Glory, Glory What a Heck of a Cruise it Was! 11/18-11/25 2017

For what it is worth here is my review of the Glory beginning 11/18/17 and ending 11/25/17. If you want a Cliff’s notes version we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. We celebrated our 25th anniversary in August and this cruise was a continuation of that celebration. Myself, 59, and DW, 51, were the only ones in our party (yay!) and we definitely needed this cruise since the weather in Vermont was turning more toward winter. This was our 7th cruise overall and third with Carnival. We booked a premium balcony cabin, 8442, which is located on deck 8 aft on the port side. We liked the cabin location as it was one deck down fromthe aft pool and the lido. We also left home in time to arrive a day before the cruise, but I will stick to reviewing the cruise itself. So without further ado, let’s go on a review!

11/18/17- grabbed a free shuttle from the airport to the cruise port thanks to our car rental and we left the airport at 5 minutes to11. I think we pulled into the cruise port at around 11:25 or so, which was early since our reserved check in time was 12 to 12:30. We gave the bags to the porter and proceeded to walk down to the entrance to find that they had aseparate line for early or late arrivals for check in. There was very little line so we were checked in quickly by scanning our passports and since we’d set up our onboard account during online check in we had a seat until they called our zone. By noon we were sitting in the Atrium bar with a couple of cold drinks of the day in our hands and the ship was already decorated for Christmas. I know that lot of posts have been made about the new check inprocedure with the sail and sign cards being at the cabin door but I have to say that this was a big efficiency that only helps make the check in process go smoother. We had no trouble using our boarding pass to pay for drinks before getting the S&S cards. We got to our cabin around 2 (they were ready earlier but we were enjoying the conversation in the Atrium) and it is a very nice cabin. It is super huge with a 75 square foot balcony that had two chairs, a lounger and a table on it. Our Funshops orders were in the cabin, but our shore excursion tickets were not. Gerald was our steward and he gave us the infamous “choice” card and it offered three options and had check boxes for extra services needed. We checked “both” and asked for ice and received great service throughout the cruise. Muster drill was uneventful and didn’t take too long. They do scan an S&S card for someone in each cabin. We walked arounda bit then decided to try the martini tasting at the Alchemy bar. It is normally $20.50 but was $19.50 today. You select 4 of 7 martinis from a menu and we liked them a lot (you can share if you purchase it but we didn’t have Cheers so didn’t ask about that aspect). We had early seating in the Platinum MDR at table 666, a 4 top with booths. Our head waiter was Earl who was assisted by Randolf and Mark. I started off with calamari and shrimp cocktail and DW had the tomato soup. I had the honey glazed pork loin and she had the veggie lasagna. For desert I had tiramisu and DW had the WCMC. The food was nicely prepared and very tasty, as it would remain for the rest of the cruise. Dinner tonight took about an hour. We caught part of the Battle of the Genders in the main theater and caught the R rated show for Tony Esposito, who turned out to be my second favorite comedian of the cruise. We decided to skip theWelcome Aboard show and turned in early.

