Carnival Glory Review

First Time ever on a Cruise and my family and I chose the right one. We even counted down the days to our departure on a dry erase board. My mother (45) and Father (55) and Myself (19) at the time had never been off land before. And this was an experience we all would love. We left Albany International on Southwest @ 7ish and arriving in Orlando @ 10ish. NO-STOP flights are the way to go. We had already been @ Orlando (MCO) before, b/c we went to Disney the year before, but it's easy to find your way around. We walked from one end of the airport to the other, just to find the Carnival Representatives. Be aware you we will be waiting a while to get a bus. They have several busses that go back and forth from the airport to the port. Finally we got a bus to drive us to port and ride was about 20-30 I can’t remember I fell asleep for a while. But I do remember there was construction and it took awhile. Once you see water the boat is in distance range. From a far distance the boat looked really small but once we approached it closer it’s huge.

EMBARKMENT:

We did wait a long time on the bus before we could unload and go to the building to register everything before going on the boat. I swear you go through so many security areas your just sick to death of metal detectors. Some of the lines were long but people are there to guide you around. Some person directed us in the wrong direction and we ended up costing us some time. We waited in line just to get our SAIL & SIGN cards which allows you to get into your stateroom, and to charge anything on the boat to. (We learned the hard way). Once you hit the boat the photographers start taking your photo be aware they only cost $15 a piece. Once you got to our stateroom on the Rivera Deck which I saw is just above the water was OK but I wish we had gotten a different room. We were in room 1277 which was just a couple of feet from an elevator, we also didn’t like how you could hear the dinning noise at all the hours of the night. We did have a Muster station drill which took along a couple of minutes but be aware you will be standing of a long time so bring a drink. Before the muster drill go to the LIDO deck and stand in line for the LUNCH BUFFET it’s like a little sneak peak of what you should expect at all the buffets. BUT WHATEVER YOU DO DON’T FALL FOR THE COMP. DRINKS THERE NOT COMP. DRINKS. (Comp=Complementary) During the disembarkment from Port Canaveral they had a party on the top decks where you wave at all the bystanders on the beach. Dinner that night was something out of the ordinary. My mom had already been taking those pills that stop you from getting sick but at dinner she watched the water glasses moving back and forth and will just say she didn’t have dessert that night. I had the Lamb which was excellent, as a culinary student at a local college, I’ve never had Lamb that was so good. The first night you don’t know what to order and how to but you get the hang of it after a while. After dinner we went back to the stateroom and got into better clothing and proceed to the Amber Palace, were we played a Game Show Trivia. We made a group up from the three of us with some other couple. We ended up in first place after my questions about a Disney Movie. We ended the night early b/c we were tired and Nassau, Bahamas was next on our agenda.

Day 1- Nassau, Bahamas

After waking up to late we looked out the porthole of our OCEANVIEW stateroom and we saw land. Took showers and headed up to the Sun Deck to take pictures. After the pictures Breakfast was next you wouldn’t believe what great breakfast items were on the buffet. We had already booked our excursions on the Carnival website so all we had to do is take out tickets to our excursions people. In Nassau, it was beautiful bright colors and a lot of people there was always another boat docked wherever we went. The Majesty of the Seas by Royal Caribbean was there. The Dolphin Encounter was were we went. We took a double-decker boat to Paradise Island to pick other people up and then we took a 15 min ride to Blue Lagoon.(Not the MOVIE) The dolphins were in this locked area were you are escorted to an area where you watch a movie about dolphin. Later you are split into groups remember to bring your bathing suits and your complimentary towels from you cabins. You can get a video of your encounter which is about 25 dollars. During the encounter you get to hug, kiss, dance, and rub the dolphin down. But don’t get to close they don’t like that. There is a certain time you have to be back at the boat and we almost didn’t make it. Back on the boat we went swimming and tanning in the far back swimming pool a lot of children don’t swim in that one. Dinner again @ 6:15 in the Golden Dining Room was amazing, it was the first Formal dinner and we all had Lobster the best Lobster and potatoes/veg I’d ever have.

Day 2- Fun Day @ Sea:p

Woke up late, had Breakfast at the Red Sail Restaurant. Create your own Omelette was available and everything else you would want. There is a Cereal station were you can get whatever cereal you want. I got rice krispies with a banana every morning. An ice demonstration was on the LIDO deck were a chef designed a Ship out of ICE, photo opportunity so bring your cameras. BINGO BINGO BINGO!! That’s all they play on the boat so just remember to bring you’re a game for bingo. The Fun day at Sea are ok but more or less your either swimming, tanning, eating or just walking around trying to find something to do. In the Carnival Capers there is always something to do. After dinner we went back to our stateroom and found a towel animal the first for the cruise. It was an elephant and we took tons of pictures. Just remember if you have a oceanview place the animal in the window so you can find your room from the ports.

