Live From Pride 9/19 - (eMed) Testing, Cruising, Vacationing!

[pogoism9]

18 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

. In addition our balcony is huge!

 

 

 

What cabin are you in?

[Steelers0854]

6 minutes ago, pogoism9 said:

 

What cabin are you in?

Just a regular midship balcony. And maybe it’s not huge but sure feels it to us. 
 

[pogoism9]

5 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

Just a regular midship balcony. And maybe it’s not huge but sure feels it to us. 
 

 

Ahh, I saw your message and thought you had a wrap around or something. Still, you have a balcony on a cruise ship in 2021, THAT in itself is a victory!

[Steelers0854]

How I have missed this. 

Got a speed test to run. This seems about right for what I’m seeing. 
 

 

pool deck bar menus:

 

blueiguana-tequila-bar-menu.pdf
 

redfrog-rum-bar-menu.pdf

[Anung Un Rama]

Living this week vicariously through this thread.  Can't wait for next week!

[sweetalyssum]

On 9/17/2021 at 6:58 AM, Steelers0854 said:

TL;DR: Let’s get back to cruising!!

 

Hello everyone.  Very excited to have you join DW and I on our trip from Baltimore leaving 9/19 for 7 days to Half Moon Cay, Bimini and Freeport.  Like many of you, we have had several cruises cancelled because of the pandemic, so i think this is our 3rd try.  Our last cruise was January 2020, we were lucky we got one last trip in just before the pandemic really hit.

 

We originally were supposed to go out of NY on the Mardi Gras in Sept 2020, but as things were cancelled we decided to try a port that we have never been to, Baltimore.  We ended up with $600 OBC, Cheers, and a fairly discounted balcony rate, so all in all pretty happy.  Going to use the OBC to get the internet package so the updates should be fairly regular as we go along.

 

This itinerary was recently changed on us, we had originally booked it because of Grand Turk, one of our favorite islands and now we get Bimini, which was a disappointment.  One good thing is that our cruise insurance will reimburse us due to itinerary changes after the final payment date (Nationwide Luxury Cruise policy) so we will atleast get some money back for that.  Ill report at the end of the trip about that experience but we have had to file a claim using this once before on a Disney cruise that was fogged in at Galveston causing us to miss Key West and we got a significant reimbursement (granted Disney cruises are also significantly more expensive as well).

 

Anyways, as little more about us.  Its just DW and I going on this one, we are DINKS in our 30s and love cruising.  Princess overall is still our favorite line, but we haven’t met a cruise line that we wouldn’t go on again.  Once we reached Platinum on Princess we started branching out and doing other lines.

 

DW has several food allergies (Gluten, dairy and egg) and so we will be including a fair amount on how meals go with her allergies.  In our experience, cruise lines go above and beyond and really make her some of the best meals she has ever had.  Its one of the reasons why we like to cruise.

 

Due to the pandemic, and the locations we are going to, we are likely only getting off at HMC.  Bimini really doesn’t seem that great and we have been to Freeport so many times.  We are just going to take advantage of the ship, and enjoy relaxing, reading, and doing onboard activities.

 

We are doing our typical travel style and getting into Baltimore a day early, this should give us some time to see some sites around the city and our boarding time isn’t until 2pm.  I heard from someone else on our cruise that our departure time isn’t until 7pm, so it looks like they will be doing boarding groups until much later in the afternoon than normal.

 

I’m going to try something new this go around and change my font color to make my posts easier to pick out in the thread, this is a new process for me so bear with me as I may not be 100% with it.

 

Feel free to come along and ask questions along the way!

Thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us! We are leaving Sunday for this same trip, and it's very helpful to get advance information as much as possible.  I am also planning to use onboard credit for the premium wifi package.  Can you tell me about what it costs on board?  I didn't understand the difference between per day rates and 24 hours rates in the plan breakdown.  I'm just wondering how much of my OBC it will use.  Thanks!

[Steelers0854]

1 hour ago, sweetalyssum said:

Thanks so much for sharing your cruise with us! We are leaving Sunday for this same trip, and it's very helpful to get advance information as much as possible.  I am also planning to use onboard credit for the premium wifi package.  Can you tell me about what it costs on board?  I didn't understand the difference between per day rates and 24 hours rates in the plan breakdown.  I'm just wondering how much of my OBC it will use.  Thanks!

