Ship Statistics

Name: Carnival Pride	Registry: Panama
Ship Completed Date: 12/30/2001 2:07:00 PM	Capacity: 2124
Number of Crew, Nationality: 930, International	Gross Tonnage: 88500
Number of Passenger Decks: 12	Non-Smoking Dining: Yes
Non-Smoking Ship: No

The Carnival Pride is the newest masterpiece in the art of having fun. Guests board this incredible ship through the most artistic atrium ever conceived: a Renaissance-style galleria 11 stories high with a roof of ruby-red glass. Beyond the Raphael-inspired murals you'll find a winter garden, the Body Beautiful Spa, and a two-story, indoor/outdoor promenade that runs the length of the ship. Eighty percent of outside staterooms have private balconies for unparalleled ocean views. Dining options include a sophisticated supper club serving aged prime rib and South African lobster, a dramatic two-story formal restaurant, a New York-style deli, Asian and American specialty areas, and much more.

Ship Highlights

• Luxurious spa with a fully equipped gym and beauty treatments
• Outdoor jogging track
• Award-winning Camp Carnival program for kids
• Elegant dining in the Normandie Restaurant
• Spectacular Vegas-style productions in the Taj Mahal Theater
• 12 bars and lounges throughout the ship
• Winner's Club Casino, one of the largest as sea
• Three swimming pools and one kids' pool
• 11-deck-high atrium topped with a glass ceiling
• 80% of staterooms offer oceanviews

Overview

Where can you find the artwork of Raphael, da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo, and the architectural details of ancient Greece, Byzantine empires, Renaissance Italy, Beaux Arts France and Victorian England all under the same roof? Perhaps in the great museums of the world -- the Smithsonian, the Bilbao Guggenheim, the Metropolitan -- but also, most definitely, in the public spaces aboard Carnival Pride.

Long, narrow, sleek as a knife and very, very fast, the 2124-passenger Carnival Pride, launched in 2002, is the second ship in the cruise line's dual azipod-driven Spirit class. Carnival's long-time interior designer, Joe Farcus, chose Icons of Beauty as the ship's theme: beauty in life, beauty in art, beauty in the world's architecture, beauty in the human body and in the human spirit.

At 963 feet, with 1062 passenger cabins, 11 bars and lounges, four pools and five hot tubs, this ship was made for active participation. Carnival's guests come onboard knowing that they will have access to 24-hour partying, food and entertainment. A large and well-equipped children's center, Camp Carnival's Fun Club, is one of the line's signature features, luring families with kids of all ages: Everyone gets to play.

There must be something in the water on this ship, because we have yet to meet a more accommodating, cheerful and outgoing crew. Everyone, from the harried Purser's Desk staff to the dining room and bar servers to the hardworking room stewards, expressed a sort of unfettered joy for being available to serve Pride guests. Officers were accessible and engaging, and the general atmosphere was uncompromisingly upbeat.

One evening aboard our seven-night Mexico Riviera cruise from Long Beach, California, we saw two very young girls, perhaps eight and ten, dancing together on the Lido Deck during a Calypso party. They danced with such joy, abandon and total freedom that it made us ache for the long-past youth of our children. "This," we thought, "is the very essence of a Carnival cruise."

Public rooms

The Icons of Beauty theme is carried out in gigantic blown-up reproductions of works by Raphael, Botticelli and the like, for whom the nude female form represented Beauty with a capital B. Mermaids swimming across the partial roof of the Lido Deck are similarly unclothed, as are the statues anchoring almost all of the pools. A reproduction statue of Michelangelo's David, also minus a fig leaf, stands at the top of the atrium, facing the elevators.

It would take an architectural dictionary to decipher the elements used in the public spaces: plinths, pilasters, lintels, cornices and so on, all bathed in a bronze patina. The forward half of Carnival's distinctive winged funnel is the red glass skylit dome over the Renaissance Atrium below. The result is a pinkish glow that suffuses the space from top to bottom. With all of the bronze fixtures and the classical paintings, the overall effect is stunning.

