Just back from the Pride...

[AustinRobi]

Hey cruisers...we just cruised the Mexican Riveria on the Pride, April 3-10...so if you have any questions you think I might be able to answer, ask away!

Happy Sailing, all!

AustinRobi:)

[phroggie]

Question: why was Pride late to dock on Saturday? Inquiring minds (with nothing better to do) want to know.

[phroggie]

I mean Sunday (D'oh!).

[jimntat]

Hi there, I just booked my Pride sailing for March of '06. So season wise I will be going at a similar time? Were you able to see any Whales? (let's be nice, I am referring to the ones IN the ocean!)?

 

What was your overall opinion? I have been on the Imagination, and liked it. The Victory was Too big for me... too many people... lots of lines every place. Did you feel "crowded" at all?

 

Oh.... Did you try David's restaurant.... Is it worth it? (I've always been VERY satisfied with the regular dining room service..... can this really be any better?

 

How were the excursions.... what did you do? Did you hear anything about the other excursions? Good? Bad?

 

Do you have any suggestions or comments on what or where to see or what to avoid on both the ship and ports? ( I know that is asking a lot, but would appreciate any insite).

 

Thank you in advance.....................

[OJulie67]

Was the waterslide open yet?:confused:

[AustinRobi]

Phroogie:

Truthfully, I didn't really notice the time we docked, and didn't realize we were "late." We were off the ship before 9am, though, because the comic was going to entertain in the TajMahal, and we were outta there before he started. There was a missing person report on the PA system numerous times Sunday morning. The last we heard was something to the effect that if Mr. Whatever wasn't found, there would be a cabin to cabin search, and we'd be delayed. We didn't hear any announcements after that, so we assumed he was found. Like I say, I thought we debarked rather early (we had a lot of time to fill before our flight left Long Beach at 5:17, so a little more entertainment on board would have been fine with us!)

Hope this helps,

AustinRobi

[AustinRobi]

Hi there, I just booked my Pride sailing for March of '06. So season wise I will be going at a similar time? Were you able to see any Whales? (let's be nice, I am referring to the ones IN the ocean!)?

Jimntat:

I don't recall anyone oohing or aahing about whales, though I personally thought I spied one breaching in the distance as I was walking to the Lido deck Monday morning. As for wildlife on board; well, we sailed with 400 PARROTHEADS.......a very entertaining group!!!!

 

What was your overall opinion? I have been on the Imagination, and liked it. The Victory was Too big for me... too many people... lots of lines every place. Did you feel "crowded" at all?

My overall opinion was that cruising is "surreal." It was our first cruise, so I didnt' really have any expectations, just kept an open mind to see what went on! The only time I felt a bit crowded was around the photo boards, and there were noticeable lines a couple of times when people would line up for late seating dinner, and the dining room wasn't open yet....We booked a balcony because my spouse's idea of a fun vacation is backpacking....alone....so I thought the crowds might bother him. He didn't seem to really notice them at all, and the girls and I (we took our 15 and 17 year old daughters) never once had to confine him to the balcony.

 

Oh.... Did you try David's restaurant.... Is it worth it? (I've always been VERY satisfied with the regular dining room service..... can this really be any better?

We didn't try David's. My spouse was put off by the statue ;)

The dining room fare was more than adequate for our needs.

 

How were the excursions.... what did you do? Did you hear anything about the other excursions? Good? Bad?

In PV, we took the "super shoppers" advice and went shopping in the morning. Even though we weren't in the market for anything...after hearing her talk on ship, it sounded like we'd be foolish NOT to shop. We quickly decided we would be happier doing other stuff...or just browsing the flea market right near the dock.

My spouse was put off by the whole "barter" system...to him, it seemed confrontational to have to 'argue' about cab fare, etc, etc. So after our first outing "alone," he felt better taking excursions. I had done a lot of research on this board, and knew of several we could have arranged independently of Carnival, but unfortunately, I started researching too late, and was unable to make connections in time before we sailed. For instance, Los Veranos, etc.

