Just off the Pride - 9/23/07

[LolaBunny]

Here is my LONG, DETAILED review/recap of my trip.

 

Saturday on The Queen Mary

Wow, what a grand old ship. It was definitely an experience to see such an amazing piece of history. Although, it is disheartening to report that it is not so nice to stay at albeit extremely convenient. The rooms are very much in need of some major overhaul, some new paint, carpet and bedding. The rooms have a very musty and moldy smell to them.

 

Sunday, Embarkation Day

We got up really early in hopes of watching the Pride pull into port, but alas she was already there at 6:30 in the am. It was so excited awaiting getting on board. We immediately went for some breakfast, went to the early registration desk that Carnival has set up at the QM, got our S&S cards and then drove our car over to the parking garage for Carnival so as to get a great spot. We found a porter who was super friendly and helpful in getting our bags out of the car. We tipped him $10 and he thanked us and said we would see our bags on board. Then we parked and walked back over to the QM and got cleaned up and checked out. It was about noon when we walked back across the parking lot expecting a wait until we could board the Pride. There was no wait!! We were in a CAT 12 suite so we had priority embarkation and they were already having people go through security and board the ship. Security was fine. They were not at all interested in the two bottles of red wine, two bottles of champagne and 12 pack of Coke, but they shook each of the six one liter bottles of Evian. So then we walked right down the gangway and boarded the ship. It was overwhelmingly beautiful. The artwork and décor was just beautiful.

There was a sign at the elevators that said we couldn’t get into our room until 1:30, but many people were going to their cabins and dropping their carry ons. We attempted to do this, but were abruptly met by a very rude woman named B who refused to let us drop our bags stating her reason as, “I don’t know who you are, you could be anybody” Great, we thought, is this our cabin steward, what a nightmare, boy could we have been more right, more on that later. Our room was HUGE. So much storage, a jetted tub/shower, double sinks and a bidet, if you can believe it. There was also a separate vanity area with another sink. We had a desk and a bar and separate sitting area.

We then went to the dining room and met the maitre’d. We had been assigned a booth with just one other couple, so we asked to be moved to a larger table. We sat in the booth the first night and no one showed up. The booth was on the lower level sort of under the overhang and there were these high partition screens in between, I felt really claustrophobic and we really wanted a table with more people at it. We did get reassigned to the larger table for six, but dined alone every night at the large table with the exception of the first night when a friend joined us and also the last night when one other couple showed up. Dining alone was definitely a disappointment.

 

Cabin Steward

After being told we could be common criminals and not allowed to drop our bags, we waited until 1:30 and went back to our cabin where the B was waiting in the halls asking each of her guests what their dinner times were. B walked into our cabin as we were getting settled and inquired as to what time we were dining. At this point we asked her for ice to which she responded that she could not get us ice as she was attending to other guests and we should call room service for ice. I immediately had a terrible feeling about how the rest of our week was going to go with B in charge of our care. We later asked her for another comforter and were told NO. I asked if we could have some blankets, she told me they were old and thin, so I asked for two. We also asked if we could have a slip to get my husband’s shirts pressed. Again, NO was the response. She rudely informed us that the laundry was closed and we would have to pay 50% more. We were confused as we didn’t specify any time or day that we wanted the shirts back nor did we inquire as to the price. The next morning as we left the cabin for breakfast, we spotted B in the hall, I sent my husband to “go make nice with her”, he gave her a $10 and asked her to please keep ice in our vanity sink. He then mentioned to her we were going out for breakfast and that we hung our sign on the door, she responded and this is not an exaggeration, “I know my job.” Later that day, we called down to the pursers desk and asked if we could get a couple of deck chairs for our balcony, the lady said that she would have someone bring them up. Sure enough, fifteen minutes later B knocked at our door. “You need something?” We responded that we had called down for some deck chairs. B, “You have chair out there” Us – “Yes, but we were asking for chaise chairs.” B, “NO, you have chair out there already.” At that point we said great and sent her away. We had had ENOUGH!! We went down to the pursers’ desk and told the gentleman behind the counter our entire saga with this woman. He was stunned. He informed us that it would be in his report and that her supervisor would be informed and it would put in her file. We told him we were less interested in a note in her file and that we would really just prefer someone else as she was really making it difficult to enjoy our trip. The next morning, we had not had anyone contact us regarding B but our AC was not working properly, the maintenance crew was coming up to check our vents/unit and were going to be removing the covers, B was in the hall so we let her know that they were coming to work on the cabin AC and that normally we wouldn’t ask this, but could she please change all the linens on the bed after they were finished. She obliged and then stood in our cabin and asked “You have problem with me? You want talk to my supervisor, he say you make complaint about me” We could not have been more uncomfortable. She actually confronted us about our complaint, totally unacceptable to us. We said sure we will talk to him. She then proceeded to restate her case in some of the above issues like ice and the chairs. We just wanted her out of our cabin at this point. A few minutes later her supervisor came to our cabin. He sat down and we laid out the whole story for him. He, too, was totally shocked. He told us we would have a new cabin steward by the end of the day which we did. Todorka called us later that day informing us she was taking over our cabin and could she stop by. She asked us when our dinner was and was there anything we needed and then left the number in which would beep her along with her hours. We can’t say enough nice things about this woman!!! Because of Todorka our vacation had a complete turnaround.

