Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 #1 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Hello! My name is Kerry and my husband Bryon (bmckim) and I just returned from our first cruise, which was the Carnival Glory/Eastern Caribbean. It was also our honeymoon cruise! A little background. Bryon is an attorney and I work in an office at a local medical center. We live in Albany, NY with a our cat. We had actually gotten married in September but chose to wait until January for our honeymoon because the fall is Bryon's busy time at work. Plus, as anyone who lives up North knows, the winter is cold here in the winter. We are talking single digit and even negative temperatures. We planned our cruise about a year prior and during that time, we read lots of reviews here on Cruise Critic. I enjoyed reading these reviews and wanted to pay it forward, especially those who may be first time cruisers. We wanted to share our story. As I said, this was our first cruise. We had no prior cruises to compare things too. Therefore, we did not notice any cuts in service. One last thing, crowds are not my favorite thing. We had booked a balcony and therefore, I did not spend time around the pool unless I was swimming. I preferred to sit on my balcony. I can not comment as to whether there were chair hogs or whether the 40 minute limit was enforced. I guess if I put a towel to reserve the lounger on our balcony, Bryon most likely would have removed it after 40 minutes. I hope you enjoy my review. I will have lots of photos so it may take me several days to complete this review. Bryon will also be chiming in too. I just wanted to warn you. So stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #2 Share Posted February 4, 2013 We did arrive in Florida two days before the cruise set sail. We decided to do a quick side trip to Key West. We drove down to Newark, NJ on Thursday night and stayed at a Fairfield Inn Marriott-Newark Airport that provided a shuttle to Newark Airport. Also, they let you keep you car in their parking lot. We flew out at 6:30 am to Fort Lauderdale and arrived around 9:30 am. We picked up our rental (a convertible!) and then we headed to the Keys. We had decided to stay at Papa's Hideaway because the hotels were really expensive. Papa's Hideaway was downtown and literally two blocks from the Southernmost Point. Here are a few pics of our room. There is a pool on the property and if you decide to go swimming, be careful. The floors get slippery. We learned the hard way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I may live in New York now but I am a New England girl (born in Boston, moved to Maine as a kid) and since US Route 1 is a major road in Maine, I wanted to get my picture by the beginning of US Route 1. I have been to the end of US Route 1 in Fort Kent, ME and I was so excited to see the beginning. We then walked to Mallory Square and saw the sunset. After we had dinner at Amigo's Tortilla Bar. It was so good. I could not finish my food. My eyes were bigger than my belly! Bryon was smart and only got three tacos but the platter was only a dollar or two more. I should have just had the tree tacos! We then went to a few bars until we wound up at a Red Sox bar! My kind of place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted February 4, 2013 The next morning we went to the Southernmost point. We then had breakfast at Croissant de France and then went to The Hemingway House. Kitty! And there were lots more of them! And then we were off to Miami! Our stay in Key West was fun and I look forward to going there as a stop on a cruise but I am content not doing the drive again. It was beautiful but long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipq Posted February 4, 2013 #5 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Great start, can't wait for more. http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted February 4, 2013 We got a good rate at the Ritz Carlton in Coral Gables. It was still a little more than most of the other hotels but we thought that since it was our honeymoon, we may as well live it up. Here is a pic of our room. Quite a contrast from the night before! We then decided to get a late lunch in Little Havana and then we took a spin down South Beach. And we got to see a Carnival ship leaving! Just curious if this looks familiar to anyone... We had dinner at a El Carajo International Tapas and Wine. It's crazy because it is a fancy restaurant in the back of a gas station. You wouldn't even know it was there. We were definitely the least dressed people there. The food was delicious. Unfortunately I did not get any photos. And lastly, the geek in me got excited at seeing the Southern End of Interstate 95. Up next: Boarding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Great start, can't wait for more. http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted February 4, 2013 We got up the next morning and went to church and then had breakfast at Versailles. Luckily we didn't get caught in any Miami Marathon traffic. We dropped our rental car off at Miami Airport and then took the Alamo shuttle to the Port. Yay! Debarkation craziness! Bryon had purchases FTTF and it was awesome. We checked in and were called a little after 11, maybe 11:15. Definitely worth the money. Before the cruise Bryon and I watched video around 0:45 the person in the video enters the cruise ship. (If I am not supposed to link YouTube videos I apologize) Bryon wanted to have his own "not on vacation...not on vacation...on vacation!" moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #9 Share Posted February 4, 2013 We stayed in cabin 7434. The room was situated near a crew staircase and was shaped like an "L" but the balcony was twice as large. Here is a photo of our room. Please excuse my mess on the bed. On the balcony... Then we went up to the Lido Deck because we wanted to check it out. We went to sign up for the Cheers program but they were having a problem with their computer and it was down. We waited in line for about ten minutes and actually met a couple who we became friendly with during the cruise. It is funny where you meet people sometimes. After awhile, the man who was running the computer told us to come back and any drinks we had would get credited after we signed up. So, we went to the Red Frog. Bryon got a mojito and I got a strawberry daiquiri. The computer system came back online and we were able to sign up for the Cheers program. We definitely saved money but Bryon will have to do the cost benefit analysis. I know we broke even on me but definitely saved with Bryon. But it was nice to know what our bar bill was going to be and know that we were not going to be surprised. After waiting in line, I got a burrito and Bryon got a burger from Guy's. My burrito was good and Bryon loved his burger (Pig Patty.) I did not get a photo of the burger but here is a rather uninteresting photo of my burrito. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gelo7 Posted February 4, 2013 #10 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Nice start, looking forward to the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #11 Share Posted February 4, 2013 We had a little time to burn before our Cruise Critic meet and greet so we went up to the Serenity Deck. This was a view of the back of the Breeze. View of the Lobby (Deck 3) We stopped in the EA Sports Bar. ESPN was not working but the X-box was so Bryon played some hockey. It is free to play, you just need to have your Sign and Sail card. Buffalo Sabres vs. Albany Devils. That's right, an NHL team vs an AHL team. And the AHL team won. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 4, 2013 Author #12 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Nice start, looking forward to the rest. Thank you! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil_One Posted February 5, 2013 #13 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Yay! Looking forward to your review! Subscribed! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #14 Share Posted February 5, 2013 We grabbed a drink (soda for me. I had some of that Caribbean Punch and it was not agreeing with my stomach) and some pizza from Pirate's Pizza. This was the Quattro Formaggio. I actually really enjoyed the pizza and had it many times during the week. My favorite was the Margherita. The crust was thin so it wasn't too filling. We found our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. Sadly, I did not get a pic but it was a great group of people, several of whom we would bump into during the trip. It was a lot of names so we started calling each other by our states. We had Oregon, Minnesota, DC, NY and others. Sadly, good parties always come to an end. People started to drift off and then it was time for Muster Drill! In case you couldn't guess by the picture, we were Muster Drill H. This was not the easiest activity for me as I am claustrophobic. Don't get me wrong, the Muster Drill is extremely important. I just couldn't see any of the demonstration. It was also frustrating because it took forever for them to start the drill because the crowd would not be quiet. I felt like a classroom of 3rd graders would have settled down quicker. Maybe it is like this on every cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Yay! Looking forward to your review! Subscribed! :) I am so flattered that I am subscribe-worthy! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #16 Share Posted February 5, 2013 After the Muster Drill, Bryon and I went back to our stateroom and watched our departure from Miami from our balcony. The two ships ahead of us were the Norwegian Pearl and the Norwegian Sun. Pilot! Behind us were two Carnival ships. I forget who was right behind us but the one in the back was the Breeze. Next up: Dinner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksmom09 Posted February 5, 2013 #17 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Great review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #18 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Great review! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted February 5, 2013 #19 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Thanks for the report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #20 Share Posted February 5, 2013 We opted for the Early Dining, which was at 6 o'clock. We normally prefer to eat around 7 but decided we would rather eat at 6 o'clock instead of 8:15. We also knew we didn't want anytime dining because we wanted to have the same waiters and the same dinner mates. We were located in the Upper level of the Platinum Dining Room. The funny thing was, we were looking forward to meeting people and having dinner mates but we were assigned a table for two since it was our honeymoon. At first we were a little disappointed but we also felt that, knowing our luck, if we asked to sit with people, we would not like those people. So we decided not to tempt fate. In the end it was great. We had our own conversations but we were so close to the other tables so we had pseudo table mates, especially our new friends from Nova Scotia who sat at the table next to us. We met our waiters who were wonderful. Our head waiter was Greg from The Phillipines and our other waiters were Harry from The Phillipines and Jesus from Honduras. We loved our waiters! Now I know what you really were waiting for - food pics! For starters, I had ceasar salad and Bryon had linguine with sausage. For dinner I had the fried chicken and Bryon had steak. For dessert, I had the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake and Bryon had the Vanilla Creme Brulee. During dinner, we also met Michael who would become our favorite bartender. We saw a lot of Michael during the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #21 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Thanks for the report! You are very welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battchief1 Posted February 5, 2013 #22 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Great review, love all the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #23 Share Posted February 5, 2013 (edited) After dinner, Bryon and I decided to go to trivia. He was determined that we were going to win a Ship On A Stick. On our way to Amber Palace, we walked by the Alchemy Bar which would become our hangout. Bad photo of Amber Palace And we did it! After trivia, we went to the arcade. I remember how much I loved ski-ball. If I remember correctly, we got a $5 credit towards the arcade. We walked around for a bit and made our way back to Amber Palace for the Welcome Aboard Show. They were doing Bingo which was presented by Dee. Now, let me tell you, I found her to be Obnoxious. She screamed into the microphone and her big thing was that people were supposed to yell "Whoop, Whoop" (or was it "ooh, ooh"?) when they had a matching square and to yell "No Dee No" when they did not have a matching square. That may not be too bad but she would yell "Whoop, Whoop" into the microphone and it was very high pitched and outright obnoxious. Needless to say, I did not go to Bingo all week. We enjoyed the welcome aboard show but I did not get any photos. We got a sampling of the production Divas and Hasbro: the game show. We returned to our stateroom and here is our towel animal. Up Next: Nassau! Edited February 5, 2013 by Ciardasully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #24 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Great review, love all the pics. Thank you so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciardasully Posted February 5, 2013 Author #25 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Monday morning I woke up to arriving in Nassau. Bryon and I had put out our breakfast order the night before so our two bagels and coffees arrived on time. We got off the ship as soon as they announced that we were permitted to. Then the first thing we did was go to the Port Office to get our passports stamped because Bryon and I are nerds like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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