Pride review- internet issues etc.

[basketballdad]

Went on the December 9 Panama partial out of Tampa on December 9th.

It is always good to be at sea.  Here are a few things I wish I had known on this cruise.  

PARKING.  It's been a few years (and maybe 40 cruises ago) since we sailed out of Tampa.  Thankfully we were close enough to drive.  Frankly it is a bit confusing because the lots near the ship are not ship parking, they are for the aquarium.   Do not attempt to park near the ship.  The ship parking is a 4 story structure a block or so from the ship.  There is a cheaper outdoor lot but you leave your keys your whole cruise with the people running it, and I did not feel comfortable with that.

This year we were on MSC, NCL, and Virgin.  WiFi calling and texting on Verizon worked perfectly on Verizon.  Not on this ship.  WiFi Calling and texting were blocked.  This was frustrating because to afford all these cruises I had to be reachable.  I tried setting up a VPN and still nothing.  So thankfully for outgoing calls I have a VoIP app (GoTo) from one of my businesses and had to download another messaging app to text.  We made it work, but it took time to figure out and was frustrating.  I know most people go on vacation to get away from the phone, but I am not able to.  I would say the internet seemed good (as far as speed, jitter, and packet loss) for most things people would do.  I tried to get help from both the customer service and Pixel staff (their IT dept) and all they could do help confirm I was online.  We even hotspotted to my wife's iPhone (I have an Android) and her texting worked but not wifi calling.  If their staff would just say yes, you have the internet, it is working, but unlike other cruise lines, our routers or service does block some services or apps.  

Food is subjective but I found it good.  My bathroom scales say I thought the food was really good.  No need to spend extra on a nice restaurant when good food is included and you can spend that $50 or $100 on a nice place when you get home.  I do like how on the free app you can see what the menus are (most ships do that now, in the old days we would go and look at the menu on the wall during the day which helped us determine how big of lunch we wanted).  

The shows were good but again subjective.  We had some rough weather and they could not fully perform, but a few great voices.

The band Boardwalk had a great variety of music for their demographic.  We really enjoyed them.  They knew what a lot of their passengers wanted to hear in my opinion.  Be aware that like many so-called bands of today, they just have a drummer and sing to a soundtrack and fake playing the instruments.  Sorry to reveal that, even so, the songs kept the crowd happy including me.

Even though the ship was recently refurbished, the standard balcony bathroom still had the old green sink.  Oh well, I would take a balcony at sea over a regular hotel room any day.

And the green slide was a must.  Did that while the ship was in the Panama Canal.  Unlike anything I have seen at sea.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

Thanks.  Haven’t been able to use WIFI calling either for sometime now but FaceTime usually always works.  Seems like it would be better to block FaceTime and allow WiFi calling. 

[mz-s]

I am not sure why Carnival still blocks WiFi calling at this point. The speculation I've read is because they want people to use the in-cabin phone, or Cellular at Sea roaming, presumably they get a spiff from those fees. But I don't have any proof of that.

 

Internet and phone service is a huge missing link for the work from anywhere crowd, and it's a market that Carnival is entirely leaving on the table for their competitors. Their choice.

[RoperDK]

3 hours ago, mz-s said:

I am not sure why Carnival still blocks WiFi calling at this point. The speculation I've read is because they want people to use the in-cabin phone, or Cellular at Sea roaming, presumably they get a spiff from those fees. But I don't have any proof of that.

 

Internet and phone service is a huge missing link for the work from anywhere crowd, and it's a market that Carnival is entirely leaving on the table for their competitors. Their choice.

Blocking WIFI calling and texting is a big pet peeve of mine with Carnival.  We had been so used to using it on Royal that we were surprised when we couldn't while on Mardi Gras earlier this year.  We just assumed it would be available and had to go back to using What'sApp and FB Messenger which limits who you can connect with.  Carnival's internet pricing isn't a bargain, either.  Even with the most expensive package WIFI calling is blocked.  

[geovet]

Does it matter which Wi-Fi plan you use to get texting, phone calls or face time?

 

[mz-s]

5 minutes ago, geovet said:

Does it matter which Wi-Fi plan you use to get texting, phone calls or face time?

 

 

Did you not read the thread? Wifi SMS and wifi calling are blocked by Carnival. Facetime should work with any paid plan.

[hondar]

On 12/25/2023 at 7:29 AM, basketballdad said:

Went on the December 9 Panama partial out of Tampa on December 9th.

It is always good to be at sea.  Here are a few things I wish I had known on this cruise.  

PARKING.  It's been a few years (and maybe 40 cruises ago) since we sailed out of Tampa.  Thankfully we were close enough to drive.  Frankly it is a bit confusing because the lots near the ship are not ship parking, they are for the aquarium.   Do not attempt to park near the ship.  The ship parking is a 4 story structure a block or so from the ship.  There is a cheaper outdoor lot but you leave your keys your whole cruise with the people running it, and I did not feel comfortable with that.

This year we were on MSC, NCL, and Virgin.  WiFi calling and texting on Verizon worked perfectly on Verizon.  Not on this ship.  WiFi Calling and texting were blocked.  This was frustrating because to afford all these cruises I had to be reachable.  I tried setting up a VPN and still nothing.  So thankfully for outgoing calls I have a VoIP app (GoTo) from one of my businesses and had to download another messaging app to text.  We made it work, but it took time to figure out and was frustrating.  I know most people go on vacation to get away from the phone, but I am not able to.  I would say the internet seemed good (as far as speed, jitter, and packet loss) for most things people would do.  I tried to get help from both the customer service and Pixel staff (their IT dept) and all they could do help confirm I was online.  We even hotspotted to my wife's iPhone (I have an Android) and her texting worked but not wifi calling.  If their staff would just say yes, you have the internet, it is working, but unlike other cruise lines, our routers or service does block some services or apps.  

Food is subjective but I found it good.  My bathroom scales say I thought the food was really good.  No need to spend extra on a nice restaurant when good food is included and you can spend that $50 or $100 on a nice place when you get home.  I do like how on the free app you can see what the menus are (most ships do that now, in the old days we would go and look at the menu on the wall during the day which helped us determine how big of lunch we wanted).  

The shows were good but again subjective.  We had some rough weather and they could not fully perform, but a few great voices.

The band Boardwalk had a great variety of music for their demographic.  We really enjoyed them.  They knew what a lot of their passengers wanted to hear in my opinion.  Be aware that like many so-called bands of today, they just have a drummer and sing to a soundtrack and fake playing the instruments.  Sorry to reveal that, even so, the songs kept the crowd happy including me.

Even though the ship was recently refurbished, the standard balcony bathroom still had the old green sink.  Oh well, I would take a balcony at sea over a regular hotel room any day.

And the green slide was a must.  Did that while the ship was in the Panama Canal.  Unlike anything I have seen at sea.

Is there a specialty coffee bar on the Pride?

[staceyglow]

12 minutes ago, hondar said:

Is there a specialty coffee bar on the Pride?

Yes.