This was our first cruise - we didn't know what to expect and honestly, we were a bit skeptical. We love all inclusive resorts and were a bit worried about the cruise level of service and entertainment. We had an absolute blast! The ship was fantastic - just beautiful and well maintained! It never felt like an older ship at all. We had the best service - better than any all inclusive resort - of any vacation we've ever taken. Every staff person smiled, was polite and seemed to enjoy their job. They are well trained, well spoken and do such a great job! Well done Carnival!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy; lines moved along quickly - very organized!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Everything was clean and welcoming! Fantastic food with lots of opportunities to try new things and still find plenty of comfort foods! There was such a selection at the buffet we never had the chance to try some of the stations - the breakfast burritos were a favorite for sure! And Guy's burgers were so good - we miss them dearly now that we are home! The service in the Normandie restaurant was terrific - Ervin was our server and he was so wonderful, fun, efficient, kind and always had a smile on his face!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
I didn't actively participate, but watched many of the poolside activities. My favorite was the 'Hairy Chest' contest - that was a hoot!!
Didn't love the water slides - only went on one. Had bigger expectations for my 13 yo - that area was great for younger kids though!
Saffie the cruise director was such fun, bubbly personality and good sense of humor!
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The stage shows were not great, the comedians were ok - but we LOVED Jansen, the singer we found most evenings in the Atrium lobby. He was friendly, dry humor and fantastic singer! Russell Blues the 'piano bar' guy - was terrible. He can't sing, mumbled through the songs because he didn't know the words, very small crowd every night (2-10 people) when we walked by. He also spent the in between songs time talking about how the 'adult' songs were coming up later - the Pussy songs... he must have mentioned that 10 times in 30 minutes. He was clearly excited about it - no one else seemed to be. We left so I have no idea what those songs entailed. He truly didn't know the right tempo for the songs he was singing and didn't know half the words (or more). So glad we found Jansen. The movie selections were great - good variety! Loved the touch of offering popcorn!
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
Circle C was fun for my daughter - she met some people there and enjoyed hanging out in the lounge, even though she was only there a couple times. There was so much to do, she just didn't get up there often!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff was beyond amazing! Some that standout...
Room Steward - Eladio -always cleaned well, friendly, knew us all by name on day 1. Great personality!
Server - Ervin - the BEST!!! and Dan - was the drink server in the Normandie ballroom - she was terrific!
Bartenders - Catalina and Yvonne (both at the Atrium lobby bar) they were outstanding!
Saffie was fun and we loved Richie Rich in the entertainment department too! HE would be a great cruise director as well!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Very clean and well maintained...
only suggestion is to make the balcony off room 6148 cleaner - there is a lot of peeling paint, some painted over - there is paint spray all over the chairs (we made sure it was dry before we sat down - it was) and on the wooden railing - just felt dirty even though it was just dried paint splatter.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
It was much larger than we anticipated! Grateful for 2 chairs outside... we loved it! A second outlet by the bed would be nice - my husband uses a CPAP machine and it needs electric. Lucky we brought a power strip - but we still had to have the cord across the room to the vanity table. We all tripped over the cord several times. But we did love the cabin, the bedding was quite comfortable and always felt clean.
Ship tip
Take power strips for electric devices. Must try Blue Iguana and Guy's burger joint... absolutely must! Don't sign up for late dinner if you want to see the PG shows - they all start before you are finished with dinner.
We did the snorkeling excursion - was supposed to be 3.5 hours. Much of that was on the beach though - not really an excursion. We could have gone to the beach for no money... but the actual 2 locations were good. Just wish it was longer - we expected 3.5 hours of snorkeling. Beach was nice.
Nice beach - soft like baby powder. It was beautiful! My suggestion is to make an announcement about lunch ending - we were in the water and totally missed the end of the food. Also - include the drinks in the drink package like the food was included. That surprised us!
Beach was fabulous.
The city is desolate now - while we enjoyed the straw market and marina that we found - most guests hated the location. Since the hurricane destroyed so much maybe you should travel to another island? There really is nothing in Freeport at this time. The straw market was only 1/2 occupied (but we loved what was there!) and all the shops/restaurants by the marina were closed up or in construction. We found an outside bar and a street singer which made our visit complete. However most of the people we chatted with really didn't care for the stop.
Very organized - went quickly and was totally painless. For some reason many of the guests were grumpy. Guess they were in a hurry to end their vacation. I suggest making everyone check luggage to make it more smooth, or offer entertainment during the waiting area to keep the little ones calmed down. I don't understand why people were so grumpy and i felt badly for the staff. The staff was fabulous at trying to keep everyone happy... but they were stretched to their limits. Odd that the entertainment staff is the group responsible for debarkation. They spend the week engaging the guests, making sure everyone is having a fun time and then they get attacked and yelled at on the last day - I felt really badly for them.
We've been on fantasy and ecstasy, sunshine 3x, pride 2x miracle and dream. All were tons of fun! Yes they all have their quirks, but once you set foot on that ship, fun ship in your hand the vacation starts! There's not much that will dampen that mood! We've had interior, ocean views, balcony, extended, reg, and aft. This coming cruise a suite! It's all a ton of fun. I matter what! Everyone says, your vacation (cruise) is what you make of it! We always make it a fantastic trip no matter what happens!! Bathroom floods yes, loose at the casino, yes fun shop order messed up yes.... things happen. But you're on a cruise..... have fun!!!!! And enjoy yourself! We always do.
Alright! 🎉Now that's what I'm talking about! So glad you enjoyed yourselves. Pride was my first as well. Blew me away in every way. Pride is proof that it doesn't have to be the newest and biggest ship to be a blast. I wonder what Carnival Fantasy, the oldest ship in the fleet, is like to cruise on?🎉
That's what I love about the cruises vs all inclusive resorts. There is so much to do on the ship. We are always busy! At resorts it's basically laying on the beach (which hubby hates) and drinking. We don't drink much. The food is comparable. Resorts are too boring.
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