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7/31 Carnival Pride Review - A Good Time Was Had By All

holmes96

By holmes96,
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holmes96

holmes96

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Background:

We are an extended family of 8 traveling together: 2 sisters (44, 44), 1 husband (43) and 5 cousins (11, 15, 15, 17 and 17). Everyone is a seasoned cruiser, sailing multiple cruise lines with no strong loyalty towards any specific line. The three main factors in choosing the Pride for this vacation were in priority order: 1)having Baltimore as the embarkation (no airfare, ease of travel), 2)cost and 3)having an itinerary that included 1 or 2 new ports for us (Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk in our case). Our past Carnival cruises were on the Conquest and Victory.

 

Everyone had a very good time! I will split this review into the following sections: Embarkation, Cabins, Adult Likes/Dislikes, Kid Likes/Dislikes, Port Excursions, Dining, Debarkation. I apologize in advance for the length.

 

Embarkation:

1. We had a painless 2 hour drive on I-95 from the Philly suburban area to Baltimore, arriving about 11:50 AM. Once we got off the cruise terminal exit, the 50 minute wait began. 15 minutes off the exit before we could get into the port entrance, 15 minutes in the car queue lines (if you need luggage tags, this is the time to go to the side booth to get them), 10 minutes to get to the luggage drop off and another 10 minutes to pay for the $105 onsite parking. By the time we got to the booth to pay for parking my calm facade was cracking.

2. Our luggage tags had the Faster to the Fun (FTTF) designation on them, but I neglected to mention it to the porter. No worries, our bags had an orange FTTF sticker placed on them by the porter and they arrived to our cabins quickly after boarding.

3. We were so THANKFUL to have FTTF because we went to the head of the security line, which was full at the time, and then went to the head of the check-in line, which was at least half full. It was close to 1:00 PM then and we were able to walk right onto the ship.

4. At check-in, we were not able to apply our Carnival gift cards to our account, we were directed to go to the kiosks onboard or Guest Services. We used Guest Services as the kiosks were not allowing us to apply them. Probably user error. Also, if you purchase FTTF make sure you get the FTTF sticker on the back of your Sail & Sign card. Everything was in place for this cruise, but the sticker was not in place for our Conquest cruise and that created a bit of a hub-a-loo at Guest Services when we went into the FTTF line. So...the lesson here is to check the back of your card.

5. Going forward my preference of driveable embarkation sites is Bayone first, then Baltimore, with New York in last place.

 

Cabins:

1. We spread out across 4 cabins on the Empress Deck 6 Aft. 2 Extended Balconies for the adults and 2 Interiors directly across the hall for the kids. Guest Services provided me with a 'key only' card so we could access our kids cabin.

2. My sister and I's impression of our balcony rooms were similar. Very small bathroom, wear and tear on furniture, including some dust. By day 2 we were both happy with our cabins. This has happened on past cruises where when we first walk into a cabin, we're kind of deflated, but then we end up really liking the cabin. It must be the 1st day adjustment period. :)

3. Our cabin steward, El, was great. He introduced himself to all 4 cabins right when we boarded and asked us to fill out the 'clean once or twice/day' card. Our cabins chose a mix of once/twice a day. The cards also asked if we had any requests, like did we need extra towels. He promptly cleaned every day, gave great towel animals, including ones I've never had before, like a shark and a ram. Ahhh, it's the little things sometimes.

 

Adult Likes/Dislikes:

1. Like - loved the comedy shows! We probably saw at least 6 with a mix of PG and R/Explicit content. Our kids attended some of the PG ones and I thought the content was fine for them. There were 4 comedians on our cruise. I liked that they were only 30 minutes long and only 45 minutes from the next show. The shows became more crowded with the later start times.

2. Like - FTTF was the BEST. We used it at embarkation, guest services several times, priority tendering at Half Moon Cay, early luggage arrival, early room access, and the early self-assist debarkation from the Butterflies Lounge. We will get this again.

3. Like - my sister and I loved the Bingo sessions. Carnival has the cheapest bingo prices out of Princess, RCCL, NCL and Celebrity. $20, $30 and $40 packages. My sister won twice, $100 and $230.

