Wonderful time on the Carnival Pride Sept 16-23: Review, Pics + Comparisons to HAL

[ripjerry95]

Thanks for your review so far! Looking forward to reading more.

[browneyedwoman]

I am enjoying your review. I cruised on the Pride last year and really liked it.

[silvercrikhix]

Enjoying a new review from you! :D

[navybaby1113]

Enjoying your review so far!

[Coolcruise02]

Great review! Can't wait for more.

[jenng1976]

Hey everyone,

 

I'm back! Sorry to take so long for the next installment, the weekend kind of sidetracked me!

 

Thanks for all the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying so far.

 

Jenn :)

[jenng1976]

Day 3 - SEA DAY

 

This morning I lazily woke up and wondered what time it was. I don't wear a watch, and since there is no clock in the cabin I never had any idea what time it is. Jim wears a watch, but of course I'm not going to wake him up to see what time it is.

 

So, I got up - checked the ipad that was in the safe - and WHAT? It's 10AM! Wow. Wasn't expecting to sleep that late (but boy was it nice). Second thought - oh no, we missed breakfast! Well, we didn't really miss it entirely, just in the dining room where we prefer to eat since it's open from 8-10 on Sea Days. But, breakfast on Lido is open to noon thank goodness. I can't go without breakfast! (Well, I probably could with the non-stop eating the last few days, lol).

 

Anyway - I woke Jim up and we got dressed to go up the Lido buffet. We immediately started looking for the Omelet station - at least there your food is freshly prepared right before you. So, with an omelet for each of us, and some toast/coffee/milk, we sat down for a late breakfast. Which was good, just not the same. It turns out all our meals would be a little "off" this day.

 

Next up - BINGO! One of our guilty pleasures is playing Bingo on our cruises, though we don't play in regular life. For most of the Bingo sessions, the price was as follows:

 

$25 - one bingo card, 1 Break-open ticket (which included a Raffle ticket for $500 off your bar bill), and sometimes a regular raffle ticket for a Carnival price pack.

 

or

 

$30 - one bingo card, 2 break-open tickets, and 3 (I think?) raffle tickets.

 

Most of the time we bought 2 $25 packages since it adds up quick with both of us winning. Occasionally they had specials with different pricing, but that was the usual.

 

How'd we do you ask? Well not as good as our last cruise! On HAL I won twice, and Jim once (we definitely experienced some evil eyes on the last win, lol) so we were coming off high expectations! On this cruise we didn't win at Bingo, though won a total of $40 from the break-open tickets. But, fun nonetheless, and we had a few times where we were only one number away from the win.

 

After Bingo, we just wandered around for a bit killing time until our next CC activity - the Poker Cabin Crawl! Laurie from our Roll Call had been so kind to organize two events for us this week - the Cabin Crawl and a Slot Pull for the last sea day.

 

For the cabin crawl - basically how it worked was we toured 6 different cabins in total - and at each room we drew a card from a deck of cards. At the end of all the rooms, whoever had the best "hand" of Poker won the money (we had all contributed $5/person), and there were also some prizes for worst hand as well. It was a lot of fun, and it was neat to see the different category of rooms.

 

We even got to see our "dream" cabin - the aft wrap Vista Suite on deck 4! Amazing!! I'm not sure if we'll ever have the money to spend on this cabin, but it sure was beautiful. It even included a walk-in closet!

 

Thanks to Laurie for organizing - and the other people for donating their cabin. We also got a few special treats, Chocolate Covered Strawberries from Laurie & Jim, and a Key tag saying Carnival Pride Sept 16, 2012 from bluehenfan (Sandee) which was definitely a lovely touch and much appreciated.

 

All in all a very fun event - and great seeing all our Roll call people again. I think meeting such wonderful people played a role in why this was such a great cruise for us. :)

[jenng1976]

Day 3 - Continued

 

Well - by the time the Cabin Crawl finished up (I forgot to mention we didn't win anything) it was close to 2:30. We hadn't gone to lunch in the dining room since we had a late breakfast - and it was now closed (open 12-1:30 on Sea Days) ... so we decided to order Room Service!

