Amazing Vacation

Carnival Pride Cruise Review

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5
Carnival Pride

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Baltimore Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 17, 2021

Ship: Carnival Pride

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 1126

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

Absolutely amazing and can't wait to go on another cruise in the future. I highly recommend cruising as a vacation. Carnival is a great and fun introduction to cruising.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
We had a check in time of 1:30. We had taken a hotel shuttle and got to the port earlier than scheduled. We were allowed to check in early and we're on board by 1:00. There was a bit of congestion while going through the check in process.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Grand Buffet

4 out of 5

This was open for all meals and late night snacks. The food was good she's was your basic buffet store style foods. The theme did change daily.

Promenade Coffee Bar

5 out of 5

Very relaxing place to hang out. Most of the trivia events were here.A better location could have been used for trivia as there was often noise from Coffee Shop and passer-by's.

Butterflies Lounge

4 out of 5

This was a nice place to have the comedy shows. Wish that there was more seating as it filled up fast.Most of the comedians where amazing.

The Carnival Deli

4 out of 5

This was part of the buffet everyday and was open late. There was always a line of people getting sandwiches.The meatball sub I had was amazing.

BlueIguana Cantina

5 out of 5

I only ever had breakfast here. When getting a breakfast burrito I loved the crunchy potatoes they made the entire burrito.

Normandie Restaurant

4 out of 5

This was a great place to eat. Really good selection of meals to please everyone.If you have anytime dining your service team changes every night unless you request the same service team. I recommend doing that since they will remember you and it makes that much more enjoyable. Our service team lead by Dewa was absolutely amazing.I would avoid getting the fish fillet meals. The fish was overcooked and the skin was still raw.

David's Steakhouse

5 out of 5

Absolutely amazing meal. The service and meal was better than any steak house on land. The free bottle of wine on embarkation day was an added bonus.The view out the windows during sail away was great.

Raphael Lounge

4 out of 5

Very relaxing and a great place to wait for your table to be ready for those on Anytime Dining.

Alchemy Bar

3 out of 5

This was a great atmosphere. The drink (Old Fashioned) I got was really strong and not what I expected.

Lucky Bowl

3 out of 5

This was part of the buffet everyday. The food was in my opinion a little bland and dry.

Lido Marketplace

4 out of 5

This was open for all meals and late night snacks. The food was good she's was your basic buffet store style foods. The theme did change daily.

Guy's Burger Joint

2 out of 5

The atmosphere was really unique and fit the Guy theme very well.The burgers were okay. I don't see what all the hype is about them. The fries were over salted.

Piano Bar

4 out of 5

Really nice environment. The piano player (Gilbert) was fun and interactive with the guests. He would sing and play almost anything that was asked of him. He was also willing to try doing and learning songs that were knew to him.

Pizza Pirate

2 out of 5

This was okay. The pizza was not overly flavorful and the sauce was bland. The wait time was pretty long to get a pizza.

Cherry on Top

2 out of 5

This was a little disappointing. They had a shortage of some items in particular the Gummy Funnels. This was due to a storage from the manufacturer due to COVID sure down.The store was small yet the crew member was really nice.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Every event that I took part was amazing. The hosts made them interesting and interesting. They always joked and interacted with all the participants.

Apollo Forward Pool

3 out of 5

It was nice and relaxing. Loved the fact that there were lifeguards at the pool at all times it was open.

Raphael Conference Room

1 out of 5

This was the location of the Art Gallery on the ship. The members of the art sales team were a bit pushy. We were trying to just look and they followed us like hawks and tried to get us to sign up for the Art Auctions. We were not interested in getting any art and just wanted to look. The rest of the cruise we never looked at any of the other art and avoided making eye contact.

The Fun Shops

3 out of 5

There were a lot of really nice items in the store. I wish that they had a little more stock of the alcohol for sale. There was something that I wished to buy and they sold out as they only had 3 bottles.

Guest Services / Shore Excursions

5 out of 5

Both departments were very helpful when I needed assistance.

