Astronomer’s Carnival Pride Review, sailing 6-25-06 Part 1

[Astronomer]

( alternate title “Why Bob Dickinson owes Moondance and Astronomer a free cruise!” )

First a whole bunch of links….

I started this report a year ago with “Prelude to a cruise”, in 3 parts found here if you are really really bored.

Prelude to a Cruise Part 1

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=285840

Prelude to a Cruise Part 2

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=330195

Prelude to a Cruise Part 3

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=367343

And then a couple of minor reports from the Long Beach Coast Hotel found here.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=368736

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=368930

And finally our Photo Album for the cruise… feel free to comment on any picture you like.

http://dwightandhelene.smugmug.com/gallery/1627869/1/79345207

I should start by saying I am not exactly sure yet why Bob Dickinson owes us a cruise, but I am just sure he does and I will try to figure that out as I go along.

The above links brings us up to Sunday morning 6-25-06 the day we had waited so long for. I woke around 5am, perhaps a little before and went out on our balcony, but the Pride was not there yet, which was not surprising. There was no sleep left in me, so I quietly dressed and did my best not to wake Moondance, I grabbed the camera and went to sit outside looking out at the bay.

I took several pictures of the sun coming up and the birds that were feeding on the fish. It was a spectacular morning, even though it was a bit overcast. After a while I went to wake Moondance and we got dressed for the breakfast included in our Stay and Sail package at the hotel. At breakfast we met a lovely family from England, traveling with their children and their mother who were also going to be on the Pride sailing with us.

We had a nice chat, and we all wished each other a wonderful cruise and would see them again on board. We took our coffee outside and enjoyed a lovely morning. We went back to our room and pack what little we had brought up there and went back out on the balcony, still no Pride. we talk for a few moments and then were surprised to all of a sudden see the Pride at the dock, it had snuck up on us, I had expected to see it in the distance first, but it must have come in from behind the Queen Mary and the dome from where we were. It was spinning around, I dashed outside and snapped a few pictures of it turning.

We were all set, the first shuttle to the terminal was at 10 am, quite a bit later than the really early birds so I figured it would take us a while to board. I was wrong however.

I drove the car around to the front of the hotel and unloaded our luggage, WAY too much luggage, but that is typical for us. I spent quite a bit of time using the bungee cords to strap it all together so that Moondance and I would actually carry it all, but we were not looking forward to lugging that much stuff around, turns out we didn’t ever have too, we never touched the luggage again until it was outside our stateroom.

The shuttle was a bit late as there were so many roadblocks because of the festivals the day before, but around 10:15 the driver showed up and insisted we just get inside and he would load it for us, he reminded us that we were on vacation.

A quick drive ad we were inside the parking garage, our shuttle driver unloaded our luggage and hailed a porter for us who promptly loaded it all onto a cart. I tipped the porter $12 and tipped the shuttle driver a few bucks as well, it was worth it to me. All of a sudden we were there, at the terminal, our luggage already carted away. We had Yellow tags on everything as we already knew our stateroom number 6263.

We were directed over to the Queen Mary for early check-in, passing a bunch of booths selling everything from sunglasses to smoothies. Check in was a breeze as we had current passports and we were given our Sign and Sail cards.

A few minutes later we had wandered back near the outside of the dome and took a seat near where quite a few people seemed to be waiting. Moondance and I took turns taking the camera around to get pictures of the beautiful ship we were about to board. Everyone seemed happy, including the people that were disembarking, but they did look a little tired, but still happy.

A very nice lady walked up to me and said she had a strange question to ask me, then she asked if I was Astronomer, I told her I was and we had been found by Victory_Bound ( Dawn ) and her family. She told us where the line would start and that we were already near the beginning of it. We met her family and sisters and their husbands, and 2 very well behanved children, they were really nice people, Paul ( her DH ) was a great guy who seemed to be a much more serious photographer than I was. They were just a great bunch of people.

Shortly a Carnival representative showed up with a sign that read “Zone 1” which was the zone we were assigned too. Victory Bound and her family promptly lined up first behind that sign as did some others, we were probably the 10th couple in-line.

