Carnival Pride 3/13/2011 review...never again

[slybear]

Ok, I'm sure that I am not the only one lost here but why is there

"never again" in the subject line?

 

The rooms are smaller than Disney?

Yes, probably half the price also.

 

The food needed salt pepper and so on?

Both available and subject to personal taste.

 

A noisey room?

As others have said, a little planning/research goes a long way.

 

 

Wait......no towel animal first night?

 

 

Oh, the horror!

 

Seriously, it appears that most of the rest was fine and you had a great time, at least as I read it.

 

So why the "never again"???

 

Thats what I thought. And I'm glad the OP will not cruise on Carnival again-so we dont have to be anywhere near her! LOL

[Neotericisis]

Some of you are being too harsh on the OP, and I think that is because this is posted on the Carnival thread, and there are lots of carnival-fanatics here (understandably). Ok, so the title was a bit much. But if you READ her review, she isn't being very bad. I think its actually very believable. I can imagine scrambled eggs not being great on a cruise ship- I would have a made to order omelet, I have seen bacon mass produced and not come out all that; the room size prob. was a shock- low and behold she will be shocked again once she sails RCCL; Her food pics and ratings sound very realistic- the spaghetti looks dry, but the shrimp and lobster looks delish.

And most importantly- let her finish the review before you start bashing her! (ie: she must be smokin', glad you are not cruising Carnival again because I wouldn't want to cruise with you etc.- the same drama that you accuse the OP of is the same drama that your response to her is showing) I think her descriptions so far are showing that she was making the most of her cruise, and isn't being disrespectful towards carnival-fanatics...We'll see how the rest of the review goes...

[OhioDogLover]

We were on the same cruise a week earlier. We had a great time. However, the food was really bad and the service we had in the dining room was worse than the food. Usually, it was cold, the waiter did not always bring bread, one night we could not even get coffee. We blamed the temperature on the waiter, since he seemed to be standing around a lot and the food was almost always cold. We were very disappointed, because we had sailed on the Freedom in 2009 and although the food wasn't comparable to X or HAL, it was OK. I hope they just have a kitchen staff or head chef who needs to improve.

I'm sure there were other people who liked it, but I ate salad in the buffet the last two nights. I just couldn't face the MDR any more. What a shame.

Just my two cents.

Ohiodoglover

[Jazmine8]

We were on the same cruise a week earlier. We had a great time. However, the food was really bad and the service we had in the dining room was worse than the food. Usually, it was cold, the waiter did not always bring bread, one night we could not even get coffee. We blamed the temperature on the waiter, since he seemed to be standing around a lot and the food was almost always cold. We were very disappointed, because we had sailed on the Freedom in 2009 and although the food wasn't comparable to X or HAL, it was OK. I hope they just have a kitchen staff or head chef who needs to improve.

I'm sure there were other people who liked it, but I ate salad in the buffet the last two nights. I just couldn't face the MDR any more. What a shame.

Just my two cents.

Ohiodoglover

 

We decided on the last 3 nights to miss the MDR for a few of the reasons you described that I didn't bother to mention with the exception that our asst. waiter was great and entertaining. His name was Touhani from Indonesia but he said just to call him "Hunny" :p

 

Some of you are being too harsh on the OP, and I think that is because this is posted on the Carnival thread, and there are lots of carnival-fanatics here (understandably). Ok, so the title was a bit much. But if you READ her review, she isn't being very bad. I think its actually very believable. I can imagine scrambled eggs not being great on a cruise ship- I would have a made to order omelet, I have seen bacon mass produced and not come out all that; the room size prob. was a shock- low and behold she will be shocked again once she sails RCCL; Her food pics and ratings sound very realistic- the spaghetti looks dry, but the shrimp and lobster looks delish.

