Carnivall Pride Review June 7 -14

[jakzak10]

Here Goes!

 

Family of 4, including 2 children 25 and 19. This was our (parents) 28th cruise and children's 10th and 8th respectively. This was our 2nd time on the Pride August 2014 was our first.

 

We drove from New Jersey on Friday June 5th and our 1st stop was Miss Shirley's Café for brunch. Excellent restaurant! Great menu. Check out their website for menu and locations. (only open for breakfast and lunch).

 

We then checked in to the Best Western Plus on O'Donnell street. There have been many reviews on this property and as a frequent Hyatt Regency guest, all things considered the hotel is perfectly fine for a few days. The front desk staff were extremely friendly and always had a smile. The rooms (mini suite) were old and a few chips on the furniture, but the size for 4 people was very comfortable. Interactive T.V., Large Bathroom. plenty of closet space. The daily free breakfast consisted of eggs, sausage, pancake machine, waffles, cold cereal and assorted breads and Danish. Juice and coffee rounded out the offerings. All in all, not bad for the price of a room. Our mini suite cost 175.00 per night including breakfast and 7 days free parking. Just west of the hotel is a strip mall which houses many restaurants and even a Dunkin Donuts.

 

On Friday night we went to the Illusions Bar in Baltimore. Great place for a night out. We saw mentalist Alain Nu. The cost was 16.00 per person with a 2 drink minimum. The show was 90 minutes with a 20 minute intermission. It is a small venue seating only 150 people and seating is first come first served.

 

On Saturday we drove down to Washington (50 minutes) to go to the Washington Nationals vs Chicago Cubs game. Since we hit no traffic and it was a 12:00 start we took a taxi from the stadium prior to the game and went to the Air /Space museum. Spent around 1 hour there and then took a tax back to the stadium. Nice stadium with many food outlets. Last year prior to the cruise we did Camden Yards, but wanted to try something new this year.

 

On Sunday morning I looked out the window and saw the Pride come into view at around 8:15am. At that time I new we would be boarding prior to last years 12:20 boarding. We went down for a quick breakfast, finished last closing the suitcases and putting on our Carnival luggage tags. I had pre-arranged to have a car service meet us at 10:00 am for a transfer to the ship. The hotel does offer free shuttle to the ship, but I like to be on my time and avoid as many possible hassles as possible. Our car arrived at 9:55 and we were at the pier by 10:10. We had FTTF and were checked in quickly and were seated 1st in the FTTF seats by 10:25. As I thought boarding began earlier this year and the called FTTF at 11:40 and we were on the ship by 11:45.

 

Due to potential plan changes I opted for only 1 room this year compared to 2 last year. With potential job changes with the kids and school, I did not want to lose anymore money than necessary. I secured the same cabin we were in last year 9B, 7301 on Verandah deck. This is 1 of only 6 cabins in this category, and just slightly smaller that the suites. Balcony is very large (by cruise standards) as there was 2 sitting chairs and 1 lounge chair and a small table. The room for 4 was actually more than adequate in this category. Plenty of closet room and walking room. The only issue was getting ready for dinner with only 1 bathroom, but it really was fine. Our room was ready when we checked in as we had FTTF. But we did have 1 issue. Our luggage which should of been delivered early as promised by the FTTF contract did not arrive until after 5pm. I spoke to guest services starting at 3pm and was assured it would be brought up shortly. It wasn't. Carnival did refund the 49.95 cost of the program due to their error, but I would of liked something more, as due to this error, we missed part of sail-away unpacking, when this should of been done way prior to sail-away. But it was not a deal breaker by any means just not the way you want to start your vacation.

 

Since we were on-board early we went to Guy's for our 1st burgers of the cruise and had our 1st pizza of the cruise as there were no line and they were as good as we remembered.

 

At 1pm we went to the dining room to see where our table was located as I hate waiting in that long 1st night line. We met Ken the Maître D. Ken was the best Maitre D we ever had. Friendly, polite accessible can't speak highly enough of him. I did send Ken an email prior to our arrival asking for the same general location we had last year and he came through. I of course said thank you (shaking his hand) LOL.

 

We set up an informal Cruise Critic Meet and Greet at 3pm at the Apollo Pool forward and it was well attended and it was great meeting the people we have been chatting with for months. We also had scheduled a slot pull for Tuesday at 10:30am for our group and we discussed some of the details at the meet and greet. Thanks to everyone who came by to say high and or attended the slot pull it was fun.

 

The mandatory life boat drill still sucks and I think it is time for Carnival to revisit the procedure. Many other lines, now hold the drill in a showroom or lounge, where CCL lines everyone up in long lines, outside in the heat. The drill took around 30 minutes and while I agree it is totally necessary to prepare everyone in case of an emergency, but feel the same can be accomplished in a better, more humanized setting.

