Carnival Pride Mini-Review w/ Pics: 6/26/16

[MaxTheHorse]

Just back from the 6/26/16 7-day sailing out of Baltimore of Carnival Pride. Ports of call were Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport. Here are some thoughts and photos.

 

Embarkation: Was glad we bought FTTF. This let us bypass a very lengthy line for security screening. It was moving quite slowly because a lot of people paid no attention to the rules about bringing on bottled beverages, how much wine you could bring, etc. Probably saved us 20-30 minutes right there. We were called for boarding about 12:30 pm and were able to drop our bags in our room, have a Guy's burger, and jump in the pool before most people were onboard. It was also worthwhile having FTTF for debarkation, as we were among the first to leave the ship at 9 am and we had a long drive ahead of us that day and were eager to get started.

 

First glimpse of the ship at the terminal.

 

Sea of humanity in the terminal.

 

Bon voyage!

 

 

Food: If you're like me, you're reading this review for the food porn. This was my first cruise and my expectations were low. That said, Carnival exceeded my expectations most of the time in the food department. The Main Dining Room standard options tended to be bland, but I thought the Port of Call selections were usually much better. Guy's was a lot better than I expected, considering how much that dude grinds my gears with his schtick on his TV show. Blue Iguana's breakfast burritos were great, but I found the arepas and huevoes rancheros stale. MDR sea day brunch was fantastic. David's steakhouse also was great, though I found the service to be a bit slow and inattentative. Bonsai Sushi was not bad, but not necessarily the best sushi I've had...still was a nice change of pace to dine there however. Here are some pics.

 

Guy's burger. Tasty! Or jacked up and off the chain as Guy would say.

 

Escargot app at David's. Very good.

 

Caesar salad at David's. Good, classic anchovy flavor.

 

Spinach salad with blue cheese, which I think tastes like poison but the wife enjoyed it.

 

David's ribeye with roasted garlic. Wow it was great!

 

Apple dessert at David's. Delicious.

 

Braised rabbit in a pastry puff, MDR appetizer. Quite good.

 

Mango-tuna tartare app at Bonsai. It was tasty.

 

Sushi boat at Bonsai. Not the best, but not bad and a nice change of pace.

 

Bonsai - butterfly carrot decoration.

 

Bonsai staff does this sing-along thing with customers. Some junior officers were there and took part in the shenanigans.

 

Port of Call selection in the MDR, I think pepper steak. Delicious.

 

"Crab cake" on the 2nd formal night in MDR. The Marylanders at the table didn't like it; I thought it was adequate.

 

Filet mignon with braised short ribs, 2nd formal night, MDR. It was so-so.

 

Baked onion soup, MDR. This was a good one.

 

Prime rib in the MDR. Wasn't bad, wasn't spectacular.

 

Cherry pie, MDR. I had pie most nights and they were all surprisingly good.

 

Chocolate melting cake, of course. Fun concept but I stuck to the pie, which I liked much better.

 

To be continued...

Edited July 5, 2016 by MaxTheHorse

[MaxTheHorse]

Well, I obviously had some issues with the images. Will try to fix that before proceeding!

[Clarea]

Looks like the photo hosting site is being blocked by CC.

[Jackie81]

Following. :D

[meatloafsfan]

And FYI - CC has a 6 image limit for each post so when you do get them sorted out, you'll need several posts to accommodate the number of pictures you're posting.

[MaxTheHorse]

Let's try these pics again...

 

Embarkation: Was glad we bought FTTF. This let us bypass a very lengthy line for security screening. It was moving quite slowly because a lot of people paid no attention to the rules about bringing on bottled beverages, how much wine you could bring, etc. Probably saved us 20-30 minutes right there. We were called for boarding about 12:30 pm and were able to drop our bags in our room, have a Guy's burger, and jump in the pool before most people were onboard. It was also worthwhile having FTTF for debarkation, as we were among the first to leave the ship at 9 am and we had a long drive ahead of us that day and were eager to get started.

 

First glimpse of the ship at the terminal.

 

Sea of humanity in the terminal.

 

Bon voyage!