 

Monday and Tuesday, Sea Days

We had a great time checking out the ship and relaxing both on the Lido deck and on our balcony. We attended the first nights show in the TajMajal and were introduced to Jeff Bronson, the Cruise Director. He was terrific. He and his staff are really energetic, friendly and super informative and helpful. On Tuesday morning we went to the shopping talk in the theater with Rick. It was great. We felt very comfortable and familiarized about the ports we would be visiting. We also caught the excursion talk with Rick on the CCL channel in our cabin. I would definitely recommend both of these talks to everyone whether or not you catch it live in the TM or on the TV at your leisure.

Monday night was formal night, everyone was dressed so nicely. It was spectacular. The food was good. I had two lobster tails and three appetizers. Yum yum. We also brought a bottle of champagne with us on both formal nights and were not charged corkage either night. Our waiter, Song, was pretty cool except he didn’t know the difference between exotic and domestic mushrooms and had my husband not gone to the maitre’d’s desk I could have been killed by the quail. Honestly, I personally do not think wild mushrooms should be served in such an environment. I liken it to serving peanuts at a day care.

 

Tuesday evening we went to David’s Supper Club. What a great meal. I had the caviar, lobster bisque and surf and turf, hubby had the crab cakes, lobster bisque and the porterhouse. We both had the chocolate desert which was also just over the top. We brought with us a bottle of ’97 Latour and we also purchased a bottle of champagne. I was sort of shocked that they charged us corkage for our bottle even though we bought a $150 bottle of champagne. We have never had that happen in all our fine dining in NYC and in Las Vegas, but oh well, it was still a fabulous dinner and great service. I would recommend everyone try David’s at least one night of their cruise on the Pride.

 

Wednesday, Puerto Vallarta

We booked an excursion directly through CCL, Exclusive Beach Resort. We were transported by coach to the La Jolla de Mismaloya resort. We had the place practically to ourselves as the resort itself was only 20% booked. The pools at this place were AWESOME. Our drinks were included in the price of the excursion, so we took full advantage of the swim up bar. We wished we had a longer time at this place. Four hours was not long enough. Anyone looking to just chill out, swim and drink should check out this one!! The coach took us back to the ship where we changed clothes and hit the town. We caught a cab downtown and walked around checking out the town and the little shops. We then went to Senor Frogs, we had mango margaritas and amazing tableside made salsa and guacamole. We also had the taco salad and fajitas, both of which were great!! The prices are, however, in line with US prices. We would have liked to have diner at Si Senor and if we ever go back we will as a couple of couples we met onboard dined there and said it was great!! We got back on board and called up a few of the couples we had met and had a cocktail party in our room on Wednesday night. It was so much fun. We called our CS, Todorka and asked if she could bring us some extra glasses and ice, this amazing lady showed up with tow large buckets of ice, glasses, corkscrew and bevnaps, she set out the glasses and made our bar look quite lovely. I called room service and had them deliver milk, oj and tonic to our room. That combined the three kinds of Vodka, Tanqueray, Kaluha and Sherry made for a lovely party.

 

Thursday, Matzatlan

WOW was it HOT!!! 98 with 92% humidity. We booked the Shopping, Beach and Lunch excursion through CCL. We were taken in groups of four by taxi to the Aztec theater in the Golden Zone where we saw a performance by the Flying Papantle(sp). We then wandered in and out of the shops in the golden zone lingering in the shops with AC.  We made our way to the hotel where lunch was. We had a delicious buffet style lunch with traditional Mexican fare. We wandered on the beach for a bit and then grabbed a cab, the driver stopped at a store so I could by some Coke, and then took us back to the ship. On the way we saw two of our friends and stopped and asked if they wanted to share the taxi back to the ship. The taxi driver actually remembered them from the morning getting off the ship. Once back on board, we collapsed. We woke up in time to grab dinner and then back to bed.

