by Mary
Just returned from a 9/04/05 - 9/11/05 Mexican Riviera
cruise on the Carnival Pride. Since neither of our husbands like to
travel, I go with a longtime girlfriend. Arrived in Long Beach
(embarkation point) two days prior to cruise. Stayed at the Coast Long
Beach, walking distance from Queen Mary and Carnival terminal. Spent
one day going to Catalina, which was wonderful.
Went on QM, and it was really sort of creepy. Don't
know how people can sleep there. Coast Hotel is highly recommended -
clean, quiet and rooms are dark at night. Went to early check in at
9:30 AM on Sunday (on far side of Queen Mary). Was fast and easy -
they took our luggage at that time too. Went back at 12:30, went to
designated zone and were on ship by 1:00. Easiest and fastest check in
of all three cruises I have been on.
Room was a little smaller than I remembered them to
be, but still plenty of space for two people. Shelves in bathrooms to
put your "stuff". Small basket of product samples in
bathroom and wall mounted liquid soap and shampoo dispensers in
shower. Also a clothesline in top of shower. Hairdryer and small
refrigerator too. Beds have white comforters on them - fabulous!!
The Cruise Director, Chris Jefferson, is by far the
funniest and best I have ever heard. Entertainment was wonderful
(maybe because I won the Millionaire contest and the trivia
contest!!!). The dancers and singers are truly wonderful and work very
hard at their craft.
The ship is very pretty. Seeing the statue of David
under the red glass funnel is lovely. It's all sort of Rubenesque,
with lots of naked bodies, but not offensive at all. Down by the Taj
Mahal is Sunset Garden, which we didn't discover until last day. It's
just a quiet sunny place to sit and watch the water go by. Wish I had
found it earlier.
The food was good. The breakfast buffet alternated
every day - one day grits and pancakes, next day oatmeal and French
toast. Our dining room servers, PI and Pulu, were extremely attentive
to us. The portions are not huge, but more than enough. I did splurge
on "fancy night" and get two lobsters. Their definition of
"medium rare" and mine are not quite the same. Theirs means
"still mooing". We ate what seemed like a ton of food, but I
managed to lose 2 and a half pounds.
One hint: never go on a Mexican cruise in September.
It was so hot (102 - 107) and high (86% humidity) that I was my own
rain forest.
Tours in Cabo and Mazatlan were wonderful, as were the
sights and tour guides. First tour in PV (Mismolaya City Tour) was a
joke, the guide was nasty and rude and he made us miss our second
tour. And that is my only complaint about the whole trip (other than I
lost in the casino).
There were not a lot of children on board and most
were very well behaved. I only saw two that were terrors and their
parents just sat and watched them wreak havoc.
We did have a man (supposedly drunk) fall off the pier
when returning from a shore trip. We were out of port for one hour and
had to turn around and go back so he could be medi-vaced out. Sure
hope he is okay.
All of the crew - the ENTIRE crew - seemed happy and
friendly. Always said hello and asked if we needed anything. It really
was pampering, for sure. Towel animals weren't up to usual standards
for our cabin, but were still cute.
My friend and I are planning our next trip already.
2006 Mediterranean 12 nights.
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