option for more causal dining at the same time on the lido deck.

3. George, the cruise director, was a bit snarky. He was not approachable and sarcastic--thinking he was funny. He came off as arrogant.

4. Same with a couple of the other entertainment staff. (Jonesy was completely rude. However, Ross, Max, Erica and Venice were awesome.)

5. Our stateroom was hella small. Like ridiculously. Room #5279. It was an inner room. King bed, and the kids had bunks and came down over top of ours. I'm short and couldn't sit up straight on the bed. We learned we'll just have to upgrade to a balcony or suite next time.

6. Unless you get up WAY early on the Belize day and the Grand Cayman day to get a tender ticket, you have to wait for the "general call" - which doesn't happen until around noon. That cuts into your time in port. (So get up, or wait.)

7. O2 (for the older teenagers) was not supervised or nothing planned. (Which was fine...) but once when our daughter went up, she found a group of kids sitting around (just to be away from their parents) playing a game of "Never Have I Ever" or "Truth or Dare."

8. You have to walk through the casino to get to the Taj Mahal and The Butterfly Lounge (where they hold shows, etc.) One evening, apparently it was okay for a lady to be at the table playing roulette while her two kids slept in chairs nearby for about an hour. Another evening, my son (12) stopped behind me at a slot machine and was told by security to leave. (He wasn't rude- actually apologetic and very nice- but obviously there was no consistency.)

9. As far as cleanliness, it was fair. The ashtray on the third deck aft, one of the few places to smoke, was never emptied and overflowing. It became a game to see how long we'd see the same coffee cup or glass some passenger had left in an elevator or hallway. They weren't real quick.

10. I've seen a lot about the 2.0 upgrades. I would have liked to have seen it before. The Alchemy Bar was new and trendy. (But we didn't hang out there.) Bonsai (the sushi restaurant) looked nice, but there was never anyone in there. (It cost extra.) The rooms were not upgraded. (Old TV, taped-up remote control... but it didn't matter much because us adults couldn't see the TV anyway because the kids bunks were in the way.) Most of the other decor was a bit dated. The art on the walls was a little strange... lots of topless ladies and little boys.

11. Mahogany Bay was Mahogany Boring. If you don't book an excursion, you can walk around a bunch high-priced boutiques or get $15.00 nachos at Fat Tuesday. (For those that don't know, that's the only food they serve.) You can also take a 15 minute walk to a little strip of beach, or pay $12.00 for a chair lift to it. (We did neither.)

 

I know it sounds like I'm complaining... I'm really not. These were just the things "we made water" (like ducks- rolling off our backs). Like I said, overall we had a great time. Guys Burgers were great, the comedians were awesome, and we enjoyed the shows. We made some friends, won some trivia (Yeah for ships on a stick!) and watched a few movies. I broke even in the casino...without my 12 year old standing behind me! ;)

[jetexpress]

The lido buffet was not open during dinner?!?

 

 

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[bluehenfan]

The lido buffet was not open during dinner?!?

 

 

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This surprised me too. I have been on the Pride 4x already and never heard of the Lido buffet not being open during dinner time - not on the Pride or any other Carnival ship. OP, what time did you check and find it closed ??

Have heard more con than pro things about current cruise director. I really liked Kirk Benning, who was CD on all 4 of my previous Pride cruises, but CD doesn't make or break a cruise for me, so I'll be okay with whoever is my next CD.

I wish they'd put the Italian restaurant on Pride instead of sushi. I know lunch in Italian restaurant is free while dinner has a charge. Is sushi restaurant free at lunch time ? (Not that I care - I don't like sushi. I'm just curious ).

Can't wait for Pride to return home to Baltimore and for my cruise on her in April. Despite some problems, I'm glad you were able to enjoy your cruise.

Edited December 26, 2014 by bluehenfan

[I<3toCruise]

This surprised me too. I have been on the Pride 4x already and never heard of the Lido buffet not being open during dinner time - not on the Pride or any other Carnival ship. OP, what time did you check and find it closed ??

