Pride HUGE Review - Kids, FTTF, Cabanas, & More

[kako14]

Thank you for such a great review! I will be taking my 2nd cruise this October and it is on the Pride. I am disappointed to hear about the spa though..I was planning on treating myself to a massage/facial but I think I'll just go to the spa at Hotel Hershey beforehand! I'm picky with that kinda stuff. I rarely treat myself to those types of things..so when I do, I want it to be great.

 

 

 

I'm excited about HMC. Tahiti is my dream trip so for you to say its comparable, I'm stoked :)

 

 

Definitely stick with Hotel Hershey! It is a million times better!! You will love Half Moon Cay, enjoy your trip!!

[kako14]

What a great, no frills review. Thank you! You said that you emailed Carnival. I have been searching everywhere for an email address with no success. Could you please let me know their email address? Many Thanks.

 

 

The one for FTTF is Fttfinfo@carnival.com

 

I have to check my old emails for the cabana and I'll let you know.

[JaniceB]

Very nicely written review, thank you!

[Kel040]

Thank you for your very detailed review !

 

We will be doing the same itinerary in October .. I have been to HMC before and had a cabana, so we have one booked for there but I was just wondering where you went in Grand Turk and rented a cabana ?? thanks :)

[kako14]

Thank you for your very detailed review !

 

 

 

We will be doing the same itinerary in October .. I have been to HMC before and had a cabana, so we have one booked for there but I was just wondering where you went in Grand Turk and rented a cabana ?? thanks :)

 

 

Hi! You will have a great time! The cabana in Grand Turk is right at the pool in the cruise center. When you come off the ship there is a free beach and right on the beach is a huge Margaritaville with a resort style pool. It's all free if you just want to get a chair. The cabana was about $120.

[dms1908]

Thanks for the great review. We had our first Pride cruise last year (just me and hubby) and in June we are taking the teenage boys. I would love a Cabana for HMC. However, the site seems to imply you can't request to be on a wait list. How did you get on the wait list? Did you email a specific address? My boys just want to go to the beach at each port and I my husband and I love HMC from a previous HAL cruise so we think the cabana would make this even more awesome. (sorry for the run on sentence)

 

Nice job with your review!!

[SandyBShores]

Great detailed review!!

Edited April 29, 2016 by SandyBShores

[Kel040]

Hi! You will have a great time! The cabana in Grand Turk is right at the pool in the cruise center. When you come off the ship there is a free beach and right on the beach is a huge Margaritaville with a resort style pool. It's all free if you just want to get a chair. The cabana was about $120.

 

Will definitely do that ! Thanks for the info :)

[marygal]

We were also on the same cruise with you and the same cabin stewart!!! Caetano and Darmana were fantastic! Truely enjoyed the trip ! Great review

[kako14]

I'm sorry for the late response for those of you that asked. The email address that I used for the cabanas was shoreexcursions@carnival.com

 

Make sure you put your booking number, ship, and sail date in the subject line.

[Gigi loves to cruise]

Kako14 Thanks for the review!

[Hribal]

Thanks for the great review. I like reading yours because it wasn't too long and it was right to the point. You highlighted what needed to be highlighted and pointed out good and the bad. THANKS!

 

Question. By purchasing the wifi for $99 (I think you said) was that per room, do you think? Or one username and password to share?

 

I agree with you on Kid Carnival. It is dark and small and way out of the way from everything. We went on the Pride 2 years ago when our son was 3. He will be 5 this time and I wonder if he will be too old for the 2-5 year olds and too young to be in the 6 year olds.

 

I am excited to do the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast. I wish there was a way to prepay this prior to sailing, just like we would if we bought the drink package. I, like to prepay everything up front - so to me, this only makes sense.

 

Lastly, you bought the CHEERS package....that did include milkshakes and specialty coffees, right? Was it worth buying a drink package for your little ones? I know you mentioned slushies for your kids, so I thought that would be a cool idea but other than that, he doesn't drink sodas so I doubt it would be worth it.

[grumpyjr88]

Great review! Pride is my favorite ship... I can get to port in under an hour and she's the perfect size.

 

So sorry to hear about your bad Spa experience. :( I believe they are a third party and not actually run by Carnival. Also, I think because of the size of the ship, there's not really room for a private relaxation room with lemon/cucumber water. There are chairs up by the hot tub area and it's pretty quiet there but no water.

[jac-3]

 

Question. By purchasing the wifi for $99 (I think you said) was that per room, do you think? Or one username and password to share?