The carnival Rep, then announced that Zone 1 was for people that did the early Check-in at the Queen Mary and already had a Sign and Sail card, that if you did not, then you should be in the second line forming to our right. There was a shuffle of people to our right, a much longer line and all of a sudden we were about the 5th couple in line. Of course the line had a tendency to grow in front of us as people were holding the place for others that were shopping, but that didn’t bother us.

Suddenly the line was moving, it seemed early but we were being led inside the building and along some tables set up inside, we were at the back of the first row and way ahead of us was Victory_Bound and her troupe. After a very short wait we were led inside to the final check out and first pictures and around to the escalators to the gangway, it was time and we were finally going to board the Pride.

I was a little surprised to see Victory Bound right behind us, I have no idea how that had happened unless it just took them a bit longer for the pictures, there was more than one picture station.

We were on the gangway, a final smiling picture, and then the long but exhilarating walk on the raised gangway, we stepped aboard the Pride which was growing more beautiful with each step we took, once on board we used our S&S cards to check-onto the ship, and had one last picture taken of us to assign to our cards. Sort of an electronic ID photo.

First on the agenda ( that first day was the only day I had a real agenda ) was the stateroom, which would not be ready yet, but we hoped to drop off the carry on’s which included 3 bottles of wine and a laptop along with a few personal items, all together it was fairly heavy. We passed the Atrium and were shocked, it was even more beautiful then the pictures. We took the glass elevators up to deck 6 and quickly found out stateroom.

Wow, it was larger than I expected, we met Sueuhndra ( our assistant Steward ) who kindly set us drop off our carry on luggage. A very nice and quiet fellow from Bali. We then proceeded to the place that I will probably refer for the rest of this review as the Fantail, as that is what one would call that place on a military ship.

It was the back end of the Lido deck at the Poseidon Bar. By 11:50am we were sitting in the sun with our first “Drink of the Day” grinning from ear to ear. Everything we had seen so far surpassed our expectations. Unfortunately that grin didn’t last very long, Moondance was looking white, and told me she was feeling strangely, I was worried that if the tiny movement of the ship in port was bothering her that this might have been a bad choice of vacation. She promptly left and headed to the ladies room.

She came back to a worried husband smiling about 5 minutes later and told me it was the heat and excitement and way too much alcohol in the bottom of that glass all at once. She felt better the moment she entered the cooler bathroom. The problem passed and she didn’t feel that way again for the rest of the cruise.

We headed down to the Normandie dining room and took a look at our seating assignment. The dining room was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful. Our table however was a booth for 4 not far from the entrance. We had kind of hoped to be seated at a larger table in the middle and so we asked the assistant Matre’d about he possibility of moving, he said that was very possible and he would make a note of our request but that it probably would not happen until after the first dinner that night.

Satisfied we decided to explore a bit until our stateroom was ready. The Pride is beautiful, we had a chuckle over people that thought the décor was too risqué, it was classical art, and muted and softened at that. Every deck, every lounge and every space was beautiful, and different, and somehow fitting for the style of the ship. There was nothing even remotely offensive about any of the artwork. I would gladly have taken my children on this ship at any age.

At around 2pm we decided to check out our stateroom, and we were very surprised. Although still a small place, it was larger than we had imagined it, not only that but over the next 7 days we realized just how well laid out it was, there was room for even us over-packers, plenty of closet space, the tiny bathroom felt larger than it was, and had enough storage shelves fore everything we needed. Again and again we would comment to each other just how nice that stateroom was laid out.

The balcony was everything I had hoped it would be, large enough to stretch out on, plenty of room for the two of us and a magnificent view. Over and over during the cruise some of the greatest pictures were taken from that balcony.

We also met our delightful steward by the name of Ramon from Honduras. He always had a smile for us and took care of anything we needed. Ramon was pretty busy so instead of asking him to clear out the mini-fridge I let him know that I was going to move the contents to the bottom drawer of the dresser. He checked it first to make sure it was a complete stock and then said that was the best way to do that. I loaded all the contents into a garbage bag and put that in the drawer and then we had the fridge to ourselves.