Friday, Cabo San Lucas

We got up super early as the ship was pulling into Cabo. We had heard that it could be a wait for the tenders so we decided to beat the crowd and get off on the first one. We were on the pier by 7:15. The weather was really nice, hot, but not as hot as Matzatlan. Nothing was open and we didn’t really know our way around. We walked aimlessly looking for the beach, sounds silly, but we walked around for three hours trying to figure out where the hell we were. Finally we found the beach and found a restaurant that was serving lunch as it was pretty early still, but we did not want breakfast food. We had lunch at Baja Cantina and then grabbed a couple chairs by the water. I purchased an awesome rug/banket thing from one the locals and then we caught a water taxi in a glass bottom boat. We took about a 45 minute tour out the Sea of Cortez to see the arcs and the rock formations. This was an amazing little water tour, we also saw lovers’ beach, where a few people in our boat got off. In retrospect, we wish we had booked the Cabo by Land and Sea excursion, but nonetheless we had a great time. Cabo is a great port even though it was the most commercialized of all the ports. The beach was so beautiful and the water was so blue and clear. We would definitely visit Cabo again.

 

Saturday, Last Day at Sea

What else can be said, it was just a nice relaxing day on the ship. We packed and just lounged. We had dinner and then finished packing. After that we ran into our neighbors in the lounge and had a few drinks. We ended up in their cabin drinking until 3am. We had a blast!!!

 

Sunday, Debarkation

We were #3 for debarkation. We had breakfast in the dining room and then took some pictures of the ship. We made our way down to the debarkation deck. They were already on 7,8&9. But we went to the front of the line as we had priority debarkation as well. Customs was quick and painless. We got our bags and there was a porter there to help up with them. Got the car, loaded it and were home in Vegas by 3:30 that afternoon!! WOOHOO.

 

Overall, we had a great time. We would most definitely 100% cruise again, but I doubt it would be a Carnival ship unless the itinerary was unusually spectacular. The best overall statement to describe CCL is that it is "Fine, but there is absolutely nothing outside the box"

 

The best experience was meeting new people that I hope we will stay in touch with and seeing places that we have never seen before!!!

 

Also to add – the ship is going into much needed dry dock this December. And also the beds were like bricks!! I really missed my mattress at home.

[melika091900]

thank you for the detailed review,,

im glad they let you get another stateroom attendant.. I cant believe she acted like that...

How were the fellow passengers?

when you get a chance, send some pics

take care

Melissa

[LolaBunny]

the passengers were the best part. Meeting so many different people from different walks of life!! Our next door neighbors were from Ireland and just a total blast!! We also hooked up with three people from this site that were just AWESOME. I hope that one thing I take away from my cruise is to keep the friendships I made for a very very very long time.

 

I took tons of pics. What is the best way to post them here?

[luv2cruise777l]

Thanks for the review! It sounds like you had a great trip!:)

 

I hope that B has left the ship before I go in Jan!:eek: I would hate to get stuck with someone like that.

[SmooCruise]

Great review! Thanks for sharing. I'm surprised about your bed though....when we sailed the Pride last September I found the bed very comfortable! Oh well...:)

[PACURN]

I can't believe B would act that way. I have never, and hope to never, be treated that way. WOW. Hope she doesn't jump ship to the Spirit. Yikes.

[melika091900]

the passengers were the best part. Meeting so many different people from different walks of life!! Our next door neighbors were from Ireland and just a total blast!! We also hooked up with three people from this site that were just AWESOME. I hope that one thing I take away from my cruise is to keep the friendships I made for a very very very long time.

 

I took tons of pics. What is the best way to post them here?

 

Did you download them to a website?

if so you can just post the link..

 

 

melissa

[LolaBunny]

Great review! Thanks for sharing. I'm surprised about your bed though....when we sailed the Pride last September I found the bed very comfortable! Oh well...:)

 

I know!! Everyone that I have talked to said their bed was way comfy. We were in our neighbors room having drinks the last night and I sat on their bed and it was WAY more comfy than ours. I guess we just got a dunce, in fact, one side of ours was way more firm than the other already firm side.

 

Did you download them to a website?

if so you can just post the link..

 

 

melissa

 

I will have to work on that this weekend. Does photobucket (sp) work well?

 

And regarding B, hopefully, there will be enough complaints to get her either reasigned where she isn't dealing so directly with guest, or I wouldn't even be upset if she were totally let go. She was a total bitch and has no business being in the service industry. :rolleyes:

[shawilson]

Thanks for taking the time to do your review!

 

Do you know what will be done during drydock?

[davidt1968]

Major renovations: Club 02 for 15-17 year olds will be done and Mini-Golf will be done on the 11th deck forward.

 

Minor renovations: The usual things such as carpet and furniture improvements.

 

This is what I've been told by my Travel Agent and Carnival. It's quite possible they will also upgrade all televisions to the flat screens. The Pride dry-docks every 3 years.

 

The Pride is my favorite ship to date. Looking forward for my 3rd voyage on the Pride. I'll be sailing right after dry-dock.

