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Carnival Pride Review 4/14/13

lovermonkey

By lovermonkey,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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lovermonkey

lovermonkey

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9 year old today was telling me she misses the warmth and the buffet. (Me too)

 

Continuing where I left off, I am corrected by my fiancée that we had two cheeseburgers, 1 pork sandwich, and one hot dog for the 9 year at Hard Rock. Sorry about that. But it was still over 100 bucks.

 

 

So after having lunch at Hard Rock, kids wanted to goto the Aquarium. Which isn’t too far from the Hard Rock Café and Phillips. And I know you are thinking that Mark is just going to complain about the price, and you are right. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with paying the money for a good experience. And I really liked the aquarium. But there were a few things that could have been improved. To give you an idea, we again have 3 adults and 1 child going into the aquarium. Like everything in this world they have different packages. To be honest, I really wasn’t paying attention to the other packages. I just asked for the basic one. Which ran use 110 bucks. Now granted 110 isn’t too much money, so I really shouldn’t complain too much. But when you go in, it is like being in a horse corral. There are a lot of people going thru the exhibit and the corridors are small. And if you are in a certain part of an exhibit, there isn’t really an exit to get out of there if you start getting tired or etc. (Well not one that is easily seen) And I don’t think I saw any place to sit while going thru some of the exhibits. I think the basic package does include the dolphin show. The reason I say that is because we were allow to go into the dolphin show, but of course we didn’t get there in time so we had to wait. But the girls didn’t want to wait so we decided to check out more of the aquarium. The dolphins and the Jelly fish exhibit are awesome. (We didn’t see the dolphin show but we did get to see the dolphins playing) We ended up going to see the larger circular fish tank. There are actually people in scuba gear in there feeding the fish. But be prepared to walk, and there is no easy exit if the kids get tired. You have to walk in his spiral staircase around the fish tank. And of course there is no place to sit. (You can tell I had to listen to the family complain they were tired at this point)

 

 

After we left the aquarium, we sat out by the harbor before pressing on. I had heard that the Fudgery was really good, so my goal was to get everyone to check it out. It really didn’t take too much convincing. The family really loved the Fudgery. The Fudgery is located in a mall at the other side of the inner harbor. (By Ripley’s believe it or not) The guy who is making the fudge will sing as he is making the fudge. I really have to give kudos to the Fudgery. Of course, word to the wise. Don’t buy a lot of fudge before going on a cruise with an endless buffet. It is not a good idea. Even if your Fiancée thinks it is. You are probably thinking, “What Mark isn’t going to complain about the prices?” Actually the prices were not too bad. I would certainly suggest this place if you love fudge. (Remember fudge will get hard after a week. 9 year old complained because her piece was rock solid after a week. LOL) Afterwards we headed back to the hotel.

 

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Cute video of dolphin at aquarium throwing cover out.

 

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idiebabe

idiebabe

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Enjoying your review and pics! Looking forward to the rest of it!

 

Did you happen to go to Starry Nights and, if so, what was the band like? They had an awesome band, True Identity, that is now on the Splendor so was wondering who's playing there now. Heard they are from Texas and pretty good!

 

Thanks!

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lovermonkey

lovermonkey

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Enjoying your review and pics! Looking forward to the rest of it!

 

Did you happen to go to Starry Nights and, if so, what was the band like? They had an awesome band, True Identity, that is now on the Splendor so was wondering who's playing there now. Heard they are from Texas and pretty good!

 

Thanks!

 

I do have a kind of half-ass photo of them. I walked in when they were on break. Took this photo as the lead guy was walking pass me. But I honest didn't get to listen to them or get their name. Sorry.

 

DSCN2460_zpsc8d1d6da.jpg

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idiebabe

idiebabe

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I do have a kind of half-ass photo of them. I walked in when they were on break. Took this photo as the lead guy was walking pass me. But I honest didn't get to listen to them or get their name. Sorry.