11/19- since we’re in an aft cabin the vibration from the propellers helped me to sleep. I got up early as I usually do and went up to lido at 5:50a.m. The magical lifer juice machine (aka coffee machine) was ready so I had coffee and caught up on my notes. Woke DW at 9 and once she was ready we went to brunch which took about an hour to complete. Our group from the site that shall not be named had set up a Dirty Santa gift exchange so we went to that. We were the only ones to show up for the exchange but a nice couple from Massachusetts showed up just to meet everyone and we chatted for an hour. Went up and spent some time in the aft pool and hot tub. It was adults only and this was observed/enforced through the week. After that we headed to Guy’s to try our first ever Guy’s burger. WOW, that’s a very darn good burger. After lounging around for a bit we showered and got ready for Elegant Night. Since we’re celebrating a milestone anniversary I brought my tux to wear and we went to all of the picture stations to have our photos taken. A word about the dress of our fellow passengers- most passengers at least met the minimum for Elegant Night and I actually saw a good number of tuxes being worn. On other nights most passengers were presentable. Of course there were exceptions and of course it didn’t interfere with our dining enjoyment. Arrived at the MDR on time and for starters I had the oysters and DW had the mushroom soup. I selected the shrimp and lobster and DW had the carbonara. Earl brought me a second plate of lobster even though I hadn’t asked for it and let me know more was available should I want it. I had room for two but no more since I didn’t want to skip desert, which for me was WCMC with some peanut butter on the side (which Ilearned about on CC) and DW had the crème bruelle. Swung by the shore excursion desk as our tickets hadn’t been delivered yet and they re-printed them for us. Went to the comedy shows for Johnny Millwether and Tony. The Punchliner host(Ashley) said that the Glory was trying a new procedure where they didn’t empty the lounge after each act, instead spacing the shows further apart. So if you wanted to sit in the lounge for an hour you were free to do so. After the show we turned in after filling out the room service hanger for breakfast.

11/20- I was up at 5:50 again and grabbed some coffee from Lido. Room service delivered at 6:45 and the coffee pot they use holds 4 cups.We had paid for the Grand Cayman island tour with beach break. Met in the theater for the excursion and the tender ride was about 5 minutes. We went to 7 mile beach first for about 3 hours and enjoyed swimming in the ocean. Two mojitos set us back $26 and after swimming some more had some nacho fires with a couple of Coronas which was $38. Got back on the bus and made a quick stop at a Tortuga Rum Cake store and of course the obligatory stop in Hell. We were back at the pier by 1:30p.m. and were back onboard by 2. Grabbed a couple more Guy’s burgers then lounged around on Serenity until it was time to get ready for dinner. Our tablemates joined us for the first time, a nice couple from Grand Rapids. They had been enjoying the Steakhouse and had one more visit scheduled for Thanksgiving evening since it was her birthday. DW started off with the spring rolls and I had shrimp cocktail. We both decided on veal parm and we both agreed that it was better than what we’d had on Fascination last year.Desert was praline cake for me and apple pie for DW. Went to the comedy showsand to the Getaway Island production show before turning in around midnight.The announcement for our Meet and Mingle was in our mail box and it was scheduled for 5:30p.m. tomorrow in the piano bar.

11/21- I slept inuntil 7 and grabbed a bite on Lido before walking around a bit. Woke DW at 10 by bringing her breakfast in bed. Stuffed a laundry bag with enough clothes to equal $98 in single piece prices. Today is Mahogany Bay and we are doing the Pirates, Birds and Moneys of the Caribbean tour. It was raining when we disembarked so we bought two CCL ponchos at the gangway for $3 each. The bus ride to Gumbalimba park was about 45 minutes. They have lockers available forrent ($3) and food is available, but cash only. The gift shop does take cards with a $10 minimum purchase. The walking tour was about an hour and a half. Park photographers take your pictures with the birds and the monkeys although you are free to take your own. The photographers take multiple shots of eachperson and you can purchase a CD with all of the photos of one person for $14 and they only take cash. The monkeys will use humans as stepping stones to getfrom one side of the clearing to the other and will jump on you without notice. Returned to the pier and did a little shopping before getting back on the shipat 4:30p.m. Went to the Meet and Mingle and 11 people showed up which was about 10 percent of those that had signed up. Cruise Director Dustin Gabriel showed up and chatted with us. He said there were just over 3600 passengers onboard for the week. He also said he is leaving at the end of the cruise for vacation and Chris Loveland would be taking over for him. After having some drinks picked out the photo that we wanted turned into a 16x20 canvas print ($59.95and you get the 8x10 photo included). Dinner started with prosciutto with melon for me and broccoli soup for DW. She had the linguine with sausage and I had the local fish dish with plantains and beans and corn (can’t remember the name but it’s on the right hand side of the menu). Finished off with Bitter N Blanc for me and DW had the S’mores Parfait. Went to the Love and Marriage show before heading back to the cabin for a nightcap and bed.

