We returned last night from the March 12 sailing of the Carnival Pride, and had a very enjoyable, relaxing cruise. We transferred from LAX to Long Beach on SuperShuttle, which worked very well. We picked up our bags, walked out the door and a shuttle screeched to a stop to pick us up. I don't know how he knew we wanted his service, but he accepted our prepaid reservation, and got us there quickly, with a stop at Long Beach airport to drop off another passenger.

We were in Long Beach before 10:30, and did early check in on the Queen Mary. Then we waited outside in the cool sunshine for about 1 1/2 hours until they began boarding. There were three somewhat disorganized 'lines', one that formed behind a sign marked "VIP", another for "Disabled" and the third for "Zone 1", the passengers who did the early check in. Everyone else was in a loosely organized line that took them into the main terminal for check in. When the time came to board, the VIP and Disabled folks went first, then the Zone 1 line, and then, I guess, everyone else. Our line moved pretty quickly once we began to board, since we only had to go through the security checkpoint and have our carry on bags X-rayed. Although we, of course, would never violate Carnival's policy on bringing alcohol, I did notice someone close by who had a 12 pack of Heineken beer in his carry on. When it went through x-ray, they saw the beer and pulled the bag out for a hand search. The guard removed the clothing packed inside until he saw the beer, then simply replaced everything and handed it back to the passenger, who was recovering from near cardiac arrest! (His wife was doing CPR!) Another passenger had a bottle of Bacardi Coconut rum in her carry on, and simply sent it through the x-ray and was never searched further. A third passenger in this same party had a bottle of Watermelon Smirnoff vodka in his large suitcase, and it arrived with no problem. My sense was that the folks at the x-ray machine are only searching for weapons and do nothing about alcohol. (There were no confiscated bottles in sight, etc.)

We got onboard shortly after 12:30, and were very impressed with the ship. It's decorated in dark, baroque style and is very different from other Carnival ships we've been on. The art reproductions, which included many nudes, were no problem, and I wouldn't have been bothered even if my kids were much younger. The nude statue of David in the atrium near the supper club was, um, impressive. I think most of the men felt they suffered by comparison. Read more