We were a group of 11 sailing on the Pride 10/10/10 out of Baltimore. The group consisted of experienced, (12 cruises on 4 different lines), 2nd time cruisers and cruise first timers. We all drove to the Port of Baltimore and found it very organized and easy to get in and out of. The embarkation process was smooth although we were not able to board the ship until about 2:15.

I have to agree with others that on day one, the Mermaid Grill seemed very confusing, but the first day crowds added to that. Once you figured out how the stations were arranged and where everything was, it actually worked quite well. The food offered in this buffet area was standard cruise buffet fare, nothing spectacular. One day, while waiting for a fresh tray of pasta to be put out, I witnessed the employee take the serving spoon out of the old tray and place it into the new, fresh tray of pasta. I don't understand why they do not place a clean serving utensil with each fresh serving tray of food. Quite honestly, I find this rather unsanitary and using a clean utensil might help reduce the spread of germs.

The Pride itself was in better shape than I thought she would be. There were obviously items that need to be addressed during her drydock, but given the age of the ship, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. I hope the first thing they replace are all the toilet seats throughout the ship. Although clean, the toilet seats both in the cabin and in the public rest rooms are stained and scratched which makes you look twice as they appear dirty on first glance. And one cannot help but look at the toilet seats since they must be raised to use and lowered to flush. We also had lots of peeling paint on our balcony and the chairs on the balcony were flecked with paint chips that did not brush off. Everything in our cabin was in working order, but anyone with sensitive skin should consider bringing their own sheets. Whatever Carnival launders their sheets in caused me to have an allergic skin reaction, but I have had this reaction before at some hotels. Just a heads up to anyone with sensitive skin. Our cabin steward, Nelson, was certainly not one of the best we've ever had. I had to fill our ice bucket several days myself from the buffet until my husband finally saw him and had to ask him to put ice in the bucket in the evening. Read more