After relaxing fro a bit we explored the ship some more until it was almost 4pm, once again to the stateroom and awaited the muster drill. The alarm sounded ( very loud, no way to miss that ) and we donned our orange life vests and proceeded ( via the stairs ) to our muster station.

It surprised me how quickly everyone arrived, buttoned up and standing in rows. I was impressed with my fellow passengers. Except for one Jr High school girl that was complaining loudly to her mother how useless this was and told her that she was mad at her for making her come to the drill. Her mother turned redder and redder as the complaining continued until I just couldn’t hold my tongue any longer.

I informed her that I was a former Coast Guardsman and that her mother didn’t require this, the US coast guard did, and that although it is indeed unlikely that such a muster would be needed, that the one time you did need it, it was worth your entire life.

She looked around at all the people that were agreeing with me and was mortified and silent, her mother turned to me and genuinely thanked me for speaking up.

The muster was over in a matter of minutes, much faster than I expected and we were allowed to return to our staterooms, quite a crowd going up the stairs ( and elevators ) taking off the life vests, the good news is that the ship had not started moving yet.

Moondance and I proceeded to the Fantail after dropping off out life vests, and then went up to the Sun deck, then we proceeded to a higher and higher deck until we were on the highest deck. Just as we arrived the ship cast off and we were waving our arms and hugging each other as we watched our first Sail Away.

After a few moments I reminded Moondance what deck she was on and told her she was required to remove her top, she declined with a chuckle.

I am starting to realize that this review could go on forever if I keep giving blow by blow accounts so I am going to try to move on a little bit here.

We left the F-Deck and found that our luggage had arrived, 5 major pieces 2 full suitcases, 2 full duffel suitcases, and 1 large garment bag. It took us most of the rest of the time between sail away and dinner ( at the late seating ) to unpack, including my going to get my Tux at the formal shop, which is very small by the way and easy to miss. ( hmmmmmm does Bob D owe me a free cruise for that? )

The tux looked great and to my surprise came with 2 shirts, I had actually packed a separate white shirt just in case I got my Tux shirt dirty, I didn’t realize they do that, good to know.

One of our duffel suitcases was mostly water and soft drinks, we had packed six 6 packs of half cans of soda, I like the half cans because they are about perfect in size when you need something to drink, or for mixing a drink. ( yes I am guilty of bringing a bottle of Rum on board….. fell free to arrest me, the funny part is I left the large majority of it for our steward a week later, but I did end up making a couple of drinks with it )

Since our suitcases had arrived we decided to dress for dinner as I was going to be uncomfortable wearing jeans to the dining room, So khaki dockers and a nice shirt for me and Moondance had on a nice skirt and blouse.

I was a little apprehensive about dinner, we were about to dine with people at our table after we had asked to move to another, I was trying to figure out how to not be offensive in telling them that.

The Normandie was beautiful, and I am glad we changed clothes. What is more our dining companions were delightful. A lady from Canada named Becky and her son David. Moondance ordered the lamb ( something she does not get at home much ) and I ordered the steak. We both ordered the pumpkin soup on the recommendations of people on the Cruise critics forum…… it was fantastic, even the desert some kind of chocolate and coffee cake/mouse. Furthermore our dining companions were so friendly and interesting that I contacted the Matre’d again, and let him know we would prefer to stay at this table after all.

We ended the evening with a stroll around what soon became my absolute favorite part of the ship. The exterior Promenade, which surprisingly enough is not on the Promenade deck ( it took me days to knock that idea out of my brain ).

We later spent some time on our balcony watching the sea and finally went to bed, to our surprise those simple beds were incredibly comfortable, the Carnival Pride gently rocked us to sleep.

Enough for part 1, which begs the question…. Why does Bob D owe us a cruise ( other than we really really really want to go on another cruise )

2 things so far

The exterior promenade is not on the promenade deck, and the beds are too comfortable.

Someone get me Bob’s e-mail address, I need to demand a free Cruise.

I will write part 2 in another couple of days.