 

And most importantly- let her finish the review before you start bashing her! (ie: she must be smokin', glad you are not cruising Carnival again because I wouldn't want to cruise with you etc.- the same drama that you accuse the OP of is the same drama that your response to her is showing) I think her descriptions so far are showing that she was making the most of her cruise, and isn't being disrespectful towards carnival-fanatics...We'll see how the rest of the review goes...

 

I agree, point taken. Also, thanks for the vote of confidence and for ACTUALLY READING my review. Where else is one suppose to post a Carnvial review to tell about their experience?

[TheGrandparents]

I don't think that I am bashing the OP and I certainly apologize if it's taken that way but I still am in darkness as to the "never again" part of the subject line.

 

Never again write a review?

Never again sail on the Pride?

Never again Carnival Cruise Line???

 

I, and probably a few others, do not see anything written so far that would make a person dump on an entire cruise line due to a couple hitches in the giddy-up on a vacation.

 

Carnival just bumped our ship around and moved us from a balcony to an outside room (after it was paid for) so I guess I could have just let it go and posted here how terrible they were but I did not. I kept a level head, called and worked out the details until we were both happy.

No big deal.

 

"Never again" is a pretty bold statement to make, some people are just hard to please, others are equally interested in what happened to make such a statement seem necessary.

[TheCalicoCat]

Will the review continue... Even though we had a fine time (we booked based on departure port & the fact that a 2 year old can go to camp & have his diapers changed - not high expectations at all, heck I even liked the laundry room!) & like to see/read another POV.

[Jazmine8]

Day 5 - Nassau Bahamas and St Patty’s Day.

We arrived in Nassau I guess around noon but I could be wrong about that. We grabbed lunch in Mermaids Grill and headed out for our excursion at 1:30pm. I chose a light activity for all in my group. Atlantis Aquarium Tour or something like that. My BFF dislikes the outdoors, beach, bugs......sheesh. My mom doesn’t care for the beach all that much either. I would have enjoyed the beach myself but oh well:rolleyes:.

Upon leaving the Pride we were greeted by a Carnival rep to ask what excursion if any had we booked. I answered and he directed us over to where we needed to check in just outside the ship. The weather was so nice and cool not hot at all. There was a constant breeze while we waited for our tour guide to meet us and take us to the bus for the ride over to Atlantis. Also, while we were waiting we had a nice conversation with a local young man who was placing the wristbands on us. My mom being the social butterfly she is, made friends quickly with the young man and adopted him as her son. He was very informative and made sure the four of us was the first ones to board the bus over to Atlantis ;). We waited about 15 minutes for the tour guide to arrive and escort everyone over to the bus. The ride over was pretty quick and the driver made sure to point out things, shopping, and Bahamian tips and info along the way.

My mom and I have been to Nassau before on the DCL and had visited Atlantis before but my BFF and niece had not. They really enjoyed the tour through the hotel and aquarium. Both are really beautiful and I love nature and animals, especially aquariums. The tour lasted for about 1.5 hrs. After it ended we head back to the bus for the pier.

This time around I decided to explore downtown Nassau since there were four of us. We went up and down the various streets shopping for gifts. While walking along we heard music and the locals informed us there was a St. Patty’s day parade going on. We didn’t get to see it since we were all too busy shopping as ladies do but it sounded like fun. The music made us dance on down the sidewalks to the shops. I had taken the map of downtown Nassau with me from the ship to be sure to find the Tortuga Rum shop. I really wanted to take the cakes there but after all the walking we’d done my feet were hurting me this time and we headed back towards the ship. We reached the entrance gates for the pier and I made sure to have my BFF and niece’s passports stamped before left. While they went to do that I started to think about that rum cake again. I really wanted to try it out since I have a cake business and wanted to know what there’s taste like. So I asked the ladies that braid the hair and she told me it was only one more block away from where we had turned around from. She also said it’s next to the Burger King. OMG when my BFF came back and heard that it was on. A funny thing that happended was a family was sitting on a bench nearby and overheard our conversation and the Dad said "I could use some Burger King right now cause the food on the ship sucks but I'm too tired to go back". We all laughed :Dcause we knew what he meant. We ALL headed back towards where we had been and walking that extra block and found Tortuga Rum Cake Shop! We got to sample the Key Lime rum cake and purchased the Coconut rum cakes to take back home. We went over to Burger King to have some food since we were not all fond of the ship’s MDR. The food was good for a fast food place regardless of the fact that it’s junk food:p. We were happy and full for the walk back to the ship.

