We live in Northern PA, and Baltimore, MD, is a fantastic alternative to us Northeners who cruise, but do not care for flying. Cruise Baltimore is a fantastic terminal, whose only fault we could find was the lousy sound system. When it came time to embark the ship,we were very hard-pressed to hear what they were saying, which resulted in some massive confusion. As Faster to the Fun holders, (best $60.00 i ever spent) we had Priority Boarding, and most folks just tried to cram their way ahead of us.
The Pride is still a beautiful ship, very clean at all times. It is a little dated, but who cares?! The Staff were all fantastic, and truly went out of their way to make us happy. Food was very good, the MDR is fantastic. I had some wonderful Flat Iron Steak, and Filet Mignon that were very good. Love the Deli, the Pizza place, Chopstix,, and Guys Burgers were GREAT!! Also, the Blueiguana Cantina is superb!!
If I had to find a complaint with the ship, it would be the beds and pillows!! The mattress was too hard, and the pillows were those mushy ones! yuck!
Grand Turk is very beautiful! We simply enjoyed the beach/ocean...
Love, love Half Moon Cay! I have been to many islands in the Bahamas/Carribean, but none as gorgeous as HMC!! sugar soft white sand,and the prettiest water I have ever seen! Carnival outdoes themselves on this island.. fantastic buffet, great activities, etc... just make sure to secure a "clamshell" for shade in the summer!
Disembarked the ship, and just cruised around the shops a bit. The cruise area at Freeport is certainly way better than it was years ago. Found some nice take-home souveneirs, and loved the Harley Davidson shop there.
Baltimore is a great port for the East Coast. Many area hotels offer a "Park & Cruise" package, which is very convenient. We stayed at the O'Donnell st. Best Western the night before embarking the Pride. Nice hotel, great buffet, and wonderful Shuttle service, thanks to KD Elite Transportation.