Pirate's JOURNEY on the Pride...March 13-28 Photo Review

[pirate4me2]

Hello everyone!

I have just returned home from the 14 day Journey cruise aboard the Carnival Pride and wanted to share the experience with you all. This was my 6th cruise, all on Carnival, and my second time aboard the Pride. In fact, the Pride was my very FIRST cruise back in 2012, the one that got my addiction to cruising started! Cruising with me this time would be my husband, who so far has been on each cruise with me. Up until now, our longest cruise had been 8 days, so we were excited and a little apprehensive about such a long sailing, but we were looking forward to it too!

A little bit about us...I am Stephanie, a 28 year old female from NC, and my husband is Chris, 32 years old. I work full time in the financial field, Chris works in the fire service. Both our jobs can be stressful, and we enjoy cruising 1 to 2 times a year. I saw this cruise a few days after Carnival posted it on their site and I literally BEGGED Chris to let me book it. See, our first cruise was March 17, 2012 on the Pride for our honeymoon, and I told him "How cool would it be to sail on her for our 5 year wedding anniversary present to ourselves (we were actually married Nov. 2011 but took a delayed honeymoon) and this year we have been a couple for TEN YEARS!!" Chris was unsure if he could get so much time off from work (I on the other hand hoard my PTO time for vacations!) and he kept putting me off from booking it.

Finally though, about a week after the itinerary was released, Chris agreed to let me book. I jumped on it and booked a category 4K room, which is unique to the Spirit class ships. These rooms are categorized as interiors, but they have a French door that you can open up to let fresh air in and get natural light through. How cool is that? Sure, they are behind the life boats so you do not get much of a view, but that is one heck of an interior room to me! However, I did not end up keeping the 4K room for long. I love my balconies, particularly aft balconies, and one day I was looking on the Carnival website (I am still waiting for DH to put parental controls on my laptop to prevent me from going there....it is very dangerous for his wallet!) and the urge hit me to price an aft balcony on this sailing. After all, this was an anniversary present to ourselves! I figured that we could afford it, so I called our PVP and arranged the upgrade. I didn't tell DH until a few weeks before sailing what I had done. I really wanted to wait until we were onboard, but I just couldn't keep the secret!

We had a fantastic roll call on here. Ginger (Gingerma) arranged a group rate for us at a Best Western in Elkridge (thanks Ginger!) as well as a group shore excursion in one of our ports of call (more on that later in the review). We had a lot of active chatter leading up to the sailing, and it was great to know some people sailing with us!

Everything was going smoothly leading up to the cruise, until Thursday the 10. I went to work that day and felt fine until after lunchtime, and then I got a horrible migraine that eventually led to me throwing up and feeling like poo. I began to freak out that I was coming down with something, but luckily when the migraine began to subside I started to feel better. Whew! However, on Friday my old pony began to act odd. She was not wanting to move much and kept laying down a lot more than usual. She is old (26 this year) and I began to worry. We were leaving early Saturday morning, and I was up all night worrying about her.

Saturday morning came and I went to feed and see the horses before we headed out. I figured if Savannah was really sick, I could try and get the vet out before we left, or just not go at all. Luckily Savy seemed OK, and I left a credit card with my mother just in case anything went wrong. Whew, another crisis dodged!

Chris and I left Western NC at 8 and had an OK drive until we hit the DC area. Ugh, I hate city traffic! We ended up getting into Baltimore at about 5:30 and decided to have dinner at Timbuktu, which was on the same road as our hotel. Let me just say, if any of you like crabcakes, this place is a MUST for you!

I am not ashamed to say...I ate every single bite! It was delicious. Chris got some kind of steak, as he LOVES steak, but I was literally guarding my food with a knife to keep him from eating it! He kept saying he should have got the crabcakes, and I agreed with him each time the words left his mouth. :)

The Best Western on Dorsey Road was a clean, nice hotel to stay in for our pre-cruise night. They had a free hot breakfast for us the next day as well as a free shuttle to take you to and from the port. They allowed us to park our vehicle in their lot for the duration of the cruise, which saved us a bunch of money. I will stay there again in a heartbeat if we cruise from Baltimore in the future. When we finished our dinner we went and checked in, then pretty much crashed for the night. Tomorrow was our big embarkation day!

