Carnival Pride 2012 Cruise Part 7

Well, its been a great week.  Although man did it ever go fast.  Its really hard to believe its time to wrap it up already.  Colton has been good about looking at the bright side.  He’s always ready to go home to see his cat and dog after a trip.  And I can’t really blame him I guess. 

I will say that I am more than ready to have unlimited internet again.  You don’t realize how addicted you are to something until you can’t have it.  Don’t get me wrong, I always buy an internet package, but basically that just covered getting these things posted every night. 

Its been a whole lot of fun writing up this trip.  I thought about writing a cruise critic review, but I doubt I do.  If I would, I will post it here too. 

Next up is, Lord willing, its back to Norwegian in June on the Breakaway.  Boy does that sound a long way away.  But I gotta say its really cool planning to sail on a ship that’s not even constructed yet!

Well, take care everyone.  Its been a lot of fun sharing this cruise with you.  Have a great Sunday!

Here we go Steelers!

Mike 

Carnival Pride 2012 Cruise Part 6

Not much to write about today, but I thought I’d better check in anyway. It was largely more of the same for the Davis family. Deck chairs, swimming, reading, eating, and on and on. By this point in a cruise you definitely get settled in to a routine and love every minute of it.

The out of the ordinary thing today was the Mountaineer game. Apparently they played around 3:30 again because by the time I checked in on twitter to see when kickoff was it was already halftime. So I went up to the sports bar and caught much of the second half. I was happy to see they finally got a victory. What a year its been! They start out 5-0 only to almost immediately plummet to 5-5. Makes for a long season for the fans and players alike.

I had every intention of searching out the gym and walking on the treadmill today, but it didn’t happen. And needless to say since tomorrow is the last day, I won’t be doing it then either. Originally had the idea I’d get a jump on the inevitable post cruise diet too, but that plan gradually fell apart throughout the day. Oh well.

Entertainment options have really been lacking on this cruise. I’ve already explained how much we love the comedy club and there was no comedy at all Wednesday or Thursday. A couple of new guys were here today for a family show at 7:30 which was ok, but not great. Really only one of the 4 comedians so far has been what I’d call good. But that’s alright, average comedy is still better than any singing and dancing show.

Now don’t get me wrong, this cruise has been wonderful, and I really hate to say this because for some reason our history with Carnival makes me feel as though I owe them some sort of allegiance…but I miss NCL. Things are just better there. Man that sounds bad doesn’t it? I don’t mean it that way, but so many things have just been disappointing with Carnival. The food has been ok, but nothing special. The entertainment has been very poor, with the exception of the Comedy Club. Family activities are non-existent. Freeport vs. Great Stirrup Cay. I don’t know, I’m sure there is more, and like I said, the vacation itself has still been awesome. Its just that the details are better at NCL. 

Carnival Pride 2012 Cruise Part 5 - Nassau

Nassau Day 2012. Well, that wouldn’t exactly be correct would it, we were in Nassau already back in June. Oh well, Nassau Day 2012 revisited. We didn’t arrive until 11:30 so the morning was a normal morning of breakfast and pool time. The pool time was memorable because that water couldn’t have been any colder if it had ice cubes in it. Colton didn’t last long for that reason so it was back to reading in no time. As we pulled along side in Nassau we were next to the Norwegian Jewel and the Disney Dream. The Dream looks like a fantastic ship from our perspective anyway. And the Jewel will always be one of our favorites after we sailed her the summers of 2010 and 2011. We hung out on deck until 11:30 so little guy could get his daily hamburger then came in to get ready for shore.

The plan today was to hit the streets to the zoo, called Ardastra Gardens. But once we got outside we decided we’d just get a cab. It turned out to be a very nice place and we spent about an hour and a half there before returning to town. Several different species of animals were there that we’d never seen. The coolest thing by far though was a bird feeding exhibit. I wish I could remember what type of birds they were, but I can’t. They were adorable little guys though and they would fly right down and land on your arm and eat from a slice of apple. I got some great pics of Colton feeding them. After that was a show of pink flamingos, which was good, but not great.

