Overall, we enjoyed this cruise. However it is time that the Carnival Pride gets updated. The paintings are very faded, the décor is old and it generally makes you feel old when you look around the ship. Things are rusty, and in some cases broken. But mostly, it's well taken care of. Definitely worth the cheap price, but if you want something new and updated, look for another ship.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We got the "Faster To The Fun" option which gave us a separate, short line.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Carnival ALWAYS provides wonderful food! No complaints! The drinks are always strong too!
Beauties Dance Club
4 out of 5
VERY COOL dance floor! I don't like that they allow smokers in such a small place though, so we had to leave.
Pizza Pirate
4 out of 5
Great pizza, but they need to pre-make a bunch during busy times (like at night when the comedy shows let out).
Lido Marketplace
4 out of 5
Very good food, empty plates are always taken quickly. Need bigger glasses for water, ice tea and lemonade. Loved the different Chinese food every day!
Bonsai Sushi
5 out of 5
Absolutely the best sushi we've ever had! Definitely worth a few extra bucks!
Butterflies Lounge
5 out of 5
LOVER butterflies! The large poles got in the way of seeing the stage depending on where we sat, but sometimes beggars can't be choosers!
Guy's Burger Joint
5 out of 5
DELICIOUS!
Normandie Restaurant
4 out of 5
Delicious food every night with lots of options. Love the themed nights and the foods you never though you'd eat (rabbit!). The servers are wonderful and quick and put on a fun show every night.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There is always a lot to choose from. There is something for everyone. We saw the show after dinner every night which was always good, we saw each of the 4 comedians, played Bingo, attended Lido deck parties, went to the Gems seminar to know what to look for in ports, shopped in the onboard shops, relaxed in the Serenity Adults only outdoor section of the ship, made out well in the casino, loved the pools and hot tubs, and LOVED our balcony every day and night. We saw a shooting star on our anniversary night!
Photo Gallery
4 out of 5
They display all of the photos that are taken of you during your entire cruise....so wait until the last cruising day to decide which ones you REALLY want!
The Fun Shops
4 out of 5
Excellent choice of items. Just wish they explained the raffle tickets better!
Serenity Aft Pool
4 out of 5
Great, but hard to get a chair or clamshell. My suggestion is for there to be a sign up sheet where people can only have it once a day for a specific time period. Some people put their stuff on them all day and are hardly on them!
Hot Tubs
4 out of 5
Very hot, but then would go into the pool to get cooled off. Good for our sore muscles!
Entertainment
4 out of 5
I've seen better shows (more like Broadway style with A LOT of cast members) on other Carnival ships in the past, but these were good. There are only 8 cast members on this ship though.
Taj Mahal Main Lounge
4 out of 5
Fun venue. The different tiers make it fun to see shows from all levels.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our servers were phenomenal! We never wanted anything for very long because they were always there to see if we needed anything. Our room stewards were good, but not the best I've had. We had to ask for toilet paper on the first day.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
We always saw people cleaning and mopping up wet floors and being very attentive to the cleanliness of the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
I will always get a balcony room or higher from this point forward. When I was younger (I'm 47 now) and wanted to sleep during the day, the interior room was great because it was always dark and you never knew what time it was. The window rooms are just that, but the rooms are small. There's not a lot of room to walk around the bed. Once you get to the balcony level, there is plenty of space to walk around in your room and the balcony is GREAT for watching the ship pull into our out of ports, star gazing at night or simply to feel non-claustrophobic (which I am). There are three closets with hangers and one has a full length mirror. There are also two other large mirrors, one of which as two long lights; one along each side for make-up applying. There is also a magnifying mirror in the bathroom. The bathroom has a place for your shower items and a curtain (the shower in my smaller room had a glass pull around and not much space). The only issue we had with the room was going from a 52" screen tv at home to a small 20" tv in our room. #firstworldproblems
Ship tip
Take warm clothes and a rain coat if sailing from Baltimore. Get Faster to the Fun before it sells out!
Beautiful water here, but rented a cabana (excursion) in Margaritaville the whole time. Should have done an excursion on the island somewhere to see more of it.
Our Eco Lagoon Tour was very nice and low key. Perfect for my Mother-in-Law who doesn't walk well. Was a fun tour and got to see and hear a lot about the island. Carnival provides lunch on the island and it's delicious, as always. There are clam shells that you can rent on the beach if you want protection from the sun and plenty of chairs. There's a pirate ship/bar/restaurant on the beach which is fun - Carnival has some games there throughout the day. There are a lot of chickens on this island for some reason! If you go to the furthest lounge chair from the entry point on the island, you will find friendly dogs that want to play.
We chose an excursion at this port which took us to a beach 30 minutes from port. I highly recommend it! There are plenty of chairs, umbrellas, a restaurant/bar, a kids play area, hammocks, floats in the water, water sports to rent and local people selling their goods (bargain with them...they will start with a high price). The island of Freeport is still re-building from the 2016 hurricane, so there is a lot of damage that you can still see. The ship docks in an industrial area, so do an excursion because the only thing to do right at the port is shop. The beach there is rocky and I heard a lot of people complaining about the port.
Faster to the Fun really helped us here. We carried our own luggage and met in the Red Frog Pub. My group of 4 were the 10th-13th people off the boat in the morning. It took us about 15 minutes to get off and through customs!
I agree. The pride is a great ship with an awesome crew and a friendly group of fellow passengers. We prefer to drive from nyc to baltimore to have a better group of people on the ship instead of going out of manhattan. But she's old and needs more than just a fresh coat of paint. But we'll be back on her in may. Can't wait. Glad you had a great time.
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