Carnival Pride - Ultimate Relaxation

[dms1908]

We just got back on the Pride this morning (Sept 6) and this is my very first review on CC. It's pretty basic but hopefully you will find it useful. I'm happy to try and answer any questions keeping in mind this is our 3rd total cruise and first on Carnival...but we are already booked to return on the Pride next year with our kids going to Grand Turk, HMC, and Freeport.

 

The Good

We just returned from the Sept 6 sailing of Carnival Pride out of Baltimore. It was exactly the relaxation we wanted for the two of us. Getting on in Baltimore was very easy especially since we had FTTF. It was worth the money. We took our 2 bottles of wine, a six pack of soda (just connected with the plastic rings), and canned pineapple juice. We also had several rum runners that made it onboard without incident. We plan to buy the Cheers package next year but this was definitely a good option for us this time. We even refilled a couple of bags during our stop in Nassau and brought them on without incident (not so lucky in Freeport).

 

Since we had FTTF, our cabin was ready as soon as we boarded so we dropped off our stuff and headed up for a Guy's Burger. YUMMY!!!! I wish there were turkey burgers but the beef was definitely a delicious treat. Of course, it was made better by the drink special of the day!

 

We stayed in Cabin 8230 which is an extended balcony with I Putu as our roomy steward. I’m now referring to him as Ninja I Putu. He was that good and always was in and out of room in the short time that we were away. Apparently, he even slipped in, cleaned the cabin and was gone while I was napping on the deck and my husband was at the gym. This dude is awesome. The cabin next to us was a "bowling alley" balcony and it was huge.

 

As for the cabin, it was a great size with an extended balcony. Not huge but plenty of space to move around I took several naps on the deck while getting sun or catching a breeze. The room is pretty spacious. As I read before, there are three clothes cabinets, and plenty of drawers to put everything away. My husband travels with more clothes than I do and we were not "arguing" over closet or drawer space! I stored our suitcases under the bed. There is plenty of shelf space in the bathroom for “him and her” to store whatever. There was some mild shaking felt at night but it was kind of like being in the pedicure chair...nice and soothing especially at night. We didn't hear anything from the Lido deck. I think Mermaid Grille was right over so the carpet probably helped.

 

Overall, the ship decor was nice. I wasn't offended and barely noticed the "nude" paintings. I did find the fig leaf on the David statue to be quite funny!

 

We were at the rear of the ship near the last set of elevators, one deck below Lido (Mermaid Grille and Serenity Pool). It was great to be so close to the Serenity Pool which is where we spent a lot of our day hours. We never had a hard time getting one of the round lounge chairs but it was much harder to get one with the cover….although we snagged those on a couple of days too.

 

Food in David’s and the Chef’s Table were out of this world. We had David’s on the first night and on Friday. On the first night, we received a free bottle of wine. The Chardonnay was actually pretty good with nice vanilla and buttery notes to it.

 

There are no words to describe the amazing food received as part the Chef’s Table experience. Chef Dev was really nice, even if hard to understand at times because of his accent (as perceived by an American). As our group loosened up, it was nice to get to know our fellow diners. The actual dinner was set up on the dance floor in Beauties Night Club. The entire experience, including tour of the kitchen took about 3.5 hours. I do recommend wearing flats. Not sure closed toe shoes is necessary but the first part of the tour is spent standing so it was nice to be in flats. Special shout out to Sonje. It was her first cruise and first Chef’s Table and she did a really good job. Poor thing was shaking like a leaf but she was a sweetheart and again did a great job. I will try to post pics but I'm having some trouble figuring it out right now.

 

The staff on this ship is amazing. From Leroy to Abbey to Roger (Main Dining Room) to I Putu(room steward), to Roystone (Alchemy) to Rebecca, Dustin and Steve (Fun staff and cruise director) to Kristian and Roxy (David’s) and especially Karin (Red Frog Pub) we had the most amazing interactions and service. These great people go out of their way to learn your name, remember your likes, and treat you like a friend…which in my opinion is better than being a guest. I hope to see many of them next year.

I have two favorite drinks…Kiss on the Lips (saw that from another CC review) and the Sidecar at Alchemy. I spent a lot of money on the Sidecar!!! It was worth it.;)

 

 

The gym is pretty good. Nice equipment but the free weight area is very cramped. We got in 3 workouts..should have been 5 with the amount we ate!! Lol It was crowded the first day but as expected the crowd thinned out by Friday. The spa staff I passed enroute to the gym was not friendly at least to me. As a result, I opted not to book any spa treatments. Just my vibe and recognize your experience may be different so book it if that’s what you want to do.

 

We did not do any excursions this trip. However, we learned that if you wait until the day of vising the port you can get some of the beach excursions for almost nothing. For example, the beach getaway in Freeport was $60 per person if booked in advance. On the day we got to Freeport, it was being offered for $20 per person. We opted not to do it but met several others who did it at that price and they were very happy.

 

There were 3 comedians and all were funny – Tom Foss (good), Spike Davis (better) and Chris Wiles (best). I would pay to see either one if they come to a local comedy club.

