(Pride) Very Rough Shape!

[Eli_6]

15 minutes ago, 1kaper said:

Oh man,  I would have jumped on that.  I liked my cruise on MSC but it was not Yacht Club.  I'm dying to try it.  I'm afraid I could never go back. 

I want to try it as well.  I seriously thought about booking it, but I didn't because we have our CCL cruise after it (and have FCC from canceled cruises) and it would have put us being in Europe for almost a month. 

[ohioNCLcruiser]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:49 AM, Eli_6 said:

The problem is that some of us not on casino offers or who booked these cruises a long time ago are still paying the full fares.  I don't expect much if I get a free or almost free cruise. If the cruise is costing me 10k, I expect more.  And, yes, our cruise was nearly that much because we have a vista suite and an adjoining balcony.  Granted, to have a suite and adjoining balcony on Royal, it would be at least 12k-15k and on Disney, Celebrity, etc. it would be 20k or more. So, perhaps, maybe the sentiment still holds true...

 

With that said, I recently priced a cruise out of Barcelona for a 2 story family duplex on MSC and it was only 8k so maybe I need to look into MSC...and the room was absolutely INCREDIBLE and I think was even in the Yacht club.

 

Oh you are in for a treat if you book that! The Yacht Club is a wonderful experience and like others have said on here MSC keeps their ships looking stunning. Carnival suites come with almost no perks unlike the other cruise lines. Private pool area, deck area, suite guest restaurants etc. 

 

I mentioned in my first reply that the crew on the Pride was wonderful and the itins in Europe are great so I'm sure you will have a great time. However now that my casino offers have dried up I am not booking any new Carnival cruises for the time being. There are much better bangs for your bucks out there for your money. 

[Eli_6]

1 minute ago, ohioNCLcruiser said:

 

 

 

I mentioned in my first reply that the crew on the Pride was wonderful and the itins in Europe are great so I'm sure you will have a great time. However now that my casino offers have dried up I am not booking any new Carnival cruises for the time being. There are much better bangs for your bucks out there for your money. 

I totally agree. Unless it is one of CCL's casino offers or one of those offers like they had back earlier this year, I think some of the other cruise lines offer more for your money if a person for "suite" money...or even full fare for a balcony. (Some of the balconies even get expensive at full fare!)  We usually end up cruising carnival a lot because we live in Houston. As of right now, Galveston only has CCL and a couple of Royal's older ships.  However, I do think we are supposed to get a Princess, one of the fancy Royal ships and one of the new NCL ships soon.  Although, to be honest, I was not impressed with NCL the one time we sailed with her.  I would LOVE it if we got an MSC, but that probably won't happen.  

[bstel]

On 7/7/2022 at 8:08 AM, sparks1093 said:

It is about cosmetics and rust on a ship is an eye sore and as this thread demonstrates it is held against the cruise line if not kept in hand (and against a division on a Navy ship as well during inspections😉). I wielded a chipping hammer many times in my day and there were definitely times when it was busy work, something that I myself ordered from time to time when I was put in charge as well (as much as I personally hate the concept). When we were last in Nassau every cruise ship in port had visible rust on their hulls. I've seen rust on every ship I've ever been on but rust has never interfered with my cruise (and the same holds for fading varnish on handrails and other material imperfections).

yup all about perception.  About 15 years ago, I was on a CVN, while it was docked in Norfolk, doing some testing.  Unbeknownst to me, as I was testing on a not to interfere basis, an Admiral was retiring and decided to hold his ceremony aboard.  About 5 days before the ceremony, about 3 tractor trailers pulled up on the pier, fully loaded with 5 gallon buckets of Haze Gray paint.  The sailors hand painted (brushes and rollers) the entire ship from water line to 013/014 level.  Just slapping lipstick on a pig so the ship looked nice for that one day.  Completely ruined my testing, as I was doing air sampling and monitoring.

[sunkey1]

Still love and will sail Carnival but only newer ships from now on. Were on the Mardi Gras last October and loved it so much that we booked again for this October. Took a spur of the moment cruise in April on the Magic and she has really been let go. Handle to our balcony door was loose and had reported it but before it ever got fixed I ended up getting locked outside. That finally resulted in it getting (somewhat) repaired but never received an apology from guest services or the person overseeing the repair. Just seems like a rush to get money back in the coffers but it's going to come back to bite them as it limits the ships I'll sail on with them in the future and will encourage me to book other lines.

[KmomChicago]

On 7/5/2022 at 11:44 PM, Joe817 said:

Quite right. Quite right. As witness to the non-stop, continual painting when ever a ship docks readying for the next group of customers during debark/embark. It's on every webcam from all ports that I've seen. Combating rust is a never ending battle. A battle that can never be won. The best they can do is try to contain it.  I'm sure @chengkp75 will agree with me. 

We frequently see them doing touch up paint on port days as well, swinging around on ropes outside the oceanview rooms. 

[StolidCruiser]

24 minutes ago, sunkey1 said:

Handle to our balcony door was loose and had reported it but before it ever got fixed I ended up getting locked outside. That finally resulted in it getting (somewhat) repaired but never received an apology from guest services or the person overseeing the repair. Just seems like a rush to get money back in the coffers but it's going to come back to bite them as it limits the ships I'll sail on with them in the future and will encourage me to book other lines.

