Review of the May 23rd Pride from Baltimore..

[1stTimeRoyal]

Myself, my wife, 9 mo. old, and parents just got home from the 7 night Baltimore cruise, stopping at Freeport, Half Moon Cay, and Grand Turk. We've sailed all the major lines, and this was our first Carnival cruise. We had a great time, and I will answer any questions.....

 

Embarkation- A breeze. Arrived at the pier at around 12:30, on the ship by 1:30. We had VIP boarding so this helped. Baltimore is always a breeze I've found.

 

Cabin- We had a Cat. 11 suite. It wasn't much larger than a typical balcony room, and with the little one, it was a bit cramped, but overall it was a fine cabin. The balcony was a bit bigger, and the bathroom was ideal, with a tub and dual sinks.

 

Food- Always a hot topic. I found the food on Carnival to be about average for all the lines we've taken, and that's not a bad thing. I really have nothing bad at all to say about the food. One complaint though was that I found the first page of the dinner menu, starters, to be pretty uninspiring. The entrees were uniformly very good though. I thought only 2 dessert choices was a little limited too, but the melting cake was always there if we needed it. Lido buffet was excellent IMO. Very well laid out, we enjoyed the pizza, deli, asian, and the rotating taste of nations. Everyone was raving about the deli, and I thought the asian food was always well done. Burgers and dogs were ok. We did David's once, and found it to be pretty spectacular. Big time recommendations to the 10 oz filet,lobster bisque, shrimp cocktail, and the chocolate dessert.

 

Service- Excellent. Uniformly excellent. From the waitstaff, to cabin stewards, to the photo crew, EVERYONE was friendly. Everyone was suberb with our daughter. No complaints here.

 

Activites- Found the cruise director staff to be prompt, which is an admirable trait when you are planning your days around ping pong tournaments, or trivia,...they were always on time (not so on other ships). Plenty of stuff to do during the day, and fun stuff at night including a great piano bar, casino etc.

 

Entertainment- Surprisingly, the weak spot of the trip. Outside of a VERY funny comedian, Tommy Drake, and a decent ventriloquist, not a great trip in the main show lounge. I mean, when you only have 2 singers, and neither are that good, to then have 3 production shows built around them is rough. Vroom, the pop music show, is 100 times superior to the jazz show and world music show, both of which were about as bad as anything I've seen on a ship. Not good here, but not like you can't leave if you don't like, maybe others did, to each his own.

 

Rundown of the shows- Day 1-Welcome aboard show-Comedian

Day2- Wonderful World

Day3- Ventriloquist

Day4-Jazzin

Day5- Tommy Drake

Day6- Vroom

Day 7- Legends

 

Ports- I know some people don't like this run, but we had a great time. In Grand Turk, we did the aqua boat excursion, which was so fun. Half Moon Cay is about as good a beach as you'll find, and if you have the means, I highly recommend the cabanas, like heaven. In Freeport, I did golf, and my wife went to the Wyndham resort, and both were very good. The key on this trip is to find good excursions for Turk and Freeport, because they aren't great wandering places if you have nothing to do.

 

Other random thoughts...

 

Doug in the Piano bar is very good.

Bitter and Blanc is too good for words.

Miami Vice is the perfect drink on a cruise.

Photo staff was so great with the baby, we got some really nice pics off this trip.

If you get Saryonna in the dining room, or Dewa as a cabin steward..treat them well. They deserve it, and are amazing people.

Deembarkation was a breeze as well. We waited in our cabin till around 11:15, proceeded to Deck 3, and were off the ship driving home by 11:50.

 

Would definetly sail Carnival again, and would love maybe a Western Carib. itineary out of Baltimore.

 

Any questions ask away...

[Jeffy294]

Good review. Glad to hear the service was good, in some reviews from the previous Pride sailings said the service was not very good. I am glad they are picking it up.

[Patinthehat]

I'm always glad when people who have sailed other (more expensive) lines have a great time on Carnival.

 

Also, agree with Jeffy, nice to see some good stuff about the service of the Pride since it came to Baltimore.

 

Great review, and thanks!

[HTownMC]

 

Ports- I know some people don't like this run, but we had a great time. In Grand Turk, we did the aqua boat excursion, which was so fun. Half Moon Cay is about as good a beach as you'll find, and if you have the means, I highly recommend the cabanas, like heaven. In Freeport, I did golf, and my wife went to the Wyndham resort, and both were very good. The key on this trip is to find good excursions for Turk and Freeport, because they aren't great wandering places if you have nothing to do.

 

Any questions ask away...

 

Great review! We will be on in a week. How/when/where do you rent the cabanas for Half Moon Cay? What was the cost?

How was the weather?

