I had never cruised before so wanted to see what it was like. Was told this was a nice ship but nobody informed you that the second floor smells like cigarette smoke and it seeps down to the first floor deck so I felt like one big cigarette. You cannot even go in the Casino without your throat hurting or chocking on the cigarette smoke. It is so unfair to those that want to gamble but cannot stand the smoke. The drinks were weak and very expensive and if you wanted the drink package you had to buy for everybody in your room but my partner did not drink so I was not paying another 400.00 for his drinking that he would never do. The staff were ok except for the guy at the grill who made you feel like it was a big problem to do a special order. It was kept clean which was reassuring. The Steak House was excellent and the best part of the meals on this trip. The hot tubs were not hot and so little you could never get in because other people were in them. The pool on the Serenity deck looked like some scum was in it so did not want to go in it. The entertainment was nothing to be desired but the comedy club had great comedians except for the first guy on the first show. The last two guys and CJ Jones were excellent. Thought it was somewhat cheesy and would expect better entertainment for the amount of time you spend on this ship. The jewelry is way over priced and you are better off to buy it in one of the Ports. Carnival has a great marketing strategy to charge for all kinds of things so don't go on this ship thinking you have paid your way as all inclusive. I was charged 3.75 for a coke. You will get a nice bill at the end! Don't believe I would ever go on this ship again just because of the smoking. The shore excursions were ok but have had better staying in a resort. The smoking was the worst. It was horrible and made for a mediocre trip. Read Less

My husband and I (ages 56 and 61) chose this cruise to have a a mid-winter vacation. Baltimore is only a three hour drive from our home in central PA. The timing was great because we missed the Polar Vortex. We arrived at the port during our scheduled time. Parking was easy and close. Costs $15 a day which we paid on the way in. There was no wait for embarkation.We each brought a bottle of wine in our carry-on bags. Our cabin was clean when we arrived and Natan did a good job cleaning it all week. He made a different towel animal each day. There was a small refrigerator for the wine and food storage. TV worked okay. We had a balcony which we used a few times. Sunsets in the Bahamas were beautiful. There was rust on the balcony. We went to the late shows of Playlist Productions. The performers were good, especially Patrick. Our favorite was "88 Keys". The format for "Heart of Soul" had to be changed because of rough seas. We actually liked this format better because they concentrated on the singing but the show was short. During the other shows there were too many light effects, which bothered our eyes. We tried sitting a couple of different places but still had to shield or close our eyes at times. We saw 4 PG rated comedy shows. The first two were bad, they were not funny. The second two comedians were good. We played a couple of the trivia games and they were fun. We had early dining in Normandie and ate in there every night. We had six people assigned to our table. We got along well with our table mates. Our waiters were good and friendly. They learned our names and preferences in a couple of days. The food was very good. My favorite main dish was the prime rib. We had a couple of the port specialties and liked them. Other standouts were the chocolate melting cake (hubby had it 3 times), smores parfait, and cheesecake. We were supposed to go to Princess Cays but couldn't because of a fire so we went to Half Moon Cay. Not disappointed because it was beautiful. Sand was soft and clean. We did not do an excursion. The water was cool and took a while to get used to. But the air was warm so we went back and forth between beach and water. The buffet was not as good as in the past but Carnival was serving 2 ships and that was not originally planned. Service was disorganized. In Nassau we took the Balmoral Island Beach Escape with Lunch excursion. We took a 30 minute boat ride to beautiful Balmoral Island. The sand had a nice, soft texture. There was seaweed in the water but there was a man who cleaned it up when it came ashore. The air was comfortable but the water was kind of cold. Chaise lounges and umbrellas were set up. We could select from several choices for lunch from the menu at the restaurant. Barbecue pork was good. The rum and Coke was strong. On the way back the first mate talked about the sights (including Sandals and Atlantis) and some history of the area. In Freeport we took the Best of Grand Bahama & All Inclusive Beach excursion. This is not the excursion to take if you want to spend a long time at the beach. We enjoyed it. We went to a couple of shopping places that included local craftspeople, a nature center, and Taino Beach. Our driver and host, Warren G and Keno, were fun and informative. The beach itself looked beautiful but it was too windy to do anything but walk. We had about an hour and 15 minutes there. The lunch and drink that were included were good. The Pride is in dry dock now and I think renovation will be good for her. Overall, the cruise was enjoyable but I don't think we would cruise at this time of year again. The sea is too cold. The Pride was like an icebreaker on Sunday. But we would cruise on the Pride or another Carnival ship in the spring or fall. Read Less