The Premium Wi-Fi was $119pp for the entire week. I don’t remember the 2 other levels, sorry about that. 

[HxFx]

9 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

The Premium Wi-Fi was $119pp for the entire week. I don’t remember the 2 other levels, sorry about that. 

I would note that is really for one device at a time. If you don't need to be on wifi 24/7 it is very easy to share.

[Steelers0854]

DW went to Guys today for lunch and got a burger, fries and the bourbon BBQ sauce. She said it was as good as she remembers. 

 

I wanted to try Bonsai Sushi since I had a bunch of OBC still burning a hole in my pocket. menu at the bottom. 

 

 

DW was able to get the Noodle Salad which she said was delicious and she would get again, especially for $2. 
 

 

plus they gave us complimentary edimame, which DW loves. 
 

 

Ok so this is a judgement free zone here. I wasn’t planning on coming back and so much of the stuff sounded good, plus in my defense the sashimi was supposed to be 1 piece each, but there were 2 MASSIVE pieces. This is the best deal on the ship!

 

I got the salad (excellent, I’m a sucker for good ginger dressing), Tuna and Mango Tartare (good, needed a little seasoning), and Wagyu Kakuni (amazing they were like little deconstructed Bao Buns). 

 

 

 

Also got the Amberjack, salmon, and yellowfin tuna sashimi (supposedly 1 piece for $1.50, this is a steal). The fish was fresh and had great flavor. The pieces were also huge. 
 

 

Aaaaand 2 rolls for good measure. The spicy tuna and the Triple E. Both were good. I got all but 1 piece of each roll down, I wouldn’t recommend this lol. It was a lot of food. 
 

 

And now I need a nap. ☺️
 

BR-Bonsai-Dinner-Menu.pdf
 

 

[rxlowry]

How many passengers are on board this week?  
I haven’t been on Carnival in a few years so do they have cocktail servers at the pool or is it like NCL where it’s best to go to bar?  
Thanks!

[Mallow]

On 9/19/2021 at 4:19 PM, Steelers0854 said:

Seafood Corner

 

Could you happen to get some of the prices for the market price items?  I appreciate all the posts and information.

[ChrisNCruiser]

4 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

DW went to Guys today for lunch and got a burger, fries and the bourbon BBQ sauce. She said it was as good as she remembers. 

 

I wanted to try Bonsai Sushi since I had a bunch of OBC still burning a hole in my pocket. menu at the bottom. 

 

 

DW was able to get the Noodle Salad which she said was delicious and she would get again, especially for $2. 
 

 

plus they gave us complimentary edimame, which DW loves. 
 

 

Ok so this is a judgement free zone here. I wasn’t planning on coming back and so much of the stuff sounded good, plus in my defense the sashimi was supposed to be 1 piece each, but there were 2 MASSIVE pieces. This is the best deal on the ship!

 

I got the salad (excellent, I’m a sucker for good ginger dressing), Tuna and Mango Tartare (good, needed a little seasoning), and Wagyu Kakuni (amazing they were like little deconstructed Bao Buns). 

 

 

 

Also got the Amberjack, salmon, and yellowfin tuna sashimi (supposedly 1 piece for $1.50, this is a steal). The fish was fresh and had great flavor. The pieces were also huge. 
 

 

Aaaaand 2 rolls for good measure. The spicy tuna and the Triple E. Both were good. I got all but 1 piece of each roll down, I wouldn’t recommend this lol. It was a lot of food. 
 

 

And now I need a nap. ☺️
 

BR-Bonsai-Dinner-Menu.pdf 214.7 kB · 10 downloads
 

 

I'm really enjoying your updates in anticipation of our cruise on Sunday - keep 'em coming 🙂

[LouChamp]

Love the food pictures!  Enjoy!

[IntrepidFromDC]

8 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

Just a regular midship balcony. And maybe it’s not huge but sure feels it to us. 
 

In case anyone wants to compare, here's our extended balcony from Pride, last week: 

[IntrepidFromDC]

8 hours ago, sweetalyssum said:

I am also planning to use onboard credit for the premium wifi package.  Can you tell me about what it costs on board?  I didn't understand the difference between per day rates and 24 hours rates in the plan breakdown.  I'm just wondering how much of my OBC it will use.  Thanks!

