Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 #1 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Ahoy Everyone!!! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Jeff “Jamman54” Maskall, and along with my wife Patti, have just returned from a seven day cruise to beautiful Bermuda. Sailing along with us this cruise were our good CC friends Jim and Pat. It was great to sail with you again, and hope we can do it again in the near future! We hadn’t been to Bermuda for a while, and for Jim and Pat, it would be their first time there. This was a special cruise for both Patti and I. Patti would officially become a Diamond member, and for me, this would be my 50th Carnival cruise. Patti, as usual, takes most of the photos you will see here, and she took well over a thousand shots during our week aboard the Pride. For those that are wondering, our go to camera is the Canon PowerShot XS710 HS, and our water camera is the Fuji FinePix XP60. Though this review won’t be as long as our recent month long adventures, I invite you to come along for the ride with us once again. Cruises to Bermuda on Carnival are very infrequent, so sit back, relax, grab yourself a DOD, and enjoy!!! Normally, when we cruise from Baltimore we will drive down the day of the cruise since it is less than a three hour drive for us. But this time Patti wanted to drive down the day before and spend the day at the Inner Harbor. Jim and Pat would be flying up from Tampa a few days early and touring Washington DC. We would all be staying at the Best Western in Elkridge. Saturday October 20th finally arrives. It is raining here in New Jersey, but it is supposed to clear up as the day goes by. Shortly before we were to leave I get a text from Jim and Pat asking us if we knew about the Baltimore Marathon. We had no clue that was going on there today, and a little research revealed that the finish line was at the Inner Harbor. That meant there was no way we would be going anywhere near there today. No matter, so at 9:45am Ryan took this shot of Patti and I preparing to leave for Baltimore….. Soon we were heading south on the New Jersey Turnpike…… Here we are about to cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge….. Welcome to Maryland, and yes we stopped at Maryland House. ….. We are heading into the tunnel. Welcome to Baltimore….. Once out of the tunnel the Maryland Cruise Terminal is on the left. The Grandeur of the Seas is in port embarking guests for a five day Bermuda cruise….. To be continued…… Edited November 4, 2018 by Jamman54 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heffy2 Posted November 4, 2018 #2 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Woohoo! Can't wait to ready more! Thanks for taking the time to do this again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) We have arrived at the Best Western in Elkridge, Maryland……. Our room wasn’t ready yet so Patti went shopping at a nearby mall, while I went across the hotel parking lot to the Stained Glass Pub for a few beers….. A couple of hours later we were given our room. The rooms here are really comfortable. Here are a few pictures…… Once Jim and Pat got back from Washington DC, we got together for dinner over at the Stained Glass Pub. Afterwards, we all went back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep. We would be boarding the Carnival Pride tomorrow! To be continued….. Edited November 4, 2018 by Jamman54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #4 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Embarkation Day - 10/21/18. We were up at 7am to get ready for the day. We met Jim and Pat down in the lobby for breakfast. The Best Western has a great free buffet breakfast which includes some hot foods such as eggs, sausage, bacon, and do it yourself waffles. Of course they have the usual breads, fruits, cereals, juice, coffee, and everything else to get a good start on the day. The lobby was packed since the hotel had sold out last night. In addition to the many cruisers who were staying here, there were also a few convention groups. We went back to the room to finish our packing for the cruise, and around 10:30am we checked out. The Best Western Elkridge provides free parking for the duration of your cruise, and will shuttle you back and forth to the pier, also for free. We decided to park our van at the pier and invited Jim and Pat to join us. Though we have used the shuttle service from here before with no problems, when the cruise is over I prefer to be able to just get into the car and go, and not wait for the shuttle to arrive. So around 10:45am we left the Best Western for the pier. It is only a fifteen minute drive from there, and soon we were seeing our first glimpses of the Carnival Pride at the Maryland Cruise Terminal….. As we pulled into the parking lot I was amazed that there were no lines of cars at all. We were directed to the back of the lot near the ship where we would stop and hand our luggage over to the porters, who then stored it in airline type rolling luggage containers….. We were then directed to the lines to pay for parking. There were three lines, one for cash and two for credit card. The cost for this cruise was $15/day, or $105 for the cruise. Once paid, we were able to park wherever we wanted to. Once parked, we grabbed our carry-on bags and made our way to the terminal which was only a very short walk away. There were two entrances, one for “Priority”, and one for everyone else. They were not letting anyone into the terminal yet. We waited about ten minutes, and around 11:15am they opened the doors. Going through security and checking in was a breeze, and soon we were in the priority lounge waiting for boarding to begin. Just a note that here in Baltimore you still get your Sail & Sign cards when you check in. At 12:15pm they began boarding the ship, and they did it by order of priority. Starting with Diamonds, Platinums, suites, FTTF, and then by general boarding. Great job Baltimore! Here are Patti and I as we prepare to board the Carnival Pride for the 5th time….. To be continued….. Edited November 4, 2018 by Jamman54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Here are today’s Fun Times….. It’s going to be a #Frightfully Fun cruise!!! We were going to head to our cabin, and afterwards we would meet Jim and Pat at the Red Frog Rum Bar. To be continued…… Edited November 4, 2018 by Jamman54 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillyFan33579 Posted November 4, 2018 #6 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Enjoy reading your reviews. Love your line about you went out for a few beers while your wife went shopping. I would do the same thing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Our cabin was ready when we got there. We were in cabin # 7280 which was near the aft elevators on the port side….. Our comfy bed….. To be continued…… Edited November 4, 2018 by Jamman54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #8 Share Posted November 4, 2018 We are always happy to have a couch to pile things up on ….. The cabin had a swipe type safe and a mini fridge….. Plenty of closet space….. The typical Carnival bathroom….. Our balcony….. To be continued….. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusin Karen Posted November 4, 2018 #9 Share Posted November 4, 2018 YAY YAY YAY!!!! Been waiting for this review since the day after you booked the cruise! Driving to Baltimore from NJ, staying at the BW, going to Stained Glass Pub, boarding the Pride...been there, done that and I am right there with you, except I WASN'T....again! One of these days....looking forward to reading a whole lot more and seeing a whole lot more pictures! 👏🤩 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aztekpm Posted November 4, 2018 #10 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) So glad you've decided to continue to do reviews for all us! The Pride to Bermuda is still my favourite cruise and am happy to relive it thru you and Patty. Edited November 4, 2018 by aztekpm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrsosci Posted November 4, 2018 #11 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Glad you had a great cruise. We have stayed at Best Western and eaten at the pub numerous times. They have great transport service even in winter blizzards. A few years ago the driver had to help us find our car because snow had covered it. He also shoveled us out. Anyone making plans for this trip yet? Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pghsteelerfan Posted November 4, 2018 #12 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Yay!!! I've been looking forward to this one, so you know I'll be following along... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SenatorsFan Posted November 4, 2018 #13 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Hi Jeff, I'm so glad to have another wonderful picture review from you and Patti to look forward to! Bermuda is definitely on my bucket list. Heather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webecruzen Posted November 4, 2018 #14 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Yeah! We get to relive our wonderful Pride cruise with us and Patti. Hope all is well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessieirene Posted November 4, 2018 #15 Share Posted November 4, 2018 This is one of the best and most detailed reviews I have seen yet. Can’t wait to read more. My first cruise is in January on the Pride. I can’t wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nybumpkin Posted November 4, 2018 #16 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Hi Jeff! I'm so glad to see a review from you again. Looking forward to your visit to Bermuda! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeDe63 Posted November 4, 2018 #17 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Can't wait for more!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #18 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Thank you so much to everyone who has posted so far! You knew if there was some way to get this done I would be doing it. Thank you all for coming along for the ride yet again. It's great to be home with all my "peeps"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMQueenie Posted November 4, 2018 #19 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Can't wait for more! We're on the Pride for the first time in 2 weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #20 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Here is some Good to Know information for those who want to know…. Here is the room service menu….. Here is the room service breakfast door hanger….. To be continued….. Edited November 4, 2018 by Jamman54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCCruiser1013 Posted November 4, 2018 #21 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Hi Jeff! Glad to see another one of your top-notch reviews is underway. You may recall that before our Sunshine cruise last summer, Ashley and I did the official "Jamman" tour of Somerset, New Jersey. Looks like you did a scaled-down version of a "DCCruiser" tour of Maryland. My half-sister lives about a half-mile from that Best Western in Elkridge. We have started leaving our car at her house when we go on the Pride (or fly anywhere out of BWI). About a month ago we visited her to help move some furniture, and we went to the Stained Glass Pub for dinner that night! Looking forward to seeing the rest of your review, as "frequenters" of the Pride we've always been curious about Bermuda so this may help us decide whether to pull the trigger for a future cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #22 Share Posted November 4, 2018 We made our way up to the Lido Deck to meet up with Jim and Pat. We were shocked to see that the retractable roof over the Venus Pool was not closed. It was only in the 50’s outside and quite chilly….. This is the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar…… We went over to the Red Frog Rum Bar where we had our first Thirsty Frog’s of the cruise. Here are Pat, Jim, and I……. Jeff and Patti….. Patti left us to explore and photograph the ship. She likes to do this before it gets to crowded. Her first stop was Guy’s Burgers. I think I only had one the whole cruise….. Here is the Toppings Bar….. To be continued……. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 4, 2018 Author #23 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Next she went into the Mermaid’s Grille and stopped at Chopstick’s, the Asian place onboard the Pride. We ate lunch here a few times….. Looking down the Atrium to the Lobby floor from up on the Lido Deck which is Deck 9….. To be continued….. Edited November 4, 2018 by Jamman54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 5, 2018 Author #24 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Looking up the glass staircase to David’s Steakhouse…… Here are some pictures from David’s Steakhouse. The four of us will be eating here on Friday….. To be continued…… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jamman54 Posted November 5, 2018 Author #25 Share Posted November 5, 2018 This is the view outside of David’s Steakhouse on Deck 10….. Patti is looking up at the funnel….. Patti makes her way aft on Deck 10 to the Water Works. This is the Twister Slide….. This is the Splash Zone….. This is the Green Thunder Slide….. Patti spots our van in the parking lot….. To be continued…… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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