Matt & Ashley's Carnival Pride Review - (New Year's, Pictures, FunTimes)

[Laney219]

"Hey there neighbor! That's a good question. We haven't really decided yet. The way I see it, there are three options.

 

1) We take Amtrak from DC/Baltimore to New York the day before, spend the night in Manhattan, then head over to the terminal the morning of the cruise, and Amtrak back. My rough estimation of cost for this including the fare, hotel & parking in DC is about $500, plus whatever we decide to do in Manhattan that evening.

 

2) We drive up to New Jersey the day before, stay at a hotel, and drive to the pier. Cost estimate for this is about $400.

 

3) We drive to New Jersey the day before, stay at a hotel, and have a shuttle take us to the pier, leaving our car at the hotel. Cost estimate is about $300.

 

I'm really 33/33/34 on these options, with 34 being option #3. We should decide soon, though, I suppose. "

 

 

 

[Epic quote fail here!]

 

 

Not sure if you have done Amtrak w/ luggage, but I wasn't a fan (it has been a few years though). I would lean towards option 3. I am just surprised that the savings is only $100 over parking at the pier.

 

There is a online reservation company that has good rates for stay and park hotels. It is defined by Google as "a group of three people or things". Hope that helps :)

Edited January 8, 2017 by Laney219

[Port of Tampa]

Great review...we cruise on the Pride in seven days out of my home port Tampa. This will be our second time on her and we really enjoyed the last time.

 

Cheers and happy cruising.

[DCCruiser1013]

Thanks Matt for an excellent and thorough review. After reading it I am now really looking forward to and very excited about our Pride cruise that will be here soon. Am sailing out of Tampa which we have not done in several years. Thanks again!!!

 

 

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We would love to sail out of Tampa some time, and to do so on the Pride would be even more exciting, have a great time!

 

In answer to your question...."Tutti Fruitti" is not always the winner. On our cruise in late October, the winner was "I'm Still Standing" which pleased me since it's probably my favorite Elton John song.

 

Thanks for all the photos! I enjoyed re-living our cruise on the Pride.

 

Interesting. I was pretty excited to see I'm Still Standing on the ballot because it's up there for me too. Thanks for reading!

 

Great review! Did they happen to have 'white or theme night parties?' Which nights?

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Yep, looking back at the FunTimes, I see that there was an "Electric White Night" in the nightclub on embarkation night.

 

Not sure if you have done Amtrak w/ luggage, but I wasn't a fan (it has been a few years though). I would lean towards option 3. I am just surprised that the savings is only $100 over parking at the pier.

 

There is a online reservation company that has good rates for stay and park hotels. It is defined by Google as "a group of three people or things". Hope that helps :)

 

Yeah, after I made that post last night Ashley and I talked about what we want to do, and luggage on Amtrak was a factor. We've taken it to NY before, but only for weekend trips. The savings factor comes in that I'd probably pick a cheaper hotel than one that offers shuttle service. I think we're leaning towards parking at the terminal. It's more expensive but it offers a little more control for me, which is nice.

 

Great review...we cruise on the Pride in seven days out of my home port Tampa. This will be our second time on her and we really enjoyed the last time.

 

Cheers and happy cruising.

 

Thanks for reading, have a great time!

[aztekpm]

Great review!

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our September sailing on her to Bermuda. Was my first Spirit class and I liked it except for the main Lido pool area. They had the roof almost fully closed the whole cruise and we only had rain one day while in Bermuda. Made for a very closed in feeling, loud and hot area! I think the conquest style is my preferred, but, she was a close second and look forward to sailing out of Baltimore again someday!

 

Seems I had a bit more luck at the casino ;). I'm a slots girl, came home up $750, my Sail & Sign fully paid off, plus received my first premier cruise offer! Changed some plans around, taking them up on their offer and now I'm sailing the Glory in May.

[crusinpsychRN]

Great review!

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our September sailing on her to Bermuda. Was my first Spirit class and I liked it except for the main Lido pool area. They had the roof almost fully closed the whole cruise and we only had rain one day while in Bermuda. Made for a very closed in feeling, loud and hot area! I think the conquest style is my preferred, but, she was a close second and look forward to sailing out of Baltimore again someday!

 

Seems I had a bit more luck at the casino ;). I'm a slots girl, came home up $750, my Sail & Sign fully paid off, plus received my first premier cruise offer! Changed some plans around, taking them up on their offer and now I'm sailing the Glory in May.

 

What slot game were you playing? Playing maximum all the time? I can't tell if I'm winning or losing on the slots since it looks like you win and you lose and looks like you lost and you win. ??

