Review of our Spring Break '14 Cruise on Carnival Pride

[PaulMedik]

I have to say this is one of the best reviews that I have seen. Your pictures and videos are great! We are on the Splendor in July and have stops in Grand Turks, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. We have one of those two story villas rented on HMC. I also just recently booked the Pride for next April on the same stops. I look forward to seeing the rest of your review. Thanks for taking the time to do it!

 

 

apdchief,

 

Thank you.

 

HMC is an addiction that I love to indulge. This was our seventh visit and I remember the first as vividly as the last. Minor changes thru the years have all turned out OK.

 

We don't have HMC booked currently and it feels odd to not have it to look forward to.

 

 

This is a great review! Your pictures of HMC makes me want to book another cruise to go there, right now! Thanks for sharing your family vacation with us!

 

Jill,

 

Thank you.

 

I know the feeling; I want to book another now to, but have to wait to see what plans will fit.

 

 

******************************************************

 

 

 

 

 

Now that would be the life;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch your head when getting on or off the tender. Karen joked that I should make a video of everyone hitting their heads. I thought about it, but.....

 

 

[PaulMedik]

While we were having fun ashore the hard working crew of Carnival Pride was busy doing our laundry;

 

 

 

Steaming away from HMC;

 

 

 

zooming in;

 

 

 

 

 

Definitely NOT the best picture of our cabana, but given that we were miles out to sea, I was impressed with my Canon SX50 HS zoom capability;

 

[Mjsturg1]

I was debating on which cabana I was going to try and pick and I think I'm def going for #15 this time. I had #5 before but that was before Capt. Morgans was there and it was just way to busy plus I don't feel like fighting off people that want to come explore your cabana or use your showers etc etc.

 

Love HMC and your pics are great !!

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

Spencer came up behind me and saw the images on my camera screen. He asked if I was reviewing pictures or taking pictures;

 

 

 

I demonstrated the zoom;

 

 

 

 

unzoomed

 

 

 

My Canon 5DIII is the camera I use most of the time. It will capture night time football and indoor basketball plays in the worst light. I use my 70-200 F2.8L lens and a Canon 400mm F2.8L lens that is longer than my arm and weighs a ton and even it won't reach out as far as the SX50HS. It zooms optical to 1600mm and digital out to 3200mm. If the focus hits right I can then crop in even tighter.

 

Canon has proven to be a great company and supports their products very well. In just the past year they have sent me free of charge over $50k worth of products just to try out. Imagine shooting sideline sports with a $15k lens attached to a $7k camera and not having to pay a penny for the experience. Granted I have paid them quite a bit for my gear, but using their gear anytime I want sure is nice.

 

My apologies for the shameless Canon plug, but I do love the way they do business.

Edited May 4, 2014 by PaulMedik

[PaulMedik]

I was debating on which cabana I was going to try and pick and I think I'm def going for #15 this time. I had #5 before but that was before Capt. Morgans was there and it was just way to busy plus I don't feel like fighting off people that want to come explore your cabana or use your showers etc etc.

 

Love HMC and your pics are great !!

 

 

 

Mjsturg1,

 

I know how you feel; we've had lower number cabanas and while convenient to the toys for the boys when they were younger, the signs didn't keep people out. Amusing to watch sometimes, but.....

[PaulMedik]

In line to get a pager for dinner;

 

 

 

 

 

Hostess Joycee (on the left) greeted us each evening and took care of getting good seats;

 

 

 

While waiting to be seated we took in the sunset on deck 3;

 

 

 

I've got some work to do on this one, but it may be in his senior pic album;

 

[PaulMedik]

I'm not sure where this pose came from;

 

 

 

I so wished I had my 5DIII instead of the point and shoot. I adjusted the settings some, but could have done better;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hanging out waiting for our pager to go off;

 

 

Our wait wasn't brief, but several groups of people were a bit riled with having to wait to be seated. I understand that full is full, but apparently some people think they are holding tables back or something. One guy asked how long I'd been waiting and when I told him five minutes or so he went ballistic. He insisted that he'd watched me waiting for over 45 minutes and he was behind me. This was when we were waiting for a pager. He was actually seated right before we were and appeared to still be quite angry. The EXIF from my photos reveals that we were in line for the pager at 1914 and we were seated and had been waited on at 1954. Forty minutes total isn't too bad given the time frame we chose. I can only imagine how long the fella that had no concept of time thought he had waited.

 

Oysters Rockefeller. IMO the Rockefeller family has done for our State exactly what this food did to my palate; wreaked havoc. I highly recommend avoiding this option;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

The star of the evening was Old Fashioned Apple Pie. Spencer fell in love with it several years ago and looks for it every day he's cruising, but it's usually only available on one night;

 

 

Aft view;

 

 

Our greeter after dinner;

 

 

 

Moon rising over the water;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

Beautiful night to sit and watch the moon light dance across the waves;

 

 

A fellow passenger was up on Serenity deck taking in the rising moon with a full sky of stars above;

 

 

 

 

I know there's a lot of things going on all over the ship. Shows to attend, music to listen to, and bars to enjoy, but I can rarely pull myself away from God's show outside of our balcony;

 

 

[PaulMedik]

The next morning was our first of two days at sea. It was supposed to have been an early day in port at Freeport, but a day at sea is fine by me.