For some reason we asked the cabbie to drop us at the straw market on the way back to the ship. Just because it’s a new building doesn’t mean its any less of a chaotic warehouse of junk. We buzzed through there and continued on down Bay Street to the ship. It still amazes me to have been to Nassau as many times as we have and never heard of Ardastra Gardens until recently.

Once back to the ship we got some food and grabbed some deck chairs for some reading time. I’ve read about a book and a half so far on this trip. Counting on finishing the second one by home on Sunday. The first one was The Battlefield of the Mind, a recommendation of Shon “Cruiseman 3000” Ford. It was a very good book with a lot of solid truth on spiritual warfare. The second book is Embracing Obscurity, which is about our often misguided pursuit of significance. Excellent stuff so far.

Dinner this evening was good, but the service was a little slow. Steph had the Thanksgiving dinner which she said wasn’t as good as last year. Colton and I had the filet mignon which was very good. Much like last year the entertainment Wednesday and Thursday was essentially nonexistent. No comedy shows at all makes for a pretty dull evening on the Pride. That’s about it for tonight folks. Have a great weekend!

The Disney Dream

Colton the zoo master. 

Colton feeding the birdies. 

Carnival Pride 2012 Cruise Part 4 - Seaworld

This morning we had a wake up call at 6am so we could get ready to board the bus to Seaworld around 7:30.  The bus left shortly before 8 and was scheduled to return to the ship around 5.  A much nicer itinerary than what we’re used to with NCL where you don’t even leave until noon and then get back around 9:30.  That’s the only plus to this cruise itinerary though, as I do appreciate NCL’s having the two sea days on the back end rather than the front like Carnival does. 

The bus ride over to Orlando was uneventful and we used the time to research the shows a little on my phone.  We arrived at Seaworld around 9 and immediately went to the dolphin feeding experience.  All in all there were three animal interaction experiences that we did right off the bat.  First was feeding herring to dolphins.  Second was feeding shrimp to stingrays.  And last was feeding herring to sea lions.  Feeding the dolphins was by far our favorite, although the way you fed the stingrays was pretty cool too.  You had to stick the shrimp between two fingers sticking up from the back of your hand.  Then you’d put your hand low in the water almost clear to the bottom.  The rays would see the shrimp and swim over your hand and take it.  It was quite a weird sensation.

After the feeding experiences, we hit a couple of shows.  One Ocean with all the killer whales and Shamu of course and the Sea Lion and Otter show, Clyde and Seamore.  Both shows were super entertaining and definite must see’s.  After the shows we just walked over the whole park and checked out different exhibits and such.  Oh, one really cool thing we saw was the Polar Express Experience which was based on the movie of course.  It ended up more or less being a short movie but it was still pretty cool and worth the effort.  And the park was all decorated for Christmas  and they had Christmas music playing throughout the park.  This was actually pretty nice, I’m thinking because it was my first exposure for the year.  Once bombarded with it for a month I’ve no doubt I’ll get sick of it.

We boarded the bus for the ship around 3:45.  Not even out of Orlando my phone battery died.  So that was irritating and made for a long ride back to the ship.  Part of the reason for that was the Seaworld app I had been using most of the day.  It had everything in it that you could want, from show times to locations and directions on the park map from your specific location to any show or exhibit.  Very cool app and very helpful. 

Once back on board the Pride we got cleaned up and got some dinner.  Entertainment this evening was definitely lacking.  No comedy shows tonight or tomorrow night.  That is ridiculous in my opinion as the comedy acts are the best thing they have going.  But I remember that last year was the same way, Wednesday and Thursday both were pretty weak on entertainment.  I think there is a deck party later on tonight, but I’m sure that’s past my bed time.   

Mike

One of the dolphins who made our day. 

Shamu and friends. 

