21 Nights of Food and Fun (well, mostly Food) Pride Journey Cruises

[Crusin Karen]

I love this idea! I discovered Carnivals BLTs on our last cruise and became addicted. I will try this on the Pride next month!

OP, your review is coming along great. I'm eating up every bit of it, thank you!![/quote I will join you!!! ;)OP, did not know about the crafts. Was it offered every day? I honestly can't remember ever seeing it in the Fun Times. Do you have to pay for the supplies?

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

I was on the first leg of this cruise celebrating my birthday. I really had a great time. Thanks for taking the time to write such a great review!

[busynurse2015]

Great review. Can't wait to read more.

[Kel040]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review ! We were on the Pride April 2015 and will be back on her again in October -

 

Looking forward to the rest of you review... :)

Edited February 20, 2016 by Kel040

[Mom2JaSaKa]

I am loving this review. Can't wait to read more!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[luvs2beachit]

Loving your review! Thanks for taking the time to post.

[meatloafsfan]

OP, did not know about the crafts. Was it offered every day? I honestly can't remember ever seeing it in the Fun Times. Do you have to pay for the supplies?

 

It was every sea day and then a couple of port days in the afternoon (especially on the second cruise which didn't have the same number of sea days).

 

If it was on a sea day, usually it was at 9am and in the captain's area of the dining room (entrance through the door located in the Alchemy bar); on port days it was around 3-3:15pm either in the red frog pub or the piazza area forward deck 2 (where the trivia is held).

 

I think the crafts are an addition for the Journey cruises.

[meatloafsfan]

Today will be light (as in almost non-existent) on food photos until we get to dinner.

 

Today was the first port stop and this was Grand Turk. I had been here before on a cruise with my god daughter but my parents had not been. It's one of the stops on the cruise with my brother and his family this summer so we were all eager to check it out.

 

It was overcast and very windy the morning. This suited me just fine because it was cool and I didn't have to heavily slather on the sunscreen just to step outside. We stopped on the pier and offered to take photos of some people and one of the couples returned the favour for us.

 

 

The water was a bit grey but that didn't stop my dad. After my mother and I returned to the ship, he came back with his snorkel mask and vest and did some snorkeling.

 

 

In addition to the Margaritaville pool, and the beach, there is also an area devoted to the Mercury shuttle splashdown. As well, there are the regular shops plus a small craft market with artisan goods.

 

 

 

There were 2 ships in port today. As the weather wasn't the greatest, nothing seemed overly crowded. I expect that would be very different if it were hot and sunny all day.

 

 

I know we had a quick breakfast in the buffet this morning and I expect that it was something quick for lunch as well from there.

 

In the afternoon my mother had a nap, I went to rest in my cabin and my dad returned to Grand Turk to go to the beach and snorkel.

 

In the early afternoon/evening, we regrouped and cut into the "congratulations" cake that came with the package.

 

[meatloafsfan]

dinner tonight was very good.

 

My parents both started with the vegetable spring rolls (a favourite from the old menus and they were happy to see they'd made the cut for at least one night). They were nice and crispy - served piping hot!

 

 

I tried the braised rabbit. It was different than what I was expecting but very tasty. The crust was a little firmer than I would expect from a fresh baked vol-a-vent but understandable given how many they were preparing (and that they had to all be prepared ahead of time and then rewarmed). The filling itself (the rabbit) almost seemed minced but was probably just finely chopped. Again, like the braised ox tongue, it was the sauce that made this very good.

 

 

I also had the greek salad which was fresh tasting and pretty much exactly as the previous incarnation on the old menus.

 

 

And my mother had the soup (I think it was from the port of call menu).

 

[meatloafsfan]

For entrees my mom had the lamb shank. Normally she loves this but there was something off tonight. I had cut it up for her and didn't see a large vein. She ate that in her second bite and then just couldn't eat anymore (a mind thing). I ended up having some of this and the next day, neither of us was feeling well so I put it down to the lamb truly being off. The flavour was good though (I don't eat lamb often but this was very tender, melt in you mouth, slow cooked tender and mixed with the super creamy mashed potatoes underneath, it tasted good).