Library

1 out of 5

This was a huge disappointment. This no longer exists on the ship.

Mini Golf

2 out of 5

It was okay. The day we tried to play it was too windy and kept blowing the balls around.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Everyone of the shows were amazing. The Playlist cast was amazing and full of energy.

Taj Mahal Main Lounge

5 out of 5

All the shows and games put on here we're amazing.The show could be seen almost from anywhere in the lounge. Just be sure too avoid the poles. Best seats are on the lower level in the center section.

Renaissance Lobby

3 out of 5

Never spent much time here. Loved hearing the violin trio every night while heading to and from the dining room.

Carnival Seaside Theater

5 out of 5

This was amazing to sit on deck and watch a movie. The volume was just right.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Everyone that worked on the ship always made sure to say hi and good morning. Crew members would call your by name.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
The ship is well laid out and the theme was consistent through our the ship. Very seldom was there anything dirty for more than a couple of minutes. The cleaning staff was always cleaning and seemed to be everywhere at once.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5
Our cabin was really nice for being an interior cabin. The cabin steward (Kris) kept the cabin clean and took great care of us. It was always interesting to see what towel animals he was going to leave us.

Ship tip

It's a good idea to bring a collapsible laundry hamper to keep dirty cloths in.

Ports of call

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

4 out of 5
This was a really interesting port as it is located in an industrial area. While traveling through other areas you could see deserted buildings from Hurricane Damage. Right of the ship there is a little shopping area. There were a number of places that were closed and appeared to not have survived the COVID shut down. We took part in a Dolphin Close Encounter through Carnival. This was a bubble tour so we had to stay with the group the entire time. This was absolutely amazing and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I strongly recommend doing those type of excursion.

Bimini, Bahamas

3 out of 5
This port was interesting as it was located at a resort. There wasn't much to do in the port other than beaches. The beaches were okay although there were locals trying to pressure you into buying from them. We went to the free beach for the day. However, there was a charge for the use of lounge chairs and umbrellas. The staff doesn't monitor who has paid our not paid. There were a lot of people who did not pay to use them and no one said anything.

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5
The island was well maintained with plenty of facilities for the quests. The food smelled good, however, we did not eat on the island. We took the Eco Lagoon Boat Tour offered through Carnival. The tour was really nice and we got to learn about the lagoon sanctuary as well as the island it's self.

Baltimore, Maryland

4 out of 5
We arrived 2 days before the cruise started and stayed 2 days after the cruise. This gave us a chance to explore the city. The Inner Harbor area is really nice but there were a number of places that were closed and appeared to have not survived the COVID shut down. The National Aquarium was a really nice place to visit. I recommend not going on a weekend since there are a lot of kids and families.

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
This process was very easy too get through. Biggest negative was that drive home the fact the the cruise was over.
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15 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing.

rickfab1    3 years ago

Great review. Happy you had a very nice time. I would only slightly disagree with one thing you said. I really like Guy's Burgers.

izrgreen    3 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to write a review

Kmlb    3 years ago

Sounds like a wonderful cruise. I am very excited to sail the Pride in 20 days. I hope they have the same crew, as it starts sailing out of Tampa. I hear great things about the Pride Crew!

Carnivalfoodie    3 years ago

Thanks so much! We are going on the Pride in March out of Tampa. Can’t wait!!!!!!!!!!!

hollysmomtravel    3 years ago

Thanks for sharing your experience

CurlyCruiserYAY    3 years ago

Yay Carnival.

AuntPinkie    3 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Curt34    3 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thanks for the review.

javawoody    3 years ago

Thanks for the review

purpl    3 years ago

Thanks for sharing, glad you enjoyed your cruise.

jameeh    3 years ago

What a great vacation, with pre and post cruise days in port. I agree, cruising is one of the best true vacations you can experience.

lincoln    3 years ago

Nice review!

RetiredRay    3 years ago

Sounds great!

cruising2004    3 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experience

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