Carnival Pride Review

better than expected

Review for the Mexican Riviera Cruise on Carnival Pride

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Sail Date: Apr 2008
Traveled with children

This was my first cruise and thus I was very skeptical, especially after having read so many reviews and having such high expectations. I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised by the Pride. I traveled with my husband and two children, my mom and stepdad. The embarkation was just fine- there was a long line but it was very organized and as expected for 2000 people getting on a boat. We did have an incident that was well handled, though. My parents arrived at John Wayne airport and one of their bags did not arrive and would be coming on a later flight. Carnival allowed them to do the VIP check in so they would have time to get back and get the bag. Thus we all made it alright. Our room was very nice with an extended balcony and more spacious than expected with the extra beds made for the 2 children. Our steward Antonio was great and our room was always cleaned twice daily. The eighth floor was nice as the pool was right upstairs. I thought the whole ship was really nice and I also noted cleaning going on all the time! We really enjoyed the Normandie and ate there almost every night. Our waiter Rogelio and assistant Agostini were so nice and so attentive and even had our cappuccinos made every night without asking. Also there was a diet coke sitting on the table every night for my stepdad. The food was mostly good except in the middle of the cruise some things weren't that special. We could always try whatever we wanted and our waiter would have it out in a flash. What amazed me was how they could seat so many people at once and have such great service. We never had to wait at all for our food! The only problem I had with the dining room was the hostess was not that nice and in the morning, she made us wait until our entire party was there which makes no sense since it is open seating! Breakfast was always good and we went to the dining room every day because of the good service and not having to do the buffet thing. We went to David's two nights and thought it was very nice although the portions were just too big and the desserts a little strange. Lobster was great! The lido deck food was fine but we did not go there much for meals. The ice cream was not very good quality although all the kids did not seem to notice! The entertainment was good except the magic guy- he was corny and childish. The dancers were great and both comedians were really pretty funny. Jerome's R rated night was hilarious. The funniest part was seeing all the senior citizens around us laughing! We also really liked Butch our cruise director. He was so nice and very funny and did teach us some line dancing! We wish there were more Lido deck activities, though. For the kids it was nice to have them be able to go and do other stuff and also stay there late into the night! The only problem was they would close at lunch and before dinner so sometimes they could not go when we wanted. The programs seemed to be OK. The biggest complaint I have about the kids is that the waterslide was in the worst location. I had the impression it would go into a pool but was actually located near the adults only pool and the tiny toddler pool and just ended in a chute. So they could not do the regular pool and slide at the same time.

We did our own excursions which were ok: we did a zip line in Puerto Vallarta which was really fun but it was really dry. The guys were very professional and funny. It was called Vista Canopy and was very reasonable for $50. They let my 5 year old on and she did great. The Vallarta adventures may be better but it was $140. each! Otherwise I did not care for Puerto Vallarta. We did a van tour of Mazatlan which was really interesting and a good price but they do take you to their restaurant which was a bit slow and pricey. We did get to go to a resort for awhile too and thus spent the entire day with the van and driver for only $30 each.They are the ones that approach you when you dock. We did Lover's beach in Cabo and it was ok. It was very rough and there were some small jellyfish. The snorkeling was just ok. The tender situation was great- we never had to wait and I even had to go back because I forgot my bathing suit and it only took 30 minutes for the entire round trip. No lines on the way beck either. Debarkation was fine. If you relax and wait anywhere you want on the entire ship instead of crowding around the exit, it's not too bad. Once they called our number, we were off in about 45 minutes. I really did not want it to be over and would cruise again with carnival!

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