Caraec

We leave tomorrow on that same boat/itinerary.:D:D:D:D

I hope you have a wonderful trip! Would love to hear about it when you return!

I would selfishly vote for the Glory, because 1) I love your reviews! and 2) I am taking my daughter on the Glory in May and would love to read your review before I go.

Have a wonderful trip!:)

Martini Mom, thank you! I just read your trip report yesterday. It was fabulous, and you REALLY have me wanting to take that awesome excursion in Roatan!

Thanks, everyone! Seems like the Hampton is the best choice. It will be me and 21-year-old DD, so safety is a real concern for us.

We will be flying in to FLL late on Friday afternoon before our Saturday cruise departure from POM. We will be taking SAS from FLL to the Miami hotel we choose. These are the hotels I have identified as affordable possibilities:

Hyatt Regency Miami (400 South East Second Avenue)

Doubletree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay (1717 North Bayshore Drive)

Hampton Inn & Suites/Bricknell (50 SW 12th Street)

We would like a hotel that is easily and safely walkable to eating establishments, as well as to a CVS or Walgreen's type place. Our plan is to grab a cab to the port on Saturday morning.

Thoughts on these options?

From Mom to Mom... you made the right choice for your daughter! As you can see, I have been on the exotic Western Caribbean 3 times, so if you have any questions about Roatan, Grand Cayman, Belize, or Cozumel, just shout!

Thank you! I would love to hear your thoughts on great excursions for a 40-something mom and 21-year-old daughter! I have been researching and have a few ideas, but would love your thoughts.

Thank you all! Just wanted to let you know that we chose the 4-port, 7-day cruise out of Miami on the Glory! Can't wait!!

Everything was right there. CVS became our best friend, for last minute items and WINE. You can walk to Bayside.

 

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I enjoyed your review! I have this hotel tentatively booked for my daughter and me for our mother/daughter cruise on the Glory in May. Glad to hear everything--including a CVS, yay!--was within walking distance.

You do not make a reservation just show up. You may have to wait a bit if it's a prime time but just like a land-side restaurant will get a buzzer and can wander the lobby area until you are called.

Thanks to you and Taylor for your quick responses!

I'm catching onto the coat tails of this post with a question about Your Time Dining. Do you "reserve" specific times ahead of sailing (I seem to remember doing this on a girls' cruise with Royal Caribbean) or can you just show up at any time, any evening?

I am interested in hearing reviews on this room. I understand that we may feel some vibration when we are docking. I just have a few questions for those of you who have stayed in this cabin:

1) Did you experience noise since you were below a restaurant?

2) Was the room overly warm since it is larger than other staterooms in that category and has two windows rather than one?

3) Did vibrations bother you, other than when the ship was docking?

I currently have this room on hold!

Thanks!

Part 5 (Sea Day Sanctuaries, Evil Apples…and…Stirring Coffee with Bacon)

 

Just before heading to my cabin last night I stumbled upon a couple of minions on the Lido deck about to head to their cabin. In their arms they were each carrying a plate of pizza, a box of popcorn, a dish of cookies…and…a bowl of ice cream. They had just stopped to get a cup of lemonade when I approached. After a couple of minutes we said our goodbyes and they went off to their cabin to enjoy their late night feast.

 

The next morning they would share that they both ended up waking up in the middle of the night in terrible pain. They were moaning and groaning and holding their bellies…when one of the minion’s turns to the other and says…………..…I think it was the lemonade.

 

Yeah…that’s what it was…the lemonade!!

 

Today is our first sea day. The ship is beautiful, the weather is perfect…it’s going to be a great day!

 

My daughter has never been to a sea day brunch so that’s what she wanted us to do this morning. Several of the minions had planned to meet at 9:30am for brunch as well…but…we didn’t get that message. I’m thinking it’s still a little too early in the cruise for them to be ditching us on purpose so we’ll let this one slide as an oversight. The kids and I got to the restaurant around 10:30am and were quickly seated at a table near the back windows, with a beautiful view of the water.

 

Our waiter was quick and efficient and in no time we had a basket of pastries and had placed our order. The kids were going for the Steak and Eggs and I was having an omelet. It was my son that noticed, over to the left, the large table of minions still having brunch. We were a little hidden by the stairs so they hadn’t seen us. So now I’m torn…do I sit here and spy on them…or, do I go over there?

 

I’m kidding…there’s no need to spy…these minions do the funniest things right in front of me! You’d think they’d of learned from my last review…knowing that I would be shamelessly exploiting their mishaps! I head over to their table to say Good Morning and that’s when I notice the alarming amounts of bacon around the table. Not just one or two heaping dishes of bacon…there’s about 12 of them. And, I think I counted 6 people. That’s a lot of bacon!

 

The bewildered look on my face prompted one of the minions to explain. They had a miscommunication when ordering. What they thought they were ordering was bacon by the slice…not a serving. So, when each individual ordered FOUR…they were quite surprised with what arrived! By the time I got there they were garnishing their caramel cheesecake with crumbled pieces of bacon…as seen here.