Carnival Pride 2012 Cruise Part 3

Its been another glorious day at sea today.  The weather is still wasn’t quite perfect, but at least it wasn’t cold and rainy like it was yesterday.  We did indeed sleep in a bit and began our day around 8:30.  As with any sea day the day so far has been spent, reading, resting and eating. Maybe that’s a reason I like cruising so much, reading and eating are two of my favorite things in life!  Colton even read one of his books this morning.  I really hope he develops a love for books like I have. 

Speaking of Colton, he has been a burger monster this trip so far.  That’s definitely his favorite thing to eat.  I haven’t been that impressed with the food, but of course I’ve still found plenty to eat! 

The comedy shows tonight didn’t disappoint.  They were the same comedians as last night but they both did some new material.  The show in the main theatre was a hypnotist, who put on a great show.  Well, I should say, the participants put on a great show.  I wish I knew whether or not I could believe in that stuff.  Its really entertaining if you allow yourself to believe that the people really are under a trance, but then you think they are maybe just playing along.  Hard to tell really. 

Dinner tonight was good.  Colton and I had the meatloaf and Steph had the short ribs, whatever that is.  Service was good compared to our marathon meal the first night.  And the warm chocolate melting cake hit the spot for dessert as usual.  I think last year I ate that every night for dessert, and it was every bit as good this year. 

The only real negative to dinner was the wait to get in the dining room.  We do the anytime dining and decided to go early tonight because of the full slate of entertainment on tap.  We must have waited close to 30 minutes to get a table!  It struck me as we were waiting for dinner at 6 how odd it was that we were delayed getting a table at 6 when for two thirds of our cruising career we ate late seating and loved it.  I guess that’s yet another sign we’re getting old isn’t it?

Well, that’s about all I have to share tonight.  It was a truly wonderful day and I continue to be so thankful that we get to do stuff like this.  Have a great night friends.

Mike

Ship tracks.  Always mesmerizing. 

Colton taking in some My Weird School by the pool. 

Carnival Pride 2012 Cruise Part 2

Greetings from high above the Atlantic on the beautiful Carnival Pride.  There isn’t quite as much to write about this evening compared to last night, but I will review our day a for you. 

This morning we awoke around 7 am and thought nothing of getting up and heading to scope out a deck chair.  We were still in summer cruise mode, I guess.  When you sail on the second week of June from New York City like we are accustomed to doing you get used to having to nab deck chairs as early as possible.  So basically Colton and I were upstairs and settled shortly after 7, which turned out to be a good hour ahead of the next earliest folks.  It didn’t bother us though, he fired up the ipad and I my kindle and we settled in for a few hours of quality pool/reading time. 

For some odd reason we decided to hit the hot tub once it opened rather than the pool which made our transition to the pool ridiculously difficult.  The water was freezing!  We stayed and played for a while, but the comfort of my book and a deck chair was calling my name.  One of the twin pools on the Carnival Pride is covered by a retractable roof, making the actual weather almost irrelevant. That is until the gray dreary day resulted in some really rough seas.  Sea sickness has never been an issue for me, but Steph is growing more and more susceptible to it.  Her morning was a rough one and it probably took her til mid afternoon to recover. 

So after pool/reading time Colton and I spent a good while just exploring the Pride.  Having just been here last year, there wasn’t really much of anything new to see, but we had fun anyway.  Its kind of funny having my 8 yr old perk up and say “lets find a bar.”  I always buy the soda package and he has been killing the Sprites ever since.

The afternoon was full of what cruise ship life is all about.  Naps and snacks.  Well, you have to throw reading in there for me to because that’s a huge part of cruising for me. 

By early evening we all got cleaned up for dinner which tonight was at the buffet.  Formal night, or Elegant night as Carnival now calls it, usually means that we slum around at the buffet in our sweatshirts.  We gave up dressing up on cruises many cruises ago, and I gotta say I really don’t miss it. 

Probably the best thing I can say for Carnival these days is that their Punchliner Comedy Clubs rock!  I’m not much for traditional cruise entertainment but we all love Comedians and the two tonight did not disappoint.  I can’t tell you how good it makes you feel to sit there next to your son who is laughing hard for 45 minutes solid.

