Relaxing winter break /anniversary Caribbean cruise
Carnival Pride Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 41
7 Night Bahamas (Baltimore Roundtrip)
Sail date: February 11, 2018
Ship: Carnival Pride
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 5136
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
It was a great week of making wonderful memories I'll never forget I can't wait until our next one in the fall 7 days is definitely not enough time.Embarkation
The Baltimore Terminal for our embarkation went nice and smooth. After waiting in line to enter the terminal a worker noticed my mother with a cane and quickly moved her to the special assistance line with my husband and myself where we were able to get registered and get her put in a wheelchair and on the boat exceptionally fast. We were not expecting such generosity and we saved about an hour and a half worth of waiting because of their kind gesture making sure she was comfortable. I would give a 5 out of 5 but the terminal worker who was pushing my mother got an attitude with us because of where we asked her to drop us off at a location where I knew my husband was familiar with, we even had a chance to tip her and say thank you she was mumbling and hustled away. It wasn't like we asked her to take us up to the room and unpack our bags we just wanted to be dropped off at the other side of the casino and everyone else came in at the opposite entrance.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The main dining room was phenomenal. Our wait staff was happy and eager to serve us every night. We never had to wait we were always seated as soon as we walked up for dinner. All the buffets ran nice and smooth up on the 9th level Lido deck. My husband and I had the specialty restaurant David Steakhouse for Valentine's Day to celebrate our anniversary they treated both of us as if we were royalty and the food was out of this world. We eat pizza every day on the boat and they always had it ready and waiting when they seen us walking. Iguana Cantina always move fast and smooth and gave you plenty to eat while giving you that wonderful service with a smile that you would receive at Chick-fil-A.
David's Steakhouse
My husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day and our second wedding anniversary while on vacation this week at the steakhouse. They welcomed Us in gave me a rose seated us and started us with amazing food. I felt as if they were there just to serve him and I. They always checked on us gave us house recommendations and made sure we had a wonderful experience. I booked this dinner several days after I booked our cruise last year and they had a reservation and everything ready. Every time I'm on the pride I will be eating at this steak house at least once a trip.
Onboard Activities
The boat had a lot of different activities to keep those of all ages entertained while we had some sea days. Bingo kept a lot of us entertain, game shows and themed dancing act and numbers every night we're entertaining to watch. We loved the Hasbro game show and the love and marriage game show. The Comedy Club we always made time for we actually went to the family and the adult show because they both were great all the comedians made the trip worthwhile. We enjoy the trivia games we won a metal and a trophy for trivia. We enjoyed laying out and soaking up the sun in the adult Serenity area.
Entertainment
You could tell Carnival is definitely stepping up their entertainment game. My list cruise I did not remember a lot of dancing numbers or lip sync battles going on. All the musical entertainment whether it was outside on the deck or in the middle of the atrium always put all the guests in a great mood. The welcome aboard show showed us some of the great things to look forward to at our ports of call my mother want a bottle of wine and a snorkel and my husband want an Excursion at princess cays from a raffle.
Service and Staff
Are Waiters whether it was getting a soda or something to eat in the buffet or a dining room always were very polite kind and willing to help any way they could. If I needed a refill they would walk around and refill my drink. They would help us carry food to the table or hold a spot for us so we would always have a spot to sit without having to worry. Our room service Stewart kept our room spotless twice a day. Brought us plenty of pillows when we needed them left us a nice big happy anniversary picture on our mirror and some coupons which we were able to use towards a nice portrait. All the other stuff that we encountered weather walking by or at a gift shop always had a smile and wished us well and asked us how her day went and they remembered your name.
Ship Quality
I love cruising on the pride because it has a very wonderful layout. Anybody can learn their way around the ship within 2 days. They have plenty of signs to let you know where exactly you are on the boat and how to get to another location whether it's in the front or the back of the ship. All the designs and artwork flowed very nicely on the ship. I know the Carnival Pride goes out every week and sales and comes back and still looks in wonderful condition because they still have people working on the boat when we dock at ports to keep it clean. You can see some wear and tear because of the immersion from the salt water of the sea but the inside was always very clean smelled good the common areas were kept very clean and the public restrooms were well maintained with so many people using them it always seemed like they were cleaned often.
