Review of our Spring Break '14 Cruise on Carnival Pride

Cruisers were myself, DW Karen, DS17 Spencer, and DS Britt13. We are Platinum on Carnival and this year for the first time we were sailing without our oldest son DS19 Bryson; Bryson is in his first year of college and his Spring Break was a different week than our two younger boys.

My family;

This was our first time sailing Carnival Pride, but we have sailed her sister ship Carnival Legend. On Legend we were lost most of the time, but for some reason we found our way around better on Pride.

We set out from home on Thursday afternoon after the boys were out of school and hit the road for Maryland from our home next door in West Virginia. We spent our pre cruise days exploring Washington DC and the Chesapeake Bay area with Karen's cousin Larry guiding our tour.

Our first cruise on Pride was also our first cruise that didn't involve airfare. We normally fly to Florida for our cruises, but this year we opted to drive to Baltimore which is about five and a half hours from our home.

We boarded Pride on April 13 and sailed to Grand Turk and our favorite port of Half Moon Cay where we enjoyed our only excursion; a Cabana.

Our sailing was scheduled to stop in Freeport, but we were notified a few weeks earlier that the ship was experiencing propulsion problems and would be skipping Freeport. We were offered $50 per passenger OBC and 25% off a future cruise or we could have cancelled and received a full refund. We happily sailed on.

Embarkation was easy as was debarkation with the exception of getting off in Grand Turk; it was slooooow.

The ship is in fine shape considering she's past due for refurb. The crew was excellent and very friendly. The food ranked right up there with the best we've ever had on Carnival. We skipped the shows and the entertainment we took in was as we passed by. The casino was VERY kind to us the entire week.

Our sailing on Carnival Pride compares favorably to our best experiences to date on Carnival. Carnival Breeze remains our favorites ship, with Carnival Liberty coming in second, but I have to give the crown to Carnival Pride for our third favorite ship! After she's dressed up with Guy's and a few other sparklers she may move up in the ranking; we will be sailing her again that's for sure.

Karen and I had an aft wrap suite #8273 and our boys had an 8H Extended Balcony #8223. Both rooms were well maintained with the exception of our suite's whirl pool jets were non functioning. Obviously not an issue since I never bothered to report it, but I should have for the next passengers.

Carnival photographers were spread throughout the ship for most of the week, but the Carnival Pride staff seemed to have taken notice of passengers sentiments regarding keeping them unobtrusive because there was never a bottle neck that we encountered. We always come back with dozens of Carnival pics, but this time we only got a few. Perhaps because we were sailing without Bryson and family pics aren't family unless we're all there?

Many members have voiced an affinity for brevity in regards to reviews they prefer. The brevity is now finished and those members can stop reading here. ;)

Finally! I have been looking for your review!

We booked Carnival Pride less than one year in advance mainly due to the fact that airfare was so outrageous lately and the fact that Carnival Pride sailed to Half Moon Cay. With the winter that we had we were more than ready to hit the road for some warmer weather, but it didn't feel right to be heading North East vs South.

It also didn't feel right that we didn't have to weigh our bags to make sure each one was under fifty pounds and that we each only had two carry on bags. I envy those folks who don't have to fly to warm weather cruise ports.

I normally take pictures of our bag tags, but this year we made them AND attached them before we left home. We still laminated them and attached with zip ties just in case the tags were pulled during handling.

I also normally take pics of the vehicle loaded up to go, but this year the first picture I got was at a rest area in Virginia on Thursday evening;

My camera bag includes; Canon 5DIII, Canon 6D, Canon SX260HS (Point and shoot), Canon D20 (Underwater), Canon SX50 (Super Zoom), and I just added a GoPro Hero3+ Black. I have a lot of experience with all of the Canon gear, but the GoPro was totally new to me and later when viewing my videos it will be obvious that I had no clue how to operate it, nor how to edit videos. I would like to apologize in advance for exposing my fellow CC members to my video ability, but hopefully there will be some redeeming quality to some of the video. I came back with close to 4000 pictures and over 100GB of videos and honestly spent a lot less time with pictures than normal. Clicking on any pictures I post should take you to my site where you can see what camera I used and what settings I used.

We spent about six and a half hours on the road from leaving home to when we arrived at Karen's cousin Larry's house in Prince Fredrick Maryland. Larry can step out on his back deck and watch the ships travel up and down Chesapeake Bay. I know what I'd be doing all the time if I lived there.....

Larry is a retired US Government employee and worked his entire life in Washington DC. In other words, he knows his way around town real well and proved to be the ideal guide for our visit to Washington DC.