Day 3- St. Thomas:cool:

Breakfast as usual and then we had to go threw Customs on the boat before entering St.Thomas because Nassau is not a U.S. states so we had to go threw Customs. Make sure to bring your passport where ever you go, YOU always need it. Our excursion was called Journey Through Paradise, where we meet our tour guide he was funny and his driving was outrageous. We traveled through the city saw the airport in St. Thomas and later ended up on the highest point in St. Thomas called the WORLD FAMOUS MOUNTAIN TOP it says on there sign. TRY OUR WORLD FAMOUS BANANA DAIQUIRI MADE WITH LOCAL CRUZAN RUM. Which was the best Daiquiri in the world, let’s just say I finished it off with a smile on my face. Later we ended up in a local marketplace where women walked up to me and asked can I braid your hair. Decline anyone who asks because everyone on the boat gets it done. It looks horrible and painful. Back on the Boat...Dinner as usual no change but every night they dance and provide entertainment between dessert and entrees. Go to the entertainment at the Amber Palace it will be listed on the Carnival Capers when the showing are. But the Shows are awesome don’t miss them.

Day 4- St. Maarten:)

When we woke up in the morning we opened the curtain and we were already docked. St. Maarten was the most beautiful port then all the rest. They have shops right by the boat so your not walking long distance like in Nassau & St. Thomas. We had two excursions that day so it was very busy. We took a tour of St. Maarten on a air conditioned bus and learned a lot about the island. Bring your cameras you’ll take a lot of pictures. The tour is called Sea & See tour you see a lot of stuff. You stop at an Atlantis bottom boat excursion were you travel out on the ocean and go under the boat to a glass bottom were you see one of the guys feed fish right out of his hands. Lots of coral reef beware a bumpy ride. Later in the day my mom and I went Horseback riding. Lets say we had in between the excursion to get ready. My father on the other hand went back on the quiet boat and drank, swam and fell asleep. Horseback riding was fun you learn a lot about the horses and you ride up and down hills and you later go into the ocean with the horses. I had never been horseback riding before but that was an experience I’ll always remember. Back to the port we went shopping and bought stuff. Dinner that night was amazing again and I think that was our last formal dinner. Our waiter was very nice his name I can’t remember but very funny he always knew what we wanted.

Day 5&6 Fun Day(s) @ Sea:o

Both days were @ sea, lets just say it was very boring but there was always a seminar or something going on. We took dancing lessons in the Amber Palace, Sipped tea in the Ivory Room, played the slots in the Casino and went swimming and tanning all the time. Our Cruise Director Mark was very funny and on the last day is went through the Disembarkment procedures. They were offering a Kennedy Space Center experience after the cruise so we took part in that because of our late flights. Go to this meeting you will learn a lot. NOTE: keep your bags with you its easier when you leave the boat. Get insurance on your baggage because my baggage got destroyed when we got on the boat in the first place. LISTEN TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE SPA, you can get really good deals.

Day 7- Disembarkment

Early wake-up so we got room service. We waited in the Amber Palace for our Kennedy Space Center Tour...lets just say I wasn’t in the mood for this I was feeling sick the last night and up all night. The Tour of the Space Center was awesome we got an exclusive look at the new shuttle Atlantis. But we were more concerned on going home we were done with the vacation and just wanted to go home. They gave us transportation to the airport where we knew what we were doing. We waited for our 6:30 flight which ended up late at the gate. If it was sooner we would be home sooner but it wouldn’t had mattered we had gotten on the plane and we were ready for take off. We look out the window and what do we see...Dark Clouds. :( Stuck on the plane for two hours, we didn’t leave Orlando till 9:30 the time we were to arrive in Albany. After all the crying kids and the loud thunder and lightning we left Orlando and arrived in Albany @ 11:30-12:00. I slept most of the way and it was kind of cool landing in Albany in the Dark.

Overview of Trip:

It was the most exciting and cool trip we’d been on. The food was excellent, the entertainment was funny, don't forget the color wars. They split the boat into three teams RED, BLUE and White. Good Luck!! and we have already booked another cruise of this November for Thanksgiving on the Carnival Liberty. This time should be great we have a Balcony on the Upper Deck and now were only going for 6 days instead of 7. Good Luck if your going and if you have any question you can reply. I Hope this helped you out in searching of answers about the Carnival Glory and the Eastern Caribbean.

~PineappleGal~

Thank you for taking the time to give us all such a wonderful reveiw of the Glory. We are going this summer and I am always pleased to see good reviews, especially about the food and in this case coming from a culinary expert. I have seen some bad reviews recently about lots of rocking on the ship. Did you have any problems? You indicated that your mom could not order dessert one night. Thanks again!! :)

Thanks for the nice review!! We are still a few months out and are really looking forward to the cruise! Reading reviews like this make us wanna leave NOW!!