[MaxTheHorse]

Food: If you're like me, you're reading this review for the food porn. This was my first cruise and my expectations were low. That said, Carnival exceeded my expectations most of the time in the food department. The Main Dining Room standard options tended to be bland, but I thought the Port of Call selections were usually much better. Guy's was a lot better than I expected, considering how much that dude grinds my gears with his schtick on his TV show. Blue Iguana's breakfast burritos were great, but I found the arepas and huevoes rancheros stale. MDR sea day brunch was fantastic. David's steakhouse also was great, though I found the service to be a bit slow and inattentative. Bonsai Sushi was not bad, but not necessarily the best sushi I've had...still was a nice change of pace to dine there however. Here are some pics.

 

Guy's burger. Tasty! Or jacked up and off the chain as Guy would say.

 

Escargot app at David's. Very good.

 

Caesar salad at David's. Good, classic anchovy flavor.

 

Spinach salad with blue cheese, which I think tastes like poison but the wife enjoyed it.

 

David's ribeye with roasted garlic. Wow it was great!

 

Apple dessert at David's. Delicious.

[MaxTheHorse]

More food pics...

 

Braised rabbit in a pastry puff, MDR appetizer. Quite good.

 

Mango-tuna tartare app at Bonsai. It was tasty.

 

Sushi boat at Bonsai. Not the best, but not bad and a nice change of pace.

 

Bonsai - butterfly carrot decoration.

 

Bonsai staff does this sing-along thing with customers. Some junior officers were there and took part in the shenanigans.

 

Port of Call selection in the MDR, I think pepper steak. Delicious.

[MaxTheHorse]

More food, more food!

 

"Crab cake" on the 2nd formal night in MDR. The Marylanders at the table didn't like it; I thought it was adequate.

 

Filet mignon with braised short ribs, 2nd formal night, MDR. It was so-so.

 

Baked onion soup, MDR. This was a good one.

 

Prime rib in the MDR. Wasn't bad, wasn't spectacular.

 

Cherry pie, MDR. I had pie most nights and they were all surprisingly good.

 

Chocolate melting cake, of course. Fun concept but I stuck to the pie, which I liked much better.

[KatRat416]

Can't wait to see and read more! Going on my 7th cruise and 3rd on the Pride on the 17th. I always enjoy seeing pictures and reading reviews from the time I book up until I leave :)

[stanatbil]

Can you please tell me what time you actually got to the port? We are cruising in October and have FTTF, I don't want to get to port too early though.

Thanks!

[MaxTheHorse]

Pools and public areas. Pools were crowded on sea days. Stayed onboard in Port Canaveral and finally had a little room at the Serenity Pool, though it opened a bit late as you can see from the pic. Kids splash area looked fun, though we left our kids at home this time.

 

Kids splash play area.

 

Waterslides as seen from Serenity pool. Green Thunder was out of service all week due to a problem with the door.

 

Main pool on sail away day.

 

Serenity Pool just before it opened for the day.

 

Finally got a hammock on Serenity during a port day.

 

Ship's coin is in a display case by the basketball court.

[MaxTheHorse]

Tricky to find, but this top deck by the funnel was the darkest spot on deck for star gazing at night. Loved it there.

 

They do nice work at the Alchemy Bar.

 

Dude keeping it classy at the Taj Mahal theater.

 

And another classy passenger hocked a loogey on the floor outside David's.

 

Here's a nicer image of David's to leave you with.

[MaxTheHorse]

Can you please tell me what time you actually got to the port? We are cruising in October and have FTTF, I don't want to get to port too early though.

Thanks!

 

We arrived in our car at port around 11 am. Had to wait in a line of cars to proceed to baggage drop and pay to park. Got into the cruise terminal about 11:30-11:40. Zipped through security and check-in line, then waited until about 12:30 for FTTF to be called for boarding after diamonds, platinums, and wedding parties.

 

I think it was somewhat worth it for embarkation just to jump to the front of the security screening line. To me, the real value was being able to self-assist disembark first.

