14 night Carnival Pride An Ode to the "Old" Menus

[shoppingfever]

I thought the food was good on The Legend but I swear I didn't see half the food you are showing here for your trip on the Pride!

[TravelLots]

Tasty! Thank you for doing this.

[scrinchy]

I am really enjoying this review. Thank you so much for posting all the food pictures.

[oncruisecontrol]

This is a wonderful food review. Looking forward to more.

[the nurse]

I'm really enjoying all of your food photos. Just booked a last minute cruise, from Norfolk, and leave in 12 days!

 

I have a question.....How do you order from the children's menu. I would love a banana split for dessert.

 

Thanks!

[SMSACE6]

any one can order from the children's menu:)

[meatloafsfan]

Okay - back to it.

 

Lunch today was in the buffet. Today was Spanish day - the menu had some good items and some blah. I really appreciated the other food stations for variety.

 

The best items were the empanadas. They were a little spicy, nice and crispy on the outside and meaty on the inside. The grilled vegetables were the other good thing. My dad enjoyed the carved meat (they had a different one for lunch everyday on the buffet). There were also shrimp quesadillas - they were good (though my mom wasn't a fan of the swirl of guacamole on top). The stuffed chicken was okay (its the breaded item) but again it tasted like the pre-formed piece of chicken.

 

 

 

 

I mainly stuck to chopsticks today (sorry the picture is a little blurry - its so hard to tell when you're taking them). Today there was a spicy seafood dish that I really enjoyed.

 

 

Desserts were pretty good today - a german chocolate cake, a vanilla cake with rich chocolate icing, creamy napoleons, some kind of cheesecake and some homemade jujubes.

 

[meatloafsfan]

Bonus pictures of the coffee shop desserts - my dad got a piece of chocolate cake while we were playing trivia one day. We didn't try the others but did get some pictures.

 

Fruit tarts

 

 

Strawberry tart:

 

 

Vanilla cakes

 

 

fresh baked cookies

 

 

Apple pastry and nut pastry

 

[meatloafsfan]

Dinner - I don't have any appetizer pictures because we ordered shrimps and spring rolls off of the everyday menu.

 

For entrees my mom had the Osco bucco. It was served with sweet potatoes which were a nice change and she enjoyed. The meat was very tender and the middle bone just popped right out.

 

 

My dad and I both ordered the filet mignon (yes, it was on the regular menu, no extra charge). This was an excellent piece of beef, cooked perfectly and served hot. One of the best nights for entrees, that's for certain.

 

 

Desserts were an interesting mix. First up was the pineapple and watermelon something-or-other (sorry about the vague description). The pineapple was thin sliced and there was just one small chunk of watermelon in the centre. There was a pineapple sorbet which was very nice and probably fresh made. Notice the sliced strawberries surrounding the plate.

 

 

For my mom it was apples in phyllo served with vanilla ice cream. My mom like the apples inside but not so much the pastry.

 

 

My dad had his traditional banana split (no picture).

 

In the casino, my mom enjoyed a mocha chocolate getaway - very cute presentation on this one.

 

 

And I just have to share one more blurry picture - that would be of my slot machine. I won $3200 with a double 7 / double / double combination.

 

 

After paying off our sign and sail cards, covering my gambling, our private tours, etc. I still came home with half of it so I was a very happy cruiser.

[meatloafsfan]

Confession time. By this point in the cruise, I stopped writing stuff down so I'm kind of guessing on a bunch of stuff right now (who had it, what it was). I'll do my best but there will be some pictures and descriptions that will be like this:

 

Soup - creamy so it was probably my mothers but I have no idea what flavour it was or if it was hot or cool.

 

 

Beth, our tablemate, asked if I would take pictures of her food as well so I happily obliged.

 

Caesar Salad with no croutons and lots of grated cheese.

 

 

Appetizer portion of the pasta with meat sauce. I'm pretty sure my dad ordered this - he was probably getting a little tired of shrimp by this point.

 

 

So of course my mom ordered the Shrimp 3 ways for her appetizer (because you know, someone HAS to order shrimp).

 

 

A very basic salad (I have no idea who ordered this)

 

 

And another pineapple and watermelon dish. Hey, it's fancy fruit.

 

[meatloafsfan]

For entrees Beth had pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. She ordered this about half the time so I am assuming they were able to cook the pasta well.

 

 

 

Tonight I ordered the Indian Vegetarian dinner. I usually order this at least once a cruise. It did not disappoint. Very tasty, nice and spicy and a good variety of flavours and textures.

 

 

 

My mom had spinach ravioli. She really enjoyed these. They were cooked perfectly, had a light sauce and were full of spinach and cheese.

 

 

My dad had a beef dish and a pork dish.

 

 

[meatloafsfan]

Dessert for me was a warm chocolate melting cake with chocolate ice cream.

 

 

And a banana split for my dad (but it only had vanilla and chocolate ice cream for some reason)

 

 

And what I can only assume is crème brulee for my mother

 

[meatloafsfan]

I have no day time food pictures from the next day. I think this is where my mom decided on an extra long nap and my dad and I headed to the dining room sans camera.

 

Dinner was at the buffet (I'm going to assume we went to see movies again tonight).

 

My mom was happy to see roast lamb on the buffet along with mint jelly. She also enjoyed a hearty selection of fresh veggies and blue cheese dressing.

