Pride Review - 6/21/15 with Pictures, Fun Times and Other Shenanigans

[Barbluvstocruz]

Yeah, when I do MDR breakfast I always order the hollandaise on the side

 

That's the key to a good Eggs Benedict when cruising! :)

[jigger]

Amazing Review !

[ch27088]

 

 

Hi everyone! We’re just back from the June 21-28 sailing of the Carnival Pride from Baltimore with stops in Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport. My review will include each day’s Fun Times, plenty of food porn, and photos and commentary on the ship and ports. Also, please feel free to ask me any questions you have, and I will try my best to answer them.

 

If you stick around, I will eventually reveal the answers to all of the most recent burning questions on Cruise Critic, including:

 

Does the Pride really have a horrible vibration issue?

 

How was speed-of-service service and food temperature in the Main Dining Room?

 

Is Half Moon Cay really the most beautiful place on Earth?

 

Did our room have a flat-screen or tube TV?

 

How much weight did I gain from all the food I ate on this cruise?

 

Before I begin, here’s a little background:

 

 

I’m Cara. I’m 32 and work in retail management at the drugstore down on the corner where on a daily basis, I get yelled at for not carrying enough varieties of XXXL ladies' Depends, chastised for not taking a coupon that expired in 2008, and swore at for refusing to write a raincheck for sixty dozen eggs. So I’m ALWAYS ready for a vacation. My cruising buddy is my husband, AJ. We live in Rochester, NY and have two adorable fur-kids that are unfortunately unable to cruise with us because of their dependency on a litter box. This was my sixth cruise (my first being on the Jubilee with my family when I was 14) and our fifth one with each other.

 

We last cruised on the Breeze in January with my brother and his now-fiancee. Everyone but me (of course) received a bounce-back cruise offer from the casino on the last night of sailing. We were required to book within two weeks of debarking, and were limited to specific sailings through the end of June. AJ and I were luckily able to take advantage of our offer and booked our seven-night trip for only taxes and port fees ($237), plus $70 each to upgrade to a balcony, for a grand total of $377. AJ won quite a bit on the slots on the Breeze, and ended up with about 3500 points at the end of the sailing. He earned his Drinks on Us card around the third or fourth day, and also earned us a free bottle of wine in the MDR on the last night of the cruise. He found some slot machines that kept him entertained and paid out well, so his actual money-in was low enough that we felt like really got a bargain for our “free” cruise.

 

We booked this cruise in early February and checked out flights to and from Baltimore, which were pretty cheap but poorly timed (i.e. flying out at 10:30 p.m. on debarkation day). We decided to drive down, and since we’ve always cruised out of Florida, the possibility was very exciting because we didn’t have to try to fit ALL of our stuff into one suitcase. After checking religiously from day one, we finally snagged a Faster to the Fun on May 5, about a month and a half out from the cruise.

 

So, without further ado …

 

Hi there, just wanted to say...thank you for your review. I'm subscribing and just love the pictures and your writing style. BTW, I was born in Rochester, NY and it's rare to find people from Rochester (not sure why). Thanks again for your review.

[Senoj84]

Awesome review, I'm enjoying all of it!

[Foxycourt95]

Great review! The pride is on my list that I want to sail on!

[PinaCarada]

Hi there, just wanted to say...thank you for your review. I'm subscribing and just love the pictures and your writing style. BTW, I was born in Rochester, NY and it's rare to find people from Rochester (not sure why). Thanks again for your review.

 

Welcome, fellow Rochesterian! I can't imagine why you ever left! Was it because of the 10 months per year of winter? Or because the property taxes are the highest in the U.S.? Or could it have been the murder rate per capita in the city? I jest. Rochester is very nice for the 2 days of the year that the sun is out. :p Thanks for following along.

[PinaCarada]

I grabbed a fresh glass of wine from our stateroom and we headed down to the Normandie. We nervously crept over to our table, crossing our fingers that we would be blessed with table mates for the evening.

 

Nope. Alone again. And TOTALLY bummed. I resolved to check in with Ken, the singing maitre'd, after our meal to see if we would be able to switch tables.

