We have been on many Carnival Cruise Ships. We also have experience with Royal Caribbean. On the Carnival Pride I can say that the staff was great! The staff was pleasant and very helpful. They learned our names fast and addressed us by our names whenever they saw us. Our head waiter was not very good, he was demeaning to the people who worked under him. However his assistants were excellent and we passed that along. I personally did not enjoy the food in the dining room, but it may have just been me, because my husband and the others at our table did not complain.
The Captain did an excellent job of keeping us out of Tropical Storm Ana's path on our way home. Kuddos to him. However, I found the ship to be very rough, in that there always seemed to be a vibrating sensation from the engines. I love Guy Feri, but I did not like the Burger Restaurant named for him. Even though there were many toppings to pick from, they appeared to be greasy. The Cruise Director, Jase, was annoying and tried to be funny. We were disappointed with the shows. We were also disappointed that we had a very limited time on Grand Turk and Freeport. However, Half Moon Cay was one of the best stops ever!! We totally enjoyed that island. I wonder what those little clear fish were that kept swimming around us? Beautiful! The lunch provided was just okay. We got there a little bit late and they were packing up.
I know this was an older ship which was recently refurbished. However, I personally was not wild about the décor and felt that the ship as a whole may not have been renovated, only parts of the ship appeared to be updated. I loved the adult pool/hot tub section. However, the pool seemed extremely small. The only other thing I would say is that my husband and I did not get the same sign and sail cards as Gold Members. We both have cruised the same amount of times. But that was an easy fix. Like I said the staff was great! Will we cruise again with Carnival? Probably, because we go with a group, but I am not opposed to trying different cruise lines.