[megansdad1]

Great review sp far. I cannot wait to read you other parts. But at this rate, you will have a whole volume of posts. :eek:

[Astronomer]

I figure 5 or 6 parts, Yeah... I promised a long and detailed report, so I have sort of painted myself into doing it this way :eek:

 

I dont mind really, helps me remember by writting it down, what was one of the most fantastic times that Moondance and I have ever had....

[I&MsMom]

Just terrific! While we have no foreseeable plans to follow in your footsteps, :( you capture the thrill and spirit of setting off on a cruise... :D Thanks so much, and can't wait to read the rest!

[Stircrzy]

Hurry up and schedule your NEXT cruise...I want to sign up for the same one you two go on!

 

Great "Part 1"!!

[mustwork2cruise]

Wonderful so far..... I can envision everything (almost ;) !)!!

[michelle2]

Thank you so much for the detailed review. I can't wait to read the next part. My family loved the Pride in November 2004. So much so that we are booked for November 2006. She is my favorite ship so far (we've been on the Pride, Spirit, and Valor). Keep the review coming...

[Wennfred]

Awesome Review, Took me back to Oct. when we last sailed on her, I also saw your beautiful pictures, I saw you swam with the dolphins, That was my favorite part of the whole cruise, and you also did Randi's Happy Horses, I can't wait to read the rest of your review, We will be back on the Pride in 67 days :D

 

Fred

[cruisenk]

I haven't been on the CC boards for weeks and decided to take a peak tonight. And boy am I glad that I did! I have loved reading all your posts pre-cruise and am just as thrilled to read your review. I can't wait to read the rest.

[2munchkins]

Astronomer-Have not responded to you before but just had to jot a little note to tell you that I have loved reading all your posts. DH and I will be sailing on the Pride this Sunday for our 10 year anniversary so it has been nice to follow your story. Loved the pictures and wanted to also say that I love that way you talk about Moondance...You two sound so happy and in love :p Looking forward to part II hopefully before I leave on Saturday!

[Victory Bound]

Hey Astronomer! Great start to your review. I chuckled several times. I have been working for the past couple of days on our photos. We had over 550. Oh my gosh!

 

Now I will begin working on my review. Went back to work today. Reality hit me in the face with over 850 e-mails and a stack of regular mail. I would rather be on the Pride. ;)

 

I look forward to your future installments.

[Astronomer]

Thanks everyone, I loved the Pride, and I am not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow, Dawn I know what you mean, tomorrow is going to be murder.

 

StirCrazy - Moondance and I have been peering at the official CC Cruises, in fact Saints and Sinners sounds like us ( more like sinners and sinners )

 

But it is so hard for Moondance to get time off during the school year.

 

We will see.....

 

2 Munchkins, you are going to have a blast! The food was better the service was better and the ship was grander than I expceted ( it was also hotter and more humid in Mexico than I expected too ) But that didnt keep us from having the time of our lives.

[pppiglet]

The food was better the service was better and the ship was grander than I expceted

 

That's exactly the way I felt about the Pride!

[Curt Jerome Wild]

[sangin']Hootee and Hooter did "the deed"

and now that they're back on shore

Hootee and Hooter feel the need

'Cause they're not cruise virgins anymore[/sangin']

Squeeee!

CJW

PS Looking forward to the great lengthy reviews, and who wants to start taking bets on how long before they start planning their next cruise?

[dirtgirl]

Thanks Astronomer, for making me relive my cruise all over again! I have been waiting for your review, and was thinking of you guys last week! :D

[wercruzin]

WOW... Great start.. Makes me want to so be there!! I will wait on pins and needles for the next installment.. Welcome back!!

[Astronomer]

[sangin']Hootee and Hooter did "the deed"

 

Curt, have you found the picture that we took just for you yet?

[jbhcw]

Thanks for a great review :) Looking forward to the rest! I've written a few and it really does help relive the experience. So - when's the next one :D

[vette]

Another thanks for a great review. It made me remember my first day on the Pride. She is a beautiful ship! Okay, where are you going next?

 

Vette

[seashell36]

The great review begins. Or should I say the epic review?! I love the beginning. It makes me want to go west to sail on the Pride. Can't wait for the rest!

