Pride 12/5 - 12/11 : Great, Good, and meh. Beautiful ship.

[Don Kehote]

It's late, and I can't sleep, so I'm going to bore myself to slumber with a few notes about this recent cruise.

 

• Most of the staff was perfectly fine.  Pleasant enough, hardworking.
• Some of the staff was exceptional.  Komang, serving drinks on Lido was a standout.  Tanja in the aft coffee bar was my wife's best friend.  There were a couple of people out there mopping up water and cleaning up ashtrays that we specifically pulled aside to cash tip.
• A few of the staff were seemingly annoyed that we were there.  Gentleman in the casino at the cashier's desk (I can't remember his name.  Bald, from South Africa) just didn't want to help.  Wife found someone's room key, and went to turn it in to him. Torquemada started grilling her, so she just walked off and left it with him.
• Chef's Table - superb.  I don't consider this a meal, but an excursion.  The Berkshire pork belly in kimchi wrapper was absolutely mind-blowing.
• Steakhouse - It was a lovely venue, but I think we went on a bad night or something.  Wife's Filet was amazing.  My wagyu steak was largely inedible; there was a large...tendon?...running through it, and I couldn't even cut it let alone eat it.  I had as much as I could, and we called it a night.
• MDR steaks - got the strip steak night one.  It was weird.  Plenty tender and all, and cooked well, but a really strange texture, and it tasted of propane a little bit.  On another night, we both ordered the filet mignon.  Mine was great, but my wife's...we're not sure what it was, but it certainly wasn't filet.  We left before dessert, just a little deflated.
• Bonsai Sushi - best meal of the lot.  I knew we were in for a treat the moment I tasted the miso soup.  Oddly, I'd rather have edamame IN the pods, I learned.
• Mask Enforcement - didn't happen at all.  We were going to see the love and marriage show, but there were so many loud, boisterous drunks parading around without masks, wandering through the aisles hollering to each other that we just left.  I was really disappointed in that.  I mean, there wasn't ANY policing of it.
• Smoking - the casino area wasn't all that bad, I am shocked to report.  There were three areas that I am aware of:  One on deck 3 toward the front (no seats, just an ashcan), Deck 9 by the forward pool starboard, and deck 10 right above.  There were usually places to sit, and people didn't tend to wander away.  After a while, they added ashtrays to the tables aft of the forward pool as well.  Deck 10's ashtrays were up against the outside rail, which seemed kind of a dumb place to put them.
• Speaking of smoking - several people were lighting up without a care while staff were putting out the "HEY DUMMY WE ARE FUELING THE SHIP RIGHT NOW SO DON'T SMOKE SO WE DON'T BLOW UP THANKS" signs and making announcements.  Some of them were lighting up well after that.  Some were lighting up their cigar and/or cigarettes even after being told to put them out repeatedly. I hope you're reading this, you old Wilfred Brimley looking *****.  My WIFE dominated you into putting it out and making you leave the ship before you wanted to.  Real class act there, guy.  Hope you get hit by a meteor.
• On the other hand - We met some supremely fun people, and chatted way, way more than I ever expected to.
• Aft Extended Balcony - we never felt jostling, did get a little rock and roll a couple of times, but this was the smoothest cruise we've ever been on by a long shot.  Vibration was almost non-existent.  I kind of feel a little sad that I didn't take home the motion of the ocean this time.  It was a little hot when in the direct sun, but I was able to sleep just fine in spite of it.
• Aft Balcony on this kind of ship produced the DARKEST dark night I've had on a cruise. Saw a shooting star, and it was so brilliant that I gasped aloud.
• The old, small TV's are still in the rooms, so don't go expecting a big flat screen.  Ours was smaller than my computer monitor at work.
• Did you know that the crescent moon looks different from different latitudes? I do now.  I caught it right as it was setting one evening, and realized that it was about 45 degrees rotated off kilter from what I expect to see at home.  Thought that was neat. It smiled at me like the Cheshire Cat.
• In Cozumel - we stayed on board.
• In Belize - Rendezvous Cay is an actual paradise, and I am glad we actually did the snorkeling.
• In Costa Maya - Maya Chan made me cry manly tears three times.  Perfect day, perfect place, perfect people.

 

We've got the Valor coming up late February, and Magic in early 12/22, so the hook is definitely set now.  It's hard for us (well, me) to get time off, and it's difficult to get to port towns from home, but we're finding ways to make it work.

