First Timer's Review of Carnival Pride June 7-14

[BartRock]

You guys have some big reviews coming up, I think, so I'll defer and just give you a likely wordy, no food porn, no pics review of a first timer's experience on the Carnival Pride.

 

As a first-timer, I got a lot of advice from these forums. I used some and ignored some. I'll comment on both, if I think about it, just to give a different opinion.

 

Hopefully, some other n00bs will find it informative, at least.

 

Us: BartRock, Mrs. Rock, two sons ages 16 and 13, and my mother, all first-time cruisers. We were driving down from Williamsport, PA and Mom was flying in from Las Vegas.

 

Pre-Cruise Day: We had about a three hour drive to BWI, so after taking the dogs to the vet at 8AM for boarding, we headed south. Mom was waiting when we got there, so she hopped in and we started toward the hotel in Glen Burnie.

 

I had found a place online called Mission Barbecue before we left, so we decided to hit them up for lunch before checking in. Not too shabby. I believe we all got brisket and it was pretty good. Not Texas good, but good. Worth checking out, anyway. The sweet tea was impressive, too. It was also very close to the hotel, I believe on the same road.

 

So, we had decided to stay at the Days Inn in Glen Burnie to take advantage of their Park & Cruise package. Originally, we were going to stay at the Holiday Inn Express at the Stadiums, which was about $100 more expensive, but after reading lots of recent bad reviews, mostly due to substantial renovations going on and noise from the casino across the street, we decided to save the money and I switched our reservations.

 

The Days Inn was fine. The employees we encountered were nice. Our room, at least, was clean and the beds were comfortable. There is a small pool out back, which we didn't use. Most importantly, I felt comfortable leaving the car in their lot for the week.

 

Breakfast was OK. There wasn't much of a selection of hot food, but they have a waffle iron and plenty of Continental Breakfast type items.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to recommend it, but for one night and free parking, it was fine for us.

 

The shuttle was crowded, but got us there quickly and in one piece.

 

Embarkation: Couldn't have been easier. I decided we would not get FTTF, because it just didn't seem necessary, despite the popularity on Cruise Critic. I did, however, decide that we'd take everyone's advice and ignore the suggested arrival time.

 

We got to the terminal at 10:30ish, moved from point to point in the terminal with zero waiting, were given zone 1, and were seated by 10:50, based on a timestamp on a picture I took.

 

We waited a short time and boarded right after a wedding party, diamond, platinum, FTTF, etc. For us, FTTF would have been a waste of money, as we would have gotten zero benefit out of it. We were on minutes after them, anyway.

 

Immediately after boarding, I bought the Cheers Package for my wife and I at the Atrium Bar and got the boys the Bubbles Package, again with no wait.

 

We wandered around, found an elevator, and headed to the Lido Deck to search for Guy's, as recommended. Got our burgers with no wait and before I even sat down with my tray, a waiter was offering the drink of the day. This was at 12:10.

 

I honestly don't know what could have happened to make things smoother. It was all perfect. I don't even want to know what it would have been like if we had shown up at 12:30 or 1. So, thanks to everyone for that advice.

 

Staterooms: We had 5258, which is nearly all the way aft and Mom and the kidlets had 5270, which is aft-extended balcony. There was a lot more room than I expected and we were able to comfortably stash all our clothes and toiletries, despite my wife bringing our entire bathroom.

 

I think we would have had plenty of room for the boys' clothes, as several storage locations went unused, but my wife and I were constantly in each other's way when getting ready for the day or for dinner, so I wouldn't want the four of us in one cabin, anyway.

 

Lots of people suggest over the door shoe hangers for extra space, but I just can't see it, unless you maybe had multiple women in a cabin, each with all their own cosmetics, brushes, etc., or maybe if a guy uses a lot of products, too. I used the little "fenced in" area at the bottom left of the mirror for my shaving kit and my wife used up all the other shelves and whatnot and we had plenty of space.

 

Win was our steward for the week and he was just awesome. We talked to him for about two minutes after we unpacked to tip him up front and to request ice and for him to convert our twins to a king. The next time we saw him, after dressing for dinner, he addressed all of us by name, even though he couldn't have seen us leave our rooms and we didn't really introduce ourselves. I was impressed.

 

The rooms were always made up when we got back, whether it was just after breakfast or later in the day and the rooms were always cleaned and the beds turned down when we came back after dinner. He was definitely on top of his game. We never once even caught him in the room. Heck, I bet we didn't see him half a dozen times. I think they have little fairies that clean the room when you leave.