[pirate4me2]

Alright, that is my start of the review...I need to get things unpacked, throw some laundry in the washer, and get ready to go to work tomorrow. :( Back to reality! I will try and do an installment each night, and I am working on uploading pics to Photobucket now. I will add more to this tomorrow.

[Crusin Karen]

We were on this cruise! I'm sorry I didn't get to meet up with more of you. What a GREAT CRUISE! We turned Diamond on it, so it was perfect. You were the one who posted something on another forum and I was so intriqued by your signature/cruise countdown, that I looked it up and booked. Can't wait to hear what you thought of everything.

[Clarea]

Following, looking forward to this.:)

[pirate4me2]

We were on this cruise! I'm sorry I didn't get to meet up with more of you. What a GREAT CRUISE! We turned Diamond on it, so it was perfect. You were the one who posted something on another forum and I was so intriqued by your signature/cruise countdown, that I looked it up and booked. Can't wait to hear what you thought of everything.

 

Congrats on turning Diamond! I'm glad my crazy amount of cruise countdowns showed one that interested you!

Edited March 28, 2016 by pirate4me2

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Can't wait for more!!! Love the Pride!!!!

[jamscckmc]

Happy to see a review. I was booked on this group but had to cancel. I enjoyed following the group on FB and living vicariously through you!

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your review and photos.

 

Keith

[clarkg]

Good start to your review. Excited to hear more.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[cruisingbajan]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

We hope to sail the Pride someday.

[Crusin Karen]

Can't wait for more!!! Love the Pride!!!!

Just had to comment on your countdown clocks. FIVE cruises booked, 3 of them free! :eek: You GO! ;)

[canadaman111]

Alright, that is my start of the review...I need to get things unpacked, throw some laundry in the washer, and get ready to go to work tomorrow. :( Back to reality! I will try and do an installment each night, and I am working on uploading pics to Photobucket now. I will add more to this tomorrow.

 

I don't want to wait a full day to hear more....... lol

[cruisexlife]

SO excited to read this review! :D

[Arzeena]

Looking forward to reading your review!:)

[Sophia's NaNa]

Hello everyone!

I have just returned home from the 14 day Journey cruise aboard the Carnival Pride and wanted to share the experience with you all. This was my 6th cruise, all on Carnival, and my second time aboard the Pride. In fact, the Pride was my very FIRST cruise back in 2012, the one that got my addiction to cruising started! Cruising with me this time would be my husband, who so far has been on each cruise with me. Up until now, our longest cruise had been 8 days, so we were excited and a little apprehensive about such a long sailing, but we were looking forward to it too!

A little bit about us...I am Stephanie, a 28 year old female from NC, and my husband is Chris, 32 years old. I work full time in the financial field, Chris works in the fire service. Both our jobs can be stressful, and we enjoy cruising 1 to 2 times a year. I saw this cruise a few days after Carnival posted it on their site and I literally BEGGED Chris to let me book it. See, our first cruise was March 17, 2012 on the Pride for our honeymoon, and I told him "How cool would it be to sail on her for our 5 year wedding anniversary present to ourselves (we were actually married Nov. 2011 but took a delayed honeymoon) and this year we have been a couple for TEN YEARS!!" Chris was unsure if he could get so much time off from work (I on the other hand hoard my PTO time for vacations!) and he kept putting me off from booking it.

Finally though, about a week after the itinerary was released, Chris agreed to let me book. I jumped on it and booked a category 4K room, which is unique to the Spirit class ships. These rooms are categorized as interiors, but they have a French door that you can open up to let fresh air in and get natural light through. How cool is that? Sure, they are behind the life boats so you do not get much of a view, but that is one heck of an interior room to me! However, I did not end up keeping the 4K room for long. I love my balconies, particularly aft balconies, and one day I was looking on the Carnival website (I am still waiting for DH to put parental controls on my laptop to prevent me from going there....it is very dangerous for his wallet!) and the urge hit me to price an aft balcony on this sailing. After all, this was an anniversary present to ourselves! I figured that we could afford it, so I called our PVP and arranged the upgrade. I didn't tell DH until a few weeks before sailing what I had done. I really wanted to wait until we were onboard, but I just couldn't keep the secret!

