We are in our young 60's and this is our 14th cruise; 5th on Carnival, 5 on NCL and 4 on Royal. This is our first cruise with our sons, their wives and our grandchildren. Our children gave us this cruise for our 40th anniversary 3 years ago but for a variety of reasons we could not coordinate all of our schedules until we were finally were able to book a cruise Thanksgiving week, 2018. So, this has been in the works for a long time. We spent countless hours discussing and booking excursions, planning our trip down from Massachusetts the day before so we wouldn't have to worry about making the ship on time. Finally the day came and we drove down on Saturday and spent the night at the Best Western Plus Hotel & Conference Center in Baltimore. They have the stay and cruise package that included a hot breakfast on Sunday. We received a message in the morning that our departure time was delayed and to please arrive an hour later than scheduled. No problem, check out was at noon, so we just sat in the lobby and waited for the shuttle to arrive. KD Elite provided the shuttle service from the hotel. No problems, they were nice and we got to the ship in no time. Check in was a breeze and we were on the ship within an hour. Cabins were ready so we went straight there and dropped off our carry on luggage and met everyone at Guy's Burgers for a late lunch. We then toured around the ship, went back to our cabins where our luggage had already arrived, unpacked, attended the muster drill and waited for sail away at 5PM. 5PM came and went...they announced it would be delayed due to routine maintenance but our itinerary would not be changed. We had late seating on deck 2 and met up with everyone for our first dinner of the week. Loved our table, all the way back, against a window which the grandkids loved playing in. At 8:20 the captain came on and told us they could not complete the work needed and the ship could not make max speed and because of this we would have only one port - Freeport on Thanksgiving Day. You could hear the moans and groans all over the dining room. The cruise director, Cookie came on to explain the situation more clearly and told us our options. If you wanted to leave the ship, you would receive a full refund and you would have to leave by 11PM. IF you wanted to stay on board, you would receive a $50 OBC and a 100% future cruise credit! I would say that's a no brainer! But, we were amazed by how many people did leave...rumor had it that 700 people left but I don't believe that. Maybe 300 or so. I would love to know how many actually did leave. So, as disappointed as we were to miss the ports we were just happy to be on the ship, the whole family finally together. I'm not sure what time we actually did leave Baltimore as we were fast asleep...heard it was around 1AM. Now I know people think we should have nothing to complain about because we're getting a free cruise in the future but let's put that aside and not beat me up for my opinions about the ship. I'll start with our cabin - cabin 8210. Perfect location, mid-ship, one deck up to Lido. The room is a little worn around the edges, no big deal. The bed, sheets, pillows were the most comfortable ever. The shower ran hot and cold, the shower head didn't work when you tried to use it upside down. The temperature in the room was too warm, then perfect, then too warm again. But the balcony....oh my, the balcony. The ceiling panels were removed in preparation for dry dock in February. We were looking at exposed, rusty framework and insulation. It was a very unsightly view! It was very distracting...I kept thinking chunks of rust or insulation would fall into my glass of wine! I tried to look past it to the beautiful open sea but my eyes would go up. I was very surprised they didn't have a letter in our cabin saying "please pardon our appearance as we do repairs" or something! I didn't want to complain to Guest Services because, after all, we are getting a free cruise in the future, but this had nothing to do with that. After a couple of days, I did end up saying something to Guest Services and the girl asked what was bothering me and I showed her pictures and her whole attitude changed - "oh, my!" she said. The next day we received a letter asking me to go talk to them again and we were offered to move but it was almost over so we declined, they did take some of our expenses off and that was very much appreciated. While docked in Freeport we could see that it was our cabin and a few on either side of us with the exposed framework and they were removing more. I'm sorry, but people should be notified that they can move or have a discounted cabin. It really was so distracting and ugly! The retractable roof must be stuck as it never moved (about 75% closed) and we sure would of loved it being closed during the bad weather we had. There are signs of wear and tear all around, especially in the buffet area but the entire ship was clean as a whistle. We had the late seating at dinner - table 150 - all the way aft. The 2nd night - cruise elegant night - when we went to our table, it was almost comical how much everything was shaking. The vibration was so strong we could hardly hear each other and after awhile a few of us started to feel queasy. We made it through dinner but asked if we could be moved for the rest of the week, if this was to continue. Ken, the singing Maitre d', (amazing singer!) tried to help but there were no 8 tops available. So, the next night we went back to our table and it was not as bad so we toughed it out. Not so lucky the next few nights and we ended up in 2 booths, back to back. Disappointing to say the least. Not sure if that was due to the mechanical issues or what. Our waiters said it was not normal. I've been on cruises where you can certainly feel the vibration but not to this extreme! The crew was great, always greeted with a smile and hello. LOVED the Carnival Hub App! For $5 each we could text each other and we sure used that feature! Cookie, the cruise director, did an amazing job under very trying circumstances. The entertainment was very good. My grandkids (5 year old twins) had the time of their lives dancing all the time. We had excursions planned for Princess Cay and Nassau which we received OBC for. My son and his wife had a beach getaway booked for Freeport but by the time we decided to book one, everything was sold out. The morning we arrived in Freeport, they added an afternoon excursion to a beach so we quickly booked that. The port area has a Senor Frogs and a small straw market and that was it. Let's just say I hope I never go back to Freeport. And then there was the weather....not at all Carnival's problem, but oh boy, what a wild ride. The entire way back from Freeport (2 days and nights) we had 70+MPH winds, rain and huge waves. There were barf bags everywhere. Cookie kept announcing to eat green apples, peanut butter and ginger ale. My little granddaughter got sea sick as did her mom but the rest of us were fine. It was a little rough to walk around but we managed plus we watched a lot of TV! We were late arriving back in Baltimore. Was supposed to dock at 10AM, didn't dock until almost 2PM. Wouldn't be a big deal but we had a 5-1/2 hour drive home to Mass and it took us 10 hours to get home because of the Delaware Memorial Bridge being shut down at 5PM when we were 2 miles away. Stuck in traffic for hours. Had we docked even an hour earlier we would of made it over that damn bridge and got home at a reasonable hour. To me the ship is overdue for dry dock and I can't believe it isn't going in until February! All in all we had a great time, despite missing 2 ports and only one sunny sea day. First family cruise and I sure hope we can somehow get our schedules to coordinate and do it again real soon. Read Less

