Review of our Spring Break '14 Cruise on Carnival Pride

[KPfromCT]

Keep it coming PaulMedik! Your reviews and pictures are the BEST!!!! Cannot wait to see more!!!:D:D

[PaulMedik]

Thank you all for the kind comments.

 

Saturday was a relaxing day exploring the Chesapeake Bay area.

 

The Tiki Bar I think was on Soloman's Island or near Soloman's Island. They were cleaning the place up when we were there, but soon it will be a major seasonal attracting and draw thousands of people to the area;

 

 

We expected our pre cruise would all be in town, but as it turned out we were in more of a coastal beach area than I expected;

 

 

Some areas were very much like Murrell's Inlet in South Carolina;

 

 

 

 

Skipping stones isn't perhaps a traditional beach activity, but it is back home here in WV;

 

[PaulMedik]

The boy's Momma had to show them how it's done;

 

 

 

On our next stop they resorted to trying to hit rocks with other rocks. Kinda like a modified form of skeet;

 

 

 

We also visited a civil war ear Confederate POW camp;

 

 

 

We travel quite a bit throughout the South and it's not uncommon to see Confederate memorials, but a Confederate POW camp was a new experience;

 

[PaulMedik]

The rebel flag flies over the prison camp now;

 

 

I grew up with several rebel flags of my own and was proud of my rural Southern heritage. In college I had a rebel flag on my dorm room wall. A friend of mine from Washington DC used to tell me how his friends were going to beat me up for displaying the flag. He eventually shared with me what the rebel flag symbolized to him. I listened and later that day I took my flag down, folded it and gave it to him. He cried and I'll never forget the appreciation in his voice and demeanor when he expressed his feelings for how happy he was that I understood. I got rid of everything I owned that had a rebel flag on it and to this day I do not own one. I expect to see the rebel flag in the South, but it was kind of odd to see it flying in what was and always has been 'Yankee' territory even if over a Confederate POW camp.

 

I was proud seeing my boys take the time to read the memorials and read the harrowing stories of conditions in the camps;

 

 

We enjoyed our day exploring the Chesapeake Bay area and there are miles and miles of territory that we'll have to go back to cover. Sailing out of Baltimore is more than just a hotel stay; thousands of attractions are nearby.

 

After a long day of exploring we ended up riding back thru DC into Arlington Virginia to Krispy Kremes for some hot donuts;

 

 

 

Hot donuts and bottles of milk makes a long drive worthwhile;

 

 

On Sunday morning we had planned to be up early and watch Pride sail up the Chesapeake Bay. That didn't happen, but we did make it down to the Bay;

 

 

[PaulMedik]

The Chesapeake Bay below Larry's house;

 

 

 

 

 

Larry's wife has a large collection of shark's teeth all found along the beach. Until then I wasn't aware the Bay was all saltwater;

 

 

 

Tom Clancey's residence is somewhere in this picture. He, or now his estate or ex wife, now owns most of the bay front property in this area. When we were on board I went thru Pride's Library as we were passing this area and noticed one of Tom's books on the shelf. It was interesting to me that his books were on a ship sailing past his former residence;

 

 

 

 

Larry in the middle of yet another story;

 

[PaulMedik]

Karen found a pink John Deere Tervis mug just like our VIFP mugs we got later;

 

 

 

Britt found him an abandoned basketball court;

 

 

Beautiful area;

 

 

 

Larry drove us to the port and the familiar Whale tail was about an hour from his home;

 

 

Pride from I-95 exit ramp;

 

 

I make no claim that these are good pictures, but the excitement of seeing our ship is something I think we all share;

 

Edited May 1, 2014 by PaulMedik

[happymoes]

I LOVE your pics and I want to be friends with your wife...LOL :D

[PaulMedik]

 

 

 

 

First look at our balcony. The top aft wrap is our balcony;

 

 

 

Passengers from the previous week were still streaming into the parking area with their luggage;

 

 

[PaulMedik]

The porters in Baltimore are NOTHING like the porters at Florida ports. They never once mentioned a tip;

 

 

 

I tipped our porter $10 and he seemed surprised. He thanked me, but I got the impression that tipping isn't routine in Baltimore?