 

Well, at the time it seemed like a great idea. For some reason Room Service always does, but it rarely lives up to my expectations. So, we ordered via the tv a Grilled Cheese for me, and a Ham & Cheese for Jim, along with some extra chips and cookies, and cake for dessert. It didn't take too long to arrive, within a 1/2hr - but wait - there's a problem! There was mayo on Jim's sandwich. And that is very unappealing to both of us, we are most definitely not fans of mayo. Ugh! (Though I know a lot of people enjoy it). So, he didn't eat his. :( Instead I shared 1/2 of mine, then we headed up to Lido and grabbed some food from the Grill. Which was good, but we could have saved ourselves a lot of time by going up there to begin with!

 

So, this was Strike 2 on meals for the day.

 

After our late lunch, we just wandered around taking some pics on deck 4, it was a beautiful afternoon.

 

 

 

[jenng1976]

More Day 3!

 

Well, for a Sea Day it was certainly action packed! Today was also the day for our VIFP party. This would be our first with the new style.

 

We were a bit nervous about going - I was a Gold card, so received an invitation, but Jim was still a lowly Red card, lol. But, I had read here and on John Heald's FB page that if you were sharing a cabin you could bring a guest.

 

But, we were nervous for nothing as when we all filed in I simply handed over my invitation and we both walked in with no issues.

 

At the party we were given a Funship special (we each had 2), and later got another drink (which wasn't as good, some kind of orange drink). I thought about asking if I could get a beer, but everyone around us was just drinking the drinks provided. Plus we hadn't brought any tip money so wouldn't have felt right asking for something different.

 

The party was fun, it was held in the Comedy Club, and we saw a video, and there was Mardi Gras beads handed out and a conga line (which I was dragged into!) and some line dancing. Then Eileen and her husband (from our roll call) were brought up since it was their Diamond cruise and they got their picture with the Captain. So, all in all a fun afternoon.

 

Having said all this - I'm pretty sure this happened on the Tuesday, but it could very well have been the Monday. Sea Days seem to blend together!

 

Next up - time to relax by reading on the balcony before dinner time.

 

 

 

[jenng1976]

Day 3 - Dinner/Evening

 

Before we knew it - dinner time! It was good - though our dining bad luck continued. Service was pretty slow tonite compared to the other nights. We couldn't figure out why exactly - there seemed to be the same number of people at all their tables as other nights (several nights some of the bigger tables were no-shows), but it just wasn't as stellar as we had experienced previously.

 

But, hey, no big deal. It's not like we had anything important to do next anyway!

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we went to the casino for a bit - then headed down to the Comedy club for the 9:45 show. We got there just after 9 and had no problems getting a seat.

 

After that - time for bed! And this cute little guy waiting for us.

 

[birdistasty]

Great review so far! Reviews like yours make waiting for our upcoming trip in December just a little bit easier :D

 

I see they changed the chairs at the tables on the Lido, too - when we went last year, they were red not-so-comfy seats.

[jenng1976]

Day 4 - Cape Canaveral

Today we were up bright and early since today was our first port - Cape Canaveral! We tried to use our phone to do a wake-up call, but that function didn't seem to work despite about a hundred tries, so we called Guest Services instead and requested one for 0630. Since we were in port, we showered and got dressed before heading out to the Dining room for breakfast.

Our plans for the day were picking up our rental car from Budget (pre-arranged for only $28.65 including tax for an economy car) - and then heading to the Kennedy Space Center (pre-bought our tickets online to save $5/person). By 0845 we were off the ship (no delays) and waiting in the car rental shuttle parking area.

