Carnival Pride Review

[jle714]

Well, I just got back from the Carnival Pride's May 1st - 8th cruise. I've already done the Mexican Riviera with the Carnival Elation so I already sort of know what to expect. My overall experience was better than this time around but there were some things that wasn't as good. Here is my review:

 

Embarkation: The line was a little long but it moved rather quickly.

 

The Ship: I didn't really like the decor. Lots of NUDE art that didn't bother me but didn't make the ship as elegant as the RCCL EXPLORER of the SEAS but less gaudy than the CC ELATION. I'm not sure how I feel about the main deck being on the 2nd and 3rd floors. I'm used to it being closer to the LIDO deck.

 

Food: A new low...wasn't nearly as good as RCCL and as I recall, the Elation had better food. The buffets were very limited in choice and the chinese food section was terrible. The burgers were good but only open at lunch.

 

Entertainment: Not so good. The hypnotist was terrible. When she snaps her finger, half of the people didn't even wake up. LOL. Other shows were enjoyable but not spectacular. The speakers blew one night so we didn't have a show for the Late Dinner Seatings. Other musicians were not that good. Had a one man band guitarist that played in the Casino, he wasn't bad but played the same songs every night. Got sick of it by the third night. Lots of amatuer (guest) sponsered events like PRIDE IDOL, karaoke, etc. Fun but got boring quick.

 

Service: Waiter and Waiter's Assistanct (Darko and Alicia) were real good and friendly. Everyone else didn't do much. Our steward was terrible. Didn't clean our room in a timely matter and when he did, our room didn't always have the animal towel and chocolates. My children were really looking forward to them. Also, he didn't restock the mini-refrig. When my wife ask him to do it he told her to get room service. On the last day, went to get breakfast and came back in the room. I left my wife's key card on the desk and he thew it in the trash. Not knowing that he did that, I asked him if he knows what happened to it, and he told me to go dig in the trash for it.

 

Port of Calls:

P.V. - Great time at Las Caletas except for the jelly fish stings while in the water.

 

Mazatlan - Sports fishing was fun but only hooked one big sailfish all day long. Would of been better if we could have caught more fish. Instead of going for big fish the entire time, they should let us cast fish for bass or tuna.

 

Cabo San Lucas - Didn't do an excursion here and it was a big mistake. Not much to do and only had a half a day to enjoy so it was sort of a wated port.

 

Other: Cruise Director Steve was hilarious and it wasn't crowded although the ship was full.

 

Overall: Cruising with Carnival before, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that my bad experiences was a fluke. I did have fun but liked RCCL much better.

 

If anyone has a specific question, let me know and I'll try to let you know. Next year, I'm looking to go to the EASTERN CARIBBEAN on the Carnival VALOR or GLORY. :)

[boaterette]

Wow that is too bad. I am going on the 15th. What was the weather like in p.v.

[jle714]

The weather in P.V. (and all 3 ports) is sunny and warm... it was actually not too hot at all but the water was still warm (a good thing). The only hiccup was that Mazatlan was closed for about 45 minutes due to heavy fog. The port was closed until visibility got better. We stayed 3/4 of a mile out until it burnt off by noon and it was sunny and nice after that. Have fun... I still did!

[Wennfred]

wow, first negative review on the Pride yet, Im sailing in October. hope I dont get that same Cabin Steward!!!

 

Thanks.

[waterbound]

Thanks for the review.. sorry you didnt enjoy her as much as everyone else does.. I guess Im kinda biased.. she was my first cruise and so far she has been my favorite.. I thought the ship was beautiful..

[rwethereyet]

did they open the water slide on Pride yet?

[jle714]

did they open the water slide on Pride yet?

 

Nope...waterslide was closed the entire time.

[jle714]

Thanks for the review.. sorry you didnt enjoy her as much as everyone else does.. I guess Im kinda biased.. she was my first cruise and so far she has been my favorite.. I thought the ship was beautiful..

 

I see you only have cruised with Carnival...you won't really know until you've gone on RCCL. :)

[danimal]

I've cruised with both, and prefer Carnival. I think a cruise is largely what you make out of it. Seemed like you did not have anything positive to say, and everything had a negative spin. Be more positive next time and go with the flow buddy. RCI is nothing special, especially when it comes to food and entertainment... They have the same guest involved shows (kareoke idol etc).

[bkw67]

I have a question for you, Where the cabin doors metal? Ie... can you use magnets on the doors on the Pride?

 

 

I like to decorate my door :D

[rwethereyet]

how can carnival get away with having no slide for their pool for months-

a selling point when families book a cruise-

and appear to have NO intention to re-open it.

Celebrity or RRCL cruisers would demand and get better :confused:

[bardgal]

Slides are closed company wide because of a pending law suit. Oh, and the slide on the Pride doesn't go into a pool.

[jshabala]

Nope magnets will not work

[bankofdad]

Slides are closed company wide because of a pending law suit. Oh, and the slide on the Pride doesn't go into a pool.

 

Not so!!! Just back from Triumph last month, and the slide was open every day of the cruise for lengthy periosds of time. It was a blast! It didn't end in a pool either, but rather via a straight run at the end where the water was a litlle deeper (about 18" deep) so that it would stop you before the end of the slide.

[bardgal]

Not so!!! Just back from Triumph last month, and the slide was open every day of the cruise for lengthy periosds of time. It was a blast! It didn't end in a pool either, but rather via a straight run at the end where the water was a litlle deeper (about 18" deep) so that it would stop you before the end of the slide.

Oh! Cool! Good to know!

 

:D

[jle714]

I have a question for you, Where the cabin doors metal? Ie... can you use magnets on the doors on the Pride?

 

 

I like to decorate my door :D

 

LOL...I don't recall if the doors were metal but the mailbox outside is metal (or metallic looking):)

[jle714]

I've cruised with both, and prefer Carnival. I think a cruise is largely what you make out of it. Seemed like you did not have anything positive to say, and everything had a negative spin. Be more positive next time and go with the flow buddy. RCI is nothing special, especially when it comes to food and entertainment... They have the same guest involved shows (kareoke idol etc).

 

Let's take RCL out of the equation. I thought the service, food, and entertainment was much better on the ELATION. :)