 

 

It was 11:39 by the time we entered the terminal. I think that's the latest we've ever arrived at a port;

 

 

 

The luggage bins are more like airport baggage trams and there aren't separate bins for each floor;

 

 

After we entered the terminal we entered the VIP security line and they searched pretty much everything we had. We carried on three 8 packs of diet coke in small bottles, but didn't have any other contraband that they found. They didn't mention anything about the diet coke, but were obviously looking for alcohol. The zipped right past a knife in my camera bags that I saw and they had to have seen. I didn't even know it was there myself until then.

 

After security we went to VIP checkin and got our S&S cards and pictures taken for our cards. I punched holes in all of our cards and attached them to lanyards.

 

After checkin we were escorted to the VIP roped in area in the terminal. There were very few people there when we arrived, but the terminal was nearly full before boarding began.

 

Remember I mentioned earlier, or at least I think I did, that I had bought a GoPro Hero3+ Black video camera. I had it with me on a monopod / selfie stick in the terminal and intended to use it once we were on board the ship. Port of Baltimore personnel are very strict about pictures and I didn't take any pictures inside the terminal, but as it turned out I had my GoPro running several times inside including the entire embarkation. I cropped out everything but the last part of the gangway.

 

Please keep in mind that I an a novice with the GoPro and totally inexperienced at editing video. I left the audio as recorded so don't expect any soothing music;

 

[YOUTUBE]Fa1--669Uzk[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

In the video you can see me stop in the atrium and snap this picture;

 

 

If you watched the video you may not need to see pictures of the balcony because it's displayed pretty well in the video. Karen appeared pleased with it;

 

[PaulMedik]

The parking area was nearly empty;

 

 

Spencer checked out the suite beside ours;

 

 

The boys room was the inside just down the hall from our room until three days before the cruise when I upgraded them to the balcony. I took a quick picture of it;

 

 

 

The boys cabin was 8H Extended #8223. This was from their balcony looking down at the week's supplies being brought on;

 

 

 

After dropping off our carryon bags we ended up back at the atrium elevators;

 

 

I wanted to swing by the shore excursion desk and get our cabana # reserved to get down the beach in Half Moon Cay as far as possible. We got lucky and #15 was still available;

 

Edited May 1, 2014 by PaulMedik

[sanmarcosman]

Thanks especially for the great pictures of the Capitol Building in our nation's Capital. I have to see America first.

[PaulMedik]

After getting our Cabana ticket we stopped by the Pursor's desk to get the room keys switched. There was a regular line, but none in line for at the Platinum desk.....but they basically ignored us for quite a while.

 

 

 

They refused to switch our keys so Karen and Britt had to get and carry an extra key card to get into their cabins and their S&S card. The pursor said the cabins were too far away for them to switch keys, but they would make extra key cards. Britt was booked in my cabin and Karen was booked in Spencer's. We only booked that way to claim Shareholders credit in both our names instead of just one. We always book this way and they always switch keys with no questions about how far the rooms are apart. Honestly it was nice to see them follow a policy, but at the same time they need to staff the Platinum desk or just not have it.

 

I must stay that being ignored and their refusing to switch keys was a totally non issue; it just happened is the only reason I mentioned it.

 

We then headed up to Lido and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Karen and I had whatever the Oriental place is and it was very tasty. Britt had pizza and Spencer got a variety;

 

 

DOD and oriental cuisine;

 

 

 

After lunch Karen and I hit the serenity deck for some relaxation;

 

 

The view of our balcony from the Serenity deck;

 

 

Karen was soon fast asleep, but I had GoPro on my mind;

 

 

 

In this video I did a quick tour of our cabin #8273, our balcony again, then up to the Serenity deck where Karen was still sleeping;

 

[YOUTUBE]Vucv3GIOI-s[/YOUTUBE]

[thomarvin]

Approximately what time did they start boarding? We sail June 1st.

[reerun25]

Really enjoying the pictures and review!!

[NCTribeFan]

I thought someone in the All Things Pride thread had said that there was NOT a separate VIP security line (there isn't in Charleston; you have to stand with the mob to get through the scanners and THEN you go to a separate check-in line).

 

That's good to read.

 

And, you get your S&S photo taken in the terminal, not as you're boarding? Never encountered that, either.

