Pride Review 8/7-8/14

[historyteacher41877]

On this cruise I had my wife and 14 year old step-daughter. My wife and I went on the Miracle two years ago for our honeymoon and had a great trip. We loved not having to fly so when we saw the Baltimore itinerary, we figured this would be a good trip. We were in cabin 5175 with an obstructed view. The obstruction was not an issue at all. Anyone who has one of these booked do not worry, you barely notice it.

Day 1

Embarkation

Embarkation went real smooth. The boat was delayed getting to Baltimore due to a medical emergency on the previous cruise. Carnival contacted everyone to tell them to get to the port a little bit later. Getting there from New Jersey was simple. We got off at the exit and pulled right into the parking lot, our luggage was taken and we were headed inside to check in. This went quickly and before we knew it we were waiting in zone 14. We entered the terminal at about 2:00 and were on the boat at 3:30.

We decided to get a drink and check the ship out. By the time we got to the Lido deck it was as if we just left the Miracle. We had reservations that night for the supper club. We figured this was a good night to do it since it is anytime dining. Thankfully we talked to the girl showing off the meat to get guests to book the supper club. She informed us the supper club would probably not open which it didn’t. My main problem is, had we not talked to her we never would have known. No one informed us on their own. We had to make the call to find out. Had we not we would have gotten all set to go and wound up being very disappointed.

Dinner is open seating the first night. We figured we would eat late and wait for the line to die down which got pretty long. At 8:30 when we went to eat, it was still long. However the staff did a great job keeping the line moving and had us seated relatively quickly. The dinners were good but never great. I did have the jerked pork loin one night and it came with a piece of eggplant fried in a tempura batter. It was one of the most surprising parts of any of the meals. We didn’t go to the welcome aboard show and we were glad we didn’t. Danny the cruise director kind of annoyed us during the trip. He laughed too hard at his own jokes and just seemed kind of phony. I guess that’s his job though.

Day 2 and 3

Both of these were full days at sea. The staff does a great job of providing a lot of different activities. I went to the fitness center to work out on day 2. I was not happy with the layout or the equipment provided so it gave me a good reason not to workout the rest of the trip. After my workout I sat in the steam room which was great. It’s big, well lit and relaxing. Then I took a shower in the locker room. This was one of the highlights of the ship. Anyone who goes has to try the showers in the spa. They are big and have a shower head on the ceiling about seven feet high. Then there are 2 shower heads on each side of your shoulder and waist that spray water out as well. I showered there whenever I could the rest of the trip.

I went to the lido deck for lunch and was never thrilled with the selections. None of them ever looked that good. I’m also not a big fan of buffets. I got a burger from the station near the pool bar. These were excellent. For frozen burgers, these were juicy and tender.

One day I decided to try the room service. I got the hot pastrami and New York strip sandwich. It comes with brie cheese which I hate so I substituted mozzarella cheese instead. The first time I got it the meat was a perfect medium rare. It was never like that again but it was still very good. The pastrami was also very good.

Day 4 Grand Turk

What a beautiful place this was. My day started right away. I went on the Deep Sea fishing trip and had to be at the pier at 7:15. This trip was horrible and I would never recommend it to anyone. If you have it booked now, cancel it. If you were thinking about it, don’t. They pack 8 people on the boat. They troll for the fish and when a fish is on everyone takes a turn reeling the fish in. Basically the most fish you are going to reel in is one, if you’re lucky. I was not, and wound up not even getting a chance to touch a fishing rod. There were three of us on the boat who never got to fish. I’ve been on many fishing trips in my life. I understand that you are not going to catch a fish sometimes. However, I have never been on a fishing trip where I didn’t get to touch a fishing pole. As soon as the shore excursion desk opened up I immediately went to get my money back. All they could do was give me 25 percent back and to call the guest services office when I return. I am currently waiting for them to get back to me as they are reviewing my case.

My wife and her daughter did the catamaran sail and snorkel. They loved it. They snorkeled right where the famous 7000 foot drop is and saw some cool things. They then went to a beach and had a rum punch that they were bringing to everyone while they were in the water. As I was getting off the boat from changing my clothes I saw there ship come in and everyone was yelling and screaming and looked like they all had a great time. Of course this made me even angrier as I would have done that trip had Carnival provided a better description of the fishing trip

Luckily the day was not a waste. We went over to Margariataville to get some lunch. I did not expect there to be as much fun going on there as there was. The pool is beautiful. It has a bar you can swim up to which I took full advantage of. There is nothing like being in a pool and ordering a drink. They have a d.j. there that kept everyone entertained all day long. He had dance contest, beer drinking contest and all kinds of other things. You can go in and out of the pool or go swim at the beach. We did the beach for a little bit but it was not nearly as much fun as the pool. So we went back to the pool. If I were to do it again, I’d plan an early excursion and then hang out at the pool the rest of the day. No point in doing anything else to me.