[pghsteelerfan]

Thank you for taking the time go to a review. I really enjoyed reading it and love the pictures you shared. We're fairly close to you, in VA (Manassas area) and about an hour and a half (in "lighter" traffic hours) from Baltimore. We've been talking about it for a few years, but we NEED to book a cruise on Pride, but just haven't done so yet. For us, it would have to be in a summer month when it would be warm out so we'd at least have the option of being outside during the sea days. We prefer a port heavy itinerary but love HMC and Grand Turk (never been to Freeport, so it would be new for us) and we wouldn't have to worry about flights, so definitely a cruise we are considering. Thank you again for doing a review and sharing your pictures and thoughts.

[joand452]

Thanks for the great review.

 

We've cruised 3 times out of Cape Liberty, NJ (not on Carnival) and have driven up from northern Virginia each time. It's taken us between 4.5-5 hours. It's an easy drive. Twice the car has been left at the hotel; this last time we drove and parked the car ourselves at the terminal.

 

For ease in finding the website, one is stay 123 dot com and now I can't remember the other! Something about park fly cruise, maybe?

 

 

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Edited January 9, 2017 by joand452

[aztekpm]

What slot game were you playing? Playing maximum all the time? I can't tell if I'm winning or losing on the slots since it looks like you win and you lose and looks like you lost and you win. ??

 

LOL I understand, some of them can be very confusing. I prefer the old fashioned reel type machines over the video game type where a 'win' can often be less than what you even spun. I was playing Wheel of Fortune and a 3x pay, and cashed both out at $800. Yes, I do bet max, which is another reason I don't like the video .10 machines, often the max bet is well over 2.00 - 3.00, which the old type machines are.

 

So after paying my sign and sail, including what I put on it to gamble, plus on board spending and paid on the way home (I bought everyone lunch and paid for the gas) I came home with $750.00 cash... well $748 to be exact :)!

Edited January 9, 2017 by aztekpm

[DCCruiser1013]

Great review!

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our September sailing on her to Bermuda. Was my first Spirit class and I liked it except for the main Lido pool area. They had the roof almost fully closed the whole cruise and we only had rain one day while in Bermuda. Made for a very closed in feeling, loud and hot area! I think the conquest style is my preferred, but, she was a close second and look forward to sailing out of Baltimore again someday!

 

Seems I had a bit more luck at the casino ;). I'm a slots girl, came home up $750, my Sail & Sign fully paid off, plus received my first premier cruise offer! Changed some plans around, taking them up on their offer and now I'm sailing the Glory in May.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I can imagine the lido area being like a greenhouse when the weather is warm and the roof is closed. For embarkation day on December 26, however, we were very grateful for it!

 

Nice win in the casino! That's pretty impressive. I love my table games but since every bet I make pays little more than even money, hits like that never happen. Congrats, and enjoy your Glory cruise!

 

Thank you for taking the time go to a review. I really enjoyed reading it and love the pictures you shared. We're fairly close to you, in VA (Manassas area) and about an hour and a half (in "lighter" traffic hours) from Baltimore. We've been talking about it for a few years, but we NEED to book a cruise on Pride, but just haven't done so yet. For us, it would have to be in a summer month when it would be warm out so we'd at least have the option of being outside during the sea days. We prefer a port heavy itinerary but love HMC and Grand Turk (never been to Freeport, so it would be new for us) and we wouldn't have to worry about flights, so definitely a cruise we are considering. Thank you again for doing a review and sharing your pictures and thoughts.

 

Thanks for reading! We actually used to live in Fairfax up until a year and a half ago. Yeah, the Pride is incredibly convenient to our area, and it's really nice in the summer months. Usually when Ashley and I get tempted to venture out to other cruises or even other lines, it always comes back to not having to fly to get on the Pride (in addition to being expensive, Ashley really doesn't like to fly). Definitely consider it!

 

Thanks for the great review.

 

We've cruised 3 times out of Cape Liberty, NJ (not on Carnival) and have driven up from northern Virginia each time. It's taken us between 4.5-5 hours. It's an easy drive. Twice the car has been left at the hotel; this last time we drove and parked the car ourselves at the terminal.

 

For ease in finding the website, one is stay 123 dot com and now I can't remember the other! Something about park fly cruise, maybe?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Oh wow, thanks for the website. I just checked it out and it's definitely helpful. I think we've all but decided on parking at the terminal this time, but we'll definitely keep this in mind for the future (or if we change our minds on this one).

[cathyoo]

Matt and Ashley, job well done. Excellent review, great pictures. We live in Phila and Baltimore is my favorite cruise port. Easy drive straight down 95. The Pride is my favorite ship and I have sailed her 3-4 times. My daughter actually got married on her.

 

Because my Florida mother and sister always have to fly to Baltimore to cruise with us, we decided it was our turn to fly. So we are on the Pride in 2 weeks out of Tampa. Your review helped get me excited about the cruise.

 

Thank you both for sharing with all of us. It is true generosity. I look forward to your next review.

