Carnival Pride Cruise Reviews - Reviews

As much as Carnival stresses that their cruise is all about the customers experience I found it a continuous effort to try and extract money from us be it on board, shore excursions or shopping at their ports of call stores. I found the decor very dated and tired, the staff was okay but not great, the food was cafeteria worthy - quantity over quality. Dining in The David Restaurant one night did show what they were capable of providing. It is apparent Carnival has found ways to minimize costs (and quality) of food and staff to the detriment of cruisers. Mandatory tipping policy diminishes staff's desire to provide superior service. Even so we provided extra tips when merited. 

Spa services were staffed with relatively inexperienced masseuses. My wife's treatments were very good - but pricey.

Boarding was a breeze, departure somewhat less so.

In the future we look to cruise on a higher rated line with four or five star vs two to three star which I rated The Pride on this trip.

13 Nights with 14 days of happiness, both onboard the Carnival Cruise ship Pride and ashore in each of the 6 foreign ports visited throughout the Caribbean.   Of course we would have preferred the Pride return to Baltimore instead of Tampa, as we had to fly home after the cruise, which limited what we could purchase to take home because we were already at our baggage weight limitation and a return to our departure port of Baltimore would have eliminated that problem for us.  Otherwise the entire cruise was stress free and full of good times with good people from all walks of life who we met throughout the cruise.  :)

The "entertainment" during the dinner meal was so load that that music hurt my ears.  It was way beyond loud.  The meal in the steak house awful.  My first rare steak was medium well and the second was raw. 

My favourite show was the hypnotism.show. The food was very bland. Shows were dedicated to seniors. Need to have food and shows for everyone. I was bored. 

Going through the Panama Canal was fascinating. We had a balcony cabin and spent most of the day there, starting with room service for breakfast. While going through, the TV had commentary on what to look for and what was happening, how many gallons of water were displaced, how much it cost to go through, how many ships a day go through etc. It takes a couple of hours to go each way so it was nice to have a balcony.

Excellent ports, accommodations, entertainment, service and food. Baltimore Port received luggage in open parking lot. Luggage was left out in the rain! Worst internet service in all of my cruises, despite have the premium WIFI package and paying the highest price I ever paid!

The ship was clean with beautiful architecture and amenities.  The staff was so attentive and really went out of their way to make sure customers had a great time.  We had a room on one of the lower decks but the room was still a good size and I was really impressed with the bathroom.  Plenty of room for 2 average sized adults.  The food was very good and I was really happy to see there were healthy options (the sushi was fantastic!).  We loved our waiter at dinner and looked forward to seeing him at night (Regalando - his singing voice was amazing).  We went to Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Freeport Bahamas.  All gorgeous places especially Half Moon Cay which is like your own private island.  Steve the Cruise Director did a fantastic job keeping all of us informed about what was happening and the events of the day.  There were so many options of things to do - you could lay in the sun or go to a spinning class.  Keep in mind that there are certain charges attached to activities and if you don't purchase the alcohol card, you have to pay for every drink as you go  (they keep your credit card on file and run a tab throughout the week).  Needless to say, it got a little hard to stay within our budget.  And it's really hard to bring your own alcohol on board so you are stuck paying $10+ for every liquor drink.  Another issue we had was the Carnival app did not work for us.  The ship wifi is very expensive so we couldn't text.  We thought the app would help us communicate but it has many bugs.  There were 14 of us and it got really hard to keep up with everyone.  I saw someone with a walkie talkie and think that is a great idea for next time.  On the last day of sea, our toilet started to really smell like a port a potty so that was a little gross but I guess normal?  Overall, we had a great time and will definitely sail with Carnival again

Boat needs renovations.

Bottomless bubbles (not worth it), takes forever to get a drink.

Rooms are very updated (especially the bathrooms)

Hard to find things to do, on the days you are sailing.

My family and I enjoyed this cruise a lot! I was able to rest & relax and spend quality time with my family! The first show by the carnival entertainers was horrible, so I couldn't get most of my family to attend any other shows. But the next night show was much better, with only 1 main singer (& he could sing well) & a lot of cool production stunts! My son went with me to the last show and it was pretty good; again it was much better than the first night. The comedians were excellent! New Year's Eve was fun with good music! Grand Turk & the private island were great ports, even with a bit of rain. Freeport is a terrible port & should be removed from the itinerary. It's a ripoff if you want to do anything other than shop.  

I would definitely recommend this cruise.  From the ease of baggage handling, accessible parking, organized check-in...Carnival and the Baltimore terminal had it all.  The crew on the Pride were great, the food was top-notch and the ports of call were great.  NYE was a special event and was fun for all ages.  The only thing that could use improvement was the nightly entertainment.  The shows in the theater were POOR and we stopped going.  Despite that, there were plenty of other things to enjoy.  On the warm days, there was plenty of room and there were plenty of chairs for lounging on deck.  Our three-generational family group had a wonderful time and created lots of happy memories on this cruise.  

The nightly shows in the main showroom were terrible. Its like an amateur show that you would see in High School. The food was not as good as all the other cruises I have been on. They also limit the time you have to eat, unlike all the other cruises which always had food available unlike the lousy pizza and ice cream that Carnival has available all the time.