Day 5 Half Moon Cay

Everything you have read about it is true. It is beautiful. The beach is like walking through flour. I had an excursion booked at noon so that meant I could get on the first tender along with my family. However no one checked anything to make sure we were supposed to be on the boat. So if you want to get on the island right away just mix in with the shore excursion people. Everyone else had to go get a number and wait for their tender. It was really hot there. By 2 I had enough of the sun. This place beat people up. Everyone was hot and tired by the end. I imagine half the boat was napping by three or four. That is how tired it made you. My step daughter slept for 2 hours when we got back and she never takes naps.

I did the aquatrax jet ski. It was o.k. They take you around the island. This is not a free for all go do what you want on your jet ski trip. You stay in a line and the only way to go as fast as you want is to get distance between you and the person in front of you and then catch up. If I could do it again I would not have done it. My wife did the parasailing. She said it was fun but it was too quick and again was not worth the money. Live and learn. If we are ever there again we’ll probably just hang out on the beach. We did take advantage of a clam shell. This was worth it. It got us some shade if we wanted it and then we could get the sun while we were in the water.

I know everyone makes a big deal out of the cabanas. I just didn’t see the point. For all that money you are not getting anything that great. We spent our time in the water or walking around. If we wanted a break we went in the clam shell for a little bit and then back to an activity. I didn’t go on vacation to sit on a porch.

The food is very good at half moon cay. The jerk chicken was excellent and they have burgers, hot dogs, good side dishes and some nice desserts.

More to come later in the week

[kevinandrenay]

Great review so far. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. We leave 8-21-2009 for our first Carnival cruise on the Pride. Overall did you like the ship? Did you see any shows? Sorry to hear about your excursions. I have done some deep sea fishing and never heard of not getting to touch a rod and reel. Can't wait ti hear more.

Thanks,
Kevin

[sallyb]

Thanks for your review, can't wait to read more, as we are leaving on the Pride in 2 weeks.

[cathyoo]

I've have two Pride cruises booked so I am really looking forward to the rest of your review. Unfortunately for us the itinerary on both is not as nice as yours. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

[godzukihop]

Sorry that you did not like your CD, we had Kirk B. and he was the best CD out of 6 cruises we have been on.

[yogimax]

A Cruise Director who seemed phoney??? Ha, it's a contagious illness.

Thanks for a great revue!

[Handsome58]

I was on the Pride the first week of June...my cabin 5177........lol lol Would do it again in a heartbeat.....

[andychris]

Thanks for the review-can't wait to hear more

[kates024]

Can't wait to hear more!!

[travelswithfriends]

Hey Handsome58, I was on the same cruise room 7172, and I am going again, I'm booked to go again Dec 6 with my sisters, slightly different itinerary, but I can't wait

[dommer573]

Thanks for the review, looking forward to the rest.

[sweetlouise]

We were on the Pride last year (Mexican Riviera) and loved the ship. We had Jeff Bronson as our cruise director and he was pretty corny as well but that's the way all Cruise Directors are (or have been in my experience).

Anyhow, we are currently planning our cruise next year to Eastern Caribbean so I am enjoying hearing about your excursions. On the fishing, we have learned never to do a fishing excursion while on a cruise. Last year in Mexico we were in Cabo San Lucas and my husband and son paid something like $300 EACH to fish for Marlin. They did they same .... took turns at the reel and they didn't even get a marlin. They got a small Yellowfin (and maybe had a 10 min. turn). Very disheartening for my husband, especially, since he is a lifelong fisherman (son is a beginner, so for him it didn't matter as much). We just did an Alaskan cruise last week and didn't do a salmon trip just for that reason. You have to ask a lot of questions about whether or not it's a shared rod ... or if you get your own.

Looking forward to reading more updates.

simmy :-)

[historyteacher41877]

I was going to finish this later but there were such great responses I figured I'd just finish it up today. Here is the rest:


Day 6 Nassau

Nassau is way too short of an itinerary. I don’t know why they can’t give us another hour there. We actually left the port an hour late and made it back to Baltimore on time. Originally we were going to do our won excursion. I planned on taking a cab to Atlantis and doing the water park. My wife spoke with the excursion desk and they convinced her it was not a good idea to do that. So we did the discover Atlantis tour. It was o.k. You see some cool things but overall you’re better off going to the aquarium in Baltimore before or after your trip. If I were to do this again I would have booked a different excursion. A note to anyone who is planning on doing the Dolphin swim. There were several patrons I heard complain how short your time with the Dolphin’s is. I heard a woman say she waited her whole life to do it and she only got five minutes with the Dolphins. Any cigar smokers out there you can get Cuban cigars all over Nassau.