Have heard more con than pro things about current cruise director. I really liked Kirk Benning, who was CD on all 4 of my previous Pride cruises, but CD doesn't make or break a cruise for me, so I'll be okay with whoever is my next CD.

I wish they'd put the Italian restaurant on Pride instead of sushi. I know lunch in Italian restaurant is free while dinner has a charge. Is sushi restaurant free at lunch time ? (Not that I care - I don't like sushi. I'm just curious ).

Can't wait for Pride to return home to Baltimore and for my cruise on her in April. Despite some problems, I'm glad you were able to enjoy your cruise.

 

I know... we were surprised too. Nothing was open, except pizza, from 6-9:30 in the Mermaid's grill. (Lido) It was strange. I can't confirm this happened all nights, but 3 I am certain of. My husband and son had to wait until 9:30 to eat at Good Eats (Lido Buffet) until 9:30, because they didn't eat in the Normandie.

 

The sushi restaurant is always for a charge. The only people we ever saw in there were the crew- they seemed to like it. I would have loved an italian restaurant too!

[cruise_mojo]

on point 5 stateroom being small

 

carnival pretty much has the largest standard stateroom size of any of the big cruise lines, VTG says 185 sq ft ish, though those cabins on their site look a little smaller? We crusied on the pride in june with a balcony but maybe others can comment on that inside cabin size.

 

Curiously, what other ships or cabins had you cruised before to compare this cabins size with?

 

point 6, its good to be Platinum! or cheap enuff to buy faster to the fun? only one person in a room has to buy it for all passengers to get it in that room, so about 50 bucks I think for the seven day cruise would get you priority tender boarding, as well as embarkation and debarkation ealier too

 

IF a cruise has tender ports I'd always recommend FTTF.

 

point 7 O2 I probably agree on that one, our kids are now grown, for the little ones under about 12 carnival and most cruise lines kids programs are great - for the teens, we've seen varying levels of organization but the kids mainly wanna get away from their parents, get with other teens so they can trash their parents ( " I got the worst parents, blah blah, they "MADE!" me come on this cruise they're so horrible, blah blah ) typical teens - many of them want about 50 bucks a day to play in the arcade, or their video games and pizza and ice cream and they'll be happy....

 

point 8 on that deck yes you'd go thru the casino if you used the aft or midship elevators to that deck to go to the taj

 

but if you stopped one deck up then used the via Veneto or exterior promenade as you worked your way forward, these are all public spaces and the photo gallery too then you could hop the forward elevators down to both clubs or use the staircase forward of the sports bar to hit the main level of the taj M

 

yea, they route you thru the pics or casino, but this is all according to your cabin location though

 

on point 11, for us the main thing is the beach deal, that skylift is really convenient and for the cost of four lift tix you could barely buy a beach excursion for one person to another part of the island, we've never really bothered to walk thru the touristy shops, we just head to the lift and it sets you down about 30 ft from the water, a pretty solid private beach, they got food if you want and good drinks too, we've been there a couple three times

 

 

as far as the restaurant dining isses, yes, no excuse for lousy service, hard to believe though that the buffet was not open during dinner? there are downtimes as they shift from lunch, burgers etc to dinner, and then tear down for the late services

 

did you have early, late, or my time dining?

 

and what did you think of all the boobage everywhere? or the tight feeling deckspace? We sailed the enchantment and for smokers the smoking areas seemed sort of confined on both ships....

[Walt70]

CUT CUT CUT same old story carnival better watch out or people will start to cut them

[cruise_mojo]

we were supposed to sail that exact sailing

 

but my wife had some recent surgery and we weren't sure how her recovery would go so we cancelled before the final payment

 

her recovery has gone really well

 

and we took a last minute booking on the fascination and cruised the exact same week but for just 5 days and with shorter driving times

 

still took about three days to get caught up and rested!:eek:

[TAPNKEGS]

That is the strangest thing. I have never experienced that restriction of Lido buffet closed during main dining room service. I too would like to know if it was every night. If so, that would mean EVERYONE would be forced to dress formal if they wanted diner at least one night. I liked being able to not pack extra formal wear and just hit the buffet during whatever evening in more casual fashion.