 

BTW, I've never had a porter say anything to me about a tip. I haven't sailed from Miami, but have from Tampa, Port Canaveral and Ft Lauderdale.

 

Question: did you point out your FTTF symbol on your luggage tags to the porter and get the orange sticker for super-fast delivery?

 

I'm finding it so hard to concentrate at work this week and your review has now given me yet something else to distract me from what I "should" be doing! ;)

[mollypop1622]

 

The view of our balcony from the Serenity deck;

 

 

 

Paul: now your cabin was on the 8th floor right below the Serenity deck, correct? I will be sailing in 25 days (:D:D:D) and we have a 4th floor aft wrap balcony. My concern is that the people from the 5th floor or even all the way up to the Serenity Deck can see onto our balcony. From this picture, it seems like this is not the case, but can you please confirm this for me?

 

Thanks!

Molly

[NCTribeFan]

I can confirm that the aft cabins on Main are pretty much covered. If you look at a pic of the ship profile, the decks slope up at quite an angle beginning with Deck 5, leaving each one fairly open to the elements and the people above.

 

Oh, he actually posted a good profile pic (last pic in post #59). The deck that is even with the lifeboats is Main. You can see that the aft is almost entirely covered and how it slopes up from there.

 

There was a great, long thread about the aft Spirit-class ships way back. I had originally booked an aft on Deck 5, but moved down to Deck 4 (not a wrap; not in my budget) because we were sailing to Panama & Costa Rica and I'd read about how very hot it can get back there. It did. And you also can sit out there if it rains (but not in a torrential downpour).

 

Anyway, come on, Paul! I need this review thread completed before I start driving Saturday!! ;)

[PaulMedik]

Approximately what time did they start boarding? We sail June 1st.

 

Thomarvin,

 

Boarding started at ~12:40. We were standing in the atrium at 12:51.

 

 

I thought someone in the All Things Pride thread had said that there was NOT a separate VIP security line (there isn't in Charleston; you have to stand with the mob to get through the scanners and THEN you go to a separate check-in line).

 

That's good to read.

 

And, you get your S&S photo taken in the terminal, not as you're boarding? Never encountered that, either.

 

BTW, I've never had a porter say anything to me about a tip. I haven't sailed from Miami, but have from Tampa, Port Canaveral and Ft Lauderdale.

 

Question: did you point out your FTTF symbol on your luggage tags to the porter and get the orange sticker for super-fast delivery?

 

I'm finding it so hard to concentrate at work this week and your review has now given me yet something else to distract me from what I "should" be doing! ;)

 

 

NCTribeFan,

 

 

Security line for VIP was separate and included two screening stations. The checkin agent took our photo with a webcam then loaded our cards via swipe.

 

No I didn't point out the FTTF symbol, but I did notice a stick on orange tag on the bags when they arrived. I don't know when it was placed on the bags.

[PaulMedik]

 

Paul: now your cabin was on the 8th floor right below the Serenity deck, correct? I will be sailing in 25 days (:D:D:D) and we have a 4th floor aft wrap balcony. My concern is that the people from the 5th floor or even all the way up to the Serenity Deck can see onto our balcony. From this picture, it seems like this is not the case, but can you please confirm this for me?

 

Thanks!

Molly

 

Molly,

 

Yes our cabin was on the 8th floor right below Serenity. The picture from Serenity looking down is with me reaching out with my camera and aiming down; people standing there can't see as well as the camera can.

 

We have had the 4th floor aft wrap on Spirit Class (Legend), and I can assure you the roof angle prevents anyone from above looking down in to your balcony. Deck four has nearly a full overhang whereas deck eight has about 1/4 overhang. Reaching out with a camera from deck 5 wouldn't even give much of a view of deck four's hand rail and no view of the balcony.

 

Here's our deck 4 aft wrap on Legend;

 

2009 Carnival Legend by paulmedik, on Flickr

Edited May 1, 2014 by PaulMedik

[PaulMedik]

I considered purchasing an internet plan, but after reviewing the pricing and thinking back to past experiences with the onboard internet I opted to forgo the aggravation;

 

 

Our VIFP pins were in the cabin by 2:30;

 

 

Nearby ships;

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2014 by PaulMedik

[PaulMedik]

Karen was still sleeping on Serenity so I took the opportunity to explore the ship's upper decks;

 

 

 

I made a trip around the top deck and missed the generator so I had to come back looking for it;

 

 

 

 

[pmms052999]

Thank you all for the kind comments.