Day 7

This was pretty much the same as the other sea days. They have some big prize Bingos on the last day. We went for the free cruise drawing as well. Our last number on our ticket was 047 and they called 046. So close.

Entertainment

I am not a big song and dance watcher. In fact I pretty much hate it. We didn’t go to the first show but thought we’d try Jazzin. I lasted 10 minutes and then went to the casino. The last show Vroom was better. I didn’t hate it which is saying a lot for someone like me. If you like these types of song and dance shows you will probably enjoy much more than I did. The Legends show on the last night depends on what you have on the boat. No one was really that good on ours except for the Garth Brooks. He was terrific.

The ventriloquist on the boat was very good. He was not on that long but he was pretty funny and his ability was better than I have seen on television. The comedian they had was Carl Strong. He did a show for everyone the first night which was so good that when he did his adults only comedy at 11:45 the same night as Vroom the place was packed. If you get him you will enjoy him.

David’s

We ate at David’s after we left Grand Turk. It was good but not great. You are definitely getting great value for your money. The meal we had would easily be 75 to 100 dollars a person at any similar restaurant. For 30 dollars a piece, not bad. It is not something I feel I have to do again though on our next cruise. I had the prime rib which was good but my wife had the filet mignon. That was excellent. The chocolate tarte dessert was very good. The tiramisu was the best part of it. In fact I wish I could have had all four cups filled with it.

Casino

The casino is a lot of fun. I love gambling. Unfortunately the blackjack decks are continuously shuffled automatically. Please do me a favor and do not sit down at a blackjack table unless you know exactly what you are doing. This is a game where if you do the right thing every time you will not lose a lot and the table will not lose a lot. However there are too many people that have no clue what they are doing. I easily lost 100-200 dollars because people did not know how to play the game. If you don’t know how to play go to this website http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack and learn how to. You can even print out the card and bring it to the table. Too many people not taking a card when they should or hitting when they should not. I spent most of the time trying to tell people how to play. It is the only game in the casino where your play affects others. Play right and play consistent and you will make it better for yourself and everyone else at the table. The good thing was by the end of the cruise you knew exactly who could play and who could not. I left several tables by the end of the cruise when certain people sat down.



The Ship

I loved the ship. The layout is great and it’s easy to get around. All the talk of offensive art that I have heard about was not even noticed. If fact on the last day of the cruise I realized that I had not even given the art a look. It is not anything that is in your face. You have to really try and notice it.

Circle C

My stepdaughter really enjoyed this. She met friends and they had great activities each day for the kids. We would go to dinner and then not see her again until around midnight and she would have stayed out later had her mom let her. She might post her take on everything later in the week.

Drinking

I like beer and I love Corona Light. I was upset that I could not get a bottle of it anywhere. However if you have the bartender squeeze the lime in your glass first and then pour the beer it is perfect. If you don’t like Corona Light I suggest getting Bud or Bud Light. They come in the 16 ounce aluminum bottles. It’s as close as you are going to get to a bottle.

My wife enjoy many of the drinks of the day and they always had some kind of specialty drinks in the atrium.

Cabins

Our cabin was big enough for us. It’s by no means big, but the three of us were fine. Albert our cabin steward was great. He was so nice and helpful. Our room was perfect each morning and evening. The shower was bigger than I thought. Our last cruise we had a suite so I had no idea what we were in for. It was not that bad though. Although trust me, shower at the spa. That is a roomy shower. I have a great shower in my house that I designed when we put an addition on. The showers at the spa are better.

Waterslide

When I was on the Miracle I remember not being impressed with the slide. This one on the Pride though was fast. It was a lot of fun.

That’s about it. We loved our vacation. We liked the ports of Grand Turk and Half Moon so much that we will likely do this trip again at some point. Feel free to ask any questions.

[travelswithfriends]

IMHO, when I first walked on this ship my first thought was that it reminded me of Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion. Sorry!!! Even though I ended up loving the ship and the decor, my first impressions were not that great. I've been on other ships from Norweigan, Royal and Princess that have had that grand look, and this was just different from anything that I have experiencedl Not in a bad sense, just different.

This cruise was very nice. A couple of things to do for sure IMHO are to see "BREEZE" in the Butterflies Lounge just about everynight, they are wonderful, especially their 50's/60's renditions. The group also performed at the pool but the affects are not the same as in the lounge. They truly have talent in the cruise industry. Also if you like Sushi, go to the Sushi Bar, even though we had early seating at 6o and the times for the Sushi Bar are limited, we went and made a plate, and put in our refrigerator for a late snack and it was still great. Didn't get to try David"s but will on my next cruise in December.