 

OK, the vibration thing that has been discussed ad nauseam. We only noticed it in bed and found it to be soothing. No noise in 5258 and some minor rattling from some cabinets in 5270, which bothered no one and my mom is not one to hold her tongue, so believe me, I would have heard about it. The only reason I know the cabinets were rattling is because I asked the boys on the drive home.

 

No smoking noticed from any neighbors when we were on the balconies.

 

We did, however, have next-door neighbors who sadly had only enough stamina to open their balcony door. Then, they just couldn't hold onto it any longer, so they'd just let it slam. They also needed to go in and out many, many times in a row, because once we heard the first slam, we knew there were several more to come in short order. I never saw them or I would have mentioned it. One night, I was up and dressed to go knocking, when it stopped. I'm sure we accidentally let ours slam on occasion, but geez, this was ridiculous.

 

We found the bed to be quite comfortable, but I can't say if we had the new "hard" beds or not, since we hadn't cruised before. They were firm, but very comfortable. We also didn't notice a seam between the twin beds.

 

Both cabins had old TVs, no flat screens.

 

The laundry and ironing room was directly across from 5270, so that was convenient.

 

No need for weights or clothespins or whatever some people say they need to keep the shower curtain in the shower. I'm not small and I didn't have any issues. Just pull the curtain in when you get in and it sticks to the little curb.

 

Anyway, aside from the slamming, we again couldn't have asked for a better experience. Being all the way aft, we occasionally had some treks, but we found that as long as we walked to the aft or even middle elevators on whatever deck we were on, it didn't seem very far. If we took the forward elevators and just did the long walk in our hallway, it took forever.

 

Next, I'll give a recap of our experiences at the restaurants, bars, and shows.

[singbluesilver1]

Thanks for the review. On our honeymoon on the valor our neighbors slammed their door about 500 times s day. So frigging rude

[jfried8]

Can't wait to hear more! Riding the Pride in a Vista Suite in August!

[ProfCruise]

Can't wait to read the rest! Sailing the Pride in July. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

[meatloafsfan]

Great start! I love wordy reviews as much as picture reviews so I'm in for the long haul.

 

I really am hoping that you'll give some input from your 13 year old on Circle C. I am probably going to be taking my brother, sis in law and their kids in August 2016 on the Pride and their oldest is 13 (she's a girl though). Info on Circle C seems hard to come by. I'm sure she'd enjoy it but would love to be able to give her more information about it.

[Bevlawyer]

Loving the review:-). I feel like I'm cuddled up reading a good book, lol!!

[aceofbase]

I am not doing a review as think it will be covered here & by the pros. Just a few thoughts: We planned to be at the port in Baltimore at 11:00, but arrived at 12:05 & were on ship by 12:30. We had FTTF & I am glad we did as we went around the long line to check in.

We had room 1132. When I booked online this was the only floor showing open. I know now to call. Our room steward experience was just like OP. FANTASTIC!

We did feel some movement and vibration, but nothing that would ruin a vacation.

Circle C- My 14yo boy found it to "juvenile" for him. He was only there a few minutes and didn't want to go back. My 8yo went to Camp Carnival most nights from 8:00-10:00 and enjoyed it very much. The family comedy shows were great. Even the 14yo who doesn't like anything enjoyed them.

 

We did self disembark. Without FTTF we were supposed to leave ship between 10:50-11:15 (or close to that). With FTTF were were off ship by 9:20. This was important to us as we had a 3 1/2 drive home & work on Monday.

Sounds like op had a great vacation as did my family.

[fer]

There was a lot more room than I expected and we were able to comfortably stash all our clothes and toiletries, despite my wife bringing our entire bathroom.

As a wife who also practices the "whole bathroom is my domain" method, I laughed out loud at that. Thanks for the "noob" review. Honestly I think anyone who takes the time to say this is what we did, how we did it, and how we felt about it deserves to consider it to be a real review. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your vacation

[kids1stcruise]

I also like hearing about your experiences

[Delta Dear]

Looking forward to the rest. Great start. We have to wait until Nov. 15 for our first cruise out of Baltimore and on the Pride. I'm excited about driving to port instead of flying as we've always done.

[PTAngel]

I am also looking forward to this review since we are going on our first Carnival cruise in March. I'm checking out information almost every night so I'll feel comfortable when I go onboard. I did the same thing on our first ever cruise last year on RCI Grandeur of the Seas. It really made a difference knowing the ship & all the little hints.

