Carnival Pride Exotic Western Caribbean Review Thanksgiving Nov 23-30, 2014 ***pics**

This vacation was to the Exotic Western Caribbean out of Tampa and we would be visiting Cozumel, Belize, Honduras and Grand Cayman. It was myself, my husband Julio, 18 year old son and 15 year old son.

Our trip started on Friday evening about 6 pm as we hit the road. We were driving all night straight to Valdosta Georgia. Once we were on the road my sister in law texted and said that her husband recommended another road than the GPS said and it would be a shorter way. I asked where the road she mentioned crossed the road we were on and she wasn’t sure and said that his “short cuts” sometimes ended up getting her lost. I said okay that I wouldn’t look for the other highway but would take it if I found it. We found the highway but apparently it crosses the one we were on more than once and we switched over WAY too early. We got to see a lot of small towns and Mississippi and Alabama but it also added about an hour and a half to our 14 hour drive.

We got to Valdosta in the morning and spent the day with family. We spent Saturday night and headed out a little after 8 on Sunday morning for Tampa. We stopped for a bit in Gainesville to visit friends which was a nice bonus since we were in the area.

It was a bit before 2 pm when we arrived in Tampa. We found the lot for The Parking Doctors on Channelside drive easily. We paid $65 for the week for park in their secure lot. In no time we were in line to check in and board. We had pre filled our health check forms so that saved a little time. We had our photo taken and were on board about 2:45. One complaint that is not really an issue but it bugged me. Before boarded there are kiosks there to take your photo for your sign and sail card. I walked up and bent to put down my backpack and that is when the guy took my photo. UGH. Not looking, mouth open, bent over. I asked if he could retake and he said no, they just have to know its me when my card is scanned. Terrible. Of course my husband went behind me and took his like a photo shoot. Ha ha.

We were in cabin 5191 on the Upper Deck. A room with an obstructed view balcony. The balcony is small but nice to have. You can’t see down to the water but you can see out just fine. There is a wall on one end of it and then the shared partition on the other end. There is a lifeboat if front but when you stand it only comes up about thigh high. When sitting in the chairs you can stil see over it and out in the ocean view beyond. It was worth the small fee to upgrade it. We had originally booked an inside cabin.

More to come....

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

We dropped off our carry-ons and headed up to the Lido Deck for lunch. The boys had already left to eat. I took a quick photo from our balcony with the Tampa in the background.

We ate lunch and then met up for muster drill that was delayed. It was painless but boring as usual. A necessary evil that is good to get out of the way early. After the muster drill, we met up with a few folks from Cruise Critic. It was nice to put some faces with names. We wandered around the ship a bit to get familiar and found one kid already in the pool.

Then we headed back to the cabin. Our luggage was there so we unpacked. An announcement was made about 5 or so that we would not be leaving Tampa until 9 pm due to a delay in loading provisions for the week.

We have anytime dining but decided to skip the dining room tonight and just headed to buffet. We had had a late lunch so we weren’t really all that hungry.

Our 15 year old headed to O2 for the meet and greet session and the 18 year old went to a family welcome aboard event. Julio and I went up to the deck area when we finally set sail about 9:30. Beautiful views of the skyline as we left.

We went to the first Comedy Show (Adult). We really enjoyed comedian Tim Young, he was funny with just enough adult content but not too over the top as some can be. We each had a drink and sat with 2 ladies from the roll call. Julio decided to call it a night after the show and an ice cream. I headed back up to the top deck about 11:30 to watch the Pride go under the Sunshine Skyway. It was very cool to see. If that tide had been any higher, I don’t know if we’d have made it. It look like the Whale Tail comes SO close. That was a great ending to our first day on the ship.

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

Our first sea day, I was up a bit before 8 and decided to walk around the ship while there was some peace and quiet. Plus it was a good time to see where I wanted to hit up later. I met a nice woman named Christina and we sat and chatted a while about cruising, it was very nice.

About 9, I headed back to the cabin and gathered the family to hit the buffet for breakfast. Usual Carnival breakfast including the bacon police, ha ha. After breakfast the 15 yr old headed off to meet up with some O2 friends and Julio and I went to the Fun Aboard show. Nice to get a rundown of options on board. We also picked up a couple things from the Inch of Gold sale.

Later on we played some Slogan Trivia and lost by one point. Oh well, it was fun and we’ve decided we watch too much TV. We also checked out the 80’s Trivia before lunch. We did well, but didn’t win. Who remembered they used to sell sneakers with little pouches on the sides call Roos.

For lunch we went to Guy’s Burger Joint. Amazing burger and loved the seasoned fries too. Delicious.