So, in the afternoon in PV, we did the Paradise Beach Adventure excursion. Take a big, comfy, air conditioned bus to Nuevo Vallarta, where they take you to a beautiful resort with a fantastic pool, a bar, music, and lovely beach. My spouse felt very content there....and no bartering involved (except for the beach vendors, of course). It was a very pleasant way to spend 4 hours.

There is a little kiosk in the flea market near where you dock...it offers internet connection and long distance; I think it was $5 for 10 minutes of phone call.....MUCH better than the $7.99/minute on the ship, and if you want to check your email, you can save the $3.75 carnival "set up" fee and per minute charge.

In Mazatlan, we took the "Shopping, beach, and lunch" tour, where they drop you off in the Golden Zone, and you see a performance by the Papantla Flyers (dancing a top a very high pole, then swinging down from there). There is time to shop if you like (my kids liked the shell museum...lots of trinkets for gifts, and no bartering), then you go to Los Sabolos Resort and are served lunch and get to use all the facilities. Again, beautiful beach, good food, nice bar (I don't drink much so can't really comment on the quality of the drinks, but they tasted ok to me!), and lots of shade for the fair skinned among us (that would be me!).

In Cabo, we took the tender in, and found the Snorkel and Sail Fiesta, which was quite enjoyable, but short. One of our dinner mates did the Santa Maria Cove Sail and Snorkel trip, which was longer, and in a more protected spot. Our little snorkel spot was crowded with scuba trips and other boats cruising in and out. no one really seemed to mind, because the water temp of 74 degrees made most people happy to be finished in 10-15 minutes. The dinner mate said the water temp in his more protected bay was quite a lot warmer. In either case, the scenery on the sailing portion of the trip was very nice. We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (did I mention I had teens with me?) and although we were offered a cab (by several cabbies) we walked about 10min to the beach, staked out a spot on some resort's lounge chairs, and were soon descended on by waiters offering two for one drinks, etc. Again, many beach vendors, but if you smile and shake your head, they eventually go away. We caught the water taxi back to the pier (had to scale a cement wall to get up on the dock....glad we are youngish and fit) then back to the Pride.

The family concensus was that we liked Cabo the best, and if we were to return for a "land vacation," that would be our choice of the 3 spots.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on what or where to see or what to avoid on both the ship and ports? ( I know that is asking a lot, but would appreciate any insite).

My best advice here is just do your homework...figure out what you want to do, and do it!

Enjoy!

AustinRobi

[AustinRobi]

OJulie 67:

No, the waterslide was NOT open. A friend sailed the Spirit out of San Diego the same time we were on the Pride, and their slide was not open, either. Me thinks this is more than coincidence??? I would have asked about it, but my kids were completely content w/o it, so I never bothered to hunt anyone down to find out "the rest of the story." Had we done this cruise a couple of years ago, they would DEFINITELY have been disappointed!

 

AustinRobi

[seabum]

Question: why was Pride late to dock on Saturday? Inquiring minds (with nothing better to do) want to know.

 

 

From what I heard from the local officials - the harbor master kept all three ships out of port for several hours that morning.

 

They suspected it had something to do with security for the race that day(Long Bch Grand Prix)

 

In response to the Davids question - we ate there. It was very nice - but I didn't think it was worth the amount of the upcharge.

 

We've eaten at the speicalty rest on Princess and I liked that a whole lot more.

 

Serice was better, seemed more unique etc. Davids was only a little step up form the regular DR and kinda pricey. Plus we had a GREAT waiter in the DR so the service wasn't noticably better.

[seabum]

I don't recall anyone oohing or aahing about whales, though I personally thought I spied one breaching in the distance as I was walking to the Lido deck Monday morning. As for wildlife on board; well, we sailed with 400 PARROTHEADS.......a very entertaining group!!!!

