This is a review/comparison of our just-concluded 7-night cruise on Carnival Pride sailing from Baltimore on May 23, 2009. We are in our early 50's; Marlee is somewhat mobility-limited due to MS but has thus far avoided a wheelchair or scooter except for long distances. This was our 12th cruise; most of our time at sea has been spent on the "premium" lines Celebrity and Holland America, with a few days on Princess and Regent thrown in for good measure. This was our first cruise in the non-premium part of the mass market, although we plan to be on Royal Caribbean in October.I will cut right to the chase and state conclusions up front: We will cruise Carnival again. Of all the lines we have experienced thus far, Carnival is by far the best in terms of articulating a clear, easily understandable vision ("fun ships") and then successfully executing to that vision across the entire product. On competing lines the vision is less clear, thus the quality of execution is more difficult to evaluate. On Carnival, those components of a cruise that directly contribute to fun receive the most attention; other aspects of the cruise experience are not emphasized to the same extent.A Carnival cruise is great for those interested in having a fun, relaxing, laid back, and casual experience. Those who are concerned about dress codes, thread counts of the sheets, padding on loungers, formal place settings, impeccable service, pillow-top mattresses, an extensive wine list, and an overall atmosphere of sophistication to the point that they cannot have a good cruise without these things would be better served by Holland America, Celebrity, or one of the luxury lines. Carnival is not for you.Carnival is all about a state of mind - having fun. Unfortunately, most reviews (including this one) cannot easily capture anything that intangible, focusing instead on individual details. Thus, parts of what follows may seem unduly critical of Carnival. Per my comments above, please understand that that in this case the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Check your critical nature at the gangway, kick back, and just enjoy the "fun ship" vibe. Plenty of time for fine dining, fine wines, and fancy clothes on your next cruise! Come as you are, come to have fun, and c'mon aboard!Embarkation: We drove from our home in Ohio and arrived at the port at 11:45. The port is located a short distance from an I-95 interchange, the entrance is well marked. Drivers make one circuit of the lot to drop off baggage and then a second circuit to park. Parking is $15.00 per day, payable in advance. Check-in was very smooth with no surprises. The ship does not arrive at Baltimore until 9:30. This pushes embarkation back a few hours; it does not begin until sometime after 1:00-1:30. Due to Marlee's reduced mobility we boarded on A-Deck instead of using the main gangway to 2-Deck. This was a great arrangement; I have seen this done on other lines but only with a very few individuals who were severely disabled. It was very helpful to have the opportunity extended to us and to others who are not confined to a wheelchair full time.The cabins were ready around 2:45 and our luggage was delivered before 3:15, in record time. The safe was left closed by the previous occupant. Although we waited on hold for over 10 minutes to reach guest relations, once we got through someone was at our cabin door to reset it within five minutes. Most impressive.Pride is a visually arresting ship inside, with an Italianate Renaissance styled atrium that rises from the main lobby on 2-Deck all the way to David's Supper Club on 10-Deck. The atrium is capped by a red-tinted skylight that extends from the base of the funnel. An Italian-Renaissance theme pervades much of the ship, dominating Decks 2 and 3 and visible in portions of the lido and pool area as well. The placement of and approach toward much of the dEcor suggests that the designers did not intend their approach to be taken too seriously, contributing to the "fun ship" ambiance.As others have noted, some of the Renaissance art that is reproduced on the ship includes nudes. Neither of us found this the least bit distasteful, but those who could be concerned or offended by such should choose another ship.Dress on Carnival is among the most casual of the cruise lines, a plus in this era of airline fees for each checked bag and additional fees for "overweight" bags. Shorts are permitted at dinner in the MDR every night except the two "elegant" nights. Even on elegant nights there were almost no tuxes and gowns. Many of the men wore sport jackets or suits with a good percentage of ties. Women tended toward cocktail dresses or dressier separates. The most common outfit for the younger women (those with the figures to carry it off at least) was some variation on the little black dress. We were easily able to fit everything into one large bag, with jewelry and toiletries in a carry-on. Since Carnival has laundry rooms available ($2.00 for the washer, another $2.00 for the dryer), one bag would still be enough for us even if we booked a B2B (we normally prefer cruises of 10-15 days and Carnival does not offer many of these, leaving a B2B as the only option).Pride is a mid-sized ship by today's standards, approximately the same size and layout as Holland America's Vista-class, though with about 12% more passenger carry. We had a diverse passenger group on this cruise. Lots of young couples. Many families with children, particularly younger (age 10 and under) children. A sizable number of pax in their 40's, 50's, and early 60's. Younger singles were certainly represented but perhaps in smaller numbers than Carnival's freewheeling past might suggest. Compared to nearly all our previous cruises there were far fewer folks age 65+. From a socio-economic perspective this was very much a beer, pretzels, and parasol drink crowd as opposed to a wine, cheese, and cognac crowd.Cabins: We booked