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

[cruizinisthebest]

Wow the Pride is a beautiful, elegant looking ship. I've seen commentary about how horrid the decor is. I must be missing something! I love the look of Raphael's lounge.

[absolutely brilliant]

Do they still have afternoon tea on seadays? It's one of my favorites. Perfectly sized pastries to die. Real French style macaroons....I'm starting to salivate! Can't thank you enough for this fabulous review.

[crazycruzer68]

I like the Red Frog, just off the Glory on that ship it was just a small bar on the lido. What type of music is played in there?

[jimbo5544]

Time to tell you about our first day at sea…..

 

 

Being that we were heading south, and our cabin was on the port side, we would be seeing the sunrises the first few mornings. However, by the time we woke up at 7:15am, and sun was already pretty high up in the sky….

 

 

It was still a bit cool this morning, but the temperature would rise to the 70’s by the afternoon. The seas were very calm. Our view looking forward……..

 

 

Looking aft……

 

 

We hung around the cabin until about 9am, and then we made our way to the Seaday Brunch which was held from 8:30am until 1pm in the Normandie Restaurant…..

 

 

We brought along our free drink coupons and had our first drinks of the day…..

 

 

To be continued…..

 

Nice pic of the two of you!

[mabones]

Love reading this Review. Contemplating a cruise from Baltimore in the near future!

[absolutely brilliant]

Do they still have afternoon tea on seadays? It's one of my favorites. Perfectly sized pastries to die. Real French style macaroons....I'm starting to salivate! Can't thank you enough for this fabulous review.

 

Sorry to be such a bother with all these questions BUT....do they have a starbucks onboard or is that just an unsubstantiated rumour I heard.

[Priscilla Cat]

Enjoying your review. Have been on Pride twice out of Baltimore, but looking forward to experiencing the upgrades.

 

Can you tell me if there are still bathrobes in the cabins? Don't want to bring something that's not needed. Trying to learn to NOT over pack, but it's a habit that's hard to break!

 

Thanks.

[Jamman54]

Do they still have afternoon tea on seadays? It's one of my favorites. Perfectly sized pastries to die. Real French style macaroons....I'm starting to salivate! Can't thank you enough for this fabulous review.

 

Yes they do. After our cruise was over, Patti's biggest regret was that we never made it to afternoon tea.

 

Sorry to be such a bother with all these questions BUT....do they have a starbucks onboard or is that just an unsubstantiated rumour I heard.

 

No bother at all. Not sure what kind of coffee they served at the Coffee Bar and the Piazza Café. Never stopped at either place.

[Jamman54]

Enjoying your review. Have been on Pride twice out of Baltimore, but looking forward to experiencing the upgrades.

 

Can you tell me if there are still bathrobes in the cabins? Don't want to bring something that's not needed. Trying to learn to NOT over pack, but it's a habit that's hard to break!

 

Thanks.

 

Thanks for reading!! I am happy to tell you that bathrobes are provided. :)

[Jamman54]

Nice pic of the two of you!

 

Thanks Jimbo!!

[Jamman54]

I like the Red Frog, just off the Glory on that ship it was just a small bar on the lido. What type of music is played in there?

 

 

The band there played mostly 80's & 90's pop and rock.

[Jamman54]

Love reading this Review. Contemplating a cruise from Baltimore in the near future!

 

Thanks!! Baltimore is a great place to cruise from, and the Pride is an amazing ship.

[Jamman54]

Wow the Pride is a beautiful, elegant looking ship. I've seen commentary about how horrid the decor is. I must be missing something! I love the look of Raphael's lounge.

 

 

The renaissance art work turns some people off. I think she is a beautiful ship.

[Jamman54]

The Piazza Café, located on Deck 2 forward. Coffee, cakes, and a wide assortment of treats are sold here…..

 

 

The Sunset Garden, Deck 3 forward, actually wraps around the Taj Mahal Show Lounge…..

 

 

 

 

This way up to Camp Carnival, Circle “C”, and the arcade (Real Virtuality)…..

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Circle “C”, Deck 4 forward…..

 

 

 

 

 

Nobel Library / Internet Café, Deck 3 forward…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Next to the Nobel Library is the Chapel…..

 

 

 

 

Next to the Chapel is the Ivory Bar, which is the piano bar on the Pride. For those who want to know, the piano players name was Tony…..

 

 

 

This is the statue that is at the top of the stairs that go from Deck 2 to Deck 3 near the Red Frog Pub…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The seating and artwork along the Via Veneto (Deck 3 promenade)…..