 

As soon as we sat down, Mark greeted us warmly and handed us our menus. Our water glasses were promptly filled and warm bread was brought by Sarah. A girl could get used to this kind of service.

 

I won't waste your time by continuing to post the Everyday Menu each night, but here was the menu for the evening's other offerings:

 

 

I started with the Black Bean Soup. It was a thinner consistency but had a generous amount of beans, vegetables, and rice. It was served with a dollop of sour cream on top. It came out piping hot and was very tasty.

 

 

I also chose the Study in Sushi as an appetizer. It includes perfectly rare ahi tuna, shrimp atop rice, and salmon sliced thinly and wrapped in cucumber. It is served with soy sauce as a dipper. I've ordered this starter on several cruises and I'm always impressed with the freshness and presentation. This time was no exception.

 

 

AJ started with the French Onion Soup. It's a bit different than the one served in the steakhouse, but it's still incredibly good. His had a ton of gooey cheese and the perfect amount of sourdough bread. It wasn't overly salty and it also arrived piping hot.

 

 

AJ ordered the Caesar for his second starter. It was very consistent with mine from last night, and just as tasty.

 

As with the previous night, our entrees were brought out within a few minutes of our starter plates being cleared. My resolve to talk to the maitre'd about requesting to be placed at a table where people actually showed up to dinner was waning by the minute.

 

 

[funinthesun1964]

Thank you for your review, I am enjoying!

 

Hey, we have a lot in common! We were on the Pride in Oct. of 2013 and stayed pre-cruise at the same hotel (Best Western). We did go through Trinity Reservations and got a great deal of $99. I see it has been remodeled since we stayed there. I also loved their shuttle service.

 

I like the eggs at the buffet too! I always have. I think they're tasty ;)

 

I love to sit at tables and meet others. We often cruise with friends and so we sit with them at dinner/brunch, but when we go alone (DH and I), I am always hopeful that we will be seated with others so we can meet new friends. I'm sorry that you didn't get to meet others at your dinner table - so far anyway. Maybe your luck will change later in the review.

 

Anyway, we are going on the Pride for the Halloween cruise this year. We will be cruising with other people that we met on the Pride in October of 2013, and have cruised with a few of those same people again in February 2014! People that you meet on cruises are the best, most fun-loving people you will meet anywhere, and it is so fun to meet on a ship!

 

Will be looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

Brenda

[PinaCarada]

For my entree, I chose the Penne Mariscos. This is one of my favorite MDR offerings. It's a generous portion of shrimp, scallops, mussels, calamari, and a piece of salmon on top of penne with a tomato cream sauce. This time around, I did not get any calamari (boo!) but it was still very good.

 

 

This picture is from our Dream cruise when I actually got some calamari. Yum! I had a difficult time this cruise remembering to take a picture of everything. It all looked so good and I would dig right in and realize about 5 minutes later that I totally forgot to take a picture, so please don't hate me for supplementing with photos from 2013.

 

AJ got the Jerked Pork Loin. The following is also a #tbt to 2013.

 

 

Mark and team were prompt in clearing our entree plates, filling up our water and serving us our post-dinner coffee. We ordered dessert and were served within 10 minutes. Here's tonight's dessert menu:

 

 

AJ ordered the chocolate melting cake (again) and I chose the Warm Fig, Date and Cinnamon Cake.

 

 

This cake never disappoints. It's moist and spicy, and is served with a complementary rum raisin ice cream. We finished our desserts and said goodbye to our service team. I'd officially made up my mind to not talk to the maitre'd about switching tables so that we could remain with Mark, Gordana, and Sarah.

 

[PinaCarada]

We headed to the casino (where else?) after dinner. After AJ contributed a bit more to the Great Inca's gold fund, we decided to spice things up a bit and play some Three Card Poker. Our brunch mates from this morning's Sea Day Brunch spoke highly of the game, and two of them were at one of the two Three Card Poker tables in the casino. We decided to watch for awhile and eventually sat down to try our hands at the game.

 

We played for an hour or so and came out about even. We really enjoyed the game. You can stretch your money for quite a bit longer than say, blackjack, and it's very entertaining. Also, we loved how everyone cheers for each other (including the dealer sometimes) and no one gets negative or angry at someone else at the table, which sometimes happens in blackjack with experienced players vs. newbies.

