Just got off the Pride - tips

[Capt. JC]

We just got off the Pride and want to thank everyone on this board for their help and advice. The most useful tips I collected were:

 

1) bring an extension cord (12 foot best)

 

2) if an interior cabin bring a night light

 

3) if driving and staying in Long Beach the Guest House International is a great deal. Not fancy at all but a clean bed, free parking during your cruise, free shuttle to pier, and free breakfast. All this for less than the cost of parking at the pier. One word of warning - it may take a while to get a shuttle back to the hotel once you get off the Pride. We didn't have to wait long but others did.

 

4) you can order more than one entree. I usually had two "starters", no salad. Sometimes I had an entree as a "starter".

 

5) pick up a free postcard picture of the boat and free deck of cards at the purser's desk

 

6) it is cold on deck the first two days and last day of the trip.

 

7) there is a refrigerator in all the rooms. You can empty all the stuff they hope you will buy and put in your own soda/whatever. There is a small ice bucket in the room. If you plan on using a lot of ice bring an ice chest and ask your steward to keep it full. We brought all our own soda (quite a lot) and were glad we did. Not only saved a lot of money but was more convenient for us even though we didn't spend a lot of time in our room.

 

OTHER THOUGHTS:

1) as many have said, a cruise is what you make it. we had a wonderful time and enjoyed it a great deal. only met one couple who seemed very nice but felt that it didn't meet their "expectations". It was their first cruise. I am not sure what they expected.

 

2) food was wonderful, especially in the dining room where we usually ate.

 

3) dancing and singing, well, ok, just not my thing I quess

 

4) comedy shows great

 

5) shore excursions, we did:

Mazalan: "expert hiking" really enjoyed, not an easy hike, bring lots of water, wear shorts, hat, & sunscreen. got back very late and we almost missed our next excursion (no lunch at all)

then "swim with dolphins" fantastic, water (and air afterwards) was not warm, if I was going to do again I would bring shortie wetsuit,

 

PV: "deep island kayak" very nice in that you are on an island where there isn't anyone trying to sell you something (a nice break from both Mexico and the cruise ship). Don't need to know how to kayak, very easy. Not very wet. Also did a small hike up the hill behind the beach which was nice.

 

Cabo: "beach horseback ride" which was followed by either shopping or an hour on the beach. We choose the beach although sitting on the beach in our jeans felt a bit odd. I would wear zip off pants if doing this again. At the beach you could rent wave runners, swim, or just relax. Of course plenty of people trying to sell you everything from tatooes to blankets. The riding was fun although not very close to the water. For anyone very experienced in riding it would be not as much run (horses just go in a line, only walk, wrangler not the nicest person to the horses or the people (treated both the same).

 

That is about all I can think of. Ask me any specific questions if you wish.

[southbayer]

Hot hot was it down there, lots of humidity ??

[LHP]

Glad you had a good time. We just got off the Pride in the middle of March and we did the horseback riding thing in Mazatlan with Randi's horses. We booked online and had a ball. Our horses did not swim in the water, but they did run through the tide as it slapped the shoreline. And these horses ran. Of course, we were very careful not to get them lathered or anything like that...but you were in control of the horse...not the other way around.

 

Randi picks you up from the dock. Just look for the little pink sign at a table, where the free tram (who drives you through the industrial portion of the dock) drops you off. It is little collection of stores. Randi handles all the transportation to and from the ship. You ride for a little over an hour. (which is plenty if you haven't been on a horse in a while) along the beach mostly. All for $45 each (cash only). You make the reservations online, but you don't have to give her any credit card information or anything. If you are ever back to that port and want to do something different...she is your gal!

[Lals]

Capt

 

We will be on the Pride the end of this month. Where did you pack your own soda? Carry-on or checked luggage? Did you smuggle it on or just in plain view? I am surprised with the price of the soda cards that they are not just a concerned with people bringing on soda as they are bringing on alcohol. I would love to bring on some soda to mix with my rum :) YUM.

 

Laura

[Wennfred]

Thanks for the Tips, who was the CD?