We got back to the pier entrance gates, had our credentials checked and was back on the ship by 6:30pm. We went straight to our room to kick the shoes off and relax for a bit. We didn’t bother to go eat in the MDR that evening. We waited our time out browsing the stores until it was time to go see both comedy shows that night. After the show it was back to the room and lights out.

[Jazmine8]

Some more pics and just for fun the Food Taste Scale( FTS)

 

 

Fish and chips Food Tast Scale: 9

 

Chicken Caeser Salad Food Taste Scale: 7

 

Burger and Fries Food Taste Scale: Burger 8 Fries 6

 

German Chocolate cake Food Taste Scale: 7.5

[Jazmine8]

Day 6 – Freeport Bahamas

On this day we had to act fast as we did not get our 6:30am wakeup call as requested. Our Grand Bahamas Island tour started at 9am and we had just gotten up at 7:40am. We managed to get 4 women together just in the nick of time and off the ship to make our way over to the multitude of shore excursion lines. A tour operator asked where we where going and when we replied he just said its over there. We were like over there where? There were lots of lines and we had to read each poster at a distance to see what it read. Finally we got to the correct line and I verified it with another guest. No sooner had I done that our bus began boarding. Had we been 5-10 mins later we would have missed it all together.

 

The weather was wonderful. Felt like 70’s and very breezy. Once aboard we were greeted by our tour guide/driver. Leaving the pier he pointed out many island buildings and what they were used for. The boat yard he said was the worlds second largest and that’s where the Pride is dry docked. We drove through many neighborhoods. It was interesting to see how homes are built there. They start with cement blocks with steel rods through them. Seeing that hurricanes hit the area, building that way seems the way to go for sure.

 

Next we stopped at a local open air market. My mom stayed on the bus while most of us got off. The market had clothing, jewelry, and fruits. Most of it was marked up for tourists. I knew most of what was being sold was overpriced and refused to pay $40 for sundress that I could as easily get back home or off eBay for $15-$20. So everyone boarded the bus and back to other neighborhoods. We saw homes that celebrities were said to have owned at one time like Sidney Poitier fro example. We also saw the home of KFC and Burger King owner. It looked like a castle up on a big hill. The island has one of each restaurant. Since the island has been hit by hurricanes most businesses and hotels closed up and never returned and much of the properties are for sale. At one time it was a much more beautiful place with a bustling economy.

 

Our last stop before heading back toward the ship was Port Lucaya for shopping. I was told by a family friend that had just been on the Carnival Victory that Port Lucaya was a very small shopping spot and he was correct about that. Once we got there we grabbed a bite to eat at Subway…..yum. Next we walked around and browsed the shops to find nothing much different than what was being sold right on the pier. So we boarded the bus back to the ship and spent some time looking through the shops on the pier for last minute stuff. My mom bought me a sundress at a bargain and my BFF and niece bought straw handbags they had personalized with their names. By this time it had gotten VERY windy that I had to hold onto my sunhat. The ships horn blew in the background and we knew it was getting time to go and we got in line to board the ship. The ship left at 2:30pm if I remember correctly.

 

Back at our room we packed away our things and decided to eat in Mermaids grill. But before that we went over to the spa to see what classes they had for Saturday. We signed up for Saturday’s Detox for weightless class. Not much else to say but we ate, saw the comedy show and went to bed.