 

AMA.  I might answer.

 

XOXO - Don Kehote

[mondello]

Sorry to hear of your experience in the Steakhouse. Seems they may be inconsistent compared to the other ships. IntrepidFrom DC Also posted of a subpar meal on Pride a few months ago.

[cyclist_guy1]

3 hours ago, mondello said:

Sorry to hear of your experience in the Steakhouse. Seems they may be inconsistent compared to the other ships. IntrepidFrom DC Also posted of a subpar meal on Pride a few months ago.

in the steakhouse does one have the option of sending back an entrée for another if unhappy?

[Don Kehote]

1 minute ago, cyclist_guy1 said:

in the steakhouse does one have the option of sending back an entrée for another if unhappy?

I'm sure they would have accommodated, but they were having such a bad time, I just let it ride and had some pizza later.  They were very sweet, and I just didn't want to add on to what was clearly a bad night.

 

"Thank you for being nice to me," is a pretty clear sign from a server in fine dining that things ain't well.

[JaniceB]

Thinking of booking Maya Chan can you tell me what made it so perfect?  Looks like the port has a pool just wondering if I should just stay there.  I have never been to this port.

[Cruiseman38]

Thanks you very much for your review.

I am going on the same cruise on Jan 30th.

I will be dining in the Steakhouse one night and have heard multiple complaints about the Waygu steak being very tough and chewy. 

Based on the multiple complaints, I will make sure not to order this steak when we go.

 

Again, thank you very much for the review.

 

 

[cyclist_guy1]

2 hours ago, Don Kehote said:

I'm sure they would have accommodated, but they were having such a bad time, I just let it ride and had some pizza later.  They were very sweet, and I just didn't want to add on to what was clearly a bad night.

 

"Thank you for being nice to me," is a pretty clear sign from a server in fine dining that things ain't well.

you know im on the fence with this one. i think it was very nice of you to understand that your service was having a bad time or a bad day but you are paying additional to have a nice dinner. if you arent happy with an entrée i think it would have been perfectly fine and expected to politely ask for another one or even a different entrée. certainly your choice but we're paying extra to eat nice in the steakhouse.

[groundloop]

We're on Pride right now in the Panama Canal, and were on her for Thanksgiving.  I too noticed that there was little or no masking enforcement in the shows.  Some people walk in with no mask, totally ignore the announcements to mask up, and obviously believe rules don't apply to them.   You'd think Carnival would be a bit more proactive about this.  

 

 

[amyh13]

Oooo tell me all about the Panama Canal sailing.  We go in April.

[mondello]

6 hours ago, cyclist_guy1 said:

in the steakhouse does one have the option of sending back an entrée for another if unhappy?

Yes, always an option. Some guests don't want to wait for another dinner to be prepared. Myself, it has to be pretty bad for me to complain. Guest Services will often remove a charge with a valid complaint. Your waiter most likely would offer to take it back upon any complaint. 

[peteandpris]

Great review thank you.

 

[Don Kehote]

8 hours ago, JaniceB said:

Thinking of booking Maya Chan can you tell me what made it so perfect?  Looks like the port has a pool just wondering if I should just stay there.  I have never been to this port.

We've never been treated like Royalty before.  That was as close as it gets for us.  The drinks were far and away better than any I had anywhere else on our trip.  The pork tacos were incredible, I'm starting to look for the incredients to make "Cochinita Pibil" at home.  Staff were wonderful and kind and unfailingly friendly.  

 

I expanded a little on Maya Chan elsewhere, link here

[2Shoes2Go]

We were on the same cruise with y’all. We went to the David’s Steakhouse on the first night. DH didn’t order the Wagyu; been disappointed before with it;  also inedible. We had Budi, as our waiter and the experience and food were excellent. One of our best. Strange how it varies. We really like Pride. There was a problem with funny smokes on balconies near ours. Thank you for sharing. 

[Don Kehote]

7 hours ago, cyclist_guy1 said:

you know im on the fence with this one. i think it was very nice of you to understand that your service was having a bad time or a bad day but you are paying additional to have a nice dinner. if you arent happy with an entrée i think it would have been perfectly fine and expected to politely ask for another one or even a different entrée. certainly your choice but we're paying extra to eat nice in the steakhouse.

