Trip Reports - Trip Report/Cruise Review Carnival Pride

We just got back from a week-long Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Pride. For those interested, check out my trip report / cruise review on the FT Travel Cruise forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/Forum14/HTML/000127.html

I didn't even know a FT-Cruise "chapter" existed!

Fantastic report--thanks!

I'm not a cruise person, but you've written an excellent report. Could you please explain how the "Sail and Sign" tipping system works and your reference to a "coke card"? (Most cruise regulars probably understood, but I'm uninitiated. Thanks.)

The "Sail and Sign" is the on boat charging system. Cruise ships don't want to deal with cash all over the ship, so virtually all on board purchases must be added to a room account. You settle the room account automatically by giving the line a charge card at embarkation, or you can settle manually with cash at the Purser’s Desk at the end of the cruise.

Cruise lines also expect you to tip the following individuals on your cruise: The Cabin Steward, The Waiter, and The Assistant Waiter. The Head Waiter is tipped "at your discretion" (usually if he performs a service for you). On most ships you have the option of tipping with cash, or you can have the tips added to your room (via direct bill or through "tip tickets") at the Purser' s Desk. These tipped individuals are much like waiters in the real world, they have a reduced normal wage, and tips are an expected to make up the difference. Carnival has decided to add these tips (for the Cabin Steward and the Waiter/Assistant Waiter) to your room account automatically on a daily basis. You can give more (in cash or room charge) if service is exceptional, or you can have the tip removed from your account if the service is poor. Getting the tip removed will involve a standing in line at the Purser’s Desk (or by calling the Purser’s Desk). The pros are that this system is convenient and easy, if you call to have the tip removed it gives the Purser’s Desk an opportunity to correct the problem, and it makes it more difficult for the employees to get screwed over by people neglecting to tip. Cons are that I think it breeds complacency. I’m not in favor of this system for the reasons outlined in my report.

The “Coke card” is a scheme that most cruise lines have as a discount on fountain soft drinks. The only drinks on the ship that are included in the price of the trip are typically milk, iced tea, lemonade, and hot coffee/tea. If you buy a “Coke card” you can get unlimited soft drinks for a fixed price. If memory serves, they charged $19.95 for kids, and $29.95 for adults on this cruise. Soft drinks are $1.72 each, so you need to drink 18 over a week to break even.

[This message has been edited by skofarrell (edited 04-10-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by yyzflyer:
I'm not a cruise person.....</font>

I don't believe I am either.

Had you ever been in the "a cruise is not for me camp" skofarrell? if so, what made you change your mind?

edited to add another l to skofarrell

[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 04-11-2003).]

I was adamantly in the "I have no interest in a cruise" camp, until I did my first one. After the first one, I was completely hooked. My first was on the 3 day Bahamas cruise on the Disney Magic. At the time it was a brand new ship, sailing during the first year of operation by the new Disney Cruise Line arm of Disney.

My erroneous assumptions:

I'll have to participate in stupid activities / It is too structured I'll get seasick The food will be bad The cabin is too small The boat will be too crowded


Answers to these assumptions:

You don't have to participate in anything (unless you want to). It is as structured as you want to make it. Want to eat every meal in your room? Fine. Only want the buffet? Great. Want to spend the entire time on a deck chair at the back of the boat? Go for it! Until we got caught by the storm last week, I've never even been close to being seasick. The food on the ships I've been on have ranged from acceptable to awesome. You can literally eat until you explode. The cabin, while small, is very functional, and the balcony is worth spending money on. So much so, that having a balcony is my favorite part of being on a ship The boat is designed to accommodate the people on board. If it is less than capacity, its a bonus.

Other upsides:
Being able to visit multiple ports without having to pack and unpack. I like to gamble, and just about every ship has a casino. Being on a ship is romantic and fun, especially when you're walking back to the huge ship after being in a port. There's a lot to do for kids, especially in the 8-12 year range. We let them have free run of the ship. They have perceived autonomy (but there's really no place for them to go or get in trouble). Budget. You costs are pretty much contained. The only variables on the ship are booze, photos, souvenirs, and shore excursions. I've found that I do a terrible job budgeting meals costs on vacations. With a cruise, you don't have to worry about food, and the evening meals are typically very nice.