[gemsm]

We were on the same cruise a week earlier. We had a great time. However, the food was really bad and the service we had in the dining room was worse than the food. Usually, it was cold, the waiter did not always bring bread, one night we could not even get coffee. We blamed the temperature on the waiter, since he seemed to be standing around a lot and the food was almost always cold. We were very disappointed, because we had sailed on the Freedom in 2009 and although the food wasn't comparable to X or HAL, it was OK. I hope they just have a kitchen staff or head chef who needs to improve.

I'm sure there were other people who liked it, but I ate salad in the buffet the last two nights. I just couldn't face the MDR any more. What a shame.

Just my two cents.

Ohiodoglover

 

Just curious...If you had an issue with the waiter/assistant waiter did you take it up with the Maitre'D? My parents had a Really bad experience on their HAL Alaska cruise the first night in the MDR (They had anytime dining). They actually discussed it with Guest Relations (because they had another issue with pre-cruise excursion) and for the rest of the cruise they got an assigned table with an assigned wait staff and the Maitre'D came by every night to check to make sure everything was OK. They were treated like VIP diners the rest of the cruise. Cruise lines really do usually go out of their way to fix issues IF they know about them immediately...Not when you get to the end and fill out the comment card or contact Carnival and complain.

[JaniceB]

German chocolate cake is one of my favorite cakes. My mother made this cake for all my birthdays. You gave it a 7, should I try it? It looks tasty.

[gemsm]

German chocolate cake is one of my favorite cakes. My mother made this cake for all my birthdays. You gave it a 7, should I try it? It looks tasty.

 

Taste is very subjective...Try it. if you don't like it ask them to bring you something else :)

[hazeleyez3]

Thank you for writing the review. I am sorry that it wasn't your best cruise (especially since it was a present), but I am glad to hear you made the most of it.

 

One thing I do want to mention since you said you want to try other lines, a lot of cabins on NCL and Royal are smaller than Carnival.

 

It's a shame that some people...

 

• Can't read your first post which says it is just your opinions, not others that were cruising.
  
• Can't understand that food is subjective and just because they liked it doesn't mean others do as well.
  
• Can't read the post that says you weren't sure if "never again" referred to the line or the ship.
  
• Can't understand why some of the things you mentioned (might) be deal breakers.
  

Whatever way you choose for your next cruises (try Carnival again, try another line, go back to Disney)...I hope you have a wonderful time. :)

[spideyfam]

We arrived at the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) to board the monorail to EPCOT around 9am and proceeded into the park. .

 

We are going to the Animal Kingdom next wednesday through a Carnival excursion. Were all three parks offered through excursions (MK, AK, Epcot) on the same bus. I just want to know if we have to get a transfer at the TTC to get to the AK. I was kind of hoping to be dropped off at the park.

[TheCalicoCat]

You like BK & Subway, while I do not. (I'll do Subway in a pinch, but I am pretty close to never on BK/McD/W/KFC/etc.)

That may be why some of us liked MDR while you did not.:rolleyes:

[littlesnit]

Calico,

Those were my sentiments, also. I love the MDR, and I don't eat just to eat.

[Jazmine8]

German chocolate cake is one of my favorite cakes. My mother made this cake for all my birthdays. You gave it a 7, should I try it? It looks tasty.

Oh yes try it and anything else. It was good but since I'm a baker I know how to make it even better.;) My cakes are so fantastic that when a client calls and I don't have an opening they are seriously disappointed. Ok I know I'm tooting my own horn but I'm very proud of my product, is that wrong?

 

Thank you for writing the review. I am sorry that it wasn't your best cruise (especially since it was a present), but I am glad to hear you made the most of it.

 

One thing I do want to mention since you said you want to try other lines, a lot of cabins on NCL and Royal are smaller than Carnival.

 

It's a shame that some people...

 

• Can't read your first post which says it is just your opinions, not others that were cruising.
  
• Can't understand that food is subjective and just because they liked it doesn't mean others do as well.
  
• Can't read the post that says you weren't sure if "never again" referred to the line or the ship.
  