 

David

 

Upcoming Cruises:

Carnival Pride: Mexico-12/16/2007

NCL Sun: Alaska-05/11/2008

 

Past Cruises:

Holland America Noordam: Alaska-Sept/2007

NCL Star: Mexico-Apr/2007

Carnival Liberty: Western Carribean-Jan/2007

Carnival Paradise: Baja Mexico-Dec/2006

Carnival Pride: Mexico-Oct/2006

Carnival Spirit: Mexico-Feb/2006

NCL Star: Alaska-Sept/2005

Carnival Paradise: Baja Mexico-Apr/2005

Carnival Pride: Mexico-Sept/2004

Carnival Elation: Mexico-June/2003

[SmooCruise]

Major renovations: Club 02 for 15-17 year olds will be done and Mini-Golf will be done on the 11th deck forward.

 

Minor renovations: The usual things such as carpet and furniture improvements.

 

This is what I've been told by my Travel Agent and Carnival. It's quite possible they will also upgrade all televisions to the flat screens. The Pride dry-docks every 3 years.

 

The Pride is my favorite ship to date. Looking forward for my 3rd voyage on the Pride. I'll be sailing right after dry-dock.

 

David

 

Upcoming Cruises:

Carnival Pride: Mexico-12/16/2007

NCL Sun: Alaska-05/11/2008

 

Past Cruises:

Holland America Noordam: Alaska-Sept/2007

NCL Star: Mexico-Apr/2007

Carnival Liberty: Western Carribean-Jan/2007

Carnival Paradise: Baja Mexico-Dec/2006

Carnival Pride: Mexico-Oct/2006

Carnival Spirit: Mexico-Feb/2006

NCL Star: Alaska-Sept/2005

Carnival Paradise: Baja Mexico-Apr/2005

Carnival Pride: Mexico-Sept/2004

Carnival Elation: Mexico-June/2003

 

Hey there neighbor! You should come sail the Spirit with us in '09. I lost my address book and don't have your email addy anymore. Send me an email if you're interested! I'm going with a fun group. mcmoo@sbcglobal.net

[TropicalTam]

I just had to reply to this post that I dug up in my searching. I was part of a group of six (three cabins) that cruised on the Pride last week. Since my return I have enjoyed reading about other cruisers adventures and how they compared to ours. We have cruised many times and loved our trip but did have problems with our room steward. It seems that the room steward "B" that was mentioned above has been reassigned to the 4000 level obstructed view cabins as we got to experience her first hand during our cruise last week. It was the same name, the same introduction, the same attitude and even some of the same problems that the above poster mentioned. My daughter asked for ice and "B" told her where the ice machine was located. Nobody in our group got ice all week. As other stewards would tote around a cooler we would go to the ice machine for ours! The same thing with a blanket-we asked "B" for an extra and nothing. We were lucky enough to get one from room service on a day when "B" was absent? It seemed that someone in our group always had a story about their daily encounter with "B". We are an easy-going group and didn't make a bit deal out of it but decided that our comment card and tip would reflect our service from "B". On the last day we removed our tips from our sign and sail cards and prepared envelopes and cash for personal delivery. I wonder if "B" somehow found out about this as after that she would not even speak to us. Our room did not get turn down service, a chocolate or a towel animal that evening. In the morning we decided to give it another go and say our goodbyes. "B" was much to busy for us and hustled on by. How humorous it was to find another post about the same steward we encountered. Future Pride cruisers - you have been warned!

[Bombos]

I just had to reply to this post that I dug up in my searching. I was part of a group of six (three cabins) that cruised on the Pride last week. Since my return I have enjoyed reading about other cruisers adventures and how they compared to ours. We have cruised many times and loved our trip but did have problems with our room steward. It seems that the room steward "B" that was mentioned above has been reassigned to the 4000 level obstructed view cabins as we got to experience her first hand during our cruise last week. It was the same name, the same introduction, the same attitude and even some of the same problems that the above poster mentioned. My daughter asked for ice and "B" told her where the ice machine was located. Nobody in our group got ice all week. As other stewards would tote around a cooler we would go to the ice machine for ours! The same thing with a blanket-we asked "B" for an extra and nothing. We were lucky enough to get one from room service on a day when "B" was absent? It seemed that someone in our group always had a story about their daily encounter with "B". We are an easy-going group and didn't make a bit deal out of it but decided that our comment card and tip would reflect our service from "B". On the last day we removed our tips from our sign and sail cards and prepared envelopes and cash for personal delivery. I wonder if "B" somehow found out about this as after that she would not even speak to us. Our room did not get turn down service, a chocolate or a towel animal that evening. In the morning we decided to give it another go and say our goodbyes. "B" was much to busy for us and hustled on by. How humorous it was to find another post about the same steward we encountered. Future Pride cruisers - you have been warned!

 

We're sailing on the Pride in just under 3 weeks. It's a shame to have a CS that just flat out provides poor service and a bad attitude. We'll know when we first me our CS, and if it happens to be "B", we'll be making a phone call REAL fast! Thanks for the fair warning and hope the rest of your cruise was better!