Other things I've learned:

You have to pick a quality line. I like Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Don't waste money on an outside cabin unless it has a balcony. A porthole window to the outside is usually encrusted in salt and does not present much of a view. Don't rely on the Cruise Line to provide air transportation. I've seen people that are in D.C. routed through CLE to get to MCO when they had their air arranged by the cruise line. you can't be sure of the routing and the airline unless you pay an extra fee. The airfares are usually not as competitive either. Insurance is usually a good idea. If you get sick before the trip and have to cancel, you're out of luck.


I'm already planning the cruise for Spring Break next year. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by skofarrell (edited 04-11-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by skofarrell:
Don't waste money on an outside cabin unless it has a balcony. A porthole window to the outside is usually encrusted in salt and does not present much of a view</font>

THAT is a great tip.

Totally agree with your choice of cruiselines. I am platinum on Royal Caribbean and it is my favorite line. Only ovewhelming experience was accidentally winding up on a spring break cruise with SO many school children. Love kids, but not on my vacation. But had a great time anyway. I think it should be added that there is live entertainment every evening. One additional tip is that tours booked through the cruiseline are usually much more expensive than finding tours on your own. But all in all I am a great fan of cruising.

Princess is also a very good line, especially the Grand.

QL

Wow skofarrell! Thanks for the thorough primer. Would the Disney cruise be a good way to start, i.e. were you satisfied with them (since it didn't make your list of preferred)?

As long as we're on the discussion (and I really do need to start spending time over in the FT Cruise forum), I'll toss my two cents in here in terms of cruise lines.

Carnival is great if you're in college and want a cheap place to party. They're not called "The Fun Ships" for nothing. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Princess/Royal Carribean and those type are good for the mid-tier crowd -- twenty to fifty somethings who want to have fun, comfort, and class mixed together.

If you really want to splurge, and want to spend most of your time with people who have long since retired, try Crystal or Seaborne. Both are luxury-class ships -- fairly large vessels but significantly fewer passengers.

I haven't yet had the chance to try Disney, but as soon as I find a good deal I'm going to. (I'll note that to me a good deal is what I've managed to generally find in the past -- unique opportunities online where I've typically paid around $350 per person including port charges and taxes for a week!)

I recommend to those in the "it's not for me" camp giving cruising a try. There are lots of 3-day weekend cruises you can try to see how you like it. Most people end up hooked. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by yyzflyer:
Wow skofarrell! Thanks for the thorough primer. Would the Disney cruise be a good way to start, i.e. were you satisfied with them (since it didn't make your list of preferred)?

</font>

It is a great cruise, albeit very expensive for the product delivered (which is why it didn't make my return list). We've done it three times (3 day Bahamas (coupled with a stay at Disney's Vero Beach resort), 4 day Bahamas (With a stay at Disney World), and a 7 day Southern Caribbean (Nassau, Castaway Cay Private Island, St Thomas, St Maarten). We've since switched to Royal Caribbean, and have not been back.

If you've got kids, or you are a couple that is into Disney, it is an excellent cruise. The boat is state of the art. The food is good (a notch above Carnival, a notch below Royal Caribbean/Celebrity). There is plenty to do on the boat, and the staff is very motivated.

The 3 and 4 day Bahamas cruises coupled with a Disney World stay are the best bet. A single check-in is their total value add. The plastic key you get at the Disney resort at the start of the trip is your key to your room at the Disney property; your admission to the parks; your charge card in the parks; the the key to your room on the boat; and your change card on the boat. Again, you check in once, and Disney handles it from there. No hassles after that. Wonderful for a vacation with kids.

Having said that, there are some downsides: There are no casinos on any of the Disney boats. You you pay a 50-100% premium compared to Royal Caribbean for the new boat and the lack of hassle. It is very, very, very Disney (the live shows are Disney centric). There are Characters all around the boat. After a week, you can get very Disneyed out.

