Pride Review - 8/21-8/28

[amandaaa04]

So this was my first cruise and I didn't know what to expect and had a blast.

 

We had 11:30 check in, but got there earlier than expected and no one questioned us or even looked at the time and we were checked in and sitting by 10:45ish. Worst part of the whole cruise experience was sitting in that room for two hours packed close to other people.

 

Room:

We had an aft obstructed balcony on deck 5. Our stewards were great. No issues with the room at all - quiet location, convenient to elevators and stairs. Didn't mind the lifeboat on the balcony. AC wasn't that cold though.

 

Food:

We ate Guy's and Blue Iguana for lunch most days - and the only times we ever went on that side of the during daylight hours. I loved that they had veggie burgers and chicken options always! We only ate in the main dining room twice, first night, formal night (lobster was okay, not as good as what I'm used to getting as I've spent almost every summer of my life on the coast of Maine!), and last formal night (ended up leaving after appetizers and salads, again clam chowder not up to my person preferences and standards) due to some rougher seas. We only had breakfast on Lido, it made me feel like I was back in college again! We also really liked the deli. We found that the late dining time prevented us from being able to do some of the things on the fun times, so I'd change to any time dining in a heartbeat for my next cruise.

 

Pool:

We only ever went to the Serenity pool. We loved the rounded shaded lounge chairs and would get up there relatively early to make sure we had one. We were there most of the day. Loved the quietness of it, and the bar waiters made it exceptionally relaxing. We did each of the water slides one time. Pretty fun!

 

Activities:

We played mini golf a lot. We did Harry Potter and Country music trivia. Only saw the comedy shows which were very crowded sometimes - did not enjoy Just June but the other 3 were good. Favorite "activity" was the adult scavenger hunt. Hasbro Game show was pretty fun too.

 

Grand Turk:

We went horseback riding. Guides were great. Riding in the ocean was amazing. Felt like the whole thing lasted longer than it did. Worth the money although I'm okay with not getting on a horse again for awhile. (first time on a horse!) We went to Margaritaville for an overpriced drink then headed to the beach and for my first ever time in warm (And clear!) ocean water!!

 

Half Moon Cay:

Easily the highlight of the entire trip. We went into the ocean first, and then we went on the AquaTrax jet skiing experience. When I read about it, I swore that they had us going through a lagoon and a bouy course but we ended up out in the ocean in the waves! It was amazing. They dropped us off at lunch after and that was very good I thought. We stayed on the beach until about 3:30 (we ran out of sunscreen!!) and headed back to the boat. I did NOT enjoy tendering at all.

 

Freeport:

Due to storms and weather and ocean currents, our all inclusive snorkel beach thing was cancelled. We took the refund and walked around Freeport for a bit before spending most of the day on the boat. A little bummed we didn't get to snorkel as I've never done that before but it was okay. Stormed as we were leaving and we watched lightening in the distance as we sat in the pool! Storms that night made the boat actually feel like it was moving (I was so surprised that I didn't feel anything at all unless I was looking down at the water except for Friday night!)

 

Cheers:

We DEFINITELY got our moneys worth. We drank slowly throughout the whole day from probably 8 to midnight or later. We didn't drink much on Friday due to us both feeling a little seasick, but we also never felt drunk or seemed drunk except for 2 nights - HMC day (due to being on island and discovering kamikaze shots) and Saturday as we saved some room for shots during comedy. BF hit his limit 4 of the days, I hit mine 3. We counted up the drinks on the billing and multiplied it by the average cost per drink and Cheers more than paid for itself.

 

 

 

I think I got it all! Overall, a great first cruise experience. Definitely will do a cruise again.

[pusywillow]

Thanks for the review. I'll be boarding her in three weeks for the first time.

[hokiesgirl98]

Thanks for your review! We were also on the ship and had an amazing time!! We did lots of different things then you but I loved the pride. Glad we got Schwartz still!

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[DaisyandMoe010]

Thank you for the review...I am back on the Pride in 31 days! This is our second time on her......we love this ship. Glad you had a good experience! :)

[Anung Un Rama]

3 days :D

 

Can't wait to be back on her with the 2.0 upgrades!

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[JaniceB]

Nice review and welcome to cruising.

[daisys dad]

Thanks for the review. We have been on the Pride twice already but it has been a few years. Since you had the cheers package you are the person to answer my question did the package work on HMC? We were thinking of getting it on our next cruise 6/25/2017. Thanks

[BellaSweet]

Thanks for the review. We have been on the Pride twice already but it has been a few years. Since you had the cheers package you are the person to answer my question did the package work on HMC? We were thinking of getting it on our next cruise 6/25/2017. Thanks

 

This is taken from Carnival's FAQ page:

 

"CHEERS! is not offered on 2 day cruises, charter cruises, on ships sailing from Australia (Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend) and beverage purchases made at Half Moon Cay in The Bahamas."

 

I'll never understand why they have that rule though.

[Seago2]

I'm glad you enjoyed yourself! Welcome to cruising!

[pusywillow]

This is taken from Carnival's FAQ page:

 

"CHEERS! is not offered on 2 day cruises, charter cruises, on ships sailing from Australia (Carnival Spirit and Carnival Legend) and beverage purchases made at Half Moon Cay in The Bahamas."

 

I'll never understand why they have that rule though.

 

I'll take a wild guess. The drunks will get so out of their minds that they will have trouble getting back on the ship. On other islands they can just leave the bums there. On their own island they would have to carry them back. JMO

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[JMAE]

Thanks for the review and glad you had a great time on the Pride. We love that ship and the crew. They help make our cruises very restful, can't wait until our next cruise in April.

 

I hope you are able to enjoy many more cruises.

[CrestedMom]

Thank you for your review. My husband and I (first time cruisers) will be on Pride 11/27-12/4/2016. I would appreciate any and all tips and cruise wisdom anyone would be so kind to share.