[chrly]

Astronomer....I'm so glad you and moondance had a great cruise...I'll be looking forward to your next installment.

[nalady98]

WOW! I feel like I've just been on the most awesome cruise to Mexico !! Thanks for the absolute best review and pictures! That was about the best one I've ever seen. Count me in as another who wants to go on your next cruise with you guys! Looking forward to the next section of your review!

 

Martha:cool:

[VICKIVICKI]

I keep checking back to see if the next "chapter" is available! Thank you so much for your review and for the prelude. I always enjoy rerading the reviews, but I have never so passionately looked forward to reading any review as I have yours! I keep checking every hour or so to see if you have written anymore.

[Astronomer]

Astronomer’s review of the Carnival Pride sailing 6/25/06 Part 2

 

That first morning waking up on the ship was special to me, as usual I woke up long before Moondance did, I steeped outside our balcony and just took in the still night air as the first glimmering of dawn was approaching. I slipped back inside and put some socks on, it was chilly out there.

 

We had coffee scheduled via the note hanging on the door, for 7:30 am, which was still quite a while away. Of course we were now on ships time having set the clock back one hour the night before.

 

I wanted to just relax a bit first and I was pleased to find out when I turned on our Balcony light that it was plenty enough light to read by. It was relaxing with the ship gently rocking and the sound of the sea passing by. After an hour or so Moondance started stirring, so I dressed and slipped out to buy her a cappuccino. To my surprise, the specialty coffee place was not open yet. When I came back to the stateroom she was back fast asleep, she later commented to me how nice it was to be rocked to sleep.

 

So I slipped back outside and went up to the Lido deck to explore. It was full Dawn now around 6:30 or so, I found a very bleary eyed couple sitting and having coffee. I decided to say hello and joined them. They were on their 4th cruise and were having a great time. I didn’t ask but they seemed to be sleepy looking for being on the Lido deck already, then she mentioned that they were only up here waiting for the deck hands to put the lounge chairs out so they could save theirs.

 

After a year of waiting I had finally met Mr and Mrs Chair Hog! And they were a really nice and friendly couple, obviously heading back to bed after placing the towel and books they had brought to save the chairs with. I tired not to laugh, but I suspect a smile did cross my face, and I am sure they had no idea why I was so close to chuckling.

 

I didn’t remind them there was no chair saving, I didn’t remove their stuff, and I didn’t toss it overboard after they left. I know you will all be disappointed in me. I passed Mr and Mrs Chair Hog several times during the Cruise, they always had a smile and a nod for me, I mentioned this to Moondance and she warned me that I must stop referring to them as Mrs and Mrs Chair Hog or they will hear me. But I couldn’t help myself, it was just too funny to me.

 

Bottom line, Mr and Mrs Chair Hog were a really nice couple, and I am certain they weren’t the only ones as there was hardly ever a Lounge Chair available ( not covered with towels and books ) by the central pool, but they were the two that I knew for certain were. There were almost always lounge chairs available on the Fantail, and we preferred that area of the ship anyway.

 

Back to the stateroom and our coffee and croissants and melon slices arrived. The ships standard coffee is ok, it is not great, it is not terrible, it is just coffee. But still very passable in the early morning when I need my coffee. ( I am addicted to coffee )

 

After that we got dressed and decided to go to the Normandie for breakfast. At breakfast and lunch you don’t sit at your assigned table, but they seat you ( I had expected open seating, but that is not quite how it worked ) they placed us with another couple and an older lady who were also ordering breakfast.

 

It was perfect, after meeting Mr and Mrs Chair Hog I also got to meet Ms This Cruise Stinks. The older lady complained about the service, the ship in general, the Normandie restaurant is being “too much” and generally didn’t like the ship, disliked the art, she seemed both upset that it was classical art at all ( nudes ) but also upset that the art is muted ( softened ) and not exact replicas. She was very upset when other people had anything positive to say and when I mentioned how much I enjoyed the ship she promptly asked me how much Carnival was paying me to say that.