[Seago2]

Glad you had a good time! Saw you in the steak house the first night and I think one other time and that was it! I'm cracking up at your description of the Days Inn Glen Burnie- can I just tell everyone reading that I would give a miss? Pretty bad. And the shuttle ride to the cruise port? I think your wife was sitting in dead air between the seat and the door and know we were seated five across with your kids on a seat that should have held three. We took a taxi when we got back- best $40 I could spend. No waiting and no chaos!

 

I'm really interested in how you liked the cruising experience overall.

[cruisenoobie14]

I am also looking forward to this review since we are going on our first Carnival cruise in March. I'm checking out information almost every night so I'll feel comfortable when I go onboard. I did the same thing on our first ever cruise last year on RCI Grandeur of the Seas. It really made a difference knowing the ship & all the little hints.

 

I'm the same way since February will be our first Carnival cruise and I found most of the information from these forums to be very helpful last year when we took our very first cruise as well (also on the Grandeur). Love sailing out of the Port of Baltimore - mainly because I don't have to worry about flying since its only a couple hrs away.

[BartRock]

Thanks for the encouragement and comments, everyone.

 

Glad you had a good time! Saw you in the steak house the first night and I think one other time and that was it! I'm cracking up at your description of the Days Inn Glen Burnie- can I just tell everyone reading that I would give a miss? Pretty bad. And the shuttle ride to the cruise port? I think your wife was sitting in dead air between the seat and the door and know we were seated five across with your kids on a seat that should have held three. We took a taxi when we got back- best $40 I could spend. No waiting and no chaos!

 

I'm really interested in how you liked the cruising experience overall.

 

One the way back, I was the one with about half a butt cheek on the bench, with my forearm on the window ledge supporting the majority of my not-insubstantial weight.

[JMAE]

Glad you had a good first Carnival Cruise. We too live in PA and will be taking our fourth Pride cruise this October. We love the Spirit class of ships. Very relaxing vacations but people should be mindful of others.

[BartRock]

OK, so now, I'll discuss at length (the only way I know how to discuss anything, apparently) the restaurants.

 

Dining: We managed to hit everything but the sushi bar during our trip. My older boy's really the only one who's into that and we gave him carte blanche, but he just never made it there.

 

Main Dining Room: We chose anytime dining, because we weren't sure we'd make it by early dining and late dining is party time, so that wasn't happening. As it turned out, we made it to 5 dinners in the MDR and left our cabins right at 6PM every night, so early would have worked for us.

 

There were lines when we showed up around 6:05 or 6:10 each night, but at most, we waited 10 minutes in line and were seated. One night, they gave us a pager and told us we'd have a 45 minute wait, but quickly buzzed us and gave us a table downstairs, because one of the early dining parties wasn't going to show. I'm not sure how they knew this, unless maybe they were at David's or something. Anyway, that was a nice surprise.

 

The food was very good, overall, in our opinion. Between the five of us, we sampled quite a few items on the various menus and the only things that stood out as bad were the prime rib and the fried chicken. The fried chicken was bland and dry and the prime rib...well, there's a reason why prime rib is generally cut to order and I understand that's just not possible when serving this many people at once. Also, gravy is not au jus.

 

Everyone else (except Mom) was pretty happy with the rest of the main courses. My standouts included the flat iron steak, lasagna, and meat loaf. All the sides and appetizers were very good.

 

The desserts were great. The only dessert we got and didn't care for was the pumpkin pie. Taste was OK, but the very weird consistency was off-putting. I'm not even sure how to describe it. The warm chocolate melting cake was a highlight, of course. I preferred chocolate ice cream with it and my older son liked the strawberry, while everyone else stuck to the vanilla.

 

Anyway, we really enjoyed the food.

 

My youngest son ate every drop of each of the Didja Evers. Frog legs, ox tongue, alligator fritters, all of it. I've always encouraged them to try everything and I guess it worked best with him. His favorite was the ox tongue.

 

The service...well, everyone was very nice and they were trying hard, but there were a couple too many very long breaks between courses, while people around us were moving right along. A couple nights, for some reason, they kept not filling up one of our water glasses and upon a request for coffee, the cup was brought to the table and the coffee never arrived until we asked again.

 

It wasn't a huge deal. The orders were always correct and again, they were very nice. It was just uneven, I guess.

 

We did a seaday brunch once and it was very good. Juevos Rancheros and Eggs Benedict were my highlights.

 

David's Steakhouse: We did this the first night and it was everything we expected. We got two filets, cowboy steak, ribeye, and lamb chops. All were prepared perfectly and the sides were great. Our selection of appetizers were all very good, as well. Presentation was wonderful.

