Carnival
Pride Review cruise ship
By Yvon Marier
Have
you ever considered taking a vacation with no driving, no hassle
and no worries for 7, 10, 14 days or more? How about a cruise? If
you've never been to one and not sure whether it would be right for
you, read on. With all the cruise lines, cruise destinations and
various range of price available, there is a cruise for just about
everyone.
We were a group of 4 from Canada. We booked a 7-day Mexican Riviera
cruise with Carnival Pride departing from LA, USA. We made
arrangements to stay a few days in LA where we visited Hollywood
and the famous Venus Beach. It was the perfect start of our
vacation.
On the day of our cruise departure, we head over to the pier and
upon our arrival, we were immediately struck by the awesome sight
of the Queen Mary, and our cruise ship was absolutely enormous as
it sat there waiting for us.
It took about 45 minutes to check our luggage in and board the
ship. Once on the Pride, we found our beautiful stateroom with
private balcony, met our room steward, and our luggage magically
appeared in our cabin. It's true that Carnival ships remind many
people of newer Las Vegas resorts. We unpacked at once and made
ourselves feel at home for the duration of the cruise. After
watching the ship set sail from our balcony, we went for walks to
get our bearings. We discovered a spa, overlooking a fitness centre
filled with exercise equipments, and a hot tub in the middle of the
work-out area separated by a glass wall from the rest of the
room.
The first two days were sea days. We ate everything in sight, and
just acted like people on vacation. The crew members are some of
the friendliest and most entertaining folks I've ever met. The
second day was nice and warm, we lounged around on the deck. They
have plenty of deck chairs at the centre lido pool, we never have
problem finding seats.
The cruise vessel has activities for the whole family 24 hours a
day. A state-of-the-art theatre for quality shows and
entertainment, which are all included in the cruise price.
Different entertainment are featured in the theatre every evening
of the cruise. They also have a number of theme bars, lounges and a
disco with live music that are open into the early morning
hours.
If nightlife isn't your style, you can enjoy the onboard pool, spa,
library, fitness centre, shopping and other amenities. If you have
children on the cruise, they have play areas and programs geared to
different age groups.
All meals are "world class cuisine" and "gourmet meals", and
combined with impeccable service to insure that the onboard dining
experience is truly memorable. It is all included in the price of
your cruise. The Pride take into account the modern casual
lifestyle and provide a variety of restaurants and snack bars on
board. There is a varied and plentiful breakfast and lunch buffet
similar to what you would find in Las Vegas. Or you can eat
breakfast or lunch in one of the ship's restaurants, order exactly
what you want from the menu. Restaurants are usually open for meals
for extended hours and buffets are generally open all day and into
the night. Not the mention their 24-hour pizza parlour!
Cruises typically stop at a different port of call each day or
every other day, depending upon distances and sailing time between
points of interest. You may stay aboard the ship all day or
disembark at any stop. You are free to explore each destination on
your own as long as you return to the ship by the designated time.
Our ports of calls were Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Los
Cabos.
Puerto Vallarta:
We made arrangements to take the city tour. Riding in the comfort
of a big, air-conditioned tour bus, Puerto Vallarta was a beautiful
sight. Our highlight of the day was swimming with the dolphins. We
literally got inside the dolphin pool, touched and kissed the
dolphins. It was an experience of our lifetime.
Mazatlan:
We booked the city tour with tour-guide Frank. He gave us a private
tour, took us to many places. We shopped, explored, ate, relaxed,
and we had a fabulous time.
Cabo San Lucas:
There are the standard cruise shops, a marketplace of crafts and
clothing, and some random street vendors doing the "braid your
hair", "take a ride on my water taxi" thing. The trip on the water
taxi was really nice and redeemed the Cabo experience for me. We
rode around the Land's End, went up to the pelican colony, not
nearly the number the pelicans living at the fishing pier in
Mazatlan, went to look at the sea lions, and checked out the
Pacific side of the peninsula.
Our last day on the cruise was a sad day. We had early
disembarkation due to early flights (12:30). The ship was very
organized and we were able to get off the ship very quickly.
All in all it was an excellent vacation. I'm very pleased with
Carnival cruise.
With all these great services available at a reasonable cost, why
not take a cruise vacation?
About
the Author
Carnival Pride
review is published by Yvon Marier Looking for information
about cruises? Go to: http://www.easytraveling.net
Travel Articles: http://easytraveling.blogspot.com
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