Carnival Pride Review
Rating by category
Additional details
I can't say enough about the entertaining time we had on the Carnival Pride so get ready for a long review! This is the 4th Carnival Cruise for my family of 4 and the first on a Spirit class ship (the first 3 were on the Fantasy class ships). We traveled on Royal Caribbean last year and wanted to try Carnival again (last one in 2012) while the RCL trip was fresh in our minds. This year, we had a party of 11 - 9 family members with 2 significant others - (ages 75, 54, 50, 48, 25, 22, 19, 19, 18, 12, 10).
We drove from NC and stayed at a Comfort Inn in Arlington for two nights before parking in a cruise park and ride near BWI and shuttled to the port. I would probably park at the port if I went out of Baltimore again. It was very convenient to drive to.
We purchased Faster to the Fun for the whole group. We got on the ship so quickly that I barely had a chance to breathe. We got in the shorter line and moved quickly through security (although checking all of our carry-on drinks slowed things down). It looked like the lines were moving very quickly but I was happy to have FTTF to make it even better.
Cabin Review
Interior with French Door (obstructed views)
I chose this cabin because I knew the view was exactly between 2 lifeboats. The cost is less than an ocean view room and only a little more than an inside cabin so it was worth it to us.
Port Reviews
Grand Turk
I read about Jack's Shack before we left and knew this was where we would make our base. It's a pretty good hike down the beach but we loved the vibe. The deck and the bar outside were fun. We enjoyed their wifi to catch up at home. We all loved the resident dog Topher and another dog that loved to play catch with a tennis ball. We were thoroughly entertained. When I found out that this was where some of the crew liked to visit, I knew it was going to be good. Drinks and food were tasty.