 

It must have been frustrating to get locked out on the balcony before someone could make repair to the malfunctioning handle you reported and not get an apology from someone.

 

Your choice to only sail on newer ships or other lines is probably a wise choice that will have the right biting impact.

[jerseyjjs]

On 7/5/2022 at 7:14 PM, BlerkOne said:

There was a thread not long ago - I believe on Carnival Magic - where crew were painting and so many people were complaining that I guess they stopped painting and even offered compensation. Carnival just can't please everyone.

 

 

Spoken (or written) like a true shareholder.

[Cushing985]

Carnaval is obviously trying to save money while still navigating away from the COVID drama.  But, if they're not taking care of their ships, customers will start drifting away and instead, go on RCCL or NCL.  You don't want to be in a busy port on a ship like the Pride and be surrounded by beautiful ships from other lines and be embarrassed.  I personally like the Spirit class though I've never been on the Pride.  If that ship is really in that bad of shape (and the pictures indicate it is), Carnaval would be smart to pull it out of service for a yard period.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I warned that Carnival Pride was heading south a couple years ago, and it wasn't well received.  Incredible the state of things now, and that loyalists will go so far as defending open holes in the decking.

 

And if this were the state of things on a cruise ship pier, and Carnival refused to dock on it, the same cheer squad would be declaring the decision, "Amazing!"

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by Stateroom_Sailor

[MMastell]

I sailed the Pride on the May 29th cruise and I agree that the ship was in desperate need of work.  While they painted on a number of port days and replaced some glass it was still rough when we disembarked and it sounds like there is still work to do.  Rust doesn't bother me too much but when the balcony railings are splintering, carpet is torn and stained, beds need replacing and wall panels are missing then I have an issue.  Our bathroom door literally came off mid cruise.  Our cabin steward told us that it was the third one to come off in his section and he had repair orders in for two others.

 

I overlooked a lot of this because the staff were good, the food was somewhat sub par except for the GF desserts and the price was very low for an aft view extended balcony.  The only thing I don't give them a pass on is the shore team.  They screwed up in almost every port with inadequate transportation to get out of the ports, canceled excursions and bad information.

 

I enjoyed myself but I have to say that in almost 70 cruises the Pride was in the worst shape of any ship I've sailed.

 

To the cheerleaders remember: If it's a fact it isn't a complaint.

 

Take care,

Mike

[kwokpot]

32 minutes ago, MMastell said:

I sailed the Pride on the May 29th cruise and I agree that the ship was in desperate need of work.  While they painted on a number of port days and replaced some glass it was still rough when we disembarked and it sounds like there is still work to do.  Rust doesn't bother me too much but when the balcony railings are splintering, carpet is torn and stained, beds need replacing and wall panels are missing then I have an issue.  Our bathroom door literally came off mid cruise.  Our cabin steward told us that it was the third one to come off in his section and he had repair orders in for two others.

 

I overlooked a lot of this because the staff were good, the food was somewhat sub par except for the GF desserts and the price was very low for an aft view extended balcony.  The only thing I don't give them a pass on is the shore team.  They screwed up in almost every port with inadequate transportation to get out of the ports, canceled excursions and bad information.

 

I enjoyed myself but I have to say that in almost 70 cruises the Pride was in the worst shape of any ship I've sailed.

 

To the cheerleaders remember: If it's a fact it isn't a complaint.

 

Take care,

Mike

Thank you for your assessment and it pretty much matches my experiences to a T. 

[debsjc]

We are just off the Pride, and we really didn't like the look of the ship, so dark in the atrium area, and lots of areas needed repairs. Also we had repeated issue with the air con not working (either constant hot air, or constant icy air with no control over it) and the toilets not flushing. The guest services staff are the most unhelpful, and at times totally rude, I have ever come across.

 

Having said that there were good points. The singers & musicians on board were great, and in general the food was good. Our cabin steward was a superstar, as were some of the dining room staff. We paid a reasonable price, and visited beautiful ports. 

[KmomChicago]

I wouldn't be very interested in sailing on Spirit class again as it stands today, until they have some kind of more thorough "sunshining" type complete update. Having sailed the Legend last December, we saw some similar issues - but not to the extent that OP has shown us in their photos of the Pride.  Our party was in 3 different balcony cabins, including one suite, and none of the doors latched properly.  As noted, having a good cruise on a banged up ship doesn't change the fact that the ship is banged up.

 

On our recent Radiance cruise I got to witness the look of a ship that had more than the typical short dry docks.  The ship looked practically new, including the balcony doors which worked as expected, and the balcony railing which had been painted with some kind of wood colored epoxy.  The decor compared well with the Vista which we had sailed a few weeks previous.  

 

The Spirit class design has some really good features and I hope it has many years ahead of it; however it is due for a  complete update. I'm not talking about the conversion of public spaces to staterooms, but rather the thorough refresh of the ship, repair and replacement of everything worn out, removal of most of the whimsical theming, and addition of better lighting.  

 

 

Cosmetic maintenance of the ships is not Carnival's strong suit compared to competitors, but it is true that while the price point is low, eventually passengers tire of the tiredness of the ships.