Carnival Pride Review
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This entire review can be summed up by a comment made by a woman I observed during the captains reception. I was waiting for my wife who had gotten side tracked somewhere and noticed this woman signing for a second "drink of the day", cute umbrella and all. I commented that she really must like them. Her response..."They really aren't very good, but they are a dollar off tonight". She had hit upon the summation of the entire Pride experience out of Baltimore. It's really not very good, but you aren't paying that much for it. At about $500 -$700 depending on accommodations, per person you can't expect a luxury cruise, and you won't get it here. However, if you just want to get away for 7 days, have someone else make your bed and meals, and maybe get a couple of days of warm sun in the middle of winter this is your value cruise.
Our Group - There we 8 in our group, and as you would expect a wide range of opinions on everything. Two couples had cruised several times before and two had never cruised before. I also talked with several other passengers and although not universal, most that have cruised on other lines recognized the Pride as something less, while the first timers seemed to have a higher opinion of their experience.
The Ship - The Pride is showing signs of wear and tear, but is very serviceable and appears to be well maintained by the crew. The layout leaves a bit to be desired and choke points are common on decks 2 & 3. If you like brown you will love the decorating on this ship. I'm by no means and expert in this area. In fact I will admit, sometimes I get my wife to confirm my clothes match, but in my opinion the inside of the Pride is just ugly. You be the judge. Carnival is about 10 years behind the times when it comes to their smoking policy (or lack thereof). We were chased from lounge to lounge as smoke reached intolerable levels. I'm not sure but I think smoking is required in the casino on the Pride. We tried to avoid this area of the ship. If tobacco smoke really bothers you, you may want to find another ship.