Pride July 3rd cruise brief review

[jjtlawoffice]

Waiting to get off the Pride and using up my minutes on the internet plan. Just some general thoughts.

 

BTW, the internet was VERY slow lots of complaints. It seemeed worse when in port. It became quite frustrating at times.

 

Food: I was very impressed with the quality of the food. We have cruised almost exclusively with RCCL in the past. In my opinion the food on Carnival is significantly better.

 

Layout of the ship: Really did not like the layout. Found it more inclosed then RCCL megaliners. Also, at lunch time the Mermaid Grill becomes very crowded - especially at sea days. You can spend quite a bit of time searching for a table. The paintings/sculptures are not my taste and might offend some. Some parents may have an issue with their children on this.

 

Ports; The main reason for taking this cruise was that it left from Baltimore. Since we live in the area, we decided on this cruise, eventhough not much interested in the other ports of call. It was so easy to leave from Baltimore and the process went amazingly well. Cruising down the Chesapeake Bay is a great experience

 

Port Canaveral: We decided to rent a car and go to Universal Studios [had done disney and cape canaveral. Relatively easy to do but a bit hectic on time at the end.

 

Nassau: Did the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim which was the best experience of the trip. Awesome! Kids loved it. Their ferry even took us directly back to the port.

 

Freeport: Did the Trikk Pony beach horse ride. Very easy, you don't need alot of experience riding. Could be a little boring for some. Not sure I would do it again.

 

Sea Days. Going down was relatively easy. The weather was bad on the way back and lots of motion.

 

Cabin; We had 4228 a raparound aft balcony cabin. View was great and wonderful just sitting on the backporch of the ship. But be warned the sound and vibration can be very loud. With that many days at sea would not do this again.

 

Time to go - heanding home.

[lorriv20]

Waiting to get off the Pride and using up my minutes on the internet plan. Just some general thoughts.

 

BTW, the internet was VERY slow lots of complaints. It seemeed worse when in port. It became quite frustrating at times.

 

Food: I was very impressed with the quality of the food. We have cruised almost exclusively with RCCL in the past. In my opinion the food on Carnival is significantly better.

 

Layout of the ship: Really did not like the layout. Found it more inclosed then RCCL megaliners. Also, at lunch time the Mermaid Grill becomes very crowded - especially at sea days. You can spend quite a bit of time searching for a table. The paintings/sculptures are not my taste and might offend some. Some parents may have an issue with their children on this.

 

Ports; The main reason for taking this cruise was that it left from Baltimore. Since we live in the area, we decided on this cruise, eventhough not much interested in the other ports of call. It was so easy to leave from Baltimore and the process went amazingly well. Cruising down the Chesapeake Bay is a great experience

 

Port Canaveral: We decided to rent a car and go to Universal Studios [had done disney and cape canaveral. Relatively easy to do but a bit hectic on time at the end.

 

Nassau: Did the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim which was the best experience of the trip. Awesome! Kids loved it. Their ferry even took us directly back to the port.

 

Freeport: Did the Trikk Pony beach horse ride. Very easy, you don't need alot of experience riding. Could be a little boring for some. Not sure I would do it again.

 

Sea Days. Going down was relatively easy. The weather was bad on the way back and lots of motion.

 

Cabin; We had 4228 a raparound aft balcony cabin. View was great and wonderful just sitting on the backporch of the ship. But be warned the sound and vibration can be very loud. With that many days at sea would not do this again.

 

Time to go - heanding home.

 

We will be in that very cabin on July 24th. Were you saying that you would not book the cabin again because of the noise? Was it at certain times or always? We are very excited and can't wait for our cabin. Do you any other photos or comments that you could share on the cabin or the ship in general? Was their wireless in the cabin, or just in public areas? Did you attend the Legends show, and if so, do you know which Gloria Estafan songs they did? I am sure I will have more questions.

[Guest Crazeecat5]

DH & I will be on the Pride in August. Could you tell me if there was a "live band" that played rock from the 70's and other music from the 60's, 70's and on up?

 

Lorriv20....I'm in NEPA too. We are near Hawley, where are you?

[cruisenuts4life]

I will be on Pride in September and was thinking of going to Universal also.I am worried about the time as it takes 1 hour to get there. Would you not recommend doing this ?I know in September it shouldnt be as hectic.

[jerseygirl2609]

Thanks for the brief review. We are going in August.... what time did they let you board in Baltimore?

[read52]

I just got home from this trip. The big question is when do they board. We got to the port at 12:20 and were checked in by 12:40. We had to wait until about 1:45 to board. The parking lot was crowded between 2-3 o'clock. You can't get in the rooms until about 3:30.

[DPurcell58]

Glad you pretty much liked your cruise since we're also RCCL cruisers trying Carnival for the 1st time.