 

I have to say that I'd like to see a stronger selection of desserts. We all ended up choosing the chocolate sampler, which was really good, but if all five of us are choosing the same thing, the selection could be improved.

 

In addition to all that, we also got a free bottle of wine for being there the first night. We chose a chardonnay, which was fine. Also, we received a small extra course. Some of us got a tomato soup and some of us got the cutest little hamburgers you've ever seen. They were about as big as a large cherry tomato, I'd say. Nice surprise.

 

So, obviously, this was a highlight of our dining and worth the extra charge, in my opinion.

 

Guy's Burger Joint: Grabbed one of these the minute we got on the ship and really enjoyed it. Then, never had another one. It just didn't happen. My wife and I would have a big breakfast on the Lido deck around 9:30 or so and then, by the time we started to get hungry, it was nearly time to get ready for dinner, so we didn't do much lunch. We'd just pick something small off the buffet or share a sandwich from the deli. My two boys, however, grabbed one every time they got within 100 feet of it. They would both choose this as their favorite.

 

BlueIguana Cantina: Loved the build your own aspect of these burritos, particularly for breakfast. I really liked the roasted tomato salsa and would eat that on just about anything except cereal. Well, maybe on cereal.

 

Deli: High quality sammiches, we thought. Nothing much more to say.

 

Pizza: My only experience was a late night pepperoni. I am not a pizza fan, generally, or at least I'm pretty picky. This was an outstanding pie. Everyone else had it multiple times and they share my opinion.

 

Other Lido Stations: Just like any other buffet. We chose what looked good to us and were generally pleased.

 

We thought breakfast was great. When getting breakfast out, we're all about over-easy eggs, potatoes, bacon, toast, bagels, etc., pretty basic, so we went straight to the omelet stations. We generally were there around 9 or 9:30 and the line for the regular buffet was no longer than the buffet, itself, and at most, we had two people in front of us getting omelets. At about 10, though, we noticed the lines were substantially longer, so if you want to miss the lines, 9-9:30 would be a good time to arrive.

 

When reading Cruise Critic, I was under the impression that they were stingy with bacon. I found no one to be stingy with anything. I think the least pieces of bacon I was given was like 5 and a couple of times, I got what could only be described as a heap.

 

Edit: Just realized I didn't mention the taste bar. We hit this up twice, primarily because it was right outside the Red Frog Pub. Got Italian once and Blue Iguana once. Both were excellent. They were very slow. I'm not sure people realize they are there.

 

I guess that's about it for the food. I had expected to do more, but I'm a tad long-winded, it seems.

 

Next time, I'll get into the bars and other activities.

 

Thanks for reading. I hope not too many of you fell asleep!

Edited June 18, 2015 by BartRock

[pcvtmom]

Thanks for writing this review! We'll be aboard the Pride in early August, so I'm anxious for any new reviews and opinions. Looking forward to the remainder of your thoughts.

[suggie123]

We are going on in early August also and I'm loving your review. It will be our first time on the Pride and we can't wait!! Thanks again!!

[BartRock]

Let's take a quick (HA!) look at bars and such. Sadly, at this point, I only remember one name, so I apologize for that. We never had drinks at the atrium bar and possibly some others, so I'll leave them out of it.

 

As I mentioned many moons ago, my wife and I got the Cheers package. We were pretty sure it would be a good deal for us and it was. We more than covered our nut with alcoholic beverages and we also were able to get sodas with meals and in the morning before excursions (we don't drink coffee).

 

As a bonus, since the boys were unable to get frozen non-alcoholic drinks with their Bottomless Bubbles, we got them a few drinks on our cards. Neither the N/A frozen nor the sodas count against your total of 15 per day.

 

I know tips are included with the package, but our background won't allow us to just take drink after drink without throwing down additional tips, so most times, we would tip a buck for a drink or two or maybe give a five to cover us for a while, if singles weren't available. Obviously, it didn't hurt the service we received, either. Well worth it to us.

 

We never reached our limit during the week. Interpret that how you wish and don't forget to take care of your bartenders.

 

Red Frog/Blue Iguana: While these are different, for our purposes they were basically interchangeable. They were a nice place to grab a drink on the Lido deck, but they weren't really hangouts for us. The bartenders were friendly and efficient, drinks were good. We're more into the entertainment inside, so we didn't spend much time there.

 

Beauties Nightclub: It's an interesting space, great sound, lots of lights and colors. We would have really enjoyed it, if anyone else had showed up.

 

We went twice for about an hour and watched group after group stick their noses in, see it was empty, and leave. Had any of those groups hung out for even one drink, the place would have been jumping in no time and led to even more people staying. Alas, twas not to be.

