This was the 3rd cruise that my husband and I have taken - all on Carnival. Our 1st was with my parents on the fabulous Carnival Victory to the E. Caribbean. Our 2nd, again with my parents, aboard the Carnival Spirit to Alaska. This was our 1st one alone! We are calling it our 2nd Honeymoon, as it was to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! The 1st two cruises we booked an aft balcony room, this time we had a starboard balcony. I recommend aft - much less wind, more of a panoramic view, and the wake of the ship is gorgeous! Our room was perfect Carnival excellence - spacious, clean, and comfortable. It had only one outlet, however, and that was a problem. The pursers desk couldn't supply a power strip, so you may want to bring one. Embarkation was easy and simple. Long lines but they were very organized it went rather quickly. We were on board within a half hour of stepping in line. The buffets on the Pride were consistently good {I think better than the other 2 cruises}. Also, the food in the Normandie dining room was fabulous. And yes, the chocolate melting cake is everything you have heard it is!! Oh baby! I had it every night and thought I was in heaven. Thinking of it now I get tingles! The 24 hr pizza buffet is always a favorite of ours and was great this time too. Monday {the 1st sea day} was chilly but the ship afforded lots to do. Shopping, a wine tasting in Davids Supper Club, hot tubbing, and the 1st of 2 formal nights. The Captains Gala was enjoyable and we had formal pics taken. The photographers often don't have the nicest demeanor, but will accommodate you if you want things done a certain way. We went to see the "Around the World" production show and completely enjoyed. The Carnival dancers are wonderful! Tuesday was the 2nd sea day and the weather was beautiful! We went jogging on the track for awhile then ate breakfast and had Capuccinos. We went to the shop talk in the Taj Mahal but they just talked about the shops and restaurants that pay the ship to talk them up so it was not as informative as I would've liked. We were more interested in experiencing true Mexican food and great entertainment than just the shops, restaurants and clubs that they get $$ from. They also did not let you know what to expect once on shore. Things such as what to expect to pay for cab fare, what parts of town are vs. bad, etc. They did throw out prizes into the crowd though. Afterward we the changed to bathing suits and hung out on the top deck for great sun bathing! We got the drink of the day every day and they are awesome!!!! Fruity, but they put in a very good amount of alcohol so it balances out the sweet. They also had "Fear Factor" going on that day so that was fun to watch. They had a return cruisers party that evening and we enjoyed that. We decided to do Davids Supper Club that night for dinner. It is worth the extra $30 per person. So good! The deck party that night was fun, altho we missed a great bit of it because David's takes sometime to enjoy all it has to offer. Wednesday we hit Puerto Vallarta. It was a sunny and beautiful day! We had booked the Dolphin swim adventure at the Sea Life Water Park but booked it thru PuertoVallartatours.com. We saved quite a bit {about $80ea} by not booking thru Carnival, but had to pay cab fare. The water park is quite a ways away from the dock - actually in another state - so it was $20 ea way to get there and back. It was well worth it, the Dolphin adventure was awesome! Afterward we watched a Dolphin show, went back to old downtown P.V., took in some shopping and headed for the beach. There is an awesome little restaurant that had cabanas on the beach and the best Margaritas in P.V. It was called ElBarracuda. We then asked the locals where they like to eat and a place called PiPi's was recommended. Fabulous place. The food was good but the service is what was outstanding. Thursday was Mazatlan. We shopped a bit then hit the beach again. The water was a bit warmer than P.V. and the surf was excellent! We ate at a place called Joe's Oyster Bar then rented a Boogie board and hit the waves! Lot's of fun. Friday we got to Cabo at 7am. It was a warm but cloudy day, not good for the beach bums. The town was not awake yet so we rented a glass bottom taxi boat and took off for a tour. We were the only ones on it so we got to just stand on the front and enjoy. Beautiful scenery, Sea Lions, crabs, caves, and Lover's Beach. We then shopped the town and ate at Cabo Wabo. Every port had locals hawking their wares, but most will accept "no". A few got pretty annoying, but never a real problem. Back on the ship we went to another production show called "Vroom". Good show. Saturday was the last sea day. It was a cold and windy day. The waves were very big and the ship was a'rockin! A lot of the people were sea sick and it was a low key day. We docked Sunday at 8am. It was a nice day in L.A. Disembarkation went surprisingly smoothly, altho it took a long time waiting our turn. The ship was beautiful, the weather ok, the ports fascinating, the entertainment good, the crew excellent, the vacation - GREAT!