Julio says they must have cooked those burgers with a sedative mixed in because we all came back to the cabin and fell asleep. We woke up in time to head back to the Piazza Café for Famous Faces game. We got 24 out of 35 and that made us the proud owners of a gold ship on a stick.

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

Great review so far! We will be boarding in 49 days!

4 pm rolled around and it was time to go to the Cruise Critic get together at the Ivory Bar. Great to have some drinks and get to know some of our Roll Call members better. We have some great folks on our roll call.

We had a great view of the sunset from our balcony tonight.

Since this is the first sea day it’s Formal Night. We are on Your Time Dining and we headed to the Normandi Dining Room a bit before 7.

Unfortunately everyone was on the same schedule as us apparently because we had almost an hour wait. We were seating and still had a long wait to order. Between us we had the Shrimp Cocktail, the Indian Pumpkin Soup, the Alligator Fritters and the Strawberry Bisque. All was enjoyed except the Alligator Fritters. We have had them before, but this time they were a bit slimy. For our main courses, we had the Spaghetti Carbonara, the St. Louis Style Ribs and the Chilli Relleno. Our 15 yr old didn’t eat anything for a main course, too many snacks during the day. Our 18 yr old didn’t care for the Chilli Relleno and neither did Julio after he tried it. My Spaghetti was delicious. The boys left and we had dessert alone.

From there we went to the Butterflies Lounge for the Adult Comedy Show. I loved the décor.

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

The entertainment continued with the show 88 Keys in the Taj Majal Theater. It was a fun Rock and Roll piano show. I loved the sets and it was fun to sing along to most of the songs. Billy Joel and Elton John are two of my favorites.

Then it was back the Punchliner Club for the second adult show. We finished the evening off at the Ivory Bar with Dave the Piano Man and a few of our cruise critic friends. He did a fantastic job. Best piano man I've seen on Carnival so far.

We called it a night and looked forward to our first port Cozumel the next day.

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

[url=http://www.cruise-ships

Great review so far! We will be boarding in 49 days!

Thanks. I hope you have a great trip!!!! The 2.0 upgrades are great.

Connie

Tuesday was our first port day. We stopped in Cozumel. We took a Carnival excursion to the Ruins of Tulum. We all met in the Butterflies lounge after breakfast and left the ship about 9 a.m. It looked like a beautiful day ahead.

We walked thru the pier area after disembarking and took the 45 minute ferry ride over to Playa del Carmen.

From there we walked to our tour bus for the hour ride to the Ruins of Tulum. Saw some interesting buildings along with walk along with interesting sidewalks.

The bus ride was very interesting with our tour guide Juan Flores with Fun and Sun Tours. He is very passionate about his Maya and Mexican culture. About ½ way to Tulum we stopped for a restroom break and to learn a little bit about the differences with the Mayan and Aztec Calendar and to see samples of Obsidian.

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

First cruise! Thanks for the pics and I hope you had a wondeful time!:D

Once back on the bus, it wasn’t long before we arrived at the Tulum Ruins. We got a little lesson about sales tactics that will be tried while in the shopping area.

It was about a ½ mile walk from the parking lot to the Ruins themselves. For those who don’t want to or not able to make the walk, there is a tram that will take you. Make sure you ask for a round trip ticket for $2. If not , it’s $1 to the ruins but $2 for the ride back. We some pretty birds and a few iguanas on our walk.

The ruins and the different stories of discovery were so very interesting. I was disappointed that they no longer allow people to climb the ruins after so much vandalism over the years. The beach views were amazing. Lots of beautiful photo opportunities. It was nice to have a bit of time on our own after the end of the guided portion of the tour.

We checked around some more and then made our way back toward the parking area to board the bus.

Before we boarded, we stopped at Frostie’s to have a chicken and cheese quesadilla and a HIGHLY recommended margarita. The quesadilla was delicious topped with homemade salsa and the margaritas have now been nicknamed “El Diablo”. Wow, what a drink.

We got back on the bus after cooling down with an ice cold towel along with a snack of chips and a moon pie along with a bottle of cold water. It was very hot and even more humid so the cold towel and the water were very appreciated.

The bus ride back was uneventful.

The ferry back was met with a bit of current issues so it took a bit longer than it was supposed to. Luckily we were on a Carnival excursion as we didn’t’ arrive back to port until about 4:40 and still had to walk to the ship that was scheduled to leave at 5. There was a 90% chance of rain listed but all we had was a short sprinkle as we were getting back on the boat.

I'm sure there are a lot of folks following this thread as it's one of the first reviews of the Pride since dry dock. We will be on the Pride for New Years and can't wait. Thanks for this review!!!

