Arnold Friske

Age: 61
Occupation: Retired
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Carnival
Name of Ship: Pride
Sailing Date: December 21st, 2002
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

This was our first trip on a large ship and it included my wife and 82 year old mother-in-law. Some advice on booking you tours. If you book early you will probably miss some very good deals on the internet. I booked over the internet and was very pleased with what we paid for the suite we had. About $1200 each during the Christmas break.

Being Canadian there are some benefits, as an example, when you arrive at the terminal, non-US citizens have their own line, about 10 people long compared to the 500 in th US line. We got through very quickly.

Our room was large enough for three and if we needed more space the balcony was available. The bathroom was large enough to move around in and very well supplied. Our cabin person was never seen, but that was a good thing as we were told that if you don't see your steward then he is doing a good job, always clean, new towels, towel animals on our bed and all this was done when we were out of our room not once were we disturbed. If we needed something we just left him a not in the box at the door. He got a special tip.

The ship itself was beautiful with lots of art (not nudes as I read in some of the reviews before I left) I guess it's all in the way you look at a picture.

I knew the ship was big, several football fields long, so I was prepared to do some walking. The complaints I heard aboard that there was too much walking. If you did your homework you would have seen that the food is at one end of the ship and the entertainment is on the other, but with lots of places to sit down and lots of time to do it, no problem. Some advice, select you room so you are near an elevator, and especially near the laundry, so you can run across and iron your clothes.

If you are into golfing, there is a golf pro aboard who can help your game. The clinic he put on for about 35 people sure helped a lot of golfer. The pro had a very good presentation with lots of tips on how to improve your game. He also was available for lessons and he gave about 10 the day I watched. The cruise makes three golf trips available. The first is on the Florida Keys and is the cheapest around $120. The best and most expensive one is on the private island at Belize. We flew to island on a small plane and the course looked beautiful from the air. As we were landing we could see 5 golf carts waiting for us. We drove to the clubhouse and signed up. The course was great, no-one but us on the course and we could have played 36 holes in the six hours we were there, but we decided to go for a dip in the pool, have lunch and a drink before we left. This is also the only course I have golfed where I had to sign a waiver if I got bit by a crocodile, there were a few on the course but not a problem. The golf pro from the ship comes along to make sure everything is going well and to give us a few tips along the way.

Belize is a small community with not a lot to do and as we were golfer we did not have time to take a tour.

In Cozumel we again golfed and had a great time. There is a lot to do here so check the tours to see what is best for you. The day we were there it was very windy and the had to cancel all the water activities and return about $65 000.

Sea days are days to relax, by the pool, at the casino, at the shows, in the lounges or in your room. Remember if you got a good deal on your trip don't expect all the goodies you would get if you went on the Crystal Cruises which cost twice as much. As far as the walking goes aboard ship, my 82 year old mother-in-law managed to play golf twice and make it to every show aboard the ship.

When it comes to tipping you will be charged a set amount which is split among the people who served you. By giving Tips directly to these people they receive the full amount and not just a portion so be far and reward those who deserve it.

Would I go again, the answer is yes and we are looking at Mar. 8th as a date on the same ship. We had a super time and as long as you have some patience with lines and with rude guests you will enjoy yourself.

If you have questions e-mail me and I can give you some insight on a variety of topics in regards to the cruise. (afriske@astrocom-on.com)

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