Carvinal Pride Feb 25th- March 4th review

It's been over a week since we got back from our 7 day cruise to the Bahamas! It was a lot of fun and I’m ready to go again. This was our first time cruising on a Carnival ship, and also the first time going on any cruise with a little one. So this entry will probably focus quite a bit on those two aspects; the perils of cruising with a not-quite-two year old, and our (ok, my) thoughts on Carnival. I have cruised with Royal Caribbean several times in the past and once with Celebrity. All of these were enjoyable, some better than others, and I pretty much feel that any cruise is going to be better than work! We had all heard the Carnival "rumors" , that everyone seems to spout about the company; "You get what you pay for" and "Carnival is full of drunks/partiers" being the two most common. After reading up on thing on CC, I pretty much felt that wasn't going to be the case, and I was right!

Briefly, I (Shelley) am 35 and my husband (G) is 40. We have a little boy (B), who is almost two. G and I both work in marine industries, and are used to being on boats and water. B, not so much yet. So I may have over-prepared getting kids Dramamine, Tylenol, extra diapers and clothes, etc all to avoid/help with being sick.

I plan to go through things day by day, and then at the end hopefully do a small summary of what we thought, what we loved, what we wish was different, etc. But until then, here's the start!

Pre-cruise and day 1 (embarkation day)

The Carnival Pride is based out of Baltimore, which is an easy trip for us. My parents live about 40 minutes from the port, so the plan was just to stay at their house Saturday and then the five of us (mom, dad, me, G, and baby B) would head out Sunday late morning to start our much needed vacation. My parents actually picked G up on Saturday morning from a dock pretty much right across from the cruise terminal, as that’s where his tugboat was moored up for the time being. B and I left Virginia around 9 or so and after a quick stop to drop the dog at the kennel and a break for a PB&J, we made it to my parents by about 1. We had a fairly relaxing evening, loaded up the car and then watched a few cruise review videos to get us in the mood. Its become a habit the last few months to watch cruise videos when we get together, but luckily there were some new ones to check out.

I don’t think anyone slept well Saturday night, but we were all ready to go and spirits were high Sunday! Mom and I took B to church, then came back and had a nice big breakfast of eggs and sausage. Our plan was to leave around 11:15, but we got on the road a bit before that actually. Drive was uneventful and I did NOT pass the cruise terminal this time (though that happened on a previous Royal Caribbean trip), so we got there I think right when they were letting people in to the lot. We waited a few minutes in a line before they actually let us into the parking area as there were a few stragglers coming off the ship, but other than that it was super quick! We dropped our luggage with the porters and chose a parking spot in an easy to remember location. The check in process was smooth and we were ushered to our FTTF (Faster to the fun) area and sat there MAYBE 10 minutes. It really wasn’t long at all. Then were were taken row by row to board the ship and up we went! All in all it took us an hour from the time we first pulled into the port until we were in room dropping off our carry ons. We had a ocean view room on the 1st floor and it happened to be right above a gangway and loading area. B had some fun watching the guys load the luggage below us.

Since this is a new cruise ship and cruise line for us, it was time to explore! We made our way down to guest services where there was quite a line. Luckily we had FTTF, so there is a dedicated line for us (and other VIP guests). We only had to wait a few minutes, and then were helped. We wanted to switch around the people staying in each room, which he did very quickly. Then we asked about the crib for B and they told us it would be delivered after muster. Satisfied, we moved on. People were still boarding of course, but we signed up for the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, and then otherwise just made our way up and looked around floor by floor. It was quite cold out in the open air levels, and raining a bit but not too bad! On the Lido deck we opted for Guy’s burgers for lunch. I had the “ringer” which was supposed to include bbq sauce and an onion ring and was alright. I did add some extra bacon to it at the toppings bar. We had Guy’s one other time on the ship and just weren’t impressed. The second time my burger was supposed to have no sauce and it was still put on (and ALOT) so that I didnt even eat it. Our group pretty much all felt that Guy’s burgers was a take it or leave it meal, and from now on we will just leave it.

My first drink on board!

A nice empty pool area.