 

 

I remember remarking the next day that dinner was really good tonight in the buffet. Though looking at my main plate, you'd wonder how I came to that conclusion.

 

a bit of pasta, a bit of beef stroganoff, and a whole pile of cooked broccoli.

 

 

But what made dinner so good for me was this:

 

 

A baked potato loaded with sour cream, cheese and bacon bits. I guess I was having a bit of a salt craving. This was awesome and it just goes to show that sometimes, something very simple, can make a meal memorable.

 

My dad got a plate of desserts to share:

 

 

The thing in the dish was tiramisu - only my dad likes this of the 3 of us. And he really enjoyed this version - it's one of his top 10 (and he's tried about a 100 different ones). The coconut cake (towards the back of the plate) was another good dessert. The other cakes were dry and went mostly uneaten.

 

We also enjoyed an array of sliced fruit. Still fresh and we were more than half way through this 14 day adventure

 

[meatloafsfan]

This was the night where we stayed to watch both movies so it was Big Hero 6 and Transformers 4. I know that because the next pictures are deli sandwiches which we enjoyed between the movies.

 

Let me say again - I love the deli.

 

I got a tuna melt

 

 

My mom got a reuben

 

 

And my dad got a pressed turkey and cheese with tomato:

 

 

I went up and ordered all 3 sandwiches and brought them back to the table (which was by the doors of the buffet that lead to the pool deck). In the background you can see the plate turned over ontop of another plate. That's how I brought them all back, stacked one on top of the other. I was concerned that the sandwiches would slide off the plates - it kept them in place but it also ensured that they stayed warm until eaten (or pictures taken).

[meatloafsfan]

Room service

 

lunch the next day was room service.

 

For the first time I tried the chicken fajita. This was very good. I loved that it came with salsa and sour cream on the side.

 

 

I also ordered a BLT (as a back up in case I didn't like the fajita). It wasn't very good. The bacon was way over cooked and a bit of a funny colour (like it was older bacon that had been cooked and left out of the fridge).

 

 

My mom once again had the shrimp salad sandwich she'd enjoyed so much earlier in the cruise. Again, it was excellent.

 

 

My dad had both the turkey and the beef sandwich - despite the fact that he's a big beef eater, he preferred the turkey more

 

 

 

And finally for dessert - chocolate cake!

 

[meatloafsfan]

Casino surprise

 

 

I arrived back at my cabin to find this waiting for me from the casino. It was 6 tuxedo strawberries with a large chocolate shell in the centre, filled with a custard cream and topped with a variety of fruits.

 

Very tasty and a nice treat (though chocolate covered strawberries are so easy to make I would never pay the $2.50 each they ask for them - free is good though).

[meatloafsfan]

For appetizers my mom got the beef vegetable soup.

 

 

I had the spinach phyllo appetizer. This was very good - flakey and tasty. I like spinach when its done like this (with cheese and a bit of white sauce) but generally find "just spinach" too strong for me.

 

 

For entrees my mother had lamb chops.

 

 

while my dad and I both had the steak (off of today's menu - not the everyday menu). On long cruises, they certainly do ramp up the beef choices.

 

 

I also ordered the vegetable lasagna. This wasn't very good. The noodles were undercooked and the whole thing was served too cool. I've had it in the past and enjoyed so I'm guessing it was just an off night.

 

[meatloafsfan]

Dessert was chocolate cake for my dad (he was a super happy cruiser)

 

 

And bread pudding for my mom

 

 

And a warm chocolate melting cake with strawberry ice cream for me. This is an excellent combination.

 

[gborra2004]

Everything looks awesome can't wait to see more

[TravelLots]

Everything looks awesome can't wait to see more

 

 

Me too!

[cmecruise1962]

Me too!! Please?:p

[sjn911]

What a tour...amazing variety...thank you...sarah

[EdmundXXIII]

Thanks for all your great pictures! I love the new menus, but it's also a blast to see all of the tasty stuff from the old ones. It brings back fond memories of my first Carnival cruise on the Pride. :)

[shoppingfever]

Please come back! Can't wait to read more!

[meatloafsfan]

Okay, I'm a terrible person.

 

I know that I didn't finish this so I'm going to now. I think it'll be interesting to look back on the food on this cruise and compare to our 21 nights on the Pride in January / February where they've implemented the new menus.

 

So - lunch in the dining room.

 

I went with the seafood salad. It was okay but a little disappointing. The crab was again that shredded canned stuff, the scallops were dry and the "dressing" was just oil. I ate it but can't say that I'd order it again.

 

 

My dad asked for a garden salad with ranch and thousand island dressing. It was a salad, it was served exactly as requested.

 

 

My mom went with a beef vegetable soup. She enjoyed it. Lots of veggies, good flavour and served hot.

 

 

For entrees my mom had asked for a plain piece of chicken but was told that was not available. Instead she had a burger with no bun and chili on the side. The server brought two containers of chili. Despite not really wanting this, she really did enjoy it. The chili was very good (not spicy and meaty) and the burger was cooked perfectly.

 

 

My dad went with the Chinese beef with rice and pot stickers. This was fine, just not overly impressive.

 

 

After experiencing this lunch menu once, we agreed that if we saw it again, we'd head up to the buffet.