We had a fantastic roll call on here. Ginger (Gingerma) arranged a group rate for us at a Best Western in Elkridge (thanks Ginger!) as well as a group shore excursion in one of our ports of call (more on that later in the review). We had a lot of active chatter leading up to the sailing, and it was great to know some people sailing with us!

Everything was going smoothly leading up to the cruise, until Thursday the 10. I went to work that day and felt fine until after lunchtime, and then I got a horrible migraine that eventually led to me throwing up and feeling like poo. I began to freak out that I was coming down with something, but luckily when the migraine began to subside I started to feel better. Whew! However, on Friday my old pony began to act odd. She was not wanting to move much and kept laying down a lot more than usual. She is old (26 this year) and I began to worry. We were leaving early Saturday morning, and I was up all night worrying about her.

Saturday morning came and I went to feed and see the horses before we headed out. I figured if Savannah was really sick, I could try and get the vet out before we left, or just not go at all. Luckily Savy seemed OK, and I left a credit card with my mother just in case anything went wrong. Whew, another crisis dodged!

Chris and I left Western NC at 8 and had an OK drive until we hit the DC area. Ugh, I hate city traffic! We ended up getting into Baltimore at about 5:30 and decided to have dinner at Timbuktu, which was on the same road as our hotel. Let me just say, if any of you like crabcakes, this place is a MUST for you!

I am not ashamed to say...I ate every single bite! It was delicious. Chris got some kind of steak, as he LOVES steak, but I was literally guarding my food with a knife to keep him from eating it! He kept saying he should have got the crabcakes, and I agreed with him each time the words left his mouth. :)

The Best Western on Dorsey Road was a clean, nice hotel to stay in for our pre-cruise night. They had a free hot breakfast for us the next day as well as a free shuttle to take you to and from the port. They allowed us to park our vehicle in their lot for the duration of the cruise, which saved us a bunch of money. I will stay there again in a heartbeat if we cruise from Baltimore in the future. When we finished our dinner we went and checked in, then pretty much crashed for the night. Tomorrow was our big embarkation day!

 

Looking forward to more of your review...we cruise in less than 3 weeks on the Pride !

Wondering if you remembered the cost of Ketel One Vodka and Grandmanier in the Fun Shop to bring home? Can't wait to be there !

[KPfromCT]

Great start to your review. Cannot wait to read more.:D:D

[meatloafsfan]

This great - can't wait for the rest of your review!

 

I was intrigued by this cruise and wanted to do it but after 21 days in January / February, I just couldn't swing another 2 weeks off work before the end of our fiscal year.

 

I'm excited to see how it went.

[crewsweeper]

Fun start. Bookmarking this one, Stephanie. :cool:

 

Waiting for all your ports reviews.

 

Crew.

[momonthego17]

Great start, looking forward to more!

[cruiseonthebrain]

Can't wait to keep reading!

[BettyCruiser]

Hi Steph, found the review:) Great start, can't wait for more!

[pirate4me2]

Ok, let's see if Photobucket (or maybe it's my cruddy Internet connection) will let us continue on this journey. I'm trying to upload the pics I took on embarkation day from around the ship. Anyway....let's get started.

Our shuttle from Best Western left the hotel at 10:30, and we got to the port shortly after that. However, I almost wish we had taken the 11:30 shuttle, as we did not end up stepping foot on Pride until around 1. We were checked in pretty quick (sorry for those behind us when the computers crashed! I swear it wasn't my picture that did it, it was Chris!) but then there was a LOT of sitting and waiting. It was OK though as we made some friends who we continued to see throughout the cruise. :)

Once we got onboard, we hightailed it to our room to drop off our carryon (thank you FTTF) and then went to grab a Guy's Burger. It was a pretty good lunch, but Chris and I both agree that they were not the best Guy's Burgers that we have had. I think that award goes hands down to the Liberty. We tried them two more times throughout the trip, and we finally agreed that the pizza onboard was better. But I digress....

