Ok so this last final update for our Feb/March cruise is going to be a quick one since we didnt have an excursion in Freeport. We did however had a couples massage on the ship that morning which was very nice!
No one in our family was especially excited about Freeport as its an industrial port and not much to do right there. We had also decided no excursions with B being so young and our time in port being so short. So we had a nice leisurely breakfast in the main dinning room (cereal french toast again for me), and G and I went for a massage I had booked prior to boarding during a sale they were having. You can always book onboard too as it didn’t seem like they were overly crowded, but I wanted to take advantage of the sale and get the day/time I wanted. My parents watched B while G and I went to do that. It was a really nice massage and we both enjoyed it, though I still felt like I couldn’t completely relax as I was worrying about how B was behaving for my parents. They did some dry brush scrubbing and at the end showed us some techniques if we wanted to try massage at home. There is a push after the massage for them to try to sell you the products they used, but I dont feel like it was overdone. I don’t like that they try to sell you all the products, but they weren’t too bad about it. We’ve decided we would do the same massage again next time we cruise if that tells you anything.
After the massage, we went back to our room to meet up with the rest of the family and go check out Freeport. As we were getting ready to walk out the port, an officer was yelling to make sure everyone had ID or we would not be let back into the ship area. Technically this is true at every port, but I’ve never seen it enforced before, and of course I had forgotten my ID. Luckily we were still in the gated area so I ran back to the room and grabbed my license while everyone else stayed on land. While I was making the trek back to the room, I noticed something interesting; ship staff were in our hall wheeling large cart of huge squares down the hall. I immediately figured out that they were covers for the windows, but didn’t think much of it. I figured they were to cover the windows perhaps for some maintenance (ie painting outside) while we were in port.
As expected, the port area wasn’t too exciting for any of us. I wandered to senor frogs to check the price of a drink/food, and though it wasn’t bad, food is free on the ship 🙂 We checked out most of the vendors and bought a couple small souvenirs: a magnet for us, wind-chimes for my parents, and then let B blow bubbles and dance to the live music. After only about 45 minutes or so we went back on board to enjoy the quite and lesser crowds. It was windy and perhaps if it had been calmer we would have stayed in the port area longer.
We dropped B off at the kids club for a couple hours (paid$) so we could enjoy some time by the pool to ourselves, and a couple drinks. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon! Shortly after lunch though, the captain came over the speaker to make an announcement; There was some rough weather ahead as we were heading towards a nor’easter and would have to make some adjustments due to that. Rooms on the first floor would have their windows boarded up (that explains the covers I saw), pools would be closing this evening for the remainder of the trip, and we would be hugging the coast to try to avoid the worst of the weather. It seemed odd to say all this on a bright sunny day, but even as the afternoon passed, clouds rolled in and the wind picked up.
I should mention that a running joke on this cruise seemed to be that no one could understand the captain’s accent. So after his announcement, Saffie (cruise director) came over the speaker and repeated the same announcement.
The next day was our last sea day and we definitely made the most of it. We had signed up to do the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast and had a lot of fun with their colorful meals. G did actually try the green eggs and ham, which is served on an English muffin, but it was much to unappealing for me. Despite knowing its just a coloring, I couldn’t being myself to try it! They also give everyone parfaits and several characters come out for photos. B is a little apprehensive of characters still, but I went up with him to meet them all. Overall I think this is a really fun experience to do and worth the $5/person additional charge (sign up the first day when you board in the atrium).
The rest of the day was spent doing various trivia games and wandering around. Almost all of the decks were closed, but we did find one that was open and G, my dad and I wandered out for a moment. The wind was crazy! It had picked up so much even from that morning that we were surprised the boat wasn’t rocking more. However by afternoon tea it was noticeably moving more and everyone’s drinks were sloshing/shaking. At dinner that night people were having a hard time walking due to the ship movement and I heard at least one glass/plate fall and break. I still was surprised though with how rough it looked out the window, that the boat wasn’t moving as much as I expected. Due to our altered course we were expected to be delayed getting back to Baltimore, first to noon and then eventually to 3pm. Carnival opened up phone and internet lines at no charge for people needing to make changes to flights/hotels, which I’m sure was very appreciated by people.
That evening our dinner unfortunately ran later than we hoped and we were late getting to the theater for the last show of the trip: the finale of the Lip Sync Battle! I was really looking forward to this as I thought it would be very entertaining. We had to sit up on the 2nd floor due to our lateness, but luckily the show hadn’t started yet. They had one of the comedians out warming up the crowd (or so I thought). He was OK, but I’m generally hard to please with comedians anyway. When he finished up a second comedian came out, and I liked him much better. He was playing off people in the audience and making up some good jokes on the spot. It was nice to have them out there, since I hadn’t been able to make it to any of the comedy shows that week due to little B. After both comedians had finished, Saffie came out to thank everyone for coming and reminding everyone that the lip sync battle was being postponed until the next afternoon for the safety of all the performers. They must have announced this at the very beginning, but since we were late, we didn’t catch it. I was pleased to hear that they didn’t outright cancel the lip sync battle show, as I knew the people involved worked hard on it.
Back in our room that night, I gave B some Dramamine as a precaution. Our window never did get covered up, so we were able to see the very large waves outside. Occasionally one would spray our window as it crashed into the side of the boat. At this point we were really rocking and I was worried B would get sick, but he fell right to sleep.
The next morning things were much calmer, especially once we passed Cape Hatteras. The late arrival meant that we were allowed to stay in our rooms until 1pm, which meant no one had to lug bags to the buffet for lunch. In speaking to people that day I heard of a few minor injuries due to objects falling, but according to a nurse from the medical center they hardly had any seasickness people. What surprised me was that some guests were complaining that Carnival had “overreacted” and that the storm was “no big deal”. Admittedly, I expected larger waves and more noticeable swells as well, but I fully believe the reason the ship handled things so well is because the captain and his crew were proactive in adjusting the course and speed so that things wouldn’t be as bad for us. I think it would have been a very different story if these adjustments weren’t made and think Carnival did a great job with this.
I stepped out on deck as we headed into the Port of Baltimore and under the Key Bridge. It was a calm sunny day now, though the temperature made it obvious we weren’t in the Bahamas any longer. Waiting around to disembark did take awhile, and B was very bored, but once we got off things were smooth through customs and to our car.
Overall we had a great time on the Pride and really enjoyed the vibe of her and Carnival in general. As former Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruisers, I was pleased to see that everything we liked about those lines was just as good, if not better on Carnival. We are now Carnival converts and traveling on the Pride again this July, so stay tuned for that!
Tales From the Crib 