Carnival Pride Review- 9/13 to 9/20

[OReilyBros]

First time posting a long review on here....work with us while we do this.

Eve and I are very easygoing people, and I guess that should preface this review. We were superpsyched for vacation, as I work an incredibly hectic schedule the other 51 weeks of the year, and am on call 24 hours a day at my job.

We live a little over 90 minutes away from the Port of Baltimore, and left around 9:30 a.m. Arrived a little before 11:30 a.m., to zero traffic at the Port, and just a little traffic getting there.

We have been on other cruises, and this was by far the easiest Port to access. We paid the $105.00 cash to park at the Port for the week, and were in our spot by 11:45 a.m.

After filling out the health form, we checked in a little bit after 12:00 noon. This was also a breeze, as it took less than 3 minutes. We were in Call Line #7, and took a seat. The Port provided fresh water and lemonade for those waiting.

Much to our surprise, boarding started earlier than we anticipated. A little after 1:20 p.m., our line was called, and onto the ship we went. Again, very easy.

Once onboard, we went right to the Shore Excursion desk, and rebooked the Atlantis Excursion that included admission to the water park. This was something we booked online in advance, but our credit card was never charged for some reason. Our only problem of the week. This took all of two minutes, as there was one person in line ahead of us.

Right to the 24 hour Pizza, and had our first of a few trips there. Pizza is always excellent. Then back down to the lounge in the main atrium, where we started pounding down Ultimate Margaritas and the Foo Foo Drink of the day. Both were great, and we were blitzed rather quickly. We hit the room around 3:30 p.m., and were pleased to find that the room was ready to go, and our luggage was already there for us as well. Unpacked, and took a well deserved rest.

This is reading more like a blog, so I will keep it simpler from this point forward, and create a cruise blog if anyone wants to read it.

The first dinner night is open seating, and we waited for 10 minutes or so before being seated for dinner. The other nights we had late seating, and hung out at the bar until it was time to be seated.

Here is our dinner list and a brief review from each night:

Night 1:

Norm- Tropical Fruits, Salad, and Pan Seared Fillet of Tilapia (I have lost 86 pounds since January in advance of this cruise, and tried to eat healthy for the most part)

Eve- Fried Chicken Tenders, Linguini w/ Sausage, Peppers, and Mushrooms as a side, and the Indian Vegetarian Dinner

***No complaints- all food was solid

Night 2:

Norm- Strawberry Bisque, Iced Baby Spinach Leaves w/Watercress, and Pan Fried Fillet of Grouper

Eve- Greek Farmers Salad, Baked Stuffed Mushrooms, Chili Rellenos, and Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

***Food was great this night- Eve didn't like the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake as much as she thought she would

Night 3:

Norm- A Study in Sushi, Vine Ripened Tomatoes, and Broiled Supreme of Free Range Chicken

Eve- Smoked Chicken Quesadilla, Jerked Pork Loin

***Food was great here too, although eve thought her Pork was a bit too spicy

Night 4:

Norm- Smoked Duck w/ Carmalized Oranges (x 2), Tom Ka Gai Soup (Chicken w/ Coconut and Lemongrass), Wilted Spinach w/ Portabello Mushrooms, Grilled Filet of Snapper

Eve- Mozarella (sp?) w/ Mixed Greens, Sliced Beef Tenderloin & Noodles, Flat Iron Steak

***Food great again, Eve LOVED the Steak

Night 5:

Norm- Beefsteak Tomatoes & Buffalo Moz, Salad, Grilled Red Snapper

Eve- Chicken Noodle Soup, Filet Mignon w/ Short Ribs, Diet Pumpkin Pie

***Food great again, Eve LOVED the pumpkin pie

Night 6:

Norm- Escargots (x2), Bing Cherry Soup, Spinach & Arugula, Charred 1/2 spring chicken, Baked Alaska for desert

Eve- Escargots, Cream of Broccoli Soup, Charred 1/2 spring chicken

***We both loved the chicken and escargots

Night 7:

Norm- Chilled Supreme of Fruit, BBQ Baby Back Ribs

Eve- Grilled Chicken on Fettucine w/ Mushroom Creme Sauce

***Good stuff

All in all, the dinners were a pleasant experience for us. Our wait staff was efficient, and knew our names by the end of the 2nd night. We had lunch on the 2nd day only prior to the Cruise Critic meet and greet. Yet another great experience, as we also had a chance to meet a nice couple from CT. that we spent a lot of time with.