Where should I start....The first night we were told that we would not be able to go to Nassau and Princess Cay due to mechanical issues. They offer us a 50 credit and then add a free cruise after there was an uproar at the lobby. Alot of people opt out and left. They were refunded there money but have to wait 3 weeks to receive. We didnt leave Baltimore until after 12AM.For the most part the staff was awesome but there was a few that was rude or not so nice which is my first time experience with Carnival which shock me. The food was hit and miss and 90 percent was not hot when served. When we left Freeport we were told AGAIN due to mechanical issues we would not leave on time. We left at 730pm only to enter into a Tropical storm 73mph winds for 2 days. You can image how many people was sick and scared. Puke was everywhere. The last straw was we was supposed to come back to Baltimore at 10am we were told due to Mechanical issues we will no be there until 230pm. Alot people miss there flights smh. For the pro...The cruise director Cookie did an excellent job. He made the best of the situation and if it wasn't for him I would of been miserable. Also the servers (muhammed)and stewards (Ketut)did and excellent job. I so disappointed this was my 6th cruise with Carnival and never had I had a bad experience with them. But this has me thinking I should explore other cruise lines. Read Less

The Carnival Pride is my favorite ship and not just because she conveniently docks in Baltimore. I love the layout and the variety of public areas. (I've spent a total of 45 nights across five cruises on her now.) With venues like the Card Room, Library, Chapel and Sunset Garden, you can always find a quite place to sit. I have always been pleased with the service on the Pride. And, on the relaxation front, I like that there are both indoor and outdoor hot tubs. I love Guys Burgers, the Blue Iguana Cantina and Bonsai Sushi. Bonsai Sushi does cost extra, but it is nominal, and well worth it. On our most recent cruise, Cookie was our Cruise Director, and he is amazing! He is funny, and so caring. There were lots of activities for all interests. I enjoyed bingo, sports contests, trivia and other games, while my husband enjoyed different alcohol tastings put on by the Fun Shops. When sailing out of Baltimore I recommend not selecting the earliest check-in time slot. Many people get there early causing a bottleneck in the lines to get. Choosing a little latter time slot will help make your embarkation a little less stressful. Note: The Pride is in need if a little facelift, but she is scheduled for dry dock in early 2019. Read Less