This last cruise was my 6th with Carnival and my 2nd time on the Pride. I was last on the Pride 10 years ago and was pleasantly surprised by a lot of refurbishments and additions they've made since then. This class of ship is the 2nd smallest in Carnival's fleet, but with all the facilities it has, you aren't missing out on much that the bigger ships have except for the crowds. In fact, on all my time on the boat, the only time it felt crowded was during debarking. The ship itself is clean and in good order. Ours was the last cruise before a dry dock for some repair and refurbishments, but it was still in good condition except for some chipped paint, worn vinyl seats, etc. I loved that the Pride has 3 good sized pools, one being in the adults only Serenity area. They also have one hot tub in the adults only area, one by a general pool and one large one in the fitness center. Speaking of the Serenity area, it was my first time on a ship with one and I really liked it. It's a kid free area with higher quality loungers, hammocks, cabanas. It felt very secluded and relaxed. They have 2 water slides, one a bomb door style slide where the floor drops beneath you and one twisty slide, as well as a small splash area for the kids. It was a good time for kids and adults alike. One of the pools has retractable glass ceiling for in-climate weather, but it was broken on my cruise unfortunately. In terms of dining, you have a lot of choices for casual dining but not a lot for formal. Newer additions are Guys Burgers, which really are amazing; the updated Carnival Deli with made to order sandwiches that tasted delicious; and Blue Iguana for Chipotle style burritos. They have all the standard buffet fare as well. For dinner, I always went to the Main Dining Room as the food was always good and service was fun and friendly. You could go to David's Steakhouse for an extra $35 but unless you had a special occasion, it wasn't really necessary. The ship also added a Bonsai Sushi as an extra option you could pay for, but the prices were too high for lunch and I prefer the main dining room for dinner. The nice thing was, you could easily eat on the ship the whole time without paying extra and you wouldn't feel like you missed out on anything. The staff on the Pride was top notch for the most part. Room stewards and waiters always greeted you by name, made polite conversation and smiled. Bartenders were a bit more hit and miss; none were rude but some were clearly more excited to be there than others. The cruise director and "Fun Team" were friendly and generally made the cruise a lot more fun. The one complaint I really had about the ship was the Casino. It's on the smaller side and FILLED with smoke. Even on boarding (when the casino was closed for 12 hours), it wreaked of smoke. While I don't normally mind a little smoke, it was impossible to walk through there without getting covered in it for the rest of the day. This was much worse than the last time I was on the ship, but this was also a winter cruise so smokers really had no where else to go. I do wish they invested in a better filtration system or something. If you're new to cruising or like a smaller ship, the Pride is a solid option. If you want things like a Ropes Course, Rock Climbing Wall, or stuff like that, I'd suggest a bigger ship, but the Pride is intimate and yet still filled with stuff to do. Read Less

The fog delayed our boarding by a couple hours. Luckily my hotel allowed us to stay in their lobby. Once it was our time to arrive it took all of maybe 15 minutes from getting off the shuttle to getting on the ship. It was very quick. We heard a staff member say that rooms were ready and they were! 2 of our bags were delivered within a couple hours and the 3rd a couple hours after that. I spent a lot of time at the pool due to slight sea sickness. Loved the pool area for people watching and relaxing. I can definitely say no one watches lounge chair hogs as one guy was gone for over 3 hours from his chair and no one did anything. If I were not such an introvert I would have given it to the attendant as the pool area was always full from 10am to about 3pm. The pool side cleaners were slow. Cups and plates could be around for 30 minutes or 2 hours. Pool Side waiters disappeared after 2:30 or so. Granted, almost no one was drinking in the pool area...ever. Demographics I'd say. Dinner staff was shy at first. Took about a week to get comfortable with each other and then we had a blast! Best waitstaff ever. I did notice and was surprised one night when a tablecloth was out that had many worn spots, threadbare, and a stain. Doesn't stop me from eating so I didn't say anything. Was just surprised. Food was very good. Steak not always cooked how you requested, but they would fix if you wanted. Fully willing to bring you someone else if you didn't like anything. They even made special accommodations for a picky vegetarian (she doesn't like most veggies!) at our table by showing her the menu the night before in case they needed to tweak a dish just for her. The ports were pretty good. Antigua had the best tour guide, St. Thomas would make the best place to retire to, Puerto Rico made me feel the most comfortable on my own, St. Lucia was the pretties landscape, St. Maarten has a cool spot to watch airplanes go over your head, Grenada didn't have much to offer, Grand Turk has the best beach access. I'm forgetting one. I've already booked this cruise again for the next year. Read Less