4. Like - the early 6 PM dining in Normandie. Originally we had Your Time Dining, but wanted to give the Early Seating a try. Based on past experience, Your/My Time Dining can have a wait and the different wait staff can be hit or miss. The change worked well for us and it helped everyone plan their evening activities. I emailed the maitre'd the week prior and he was able to make the change for us to 2 side by side booths. We were OK with this since everyone could still talk to each other and I was grateful the late request was honored. What was a little odd was that each table had a different wait staff team.

5. Like - Carnival Hubb app - everyone in our group paid the $5 to have the chat feature enabled and it was AWESOME! Very user friendly. Loved that we could access the Fun Times information and all of our account balances easily.

6. Like - we enjoyed Schwartz, the cruise director, and his Fun staff. Schwartz was very accessible.

7. Like - ship layout, the ship maps, elevator access, all very easy to navigate. For the most part, could get from one side of the ship to the other side on the same deck.

8. Like - the internet plans are the best around for the price. Loved that the packages included unlimited minutes.

9. Like/Dislike - liked the Pixel Gallery pictures that we purchased. We don't have a lot of opportunity to take extended family formal pics so this worked out great. I do think $21.99 for a 8x10 is pricey, though.

10. Dislike - Casino smoke, but it never prevented from us from going in there.

11. Dislike - crowded Lido buffet and pool areas.

12. Dislike - Serenity 18+ area - I liked the concept, but didn't find it tranquil at all. There was a party atmosphere with loud music and it all looked a bit sloppy. My downfall, I think, was comparing it to Norwegian's Haven Lounge area, which is really tranquil, great for sunbathing and reading, which I love for relaxing.

13. Dislike - in Normandie for breakfast, if we had a table far aft there were big time vibrations where the wait staff came over and gave us extra napkins to put under our plates to help stop the rattling.

 

Kid Likes/Dislikes (their preteen and teenage perspective):

1. Like - The 17 yr olds purchased the Value internet plan and were able to use SnapChat successfully. To each their own...

2. Like - The teenagers all liked the Club O2 activities and participated in several events. Everyone really liked the Teen Club Director Millie, who said there were 200 15-17 yr olds onboard. :eek: If anyone would like a copy of the O2 weekly activity list, reply with your email and I will forward it.

3. Like/Dislike - the 15 yr old boys played basketball A LOT. They did not like that the court had a very low hanging net around it preventing free throws and dunking, but they got by. :)

4. Like - the ship parties on the lido deck, plus the Dive In movies

5. Like - the 15 yr old boys LOVED room service desserts. Each day I would come back to my room and see chocolate cake containers waiting to be picked up by food services.

6. Like - selfies with Schwartz, the cruise director. Some of this stuff I'm just hearing about now as I write this review.

7. Like - my 11 yr old niece is mature so my sister was able to get her moved up to Circle C (12-14 yr olds). There were other 11 yr olds that moved up also. She LOVED it and participated in a ton of events. We hardly saw her.

8. Like - several of the kids got the bug to play Bingo. Uh-oh.

9. Dislike - thought the buffet layout was confusing and that the pool areas were too crowded.

 

Ports/Excursions:

1. Grand Turk - nice port, gorgeous water. We all enjoyed the 'Catamaran, Snorkel and Beach' tour. The beach we stopped at was heavenly, the best water and beach sand ever! The snorkeling was impressive, although there were A LOT of people in the water so you had to be careful. We saw several different types of fish and were intrigued by the 13 ft coral reef depth right next to the 7000 ft dark blue abyss. Very cool.

 

2. Half Moon Cay - rented $25 clam shells to help with the blazing sun. They did help and I would rent them again if I couldn't get a cabana. I had put my name on the cabana/villa waiting list at the shore excursion desk when I first got on the ship. When I checked the status later at least 3-4 people ahead of me were able to get one, but not me, and that turned out OK. The water, beach and facilities at this port are AWESOME. We really enjoyed everything.

 

All 8 of us were in the water when there was a panicked mass exodus with screams of "Shark, Get Out of the Water." The screams were coming from the guests on shore and in the water. I have to say it was just like watching/experiencing JAWS. A gentleman was attacked/bit on the calf/leg by either a barracuda or a shark. He was helped out of the water and was triaged on the beach and he and two women from his family were loaded up in a cart and speedily sent off to get medical assistance. The man's legs were wrapped up like a mermaid's. A rescue boat quickly came over to patrol the shoreline in hopes of finding the culprit. Overall, I thought Carnival handled the triage as well as can be expected, seeing it unfold firsthand. Rumors back on the ship were that the man was taken from HMC to Nassau where he received 4 surgeries and was expected to recover 100% and that it was indeed a small shark (again just a rumor we heard). The whole event was unsettling for everyone. People were barred from re-entering the water for about an hour and some people left the beach and headed back to the ship. Hopefully, the man and his family are doing well.