 

7 hours ago, Steelers0854 said:

The Premium Wi-Fi was $119pp for the entire week. I don’t remember the 2 other levels, sorry about that. 

Value Plan was $91 for the week.  I think Social Plan was $72.

[orange6crush]

Loving all your pics and your menu posts.

Thanks and enjoy your cruise

[KmomChicago]

Thanks for the updates - glad DW is getting fed some decent meals, if not your greatest cruise culinary experience ever. Bonsai sushi looks great. 

[Steelers0854]

16 hours ago, rxlowry said:

How many passengers are on board this week?  
I haven’t been on Carnival in a few years so do they have cocktail servers at the pool or is it like NCL where it’s best to go to bar?  
Thanks!

There are 1482 passengers onboard this week. I think her max capacity is 2680, so that means we are at about 55%. 
 

there are  plenty of staff walking around the pool decks. They aren’t bothersome but come around regularly a d it’s easy to flag one down. 

[KmomChicago]

If it's not too much trouble could you post the food menu from RedFrog Pub?

[Steelers0854]

Good Morning!  Looks like they finally got the internet working again. It was out most of yesterday. GS was nice enough to give us a partial refund due to it being offline. 
 

Away we go. After lunch yesterday we headed back out to the Serenity deck and enjoyed some lounge time, book reading and drinks out there until it was time to get ready for dinner. 
 

Tonight was formal night. We saw all manner of formal dress, some really nice elegant gowns to nice short and a polo. Most people were in slacks in a polo for men and what I would consider business casual for women, which is where we fall. I just don’t have any interest in getting dressed up and lugging those clothes around with me. Sorry for those that are purists and will flame me for it, but this is how I want to vacation. 
 

Dinner menu attached below. 
 

DW got her preordered salad and prime rib with a baked potato and veggies. (She ordered it medium well, just FYI).  They were nice and brought her out a fruit plate. Sorry I forgot to get photos of the appetizers. 
 

 

I got the meatball soup which was excellent and the Cesar Salad which was terrible (no flavor at all) along with 2 of the lobster tail and the creme brûlée. The lobster was perfectly cooked and delicious. The mushroom risotto that came with it was great but I wouldn’t call it a risotto. 
 

 

DW preordered dinner for tomorrow, chicken, and breakfast which they said they could do pancakes and French toast for her, so this should be interesting!!MDR Night 2 Formal.pdf

 

[Steelers0854]

Here are some more menus I have grabbed from around the ship. 

skybox-menu.pdf

 

 

indoor-bar-menu.pdfRedfrog-Pub-Menu-SP-CQ-Class.pdf

[Steelers0854]

11 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

If it's not too much trouble could you post the food menu from RedFrog Pub?

So I posted the menu in the post right above this. I didn’t see a separate menu for food. Do they only serve food during certain times?  Love the pub so happy to go back and grab it for you. 

[Steelers0854]

Update on mask wearing. I would say about 80% of people are wearing their masks when indoors anywhere. We haven’t been to any of the shows yet so can’t speak to compliance there and we always have it on when going into the MDR and buffet so I can’t speak to how they enforce it, but it seems that most people are wearing them all the time vs the few places they require it. 
 

Internet speed test from this morning. 
 

[BroadwayGirl]

30 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

So I posted the menu in the post right above this. I didn’t see a separate menu for food. Do they only serve food during certain times?  Love the pub so happy to go back and grab it for you. 

Not all red frogs do food. The Pride has not served food in the red frog in the past. 

[Jim and Monika]

Thank You for taking the time to post. We have been looking at the bar menus posted, but there is no mention of what Rum and Bourbon is available. Are there separate menus? I also see no mention of Ginger or Diet Ginger, are they available and not listed? It is disappointing to hear Serenity is closed to passengers after 8 pm. This is where we go in the evening to relax with our late night pizza. Even more disappointed that there is no Diet Coke. I have to avoid the frozen drinks because of all the sugar, Rum and Diet Pepsi just isn't right.  We are still considering booking the Pride next month, just haven't pulled the trigger.