My recommendation is to do it at least once, on a 3 or 4 day Bahamas cruise; coupled with a Disney World stay. After that, I'd move on to Royal Caribbean. The product is just as good, and the price is significantly cheaper.


[This message has been edited by skofarrell (edited 04-12-2003).]

Our first cruise was on the Big Red Boat (now defunct) when our son was four years old. This was pre-Disney Cruiselines, so the Big Red Boat had Disney characters running all over the ship. My son loved it.

My husband didn't want to go on the cruise, but soon got into the spirit of things and found that it was a wonderfully, relaxing vacation.

During the day, we all went our separate ways and did what we each wanted. The kiddie activities were very well supervised. We got together for lunch and dinner and shared our experiences.

The meals were awesome in that we could talk and focus on each other for over an hour. At home there are constant interruptions (phone calls, people at the door, getting up to get stuff for the table, etc.)

Our favorite cruise to date is a back-to-back two week cruise. At the end of the first week, when other passengers had to leave, we stayed on board and knew that we had another week.

I agree that a balcony is a must. After six cruises, my husband is the one who now keeps asking, "When are we going on another cruise?"

[This message has been edited by bamboola (edited 04-12-2003).]

This is a point of view from somebody that's somewhere in between, "not for me" and "for me" cruiser. In 91 an add on some website caught my eye, and I followed up on it. It was for a 14 day cruise from Barcelona to Ft.Lauderdale on a Celebrity ship. I thought about it, still being in the "not for me" camp, but decided to give it a try, since I was looking for a relaxing vacation, and 9 days at sea seem ideal for that. Well, I was not disappointed. Loved the sea days, and even enjoyed the few ports we stopped in, but since most were islands, it was more of a shopping excursions than actual discovering of a foreign culture. The ship was beautiful, I was lucky to get upgraded to one of the biggest balcony cabins on the ship with even bigger balcony(3 weeks post 9/11), and met some fun people. I traveled alone. I brought DVDs and books to occupy my time, but really had no time to do either one.
So last September, I've decided to do a 12 day Alaska cruise with the same cruiseline. Since I've never been to that part of the world, I thought it would be a great way to at least get a taste. Again, the ship was wonderful, but, I've discovered that there is no way you will even get a taste of some new world or culture being on the cruise ship. While I did get to experience some wonderful excursions, including glacier trekking, it did occur to me that I have not even touched Alaska and what it has to offer.
My point is this. At least for me, if the ship is the final destination, and I need to 'vanish' from the real world for awhile, I will consider another transatlantic cruise like the first one, but in no way will I ever consider a port intensive cruise, because to me it's like saying I've been to Dallas, just because I had a few hour layover at DFW.

Point well taken. They key to experience local culture (as much as you can on a single one day port stop) is to get off the boat and get away from canned shore excursions.

Hiring a taxi for the day in Progreso was the most fun we've had in a port in a while, and we really felt immersed in the Mexican/Yucatan culture. I have friends that have done the same thing in Barbados and St Maarten with similar results.

Obviously, you need to be careful/wary to make sure that you aren't going to (at best)get taken advantage of, or (at worse) robbed.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie:
THAT is a great tip.</font>

Ah yes but the downside is that the balcony cabins are usually on the upper decks = more expensive and if you are even slightly prone to being seasick those are NOT the ones you want book.

On the other hand I did a Seeward to Vancouver inside passage Alaska cruise and we were able to see quite a bit from our Level 7 cabin window.

Cruises are OK but dont really excite me, me, the only one that I think I might want to do is the Scandanavia one which visits Finland, Estonia and (St Petersburg) Russia.
I work in the marine industry, when you see 300 ships a year you kinda want to spend your spare time elsewhere.
Mike

I just booked my first cruise...to Alaska.

I read your report with great interest. Thanks.

Airbus320, Do you need to seek ice and snow in the summer?, Wasn't last winter in the 'Peg cold enough? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif