Pride July 8-15th review - random ramblings on another beautiful week at sea

[dvond]

Thanks for the response, we are going out of Baltimore again at the end of August and last yea we walked right through, good to know that still seems to be the case. Different ports have different levels of securoty I guess

[vacruizer]

Thanks for the response, we are going out of Baltimore again at the end of August and last yea we walked right through, good to know that still seems to be the case. Different ports have different levels of securoty I guess

 

I think that's probably the case. I know they also tend to be a bit more strict during spring break as well. Even if they do check it, I think chances are that if you're understanding about it to them they'll help you repack everything. That's been our experience at least.

[Mad Capn Bob]

This pyrate is hoping beyond hope that the Pride gets the rum bar in its Funship 2.0 refit. Heard Pyrat XO is on the list, and I've long wanted to try it. Maybe they'll have some in the shop, too...cuz I can't lay hooks on it here in Akron OH...

[vacruizer]

Freeport – You hear a lot of bad things about Freeport on here. Our port call was short arriving at 7am with a 1pm back onboard time for 1:30pm sailaway. We didn’t really see any excursions that excited us other than kayaking which was sold out by the time we booked and I was still a bit up in the air on anyway due to the recent surgery. We started the day thinking we’d stay onboard again when on a whim we decided to go walk around the few little shops at the pier.

 

What a great day this turned out to be! The shopkeepers are like night and day from Nassau. Friendly, welcoming, not overly pushy, and ready to talk or answer any questions you might have. We wandered around the shopping area and little straw market for a bit and kept noticing a FANTASTIC band playing by the pier. The band was called Ultra Vibes and they were amazing. This is what the Lido band should be. Only these guys were better than any ship band I ever saw. They played everything from island and reggae tunes to Motown and old rock. The lead singer had a beautiful voice and you could tell she was having a ball just performing . There was a beer stand nearby so we grabbed some local beers (we always like to try the local specialties when we travel) and spent the next two hours or so enjoying the music. Best day of the cruise and completely unexpected!

 

A little after noon I decided that lunch would probably be a good idea after those beers. :o I’m a complete lightweight. We headed upstairs, ate, and then watched the port activity. Yes, the dock is an industrial area. But there’s fascinating stuff going on if you look for it. We watched a container ship loading for a while and then an Irish Navy ship sail past us and over to the drydocks. The water is a spectacular blue. And the people make me want to see more. I’d really like to have a longer port call there and get out and explore some more.

 

And at the opposite end of the ship spectrum, the Carnival Fascination was in port with us today.

 

[birdistasty]

Thank you for your review and pictures! We're doing the same itinerary in December - can't wait!

[vacruizer]

This pyrate is hoping beyond hope that the Pride gets the rum bar in its Funship 2.0 refit. Heard Pyrat XO is on the list, and I've long wanted to try it. Maybe they'll have some in the shop, too...cuz I can't lay hooks on it here in Akron OH...

 

I do believe the rum bar had it on the Liberty in January so I'm guessing they'll get it, too. :) Not sure how the layout is going to work on the Spirit class ships with the 2.0 stuff - will be curious what they do.

[vacruizer]

Thank you for your review and pictures! We're doing the same itinerary in December - can't wait!

 

Thanks - I feel like my pictures are kind of dull since I didn't really take any of the ship this time. Our theme on this cruise was lazy! :p

 

Enjoy the cruise. She's a great ship and we've yet to have a bad cruise on her.

[vacruizer]

Spa - I generally think the spas onboard are pretty overpriced. I’d only been once prior to this and that trip was just ok. Ordinary massage followed by high pressure product sales for three times the price I’d pay at home for a better massage.

We found a decent “early bird” special for Nassau morning if we went before noon. We got to pick 4 20 minute treatments each for $109. I expect to pay a markup for a vacation spa, so this wasn’t too bad for an hour and 20 minutes of treatments. We picked four different massages - back, foot & ankle, hand & arm, and scalp for each of us.

They did it in the couples room for us and I marked the questionnaire they had us fill out as “Here to relax. No sales, please” and it worked like a charm. I really liked our therapists. They were both quite personable and did a good job. The only issue was that even though we had picked foot and ankle massages as one of our treatments (they only asked when we booked the appointment) and they somehow had it down as facials for both of us. I’m sure they were wondering about the hairy guy with the full beard getting a facial – lol! :p

Since we were also doing scalp massages so at first I thought she was starting that when they started on my face. About 5 minutes in, I started to realize this seemed like a facial and asked her about it. Sure enough, they had it down wrong. She did offer to stop the facial and change the treatment but I figured I was halfway through it at that point I’d just go with the flow. DH was snoring so I’m not sure he even noticed at that point! We still enjoyed the experience although next time I would confirm the treatments with the therapist ahead of time to make sure they had everything listed right.

[CapsR1]

I distinctly remember reading about your health issues in May and am so very happy that you were able to reschedule your trip.

 

We love the PRIDE as well, and will be sailing on her (God willing) the last week of August. I have also had some recent major surgery and am hoping that the healing process will be completed and we can enjoy our family cruise the week before school starts.