[surfklutz]

We just got off the Pride and want to thank everyone on this board for their help and advice. The most useful tips I collected were:

 

1) bring an extension cord (12 foot best)

 

2) if an interior cabin bring a night light

 

3) if driving and staying in Long Beach the Guest House International is a great deal. Not fancy at all but a clean bed, free parking during your cruise, free shuttle to pier, and free breakfast. All this for less than the cost of parking at the pier. One word of warning - it may take a while to get a shuttle back to the hotel once you get off the Pride. We didn't have to wait long but others did.

 

4) you can order more than one entree. I usually had two "starters", no salad. Sometimes I had an entree as a "starter".

 

5) pick up a free postcard picture of the boat and free deck of cards at the purser's desk

 

6) it is cold on deck the first two days and last day of the trip.

 

7) there is a refrigerator in all the rooms. You can empty all the stuff they hope you will buy and put in your own soda/whatever. There is a small ice bucket in the room. If you plan on using a lot of ice bring an ice chest and ask your steward to keep it full. We brought all our own soda (quite a lot) and were glad we did. Not only saved a lot of money but was more convenient for us even though we didn't spend a lot of time in our room.

 

OTHER THOUGHTS:

1) as many have said, a cruise is what you make it. we had a wonderful time and enjoyed it a great deal. only met one couple who seemed very nice but felt that it didn't meet their "expectations". It was their first cruise. I am not sure what they expected.

 

2) food was wonderful, especially in the dining room where we usually ate.

 

3) dancing and singing, well, ok, just not my thing I quess

 

4) comedy shows great

 

5) shore excursions, we did:

Mazalan: "expert hiking" really enjoyed, not an easy hike, bring lots of water, wear shorts, hat, & sunscreen. got back very late and we almost missed our next excursion (no lunch at all)

then "swim with dolphins" fantastic, water (and air afterwards) was not warm, if I was going to do again I would bring shortie wetsuit,

 

PV: "deep island kayak" very nice in that you are on an island where there isn't anyone trying to sell you something (a nice break from both Mexico and the cruise ship). Don't need to know how to kayak, very easy. Not very wet. Also did a small hike up the hill behind the beach which was nice.

 

Cabo: "beach horseback ride" which was followed by either shopping or an hour on the beach. We choose the beach although sitting on the beach in our jeans felt a bit odd. I would wear zip off pants if doing this again. At the beach you could rent wave runners, swim, or just relax. Of course plenty of people trying to sell you everything from tatooes to blankets. The riding was fun although not very close to the water. For anyone very experienced in riding it would be not as much run (horses just go in a line, only walk, wrangler not the nicest person to the horses or the people (treated both the same).

 

That is about all I can think of. Ask me any specific questions if you wish.

 

Why the extension cord?

[LISAHA]

hi, welcome back. we go this sunday, april 9th. did you notice if there was a vcr or a dvd player in the room.

[Capt. JC]

In answer to a couple of questions:

 

1) We had 4 or 5 2-liter bottles plus 4 or 5 12-packs of soda, all in our checked luggage. We are big soda drinkers. To my knowledge, no one ever checked.

 

2) it was warm, not humid while we were there. The hot/humid is May - Oct.

 

3) I have also heard about Randy's horses and wish we had done that. Next cruise we will probably book all our shore excursions ourselves after more research.

[Capt. JC]

1) why extension cord: there was one outlet in the main cabin and one in the bathroom. The one in the bathroom didn't seem to fit our plug. The one in the main cabin was positioned such that our night light wouldn't plug in. Basically the cord allows you to operate a hair dryer (none in the cabin), or any other electrical appliance where you want it. For us it mainly allowed us to plug in the night light.

 

2) cd, dvd, vcr etc.: There is a TV but I didn't see any of those things.

[LHP]

Thanks for the Tips, who was the CD?

 

 

Chris Jefferson was the CD in March. Noonan simply filled in for him one week when Chris had to go to a Cruise Director Convention. I did not even know they had that sort of thing.

