Carnival Pride Review
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We returned yesterday from a great 7 day cruise aboard the Carnival Pride. Everything about the trip from the seemless embarkation process in Tampa on February 22 to the lightning quick disembarkation process March 1 was perfect. We followed their standard itinerary with one sea day followed by a day at Costa Maya, Mexico, the following day in Belize City, Belize, then Roatan, Honduras, then Grand Caymon, then a sea day and then a reluctant return home. We stayed in Stateroom 5265 (more about it later) aft on the starboard side. My partner is a SCUBA diver so she took part in the SCUBA excursions in each of the ports. She disliked Costa Maya diving for several reasons, the main one being that the dive master was overly protective like a new mother watching over a newborn baby. The dive master also rushed everything like she was racing against a time clock. Diving in Roatan was exactly the opposite - Cathy claims these were the two best dives of her life. We are now looking into flying to Roatan for a week of diving next year using Anthony's Key Resort, the Carnival contractor she dove with. For me I refuse to take part in canned excursions like bus trips to Mayan ruins or dolphin encounters etc. Instead I make my own trips to explore at my own pace in areas I want to discover. I'm writing a book about cruising and use these solitary onshore opportunities to talk with locals and other cruisers to gather material for my book. To each his own I guess.
Because I stopped owning and wearing long pants on the day I retired 7 days ago we were not allowed to enter the Normandie Restaurant and because we are both largely vegetarian there was no point in visiting David's Steakhouse. Instead we enjoyed all of our lunches and dinners in the Mermaide Grille on Deck 9. Breakfast was always at the Blue Iguana Cantina, poolside on Deck 9 midship. The only issue we had with the entire cruise was that it ended way too soon but that just leaves more reason to get on another cruise ship ASAP. We will.
Cabin Review
Stateroom 5265 was absolutely everything travelers would or could want in a room at sea. I think way too many people find great joy in complaining about every possible little thing they see or think they see and many times these things are blown completely out of proportion. To those people I suggest that if you want to stay in a 5 star room then stay onshore and experience your vacation in the comfort of a Hilton or a Hyatt or the local J.W. Mormonott. If you are on the ocean then expect the boat to rock and the windows to have a little dew on them in the morning and the restroom to not be large enough to play rugby in. Its a ship, remember!We found Stateroom 5265 more than adequate for our needs. The two twin beds hooked together to make a king bed were extremely comfortable and we slept like babies each night. The room was spacious for a ship with the bed, a couch, a table, a large counter space that was perfect for using a computer to download video from each day's dives. The television was what you'd expect on a cruise ship. The three closets were huge and more than adequate for our needs. Four drawers were available; two large ones and two more narrow ones. There was also additional storage areas and a mini bar that we never used.The restroom was, well, a restroom. Everything you'd ever need to make that part of your journey a comfortable one. The restroom came only with a shower but again we are on a ship and space for everything is limited. If you need a bathtub or a sauna or jacuzzi either stay in a suite or camp out at the local Hilton for a few days.Our stateroom steward Anthony was very attentive and more than pleasant to interact with and that only enhanced the experience staying in 5265. Bottom line from our perspective is that if we ever sail again on the Pride (and now we really want to) we will try our utmost to get assigned to stateroom 5265 or one of its neighbors. We know we will enjoy it immensely and you should also.