 

Is the Dolphin swim in Nassau a Carnival sponsored excursion or did you book it on your own?

[WhansaMi]

We will be in that very cabin on July 24th. Were you saying that you would not book the cabin again because of the noise? Was it at certain times or always? We are very excited and can't wait for our cabin. Do you any other photos or comments that you could share on the cabin or the ship in general? Was their wireless in the cabin, or just in public areas? Did you attend the Legends show, and if so, do you know which Gloria Estafan songs they did? I am sure I will have more questions.

 

We were in the cabin just above this one on 6/26. I don't know what vibration the OP experienced, but I think this may just be a matter of perception and what people like. I did feel a mild vibration, but I liked it; it was soothing to me.

 

As far as noise goes, the rumble of the engines didn't bother me a bit. However, the 3rd deck is the upper floor of the dining room -- maybe that was the noise they heard?

 

The Estafan song was "Turn the Beat Around", if I recall correctly. Will you try out? Our Estafan was... ummm... not terrific ;-) but she was infinitely better than our Britney Spears :-O.

[Mskala]

Waiting to get off the Pride and using up my minutes on the internet plan. Just some general thoughts.

 

BTW, the internet was VERY slow lots of complaints. It seemeed worse when in port. It became quite frustrating at times.

 

Food: I was very impressed with the quality of the food. We have cruised almost exclusively with RCCL in the past. In my opinion the food on Carnival is significantly better.

 

Layout of the ship: Really did not like the layout. Found it more inclosed then RCCL megaliners. Also, at lunch time the Mermaid Grill becomes very crowded - especially at sea days. You can spend quite a bit of time searching for a table. The paintings/sculptures are not my taste and might offend some. Some parents may have an issue with their children on this.

 

Ports; The main reason for taking this cruise was that it left from Baltimore. Since we live in the area, we decided on this cruise, eventhough not much interested in the other ports of call. It was so easy to leave from Baltimore and the process went amazingly well. Cruising down the Chesapeake Bay is a great experience

 

Port Canaveral: We decided to rent a car and go to Universal Studios [had done disney and cape canaveral. Relatively easy to do but a bit hectic on time at the end.

 

Nassau: Did the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim which was the best experience of the trip. Awesome! Kids loved it. Their ferry even took us directly back to the port.

 

Freeport: Did the Trikk Pony beach horse ride. Very easy, you don't need alot of experience riding. Could be a little boring for some. Not sure I would do it again.

 

Sea Days. Going down was relatively easy. The weather was bad on the way back and lots of motion.

 

Cabin; We had 4228 a raparound aft balcony cabin. View was great and wonderful just sitting on the backporch of the ship. But be warned the sound and vibration can be very loud. With that many days at sea would not do this again.

 

Time to go - heanding home.

 

Did you book the Trikk Pony Beach Horse Ride through Carnival or did you book it on your own? I want to ride on the beach during my September cruise but it is not available through Carnival.

[crisperjr]

Waiting to get off the Pride and using up my minutes on the internet plan. Just some general thoughts.

 

BTW, the internet was VERY slow lots of complaints. It seemeed worse when in port. It became quite frustrating at times.

 

Food: I was very impressed with the quality of the food. We have cruised almost exclusively with RCCL in the past. In my opinion the food on Carnival is significantly better.

 

Layout of the ship: Really did not like the layout. Found it more inclosed then RCCL megaliners. Also, at lunch time the Mermaid Grill becomes very crowded - especially at sea days. You can spend quite a bit of time searching for a table. The paintings/sculptures are not my taste and might offend some. Some parents may have an issue with their children on this.

 

Ports; The main reason for taking this cruise was that it left from Baltimore. Since we live in the area, we decided on this cruise, eventhough not much interested in the other ports of call. It was so easy to leave from Baltimore and the process went amazingly well. Cruising down the Chesapeake Bay is a great experience

 

Port Canaveral: We decided to rent a car and go to Universal Studios [had done disney and cape canaveral. Relatively easy to do but a bit hectic on time at the end.

 

Nassau: Did the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Swim which was the best experience of the trip. Awesome! Kids loved it. Their ferry even took us directly back to the port.

 

Freeport: Did the Trikk Pony beach horse ride. Very easy, you don't need alot of experience riding. Could be a little boring for some. Not sure I would do it again.

 

Sea Days. Going down was relatively easy. The weather was bad on the way back and lots of motion.

 

Cabin; We had 4228 a raparound aft balcony cabin. View was great and wonderful just sitting on the backporch of the ship. But be warned the sound and vibration can be very loud. With that many days at sea would not do this again.

 

Time to go - heanding home.

 

 

 

We are renting a car from Avis at Port Canaveral and going to Disney. Could you walk me through your time table for your day? How was picking up your car, what time? What time did you get back, traffic?