 

 

And, they jokingly said that earlier they were using it to stir their coffee! Here’s a couple of minions with just some of the bacon.

 

 

I could see my breakfast arriving so I headed back to my table. The sea day brunch was delicious and the kids decided we’d need to eat breakfast in the dining room again.

 

Now it’s time for my favorite place on the ship! We cruised on the Glory several years ago. For that cruise, it was only my son with me. He had graduated from high school early and was already out of school. Some of the minions had selected the dates and my daughter was still in school so she had to stay home with Dad. For that trip…my son and I stayed on deck 2 in one of the two super-secret ocean view cabins near the back of the ship. These special cabins are a bargain because they’re the OV classification but they have 2 windows, 2 chairs, a table and a sofa and are closer in size to a suite. Here’s a picture of the one we stayed in…

 

 

When we decided to book the Glory again I immediately looked for this cabin…and…it was available! But, Carnival only sells it for two people…so, now I have a dilemma. How does one go about picking which child is their favorite? I’ve got a boy and a girl…there’s pros and cons to each. Maybe it’d be easier to pick a favorite if they were both the same sex. Should I flip a coin? Nah…you already know we booked a deck 8 balcony cabin instead. But, I wasn’t going to let that sweet cabin go to just anyone…so, I quickly contacted a minion and let them know it was there for the taking if the two of them wanted it. And…they snatched it right up!

 

It was when we stayed in that big cabin on deck two that I found my favorite spot…it’s deck 3. During the day on the outside area of deck 3 they’ll place loungers out and it’s the perfect spot to be. You’re so close to the water line! (Have I mentioned how much I love the cove balconies on the Dream class of ships…this is probably why.) As you’re sitting in the loungers, you can actually feel the sea spray lightly misting you. And, little bits of sea salt accumulate on your body as you scan the horizon for sea life. I love to grab my eReader and my headphones…and a drink from the lobby bar that is just steps away…and spend a very relaxing time watching the waves roll by. Since it’s the same on either side of the ship you have the option of being in the sun or in the shade. What’s most surprising is that very few people go out there. It’s the perfect out-of-the-way place to relax, listen and feel the ocean waves.

 

There were plenty of times when I would want to be in the action by the Lido pool…accidentally stumbling upon the Hairy Chest Contest, watching the ice sculpting demo…but…deck 3…that was my happy place. By late afternoon all the lounge chairs will be put away…but, it’s still a beautiful place to step out and watch the sunset. Here’s deck 3 after the lounge chairs were put up.

 

 

So…tonight was our first elegant night and that means…lobster! Yum! It was cooked perfectly and the shrimp that came with it were perfect too. My son really likes to try new things when we’re on cruises so he always enjoyed trying the Rare Finds selections on the American Table menus. Some of the rare finds he had this time were Rabbit, Ox Tongue, Frog Legs and, of course, Escargot. And…my daughter and I had none of those.

 

As we were getting ready for the evening I wanted to get a picture of the kids out on the balcony all dressed up…but…instead I got the typical bunch of crazy poses from them…like this.

 

 

Here’s hoping one of the minions got a picture with them.

 

I’ve reached my picture limit for this post…so…

 

Next up…Part 5…continues...including Evil Apples (aka Cards Against Humanity...and...the Banana Hammock incident)

Hello! I am enjoying your report. Someone on another thread directed me to your Glory report. I have a question about the OV Aft room on Deck 2. It looks like a great value! When you cruised the Magic, did you find that room to be very noisy? I see that it's right under the restaurant. Was that a factor with noise? Thank you!

Thank you for those of you who responded to my first question on the CC boards. I really appreciate your help. I think I am going with Western Caribbean from Miami, and my choices are between the Splendor (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Ocho Rios) and the Glory (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay). Splendor has only 3 ports vs. 4, but what about the quality of the ports themselves? Would you choose Ocho Rios over both Belize and Mahogany Bay? I think that's what it's coming down to for us, as the 6 nights vs. 7 nights and ship vs. ship are Ok with us either way.

Thank you so much for your replies. I appreciate the advice about Miami vs. Galveston too.

The cost is not *that* much of an issue between both Miami options. I guess I just need to research the ports a bit more.

Splendor = Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel

Glory = Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize, Cozumel

Good afternoon! I am planning to take my 21-year-old daughter on a Mother/Daughter Cruise after her school semester ends in May. She would like a Western Caribbean itinerary. My daughter works at a church and cannot do a Sunday-Sunday cruise, as that would have her missing two Sundays.

For the dates that will work for her, we are considering one of the following:

-6-Day Splendor out of Miami (Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel)

-7-day Glory out of Miami (Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize, Cozumel)

Since we have to fly anyway (from Nashville), we could also do

-7-day Freedom out of Galveston (Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Cozumel).

While we are not precisely cruise virgins, we are pretty inexperienced. We did a 7-day Disney Eastern Caribbean a number of years ago and have also done a weekend RCI cruise to the Bahamas.

I have gone through a number of the CC reviews and expert reviews and am pretty overwhelmed. What are your thoughts about these three options?

Thank you!