Carnival Pride Review
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Let me begin by saying our family vacation on the Carnival Pride was memorable and wonderful. We choose the Pride mainly because of the location, much more convenient (and cheaper) to drive to the port for our family of five. I've read other posts where past passengers were somewhat disappointed in various parts of the cruise, such as dining, entertainment, tipping, ports of call, activities, etc. We aren't seasoned cruisers, so we don't have much to compare the experience against, so for us, the cruise worked and we had a family vacation full of positive memories.
Our fellow passengers were a true cross-section of the country... practically every age, gender, race, color, creed, nationality, religion, weight category, etc were represented... each bringing their own unique perspective to the entire experience. If you are the type of person that likes to stay in your own comfort zone cocoon (and thinks everybody else should be in that cocoon with you), then you might have some challenges enjoying your experience. However, if you enjoy talking to and getting to know different people, then your perspective and trip might be more enjoyable.
Embarkation and Departure - Driving to the Port of Baltimore is so easy... it is literally right off I-95 (from either direction). The only downside to the entire cruise experience was the operations by the port authorities from the time we arrived in the lot to the time we entered the terminal. After spending several extra hours on the road due to the road conditions following the snow storm, we spent almost two more hours in the car waiting in line to offload luggage, then to pay for parking. They only had one credit card terminal to pay for parking and it was a very slow process. I don't believe these operations are tied to Carnival, but they should be improved to get the cruise started off on the right foot. The security and check-in operations inside the terminal were fine. We boarded the ship at around 4:30 and headed straight to our rooms to drop off our carry-on bags.