My wife and I just came back from a 14 day (Nov. 4th thru 18th) Carnival Journey cruise out of Baltimore on the Pride. We stopped at: Grand Turk, Aruba, Curacao, Bermuda, St. Lucia, and St. Martin. We had a fantastic time. We booked an interior room on the 8th floor right below the food court (it's like having the world's best kitchen just up the stairs!). The room was large, comfortable, and we'll maintained by our cabin steward. The food was excellent with a large variety to choose from. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the main dining room was outstanding. For under $3k, it will be hard to find a much better value for 14 day vacation. The Pride is an older ship and is in need of an upgrade but the crew kept her clean and presentable. She's due for a refit in February '19. We'll definitely sail her again sometime in the near future. You just can't beat not having to fly and leave straight out of Baltimore for an excellent vacation--it's so convenient. This would be a five-star cruise if the Pride was updated. Read Less

We just returned from our 14 night Journeys cruise on the Pride. The embarkation process was a breeze. We were on the ship very quickly and easily.... one of the best we've ever had. Our cruise director, Cookie, did a great job of keeping everyone evolved and entertained. He was always energetic and fun... one of the best we've ever had. We love the ship and have sailed on her several times. The Pride could use a little sprucing up but still is a lovely ship and easy to navigate. We had no complaints about the food on board. If you can't find a delicious desert or something to your liking shame on you. There were plenty of assorted food choices and we sampled most of them....LOL. The entertainment was very diversified and enjoyable. The cast of the production numbers were some of the best we've seen on Carnival... the vocalists were great. There was something going on almost every night in the theater... from production numbers to comic jugglers and fantastic soul artist, Marcus Anthony. The comedy club was always well attended with a variety of comics that we enjoyed, All the staff was pleasant and enjoyable to interact with. We loved our waiter in the your time dining, Vladimir. We had been with him on a previous cruise and it was great to see him again. The bartenders at the pool bar were quick and just nice to deal with, Sanford had my diet coke ready as soon as he saw me coming. Thanks Sanford! There were two interpreters for the hearing impaired that did a great job of interpreting during the shows.... they were very entertaining to watch. One of them interpreted during our slot pull and was so nice and patient. Our ports of call were: Grand Turk was an easy walk to and day at the beach...Aruba....we didn't have to be back on ship until 9:30 PM so we enjoyed the beach during the day and hit their casinos at night. We took the city bus, $2.50 round trip, to Eagle beach...lovely day. St. Lucia we picked up a tour at the port that included a scenic tour, walking tour of a nature preserve and time at the beach for $35/pp. Bahamas ...we took a cab to Carlise beach rented two chairs and had a great day... Curacao... is so pretty and an easy walking port...just shopped and went to the casino there...actually won some $. Debarkation wasn't too bad....we were off the ship at 11AM...our problem was with the shuttle company E-Lite that provided the service to our hotel for our car pick up.. Confusion with where the shuttle was, get on this one...oh no this one will take someone else to another hotel and come back for us...etc...long story short it took 2 hours to get to our car...instead of what should have been 30 minutes.... but travel days are usually a buzz kill...so we just chalked it up. All in all a great two weeks and best of all we missed the snow! Read Less