 

Thanks for posting your amazing photos. Glad you enjoyed yourselves and I love your positive attitude!

[nybumpkin]

Freeport – You hear a lot of bad things about Freeport on here. Our port call was short arriving at 7am with a 1pm back onboard time for 1:30pm sailaway. We didn’t really see any excursions that excited us other than kayaking which was sold out by the time we booked and I was still a bit up in the air on anyway due to the recent surgery. We started the day thinking we’d stay onboard again when on a whim we decided to go walk around the few little shops at the pier.

 

What a great day this turned out to be! The shopkeepers are like night and day from Nassau. Friendly, welcoming, not overly pushy, and ready to talk or answer any questions you might have. We wandered around the shopping area and little straw market for a bit and kept noticing a FANTASTIC band playing by the pier. The band was called Ultra Vibes and they were amazing. This is what the Lido band should be. Only these guys were better than any ship band I ever saw. They played everything from island and reggae tunes to Motown and old rock. The lead singer had a beautiful voice and you could tell she was having a ball just performing . There was a beer stand nearby so we grabbed some local beers (we always like to try the local specialties when we travel) and spent the next two hours or so enjoying the music. Best day of the cruise and completely unexpected!

I'm so glad to read your experience! We didn't have much port time since we did an excursion, but I agree - Freeport was better than Nassau for the port area.

[vacruizer]

I distinctly remember reading about your health issues in May and am so very happy that you were able to reschedule your trip.

 

We love the PRIDE as well, and will be sailing on her (God willing) the last week of August. I have also had some recent major surgery and am hoping that the healing process will be completed and we can enjoy our family cruise the week before school starts.

 

Thanks for posting your amazing photos. Glad you enjoyed yourselves and I love your positive attitude!

 

Oh, feel better soon! I was really worried ahead of time since I'm still not at 100% due to some other issues I'm still trying to address, but I'm really glad I went ahead decided to goc. I made sure to take it easy, didn't plan too much, and rested when necessary. I think the cruise did more for my healing - mentally and physically than anything else I could have done.

[vacruizer]

I've been debating whether I should even post this portion of the review - the infamous smoking debate. :p I don't want to open a can of worms or start anyone arguing But this really bothered my dh and he thought I should include it. Hopefully I won’t regret this. Lol This is going to sound like a much bigger deal than it really was by the time I write it all out, so just skip over this section if you don’t want to listen to it.

Let me say first that even though we smoke, we both completely agree with Carnival limiting smoking areas. We know it’s a nasty habit. I’m hoping to quit soon. I don’t want to inflict it upon anyone who doesn’t want to be around it. Just give me a couple comfy areas away from the crowds and I’m happy. But whoever at Carnival is making the restrictions isn’t thinking things through. We ran into this on our last cruise that the outdoor area had no ashtrays and was in the windiest part of the ship and the indoor lounge had no ventilation and the smoke was seeping into the promenade and comedy club. Which just ends up annoying everyone. :rolleyes:

Smoking areas on the Pride are as follows – starboard side only of the deck 3 promenade, the Starry Nights lounge on deck 2, the upper level only of the Beauties nightclub, and the starboard side of the forward pool only (no smoking at the main pool or serenity.) The casino only at designated machines while playing – no smoking when the casino is closed. This is more than adequate and unlike the Conquest class ships, at least the indoor smoking lounge is fairly large and well ventilated .

Since we had an inside room (which I wouldn’t have smoked in even if we were still allowed to) we made use of the various designated areas. On the second sea day, we made our way down to the Starry Nights lounge. Which was filled with paintings and “closed” for the entire day for the art auction. Ok, a bit irritating that they are closing the only smoking lounge (the nightclub doesn’t open up until 10pm) but there were still two outdoor areas available and the casino was open if we wanted to play some slots.

My husband is one of those smokers who wants to smoke first thing in the morning. I’m fine for a few hours, but he wants to roll out of bed and go smoke. The morning we docked in Freeport, I got up early and went to the lido deck for some breakfast. While I was up there, they pulled the fuel barge up to the side of the ship and announced that smoking on open decks and balconies was prohibited while refueling. No worries, same as embarkation day, I completely understand the reasoning behind that one. I went back to the room where dh had just gotten dressed and I let him know about the refueling so we headed to the Starry Nights lounge. Which was closed. For an all day crew training class. Really? With all the lounges on the ship you had to conduct a class in the only indoor smoking area? On a day when you also can’t smoke outdoors? Who comes up with this stuff?

My husband was cranky at that point having not had that morning cigarette. We went to guest services to ask where we could smoke – I joked with the guy and was polite about it but I could see that my dh was seething. Anyone on here who’s cruised with us knows he’s about the most laid back guy you’ll ever meet so it takes a lot to get him that aggravated. Thankfully he stayed quiet and let me handle this one. He was ready to let them have it and I knew that wouldn’t help anyone. I just wanted to make them aware that there was an issue. The rep had no suggestion other than going ashore (which at that point we hadn't planned on) or suggesting that we “sneak” one in the casino if we could find an ashtray. So basically we were told to break the rules since there was nowhere onboard to smoke at that point. The refueling took all day as well so it wasn’t like that was a short term thing – they pulled the barge away about 1pm as we prepared to sail.

