Carnival Pride Cruise Reviews - Reviews

My family and I had a fantastic time onboard the Carnival Pride. My son's third, his wife's second, their daughters (1.5 years old) Hattie's frist, daughter in laws Mother her first, My husband's eighth and my ninth cruise. We can't wait for another cruise

Great 1st cruise, service and staff were great, ports were beautiful

We have cruised on the Carnival Pride 8 times and love the size of the ship and it's crew. My only complaint is that I wish they would change the ports since we have seen these so often. They need to add new ports.

Nice cruise and a short trip to Baltimore for us.

This was my 7th cruise with Carnaval. Everything went well. Sailing, activities, entertainment, food and drinks, my stateroom and staff relation just right. When I travel to Caribbeans, I use only Carnaval. It's affordable, well organized and very relaxing cruises. I will continue do this for many years in the future.

this was our first 7 day cruise alone and we absolutely loved it. We usually do friends and family group cruises but this was our first alone cruise. Even in the midst of all the corona virus scare Carnival still was able to show us a great time and assured us that they had everything on board under control. They were absolutely great at keeping everyone calm and assured us that our cruise was going on without turmoil. Staff was "THE BEST" so friendly and attentive. They treated us like family. We are sold on Carnival!!! we are cruisers for life.

Amazing time away from home going on adventure of a year😜🇩🇴🇺🇸

This was our first cruise and we were a bit nervous but aside from being sea sick the first day at sea, we had an awesome time. Here's a breakdown:

Embarkation -- Standing in line for almost two hours was a real pain but we had no real issues here.

Cabin -- We got an extended balcony room and I can't recommend that enough! When everyone and their mother is on the lido deck, you can sit on your peaceful private balcony and watch the sunset and it is awesome. You can have room service bring your breakfast and enjoy it out there too! The decor of the cabin was surprisingly dated but the room was clean and the bed was comfortable.

Days at sea -- Sea sickness is no joke! I have spent a ton of time on boats without getting sick and assumed I'd be fine but boy is it different out in the open ocean! I was really happy to have backed "just in case" Dramamine. 

There is plenty to do to pass the time while at sea and Carnival has a great app to help you plan your day and find your way around the ship, which was very confusing at first. 

Grand Turk -- So convenient that you walk off the ship and are at the beach. The shops here are overpriced tourist traps but if you pass through them and walk down on the beach, you can jump right in the beautiful water. I recommend heading to the "GRAND TURK" side of the beach which was way less crowded and just as nice as the "WELCOME TO" side. You can have food and drink brought to you while you lounge in the shade under the huge palm trees, there's volleyball and a huge chess board, and a NASA exhibit. You might consider water shoes here as the sea floor is very rocky and my husband and I both cut our feet.

Half Moon Cay -- For this port, you have to use a tender boat to get to the island since it is too small for a big pier. This was a bit annoying in the morning when everyone was trying to go at the same time and even with the number system, it was still super crowded. As the day goes on, less people are coming and going and it's much less stressful. The beach here is awesome, the water is super clear, you can snorkel right there in the swimming area and see cool fish, there are a ton of activities all over the island, lunch is served in a huge awesome BBQ buffet, it's very clean, and there aren't pushy local vendors as this is a cruiseline-owned island.

Freeport -- Honestly, I would have rather skipped this stop all together and just headed home early. It's just a small strip mall in a shipping port full of pushy vendors selling the same ticky tacky crap (but at least the prices are relatively cheap aside from the random Harley Davidson store). To go and do anything beachy requires an expensive excursion or taking a taxi 20+ mins. We weren't feeling this and hung out mostly on the ship this day as it was a short stop and we got a chance to do the things that were normally too crowded (e.g., mini golf, basketball, hot tubbing, the water slides).

Food -- There are so many options for eating, it's crazy. The first night we went to the official dinner restaurant where you go at your assigned time. It was beautiful and the food was great but it literally took two hours for two people so we never went there again. The quality of the food at the buffets was just as good and allowed you to try all kinds of foods. My husband and I are both vegetarian and we always found plenty of yummy veg-friendly foods. There are a couple of restaurants where you can pay for fancier food but we never tried those as the buffets are included and are very good.

