scuba_ninja

Yay! People are reading my rantings! 

The weather was actually lovely. NOLA was in the 50s during the day. Ports were about 85 and sunny every day. Seas were awesome except for the very end when they get a little rough. 

Glory isn't a bad first time cruise, but it's not amazing. I'll get into that, I promise. 

Here's some more embarkation pics, along with some shots showing the Glory Hole being repaired. I'll have more details on this, but let's just say flat out it made absolutely not a lick of difference at any point in the cruise and my table for MDR was directly up against the wall in MDR they built to hide the ongoing repairs. 

Some of the embarkation pics are not amazing, because I was trying to snap candidly. They get real ornery if you take pics in the "secure" area. The shot straight at the back of the ship showing the damage I can't take credit for. I actually forgot where I got that pic, but I saved it on my phone and now you all get to benefit from seeing it. 

For any gear heads out there, the pics I'll post are a mix from my phone (Pixel 3) and from a camera I rented (Olympus TG-6). The Pixel takes incredible pictures, but the Olympus is waterproof, so I wanted it for excursions. I took over 4k pics this trip. No, I'm not going to post them all, but if you are looking for a specific thing, please let me know and I might have pics of it. I set my camera to what they call "spray and pray" mode a lot, to try and not miss action shots, so I'm not going to pretend all the pics are good, but there are for sure some real winners.  Coming from a film photo background, digital is darn cool these days. I would that Image quality out of the pixel is better than the olympus actually, but the olympus can go places the phone can't, and has zoom, etc. 

If you make friends on the ship, you can also add them to your people list. It's a neat feature and I think well worth $5

I'd love to spend several posts talking about New Orleans, but this is cruise critic and I'll probably get flack for it. At the end, if people want I'm happy to post more about NOLA including great places to go and pictures. 

We got a great Airbnb on St. Charles Ave. Much cheaper than a hotel, great location. For sure the way to go if you don't have a big group. 

Getting to Port couldn't be easier. We took a Lyft, and from where we stayed (basically corner of St. Charles and MLK highway) I think it was $13. Once at the terminal things were not as easy. The terminal staff/security (NOT Carnival employees) were neither happy to see us nor kind and helpful. We arrived at 12:50 (10 minutes before our appointment) and they made a big stink about how we had to walk to the early late/late lane and how we'd have to wait now blah blah blah. Well, we walked 50 feet down, into the door, up the escalator and the carnival employees couldn't be nicer. We were on the ship eating at Blue Iguana by 1:15. Later arrival times are apparently a lot better in this port. Last time we waited on benches for a really long time hoping to be in early thanks to our FTTF pass. Late arrival for the win. 

By the time we finished our taco salad the rooms were ready and most of the cattle herd had already left lido for their rooms, so we didn't have a huge crush waiting for the stairs. It was early in the cruise, so I could still walk down two flights. 

We had cabin 7201 and I have y'all's to thank for it. I was originally booked steerage, but due to some tips I read here I called the day of the deposit deadline and was able to upgrade to this room for only $100 more!! Way less than it was when I booked originally. They classify this as interior for some reason (4K I believe) but it's actually obstructed picture window. It's a great view straight out of the ship. Would absolutely book it again. LOVE having natural light. And the blackout curtains worked great. The balcony right outside is technically public (so no changing with curtains open) but it is so seldom used that it is like having a private balcony. And boy did I use it a ton. Being right under the bridge never gave us any issues. It's pretty quiet up there. Our S&S cards were in a sealed envelope waiting for us when we got to the room. 

It's cruise critic so I'm legally not allowed to make a post without a complaint. My only complaint for now is that the art in my room was pretty ugly (clearly, it ruined my vacation. I regret not complaining to guest services and demanding compensation). But the trim in the room was pink and that made my wife happy. 

My tale of awe and wonder actually begins on Christmas. We said goodbye to our chinchillas and gave one of them (the lighter colored one) his birthday present. He's a Christmas baby! 

Forgive spelling errors in this post. I'm on my phone, waiting for our flight, so I figured I'd start. 

For those that don't have chinchillas, they make great fur babies. No, it's not a dog or cat but they are cute, friendly and fairly easy to care for. They can also live 15+ years! And man are they soft. And unlike humans you can lock them in a cage when you go on vacation and nobody calls CPS. 

My wife and I don't have any small humans, and finding a pet sitter is much easier than finding a baby sitter for the week, so probably just fur babies for us. 

My wife and I are in our 30s, no mobility issues and are not diamond, platinum, ruthenium, chrome or palladium level on carnival. We don't really drink and I like my money way too much to gamble, so no casino for us. Which means we're probably very different than most CC members. So take our experiences for what they are. 

Leaving on Christmas meant our trip to the airport was insanely fast. First time I've never had traffic in Chicago. Airport security line was almost non-existent, but thankfully all the food and shops at Midway airport were open. 

We left early because we wanted to spend some time in NOLA pre-cruise. My wife went to school there and lived in the area for a while after. She loves coming back when she can. And it may be my favorite city ever. It is for sure hers. 

Greetings fellow travelers. Just finished the NYE cruise on the Glory out of New Orleans. If anyone's interested in this review, here's the space to watch for the next few days as I get home and start posting pics. I've got tons and tons of ship, location and food pics. I tried to concentrate on things I don't see pictures of here often. 