Anyway – REALLY don’t want to start a smoking debate but this is the type thing that could easily be avoided if they’d just think things through. Same thing with planning daytime events in that lounge. I’m sure the nonsmokers didn’t want to be in there and there are a ton of other unused lounges during the day if they’d just think about it.

[Silent Penguin]

I haven't smoked in 23 years, but I remember what it was like to want a ciagarette badly. I sympathize with your husband.

 

 

question about the spa special. How early in the cruise was it offered and how soon did you book it?

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review.

[nybumpkin]

I'm not a smoker, but I thought about you folks in Freeport as well. And the last sea day they had the Q and A in Starry Nights and the room reeked. I don't have a problem with it (I used to join DH for his cigar and Scotch in the one-time "cigar lounge"), but it was noticeable.

[vacruizer]

I'm not a smoker, but I thought about you folks in Freeport as well. And the last sea day they had the Q and A in Starry Nights and the room reeked. I don't have a problem with it (I used to join DH for his cigar and Scotch in the one-time "cigar lounge"), but it was noticeable.

 

 

It just doesn't make sense to me. You've got the piano bar sitting there unused, the sports bar barely had anyone in it, the piazza area was usually empty during the day..... and they held event after event in the smoking lounge. :confused: The nonsmokers were complaining about the smoke, and then when they would close the lounge alltogether the smokers like us were complaining about the lack of areas to go to. It's a tough issue because there will always be those who aren't happy on both sides of the argument, but if they'd just think about it a little bit, there are better options.

[vacruizer]

I haven't smoked in 23 years, but I remember what it was like to want a ciagarette badly. I sympathize with your husband.

 

 

question about the spa special. How early in the cruise was it offered and how soon did you book it?

 

I think I'm finally ready to give the dang things up. Crossing my fingers that it "sticks" this time. :)

 

We booked the spa special they day before. I'm not sure how early they advertised the daily specials. We just happened to walk in the day before, look at the list of the next day's specials, and book.

[pe4all]

Great review, and I'm happy to see your surgery went well!!

[Rica6]

I've read that the karoke is in the starry nights too which concerns me because my kids want to do the family karoke and well i'd rather not have them in the a smoke enviroment. It boggles my mind and having jsut recently quit smoking myself i'd rather not be tempted to start smoking, lol!

[nybumpkin]

I've read that the karoke is in the starry nights too which concerns me because my kids want to do the family karoke and well i'd rather not have them in the a smoke enviroment. It boggles my mind and having jsut recently quit smoking myself i'd rather not be tempted to start smoking, lol!

Looking back at our Fun Times from two weeks ago, karaoke was in Starry Nights the last night - all the other nights it was in either Florentine's or Butterflies (if there was no comedy going on).

[novinha]

I've read that the karoke is in the starry nights too which concerns me because my kids want to do the family karoke and well i'd rather not have them in the a smoke enviroment. It boggles my mind and having jsut recently quit smoking myself i'd rather not be tempted to start smoking, lol!

This was the reason we didn't do karaoke on the Pride. Starry Nights just doesn't smell smokey, it smells like a big wet ashtray! It was disgusting. We have a friend who cruises in our group who loves karaoke and we supported him for a half our or so but then none of us could take it. Go to the piano bar sing alongs. It's like group karaoke!

[Rica6]

Is the piano bar kid friendly or is it more adults only place. I'd hate spoiling the mood for pple who go to the piano bar to escape the kids. My kids love to perform and my 10 year old daughter is a competive singer who wins many 1st place medals and she just loves the chance to show off her chops!!! BUT i would never want to impose on something that is more geared to adults only. Thanks for the heads up about the smokiness in the starry nights.

[dvond]

Piano Bar is adults only, more of a sing along place than one where individuals stand up and sing

[vacruizer]

Looking back at our Fun Times from two weeks ago, karaoke was in Starry Nights the last night - all the other nights it was in either Florentine's or Butterflies (if there was no comedy going on).

 

Same on our sailing. I don't remember karaoke being in there at all. Several nights they had either the cover band or show band and singer in there doing some music in the evenings, but they rotated the acts and there was also music in the other lounges at the same time.

 

It was mainly during the day they scheduled stuff in Starry Nights - it was closed on the two days and other days they had some sales/spa seminar stuff going on, the Q&A with the cruise director, etc.

 

It was fairly smoky in there especially at night. I got to where I preferred to go out on the promenade when possible. Compared to the teeny-tiny and unventilated Stage lounge on the Liberty, though, it was a like fresh air. :eek:

[vacruizer]

Is the piano bar kid friendly or is it more adults only place. I'd hate spoiling the mood for pple who go to the piano bar to escape the kids. My kids love to perform and my 10 year old daughter is a competive singer who wins many 1st place medals and she just loves the chance to show off her chops!!! BUT i would never want to impose on something that is more geared to adults only. Thanks for the heads up about the smokiness in the starry nights.

 

The main singing in the piano bars is by the entertainer in there - everyone else just sort of sings along. It does sometimes get a bit bawdy late at night from my experience on other ships.