BACKGROUND: My husband and I booked this cruise like most Northeast residents to get out of the snow. March is also our anniversary month. We are experienced travelers/cruisers on RC, NCL, Celebrity, and this was our second Carnival cruise. In 2012 we first cruised with Carnival on Miracle out of NYC. I was pleasantly surprised with my first Carnival cruise – service, ship, and food – so that gave me some confidence that booking the Pride was the way to go. The price was flat out hard to say no to – under $1500 for the both of us in a balcony room compared to my parents who booked RC’s Explorer of the Seas in May out of NYC and were paying over $1800 per person. Yes, May is warmer, but I was willing to forego the weather to get away with such a great price.

After all the drama with Explorer on the news, my parents decided to cancel their May trip and book with us on the Pride. Carnival was more than accommodating with the arrangements – the reps I talked to on the phone were helpful and put us in rooms next to each other less than two months before sailing. My parents were also able to get the same rate as us, but they paid a little more in taxes/port charges. Score to Carnival for the great service for their phone reps!

PRE-CRUISE: We’ve only driven through Baltimore, never stayed – so we decided to stay in Baltimore the night before and park our car at the port. I got a great deal at the Courtyard Marriott on Aliceanna Street on Travelocity for $117 + $25 for one day of parking at the hotel. The drive from Philly was an easy hour and a half drive – uneventful. We navigated Baltimore with our GPS, but the Inner Harbor is not difficult to drive around in. Read more