 

We briefly stopped into the Butterflies Lounge for the late comedy show, but it was totally crowded. I snapped a few pictures and we headed back to the casino for a little while before bed.

 

 

We were so excited about tomorrow's port, Grand Turk! We'd heard so many good things (and read so many good CC reviews) and couldn't wait to check it out for ourselves. Here's a sneak peak to tide you over until my return ...

 

 

 

 

 

[Weeziblu]

Loving your review! I really appreciate when people take time to write a full trip report for those of us that are still planning, or better yet, getting excited about our own upcoming sailing... Like me! I'm 30 days away from my 2nd sailing on the Pride so I'm especially excited to read the rest of your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[rnoli32]

Loving your review! Thank you for sharing! My next cruise is in 7 months but after that i need to get the hubby to venture to the other side of the country to visit some islands:D

Edited July 17, 2015 by rnoli32

[T2C]

We headed to the casino (where else?) after dinner. After AJ contributed a bit more to the Great Inca's gold fund, we decided to spice things up a bit and play some Three Card Poker. Our brunch mates from this morning's Sea Day Brunch spoke highly of the game, and two of them were at one of the two Three Card Poker tables in the casino. We decided to watch for awhile and eventually sat down to try our hands at the game.

 

We played for an hour or so and came out about even. We really enjoyed the game. You can stretch your money for quite a bit longer than say, blackjack, and it's very entertaining. Also, we loved how everyone cheers for each other (including the dealer sometimes) and no one gets negative or angry at someone else at the table, which sometimes happens in blackjack with experienced players vs. newbies.

 

We briefly stopped into the Butterflies Lounge for the late comedy show, but it was totally crowded. I snapped a few pictures and we headed back to the casino for a little while before bed.

 

 

We were so excited about tomorrow's port, Grand Turk! We'd heard so many good things (and read so many good CC reviews) and couldn't wait to check it out for ourselves. Here's a sneak peak to tide you over until my return ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never been to Grand Turk, looks beautiful

[PinaCarada]

 

 

 

[PinaCarada]

Wednesday, June 24 - Grand Turk

 

We woke early and hit up the Lido buffet for breakfast. Arrival time in Grand Turk was set for 8 a.m., and Carnival started debarking passengers a little before that. We avoided the elevators and headed down the stairs from our room and managed the beat the crowds considerably. We were easily off the boat, walking past the crazy photographers, and on our way down the pier by 8:10 a.m.

 

 

The crowd on the pier was minimal, and we were the only ship docked today, so we didn't have to share the port with anyone else. I can't even imagine how crowded the beach and Margaritaville would get with another ship docked.

 

 

We headed off the pier and down the beach to the left. The beach and chairs are free as long as you stay in the port area. It is painfully obvious where the port area ends - there are vendors right at the edge, and plenty of signs to let you know that you're leaving. We took some great shots of the Pride as we searched for a spot on the beach.

 

 

 

We picked a spot at the far end of the beach, right near the end of the free port area. We had aspirations of eventually heading over to Jack's Shack and had heard so many great things about it (and Topher) on these boards, but unfortunately we never made it down there.

 

We set up camp and I started blowing up my sweet drugstore raft. I was SO excited to use my awesome raft in Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay, and got mocked relentlessly by my coworkers and husband about its lameness. Let me just say - my raft was clutch! I can't think of a better $9.99 (minus employee discount, HELL yeah) that I've ever spent. Every single person on the beach was totally jealous of my raft. Even people that were on their balconies back on the ship were yelling words of praise. The cruise director, Kevin, even gave me a ship on a stick for sharing my awesome raft with the world.

 

So I may be exaggerating just slightly about my raft.

 

Anyway, once it was blown up, I took it and my underwater digital camera into the ocean.

 

 

I've read a lot of CC reviews, and a lot on our ports for this trip. Why do I not remember any that talk about the rockiness of the ocean floor in Grand Turk? Woof. If you have water shoes, I would definitely recommend wearing them if you're planning on swimming in the ocean in Grand Turk. I was struggling in my bare feet, stepping on rocks, scraping my ankles, and staggering around like a drunk person. But the water was gorgeous! It was clear and the perfect temperature to cool down in the hot sun.