Cabin / Stateroom
My husband mother and I had a balcony stateroom room number 5136. It was an amazing location right off the elevator and next to the steps. It had just enough barrier where we were not able to hear people coming and going being so close to those machines and steps. We decorated our door so we were able to tell where our cabin was which was funny because everyone else also loved our decorations and said they knew they were always in the right spot once they seen our door I'm glad I spent the extra couple dollars and upgraded from an obstructed view French door to a actual balcony. We had a gorgeous view of the sunrise and the sunset everyday nice and roomy for three adults to go out there and enjoy the breeze. I was worried that the couch they turned into a bed for my mom would be uncomfortable but it actually was a very comfortable bed for her for the week. Whenever I travel I always inspect the room for cleanliness dust and bed bugs because it's stuff you don't want to take home and our room was spotless everyday the sand was always vacuumed up from the beach the toilets were scrubbed the bed was always made with an awesome animal with an itinerary for the next day. The cabin and my opinion was just enough room for three large adults we had three closets several drawers and the bathroom gives you more storage space than you think. I plan on using that same cabin for my next Cruise because of the location the setup and the amazing view I had
Ship tip
If I had to give someone any advice who's about to cruise on this ship it would be don't over pack I had way too much stuff because of leaving Baltimore in the cold and heading to the warm I wasn't sure on what to expect weather wise. One day out of Baltimore I was in shorts the rest of the week or my bathing suit and flip-flops. Try something new eat something you've never tried before because if you don't like it you already paid for your cruise in advance you can order something else. Eat lots of pizza and ice cream go to the shows be polite to people guest and workers and those who treat you exceptionally well give them a little extra tip and let them know you're thankful for them making your Carnival vacation worth it.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
We only boarded the ship and left the ship at this Port of Call. Since I live in Baltimore we had a friend drop us off and pick us up so we didn't have to leave our car there and pay over $100. The security was very laid-back but got the job done the lines moved efficiently and they did not mess up our luggage loading it and bringing it back out for going home. I will always leave from this port because of the location and the convenience it is only being about 10 to 15 minutes ride from my house
Princess Cays (Cruise Line Private Island)
How was a little worried about this port at first because it was Carnival owned and after being to Half Moon Cay which was amazing I was scared this one wasn't going to measure up to it. We had to take a tender ship over because there was nowhere to dock the ship. Because my husband want an Excursion we were on one of the first tenders over and were able to get great seats close to the water for our family and go do our Excursion. We did the surf fishing it was about $30 a person for those who paid it was scheduled 8:30 to 12:30 most people only lasted about an hour there was 10 of us total. My husband and I stayed until 11:45 because it was a free Excursion and we enjoy the water trying to get some fish and then finally being able to see all the beautiful fish in the water made it worth it. They bring lunch out and serve it to buffet style so you don't have to worry about paying for food or drinks off the ship so you are able to enjoy staying on the island longer without having to go back to eat. They had a lot of shops clean restrooms and an information desk if needed, the music and entertainment was wonderful. I would definitely recommend water shoes because the water was nice and warm but the bottom was very Rocky and tough like a tough Coral. We stayed until 3 Last Ship was to go back to the pride at 4:30 so we enjoyed just about the whole day there. The setup was kind of like Half Moon Cay but the sand and the Clear Water wasn't just the same I would definitely go back to this island though.
This was our second stop on our cruise I did not like how unorganized the excursions were when you came off of the boat you could not find the tour guides really holding up signs letting you know where to go. Another boot block The View so you couldn't see a lot going on until you return from your Excursion. Once we found out we were in the right place we had to walk about half a mile to get to a tender boat which was a 45-minute boat ride to and from to get to Balmoral Island. Here we did a private beach getaway with a stingray Excursion. We got an hour with a group of 10 to play and learn about the Stingrays with a great tour guide. We got plenty of Sun and wonderful sitting on the beach. The water was nice and clean but still a little rocky I would also recommend shoes there for the water. We did not have the Excursion that came with lunch so I would recommend bringing some cereal bars and a couple bottles of water with you or cup or tumbler. They wanted $5 for 20 oz soda and they actually had a Starbucks which compared to the same price as we have in the United States. We were there from 9 and return back to the ship about 2:15. I was not impressed how they arrange the setup of our drop off to be nowhere near where we caught our boat over but I feel like they should teach eccle drop you off in the middle of the shops far away from the boat so you would go into town and try and buy stuff. I did not mind but my mother who was already exhausted was thinking we would have a nice simple walk back to the boat equal to or less the distance when we caught it that morning. So Community reminded me of Baltimore city with a lot of panhandling and beggars if you wanted a deal on something they definitely were able to make it affordable for whatever you wanted. We ended up getting a shirt a pretty cool bracelet and a wooden carved skull all for 50 bucks and that's when they try to start the skull off at 70$... Lol
I never was ever fond of this location I always feel like this location looks like you would stop there to fuel up get some supplies and move on. I did not do an Excursion this trip at this location my first cruise when we went to Freeport we did the ATV which was amazing but to do anything fun at Freeport you have to get on a bus or taxi at least 30 to 45 minutes each way to get to a beach or some nice location the only thing you see when you pull up looks like shipping containers and a bunch of construction attempting to go on. They look like they put up a lot of fencing from our last visit to make it more safety worthy in my opinion I was never asked to show my photo before it Freeport until this visit. I slept in got off the boat looked at a few shops and left to get back on the ship. I always feel as if they could add a different port instead of this one considering we are only there from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. so you really don't get a lot of time considering it's super early when you arrive and pull off.
Disembarkation
The disembarking was a nice smooth experience. Cruising with our friends before because they Crews often we were able to get off the shift fairly quick being that we had tickets number 1 out of 25. They grabbed our luggage the night before and got it ready and put it out it was section where we could find it once we arrive to the terminal. They give you plenty of room to sit around the boat and relax until they call you off. You can eat breakfast and stay in your room until 9:30 because you got to remember in 3 hours or less they have to get 3000 or less people off to get another 3000 or less people on for their vacation to start. I thought having a higher number we were going to get off really late but we ended up getting off the boat and grabbing our luggage and getting into a car within 30 minutes once they called our number. It was a little congestion with people waiting to get in and out of the pickup area but nobody probably wanted to go home. I don't really know how they make up their mind who gets what other numbers after VIP guest but being number 20 out of 25 wasn't as awful as I thought it was going to be.