Our Carnival Pride Spring Break cruise - 4/5/15 (with pics)

[pghsteelerfan]

Hi Jeff! Just wanted to let you know I'm definitely following along and love what you have so far. Baltimore is close to us (about an hour and a half/two hour trip) and we are seriously considering taking a cruise on Pride at some point so I'm very interested in your experience. Again, I have read and loved all of your reviews and always look forward to the next one, and here it is! :)

[sammee]

When we sailed out of Port Canaveral, we had someone take screen shots of us pulling out. They were so great to see later, I even found us on the deck waving away like two crazy people.

 

This will be our first time out of Baltimore and I couldn't find a port camera. I was so disappointed....is there a camera? Where did you find it???

 

P.S. Maryland House is synonymous with "bathroom after a very long bridge (heaven forbid you have a traffic jam) and possibly a nibble if you need it.

 

Good one! Everytime we leave Jersey, have to hit that stop. That morning coffee the morning of the trip just does not like long drives.

[melissas77]

Our first cruise ever will be on the Pride 4/26. So looking forward to your review!

[SMSACE6]

As always I am subscribed to a Jamman review:)

 

Looking forward to more, but will be patient and wait for updates. I know that life does sometimes get in the way of our time on CC:)

[BattyL]

Looking forward to the rest of the review! And I don't want to rush you, but can you tell me how long from the time you parked until you actually got on board? We are headed down this weekend and we are trying to plan our morning. Thanks in advance!

 

I am also interested in knowing this. Last year we didn't get on the ship till about 12:15. We had to wait a long time to park. Don't know what the holdup was. I am trying to figure out what time to get there on the 26th. Has the ship been getting in on time?

[BattyL]

Our first cruise ever will be on the Pride 4/26. So looking forward to your review!

 

You chose a great ship for a first cruise! This is absolutely our favorite ship.:p

Have a great time!

[kybluecruiser]

Cant wait for this review. Hope your son had better luck this cruise and didn't rent any scooters. Lol.... Really looking forward to your review. Thanks for sharing.

[Jamman54]

Looking forward to the rest of the review! And I don't want to rush you, but can you tell me how long from the time you parked until you actually got on board? We are headed down this weekend and we are trying to plan our morning. Thanks in advance!

 

I am also interested in knowing this. Last year we didn't get on the ship till about 12:15. We had to wait a long time to park. Don't know what the holdup was. I am trying to figure out what time to get there on the 26th. Has the ship been getting in on time?

 

Though it will be covered in the next segment coming up, I'll be happy to give you advance info. The Pride doesn't get back to Baltimore until 8:30 / 9:00 am every Sunday, so they do get it turned around pretty quick. Debarkation for Self assist begins at 9:15, Zone at 10:15. In order to let cars into the lot, of course they need to wait until some passengers leave the lot. So, they start letting cars in to drop off luggage and park at 11, and boarding will begin around Noon.

 

Thanks everyone for following along, and as promised, some pages are about to go up. Enjoy!!!

[Jamman54]

As more and more cars arrived at the pier, they began cueing them into separate lines along side each other. When they began letting us in at 11am, there were 4 lines of about 20 cars each, waiting. I think that it is better to get there early and wait for them to open, then get there at 11 and wait behind 80 cars. Once they let you in, the process moved pretty fast. First stop is the luggage drop off. They direct you in two lanes to the back of the lot, which is closest to the ship. There, each lane has a long row of airline type luggage carts. You are directed to a cart, which a porter will load your luggage into. Patti took a couple shots of the ship while we were back there. The stern of the Pride…..

 

 

Looking up at the Green Thunder water slide…..

 

 

As the porter unloaded my car, I reminded him that we were priority, and asked him if he would be putting the orange tape on our bags. He said that they don’t do it at this point, but that it would be done when the bags were sorted. I didn’t have a warm fuzzy feeling about this, but later on when our bags arrived in our cabin, the orange tape was there.

 

Once your bags are dropped off, you are directed to the next part of the process, which is paying for your parking. There are three lanes for this. Cash transactions are handled in the far right lane, credit cards in the other two lanes. The cost is $15 dollars a day, or $105 dollars for the 7 day cruise. Once you pay, you are free to park wherever you want.

 

Next up is checking in. As soon as you enter, you are divided into the regular or VIP lines. Before the scanner they check your bottles and cans, and I mean they check them. We had our legal amount of two bottles of wine, and a 12 pack of Diet Dr. Pepper, but they picked up and checked each and every one, so beware you smugglers!!

 

We were checked in at the VIP lounge which didn’t take more than a few minutes, and then led to the VIP seating area. The VIP seats face those in the boarding zone seats, so you get to look across the aisle at each other. I wonder what they were thinking?

 

At exactly Noon they began boarding. It seems to me that Diamonds, Platinums, Suites, and maybe even FTTF people were all glumped together and boarded at the same time. No biggie. This way to the ship…..