Steven

Thanks for your detailed review. Just curious - was your cruise in August as it says in your signature or very recently? We will be on the Glory next Saturday!

I'm happy to read some nice things about the food! Glad you and your family enjoyed yourselves. And warn your parents that cruising is addictive . . . but I see they've already booked another so they must know that!

Some Minor Problems we had were teenagers running up and down our hall; being on the Rivera deck it was quite some nights but one night some teenager got so mad he told his family that he wished they didn't bring him on the cruise. The first night my mom got sick b/c she thought to much about the cruise she heard from other people that people do get sick and once my mom gets something in her head then it happens to her. After taking those stop the sea sickness stuff she was fine the rest of the week. Other problems included your walking but you hear that all the time and one night they ran out of the all-you-can-eat ice cream and that really got to me. All in all that's basically all the problems we ran into besides what i said in my review. And thanks again for the compliment about the culinary expect:) Have fun and I know I was that excitied when we booked a cruise.

Thank you for taking the time to give us all such a wonderful reveiw of the Glory. We are going this summer and I am always pleased to see good reviews, especially about the food and in this case coming from a culinary expert. I have seen some bad reviews recently about lots of rocking on the ship. Did you have any problems? You indicated that your mom could not order dessert one night. Thanks again!! :)

Thanks for your detailed review. Just curious - was your cruise in August as it says in your signature or very recently? We will be on the Glory next Saturday!

 

I'm happy to read some nice things about the food! Glad you and your family enjoyed yourselves. And warn your parents that cruising is addictive . . . but I see they've already booked another so they must know that!

We left August 6th my parents anniversary and came back the 13th. If your celebrating anything remember to go to the Formals to order a cake. They bring it out during dessert at your dining room. I can't wait to hear your review next and I hope you have a great time. Where are you going...Eastern or Western? My parents are addictive to cruising but i've been so keen on the subject when we came back from the Glory cruise that i started looking for cruises when we came back in August. I can't wait for the next cruise it's in November and it's only March:( Thanks again for the nice compliment!:)

Thanks for the nice review!! We are still a few months out and are really looking forward to the cruise! Reading reviews like this make us wanna leave NOW!!

 

Steven

I know what you mean, you still have months away as do I. Our next cruise is in November and it's Only March. When you get there it will be worth the money and everything else. Thanks again!:cool:

Thanks for your detailed review. Just curious - was your cruise in August as it says in your signature or very recently? We will be on the Glory next Saturday!

 

I'm happy to read some nice things about the food! Glad you and your family enjoyed yourselves. And warn your parents that cruising is addictive . . . but I see they've already booked another so they must know that!

It was a great review. I wanted another version from my 2 men. They tend to be blah about things.

My husband & son just got off the glory yesterday & being seasoned cruisers I wanted to know just what they experienced. Coffee better on the Lido & much better than RCL, my husband found the Fish & Chips (thanks board members:) ) and that is the only place he ate for the week. He wanted to try other things but couldn't pass up the fish & chips. YOu need to know He can be a stickler-my men march on their stomachs. ANd he is a great cook. I don't eat leg of lamb anywhere but his.

They ate in the specialty restaurant (charged $30 each) - he was not impressed. The filet mignon was done to perfection but the quality of the meat was bland & he had trouble cutting it. Not only could they not order 2 main courses, only 1 side item. The escargot - horrible, but the clam cakes suberb. Salad is a side item. This is per him, not me.

As we have discussed, some things were good & some not. They don't go to the shows, no advice there. They also didn't get off the ship, either. For the most part, they did enjoy the cruise & NO ONE WAS HUNGRY.

He did mention that 1 night is was a little rough - when they turned around headed back home. In December on the HAL Veendam, the same thing happened. I attribute it to getting a jump on making port cause the next day is was all smooth sailing. They were going at quite a clip - much faster than the other days on the cruise. Trust me - I am in tune to engines (predicted the Nordam breaking down) & speed in the water - we were almost at speed boat rev-:D just kidding but it felt like it.

My son raved about the gym & inside spa areas. He said it was the best one he's been on & that is quite a complement. My husband said the inside whirlpool was vacant most of the time & it was most enjoyable.

Also have a co-worker going on their second cruise in May. Wish we were, too. (Family cruise);)

Well - my men said they would go again. :)

We were on The Glory for spring break with a 8,10,11 year old, two teenagers and the kids godmother. We had a blast. I definitely think it is more fun to go with a group. There really isn't time to get bored on sea days like some have said because if you have a bunch of people with you you can make your own fun.