[flyersfan1129]

Thank you so much for your review! We are booked on the Pride 27NOV and I am eagerly reading every post about her. What night of your cruise did you do David's? My son will be celebrating his birthday, and I want to celebrate there, hoping we can get in.

[MaxTheHorse]

Thank you so much for your review! We are booked on the Pride 27NOV and I am eagerly reading every post about her. What night of your cruise did you do David's? My son will be celebrating his birthday, and I want to celebrate there, hoping we can get in.

 

We ate there on the first sea day (Monday), which also was elegant night in the main dining room. However, David's had a promo of either a free bottle of (not very good) wine or 50 percent off anything on the wine list. So that worked out pretty well for us.

 

We had no problem getting a reservation prior to the cruise, or even changing the time the day of our reservation.

 

Have a great trip!

[kids1stcruise]

Love reading and seeing pictures....less than 2 weeks now👊🏻

[flyersfan1129]

Did you do any excursions? My son wants to do Atlantis, but yikes, the price. But yeah, mom will probably cave and book it.

[RHilla619]

Awesome pics! Killing me with the food porn lol, thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm sailing on the Pride NYE week so I'm looking forward to the rest of the review!

[riclop]

Thanks for the quickie.

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review!

[newcruiser08820]

Can you please tell me what time you actually got to the port? We are cruising in October and have FTTF, I don't want to get to port too early though.

Thanks!

On 19th we came at around 10.30. Ship was late coming back. We got on board at 2 pm. Waited 2 hours in the car and 2 hours inside. Ship notoriously late back to the port due to unsettling weather at the bay. If you have port-intense itinerary, then it make sense to get on the ship early and explore. But here there are 3 sea days so plenty of time for exploring.

[MaxTheHorse]

Excursions. Posting a bit since somebody asked.

 

Port Canaveral. Stayed on the ship. This was the only day we were able to get a hammock on Serenity deck. Clam shells were all occupied by the time we got up there around 10 am.

 

Nassau. We did the "Catamaran Sail & Snorkel. It was decent but a lot of people, maybe 60 or 70 pax. Snorkel site was about 40 minutes out of the harbor past Atlantis; I think it was called Angelfish Reef. We like to bring our own snorkel gear rather than use a snorkel 18 trillion people have had in their mouths. Rum punch served after the snorkeling; tip the bartender to get an extra shot. He later came around pouring it straight into people's mouths if they so desired.

 

We shopped a little along Bay Street and had a mediocre lunch at Sharkeez after (with free wifi).

 

Turned out Capt. Galotto was on this excursion too along with his wife and two young boys. Nice guy, and everyone mostly left him alone to enjoy a day off with his family. (He later told us they are visiting him for three weeks from Croatia).

 

Elation docked in front of Pride in Nassau. View from our catamaran.

 

Bartender doing the Wobble with some folks on the catamaran.

 

The view from the balcony at Sharkeez. That's Elation in the foreground; Pride is behind her.

 

Freeport. We did the "VIP Luxury Sail" excursion. First off, I was disappointed there were 19 people on this excursion when everything I had read said there would be about 12. But...there was plenty of room on the sailboat. We boarded a small bus over to Tainto Beach (15 minutes away, near Lucaya). We were given mimosas then sailed straight out from the beach under motor, then unfurled the sails for about 30 minutes of actual sailing.

 

One of the things I like about sailing is the quietness of it. This being a Carnival excursion, there was of course music blaring the entire time. Pitbull and Ne-Yo were not the soundtrack I wanted for this, but oh well. Sit farther toward the bow to be away from the music if that concerns you.

 

We dropped anchor and snorkeled for 45 minutes. It was not a great snorkel area but still beats a day at work. Haha. Lunch was a bento-box type thing shared by two people, with a pasta salad, salad with chicken, fruit salad, ceviche, guacamole, chips, and rolls. Rum drinks flowed freely.

 

I would do this excursion again, but I don't think "VIP" or "luxury" really belong in the name of it. The best part about it was it was a relatively small group compared with our catamaran experience the previous day. I also think other reviews gripe too much about the food portions. It was more than enough for a light lunch on a sailboat, and if you're still hungry you can cram some Guy's burgers down your gob back on the ship. :)

 

Sailboat for the VIP Luxury Sail.

