Pride Not such a Pride

[KickinRon]

This was our first time taking a cruise from the west coast, and from now on, we will stay on the east coast. This ship is definately got the wrong name. The ships decorations was great............Now for the stuff we didnt like. The individual who made all the announcements, could not be understood, the food was good, but not great, and the staff was OK. Our cabin (a balcony on deck 5) Was never touched till after 1 PM ((Daily)) While beach towels were left in the rooms on other carnival cruises, we had to ask for them each time we wanted them. This ship has so many lines to wait in, you waited in line to get on the ship, to get off the ship, going to dinner, going to the bathroom, unless of course you used the one in your cabin. the crew was not as friendly as Carnivals other ships (Imagination, Fascination, Triumph,) Just about every ship should take lessons from the Imagination on how to treat a guest. We loved the Imagination so much we have sailed on her twice and plan on traveling on her again. Unfortunately we want no part of Carnivals Pride.

[Rescue156]

I'm very sorry you feel that way...I guess its just a matter of personal preference. The Carnival Pride is one of my favorite ships....but the Imagination is too, so that's a good back up in my eyes. I'm sorry the Pride wasn't all to you that it was to me:)

[TheTravelista]

Wow...Im so sorry to hear that. Im shocked. Pride is my absolute favorite ship in the whole Carnival fleet, and I've been dying to sail her again. The service was impeccable. I sailed her while she was on the East coast and have been hesitant to try the Mexican Riviera for this exact reason. But I'm very happy that this experiece didnt destroy all your feelings for Carnival and am glad you will be returning to the Imagination as she is another one of my favorites.

[Cotton]

KickinRon] While beach towels were left in the rooms on other carnival cruises, we had to ask for them each time we wanted them.

On the ships I've been on, the beach towels in the cabin were for taking on shore, and the towels used on the deck were handed out by an attendant. Not the case on the Pride?

 

This ship has so many lines to wait in, you waited in line to get on the ship, to get off the ship, going to dinner, going to the bathroom...

Unfortunately, there are 'lines' on every ship on every cruise, some more than others. That's one of the things most folks expect, to a degree.

 

The crew was not as friendly as Carnivals other ships (Imagination, Fascination, Triumph,)

The entire crew? I think this is the first time I've read a not-so-happy report about the Pride.

 

Sorry your cruise wasn't so great, but sometimes a few little upsetting incidents can set the mood for the entire cruise. Sounds like the case w/you. Sorry. Hope the next one is LOTS better.:)

[ciship]

I'm surprised to hear your comments on the PRIDE as well although I respect your views. I heard nothing but great things about the Conquest two years ago when we booked to sail on her, but we thought the whole experience was awful. Horrible customer service we thought.

 

Anyway, it is rare when I read anything bad about the PRIDE. Thus, we have booked her and will board in 3 weeks. Hope customer service is up to par by then!!

 

Thanks for the comments.

[CruiseVirginfromBrooklyn]

Also surprised to read the negative reviews on the Pride. I enjoyed it when we took it to Bermuda in 2003... Goes to show that everyone has different tastes and opinions... Oh well, better luck on your next cruise!

[ciship]

Customer Service is all I care about. I don't care if the food is average, lines are long, shows are bad.......I just want decent customer service and no grouchy, grumbling, miserable faces from the crew like we experienced on the Conquest.

[RYPERO]

I too am sorry for your bad experience on the Pride we have sailed twice once on each coast and she is by far our favorite ship. Some times you just have bad luck. Thankfully there so many ships that if one isn't good to you, you can always go on another one.

