Nice Cruise on the Carnival Pride

By rogue

• February 4, 2012

This was our 1st Carnival cruise in 9 years, and I was pleasantly surprised as how nice everything was. To start, we departed from Baltimore which is a nice easy ride down I-95 from our home. It took less than 2 hours to get there. Parking and the bag drop was easy and quick. We got there about 12:30. We were in a suite for this cruise, so we had VIP embarkation. We were on the ship within about 15 minutes after parking the car.

Our cabin was not going to be ready until 2:30, so we decidied to go get some lunch up at the buffet. This is the only real problem that we ran into. There were no seats to sit at because this is where many of the passengers decided to wait while Carnival got their rooms ready. There was many other areas on the ship where these people could sit, but they chose to stay in the Lido after finishing their lunch. Lots of people walking around with full food trays looking for a place to sit, but few people moved. Being consideate to others was not on the menu that day. We finally did find a place to sit after walking around for about 1/2 hour.

Ship- Lots of reviews attack the Pride for being dark and full of nude paintings. I did not find a thing offensive on this ship. Yes, there was many nude painting and statues, but none was in poor taste. It gave the ship a bit of a feeling like you were in an art museum. Cindy and I both liked this. It was far from dark feeling. The ship is in excellent shape. There are a few worn spots, but you really have to be looking for them to see.

Crew- The crew was very upbeat and helpful. Our cabin stewart, Gidi, was one of the best we ever had. We never met a crew member that was not happy to help.

Cabin- We had an Ocean Suite on deck 6. This was the first suite that we ever had (we were upgraded). It was quite a bit different from any balcony cabin we ever had (except maybe the aft cabin on the Connie). The room was quite large for a cruiseship. We never felt like we wee tripping over each other. The balcony was great. we had 2 lounge chairs and 3 regular chairs with 2 tables. Still had lots of room. The bathroom had a separate dressing area. There were 2 sinks and a whirlpool tub. It was nice not having to shower in the little cubicles you usually get.

Food- I can only say that the food was fair. The buffet had very little variety. I usually love breakfast on board, but this cruise was nothing special. The omelet station was good, but frequently there was a pretty long line. i don't drink coffee, but Cindy said that the coffee was better than most cruises. Went to the dining room a couple of times for breakfast but nothing special there either. We had lunch at the buffet every day, and that was pretty good. The hamburgers were good and and they were always quick. The Deli had good sandwiches and the hot foods were tasty. Dinner in the main dining room was just fair. The food was very tasty, but the variety was a bit lacking. The food frequently came out a bit too cool also. The dining staff was first-rate. We went to the David's Steakhouse one evening, and the food there was excellent. That is one place I would highly recommend.

Entertainment- The dancers and singers were good, but not the best we ever saw. The revue shows were entertaining. We went to the late night comedy club, and that was excellent. It is definitely for adults-only. The jokes got quite raunchy.

Ports- The ports left a little to be desired. First stopped at Port Canaveral. I guess that many of the people went to either the Space Center, or the parks in Orlando (very expensive). We've done both numerous times, so we just took a bus to Cocoa Beachand walked around. That was a pleasant day. Nice to walk in the ocean in the end on January. Next was Nassau. Walked aroud town and a bit on a beach. We didn't feel like going to Atlantis. Went back to the ship and enjoyed having no crowds. The last port was Freeport. This is one that, as far as we are concerned, could be eliminated. Very little to do there, and we were only there for a few hours. Like someone on the ship said, it felt like a fuel stop.

Disembarkment- we took our own bags off the ship, and because of our VIP status, we were the first ones off the ship. We were in our car and back on I-95 by 9:30. This was great.

We had a nice cruise. It was nice to just get away on a cruise no matter whahere the ship was going. We would definitely cruise on Carnival again. Anyone near Baltimore should do this cruise. The price is much cheaper than New York, and no flying is a real treat.