Pride Review-Mexican Riviera

[C-breeze]

I have to say this was my favorite cruise so far. We have cruised the western and southern Caribbean ports before. We had favorite port cities on each. But the Mexican Riviera ports were all beautiful. It was hard to choose a favorite. We started the trip by spending the night before the cruise on the Queen Mary. If you can, stay there. We had an outside, renovated cabin. The dining rooms had excellent food, but beware you need to wear formal attire in 2 of the 3 restaurants. We opted for the more casual one and it was very nice. The food was good and reasonably priced. The view of Long Beach from the window was an added bonus. There was also a very nice observation bar with entertainment on the ship. The next morning after breakfast we took the $6 tour before embarkation. The tour was well worth the $6. The embarkation line was very long when we got to it. We did an early check-in on the Queen Mary (as did about ¾ of the passengers)! It does not save time. We were told to get in line around 12:30. Big mistake. By then the lines were already long and winding. No personnel seemed to be able to tell us which line was for the passengers that had already checked in early. It seems both lines had these passengers in them and embarkation was no easier or shorter for them. Be sure to get in the line before 12 to save yourself a long and winding trip up to the front.

SEA DAYS:

Everyone was correct about the 2 sea days being chilly. The first day was 66 and sunny. The second day was 68 and the sun went in and out. You could lay out both days in bathing suits, but don’t count on getting too tan on these 2 days. It was ok, as you were able to get a slight base tan before Mexico. We spent the days at the aft pool as this pool area was for adults only. Because this was Easter week, there were over 800 kids on this cruise so this area was a blessing for us! Those families with kids don’t have to worry though, as there were 3 other pool areas for children. The last day at sea was very windy and cool. It was too cold even with sweatsuits on to sit outside on the deck. We decided to go on our balcony. The windshield below the handrail shielded us from the wind and the sun warmed us. We then decided to pack (boo-hoo). Since the shops were still open and most of the jewelry and clothes were now 40% to 50% off, my girlfriend and I decided to “just lookâ€! We ending up buying though, as a few pieces of jewelry caught are eye!

PORTS:

As I said all three ports were beautiful. Puerto Vallarta was so romantic with its palm trees, beaches, cobblestone roads and the Sierra Madres Mountains in then background. The prices for jewelry were best here. They got higher as we moved up the coast. Walk a block from the pier and take a taxi into town for $2 a person. We had drinks at the Zoo. The restaurant/bar overlooked the street, the Malecon and the ocean. My friends had a caricature drawn of them while we sat and had a few drinks. People walked by and looked at the caricature and then up at us and made comments. It was so funny. We talked to a lot of new people that day. We ate lunch at the Blue Shrimp. Excellent. Do this if you can. The shrimp were huge and delicious. We shopped a little and then went to the Krystal Hotel and used their pool. It was a warm and sunny day and the pool area was beautiful. The beach was rocky though and there was a riptide so we did not venture in. We headed back to the ship by 5. I am sorry we did not stay in town longer or do more exploring though. There is a Wal-Mart not too far from the cruise ship and we stopped there to buy some coke and pina colada mix to take back to the ship. If possible, skip dinner on the ship and stay in town. It is so lovely there. I would also take a shore excursion down past the Mismoyla Hotel.

Although I have not read many glowing reviews of Mazaltan, we loved it there. We were awake in the morning as we came into port. The view of Mazaltan was awesome. We took a taxi (like an open air golf cart) for $10 into town. Make sure your driver takes you there by going along the coast. It is a very beautiful and scenic drive (about 10-15 minutes). We shopped and then went to the El Cid Hotel. We ate lunch there overlooking the water. It was very good and reasonable. The pool was gorgeous with waterfalls and bridges. It was another sunny and warm day. The beach there was ok, but it was swarmed with vendors. Be warned they tried to charge us over twice as much for the same items we saw in town. A ball cap with Mazaltan on it went for $14 and we saw them in town for $6. We stayed there until 4:30 and then headed back to the ship.

The view of Los Arcos in Cabo is spectacular. We could see it from our balcony. We were tendered into town here. We booked a snorkel and sail excursion at 10:15. The water was way too cold to snorkel and only a few brave souls stayed in the water. The boat sailed past Los Arcos and Lovers Beach and the view of the beach with the Sea of Cortez on one side and the Pacific on the other was neat. You take many pictures of Los Arcos, as it is quite spectacular. We saw sea lions on the rocks as well as dolphin swimming next to us. It was a lovely way to spend the morning. We then walked into town (take a left at the lighthouse). We stopped into Cabo Wabo (owned by Sammy Hagar) for t-shirts, but it was so crowded that we decided to eat at The Giggling Marlin for lunch. They had very good tacos, burritos, etc. We shopped and then had to catch the 3:00 tender back as the 3:30 tender was the last one. Too bad the ship does not stop longer here, as there is so much to see and do.

The SHIP:

I was not really impressed with the décor of the Pride. I did not mind the nude paintings, but the interior had a cold feel to it. The layout made it easy to get around though. The photo areas, as well as the shops were on the 3rd deck. The Normandy Restaurant, the casino, the Taj Mahal and most of the bars were on the 2nd deck. There was a very good singer in the lobby lounge. We listened to her before and after dinner quite a few times. We were very lucky to have the band “Shaboom†as guests on this cruise. They played outside on the Lido deck two nights. We really enjoyed dancing and singing along with them. The cruise director was fair. Most of his humor was ho hum. We did not get to see Vroom and the first show, but had heard both were very good. We did get to see the juggler and he was very good as well as funny. The comedian was so, so.

