Our Tale-Carnival Pride 8/28-9/4

[RHilla619]

Thank you for taking the time to do this, I'm sailing on the Pride over NYE so I'm looking forward to the rest!

[jimbo5544]

Thank you for taking the time to do this, I'm sailing on the Pride over NYE so I'm looking forward to the rest!

 

 

We are doing the Pride on NYE, come over to the roll call!

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

Thanks for doing the review, we thought of the Pride coming back to Baltimore the last couple of days as the storm came up the coast.

 

 

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[MalleyCat]

I love your review. The Pride is my favorite ship and you're bringing back a lot of memories. Can't wait to sail her again.

[skywalkr2]

Definitely like your review. Very factual and without forced attempts at humor.

 

Will be on the Pride to Bermuda within 2 weeks... so very excited.

[pusywillow]

Definitely like your review. Very factual and without forced attempts at humor.

 

Will be on the Pride to Bermuda within 2 weeks... so very excited.

 

We'll be on with you! Did you sign up for the Meet & Mingle? Love to see you there!

 

Sue & Dave

[billvabeach]

The Alchemy Bar

 

This was one of my favorite spots on the ship and Gabriel, the Alchemist, was a highlight of our trip. After our first dinner, we pulled up a couple of stools and Gabriel came over an introduced himself. I told him that I have been looking forward to a Deal Breaker since I first read about it a month ago. Gabriel’s response was that any bar on this ship can make a Deal Breaker for me, and he could too, if that is what I really wanted. He then asked me my likes and dislikes and liquor preferences and proceeded to make some type of Chocolate Thin Mint for me and a Chocolate Strawberry for my wife. Strong drinks but amazing. We stopped by every night after dinner.

[billvabeach]

The Alchemy Bar and The Ugly Shirt

 

Our last Sea Day, Saturday was a lost day. The morning was wiped out due to the storm and once we were in the Bay the sailing was easier but the pools were all still closed and covered. But we still had one private excursion left to complete. A toast to the Ugly Shirt (aka The Drunk Shirt).

 

My wife and I were married just over 25 years ago. When we were discussing honeymoon options she wanted to take a cruise. I wanted to go to Disney World. I had never been to Disney. My whole life when I would ask to go the response from my parents was “when you get married, you can go to Disney World.” Well, I was getting married so I was going to Disney World. This was 1990. We booked four days in Disney and three days on the Big Red Boat. There has been an earlier thread about practical jokes. My wife’s coworkers told us that with cruises there is a long wait between embarkation and dinner so we should bring food on board to tide us over until dinner. So not knowing any better, on the way to the port we stopped at KFC and had the Colonel cater our welcome aboard lunch. Yes we did get a lot of funny looks from the passengers and staff. And yes, my wife did work with Bastard People.

 

My beloved grandmother bought some new outfits for me to take on our trip. My favorite was this green/orange/black flowered shirt. It is so cool and comfortable to wear in a humid climate. My wife hates this shirt and named it the Ugly Shirt. I frequently refer to it as the drunk shirt as there is usually rum somewhere close by if the shirt sees daylight. I have sneaked that shirt into my bags for every vacation, cruise, resort or beach trip for the past quarter century.

 

With kids in high school and some other issues, this is the first vacation we were able to take since my grandmother passed several years ago. We brought the shirt to the Alchemy Bar because it was the most fitting place to honor her memory and the history of the shirt. A couple of raised chocolate drinks to you Baboo.

[billvabeach]

David’s Steakhouse

 

This was not a planned dinner. We had talked about it before the cruise and just didn’t think it was a meal we wanted to spend money on. I am not a big fan of having to pay extra for food on a ship, let alone for 3 people when we have already paid for dining as part of the cruise.

 

Our daughter made friends on board and was going to eat with them in Lido. This was Thursday night after Nassau. We looked at the MDR menu and it was the least appealing that we saw that week. Salmon Cake or Fried Chicken were the top two entrees. Since it was just the two of us we decided to make the reservation. I called David’s around 4pm and they said they had 530, 6 and 630 available. We reserved for 630. The restaurant wasn’t crowded so I was curious why they only offered the early seatings but never thought about it again.

 

David’s is beautiful. The tables are gorgeous. They sat us at a window so we could see Nassau as we left port. The food is amazing and worth every penny of $35 pp. First they brought over a tray of gorgeous cuts of meats, spices and rubs to show what they had. Then the chef’s appetizer on a little tasting plate to start our adventure.

 

We both ordered the lobster bisque. Chunks of lobster. They pour the bisque over the lobster at the table. You could taste the cognac. It was magnificent. I also had the Caesar and the dressing was much better in David’s then in the MDR.

 

My lady love ordered the Lobster Tail and Filet Mignon and I had the 9 oz. Filet Mignon. It was a tough call because the 18oz Cowboy Steak looked REALLY GOOD too. I was delighted with my choice. It was filling without feeling like I over ate and I knew I would not want to do anything else the rest of the night if I tackled that steak. The Bearnaise was excellent. After entrees we had our evenings cheese plate. There were some very adventurous choices on that plate and not all pleased my palate. As much as we wanted the cheese cake, we were just too full. We did have the homemade ice cream which was excellent. We were also delighted when the chef came out to talk to us about our meal.