My "just-ok" Guy's burger

We wandered by the kids club where people were registering their children for the week for Camp Ocean. Unfortunately, B is too young to attend (by a month), but I had read they offered some babysitting hours for younger ones that I wanted to find out about. I couldn’t find this information at all ahead of time, but here is is for anyone who may be curious. Times of course will vary by the ship and itinerary.

After we finished exploring we headed back to the room to await instructions for the muster drill, which was supposed to begin at 4. We were hoping our luggage would be there, as priority luggage delivery is one of the perks of FTTF, but sadly only my moms had arrived. I swear I saw my bag being loaded just after 4, even though we should have been in the first luggage cart that was filled. Oh well. Muster was finally called around 4:30 and a bit chaotic. Since it was cold and rainy, the drill was being modified to occur inside. Our meeting place was to be the Taj Mahal theater. So when the alarm sounded, we headed out the door in that direction. One crew member told us to continue that direction, and then the next told us we had to turn around and go the other way. What followed was pretty similar to that; many crew members telling us to go one way, and then others telling us the opposite. When we ended up at the Taj Mahal we then were told to go outside instead. Everyone was standing around confused on the deck, until finally a crew member ushered us onward and then we ended up at the Taj Mahal again. Then they said we were wrong and needed to go to the Butterflies lounge, but then were corrected and sent back to Taj Mahal! All in all quite a mess. Looking back, I think they wanted us to go outside so that we could a) see where our life boats would be and b) to have everyone entering the theater from the same direction to keep things orderly. But none of that was communicated and everyone seemed rather confused. The muster drill itself was quick and uneventful and when we got back to our room a bit after 5 we were just leaving the dock! I think the boat may have had a few minutes delay leaving, but not much at all. Our bags did finally arrive around 5:30 so we quick scrambled to unpack a bit and change before we headed out to dinner at the Normandie.

I am following this.

You're off to a great start.

Keith

Day 1, continued

We were seated at a booth table toward the back of the restaurant on deck 2. We elected to have the early seating (6 pm) and actually that is later than we sometimes eat at home. Our waiters were Troy and Dennis, who was in training. I think our only complaint this cruise was to do with service, and I don’t even know if it was really their fault. I’ll go more into that later, but basically we would be the first table in our section to be seated, yet the last ones to be served.

I apologize for my blurry menu picture, hopefully the rest of the food/menu photos come out better. I had the “rare finds” Cured Salmon app, and G had the Strawberry bisque. It actually comes out as this tiny little strawberry puree looking bit in the middle of a huge bowl. But then the waiter comes by and pours the soup into it. It was good, in fact all of the food was! Dinner was the Fried Shrimp(me) and the Port of Call Beef Brisket for G. Warm Chocolate Melting Cake for me for dessert, which I repeated several times throughout the cruise.

Salmon appetizer

Strawberry Bisque

Fried Shrimp entree

Beef Brisket entree

G and I also purchased the “cruise the vineyards” package which was 5 bottles of wine for $114 or so. We thought that would be better for us than the Cheers package. The cost would have been over $800 for us, so we decided bottles of wine would be the better bet. I still would have a drink or two otherwise throughout the day, but we didn’t spend nearly enough to justify Cheers this time around.

G, B and I skipped most of the shows and events the first night, as we were all a little tired. The room got a bit cramped once B’s crib was put in, but it wasn’t too bad. My parents went to the comedy show and felt that the comedian’s style just wasn’t for them. They enjoyed several of the other comedians that week though! I had ordered 4 items from the Fun Shops ahead of time for my parents, and the last of them (chocolate cake) had arrived while we were at dinner.

The wine and popcorn I ordered were there when we first arrived on the ship, and a $25 cruise cash voucher was stuck in their mailbox shortly after. There was a note with that saying it had already been applied to their account, which was nice and meant they didn’t have to do anything to activate it. My father and I both activated the chat feature on the Hub app that night, and used it successfully throughout the cruise from then on. Messages will only be delivered if the other person has the app running, but it gives you a notice of “delivery failed” if it doesn’t go through. I appreciated that as my dad didn’t get my messages on a couple occasions, but I was aware of that instead of wondering why he didn’t answer. I have seen people complaining about the chat feature not working very well, but as I mentioned we didn’t have any problems and when messages weren’t delivered I was aware of it. The Hub app was also really nice to keep track of your bill. There was about $18.75 on each of our accounts in refunded port fees, which was quickly spent on drinks.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first day on the cruise, and were excited to see what was in store for the rest of it! Stay tuned for day 2, our first sea day and Elegant night!