 

DSCN2460_zpsc8d1d6da.jpg

 

Thank you! I guess I'll find out in 11 days! :)

 

Again, looking forward to the rest of your review and pics! :):):)

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lovermonkey

lovermonkey

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We stayed at the hotel for a bit until everyone started to get hungry again. This time I had not thought up of any place to go for dinner. So I suggested walking around little Italy until we found something to eat. After walking around for 20 minutes it was obvious we didn’t know where we were going. You would think I would know where I was going since I have been memorizing the inner harbor map for two years. But atlas, we were lost. LOL. Lucky for us we started heading back to the hotel when we hit MOs Fishman’s Wharf. Where I told everyone, look a seafood place. Kids gave me a dirty look but no one wanted to fight me, since we were having trouble finding a kid friendly place. Which was good for me. When we got inside, they immediately took us upstairs to be seated. I was planning on ordering crab but my stomach was giving me fits since I arrived in Baltimore, so I decided to go lite. I went with the crab cakes and the fiancée had the steak, shrimp, and a crab cake. Lisa told me she really loved the steak. Myself, the crab cakes were really good. They were lite and fluffy and kind of reminded me of like a very pleasant tuna salad. But in crab cake form. If you are in the area, I would highly suggest MOs. 4 people at Mos with tip was 134. They include the tip in the price.

After MOs we headed to CVS to buy soda and tastykakes. My fiancée really wanted to get them since we can’t get them in Chicago. So we bought them out. Apparently that happens a lot in Baltimore because they asked us where we were from. (We did the same thing on Monday at 7/11 by BWI. They asked us again where we were from)

We woke Sunday hoping to get a glimpse of the Pride, but with no luck. My plan was to head over to the Blue Moon Café for Capt Crunch French Toast, but time got away from us and I had to enact Plan B. Plan B was having breakfast at the hotel. And I must say they had really good breakfast. They had a buffet, but at 27 bucks a person we decided to just order off the menu. Which was the best thing for us since the food was awesome. If you do have breakfast at the restaurant in Marriott Waterfront Hotel, let me suggest the pancakes. They have a very strong vanilla flavor and were simply the best pancakes I have ever eaten. After breakfast the bellhop told me when I was ready he could get us a private car to the port for roughly 25 bucks. Told him I would come back at 10am.

Right after wards we went upstairs to see if we could see the Pride and again no luck. I went outside on the other side of the hotel and again no luck seeing the Pride. I then went to the 5th floor where the pool is. They have a huge balcony or whatever you call it right outside. I walked out on the balcony and waited. About 20 minutes later I saw her. Of course I took photos. It was the first time I saw her and it was exciting to see her waiting all this time. (Pics below)

First pic of Pride.

 

PIC_1254_zps9d0308be.jpg

 

Balcony of Marriott.

 

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Right in front of the Hotel

 

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Hotel Resturant

 

IMG_20130414_094444_zps5bcb6b26.jpg

 

 

Video of Carnival Pride coming in from the balcony of the Marriott.

 

Edited by lovermonkey
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jasperscruise

jasperscruise

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We stayed at the hotel for a bit until everyone started to get hungry again. This time I had not thought up of any place to go for dinner. So I suggested walking around little Italy until we found something to eat. After walking around for 20 minutes it was obvious we didn’t know where we were going. You would think I would know where I was going since I have been memorizing the inner harbor map for two years. But atlas, we were lost. LOL. Lucky for us we started heading back to the hotel when we hit MOs Fishman’s Wharf. Where I told everyone, look a seafood place. Kids gave me a dirty look but no one wanted to fight me, since we were having trouble finding a kid friendly place. Which was good for me. When we got inside, they immediately took us upstairs to be seated. I was planning on ordering crab but my stomach was giving me fits since I arrived in Baltimore, so I decided to go lite. I went with the crab cakes and the fiancée had the steak, shrimp, and a crab cake. Lisa told me she really loved the steak. Myself, the crab cakes were really good. They were lite and fluffy and kind of reminded me of like a very pleasant tuna salad. But in crab cake form. If you are in the area, I would highly suggest MOs. 4 people at Mos with tip was 134. They include the tip in the price.

 

After MOs we headed to CVS to buy soda and tastykakes. My fiancée really wanted to get them since we can’t get them in Chicago. So we bought them out. Apparently that happens a lot in Baltimore because they asked us where we were from. (We did the same thing on Monday at 7/11 by BWI. They asked us again where we were from)

 

We woke Sunday hoping to get a glimpse of the Pride, but with no luck. My plan was to head over to the Blue Moon Café for Capt Crunch French Toast, but time got away from us and I had to enact Plan B. Plan B was having breakfast at the hotel. And I must say they had really good breakfast. They had a buffet, but at 27 bucks a person we decided to just order off the menu. Which was the best thing for us since the food was awesome. If you do have breakfast at the restaurant in Marriott Waterfront Hotel, let me suggest the pancakes. They have a very strong vanilla flavor and were simply the best pancakes I have ever eaten. After breakfast the bellhop told me when I was ready he could get us a private car to the port for roughly 25 bucks. Told him I would come back at 10am.