 

 

I had the baked ziti with ham and peas. Wow! This is a very rich dish. The cream sauce was thick and rich, with tasty bites of ham scattered throughout. I'm not a "ham" person normally (and I have no idea what made me order this because it's not my usual) but this was an excellent, hearty dish. Had it both this week and the following cruise and both times, it was a winner. I insisted that my mother have a bit of this since she didn't eat much of her lamb. She liked it as well though again found it very rich.

 

 

My dad had the veal parmesan (and a steak - which we didn't get a picture of). He asked for no pasta and so he got just the vegetable and the veal patty. He very much enjoyed this. The patty was crispy and had the right amount of sauce and cheese to not overwhelm the veal.

 

[meatloafsfan]

Desserts were all around good tonight.

 

My mom had the coconut lime cake. An excellent ratio of cake to icing - a little light on the lime flavour but a liberal amount of shredded coconut on top.

 

 

I had the melting cake again with butter pecan ice cream.

 

 

And my dad enjoyed the blueberry pie. His only criticism of the pies were that they used corn starch as a thickener instead of clear gel. Otherwise, he was a happy camper.

 

 

After dinner we hit the casino where I re-introduced my mother to Mocha Chocolate Getaway's. I had to order the first few for her this cruise because she could never get it straight when ordering. "I'll have a chocolate cream go-away"; "I'll have a get away cream mocha"; "I'll have a chocolate mocha thing".

 

 

[cruisexlife]

Great start, thanks for taking the time to write this! :D

[tilocke88]

Love this review so far! One day I hope to be able to go on a long cruise, a b2b at the very least :p

Following!

[mrsblarge]

Following as well. Love the detail & pics.

 

Random question, can someone tell me the easiest way to find out if your various ports are dock or tender ports?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review. Great photos!

[meatloafsfan]

After Grand Turk was another sea day and again there was a separate breakfast and lunch menu. After not feeling well last night, I took the opportunity to sleep in and so did my parents.

 

This lunch menu is one of my favourites because it has the BBQ ribs.

 

For a starter my mother ordered the fruit and cottage cheese plate. The cottage cheese came separately and much later than the fruit.

 

 

I skipped the appetizer because there wasn't anything appealing and went right to the good stuff - the ribs. They were a bit of saucy, fall off the bone goodness (ribs are not something I cook in regular life - they are just never as good as in a restaurant; since I don't eat out much either, they are a rare treat for me). The potatoes were also good - thick cut potatoes, in a light kind of breading and fried. My dad also ordered the ribs as one of his entrees.

 

 

My mother couldn't decide on what to have for lunch so she told me to choose for her. I decided to order 2 different things and then I could try them as well.

 

So I ordered her the fish and chips with coleslaw. She enjoys coleslaw and doesn't eat fries so I figured fish and coleslaw would be nice and I could eat the fries (I wasn't expecting to enjoy the potatoes that came with the ribs). The fish was crispy and hot. A little too much breading for my taste but I am probably in the minority. It also comes with every condiment you could want - ketchup, tartar sauce, vinegar, and a lemon wedge. My dad ordered the fish and chips for his second entrée.

 

 

I also ordered my mother the spinach and ricotta ravioli with a mushroom cream sauce. She enjoyed this more than the fish. The pasta was nicely cooked, the sauce was light and there was a fair sized amount of creamy ricotta filling the spinach ravioli shells.

 

[meatloafsfan]

My mom and I both had dessert (my dad ended up going to the buffet to find something he wanted).

 

She had the lemon mousse (sorry the pic is a little blurry). I wish they would serve this at dinner. It was very tasty - a little tart, a little sweet, very creamy and light.

 

 

And I had the Chantilly lace bread pudding. Put cinnamon on just about anything and I would order it.

 

[meatloafsfan]

Today was the throwback sea day so it was filled with us enjoying 80's trivia (music, movies, tv) and I won a ship on a stick for 80's TV trivia. There was also the horseracing the main theatre which my dad went to watch. The casino was also open with it being a sea day so we spent time there was well.

 

Tonight was the Captain's Celebration so we made certain to be ready to go to that. We went to the one at 7pm and then had a late dinner in the dining room. I think this was our last night with anytime dining and switched to late dinner the next day.