[JaniceB]

Really enjoyed your review and sorry it had to end just like a cruise vacation. At least you have another one planned.

Happy New Year!

[cloudninecat]

Great review. We'll be on her next month. Can't wait.

[luckyinpa]

i really enjoyed looking at your pics. i've only sailed out of NYC on NCL and am looking for some cheaper options and pride is one of them. especially the parking situation. you really gave me a good up close look at the ship. loved the towel animals at the pool etc.

 

how long do they let them there. did you see how they scooped them all up?

[swodog94]

i really enjoyed looking at your pics. i've only sailed out of NYC on NCL and am looking for some cheaper options and pride is one of them. especially the parking situation. you really gave me a good up close look at the ship. loved the towel animals at the pool etc.

 

how long do they let them there. did you see how they scooped them all up?

 

During my last cruise on Pride (Oct 16) they started to break down the towel animals at 1000. They just grabbed them and threw them into laundry carts. Took them almost an hour to break the whole thing down - can't imagine how long it takes to set it all up (another example of how hard the crew works to make cruises fun for us)!

[jimbo5544]

During my last cruise on Pride (Oct 16) they started to break down the towel animals at 1000. They just grabbed them and threw them into laundry carts. Took them almost an hour to break the whole thing down - can't imagine how long it takes to set it all up (another example of how hard the crew works to make cruises fun for us)!

 

Saw the exact same thing on our Pride cruise over NYE. I asked the staff and they said that about 40 people made and setup the towel animals and it took about 3 hours to complete.

[firstgradefun]

Thank you so much for your review! I sailed on The Pride in February 2016 and will sail again in February 2018. Unfortunately, they didn't offer one this year during my school break :( Your pictures brought back so many great memories and now I am counting down the days until my next cruise!

[theavonb]

Wow loved your review! Hubby and I will be on the Pride in October for the 1st time and pretty excited for the adventure. Have done the Dream, Breeze and the Vista so we are really looking forward to a smaller ship and a port we can drive to. You mentioned the behind the scenes tour, how long is the tour? This is something we have wanted to do and think will book it when we get onboard.

[JoyDivision]

Thank you for this thorough and entertaining review! I am hoping to convince my family that as we tend to fly into Baltimore anyway, instead of four of us in CO heading to DC next Christmas to stay at air bnb's near my sister and her twin toddlers...why don't all 7 of us meet at the port and take this cruise! We were all heading there because it would be a pain for her to travel with 2 year olds on a plane to CO...but with this particular ship, she could just drive to the port, and have us to help with embarkation and debarkation hassles. Won't be *that* much more expensive (well, okay, yes it will be), but then there's no cooking, cleaning, or being claustrophobic in her house, not to mention on-board childcare and entertainment. Fingers are crossed I can sell them on this plan... ;) I'm hooked after two Carnival cruises and a Princess cruise, and can't wait to save up for another one. So my type of travel.

[DCCruiser1013]

Haven't checked in in awhile. Sorry about that everyone!

 

Matt and Ashley, job well done. Excellent review, great pictures. We live in Phila and Baltimore is my favorite cruise port. Easy drive straight down 95. The Pride is my favorite ship and I have sailed her 3-4 times. My daughter actually got married on her.

 

Because my Florida mother and sister always have to fly to Baltimore to cruise with us, we decided it was our turn to fly. So we are on the Pride in 2 weeks out of Tampa. Your review helped get me excited about the cruise.

 

Thank you both for sharing with all of us. It is true generosity. I look forward to your next review.

 

Thanks for reading! You must be on the cruise that just left out of Tampa, so I hope you're having a great time!

 

 

Really enjoyed your review and sorry it had to end just like a cruise vacation. At least you have another one planned.

Happy New Year!

 

Thanks! We were a little sad to get off, but that just means it's time to start (or continue) planning the next one!

 

Great review. We'll be on her next month. Can't wait.

 

Have a great time!

 

i really enjoyed looking at your pics. i've only sailed out of NYC on NCL and am looking for some cheaper options and pride is one of them. especially the parking situation. you really gave me a good up close look at the ship. loved the towel animals at the pool etc.

 

how long do they let them there. did you see how they scooped them all up?

 

Thanks for reading! We're really looking forward to sailing out of NYC. I'm glad I could help to inform your decision. You aren't kidding out parking being cheaper.

 

I didn't see exactly when they picked up the towel animals, so thank you swodog and jimbo for helping answer that!

 

Thank you so much for your review! I sailed on The Pride in February 2016 and will sail again in February 2018. Unfortunately, they didn't offer one this year during my school break :( Your pictures brought back so many great memories and now I am counting down the days until my next cruise!

 

Thanks for reading! We can sympathize with planning around school schedules!