[PinaCarada]

The water was so refreshing, and I didn't have to stand on the rocks so I was totally content. The waves were soft, there was a perfect breeze, and my view of the ship was unparalleled.

 

 

 

The port area was just starting to get a crowd. Here's a view of the port from the water:

 

 

After about two hours of rafting and reading on the beach, AJ was roasting and we were ready for a change of scenery. We headed back up the beach and over to Margaritaville. They have a free pool, chairs/tables/umbrellas and bathrooms for any cruise passengers to use, and drinks, food, souvenirs, and time on the Flo-rider are available for purchase.

 

[PinaCarada]

Chairs were scarce, and we found one that we could stash our towels and stuff on that was near a pool entrance. As I said before ... I couldn't even imagine how crowded it would be with two ships in port if it was that difficult for us to find even a single chair.

 

We hopped in the HUGE pool and made our way around toward the swim up bar. The pool was clean and spacious, and wrapped around the entire compound. You've seen plenty of pictures of the Margaritaville pool from above, but have you seen any from in the pool itself?

 

 

 

 

 

[PinaCarada]

Am I the only one that gets totally excited about a swim up bar? I totally love them. And Margaritaville had a great one. It was large and near the DJ area, so you were right near the center of the action.

 

 

 

 

The swim up bar features a full drink menu and you can also order food. We watched a plate of nachos bigger than AJ's head come out, and even though it looked like it was being shared by 10 people, there was hardly a dent in it. If all the portion sizes are that big, then the prices they charge for food aren't as outrageous as I first thought.

 

AJ ordered a strawberry daiquiri and I ordered a pina colada. They were around $8 on the menu, but after taxes and service charges, our bill was $22 before tip. Each drink came premade from a machine, and they were garnished with a test tube shot of rum. They ended up being pretty strong and both were very tasty.

 

 

The DJ led an involved game that was a combination of a scavenger hunt and musical chairs. Who would have guessed that very few Margaritaville patrons had any sets of car keys with them? The winner was the young girl in the foreground of this photo, and she was adorable and totally fun to root for.

 

 

We wove our way through the pool and headed over to watch some Flo-rider action.

 

[PinaCarada]

From what I could gather, it sounded like the Flo-rider was $30 per person, and each group definitely got a pretty good chunk of time on the machine. Here are some shots of one of the employees shredding some totally gnarly waves, man:

 

 

 

I loved that the ship was directly behind the Flo-rider! The group we watched featured kids of all ages, and even an adult. It looked like they got at least an hour on the machine.

 

Back on board time was set for 2 p.m., and we started heading back to the ship around 1:20. There was a bit of a line and they only had one entrance to the ship open, but the line moved quickly and the view was enough to keep us entertained.

 

 

There were still a few people in the ocean, enjoying their last few minutes of heaven.

 

 

Here is a shot of the line of passengers waiting to get back on the ship. This photo was taken at 1:23 p.m.

 

 

[PinaCarada]

Here's a shot of the beach to the right of the pier, where the infamous conch graveyard is located. We didn't check it out, but definitely plan to if we cruise to Grand Turk again.

 

 

Bye, Grand Turk! We'll miss you.

 

 

 

We left pretty close to our intended sail away time of 2:30 p.m. to start heading toward Half Moon Cay. We grabbed some lunch at the Lido buffet and took a quick nap before getting ready for dinner and the evening's events.

[PinaCarada]

We headed to the casino at 5 p.m. for the Big Loot Draw. To qualify, your name was put into the pot for every 100 points you had earned in the casino thus far. The casino hosts used a laptop that randomly generated a winner from that pool, and the winner got a cash prize. AJ had a few hundred points, and I had about 7 so I was there to have drinks and give him moral support. Like his current streak on the Great Inca, AJ was not a winner. We contributed some more money to the well-being of the casino and headed over to the Normandie for dinner.

 

Guess what? No table mates. What a surprise :( Anyway, onto tonight's menu:

 

 

I started with the Tom Ka Gai. It's my favorite MDR soup. It came out hot and has the perfect combination of light creaminess and coconut taste.