We had to wait about 15 min or so - I guess we had just missed the Budget shuttle so had to wait for it to do the roundtrip. While we were waiting - who would arrive? Why yes, it was Cathy and Marty from our roll call! They had made the exact same plans as we had for the day. She was nice enough to take our picture ... up to this point most of our photos were either individual or very close up from me holding the camera! I'm sure others can relate to this, lol.

 

Once we got to Budget, it wasn't too long before we got our car. TIP - be sure to bring your confirmation with you. Despite pre-booking at $28.65, they tried to charge us $35. She removed the extra charges once I showed her my copy. Also - we got such a great rate by googling discount codes and finding one that worked.

Next up - the Space Centre!

Now, here is one of the most disappointing things about the day. Apparently there had been a shuttle launch that very morning! But we didn't hear any announcements of it on the ship or in the Fun Times (possibly we could have missed it, but no one else we talked to knew about it either). So - at 0730 that morning we could have gone up on deck to see the Launch from the ship - but since we had no idea there was one, we missed it. :( And then all day long at the Space Centre people would ask, 'did you see the launch this morning'? Arrggghhh!!!

But, we got over that disappointment and had a wonderful day at the Space Centre. We started off by doing the Bus Tour which went somewhere (forget the name) and then the Saturn centre.

 

 

[jenng1976]

Day 4 - Cape Canaveral, continued

The Saturn Centre was pretty interesting, with some neat films, so I would recommend heading out there.

We also ate lunch there, about $18 for 1 hotdog/fries, 1 cheeseburger/fries, and 2 drinks. Not too bad for a theme park.

 

After that, we took the bus back to the main Visitor Centre and did the Shuttle Simulator, watched one of the Imax films, and walked around the Rocket Garden.

All in all, it was a great day - and around 3PM we decided to head "home" back to the Pride. We had a minor detour on the way back, when we had plugged the wrong Budget location into the GPS, but luckily we discovered our mistake before going too far astray.

We stopped at a gas station to fill up on the way back - $8.50 to fill up. Oh - it was a Nissan Versa that we had received, it was an ok car, but nothing special.

I forgot to mention - it costs $10 to park at the Space Centre. Just so no one is surprised like we were, though in retrospect I should have expected a parking fee.

 

Once back at the rental store - who did we run into? You guessed it, Cathy & Marty! Though we never saw them at the Space Centre, it seemed like we were always on the same wavelength!

So, back to the ship we went - and just in time, since it seemed like rain was rolling in.

[jenng1976]

Great review so far! Reviews like yours make waiting for our upcoming trip in December just a little bit easier :D

 

I see they changed the chairs at the tables on the Lido, too - when we went last year, they were red not-so-comfy seats.

 

Thanks! The Lido seats were pretty comfy. We hung out there for a few hours on the last morning waiting for our zone.

 

I think they were the same type of chairs as on HAL, so maybe they got a deal and upgraded to the "good chairs"! :)

 

J

[jenng1976]

Day 4 - continued

Well, one of the most interesting events of the day occurred after we were back on the ship. Everyone was supposed to be on board by 5:30, with sailaway at 6PM.

Well, around 5:30 we heard an announcement for 4 names to call guest services. I think we all know what that means - possible pier runners! Of course we headed immediately out to the balcony hoping to see some action!

We could see the building, and the gangway - but the way Port Canaveral is set up, there really isn't a "pier" to run up. But, we did see a White Outfitted Carnival guy go running down the gangway at one point, and running back up, then running back down later. We didn't know what was going on, but couldn't tear ourselves away! We could also see the parking lot, and eventually a van seemed like it dropped people off.

Soon after we see a family trudge up behind the officer - Mom holding a kid, Dad, and other kid up the gangway! We have no idea what their story is or why they were late (we had plenty of time at this port, arriving at 0700), but it was fun to see the drama. At least they made it onboard. I've been following John Heald's FB updates on the Breeze and it's unbelievable all the people that have missed the ship in Europe.