 

Should this be true, I guess it would explain the lackluster service in Normandie since everyone is forced to go there every night for dinner.

 

....holding out hope this is not the case and still looking forward to my January long needed get away. Thanks for taking the time to do the review!

[volfan22701]

Cruised the pride twice in the last couple years and buffet was open for every meal. Anytime you could eat in the mdr you could choose Lido buffet if you preferred. We did this once each cruise when we didn't make the dining room for some reason.

 

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[rwilk1129]

We cruised Pride on 11/30/14 and part of Lido buffet was open every night. We only ate in dining room 1 night. The rest of nights in Lido buffet. Maybe poster saw part was shut down and didn't look further.

[Captain Carnival]

We cruised Pride on 11/30/14 and part of Lido buffet was open every night. We only ate in dining room 1 night. The rest of nights in Lido buffet. Maybe poster saw part was shut down and didn't look further.

 

Most certainly.

[CatgirlNC]

Thanks for your comments- both positive and negative. I'm going on the Pride in a few months, and would rather have realistic expectations than think everything is going to be perfect.

[evilliki]

DH and I were on the Pride 12.14.14 sailing... and yes, there were all the usual alternative spots for dinner aside from the MDR. We actually ate good eats buffet/ deli/ pizza/ salad bar 5 out of 7 nights. As mentioned above, only one side of the buffet area would be open each night, so perhaps OP didn't check both? We hit Bonsai one night (delicious!) and the other we went to the steakhouse (of course, fantastic as well).

 

The tender sticker situation I did find a bit odd. We didn't have any trouble as we stayed onboard in Belize and had a late excursion in GC... but we did notice how long people were waiting to get off the ship when we were 2 hours into 'port time'. It seems that they have finally found a way to further encourage us to book ship excursions, eh?! The tender stickers were passed out starting at 8:30 each tender port morning though (I don't think that's early...).

 

All told, we had a great week and really loved the updates to Pride! Very sorry she's leaving Tampa :(

[Pyrate13]

We were also on the same sailing and have to agree with the above poster, you had to look, but there was always something open on the Lido. I agree the pizza is awful but the deli was open every night as well as at least one section of the buffet area. We never went hungry.:D

[jetexpress]

DH and I were on the Pride 12.14.14 sailing... and yes, there were all the usual alternative spots for dinner aside from the MDR. We actually ate good eats buffet/ deli/ pizza/ salad bar 5 out of 7 nights. As mentioned above, only one side of the buffet area would be open each night, so perhaps OP didn't check both? We hit Bonsai one night (delicious!) and the other we went to the steakhouse (of course, fantastic as well).

 

 

 

The tender sticker situation I did find a bit odd. We didn't have any trouble as we stayed onboard in Belize and had a late excursion in GC... but we did notice how long people were waiting to get off the ship when we were 2 hours into 'port time'. It seems that they have finally found a way to further encourage us to book ship excursions, eh?! The tender stickers were passed out starting at 8:30 each tender port morning though (I don't think that's early...).

 

 

 

All told, we had a great week and really loved the updates to Pride! Very sorry she's leaving Tampa :(

 

 

 

Thank you very much for this info! We leave on January 11th and usually go to Lido for dinner 3-4 times per week just for the quickness of it. We have found that many of the same dishes in the MDR are usually on the buffet the same night, just not individually plated.

 

Also, thanks for tender info. We were considering a CCL excursion, just to not worry about tender tickets. You have convinced us...haha.

 

 

 

 

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[volfan22701]

The pride in our opinion has been the best overall of the ones we have been on. Least crowded. Easiest to find your way around. Both our trips were before the recent upgrades. Will be interested to see what the changes have done. Our plan is probably to cruise her again fall of 2015.