After the comedy show we hit the arcade for air hockey.  Considering the sorry state of the NHL this year, air hockey is about the only hockey I’m going to see this fall.  Colton shows improvement every year, but I still dominate the little guy.  It’s always a good time. 

Well, that’s about it for today.  Lots of quality Cruise Ship Life which basically means snacks, naps, reading, and more snacks.  With the exception of Steph being under the weather throughout much of the day, it was a good day at Sea.  

Mike

 

A cold gray dreary day at sea. (still better than any day on land)

My vantage point for most of the morning. 

 One of Colton’s countless Sprites. 

The Punchliner Comedy Club.

Carnival Pride 2012 Cruise Part 1

Well, today has certainly been one of the strangest embarkation days ever.  We hit the road at 8:40 this morning and headed east.   Normally, we leave around 7 for the 3 and a half hour drive, but the ships arrival in Baltimore had been delayed due to some weather issues.  At that time the ship was supposed to arrive at 11 and be ready for us to board by 2.  Well, about 9:30 I received an email from Carnival much like the one we received yesterday stating that the ship now wouldn’t be in Baltimore until 1:30 and we weren’t to arrive at the port until at least 5.  So while this was disappointing we knew it was just an inconvenience and not really anything that would jeopardize the trip.  We arrived at the Hagerstown Outlets around 11 prepared to kill some the, all the sudden, mountain of extra time we had.  First stop was the food court for some pizza.  And just like our pizza place at the local mall, if you need a few slices of pizza you’re ahead money wise to buy a whole pie.  So we ordered up a large cheese and had a feast. 

The Hagerstown Outlets are pretty nice.  They had about everything you’re used to seeing at an outlet mall.  Our primary objective today, other than wasting time, was shoes.  So, after lunch we found our way to the New Balance store and did some shopping.  No kidding, probably 45 minutes later we emerged with 2 new pair for Colton and 1 for myself.  Mine being snazzy black and gold to accompany my endless wardrobe of Steelers apparel.  Ok, so we shopped and we shopped, and we shopped some more and shortly after 2 we made it back to the Pilot and headed to Sheetz.  A short bathroom and beverage stop and we were again on the road for Baltimore. 

By 3:30 we were to the Port of Baltimore waiting to park.  Well, here’s where it gets just a little more weird.  By the time we reached the attendant he started in on his spill about the ship being late, etc. and in a nutshell, “Please enjoy the afternoon at the Inner Harbor and come back at 5.  Apparently they were taking this 5 thing rather seriously.  While we were allowed to drop our bags at the porters, we weren’t allowed to park yet.  So we exited the parking lot and started to head to McHenry Row, which was another recommendation of the parking attendant.  Only about 3 minutes from the Port, McHenry Row was an adorable little area of upscale shops, restaurants and a grocery store, Harris Teeter.  Everything was shiny and new and we enjoyed looking around until about 4:30.  It was during this time I got a chance to call my twitter friend Shon, who lives in Baltimore.  We chatted a while about our days and his upcoming cruise on the Carnival Breeze.  We had never spoken before so it was nice to finally talk to my new friend.  Well, tired and not really digging this wasting time thing anymore, we got in the car and made another attempt to park.  This time the old guys who met us last time were gone and everything was back to normal, only about 5 hours later than we normally would have been doing this.

We got through the parking line and paid the cashier, who of course had to give me a hard time because of my Steelers attire.  I remember last year the parking attendant razzed me about my team too, but I have no idea if it was the same girl.  Now, believe it or not, once we got parked, wait time was absolutely minimal and we buzzed through VIP check-in in no time at all and were on the ship by 5!  Amazing efficiency at check in and boarding.  It was almost as though Carnival knew they were going to have a whole bunch of tired and semi-irritated people on their hands and made every effort possible to have the boarding part of our days go smoothly. 