 

3. Freeport, Bahamas - definitely an industrial port, but a better experience than I expected. Half of our group did the 'My Bahamian Retreat: A Select Retreat' tour, which lasted 4.5 hours. There were about 20-25 on the tour. We stopped at a house where we had access to a scenic canal where we could snorkel, paddleboard and kayak. Lunch of curry chicken or red snapper, conch fritters, and banana bread were included. All good. We also had access to an open bar with a pretty good selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, wifi, and a gorgeous beach and water. I would do this tour again, but without kids. Having the kids there was not too relaxing, at least for me. :) Getting back on the ship was a nightmare, maybe waited about 40 minutes to board. The cruise director and the Fun staff were out on the pier, though, trying to keep everyone entertained.

 

Dining:

1. We ate breakfasts/brunches and dinners in Normandie and it worked out well. I thought all the food served was very good quality, but I wish there was an increased selection for dinner. And please, why are there raisins in the french toast? Yuck. :) The wait staff was good. The bar staff in Normandie needed some help, perhaps there were not enough to service the demand?

2. Everyone loved Guy's Burgers. That was a go-to place.

3. My husband and I went to David's Steakhouse and we enjoyed it.

4. Went to the buffet sporadically, but it was often crowded so we usually tried to stay away.

5. Enjoyed Room Service (both the free and not free options) for lunch and snacks several times. Wait times ranged from 15 minutes to 40 minutes.

 

Debarkation (sp?):

1. Very good. We all used self assist and since we had FTTF we met in Butterflies Lounge at 9 AM and were the first group off the ship. Loved the timing. It was a little difficult lugging the luggage down the stairs from deck 1 (Butterflies) to Deck A, but it was all good.

2. There were some people that set their luggage out the night before and left with the self assist group only to be turned back at Customs because they didn't have their luggage. Be forewarned!

 

All in all a very enjoyable cruise. I definitely would cruise with Carnival again, but perhaps on one of their newer ships. :)

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stellarose

stellarose

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Looking for a trip in 2018 for a family of two teens (14 and 16 at sail date), two in their mid 40s and two in mid 70s.

 

Will pride be good for all the generations??

 

 

 

UOTE=holmes96;50712797]Background:

We are an extended family of 8 traveling together: 2 sisters (44, 44), 1 husband (43) and 5 cousins (11, 15, 15, 17 and 17). Everyone is a seasoned cruiser, sailing multiple cruise lines with no strong loyalty towards any specific line. The three main factors in choosing the Pride for this vacation were in priority order: 1)having Baltimore as the embarkation (no airfare, ease of travel), 2)cost and 3)having an itinerary that included 1 or 2 new ports for us (Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk in our case). Our past Carnival cruises were on the Conquest and Victory.

 

Everyone had a very good time! I will split this review into the following sections: Embarkation, Cabins, Adult Likes/Dislikes, Kid Likes/Dislikes, Port Excursions, Dining, Debarkation. I apologize in advance for the length.

 

Embarkation:

1. We had a painless 2 hour drive on I-95 from the Philly suburban area to Baltimore, arriving about 11:50 AM. Once we got off the cruise terminal exit, the 50 minute wait began. 15 minutes off the exit before we could get into the port entrance, 15 minutes in the car queue lines (if you need luggage tags, this is the time to go to the side booth to get them), 10 minutes to get to the luggage drop off and another 10 minutes to pay for the $105 onsite parking. By the time we got to the booth to pay for parking my calm facade was cracking.

2. Our luggage tags had the Faster to the Fun (FTTF) designation on them, but I neglected to mention it to the porter. No worries, our bags had an orange FTTF sticker placed on them by the porter and they arrived to our cabins quickly after boarding.

3. We were so THANKFUL to have FTTF because we went to the head of the security line, which was full at the time, and then went to the head of the check-in line, which was at least half full. It was close to 1:00 PM then and we were able to walk right onto the ship.

