We just got back late Sunday night from our 7 day cruise to the Bahamas! It was a lot of fun and I’m ready to go again. This was our first time cruising on a Carnival ship, and also the first time going on any cruise with a little one. So this entry will probably focus quite a bit on those two aspects; the perils of cruising with a not-quite-two year old, and our (ok, my) thoughts on Carnival.
The Carnival Pride is based out of Baltimore, which is an easy trip for us. My parents live about 40 minutes from the port, so the plan was just to stay at their house Saturday and then the five of us (mom, dad, me, G, and baby B) would head out Sunday late morning to start our much needed vacation. My parents actually picked G up on Saturday morning from a dock pretty much right across from the cruise terminal, as that’s where his tugboat was moored up for the time being. B and I left Virginia around 9 or so and after a quick stop to drop the dog at the kennel and a break for a PB&J, we made it to my parents by about 1. We had a fairly relaxing evening, loaded up the car and then watched a few cruise review videos to get us in the mood. Its become a habit the last few months to watch cruise videos when we get together, but luckily there were some new ones to check out.
I don’t think anyone slept well Saturday night, but we were all ready to go and spirits were high Sunday! Mom and I took B to church, then came back and had a nice big breakfast of eggs and sausage. Our plan was to leave around 11:15, but we got on the road a bit before that actually. Drive was uneventful and I did NOT pass the cruise terminal this time (though that happened on a previous Royal Caribbean trip), so we got there I think right when they were letting people in to the lot. We waited a few minutes in a line before they actually let us into the parking area as there were a few stragglers coming off the ship, but other than that it was super quick! We dropped our luggage with the porters and chose a parking spot in an easy to remember location. The check in process was smooth and we were ushered to our FTTF (Faster to the fun) area and sat there MAYBE 10 minutes. It really wasn’t long at all. Then were were taken row by row to board the ship and up we went! All in all it took us an hour from the time we first pulled into the port until we were in room dropping off our carry ons. We had a ocean view room on the 1st floor and it happened to be right above a gangway and loading area. B had some fun watching the guys load the luggage below us.
Since this is a new cruise ship and cruise line for us, it was time to explore! We made our way down to guest services where there was quite a line. Luckily we had FTTF, so there is a dedicated line for us (and other VIP guests). We only had to wait a few minutes, and then were helped. We wanted to switch around the people staying in each room, which he did very quickly. Then we asked about the crib for B and they told us it would be delivered after muster. Satisfied, we moved on. People were still boarding of course, but we signed up for the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, and then otherwise just made our way up and looked around floor by floor. It was quite cold out in the open air levels, and raining a bit but not too bad! On the Lido deck we opted for Guy’s burgers for lunch. I had the “ringer” which was supposed to include bbq sauce and an onion ring and was alright. I did add some extra bacon to it at the toppings bar. We had Guy’s one other time on the ship and just weren’t impressed. The second time my burger was supposed to have no sauce and it was still put on (and ALOT) so that I didnt even eat it. Our group pretty much all felt that Guy’s burgers was a take it or leave it meal, and from now on we will just leave it.
After we finished exploring we headed back to the room to await instructions for the muster drill, which was supposed to begin at 4. We were hoping our luggage would be there, as priority luggage delivery is one of the perks of FTTF, but sadly only my moms had arrived. I swear I saw my bag being loaded just after 4, even though we should have been in the first luggage cart that was filled. Oh well. Muster was finally called around 4:30 and a bit chaotic. Since it was cold and rainy, the drill was being modified to occur inside. Our meeting place was to be the Taj Mahal theater. So when the alarm sounded, we headed out the door in that direction. One crew member told us to continue that direction, and then the next told us we had to turn around and go the other way. What followed was pretty similar to that; many crew members telling us to go one way, and then others telling us the opposite. When we ended up at the Taj Mahal we then were told to go outside instead. Everyone was standing around confused on the deck, until finally a crew member ushered us onward and then we ended up at the Taj Mahal again. Then they said we were wrong and needed to go to the Butterflies lounge, but then were corrected and sent back to Taj Mahal! All in all quite a mess. Looking back, I think they wanted us to go outside so that we could a) see where our life boats would be and b) to have everyone entering the theater from the same direction to keep things orderly. But none of that was communicated and everyone seemed rather confused. The muster drill itself was quick and uneventful and when we got back to our room a bit after 5 we were just leaving the dock! I think the boat may have had a few minutes delay leaving, but not much at all. Our bags did finally arrive around 5:30 so we quick scrambled to unpack a bit and change before we headed out to dinner at the Normandie.
We were seated at a booth table toward the back of the restaurant on deck 2. We elected to have the early seating (6 pm) and actually that is later than we sometimes eat at home. Our waiters were Troy and Dennis, who was in training. I think our only complaint this cruise was to do with service, and I don’t even know if it was really their fault. I’ll go more into that later, but basically we would be the first table in our section to be seated, yet the last ones to be served.
G, B and I skipped most of the shows and events the first night, as we were all a little tired. The room got a bit cramped once B’s crib was put in, but it wasn’t too bad. My parents went to the comedy show and felt that the comedian’s style just wasn’t for them. They enjoyed several of the other comedians that week though! I had ordered 4 items from the Fun Shops ahead of time for my parents, and the last of them (chocolate cake) had arrived while we were at dinner.
The wine and popcorn I ordered were there when we first arrived on the ship, and a $25 cruise cash voucher was stuck in their mailbox shortly after. There was a note with that saying it had already been applied to their account, which was nice and meant they didn’t have to do anything to activate it. My father and I both activated the chat feature on the Hub app that night, and used it successfully throughout the cruise from then on. Messages will only be delivered if the other person has the app running, but it gives you a notice of “delivery failed” if it doesn’t go through. I appreciated that as my dad didn’t get my messages on a couple occasions, but I was aware of that instead of wondering why he didn’t answer. I have seen people complaining about the chat feature not working very well, but as I mentioned we didn’t have any problems and when messages weren’t delivered I was aware of it. The Hub app was also really nice to keep track of your bill. There was about $18.75 on each of our accounts in refunded port fees, which was quickly spent on drinks.
We thoroughly enjoyed our first day on the cruise, and were excited to see what was in store for the rest of it! Stay tuned for day 2, our first sea day and Elegant night!
Tales From the Crib 