Casino -- I was really disappointed by this. Firstly because you can smoke in there which is a HUGE turn-off. I was shocked that there wasn't at least a non-smoking section. I'm not a hardcore gambler, I just like to play the slots, and the odds are stacked so hard against you that it's not even fun. At a normal casino you can sit and play for 20-30 mins with a $20 and you'll go up and lose some and have fun. These machines suck your money away without any bonus rounds and the fun is over in like 2 minutes. My husband is into roulette and cards and also didn't enjoy his time, though I can't explain why because those games make no sense to me. :)

Comedy club and stage shows -- We really wanted to go to a comedy show and tried FIVE TIMES and every time there was literally not a seat left it was so packed. So I guess that means they're good? If you can get in the door. The stage shows (by Playlist Productions) were surprisingly good with an impressive theatre (the Taj Mahal) with high tech audio visual and stage effects. The singers were often off-key and over-sang everything to death but it was still a good time.

Tipping -- Having never been on a cruise, we had no idea we were going to be charged $180 for gratuity at the end of the trip and had been tipping in cash. That was really aggravating so be sure to understand your cruise's tipping protocol beforehand!

First, let me say that I really WANTED to like Carnival. We had only ever cruised on Disney, but with my husband in a new job, he was unable to get the time off for our Disney Cruise. So, I pushed the DCL cruise up a year, and looked for an alternative cruise for my son and myself. The Pride sails from Baltimore, which is an hour drive from our home. This cruise was the same days as our DCL, with the added bonus of a stop in Port Canaveral, which would give me a day at WDW. My son has always wanted to go to Atlantis, so I booked this and was really excited to see a new ship and visit new ports. I organized a FB group, bought door decorations, Command Strips, Cruise Cash and booked our excursion to Atlantis. I also bought Faster to the Fun so we could board early, and counted down the days. On our embarkation day, my husband dropped us off at 10:30, as we had the FTTF. We sat in the terminal and met a really cool family that we ended up eating with just about every night. We sat and talked. And sat, and sat, and sat. And sat some more. We didn't board until about 12:45. Our cabin, 8207, was ready, so we decided to sit on the balcony for a few minutes....but our balcony was covered in paint chips. One look up showed that the paint was coming from the ceiling, which was a nasty mess of peeling paint.The ceiling on the balcony next to us was peeling apart, almost like it was wet cardboard, and there was some sort of general ickiness falling from that. I called Guest Services and asked to be moved, or to have the balcony cleaned. Moving was not an option as the boat was at capacity, but I was told the balcony would be cleaned. OK, great! I unpacked our day bag loving the three closets and drawers, even though they were showing some wear. The bathroom shelves were covered in dust, but I just whipped out my Lysol wipes and the problem was solved.

After we unpacked, up for a soda and a burger from Guys. Yummmy! These are some of the best burgers I have had in ages, and the sautéed mushrooms....heaven. During our seven days, we would discover that the food on Carnival is head and shoulders better than most of the food on DCL. Sadly, that is the only area in which they are even close to DCL. After lunch, we explored the ship. The teen club was empty, not even a crew member. Off to the video prize arcade, soon to be my son's favorite hangout on the ship. He checked out all the gamesand then, after I tore my son out, we headed back to the cabin, where I discovered that all of our bags were delivered, and that I had forgotten shampoo and conditioner. In my defense, DCL supplies spa level amenities, so I think it was some sort of mental block on my part. I decorated our door, and then we changed into our dress clothes for our dinner at David's. This was my son's birthday dinner, and I was so excited about it! This; however; was the beginning of the downfall of our Carnival experience. The waitress, whose name I have now blocked, seemed distracted, and more interested in the young men around us. Despite noting his birthday on the reservation, and mentioning it several times, we received nothing. Not a cupcake, no 'Happy Birthday ' song, nothing. Ok. No big deal. The food was AMAZING, and my son was thrilled with his steak. When the meal was over, I handed our waitress my Sign and Sail card, and off she went. For well over half an hour. My son wandered to the men's restroom, while I waited. And waited,And waited. She finally returned to tell me that she had lost my Sign and Sail card, but that she had spoken to her manager, who had called Guest Services who had voided the card and already had my new one ready. OK. Off to Guest Services to pick up my new card. And yeah, no one at GS had any clue what I was talking about. So I waited about 20 MORE minutes while they did what I was told had already been done. By this point, I was so furious that as soon as I had my new card I walked away. I was sure I would get a call from someone, with an apology, or something. A spa coupon, a box of candy, something. Yeah, nope. Nothing. After repeatedly calling GSand speaking to the manager at David's, who informed me she found out about the incident AFTER I left the restaurant, I was given a credit for one of the charges at David's. I was also told that Carnival doesn't 'compensate' for mistakes. Umm, pumpkin, this wasn't some spilled milk, this was your employee losing what amounts to my credit card, waiting 40 minutes to tell me, and then lying to me about how she handled it. Anyway, this new card/folio haunted me all week. Nearly every time I used my card, the crew member chose the old folio number, and would tell me loudly that there was a problem with my card. By the end of the cruise, I resorted to using my actual credit card. 