7th cruise on the Pride for us and we have always loved the ship and staff. Pre/post-cruise Hotel: Stayed at the Best Western (Conference center) on Odonnell St which included parking and shuttle service. We have stayed here before mainly for the great shuttle. Hotel was OK, shuttle to the pier was good, coming home they waited until the van was full. Made 15 people wait for 1 spot to fill up even though they had a second, empty shuttle sitting there. Six of us had a 9 hour drive home. Got back to the hotel to find my truck with a nice new dent in the side. First time in 4 stays that my vehicle was damaged. The parking lot was jammed to capacity for this cruise. The Pride Embarkation: We arrived at 12pm, was on the ship by 12;30pm. Really nothing else to say, quick and painless. Staff: As always, the staff on this ship are great! Zero complaints again, their friendliness helped make our cruise enjoyable. Best part of sailing the Pride. Food: MDR food was very good as expected. We always try to eat in MDR as buffet is often tasteless and lukewarm at best. Deli was good, many new options. Pizza is decent and always open. Didnt have a burrito this time but had Guy's burger 3 times and always hit the spot. Stuck with plain cheeseburgers this time and added some tomatoes/onions....stock burgers are good but too much with sauces etc. I enjoyed adding my own toppings more. Cabin: Cabin was big and clean, our Steward was a very nice, hard working guy. He looked tired the entire cruise, was told they now have 35 cabins to clean. We had an aft balcony and enjoyed the views and lounge chair the Steward got for us after we requested one. Cabin noise from engines was pretty loud some nights. I sleep with earplugs so noise was ok but shimmying/movement could be a problem for some folks. Only smelled cigarette smoke on the balcony once. While was looking around for smoke a lady two decks up was also looking to see who was smoking. I loudly reminded whoever it was and no more smoke for rest of the cruise. No door slammers all cruise, if we could just get folks to turn off their balcony lights at night. Several very starry nights were enjoyed and several were spent enjoying light from next door. Overall we reaally got to enjoy the balcony. Ship condition: By day 5 of our 14 day cruise we were calling the Pride "Trusty Rusty." Lots of visible rust, windows seemed to be permanently stained with visible damage to tiles, trim work throughout the ship. Second Pride cruise in a row that the men's steamroom was out of order for almost the entire cruise (12 of 14 days) and sauna was out of order for 2 or 3 days. Spa staff kept telling me that they report to Maintenance but Maintenance doesnt respond. Passengers deserve a better answer to simple questions, these facilities are included in the almost $4000 I paid. Gym equipment never seems to get repaired. I had a pedal fall off a bike in Sept 2017, same bike in the gym is still broken with both bike pedals stuck in forward position. In three recent cruises the middle recumbent bike hasn't worked. This cruise 3 of 5 recumbents worked properly. They have removed some of the resistance equipment on upper levels to make room for their seminar/meetings to sell products/services to give you a flatter belly etc. This is the second pre-dry dock cruise we've done on the Pride. We got the impression on the previous one that they let some repairs slide until the dry dock. Might not be accurate but appearance is perception. Debarkation: Ship docked at 10am, we were in the paring lot by around 10:40am. This is really late for those of us with long drives home. Arrived home at 9pm after night time snow storms. An earlier debarkation would be welcome. Saw several blue, red and gold cards in priority debark lounge. Saw some asked by Staff to head to their waiting area in the theater and they just said no and did what they wanted. Half the folks there left luggage out the night before and then got in line with self-debarkation guests who were carrying luggage off. Lines and crowds were twice the size they should have been. If not carrying off your luggage stay out of the way folks! Wife and I carrying all of our luggage while walking behind 85 year olds with canes and no luggage struggling to walk because thy want to be first of the ship. If everyone followed the procedures set out these processes would go so much more smooth. To their credit I did hear Staff asking people to get out of line when they spotted people walking off without luggage. They make the line longer and when we walked past the luggage area their luggage wasn't even sorted/staged yet. ME-ME-ME Our next cruise is with NCL, while we'll cruise Carnival again I don't think we'll be back on the Pride anytime soon. Time to bring a new ship to Baltimore/NYC. Read Less

I chose the Pride because I live in PA and the Port of Baltimore is only 3.5 hr drive. We are a family of 5 so flying is extremely expensive. So it was a no brainer to chose Baltimore. We decided to drive down the night before so we would be comfortable knowing we wouldn’t miss our cruise due to any unexpected traffic. We found an awesome Park & Cruise deal with the Staybridge Suites. You can’t beat it! The service we encountered was second to none. From the moment the valet attendant greeted us with a welcoming smile, to the lovely front desk young lady that checked us in to outstanding free breakfast chef it was absolutely amazing. The rooms are gorgeous and the beds are like sleeping on a cloud. This hotel is a real Gem! The shuttle service from www.ezconnectshutle.com was the best we ever had. The driver we had was early picking us up both times which made us stress free, he loaded every bag we had from the lobby to his beautiful Mercedes Metris. The van was extremely clean and smelled great. The knowledge of the city and the cruise ship he had was so helpful to my family and I we couldn’t thank him enough, on the return trip he even made sure the valet attendant had our vehicle waiting for us because he knew we had to drive home immediately after the cruise. Kudos to the Staybridge Suites and EZ Connect Shuttle. The cruise was our 1st out of Baltimore bow that we are a family of 5 cruisers and it will definitely not be our last. The ship was so fun and family friendly. We were deck 3 and we had zero issues. We could move about the ship easily and everything was well organized. The ladies and gentlemen carnival hire are outstanding. I want to thank everyone who played a major part in our vacation and I will surely do this again in the near futur! Read Less

