The Panama Canal has always been one of our bucket list cruises, so we were very excited to find this particular cruise that fit with our schedule and left out of a cruise port we wanted to try again. Unfortunately, due to time considerations we were not able to spend any extra time in Tampa because it was an 8 day cruise and that was all the time we had this time.
Our journey to the cruise port started the day before embarkation with several hours of driving. We stopped for the night in our favorite North Florida interstate exit of Lake City. Lake City is a great stop for multiple destinations by the way – it is an easy drive to both Port Canaveral and Tampa. It has plenty of hotels, restaurants and a Starbucks. But if you plan to stop in Lake City on a busy week make sure you book ahead of time because it does fill up!
Day 1: Embarkation in Tampa
After a standard hotel breakfast, we drove straight – no stops – to the cruise terminal. Our check in time was 12:00-12:30 and we were getting off the interstate around 11:30 and headed through the sleepy area of town and to the harbor. We saw the ship as we were approaching. We pulled into the deck across the street labeled as “Official Cruise Parking” and prepaid. After a long walk across the street, we found the ship porters who promptly grabbed our luggage. We donned our masks and made our way up the escalators and towards security and to check in for the ship.
After going through security, the first line of people are those who are checking for vaccine cards and testing status. In the couple of days before getting onboard, we had done “VeriFly” which Carnival recommended. The lady at the desk’s first question was if we had downloaded the app. We handed her the phone and she verified that everything was in order and then sent us on to the next person. I don’t know how long any of that would have taken without the VeriFly, but the process was smooth with the app.
A quick check with the next person who looked at boarding documents and passports and that was it. We were on board the Carnival Pride!
Once on board, we headed straight for our muster station to get it over and done with. Or at least we attempted to head for the muster station. We’ve actually never been on this class of ship before and were really turned around. Or they directed us to the wrong place. I’m not really sure which, but we had to retrace our steps to find our muster station.
They scanned our cards and we watched a guy demonstrate how to put on a life jacket. We must have been looking at him like we had it covered because he kept it brief. After that uninformative display, we headed for our obligatory Guy’s Burger! There was no line for the burgers and we were able to find ourselves a table where we could eat, pause and take stock of what we wanted to do next.
After burgers, cakes and coffee, we went in search of our aft-facing balcony. We hung out in the room long enough for our luggage to show up and to meet Antonio, our Costa Rican room steward. Antonio was funny and personable.
We went up on deck to explore the ship a little. We popped up two floors to the aft-facing Serenity Deck. And then it started to rain, pour and rain even more.
The rain continued as we pulled away from the dock and headed out into the bay. At some point we came back downstairs to watch for the bridge you sail under when you leave from Tampa. We didn’t plan our last Tampa cruise correctly and were at dinner when we went under the bridge in Tampa bay. This time we wanted to make sure we saw the bridge. We were out on the balcony with our raincoats and umbrella as we sailed and tried to grab at least a couple of pictures.
We booked anytime dining, but when we got on board our card said 8:15 and gave us a table number. After discussing it, we decided to keep the 8:15 instead of asking to be switched back to anytime. We eat that late at home anyway and that way there is extra time to lay around in the sun!
We enjoyed our 8:15 set dining time. Our team of servers was attentive and entertaining. We enjoyed our traditional dinner of soup, salad, entrees and some tiramisu.
And then we came back to the room, finished unpacking and went to sleep.
Want more information and tips for embarkation on Carnival? Check out this post: Embarkation on Carnival Cruises
Day 2: Day at Sea #1
We started our first sea day with a burrito from Blue Iguana. After breakfast, we went to the Fun Ashore, Fun Aboard presentation and verified that, in fact we do have the same cruise director that we had on our last cruise (New Years on the Carnival Sunrise out of Miami).
The Fun Ashore, Fun Aboard presentation is always a good way to get important information and to figure out a little about what is going on during the cruise. Plus, they give away prizes. We won an excursion once which was pretty cool. But not this time. It actually wasn’t the most informative presentation because the cruise director had just moved to this ship. He wasn’t super familiar with the ports we were going to either!
The presentation was in the Taj Mahal main theater and after we got out we discovered a secret little hallway going to the Sunset Garden. That is one thing I really liked about the Carnival Pride. It has so many hidden seating areas with windows. The Sunset Garden did not have windows all the way in the front of the ship, but it was basically a hall lined with tables and chairs. A great place to wait before or after a show or just to get away from people for a little while!
After the presentation and walking around the inside of the ship for a while, we spent our sea day like we always spend sea days. Too much sun, too much food, losing at trivia and trying not to lose in the casino.
Looking for more information about sea days on a Carnival Cruise? Check out our What to do on a Sea Day on a Carnival Cruise Ship
Day 3: Day at Sea #2
Since we had a burrito the day before, we headed for an omelet station on the second breakfast of the cruise. The omelet stations have a mixture of vegetables, meats and cheeses to put in your omelet. You order and wait while they make it. Most of the stations also have whole eggs that you can get cooked to order as well. We got our omelets and some sides and then headed for the single line of tables in the aft of the ship.
Most Carnival ships have somewhere to sit that is not in the full hustle and bustle of the food line. On the Carnival Pride that quiet spot is in the back of the buffet as you are headed towards Serenity. There is a line of tables and a line of booths on both sides – about 10 tables per side – that were our favorite for the length of the cruise. Sure, maybe they are a slightly longer walk away from the food and drinks but they were much calmer!
After a standard cruise breakfast of omelets, bacon, potatoes and pastries, we headed back downstairs to get into swimsuits.
We tried to go to the Serenity area. Serenity is one of the best things about the Carnival Pride. Many of the Carnival ships have the aft pool as an 18 & up area. On the Carnival Pride the aft pool is 21 and up and is the Serenity area. This version of Serenity is not quite as peaceful as other Serenity decks. They actually play some quiet, but real, music.
The pool was incredibly crowded and we couldn’t find a chair or a place to fit our bodies into the pool so we headed back through the buffet and forwards to the TWO middle pools.
We weren’t too keen on the middle pool because, as the “main” pool, it is the one on camera on the ship and we usually prefer not to be on camera. The forward pool is in a very large smoking area. There were no chairs or tables in either area, but the front pool smelled very strongly of smoke, so we opted for the main pool.
As we chilled in the pool, we enjoyed some 70s music trivia and then some pool-side games. We don’t usually like the main pool because it usually has way too many kids, but on sailings where there aren’t a lot of kids, we have discovered we actually enjoy being in the main pool when the games are going on.
We stayed in the pool until we got hungry then we popped inside for a sandwich. And fries. And cake.
After lunch we went back to the room and collected ourselves and relaxed for a few minutes then headed downstairs to the coffee bar and seating area to fail at some Harry Potter trivia. I swear the Harry Potter trivia was not nearly as challenging the last time I played it!
A couple of hours out of the sun during the afternoon is often a good way to cool down and not get quite so sunburned, but I did eventually head back up to Serenity and lounged for a couple of hours before it was time to get ready for dinner.
I enjoy lounging by the pool after people who eat dinner early have already left to get ready for dinner. It’s quiet. The bars are still open – you just have to walk to them yourself – and there are a few other people still enjoying the quiet of the pool deck.
It was a fancy night for dinner, but we still really weren’t feeling it. We managed to get dressed in our fancy clothes but that was about all we could collectively manage. No effort, no pictures. Just a dress, some slacks and escargot and lobster. And cookies and ice cream for dessert. I know, not elegant, but really good!
What to read next:
Panama Canal on the Carnival Pride
Ultimate Guide to Food on Carnival
Carnival Vista Review: Day 1 Embarkation