 

 

I ordered the Fried Shrimp for my other starter. They were more like shrimp bites, and were served with a tasty cold cucumber salad and plum sauce for dipping. This was my first time ordering the shrimp and we definitely enjoyed them.

 

 

AJ started with the Yukon Gold Potato Cream Soup. This is always a standout and tonight was no exception. It's chunky and cheesy and just the right amount of filling.

 

 

He also chose the Smoked Duck and Caramelized Oranges as a starter. I didn't try it, but he enjoyed it immensely. He said the duck was tender and the fruits and noodles complemented it well.

 

[PinaCarada]

I chose the Seafood Newburg as my entree. I've ordered it several times over the course of our cruises and it's been hit or miss. Sometimes the sauce is too thick and the amount of fresh seafood you get tends to vary. Tonight it was perfect. The sauce was the perfect consistency, the rice was fresh, and I received a good assortment of shrimp, mussels, and scallops.

 

 

AJ's entree was the Grilled, Marinated Pork Shank.

 

 

Here is the dessert menu, which features my two favorite Carnival MDR desserts in one night!

 

 

Depending on how full I am, I try to order both the Bitter n Blanc and the Tiramisu. Tonight I only ordered the Bitter n Blanc, which is my all-time favorite MDR dessert. I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I was so excited that I dug right in. For those of you who have never ordered it before, it is a warm, undercooked white and dark chocolate bread pudding that is served with a warm vanilla sauce poured on top. It. Is. Amazing.

 

After dinner, we casino'd it up a bit and headed to the Love and Marriage Show at 10:15 p.m. in the Taj Mahal. We always try to catch the show, and even though it's always pretty similar, it's always totally funny. If you've never seen it before, it's a lot like the Newlywed Game. Contestants are chosen from the audience based on how long they've been married and hilarity ensues.

 

The CD, Kevin Donahue, started the show with a few stipulations, which were definitely welcome. He asked that any interested contestant volunteers not be incredibly drunk and not be incredibly boring. The couple who had been together the longest turned out to be the parents of the wife of the middle couple, and they were both hilarious. The third couple, who had just been married the day before embarkation, was a same-sex couple and I was totally psyched to see them included in the show. Unfortunately, they didn't heed Kevin's criteria and were pretty boring. Here are the contestants and Kevin on stage.

 

 

In the past Love and Marriage Shows that we've attended, the CD asks about 10 questions to both the husband and wife and they write their answers on a pad of paper. Kevin did it a bit differently, and I really enjoyed the method he used. He asked one person from each couple to exit the theater, and then asked the other person 4 questions each, and vice versa. It seemed more involved this way, and it also provided some more funny moments. All three couples were awarded a bottle of champagne and a ship on a stick for their efforts.

 

We finished the night in the casino (where else?) with some more slots and Three Card Poker. Upon returning to the room, I scanned the following day's Fun Times for any Name That Tune. I am a HUGE fan of most Name that Tune varieties, and I have collected ships on a stick from all of our previous sailings from the game. I had been waiting with bated breath for one of my all-time favorites, 80s Name that Tune, and was so worried that it would be in the middle of the day while we were docked at Half Moon Cay or sometime equally as inconvenient.

 

Dun dun dun ... Guess that 80s Song with Kevin was slated for 9:15 p.m. the following night. Even with as quickly as dinner had been going, I didn't think there would be any way we would make it to the 9:15 trivia. Would tomorrow be the first time we'd ever gone to the Lido buffet for dinner? You'll just have to stick around to see.

 

 

 

[Danacat222]

I am loving your review, i know it is a lot of work and time consuming, i appreciate your efforts and look forward to reading and seeing more. Bitter & Blanc is my all-time favorite Carnival dessert, too!

[roseshayit]

I've really enjoyed reading your review! We are considering the Pride as our first Carnival cruise, and you're providing great pictures and information on the ship. Looking forward to the remainder of your review, especially this vibration issue being mentioned.

[balezantis]

Love your review and pictures!! We are on the Pride in August. Just wondering what type of camera and lens you used? Great pictures and I'm looking for a new camera for our holiday.