My Pride review to Bermuda, October 2-9

[louigi]

Pride Review, Bermuda, Oct 2-9

 

 

We had a great time on our cruise —background: it was my husband and myself and we are both in our early 40’s and this is our 3rd cruise, but first on Carnival and second trip to Bermuda. We have previously sailed on Princess (Eastern Caribbean) and Costa (Bermuda).

 

 

PRE-TRIP----We flew in on Saturday and stayed at Holiday Inn Express BWI. I cannot say enough good things about this hotel. Their customer service and their shuttle service were fantastic! When I made the reservation I had asked for an early check in, if possible, because our flight landed in BWI at 11:10 am. It was a good flying day from the airport gods as we landed around 10:50. Yeah us! So we grabbed our luggage after it was unloaded and called the hotel, and they told us about 15 minutes. The shuttle was there within 10 minutes as he was dropping off someone for a flight, so he picked us up then.

 

 

We were able to check in early and were in our room by 11:45. Now here is where the great customer service comes in, this hotel is all non-smoking, but it previously was not. When we got into our room, within a few minutes we could tell it used to be a smoking room. Neither DH or I smoke, but we thought maybe we would get used to it….needless to say, we did not and I started getting a headache. I told DH I would go downstairs and talk to the ladies to see if they could do something about the smell or have housekeeping do something. After speaking to the front desk ladies and telling him there was a very strong smoking odor, they said no problem and they moved us to a different room. After walking in it to check the room and blissfully smelling no lingering smoke odors we moved our stuff to that room…..soooo much better!

 

 

We used the shuttle to take us to a local restaurant they recommended for crab cakes and we were NOT disappointed. Timbuktu is the name of the place and we got there around 5:15 and so glad we did, because when we left a little over an hour later it was standing room only and a wait. The crab cakes were fantastic, very little filler and lots of large lump crab meat. The shuttle also took us to the Port of Baltimore and picked us up.

 

 

Well, enough of the hotel…on to the part I have only been planning on since July of 2010 when I booked! The cruise!

 

 

EMBARKATION--We got to the Port of Baltimore around 10:30ish and our shuttle driver was the one that removed our luggage and placed it in the luggage train and not the porters, so we tipped him.

 

 

We then went into the terminal and showed the Carnival staff by the door our passports and our boarding pass and proceeded to the security checks, we put our bags etc that were carrying on with us in the scanners and walked right on in with no problems, (and we had extension cords and extra outlet extenders) and made our way to the check-in desks. Everything has been painless to this point, which having never sailed on Carnival and never making it to the port this early, I was not completely sure what to expect.

 

 

After checking in, we were told to sit in a sitting area until we could board. We were on the second row, so we sat there and hung out with everyone else and playing the games until we could board. The VIP seating area was just across from us and did not seem to be anything other than that they were sectioned off from the ‘steerage passengers’. J

 

 

We probably boarded around 12:30ish or so and went straight up to the Lido deck to eat. We grabbed the first table we saw and then got some lunch. I had read on here that the buffet areas were confusing, and I will have to agree—at least for the first meal there anyway, because it was mass confusion with everyone acting like they have not eaten for days. J Yes, I was probably one of them too! Lol :p

 

 

We ate our lunch and then moved on so that other new passengers could have our table. We waited in the Sunset Garden area on 3 by the Taj Mahal theater until our rooms were ready. We had some friends with us and sent her DH off to see if our rooms were ready, which, were not at 1:30…bummer, so we did not try to sneak into them either.

 

 

CABIN--At 2:30 we received the happy announcement that rooms were ready so we hopped on the elevator and went up to 7 to make our way to our room. We had room 7301, and wow, I could not have been more pleased with this room! It was large, it was spacious, (yeah, I know, two size references, but it was awesome!) and had a wider and deeper balcony than regular. The bathroom was the same size as a regular cabin, but this room was fantastic! Storage…oh my the storage…I usually don’t unpack, but I sure did this time! I just had to use all of that space. Our cabin had the standard couch and also a chair and a flat screen tv. ( I don’t remember if there was a flat screen in our friends balcony room or not). This room is located behind the elevators, so that is probably why it is a bigger room, it also has an extra window. As for the elevators, we did not have any noise from them—except for one time and that was on our return trip from Bermuda and we had some extremely rough water with 40 mph winds and 10-12 ft waves….this extreme rocking caused the elevators to bump some in the shaft, but it was not anything that bothered us and it was only for a few hours. We heard more noise from people walking down the hall and talking loudly.