Can't wait for the rest! As I just mentioned in our roll call we had to be sitting near each other since we had Troy and Dennis also.:)

Following. Great review so far. We're cruising on the Pride for the first time in two weeks, and learning all we can. We'd love to see your Fun Times if you kept any of them. Thanks for the review!

Great start! I replied in the Roll Call.

Following. Great review so far. We're cruising on the Pride for the first time in two weeks, and learning all we can. We'd love to see your Fun Times if you kept any of them. Thanks for the review!

I do have them! I will try to take some photos (or scans since I’m not the best photographer)

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you had FTTF. what time did you actually arrive in parking lot, to when you were on the ship?

Lovely review so far, looking forward to the rest.

Could I ask where did you buy the "cruise the vineyards" package and were you allowed to drink that wine in the MDR?

Many thanks

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you had FTTF. what time did you actually arrive in parking lot, to when you were on the ship?

We arrived to the parking lot a few minutes before noon. We got a parking tag and proceeded onward into a line of cars facing the side of the ship after that. They were holding people there so the last few off the ship could get in their cars. So we got “in” the parking lot around noon, but weren’t allowed to drop off bags, pay, and actually park until about 12:15. Hope that makes sense!

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Lovely review so far, looking forward to the rest.

 

Could I ask where did you buy the "cruise the vineyards" package and were you allowed to drink that wine in the MDR?

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

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We actually bought it in the MDR! I had read about it prior to the cruise, so we asked our server for some info about it the first night as it’s not something advertised on the table/menu. They gave us 5 vouchers to redeem at any point during the cruise and there are about 9 wines to choose from I believe. We always ordered ours in the MDR, but supposedly you can redeem the vouchers at most bars. If you don’t finish the bottle you can take it woth you, or else have them recork it and bring it back the following night

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I'm so glad I found this today! We are going on the Pride on Sunday, so I'm excited to read the rest of your review. Thanks for posting!

Enjoying your review, can't wait to read more about your experiences.

I do have them! I will try to take some photos (or scans since I’m not the best photographer)

I would love to see them too! Thanks! :D

Enjoying your review. I was on after you on 3/4 and a month before on 2/4.

Love hearing all opinions and experiences!

I am sailing out on the Pride on March 25th. Loving your review please continue. I can wait to go

Day 2 - Sea day brunch, tons of trivia, rubber ducks and tea time!

We all slept well the first night on board, though I woke up fairly early at about 5:40 Since I have been working out religiously at home, I was hoping to continue my routine on the ship, but not beat myself up if I didn’t. This morning at least, I woke up early enough to go to the gym before waking everyone else in the room. The gym is set up interestingly, with three tiers. The first (bottom) consists of all the cardio equipment, towels, water, and the scale if you wish to see how much you gained over the course of your cruise (the answer is four pounds). The second tier is rather small, with a hot tub and a couple weight machines. The third (top) tier is all the weight machines, the fitness studio for classes, and then a small area to the starboard side with dumbbells and benches. My workouts consist of some cardio moves combined with weights (ie lunges, pushups, squats, etc), so this little area is where I hung out. It was fine for what I needed, but I felt like I was in the way. I pretty much took up the whole area, and while no one came over looking to grab weights while I was there, as soon as I left someone did. That feeling, combined with the fact that it was hard to arrange time and the rocky boat later in the week meant that I only went to the gym one other time. C’est la vie.

I came back to the room after that and B & G were awake. I took a shower and we decided to take B up to the open play time at Camp Ocean (under 2 time) for a bit before we met my parents for Sea Day Brunch. Side note – G and I both agreed that the shower on the Pride seemed larger than those of our previous cruises on Royal. B really enjoyed playing in Camp Ocean. They had a ton of toys we dont have, as well as a play kitchen which is one of his favorites at day care. Since he seemed to be doing so well, we opted to leave him there so we could enjoy brunch. Some of the under 2 times are for babysitting ($) only, and others you can stay with your kid or have babysitting. So we were with him for ~30 minutes and then left him from about 8:30 -9:30. He didn't notice we were gone.