 

 

Oliver

[andychris]

thanks for the review!!!

[green eyed lady]

We're also thinking of doing Universal...who did you rent the car from and how late did you return it? I thought the rental offices in Port Canaveral close around 6...do they have some kind of arrangement for a late drop off?

[Megnolia]

To JTT or Whansa...

 

I have room 5258 booked (right around the corner from where you were, on deck 5). I am concerned about the "white space" on the deck layout. What was directly across the call from that room (well, kiddy corner, in the area that doesn't have passenger rooms...) I'd love to know!

[pickypeg]

We will be on the Pride in Oct. Did they just change the ports? Those ports are the ones we are going to. Did you like going to Blue Lagoon . What did you do the other than Dolphin Swim. Was the beach nice. Tell us more. :D

[pickypeg]

My clock is not showing up on my post. wounder why:confused: Oct 4 Pride

[DiverGal]

We were on the 6/26 sailing of this ship. Different itinerary, and we loved the ship ourselves, including the offbeat decor. Totally, totally agree about the internet service, though.

 

Not only was the internet access SLOW, it often didn't work at all. My husband and I would go every morning around 6 to 7 am, and three out of the six mornings we tried, the service froze, hung up or was otherwise simply out of commission. One lady in the room with us had just spent a half hour writing email and lost it. This happened also at other times throughout the day and night. Even when it did work, it took minutes to load some pages. Very, very slow and not worth the money we spent to buy the package (we never were able to use all our minutes due to how seldom we could even get on or stay on).

 

Everything else about the trip was so wonderful, we ended up happy anyway, but it really is a shortcoming for those who depend on being connected while on their trip.

[WhansaMi]

To JTT or Whansa...

 

I have room 5258 booked (right around the corner from where you were, on deck 5). I am concerned about the "white space" on the deck layout. What was directly across the call from that room (well, kiddy corner, in the area that doesn't have passenger rooms...) I'd love to know!

 

If it is the area I'm thinking of, it is just a closet/storage space for the steward's supplies.

[Megnolia]

That's great, thank you Whansa!

 

I was just worried it might be an ice machine or guest laundry, in which case I would move over to the other side ;)

 

I appreciate your reply, and I can't wait for this trip!

[RAVI360]

i'm thinking about booking for july 2010........but i hate the ports of call.....if it change i will book in a minute

[DPurcell58]

You need to try August, better ports.

[mr0315]

We will be sailing the Pride on 9/6 - can't wait! We chose this one simply because it sails out of Baltimore. It will be so nice to jump on I-95 and be at port within an hour. I'm hoping they add a new itinerary by next year.

 

Crazeecat5, I saw in your post that you're from the Hawley area. We're part-timers at the Hideout down the road in Lake Ariel. Beautiful, peaceful area. The plan is to eventually retire there.:)

[lorriv20]

DH & I will be on the Pride in August. Could you tell me if there was a "live band" that played rock from the 70's and other music from the 60's, 70's and on up?

 

Lorriv20....I'm in NEPA too. We are near Hawley, where are you?

 

We are just outside of Nanticoke. I see someone mentioned the hideout. My dad built many of the homes there when it was first developed. Our family now has a cabin in the "White Haven Poconos" devlopment.

[jjtlawoffice]

We will be in that very cabin on July 24th. Were you saying that you would not book the cabin again because of the noise? Was it at certain times or always? We are very excited and can't wait for our cabin. Do you any other photos or comments that you could share on the cabin or the ship in general? Was their wireless in the cabin, or just in public areas? Did you attend the Legends show, and if so, do you know which Gloria Estafan songs they did? I am sure I will have more questions.

 

The noise and vibration especially on the way back. It is a great room in the bay and bahamas but not in the atlantic. Did not use wireless just the internet cafe. Did attend the Legends show - some good - some not. Don't remember her song

[jjtlawoffice]

DH & I will be on the Pride in August. Could you tell me if there was a "live band" that played rock from the 70's and other music from the 60's, 70's and on up?

 

Lorriv20....I'm in NEPA too. We are near Hawley, where are you?

 

The band was the ship band that did one of the review shows.

[jjtlawoffice]

I will be on Pride in September and was thinking of going to Universal also.I am worried about the time as it takes 1 hour to get there. Would you not recommend doing this ?I know in September it shouldnt be as hectic.

 

We did it all in plenty of time. We did all the major rides and still got back in time. Check with the car rental agency as to when their shuttle to the pier ends. We did thrifty and the shuttle ends at 3:30. We got back after, so I dropped the family off at the port and then dropped the car off. Called a cab [the number is posted by the dropbox] and the cab was there in less then 10 minutes and it was a $12.00 cab ride.