 

 

Even thougth this room is bigger, there is still only the one outlet at the dressing/vanity area and the way this room is configured it was going to take a REALLY long extension cord to plug in my DH’s CPAP. But thanks to CC, I had read to check the outlet behind the TV and yes there were two 1 outlet plugs there. I spoke to our cabin steward, Harry (who was great by the way!) so we checked it out and yes we could plug in the extension cord we brought (brand new). Luckily I had also brought two still packaged outlet extenders (brand new) because the two things plugged in behind the TV have to be plugged in for it to work. I used the other extender at the dressing/vanity area because it had a built-in nightlight.

 

 

THE PRIDE—ok, I have to be honest here, to me, because I am a destination cruiser, the ship is a mode of transportation to get me Bermuda. We don’t gamble, we don’t play bingo and DH was not about to enter the hairy chest contest! J But we are big people watchers, so we did that. We did play the bean bag toss (and lost) and that was fun—we are definitely going to have to practice that one if we go on another cruise.

 

 

I thought that the ship was very well maintained and did not notice any age or things that needed to be repaired or painted. Again, thanks to CC, I knew to expect lots of ‘’art’’ so that did not bother me. The ship did have the dark interior that you either love or hate, but I rather liked that as it seemed to make for cozy areas to sit and talk and do more people watching! There were several areas that you could just sit around and hang out.

 

 

The Serenity area, was ALWAYS packed….did I say ALWAYS? There were never any loungers, clamshells available. Oh, one thing, there were only about 106 kids on the cruise and I forgot they were even on there! I saw a group of kids eating pizza one evening and was like, well look, kids…how about that!

 

 

I thought the Taj Mahal was one of the prettier theaters I been in (based my vast cruising experience of 2 cruises! Lol) There were two shows that featured the Pride dancers and singers, I would skip the first one, Wonderful World which was on Monday, it was just ok. Vroom on Friday night, was great and I really wish I had a better seat for that one as we were sitting under 5 speakers that nearly rendered me deaf. Tuesday, the show was called, “the physical comedy of Max Winfrey”…not quite sure what it was going to be and it was a guy who had performed on America’s got Talent (I think that is what they said). He was a juggler, very talented and he was sooo good and funny! He had a great show and I would have loved it if he would have had another show. He had the most hysterical audience helpers and that made his show even better.

 

 

The Butterfly Lounge—that was one hopping place, they were either having karaoke down there, or the comedians or something. It was a neat little place, key word being little! Just about every time I was in there, it was standing room only, unless you got there very early. We only saw two of the comedians. One was the adult show with John Caponera, and it was not so much adult comedy as lots of F-bombs being dropped, he had some funny stuff, but I did not go and see him again. The other comedy show I saw was on Saturday night and the assistant cruise director Eric Brouman did a magic show. It was the family friendly show and it was really a lot of fun, if I could have managed to stay up, I think I would have enjoyed his adult show. I did see a few minutes of Carl Guerra of the end of his family friendly show but did not go back to see him in his adult show.

 

 

Karaoke—if you like Karaoke, then this cruise is for you. It was set up at different areas throughout the cruise. It is so much fun to watch people do that…..there were some FABULOUS singers and some that should never pick up a microphone again, but hey, you are on vacation so let it rip right! LoL, you are having fun, right?

 

 

THE STAFF—I was very impressed with all the staff that I encountered, they were all very pleasant and said Hello…..

 

 

THE DINING ROOM—sorry, no food porn for you. J I took my camera each night to the dining room, but never took pictures of the food for some reason… We enjoyed the food very much and thought there was a pretty good selection—I don’t think there was anything that I got that I just hated and if there was, I would just head upstairs to the fabulous pizzeria! One thing, I would do the next time, is I like spicy food and felt that it definitely could have been spiced up quite a bit, so I will bring my little travel container of ground red pepper, but that is just me. Overall the food was very good. I did have one huge disappointment was the baked stuffed mushrooms. That may be one thing that has changed with the new menu, because what I received as compared to pictures that have been posted of it from previous cruisers, it was not the same.