[cathyoo]

historyteacher41877, thanks again for sharing your experiences and it sounds as if you had a pretty good time.

One comment on your BJ thoughts. My mom is a true Blackjack player. She generally makes friends on the cruise with other players. I have heard her and other cruisers discussing the same point of view about amaturer players.

I would never sit down at a table with my mother. My gambling style is take what I would be willing to pay for a night's entertainment. I don't expect to win a thing.. I will lose exactly my pre set amount. If I have a good time than I have my money's worth.

If I decide to take my $150 to a blackjack table, I am only looking to spend some enjoyable time. I'm not looking to win nor am I worried about you winning. I just to enjoy myself. I'm not making a living off of this, I don't want to study for it nor do I want to feel pressured. If I want to take a risk and go for a hit on a 17 that is really my business. I know the odds are against me. but if I was playing the odds I would not be in the casino in the first place.

The only comfort for the "real players" is that my little pre determined pot will not last too long.

[Dave85]

Originally Posted by cathyoo

historyteacher41877, thanks again for sharing your experiences and it sounds as if you had a pretty good time.

...

I would never sit down at a table with my mother. My gambling style is take what I would be willing to pay for a night's entertainment. I don't expect to win a thing.. I will lose exactly my pre set amount. If I have a good time than I have my money's worth.

I definitely understand and appreciate historyteacher's frustration... but I agree with you. There's a difference between a casino on a cruise ship and a dedicated land casino in this regard. I don't think people who don't study and spout blackjack odds in their sleep shouldn't play a little blackjack on their vacation because it will upset "serious" players. Yes, it's real money, but these blackjack incursions generally happen on the lowest minimum tables... and it's on a cruise ship. I can certainly appreciate that if I went to Vegas or Atlantic City and was betting significant money per hand that I would be extremely aggrivated at such behavior... but I think some BJ players on cruises need to chill out a bit.

Saying that people who want to play should not play at all on their cruise unless they're expert blackjack players is not the answer. I was on Pride last week too and I honestly can't remember if they had any higher minimum (above $5) tables (didn't play more than 5 minutes of table games the entire cruise), but if they didn't then they should for the more serious players.

[historyteacher41877]

Originally Posted by cathyoo

historyteacher41877, thanks again for sharing your experiences and it sounds as if you had a pretty good time.

One comment on your BJ thoughts. My mom is a true Blackjack player. She generally makes friends on the cruise with other players. I have heard her and other cruisers discussing the same point of view about amaturer players.

I would never sit down at a table with my mother. My gambling style is take what I would be willing to pay for a night's entertainment. I don't expect to win a thing.. I will lose exactly my pre set amount. If I have a good time than I have my money's worth.

If I decide to take my $150 to a blackjack table, I am only looking to spend some enjoyable time. I'm not looking to win nor am I worried about you winning. I just to enjoy myself. I'm not making a living off of this, I don't want to study for it nor do I want to feel pressured. If I want to take a risk and go for a hit on a 17 that is really my business. I know the odds are against me. but if I was playing the odds I would not be in the casino in the first place.

The only comfort for the "real players" is that my little pre determined pot will not last too long.

First of all learning how to play right is not rocket science. If every player understands not to hit when the dealer is showing a 2,3,4,5 or 6 when they have 12 or above and to take a hit when they have less than 17 and the dealer is showing an ace or 10 card things will go much better.

As far as your enjoyment goes, trust me when I tell you if you are at a table with a group where everyone plays the game right it makes the game much more fun and you will get even more entertainment out of your 150 dollars. The best times I had at the table were when everyone knew what they were doing. I didnt win much then either but at least when I lost it was when I was supposed to lose and it was a lot of fun.

[flag fan]

I really don't understand how one person's bad playing affects other people at the table. So what if I hit on 20, trying to get an ace? It may be stupid, but I'm only losing my own money.

[Heirloom]

Thanks for the review ! We're doing Pride next month, and looking forward to the ease of driving there in 2 hours from NJ vs. flying !

Regarding car park.........is it easy to go to pier, drop luggage, THEN go to find a spot ?

Thanks !


p.s. if dealer shows a "2", I hit my own "2" .

[historyteacher41877]

Originally Posted by Heirloom

Thanks for the review ! We're doing Pride next month, and looking forward to the ease of driving there in 2 hours from NJ vs. flying !

Regarding car park.........is it easy to go to pier, drop luggage, THEN go to find a spot ?

Thanks !


p.s. if dealer shows a "2", I hit my own "2" .

They make you drop your luggage before you park. You pull in, drop off your luggage and then they direct you where to go to park. I also I would plan on having your 105 dollars on you. I think its much easier than waiting for the credit card machine.

I also hit on 12 with the dealer showing a 2. I didnt want to get that far into the rules here though.