From a couple of reviews for the early May cruise, I heard that the weather was a little cool the first 2 days since we are starting in Baltimore and not in Florida. How was the weather the first couple of days?

[jamscckmc]

Hi! How would you rate the golf course in Freeport? Have you golfed in other Carribean ports? If so, how would you compare this course? I have DH signed up for this. Did you book through the ship? I also would love more info on the Wyndham. I've heard some negative reviews stating it was run down, no shade, not enough chairs, included food not great, etc. Any info your DW has would be appreciated. thank you!

[carribeanpirate18]

In Freeport, I did golf, and my wife went to the Wyndham resort, and both were very good.

 

I am also considering the golf for our trip in August. How was the course? Are rental clubs included in the price or is it an option?

[kevinandrenay]

Thanks for the review. We have cruised about 10 times and live in Baltimore. We have done mostly RCCL and Princess ( We really like them ) and 1 Celebrity. We have booked our first Carnival cruise for September and were a little skeptical. My Parents work at the Port of Baltimore and said they have heard nothing but good things from passengers. It is always good to hear good reviews from fellow CC members.

 

Thanks,

Kevin

[1stTimeRoyal]

Couple replies....

 

1. The cabanas cost like 250 for the day. If you want additional people for the cabana, I think the 250 is for 4 people, you have to pay like $39 per person. However, no one really cares how many people you have in the cabana. The extra $$ for the per person fee goes to extra drinks, food, and snorkeling equipment. But, if that stuf isn't important, don't bother and just spend the $250. Book them IMMEDIATELY when getting on the ship, at the shore excursion desk. We booked them maybe 15 minutes after they started boarding, and like 5 of the 15 were already booked.

 

2. Golf at the Reef Course at Lucaya was OK. Chuck, the golf pro, is a great down to earth guy, and you will have a good time. But, the course is really subpar compared to say Mahogany Run in St. Thomas, or some of the Bermuda courses. The $125 does not include clubs, shoes, balls, glove etc, so the round ends up being like $200 per person...but considering the lack of other options in Freeport, its a good time.

 

3. From DW as per the Wyndham...its not a luxury resort, but its fine. No one hangsout inside the hotel, hardly any people actually staying at the resort. Tons of chairs at the pool, tons of chairs at the beach. The beach is ok, not as good as HMC. Workers at the resort try to get people to play volleyball, trapeze etc. There's a buffet and a little hut with fried food on the beach...cafeteria style food but it wasn't bad (breakfast was french toast, sausage, bacon, home fries....lunch was pasta station, salad bar,fruit, chicken, mahi mahi). But, this resort really would appeal to you if you are a drinker, which DW is not, as its open bar, and many people got wasted. The price does seem to include a lot of stuff.. $90 per person.

 

4. We got real lucky with the weather. It was around 80 the first three sea days, and around 85 in the Caribbean. No rain, except for like 1 hour on the second sea day, and at night during the deck party, which then became covered. We heard the previous cruise it rained the entire time, not so for us.

 

Keep em coming

[green eyed lady]

We're booked on the New Years sailing of Pride and haven't sailed Carnival in several years so I was thrilled to hear such a great review! I have to agree with you on the Bitter and Blanc...the BEST dessert ever! :D

 

Hi Janis! Good luck planning your excursions ;)

[andychris]

Thanks for the review. Glad you had a great time. Can't wait to sail in August!!

What do you get in the cabana? What's included?

Thanks

[cruiser82]

Thank you for the review and the cabana information in particular as we're thinking of getting one for our cruise in August. I remember reading a month or so ago that the price was $220 but it seems like the price has increased to $250 which is a bit disappointing. Who knows what the price will be in August!

[cathyoo]

Excellent review.. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I also would love to see a different itinerary out of Baltimore.

[1stTimeRoyal]

With the cabana you get...

 

2 giant bottles of water, 2 cans of soda per person, fruit, veggies, chips.

 

Snorkel gear and water mats one per person.

 

Also, Air conditioning, a giant fan, hammock, two lounge chairs, a table and 4 chairs.

[HTownMC]

With the cabana you get...

 

2 giant bottles of water, 2 cans of soda per person, fruit, veggies, chips.

 

Snorkel gear and water mats one per person.

 

Also, Air conditioning, a giant fan, hammock, two lounge chairs, a table and 4 chairs.

 

Thanks! This is very helpful. We are considering getting one for the 4 of us (wife and 2 sons - 9 & 12) if we get there in time. We don't snorkel, but that's OK.

[cruiser82]

That's great that hammocks are included. I was under the impression that hammocks were placed in various locations around the island and some happened to be near a cabana but they were for everyone to use, not just exclusively for the cabana occupants.