Carnival Pride Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,595 reviews

Christmas Week on the Pride

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Carnival Pride
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DanWilJr
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Dec 2011
Cabin: Interior

After taking our first Cruse in September on the Carnival Victory from San Juan. In early October my wife and I found ourselves wanted to take another cruise. After almost daily reviewing of the fares on like and checking the options available on Royal Caribbean From Baltimore and NCL from New York. Due to the fact that we get a good discount on Carnival as a past guest we decided to take the December 18 cruise out of Baltimore on the Pride. On Sunday December 18th at 10:00 AM my wife and I left our home in Northeast Maryland to travel to the Cruse Maryland Terminal in Baltimore the terminal is right off I-95 and is very convient for travelers coming in either direction on I-95. After entering the lot at 11:15 AM we were given a sheet indicating we would be parking at the terminal and waited in one of two lanes to drop our bags with the porters. After a short wait we were directed to a porter who unloaded our bags into a luggage cart for transfer to the ship we then paid and pulled in to the large parking lot which was dedicated to passengers traveling on the Pride. We gathered our carry on bags and entered the terminal where we quickly went through security and were checked in by the representatives by 11:30AM we were waiting for embarkation to begin there was a wait in the holding area but after a short 15-20 minute wait embarkation began after a quick stop to get the arrival photo it was a brief stop to activated the sail and sign card and it was out of the terminal through a covered and heated area to the gangway. By 12:15 PM we were on board we made a quick stop at the shore excursions desk to pick up our excursion tickets. We discovered there were two option offered for meals either a meal in the dining room or the lido deck buffet. My wife and I opted for the buffet on the Lido deck where we fond that the ship does vibrates and the vibrations that got even more noticeable after we were underway. The buffet has a nice arrangement on the Pride with two lines serving the main meal, a separate grill line, a deli, a salad bar, a Pizza bar which was excellent, a coffee bar, a desert bar and one line for Asian Food. We were also able to make a reservation to dine at David's the ships steakhouse. We waited on the Lido Deck until 2:30 PM when our room was ready and we found that our bags were waiting at our cabin door after dropping our carry on bags we looked around the room and checked out the ship which was beautifully decorated for the holidays. Stopping on the lido deck to tour the Spa and to buy an endless bubbles sticker which allows you to have unlimited sodas for the cruise. At 4:00 PM there was the mandatory lifeboat drill which was held outside on deck three which was quite chilly. After the drill was over it was back to the Lido deck for a snack and to watch the ship set sail. The parking lot which was empty when we arrived was full with some cars in a near buy overflow lot. In order for the ship to depart and head out to the Chesapeake Bay the ship had to be turned around which was a major undertaking with two Coast Guard Boats stopping all traffic in Patapsco River and a Coast Guard Helicopter keeping watch overhead. We were underway passing Fort McHenry and heading under the Key Bridge it was out to the Chesapeake Bay. After attending a drawing for services in the Spa it was back to the room to unpack... then to the Sushi Bar to try the Sushi. Then it was time for dinner in the Normandy Dinning Room we always use your time option. On the Pride the your time dining was located on deck three with reserved dining on deck 2. Dinner was excellent and I had a wonderful Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. After dinner we ordered some liquor and bought some souvenirs in the fun shops and purchased our embarkation photo from the Photo Shop. After shopping it was off to the welcome show which was terrific. It featured a little bit of singing and dancing by the ships dancers and a preview of the comedians who would be performing on the cruse. After the show it was off to the buffet for a midnight snack. At this point the ship had made it way to Atlantic Ocean and it was off to bed.

Monday was the first of three Fun Days at Sea when we woke up we were off the North Carolina coast near Cape Hateres where the temps were in the upper 40's to low 50's the Ship speed was about 19 knots with a light wind which made it feel much colder if you wanted to walk on the deck. Also even tough one of the pools had a dome the walkways near the bar which lead to the outdoor pool were open and had no doors creating a cold windy draft. If Carnival is committed to operating year round from cold weather ports such as Baltimore and New York they will have to consider fully enclosing the indoor pools on their ships or increasing speed to get to warmer weather. We were actually followed and then passed by an unidentified NCL ship during the afternoon. After awaking and getting dressed we had breakfast on the lido deck that was good. My wife and I then attended the Fun Ashore and Fun Aboard presentation which was presented by our Cruise Director Brent. We decided to have lunch in the Normandy Dining room which was quite good. After lunch my wife and I found a quiet place to sit and watch the sea attended the fun finds shopping show and then it was off to after noon tea in the dining room which also featured a selection of cake and cookies along with tea. After tea it was time to get ready for the first formal night. The formal night was more semi-formal than formal with only a few tuxes and members of the military in their formal uniforms. Most of the men were wearing business suits with the woman wearing mostly cocktail dresses. My wife and I stopped at the Captain's Celebration where we met Captain Galotto and had our picture taking with him. We also stopped at and had our portraits taken at the many photographer stations set up. After photo's it was off to dinner and then to the show the show was Vroom which was the only show that was a repeat from our previous cruse which was good show then it was off to dinner.

Tuesday was our 2nd Fun Day at Sea we decide to have breakfast in the Normandy Dining Room which was hot and delicious I had Eggs Benedict which were excellent. The ship was just off the coast of Georgia and the weather was finally warm enough to wear shorts and tee shirts and people were actually able to use all the pools and the slide. Unfortunately on the Pride the Kids pool and slide are located right above the adult's only serenity area on the rear of the lido deck. Unfortunately due to high winds the bow of the ship and the sports deck where the basketball court and minture golf are located were closed. My wife and I bought out formal portraits from formal night had lunch on the lido deck. I then dropped my wife off at the spa for a hot stone massage and went and found a quite place on deck to read and I also played Super Trivia. I then met my wife and we went to the Taj Mahal lounge to attend the appreciation party where every one who has taken at least one cruise is invited for free drinks and snacks. For those who were celebrating Chanukah there was a nightly Menorah Lighting with wine and food. We attended the 7:00 PM show which featured the Physical Comedy of Max Winfrey who was one of the finalists on America's Got Talent after the show we played bingo and had dinner. Since we had an early shore excursion in Port Canaveral the next day it was off to bed after leaving our breakfast order on the door.

Cabin Review

Interior

Cabin 4A

The Cabin was spacious and had plenty of room and we were able to enter the bed on both sides.

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