I fully admit to considering it.  I think that by the time I got to it, I just was so blah about it that I just really wanted to go change clothes and reset the evening with a few cocktails.

[Don Kehote]

4 hours ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

Based on the too many to count reviews and threads over the years here, and on my one time on the Panorama, that all sounds about par for the course.  Are you a seasoned Carnival cruiser and if so, was this really unusual for you?

Me?  That was only my fifth cruise ever.  I can't speak to it being unusual because I've never cruised post-quarantine.  First time seeing people smoke during return refueling because I've always been off the boat early.  FIrst time doing anything in the casino, as well.  

Don't get me wrong; we still rate this as the #2 in the admittedly small sample size.

[groundloop]

6 hours ago, amyh13 said:

Oooo tell me all about the Panama Canal sailing.  We go in April.

 

Seeing the canal was great, I was out on deck nearly the entire day and moved around the ship to get views from various vantage points. I was impressed with how well kept the entire area around the canal is.  Sure, the concrete is over 100 years old, and some of the equipment looks well used, but all of the grounds were well maintained and they were in the process of painting some buildings and doing maintenance on one small area of concrete.  

 

Also, there was a local 'guide' on board doing a talk on the ship's PA system about the building of the canal, some of the operational information, etc.  

 

The ship sails through the first set of locks into Gatun Lake, then turns around and sails back out.  The entire process took 8 or 10 hours.  Last night I heard that we'd be getting into the canal around 11 AM, and when I woke up at 6:15 this morning we were already coming into the entrance to the harbor so we were among the first people out on deck to watch.

 

[WhiteOptima]

9 hours ago, groundloop said:

We're on Pride right now in the Panama Canal, and were on her for Thanksgiving.  I too noticed that there was little or no masking enforcement in the shows.  Some people walk in with no mask, totally ignore the announcements to mask up, and obviously believe rules don't apply to them.   You'd think Carnival would be a bit more proactive about this.  

 

 

I am shocked because we did the 14 day and it was constant reminder about wearing the mask in shows.  Wonder what changed.

[groundloop]

1 hour ago, WhiteOptima said:

I am shocked because we did the 14 day and it was constant reminder about wearing the mask in shows.  Wonder what changed.

Oh, there are reminders, but a lot of people have figured out that nothing will happen if they just ignore the rules.

[Don Kehote]

13 hours ago, groundloop said:

Oh, there are reminders, but a lot of people have figured out that nothing will happen if they just ignore the rules.

Perfectly true.  But don't you dare vape in your cabin.

[gemduncan]

I didn’t know Pride ship has the Bonsai Sushi restaurant. I’m excited to hear this! I’m going to be on Pride out of Tampa on January 16th: 

[mterefenko]

Helpful review, thank you!  We're on the same cruise leaving 1/30/22.  Can you tell me the actual excusion name for Maya Chan?  Nothing finding it and having booked anything for Costa Maya yet.  Thanks much 🙂

[Don Kehote]

4 hours ago, gemduncan said:

I didn’t know Pride ship has the Bonsai Sushi restaurant. I’m excited to hear this! I’m going to be on Pride out of Tampa on January 16th: 

It was super good.  Totally not busy the night we went.  We walked up, sat down at the counter, and were pleasantly surprised.  The sashimi were no joke, nice big pieces.

[Don Kehote]

3 hours ago, mterefenko said:

Helpful review, thank you!  We're on the same cruise leaving 1/30/22.  Can you tell me the actual excusion name for Maya Chan?  Nothing finding it and having booked anything for Costa Maya yet.  Thanks much 🙂

Hi, this is a non-carnival excursion. Maya Chan arranged everything, all we had to do was find our way out of the port and walk about 200 yards up the street.  They arrange transportation both ways, and are pretty darn serious about making sure you're back in time.

[let's go cruising]

Can anyone tell me where the Pizza Pirate and Coffee Bar are on the Pride? We've never been on this class of ship. 

 

Thanks!

[htkodiak]

We will be sailing on the Pride at the end of March , the smoking really aggravates me when people ignore the rules especially concerning safety.We just got of the Mardi Gras and on an elevator everyone was masked up but one guy.He said "I don't need a mask because everyone else has one". When did disregarding rules become OK.The Wagyu beef they serve in the steak house is top sirloin, a poor cut IMHO.