Whereas most ships like to boast of their wide-open corridors and the ability to wander from one end to the other without seeing another person, the Spirit-class vessels create just the opposite effect. Walkways are designed to funnel people together in order to create intimacy and camaraderie. It doesn't make the ship seem crowded (the only bottlenecks are at the portrait stations during formal nights) but it does force interaction. The central atrium area, instead of being a vast empty space as in most vessels this big, is really quite small and intimate (even if it does rise ten stories above the lobby). The Lido Deck is divided into sections, each with its own "personality" and activities to match. The winding Via Veneto interior promenade is narrow, and the twists and turns it takes make guests come face to face with each other. On a ship of this size, creating these pockets of interaction is simply brilliant design.

The one disappointment we found is the Internet Center/Library, which shares a too-small space tucked behind a bar and the chapel. The Nobel Library consists of about 80 books hidden on shelves behind computer monitors. There are only eight computer stations, and the setup is not very appealing. Wireless access is available, but unfortunately (and frustratingly) there are no "hot spots" on board other than in this library/Internet room and a seating area just adjacent. We like being able to sit on the Lido Deck or in other public spots with our laptops. Internet packages ranged from 40 - 75 cents per minute.

Entertainment

A guest on Carnival Pride could sit in one spot during the length of the cruise and get more entertainment than is to be found on the Las Vegas strip. We were really impressed with the quality of the singers, bands and production shows, and marvel at the creativity of the Cruise Director's staff.

The Taj Mahal Theatre, the ship's main show lounge, is a state-of-the-art venue in which elaborate production shows take place. Some of the support posts interfere with sightlines, but with three floors of seating space, finding an unobstructed view isn't too difficult.

Pride's many bars and lounges have individual entertainment, whether a jazz trio (as in the Raphael Lounge), a country singer (as in the casino bar), or a cool and funny pianist (in the Ivory Piano Bar). The pools on Lido Deck have their own sets of entertainers: a Calypso band for the Venus pool area, a DJ for the Poseidon pool at the very aft. All of them are very good, and add substantially to the cruise experience.

But, when it comes to entertainment, nothing can compete with the ingenious shenanigans of the Cruise Director's staff, and the games and activities they devise to keep the ship hopping. There are the usual, of course -- Newlywed game, trivia contests and the like -- but then the creativity begins. Scavenger hunts, pub crawls, pool games that entail stuffing items in bathing suits or relays that require wiggling with balloons between legs, and of course the redundantly named Men's Hairy Chest Contest (there isn't one for women). Those who don't choose to participate certainly have a great time cheering from the sidelines, but the level of participation is surprising and reaches across all ages. The Hairy Chest winner on our cruise was a 53-year-old electrician from northern California, who clinched the title with his flawless rendition of a Tarzan yell.

There is also an enormous casino with every imaginable table game and slot machine; dance classes, bingo, and art auctions; talent shows for both the adult guests and the kids (in Camp Carnival); dances in the evening either on the aft end of Lido Deck or in one or more of the clubs inside; and one of the best ideas yet -- a teens-only dance several times during the week, 12 - 17 only, adults not allowed.

The entertainment is so ... well, entertaining, that we almost didn't mind the constant shilling of everything from bingo to art auctions to drinks, drinks, drinks. The one irritant in this regard, though, is that Carnival has conscripted a large portion of one of the lounges to add a Vacation Club sales staff to Pride and Spirit. Pre-sold cruise vacations at huge discounts might be a great idea, but the constant buttonholing and hard-sell pitches were extremely annoying, and just seemed totally out of place on this Fun Ship. We wish Carnival would leave these guys on land, or provide a walk-in office, like a future cruises desk, for people to enter voluntarily.

Fitness and Recreation

The three pools on Lido Deck are too small to be used for swimming laps so we had to decide: Does the mention of them belong in Recreation or Entertainment? Both, really. The central pool, Apollo, is used for a variety of games and activities designed by the Cruise Director's staff. The forward pool, Venus, is quiet, perfect for lazing around when the weather is good. The far aft pool, Poseidon, (an adults-only location), is active and busy during the day and the deck surrounding it becomes a dance floor at night if it isn't too chilly or windy.

The fourth swimming pool, the one for kids, is located on the Sun Deck above the Lido Deck; it has a two-deck-high twisty slide and is active, splashy and rowdy. Plenty of adult "kids" enjoy the slide, so the pool has a nice mix of ages, not solely limited to youngsters.

All of the swimming pools have adjacent whirlpools that are large and tend to be quite sociable.