We choose this ship because we could drive to it from Philly. Once again we got sucked into Carnival because of the cheap price. Never again. The security getting on the ship was the worst ever, don't know what they were looking for but the line was terrible. From the outside of the ship we saw more rust than we did on any other ship we have been on. (about 12). The balcony cabin was fine, till we met the cabin steward and he asked if we wanted AM or PM room service? Every other cruise line they do both. Cheap. The dining room was easy to get seated, but getting your order taken and food served took forever, every day. Cheap. The first night of entertainment left me with a bad taste for the rest of the week First you need to walk through the casino which full of smoke all the time. The cruise director lied to the men in the audience to have them volunteer, saying wouldn't you do anything for your wife for a FREE CRUISE? After he got 5 men on stage and torqued them for free entertainment, when it was all over, there was NO FREE CRUISE, HE LIED. CHEAP.The pool area, there were 3 hot tubs on the ship, one in the back that held 4 people and was warm at best. One toward the front that was in the middle of the smoking section. The other was always packed full of people. Cheap. Come meet the Captain night. Most cruises have some free wine or something, not here $1 dollar off some drink. Cheap. If price is the main reason for you to cruise, this is it. If not, spend a few dollars more and get a true cruise experience. Read Less

Wife and I just got off the 7 day cruise from Baltimore to Grand Turk, Half Moon, and Freeport. We booked this cruise because it's easy driving distance and the balcony was super cheap. We had never had a balcony so we figured this was the one to try. So, I'm gonna list my pros and cons. Pros: - We loved the way they did the Lido deck food on this ship. Different stations with different food, be it Asian, sandwiches, American-style fare, etc. - On that note: Guy's Burger Joint and Blue Iguana Cantina were easily the two best places to eat on this ship. The fresh burgers and fries at Guy's were awesome, and the Chipotle-style burritos AND awesome breakfast options at Blue Iguana were our favorites! - Dining room staff and menu options were excellent as always. - Most staff in general, very friendly and helpful. - Stops were nice as usual, had rain in Freeport so it wasn't as great but what can you do. Cons: - Our stateroom was not clean when we came in the first day. Bed was made, but there were crumbs on the vanity! Really? - Our much-anticipated balcony turned out to be a disappointment. There is a small drainage channel near the edge of the balcony. Ours apparently had a low spot in it and water just sat there. See attached pictures- this is how it looked almost all week. Also featured is a cigarette butt courtesy of our chain smoking neighbors, who smoked on their balcony every day (called guest services about it and as far as I can tell they did nothing). On top of this, upon check in there were paint chips all over the balcony, and hair on the patio furniture. We had to have someone sent up to clean up the paint chips and trash on our balcony because it had never been touched. - Our room steward wasn't the most friendly guy. I think we saw him 4 times the whole cruise. He acted weird after we called about getting the balcony cleaned up. - This ship is ROUGH. You can tell it's going in for a refurb soon because quite honestly it just looks bad. It just looks rusty and old. - Far as I can tell the whole ship only had 3 hot tubs, one of which was in Serenity, the adult-only area. They were almost always all full. - The entirety of the Lido deck always smelled like stale cigarette smoke. The smoking area was near one of the pools and the smoke was constantly getting pulled into the dining rooms. Maybe I've just become a cruise snob? We've been on a lot of cruises and this ship was the most disappointing yet. I think we will avoid the older Carnival ships in the future. Read Less

We looked for an inexpensive cruise to see if I could do it since I recently went on oxygen. The cabin steward was friendly but the cabin was rarelt done when we returned after being out. Make up cabin cards no longer available. Our waiter was good but our table was a little out of arae and we had inconsistant service. We didn't see any shows as the theater was at the opposite end of the ship. We also didn't get off the ship as we have been on 29 cruises. The TV was really disappointing. No more network channels, 3 or 4 news cannels all connected with CNN. One movie channel which showed the wrong movies since they must change the somewhat monthly. Terrible entertainment. They worked on the balconies 2 days and I couldn't see any improvement. Like all cruise lines things are going downhill and starting to become adisappointment. Read Less