 

AustinRobi

 

I heard some folks talking about spotting whales on the seadays north of Cabo. - though personally I didn't see any. we were just a little bit too late in the season for them.

[kelcruzn]

As part of that group of 400, I have to say I resemble that remark! ;) This was my first cruise ever, and what a fantastic time!

 

I was nervous about the service after reading some reviews that indicated it was less than spectacular, but I have to say, it seemed like the crew of the Pride love their jobs. I have never been greeted with a smile so often in my life! Our cabin steward was very attentive, and the dining room wait staff knew what drinks, salad dressings, etc we would have before ordering after the second night. One night I was not feeling well and the assistant (not head) waiter stopped me to see why I wasn't staying for dessert. Now THERE is someone who really got to know me! LOL

 

I know people talk about the burgers, fries and pizza on these ships, and wow, are they right! I could have lived on that (plus a few adult beverages!) and nothing else the whole trip.

 

We did the Los Veranos tour in PV, and I have to echo everyone else's positive reviews of that as well. It was a rush and I highly recommend it! Although perhaps not as much of an adrenaline rush as the taxi ride to the office, but that's another story for another day! :p

 

Lido deck Poseidon Pool became my home away from home. Oh, how I miss it and the tasty pina coladas they delivered right to my waiting hand... sniff.

 

All who have booked this cruise---have fun--I know you will! Beautiful ship, friendly crew. Oh, and I really didn't think the announcements that some folks found so annoying were really that bad or frequent, so don't let that scare you off. The new cruise director--Steve is actually very funny. And from what I understand, he had very big shoes to fill.

[AustinRobi]

I agree with Kelcruzn, the cruise was lots of fun, the staff very friendly, and Steve was a pretty funny guy. And the Parrotheads we chatted with were wonderfully zany and entertaining...I heard they raised $20,000 or so for breast cancer research...is that correct, Kelcruzn?

AustinRobi

[EmmaPeel]

Hi All -

 

I just got off the Pride yesterday. Waterslide is still closed. We saw one whale just north of Cabo - but saw lots of dolphins, marlins and tuna.

 

We ate at David's twice - well worth the cost. In my opinion, the difference between eating at David's and the main dining room is like the difference between eating at a fine steak house like Ruth's Chris or Red Lobster. Well, worth the extra price. Not sure why people are bothered by the statue...I mean it is a reproduction of the original statue of David (well, maybe a little more well endowed than the original ;) ). I thought the food in the main dining room was a little lacking - in both variety and flavor.

 

I heard that the Pride was delayed on 4/10 due to an arrest being made onboard. Not sure if it's true or not.

 

Out of the six cruises I have done (4 on Carnival, 1 on Royal and 1 on Norweigan) this was the best one I have done yet. The ship was great and the crew was excellent. I would do this cruise again, and if I could, I'd eat at David's every night.

[sgriff17]

OMG i can't wait. One month to go :D

 

does the pride have refrigerators in every room? even on the riv deck?:confused:

[kelcruzn]

I agree with Kelcruzn, the cruise was lots of fun, the staff very friendly, and Steve was a pretty funny guy. And the Parrotheads we chatted with were wonderfully zany and entertaining...I heard they raised $20,000 or so for breast cancer research...is that correct, Kelcruzn?

AustinRobi

 

Hey AustinRobi, thanks for asking--we just got our final tally, and believe it or not, we raised over $30,000 for breast cancer research while on vacation! As we like to say "Party with a purpose!" There's not much better!

[AustinRobi]

Kelcruzn;

That's Fantastic! I guess I better look into parrotheadedness, myself. I did get out my old Jimmy Buffett vinyl....my teens got a real kick out of that!

Way to go!

AustinRobi

[seabum]

Check out http://www.parrotheadcruise.com for more info as well as pictures from out past trips.

 

Hopefully there will be some new ones uploaded soon.

 

It sure was a lovely cruise.