[Kridder]

We sailed on the Pride two weeks ago and found the Customer Service very good! We found the entire staff very friendly, the food good and we had a great time! I find it kind of strange that you won't cruise the west coast again because of your experieince on the Pride. It seems that the complaints of "waiting in lines" (don't you do that everywhere not just on cruise ships?), and no beach towels in your cabin (we did have beach towels in our cabin by the way) wouldn't prevent me from sailing a particular itinerary. But, you have to make that decision yourself. I once read on these forums that your cruise is what you make it to be and not to let a few minor things ruin your trip. Advice that we now take after letting some minor details ruin our first cruise. Hope your next cruise is better (on the east coast)! :)

[ciship]

We sailed on the Pride two weeks ago and found the Customer Service very good! We found the entire staff very friendly, the food good and we had a great time! I find it kind of strange that you won't cruise the west coast again because of your experieince on the Pride. It seems that the complaints of "waiting in lines" (don't you do that everywhere not just on cruise ships?), and no beach towels in your cabin (we did have beach towels in our cabin by the way) wouldn't prevent me from sailing a particular itinerary. But, you have to make that decision yourself. I once read on these forums that your cruise is what you make it to be and not to let a few minor things ruin your trip. Advice that we now take after letting some minor details ruin our first cruise. Hope your next cruise is better (on the east coast)! :)

 

Kridder,

 

So glad to hear you enjoyed the PRIDE. That is what I hear mostly about her and I am SO looking forward to her in 3 weeks!

[ccletzgo]

Customer Service is all I care about. I don't care if the food is average, lines are long, shows are bad.......I just want decent customer service and no grouchy, grumbling, miserable faces from the crew like we experienced on the Conquest.

 

 

I lean towards your feelings. I dont cruise for the food. We hit the two shows that are production numbers and thats it. I avoid the lines. Why do people line up for the dining room? your table isnt going anywhere! On the Pride, the service was lacking. Worst we have had. No one was rude, but no one went out of there way either. Do you think the Up front tipping is causing this lack of customer service? I tip at the end of a cruise because I tip according to service received. Isnt that the way tipping should be?

 

Over all we had a great trip on the Pride. It was a family reunion trip and Carnival was just the ticket for this type of cruise. Comparing it to the service of past cruises that DH and I have been on, is where the service went down hill. We paid just as much for this cruise as we did the others. We shouldnt have to expect a lower level of service.

(I'm not talking about BUtlers either, just plain old friendly service)

[Kridder]

On the Pride, the service was lacking. Worst we have had. No one was rude, but no one went out of there way either. Do you think the Up front tipping is causing this lack of customer service? I tip at the end of a cruise because I tip according to service received. Isnt that the way tipping should be?

 

I'm sorry you had a bad experience on this cruise. I guess that people's opinions of service are different. Like I said, we found the entire staff very friendly. Any requests we made whether it was from our cabin steward or waiter were always met with a smile and we were asked if we needed anything else. We found the staff up in Mermaids to be very friendly as well. CC, I do agree with your thoughts on tipping. I don't like having it added to the sign & sail card up front. I think that tipping is a matter of personal preference and that the tip should reflect the service given. Also, I don't like feeling pressured to tip more at the end of the trip.

[Kridder]

Oh and btw........the bartenders were great! Made excellent margaritas, pina coladas & dirty bananas! ;)

[ciship]

Tipping should be done when service has been given.......and NOT before!

[cantw82cruise]

We took the Pride a little over a year ago and I can say the only thing we didn't like about it was the time difference. The three hour difference was a lot harder to over come then I thought it would be. We love the ship and the staff, had a super time. It was hard for us to stay up for the late shows and parties. We didn't find to many people on the ship that lived east of Nevada. I'm sure I will really struggle next year in Hawaii on the Spirit.

[CRUISADER]

We sailed with some of the other posters on this thread and were very fortunate to have met some relly nice folks and fellow Cruise Critics. While we enjoyed ourselves, the service we encountered was not the best we have received from Carnival. This was our 4th Carnival cruise. Also, their is a distinct difference in weather the 1st and last day, being much cooler than the Carribbean and Gulf of Mexico in February.

 

Our cabin steward didn't bring robes, unlock the refrig. or supply a in-room breakfast menu until we asked on the third day. We never received beach towels. Our cabin was not made up a couple of times during the day, probably timing due to us returning to the cabin too early for them. But, he did let us take the Carnival Pride book home after a promise of a tip. Our assistant room steward had become very ill, some sort of virus, but he worked anyway. We became slightly ill during the cruise, respitory infections. Not sure if it was from the assistant, probably not. Generally, the stewards were not quite as pleasant as other cruises. Very busy guys. Regardless, they received full reccomended tip plus some.

