Carnival Pride accommodations

Every Carnival guest is assured of spacious, comfortable accommodations. All staterooms offer carpeting, ample drawer and closet space, private facilities (shower, basin and toilet), telephone and color television showing first-run films. Our SuperLiners all feature staterooms above ocean level for a more comfortable cruise.

Carnival pride - Interior Every

Every Carnival guest is assured of spacious, comfortable accommodations. All staterooms have carpeting, ample drawer and closet space, private facilities (shower, basin and toilet), telephone and color television showing first-run films. Our SuperLiners all feature staterooms above ocean level for a more comfortable cruise.

Includes stateroom categories: 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E

Carnival pride - Ocean View

Includes stateroom category: 6A 5A (not shown): French doors and railing with obstructed views.

Carnival pride - Balcony

Includes stateroom categories: Standard Balcony 8A, 8B, 8D, 8F and 8H Extended Balcony 8C, 8E, 8G and 8I Balcony Sateroom (obstructed view)* 7A

Carnival pride- Suite

These extra-large accommodations have a separate sitting area and a private balcony. Special features include a large vanity/dressing table, refrigerator and entertainment area, VCR, whirlpool bath and walk-in closet.

Includes stateroom category: 11.

Staterooms

Whoa ... we opened the door to our cabin and had to step back into the corridor to check our room number, make sure we weren't in the wrong place. Had it been possible, we would have also stepped off the ship to make sure we were actually on a Carnival cruise.

With Spirit-class vessels, Carnival has finally earned the right to call the sleeping quarters "staterooms" instead of cabins. Joe Farcus left the whimsy to the public areas, creating an oasis of calm elegance in these spacious rooms. Gone are the eyeball-wiggling purple, magenta and orange stripes of previous cabin decor. Instead there are pleasing peachy-gold brocaded spreads; carpeting of deep brick red; chairs in muted tones of peach and blues; soft, pale neutral-shaded walls; peachy-gold sofas and cherry-wood cabinetry. Drapes are heavy and tailored, a deep peach color with a barely noticeable blue-gray stripe, backed by a shiny, crinkly, silky blue-gray voile underdrape. These rooms are downright gorgeous.

In standard outsides, the deep desk/vanity area is particularly welcoming; it's wide enough to pile books, makeup, magazines, coffee cups and the daily Carnival Capers all over without having it look like a total trash heap. An interactive telephone sits to one side; a powerful salon-style hairdryer is secured in the uppermost drawer on the left. Lighting at the mirror is soft and incandescent, better for applying makeup than the harsh fluorescent in the bathroom. The desktop continues below a console that holds the television, safe, ice bucket and glasses. There is a stocked mini-fridge and a smaller countertop with a shallow cupboard opposite the bed.

Hint: Before using -- or allowing your children to use -- items from the stocked mini-bar, make sure to look at the price list. There's room to put in your own items and your cabin steward will assist in moving things around so you don't get charged for items you don't use.

Closet space is adequate; there are plenty of hangers, but we wished there were more shelf options and/or more drawer space. The only drawers are in the desk area, and there aren't enough of them.

Bathrooms in standard staterooms are a nice size and laid out well, with a large vanity and a roomy shower. Carnival has partnered with a variety of companies to provide promotional sizes of their products. In a little basket on the counter we had a Bic razor, a roll of Rolaids, two packets of Tylenol PM, some fancy shampoo and hair stuff in little squeeze packs, a travel-sized tube of Crest toothpaste and what at first glance appeared to be a toothbrush but turned out to be a flossing device. Soap is provided courtesy of Lever 2000; there are both shower gel and shampoo in wall-mounted pumps in the shower.

Lighting is fantastic. We love the little pointy lamps on the bedside tables, they're so much more appealing than those stuck-to-the-wall reading lights most often found in staterooms. There's a pretty art-glass freeform light fixture on the mirror opposite the bed; it gives a warm look to the room when it's on, and when it's off it looks like artwork.

Adding to the ambiance of elegance, all oceanview staterooms come with thick, heavy terrycloth robes for use on board.

Caveat: Unless your family really needs adjoining staterooms (or a seating area is unimportant to you), try to avoid booking one. The door to the next cabin is where the sofa would be; you get instead a single small chair that is attractive, but not very comfortable. The doorway between the rooms also eliminates sound insulation, so every conversation, television program and sneeze from next-door sounds like it's right there with you in your room. If you are choosing balconied cabins, the balcony divider between staterooms can be opened, a preferable option to the "adjoining" stateroom configuration.

The ship's 58 suites have different decor, with a hardwood-floor entry, red brocade spreads, granite mini-bar, leather sofa and a whirlpool tub. Large, deep verandas with upgraded furnishings round out the benefits of the suite life. Those at the aft corners of the ship have enormous wrap-around verandas.

Inside cabins are somewhat smaller and laid out differently. There is no sofa, the desk area is smaller and the night tables are large with three drawers each. The bathrooms are the same size as in the standard outsides and standard balcony cabins.

Pride has 624 balconied staterooms, divided between standard balconies (comfortable at just over four-feet deep and just over nine-feet wide) and "extended" balconies, which add an additional 20 inches or so of depth. The use of tempered Plexiglas as the balcony "wall" gives a full-on view without annoying bars, which always seem to hit right at eye level. The only negatives here are that the heavy doors open out instead of slide, which we assume was done to keep people from leaving them open, and that the chair and little table are really tacky plastic, so lightweight that they blow around in the wind. There is a little half-length lounger made of sturdier plastic, low to the deck and heavy.

Caveat: Some of the extended balconies are positioned directly under standard balconies -- this leaves them exposed to a view from above. If it's privacy you desire, avoid those. And note: Not all balconies are created equal. There are several staterooms that, because of internal ship architecture, have longer-than-usual outdoor spaces, some of which are not discernable by viewing the deck plans that Carnival provides. Even with the extra balcony space, these rooms retain the pricing of their level and can be a great bargain. Look for 5236, 5238 and 5245 on Upper Deck, 6232, 6234 and 6281 on Empress Deck, 7258, 7260 and 7303 on Veranda Deck, and 8232, 8234 and 8309 on Panorama Deck.

Cabins 6112 and 6115 at the bow have double-length balconies, but the outcropping at the forward bulkhead, the bridge wing right above them and the louvered venting that angles up the forward end of the balcony itself create a wind-tunnel effect that makes the space almost impossible to enjoy while at sea. They are also adjoining rooms, so you get no sofa and lots of noise from the next cabin.

Turndown service on Carnival Pride is equal to that of some five-star hotels we have visited. Crisp white triple sheeting, perfectly prepared bedding, a little Carnival chocolate on the pillow and oh -- those towel animals! How we love coming back to find an elephant, a mother seal and pup, a doggy or bunny on our bed, or a monkey hanging from the light grill in front of the window. Everyone, young and old, enjoys these signature treats, but for young children, this is just the greatest way ever to say goodnight.