On Carnival Pride
On day three we woke up at around 8 am and went down to the Mermaid Grille for some breakfast. They don’t really have a lot to choose from, so I had the usual. Sausage, eggs, and potatoes. I was able to get two eggs over easy at the omelet station, so I had those with wheat toast.
One thing to be aware of
This cruise is almost at pre-covid capacity. It has a lot of people on board, and I’d say that at a minimum 95% are NOT wearing masks anywhere on the ship. The mask is not mandatory at any place on the ship. They are also not really stressing using hand sanitizer anywhere. Remember the old “washy, washy” girl? Haven’t seen her at all this cruise. This doesn’t bother me at all, I haven’t worn a mask in a long time. But if it would stress you out, I’d say to wait awhile before you cruise again.
Also, the internet is pretty slow. It’s not bad if you’re just checking out social media, but since I’m writing a blog and trying to include pictures, it takes me quite a while to get things to open and upload.
Checking out the upper decks
I certainly ate too much the day before so we decided to walk around the deck for a couple of miles. Deck 10 is the deck that goes all the way around on this ship. But I have to warn you, the front of the ship gets very windy. It’s not like you’ll get blown overboard, but you will have a bad hair day.
We did finally venture up to the top decks where the activities are. It’s been so windy that we have avoided them. There are two water slides. One of the slides is one where you drop straight down. Not for me. I haven’t really noticed anyone using them.
There’s also a kids play splash zone area that looked like fun, and a miniature golf. Both were empty when we looked. Probably because of the wind. This ship also has a number of pools. Two larger ones and one small one in the Serenity adults only area. The Serenity deck was very crowded right after breakfast. I think that people are draping towels over the chairs to save them and then going in to eat. There wasn’t an empty chair anywhere.
We found that there were a lot of empty lounge chairs on deck 10, so we claimed one of those. It was very pleasant just watching the ocean go by. You can even find some in the shade.
Our Cabin
Our cabin is on deck 4, right outside of the life boats. In theory this is a good room. You pay about $6 a day over an interior room, but you get a picture window. Some of these windows look out to lifeboats, but we got a window that looks between the lifeboats, so you can see the ocean. What they don’t tell you is that you may look out your window to crewmembers cleaning the area or fixing something. So, don’t leave your curtains open thinking that no one can see in. I’ve been surprised twice already by a man outside my window.
Our Steward is Jhoana. She’s done a good job, but for some reason we never got glasses for the bathroom. We’ve been bringing in the glasses from our soft drinks to use to brush our teeth.
Time to relax
This trip is a chance for us to relax after a rough couple of years, so we didn’t do a lot this sea day. After lunch in the Mermaid Grille…I got a burger from Guy’s which was delicious, I spent the afternoon writing my blog in my cabin. I have to admit that I miss having a balcony. I’m not sure that I’d stay in the interior/with a view room again.
Dinner
We chose early dining this cruise. It just makes it easier to get a table. I’ve heard complaints about how long it’s taking to get into the My Time Dining. We have two very nice table mates, Pat and Gene. I always love getting to know new people. Our waiters are Sherwin John, Rohman, and Martin. They’ve done a great job!
I had a spring roll, leg of lamb, and a sugar free banana split. All was delicious. I enjoy trying new things and I’m hoping to find more new food items this cruise. I think that I may be eating and drinking a bit more of the artificial sweeteners than I should be though. And in the elevator we found another duck! We did rehide this one for someone else to find.
Entertainment
The entertainment was really good. We had a magician for a change, instead of a song and dance show. The magician’s name was Kid Ace, and he’s been seen on a number of TV shows. I did kind of know how he was doing some of the tricks, but he was funny and likable. He called a lot of people out of the audience to help him out. He picked out the best people because they were funny too.
After the magic show we ran straight down to the comedy show. The Butterfly room is on the first deck, right under the theater. We did manage to find two empty chairs. Let me warn you, the Butterfly room gets filled up extremely quickly. The comedian was an American Indian named Marc Yaffee and he was hilarious. I really liked him. I’m hoping to get to see him again.
Time to call it a night
Tomorrow is our first port day and first excursion in Limon, Costa Rica. We’ve never been to Limon before so I’m looking forward to doing something new. My goal is to see a sloth in the wild. I’ve been in love with Sloths since we visited Roatan in 2019. Check back tomorrow to see how it went.
The Quiet Cruiser 