 

Sail-away went fine, unpacked before dinner and proceeded the Normandy Dining room for our 6PM seating. We were greeted by our waiter Claudio and his team of Daniel and Alicesyrup. The remarkable thing was Claudio was the same waiter we had on last years sailing and he even remembered the kids names. That was impressive. After dinner I stopped by Ken's desk and thanked him for providing the same waiter as last year and his response was, Just Luck of the Irish....

 

Food in the dining room is what it is. Mass produced wedding quality food, with excellent service and ambiance. My only regret was having the same menu the past 3 sailing with Carnival. It would be nice to update the menu every 18 months so people can experience different offerings but that is not the case. According to Ken the American Plate (or whatever it is called) new menus have not been the success CCL has hoped for and the roll out to future ships has been put on hold.

 

They do offer a few of the steakhouse offerings at an additional 20.00 per plate, that we did not partake in. The warm chocolate melting cake, bitter and blanc were the highlights of the desserts. The waiters sang some new songs this year and they still end with Leaving on Fun Ship song your last night.

 

We also tried the new Bonsi Sushi for lunch and it is very good. Where the normal Tempura Roll or California roll is cut into 6 pieces on the ship it is slightly larger with 8 pieces.

 

With the new 2.0 features in place this year, the lines for all the food outlets were at a minimal. Pizza line was the longest as they do not make pizza's in advance and make them as they are ordered, 3-5 at a time. They are quick as they only take 5 minutes to cook, but be prepared to wait 10-15 minutes during prime time or after 10pm as the available outlets for food is limited.

 

Cruise staff....The cruise director on our sailing was Kevin Donohue. Kevin is a blast. approachable and was seen at many of the events including hosting many of the musical trivia games. Full of energy and I have to put him in the top 3 of all cruise directors we have had. My other 2 favorites were Gary Hunter (CCL Festival) back in the 80's and last year Josh (Big Sexy). This was Kevin's first week as cruise director on the Pride and is schedule to be their through the July 22 sailing. His assistant was Gary who was adequate. We have had many better assistant cruise directors. The rest of the staff was great, Adam from New Zealand was the Comedy Club manager and was a joy to just sit down and talk with. Rebecca, Nick and Trevor rounded out the team and all were very good at their jobs. Thank you Kevin and team for a great week on-board the Pride.

 

We did not see any of the production shows, but heard they were good. Heard great things about the 88 Keys show. We played a lot of trivia as that is where we find enjoyment. Wife and daughter played a lot of BINGO. No wins this year but the prices per game have come down since last year. Last year there was 1 game for the 30-40 bingo package with a larger cash prize. This year there were at least 3 games per session with smaller prizes but you walked away feeling you got your monies worth.

 

I spent a great deal of time in the casino and would like to thank Mercy and Gonzalo our casino host for their professionalism. I prearranged for our Cruise Critic Slot pull and they were very accommodating and even provided 4 prizes to be given out. After a week of gambling, I walked out of the casino winning over 2000.00. Received my drinks on us card on day 3 and met many great people.

 

In Orlando we went to Universal Studios for the day, Nassau we went to Breezes and purchased a day pass and in Freeport we did nothing. (not thrilled with the port).

 

In closing the Pride is probably my favorite ship. Big enough to have multiple venues but small enough that you always see the same people over again.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

[ProfCruise]

Thanks so much for your review. I'll be on her in July. Can't wait! :D

[Baatman]

Good summary. Thanks for taking the time.

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

Thank you for the review. Being from Baltimore, it's cool to see what people choose to do here when they visit. I'm really glad you chose to go to Illusions. It's one of my favorite places. Typically the owner's son is the performer. He's a great magician, and as a result he now does a lot of shows in Vegas. He has been on America's Got Talent and did pretty well.

 

I'm going on the Pride in two weeks. Thanks for the review.

[landlady1952]

Thanks for review. Will be on Pride the 28th. Can't wait

[fair-winds39]

Thanks for your review. We'll be on the Pride for the third time in a couple of months. I was particularly happy to learn that you stayed at the same hotel we have booked for the day before our cruise. We stayed at the same Best Western in 2014, but I was skeptical about staying there again after reading some of the recent reviews. Your review eased my concern. In 2014 the hotel was fine, and being able to leave the car for the week was fantastic. Again, thanks for your review. Can't wait for our upcoming cruise.

[Katfncy]

Thanks for the review! Been reading all of them. I will also be on the Pride on the 28th.

[d-train]

Thanks for the review!

We'll be on Pride on the 28th too!