 

 

As for desserts, I am not really a dessert person, I would rather have more food than dessert, but I had to try the warm chocolate melting cake that everyone raves about and yes, I do believe it is truly rave-worthy! I am a choco-holic that is not in recovery and I probably had it at least three nights of the cruise…I had cheesecake one night and it was really good, very light and not heavy. The apple pie and Baked Alaska, hmmm, should have stuck with WMC.

 

 

BERMUDA—now this was our second time there so we had a much better idea of a game plan and what to do and how to go about it. As soon as we were cleared to leave the boat we were off and running to get passes for the bus and ferries and then got in line for the ferry to St. George’s. Let me tell, you the ferries are the way to travel Bermuda, very fast getting around Bermuda. I believe it was about a 40 minute ride to St. George’s. The buses are interesting and efficient also, but they have to make so many stops.

 

 

When we arrived at St.G, we arrived in time to join a lady doing a walking tour and talking about the history of Bermuda and St.G, we stayed with her for quite a while but split off from her when we were at a area that let us go on up the hill to see the unfinished church and further on to Fort St. Catherine. So off we go to see the unfinished church and take more pictures, then on up the hill to see Tobacco Bay and Ft.St.Cath. First let me say, that if you are planning on going to the fort, it is a loooooooonnnnngggg walk and your companions with you will not like you very much and it is possible that a mutiny will ensue. But it is also a gorgeous place to take pictures and see and rest after the loooooonnnnnnggg walk to build back up for the walk back to St.G. (there could be a bus that runs along that route, but we failed to get a bus schedule, just the ferry). After a bottle of water, we girded our strength and reserve to make the walk back.

 

 

After arriving back in town, we promptly went to the White Horse Tavern for some fish and chips—‘cause we needed major sustenance after that looooooonnngggg walk! :D After we ate, we walked around St.G, went to the Bermuda Perfumery (came out smelling much better!), checked out St.Peter’s church, bought some t-shirts and caught the ferry back to the Dockyards. And yes, I am not ashamed to say it, but I was beat, worn out and pooped all at the same time. When we got back to the Dockyards, we went to the Glassworks and Rum Cake Store, came out with two yummy banana rum cakes..mmmmm tasty!

 

 

Day 2—we had scheduled a private taxi tour with Duke Soares which was fab-u-lous! I would highly recommend him again and again, our group feels like he was the highlight our trip. This day was actually a really good day to do our tour since we had some rain clouds trying to roll in that day. We did not want to go swimming at the beaches, but we wanted to see that pink sand and we stopped at Jobson’s Cove. It was beautiful—that pink sand, the big rocks, big waves from TS Phillipe and cloudy skies, made for some fabulous pictures. Since we had already done St.G, he took us all over the place. We got to see where the Air Force base used to be on Bermuda (since DH was born there!) and lots of places that we would have never seen had we tried to do this all on our own. We decided to have Duke drop us off at Hamilton so we could walk around there for awhile and then catch the ferry back to the Dockyards. While in Hamilton, we ate at the Pickled Onion and it was another yummy meal. When we got back to the Dockyards we got caught in a rain shower….not a hard rain, but it was definitely a soaker—mainly due to the wind blowing sideways at you! We waited for that to pass under the large gazebo and headed out to the ClockTower mall to shop for souviniers. Finally, shopping bags in hand, we headed back to the ship.

 

 

Day 3—since we had to be back on the ship by 11:30 for our noon departure we stayed at the Dockyards and visited the Maritime museum and the grounds again--Still a really neat place to see with some wonderful views. They have opened up some of the ramparts with some barracks, but we only walked part of the way out there. We were able to get a good look at Snorkle Park from there, it is not a bad little place to go, but when there are so many other spectacular places to swim and snorkel and Bermuda why go there- other than the convenience of it being right there near the ship.

 

 

Alas, our time in Bermuda is coming to an end…needless to say I am already planning my next trip back! :o

 

 

We pulled out at 12:00 or very close to it and waved good bye beautiful Bermuda.