Back on the ship we were surprised to find some goodies in our cabin and a note from the dining room apologizing for the delay in last night’s dinner.

We cleaned up and went to give the dining room another try for dinner. The boys made other plans so it was just a table for two tonight. While waiting for his table, our 15 yr old showed up with two friends and they were eating together too. Dinner was good but not too exciting. Julio had the pork chops and I just had two appetizers for dinner.

We caught a piece of the waiters dancing on the first floor of the dining room.

After dinner, we headed to the Taj Majal Theater to watch Side Show Bert on stage. What a great show. I thought he was a good combination of comedy and juggling and audience participation. Hokey but fun and a good time.

Tonight we had made plans to meet our Cruise Critic friends Chris and Kristie at the Alchemy Bar for drinks. We had a great time with our waitress and she spent a lot of time talking about her experience at the Alchemy Bar. We made some crazy concoctions and enjoyed them all. Our other friend Grace showed up as well as a table magician. Great laughs and fun to end the night.

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean (review in process) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404

Wednesday was supposed to be a port day in Belize but due to high winds and very stormy seas, we we unable to tender in and ended up with an extra day at sea.

This is the first time this has happened to us in 6 cruises. Carnival announced that our accounts would be credited for the port charges and issued a new schedule of activities for the day. Guess they have to take down the flag.

My 18 yr old and I participated in a Scavenger Hunt with another passenger Christina that I met on our sea day. We did a great job working together and came in First Place. It was a blast taking photos of hugs and towel animals and conga lines as well as helping to clean a table and doing the Macarena with a chef.

For the first time, we played bingo on the ship. It was a 7 game for $20. Apparently a good luck ritual is to rub your bingo cards on a bald head. At least that’s what they told Julio. We didn’t win but it was a good time playing.

Julio and I planned on participating in the 80’s trivia but we missed it so I headed up and played some mini golf. The course is small, but it is well maintained and fun to play at sea.

I'm so happy to see that someone else takes pictures of the flags flying from the main mast! I'm enjoying your review - thanks for sharing.

First cruise! Thanks for the pics and I hope you had a wondeful time!:D

Hope it brought back wonderful memories for you so far. We really enjoyed the ship and met some wonderful people.

Connie

I'm sure there are a lot of folks following this thread as it's one of the first reviews of the Pride since dry dock. We will be on the Pride for New Years and can't wait. Thanks for this review!!!

We cruised over New Years last year, but on another cruise line. It was a blast. I hope you have a fantastic beginning to 2015. Thanks for reading!

I'm so happy to see that someone else takes pictures of the flags flying from the main mast! I'm enjoying your review - thanks for sharing.

I love starting the day with a photo of the flag. I'm glad I'm not the only one too. Thanks for checking out my review. I hope you enjoy the rest as I continue.

Connie

PAST CRUISES:

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean (review in process) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404

Evening time brought Dive in Movies for the guys and Red Frog Pub quiz for me. I had concerns about the set up of the movie screen but it worked great for viewing. There did seem to be problems with not enough chairs for the really desirable movies according to Julio.

In the Red Frog Pub I ran into Christina there and made a new friend Cindy as well.

Random questions were answered and lots of shaking of heads. Thru it all though, we knew our stuff and we came in first. We had no idea that our prize would be a HUGE 100+ ounce tube of beer. We shared with our host and the 2nd and 3rd place teams as well.

We even had our photo taken and posted on the video wall of photos.

I filled up my glass another time and took a nice cold beer out to Julio watching Guardians of the Galaxy with our 18 yr old. It was much appreciated. It was a rainy night out , but the roof covering the deck was closed so it was perfect.

Thanks for sharing...so good to see the fun you had and look forward to our own adventure next week!

I'm loving your review! Thanks for taking the time to write it. We cruise on the Pride in February so your review just helps me get even more excited!

More! More!

Enjoying your review, looking forward to more of it.

What a wonderful review! Thank you so much for the pictures of the Pride after her dry dock.

It looks like your family had so much fun. I'm glad to hear there were so many trivia and "guessing" kind of events. After coming off a celebrity cruise where there were very few non-shopping or non-drinking activities, it's nice to know that the next cruise will have lots to participate in.

Love your review! Will be on her with my family over Halloween next year!

I'm loving your review! Thanks for taking the time to write it. We cruise on the Pride in February so your review just helps me get even more excited!

Awesome. I'm sure you'll have a blast! I'm ready to go again.

Thanks for sharing...so good to see the fun you had and look forward to our own adventure next week!

I hope I can get the rest written for you before you set sail.

More! More!

Thanks for reading and wanting more.

Connie