Just like in the comedy shows, I'll warn you that this review is hopefully full of humor and sarcasm. If you're easily offended, you might not love it. Or something like that. 

For reference you can see my last review in my post history. 

42 minutes ago, shof515 said:

It is now about 7:35am eastern time which is 6:35am new orleans time. the glory is still tied up to the dock according to the ship ais data

 

I wonder what time she will be leaving

Came here to ask basically the same question. I hope people don't have to miss Ports on this sailing. I'm supposed to board in a week, I also hope I don't have to miss Ports..

50 minutes ago, shaneandpamela said:

We are on the 29th sailing.  I just got off the phone with a Carnival PVP and she said that they are planning on sailing the schedule and fixing the damage on the fly.  I guess we'll get to NOLA next week and see what happens.  At least I'm stuck in NOLA "with nothing to do" if the sailing cancels.

I'm supposed to be on the same sailing. I hope we meet on the ship, and not on land milling about NOLA with 3,000 other sad passengers who have no cruise any longer. Not that there's anything wrong with a week in NOLA. I bet I could easily have a week's worth of fun there. 

Knives, scissors and open razors with blades longer than four inches. (Recreational dive knives are allowed, but must be held in the custody of the Guest Services Manager or Chief Security Officer and must be checked out/in by the owner for dive excursions during the cruise. Large scissors used by scrapbook and quilting enthusiasts are at times permitted with prior notification from the Security Services Department, but are held on board in the same manner as dive knives.)

That's a quote from https://www.carnival.com/help "what not to bring". 

I keep a small Opinel knife with me at work, and in checked bags when I travel. From cutting oranges to opening to fixing loose strings, I find it super handy. 

4 hours ago, Ranger28 said:

The Glory doesn’t offer a spa package, correct?

Sadly, not that I saw. My last cruise was on the dream and I enjoyed having a spa cabin. The Glory used to have a big hot tub in the fitness area but it was removed to make room for more exercise machines. Bummer. 

Great start! Looking forward to more! I'm on the glory end of December, so this is a nice preview. 

I was on the dream for my last cruise and loved it. Muster for me was in the theater and as someone else said it was about 30 minutes. If I remember correctly it was about 5pm. 

1 hour ago, Lottacruises said:

If it's sold out put your name on the waitlist. They do these a few times some cruises.

Good to know there is a wait list. My embarkation time isn't until 1 for my next cruise. I'm afraid it will be sold out by then. 

Consider a repellent with picariden instead. Developed by the military, but naturally derived. Lasts longer than DEET, no smell, won't melt plastic. All signs point to it being safer than. DEET. 

Also curious about the HOHO. Of anyone has current price, etc, much appreciated. I'll be there New year's day, hoping it will still run. 

I'm doing the same port in a few months and wanted to do pretty much the same stops. Where did you find the private taxi for the day?

3 hours ago, bmar808 said:

Hello,

We went to Scotchie's and loved it, especially the festival bread.  We ordered Red Stripe, but I believe they also have a bar there.  It is about a 20-25 min drive from the cruise port though.  The first time we were there, we booked a private tour all the way to 9 Mile.  They took us to various locations, including Scotchies and shopping at different places, and we felt absolutely safe the entire time while sightseeing, shopping, and eating.  They stayed with us at every place (except when we went into Bob Marley's house) so maybe that could be an option to help you feel more at ease?  We felt absolutely comfortable in every place they took us, but it was good to know they were there if we needed them.  Good luck and hope you have a better experience this time around!

Do you remember the name of the tour or tour company?

Thanks. All good answers! So  now... what to do in Montego Bay on new years? 

I've tried searching the boards and the internet, no info. Carnival still lists it as a top thing to do 

https://www.carnival.com/awaywego/travel/caribbean/top-9-things-to-do-in-montego-bay

But the excursion I booked is no longer on the carnival site and this morning I got cancellation notice for my tour but the reason was blank. Anyone hear anything?

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1394/~/celebrating-holidays

Looking like I'll have latkes this year at sea! 

Thanks!!! Any chance you have the menu from Cayman?

On 5/29/2019 at 3:26 PM, jimcara2003 said:

Loving the review and pictures!!!  We are doing this cruise over New Year's Eve and can't wait. Going with another family how has not cruised before so super excited.

Hey! me too! Don't forget to sign up for the meet and mingle! 

Do they take US dollars? I've heard it is cash only. 

Thanks so much for this review! Doing the same itinerary in December, this is great!

2 years ago I was on a Christmas cruise and I enjoyed that they did little things to make it more festive. This year we'll have a chance to do NYE on the ship. It's winter break, so I'm sure the ship will be super full of families, but it was never a big issue for us. Plenty of places to "hide" from screaming kids. We found that the late dining had a crowd more our age (30's). I'm excited to be on the Glory in a few months. I just hope everything is still open new year's day in Port! 

2 years ago I was on a Christmas cruise and I enjoyed that they did little things to make it more festive. This year we'll have a chance to do NYE on the ship. It's winter break, so I'm sure the ship will be super full of families, but it was never a big issue for us. Plenty of places to "hide" from screaming kids. We found that the late dining had a crowd more our age (30's). I'm excited to be on the Glory in a few months. I just hope everything is still open new year's day in Port!