 

THE REST OF THE TRIP--We just hung out in our room Friday after leaving Bermuda, I think the hike to Ft.St.Cath. they day before had caught up with me, so nap time here I come—in the midst of the ship rocking and rolling! As I said earlier, we had 10-12 foot waves and 40 mph winds to deal with….I really think that the winds really had us rocking, you could tell the water was rough, but it did not look like it should be causing the boat to roll as much as it did. That night was elegant night and we saw lots of ladies just carrying their heels. With the ship movement as it was, no matter if you were drunk or sober no one was walking a straight line that night! ;) On a side note, the Vroom show was this night and I have to give the dancers major props for being able to dance, in heels and look completely normal while doing it! Saturday was more relaxation and the sad chore of packing. (at that time I regretted unpacking everything! lol)

 

DISEMBARK—was probably one of the easiest we have ever had. We had an early afternoon flight at BWI and we received a letter to our cabin telling us that we had zone 1 and told us where to go and wait. We found out later that somehow we had VIP disembarkation, so sure how we got that, but I will definitely take it. We were off the boat with our luggage waiting for the shuttle to pick us up at 9:30. Easy!

 

I will try to post some pictures later when I figure out how to do that. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will try to answer them for you.

[mommy2eee]

Thank you for a wonderful review of Pride! We are sailing on her for the first time December 4th although it will be to the bahamas.

A couple of quick questions:

we are also flying in the day before and are looking for a hotel...

1. How close was the holiday inn to the airport? Cruise port?

2. What was the charge for the shuttle?

3. Breakfast included?

4. Was there any stores in the area (like walmart or target?)

 

your review of the ship was great and I am now really looking forward to sailing on Pride!

 

Thanks!

Melissa

[martinchem]

We were on on the same cruise, we stayed at the Best Western BWI, it was perfect. I didn't see any pink sand and it was kind of rainy and windy, but we really enjoyed the ship.

[mommy2eee]

We were on on the same cruise, we stayed at the Best Western BWI, it was perfect. I didn't see any pink sand and it was kind of rainy and windy, but we really enjoyed the ship.

 

Sounds like a great cruise for you too! In terms of your hotel...I have the same questions as above...shuttle etc!

[louigi]

Thank you for a wonderful review of Pride! We are sailing on her for the first time December 4th although it will be to the bahamas.

A couple of quick questions:

we are also flying in the day before and are looking for a hotel...

 

1. How close was the holiday inn to the airport? maybe about 10 minutes, depends on traffic

Cruise port? It was about 30 minutes, again depending on traffic

 

2. What was the charge for the shuttle? It was included in our hotel price--I called the front desk to make a reservation and they put me through to the main reservation number and I kept verifying that my package included airport pick up and will take me to the cruise port, reservations said yes and we will pick you up also. And they did--we just made sure that we were on the shuttle list to the Cruise Port for both Sunday's. They leave at 10 and 1:00 I beleive for the port. As for the rest of the shuttle times I believe it is every half hour within a five mile radius

 

3. Breakfast included? yes and a very good hot breakfast: eggs, biscuits, sausage gravy, fruit, waffles, cereal, milk, juice.

 

4. Was there any stores in the area (like walmart or target?) There is a Wal-Mart close by, and they will take you, although any guest going to the airport will get priority, but that is ok too :). We did not go, but our friends who went with us did go there

 

your review of the ship was great and I am now really looking forward to sailing on Pride!

 

Thanks!

Melissa

 

 

Hi Melissa,

 

Thanks, we really did have a great time. I answered your questions above in red, hopefully it will come through and this will help you out.

 

I hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise--I am sure you will--you are on vacation! So what is not to enjoy! December 4 is not too far away. It will be here before you know it.

 

Sigh...I am ready to go again....better start making new plans!

Amy

[mommy2eee]

Hi Amy!

Thank you for the info! I have looked into the holiday inn BWI and it sounds perfect! Including the rates! There is a mall nearby...with an Olive Garden! (ok we are from Canada and don't have them anymore!!)

Thank you again for the info! Hope some new cruise plans are in your near future! :)

 

Melissa

[Herbaltees]

Thanks for the review. It was very detailed.

 

Which HIexpress did you stay at? The one downtown in Baltimore near Camden Yards, etc. or the one closer to the airport?

[jetravel]

Thanks for the review! We just booked 7301 last week for our cruise in July so really excited to hear about the cabin. With a teenage daughter going with us, Going to have to do something about the outlets. :)

 

Thanks for the review on the shows. From what you have posted sounds like we may have the same taste so this is good information!

 

Thanks!

[louigi]

Hi Amy!

Thank you for the info! I have looked into the holiday inn BWI and it sounds perfect! Including the rates! There is a mall nearby...with an Olive Garden! (ok we are from Canada and don't have them anymore!!)

Thank you again for the info! Hope some new cruise plans are in your near future! :)

 

Melissa

 

 

LOL! not a thing wrong with some Olive Garden--how can anyone pass on their breadsticks and salad! mmmm :p

 

Hope you have a wonderful time!