So once on the ship everything continued to be a little weird simply because of the time of day.  Dinner was all open seating and casual dress because no one had luggage yet, so that was pretty nice.  Food was ok but not great.  We all had chicken tenders for appetizers.  Colton had a steak for the main course and Steph and I both had shrimp.  Desert for me was crème brulee, Colton had lime sherbet and Steph had the always awesome warm chocolate melting cake.  Very minimal exploring after dinner and then it was time start unpacking and head back upstairs for the lifeboat drill.  We were all so exhausted that by the time my Steelers kicked off at 8:30, we were all about ready to get settled for the night.  Colton and I went out and made another lap or two around the ship and got ice cream cones, but for the most part we were all beat and ready for bed.  I’ve been writing this from bed rather than out on deck like normal, but perhaps that’s why its actually got some length to it.  Like I said, it was a very strange day, but its all good.  We’re back in the place I love the most and I’m glad I got the chance to share some of it with you.   

Carnival Pride 2012 Pre-Cruise Part 2

Its Saturday night and we’re all getting ready to cheer on the Mountaineers to victory, but our pre-game festivities were interrupted by an email from Carnival.  Turns out the Pride has endured some rough weather during its return from the Bahamas and will be late getting back to Baltimore tomorrow.  Normally ships arrive in home port around 7am but tomorrow the Pride won’t get there until 11.  So we lose a few precious hours of our vacation, but thats ok.  Everything works out the way its supposed to, so we’ll deal with it with smiles.  

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I swapped phone numbers with a friend from Cruise Critic who is a Baltimore Raven’s fan.  We’ll finally get to meet tomorrow even though we’ve known each other for over two years.  Should be fun!  

Be sure to follow along here at Mike’s Place this week.  I hope to post some pics from the cruise and add whatever commentary I can come up with.  See ya then!

Mike

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6  This is one of my all time favorite scriptures.  It basically spells out a blessed and peaceful life in a nutshell.  First is trust in the Lord in every way and in every thing.  Commit your will to His and trust Him in every aspect of your life.  Next is admitting that we don’t necessarily know what’s best for ourselves.  I don’t know about you, but I cannot be trusted to walk to the beat of my own drummer.  If I’m in the lead then I’m about to crash.  Finally, continue to acknowledge the Lord in every thing and watch Him work.  He will direct and guide our every step if we commit to our will to Him and obey Him in everything.     

Carnival Pride 2012 Pre-Cruise Part 1

While its still a week away, Colton and I are getting super excited for our upcoming cruise on the Carnival Pride.  He’s been urging me to start my cruise journal already.  I explain to him that I don’t know what to write about and he says, “just write about your expectations.”  So here I am working on part one of my live cruise journal while sitting at home a week prior to embarkation. 

Since we did this exact same cruise last year at this time, I have pretty solid ideas about what to expect.  First, I expect to see a whole lot of Ravens fans.  Cruising from Baltimore during football season always introduces a bit of good natured tension between rival fans.  This year that will be even more noticeable because the Steelers actually play the Ravens on embarkation day.  I’ll show up representing SteelerNation in black and gold and countless others will show up in purple and black representing the local team.  Generally it’s a lot of fun chatting with rival fans, but the Steelers/Ravens rivalry is growing more intense all the time and there’s always a chance of some jerks being in the mix from either side.  Last year everyone picked on me from the parking lot attendant to the porters to my fellow travellers.  Its all in fun though and I’m definitely looking forward to it.

I also anticipate two relaxing days at sea as we make our way to Port Canaveral.  Sea days are my favorite parts of a cruise and I can’t wait to make my way to a deck chair next to the indoor pool on that first morning.  Following the sea days, we’ll hit Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport before one final day at sea on the way home. 

Keep your eyes open for live journal reports from the Carnival Pride starting Sunday November 18th.  And you never know you might even see an entry by extra special guest blogger Colton.  He’s already started his journal for the Norwegian Breakaway cruise next June, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him pop in with an entry on the Pride sometime soon!      

Mike