The Carnival Pride was a great ship to view the Norway fjords. 6 ports in 9 days with 2 sea days serving as bookends to the vacation was more than enough to get an experience to remember. Carnival would be smart to build an updated ship that was small enough to travel small waterways, yet have the conveniences of specialty dining (Del Capitano, Bonsai Sushi & Teppanyaki, Ji Ji Asian, Guy's Pig & Anchor) and modern entertainment venues that have the high tech backgrounds found on new ships. It was a Very Special Experience!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Dover was quick and efficient
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
2 Elegant Nights were great and 2 other dinners in Main Dining Room were good (there were other night's dinner menus that we couldn't find anything we'd want to eat), few choices with specialty restaurants and dinner buffet needs a carving station choice like many of the other Carnival ships. Guy's burgers were great as usual, but pizza and deli needs more workers to serve the customers, way too long of a wait, even when there were under 5 people ordering! Blue Iguana (huevos rancheros, burritos and tacos)was a highlight for both breakfast & lunch.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
2 evening shows (88 Keys, 80s); 2-3 comedy 18+ (Butterfly Lounge is beautiful and 2 nights we were able to hop from the first show in the Taj Mahal down 1 flight to Butterfly). Piano Bar had a few groupies (fun or obnoxious you decide!) Enjoyed music at the Alchemy Bar and Atrium Bar. (We loved the configuration of the mid-elevators - music would carry around our deck, as well as, the lido Mermaid Buffet, always felt like a party). Fitness center was wonderful (machines, weights, steam & sauna rooms), but outside track was always soggy and difficult to walk/run laps. Card Room and Red Frog Pub during the day was a great venue for cards, games and other activities. Sudoku, Crossword Puzzles and Kryptik each day kept our brains active and challenged.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Very nice choreography, dancers worked hard, music was well performed. Musicians were hit or miss, some very good, others need to stick to music that fit their style!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Always a clean ship, staff were very attentive and accommodating. Always a greeting; "hello, good morning, how are you?, etc." Enjoyed our waitstaff and room stewards worked on our cabin when we were dining, on excursions, etc. (always came back to a clean room)
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
For a smaller older ship the design/layout was easy to maneuver and very simple to move from deck to deck and front to aft. The casino wasn't as smoky as other ships, ventilation was very good. The top decks need a little updating.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Size was great, very comfortable with lots of closet space. Television had no options when choosing movies at night, you get what's on and that's it! Other Carnival ships (Horizon & Panorama) have a list of movies to choose from and can be played at any time (I like to watch TV as it helps me to sleep, this could not be done due to format used). Safe needed a credit card to lock which makes no sense, still needed to hide the card in the cabin!
Ship tip
Enjoy the many details (pictures, theme, decorations, Alchemy & Atrium Bars). The ship has a very relaxing vibe, sit in different areas each day and chill.
Hop On/Off was not worth it $50 pp (They eliminated stop to Art Museum farthest eastern point on route - plan was after touring there to take a cab to the Viking swords in stone which we couldn't do utilizing the bus). Easier to just hang out in the old town across the street. Easy walk to Canning Museum & Petroleum Museum.
You need to wake up early to view 4 hours of cruising the fjord before arriving, what a great morning of video and picture taking as we sailed into port. When arriving, you can meander through town, bike to other places, hike up the hills, cross over bridges viewing rivers, just beautiful!
Strawberry Farm was fantastic, great cake & coffee, took hundreds of pictures this day as we toured the fjords, winding roads, Troll wall. Many viewing areas to take pictures and video, as well as, enjoying the natural surroundings.
Atlantic Ocean Road was disappointingly average. We've seen a more impressive coastline in Northern California, Ogunquit Maine, Essex CT, small towns in Cape Cod, Outer Banks, NC and many more. Not worth the cost of the excursion.
By far, our favorite excursion to Briksdal Glacier! Every turn is picturesque with waterfalls, snow-capped mountains, gorges, cliffs. Too much to mention. It's worth going back just for this 1 port/excursion. Spend some cash at the pub/restaurant right next to the port. The musical send off as the ship was departing was a truly special happy hour. Port workers, residents, home-owners up on the mountain were waving goodbye, dancing and enjoying the music as we left port!! Sailing away viewing the mountains in the background and hospitable villagers was a memory never to forget, we were lucky to have a balcony on that side of the ship!
Rain, rain go away! Very overcast and frigid. Shopping was like any large city. The Mall was a nice contrast to the old town and a good place to get out of the rain. We could not take advantage of the Bergen Fest event that was taking place due to leaving the port early. Thank goodness we didn't pay for the Funicular ahead of time, there was no way to see the city.
Signed up for the Windsor Castle excursion and trip to Heathrow. Wish we had more time to visit the town and castle, but it was very convenient to make the most of our last day.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