 

I enjoyed a 0500AM cup of hot chocolate with extra cream as I walked the peaceful top decks;

 

 

David was silently standing watch over the ship;

 

 

Five hours later I had breakfast;

 

 

We had a beautiful, sunny, and warm day ahead of us;

 

 

 

 

 

We were off the coast of sunny Florida so of course the weather was perfect;

 

[apdchief]

Paul,

 

Seeing this is our 1st trip to HMC and you have been their numerous times can I get your opinion? We have a 2 story villa booked and my understanding is we can't request which one we want until we board the ship. Which one would you suggest we request? I was thinking the 4th one from the left when looking at the island. Also I though that I remembered reading that there was 4, but from your photos obviously there are 5. Is one new?

 

Thanks

Larry

[PaulMedik]

Paul,

 

Seeing this is our 1st trip to HMC and you have been their numerous times can I get your opinion? We have a 2 story villa booked and my understanding is we can't request which one we want until we board the ship. Which one would you suggest we request? I was thinking the 4th one from the left when looking at the island. Also I though that I remembered reading that there was 4, but from your photos obviously there are 5. Is one new?

 

Thanks

Larry

 

 

Larry,

 

I don't know the number or age sequence for the villas, but I do know they weren't all built at the same time. If it were me I would choose the solo villa that is furthest down.

 

I had to go pack to my original pics to find one of all five together. Either of the two solo villas would be good;

 

 

This is the one I would choose;

 

 

 

There's just three cabanas past the last villa therefore there will be less people in front;

 

 

 

The three together might be OK, but they're a little too tight for me;

 

 

You are correct that you cannot choose which villa until you are on board. Be sure and look at their current map because saying 'furthest down' might get you the one closest to Captain Morgans. Not that it would be bad, but less ideal perhaps than the other end.

[PaulMedik]

Britt and Spencer spent the morning playing basketball up on the top decks so I opted to go around the ship and get some video.

 

I started on deck 3 forward on starboard side and planned to go all the way around, but they were washing the port side;

 

[YOUTUBE]FNbR5IfT4tw[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

I then made my way up to the top forward decks to get some video. My apologies for the wind noise. Perhaps I should have dubbed some music in place of the audio...;

 

[YOUTUBE]ZFydn1Qmizk[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

I also got some pictures along the way;

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forward Looking Infrared Radar;

 

 

 

Port wing over the bridge;

 

[PaulMedik]

 

 

Looking down the starboard side of the ship;

 

 

 

I love the sound of those waves;

 

 

 

Pride doesn't have 'secret doors' to the forward decks like Conquest and Dream class ships, but it does have a door to steps leading down to the bridge;

 

 

 

Steps down to the bridge;

 

 

 

[PaulMedik]

After touring the forward decks I then took a walk on Lido and up to Davids;

 

[YOUTUBE]uOFnML6pyZk[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

After touring the ship I found everyone out on the balcony enjoying the sun;

 

 

 

Our wake disappeared into the horizon;

 

 

 

Chair inviting me to sit and take in the view;

 

 

I noticed the starboard azipod was powering up and down throughout the day as they obviously were testing it out;

 

 

 

We passed under an occasional rain cloud, but very few drops of rain fell on us;

 

[Rockypoint]

I just can't get enough of this review. The Pride was our first ship, where we fell in love with cruising. Your reviews will be able to get me through until our next one as your pictures and videos make it almost like being there. Thank you so much for sharing!

[Danacat222]

Paul,

 

Seeing this is our 1st trip to HMC and you have been their numerous times can I get your opinion? We have a 2 story villa booked and my understanding is we can't request which one we want until we board the ship. Which one would you suggest we request? I was thinking the 4th one from the left when looking at the island. Also I though that I remembered reading that there was 4, but from your photos obviously there are 5. Is one new?

 

Thanks

Larry

 

 

Sorry to intrude, we had Villa D and it was a great location. The sooner you can get on board the better to make stopping at the excursion desk your first priority to select the villa you want. For us, we felt A, B, C were too smashed together. Go for D or E.

 

A is the first one and nearest to the point of entry to HMC, E is the one furthest out and away from the crowds .

 

 

Paul, I am enjoying your review.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Danacat222

[PaulMedik]

Sorry to intrude, we had Villa D and it was a great location. The sooner you can get on board the better to make stopping at the excursion desk your first priority to select the villa you want. For us, we felt A, B, C were too smashed together. Go for D or E.