Cruise Critic meet and greet was at 2:00 p.m. on the second day and was also great. Nice to meet people from the boards.

We are not really buffet people, so every morning we had room service for breakfast, and for late lunch. Solid every day, as I mostly had Citrus and Cereal, and Eve had a nice mix. For lunch, we had BLT's, Grilled Portabello/Red Pepper Sandwich, Veg. Trays, and an occasional Chicken wrap in Jalapeno Tortillas. We also hit the sushi bar each day around 5:30 or so (the sushi bar opens at 5:00 p.m. each day). Day 7 we added a bottle of sake to the mix, which was delicious. Day 7 for lunch we also had a Burger and fries- again great stuff.

The pools- pools were great as well. We hung out at the adult pool on our second day at sea, as well as at Port Canaveral. By the time we hit Florida, it was quite warm, so we sat in the very shallow (as in 6 inches) portion of the pool, and read and drank, and occasionally took a dip. If you have nothing planned in Fla., its a great pool day, as there were very few people around.

Nightlife- Eve is not much of a night owl, but went out 2 nights, and I went out all 7 nights. Spent most of the time in the piano bar, although I must admit, Richie wasn't the best piano player we have experienced. More about doing his own thing than pleasing his customers, and it was evident by how empty the bar was. But I did have a chance to meet a nice group from Maryland that I spent several evenings with. The Lounge directly underneath the Piano Bar (Starry Nights I believe) hosted Karoake each night with the exception of the last night. Had a great time there singing a few nights of the trip, including a fun rendition of Baby Got Back. One of the nights, they had a ventriloquist, who was VERY entertaining. Did not see any of the comedians. Did not gamble much at all, as we usually save that for Atlantic City. But the Casino was PACKED. Its nice that you no longer have to use cash, and can charge your Sail and Sign Account right at the machines. Reminder- MAKE SURE YOU CASH OUT AT THE END OF YOUR CRUISE- OR YOUR MONEY IS LOST. A lot of people reported that, as usual, the machines were hot the first night, but slowed down after that. One thing that really impressed me about the lounges- most of the bartenders, and our Cruise Director Kirk, knew our names by the end of the third evening. It was a nice touch.

Two other highlights for us was the Past Guest party- with a lot of free liquor and food. It has grown so much that it has to now be hosted in the main Taj Mahal Lounge, and a Thank You party to all cruisers in the same Lounge, and free alcohol again.

Cleanliness- This was our second time on the Pride, as we cruised on the ship in 2002 when the ship was in its second week. Hardly any signs of wear and tear, and there were people constantly cleaning the ship at all hours.

Cabin- We stayed in Cabin 7175, which has an extended balcony. The steward kept our room very clean, no complaints at all. We gave him an extra tip the very first day, and our room was always stocked. The bathroom did have a slight odor from day 3 on, but thats not exactly a shocker, and never offended us.

Spa- Each night I went to the Spa around 6:25 p.m. or so, and hit the treadmill for an hour, before hitting the sauna, showering, shaving, and back upstairs to leave for dinner. The Spa was great, extra clean, and the showers were an experience in and of themselves. The five heads, one from the top, four from the sides. Good stuff. As far as specials at the spa, the Port Days always had good specials, and we were offered several as past guests, but declined. I did get a haircut the final night, and was very pleased at the job they did.

Cruise Director- Kirk was great. Really can't say enough good about him. After a few cruises, you hear a lot of the same stuff from the Directors, but we still found him to be entertaining.

Mexican Party- On the 3rd evening, there was a Mexican Party on the deck. A lot of fun to be had, followed by a great Mexican buffet.