a standard wake-view balcony cabin (category 8I) on 4-Deck. From a functionality standpoint this was one of the best standard cabins we have ever been in, although at 185 square feet (plus a balcony of about 65 square feet) it is average or slightly below average in size.Carnival's designers made the most of the available space. Storage space was excellent. There were three standard sized closet sections, one with four shelves, the others for hanging clothes. There were 26 theft-resistant hangers available, although surprisingly there were no skirt hangers. There were five drawers available in the desk unit (one partially consumed by a hair dryer), a somewhat shallow cabinet near the end of the bed, and more storage inside the night tables. The safe is located under the TV rather than tying up part of a shelf in the closet. It is also near eye-level, a plus. A credit card is required to lock and unlock the safe, an inconvenience compared to a combination format. Luggage fits easily under the bed. Lighting was among the best we've had on any ship, and (also unlike other ships) all of it was in working order.The bed was comfortable but not luxurious. There is no foundation, simply a mattress on a metal platform. It was comfortable enough and we slept well. The covering was a duvet over both top and bottom sheets, with four pillows. There is enough space between the end of the bed and the cabin wall to walk past the bed without turning sideways. This is not the case on some other lines, even when the cabins are billed as having greater square footage. The balcony had one full lounger, two chairs, and a small table.The bathroom, though not large, was also extremely well designed. There were six shelves mounted above the counter (next to the mirror), which is more space then we have had on any ship except Regent's. Even our Princess mini-suite had less storage in the bathroom itself. The counter-top itself was also larger than average, providing even more space for bathroom items. This more than compensated for the lack of any storage under the counter. Given the choice, storage on and over the counter top is more accessible and convenient than under-counter space. The shower was not large, but was designed to accommodate folks up to about 6'4" height. It looked as if it could handle those of larger than average width as well. The shower head was detachable from the wall to allow to easier washing and rinsing of those hard to reach areas. Body wash and shampoo are provided but neither produced much lather; we will bring our own on future Carnival cruises.One last item worth mentioning: Soundproofing was excellent. Cabins at the stern tend to be quieter than most to begin with, which is one reason we prefer them. But the soundproofing in this cabin was so good that we could barely hear the PA announcements coming over the speakers in the corridor. By far the least noise of any line we have been aboard thus far. The price for this was that the cabin door was heavy; Marlee referred to it as "the airlock". The elderly or infirm might have some difficulty getting it open.Overall this was the most practical, user-friendly standard cabin we have ever been in and a strong plus for the line. For us, practicality will top glitz every time.Food: The headline is that except for the Supper Club, food is not one of Carnival's strongest points. Though perfectly adequate, most meals were generally neither gourmet nor particularly exciting. It appears that Carnival's affiliation with Georges Blanc has ended. IMO, although it may not perfectly fit the fun ship vision, the line would do well to seek another affiliation with an accomplished chef. There was little effort to mix interesting flavors and/or textures; little thought seemed to be given to selecting side dishes to accompany each entrEe. In fact, on one night of the cruise green beans were an accompaniment to every single entrEe other than the pasta dish. Pasta was cooked past the point of being al dente, but the ingredients and flavors in the pasta dishes were good. Don't take this the wrong way - food quality was good and everything tasted fine. There was also a Veal Parmesan that we both enjoyed, the lamb chops were good, and the prime rib was decent. But just as the cabin design was very good, the menu design was lackluster. Wine selections were fine but there was not much unusual or exciting on the list. Wine prices were a bit higher than I expected but not egregiously so.There were some worthwhile exceptions. We enjoyed the desserts more on Carnival than on other cruise lines. The salad bar on the lido had an excellent selection of accoutrements and dressings - as good as Celebrity's and far better than Holland America's. Burgers were good, as were some of the selections at the lido Deli (although the Reuben is overrated, IMO).Then there is the Supper Club ("David's" on the Pride). This is predominantly a steakhouse and, within that genre, is everything that the MDR is not. There are gourmet appetizers such as Beef Carpaccio (excellent) and there are fine wines. The steaks are USDA Prime and are as good or better than anything you can bring home from Whole Foods. Tender and flavorful. For those seeking something other than steak there is also sole, lobster tail, and rack of lamb. For those who appreciate a good steak in a more elegant atmosphere the $30 charge (plus gratuity) is well worth it. A far better experience than, say, the Pinnacle Grills on Holland America ships.The lido has trays, a big plus. I understand why most of lines have eliminated trays from their lidos, but there is no doubt that it creates an inconvenience for guests - a major inconvenience when one's spouse is mobility-limited and one is gathering two meals instead of one. Although it seems crazy to choose cruises based on such seemingly small details, now that most lines have (or will soon have) some version of open dining, I can start looking at