• Can't understand why some of the things you mentioned (might) be deal breakers.
  

Whatever way you choose for your next cruises (try Carnival again, try another line, go back to Disney)...I hope you have a wonderful time. :)

 

I agree, it is a shame that people just don't read well. Most people that comment are just glancing at the words and not really reading or comprehending at all. A few are and understand everything I've said is MY opinion and doesn't reflect theirs nor do I have to agree with what they have liked about Carnival. We weren't on the same ship and had the same experience. So they can discontinue to "read" my review if they are offended. No one is pointing a gun to their head. I chose to write and share that's all.

We are going to the Animal Kingdom next wednesday through a Carnival excursion. Were all three parks offered through excursions (MK, AK, Epcot) on the same bus. I just want to know if we have to get a transfer at the TTC to get to the AK. I was kind of hoping to be dropped off at the park.

 

Yes. All 3 parks were offered through Carnival excursions but not together on a combined ticket or same bus. You most likely will be dropped off at AK I believe since you don't have to make any transfers.

Have you been to AK before? If not, I can give you tips since I'm a former Disney cast member.

[Jazmine8]

You like BK & Subway, while I do not. (I'll do Subway in a pinch, but I am pretty close to never on BK/McD/W/KFC/etc.)

That may be why some of us liked MDR while you did not.:rolleyes:

No I don't like BK and never eat there back home but is was better than having to eat in the MDR again, just my opinion. For the most part I don't eat out and if I do my Fiance takes me to Bobby Vans, Ruth Chris, Mortons, Sam & Harry's, Bone Fish, Oceanaire, Carrabbas and most importantly the Cheesecake Factory....yummmy:)

[Yvonne]

I only read the first installment of your review. You complained of the decor of the ship, you could have seen many, many pictures of your ship from all kinds of web sites (and Carnival's own as well) so you would have known in advance what the decor was like and not book that particular ship if you didn't like the decor.

 

You complained about the buffet being so busy on the first day, rooms are not available usually until 1:00 or 1:30 on embarkation day so many, many people are eating at the buffet when they first board so of course it's going to be even busier than normal on that first day. DH and I usually go around the ship taking pictures when we first board, and then go to the buffet later when it's not as busy and hard to find a table.

 

You complained about the size of the room. You can find out room dimensions on Carnival's web site too and see the layout and pictures, so you would know how small the rooms are. You should have booked two rooms, two in each.

 

You said the room steward knew all of your names, but you never took the time to find out his name? Sad.

 

You complained the food was bad. Too bland in the main dining room, and some simple salt and pepper and spices would have helped. Salt and pepper are right on your table. Many people try to avoid salt, for their blood pressure, so they prefer their food without salt. You can always add your own salt to your food.

 

You complained your room was too noisy because of the Mermaid Grill above you. Again, some research would have been beneficial to you because you would have known about the grill being above and many, many people don't want staterooms below public rooms because of the noise factor. DH and I always book rooms that are sandwiched between other staterooms so we never have to worry about noise coming from public rooms. Or you could have used a white noise sound machine (as I do), or ear plugs.

 

You complained about no towel animal on the first night. How old are you? But whatever, most cruise lines don't have them on the first night, that's not just Carnival.

 

I did not read any of the other installments of your review. Too much complaining in your first installment, sorry.

[gemsm]

I only read the first installment of your review. You complained of the decor of the ship, you could have seen many, many pictures of your ship from all kinds of web sites (and Carnival's own as well) so you would have known in advance what the decor was like and not book that particular ship if you didn't like the decor.

 

You complained about the buffet being so busy on the first day, rooms are not available usually until 1:00 or 1:30 on embarkation day so many, many people are eating at the buffet when they first board so of course it's going to be even busier than normal on that first day. DH and I usually go around the ship taking pictures when we first board, and then go to the buffet later when it's not as busy and hard to find a table.

