Here is my review of our recent trip on the Carnival Pride (3/21-3/28) out of Baltimore.

Background: We went on the trip with our two boys (ages 2 and 6), our friends and their children (2 and 4) and their parents. We are all in late 30's professionals. My husband and I and one of the other couple are close friends from college. I had been on two cruises, the last one in 1999. None of us have ever cruised with children. Our friend also brought along his parents, who we have also known for 20 years. My first tip is to bring friends! We have found that all trips are inherently more fun when you go with friends. We booked 3 Cat 11 suites about 6 weeks in advance.

Embarkation: We left from Baltimore, which is why we booked this trip. That, and Camp Carnival accepts 2 year olds. The trip from Northern VA was easy- less than an hour. The port was right off 95. I had read it could be confusing with poor signage but we didn't have any issues. The parking was $105 for the week. You drive up and drop off your bags, prepay parking then park. It's a short walk to the cruise terminal. We arrived around 12:30. We had VIP boarding and after waiting in a line of about 15 people for security, we were whisked away into a private on-boarding room for check in. However, there were zero lines anywhere as far as I could see so the VIP check in wasn't necessary. A few minutes later we were on the boat. Read more