The Carnival Comfort Beds still live up to their name, and I awoke to sea views out my cabin window. After getting a bit of work done in the cabin, I was ready to explore more of the ship.

Carnival Pride decor

Carnival ships, especially the older ones, are known for their over-the-top, eyeball-burning decor. Love it or hate it, you can’t be indifferent to the loud interior design in the various assorted spaces. Carnival Pride has an Italian Renaissance theme going on in many – but not all – of its public areas.

It’s been months since cruising restarted from U.S. homeports, but I have not set foot on a cruise ship since November 2019. How exciting, then, to see Carnival Pride’s iconic red, white, and blue funnel come into view as we pulled off I-95 and headed for the Baltimore cruise port. 

Would it feel strange to be onboard a ship wearing a mask or would it be a slice of familiar in a very strange year? A bit nervous, a bit giddy, I headed for the ship.

Going on a Disney Cruise and have no idea what you should bring? 

Packing for any cruise can be intimidating since you need to anticipate all of your needs without having the safety net of being able to go to the store to pick up something you may have forgotten.

Even if you can buy something during the cruise, it may not at a good price or the same quality you get at home.

You’ve heard the stories of cruisers getting amazing last-minute travel deals on unsold cruise cabins. How do they do it? You don’t know how to tell how many cabins are left on a cruise, let alone determine where to look for deals and discounts.

If you care more about price than picking the perfect cabin or sailing, we’ll share some travel agent insight about how to nab a low price or extra perks if a ship isn’t likely to sail full.

How much does it cost to build today's most innovative and technologically advanced cruise ships at sea?

Cruise ships are often thought of as "floating cities," where you have access to seemingly endless dining options, entertainment, and activities, such as rollercoasters, zip lines, ice skating rinks, skydiving simulators, and go-karts. 

Building a cruise ship, to say the least, is a sizable investment. Nearly every cruise ship with a capacity of 3,000 passengers cost over $750 million to build. 

Carnival Pride is the first cruise ship sailing out of Baltimore since March 2020, and I’ll be onboard  this weekend’s seven-night cruise to the Bahamas. This will be my first cruise since 2019, and I’m excited to be back on a ship. I’ll be blogging daily to show you what it’s like to sail with current health and safety protocols, as well as how you can have fun onboard and ashore.

The rules around Covid precautions for cruises change faster than you can say “nose swab.” Travelers find themselves wading through pages of safety protocols, trying to figure out if vaccinated passengers need to get Covid tested before their cruise, who needs a PCR vs. a rapid antigen test, and how long before their sailing they need to get that test.

Vacation prep shouldn’t be this headache-inducing! In this guide, we lay out everything you need to know about getting Covid tested before your cruise.

You don’t need to sail on a small, stuffy luxury cruise ship to indulge in an over-the-top cruise ship suite. If you’re looking for two-story staterooms, ginormous balconies, and VIP privileges, you can certainly find them on mega-ships that also boast Broadway musicals, waterslides, ropes courses, surf simulators, the first-ever roller coaster at sea, and expansive kids clubs.

In this week’s cruise news, two ships make their 2021 return to cruise, Royal Caribbean announces an epic itinerary swap, and the future of Alaska cruises hangs in the balance. Read on for the latest happenings in the world of cruising.

Two ships return to cruise