Our family (husband, 8-year-old boy, 13-year-old girl, and myself) all loved our very first cruise aboard the Carnival Pride. We drove to Baltimore, parked at a La Quinta in Glen Burnie (we stayed the night before and would not recommend their park and stay package as we waited much longer than promised to be picked up upon return), and set sail on a cold Sunday afternoon. As soon as we embarked into the ship's main area, I was impressed. The ship is grand, ornately decorated (although it would be better without the Renaissance nudes), and immaculate (sparkling clean everywhere on the ship, including our cabin).
The Pros:
Our Room: Our suite was higher-end quality than I'd expected (granite counter tops, high thread count sheets) but also smaller than expected. The four of us stayed in one room and it contained a lot of storage. The balcony was lovely. There's nothing like sitting out in the quiet of your own balcony, surrounded by the peace and deep blue beauty of the Atlantic Ocean. As for service, our friendly room steward, Luciano, oversaw that our room was clean and our concerns cared for. The few times that we needed to call him he answered the phone and responded immediately. Our cabin was cleaned twice a day.