these smaller details when choosing a cruise line. I definitely will give at least some preference to those lines that still have trays in their lidos when choosing future cruises.In contrast to much of the food, the mixed drinks on Carnival are great. We ordered Margaritas on one of the early days of the cruise. When I received the bill for two "Signature Margaritas" I was initially concerned by the high price - $9.50 each. Then we tasted the drinks. Ole! These Margaritas were made with a good, stiff pour of reposado tequila, unlike the Celebrity and HAL versions where someone may have placed a tequila bottle somewhere in the general vicinity of the location at which the (alleged) drink was mixed. Measured by the amount of tequila, $9.50 is a bargain compared to those other cruise lines. It tasted wonderful too. Highly recommended, but be careful if you feel your alcohol easily.Service: Mixed. Our cabin stewards were great. On the first day of the cruise we asked them to make up our room early in their shift and they always did so. We also received ice both in the morning and at turn-down. Dining room service varied. We had open dining, which we love. On most nights we requested a table with the same serving team who had waited on us the first night and this was usually not a problem for the staff. When there were fewer people in the section, service was good. When the section was full, as it was most nights, service was a bit slow and pacing was a bit uneven. I suspect that service teams may need to cover more tables than has been the case in the past, which contributed to the issue.Surprisingly, bar servers were hard to find on occasion, both on the pool deck and in the lower deck lounges. This struck me as odd, since one would think that maximizing bar revenue is a priority for the cruise lines. On a few occasions I ended up going to the bar myself rather than continuing to wait for a server. Some will no doubt find a less aggressive bar staff a plus; I would have preferred them to be a bit easier to find than they were.Those responsible for cleaning tables in the lido and around the pool were much slower than their counterparts on other lines. In the MDR we also noticed that Assistant Maitre' Ds did not pitch in to help when things got hectic. On a Westerdam cruise last October even the Dining Room Manager was carrying plates and cleaning tables during peak periods. That attention to detail was lacking on Carnival.Entertainment: One huge plus and one huge negative. The plus is that there is live music all over the ship, which is very important to us. On sea days, live music starts on the pool deck at 11 AM and is nearly continuous at one or more venues until late at night. On port days live music begins at sail-away and continues through the evening (and beyond). There are at least 5-6 different acts to choose from, though not all play every night.The significant negative is the incredibly high volume level in the main theater and the cabaret lounge, which is located immediately below the theater on Spirit-class ships. The decibel level literally drove us away. Too bad, as the combo in the cabaret was playing standards such as "Mack the Knife" which is from an era we enjoy. Some have suggested ear plugs, but then we can't talk to each other or those around us. This must be one of the (relatively few) holdovers from Carnival's party-boat days. Perhaps management will eventually recognize that fewer decibels will not lessen the entertainment value of the act.Odds and ends: Information on the ports is very abbreviated (except for shopping opportunities). I suggest researching your options ashore before you embark.The television in the cabin automatically mutes itself when there is a PA announcement, but I was unable to find a TV channel that broadcast the announcement inside the cabin.There is no future cruise desk. IMO this is extremely odd, as this is a productive source of future revenue. I wonder what the strategy is here? This is the only line we've seen with no future cruise sales desk.Guest services personnel are less well informed than aboard some other ships on which we've sailed.The selection of TV stations is better than on most other cruise lines and includes CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox. Strangely, all of these networks were carried by way of their Denver affiliates. This means that programs started two hours later than the norm for eastern time. And we got the local news for the Denver area. Guess I didn't know that Denver was so near the ocean!English is a challenge for some members of the service staff. This was especially noticeable for us, due to 28 fairly recent nights on Holland America. HAL's service crew, all Indonesian and Filipino, are required to complete fairly extensive training, including English proficiency, before ever boarding a HAL ship. Clearly, this level of training does not exist on Carnival.Disembarkation: We docked at Baltimore at almost exactly 9:30 Saturday morning. Because Marlee is able to walk short distances we were able to utilize "self-assist debarkation" where you carry all your own luggage off the ship. Those confined to wheelchairs need to wait for regular debarkation to begin. Self-assist began shortly before 10 AM; our deck was the third one called. We were off the ship and through customs by 10:30, just an hour after the ship tied up.Conclusion: We will cruise Carnival again. Enthusiastically. The laid back, casual vibe (and dress code); high availability of live music; trays in the lido; well designed, quiet cabins; and especially, THOSE WONDERFUL MARGARITAS, more than make up for mild disappointments with the food and service. Not everyone is willing or able to "go with the flow" (my mother-in-law, for example). But if you are one of those who can kick back, hang loose, and just enjoy, you will like this line despite a few shortcomings. And the price makes it easy on the wallet, too.