Carnival Pride Exotic Western Caribbean Review Thanksgiving Nov 23-30, 2014 ***pics**

[cojuqui]

Enjoying your review, looking forward to more of it.

 

Thanks for reading, much appreciated. I am enjoying going thru photos and writing everything.

 

Connie

[cojuqui]

What a wonderful review! Thank you so much for the pictures of the Pride after her dry dock.

 

It looks like your family had so much fun. I'm glad to hear there were so many trivia and "guessing" kind of events. After coming off a celebrity cruise where there were very few non-shopping or non-drinking activities, it's nice to know that the next cruise will have lots to participate in.

 

I missed out on some photos I had planned on as you'll see later in my review but I am glad I got some in the beginning.

 

Yes, I thought they had lots of activities for different members of the family to choose from. We went on Celebrity and Princess once each and found their activities lacking for us. The talks, trivia and general goings on were great.

 

Connie

 

 

PAST CRUISES:

 

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean (review in process) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404

 

 

[cojuqui]

It had rained most of the evening and what seemed like all night as well unfortunately. The day started overcast and the water was very murky as we pulled into Mahogany Bay Roatan.

 

 

 

 

 

We had booked a two spot snorkeling tour at the barrier reef with Dixon Tours but it wasn’t looking good. We packed our day bags and made our way off the ship. We walked thru the marketplace and to the predetermined meeting place to meet with Theris Dixon. We found her easily and she let us know that all water activities had been cancelled. We went ahead and opted for an island tour. We met up with our driver and started our day. We went to an overlook of Coxen Hole and to a little craft area.

 

 

 

It was raining by the middle of the day but it was nice to see several resorts. I loved Anthony’s Key with the little cottages.

 

 

It was easy to see as the day wore on why our snorkel trip and beach activities were cancelled.

 

 

 

Connie

[Stefanosthecruiselover]

Will be waiting for more

 

 

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[cruizinisthebest]

Nice review and pics.

 

Do they rope off the area in front of the big screen during the dive-in movies? Just seems like people would be constantly walking in front of it since it's not raised.

[jetta8300]

your pictures are wonderful!

[cojuqui]

Will be waiting for more

 

 

 

your pictures are wonderful!

 

Thanks to you both.

 

I got a new phone and took photos mostly with that, I have to do a bit better on focusing sometimes.

 

Connie

[cojuqui]

Nice review and pics.

 

Do they rope off the area in front of the big screen during the dive-in movies? Just seems like people would be constantly walking in front of it since it's not raised.

 

Hi there. No, they didn't rope off an area in front of the screen, but people were pretty respectful of those watching the movies from what I saw. They either went around or they stooped down while walking in front. Not bad at all.

 

Connie

[tgagnon]

Loving this review, I will be on her Jan. 25th. My 5th Carnival cruise. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

[cojuqui]

We had an opportunity to visit a Monkey and Bird park. For $10 we got to play with monkeys and spend time with some very cool birds and take as many photos as we wanted. Our guide there was great and gave us food to feed the monkeys and birds. Zip lining was offered too but we didn’t do that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued our tour of West Bay and down to West End Village. We got out and walked down to the beach near Bananarama.

 

 

 

Then we headed back to Coxen Hole and then back to Mahogany Bay. We had a great time with our driver even though the day took a turn for the worse. The boys headed back to the ship and I did a little shopping before I headed back. I was glad I had an umbrella and then even more glad I had a poncho when the rain and wind picked up. I got our passports stamped too which was great. Make sure to bring some change as there is no charge for the stamp but they would like donations for the Rotary Club.

 

Connie

[Tinkerkelle]

Where did you get your passport stamped?

 

 

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[cojuqui]

Where did you get your passport stamped?

 

 

 

After getting off the ship in Mahogany Bay and passing thru the Duty Free shop, you walk and turn left where the ship excursions meet. About half way down on the right hand side, there is a desk with a sign. It's right where you exit the shopping area if you are heading out of the port area to meet an independent tour person. Right now there is a Christmas tree in front of the desk. Hope that made sense.

