Yes, on the traveler's checks. There may be a daily limit, but they will cash them at the Purser's Desk.

Have a wonderful, relaxing cruise.

A'ndrea

I know some feel uneasy about taking cash but I've always done it and never had a problem. I keep it in a soft-sided briefcase with all the other travel documents. I keep the briefcase under my arm and the strap over my shoulder at all times.

As soon as I get to my cabin, it goes into the safe. I do anything I can to avoid contact with the Purser's Desk on the first couple and last couple of days.

Good advice f-mattox. We usually do cash and credit card for our trips.

I've never worried about keeping valuables in the cabin safe. I've had some nice pieces of jewelry with me and never had a problem with anything missing.

A'ndrea

I bought a travel wallet that you wear underneath your clothes. It is virtually undetectable. I found it to be very helpful. They sell them at Walmart and Target. I also used the stateroom safe where we kept our jewelry and money. However, I found that we had a great room steward and never had anything missing. I am not saying not to be careless. We were just blessed.

Okay, I'm out! Taxi arrives in 7 hours, we're all packed and ready to go. I hope to have a great review for you all next Sunday! Have a great week!

My thoughts are with Cynthia today as I know how excited she must be right now at this moment, 5 hours until ship leaves port.

She may already be there ready to board. Or nearly there.

How exciting for her !!

I wish those cams were working right like before so we could all wave her goodbye.

Seems like they are never working right on sail days... arrrgggg

But, anyway, BON VOYAGE CYNTHIA, have great trip.

BON VOYAGE

I can't wait to read more reviews!!! And yes, Diana I still have my list of questions. I have been slammed with the traveling to see mom...school starting...new daycare...and hubby being gone to his drag race up in Sonoma for 5 days.

Which by the way their team took 1st place...YEAH them!!!! Will post some pics when they get passed along. His boss runs a AA/G 1969 Corvette dragster. It is a beautiful car.

Well off to get some work done...just wanted to stop in a say hello while I had a moment!

Just got our cabin assignment. Booked guaranteed balcony and ended up in 8188 ,seems like an okay loacation.

Terry, you're in an excellent location. Very nice, indeed.

A'ndrea

Michele, you're back! I know what you mean about busy. I start my new school year with my students this wednesday. I have been busy all weekend setting up my classroom!

Diana, good luck starting school tomorrow. Hope your students' are a good bunch.

A'ndrea

I guess tonight is Cynthia's formal night? Lucky her ! ! ! ! !

Good luck with the school kids, Diana !

And Michele, I will leave some Choc Melting Cake on the Pride for you. But not much !

Andrea, as always, thanks for all of your exquisite advice.

I am ready to GO ! ! ! ! Except of course, for finishing packing, training employees to take over for me, paying all the bills, etc etc etc..... oops that's starting to sound like the King and I... lol

Have a good one, everyone...

brenda

and here is where Cynthia is right now...

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shipposition.phtml?call=H3VU

pretty cool to be able to track the ship like that.... I wonder if she feels like someone is looking over her shoulder... lol

OMG...I can't believe I'm almost under 50 days! Wow never thought that would happen. I am starting to get the "how can I get this all done in time" feeling! Money is getting tighter...thank goodness the cruise is paid in full - now I just have to keep saving for the fun stuff!

Diana - good luck with the new kids. Tyler is having a blast in his new daycare/preschool. The husband is deaf as well as a few of the children have hearing disabilities...so all the children learn sign language. We can now say baby, cracker, milk, water and banana. Ok not say...sign!

Terry - if you have a chance go over and sign up for our Pride 9-30-07 roll call on Cruisecritic.com. There are about 3 or maybe 4 so far. The more the merrier. We will have to get an "meet-onboard" going at some time.

bwood - That map is strange...it looks like the Pride was all the near the coast and then back out again....wierd!

Well back to work for a bit...see you all in a bit!

I'm back Ya'll!!! It was so touching to just read all your comments now, it's very sweet of you all to think of me! I believe I know when that link to the ship location map was taken - when you are out to sea, you are really really REALLY out to sea, no land in sight. Suddenly on Tuesday morning I was out at the "adult" pool and land just appeared out of the clouds! We got closer and closer, and we could see details, and then a beach, and then waves, and then buildings. We were all so excited, it had seemed like AGES since we had seen land. It turned out we were passing right by Cabo San Lucas. Passed the arches and continued on our way, not seeing land again until we docked at Puerto Vallarta the next morning.

It will take me a while to write things out. But here are a few things for those of you who are set to sail soon on the Pride (you lucky people!):

1. It's a beautiful ship. I would sail on her again in a second. Absolutely. Very calming and gorgeous.

2. Everyone who works there is so terribly nice. My cabin steward Diego was very quiet and we did not see much of him. But our wait staff (Sergio/Columbia and Nemanja/Serbia) were the best ever. We loved them dearly and they were my daughter's favorite part of the trip. As you walk down the halls all the cabin stewards say "Hello" "Hello" to everyone with big smiles on their faces.