 

Our waiters could never remember what we liked to drink or our names. These are just small things that have been enjoyed on other cruises. We seemed to wait a little longer than normal for drinks and food. We ended up only eating in the main dining room three nights. The first two nights and the 4th night. We still left a full tip on our sign & sail card.

 

The food was not as good as in the past. Perhaps we ordered the wrong things from the menu.

 

We tried David's Supper Club the third night. The service was just OK. Nothing special here either. We both had the 24oz Porterhouse as we are steak lovers. Both of our steaks were tough, even the small side which should be tenderloin was tough. Defitnitely not prime beef. But, it was aged and large.

 

Needless to say, we ate the balance of our meals at the Mermaid grill, which was OK. Room service was adequate with speedy service, but a very limited menu which is relected on all Carnival room service menus.

 

The balance of the cruise staff in the casinos, theatre, shops, etc. tried to be friendly and we found no one was rude to us. As I said earlier, we enjoyed ourselves and may sail the Pride again someday. But, for now there are many other unsailed ships and unseen destinations.

[ccNVcpl]

We've just returned from the Pride (2/13 sailing), and can report "we" had a great time. Yes, there are always a few things that aren't 100%, but that sure didn't come close to spoiling our week. The weather was PERFECT - but understand that week prior was marginal, and suspect this week might be poor. Greg is by far the BEST CD anywhere - and we'll miss him!

[ccletzgo]

cruisader, Your experiance was about the same as ours. I decided to be more specific here...................

In the past, our waiters have gotten to know us. Called us by name, remembered our drinks, and took our orders with a SMILE. They make you feel like they have been waiting for you and are excited that you are there. Not so this past cruise. Although DH said he looked around and saw that other waiters were being more attentive. (we just had a bad one)Our asst. waiter at dinner did try, but our waiter did nothing, but take our order, and was VERY distracted. I kept looking around to see what was grabbing his attention from us, and couldnt figure it out. Mermaids, everyone was very hard working, but few smiles. Just very busy.

 

In the past we have had bar servers that seemed to track us down. Called DH by name and asked if they could get us a ----- what ever they have been getting us in the past. What I am trying to say, is they remember you!! They know your name, what you drink, etc. etc. They are friendly and always want to laugh with you or at least smile. One special bar waiter can make a great deal of money by having special guests that they take care of all week. We have great memories of some great cocktail servers in the past. They have had a great deal to do with our cruise experiance. None from the pride. On the Pride, they only wanted your folio number. :( (also our bar tab was the lowest in history on this cruise)

 

Davids, we enjoyed the food. Ours was very good. After paying $10 to have my bottle of wine corked, you would think my glass would be checked and refilled, but we had to take care of that our selves. DH has never had to pour our own wine in a fine resteraunt.

 

The beach towel in our cabin never got replaced after the first port day. But our Cabin steward did a great job.:) No complaints. I did have 6 men spend over three hours in my cabin fixing the jacuzzi tub, on a sea day. They had to take all the drawers out in the cabin and go into the wall and do a major fix. what a mess. But it was fine. I was glad they were fixing it. Imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw my underwear drawer on the bed, displaying bras and panites in all colors, with a room full of men. :eek: We joked about the looks on there faces when I walked in, all week!.Made us laugh. I asked that the burned out light bulbs be replaced in our cabin. Honost, there were at least a dozen light bulbs out, with 6 of them in the dressing mirror. Do they just wait to see if someone complains before they replace light bulbs? Why is this not an automatic? Cabins should be kept in tip top shape including all light bulbs! Everything was taken care of just fine, its too bad I had to point it all out though.

 

As said before, no one was rude. If you ask, you would get what you need, its just nothing was above average, or more then could be expected. :) They just did enough to get by......................

[ciship]

We've just returned from the Pride (2/13 sailing), and can report "we" had a great time. Yes, there are always a few things that aren't 100%, but that sure didn't come close to spoiling our week. The weather was PERFECT - but understand that week prior was marginal, and suspect this week might be poor. Greg is by far the BEST CD anywhere - and we'll miss him!