 

Saturday was a relaxing day exploring the Chesapeake Bay area.

 

The Tiki Bar I think was on Soloman's Island or near Soloman's Island. They were cleaning the place up when we were there, but soon it will be a major seasonal attracting and draw thousands of people to the area;

 

 

We expected our pre cruise would all be in town, but as it turned out we were in more of a coastal beach area than I expected;

 

 

Some areas were very much like Murrell's Inlet in South Carolina;

 

 

 

 

Skipping stones isn't perhaps a traditional beach activity, but it is back home here in WV;

 

 

 

Love your reviews! We were in DC the weekend of the Cherry Blossoms and it was total madness! Not sure I'd do that again.

 

It was pretty cool to see pics of my local area...we live about 10 minutes from the Tiki Bar.

[mollypop1622]

Molly,

 

Yes our cabin was on the 8th floor right below Serenity. The picture from Serenity looking down is with me reaching out with my camera and aiming down; people standing there can't see as well as the camera can.

 

We have had the 4th floor aft wrap on Spirit Class (Legend), and I can assure you the roof angle prevents anyone from above looking down in to your balcony. Deck four has nearly a full overhang whereas deck eight has about 1/4 overhang. Reaching out with a camera from deck 5 wouldn't even give much of a view of deck four's hand rail and no view of the balcony.

 

Here's our deck 4 aft wrap on Legend;

 

2009 Carnival Legend by paulmedik, on Flickr

 

Paul:

I am now getting a little worried. I booked the 4th floor suite because I read that the balcony is wider and the handrail doesn't slope back but rather is straight up and down. But, I was planning on spending a lot of time in the sun on my balcony instead of having to wake up early to get a good seat on the serenity deck. With that huge overhang, though, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get any sun after 12 pm!

 

Do you think that it would make more sense to try to switch to an aft suite on a higher floor? Was it noisy being directly below Serenity?

 

Thanks!!!!

Molly

[PaulMedik]

 

It's bolted to the metal deck below the wood and strapped down as well. It's not going to fall off;

 

 

 

 

I've seen a lot of Caterpillar rental units and they always say Caterpillar. As I recall the last generator I saw also said Caterpillar?

 

 

Where are they going to route the cables? I have no clue;

 

[PaulMedik]

Paul:

I am now getting a little worried. I booked the 4th floor suite because I read that the balcony is wider and the handrail doesn't slope back but rather is straight up and down. But, I was planning on spending a lot of time in the sun on my balcony instead of having to wake up early to get a good seat on the serenity deck. With that huge overhang, though, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get any sun after 12 pm!

 

Do you think that it would make more sense to try to switch to an aft suite on a higher floor? Was it noisy being directly below Serenity?

 

Thanks!!!!

Molly

 

 

Molly,

 

The deck four balcony is much larger in area than any other balcony because of the lack of sloping handrail. It slopes, but not much.

 

You will get sun, but it will be at later or earlier times than the higher decks and not for as long. I booked deck 8 for maximum sun exposure; I got atypical psoriasis after an allergic reaction a few years back and I need as much sun as I can get.

 

On the way South we didn't get sun until noon or so and then it gradually increased as the day went on. Once in the Bahamas area we got sun early as we headed West and late as we headed East. The return trip up North would have been full sun both days. Your experience on deck 4 would be similar, but later due to the overhang and then not as much direct sun due to the handrail.

 

Our sailing was in April and yours is May 25 so you'll actually have more intense sunlight so it may equal out.

 

I checked CCL and decks 6 and 7 aft wraps are both still available for your sailing, and both would offer more sunlight. Deck 5 is the cabin you would wish to avoid due to the cabin size, but the balcony is fine. Deck 5 aft wraps are both sold though which is odd. Perhaps they didn't research? Both deck 8 aft wraps are booked.

 

You can look thru the Flickr album of the picture I posted above and find a lot more pics of deck 4 balcony and compare it to pics from deck 8.

 

BTW, noise from above was never an issue on deck 8.