3. The first day I wanted to do EVERYTHING. Don't feel you need to do that. Do what you want to do. If you want to go to the pool, go to the pool, you will not miss anything if you miss Trivia or Bingo. By Tuesday we had things down.

4. Puerto Vallarta: I had a rough time here. We did the Canopy Tour and I was scared out of my mind. I've never been so terrified. However, both my teenagers loved it, and everyone else was having fun. I discovered it was not for me. Also, you get there by open jeep through crazy dirt roads - worse than Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! (but not as scary as the zip lines, haha!) That night we did the Sunset Horseback Ride. If you are an expert rider you will be bored here, they put you on very slow horses (I was glad, haha) and ride you slowly through the poorest town I have every seen. Everyone sits on their porches (of their concrete box houses with no window glass, and only plastic lawn chairs for furnishing inside) and watches the fat rich Americans ride by. I felt completely ashamed at having spent so much on our vacation when these people had nothing, and I was in tears through most of the ride. But maybe I'm just sensitive, heh.

5. Mazatlan: I loved this town. We did the beach and shopping tour. The Papantla Flyers were great, but do NOT buy anything from the vendors at the Aztec Theatre. They do NOT have the best prices as they claim, and they were very rude when I refused to buy the items they were shoving into my bag. However, we found great shops along the way to the resort, and spent all kinds of money. There was a very nice Mexican buffet at the resort, and then we played at the beach where the water was so warm!!!!! My daughter went parasailing and got her hair braided and my son rented some jet skis. We all had a lot of fun and even bought some things from the beach vendors - who really are relentless, though not rude, and they go away if you say "No Gracias". But 30 seconds later another will come. The best place to be is in the water. I loved it there and would go back in a second.

6. Cabo San Lucas: Is a beautiful town, of course. When you first get to the pier there is a huge Arts and Crafts Market there, and we spent a lot of money on really good deals. Some of the vendors even take credit cards. We Swam with Dolphins, which was incredible, but the pictures they take and offer you later are very very expensive. You get them on a CD and there is no video available. Then we went Snuba Diving. I loved it!!! I would not recommend this if you have snorkeled or scuba'd in Hawaii or in the Caribbean, but for first timers it was Wonderful. We saw a Huge Wall of barracudas! It was Amazing, and maybe was my favorite excursion. We saw crabs, blowfish, and all sorts of colorful fish I have only seen in the fish store. I would definitely visit Cabo again too.

7. The Food: I am going to disagree with some people here. I don't think the food is 4 or 5 stars. I would say that the food, much like many things on the ship, is really 3+ to 4 stars, but disguised as 5 stars. Everything looks beautiful, and there is an amazing assortment of upscale dishes available. It was not the best food I have ever tasted. That said: I didn't cook it, I ate every bite, and we always left happy and full. So you will not hear me complain. I also think the food at the Mermaid Grill was excellent for buffet food and had a huge variety every day. For breakfast I loved the made-to-order omelets and the french toast. Oh yeah, the coffee was horrible but I was so wide awake with excitement and happiness that I had a great time without it.

8. Entertainment: They need to do away with the Welcome Aboard show, as it was so horrible no one I talked to wanted to see any other shows. We did see Jerome the comedian and I thought he was okay, and the kids loved him. I skipped Around the World because of the Welcome Aboard Show. But I did see VROOOOM and I loved it. It was not Vegas caliber, but it was fun and entertaining. Like many things on the Pride, it was as good as we made it. My daughter and I watched karaoke every night - a lady named Darlene is in charge and she does wonderful with everyone from little kids to drunk adults. She did a really great job - and the Legends show at the end was pretty entertaining.

9. Cruise Director was Jeff Bronson. I recognized his name from the boards, but could not remember if he was liked or not. However, I thought he was great. I only saw him during the talks and the shows. He was professional when he needed to be and funny when he could be. I really enjoyed him.

I hope that none of this sounded like I was complaining, because overall I had a great time and would LOOOOOOVE to go back again. The only thing I truly didn't like was the coffee and the welcome aboard show. And the zip lines . But I loved everything else. Anyone else who is going, you will have a fantastic time, for sure. And I am totally jealous of you, haha!

Okay, last thoughts for now: It was sooooooooooo hot! I have never taken so many showers in my life! Bring many changes of clothes for port days! And definitely bring: the over the door hanger, clothespins for the shower curtain, and an alarm clock.

That's it for now. Thank you all for thinking about me when we were gone! Talk to you soon!

Oh, how exciting, I am so glad you had a wonderful time. I thought of you often and watched your ship yesterday getting sad thinking of your leaving that beautiful ship.