 

Doug

 

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[I<3toCruise]

We were also on the same sailing and have to agree with the above poster, you had to look, but there was always something open on the Lido. I agree the pizza is awful but the deli was open every night as well as at least one section of the buffet area. We never went hungry.:D

 

I suppose you guys are right.... they didn't look hard enough to find something open. In our past experiences, we'd had grills on the lido deck open- with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken tenders, etc., at the same time normal dinner was going on in the dining room. Maybe they just didn't find the "one section" open... or even just didn't like what they had. No worries, no one went long without eating, we all survived. :)

 

One of the first replies asked what staterooms we've had to compare this one to.

Collectively, we've been on the Holiday (2005), Fascination (2007), Fantasy (2012 and 2013), and Freedom (2014).

[Our Kid-Away]

Sailing on the Pride 1/4 and curious about your Belize excursion. We've been told by the tour company (which we have used previously in Belize) that the ship is not in port long enough to accept anyone from the Pride.

 

Given what I know (arrival at 8am, departure at 5pm CST - Belize time) we would have PLENTY of time to make a 10am excursion and return 5.5. hours later at 3:30pm. I spoke with him on the phone tonight and he has the Pride departing at 5pm (not 6pm).

 

So two questions: 1) What time did you depart Belize? 2) What am I missing?

 

Thanks!

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your report.

[navyvet8395]

I was on that same cruise, (tall skinny guy in a Kilt). In Roatan you can always take the nature trail that bypasses all the shops and makes for a nice walk to the beach, took me all of 15 minutes of "lazy" walking taking pics along the way.

[navyvet8395]

That is the strangest thing. I have never experienced that restriction of Lido buffet closed during main dining room service. I too would like to know if it was every night. If so, that would mean EVERYONE would be forced to dress formal if they wanted diner at least one night. I liked being able to not pack extra formal wear and just hit the buffet during whatever evening in more casual fashion.

 

Should this be true, I guess it would explain the lackluster service in Normandie since everyone is forced to go there every night for dinner.

 

....holding out hope this is not the case and still looking forward to my January long needed get away. Thanks for taking the time to do the review!

 

On formal night I noticed several people dressed casual and one guy had a shirt on from his "job" that had his name on front and Harley Davidson as well. I was in a Kilt and Tux. I don't care what others wear. It don't effect my cruise any....

[I<3toCruise]

I was on that same cruise, (tall skinny guy in a Kilt). In Roatan you can always take the nature trail that bypasses all the shops and makes for a nice walk to the beach, took me all of 15 minutes of "lazy" walking taking pics along the way.

 

There were a couple of you guys wearing kilts....Cool!

 

Would've been nice to know that about Roatan. We would've probably gone that route. Thanks for the heads up for next time!

[nissach]

I know... we were surprised too. Nothing was open' date=' except pizza, from 6-9:30 in the Mermaid's grill. (Lido) It was strange. I can't confirm this happened all nights, but 3 I am certain of. My husband and son had to wait until 9:30 to eat at Good Eats (Lido Buffet) until 9:30, because they didn't eat in the Normandie.

 

The sushi restaurant is always for a charge. The only people we ever saw in there were the crew- they seemed to like it. I would have loved an italian restaurant too![/quote']

 

Just off the Pride yesterday, Lido /Mermaid Grill was open every night. We do not eat in the MDR and choose the Lido every night. Only one section is open though.

[sailawayfun]

We are cruising on the Pride Jan18. This will be my second cruise but 1st time at tender ports. Can anyone tell me how the tender process works? FTTF is sold out and I'd love to have some tips to avoid a 2hr wait for the tender.

[susie8862]

We are cruising on the Pride Jan18. This will be my second cruise but 1st time at tender ports. Can anyone tell me how the tender process works? FTTF is sold out and I'd love to have some tips to avoid a 2hr wait for the tender.

We were on the Pride the first week in December.

 

Are you going to Belize and Roatan?

 

If so....Belize is a 45 minute ride and Roatan is only about 15.

 

At 8am....under the outside movie screen....there is a table and a person handing out numbers. If you have 6 in your group, all 6 must be there to take their "numbers".

 

It all runs very smoothly. They announce your number over the PA system (pay attention when they start) and you go down to deck 1 and disembark.

Edited December 29, 2014 by susie8862
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