Ports of call- As I mentioned earlier, we did not leave the ship in Port Canaveral, as we have been to Orlando several times over the last few years. Nassau we took the Aquaventure trip to the Atlantis- we enjoyed that a lot, but make sure to bring tennis shoes in addition to sandals. There is a LOT of walking to get around. The water slides were a lot of fun, and we could even hang out in the lazy river all day. We did spend an hour or so on the beach as well, which was very clean and the water was beautiful. Our only complaint was not having enough time to spend there, as we were nervous about taking a cab back, and the Carnival Shuttles ended around 5:00 p.m. An ambulance pulled up to the ship in Nassau, and we discovered a neighbor of ours fell ill, and had to be taken off of the ship. We wish him well. In Freeport, we took the private snorkel tour with Captain Tony, and had a great time there as well. We not only snorkled for a good time over the reefs, but then went a bit closer to shore to look for Sand Dollars. We made it back to the ship around 1:00 p.m.

Shopping- we aren't big shoppers onboard, but there were a LOT of great deals onboad. The $19.99 watch sale was like being outside of a Walmart the morning after Thanksgiving. Crazy stuff, although only 10 different styles were available. We did purchase a nice necklace for Eve, as well as a surprise for her with a Carnival Robe the last night.

We spent a little over $1,000 onboard, including the $250.00 for the Aquaventure. We did prepay our gratuities in advance, so we spent around $750.00 or so for bingo, a little bit of shopping, a little bit of gambling, and a whole lot of alcohol.

All in all, we had a great time. Any additional questions can be asked at iwcpromoter@aol.com or oreilybros@aol.com.

Hope this helps!

[DBBJR87]

Thanks for the great review. Did you see any of the main shows, and if you did how were they.

[cathyoo]

Thank you so much for the great review. I'm on the Pride 11/1. Still debating on excursions. question the Mexican Lido party is the second sea day? I'm trying to plan something for my group at the deck party. About what time did you get off the ship?

Just wondering what time I can expect to be sadly walking through my front door.

[OReilyBros]

We did not see any of the main shows.

Heard the Talent Show was a blast though...no shocker there.

The Mexican Lido Deck Party was Tuesday night, I believe.

Disembarkation- forgot to mention it. We did self assist, and it was a breeze. From the time they called our deck to the time we were on the road was less than 20 minutes. We left the port around 10:45 or so.

[PAcruiser25]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write the review and include all of the food details. Sounds mouth-watering! Excited to read about some new menu options.. We also have not been on the Pride since early 2002 - 12 days left!!!

[cathyoo]

Meant to say that was a fantastic job on a first long review. Unfortunately, for me it wasn't long ENOUGH and now I have to bother you with silly questions:

Do you know if they had horse racing?
What about the bean bag toss game?



thanks again..

[CLE-B]

For the great review! Can't wait to board the ship this Sunday. I already feel relaxed and ready to cruise from your review.
Here is a really silly question I know most folks don't cruise to watch movies but we don't really get to do that much at home.....so what movies where playing on the ship???
Thanks, Mary

[OReilyBros]

Don't think they had horse racing or bean bag.

Movies- Free ones- Knowing, He's Just Not that Into You, and one other...plus kids movies

Pay Ones- all sorts from Observe and Report, Star Trek, etc. think most that were out in February 2009 at the theatres.

Hope that helps

[trptplayer22]

You got on the Pride, the day we left. Probably passed in the terminal. I loved the whole esperience. I did not play but they did have bean bag games but no horse racing while we were onboard. We did the Bottom fishing in Freeport. That was alot of fun.

[mskaufman]

Originally Posted by OReilyBros

Don't think they had horse racing or bean bag.

Movies- Free ones- Knowing, He's Just Not that Into You, and one other...plus kids movies

Pay Ones- all sorts from Observe and Report, Star Trek, etc. think most that were out in February 2009 at the theatres.

Hope that helps

When I was on the Pride a few weeks ago they left the bean bag setup by the pool for whoever wanted to use it.