 

David’s will be on our future cruise menu and now I want to do the Chef’s Table when we return.

[billvabeach]

Thank you for all the kind comments and replies. I hope to add a little more tomorrow.

[Crusin Karen]

What a great review! Thank you! We love spirit class ships and finally sailed Pride last year since there were no ships/itins from our home base of NY and decided to make the almost 4 hour trek to Baltimore. We turned Diamond our last cruise in March and were given David's Steakhouse free and also had lunch with the officers there later in the week and I have to tell you, I am still trying to lose the lbs. I gained there!:eek: We have never eaten there as the MDR is perfect for us, but what a TREAT! Can't wait to read your thoughts about the Pride.

[VALBS]

Thank you for the excellent review. We cannot wait to sail on the Pride in October and David's is something I am really looking forward to.

[BellaSweet]

Thank you for the review.. I sail on Pride in 25 days. I have reservations at David's to celebrate an anniversary and I appreciate your thoughts about it. That bisque is calling my name..and I think I'll pass on the funky cheese too :)

[JaniceB]

Really enjoying the review. Love the Pride and the steakhouse.

[DaisyandMoe010]

Thank you for the review.. I sail on Pride in 25 days. I have reservations at David's to celebrate an anniversary and I appreciate your thoughts about it. That bisque is calling my name..and I think I'll pass on the funky cheese too :)

 

I will be on that sailing with you!!! Are you coming to the meet and greet?

[easyboy]

Enjoying your review.

[johnnied]

Stand out dishes included the Prime Rib, Lobster Tail (or Prime Rib and Lobster Tail and Lobster Tail as ordered by me), Snapper, Seafood Pasta, chocolate melting cake and or daily cheese plate.

 

I'm looking forward to the Spam, Spam, Spam, Lobster Thermidor, Spam myself!

 

Enjoying the review from a fellow Tidewater resident!

[amydresh]

I have a friend that married on your cruise and was very upset about the decision to come back early, sailing right into the storm. I am glad that everyone made it back ok!

[pusywillow]

You have me wishing I could have that steakhouse dinner tonight! Thanks for the great review.

[JMAE]

Thanks for the review. We love the Pride and are going on our sixth Pride cruise in Apr 2017 and I have one question. When we were last on the Pride the Serenity area need some refreshing to the cushions, have they been replaced?

[bakersdozen12]

Sadly, because of our late departure, we were already in the dining room for sail away and missed sailing under the Key Bridge and Bay Bridge. Not a big disappointment but something we had looked forward to.

 

 

I had the same problem on my first cruise. We were sailing out of NOLA and did not sail away until around 7 pm. We were in dinner service at that point. I had been looking forward to starting off the cruise with a mini river cruised own the Mississippi. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Even if we had skipped dinner it was pitch black dark at that point, so we wouldn't have seen anything anyway. Oh well, just means we will have to sail out of NOLA again someday!

 

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to write this! I love reading people's reviews. It helps in-between cruises to be able to live vicariously through other people. [emoji4]

 

 

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[billvabeach]

Thanks for the review. We love the Pride and are going on our sixth Pride cruise in Apr 2017 and I have one question. When we were last on the Pride the Serenity area need some refreshing to the cushions, have they been replaced?

 

I didn't notice any issues with cushions. I just laid out a couple of Serenity towels down and stretched out. They were quite cushioney and I had no problem dozing on them.

 

Sorry for the delay in finish up this review. One of the issues of leaving for a week is all the catch up that needs to be done when you return. Hope to conclude sometime this weekend.

[pusywillow]

I didn't notice any issues with cushions. I just laid out a couple of Serenity towels down and stretched out. They were quite cushioney and I had no problem dozing on them.

 

Sorry for the delay in finish up this review. One of the issues of leaving for a week is all the catch up that needs to be done when you return. Hope to conclude sometime this weekend.

 

I'll be looking forward to reading the rest. I'm down to single digits now!

[Pinkflipflopshortie]

Enjoying the review! Dh and I go on our first cruise on the pride in April, so every and all information is much appreciated! We are GOT fans and we got a good laugh at the wall of faces picture, it really does remind me of that!

Where did you book your hotel through, dh and I are driving from Michigan and are thinking of staying at the best western as well and want to park and stay there.

Thanks again for the review :-)

[pusywillow]

Enjoying the review! Dh and I go on our first cruise on the pride in April, so every and all information is much appreciated! We are GOT fans and we got a good laugh at the wall of faces picture, it really does remind me of that!

Where did you book your hotel through, dh and I are driving from Michigan and are thinking of staying at the best western as well and want to park and stay there.

Thanks again for the review :-)

 

I booked right from their website. Just click on the Baltimore Convention Center for location, then Park and Cruise Package. You can leave your car there for up to 30 days. You can also call the hotel directly to book.