 

A is the first one and nearest to the point of entry to HMC, E is the one furthest out and away from the crowds .

 

 

Paul, I am enjoying your review.

 

 

Danacat222,

 

Thank you.

 

Wasn't an intrusion at all; I had no clue how the villas were listed and now we all do. :) I can now say that E would be my choice instead of saying 'the one furthest down.'

 

I do have a question for Villanites; how much sun did you get on the two decks? I know there would be sun in the afternoon, but was there enough to lay in and get some exposure? The main reason I opted for a cabana as opposed to a villa was for the sundeck and misting fan; love that fan. With friends a villa would certainly offer more room.

[kylesmom]

Thanks so much for your review!! We'll be on this same cruise next April & am loving your pictures, getting very excited!! Quick question, do you remember when you were able to book your cabana? We are just under a year & no excursions are loaded on the carnival website yet, I am very impatiently waiting!! Thanks again!!!

[PaulMedik]

Thanks so much for your review!! We'll be on this same cruise next April & am loving your pictures, getting very excited!! Quick question, do you remember when you were able to book your cabana? We are just under a year & no excursions are loaded on the carnival website yet, I am very impatiently waiting!! Thanks again!!!

 

kylesmom,

 

I booked the cruise May 12 2013 and booked the cabana immediately after on the same day.

[Danacat222]

Danacat222,

 

Thank you.

 

Wasn't an intrusion at all; I had no clue how the villas were listed and now we all do. :) I can now say that E would be my choice instead of saying 'the one furthest down.'

 

I do have a question for Villanites; how much sun did you get on the two decks? I know there would be sun in the afternoon, but was there enough to lay in and get some exposure? The main reason I opted for a cabana as opposed to a villa was for the sundeck and misting fan; love that fan. With friends a villa would certainly offer more room.

 

The downstairs deck provided some sunning opportunities but more so with the cabana, we did not spend much time upstairs at all. Having a truly private bathroom with shower was nice, also the hot tub was cool, otherwise unless it was a large group and really needed the space i would not do it again, people were very intrusive, coming in, walking around.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Danacat222

[kylesmom]

kylesmom,

 

I booked the cruise May 12 2013 and booked the cabana immediately after on the same day.

 

Thank you!!! I will continue to check everyday!!! :):)

[sjn911]

Oh Paul...just took a tour with you on the go pro..those are fun...I just keep remembering my dad's comments on comming back from the Wonder..Now remember he had Alaskan Ferry, Old Nieuw Amsterdam and The Wonder due to niece in his cruise belt..

 

He always dreamed of taking the family to Alaska but it boiled down to his last grandchild..every grandchild got a trip..and they made it..all hell broke loose on return of that wonder trip..the next day...and they both got pacemakers at same time..mom did not make it...but they had a great time and focus with that grandchild and did no Disney real life things for the geologist cowboy banker...he was so cute and said..sittint in the ICU with me as we divided and conquered the double duty..thank GOD they had 4 girls...anyways he said...educationally like a dad..."You see..I finally get it..some families take these cruises and it is their Cabin..like we have had a cabin for family and our trailer deal in Tuscon for winter when we retired..(it did not hurt one grandaughter went to school there)...

 

I so get it that Carnival is the perfect fit for you and your guys..and you combine areas so well. I would have wanted options like you guys and your kids growing up..but still got a one on one best time in my life with Dad in Tuscon this April and hopping for a trippy trip if God deems it. I so get that with Carnival there is variety in the ships, the change that is good..like the remodels keeping a place up and moving from a tent to a trailer to a cabin..to a cabin with a kitchen and bath >>LOL...

 

I think your service work too makes it a perfect fit..I do not get anyone being upset about loyal to a line or taking different lines..it is just what is right for the people...

 

I too fell in love with Carnival on a mostly family grad present type cruise on Paradise out of Long Beach..I wish for cruisings sake I could live in Florida a while..I just may...LOL...

 

You are going to enjoy the changes..while hard..the games OMG..we have had all my nieces and nephews heavily involved..high school and college football and volleyball and basketball in that order...

 

The Baseball thing is going to be great..you will get something fun for the sacrifice...

 

You guys as grandparents..not pushing it but watching my folks pure joy..it is all good..

Thanks for making carnival your "cabin" and sharing so much with us..

 

Totally get the tub in water LOL..I just love being in a moving hotel...train..ship...I would love to fly overseas first class one fine day and do a med cruise..and have that capsule first class area..and take a long train trip sometime with a train sleeping area..

 

Anyways thanks again..it is so sweet..my love to your sweet family and dear wife, I have 4 nephews and 3 neices..8th grade to 30 now and 2 greats..1 great niece and one great nephew..mom knew one and that the second was in the oven being named her name as middle..Sarah

[dmarie1623]

Beautiful pictures of HMC. I've yet to sail there, but she is on my list after the 2.0 upgrades on the Pride.