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Great Cruise Out of Baltimore! by
Michael C from Baltimore, MD Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: service, decor, food Cons: entertainment, Pros
* The staff was very friendly and helpful.
* Overall the decor was beautiful. Lots of Renaissance art reproductions (even details of paintings blown up and covering an entire wall). A big reproduction of Michaelangelo's David in the specialty dining room that was very popular with the ladies and some of the men.
* The glass staircase that went over the top of a 10 story open atrium was beautiful, though pretty startling for those of us who are afraid of heights (looking down and seeing straight through to the bottom was scary!)
* Very good food. This is one area where I think Carnival has always slightly outshined the other lines I have been on (Costa, RCCL, and Celebrity). The food in the specialty restaurant was just WOW. The steak was one of the best I've ever had.
* Passengers were all very nice and friendly. This was especially good for my mother as she will just burst into long conversations with anyone that makes eye contact with her and
Cons
* Malfunctioning computer systems in casino kept me from gambling on the second evening.
* Slightly dirty room on arrival.
* Interactive system in the room for checking your account balance and signing up for excursions did not work much of the time either due to not being able to handle a lot of people or being totally out of commission.
* Lettering on signage was in color changing fiber optics. There was no excuse for this for a ship built in 2001. That has been out of date and tacky since the mid-90's (and it is debatable if it was ever not tacky).
* No one serving drinks at the buffet. We've become a little spoiled for this on RCCL and Celebrity.
* Poor layout of the public bathrooms. For example, one soap dispenser installed for a sink for four which makes for awkward reaching. A hand-drying machine located directly behind a urinal so you have to stand right behind someone peeing to dry your hands.
* No hand towels in the bathroom, I hate the blow-dry things.
* Not enough staff to keep things clean and things fully stocked at all times. This includes bathrooms, beverage stations, etc. Ship QualityBathrooms and buffet areas could have been cleaner and kept well-stocked. Dining areas of buffet were kept clean, however. Dining/FoodFood in the Main Dining room was excellent. Food in the specialty restaurant, David's was wonderful. Can't say enough about how good David's was. Food in the buffets was standard for cruises. Not bad at all, just nothing special. Stateroom QualityBigger than we expected. Wasn't perfectly clean on embarkation, but overall the steward did a wonderful job. Ship Staff QualityStaff was excellent. Really some of the best of all the cruises and cruise lines I've experienced. Waitress and assistant waitress in main dining room were INCREDIBLE. We still miss them! Room steward responded to our few phone calls/requests within minutes. He was great. Entertainment & ActivitiesAverage cruise line activities during days at sea. Nothing out of the ordinary. Night time shows: the lead singers were ok, if a bit cheesy. The dancers were great and always energetic. The sets left a lot to be desired. Technical problems during at least one of the shows.  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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  Exceeded Our Expectations by
Cindy M. from Mechanicsburg, PA Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: We loved the 'all inclusive pricing' Cons: We dealt with the rocking of the ship fairly well on the return trip by wearing wrist bands and using behind-the-ear patches. We cruised on the Carnival Pride ship, out of Baltimore. This meant no airline hassles, as we live only 1.5 hours away from the port!! It was a 7-day January cruise, stopping at 3 ports, where we had excellent beach weather! We LOVED it! This was the perfect antidote for "January post-holiday blahs"!! Ship QualityI cannot imagine any ship exceeding the quality, cleanliness, and friendly service that we experienced on the Carnival Pride. Dining/FoodSuperb in every way!! Stateroom QualityClean, roomy, exceptional! Ship Staff QualityEvery nationality was represented, but everyone spoke the universal language of friendly, enthusiastic, sincere English. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe dancing, singing, comedy, magic, etc., etc., were WONDERFUL!!! 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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"A Fabulous Cruise" by
A Traveler from Bahamas Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: The Staff were fabulous, the service was exceptional Cons: The Weather We sailed on the Carnival Pride. This ship is fabulous. The SPA staff were excellent. Services provided were top notch. The level of customer service on the ship was fantastic. This was one of the best cruises I have ever taken. Ship QualityThe ship was nicely decorated and kept very clean. Everything was in good condition. Dining/FoodThe food provided was excellent, whether you were in the main dining room or having a snack. They had food from many different cultures...mexican, indian, japanese etc. Stateroom QualityThe rooms were clean and comfortable. The bathrooms were large. Ship Staff QualityThe staff on the ship could not do enough. Entertainment & ActivitiesThe shows were excellent. 1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Bahama Cruise by
A Traveler from southern New Jersey Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: The Ship Cons: Freeport The Carnival Pride was our ship and time spent on her was very nice. Food was good, crew was friendly. Leaving and returning via the port of Baltimore was a nice experience, plenty of people giving directions and help. Ship QualityThe pride is a pretty ship inside and out. Dining/FoodThe food in the dining room and restaurants was very good. David's Steakhouse is a great experience. Stateroom QualityWe had a balony room which was very nice, size was great for the two of us, kept very neat and clean by the staff. Ship Staff QualityThe staff through out the ship were extremely helpful, friendly, and they were neat and clean. Entertainment & Activities
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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First Time cruiser by
rachelle z from cleveland, ohio Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: relaxing Cons: I ate too much The staff was extremely pleasant, helpful. The only time they were not cooperative is when I asked what to do at the stops and they would not answer me. Only direct me to excursion person as if there were no other options other than doing something via Carnival. Once I arrived at the stops, I discovered that I could do the exact same excursion for a fraction of the price offered by Carnival. Ship Quality