 

 

 

We posed for our embarkation photo……

 

 

We dinged our cards in the security scanner, then made our way up the long ramp onto the Carnival Pride. Our first view was the Renaissance Lobby Bar…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The Renaissance Atrium elevators…..

 

 

Looking up the Atrium to the skylight…..

 

 

Our first stop had to be the Shore Excursion Desk. Being that we booked so late, all the cabanas at Half Moon Cay had already been sold out. I checked multiple times each day in the hope that someone would cancel, but no such luck. So, I was hoping that maybe they had one open, and if not, put my name on the waiting list. I was able to, several times in the past, get a cabana this way. I’m not going to tell you if I snagged one or not, so you’re just going to have to wait until I get to my HMC segment to find out! The Shore Excursion Desk, and hours…..

 

 

 

The Guest Service Desk…..

 

 

They are already taking reservations for the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Our next stop was to head up to our cabin and drop off our carry on luggage. We had a standard balcony cabin on Empress Deck 6, port side. Cabin # 6244…..

 

 

The standard twin/king bed…..

 

 

Ryan is sleeping on the sofa bed…..

 

 

Looking towards the cabin door. You can see that this cabin had the old style tv and not the flat screen. It worked fine for us…..

 

 

The desk area and our welcome aboard papers and information…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[DiamondLisa]

Our first stop had to be the Shore Excursion Desk. Being that we booked so late, all the cabanas at Half Moon Cay had already been sold out. I checked multiple times each day in the hope that someone would cancel, but no such luck. So, I was hoping that maybe they had one open, and if not, put my name on the waiting list. I was able to, several times in the past, get a cabana this way. I’m not going to tell you if I snagged one or not, so you’re just going to have to wait until I get to my HMC segment to find out! The Shore Excursion Desk, and hours…..

 

 

 

 

I think Baltimore shore excursion hours should have been 12:00 PM

[Jamman54]

Our room stewards name card…..

 

 

The standard Carnival bathroom…

 

 

 

 

 

Our balcony. It came with two chairs and a small table as shown…..

 

 

Our ship pins…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Izzybee]

We have the next door cabin in May!

[Jamman54]

Our “free” water bottles…..

 

 

Patti bought me a new hat. Thanks babe!.....

 

 

Our stocked mini fridge…..

 

 

The safes have the swipe type locks…..

 

 

It’s time to go get some lunch, so you know where we’re going? You guessed it, Guy’s Burger Joint…..

 

 

I’m kind of partial to the Pig Patty…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[cruisexlife]

Why are you still getting the free drink coupons? I thought they cancelled them completely, even for diamond. Or was it just Red and Gold members?

 

Loving the review btw :D

[Jamman54]

The toppings bar is fantastic!.....

 

 

The seating area by Guy’s…..

 

 

Don’t these look good? Just a couple of Guy’s hanging out!.....

 

 

They go down even better with a glass of Thirsty Frog Red…..

 

 

Ryan & Patti…..

 

 

The ice cream machines are nearby…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[valsdancin]

Why are you still getting the free drink coupons? I thought they cancelled them completely, even for diamond. Or was it just Red and Gold members?

 

Loving the review btw :D

 

I believe it is just the red and gold who don't get them anymore. I just turned gold on my last cruise and was very disappointed when I found out I wouldn't be getting one. :(

 

Valerie

[Jamman54]

Why are you still getting the free drink coupons? I thought they cancelled them completely, even for diamond. Or was it just Red and Gold members?

 

Loving the review btw :D

 

Thanks for reading. Plats and Diamonds still get the free drink and the free water.

[cruisexlife]

Thanks for reading. Plats and Diamonds still get the free drink and the free water.

 

 

oh okay. thanks!!

[Edge171]

Jamman54 great reviews! I'm a rookie cruiser and these reviews are awesome!!

[Kadeeu]

The toppings bar is fantastic!.....

 

 

To be continued…..

 

I see you captured my wife's back along with my daughter and her friend. I hope you got picture releases signed by all of them :D

 

I also was on the waiting list for a cabana for HMC. Will be interesting to see how it turned out for you. I may put up my own short review at some point as well, but not willing to put in the effort you do!

[wendynat]

Wow - I can't believe that I'm reading a (great) review of my future cabin, 6244!! Was it quiet? Did you get a good view of ports from the balcony?

 

I can't wait for July to come, and your review is helping make the time go by a little easier :).

[windan]

Hey Jamman54! I was hoping that you would post a review of your trip on the Pride. I heard you were on it recently. My husband and I are sailing on her in September. Our first time on the Pride and first time sailing out of Baltimore and we can't wait! We sailed after you on the Liberty last September and loved it. The Splendor the year before and we got hooked on your review. I hope you and Fam had a great time. Looking forward to your review :)

[grima625]

Enjoying your review. We sailed together when you did a single cruise on Fantasy a while back. Never got to meet you, but enjoy your reviews very much.