After the burgers we went back to the cabin and three bags were sitting outside our cabin door. Both of Chris's bags were there, as well as my small bag. I was a little worried as I had packed a flat iron, curling iron, and a bunch of shampoo/conditioner/body wash/etc in my big bag. Was there something suspicious about my big bag? What if they thought my special shampoo that makes my crazy, naturally curly hair somewhat manageable was something other than shampoo??!! AHHHHHHHH, I was stressed out for a little while, until I heard a "THUNK!" outside the door about 45 minutes later. My big bag had arrived! Hooray! Sorry person that had to tote it to my cabin, I know it was super heavy!

I am a person that has got to unpack before my vacation can begin, so Chris and I unpacked before we wandered the ship. We went in search of a Sail & Sign kiosk (one is located in the casino, FYI) so that I could load my Carnival gift cards to our onboard account. With that out of the way, we went and explored our new home for the next two weeks!

Soon it was time for Muster drill, and we went to our assigned muster station. For anyone wondering, Pride still holds Muster drills on the outside decks. Today was a drizzly, chilly day, and I was glad I had thrown on my hoodie before we headed outside! The drill didn't last too long, and before long Chris and I were headed to the room to get changed for our traditional first night onboard dinner....the STEAKHOUSE!!

Now, before any of you get too excited, let me let you down now...I forgot to take pics of my food tonight....and tomorrow night. :( Sorry! I guess that Guy's burger didn't hold me over too well and when I saw my dinner I got too excited to snap any pics. I can tell you though, it was a good dinner. Not the best steakhouse experience we have ever had, in fact, it was probably the worst on any Carnival ship we have been on, but it was still a nice, relaxing way to start out our cruise. Chris and I both ordered the crabcake as our starter, which was good, and then I got the baby spinach and mushroom salad while Chris got his usual Caesar salad. His salad was great, mine was a little off. There were hardly any mushrooms, it was mostly spinach and a little blue cheese, then maybe a few tiny pieces of 'shrooms. It was still good, and I ate every bite. Next came the main and side dishes. Chris got the 18 oz steak, and he ordered it medium, but he said it was more medium well cooked, but still really good. I got the Maine lobster ravioli, and they were as delish as ever!! I love that dish. I also got a side order of creamed spinach (OMG sooooo good!) and a side of mashed potatoes. Hey, don't judge me, I am on vacation! Yes, I ate pasta AND potatoes. :p Throughout the dinner, Chris's water and my wine glass went dry several times, but if we asked for refills they were quick to come. I found it a little odd though as all our other steakhouse experiences had the waitresses constantly topping off our drinks. Oh well.

For dessert, I got the chocolate sampler, which was as amazing as I remember, and Chris got ice cream. By the time we left, we were stuffed and needed to move around! We went to the Welcome Aboard show, where we got our first glimpse of our cruise director Steve. He is a really funny, nice guy, and I would say that he is one of our better cruise directors we have had. He is very approachable and remembers you throughout the trip. The Playlist performers were good tonight as well.

I hate to admit it, but after the Welcome Aboard show we went back to our cabin and crashed. That huge steak did Chris in, and my 3/4 a bottle of wine had me sleepy. We figured that with 2 whole weeks onboard, we had plenty of time to experience all that Pride had to offer!

[Star24K]

Looking forward to your review, thanks for sharing.

[pirate4me2]

PICTURES!

 

My cabin door decorations:

 

David's Steakhouse...I love how it is under the funnel and turns rosy red!

 

A staircase with a fountain that connects decks 2 and 3 on Pride, right outside of Red Frog Pub. I don't know why, but I just loved this staircase!

 

Whale tail!

 

Green Thunder