Embarkation- Embarkation was well-organized and simple. We arrived, dropped off our luggage, checked in, sat for maybe ten minutes in the waiting area, and then boarded the boat! Just a tip- your Sail and Sign card is your life on the ship... you get it when you check in, and it is attached to your debit/credit card. I would highly recommend getting a lanyard that holds your card in a sleeve so that you have it with you at all times.

Cabin- We were on deck 6, and it was confusing at first to navigate our way around the ship. We wandered around and around on deck 6 until we finally figured out that the odd numbered rooms are all on one side and the even numbered rooms are on the other. Our cabin had a balcony and was much bigger than I expected! It had a couch, a queen bed, and a decent-size bathroom. I also really liked the vanity mirror and seat located in the main room so one person could shower and the other could put on makeup, do hair, etc. The balcony was 100% worth the extra money. It was beautiful, and it gave your own private view of the ocean.

Dining- There are lots of options for what and where to eat on the Pride. Our main dining room was Normandie, and we chose the dining where you could pick when you wanted to go. That worked out great for us because we didn't have to rush if we were in the middle of something. Those with set times got to know their individual waiters and waitresses, which we did not in our dining since we had a different set of servers each night. (They work in teams of three, so you have three different people who wait on you on the Pride). All of the servers were good except for one night when we had a man named Clement who clearly was having difficulty mastering being a waiter. The ironic part was that on two of the nights, the waiters/waitresses break out into a dance, and although Clement didn't do well with being a waiter, he sure got into dancing! He was grinding on an old woman and working the pole! The food itself is varied. There are several "everyday" selections, like steak and chicken, that you can order any time (especially if you don't like the regular menu for that day), but then there are about seven dishes that are on "daily menu." The daily menu has some unusual choices, many of which contain seafood, and this can be a problem if you don't like seafood (which I do not). However, the BEST foods we had were beef stroganoff (delicious) and BMC (bacon mac and cheese with grilled chicken). I also HIGHLY recommend the warm chocolate melting cake dessert, which they have every day as an option. It is AMAZING. I would also HIGHLY recommend trying David's Steakhouse if you have a little extra money you can spend. IT is $39.99 per person, but it is a four-course meal, and it is just delicious and a nice change of pace from the regular dining hall. I got filet mignon and a chocolate taster sampler for dessert... yum. Another option if you don't want to eat in the main dining room is Mermaid's. Mermaid's has a variety of buffet-style foods, like deli, Asian, and pizza. On the Lido deck (deck 9), there is also a grill where you can get burgers, hotdogs, and chicken fingers. (Kids seemed to gravitate toward this and the pizza). Read more