The staff was really good! My room needed repair to the AC, Shower and safe but the staff took care of the issues right away. Will probably cruise again.

Wife and I had to pick up cruise at first port (SC) since flights out of Indy could not leave due to ice. Boat is very nice. Employees are super friendly and helpful. They do make you feel at home. Port stops are great. My only whine would be not enough time at each port. Only time to do one thing then BOOM back on boat. Food on Lido deck is great. Buffet...help yourself. Their steakhouse is awesome. Big portion sizes and food is beyond belief. Main dining room seem to have same menu which is why we only ate there 3 times. Entertainment (comedians) were great. But honestly, rest of things to do on board were lame. Good small casino for those who like to gamble.

my daughter and I took the Christmas cruise and found it to be wonderful.  This is our 3rd Christmas cruise on the Pride.   This year was the added bonus of Charleston, which we enjoyed so much but couldn't believe it was so cold.  Would love to have the same itenerary again next Christmas.  

It's easy to get to the port at Baltimore. The cruise was normal----food was Ok---entertainment was OK-----excursions were OK. Just a time on leisure and no responsibility. My wife and I took two carridge rides that were very entertaining.

Great cruise. Great food. The only reason for 4 out of 5 is that it was too hot in the stateroom and in interior rooms on the ship.

Maria and Katie in the Alchemy Bar were amazing!!

Paola was wonderful as well!!

Carnival Pride is a fine ship.  The crew is outstanding.  The cruise was a fine value for the money.  The food was very good.  The entertainment was not quite as good as previous cruises.  The balcony room was very nice.  However getting on the ship required much patience.

We had a wonderful experience on Carnival. The entire staff was amazing, always having a smile on their face and greeting you each and every single time. Some of the staff even remembered your name which was amazing. This was our first time on carnival and this will not be our last. My girls are 6 & 7 and LOVED the kids club. They begged to go to it each night.They had a wide variety of food, places to hang out, and activities for the entire family. I am looking forward to our next cruise. 

I very much enjoyed my cruise. The staff was fabulous!!!! Our room steward, Rosario, was great! My daughter loved the towel animals and was so excited to come back to the room to see which animal was waiting.

We spent most of our time at the wonderful Blue Iguana. The staff there was great and really made sure we enjoyed our vacation. The one bartender was so sweet to my daughter, keeping her full of Shirley Temples.

I am so happy to share that the cruises my sister Sherit and I have taken over the years with Carnival Cruise Lines have been enjoyable and memorable. From our cabin stewards to our servers at dinner and the Guest Services staff, all have rendered stellar service. We’ve enjoyed the shops, restaurants, and a plethora of entertainment options aboard the ship. Truly the customer service has been some of the best I’ve experienced.

On December 04-11, 2016 my sister and I embarked on a 7 day cruise with Carnival aboard the Pride, sailing from Baltimore, MD to Port Canaveral, FL, Nassau and Freeport Bahamas. We paid for unobstructed balcony accommodations (Rooms 8188 and 8190) to really enjoy and take full advantage of our cruise. However, our overhang/balcony ceilings were decayed, falling, and ladened with rust stains. Our understanding was that the Pride had been refurbished. We reported the damaged balconies to Guest Services, and repair men did attempt to fix the problem. They were not successful, as the damage was too great to correct while we were at sea.

While we appreciate the gesture of a $410.00 credit issued to us, it is only about 25% of our cruise cost. We were informed by Guest Services that we could accept this credit, or reject it and continue the exchange with corporate after the cruise. Flying blindly into this experience thus far, we decided to accept the $410.00 credit, not knowing how corporate would address this problem.

We feel very strongly that our balconies being in disrepair throughout the entire cruise made for an unpleasant experience. My sister and I planned this trip a year in advance. We purposefully chose side by side balcony suites to be in close proximity to each other and to enjoy our views of the ocean, the balmy climate and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. We intently set out to take full advantage of all that our unobstructed balcony cabins were supposed to afford us. However, with every sunrise, sunset, and repose out on the balcony, our eyes first took in the view of corroded, weather-beaten, collapsing ceilings, and poorly painted, eroded overhangs. It was the precursor to every view; even while we lie in our beds looking out onto the ocean, the “unobstructed view” was anything but.

When we began planning our vacation, we were taken in by the on-line accommodation renderings on the Carnival website. At no point did Carnival’s advertisements and illustrations of the ship show rust, caked on paint, or the rotting, decomposed overhangs of the balconies.

We paid for the beautiful unobstructed balcony cabin that was advertised; however, Carnival Cruise Lines did not deliver that to us. And, if only 25% of our vacation had been affected by this, then $410.00 would suffice and be appropriate. Of course this was not the case.  

I do not write this letter to be harsh, callous, or scathingly snide; rather, to lucidly and effectively communicate how my sister and I were impacted by Carnival’s blaring failure to provide the dream vacation it promoted, and for which, indeed, we paid.

Pictures are below.

I welcome and await your response.

Very truly yours,

Diane