Carnival Pride vs The Regal: which to choose?

just did a 5 nite regal in october for a stellar price of 550 pp for a mini. and i'd love to get on the ship again at a good price. i received some casino offers which expire tomorrow for princess and the fares are amazing but air to FLL is not amazing for the early january time period. i do have a regal jan 7 obst balc on hold expiring tonight. 99 for the inside and 169 for the obst balc. crazy cheap!

i really do enjoy exploring new ships and i have not flown in 20 years and i never thought i'd even consider flying but with these prices it's tempting. however, with baggage fees, extra parking etc. i am not so sure FLL is a true bargain compared to the close drive baltimore is for me. and i admit the idea of flying doesnt thrill me. especially the waiting in the airport all day after you get back for your later cheap flight. and with the holidays money is tight so all these bag fees etc are really annoying.

ill try to keep the numbers simple. but these figures include the appropriate gratuities/fare/taxes/air/parking at port or airport and baggage fees for 1 per person. but dang spirit charges 45 for carryon. so it would be jet blue and spirit flights.

i'm just looking for the comparison to the 2 ships and January on regal vs late February on Pride. i know from videos on youtube the pride has older bathrooms with colored sinks and tube tvs. i dont care about that. i care about service and decent food and ship. also the ports are not relevant. i love cruising itself and being on A SHIP! i also understand pride has an indoor pool for the cold days before you get to the south.

regal early January:

obstr balcony on hold for 1386 (interior at 1256 may or may not be available tomorrow)

pride late February: 1660 french door 'interior' or 1950 for balcony. for those unaware, french door means you have no balcony, but where the sliding doors would be is a french door with railing so your room is your balcony. also there's cat walk and lifeboats totally blocking your view. i have no problem getting one of these rooms and would not do the 1950 for full balcony but just put it in for comparison.

Personally I would never cruise out of Baltimore in the winter. Too cold and far too much of a chance for horrible seas through the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." I would choose the Regal.

Regal out of FLL hands down.

We too fly Spirit, and if you add a bag (not carry on) during check out, it's only $30.

Also check out Southwest prices (2 bags are free).

I read this title to my dh and my reply was REGAL, HANDS DOWN". This is before I saw the poster before me say the same thing. We were on the Regal over Christmas last year, for 11 nights! I would love to sail her again. .

We have done the Pride in the past and the sister ship to the Regal. A better comparison would be the Coral Princess to the Pride which are the same size. But that being said, there is no comparison between the two lines. Princess is much more upscale.

If you book the regal, worth checking Princess air fares.

Having sailed on both I would without a doubt take the Regal. The Pride is old, dark and had nothing to do on sea days. We can drive to the Baltimore port in 3 hours but will never take he Pride again. Even the buffet is crowded and disorganized. But it is your choice.

Regal out of FLL hands down.

We too fly Spirit, and if you add a bag (not carry on) during check out, it's only $30.

Also check out Southwest prices (2 bags are free).

i used princess air. expedia, kayak, southwest to check air. can you suggest any other place to try? I've used PHL, PIT and BWI as airports. NYC airports would be really crazy i think.

even with free bags, southwest is much more expensive. the jetblue/spirit option for me is 456 plus 130 for 2 suitcases (jet is 25, spirit was 40 before i read info in this thread).

so 642 with air/bags/parking for a 558 or 418 dollar trip;p

i know its all relative but maybe i was deluded with those 99/169 dollar prices. which is i guess what they want

of course i realize this is all a deal compared to over 2000 for just 5 nites to canada on regal.

also i never heard the term graveyard of the atlantic. what is that?

Graveyard of the Atlantic is a nickname of treacherous waters and location of numerous shipwrecks off the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This location has numerous shoals and frequent rough seas. The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, located in Hatteras Village, focuses on the history of this area and features many artifacts recovered from area shipwrecks.

Along the Outer Banks, navigational challenges posed by the Diamond Shoals area off Cape Hatteras, caused the loss of thousands of ships and an unknown number of human lives. More than 5,000 ships have sunk in these waters since record keeping began in 1526.[1] Among the better known shipwrecks was the USS Monitor,[2] a participant in the famous Battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War. The Monitor foundered and sank on December 31, 1862 off of Cape Hatteras. Survivors of a much earlier shipwreck created the lost town of Wash Woods, Virginia using lumber that washed ashore. However, the extreme weather eventually claimed the town as well.

The Graveyard extends along the whole of the North Carolina coast, northward past Chicamacomico, Bodie Island, and Nags Head to Sandbridge Beach, and southward in gently curving arcs to the points at Cape Lookout and Cape Fear.[3] This spot is known as Cape Point, which is the stretch of beach that divides Hatteras Island's north and south facing beaches. This dangerous spot is known for its good fishing and surfing. It is a very famous spot on the east coast, despite its fragile location. Cape Hatteras has been a deadly trap for sailors that have entered for past centuries. This stretch of shore is home to more than 600 shipwrecks off the shifting sandbars of the Hatteras Islands.[4] The sandbars shift due to rough waves and unpredictable currents. Another danger was the Outer Banks "wreckers." Some residents of the Outer Banks, known as wreckers, made part of their living by scavenging wrecked ships — or by luring ships to their destruction.[5] Horses with a lantern tied to their neck would be walked along the beach. The lanterns' up and down motion would appear to other ships to represent clear water and a ship ahead. The unsuspecting captain would then drive his ship ashore following the false light.

The first recorded shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina was in the early 16th century. This wreck was reported in 1526, off the mouth of Cape Fear River.[4] The large numbers of explorers who came to the area in subsequent years had to travel through the rough waters to get to the coast of North Carolina. In June 1718, Edward Teach — better known as Blackbeard the pirate — ran his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, aground near present-day Beaufort Inlet, NC. Thirty two years later, in August 1750, at least three Spanish merchantmen ran aground in off North Carolina during a hurricane. The El Salvador[6] sank near Cape Lookout, the Nuestra Señora de Soledad went ashore on near present-day Core Banks, and the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe went ashore in near present-day Okrakoke Island.[7]

During World War II, German U-boats would sit offshore and silhouette passing freighters and tankers against the lights onshore. Dozens of ships along the North Carolina coast were torpedoed by submarines in this fashion in what became known as Torpedo Alley. The most recent ship lost was on October 29, 2012: the Bounty sank off Cape Hatteras. when Hurricane Sandy passed through. Two people were pronounced dead from the accident.

i used princess air. expedia, kayak, southwest to check air. can you suggest any other place to try? I've used PHL, PIT and BWI as airports. NYC airports would be really crazy i think.

we fly from ATL. Once in a while we have to come back from MCO (Orlando, which is a 3 hour drive from FLL) because of the prices.

This time the price for 3 of us is just $30 off - SW is $929, and Spirit is $901 (including 2 bags each way). But the Spirit flight is at 5 pm on the way back and SW is at 11:30 am.

We have sailed the Royal (sister to Regal) and did the Pride almost two years ago in January. I froze INSIDE the ship for day of sailing and the next day. Felt like I needed a winter parka. I enjoyed the cruise (it was 21 days) but much prefer Royal/Regal. Like the food choices MUCH better (buffet is huge with lots of choices. Not so much on Pride). Entertainment on Princess is MUCH better too.

Hands down... Regal.