 

Connie

[cojuqui]

Back on board, the rain continued and the drinks were flowing at the VIFP Party. It was fun to see the amount of folks that showed up and participated and to the hear some about the history of Carnival and how many people have been cruising since the beginning. We wont discuss the embarrassing line dancing that I participated in on stage, but I wasn’t alone so that made it a bit better.

 

 

 

 

 

From there we made our way to EA Sports Lounge to watch the Eagles whoop the Cowboys. What a great game.

 

I took this photo earlier in the cruise, we were lucky to find a seat during the game.

 

 

 

 

We took a break during the game to eat dinner. I wasn’t very hungry and didn’t feel like getting a dressed up and the boys had plans too so we just hit the buffet. Julio was happy to have turkey and stuffing and steak for dinner. I had a sandwich and was surprised to see an actual Turkey at the deli ordering a turkey sandwich as well. I called him a cannibal.

 

 

We met back up with our gang at the Red Frog Pub for another quiz but came in second place so no beer for us tonight. It was a great time though. There are some answers I don’t think I’ll forget anytime soon. I can’t say what they are though, just in case I might be playing against you some time.

 

While in the Red Frog Pub, the announcement came over the loud speakers that unfortunately due to the continued rain and wind, we would not be going to Grand Cayman on Friday. That news was met with disappointment. They then announced that an alternate port of Costa Maya would be where we were going instead. I was a bit disappointed since I love the research part of the trip and planning what we can see and do in different places. Carnival distributed shore excursion options quickly so that was great.

 

We read a bit about what was offered but decided just to wait and see what we'd do when we arrived in the morning.

[Tinkerkelle]

Thanks for the info about passport!

 

 

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[tgagnon]

This review is great, keep it coming. Loving it!!!

[alrichards4003]

4 pm rolled around and it was time to go to the Cruise Critic get together at the Ivory Bar. Great to have some drinks and get to know some of our Roll Call members better. We have some great folks on our roll call.

 

We had a great view of the sunset from our balcony tonight.

 

 

Since this is the first sea day it’s Formal Night. We are on Your Time Dining and we headed to the Normandi Dining Room a bit before 7.

 

 

 

Great review. LOVE the dress.

[cantthinkofanythingfun]

Is the EA Sports bar where the casino bar used to be?

[allgr8]

EA Sports bar is where Perfect Game sports bar used to be. Casino bar is still the same. Red Frog Pub replaced the Starry Nights jazz bar.

I'm not sure what happened to the rest of the review, but Connie was sick after that so probably did not see much besides the inside of her cabin after Thanksgiving, unfortunately. I used to see her and Julio everywhere, then just Julio, and then neither one, as he too succumbed.

Great review, Connie. You got some great photos of things that I missed.

[wrigley80]

Thanks for a good review

[cojuqui]

 

Great review. LOVE the dress.

 

Thanks so much. I bought it even before I had a cruise booked and knew I would wear it on the next one.

[cojuqui]

EA Sports bar is where Perfect Game sports bar used to be. Casino bar is still the same. Red Frog Pub replaced the Starry Nights jazz bar.

I'm not sure what happened to the rest of the review, but Connie was sick after that so probably did not see much besides the inside of her cabin after Thanksgiving, unfortunately. I used to see her and Julio everywhere, then just Julio, and then neither one, as he too succumbed.

Great review, Connie. You got some great photos of things that I missed.

 

Thanks for answering Regan. I lost about two weeks being REALLY sick and then recovering and had to get the house and myself ready for out of town guests for Christmas.

 

Thanks about the photos. I really had wanted to take more around the ship the last sea day, but that didn't happen.

 

Connie

[cojuqui]

Upon arriving at Costa Maya, we debarked and made the LONG walk down the pier. Josh and Zack decided to stay on the ship. We were met by some "locals"

 

 

We didn’t have a plan really. I wasn’t feeling great so we decided just to walk around the marketplace and do some shopping. They had a shuttle to take people to the downtown area for $3, but we just stayed there at the port.