 

She then proceeded to launch into a very long drawn out story and got annoyed with me when I stopped paying strict attention ( which I must admit I was no longer very interested in her opinions )

 

The other couple were also on their first cruse and acted relived when we sat down, they too were enjoying the cruise much to the annoyance of Ms “This Cruise Stinks”.

 

We got past breakfast ( which was good, not great, but good compared to the evening meal the night before ) and beat a hasty retreat. Moondance and I commented on what a good move it was to keep our dining assignment once we had met Becky and David, we had wonderful dining companions and looked forward to seeing them that evening.

 

It was time to fully Explore the Pride. Now I am not the photographer that Paul ( Victory_Bound’s DH ) is, I am just a point and click guy so most of my pictures of the interior didn’t come out very well. But the ship is beautiful! We explored for a couple of hours. We were particularly Impressed with the Gym, the Taj Mahal Theater, the Atrium, and the exterior Promenade ( which I mentioned before as my favorite part of the ship ) There was a lot of noise coming from the Perfect Game bar as everyone was watching Soccer, and the shops walk was just beautiful.

 

We decided to eat a light lunch at the Mermaid Grill, and were very pleased with the quality of the food, and the variety of the selections. We got a window seat ( there were plenty of them ). We also noticed the sandwich bar, the 24 hour Pizza bar and the Hamburger / Hot dog / French Fires bar. We decided there was no way we were going to starve ( chuckle ).

 

I decided to give the Casino a peak and after putting $5 in a slot machine ( just playing around ) I walked away with $5.25. Look out Carnival, I was prepared to break the bank, 25 cents at a time!

 

We went back up to the Fantail and had Pretti ( the bartender from India ) pour us a drink of the day. We had lost our Souvenir glasses the evening before ( left somewhere ) so we had to pay the full price again, determined this time to not loose the glasses.

 

The we just relaxed on our private balcony most of the rest of the afternoon, looking forward to the Formal dinner that night. Everyone had told us long ago that we wouldn’t spend all that much time in our staterooms, but I know us, we actually did spend time there, and on our balcony, Moondance and I also love our alone time.

 

Dressing for dinner was actually kind of fun, it was the first time that the Stateroom felt a little cramped, but it was also kind of fun. The Tux was just about perfect! And Moondance’s brown formal was gorgeous ( which may sound strange for that color, but look at the pictures, she looked great! )

 

http://www.dwightandhelene.smugmug.com/gallery/1627869/9/79379152

 

There was a receiving line for the Captains Formal Cocktail party entering the Taj, sure enough we got to shake hands with both the Cruise Director, Chris Jefferson, and our Captain, The presentation was lovely, the drinks were prompt, and the crowd was wonderful with everyone helping each other take pictures.

 

We left the cocktail party a bit early and wandered around until we found the background we wanted for our formal pictures ( there must have been 15 different stations taking pictures, and they took their time and took several of each party )

 

With that out of the way we proceeded to the Dining room and met up with your dining companions. Becky and David looked wonderful and were obviously enjoying the cruise.

 

Moondance and I both had the lobster but I asked to share an extra entrée with her of the Prime Rib. The entire dinner was fabulous, our Head Waiter Arnold was very formal while still being friendly and the assistant waiter Ying was just a doll, she quickly took care of anything we asked for.

 

We brought wine this evening, a very expensive and very tasty red. Of course we shared this with our tablemates.

 

Afterwards we walked in our formal dress on the promenade outside. It was a very special evening for us, I couldn’t have asked for a nicer or more elegant evening.

 

When we got back to our Stateroom of course we were greeted by our first Towel Animal, wearing Moondance’s spare glasses. It was so cute!

 

For the second night, the Pride gently rocked us to sleep.

 

Hard for me to say why Bob D owes us a cruise for this day…. Let me see…….

 

Specialty coffee shop not open early enough???? Is that enough for a free cruise?

 

( now Moondance took notes in a Travel Journal, I hope she doesn’t come along and start correcting my time line, this is all out of my head. )

[Astronomer]

Folks, after an excelent sugguestion by GoinCruisn I am going to post the rest of the review in this one thread. :)