 

Here are a few pictures to get you ready! lol

[louigi]

Thanks for the review. It was very detailed.

 

Which HIexpress did you stay at? The one downtown in Baltimore near Camden Yards, etc. or the one closer to the airport?

 

 

Thanks! As I was typing it yesterday, my DH, was like, are you still typing, really how long does it have to be! lol Sometimes, you need this info! :o

 

We were at the one near the airport, Holiday Inn Express BWI.

http://www.hiexpress.com/hotels/us/en/hanover/balhv/hoteldetail

It was close to a mall and several restaurants, there was also a Denny's attached to it, which had really good hamburgers! There was an Italian place that was in walking distance that our friends went to and said was good.

 

Hope this helps!

a

[louigi]

Thanks for the review! We just booked 7301 last week for our cruise in July so really excited to hear about the cabin. With a teenage daughter going with us, Going to have to do something about the outlets. :)

 

Thanks for the review on the shows. From what you have posted sounds like we may have the same taste so this is good information!

 

Thanks!

 

You will LOVE 7301! I will try to post some pictures, CC has not let me post several that I tried earlier so maybe the room pics will be allowed! Your daughter can either sleep on the sofa or the bed that pullsl down from the ceiling. There is a ladder that attaches to it to climb in.

 

One thing, I did not do it and should have, the bed is very firm, if you like a softer bed ask your steward for a foam pad to help soften it up....I never had a backache, but I am really surpirsed since my bed at home has alot more cushion to it.

 

Ok, lets see if I can get some room pictures on here!

[louigi]

We were on on the same cruise, we stayed at the Best Western BWI, it was perfect. I didn't see any pink sand and it was kind of rainy and windy, but we really enjoyed the ship.

 

I hope you had a great time! Thursday was definately a day to dodge the showers....we had a few sprinkles, but stayed ahead of them until we got back to the Dockyard. ;)

 

Here is a picture of Jobson's Cove and its pretty pink sand!

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing.

[TheCalicoCat]

Thanks for the review, I'll have to make sure that our guide (Colin) stops a Jobson's cove!

[martinchem]

Sounds like a great cruise for you too! In terms of your hotel...I have the same questions as above...shuttle etc!

 

The BestWestern Plus is located in Elkridge near the airport. We paid $87 with all fees through Trinityreservations and it included a shuttle to the port at 11am, shuttle back to hotel with a phone call (had to wait 45 minutes), free internet and nice breakfast. They have an indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna and small exercise room. It was really clean and everyone was friendly. They also own the Stained lass Pub next door where we had dinner, I got a steak sub my wife the ceasar salad w/chicken and we just split eveything. We would stay here again in a heartbeat.

[megr1125]

I stayed at that HI Express before they switched to all nonsmoking, and we too had an NS room that was on a half n half floor....no prob at all in moving....

 

It was a nice hotel...and the breakfast was good too..(love the little cinnamon rolls..)

 

we also ate at Timbuktu....not super fancy, nice and casual, reasonable prices and REALLY yummy crabcakes!!

 

nice review, glad you had a good time!

[myobus11]

my dw and i got back from thr PRIDE sept. 18, we had romm 7303 right next to you (also extended balcony) you are the second person since we got back that were in same area..last review i was looking at cruise pics when low and behold...a wonderful pic of HARRY!!!,we really enjoyed his service and love to hear from others who he helped to have a great vacation. he is REALLY a wonderful man..thanks for bringing back a thought of our great time on the PRIDE!!

[MSRussell]

Thanks for such a great review. I will be on the same trip on Nov.6th. I was waffling back and forth about the ferry and he buses...Ferry it is!

Melanie

[jetravel]

You will LOVE 7301! I will try to post some pictures, CC has not let me post several that I tried earlier so maybe the room pics will be allowed! Your daughter can either sleep on the sofa or the bed that pullsl down from the ceiling. There is a ladder that attaches to it to climb in.

 

One thing, I did not do it and should have, the bed is very firm, if you like a softer bed ask your steward for a foam pad to help soften it up....I never had a backache, but I am really surpirsed since my bed at home has alot more cushion to it.

 

Ok, lets see if I can get some room pictures on here!

 

Thanks for the pictures. Getting excited. Bummer I have to wait until July. :mad: