Just off the Carnival Pride Sep 12th sailing. Great time overall (minus the food)

[ohioNCLcruiser]

Hey everyone!

Just got off the Carnival Pride's first sailing back and wanted to post a few summaries and answer any questions people might have.

 

Service: The service overall was wonderful. People were happy to be back and full of smiles. I noticed a lot of name usage this time around which was also similar on the Horizon a few weeks ago. Must be a big push from corporate. I do wish more people were aware that this was the Pride's first sailing back since I think a lot of people didn't realize this was somewhat a shakedown cruise. The staff was doing their best to get back into the swing of things and just needed a few extra moments at times. No biggie at all but was pretty embarrassing how some other passengers were verbally treating the staff about this. 

 

Housekeeping: Cabin service is once a day and you can choose mornings or evenings. I only ran into my housekeeper once but he did a great job. Towel animals were made daily and extra requests were quickly handled. No complaints on my end. There were numerous staff constantly cleaning the public areas. The ship overall felt very clean and safe! 

 

Food: Carnival's food has really gone downhill. I noticed this on the Horizon a few weeks ago and especially on this sailing. Seems to be lower quality ingredients and lower choice options. Part of this is probably the Chef's figuring everything out but it is also corporate cuts. Sadly a lot of other people onboard were noticing this also. The steakhouse was delicious both nights I went though but service was taking about 2.5 hours. We didn't care but people who were not warned got upset. Both times we were seated about 30 minutes after our reservation time and placed our orders about 50 minutes after our reservation time. Bring patience because that meal is worth it. I really suspect Carnival is trying to push people to specialty dining, however for the ships that don't have a lot of those upcharge options, it's pretty blah. 

 

Ship: I absolutely love this class of ship. Tacky, old-school Carnival décor is my favorite! She is showing her age but didn't matter. I wish there were more Spirit class ships.

Feel free to ask any questions! Overall I would say it was a 6.5 out of 10. Ship was 8 out of 10, service was 9 out of 10, food was 4 out of 10.

 

 

[ChrisNCruiser]

3 minutes ago, ohioNCLcruiser said:

Hey everyone!

Just got off the Carnival Pride's first sailing back and wanted to post a few summaries and answer any questions people might have.

 

Service: The service overall was wonderful. People were happy to be back and full of smiles. I noticed a lot of name usage this time around which was also similar on the Horizon a few weeks ago. Must be a big push from corporate. I do wish more people were aware that this was the Pride's first sailing back since I think a lot of people didn't realize this was somewhat a shakedown cruise. The staff was doing their best to get back into the swing of things and just needed a few extra moments at times. No biggie at all but was pretty embarrassing how some other passengers were verbally treating the staff about this. 

 

Housekeeping: Cabin service is once a day and you can choose mornings or evenings. I only ran into my housekeeper once but he did a great job. Towel animals were made daily and extra requests were quickly handled. No complaints on my end. There were numerous staff constantly cleaning the public areas. The ship overall felt very clean and safe! 

 

Food: Carnival's food has really gone downhill. I noticed this on the Horizon a few weeks ago and especially on this sailing. Seems to be lower quality ingredients and lower choice options. Part of this is probably the Chef's figuring everything out but it is also corporate cuts. Sadly a lot of other people onboard were noticing this also. The steakhouse was delicious both nights I went though but service was taking about 2.5 hours. We didn't care but people who were not warned got upset. Both times we were seated about 30 minutes after our reservation time and placed our orders about 50 minutes after our reservation time. Bring patience because that meal is worth it. I really suspect Carnival is trying to push people to specialty dining, however for the ships that don't have a lot of those upcharge options, it's pretty blah. 

 

Ship: I absolutely love this class of ship. Tacky, old-school Carnival décor is my favorite! She is showing her age but didn't matter. I wish there were more Spirit class ships.

Feel free to ask any questions! Overall I would say it was a 6.5 out of 10. Ship was 8 out of 10, service was 9 out of 10, food was 4 out of 10.

 

 

Thanks for the update - We were on the Magic's third sailing back and I concur about the overall food but we more than made do with Guy's burgers, Blue Iguana, and Lunchtime cake 😛 We have until tomorrow (Monday) at 9 AM to book a Sept 26th on the Pride at an excellent rate, and will likely do so tonight despite the so-so food. 

[sanmarcosman]

1 hour ago, ohioNCLcruiser said:

 

Ship: I absolutely love this class of ship. Tacky, old-school Carnival décor is my favorite! She is showing her age but didn't matter. I wish there were more Spirit class ships.

I couldn't agree more. The Spirit Class is often referred to as the Goldilocks of the different ship classes. It's just right.

Edited September 19, 2021 by sanmarcosman

[ohioNCLcruiser]

1 hour ago, sanmarcosman said:

I couldn't agree more. The Spirit Class is often referred to as the Goldilocks of the different ship classes. It's just right.

Great way of putting it!

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, sanmarcosman said:

I couldn't agree more. The Spirit Class is often referred to as the Goldilocks of the different ship classes. It's just right.

That could be said about the 90,000 (more or less) ton ship size for all cruiselines.

[sanmarcosman]

12 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

That could be said about the 90,000 (more or less) ton ship size for all cruiselines.

No, it's the total design of this class of ship, built in Finland , that keeps us coming back to them. There is so much more to a ship than just the g.w.t. it displaces.

Edited September 19, 2021 by sanmarcosman

[kwokpot]

1 minute ago, sanmarcosman said:

No, it's the total design of this class of ship, built in Finland , that keeps us coming back to them. There is so much more to a ship than just the g.w.t. it displaces.

My point is Royal's Radiance Class and Celebrity's Millenium Class are also the same tonnage and considered cruiser favorites. The designs of either of those cruiseline's 90,000 ton class ships are head and shoulders over Carnivals Spirit Class.  

[rainbowflag]

24 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

My point is Royal's Radiance Class and Celebrity's Millenium Class are also the same tonnage and considered cruiser favorites. The designs of either of those cruiseline's 90,000 ton class ships are head and shoulders over Carnivals Spirit Class.  

We prefer the spirit to the snooty decor of the millenium of celebrity. So pretentious and none of the fun. 

[kwokpot]

15 minutes ago, rainbowflag said:

We prefer the spirit to the snooty decor of the millenium of celebrity. So pretentious and none of the fun. 

You can like both for different reasons. I've been on the Spirit twice, once on a great cruise to Hawaii and will be on her next year in Europe on a B2B totalling 21 consecutive days, so yes I like the Spirit too. 

Using the Carnival metaphor I can enjoy a meal at Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse or Rudi's Seagrill one night but have dinner at the buffet another.  

Edited September 19, 2021 by kwokpot

[AHS123]

2 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

The Spirit Class is often referred to as the Goldilocks of the different ship classes. It's just right.

 

It sounds to me as though among the classes of Carnival ships, and there are many these days, the Spirit class is the favorite of many people. I agree and have sailed all 4 ships of the Spirit class and I prefer them to the smaller Fantasy ships and the huge Dream class and now MG is even more over the top. The Spirit class are so roomy in the public spaces.