11/22- got up at 6a.m. this morning and went to Guest Services to get envelopes and comment cards for later. Doing the Altun Ha Mayansite and River Wallace tour so met up at 8:15a.m. in the theater. Got ashore around 10a.m. and the tender ride was 15 minutes. Got on the tour boat and rodeup the coast to the river, seeing several dolphins along the way that played inthe boat’s wake. Saw a manatee, crocodile, orange iguanas, birds of all kinds and howler monkeys on the river tour. Docked after 2 hours and grabbed some lunch at the restaurant at the dock. $18 for two burgers with small fries andsalad and two sodas. Filling enough but not Guy’s burgers. Bus ride to theMayan site was about 45 minutes and we spent about an hour walking around after the guide briefed us about the site. Many chose to walk to the top of one of theruins but we skipped that part. We shopped some at the market on site and grabbed a couple local beers (2 for $5) before getting on the bus for the hour long ride back to the port. Got in the tender line and it took about 10 minutes to board a tender and the line was pretty long. Once back onboard we grabbed aquick snack (pizza from the Pizza Pirate) and hung out until it was time toprepare for dinner. Escargot was on the menu tonight so I snagged two orderswhile DW had the pumpkin soup. Her choice for dinner was beef lasagna and I had the braised short ribs (tender enough to fall apart at the touch of a fork).For desert I tried the popcorn crème de pot and DW had cheesecake. We found out that our tablemates have the premium balcony cabin on the other side of the ship from us. After changing we caught half of the dive in movie which waspretty cool. New comedians onboard and we went to the R rated show for MarvinTodd who turned out to be my favorite of the four. We received our laundry back earlier this day.

11/23- Happy Thanksgiving! Up at 6:30 a.m. and up to Lido for my date with the magic lifer juice machine. Had Eggs Benedict from the buffet and the yolk was runny, not quite sure how they do that. Got DW up with breakfast in bed again and we went ashore at 8:30 a.m. for our Swim with the Dolphins excursion. Dolphinaris is a 15 minute ride from the port. Locker rentals are $14 and you get a tote bag as a gift with the rental. Our dolphin was Aphrodite who is 38 years only. Only did a belly swim but it was still worth it. Got a CD with all the pictures taken of one person for $87, which included a 5x7 photo. The buffet lunch and bar drinks are included as part ofthe excursion so we grabbed lunch and a couple of drinks. Grabbed a ride back to the ship and did some shopping in the port area for a bit. Once back onboard we went up to the aft pool and enjoyed our time almost by ourselves in both the pool and hot tub. After changing for dinner we went to the Atrium for a before dinner drink and another passenger was kind enough to take our picture in front of the tree. We kept running into the couple that was in the cabin in front ofours and they said that security was outside of a cabin on our deck because thepassenger had been fighting. Security stayed outside of that cabin until we left the ship. Went to dinner and it was the second Elegant Night because of Thanksgiving. Most people were dressed up but a few weren’t. C’est la vie. My starters tonight were Maryland Crab Cake and New England clam chowder and while I’ve had both dishes prepared in their points of origin CCL did a nice job with both. DW had the pasta fagioli soup. We both opted for the turkey dinner withfixin’s and pumpkin/ginger pie for desert. All nicely prepared and very tasty.After changing went to the Punchliner and watched all 4 shows, catching Tim Young’s act in addition to Marvin’s.