We had never been on a Journey's Cruise and several of our friends booked this one. Not a single regret except that it ended! Never cruised Port of Baltimore before. We really didn't spend any time in the city, I wish we had it looks like a beautiful city, lots of history and beautiful architecture. We will defiantly cruise from here again! The port experience, embarkation and disembark were easy, seamless and the staff were all very pleasant. The Pride is a beautiful ship, she is headed for dry dock for a cosmetic cleanup a few weeks after we sailed. She does need some cosmetic touches but overall a very nice ship. Our first trip on a Freedom class ship and we are super pleased. My only complaint would be that the very smoky casino is from port to starboard in the middle of deck 2 between dining and entertainment. So we could either run through the stink or go up an elevator, over the casino (through the shops) and back down to the theaters. The shows and the comedians were all very good. The Red Frog Pub had Rob playing guitar and singing or The Groove, both were great! We really enjoyed spending time there and listening to the music. The ports we visited were great. Highly recommend Joy's excursions on St Lucia and Lawrence of Antigua as excursions outside of Carnival. Our cabin was a partial obstructed balcony, 5166 but it was great, very comfortable and the life boat didn't block any of the light or photo ops! Service was great, except for the dining room. Our first time doing timed dining and we won't do that again. While our table guests were awesome, our wait staff were all very nice, but service was slow and not as personal as we are used to getting in anytime dining. Defiantly will go on the Pride again! Read Less

Chose this cruise because it was a 14 day Journey going to 4 locations not previously visited. Embarkation was briefly delayed by the ship's late return due to weather. Once aboard, everything went tremendously well. Our cabin stewards "Made and B" kept our cabin perfectly clean throughout the cruise. Our dining servers "Mohammad, Joel, and Augustika," were wonderful individuals who exceeded our needs at every dinner. We booked 3 excursions through Carnival: St. Thomas, Antiqua, and Grenada.. We were really pleased with all but the one on Grenada. Our driver was apparently new and had to follow another van. He didn't speak much and gave very little information about the island. We complained at the excursion desk aboard ship and received a 25% discount. The entertainment was truly enjoyable each evening. The cruise director "Dr. E," ensured that everyone had a good time. He was funny and very engaging. In all cases we were pleased with the quality of the food in the dining room and on the Lido deck. The ship is going into dry dock next month for an overhaul which is needed because of some wear and tear. Read Less

We had hoped this Carnival cruise would be good value for money, and it was. But Carnival Pride was a much better ship than we expected, in many ways. Our balcony room was nicer than some "premium" lines' balcony rooms we have used, and the cabin staff was better. Beds and bathroom were quite comfortable, and the room was large. We were quite surprised at how nice the Pride's common areas were. They are not gaudy or over-decorated, and the refined art deco look seemed well done. Everything worked well. And the non-glass elevators are amazingly quick to whisk you from top to bottom, or back. The glassed atrium elevators were a bit slower, but that allowed you to enjoy the view. The Lido buffet was much better than we expected too. It and the nearby Cantina served more tasty entrees with more variety day to day than the Normandie main dining room. In fact the Normandie dining room was the only down part of our experience on Pride. The servers were poorly trained, and the entrees were never served hot. Excellent appetizers and desserts, though. The Normandie will take a lot of your time (we averaged over two hours per, and that without drinks!!), so we would suggest either you order lots of appetizers and no entrees there, or eat your meals at the excellent Lido, Deli, and Cantina buffets. We traveled as a couple, and definitely plan to take the Pride from Baltimore again. Read Less

This was our 4th time sailing the Pride, but the first time since they renovated and added the new water slides etc. From past experience and having sailed Disney, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean (15 in total) we had realistic expectations for this cruise and walked away feeling relaxed, happy and that we made the right decision. Traveling with 4 kids under the age of 13 can get expensive so we enjoy saving a bit of $ by driving to the port. Our home is in the Toronto area so it took us about 10hrs to get to Baltimore, although we stayed one night in York, PA (about an hour away from cruise terminal) as the first year we parked our car at a hotel in downtown Baltimore and came back from our cruise to find our car window smashed. Needless to say, we learned our lesson! In general, the food was really great, we mostly ate in the Windjammer and only in the dining room twice (on both formal nights), the shows were okay, the welcome aboard show was pretty bad and the first night of their dancers/singers production was pretty inappropriate for kids, they should definitely either cut this entirely out or put towards the end of the cruise - as rest of shows were more "appropriate". Kids enjoyed the ammenities on the ship, they probably went on Green thunder about 50x and played mini golf at least a dozen times. Only one hot tub kids could use, miss the days there were at leats 3. Ports were fine, we were happy to stop at Princess Cay although they really should do something about rocks in the water - so dangerous and painful. Water shoes are a must (and not just crocs). And even with water shoes the waves basically bang your legs into big rocks hidden in the water right by shore. Camp Carnival was not great for us on the ship, the Camp Councillors seemed bored, disinterested in the kids and on both port days I brought my kids they sat on the floor locked on their cell phones. Not at all fun, dynamic and interactive as our past 3 experiences on this ship. Activities that were schedule like sand art did not happen, which was a disappointment for my kids who planned their day around this. Finally debarkation was a mess. The ship arrived into port late and we were told to leave the room by 8:40 or something like that when they expected us to start leaving the ship around 11:30. This made for a long and late drive home for the kids and them missing Monday morning of school as they were so tired. For this reason alone (late arrival into port) we will likely choose another cruise for next New Years. But all in all, we enjoyed the ship again and will consider it again in the future if we got a really good deal. We just booked Harmony of the Seas this summer!!! Happy sailing! Read Less

