My son will turn 17 when we get home from the cruise, so a Camp Carnival lanyard is a definite No-No! hahaha, silly kids.

Okay, so use lanyard, and also carry some cash. Gotcha!

Cynthia,
Club 02 which is the teen club 15-17 meets on the first night at Starry Night deck 2 foward. Your son will provide all his information for sign up. Encourage him to do so. My son made so many friends and was very sad to leave. They exchanged information and they email each other almost everyday.

Okay, I will. My daughter is 15 too. When they went a few years ago with their dad they weren't quite old enough for Club 02 but they were a little too old for Camp Carnival. I'm going to convince them somehow to at least go SEE.

Diana, was the Maitre d' still a pompous, tall, dark, handsome man by the name of Peter? Came around your table on the last evening looking for his handout?

Someone said that Pride changed the Cruise Director since we cruised in February.

A'ndrea

Andrea, that is so funny! We only met the maitre'd once I think it was the last formal night. I can't even remember his name but he was tall and dark. I am did not tip him. My husband said why should we. the waiters are the hard workers.

Diana, That would be the one!

I like your husband's way of thinking.

A'ndrea

Diana, I'm glad to see you have another ticker going! I just added mine and wanted to see them.

Question about Mazatlan: How was the shopping portion of your excursion? I am much more interested in "artesanias" and hand made items than I am t-shirts or hats, are things like that available where you went? And how much time did you have to shop?

And on board: Was the coffee really hideous or was it okay? I am thinking about bringing my french press and coffee from home, but if it's drinkable on the ship, I don't want to bother. But we are BIG coffee drinkers, and the quality is very important, haha!

Cynthia,
The coffee is excellent on Pride. It's always fresh, hot and delicious.

Look for souvenirs and hand-made items in the Golden Zone and in the Mercado where Pride docks.

The Mercado is located right at the pier. Tons and tons of homemade items, along with silver, masks, knick-knacks, local wares, pottery, t-shirts, hats, toys, macrame items, hammock chairs, etc. Too many items to list here. Trust me, there is no shortage of goods for purchase.

A'ndrea

Andrea, that is great news about the coffee, other posts elsewhere talked about not so good coffee on some Carnival ships, but I totally trust your judgement. One thing, I assume cream is no problem?

Also has anyone ever gone to Bucerios shopping, north of Puerto Vallarta.

My SIL goes to PV twice yearly and she says it's the best for shopping although it's about a 30 minute trip or so. She says the warehouses that store the goods sold in the shops in PV are in Bucerios, sort of like outlet shopping.

Anyone know of this?

Yes, thanks Andrea, the coffee news is definitely good news!! I just checked the deck plans just in case though and from my room (7203) it looks like a quick ride on the elevator right down to the cafe. So if my room service coffee isn't good enough I should be able to get some easily. Damn Starbucks and their caffeine causing addictions!!

So we have our ponchos and umbrellas packed for rain in PV, we bought "water shoes" today for Snuba and beach wear in Mazatlan and Cabo, we have our sun lotion, I cleared the Visa for shopping in Mazatlan... I think we're ready to go!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

Cynthia,
If I could just stress the importance of a good sunscreen. Bullfrog SPF is terrific. It actually stays on through water and sweating. It's the best one I've ever found. It's available in spray form. I bought ours at Walmart. It's around $8.99 for a bottle. Well worth the expense. I brought 2 with us.

I believe Diana said she would have gotten the Bullfrog SPF #50 if she had to do it again. We went in February with a #30 and we were fine. Probably best to get the #50 with the sun's rays so damaging this time of year.

You will also find that Pride offers a pastry/coffee/cappuccino/expresso bar just in case the coffee isn't to your liking. I believe it opens in the afternoon.

I told Diana and I'll tell you too. Pride is beautiful. Our nicest ship to date. The layout is easy and they thought of everything when they built her.

Enjoy yourself. Have a great cruise.

A'ndrea

bwood, I'm sorry. I didn't even see your post before Cynthia's.

I don't know of Bucerios. Unfortunately, Pride had to skip P.V. due to a propulsion breakdown. We only cruised to Cabo and Mazatlan.

If Bucerios is safe and easy to get to, it might be worth the trip if you want to get some deals on goods.

The cream is no problem. Half-n-Half/whole/skim. They had it all. I enjoyed a cup every morning on our balcony.

A'ndrea

Hi Cynthia,
Sorry i hadn't responded to your post. I have been very sick. I ended up in the emergency room on Sunday night. it turned out I had a bad ear infection and close to pnuemonia. I am finally up today.

Anyhow, They do have what you are looking for in the shopping portion. I wasn't really into much shopping more browsing so I didn't look for it. They have it though. Also, it's funny because I was just telling my husband that I miss the coffee from the Normandie Dining room. I love coffee! The coffee at the Mermaid's grill is good too! But if either one is not to your satisfaction, they do have a cafe on deck 2 forward by the taj mahal. You have to purchase your coffee there. It is called Piazza Cafe. I wish I was going with you! I was just looking at the video we took of the ship. It is so beautiful. As you can see by my avatar, I love art. This ship is a work of art. It is so renaissance!