[LHP]

Capt

 

We will be on the Pride the end of this month. Where did you pack your own soda? Carry-on or checked luggage? Did you smuggle it on or just in plain view? I am surprised with the price of the soda cards that they are not just a concerned with people bringing on soda as they are bringing on alcohol. I would love to bring on some soda to mix with my rum :) YUM.

 

Laura

 

 

We carried a 12 pack of diet and a 12 pack of regular soda of my favorite brand in our carry on luggage (so that there was no danger of it busting). They did check our carry on. They opened the 12 pack cases to make sure they were really soda, thanked us for our patience and we were on our way.

No problems. I guess one case for 4 people for a week is considered a "reasonable amount".

[Wennfred]

Chris Jefferson was the CD in March. Noonan simply filled in for him one week when Chris had to go to a Cruise Director Convention. I did not even know they had that sort of thing.

 

We had Chris Jefferson in Oct and didnt care for him or CD's that try to sing, those put me to sleep, also has Noonan as the assistant CD and he was pretty goofy, another person I didnt care for. Hope they have replacements in Sept.

[southbayer]

yeah i heard Noonan wasn't that good.... I go at the end of the month, and i heard chris jefferson was ok, so we'll see

[gemz]

Thanks for the tips. What was good to eat and what was not so good to eat in the Pride dining room?

[southbayer]

yeah i sail on 4/23, its bascially my first 7 day cruise, can't wait. I'm pretty sure the food is compareable to most ships.... I'm sure we'll all feast nevertheless :D

[driftychick]

We were on the Pride 3/26 cruise. I carried on a 12 pack of Diet Black Cherry/Vanilla Coke. As long as it is not opened they will let you roll it onboard with your carryon, no need to hide it. They will inspect it but let you take it on if it is unopened.

[LHP]

We had Chris Jefferson in Oct and didnt care for him or CD's that try to sing, those put me to sleep, also has Noonan as the assistant CD and he was pretty goofy, another person I didnt care for. Hope they have replacements in Sept.

 

 

Noonan is really one of those guys you have to get to know to appreciate. He is willing to do anything (and I do mean anything) to put a smile on a passenger's face. He did a snow angel thing on the stage with all the raffle tickets to make sure they were all "mixed up" well. It was a hoot.

 

I can tell you that when you talk to him, he truly listens. It isn't any kind of "fake- yea I'm right with you" thing. I do believe he has potential. I have not sailed with him in the CD capacity. But after getting to know him, he was a "genuine" fella and I think that will take him a long way.

 

Since we (like you) have sailed so much, it is easy to get bored with the routine. Much of what the CD does is behind the scenes. I look at "getting to know" the CD and Social Hosts as decorations on my cake. It doesn't affect the taste, but just adds a little beauty to my cruise.

[Astronomer]

We will be doing the Dolphin Swim, but expect the water to be a tad warmer in late June, but we will have fun even if it isnt.

 

We also booked Randi's Happy Horses, and can hardly wait.

 

Thanks for the update and the tips

 

( replace 6' extention cord on packing list with 12' )

[Wennfred]

Noonan is really one of those guys you have to get to know to appreciate.

 

I can tell you that when you talk to him, he truly listens. It isn't any kind of "fake- yea I'm right with you" thing. I do believe he has potential.

 

Since we (like you) have sailed so much, it is easy to get bored with the routine.

 

Thanks for the update, I saw that he was alot younger so maybe that is a plus meaning he can be original and be funny at the same time. Those are good qualities in a CD, hope to see him this Sept to give him a chance.

 

Fred

[gr81]

1) why extension cord: there was one outlet in the main cabin and one in the bathroom. The one in the bathroom didn't seem to fit our plug. The one in the main cabin was positioned such that our night light wouldn't plug in. Basically the cord allows you to operate a hair dryer (none in the cabin), or any other electrical appliance where you want it. For us it mainly allowed us to plug in the night light.

 

2) cd, dvd, vcr etc.: There is a TV but I didn't see any of those things.

 

In March, we had an aft balcony. There was a hair dryer in the cabin, it in the top drawer near the closet. Some people have said its not very powerfull, but it worked fine for my wife.