My wife, 4.5-year-old son, and I joined our neighbors and their two boys (almost 5 and 3) and had an enjoyable cruise to the Bahamas from Baltimore on board the Carnival Pride from 30 December 2018 to 6 January 2019. In keeping with my TripAdvisor review style, I offer the following feedback: Home Port (Baltimore). The port is easily assessable from I-95, making it a great airfare-free cruise destination for many cities around Baltimore. Parking and boarding were relatively painless, and everyone was very pleasant at embarkation and disembarkation (although we arrived back in Baltimore 1.5 hours late due to choppier-than-normal seas). Customer Service allowed us to disembark early because of our neighbor’s foot problem, and that saved us a bunch of headaches and time—kudos, Carnival! Port of Call #1 – Princess Cays (0800 to 1700 hours). Carnival’s private island—and extension of the ship—was fun and just a short boat ride from the Pride. The beach was clean, the snorkeling area was clear and fish-filled, and the buffet lunch was adequate. Princess Cays also has a satisfactory play area with a small pool that was a big hit with the boys after a gratifying time at the beach swimming and building sand castles. Port of Call #2 – Nassau (0800 to 1700 hours). We and our neighbors walked about 25 minutes to and from Junkanoo Beach for a fun, free day of sun, sand, and snorkeling. The public beach is a tad rocky but clean, the snorkeling around the old concrete piers is surprisingly full of fish, and the shops and restaurants that one passes are plentiful and sensibly priced. Port of Call #3 – Freeport (0700 to 1330 hours). Like most people, my wife and I booked a Carnival excursion for Freeport as the only thing near the port is a shopping area. The snorkeling was a relative bust, but the captain and fellow guests were amusing. Our neighbors booked a more expensive ATV/beach time excursion, and they had a great time. As both our excursions had a minimum age requirement, we and our neighbors left our boys at the ship’s free Camp Ocean (Kids Camp) during our outings. Cabin. Our extended balcony cabin (5th deck, mid-ship) was a tad tight, and my wife said we’ll need to pay extra for a junior suite on our next cruise. Still, the friendly maids did an excellent job cleaning it during breakfast and dinner, and they always greeted us using our first names. The beds were comfortable, but the TV channels were rather limited. Kids Camp. Our son seemed to enjoy his time at Camp Ocean as he usually had his neighbor friends with him, and we relished the many opportunities for alone time. Our neighbors, however, had an issue with one of the staff members who gave them a hard time about their 3-year old’s behavior. Our neighbor complained, and Management quickly had the employee write a hand-written apology. Places to Eat on the Ship. One will never go hungry on a Carnival ship. (1) The Dr. Seuss Breakfast on the last sea day was one of the highlights of the trip as the boys got to eat cool-looking chow and meet/take pictures with all their favorite Dr. Seuss characters. For $5 per person, it was a bargain, and we highly recommend it. (2) As for buffet/take away, the pizza place is great and always open. (3) The burrito/taco and Chinese places are top notch and always a sought-after selection of the guests. (4) The sushi place is not free, but the prices and food are fantastic. (5) The other buffet places rotate their menus, and everything is hit or miss depending on one’s taste. (6) As for the main sit down, a la carte restaurant, the mass quantities of hit or miss chow was a treat—always served by friendly, entertaining, and professional waiters. (7) The fancy sit down restaurant is not free so we did not go. Things to Do on the Ship. There is always something to do on the “Fun Ships,” and the Pride’s cruise director, Dr. E, was constantly on the intercom informing guests of what was soon to happen. (1) The shows at the main theatre were well-done, the comedy shows were always funny, and the other entertainment around the ship was top notch. (2) The casino was always bustling with guests trying to hit it big, and the dealers and staff were friendly and professional. (3) The pools were an option while we were near the islands, but they were understandably too cold up north. (4) The hot tubs were OK but almost always filled with other guests. Note, as expected, the adult pool and hot tub were less crowded and more relaxing. (5) The water slides were entertaining—my son went down the easier yellow slide once and stayed away from the heart-stopping green slide his Papa loved. (6) We did not pay for any spa services, but it looked well-run and nice. (7) The gym was clean and stocked with plenty of nice treadmills, weight machines, etc. (8) The nightly activities at the bars and pools were great for the grown-ups, and everyone looked like they had a great time. (9) There was also ping pong and corn hole, and the guests seemed to enjoy them, too. (10) Our neighbors said the mini-golf was not all that, and that could be why we never saw anyone playing. Tips. (1) Save money and visit Junkanoo Beach in Nassau. (2) Pay the extra money for a suite if possible. (3) Book the Dr. Seuss Breakfast. (4) Be ready to stand in line for chow during peak periods. (5) Take advantage of Camp Ocean and the adult’s only swimming pool/hot tub. (6) Exercise every day to avoid gaining weight on the food-filled fun ship. (7) Download the Carnival Hub app before cruising to keep up with what’s happening once underway. (8) Consider the useful $5 onboard chat app, but remember it may go down several times. (9) Don’t expect much from the “value” internet—the mid-level plan—as it is rather slow, but it did allow daily uploads of pictures to Facebook. (10) Remember the cabin TV has ESPN (channel 10) when one turns on the TV. However, if one changes the channel and tries to go back to channel 10, it will be unavailable. Solution? Turn the TV off and on, and—voilà—ESPN. Read Less

Within 20 minutes of our home. Second time on the Pride, and we had fun. Wind prevented our last port, Freeport, otherwise, all went well. Best time was the full day in Nassau at the Atlantis, doing everything they offered, aquarium, slides etc. Our waiters in the restaurant were terrific, Hari, Rommell, Ague. We had our table moved from rear to front and Matre de was very helpful. Ship has shown some wear, but that was expected. We knew going in it was about to go to dry dock for some upgrades but it was fine. Dr E, cruise director who we had on, I believe, the Magic was great as always. It was the week before Christmas and festivities and decorations. The show which included the kids from the cruise on stage, was really well done and fun. Entertainment was not very good surprisingly, since the shows were normally better in our other cruises. Read Less