As if this was not enough, our wait staff in the dining room seemed just as distracted. Our waiter served my son the wrong soup, and while this would normally be just annoying, the soup he served my son was peach soup, and my son is allergic to peaches. So that evening ended up with my son heavily sedated on Benadryl andme getting no sleep while I hovered over him with an  EpiPen. Once I was sure he was OK, I went to GS to reduce the gratuity for our waitstaff. (Sorry, when you almost kill my child with your careless actions, I am not tipping you.) We ate the remaining meals at the table of the family we met while boarding, who were seated alone at an 8 top, as we were. (And yes, I gave that wait staff a tip in cash). That is the all the ugly..well almost, but since the rest was on debark day, I will save that.

The entertainment on the ship is amazing...the comedy shows, the trivia contests(I won the 80's music and movie music games, and have the ships on sticks to prove it) were lots of fun. Not fond of the casino, because of the cigarette smoke, but no big deal.

Nassau, and Atlantis, were the real reason for this trip, and that resort, and the mega watt smile on my son's face the entire day, are the only reason I gave the cruise two stars. OK, I also got a day in WDW, so I did get my Disney fix. We also met a ton of new friends, and my son and I spent a lot of quality time together. As our last day approached, I was sad to be leaving and ready to just let Carnival off the hook. And then I got my final bill. That showed I was being billed $210 despite only $250 of my $300 in Cruise Cash being applied. Mind you, this was at 8 AM and we had to vacate our room at 9. I called GS, and the rep said she would call me right back. Yeah, 30 minutes later, no call back. So I leave my son, head to GS and that is when it got REALLY, REALLY ugly. I will,spare the details, but the lowlight was the GS rep telling me "This is your fault because you lost your Sign and Sail card." That is when I flipped. Seriously. I did end up with a credit on my card for the unused Cruise Cash. My son and I were also OFF the ship by 9:25 AM. (Self assist). Oh, and did I mention that our balcony got cleaned? Yeah, on Friday afternoon. 

Had an amazing time like always! Cruising from so close to home was a bonus! Weather was amazing, food was great, and all of the entertainment was so much fun! Can’t wait to go back!

Overall I had an amazing time on my very first cruise. The Cruise Director Cookie was phenomenal! His energy along with the energy of his team was always upbeat and fun. This definitely made my experience 100 times better.

Had the most relaxing and fun vacation ever! Ship is older but they have done work to keep it looking good. It was the perfect size.

The all employees on the cruise ship are very conscientious and enthusiastic ! Thank you very much for their service！👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

We really loved the dining room, the service was fantastic and the food was amazing, we had a wonderful experience, our rooms were kept spotless and were surprisingly roomy, we had plenty of activities to do, the food was great and our ports were fun, we booked the sting ray adventure with snorkeling and a Conch salad and it was well scheduled and worth it, overall this was the best vacation our family has ever taken. Ramesh in dining and Silvia in Guest services were stand outs even though everyone was amazing and our sunset photos taken by the gallery are breathtaking. I know for a fact we will cruise again. Thank you for the wonderful memories!!!

Loved the ports and excursions! Shout out to Fernando in the dining room and Alex at the Blue Iguana! You guys made our trip unforgettable! :D Highly recommend this cruise!

The ship was nice but some of the staff was so unfriendly.  No smiles or anything.

I will choose a trip with no kids next time.  The parents let their children run free and staff couldn't control them or didn't want to.

Drinks were sooo high.  I have bartend on the side for 19 years and $10 for a margarita was just a bit too much and I didn't like how the how you had to pay for EVERY DRINK when you ordered instead of a tab.

I had a nice vacation this cruise. Spent too much time in the casino, so hoping I'll get some good casino offers for my next cruise. Came home sick though😷😣

Our cruise was unforgettable. Thank you Carnival!

If you like a lot of sea days, this cruise is for you

We had another great cruise on the Carnival Pride (cruise to the Bahamas 12/08/19 - 12/15/19). The ship might be older and smaller, but it looks fantastic and the crew does a wonderful job in keeping everybody happy. We especially appreciated the Christmas decorations and music throughout the cruise.