[DCCruiser1013]

Wow loved your review! Hubby and I will be on the Pride in October for the 1st time and pretty excited for the adventure. Have done the Dream, Breeze and the Vista so we are really looking forward to a smaller ship and a port we can drive to. You mentioned the behind the scenes tour, how long is the tour? This is something we have wanted to do and think will book it when we get onboard.

 

Have a great time on the Pride!

 

Yep, we did Behind the Fun on our 2013 cruise. My memory may be a little hazy but I'd guesstimate that it lasted around 2.5-3 hours, maybe a little longer. We definitely recommend it.

[DCCruiser1013]

Thank you for this thorough and entertaining review! I am hoping to convince my family that as we tend to fly into Baltimore anyway, instead of four of us in CO heading to DC next Christmas to stay at air bnb's near my sister and her twin toddlers...why don't all 7 of us meet at the port and take this cruise! We were all heading there because it would be a pain for her to travel with 2 year olds on a plane to CO...but with this particular ship, she could just drive to the port, and have us to help with embarkation and debarkation hassles. Won't be *that* much more expensive (well, okay, yes it will be), but then there's no cooking, cleaning, or being claustrophobic in her house, not to mention on-board childcare and entertainment. Fingers are crossed I can sell them on this plan... ;) I'm hooked after two Carnival cruises and a Princess cruise, and can't wait to save up for another one. So my type of travel.

 

We would be on board with that! Wow, no pun intended there.

 

Another selling point is that the weather would eventually be much better.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Nice review! I just got off the Journeys cruise that left Baltimore Jan 2 so enjoyed seeing all your pics. My favorite spot was the Atrium bar so chatted many times with JoAnn. :) Martin was also another favorite, although he told me after our cruise he was going home to Indonesia.

[theavonb]

Have a great time on the Pride!

 

Yep, we did Behind the Fun on our 2013 cruise. My memory may be a little hazy but I'd guesstimate that it lasted around 2.5-3 hours, maybe a little longer. We definitely recommend it.

 

Thank you

[letters4lj]

Thanks for the great review! We cruise on the Pride May 28 - reading this made me even more excited about our trip!

[chilly1470]

That is to be expected, you didn't know any better but you learned. hah

 

Cruising history

Since this is our first cruise review, I’ll go ahead and provide a quick overview of our cruising history. Our first cruise was one week after we graduated from college in 2010. I still have no idea how we saved up to pay for it, but we are so glad we did. When we came back from dinner that first night and our room had been turned down, we stepped out onto our obstructed-view balcony to watch the Chesapeake shore of Maryland go by. That’s when we knew cruising was definitely for us. That night we were looking for the breakfast room-service door hanger things that I had heard about, but didn’t see them. Ashley placed a call to our room steward - Conrad, and he said “Open your door, I’ll show you something”. Lo and behold there was Conrad standing right there with the menus when we opened the door. From that point on we were convinced Conrad must have lived in the walls somewhere near our cabin. Ever since that first cruise, I’ve always regarded that week as one of the best of my life.

 

Our next cruise was two years later, in 2012, with the exact same itinerary. On this cruise we upgraded to an extended balcony (7200), and that has since become “our” room when we sail on the Pride. To us, the location can’t be beat. It’s located midship, pretty close to the atrium elevators, only two floors below Lido. Another perk is that the room number is incredibly easy to remember compared to most others.

 

Then, in 2013 we sailed the Pride for the last time before the 2.0 upgrades. This time we brought my parents along. My dad had already been retired from the US Air Force for a year or two, but my mom had just retired from teaching, so we enjoyed celebrating that with them. Instead of the Port Canaveral/Nassau itinerary we had sailed the previous cruises, the Pride brought us to Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay. Ashley and I were engaged at this point, and were trying to decide which cruise to go on for our honeymoon. When we were back on the tender boat leaving Half Moon Cay, Ashley and I agreed that we must include Half Moon Cay in our honeymoon. On this cruise, Ashley and I figured we were experienced enough in cruising to appreciate the Behind the Fun Tour, so that took up a decent chunk of our final day. It was well worth the cost, so we definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t taken it.

 

In June 2014, Ashley and I got married. A week later we flew down to Orlando for our 2 week honeymoon. Our first week was spent in Orlando going to Disney and Universal, then we drove down to Miami to sail on the Glory for 7 days. We had a great time, it was a cruise after all, but neither of us could get used to the layout of the ship, and I think we just missed the Pride.

 

Unfortunately that was it until now. There are a few reasons for our lengthy dry-dock, but probably the most prominent reason is the handful of baseball-related trips we went on. In 2014 we started on a mission to visit every Major League Baseball ballpark. Through three years we’ve hit 17 ballparks. Now that the remaining, unvisited ballparks are a little further away, Ashley and I are feeling more inclined to book cruises instead. Someday we’ll hit all 30 ballparks.