 

If you're on a Journey cruise, I do recommend making time to attend the Captain's celebration. You could get your picture with the captain, they had the band playing up on the stage and were very liberal with the food and drinks. When you entered the theatre, all of the little tables were already set with plates and napkins - the servers came around with the different foods and drinks. The Captain came up on stage and introduced the heads of the departments and then Steve the Cruise Director came up.

 

Served were meatballs, fried shrimp, quiche and pigs in a blanket. The beverage choices were rum punch, whiskey sours, champagne, white wine, or red wine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a few people who got quite inebriated and went up on stage to dance. I would be embarrassed if I was with them because some were so over the top.

 

There was no rush to leave the party and they kept the food and drinks flowing for quite some time.

[TravelLots]

This cruise just seems like heaven! (Minus the drunk people [emoji6])

[mamamaga]

I am loving this review. Thank you

[Britbrie]

Great Review so far!! I can't wait to read more!!!

[meatloafsfan]

So after the Captain's Celebration, we headed to the MDR.........and were once again given a pager. It was just after 8pm and there was still a back up on seating for ATD. We were seated around 8:30 at a large table for 10 with 2 other groups of 2 (I don't want to say couples because they weren't couples - both were sets of women friends).

 

The MDR was freezing (probably because there weren't many people in there) and dinner was very drawn out. We didn't leave until 10:30pm. And to top it off, dinner was only okay - the throwback menu is very similar to the formal night menu which we had not last night but the night before.

 

For starters both my mother and I had the cream of broccoli soup. It was good but tonight was only lukewarm. It was cold enough in the dining room that even being lukewarm, it felt like a warm respite.

 

 

No shrimps on the throwback menu so no appetizer for my dad.

 

For entrée my mother tried the Baked Vegetable Princess. From the description it seemed like it would be similar to the Root Vegetable Pie on formal night (which my mother loved); it was a very different dish. The vegetables tasted nice but there wasn't any substance to the dish.

 

 

I had the lobster tail and shrimp. This was a better offering than on formal night - it was warm, and not complete mush. It is served with Mushroom Risotto (which is one of my all time favourite things) but this version was just a big lump of mush on the plate. Fortunately, when I had this again next cruise, the risotto was much better.

 

 

 

My dad ordered the spaghetti carbonara. He felt that the Tournedos of Beef were too "fussy and fancy" and didn't want a bunch of sauces and stuff.

 

This was good but I'm sure he would have preferred a plain steak but he never asked our server if that was possible.

 

[meatloafsfan]

I will say that the throwback desserts are very good as a whole.

 

The red velvet cake was awesome (not just cake with red food colouring) and it had one of the smoothest and richest cream cheese icing's I've ever tasted. A bit higher of an icing to cake ratio than I normally prefer; it worked for this dessert though - it was a rich slice of gooey goodness.

 

 

My mother who has until this point regularly skipped dessert ordered 3 of them. I knew that the vegetables in a puff did not fill her up at all.

 

First was the Vanilla and Chocolate Tres Leches cake. This was interesting. I liked the chocolate part but not so much the tres leches sauce. This was the least favourite of the 3 desserts of my mother (which is why I got to have some).

 

 

Next was the Pecan Pie (can't you hear the groan of my dad? the pie of the day was one of the few kinds he doesn't like).

 

 

My mother liked this version. It's one of the few times a cruise ship actually got pecan pie right (she's had some pretty iffy versions in the past). This was pretty sticky with lots of brown sugar and nuts.

 

Last, and the favourite, was the buttermilk oatmeal coffee cake. This stuff was very good - moist, chewy, lots of oat-y goodness on top. Very flavourful with nutmeg and cinnamon laced throughout. If you're not a sugar fiend (like me), this is a near perfect dessert.

 

[JohnSpo]

I am enjoying your review. Those desserts look great!:cool:

[Kanyon71]

I will say that the throwback desserts are very good as a whole.

 

 

Last, and the favourite, was the buttermilk oatmeal coffee cake. This stuff was very good - moist, chewy, lots of oat-y goodness on top. Very flavourful with nutmeg and cinnamon laced throughout. If you're not a sugar fiend (like me), this is a near perfect dessert.

 

Now that's a recipe I would like to find. Looks REALLY good.