I just thought I was excited about our cruise. Now I am salivating all over my keyboard. I probably won't sleep for the next 3 weeks.

Thanks so much for getting back to us so quickly with your story, it was so much fun to read. And as far as the coffee goes, I doctor mine with so much stuff that I will probably not even notice.

I already have all the stuff you mentioned, plus some that we may or may not need.

I can't wait, but I guess I will have to! But your positive comments have so eased my heart about whether this will be a good trip or not.

Hi Cynthia. Welcome home. I enjoyed your review.

I did not care for Jeff Bronsan. That was just my personal opinion. Hopefully, in the 6 months since we were on Pride, he's honed his skills.

As for the horseback ride in P.V., I'm sorry to hear about the locals. It does get upsetting to see. We, as Americans, have so much to be thankful for and I don't think we appreciate it as we should. We are definitely a spoiled country compared to others.

The coffee wasn't up to par? Did you try going to the pastry/cappuccino bar at all?

I'm glad you liked Pride.
I did, as well.
Very much, in fact.

A'ndrea

Hi folks!!

My name is Avril. I especially want to say hello to Diana and Michele. Just like you girls pop in to Cruise Critic, I'm going to occasionaly stick my head in here and see what's going on. Diana, I loved your review and photos. It looks like you had a fabulas time. Michele, I can't wait to meet you and your family on the cruise in September. I'm ngetting so excited. It's only like, 7 weeks away!!!! How do you put your tickers into your signature? Talk to ya later!!

Hola amigas! Yes, we went to the Piazza Cafe often, and everything was wonderful there. We had chai tea latte's almost every night, and every time we saw something in the Taj Majal (they are right next to each other). I thought the prices were excellent too, and the chocolate strawberries were 1 for $1 or 3 for $2. We always got 3, !

When I saw our CD was Jeff Bronson my heart sank because I was sure I had heard bad things about him. But after the first day I thought maybe I had remembered wrong, because I really did think he was great. I have absolutely nothing to complain about him, it seemed like he had been doing this for years, and I really liked him.

The guest population: I was braced for a lot of rude little kids, but I had no problems with the passengers at all. It was a pretty true cross section of age: There were some elderly, some little kids, some teens, families, singles, couples... and I never saw any drunks (well, some at karaoke, but they were well behaved and funny ). My son said the drunks were mostly on deck at the pool where they do the games, and there probably were some in the bars at night, but I didn't go to the dance clubs. Oh! Our tablemates were GREAT. We could not have been better matched if they had taken a personality survey before the cruise. Our table was me, my 15 yr daughter, my 17 yr son, another single father with his 14 yr old son and his 23 yr old son. We all had the same interests and we all had a great time. As an added bonus, we were seated on the top floor way in the back of the ship, right next to a huge "porthole" window. It was very quiet back there and we had wonderful ocean views during dinner!

My kids had fun too - my daughter won a medal in the Game Show competition, and my son got the coveted Ship on a Stick for winning the Amazing Race. They both participated in Club O2 and made many friends. My son even saw a girl he works with, and in Mazatlan my daughter saw a friend from 6th grade who had MOVED to Mazatlan! It really was a very small world!!

Part 3 !!
1. Embarkation: This was not the most pleasant of experiences. We arrived around 11:00am and checked in at the Queen Mary. I have lived in Long Beach and even stayed at the Queen Mary before, but we had a difficult time finding where to go - there were absolutely no signs out. Once we did find it though, we just stood in long lines until checked in, then went back to the terminal to stand in more lines in the sun. We were about 10th in line in Zone 1. We had had a long day already (wake up at 5am, taxi arrived at 6am, flight took off at 8:30, shuttle ride took another hour) and standing in the sun with no shade was starting to make us all cranky. There is a beer stand nearby though, and there were many people taking advantage of it. Once inside the terminal, there were even more long lines to go through, but finally we got on the ship!!! I think it was around 1pm when we actually set foot onboard. We were all sent up to the Lido Deck to eat lunch, they said the rooms would be available at 2:30. We got some delicious food from the buffet (I had some really flavorful fish) and as soon as I sat down a waiter came by with a tray of "Drinks of the Day". I was tired, hot, and a little cranky by then, but I got one of the drinks.

Here is my #1 advice for embarkation: Get the drink of the day as soon as you board. It is a GREAT solution for the embarkation crankies!!! By the time I was half through with it, I was feeling Fine and Happy! When we finished lunch I got another DotD and we toured the top decks of the ship, then checked out our room. My daughter was very impressed with how happy I was after my drinks! She said I could have all that I wanted, heee.

2. Casino: I played the slot machines a couple times and lost every dollar I put in. I tried Roulette and again lost every bet. My son eventually dragged me away and brought me to an empty blackjack table. Roberto from Peru was the dealer and he helped me learn the game. I had a lot of fun. I won some and lost some, but I was able to play for a long time without running out of chips. It wasn't long before Roberto was also saying "Yayyyy!!!" with me every time I won a hand.