11/24- up at 6:30 and of course coffee on Lido to write my notes. Woke DW up around 10 and we decided to wait to eat in order to try the BBQ place on Deck 10. Glad we did because it was very good. Lazed around a bit, attended the debark briefing (no Customs forms unless you have to declaresomething) followed by the Military Appreciation gathering. There were about 50 people in the theater and Dustin called each branch of the service up on stage where we were given the opportunity to introduce ourselves and say whatever we wanted. Each vet received a glass of champagne and they took a group photo at the end. Something new CCL does is they have every vet fill out a form that issent to Miami and once a month they pick from all of the entries and award a free cruise to a vet. Donated money to St Jude and got a Build a Bear for the donation. Did some packing and then went to dinner where I had mussels to start and DW had French onion soup. She had the ravioli and I had the prime rib, which turned out to be my least favorite meal because it was tough and if I had waited to eat it then it would have been cold. She finished off with carrot cake and I had cherry pie. Did some more packing then we went to the comedy shows. I put our luggage out in between the shows.

11/25- up at 6 and grabbed some coffee as I went over the bill. Went to guest services for some charges I didn’t recognize that turned out to be the gift shop and our St Jude donation (hardly any line at thispoint). Got DW up and we finished packing before heading for breakfast in thePlatinum MDR which wasn’t very busy at all (and much better than the Lido). Sat on Promenade deck by Cherry on Top and waited for our number to be called. Numbers up to 20 had been called by 8:35a.m. and our number (24) was called at 9. Disembarked and retrieved our luggage and were in the Customs line by 9:15. It took about 20 minutes to clear Customs even though the line looked really long.

Final thoughts- the crew was super friendly as always and no matter what time we were walking around there was always somebody cleaning something. The passengers were friendly also and we met some nice people throughout the cruise. Saw no fighting, no one that had been obviously over served, etc. Thinking back on our previous Carnival cruises (2012 and 2016) I have to say that I’ve notice an overall improvement in the service and the food. I noted no serious material deficiencies and every now and then on Lido one of the juice machines wouldn’t be working. We didn’t participate in any of the trivia since it was usually held outside of the casino bar and the smoking would have caused DW problems. We also didn’t walk around the ship too much because of DW’s knee (she went in for surgery on it yesterday). The service in the MDR was not perfect but it was certainly adequate enough for a solid 3 star experience and any lapses were so minor that I can’t even remember them. Dinner always took between an hour and an hour and a half, usually longer when our tablemates joined us. The waiters danced three nights and this interfered with our meal once as it delayed desert, which wasn’t a bad thing because it gave us time for our food to settle a bit. I did see one waiter doing stripper moves the first time they danced but that act was not repeated. The passengers and crew seemed to enjoy the event and it was entertaining. Not sure when they have time to practice but it was well choreographed. All in all Carnival gave us a great experience and one that we will fondly remember. I will be posting pictures at some point but with DW recovering from surgery and with finals coming up in a week or two my time will be kind of taken up, so it might take me a couple of weeks to get to it. Of course if you have any questions feel free to ask!

Glad you had a great cruise and thank you for providing a thorough report.

Keith

Thanks so much! We'll be on the Glory over Christmas this year, and really appreciate the detailed review!

KC

Glad you had a great cruise and thank you for providing a thorough report.

 

Keith

Most welcome!

Thanks so much! We'll be on the Glory over Christmas this year, and really appreciate the detailed review!

 

KC

She's a great ship with a great crew, I'm sure you'll have a blast!

Thanks for a great review!

I try to be thorough in my review but reading another post reminded me of a point that I wanted to make in mine- all liquor that was checked in either from the gift shop or brought back from ashore was delivered to your cabin on the last evening. I'm sure there are other things that I forgot to mention.:o

Thanks for a great review!

You're welcome!

Thanks for a great review. My DH and I are sail on the Glory 5 May 18, and I can't wait. This cruise is a replacement for our Fascination cruise that was canceled. What hotel did you stay in pre-cruise? I have received many options for other CC members but am always interested in where people stay. I will be booking a hotel in Jan based on others peoples' reviews and my research.

Thanks for a great review. My DH and I are sail on the Glory 5 May 18, and I can't wait. This cruise is a replacement for our Fascination cruise that was canceled. What hotel did you stay in pre-cruise? I have received many options for other CC members but am always interested in where people stay. I will be booking a hotel in Jan based on others peoples' reviews and my research.

