Carnival Pride 7/7-14/2013

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 8

Review summary

For the most part, the cruise was fantastic!!! It was the second cruise for my husband and me and the first for my daughter (20) and son (14). My son did not participate in Circle C because he is almost 15 and would have preferred to be with 15-17 year olds vs 12-14 year olds. Days at sea (3) were fantastic because you had no choice but to relax. I highly recommend cruises with at least 2 days at sea! Our room steward was wonderful-always available and addressed us by name which was a very nice touch. We had 2 adjacent balcony rooms on deck 8 and had the divider on the balcony opened so we could all be together. We made very good use of the balconies. A previous reviewer commented on a continuous vibration throughout the cruise. While we did feel it, it did not detract from our experience. For the most part, the food was very good. We had breakfast 2 mornings in Normandie DR - they were only okay. We much preferred the buffet breakfast on Lido deck - better variety of food. Dinners in Normandie were great - we had own time dining so we had different wait staff most nights. Most were fantastic but one woman seemed very frazzled and forgot to smile. We especially liked the "didja" portion of the menu as we were able to try alligator, shark, escargot and frog's legs (all of which were delicious)!! My kids loved that they could order several choices for each course and took full advantage of that, especially the desserts and appetizers!! The ports were okay. In Port Canaveral, we opted to take a taxi to Cocoa Beach, which was a very relaxing choice. If you choose Cocoa Beach, just take a taxi from the port- DO NOT PAY FOR THE EXCURSION!!! Round-trip taxi was $10/person. Then rent chairs on the beach for $7 or $10. In Nassau, we really enjoyed shopping, especially in the Straw Market. We then walked down to Junkanoo Beach, which was not as nice as Cocoa Beach. There was plenty of time in both of these ports to choose several activities. In Freeport, there was only a five-hour window. We took a taxi (RT $10/person) to Lucaya Marketplace and beach across the street. The marketplace is much smaller than in Nassau so shop in Nassau sooner than Freeport. The beach was okay, not nearly as nice as I had hoped. Also, the time was too short. Entertainment on ship- you can do as much or as little as you like. Activities are scheduled throughout the day and evening. We went to the shows in Taj Mahal each night. For the most part, they were quite enjoyable but some of the dancers couldn't keep up and it was quite noticeable. The Motown night was fair. Marcus Anthony has a nice voice but I didn't really care for most of his song choices, not upbeat enough. The comedians were terrible. We only saw the family- friendly shows and they were awful. Another couple told us the adult-only shows were raunchy. The trivia games were fun. The marriage game was quite entertaining although the same questions are asked on all Carnival ships. All in all, a great time was had by all!!!! The only reason we would not choose this cruise again is because we want to visit different ports.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Baltimore, Maryland

Port Canaveral, Florida

Nassau, Bahamas

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

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