 

We had fun with “Quest” (adult only fun), trivia in the Red Frog Pub, name that tune in the atrium lobby, Karaoke and Bingo with Justin, and Family Feud (still can't believe they didn't know the gifts in the 12 days of Christmas).

 

We joined one of the FB groups I found as a result of a CC review. I highly recommend connecting via RollCall or FB. It was great to “meet” folks before the cruise, and allowed us to have an instant network once onboard. Our group did a meet & greet, cocktail party, and cabin crawl. Different cruisers donated gifts for the meet & greet; and we paid for the cocktail party which was a bargain for the amount of drinks we had during that hour. We hope to find a similar group for our next cruise.

 

next post will talk about the few things I wish was different or better.

[dms1908]

Okay, I cannot figure out how to get my photos posted. Any tips would be helpful.

Edited September 13, 2015 by dms1908
missing information

[Baatman]

Okay, I cannot figure out how to get my photos posted. Any tips would be helpful.

 

The way I do it is to set up an account (free) with a hosting website, upload your photos to the website and then just follow their instructions to download them to the forum. There are several to choose from. It really is very easy.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Baatman

[MysticMiss]

Looking forward to your review!

[Barbluvstocruz]

So happy to hear you had a great time! We had the same cabin last month! Putu was definitely a ninja!

:D

[BattyL]

We've been on the Pride 3 times and really like this ship. I just wish they had different itineraries tho. We are so tired of the same ones. The staff on the Pride is just fantastic, even our server from the previous year remembered us. The food is good and we liked the shows too. It's so easy to find your way around. We booked a 9 day cruise on the Sunshine for next year. I've read all the reviews and hope it is as good as everyone says. Sailing on the Pride almost feels like home as we usually book the same room.

Love reading all the reviews on this ship. Glad you had a good time!

Edited September 13, 2015 by BattyL

[crusinpsychRN]

Glad you had a good time! Pride is a great ship.

[dms1908]

Final part of my review...I usually do "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" when I do a review. I started this thread with the Good.

 

As for The Bad...

 

Not much just a few things that I wish were different or adjusted. For example he singer Anna is not very good and she performs a lot! We spent some time talking to her and she is a very nice young lady but she is not a great singer..in my opinion.

 

The Oh La Las performed in the Red Frog Pub and the music was awesome. However, it would be nice if the male lead singer could learn the words to the songs. He was trying to read off of an iPad and was coming across like not so great Karaoke. The musicians were awesome and the singers had nice voices but just didn't know the words.

 

We had a great time with the activities that we were able to do. The problem is there would be huge gaps of nothing and then 3 or 4 overlapping events. This means we had to choose or rush from dinner.

 

One gripe that will go on my Carnival survey is the lack of snacks or food in the EA Sports Bar. It was opening day for football and my husband wanted to watch the game. We decided to skip dinner so he could grab a seat in the Sports Bar and then I remembered there is no food. So we ordered wings from room service ($5 per order) and I picked up pizza from the 24 hour pizza shop. I highly recommend they take orders for the wings (or nachos or whatever) in the Sports Bar...a lot of folks wanted my husbands wings and were willing to pay for them but didn't want to lose their seats by going back to their cabin to order and wait for room service. We also found it comical that they charge $1.44 for a bowl of peanuts at the Sports bar.

 

Finally, the Main Dining Room was just okay. I didn't have to cook, clean or grocery shop so I'm not really complaining. Other than the Bitter N Blanc, and Warm Melting Cake there were no real highlights from the dining room menu. This could also be a result of us dining at David's the first night and having our expectations raised really high. :eek:

 

The Ugly....

 

I'm happy to report there was nothing horrible about this trip. The "bad" things were points for consideration but again nothing unbearable.

 

 

The End...

We had a great vacation. The Pride is not overly big but it was great size. I'm not sure how different it will feel when there are tons of kids onboard when we travel next year but this time we rarely saw the kiddos.

 

Our takeaways..be sure to pack an extension chord (there is only one plug). Bring snacks for the "off times" or for your Stateroom. We had twizzlers, raisinets, cheddar and caramel popcorn. Order the 12 pack of water. At $2.99 it's a real bargain. I'll order 2 cases next time. It is pretty chilly on the ship in the evenings. I suggest a jacket, jeans or other long pants to change into after dinner. I ended up buying pants at Port because I was so cold in the evenings. Bring your own large cup to use for ice, water, and having juice/tea. The grill cups are about 8 or 10 oz. Consider bringing your own pillow. My husband did and slept better than me on the really soft/squishy pillows. I prefer a little more firmness.

 

We met some awesome people and made new friends and memories. We ate a lot (nothing but green drinks and the gym for the next 7 days to make up for it). We laid in the sun a lot (went through 2.5 bottles of sunblock spray). We drank a lot (combination of our stash and the bar). Mostly my husband and I were able to enjoy each other. That's my review and I promise to share photos of the ship and food if I can figure out where to host and then post! learned a lot from other CC reviews and hope this is helpful and/or enjoyable to someone.