Right after wards we went upstairs to see if we could see the Pride and again no luck. I went outside on the other side of the hotel and again no luck seeing the Pride. I then went to the 5th floor where the pool is. They have a huge balcony or whatever you call it right outside. I walked out on the balcony and waited. About 20 minutes later I saw her. Of course I took photos. It was the first time I saw her and it was exciting to see her waiting all this time. (Pics below)

First pic of Pride.

 

PIC_1254_zps9d0308be.jpg

 

Balcony of Marriott.

 

PIC_1261_zpse70150ac.jpg

 

Right in front of the Hotel

 

PIC_1252_zpsf2409db6.jpg

 

Hotel Resturant

 

IMG_20130414_094444_zps5bcb6b26.jpg

 

 

Video of Carnival Pride coming in from the balcony of the Marriott.

 

 

What time did the ship come in approximately?

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lovermonkey

lovermonkey

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Roughly about 9am. The problem is getting off the ship. They were going to call by deck for people that were doing self check out, but it didn't work out. Alot of people were just going anyway, so they stopped calling decks after 1. A lady around us went to guess services and they pretty much said you are on your own. So we got in line quick.

Edited by lovermonkey
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lovermonkey

lovermonkey

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Roughly about 9am. The problem is getting off the ship. They were going to call by deck for people that were doing self check out, but it didn't work out. Alot of people were just going anyway, so they stopped calling decks after 1. A lady around us went to guess services and they pretty much said you are on your own. So we got in line quick.

 

Opps, typo. I mean guest services.

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lovermonkey

lovermonkey

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What time did you arrive at the port for embarking? How long did it take you to get on the ship? Sorry if I missed this info from a previous post. I'm still trying to figure out what time to get to the Port.

 

I am actually typing that up now, but I didn't say what time we got there but I know I left at 11am. I think it only took us less than 20 mins to get there. Took about 1 hr after we sat down. Going thru security was quick. I mean less than 20 mins thru the whole process.

 

They say on the email I got not to be there before 1:30. But people were there way before me, so I bet if you got there 10:30 it wouldn't be a problem.

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lovermonkey

lovermonkey

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When I came back to the room I showed the kids the video of the ship coming in. That’s when they keep asking, “Can we go now…” I had gotten an email from Carnival asking people not to show up before 1:30pm. Which I thought was odd since I had heard so many people go to the terminal way earlier than that. So I waited until 11am to check out. (I couldn’t wait to get there either) Bellhop flagged us a private car for 25 bucks. (4 people) If you opt for a taxi it is only 15 bucks. But I didn’t mind paying the extra 10 bucks for a private car.

When we got to port there was a line of cars waiting to get into the port. To my understand, it was for people who were parking. So we were able to go right around them, where he dropped us at the front door. To line thru to security was a breeze to get thru. The only two things that stopped us were that I forgot to sign my passport and one of our 12 packs of soda was open. So they needed to check every can to make sure it was ok. Got our sign and sail cards and were sitting down within a few minutes. There were already many people already there who were in front of us, so apparently they ignored the email as well. Getting on board seemed like a long time, but I think it only about an hour before we boarded. Once we got on board my fiancée went to get soda stickers and I sat down and ordered a KISS On The LIPS. Been waiting since getting one on the Triumph to order one. And now I finally had one. Then I waited in line at the deli and got a Pastrami on rye. Been waiting a long time for them.

We did a bunch of stuff before and after Muster drill. Muster drill wasn’t too bad, but seemed longer from when we did the Triumph. Probably just me. Kids just wanted to swim. The girlfriend and I just laid out by the pool.

Walking around the Pride is like being in a Rembrandt. We use to go down the glass elevators and say "Tushy Tushy Winky." You will find out why. I took photos. Should be down below. We did fine our room. We were at 7250. I have photos of that too.

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Edited by lovermonkey
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