 

EA Sports Bar: Walked through a couple of times and it just didn't appeal to us. Very bland. The highlight of this place is that they sell bags of chips for $0.50. My wife loved them for that. I like to smoke when I drink and she likes salt, so we probably spent $3 there on chips and that's it. Never even had a drink.

 

Ivory Piano Bar: The "entertainer" spent the majority of the time we were there wishing his contract were up, obnoxiously clearing his throat, complaining about the songs people requested, etc. We didn't go back.

 

Alchemy Bar: We stopped in twice here for drinks during the week, when they were slow. Very good, handcrafted cocktails. If you take the time to talk to the bartenders, they will make you something just for you, according to your tastes.

 

The first time we sat down, we were the only ones there and my wife picked up the menu. The bartender took the menu from her and set it aside, saying she wouldn't be needing that. So, after interviewing her for a bit, he just made something up. I'm pretty fluent in drinkese and I certainly have never seen a drink like that. If it already exists, it was a nice illusion, anyway.

 

For me, he settled on a chilled 23 year old rum. I believe it was Ron Zacapa, but I could be wrong. An excellent choice, regardless.

 

It's a little quiet there for our tastes, as we like to play games or listen to music whilst imbibing, so this was just a pit stop for us. I highly recommend it for anyone who appreciates a good cocktail. They have every fresh ingredient known to man and lots of extracts and other goodies that you don't see at most bars.

 

Casino Bar: This was our meeting point, most of the time, and the bartenders were always smiling and friendly. It tended to be crowded here, as basically half the bar and half the lounge area around the bar allows smoking. These guys & gals took good care of us all week.

 

Red Frog Pub: This was our hangout for the cruise. We loved the tropical theme, which came complete with palm trees and rum-barrel tables. Big windows to the outside were nice, also, as you never forgot where you were.

 

They also have a shuffleboard table, dart board, foosball, dominoes, four-person tabletop hook & ring games, live music much of the day, etc. THIS is what we look for in a hangout. If they had a pool table, we may have never left. Heck, we almost never left, anyway.

 

While it had a decent crowd, at times, I felt like it was somewhat overlooked and I'm not sure why. No matter. More room for us!

 

So, we were already in love with the place the minute we walked in. Then, we met Yorden (he pronounces it Jordan). He is simply a great guy and genuinely nice person. We hit it off immediately and once he met our sons, he challenged them to foosball and dominoes. Since we generally showed up soon after it opened, we had the place to ourselves, so he'd come out and play with them, which is probably against the rules, so don't tell anyone.

 

Anyway, he was a big part of our week and it's hard to imagine cruising without him in the Red Frog Pub. Is that weird?

 

Finally, unadvertised snacks! If you ask, they'll make you a plate of toasted pigeon peas and plantain chips. The Taste Bar is just outside the door, as well, which was convenient for us.

 

I think that about covers our drinking establishments. Next time, I'll probably wrap it up with entertainment and excursions.

 

Thanks to everyone who has stuck around!

[kids1stcruise]

Thanks so much... Looking forward to cruising with PRIDE👍🏻

[cmecruise1962]

Enjoying your review! I am looking forward to the rest!! :)

[suggie123]

Thank you for the review. The pub sounds like fun. Can't wait to go there. I think I might even try the Alchemy bar...sounds cool!!

[dms1908]

Oh no! You haven't been back to finish since June? It's like being stood up on a date. I was totally into your review as we prepare for our first Carnival

cruise and on Pride. And then, you dumped me not even via text or email. You just left me sitting at the bar hoping you would show up! Lol

 

Even still, I appreciate your review. You and wife seem to vacation like us which includes drinking. We are going in Sept and plan to take the 15 and 17 y/o boys next June. I'm pretty sure they will eat at Guy's every meal!

 

So thank you...and hopefully you will call and we can finish this review!!!! Lol

[MysticMiss]

Oh no! You haven't been back to finish since June? It's like being stood up on a date. I was totally into your review as we prepare for our first Carnival

cruise and on Pride. And then, you dumped me not even via text or email. You just left me sitting at the bar hoping you would show up! Lol

 

Even still, I appreciate your review. You and wife seem to vacation like us which includes drinking. We are going in Sept and plan to take the 15 and 17 y/o boys next June. I'm pretty sure they will eat at Guy's every meal!

 

So thank you...and hopefully you will call and we can finish this review!!!! Lol

 

 

Haha! I felt the same way! Hopefully BartRock will be back!

[LUVMYGSDOG]

BartRock, BartRock come back and finish!!

 

 

 

Kim