 

 

One device at a time. You can use multiple devices, but only one may be online at a time.

[kako14]

Sorry for the late response to some of your questions.

 

I'm really not sure about the Internet - I think it may have been one internet account per folio - since my husband and I were on the same folio it only allowed us to log in in one device at a time.

 

As for the soda plan, I didn't do it. My kids don't drink soda so it didn't make sense. Cheers includes milkshakes, smoothies, juice, soda, etc. usually I would just order something at the bar and give it to them. The only time this was an issue was one night in the show lounge I ordered a ginger ale, bottle of water, and orange juice (soda for me and the other stuff for the kids). They would only take the cheers for one drink so I had to pay for the other 2. It was just annoying bc the kids had like 2 sips and didn't drink anymore of it and I hated that I had to pay extra.

 

To the poster above who asked about the the whirling for the cabana - I never saw this officially listed anywhere, I just took a chance.

[tandemcruzr]

Cheers includes milkshakes, smoothies, juice, soda, etc. usually I would just order something at the bar and give it to them.

 

Thanks for your review.

 

Just an FYI for others reading, the drinks on the Cheers package are not supposed to be shared with anyone.

Edited May 23, 2016 by tandemcruzr

[ladybug1s]

What does FTTF stand for? And how much extra was it, i figure it something to get you in line quicker?

 

 

 

QUOTE=kako14;49804715]Hi, you know, now that you ask - there really wasn't one. We are all new to this so after we checked in we were just going to walk on b/c thats what I thought we were supposed to do and there were no signs or anything. We were almost through the doorway when security stopped us. We ended up just sitting in the first row of the general waiting area. I asked the other people around me and they were FTTF also so we were in teh right place - its definitely nothing special.

[Justinetime2cruise]

Camp Carnival: Like I said earlier, we chose this cruise b/c of Camp Carnival. In general, on the sea days the kids went for a couple of hours during the day, and then at night from about 8-10. They enjoyed the pool and splash park - but at their age, it lasted about an hour or so and then they had nothing else to do. They loved it camp though! The staff was so nice and they had many activities for them to do. Each night was a different theme and they did crafts, played games, etc. It was very secure in that you pre-register online and you can delegate several people to pick up and drop off the kids. They get a nametag to wear all week with their name, age, and muster station. They also give you a cell phone so they can call you if there is an issue. I never needed to use it though. My son is 5 ½ and my daughter is 2 ½ - so my son was just on the border of the 6 year old group. Luckily he is a “young” 5 so he liked the games and he liked being with his sister. If your kid is more mature or has older siblings, I’m not sure they would enjoy it. At one point they let my son play with the video games that were in the older section and he asked to go into that section at night and they told him no. The staff was super nice and best of all there were lots of kids in there - sometimes at resorts and stuff they have these programs but no one goes, so they aren't as much fun. There were always kids in there and that made a huge difference.

 

We missed the Dr. Seuss parade b/c the kids were swimming at that time.

 

The kids did the Teddy Bear Workshop, which is a scaled down version of Build-a-Bear. I had read about this on here or I would have had no idea what it was. There were only a couple of families there. The kid chooses an animal, and you get the whole package (stuffing, a little star to put inside, a cardboard “house”, a Carnival tee shirt for the animal and a birth certificate). You have to stuff it yourself though – there is no machine. This was my kids’ cruise souvenir and they loved it. My son picked a blue owl and my daughter a monkey. The total for both was $39 and I think it was totally worth it.

 

My “improvements” for camp carnival – I don’t know why Carnival designed the ship like this, but on the Pride, the camp is on the 5th floor all the way at the front of the ship. It's a LOONG walk from some places - like the dining room. With so many kids walking there, i feel like it should have been more central. It’s a small area, dark, and there really isn’t much stuff there. Luckily, the teachers were great, so they kept the kids entertained. But it certainly wasn’t a big playroom with lots of stuff. At night, if you leave the kids after 10 there is a charge. They usually just had the kids laying down on a blanket with pillows watching a movie. This was actually my son's favorite part and he liked being the last picked up.

 

I think there is HUGE opportunity to make this space more attractive and fun. I actually think this could be a big money-maker for Carnival. I would have been more than happy to pay more for extra activities that they did with the kids – stuff beyond generic arts and crafts. I would have expected more unique activities – it was essentially just a daycare center. I would also suggest that they provide food for the kids. Sometimes my kids wanted to stay longer, but I had to feed them so they were forced to leave – which lead to crying and screaming and me forcing them to eat. If the camp had some sandwiches or snacks, it would have been enough. I know there are allergy issues, but there has to be a way.