Anyway, with that fun over, we ran down the stairs since we ourselves were a little late for dinner watching the other family! (It was around 10ish after when we were seated). But, since there are only two of us, we didn't hold anyone up. Actually - we had great service again tonite. The night before must have been some strange anomaly.

Oh, I should also mention - we brought 2 bottles of wine on board with us, and they charged us the corkage ($10) for just one of them. It seemed like our head waiter felt bad for charging it, but we understood. We actually thought the rate was pretty reasonable, on HAL it was $18, and I think we were charged twice out of the 3 bottles we brought on.

 

After dinner we donated a bit more to the casino, lol, then headed to the main showroom. Here they had Trivia, Bingo, Gender showdown, and we spent a fun few hours.

Hard to believe - another day come and gone - once a cruise reaches the halfway point the days seem to go even faster. But, tomorrow was Nassau, so lots of fun still to come!

[chellebert]

glad to see this review.. I am getting more excited about my trip onn the pride next month!! thanks for a great review!!

[jenng1976]

Back to my review (sorry for the long break!) ...

DAY 5 - NASSAU

Well, today we were going to be in Nassau from 11-8. I should be honest, neither of us were particularly excited about either port in the Bahamas. I had been here twice before on family vacations (on the Sensation), and while it was Jim's first trip here, there was nothing really exciting that we wanted to do. Especially since my husband doesn't really like swimming or the beach, so that ruled out quite a few activities.

Before the cruise, we had tentatively planned to maybe walk or take a water taxi to Atlantis, gamble for a bit, then head back to the ship. So that was our gameplan, but it would soon change!

But, first up was breakfast! We arranged for a wake-up call, since we didn't want to miss the Dining Room. Since we were porting later, it was 8-10 I believe. After breakfast, we headed back to the room to read on the balcony (I went through 2.5 books this trip!), and watch as we got closer to Nassau.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2012 by jenng1976

[jenng1976]

Day 5 - Continued

It was a beautiful day - we couldn't have asked for better weather this cruise. We knew we were lucky, since September is always an iffy time to cruise and you take what you can get!

[jenng1976]

Day 5 - continued again.

Loved the colour of the water!

 

 

After we docked, we decided to have a leisurely lunch on ship. We expected it would be fairly quiet and we were right, seems as if the majority of the people were already onshore.

 

 

After lunch, we headed to the gangway on Deck 0 Forward and were immediately shocked by how hot it was. I mean HOT! We had been spoiled by the ocean breezes and the overhang on our balcony so we didn't quite expect it.

[jenng1976]

Day 5 - more

Once on shore - we quickly changed our minds on the game plan for the day! Neither of us were that excited about going to Atlantis, so we decided to walk over to Senor Frog's instead.

We weren't the only ones with the same plan! The place was hopping, especially those who had seats by the water and we bought a bucket of beer and people watched for a while.

 

 

After an hour or two there - (who keeps track of time at Senor Frogs, lol). We took a different route back to the ship, but didn't go in any of the stores. Though we saw lots of people with shopping bags, we're not really souvenir people and rarely buy anything on any of our vacations.

We were docked next to the Carnival Fantasy.

 

 

Once back onboard mid-afternoon, we just hung out on our balcony for the rest of the day. We used our balcony more this trip than any other cruise we've been on.

Nothing too exciting that night - we alternated between the Main Show Lounge and the Butterfly Punchliner Comedy Club - today was Superstar Live Karoke instead of comedy. This was where the singers played with the Pride Showband (who were really good). There were lots of talented performers on board! We never participate, but do enjoy watching and giving our support.

And that concludes another fun day on the Carnival Pride!

[jenng1976]

Day 6 - Freeport

 

Today we are in Freeport - though the times really aren't ideal for doing anything interesting. We're in port from 7AM-1:30PM. Unless you're up at the crack of dawn, there really isn't much time to do anything.

