We went on the Carnival Pride Western Itinerary on February 16 through February 23, 2002.

We absolutely loved this cruise and this ship. We are a family of 6 (mom, dad, 4 teenagers). First of all the ship itself is huge and gorgeous. But let me back up and start at the beginning... We flew out of New Hampshire to Sanford/Orlando Airport. I had hired Orlando Carriers to transport us to Port Canaveral, when we got off the plane I was very happy to see our driver "Juan" holding a sign with our name. This is a very small airport and it was almost too easy but we got our bags and the drive took just over an hour. We get to the port and pull right up in front where very large men grabbed our bags for us and put them in the cage to be brought on board. (We tip of course, I am always surprised to how few people tip these guys.) We then go up the escalator and see a line, not too long but we go directly to the right to the Skipper's Club (we had booked 3 cabins in category 11) This was great we sat in comfy chairs while the clerk processed our boarding passes, checked ID's and got credit card info and gave us our sail and sign cards. These cards are very important. They are your room key, your ID and your credit card on the ship. This took all of 10 minutes. We then walked directly on the ship, stopping to have our photo taken. There are many opportunities to have your photo taken and we never pass on one! (As I tell my family "were only getting older and fatter...SMILE!") We know Carnival hopes we will go to the photo gallery and buy them and of course we do! As you enter the Atrium it is obvious this is not a typical Carnival ship. It is strikingly beautiful, tastefully decorated and just a work of art. Live music is everywhere. I had to go the purser's desk to get extra keys to the kid's cabins, no problem. We also had to swap rooms so that we could put 2 kids in each room, this was a bit confusing but we ended up okay . I tipped the girl from Romania at the purser's desk and she tried to slide the money back to me, I refused and she got all choked up and said "you know what I am going to do with this?" I said "No, what?" She said she is going to buy a calling card and call her mother, it was very sincere and touching. We found our cabins easily and I cannot say how pleased we were with the cabins. They are beautiful and the decks are huge. Plenty of closet space and drawer space. There was a VCR in the room but you cannot record with it, I think this is because Carnival wants you to buy the travel log and not copy it off the TV. The TV programming is extremely limited but we did not go on the cruise to watch TV. My kids rented movies a couple of nights. We did have the Adult Channel blocked so they could not rent it and the room steward removed the alcohol from the fridge. Back to the cabin, I loved this space, it was my sanctuary. It was very quiet. We wanted to have the barriers between the decks removed but were told they no longer allow it due to rough seas and the chance of them breaking (they are glass). When looking directly down from our cabin we did not see the water, rather we saw the top of the life boats which was fine with me. I told my kids in the event of an emergency put on your life jacket and hop the railing onto the life-boat! After viewing our cabin we were off to the Mermaid Grill for the welcome aboard buffet, yes! This was terrific. The space itself is beautiful and seating very comfortable sofa style looking out at the ocean. The food was excellent and the variety impressive. We went to the bar and bought us all fountain-soda cards. My kids had a blast on this ship. We have a strict buddy system rule so they were never alone. They enjoyed the disco and the arcade, 24 hour pizzeria, hot tubs, pools, waterslide, room service, Camp Carnival was a bit too young for them but they made some friends, this was school vacation week after all, and kids this age just like to "hang" and there was plenty of public space on this ship. Even though this ship was totally booked it was never crowded. Together my family enjoyed the Taj Mahal Lounge (which artistically speaking does not fit the Renaissance theme of the rest of the ship, but is still very lovely). The comedy shows were very good (one comedian in particular had a guitar and he was hilarious) At midnight in the Butterfly Lounge the comedians get more "adult". The song and dance Shows were outstanding especially the first one, I cannot remember the title "Love around the World" or something like that, it was awesome. The "Varroom" show was OK but a bit contrived and hokey at the end. But these kids sing and dance their legs off! We also played bingo, trivia, game shows, I think the Guest Talent Show was excellent. There was live music all over this Ship and most of it was quite good. Karaoke was fun, always a couple of ringers. And one guitarist played Clapton like a prince, fabulous. I think the kids would have liked at least one night of request DJ or metal, rock or punk/alternative.

On to dining... We never did make it to David's. We had late seating and were pleased to see that the dining room table seemed smaller than on other ships, which meant we did not have to share our table. Not that I mind sharing a table but I always feel sorry for the other party. While on vacation, we are of the mind that the ones who have the most fun wins. So a table with in excess of 20 glasses and about 30 silverware pieces quickly becomes a musical odyssey for 4 teens trying to entertain themselves. The food was very good, I prefer the buffet. The portions seem small but adequate, you never go hungry on this ship. The dining room was lovely but loud and you can hear the ship rumbling. The Maitre d' does a terrific Sinatra and the waiters sang along, it was really fun. However the last night when the wait staff sang it was awkward to say the least, picture the waiters (from over 49 countries) waving American Flags and singing the National Anthem, well it was extremely artificial and ridiculous. I like to think of the ship as an independent floating country not an extension of America. I am proud of course to be American but I went AWAY on vacation. I am frightened to see this new patriotic fever so zealous that is reaches across the ocean and onto my dinner plate. Enough about that. My husband and I enjoyed the Casinos and the dealers were gracious and friendly. There are a lot of waiters working the Casino and the lounges, it is kind of cut-throat because they are all working for tips, so my husband felt bad and said he had to drink twice as much since he was supporting 2 waitresses, very funny. I spoke to many staff members on this Cruise. I was concerned after reading a post on Cruise Critic that cruise ship workers were not treated fairly. The general consensus is that if you are young and healthy, do not mind working long hours or living in tight quarters and you enjoy meeting people from around the world, then this is a perfect job for you. The pay is low and to that I say if this bothers you then pay them yourself. We tip everyone, it is part of cruise life, you get what you give. We had terrific service and paid accordingly. Read more