FOOD:

I can’t say enough about the food on this ship. We had Prime Rib, Filet Mignon, Chateaubriand, Tiger Prawns and very good Veal Parmesan in the Normandie. We asked for many of the pasta entrees as side dishes as they were also very good. Note: Carnival lets you bring on 3 bottles of wine per person. My husband and I and our friends each did this. We were able to bring our wine to dinner ever night including the night at David’s Supper Club. They even held the wine for us for the next night when we were unable to finish it. They tell you there is a $10 cork charge, but we were never charged for it. Breakfasts and lunch on the Lido deck were very good also. I never had the same thing twice. I had a made to order omelet, French toast, banana pancakes, cereal and eggs over easy when I ate breakfast there. We had 2 breakfasts in the Normandie. I had Eggs Benedict one morning and lox and bagels the other morning. When eating lunch on the Lido deck there were so many things to choose from. There was an Asian station (with Sushi), 24 hour pizza, a burger, steak sandwich and hotdog grill, deli station, salad bar area, and a buffet lunch area with several varieties. Ice cream was available 24 hours also. We also went to David’s Supper Club Monday evening. It was romantic and a leisurely dinner was available. The beef is to die for. If you like steak, go there. We were so full after that we all had to go to our cabins and change from formal wear into clothes with elastic waists!!

Debarkation:

This is a very long, drawn out process. You get up at 7 a.m. You have breakfast at 8 and then you wait and wait and wait until your color is called. My friends had a plane to catch at 2 and a car waiting for them at 10:30, but we all did not get off the ship until 12 noon! We were the last color to be called. They did not get to the airport until after 12:30. My husband and I were staying in Beverly Hills that night so we did not care, but if you have a flight at 2 or before I would make sure you had early debarkation times.

All in all, the trip was wonderful. Good company, good food and excellent ports all made this trip our favorite so far.

[kajsb]

Thanks for the review C-breeze. 31 days until our cruise on the Pride! I can hardl wait. Hopefully, we will have warm, sunny weather on our sea days. How hard was it to get to Cabo Wabo?

 

Kathy

 

 

05/30/04 Carnival Pride cruise & the wraparound balcony

 

06/28/04 Ecstasy-

Mom's 80th birthday surprise!!

 

Ecstasy 09/13/02

Ecstasy 05/26/03

 

 

[S.S. Cruisers]

C-breeze: Glad you had a great time. We are getting ready to book #12 to Mexican Riviera! DH doesn't fly so we have to leave from West coast. We always see something new everytime we go down there. Never boring or the same ole thing. We love it in Mexico.

 

Carnival Spirit 10/03

Ecstasy 12/02

Ecstasy 05/02

Statendam 12/01

Norwegian Wind 12/00

Viking Serenade 09/00

Rhapsody of the Seas 12/99

Holiday 01/98

Nordic Prince 10/94

Viking Serenade 09/93

Song of America 10/92

[Polina]

Thank you for posting this review. We are sailing Pride on May 16th and are very much looking forward to it. Hopefully it'll be warmer and sunnier by that time

[SoccerMom#3]

Thanks for the review. My kids will be most excited about the pizza, ice cream, and salad bar. If their happy, I'm happy

 

7/11 Pride Cruise

[tcsmithh]

we just got off the pride last week, it was much more than we expected! we had a ball, and allready booked another trip on the new valor for next year. I would recommend the pride to everyone!

[izzyvet]

Thanks for the great review. Will be sailing the Pride in about 6 months and am really looking forward to it. I have heard only good things and everyone seems to rave about Davids!

 

Izzy

 

NCL Starward 4/92

NCL Wind 12/00

Adventure 4/02

Grandeur 12/02

 

<MARQUEE>Until Explorer in May!!!!

</MARQUEE>

 

Until Carnival Pride:

 

Roll Call Explorer 5-23

Roll Call Pride 10/17

[C-breeze]

Cabo Wabo is easy to get to. Go past the pier all the way to the end and you will come to a lighthouse (restaurant/bar). Make a left at the lighthouse and walk down the street a little way and there it is! Easy.

[jeremyh]

Good review,

 

I'd like to add to everyone not to count on free corkage. We brought only one bottle with us and we were charged the $10 corkage for it.

 

Also, a lot of people talk about the water temp at the different ports. To get an idea, I've got the Sea Surface Temp page linked from my Pride Information Page

 

I can't believe it's already been a month since we went.

 

---

Jeremy

  until Pride 3/28/04

[Polina]

We'll be bringing our wine and are willing to take the chance. Even if we get charged corkage fee it will still be cheaper then what they charge onboard for the wine we don't even like. Which reminds me, we must go wine shopping soon.

 

From everythithing I've read so far, it will be a great cruise. Tried to get a shipboard credit today as the price dropped, but instead got a confirmation that we were upgraded from an IS to Room 4110 - outside with obstructed veiw and french doors. That sound pretty good, right?