On Friday morning we set out for Washington DC around 0830 AM. Larry had recommended a late start to miss the morning rush and we began our day with a hearty meal at the exotic eatery of iHop;

After finishing breakfast we loaded back up and soon saw the town limit sign that I assume is bigger and more ominous on other points of entry;

It wasn't long before we began seeing familiar looking buildings off in the distance;

The Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom and the Cherry Blossom Festival was set for the weekend. We hit town on Friday prior to the crowds and I can only imagine just how crowded it was on the weekend;

Cherry Blossoms were everywhere along with bumper to bumper traffic and people;

Larry navigated the traffic with ease due to the fact that he made the drive five days a week and for the last 29 years of his career he worked in a building one block from the White House. We parked in an underground garage just around the corner from the White House and Larry led us in with info about every building and landmark along the way;

Larry is the man when it comes to Washington DC tours. He has never worked as a tour guide, but I must say he missed his true calling. It's always nice to know the details of places you visit, but awesome when those details also come with first hand accounts of happenings in those places. 'I saw President so and so here and President so and so do this there...'

Everything that happened in Washington DC dating back to 1970 was witnessed by our tour guide. Photo ops on the White House lawn for visiting dignitaries? The people are ALL US Government Employees sent there to pose as ordinary Americans. Priceless anecdotal info. He's planning to move back to West Virginia near family, but he really should start a second career as a DC tour guide.

When we got near the White House we stopped for a while to watch activity and see what was going on;

Larry said it seemed like something was going on so we waited to see what developed. Nothing happened, but we weren't the only ones watching;

Spotters appeared on the White House roof;

We never did see what they were spotting, but it's safe to say they weren't just sight seeing;

Larry told me where the sniper would be and I was watching thru my camera lens as he came into position, but I was too slow on the shutter button because he was down in his stance before I got the button pushed.

Other spotters were training their binoculars from several angles;

Eventually the activity on the roof calmed down and we moved closer;

'I thought it would be a lot bigger' was the main thing Britt and Spencer had to say about the White House;

The air was full of the sweet aroma of blossoms;

Yay!!!! Another PaulMedik review!!!!!:D:D:D

The boys do NOT look happy in these pictures. Was it cold this day? lol

Also, I will be curious as to hearing your thoughts on the décor of the Pride.

We did the Pride in 2012, and I honestly don't think I'd go back on that ship, after cruising on the Breeze.

It was SO dark.:mad:

Ok, you may continue now....Cannot WAIT!!!! Your reviews ROCK!!!!!:D

Nice start to your review. I bet it's a nice change not having to fly in for your cruise

Awesome start!

Sent from my mobile device. Typos are inevitable.

Subscribing!

Great start and wonderful pictures of a place a long way from mine :)

WHOO HOO ! Have been watching for your review !!! I wondered if all 3 boys would be with you on this trip - must have been a different experience for you.

Looking forward to your review. Heading out on the Breeze May 10 - this will help pass the time.

I was so looking forward to this review. I am glad you are doing one. It is so nice to share how your family is growing up.

pat

Is it pathetic that I've been waiting all year for this review? Love your family and great start as always.

My DW and I were on this cruise as well. We met briefly towards the end of the medical evacuation. Looking forward to your detailed review. We know we had an awesome time!

Paul, I love your reviews. I'm sure it was hard to sail without Bryson; it's still hard for us to sail without Dan, even after 5 years. (Although he gets plenty of time at sea with the Navy.:p) We enjoyed sailing on the Pride and loved sailing the Chesapeake.:cool:

Yay! You're writing a review!!! I've been a reader of your reviews for years...:) even if I'm not sailing on the ship/itinerary you're writing about. It's great to see how your boys have grown up (via pictures on this board). :)

Side note: when I read the first post I was thrown back because it seemed way too short/condensed.... And that's NOT your review writing style. Then I read the end LOL. I'm glad you're doing your usual kind of review for those of us who enjoy reading about all the small little details! :D

Looking forward to the rest of your review. We can't wait to spend Thanksgiving on the Pride out of Tampa this year. The Pride was our first "Big" Carnival ship when she was new and in Port Canaveral.

Allrighty now! :)You said mid week and a bit early but none the less a man of his word. Bring it on (I am in shock watching my Rangers get humiliated and need some relief).

Allrighty now! :)You said mid week and a bit early but none the less a man of his word. Bring it on (I am in shock watching my Rangers get humiliated and need some relief).

What?!?!?! Bring back the Whalers!!!!!!!!!

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What?!?!?! Bring back the Whalers!!!!!!!!!

 

 

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I was a Ranger fan before Howard Baldwin had hair....

I've been looking forward to this one - thanks for doing another review!

Happy Day! A new Review from my favorite reviewer:)

Paul, like many others, I am delighted to see another Paul Medik review. Thank you very much. Your reviews are the best of the year.

Love reading your reviews and I also loved when I sailed on the Pride, did not need airfare, hotel or a shuttle! Your pictures of the cherry blossoms & the White House are great.

Enjoying your review so far! We sail on the Pride in just 10 days so I'm excited to see what your thoughts are on everything. :)

Loved seeing the DC pictures. I have family in that area too and have been there several times. The cherry blossoms sure are beautiful!