 

 

 

The newly installed Cherry on Top, next to the Fun Shops on Deck 3……

 

 

 

 

Pixel’s Photo Gallery, located on both sides of the Atrium on Deck 3…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

At this point, Patti and Ryan made their way to the Winners Club Casino, to play the slots for a while. They both wound up winning a little bit. Sure beats losing!! At Noon I met them at the Red Frog Pub for a few drinks before we played in the first slot tournament of the cruise. Since we are all Platinum (and above), we get BOGO tournament entries. That’s buy one for $25 dollars, and get one entry free. We like playing in both the slot and blackjack tournaments, so this works for us.

 

Sorry to say, none of us qualified to play in the finals today. At this point we all split up to gamble at the game of our choice. Patti went to the afternoon session of Bingo, Ryan decided to try his luck on a slot machine, and I sat down to play some blackjack. A few hours later, when we all met back at the cabin to rest before getting ready for dinner, we compared notes.

Patti had won $85 at Bingo this afternoon. Go Patti!!!

 

 

Then Ryan reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. This lucky beginner had raked in $700 dollars on a quarter slot machine! He was really, really happy with his big win!!

 

 

Me? I had lost $200 dollars. Poor me.

 

Tonight was the first Cruise Elegant Night. Here are Patti and I…..

 

 

Here’s Ryan, who still can’t wipe that $700 dollar smile off his face!!

 

 

For dinner tonight, I am starting off with the stuffed white mushrooms…..

 

 

Followed by an order of alligator fritters….

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti would start her dinner off with the shrimp cocktail…..

 

 

Followed by the spaghetti carbonara, which you could also get as an entrée…..

 

 

We all had an order of these as our main. Well, I had two, and Ryan also had a chicken breast.

 

 

For dessert, Patti stuck to her favorite, butter pecan ice cream, while I had the cherries jubilee…..

 

 

Soon after, the Maitre D’, Ken Byrne, came over to our table to say hello, and ask us if everything was alright, and if we needed anything. We have cruised with Ken a few times before, going back 15 years, and he made a point of coming to see us every night. I think this made an impression on our wait team, as they were excellent before, but over the top excellent for the rest of the cruise!! Here’s Ryan and Ken…..

 

 

Anyone who knows Ken, knows that he is the original singing Maitre D’ on Carnival. There are a few others that also sing, but no one else even comes close. Ken Byrne does Sinatra…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Now it’s the waiters turn, and Ken whips the crowd into a frenzy…..

 

 

Our waiters sing “That’s Amore”…..

 

 

It was a GREAT dinner. Afterwards, we all kind of split up. Tonight was the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game between Wisconsin and Duke. They would be showing it in the EA Sports Bar, and also on the big screen on the Lido deck. I chose to watch it on the Lido. The game has just started…..

 

 

Nice, big, clear picture…..

 

 

I got a Thirsty Frog Red from the Red Frog Rum Bar, and grabbed a seat up front, along the side…..

 

 

It was a great game, and the crowd on the Lido really got into it…….

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

After the game, and another beer or two, I made my way back to the cabin. Patti was there. She had decided to watch the game there. Here is tonight’s towel creature…..

 

 

Not long afterwards, Ryan burst through the door with a big grin on his face. Ryan was a Hot Seat winner……

 

 

Just for sitting at the right table, at the right seat, at the right time, they gave him $100 dollars. Some kids have all the luck!!! Good Night.

 

 

Coming up next: Our 2nd sea day. It’s starting to warm up!!

[Crusin Karen]

YEA Ryan!!!! :D:D

[PTAngel]

I am enjoying this review. We will be on our first ever Carnival cruise in March 2016 on the Pride's 14 day Caribbean Cruise. I am trying to read as many of the reviews about her as I can. I find it relieves the anxiety of anything new. We will be in a 4K cabin. I'm fairly new to cruising but I have gotten addicted to it.

 

We love leaving from Balti. We're only about 1 1/2 hours from Balti. We could see everyone crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge from our front door!

[BigRed93]

Wow, congrats to Ryan! Those free cruise offers from the players club will start rolling in if they haven't already ;).

 

We have been on Pride several times and are sailing again the end of next month. Can't wait to see the new additions in person, and I am so enjoying your review, thanks!

[Jamman54]

I am enjoying this review. We will be on our first ever Carnival cruise in March 2016 on the Pride's 14 day Caribbean Cruise. I am trying to read as many of the reviews about her as I can. I find it relieves the anxiety of anything new. We will be in a 4K cabin. I'm fairly new to cruising but I have gotten addicted to it.

We love leaving from Balti. We're only about 1 1/2 hours from Balti. We could see everyone crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge from our front door!

 

Thanks for following along. If you have any questions, ask away!

 

Wow, congrats to Ryan! Those free cruise offers from the players club will start rolling in if they haven't already ;).

 

We have been on Pride several times and are sailing again the end of next month. Can't wait to see the new additions in person, and I am so enjoying your review, thanks!

 

Thanks for reading! As you know, the Pride was a GREAT ship before, and she's even better now!