 

Lunch for two on the VIP Luxury Sail.

[MaxTheHorse]

Excursions Part II. I also did the "Behind the Fun" tour on the final sea day. It was $95 which I feel is a bit overpriced.

 

No photos since cameras and cell phones are not allowed on the tour. And, yes, a security officer checks you for these items or anything dangerous before you're allowed to join the tour.

 

We saw a good portion of the ship from the laundry rooms two decks below sea level all the way up to the bridge. We got to meet the chief engineer, the captain, head sous chef (the actual head chef was disembarking and Pride's getting a new one next sailing), the provisions officer, one of the Playlist dancers, and many other people.

 

One downside is that English is not the first language of pretty much anyone in the galley, engine control room, or bridge, so it's a bit difficult to understand some of the officers. Interestingly, someone from the Human Resources department led the tour and took us by his office, where he showed us that any crew can take a Rosetta Stone language class for free.

 

Got to see the crew mess (actually there are three: one for staff, one for crew, one for officers) and the crew bar.

 

The tour ends at David's steakhouse, with mimosas and some parting gifts. Later we received a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and a note from the head chef to say thanks for visiting. Felt those were nice touches.

 

Bottom line is if you enjoy that TV show Mighty Ships, you will probably love this tour.

[flyersfan1129]

Excursions. Posting a bit since somebody asked.

 

Port Canaveral. Stayed on the ship. This was the only day we were able to get a hammock on Serenity deck. Clam shells were all occupied by the time we got up there around 10 am.

 

Nassau. We did the "Catamaran Sail & Snorkel. It was decent but a lot of people, maybe 60 or 70 pax. Snorkel site was about 40 minutes out of the harbor past Atlantis; I think it was called Angelfish Reef. We like to bring our own snorkel gear rather than use a snorkel 18 trillion people have had in their mouths. Rum punch served after the snorkeling; tip the bartender to get an extra shot. He later came around pouring it straight into people's mouths if they so desired.

 

 

 

We shopped a little along Bay Street and had a mediocre lunch at Sharkeez after (with free wifi).

 

Turned out Capt. Galotto was on this excursion too along with his wife and two young boys. Nice guy, and everyone mostly left him alone to enjoy a day off with his family. (He later told us they are visiting him for three weeks from Croatia).

 

Elation docked in front of Pride in Nassau. View from our catamaran.

 

Bartender doing the Wobble with some folks on the catamaran.

 

The view from the balcony at Sharkeez. That's Elation in the foreground; Pride is behind her.

 

Freeport. We did the "VIP Luxury Sail" excursion. First off, I was disappointed there were 19 people on this excursion when everything I had read said there would be about 12. But...there was plenty of room on the sailboat. We boarded a small bus over to Tainto Beach (15 minutes away, near Lucaya). We were given mimosas then sailed straight out from the beach under motor, then unfurled the sails for about 30 minutes of actual sailing.

 

One of the things I like about sailing is the quietness of it. This being a Carnival excursion, there was of course music blaring the entire time. Pitbull and Ne-Yo were not the soundtrack I wanted for this, but oh well. Sit farther toward the bow to be away from the music if that concerns you.

 

We dropped anchor and snorkeled for 45 minutes. It was not a great snorkel area but still beats a day at work. Haha. Lunch was a bento-box type thing shared by two people, with a pasta salad, salad with chicken, fruit salad, ceviche, guacamole, chips, and rolls. Rum drinks flowed freely.

 

I would do this excursion again, but I don't think "VIP" or "luxury" really belong in the name of it. The best part about it was it was a relatively small group compared with our catamaran experience the previous day. I also think other reviews gripe too much about the food portions. It was more than enough for a light lunch on a sailboat, and if you're still hungry you can cram some Guy's burgers down your gob back on the ship. :)

 

Sailboat for the VIP Luxury Sail.

 

Lunch for two on the VIP Luxury Sail.

 

 

I was the someone, thanks! We are looking at the same excursion in Freeport, tough to pick there since it is such a short pick.