Spa Carnival, located at the very front of the ship on Deck Nine, comprises two levels, with a fully-equipped, two deck-high gymnasium surrounded by glass walls overlooking the bow; an interior hydrotherapy pool; an aerobics studio for classes and workouts (Pilates, Yoga and individual instruction each has a slight extra charge); complimentary steam and sauna rooms for Pride guests; locker rooms and showers.

Hint: The showers in the staterooms are spacious enough, but for a real treat, enjoy the glass-enclosed multi-jet showers in the gym after your workout or sauna. There's a nice rainhead above, and four side showerheads that make you feel as though you are getting a free massage.

A salon for hair and nails, The Look, is located on Deck Nine, and a full-service spa. The Body Beautiful, operated by Steiner of London, offers treatments ranging from facials to deep-tissue massages. The spa treatment rooms are just aft of the gym; there is an exterior promenade adjacent to the rooms on Deck Nine, aerobics studio above them on Deck Ten, and jogging track on Deck Eleven -- all of which can create some nerve-jangling if you're trying to relax with a nice massage while joggers or aerobicizers are thunking in sneakers above you or along the side of the ship.

The Spa has a Greek theme but the treatment rooms have gone to a more South Asian decor. Pretty batiks and dark fabrics drape the treatment tables while Balinese bells and scented candles soothe the soul. The more popular treatments also have an Asian touch: hot stone massages, for example, or Shiatsu. One of the best values we found was the scalp, neck and shoulders massage -- very reasonably priced. Other therapies seemed expensive, but are "sale priced" on port days. Look for specials in the daily Carnival Capers, and if you want a hair or nail appointment for formal nights, make sure you book early, as these are almost impossible to get after the first day.

Duffers who want to keep up with their game can use the golf cage on Deck Eleven aft.

Family

This is a Carnival Fun Ship; it was created with families in mind. No child, of any age, could get bored on Carnival Pride, and the level of care provided allows Mom and Dad the freedom to relax and enjoy their vacations as well.

Children ages 2 - 17 can participate in age-appropriate activities in one or more of the special rooms available in the Fun Club. Carnival even allows toddlers who are not potty-trained to join in the fun. Well-trained, security-minded staffers keep an eagle eye on the younger children while they engage in activities ranging from candy making to finger painting, enjoying play time with a large selection of toys and blocks, or watching the kid-rated videos available in the Club. Older children can utilize the video games and computer stations, and even wander down one level to the video arcade for some hard-charging gaming action.

An outdoor play area is available, as is the children's pool and waterslide. Parents who want a quiet evening at David's Supper Club or intimate dining in the Normandie Restaurant without the little ones will appreciate the dining program at the Fun Club, where kids dine with their counselors and new friends. The problem is that children enjoy this so much that it's occasionally difficult to lure them back to the dinner table with their "same old, same old" boring parents.

Teens can create their own shore excursions, to which a member of the youth staff accompanies them, and they also have their own private dance and disco parties.

The center, open from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily, is free of charge for families onboard Pride. There is an additional charge for games in the Virtual Reality arcade, for babysitting after 10 p.m., for shore excursions, and for stroller rentals -- very reasonable at $25 for the week.

Fellow passengers

Mostly rowdy, raucous, and ready for a good time, Pride guests actively participate in this huge seagoing party. We met physicians, corporate attorneys, housewives, teachers and captains of industry, all of whom knew they had a week to cut loose and be silly before resuming their normal lives. We met families who played together, older folks who danced until the wee hours and college students freed from the rigors of classes. No single demographic defines the guests on this ship, except that they are all people who enjoy an outrageously good time and choose Carnival Pride because there is also an element of elegance.

Dress

Anything goes in the public spaces but shorts or tank tops are not permitted in the dining room. There are two formal nights on a seven-night cruise; almost everyone on board dresses up and attends the Captain's cocktail party, heads to dinner, and then has a portrait taken at one of the many photo stations along the main indoor promenade.

Dress for David's Supper Club is formal, no matter which night you go. A tux isn't necessary, but a suit and tie are definitely required.

Gratuity

The recommended minimum is $10 per day per passenger, which is added to your shipboard account and can be adjusted by the guest either upwards or downwards before the final accounting. This sum includes a bit for the unseen staff whose work is critical to the enjoyment of the cruise, but does not include the maitre d'. An envelope is provided on the last night for those who want to recognize the work of the maitre d', and the room service menu suggests tipping for room service as it's delivered.