Carnival Pride Bahamas Cruise Review Blog 12/13/09 Day 1

We arrived at Baltimore BWI airport a 20 minutes early than expected at 11:30 AM. It was a rainy and cold day in Baltimore. Our checked luggage took a while to come out, but since Carnival left an automated message telling us to check in between 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM, we weren't in a hurry. We got a taxi and was surprised that there wasn't a flat rate to go from the BWI Airport to the Baltimore Cruise Port- I thought I had read otherwise on the Internet. We were told it'd be about $35 and it turned out to be $34 and change. We arrived at about 12:30 PM and were able to board the ship within about 45 minutes which was pretty fast.

We boarded the Carnival Pride at around 1:15 PM and what struck us right away was that it had a Renaissance Art style decor with lots of nude paintings. We proceeded to deck 9 to the Mermaid's Grill (the Carnival Pride ship buffet) and had lunch as it was announced that cabins wouldn't be ready until 3:30 PM. We heard good things about David's Steakhouse and went ahead and signed up for dinner there on the third night (Tuesday). Apparently the Carnival Pride dress-up nights (or as they called it- Cruise Elegant) were Monday and Friday, and we figured we would eat at the main dining room (Normandie) for at least those two nights because the food would be better than the other nights.

Afterward we signed up for our Internet time at the Internet Cafe which was actually located in a library. The Internet Cafe manager just sat there, no greetings and doesn't even look at you. After I got him to explain how to sign up, I proceeded to purchase a Internet time package (250 minutes for $100, + $3.95 sign up fee + 20 free minutes first night special). Apparently it connects you right to the Internet without your permission and eats up a minute even though I clicked disconnect right away. I complained about that and he pretty just said "too bad- a second counts as a minute". I never had such problems with NCL cruises.

We proceeded to our cabin at 3:25 and was pleased to find it ready and our luggage delivered. We had a balcony on the 7th deck. It was our first balcony cabin so we were pretty thrilled about it. The room has all your run-of-the-mill amenities. It was a nice touch to see that Carnival included new shaver in the bathroom. The shower used a curtain- we'd would've liked to see a shower door.

After the painful mandatory safety drill (which we had to go down like 5 flights of crew-use stairs), we went to the Sushi Bar. It was okay- it's free so we didn't expect much. We then went to the Sail Away Party which consisted of a live band that was pretty good but there was no Barbeque or any sort of celebration we were used to. So we went to the Mermaid's Grille to sample what they had for dinner in a theme they called "Seafood Bistro". The line was really long because pretty much half the place was closed, and the food was decent but wasn't worth the wait.

After resting in the cabin, we went to the Normandie Dining Room (the main dining area for Carnival Pride) for dinner at about 9:15 PM. We picked Carnival's Your Choice Dining and had no trouble getting a table just for the two of us. The staff there was friendly and the food was good. Of note the Cured Salmon with Sweetened Fruits was a tasty appetizer, and the Indian Vegetarian entree was delicious. The Mahi Mahi was cooked well and tasted fresh.

We then went to the Taj Mahal Lounge (Carnival Pride's main theater) for the "Welcome Aboard" show. Apparently the ship had their own dance troupe in the "Carnival Pride Dancers and Singers". They were decent but nothing spectacular. The cruise director Kirk Benning then came out and did a good job getting the crowd involved. Then comedian Hank McGauley performed- pretty funny stuff. After the show we then retired to our cabin for the night. We took a shower and noticed the water temperature fluctuates which was odd because it was late at night (1 AM).

The Good:
-Carnival Pride Baltimore Cruise Terminal check-in was relatively speedy
-Carnival gives you a new shaver in the bathroom
-The Indian Vegetarian entree and Mahi Mahi at the Normandie for dinner were terrific; Cured Salmon appetizer was good
-Some of the eggplant dishes at the Mermaid Grille Buffet for lunch were good
-Cruise Director Kirk has a good sense of humor and did a good job pumping up the crowd
-Comedian (Hank McGauley) in the Welcome Aboard Show was pretty funny

The Mediocre:
-Balcony cabin has all the amenities you'd expect, though a shower door and lotion would be nice
-Food quality at the Mermaid Grille Buffet in general
-Internet Cafe manager isn't exactly eager to help

The Bad:
-Plastic low quality drinking cups at Mermaid's Grille
-Small selection and long wait at Mermaid's Grille buffet area for dinner
-Sail away party was pretty weak- no BBQ- maybe the rain and cold has something to do with it
-Water temperature in shower fluctuates- not exactly ice cold to scalding hot but it doesn't keep a narrow range

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