 

You complained about the size of the room. You can find out room dimensions on Carnival's web site too and see the layout and pictures, so you would know how small the rooms are. You should have booked two rooms, two in each.

 

You said the room steward knew all of your names, but you never took the time to find out his name? Sad.

 

You complained the food was bad. Too bland in the main dining room, and some simple salt and pepper and spices would have helped. Salt and pepper are right on your table. Many people try to avoid salt, for their blood pressure, so they prefer their food without salt. You can always add your own salt to your food.

 

You complained your room was too noisy because of the Mermaid Grill above you. Again, some research would have been beneficial to you because you would have known about the grill being above and many, many people don't want staterooms below public rooms because of the noise factor. DH and I always book rooms that are sandwiched between other staterooms so we never have to worry about noise coming from public rooms. Or you could have used a white noise sound machine (as I do), or ear plugs.

 

You complained about no towel animal on the first night. How old are you? But whatever, most cruise lines don't have them on the first night, that's not just Carnival.

 

I did not read any of the other installments of your review. Too much complaining in your first installment, sorry.

 

So you only read reviews when they are rah rah for Carnival like a PP said? Not every review of Carnival can be A+ ya know. If it was the other lines wouldn't be in business.

[Jazmine8]

So you only read reviews when they are rah rah for Carnival like a PP said? Not every review of Carnival can be A+ ya know. If it was the other lines wouldn't be in business.

 

It's ok. I mean the OP Yvonne, is still here reading (well sort of):rolleyes: and posting obviously but why:confused:. The OP stated they didn't read most of what was written. I was telling a story like writing a book to help readers develope a picture in their minds of what I was seeing. They chose to take it as complaints. So it just goes to show I'm correct on people posting without fully reading and comprehending but still choose to reply with nonsense without knowing all the details but have loads to say about nothing:p.

[Yvonne]

So you only read reviews when they are rah rah for Carnival like a PP said? Not every review of Carnival can be A+ ya know. If it was the other lines wouldn't be in business.

 

No, I've read many, many reviews, all kinds. If someone has a complaint or two, I still read it. But when someone says "never again" and their entire first section of their review is chock full of complaints, especially when some could have been avoided with some research and different choices, then I don't put much stock in their "review." Sorry.

[dotshub]

Sorry you had a bad experience-as you can see we sail with carnival a lot and have never experienced any complaints like you have. We have also sailed with Disney twice and I am here to tell you that you do not get anymore or is the food any better than carnival. You just pay for the name. Sorry that you had a bad experience but that is why there are other cruise lines. I am not saying this to be ugly it's just that some people expect more than others. We love carnival and just have not had any bad experiences. Let's hope that the next 3 cruises we have scheduled are as good as the previous ones.

[Jazmine8]

No I don't like BK and never eat there back home but is was better than having to eat in the MDR again, just my opinion. For the most part I don't eat out and if I do my Fiance takes me to Bobby Vans, Ruth Chris, Mortons, Sam & Harry's, Bone Fish, Oceanaire, Carrabbas and most importantly the Cheesecake Factory....yummmy:)

 

I almost forgot to add Edgewater Restaraunt. Now if any Maryland readers are here and love seafood this place has the BEST crab cakes ever! No fillers at all and are much larger than those found at Jerry's. It's a small mom and pop kinda place in Edgewater MD but the service, food and staff are great. They also have a very fresh salad bar (try the ranch dressing;))

[gemsm]

I almost forgot to add Edgewater Restaraunt. Now if any Maryland readers are here and love seafood this place has the BEST crab cakes ever! No fillers at all and are much larger than those found at Jerry's. It's a small mom and pop kinda place in Edgewater MD but the service, food and staff are great. They also have a very fresh salad bar (try the ranch dressing;))

 

Uh no -- Edgewater Restaurant is really good but the BEST crab cakes are found at G & M restaurant...Hellas runs a second best. :) If you want steamed crabs head to Cantler's riverside