[seabum]

As we like to say "Party with a purpose!"

 

dont forget the other motto -

 

"If its worth doing- its worth overdoing"

 

BTW - Kelcruzn - I was wondering who you were?

 

I'm Mark from the Atlanta club.

AKA - CB-Pi

[Seaislegal]

I'm another one of the 400 Crazy Parrotheads!

 

 

Yep, we raised over $30K this year for Breast Cancer. Some of it was from the cabin commissions kicked back by our Cruise Agency (parents of the guy from our Atlanta Club who organized the trip). We also had a silent and live auction on board that raised $10K of that amount, plus other raffles and such throughout the week.

 

I enjoyed Davids and had a fantastic filet mignon and lobster bisque. I didn't mind the upcharge for that as it was much better than our dining room beef and soups. Service was attentive but we also had a real good waiter in the regular dining room. The one thing was they charged us corkage in Davids, but not in the regular dining room (usually helps to promise your waiter at the start of the week a better tip if they don't charge you that.. which I definitely did and tipped accordingly.)

 

In PV we just winged it, got a van driver for $11 a head to take 9 of us around for 5 hours. We toured PV, hit a couple of tequila places and went to this awesome place called Chico's in Misamaloya. Wear your swimsuit there as there are these beautiful rock pools you can swim in.

 

In Mazatlan I organized an excursion for 200 of our group to Stone Island with King Davids. They did a fantastic job for us (and $35 a head cheaper than Carnival's equivalent) and we had a great time!! See my comments in the Mexican Riviera section of the ports board on it.

 

Cabo we had a party arranged at Cabo Wabo for our group, so didn't see much of Cabo before that. Take a taxi from the pier though as we walked into town and I think I had to say "no gracias" several hundred times to all the vendors that come up to you along the way. I felt like a bobble head doll nodding 'no' all the time!

 

All in all it was a great time, and even with the large group I was with the ship didn't feel crowded!

 

Andrea in Atlanta

[cbabe]

Thank You for your review! DH and I are booked on the Pride next year.

[CruisingAgain]

OHHHH NOOOOOOO ... what do you mean the slide is closed on the Pride. Was it just your cruise? OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ... I'm dead. I booked our May 8th cruise for our family and I am going to be in SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much trouble. MUST have that slide. OH NO OH NO OH NO. It's my 80 year old Mom's favorite part of the cruise. NO ... I'm not kidding. SHHHH - don't tell her. I'll have to pretend that I didn't know ... or that they JUST closed it the day before we cruise.

 

Other than that ... thanks for all of the information you are providing. I have a couple of questions

1. Anyone know if the cabin doors are metal (for magnets)?

2. Did anyone do early check-in on the Queen Mary? What time?

3. What shows were good?

4. What was the weather like? Ever chilly?

5. Is there a sail away party on deck?

 

Thanks!!

[ELLIETAM]

:) Hi Andrea in Atlanta (Seaislegal):

 

You mentioned in your review that in PV, your party of 9 got a van driver for $11 a head and a got a van driver to take your party on a 5 hours PV tour. We are a party of 10 and that is exactly what we have in mind to do. Do you have the contact information for that van driver? Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

Eli

[jshabala]

CruisingAgain,

 

The Cabin doors are not metal and magnets will not work.

 

Jen

[kelcruzn]

dont forget the other motto -

 

"If its worth doing- its worth overdoing"

 

BTW - Kelcruzn - I was wondering who you were?

 

I'm Mark from the Atlanta club.

AKA - CB-Pi

 

Hey Mark--

 

Rick and I (from Iowa) flew kinda under the radar, as we didn't know a soul from the group when we signed up. We had so much fun though, that we'll be back and likely bring a few others in tow next time! We're also attending our first club meeting on Thursday..thanks to all of you that inspired us--especially you Atlanta members! We never had the pleasure of meeting you or the other CB personally though. We'll have to remedy that next time!