Sea day brunch was very nice and enjoyed by all. I ordered a mimosa which I didnt get until well into my meal, so I opted to not get one of those again (especially considering the almost $10 price tag)! I had the bagel breakfast which included cream cheese, onions, capers and smoked salmon. Yum! The rest of my family got french toast, eggs, bacon, pancakes – all the typical breakfast foods. Everyone enjoyed the food, minus the eggs which were powdered.

After brunch we picked up B and took him to the arcade to win his first duck of the week. Someone had told me previously about the ducks and I was looking forward to getting one. Its a claw machine and costs $1, but its a “play till you win” game. B got a mardi gras themed duck. Keep an eye on the fun times throughout the week for arcade “power hour”. During this time all games are 1/2 price, so a duck only costs you 50 cents. All games are charged to a sign and sail card, so if you’re leaving a child in here on his/her own, I would do so with caution!

Being a sea day, there were tons of activities going on, including lots of trivia! B was taking a late morning nap so G stayed with him, while I went off with my parents. We love trivia of all sorts, so parked ourselves in the Piazza Cafe for about 2 hours to play Friends, One Hit Wonder, and Harry Potter trivia, as well as trivial pursuit. We weren’t very good at most trivia’s, but when it came time for Harry Potter it was my time to shine! G had showed up with B by then, and was able to participate. G and I are huge Harry Potter fans and have read all the books and seen all the movies multiple times each. Well, I won! I should say we won, as G provided a crucial answer about the Hogshead Pub. And really we tied as there was a guy named Brian who got the same (perfect) score as us. If you ever go to do this trivia, be aware that the answers are based on the books, not movies so can be a bit different.

After I won my first (spoiler: only) ship on a stick, we decided to head to the art auction while my dad watched B. I’m sure there was some lunch in there somewhere, but I dont remember it! In any case the art auction was different than previous ones we went to, and much too long. They gave out glasses of champagne, but it was about an hour into the presentation. My mom won a free work of art in the raffle, and we left soon after that because G and I wanted to go to tea time. We had been there two hours at that point and they were still going strong.

Tea time on sea days is a lesser known treat. Its not listed under the activities on the fun times, and instead under the “hungry for more?” section of the food information. Its an hour long and in the main dining room. G and I were seated with two other couples, one from Dalgreen, VA and the other from Havre de Grace, MD and we all enjoyed chatting. I forgot everyone’s names promptly, but we saw the Havre de Grace couple several more times throughout the cruise. We were seated by a window and had a nice view off the stern of the boat of the pretty blue waters. Waiters came around with free teas (green, black and decaf) or a selection that you could purchase from for I think $2. Not outrageous, but we all stuck with the free. Next were tea sandwiches (salmon and cucumber), scones with cream and strawberries, and finally a dessert cart with a bunch of various tarts, cakes, and even an apple crumble. We really enjoyed it and planned to come back again next time.

After raving about tea time to my parents, we took B back and settled in for naps. Just as we were all drifting off to sleep there was a knock at the door. Oops we didn’t put up the “Snoozin'”sign! Luckily B stayed asleep as G answered the door. It was room service with a gift for us! My grogginess quickly dissipated as I jumped up to see what it was. John Heald had sent us a bunch of goodies! A bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and then a ship on a stick and medal for B. G quickly claimed the ship on a stick though, saying he deserved it for the winning answer in Harry Potter trivia.

If you aren’t aware of who John Heald is, he is the head cruise director for all of Carnival. He blogs a lot and is quite active on Facebook. I left a comment on his page several days before our cruise telling him how excited we all were to be going on our first carnival cruise, and he responded that he would try to do something to make it even better. Awesome! Now, I didn’t ask him specifically for something (though I did leave my cabin number), but people do it all the time. I feel there is some varying opinions on this and some say he is probably annoyed by requests and its tacky, while others say he loves doing it and likes to hear he made someones day. So have whatever opinion you want on it, but I was glad I contacted him ahead of time. I made sure to thank him as well when we got home, as well as shout out a crew member I thought deserved recognition.

B slept a bit longer while G and I got ready for the first of two elegant nights. I know some people don’t like having to get dressed up, but I really enjoy it! We took some nice family photos after dinner in the atrium and met some new photographer friends that got a kick out of B for the rest of the week, taking lots of posed photos with/of him. This was also the first night we met Jennyfer, the crew member I mentioned to John Heald. She was vacuuming the stairs and B wanted to help her. After that we saw her everywhere; cleaning in the buffet at breakfast, collecting alcohol purchases after ports, then back cleaning the atrium in the evenings. I feel the crew must never sleep!

Yes I totally did do posed photos by myself

I hope to get the post about dinner/show/ evening fun posted tonight when I can access my gopro camera

Our experiences were very similar (although our tea time was day 3 and we never won trivia;))

Day 2 - Sea day brunch, tons of trivia, rubber ducks and tea time!

We all slept well the first night on board, though I woke up fairly early at about 5:40 Since I have been working out religiously at home, I was hoping to continue my routine on the ship, but not beat myself up if I didn’t. This morning at least, I woke up early enough to go to the gym before waking everyone else in the room. The gym is set up interestingly, with three tiers. The first (bottom) consists of all the cardio equipment, towels, water, and the scale if you wish to see how much you gained over the course of your cruise (the answer is four pounds). The second tier is rather small, with a hot tub and a couple weight machines. The third (top) tier is all the weight machines, the fitness studio for classes, and then a small area to the starboard side with dumbbells and benches. My workouts consist of some cardio moves combined with weights (ie lunges, pushups, squats, etc), so this little area is where I hung out. It was fine for what I needed, but I felt like I was in the way. I pretty much took up the whole area, and while no one came over looking to grab weights while I was there, as soon as I left someone did. That feeling, combined with the fact that it was hard to arrange time and the rocky boat later in the week meant that I only went to the gym one other time. C’est la vie.

Always good to give yourself some grace. We found the weight area a little cramped, but everyone was good about taking turns with the space when we were there. It looked like if a class wasn't going on you could use the room for more floor space, and I noticed some used the small areas off the stairs between levels if they didn't need a bench. We managed one weight session Day 2 and one lengthy walking session Day 3, but didn't risk the weights on the rocking ride back at the end of the week:eek:

I came back to the room after that and B & G were awake. I took a shower and we decided to take B up to the open play time at Camp Ocean (under 2 time) for a bit before we met my parents for Sea Day Brunch. Side note – G and I both agreed that the shower on the Pride seemed larger than those of our previous cruises on Royal. B really enjoyed playing in Camp Ocean. They had a ton of toys we dont have, as well as a play kitchen which is one of his favorites at day care. Since he seemed to be doing so well, we opted to leave him there so we could enjoy brunch. Some of the under 2 times are for babysitting ($) only, and others you can stay with your kid or have babysitting. So we were with him for ~30 minutes and then left him from about 8:30 -9:30. He didn't notice we were gone.

That's a nice option to be there and/or have service. Glad he enjoyed the time and I'm sure Mom and Dad being able to play at the start helps with the transition.

Sea day brunch was very nice and enjoyed by all. I ordered a mimosa which I didnt get until well into my meal, so I opted to not get one of those again (especially considering the almost $10 price tag)! I had the bagel breakfast which included cream cheese, onions, capers and smoked salmon. Yum! The rest of my family got french toast, eggs, bacon, pancakes – all the typical breakfast foods. Everyone enjoyed the food, minus the eggs which were powdered.

M had the steak and eggs which he enjoyed (esp. the steak), and I had the huevos rancheros which were also very good. We split a side of mac n' cheese - I didn't care for it but M liked it. There was a caramel brownie that sounded good but we were too full both days we went to brunch.

After brunch we picked up B and took him to the arcade to win his first duck of the week. Someone had told me previously about the ducks and I was looking forward to getting one. Its a claw machine and costs $1, but its a “play till you win” game. B got a mardi gras themed duck. Keep an eye on the fun times throughout the week for arcade “power hour”. During this time all games are 1/2 price, so a duck only costs you 50 cents. All games are charged to a sign and sail card, so if you’re leaving a child in here on his/her own, I would do so with caution!

A buck a duck is a pretty good deal - even better at 2/$1. I might think about getting for our kids as cheap souvenirs next time.

Being a sea day, there were tons of activities going on, including lots of trivia! B was taking a late morning nap so G stayed with him, while I went off with my parents. We love trivia of all sorts, so parked ourselves in the Piazza Cafe for about 2 hours to play Friends, One Hit Wonder, and Harry Potter trivia, as well as trivial pursuit. We weren’t very good at most trivia’s, but when it came time for Harry Potter it was my time to shine! G had showed up with B by then, and was able to participate. G and I are huge Harry Potter fans and have read all the books and seen all the movies multiple times each. Well, I won! I should say we won, as G provided a crucial answer about the Hogshead Pub. And really we tied as there was a guy named Brian who got the same (perfect) score as us. If you ever go to do this trivia, be aware that the answers are based on the books, not movies so can be a bit different.

Congrats on the win and thanks for the heads-up about the books. We enjoyed both but it's been a while since we read them.

After I won my first (spoiler: only) ship on a stick, we decided to head to the art auction while my dad watched B. I’m sure there was some lunch in there somewhere, but I dont remember it! In any case the art auction was different than previous ones we went to, and much too long. They gave out glasses of champagne, but it was about an hour into the presentation. My mom won a free work of art in the raffle, and we left soon after that because G and I wanted to go to tea time. We had been there two hours at that point and they were still going strong.

We didn't do the auctions, but this was the first cruise we've been on where the art was behind closed doors rather than out for viewing on the way to/from the dining room. We were glad to try the tea also, and enjoyed chatting with the two couples we were seated with (one husband/wife from our roll call and one mother/daughter). We also managed to promptly forget names:o but did see each other a few more times throughout the cruise.

After raving about tea time to my parents, we took B back and settled in for naps. Just as we were all drifting off to sleep there was a knock at the door. Oops we didn’t put up the “Snoozin'”sign! Luckily B stayed asleep as G answered the door. It was room service with a gift for us! My grogginess quickly dissipated as I jumped up to see what it was. John Heald had sent us a bunch of goodies! A bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, and then a ship on a stick and medal for B. G quickly claimed the ship on a stick though, saying he deserved it for the winning answer in Harry Potter trivia.

If you aren’t aware of who John Heald is, he is the head cruise director for all of Carnival. He blogs a lot and is quite active on Facebook. I left a comment on his page several days before our cruise telling him how excited we all were to be going on our first carnival cruise, and he responded that he would try to do something to make it even better. Awesome! Now, I didn’t ask him specifically for something (though I did leave my cabin number), but people do it all the time. I feel there is some varying opinions on this and some say he is probably annoyed by requests and its tacky, while others say he loves doing it and likes to hear he made someones day. So have whatever opinion you want on it, but I was glad I contacted him ahead of time. I made sure to thank him as well when we got home, as well as shout out a crew member I thought deserved recognition.

Nice goodies package (M would probably have claimed the ship too), and I find no fault in how yours was handled. There was no expectation on your part, but you made it easy for him to provide good customer service and were appreciative of what you received. I suspect he loves doing for people who he knows it enhanced their trip, but might be annoyed by those who are demanding/ungrateful.

B slept a bit longer while G and I got ready for the first of two elegant nights. I know some people don’t like having to get dressed up, but I really enjoy it! We took some nice family photos after dinner in the atrium and met some new photographer friends that got a kick out of B for the rest of the week, taking lots of posed photos with/of him. This was also the first night we met Jennyfer, the crew member I mentioned to John Heald. She was vacuuming the stairs and B wanted to help her. After that we saw her everywhere; cleaning in the buffet at breakfast, collecting alcohol purchases after ports, then back cleaning the atrium in the evenings. I feel the crew must never sleep!

You guys take such great pictures. B is sooo stinkin' cute! The crew is very hard working and I don't think passengers always realize how many different areas they work. Love that B wanted to help - you guys are raising him right <3

Yes I totally did do posed photos by myself

I hope we get to cruise with you again. You are so much fun!

I hope to get the post about dinner/show/ evening fun posted tonight when I can access my gopro camera

Thanks again for the great review!

Intriguing so far, reads well.

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Day 2 continued- Lobster dinner, Heart of Soul show, and Guess that Motown song fun

I realize my review is becoming quite lengthy and I apologize for that. It helps to serve as a memory for me that was as well though.

Now back to dinner. Its lobster night! Once again my menu photo is blurry (note for next trip: take still photos with a phone, not gopro). There was the lobster with shrimp, prime rib, and seared striped bass, and really a bunch of good sounding items tonight. I had a shrimp cocktail and baby spinach salad, while G had Italian wedding soup. B was acting up by the time our entrees were served, so I took him out in the hall for a bit. Unfortunately that meant my lobster was cold by the time I ate it, but was still good! G had the striped bass which he said was “excellent”. B had chicken nuggets, but doesnt appear he ate them. We asked for a kids menu the first night, but they never brought us one, instead just telling us what was on it. I don’t know if there actually is a physical menu or not.

I have no photo of the dessert menu for this night, but I know it was good! Some kind of Chocolate cake with sauce for me, and I cant remember what G had unfortunately. We also had the Kathy Lee Gifford Rose as our wine that night and both enjoyed it. We actually ordered it a second time later in the cruise

After dinner and all our photos were finished we headed over to the early showing of Heart of Soul. My parents were seated in the 4th row and there was room for us to join them and plenty of room otherwise as well. Surprising to me considering other (Royal Caribbean) shows have been packed. The rest of the week we found it to be the same. Some were more crowded than others, but you could always find a seat. We all found this show to be enjoyable, especially B! He was up in his seat dancing with the lady next to him for most of it. She and her friend got a kick out of him. The cast of the show consists of 3 girls and 4 guys. I thought this was odd all week that their weren't even numbers, because they did often pair up to dance and one guy was always left on his own. There is one guy and girl that are the main singers, then another pair who often sing as well. The rest are background singer/dancers. There is one guy and one girl that really stood out to me for the dancers, but everyone was really good.

We have been on cruises in the past where the talent is exceptional, but the show itself not entertaining, and thus we left. I thought all the shows this week were really well done and entertaining enough that even if (keyword IF) the cast wasn't as talented you would still find it enjoyable. I thought all the performers were good though.

I know that in the past CCL has had a physical kid's menu, it was a small activity book so kids could color and what not. Not sure why they didn't have any on Pride (supply issue, maybe?). I don't know if any of the parents at our table asked for one or not.

The last of day 2

Once the show ended, we went out to the atrium lobby where the Liberty Trio were playing. If you havent had a chance to catch these ladies, make it a point to! The do amazing strings covers of popular songs. We heard everything from Guns and Roses to Metallica, to Michael Jackson and Coldplay. It was great and became our go to spot most evenings. I had a glass or two of wine, G had a beer, and B got his own special smoothie drink as well.

B was getting tired despite all the sugar in his drink, so G took him to get ready for bed. I stayed to finish my wine with my parents and ended up playing "Name that Motown trivia". This was my only late night on the cruise, but it was a fun one! We werent especially good at the game, but it was fun. There were two winners, one who got the most answers right (bottle of champagne), and one with the most beads (4 free drinks). Lets explain the bead thing. When it was time to tally up scores, Saffie asked for a representative for each team to come to the center. There they would identify the song, play it and "Naughty Neal" from the fun squad would reward enthusiastic cruisers with beads for their dancing and excitement. Saffie also would hand off the mike to anyone wanting to sing and then we would vote by round of applause how many beads they would get. We sent my dad up as our representative and despite his attempts Neal did not think his dancing was bead worthy. So I went and took his place halfway through and soon was rewarded with some beads of my own.

I was standing next to a really nice man named Maurice and his wife. Maurice it turns out owns a catering company called Reese's catering in the DC area (@ReesesCateringServices on FB). In any case, it turns out Maurice was quite the singer. I forget the first song he sang, but he closed out the game with the final song, Marvin Gaye's Lets Get It On. He sounded great! When I introduced my dad later, he remarked that Maurice sounded just like Marvin Gaye. Due to his impressive pipes and dancing, Maurice was accumulating quite a large number of beads. Saffie announced there would be a winner for the person with the most beads as well, and *plot twist* we could pass off our beads to another player! I quickly removed the 8 or so I had and put them on Maurice and began counting what he had. I lost count several times as people kept coming and adding more. He ended up winning with I believe 76 (or maybe it was 67) sets of beads. Second place was a charming 16 year old girl who had something in the 50s and they posed for a photo together. Maurice's prize with 4 free drinks for him and his friends at the bar. Maurice informed us that he didn't drink but treated his wife (of course), two other friends, and me for counting the beads to his winnings. As we were chatting at the bar and I was telling him about G and B we realized the other friends were the women seated next to B at the show! One pulled out her phone and showed everyone a video she had taken of B standing in his seat dancing and clapping along. I claimed a spicy pineapple martini as my prize and it was very good! Not too overwhelmingly spicy, but a nice kick. After that it was bedtime for me, and casino time for my parents.