Diana, I will be thinking of you and Andrea and everyone else who has been so helpful with advice these last couple months. I wish you could all come with me too! I will be sure to post as soon as I can when we get back and will be sure to comment on all the excursions - we have five different excursions booked and some I have never seen comments on.

I am still debating bringing my own coffee. I am not really that picky with coffee, but the coffee in hotel rooms is really awful and can really make your morning sad, . I don't want any sad mornings on the ship! But it's starting to sound like it will be okay... I don't even need cream, just lots of sugar!

cynthia, you will not need to bring your own! So which excursions are you booked for? are they through carnival?

Cynthia, I don't know if you got Andrea's list of what to get for a cruise but one of the best things on there is the over the door shoe organizer. I don't know why I never thought of it before! I removes all the clutter from the counters in the state room and bathroom. I got a clear plastic one at kmart for 8.99 but I saw the same one at target for 5.99. I will always travel with my shoe organizer from now on.

Since this is my first cruise and I have never been out of the country, I decided to do all the excursions through Carnival. I am a constant time worrier, and since we wanted to do a lot, I didn't want any stress worrying about the ship leaving us!

We are signed up for:

Puerto Vallarta:
Canopy Adventure
Sunset Horseback

Mazatlan:
Shopping, Beach & Lunch

Cabo San Lucas
Dolphin Swim
Snuba

We are crossing our fingers that weather will not cancel anything! We have our ponchos ready! I also made sure there is about 2 hours in between each excursion.

And I don't want to forget this time to say I am SO SORRY you got sick! I hope you recover quickly!

Oh don't worry, I already have one small suitcase packed with all the suggestions from the board: Over-door-hanger from Target, clothes pins, bungies... you name it, if it was mentioned on Cruise-Chat I have it packed already!

I can honestly say that the coffee on board the ship beats hotel room coffee any day of the week.

If you like a deep, rich roast... the Piazza Cafe will be where you're going to find that. They will have heartier blends. But, as Diana stated, it will have to be purchased here. It is not included in the cruise fare.

All of your excursions sound wonderful. You've booked very memorable side trips. No need to worry.

Diana, Oh my gosh... I hope you're feeling better. At least you didn't fall ill while on your cruise.

One last note, Cynthia. Keep in mind, the absolute best prices you are going to find are directly on the beach in Mazatlan. Locals are carrying small suitcases and items over their shoulders for sale. Barter. Barter. Barter. It gets to the point of harrassment with these vendors approaching. But, if you want to shop, and you want deals, these locals have them. I could kick myself for not buying more silver. Make sure you bring American $$ to the beach. Singles and fives are best. If you pull out a twenty, it's the twenty they'll see and want.
Unfortunately, they don't accept credit cards or checks.

A'ndrea

Cynthia, we think alike.

I too have a bag already backed with Cruise Chat suggested items. And for all three cabins !

Shoe organizers x 3
combo travel clock, night light, alarm, thermometer (cheap off ebay) x 3
bungies x 6
chip clips and clothespins x 3 cabins
highlighter x 3
sticky notes/pen x 3
insulated mugs x 5 of us
extension cord x 3
Squid power "strip" (not a strip, but 6 outlets that are ALL usable) x 3
sunscreen (been using BullFrog for years, I tournament fish) x 5
insect repellant x 3

Great packable hat
Palm PDA has my books in it.

Packing clothes in "bundle" mode... have already tested it and it works great !!!

Considering clothes hangers, not sure if there will be space.

Most of this will then be kept by my sis and my brother for other travel use which will open up some space in that bag for the trip home.

One "little" hitch already but resolved quickly. TA found that Carnival had booked us out of Dallas when she specifically asked for Houston IAH departure. My sis lives in Houston and we were going to meet at her house on day before departure. But TA got it changed, although we don't like not having a non-stop flight to LAX from Houston when there are so many available, but we can deal with an hour and half Salt Lake City, never been there, so now I can add it to the list of airports I have seen.

We are getting so excited. Docs should be here next week although I have already seen them on Carnival.com.

I found the absolute PERFECT evening dress on ebay, new with tags, at a great price. Lots of beading and rhinestones, lovely flowing chiffon, and he loves it too ! Great shoes and earrings, bag, all from ebay ! I got lucky. And I already had one for the other formal night.

So, I am just about ready, I think...

We are doing some custom tours in PV and Mazatlan, we have hired a van where we can all five go together and driver will take us where we want, when we want. With us all being somewhat physically limited when it comes to exertion, we think this will suit us best, as we become our OWN tour group. (the only time my body MIGHT willingly get in a harness attached to a cable would be if it was a rescue from a flood or something, possibility in Texas lately !)

Haven't decided about Cabo yet, something easy and relaxed as we will have just had two very active days.

This is trip for all five of us to relax, rest, and recuperate from work, stress, all that. We all so need it !

I really wouldn't mind too much just staying on board during port days, but I will go along to see the ports and be the photographer. If I get too tired, hot, whatever, driver will drop me back on ship or I can get a cab, and the others can continue on. On my balcony with a drink or coffee and a good book sounds like a dream to me.

OK, yall have listened to me rattle on long enough, time to give you a break, but I can't leave without saying thanks so much to everyone for all of their advice/suggestions to a new cruiser.

Something tells me it won't be our last !