 

Pixels Pictures: I’ll start by saying that I spent $450 on pictures and that I’m slightly obsessed with pictures in general (although I don’t even own more than my iPhone camera). My mom and MIL also spent a ton of $ on pictures. Even though I think they can make this so much better, I'm glad they had it and I love my pics. I’ll also say that this entire process was wayyy too painful and time-consuming and stressful. I took my first cruise on Celebrity 20 years ago and the photo process back then was the exact same process in place by Carnival today.

 

The good: there were photographers everywhere, which I loved. They took posed photos every night, you could always find a photographer if you were looking for one. That’s about the only good stuff I have to say.

 

The bad: They were expensive ($22 for a 8x10), they print out all the pictures and put them out on the walls for you to search and find. It’s fine if you take 1 photo and can go look for your 1 photo. But we took soooo many that I don’t even know if I saw all of ours. I also think that the photography was very 20 years ago – it was just traditional backdrop photography. Some of the backdrops were sooo corny.

 

The ugly: After I found my pictures and put them into a pile, they wouldn’t hold them for me in one spot so I could wait until the end of the cruise to select. I tried putting them in an bottom corner, but they were moved - so I had to go searching all over again. I was livid.

My other issue with the pictures was that there was always a line to pay or no one around. When you did pay, you were supposed to get a free gift depending on how many photos you bought. This was inconsistent depending on whom you were paying. I wanted to get my pics on a CD (they don’t do that) or a USB – which they only do after you buy 10 photos and charge you $1 per photo. I only learned of that the last night of the cruise b/c someone told my MIL and I had to go and get all the photos that I had packed out of my room and drop it off to them within 10 minutes of them closing. It was a disaster.

 

The photos are probably my biggest room for improvement in the entire cruise – Royal Caribbean uses the facial recognition technology so you don’t have to search for all of them. Disney gives you the card so that all of your pictures are together. Its 2016 – everyone offers digital photos and the ability to edit them or make them a different size. I’m actually surprised Carnival is so behind the times on this one.

 

The new Vista is now doing digital photos, about time..would be nice if you could get a cheap package and on cd then print them yourself at home.

[cocacola86]

Hey Kel040 I see your in the falls, we used to live there but now we live in Hagersville what a small world, nice to see a fellow Canadian. Loving the review so far, would love to go on Pride but the DW has us booked on the Magic next April

 

 

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[kako14]

To ladybug, FTTF is faster to the fun. It's sold as an excursion from your port city and it gives you priority embarkation and debarkation, priority tender, and a dedicated service line. You also get your luggage faster and access to your room quicker. I costs $60 per cabin. You can find it under the excursion section for your embarkation city. It sells out fast though.

[xbatt8]

You mentioned in your overview that the entertainment was terrible, but I never saw any explanation. Did I miss it?

 

Bob

[BlazinSunsets]

Ask two people about the entertainment and you'll get two different answers, not everybody likes everything. I was on this same cruise as the OP. I enjoyed most of the entertainment, including the shows. They were your usual corny carnival shows, but I wasn't expecting anything more. The only show I didn't like was the one where they sang love songs, as they didn't dance or put on any type of real show, it was just the entertainers sitting or walking around the stage singing love songs.

Edited May 25, 2016 by BlazinSunsets

[Hribal]

For some reason, we didn't care for the entertainment on the Pride either. I much rather people watch or sit outside with the warm night as my friend, spending time with the hubby. This is where I don't care for the Pride that much. The Ecstasy was great for people watching and being right in the middle of things at night.

[kako14]

I saw 2 of the shows - one was the "summer romance" one and the other just had them singing love songs. The love songs was just them sitting on stage singing, so more of a concert than a show. The summer romance one was just cheesy - no plot, stupid voices, random dancing, etc. to each their own but I prefer the bigger song and dance numbers - nice costumes, choreographed dancing, and an actual plot or something.

 

 

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[Kel040]

Hey Kel040 I see your in the falls, we used to live there but now we live in Hagersville what a small world, nice to see a fellow Canadian. Loving the review so far, would love to go on Pride but the DW has us booked on the Magic next April

 

 

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Hi Cocacola ! Yes, small world - We are actually right between Hamilton and NF - We loved the Pride and will be back on her this October for Thanksgiving :)