[slim501]

We just got off the Pride today as well and I agree with most of what you said. I definitely agree with you about the food in the MDR. This was our 7th cruise on Carnival and was by far the worst food in the MDR. Even the warm melting cake wasn't great some nights. One night mine was like soup.

 

It was also kind of annoying, (not to mention noisy) that the closed the midship pool on Wednesday to refurb it. The rest of the cruise I had to take my 3 year old in a pool that was way too crowded.

[dms1908]

We just got off the Pride today as well and I agree with most of what you said. I definitely agree with you about the food in the MDR. This was our 7th cruise on Carnival and was by far the worst food in the MDR. Even the warm melting cake wasn't great some nights. One night mine was like soup.

 

It was also kind of annoying, (not to mention noisy) that the closed the midship pool on Wednesday to refurb it. The rest of the cruise I had to take my 3 year old in a pool that was way too crowded.

 

 

I forgot about the mid pool being closed since we stayed in Serenity so often. It was nice that the slides were open the entire time since I read the Green one was closed on several of the August cruises. Also, we were meeting friends at the forward hot tub last night and they closed it an hour early. That was also a bit of a bummer.

[dms1908]

and we got back on Sept 13..not Sept 6. I should do a better job of reviewing my review before posting!!

 

Now i'm off to stare into the refrigerator since I realize there is no 8:15 dinner seating and my teenagers are not planning to cook anything and deliver it to my room!

[Cruisin Around]

Hi!

Thanks for the review and tips. We will be on the Pride next month - our first Carnival cruise after 7 Royal Caribbean ones. You mentioned the Quest. I thought I would miss it since we love that on Royal. So they really do that on Carnival too?!

Thanks!

[luv2cruz64]

Was traveling along 895 last Sunday and was going through the tunnel just as you were sailing overhead. It was really cool to see. The only thing better would have been being on the ship instead of driving under it! Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

Edited September 14, 2015 by luv2cruz64

[kteachcruiser52]

Did you have lounge chairs on the extended balcony? Thanks

[crusinpsychRN]

Alchemy is so much fun! I don't really want to cruise w/o Guy's burgers.

 

Are there any umbrellas on Serenity deck? I like the Fantasy class for having umbrellas out there. Sunshine does also. I burn in a minute so need the shade.

Edited September 14, 2015 by crusinpsychRN

[Barbluvstocruz]

Did you have lounge chairs on the extended balcony? Thanks

 

 

We didn't.

[dms1908]

Hi!

Thanks for the review and tips. We will be on the Pride next month - our first Carnival cruise after 7 Royal Caribbean ones. You mentioned the Quest. I thought I would miss it since we love that on Royal. So they really do that on Carnival too?!

Thanks!

 

Yep, they have Quest. Outrageous fun for adults. We played with some folks we met through our roll call and it was a blast.

[dms1908]

Did you have lounge chairs on the extended balcony? Thanks

 

No, we did not have a full lounge chair. We had one that was a regular chair and one that laid back like a lounger. I put the table in front of the chair, propped up my legs and it was great for napping!:)

[dms1908]

Alchemy is so much fun! I don't really want to cruise w/o Guy's burgers.

 

Are there any umbrellas on Serenity deck? I like the Fantasy class for having umbrellas out there. Sunshine does also. I burn in a minute so need the shade.

 

Yeah, Alchemy, Guy's and Blue Iguana have me spoiled too.

 

No umbrellas on Serenity. I think there were 8 clamshells which were hard to get most days. There are also 2 slightly covered areas with hammocks.

[death_star]

Awesome review D, had such an amazing time seeing you guys all over the place.

[Rogueperson]

I agree with most of everything. But its funny how food was subjective. I found the food in the MDR on that cruise was slightly better than usual. But then again, I've been on enough cruises to know what to eat and what to avoid. I usually avoid fish as it tends to be dry and flavorless.

 

However, I should add that Bonasi Sushi was great, better than Royal Caribbean's Izumi's which i found to be only mediocre.

[WahooFan]

Thanks for the review. We sail out in 25 days and I cant wait to see the 2.0 upgrades.

[slim501]

I agree with most of everything. But its funny how food was subjective. I found the food in the MDR on that cruise was slightly better than usual. But then again, I've been on enough cruises to know what to eat and what to avoid. I usually avoid fish as it tends to be dry and flavorless.

 

However, I should add that Bonasi Sushi was great, better than Royal Caribbean's Izumi's which i found to be only mediocre.

 

 

I think one of the issues is that the Pride has the old menus and we prefer the American Table menus. Our last 3 cruises have been with the American Table and we find we like them better. It seems to have better variety.

[crazycruzer68]

I hope since it's not the AT menus that there is still that great Mac and cheese. Yes, it's on the kids menu but I still had it many times!!

[kpowaza]

We got off the Pride on 9/6 and I agree with some of your points:) Singer, Anna should not be singing as much. I am don't know the male singer's name, but he was much better. We enjoyed the food in MDR. We also did the Chef's table and we loved it!!! Amazing experience!! My 12 year old daughter ate it all:))