 

 

Of course we had to make a stop at the bar.

 

 

We ran into people we know and bought a few things for ourselves and others. As the day wore on, I felt worse, so we headed back to the ship. The waves were getting bigger as we headed back.

 

 

 

The guys got back off and went to get me some cold medicine since I felt like I was getting a cold. What a water show at the pier later on. High waves and lots of splashing had people laughing, screaming and getting soaked as they got back on the two ships in port.

 

 

The big excitement I missed later in the afternoon was the winnings going on. Josh won and our friends Chris and Kristi won as well. Many congrats to the winners!!!!! I was out for the count.

 

 

 

Connie

 

 

PAST CRUISES:

 

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean (review in process) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404

[cojuqui]

Saturday was our last sea day and I missed the whole day! I got up in the evening to go watch my 18 yr old do some Karaoke and had some ice cream and that was about it. We had other plans and things I wanted to do but I couldn’t even drag myself out of bed. My later in the day, Julio joined me in my sick bed and was beginning to feel crummy too. I was bummed to miss another round of trivia at The Red Frog.

 

 

Sunday we got up fairly early to get breakfast and head down to disembark. We were doing Self Assist and I had arranged for us to head down around 8:15. Neither Julio or I were very hungry and he was starting to feel worse too. Not good considering we had a LONG drive ahead of us. We got downstairs in time to be informed there had been a medical emergency and we wouldn’t be able to leave the ship yet. Once we finally got the go ahead to disembark, it was close to 9:30. All went smoothly though. We made our way to the parking garage and had a final goodbye with Grace and caught the Parking Doctors shuttle back to the lot.

 

We ran into lots of traffic on the drive home. The Sunday after Thanksgiving and all the people headed back home were all on I-75. Julio and I were both feeling miserable, so we decided to stop in Louisiana and finish the drive Monday morning. We stayed at a Motel 6, the first stop off the highway. Funny how the desk clerk made no mention of the train that comes by every 15 minutes and blows their whistle just to make sure everyone knows they're going by. We made it back to Texas Monday morning and headed straight to the doctor where we were both diagnosed with the flu.

[cojuqui]

All in all, I felt like our trip was doomed from the start, ha ha. Delay getting to our first stop in Georgia, my sister in law left her purse in our car so it went on the trip with us, two missed ports, a rained out third port, a replacement port, 2 people that ended up with the flu, a supposed death right before disembarkation and a loud train horn throughout our night at an unexpected hotel stay. The Carnival Pride was nice, I loved the upgrades , but I do agree with other passengers that it may have been a little too early to set sail after drydock. There was a lot going on with staff and cleanliness and new shows. Am I sorry I went? Almost, but that has more to do with weather and the things that couldn't be helped. Obviously our safety is MUCH more important that missing a port or two. Will I travel again in November? Probably not. Will I be booking this itinerary again? Yes, I don't really feel like I experienced much.

 

I hope those of you setting sail soon enjoy your trip.

 

Connie

 

PAST CRUISES:

 

Discovery Sun 2003 Freeport Bahamas Day Cruise

Celebrity Solstice 6/26/09 Eastern Mediterranean

Carnival Conquest 08/10/10 Eastern Caribbean

Carnival Victory 06/10/12 Southern Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1659913

Carnival Miracle 07/30/13 Alaska http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39476968#post39476968

Diamond Princess 12/23/13 New Zealand/Australia http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2112413

Carnival Pride 11/23/14 Exotic Western Caribbean http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2135404

 

 

[jandb6266]

I hope you liked the pride. My dw and i live in baltimore maryland and the pride is our favorite ship. We have sailed her three times now. We can not wait for her to come back home with all the upgrades. We will be sailing in the fall of 2015. Do you have any pictures of the green monster and the cherry on top candy store. Glad to hear you had so much fun

 

ps: We went to cozumel on the dream and had a lot of fun.

 

Happy sailing!!!!!