Torpeedo  

Age: 55
Occupation: consultant
Number of Cruises: 9
Cruise Line: Carnival Cruise Lines
Ship: Carnival Pride
Sailing Date: July 27th, 2002
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

Wife & I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary last week aboard Carnival Pride. This was our ninth cruise, but first on Carnival. Prior cruises were NCL (2) and HAL (6). We love cruising, and have never had a "bad" cruise. But we specifically avoided cruising on CCL because of much negative feedback regarding this cruise line. So let me say up front that we were surprised and truly elated that this turned out to be one of the most enjoyable cruises we have ever taken.

PRE CRUISE EXPERIENCE: We drove to Port Canaveral from our home in N. Carolina, & spent two days at the Hilton in Cocoa Beach. This beachfront hotel was first rate; good beach, good pool, good bar areas, and a great view of the ocean from our room. Weather was great and we spent each day on the beach. We ate some terrific seafood at several local area restaurants.

EMBARKATION: Port Canaveral is an easy 15 minute drive from the hotel. (Make sure you go to the North Pier, as we had a lovely tour of the south pier but unfortunately that's not where we needed to be!) We dropped off our luggage at the pier around 10:20 AM, parked our car in the adjacent parking lot, were driven from the parking lot to the ship by a courtesy shuttle (a golf cart), and arrived at the terminal around 10:40 AM. We found minimal lines at the security post, were fully checked in and seated near the front of the boarding line by 11:00 AM. We noted that the majority of fellow passengers were traveling with their families, with ages ranging from young children, to grandparents. While waiting we chatted & shared past cruise experiences, and came away with a feeling that this cruise would be family oriented. And in fact that was the case. The boarding process began about 11:35 AM, and we were on the Pride within 15 minutes.

THE SHIP: It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in our opinion both the exterior and interior of the ship are absolutely stunning. The interior decor is themed to the Renaissance period, and interior walls are covered in art work. Some may think the decor "too busy;" we found it to be impressive. We first made our way to David's Restaurant at the very top of the atrium, and made dinner reservations for Monday and Wednesday evenings. We did a quick tour of the public areas, and then headed to our stateroom, cabin 6323 Category 8D, Empress deck aft. We met room steward Paul, and found the room ready for occupancy. Awaiting my wife were a dozen long stem red roses I had ordered from Carnival. Ice buckets (2) were full, and Paul kept them full of ice so we could enjoy chilled wine every afternoon from our verandah.

The cabin was spotless when we arrived, and remained spotless for the entire cruise. It was certainly large enough for two and enough closet space. My wife used the hairdryer which is attached to the drawer on the left of vanity table/desk and it was powerful enough and we really did not need to bring another. No tub but a good shower and enough room to do whatever you need to do in the bathroom. The deck was also fine. We did not have the extended balcony but thought what we had was just enough for two. The room was pretty sound-proof also. Slept like a baby.

FOOD: We were pleased with the layout of the serving stations in the Mermaid Grill. The variety and quality of the food was quite good, with some selections such as the Asian food, bar-b-que ribs and rotisserie as well as the pizza were great. Judging by the number of people and the heaping plates, I think most everyone felt the same! Plenty of seating and the seating is arranged so there are many areas with ocean views. The pool grill had great hamburgers and hot dogs and also excellent fries! We split breakfasts between the Mermaid and the main restaurant and enjoyed both. Dinner was excellent in both the Normandie Restaurant and David's. How about Rack of Lamb, Lobster tails, Chateaubriand, Beef Wellington and Shrimp for dinner? Really excellent presentations and taste in the Normandie. David's was outstanding! The Lobster Bisque is not to be missed. My wife enjoyed the Veal chop and I had the Lobster. We both had the 14 oz NY Strip the second night. Service was better than excellent and the atmosphere was very romantic. Worth every penny!

SERVICE: Service was excellent in all areas despite the fact that gratuity had already been added to our tab. The wait staff in the Normandie (Ketut and Juste) could not have been more gracious and attentive. We received anything and everything we asked for and the food was always hot. Our room steward, Paul, was the perfect room steward.. never seen but always there. Kept our wines on ice for us and always had the room cleaned when we were out and about. We did feel that these great guys deserved extra $$ so we did leave an extra tip for them and they were so appreciative.

ENTERTAINMENT: Entertainment was also excellent. The Pride Dancers presented two big performances and both were wonderful. Vroom was a great show but we enjoyed the first show (Wonderful World) just as much. Never had a problem finding seating. Drink service was always available. There were several other shows with a juggler and magician (Justin Illusion) and we really enjoyed their performances. We did not see the rated X late night comedian shows but heard that they were pretty raunchy and some people did not stay.

We frequented the casino and had a few great machines. Did some roulette and blackjack and the dealers and all the staff in the casino were very friendly and helpful.

There are so many incredible lounges and entertainment areas that there is literally something for everyone.

Spent most days at the pool and relaxing reading a book. At sea days can be pretty crowded but you can always find a chair if you look. Recommend if you are going to want to sit out for the day to get an early start! Met lots of nice people in the pool from all over the country.

DRINKS: Well we packed a bunch of our own wine and spirits and checked them in our luggage with the porters. plenty bubble wrap! Although we had heard that you should bring extra rum etc for the pool drinks, we found most of the drinks served at the pool had a goodly portion of rum in them. The Pina Colada could use an extra boost though. The drink of the day was really reasonable at $2.95 (with the souvenir glass..$6.25 ) Every night at the end of our evening we poured a glass of Drambui and sit on our veranda and watch the stars go by and just relax. That is the special end to every day.

KIDS: Oh yes, there were plenty of children of all ages. Very well behaved for the most part but the teens were somewhat unattended, particularly later in the evening. I think it is wise to say, parents watch your children, particularly preteen and teen girls. That is all I am going to say on that subject but be advised.

FELLOW PASSENGERS: We enjoyed meeting people of all ages on this cruise. Everyone we met was so friendly and just happy to be there. We met people from all over the country including a young man who graduated from the same small town college as I did only a "few years" later! A small world!

PORTS: Who cares.

Debarkation: A breeze. We were off by 9:00am.

IN SUMMARY: We had a great time. Weather was just perfect this trip. Have never seen such calm sea's and the ship was so stable. A wonderful ship. We are ready to go again and again and again.... We have been converted to Carnival Fans!

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