I was also impressed with the food and The Emerald Room food was awesome when we went. I had lobster and it was probably almost double the size of the lobster downstairs. I don't usually eat dessert but it was almost too pretty to eat and tasted just as good.

We had a balcony room on the 8th floor and I just loved going out on the balcony in the mornings in my PJ's and watching the sun come up!

We are booked for next April on The Miracle. I am really excited because it's our anniversary my husband booked us a suite with a big balcony. We are renewing our vows onboard!

Pineapplegal - You are a culinary student? That's great. You are from NY, ever go to the Culinary Institute of America? I had a friend that went there and when I went to visit him I was amazed at how beautiful that place is!

Thank you for the great review! I enjoy reading anything I can about her. Glad to hear you had a good time. I will be in the Glory in two months. :D

We got married last June on the Glory. I loved the ship and we had an excellent time. I have not seen many sailings for Glory. We had a balcony and had a wonderful time. The only complaint that i had was we booked an excursion to St Thomas and we booked it online and didnt have the coupon so they werent going to let us off early.

The food was great and we loved everything.

Thanks for the review. We leave on the Glory next month? Could you please tell which 2 nights are the formal nights?

Thanks for the review. We leave on the Glory next month? Could you please tell which 2 nights are the formal nights?

On our Glory Western Sailing Formal Nights were Monday and Thursday.

Thanks for the review!! I continue to need my Glory fix!!

As mentioned above, anyone arriving in St Thomas needs to be sure to have booked a 10am tour to get off the ship first. If you reserve an independent tour, like Godfrey, just bring the email confirmation. You'll be glad you did!!

would you mind explaining what you meant by the "dinning noise" (sp)? Your cabin was nowhere near any restaurant.:confused: and your cabin had a window, not a porthole correct? im asking because im taking my first Carnival cruise soon and am trying to familiarize myself with this ship. thank you!:D

would you mind explaining what you meant by the "dinning noise" (sp)?

Sorry for jumping in, but I think she meant "dinging noise" from being close to the elevator.

Pineapplegal - You are a culinary student? That's great. You are from NY, ever go to the Culinary Institute of America? I had a friend that went there and when I went to visit him I was amazed at how beautiful that place is!

No I haven't been to the Culinary Institute of American but I know some people that have been attending classes. I actually attend a cooking school in upstate new york, SCCC. It's one of the greatest school for cooking that i've heard of. But I would love to go down there for lunch/dinner some time.

Sorry for jumping in, but I think she meant "dinging noise" from being close to the elevator.

Thank you Lib0007; I did mean Dinging noise. I had been typing for hours and i must have forgot to check the spelling.

We will be on the Glory, April 15th, the Eastern cruise. I have not read too much about the Glory. When I get back I will be glad to put my review on the board. I went on the NCL Norway before the boilers blew and I did not read any good reviews about the Norway, all negative. I was really not looking forward to the cruise, HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LOOK FORWARD TO A CRUISE????? The cruise on the Norway was fine. Yes, it was a older ship but it was like cruising before the megaships. I really enjoyed the floor to ceiling windows and when I got back I put my review on the NCL board. You have to have a very positive outlook and just like at home, you sure can get a bad restaurant where you live. I will have a postivie attitude when I get on the Glory, it is your vacation that your have counted down the days and months, and you just enjoy yourself, and really think of yourself being very lucky to be on that beautiful cruise ship. ONE MONTH AND COUNTING!!!!!

We sailed Glory 4/29 thru 5/6, got home at 10 am this morning.

WE LOVED THE SHIP and the CRUISE. It was our 1st balcony room.

Will be posting a review later, no time right now, catching up on all that happened while we were enjoying our time on board and we are already searching to book our next cruise.

It was my 5th Carnival cruise and 1st on a huge ship like the Glory and it was no problem getting around and everything was just awesome.

We had rolling seas the 1st two days out of port but so didn't the Princess and RC ships following us around. We'd sail her again in a heart beat.:D

luvdale

We are going on the Glory Eastern Carrib 4/2007 the same week you went this year. It's our first time on a ship bigger than the Destiny class. How was evrything? We were on the Triumph the same week you cruised in April and loved it.

You're a 19yr old college student, and not once did I hear mention of partying...are you sure you're 19?

You're a 19yr old college student, and not once did I hear mention of partying...are you sure you're 19?

Yes, just last year on our cruise I was 19 and wasn't really interested in the parties. It's not like you meet the same age group of teenagers, but there was two girls that sat at our table next to us at dinner that were my age but we never did anything together. And plus, my mom didn't want to be left alone with my father. This Thanksgiving I will surely get out to all the clubs on the Carnival Liberty, this will be a thanksgiving I will always remember...well...I hope.