We stayed at a Travelodge in Ft Lauderdale which was just across the street from the beach. Way too windy for swimming but the views were nice on the beach. We rented a car at FLL and returned it to Miami airport, using the free shuttle to get to the port.

Thanks for the review. We were recently on Glory and had a fantastic time .:)

Thanks for the review. We were recently on Glory and had a fantastic time .:)

You are welcome. I was a little nervous once I realized that we would have a lot of extra passengers on the ship because of the holiday but it never felt crowded at all.

Great review! We are on The Gory for the 2nd time on May 12, 2018. Loved it the first time and sounds like we will love it again. We are currently booked in an Aft Balcony which we love. However we've been contemplating the Premium Balcony. They have 8449 left, did you enjoy the bigger balcony, was it worth it?

What ports did you visit? The only one I see mentioned is Grand Cayman.

We stayed at a Travelodge in Ft Lauderdale which was just across the street from the beach. Way too windy for swimming but the views were nice on the beach. We rented a car at FLL and returned it to Miami airport, using the free shuttle to get to the port.

Can you please explain the free shuttle to the port? A quick google search sounds like everyone charges $ to go from MIA to the port.

Great review! We are on The Gory for the 2nd time on May 12, 2018. Loved it the first time and sounds like we will love it again. We are currently booked in an Aft Balcony which we love. However we've been contemplating the Premium Balcony. They have 8449 left, did you enjoy the bigger balcony, was it worth it?

I think it was worth it for a one time thing to make this cruise special but I'm more than willing to sail in a regular balcony, DW only grudgingly so.

What ports did you visit? The only one I see mentioned is Grand Cayman.

Sorry about that, I thought I mentioned them all:(. We went to Grand Cayman, Mahogany Bay, Belize and Cozumel.

Can you please explain the free shuttle to the port? A quick google search sounds like everyone charges $ to go from MIA to the port.

Sure. The rental car companies provide a free shuttle from the airport to the cruise port. You need to show proof that you returned a rental car (airport to cruise port) or that you have a reservation (cruise port to airport). We opted for a cab going back to the airport because of the number of people using the shuttle (flat rate of $27).

Sure. The rental car companies provide a free shuttle from the airport to the cruise port. You need to show proof that you returned a rental car (airport to cruise port) or that you have a reservation (cruise port to airport). We opted for a cab going back to the airport because of the number of people using the shuttle (flat rate of $27).

We are doing this, as well! Renting a car from FLL (where we land on Thursday evening) and returning it on Saturday morning, then taking the free shuttle to the port. When we dock the following Saturday, we're taking the free shuttle back to MIA to pick up a rental car to drive to MCO, where our kids are picking us up. I know we have to show proof of our rental to get on the shuttle both ways - I'm glad to hear confirmation of this shuttle!

KC

Glad you had such a great cruise! Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Sailing on the Glory in February after sailing NCL for our last handful of cruises, so I'm looking forward to something new.

Thanks for the excellent report!

We are doing this, as well! Renting a car from FLL (where we land on Thursday evening) and returning it on Saturday morning, then taking the free shuttle to the port. When we dock the following Saturday, we're taking the free shuttle back to MIA to pick up a rental car to drive to MCO, where our kids are picking us up. I know we have to show proof of our rental to get on the shuttle both ways - I'm glad to hear confirmation of this shuttle!

 

KC

Our return flight was from MCO so that's where we dropped off the car. Just make sure you fill that car with gas before dropping it off. Last time I'll make that mistake.:eek:

I enjoyed your review.

Keith

Glad you had such a great cruise! Thanks for taking the time to post your review. Sailing on the Glory in February after sailing NCL for our last handful of cruises, so I'm looking forward to something new.

You are welcome! FWIW we enjoyed the Glory a little more than we did the Gem (although I'd sail on the Gem again). We'll be on the Pride in February and already looking forward to it.

Thanks for the excellent report!

I enjoyed your review.

 

Keith

Thanks!