4. At check-in, we were not able to apply our Carnival gift cards to our account, we were directed to go to the kiosks onboard or Guest Services. We used Guest Services as the kiosks were not allowing us to apply them. Probably user error. Also, if you purchase FTTF make sure you get the FTTF sticker on the back of your Sail & Sign card. Everything was in place for this cruise, but the sticker was not in place for our Conquest cruise and that created a bit of a hub-a-loo at Guest Services when we went into the FTTF line. So...the lesson here is to check the back of your card.

5. Going forward my preference of driveable embarkation sites is Bayone first, then Baltimore, with New York in last place.

 

Cabins:

1. We spread out across 4 cabins on the Empress Deck 6 Aft. 2 Extended Balconies for the adults and 2 Interiors directly across the hall for the kids. Guest Services provided me with a 'key only' card so we could access our kids cabin.

2. My sister and I's impression of our balcony rooms were similar. Very small bathroom, wear and tear on furniture, including some dust. By day 2 we were both happy with our cabins. This has happened on past cruises where when we first walk into a cabin, we're kind of deflated, but then we end up really liking the cabin. It must be the 1st day adjustment period. :)

3. Our cabin steward, El, was great. He introduced himself to all 4 cabins right when we boarded and asked us to fill out the 'clean once or twice/day' card. Our cabins chose a mix of once/twice a day. The cards also asked if we had any requests, like did we need extra towels. He promptly cleaned every day, gave great towel animals, including ones I've never had before, like a shark and a ram. Ahhh, it's the little things sometimes.

 

Adult Likes/Dislikes:

1. Like - loved the comedy shows! We probably saw at least 6 with a mix of PG and R/Explicit content. Our kids attended some of the PG ones and I thought the content was fine for them. There were 4 comedians on our cruise. I liked that they were only 30 minutes long and only 45 minutes from the next show. The shows became more crowded with the later start times.

2. Like - FTTF was the BEST. We used it at embarkation, guest services several times, priority tendering at Half Moon Cay, early luggage arrival, early room access, and the early self-assist debarkation from the Butterflies Lounge. We will get this again.

3. Like - my sister and I loved the Bingo sessions. Carnival has the cheapest bingo prices out of Princess, RCCL, NCL and Celebrity. $20, $30 and $40 packages. My sister won twice, $100 and $230.

4. Like - the early 6 PM dining in Normandie. Originally we had Your Time Dining, but wanted to give the Early Seating a try. Based on past experience, Your/My Time Dining can have a wait and the different wait staff can be hit or miss. The change worked well for us and it helped everyone plan their evening activities. I emailed the maitre'd the week prior and he was able to make the change for us to 2 side by side booths. We were OK with this since everyone could still talk to each other and I was grateful the late request was honored. What was a little odd was that each table had a different wait staff team.

5. Like - Carnival Hubb app - everyone in our group paid the $5 to have the chat feature enabled and it was AWESOME! Very user friendly. Loved that we could access the Fun Times information and all of our account balances easily.

6. Like - we enjoyed Schwartz, the cruise director, and his Fun staff. Schwartz was very accessible.

7. Like - ship layout, the ship maps, elevator access, all very easy to navigate. For the most part, could get from one side of the ship to the other side on the same deck.

8. Like - the internet plans are the best around for the price. Loved that the packages included unlimited minutes.

9. Like/Dislike - liked the Pixel Gallery pictures that we purchased. We don't have a lot of opportunity to take extended family formal pics so this worked out great. I do think $21.99 for a 8x10 is pricey, though.

10. Dislike - Casino smoke, but it never prevented from us from going in there.

11. Dislike - crowded Lido buffet and pool areas.

12. Dislike - Serenity 18+ area - I liked the concept, but didn't find it tranquil at all. There was a party atmosphere with loud music and it all looked a bit sloppy. My downfall, I think, was comparing it to Norwegian's Haven Lounge area, which is really tranquil, great for sunbathing and reading, which I love for relaxing.

13. Dislike - in Normandie for breakfast, if we had a table far aft there were big time vibrations where the wait staff came over and gave us extra napkins to put under our plates to help stop the rattling.

 

Kid Likes/Dislikes (their preteen and teenage perspective):

1. Like - The 17 yr olds purchased the Value internet plan and were able to use SnapChat successfully. To each their own...

