This was the first time I sailed with Carnival, having always used Royal Caribbean. Carnival offered a great deal so we jumped on it, despite their recent run of bad luck. Our agent took care of everything and answered all our questions before we even asked them. We left from the Port of Baltimore which was a first. Only an hour drive from where we live, it was very convenient not having to deal with airlines. The process of getting through the terminal was very easy and very fast. We checked our luggage into the terminal so we didn't have to lug it around. We all had carry ons but didn't want to deal with the big stuff. Everything was to be delivered to our cabins. Because we boarded the Pride a little early, we were immediately ushered up to the 9th deck for a buffet lunch. It was a little congested because so many were up there to eat but most people had all their luggage with them, those items not checked. Seating was sparse because no one wanted to go to other areas to eat and carry their food trays AND their luggage.

Once that was over, we went to our rooms and awaited the arrival of our luggage. It all came fairly quickly. We spent most of the first few hours exploring. In my group, it was my husband and myself. Also my 15 year old daughter, 18 year old daughter and 20 year old daughter's boyfriend. We spent several hours checking things out. There's a lot to check out. The ship was nice but the decor seemed a little outdated. Very clean. While in the dining areas on deck 9, the wait staff are quick to remove your unwanted items. The rooms were nice. Both were rooms with balconies. One extended. One not. We originally had two obstructed view balcony rooms but when we added our fifth person later, we had to move cabins. Only a few apart though. The extended balcony was nice. One bad thing about having a balcony. If you are a smoker - it is ideal. If you are a non-smoker, it was NOT ideal. As much as I loved my balcony, I only got to use it for about 15 minutes during the entire trip. Because you cannot smoke in the cabin itself, you may smoke out on your balcony. It seemed like everyone around me did just that. Every time I went out to enjoy the view and some fresh air, someone always went out to smoke so it was right back inside. A nice perk for smokers. A big let down for me. The cabins were very clean. The room steward was great at keeping it that way. In the mornings when we would leave for breakfast, he managed to slip in, make the bed, clean the bathroom and get out unnoticed. He always returned later in the day as well to turn down the bed. Always made sure we had clean anything if we needed it. It was always fun to return at night to find out what kind of animal he made using various towels. He certainly respected privacy as well.

The activities on board were endless. However, not every activity is for everyone. Having a varied age group, we managed to always find something to keep us occupied. Often times, we split up so we could all do what we wanted to do. The bad thing was getting back in touch with those in your group. Either make sure you decide to meet at a specific place at a specific time (make sure everyone has a watch) or invest in a set of walkie-talkies. We chose to turn off our cell phones to avoid international roaming charges. We occasionally did lose each other but always managed to meet up. There are activities stemming from various forms of trivia to Bingo to karaoke to ice sculpture demonstration. There was a hairy chest contest out by one of the pool decks which was a little bizarre. These were men whose wives clearly prodded them into participating and when it came time for them to "perform" in front of everyone and show off their hairy beastness, most were shy and had no idea how to work the crowd. One man had to be reminded that it was a family cruise and pulling down his swim trunks was ill advised. Also, there were guys up there with no hair on their chests who made it to the second round so I had a hard time figuring out the selection process. I quickly moved on. Read more