Today’s fun times

Tomorrow is another sea day with more tea time, Dr Seuss story time, and of course, lots more fun!

how much was the cruise the vineyards package if I could ask?

how much was the cruise the vineyards package if I could ask?

It was around $115 (plus tip) for the basic package for 5 bottles. There are two higher tiers as well

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The last of day 2

 

Once the show ended, we went out to the atrium lobby where the Liberty Trio were playing. If you havent had a chance to catch these ladies, make it a point to! The do amazing strings covers of popular songs. We heard everything from Guns and Roses to Metallica, to Michael Jackson and Coldplay. It was great and became our go to spot most evenings. I had a glass or two of wine, G had a beer, and B got his own special smoothie drink as well.

 

 

B was getting tired despite all the sugar in his drink, so G took him to get ready for bed. I stayed to finish my wine with my parents and ended up playing "Name that Motown trivia". This was my only late night on the cruise, but it was a fun one! We werent especially good at the game, but it was fun. There were two winners, one who got the most answers right (bottle of champagne), and one with the most beads (4 free drinks). Lets explain the bead thing. When it was time to tally up scores, Saffie asked for a representative for each team to come to the center. There they would identify the song, play it and "Naughty Neal" from the fun squad would reward enthusiastic cruisers with beads for their dancing and excitement. Saffie also would hand off the mike to anyone wanting to sing and then we would vote by round of applause how many beads they would get. We sent my dad up as our representative and despite his attempts Neal did not think his dancing was bead worthy. So I went and took his place halfway through and soon was rewarded with some beads of my own.

 

I was standing next to a really nice man named Maurice and his wife. Maurice it turns out owns a catering company called Reese's catering in the DC area (@ReesesCateringServices on FB). In any case, it turns out Maurice was quite the singer. I forget the first song he sang, but he closed out the game with the final song, Marvin Gaye's Lets Get It On. He sounded great! When I introduced my dad later, he remarked that Maurice sounded just like Marvin Gaye. Due to his impressive pipes and dancing, Maurice was accumulating quite a large number of beads. Saffie announced there would be a winner for the person with the most beads as well, and *plot twist* we could pass off our beads to another player! I quickly removed the 8 or so I had and put them on Maurice and began counting what he had. I lost count several times as people kept coming and adding more. He ended up winning with I believe 76 (or maybe it was 67) sets of beads. Second place was a charming 16 year old girl who had something in the 50s and they posed for a photo together. Maurice's prize with 4 free drinks for him and his friends at the bar. Maurice informed us that he didn't drink but treated his wife (of course), two other friends, and me for counting the beads to his winnings. As we were chatting at the bar and I was telling him about G and B we realized the other friends were the women seated next to B at the show! One pulled out her phone and showed everyone a video she had taken of B standing in his seat dancing and clapping along. I claimed a spicy pineapple martini as my prize and it was very good! Not too overwhelmingly spicy, but a nice kick. After that it was bedtime for me, and casino time for my parents.

 

 

 

Today’s fun times

 

Tomorrow is another sea day with more tea time, Dr Seuss story time, and of course, lots more fun!

We didn't spend much time in the atrium (the few times we were there service was very slow), but heard the trio at Red Frog Pub one night and they were very good.

B is so cute all decked out in formal with his "grown-up" drink.

We are cruising the Pride again in September and considering either Cruise the Vineyard or maybe trying David's and getting a bottle 1/2 off - not sure if we would drink 5 bottles during the week (in addition to the 2 we carry on). Do you remember if there was any Moscato or other sweet wines? We don't need super sweet with meals, but don't care for dry wines.

Was there any tasting allowed of wines before purchase (I'm guessing no)? The basic package seems like a good deal:)