2. Like - The teenagers all liked the Club O2 activities and participated in several events. Everyone really liked the Teen Club Director Millie, who said there were 200 15-17 yr olds onboard. :eek: If anyone would like a copy of the O2 weekly activity list, reply with your email and I will forward it.

3. Like/Dislike - the 15 yr old boys played basketball A LOT. They did not like that the court had a very low hanging net around it preventing free throws and dunking, but they got by. :)

4. Like - the ship parties on the lido deck, plus the Dive In movies

5. Like - the 15 yr old boys LOVED room service desserts. Each day I would come back to my room and see chocolate cake containers waiting to be picked up by food services.

6. Like - selfies with Schwartz, the cruise director. Some of this stuff I'm just hearing about now as I write this review.

7. Like - my 11 yr old niece is mature so my sister was able to get her moved up to Circle C (12-14 yr olds). There were other 11 yr olds that moved up also. She LOVED it and participated in a ton of events. We hardly saw her.

8. Like - several of the kids got the bug to play Bingo. Uh-oh.

9. Dislike - thought the buffet layout was confusing and that the pool areas were too crowded.

 

Ports/Excursions:

1. Grand Turk - nice port, gorgeous water. We all enjoyed the 'Catamaran, Snorkel and Beach' tour. The beach we stopped at was heavenly, the best water and beach sand ever! The snorkeling was impressive, although there were A LOT of people in the water so you had to be careful. We saw several different types of fish and were intrigued by the 13 ft coral reef depth right next to the 7000 ft dark blue abyss. Very cool.

 

2. Half Moon Cay - rented $25 clam shells to help with the blazing sun. They did help and I would rent them again if I couldn't get a cabana. I had put my name on the cabana/villa waiting list at the shore excursion desk when I first got on the ship. When I checked the status later at least 3-4 people ahead of me were able to get one, but not me, and that turned out OK. The water, beach and facilities at this port are AWESOME. We really enjoyed everything.

 

All 8 of us were in the water when there was a panicked mass exodus with screams of "Shark, Get Out of the Water." The screams were coming from the guests on shore and in the water. I have to say it was just like watching/experiencing JAWS. A gentleman was attacked/bit on the calf/leg by either a barracuda or a shark. He was helped out of the water and was triaged on the beach and he and two women from his family were loaded up in a cart and speedily sent off to get medical assistance. The man's legs were wrapped up like a mermaid's. A rescue boat quickly came over to patrol the shoreline in hopes of finding the culprit. Overall, I thought Carnival handled the triage as well as can be expected, seeing it unfold firsthand. Rumors back on the ship were that the man was taken from HMC to Nassau where he received 4 surgeries and was expected to recover 100% and that it was indeed a small shark (again just a rumor we heard). The whole event was unsettling for everyone. People were barred from re-entering the water for about an hour and some people left the beach and headed back to the ship. Hopefully, the man and his family are doing well.

 

3. Freeport, Bahamas - definitely an industrial port, but a better experience than I expected. Half of our group did the 'My Bahamian Retreat: A Select Retreat' tour, which lasted 4.5 hours. There were about 20-25 on the tour. We stopped at a house where we had access to a scenic canal where we could snorkel, paddleboard and kayak. Lunch of curry chicken or red snapper, conch fritters, and banana bread were included. All good. We also had access to an open bar with a pretty good selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, wifi, and a gorgeous beach and water. I would do this tour again, but without kids. Having the kids there was not too relaxing, at least for me. :) Getting back on the ship was a nightmare, maybe waited about 40 minutes to board. The cruise director and the Fun staff were out on the pier, though, trying to keep everyone entertained.

 

Dining:

1. We ate breakfasts/brunches and dinners in Normandie and it worked out well. I thought all the food served was very good quality, but I wish there was an increased selection for dinner. And please, why are there raisins in the french toast? Yuck. :) The wait staff was good. The bar staff in Normandie needed some help, perhaps there were not enough to service the demand?

2. Everyone loved Guy's Burgers. That was a go-to place.

3. My husband and I went to David's Steakhouse and we enjoyed it.

4. Went to the buffet sporadically, but it was often crowded so we usually tried to stay away.

5. Enjoyed Room Service (both the free and not free options) for lunch and snacks several times. Wait times ranged from 15 minutes to 40 minutes.