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Fabulous time by
alice m from cleveland, ohio Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: The shows Cons: too much food The staff was extremely friendly, courteous and helpful. There were many activites to keep busy. The ship was maintained very well, clean. I agree with a previous critic who wrote that the artwork is inappropriate. I was traveling with four grandchildren and we were all uncomfortable with nude pictures everywhere. I recommend that the artwork be changed. I would not recommend that little children be exposed to it. Ship Quality
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Awesome Family Cruise! by
Mike B from Cortland, NY Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: Ships crew was awesome.... Cons: Too many smoking areas, arcade very expensive with few choices of games. The ship was beautiful. It was always clean and the layout was easy to learn. The staff was amazing. Everything just worked. Ship QualityThe ship was very clean, easy to learn layout and beautiful. Dining/FoodWe loved the food. The ambiance was great. Two dining times to choose from for dinner. (6 or 8:15) Over all fantastic. Stateroom QualityThe room was plenty big for the three of us. The bed was comfortable and the bath was typically cramped but laid out well and easy to use. The only con is there is only one AC outlet in the room, so if you have many devices to plug in or charge a power strip is a must! Ship Staff QualityThe staff was always smiling and asking if there was anything they could do for us. The room stewards were amazing! Our room was spotless the whole 7 days (no thanks to us). The dining room staff was awesome, we felt like family by the end of the cruise (thanks Rando and Pavla, we love you guys!) Over all the crew was amazing. Entertainment & ActivitiesThere are tons of activities available, if you are bored it's your own fault. You can do as much or as little as you like. The games were fun the shows were good (they got better as the week went on). Good stuff. 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Nice Cruise by
Greg A from Boston Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: Food was great and the staff was excellent Cons: Ports of call and daytime activities were lacking At first it seemed gaudy but the decor grows on you. It was clean and well kept but the balcony ceiling had peeling paint which really should have been addressed a long time ago.
The main reason I would not do this cruise again is the ports of call. Unless you want to go to Disney or NASA, Port Canaveral has little to do. Nassua was nice and I would go back there but Freeport was not to our liking. You dock in an industrial area and can take a cab to the shopping which is small and very touristy. You can also take a cab to the beaches but your only there until 2pm (back on the ship by 1:30 so you'd have to leave the beach around 12:45 - 1:00 to make sure your back in time) Ship QualityThe ship itself was very nice. Dining/FoodBetter than expected. We spend $30 pp one night to dine at David's (the ships steakhouse) and it was well worth it. One of the best steaks I've ever had. The main dinning room food was also excellent Stateroom QualityWe had 2 balcony rooms on the 7th floor. Both were well kept by our steward. We did notice on the last day that one of our beds had some stains under the bottom sheet and the beds are too hard for my taste but overall we were satisfied with the rooms. Ship Staff QualityEveryone was friendly and helpful. Entertainment & ActivitiesI think most people would say excellent or better. We had been on a different Carnival cruise 2 years ago and this one had the same dance troop and dance shows as the last so that was disappointing but the shows were still great. 0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
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7 day Carnival Pride Baltimore-Bahamas by
Chris N from Laurel, MD Sailing date: Dec 2009Pros: Relaxed atmosphere Cons: Loading/Unloading and limited time in Freeport This was my first cruise so I really did not know what to expect or what to compare my experience with this cruise, therefore I am rating this first cruise as good, not excellent or the best. Overall it was a pleasant vacation and I did a number of enjoyable activities, including some downtime to just relax and sit out on my balcony looking out to the deep blue of the Atlantic. The food was very good and of sufficient variety (I tended to over eat and my girlfriend took a lot of photos of the food because of how well it was presented). The service was good to very good overall--the dinner waiter staff was excellent. The nightly entertainment was also good to very good overall with a variety of venues. I did not do any gambling or go swimming on the boat, but I did keep fairly busy with other activities. My off-shore excursions included a full day at Cocoa Beach and ~3hrs of snorkeling/boat ride/kayak in Nassau and Freeport--I highly recommend the Freeport kayak/snorkeling excursion. Overall I think this was a good to very good choice for a vacation and intend to take a cruise again in the near future. Ship QualityThe ship decor seemed a little outdated for the actual age of the ship. The room and ship was fairly clean--my girlfriend is kind of a germ phob so she used a whole can of Lysol when we got to the room. Dining/FoodI gained five pounds (or more). Stateroom Quality
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Average Cruise by
A Traveler from Honey Brook PA Sailing date: Jan 2010Pros: The port in Baltimore and driving to the port Cons: Food was very average, activities for time at sea were poor. I have been on a number of cruises with other cruise lines. This is my third cruise with Carnival. My first cruise was wonderful, the second cruise was a disappointment as was this cruise. This is my last cruise with Carnival. The food was poor, the activities for the time as sea were very poor.The ship was crowded with long lines at the buffet. The ship is beginning to show wear and probably needs to be overhauled. The crew members were friendly but not overly helpful. The only good thing about this cruise was the port of Baltimore as we could drive and park and get on the ship. Embarking on this ship was a zoo with long slow moving lines. Ship QualityOverdone decor, ship is ready for an overhaul. Dining/FoodVery average food, buffett was crowded, food was average Stateroom Quality
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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