 

ccNVcpl

 

We are on the PRIDE in 3 weeks and Greg will be retired and gone by then. Did he say who his replacement would be?

 

Also, were you able to get out by the pool for sunbathing on sea days??

 

Where was your cabin located and how was the motion on the ship?

 

What did you do in PORT?

[ciship]

cclegzgo,

 

Are your past cruises with Carnival or a more upscale line? What you describe is exactly what we had on the Conquest and I said THEN that I wouldnt give Carnival a second chance........that was, until I started reading reviews of the PRIDE and how great the customer service was!!

 

UG, we leave in 3 weeks and I'm so depressed. I don't want to relive the Conquest experience again.......:(

[CRUISADER]

cclegzgo,

 

Are your past cruises with Carnival or a more upscale line? What you describe is exactly what we had on the Conquest and I said THEN that I wouldnt give Carnival a second chance........that was, until I started reading reviews of the PRIDE and how great the customer service was!!

 

UG, we leave in 3 weeks and I'm so depressed. I don't want to relive the Conquest experience again.......:(

 

This only goes to show the variances you can expect...Our best cruise service ever was on The Carnival Conquest. Super service from the dining room to the cabin stewards. We were completely spoiled. Gee...And we were thinking of rebooking the Conquest for next winter.

[ccletzgo]

our past cruise with carnival was 1996 on the Jubilee. The service was wonderfull. To this day I remember the cocktail server from Austrailia that would come and find us out on deck and wait on us all day! So, its not just more upscale lines that I am comparing. It was the service on my first two cruises that made me want to continue cruising. (95 & 96) I also want to point out that Carnivals prices are no less then other lines. So, why should service be on a lower scale? I truly dont feel that Carnival is expecting any more from there help. They are not expecting them to do any more then they are. Smart employees realize that they make more money if they put forth some effort. I dont understand whats up here? Also when we asked, very few employees were renewing there contracts. HUMmmmmmmm

 

 

Sea days were chilly. The ship is moving and its windy. The best day out at the pool was while in port. I usually do the pool while in Mazatlan. Nothing in the port that really excites me, so the pool is great.

The last day at sea we tried, but the goose bumps got to be too much!

 

3 weeks from now, it will warm up a little more. Also, the day at sea when you are passing cabo, (second) is good for the deck.

[LSUtraveler]

cclegzgo,

 

Are your past cruises with Carnival or a more upscale line? What you describe is exactly what we had on the Conquest and I said THEN that I wouldnt give Carnival a second chance........that was, until I started reading reviews of the PRIDE and how great the customer service was!!

 

UG, we leave in 3 weeks and I'm so depressed. I don't want to relive the Conquest experience again.......:(

I guess there are times when a bad waiter or room steward would give bad service, or the food would not be up to ones standards but I've never had those types of experiences on any of the Carnival ships.

The last cruise, last month was excellent all around. Celebration, Inspiration, Conquest, Legend....all great experiences.

Sorry to see it happen to anyone.

[LornaT]

Tip for anyone going on the Pride soon.............the Maitre D (Jean Pierre) was on the Legend up until January 14th. He's a really funny guy and signs really good...............his opening line every night at dinner is HELLO!!!!! And he is looking for a loud HELLO back from the guests. If you have any problems with wait staff or food, TELL him! He'll do what he can to fix the problem. And if anyone does speak with him tell him the Ladies from the Legend Christmas & New Years cruises at table 215 say HI!

[Kridder]

UG, we leave in 3 weeks and I'm so depressed. I don't want to relive the Conquest experience again.......:(

 

Ciship - Don't worry. You are going to be on vacation. Don't let little things ruin your trip. Most of the posters here indicated that they had a great time - isn't that the main thing? There are things that can't be controlled such as the weather (it's true the weather wasn't the greatest when we cruised but that certainly didn't ruin our trip - we made the most of it!). But for anything else (like cabin issues or dinning room issues) there are people you can talk to about that. If you are missing beach towels or robes in your cabin just ask for them. If you aren't happy with your waiter then talk to the maitre'd. The priority is that you have fun (which you will)! :)