 

Debarkation (sp?):

1. Very good. We all used self assist and since we had FTTF we met in Butterflies Lounge at 9 AM and were the first group off the ship. Loved the timing. It was a little difficult lugging the luggage down the stairs from deck 1 (Butterflies) to Deck A, but it was all good.

2. There were some people that set their luggage out the night before and left with the self assist group only to be turned back at Customs because they didn't have their luggage. Be forewarned!

 

All in all a very enjoyable cruise. I definitely would cruise with Carnival again, but perhaps on one of their newer ships. :)

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holmes96

holmes96

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Hi stellarose,

 

I think the Pride is a great ship for multi-generations. In fact, my sister and I commented while onboard that the primary demographic were families and many with 3 generations.

 

There was trivia that was decade based and music activities from the 60s on up. Definitely activities geared towards all age groups. Best of luck with your cruise planning!

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kwokpot

kwokpot

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To OP:

Thanks for a great review! I was on the ship in the middle of June, and wanted to ask about your experience. On our cruise,throughout the 7 days, the shaking/vibrations of the ship was evident no matter where we were. As you mentioned, it was VERY apparent in the Dining Room, but it was also apparent in our stateroom on Deck 2. It was also apparent in the spa, all the way up! I have NEVER experienced that much shaking/vibrations, and TBH, it spoiled the enjoyment of our cruise experience. Did you notice the shaking elsewhere on the ship?

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mstv

mstv

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Can you explain what happened with customs? I'm not following. I was under the impression that luggage goes in the hallway the night before and you pick it up in a designated area after going through customs. Do you pick up luggage in an area prior to heading through customs? I can't remember what we did on our Royal Caribbean cruise last year

 

 

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JerseyshoreBruce

JerseyshoreBruce

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Can you explain what happened with customs? I'm not following. I was under the impression that luggage goes in the hallway the night before and you pick it up in a designated area after going through customs. Do you pick up luggage in an area prior to heading through customs? I can't remember what we did on our Royal Caribbean cruise last year

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

people that had no luggage in hand tried to leave the ship with the people that carried off their luggage so they were sent back till their deck was called

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holmes96

holmes96

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To OP:

Thanks for a great review! I was on the ship in the middle of June, and wanted to ask about your experience. On our cruise,throughout the 7 days, the shaking/vibrations of the ship was evident no matter where we were. As you mentioned, it was VERY apparent in the Dining Room, but it was also apparent in our stateroom on Deck 2. It was also apparent in the spa, all the way up! I have NEVER experienced that much shaking/vibrations, and TBH, it spoiled the enjoyment of our cruise experience. Did you notice the shaking elsewhere on the ship?

 

Hi, we noticed the vibrations only on the aft part of the ship so definitely Deck 2 in the Normandie restaurant, plus in our Aft Deck 6 cabin (cabin 6263). I don't remember the vibrations so much in the cabin, but when I asked my husband about it he said he remembers feeling the vibrations when trying to sleep each night. I don't recall vibrations anywhere else on the ship. I do remember a LOT of banging and thumping coming from our balcony the first couple of nights and I contributed it to the life boats that were right under us, but don't know that for sure.

 

Can you explain what happened with customs? I'm not following. I was under the impression that luggage goes in the hallway the night before and you pick it up in a designated area after going through customs. Do you pick up luggage in an area prior to heading through customs? I can't remember what we did on our Royal Caribbean cruise last year

 

Hi, I remember on past cruises (RCCL, NCL, etc) that we would always leave the luggage out the night before then pick it up in the vast terminal, THEN go thru customs. In Baltimore it is different. If you leave the luggage out the night before, you have to wait until your deck is called, disembark, then go thru Customs first and THEN collect your luggage. A different process than most ports, I think. Because we did 'Self Assist,' plus had FTTF, we were the 1st group to disembark around 9:15 (this is the normal time apparently). At that time, the luggage that people had left out the night before had not been cleared by customs so the port employees was not allowing passengers without bags through. I saw at least 3 families turned away. When we cleared customs with our bags, probably around 9:30ish, there was hardly any luggage in the terminal yet so there probably was a decent wait after we left. If I recall correctly, the 1st time you could disembark if you left your luggage out the prior night was 10 AM and that was if you had FTTF. You can stay in your cabins until 9:30, though, which was nice.

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