3. Activities
a) Trivia: We went to a few of these on the first day and we had some fun but it was mostly a time waster, or something to do if you absolutely cannot find anything else to do.
b) Game Show: This was pretty fun to watch, and my daughter got to play. She answered a question about Elvis, got lots of applause, and a pretty nice medal.
c) Art Auction: Watch the free champagne intake or you may find yourself bidding on a $17,000 Salvadore Dali. I only had one glass but still ended up spending over $240 on some art, then with misc charges had a bill of $292 that I felt was a bit much for what I had got. So... just watch the excitement - and keep in mind: Is spending $500 on that beautiful picture the only way to get it? Or have you seen the same print at Target for $50?
Of course, by the last day of the cruise I was ready to see the auction again. I bid on a few more pictures that I really did love, and was not unhappy with the prices I paid. I will say this: The framing they offer really is a good deal and the shipping is included with the framing. If you've never had anything framed before you may think it's expensive, but it really was not - also, I expected high pressure to buy at my framing appointment, but they really were happy with whatever you decided, even if you decided on nothing. The last day I did apply for their credit card (because I didn't want my sail and sign bill any higher than it already was!!!) and found out that there is no interest if paid off in 12 months. I was planning on doing that anyway, so that worked out pretty well afterall.
d) TEA TIME!!! I only made it here on the last day of the cruise, but I wish I had gone every day. It was very relaxing, you could sit where you wanted, by yourself or with others, and the waiters came around with yummy goodies and little finger sandwiches. I'll definitely participate more on my next cruise, and I really recommend it.
e) Karaoke: My daughter and I don't sing, but we loved to watch the karaoke on the ship. Especially the Legends auditions, where we all got to vote for the winners each evening. We went almost every night, and had a lot of fun. Also, it made the Legends show even better because we sort of knew these people. And one of our tablemates played Ricky Martin and shook his toosh like nobody's business!
f) Bingo: My kids talked me into this way too many times and we lost all our money. Keep in mind that if there are multiple winners they all split the prize, so if it's a $250 prize and seven people win, you only get $35.

Besides the organized activities, there were always different bands playing in different areas. Piano, jazz, string quartets. In the evenings each dance club played their own kinds of music, from line dancing to Mac Dre to whatever you could possibly want.

My daughter and I also went to the wine and cheese tasting the last evening before dinner. It was $4.95 for a glass of wine and a plate of cheese. My daughter is only 15 so I bought two different glasses of wine to try, and gave her one of the cheese plates. For little chunks of cheese they were surprisingly delicious. I tried the Wallaby Springs Chardonnay which was pretty good considering I don't like white wine a whole lot. And the Carnival Cabernet, which was delicious. At $4.95 I think the wine and cheese were a pretty good deal.

4. Debarkation. They said they had made some changes to the process, but all I know is it went very well. We put our bags outside our door by midnight. Got up early and went to the restaurant for breakfast - I just did not feel like walking around the buffet on the last day. Had a delicious relaxing meal (the french toast was awesome, but my daughter did not like the eggs benedict and it definitely looked "off", like it had been sitting under the heat lamp for a long period). Then we took our carry bags and picked out a nice couch area on Level 2 by a window and waited. They had the early flight people leave at 7:30, I guess that went quickly because by 8:00 they let the self assist people off, and by 8:30 they were calling group colors for the regular debarking. We all took naps on the couches while waiting, and around 9:00 we were called. There were a few more lines to stand in, for customs, etc., but it all went smoothly. We were able to locate our luggage pretty quickly, and off we went. It was only the madness at LAX that ruined the morning, but that had nothing to do with the cruise.

I don't know that there is anything they can do to improve the embarkation process, it just seems to be the nature of embarking. Putting up more signs showing WHERE on the Queen Mary to go would help, but otherwise just try to get through it and then get that drink of the day. Debarking also, just be prepared and have a relaxing wait.

Cost: I am ashamed to admit, but our Sail and Sign card was over $1600 for the three of us. Now don't panic, because there is no real reason for your card to end up that high. The staff gratuities were part of it, $292 of that was from the auction, probably $400 was gambling, we bought some jewelry at the gift shop, and we bought almost every single photo they took of us. Our actuall drinking tab (alcohol and Piazza Cafe) was very low. I also gave an extra $25 to each of our waiters, and only wished I had planned better so I could have given them more.

All in all, it was a vacation of a lifetime. We all had a great time, we all got along fantastically for the entire week (until the last day when my daughter and I started butting heads, but at 15 years old, six days of fun was a MIRACLE). We had the money to spend, so we just decided to do whatever we wanted and I don't regret any of it.
I definitely give the cruise an A+ and would love to sail on the Pride again.