Our Carnival Pride Spring Break cruise - 4/5/15 (with pics)

[Jamman]

We've pushed away from the pier.....

This is a view of the full parking lot. The luggage carts that I talked about earlier are visible in the foreground.....

A view of the Maryland Cruise Port.....

Today the water is brown, tomorrow it will be blue!!

Sailing away from the port and Baltimore.....

Looking up at the slides.....

To be continued.....

 

[Jamman]

We've got some company.....

Goodbye Baltimore.....

Approaching the Key Bridge.....

To be continued.....

 

[Jamman]

Here we are sailing under the Key Bridge.....

Here is my view from my seat at the Serenity Bar. Looks like we have a few more hearty souls in the hot tub now.....

To be continued.....

 

[Jamman]

Here are Dian Ayu and Neichulu, my two favorite ladies at the Serenity Bar.....

I hung out at the Serenity Bar until about 7pm, and then made my way back to the cabin to get ready for our first night's dinner. I stepped out on the balcony and saw that we were about to sail under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.....

To be continued.....

 

[Jamman]

We had the 8:15pm Late Seating Dinner in the Normandie Restaurant. I had emailed our Maitre d', Ken Byrne, a few weeks prior to the cruise asking him if we could be seated at a booth for 4. We have sailed with Ken a few times in the past, and he took good care of us. I'll talk more about Ken as the review progresses. We were seated at table # 197.

Patti and I at our first dinner...

Ryan at our first dinner.....

For the time being, they are still using the old menus on the Pride. I am ready for a change, especially having had the new menus on the Liberty last August. But believe me, we enjoyed all our meals. I had my usual shrimp cocktail, followed by the gazpaucho...

I had two entrees, sweet and sour shrimp.....

Followed by the linguine and sausage.....

Patti had a ceasar salad, followed by the salmon.....

To be continued.....

 

[Jamman]

Ryan also had the salmon, along with a chicken breast. For dessert, we all had ice cream. We were all tired and full, but we were determined to do something before turning in for the night. Here is a list of all the entertainment on the Pride this week.....

There was also a list of all the happenings in the casino for the week.....

Ryan and I wanted to head to the casino and play blackjack. Ryan had turned 18 a few weeks before the cruise and was now allowed to gamble in the casino, using his money, and under our watchful eyes of course. He had spent the last few weeks learning to play the game the right way, and was eager to play for "real" money.

Patti wanted to play the first session of Bingo in the Taj Mahal lounge, so she made her way there.....

The Bingo hosts name was Sam, and Patti, and later Ryan, said she was very annoying. After every number she called, she would have a lengthy commentary, which was not very funny, and dragged the game on forever.....

Patti had no luck this night, and on her way back to the cabin, she took this shot of the EA Sports Bar.....

She also took this shot of Bonsai Sushi......

To be continued.......

 

[Jamman]

Ryan and I played blackjack for about two hours, and after his first session, Ryan was exactly even, and I was up a hundred. We went back to the cabin where we saw our first turndown service of the cruise. Our Platinum / Diamond gifts had arrived, along with our tour tickets.....

We had no idea what towel creature this was supposed to be.....

Ryan and I were up for a snack, so we ordered some room service. This was going to be the last week with this old menu on the Pride. Next week they will be offering some hot items for a charge, and some of the items on the old menu will be discontinued. I for one like the idea.....

We ordered a BLT.....

A shrimp salad. This is one of the items that will disappear .....

A grilled cheese sandwich.....

That sure hit the spot. Goodnight!

Coming up next, our first sea day!

 

[kpopperwell]

Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more

 

[Christoffer]

Thank you again for one nice trip report. Can't wait for the rest. I always love the way you do these trip reports, really nice to follow.

 

[reggae]

Great review Jamman!

I really enjoy all the details! Everything you need to know....and going to bookmark this in case I ever leave from this Port...all the handy tips about the parking, etc.

Thank you for putting this all together! :doubleup: You should be a Travel Writer!!

 

[connie seabee]

Great photos Jeff. Brings back memories of the Carnival Dream we were on last Dec with some of the C@'s However, the Muster Drill was inside on the Dream.

 

[connie seabee]

As Always another FANTSTIC Review. Thank you for taking time to put all this together for our enjoyment.

 

[Donna - dsw]

You always have the best reviews. I can almost see myself on the ship with you! Thanks so much for sharing! Love it!

 

[Flyingfish]

Glad I found this thread. Enjoying your cruise with you and family. Especially the pictures! Thanks for taking me along.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loving your review and pictures.

Waiting for the next segment.

 

[Jamman]

Time to tell you about our first day at sea.....

Being that we were heading south, and our cabin was on the port side, we would be seeing the sunrises the first few mornings. However, by the time we woke up at 7:15am, and sun was already pretty high up in the sky....

It was still a bit cool this morning, but the temperature would rise to the 70's by the afternoon. The seas were very calm. Our view looking forward.......

Looking aft.....

We hung around the cabin until about 9am, and then we made our way to the Seaday Brunch which was held from 8:30am until 1pm in the Normandie Restaurant.....

We brought along our free drink coupons and had our first drinks of the day.....

To be continued.....

 

[Jamman]

I always get the huevos rancheros when we go to the brunch, but just as a reminder, that on the ships that have the 2.0 upgrades, they can also be gotten at the Blue Iguana Cantina in the morning.....

Patti and Ryan each had an omelet.....

Afterwards, Patti and Ryan were going to go play the slots, while I made my way up to Serenity. But before heading to the casino, they walked around the ship taking pictures. First stop was the Beauties Night Club, which is on Deck 2 aft.....

This sign was left over from the repo cruise.....

To be continued.....

 

[connie seabee]

Looking at the ocean water makes me long for another cruise.

 

[Jamman]

This is Raphael's Lounge on Deck 3 aft.....

Seating area near the Lobby Bar.....

The Renaissance Lobby Bar.....

The Red Frog Pub, located on Deck 2 forward.....

They have live music there every night. The band's name was the Rocking Dead.....

To be continued.....

 

[Jamman]

The Red Frog Pub bar.....

They had foosball.....

Darts.....

Shuffleboard table.....

You can pose for a photo op here.....

To be continued.....