Stateroom 6A, Sept 27th, Carnival Pride Sunday, 27th: Arrived at the pier at 2:10. Wonderfully efficient process for baggage and entry. By 3pm we were gallivanting on board the ship, checking things out. Since the first night is open seating for the evening meal, we reserved a table at "Davids". $30/person for any entre. This turned out to be a great decision. We also checked out the end of week "Behind the Scenes" tour. It sounded great but at $95/person, wasn't worth that to us. Also checked out the discounts at the spa for a massage. My wife was going to give me one for my birthday. But the discounted price was $175 - too precious for us. Oh well. At 3:30 we went to our stateroom. It was larger than expected and wonderfully lit. The bathroom was also larger than on our last cruise. The window was about 40" x 40" and larger than we expected. Being on deck one we are fairly close to the water level. To purchase unlimited soft drinks = $48 for the week per person. We passed. We went to Guest Services and had our room cards punched with a hole so we could use the lanyards we had brought with us. Carnival lanyards are $4.95 each. At 5pm we had the mandatory life boat drill. Took about 20 minutes. At 5:30 we were underway. At 7pm we went to David's for our evening meal. Very, very top of the line. We each ordered the 24oz Porterhouse. Ruth Ann had shrimp cocktail plus baked potato. I had the crab cake plus Caesar salad (made at the table). The steak was top notch. Each waiter was very accommodating and very kind. The regular water was pretty bad so we ordered a bottle of sparkling water which we enjoyed. It would have been smart to bring a supply of water bottles and soft drinks. Fairly expensive on board. Later we each had a B52 coffee which was ok but not like we remembered from before. Ruth Ann had the chocolate tart which was really excellent. Apparently on the first night of the cruise, very few people go to David's so our table by the window was very private for a while before a few others came. Our time at David's ended up being just over two wonderful hours. We are off to a good start. I suggest taking some anti-bacteria cleaner for hands. After touching menus and handrails, etc. it would be good to clean hands well before eating. We went to the Taj Mahal at 10 to get a good seat. There weren't many left since they were playing Bingo while waiting for the evening 10:30 show. The show was quite good. I tried out doing the Tarzan call but didn't get voted in. Went back to our stateroom a little after midnight. The bed is a little hard for Ruth Ann. I enjoyed it. We brought a supply of one and five dollar bills for tips but so far haven't used them. Monday - slept in till after 10am. We can do anything we want on our cruise. Went to the mermaid grill for breakfast.. Lovely. Went to the art auction this afternoon. It was fun. We didn't buy anything but ended up getting a $300 75 minute massage from top to toe for $99. Went to the captains reception at 5pm in my tux. Had pictures taken. Had our meal at 6pm. I had lobster and shrimp. Ruth Ann had fish. Both meals real good. We went to the 8:30 show which was "Around the World" with a big tribute to America. It was very, very good. Wonderful costumes. Great music. Went to bed by 11 because of early wake up tomorrow for our massage. Tuesday - up at 7am and had free room service so we are ready for our massage appointment at 7:45am. Ruth Ann and I were side by side getting our 75 minute massage and it was wonderful. Her birthday present to me. Afterward, went in the hot tub for a couple hours and continued to relax. Had lunch and then slept for a while. At 2pm went to the "newly wed" game show. It was pretty good. 4:30pm went to the "Repeat cruisers" meeting. It was ok. Band was good. 6pm supper. Had the flatiron steak. Very good. Because of a medical emergency we are speeding to Cape Canaveral. We will arrive Tuesday evening at 10pm instead of Wed morning at 7am. Bought one 8x10 picture. $21.99. Very expensive but I like this one of Ruth Ann. Went to the party on deck 9. More food (Mexican) and desserts and dancing. We didn't stay long. Wednesday Up at 9:30. Had breakfast and took the bus to the mall in Cocoa Beach. Spent some time on the internet to catch up. Internet on the ship is $50 for 100 minutes. Relaxing day. Back to the ship on the bus. It was $5/person both ways. Played volleyball on deck 11 right by the putt putt course. Not enough people played so it was a quick game. Rested until supper time. Couldn't decide which entree to have so ordered all three: Beef Stroganoff, Rack of Lamb, Lobster Newburg. Tiramisu for dessert. At 7:15 played trivia challenge. At 8:30 saw the Jazz Show. It was good but I don't care for Jazz. Off to bed as tomorrow we power snorkel in Nassau. Thursday Up at 9am. Had breakfast. Off the ship at 11am and followed the leader to the Power Snorkeling boat. Took a little over a ½ hour to get to where we would snorkel. Great fun and very easy. Lots of fish and coral to see. Back to the ship when done for some food and rest. Back to Nassau for shopping and free internet at Starbucks. Back to the ship for supper at 7pm. Tired. Bed early. Friday Up at 8am. Breakfast. We are in Freeport. Rather than take a taxi at $5/pp/each way we just did some shopping by the ship. Plenty for us. Did some free internet by the ship. Went back to the ship and hung out by the pool. Got too much sun so went to bed in the afternoon. Tonight was dress up so we did and had a lovely meal. The 8:30 show was good. Getting a little tired of Zoe's voice. The sound system doesn't help make her words clear to the audience. Walked a little on deck. Had some pizza and ice cream. To bed to read and sleep. Saturday Up at 8am. Had breakfast. Met with room steward. He gets $75/month from Carnival. Gets 50% of $3.50/pp/pd and has 25 rooms. So gets between $2-$3k/month. Gave him an extra $10. Went to debarkation lecture at 11am. Had lunch. Goofed around till 5pm Farewell party. Picked up some more pictures. Started packing. Ate at 6pm. Crab cakes were good as was Grand Mainer SoufflE. Ruth Ann had spare ribs. We decided to do self debarkation and get off the ship first in the morning. Went to the Carnival Legends show which showcased passengers singing and performing. It was amazingly good. Sunday Up at 8am for breakfast and final packing. Since we are self debarkation we will get off early. First call for us was at 9:20am. By 10am we were on the pier waiting for our ride. Definitely the way to go. At 11am there were still lots of people on the Lido Deck waiting for their number to be called for debarkation. These were not self-debarkation people. It was a great week and cruise.

Someone said that once you lock into a cruise, you can check to see if the price goes down and if it does, Carnival will give you the lesser price. It would be worth it to check this out.