 

We arranged for another wakeup call, since we didn't want to miss the port entirely, and got up at a decent hour for breakfast.

 

We headed off the ship around 9:30ish with nothing really in mind to do. We had talked about possibly taking a taxi to My Lucaya and walking around there, but decided not to. Since we weren't going to the beach and we're not shoppers, there didn't really seem a point to drive out to another area, walk around then come back.

 

Instead, we just walked around the limited port area for a while. It seemed like it was too early in the morning to drink at one of the bars, so it wasn't too long before we headed back onboard.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a picture of the 3 larger Lifeboats at the front of the ship. You DON'T want one of the 7A obstructed balconies behind these. A couple from our rollcall had one of these cabins and said the lifeboat blocked most of their view.

 

 

We were back onboard by 11, and didn't really do anything too interesting the rest of the day. Just the usual walking around and relaxing. Gotta love the cruise life!

 

Oh, I feel I should mention something about the cookies and ice cream on board. Although we rarely ate meals up on Lido, we did make our way up most days for cookies or ice cream and water or lemonade.

 

The chocolate chip cookies on Lido are just ok. Kind of like Chips Ahoy. But, nothing special. Several days in, I tried the other variety listed, also just as "cookies", really were some kind of Sugar cookie and were really good!

 

The all star of cookies though - were from the Coffee Shop on Deck 2 past the casino. I had the Chocolate Chip several days (it was $1.32 or something like that), but I thought it was worth it.

 

The ice cream was also very good - they had either Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt, in cone or a bowl. The 2 stations are located near the Aft by the Grill/Pool. They are kind of hidden, we had to ask where they were the first time. But well worth finding!

 

I couldn't let a review go by without mentioning cookies! :)

[jenng1976]

Day 6 - Continued

 

So, today was also our second Elegant night of the cruise. And I have a small confession to make!

 

On the first elegant night, we had taken several photos from the Carnival stations, but weren't really thrilled with any of the pictures. But - I did really like how my dress looked.

 

So, tonite - I had a plan. I was going to wear my black dress again for the professional pictures, then do a quick change into my real dress for the night. I know - some of you think that's ridiculous. And Jim would agree with you! But, probably most of you ladies can understand that when you find a dress that is flattering and makes you feel slimmer, you take advantage of it!

 

And that is why in some of the pictures tonight I'm wearing one dress, and in others I have the other one on!

 

 

Doesn't my sweetie look nice?

 

 

 

 

And dress #2!

 

 

 

In this picture - you can see the booth behind Jim is empty. No one sat there the whole week! What a waste of a really nice table.

 

 

After dinner - we had plans to spend some time in the casino, then go to the Comedy Club for the 9:45 show.

 

Here is where our night went wrong. It started off ok, we had fun at the slots, and around 8:30 decided to kill some more time with a drink in the cabin before going down to the club.

 

Well, we should have known better. The comedy club was really busy all week long - and tonight we didn't time it well. We got there around 9:10 - more than a 1/2hr before showtime, and it was filled to capacity - no seats left. The main show had let out a few minutes before we got there and I guess a lot of people had the same idea we did to see the show.

 

So, that was really disappointing. But, what can you do? So, TIP - if you want to see the comedy show - be there early! Especially watch for the times of the main show, and leave a few minutes early from that if you want to see both and still get a seat in the club.

 

It seems as if they need a bigger venue for the comedy since it's such a popular thing to do on board.

 

Anyway - since there was nothing else we really wanted to do - we talked about going into Starry Nights but the smoking in there deterred us, so we just headed back to the room for bed.

 

Tomorrow - our last Sea Day.

 

[bumorgan]

Great review and I'm glad you had a great time.

[Room Service!]

Yes! You're 'sweetie' does look nice, and so do you ... in both dresses. :)

[absolutely brilliant]

Although you do look fab in both dresses I totally understand the "picture thing" because you absolutely do look like a rock star in that black dress...really shows off your curves!