Carnival Glory Review from First-Timer 9/2-9/6/10

[allnamestaken]

Hi, newbie here and it seems the thing to do to post reviews here. We also did the Chef's Table so if anyone would like more details, I'll be happy to provide them:

 

 

Background

I will be honest. I had very low expectations and I think that helped. A lot. My husband and I are in our late 30s. He’s a teacher, I’m a writer and we are stereotypical thinkers. We are more museum and culture travelers than relaxing vacation types, but after spending a few weeks figuring out the logistics of where to go on our summer getaway, what to eat, activities to do, renting a car, securing lodging, etc., I gave up and said, “Let’s just go on a cruise.”

 

Transport

Living in upper Manhattan, I can see the New York cruise terminal from our bedroom window, and although I had heard many unflattering things about Carnival cruises, nothing could beat the price or the convenience. We booked directly through the Carnival website with less than a week to go. The morning of the cruise, we hopped in a cab and were at the port in 15 minutes.

 

Getting On

Embarkation was tedious. It took about an hour to snake through the lines and I was disappointed that after all of that we still had to go to Guest Services and wait in another line to put down our cash deposit. Luckily, I happened to walk past the Chef’s Table sign-up – I had not had a chance to read about it on the boards, but I did recall that it was something special and we signed up. We are frugal, but the event was scheduled for my birthday and I couldn’t pass up a chance to visit the ship’s galley.

 

It was around 1:45pm when we finally got everything straightened out and we headed down to our forward cabin on 2. As we had booked the cheapest available room and I had heard that cruise cabins were tiny, I was pleasantly surprised by the size of our stateroom. I was certainly relieved by the understated décor; the majority of the Glory looks like something from Liberace’s yard sale. I was worried about feeling claustrophobic in an inside cabin, but the space was well ventilated and I never felt closed-in. Overall, we were satisfied with our cabin and the location. There was plenty of space for our belongings and it was easy for us to get everywhere. There was noise from what I assume were the stabilizers, but as a light sleeper, I take earplugs with me everywhere and I chalked it up to our cheap room. (Note: there is piped music near everywhere on the ship. It is hard to get away from.)

 

Dining

Avoid the Red Sail buffet at all costs. My husband has very simple tastes and summed it up as “cafeteria food.” I tried a few items and they were beyond bad – how does one make taco meat taste watery? One day, we set next to a table of kids and one said, “Nothing here tastes like I expect it to.” It was hilarious and sad.

 

Here’s a tip for newbies: at breakfast, you have to split up and have one person stand in the omelet line while the other person gets bacon, fruit, toast, etc. And have some hot chocolate; it is unexpectedly rich and delicious.

 

The burrito bar and deli station are nice, but we couldn’t get to the Mongolian station. It opened at noon; we got in line at 12:30pm and were told it would be an hour. We got out of line. Later, I went to the pizza station to get a chicken Caesar and was told that it would be 20 minutes. For a salad. And the staffer was annoyed that I couldn’t understand why it would take so long to make a salad. Another staffer refused to re-fill the empty orange juice dispenser when there was still half an hour left of breakfast service.

 

There is a TON of salt in all of the food. I didn’t go crazy with food and kept to my regular-life meal times and amounts, but by the end of the first 24 hours, all of my extremities felt tight from the salt. Drink a lot of water.

 

We had the late seating in the Platinum Dining Room. Our waiter was a bit obnoxious and regularly forgot items. But I would put up with a lot for the Chocolate Melting Cake. It is as good as people say, except on the last night I got a bad lumpy one. Eating with strangers was weird and after the first night, I was ready to change tables, but my husband told me that what I interpreted as excruciating awkward silences, were just folks enjoying their food and things did get better over the length of the cruise. It was nice to have a nightly check-in with others on the cruise experience and to get recommendations and warnings.

 

The Chef’s Table was like being a judge on Iron Chef; the experience was all kinds of awesome. I can’t recommend it enough - well worth the extra 75 bucks each.

 

Activities

We didn’t participate in any activities, as we were on the cruise to find a quiet place to read and look at the ocean. That was a challenge.

 

In fact, there were children on the Serenity deck for the first two days of the cruise, which ticked me off, as the Serenity deck is what drew me to the cruise in the first place. I don’t know if someone spoke up, but there were no children on the deck on our last at sea day and we spent the afternoon there. It was bliss. (Although many of the canopies on the round loungers were broken and none of the loungers had cushions well after noon. Someone finally came to set things up around 1pm.)

 

Entertainment

We had a fun night in the karaoke bar but the R-rated comedy show was pretty much low-common denominator type stuff – really obvious and not that clever. I guess with the wide variety of guests on a cruise, we shouldn’t have expected something fresh or innovative. We walked by the Amber Lounge during one of the song and dance shows and it was not for us.

 

I had one Pina Colada during the cruise and it tasted like the rum could be used to power the ship. Coming from the land of $10-15 cocktails, it was cheap, but not worth the burning sensation in my throat.

 

Service

Oh boy. Service was all over the place. For every staff member who made me cringe, there was another who went above the call of duty.

 

St. John

Port day was a bust mainly due to the remnants of Hurricane Earl. However, there is nothing to see of note in St. John. Okay, the old general store was interesting for about 15 minutes. But look at the Reversing Falls on YouTube – it is not worth a port stop. We were going to drive out to St. Martin, but the weather put a kibosh on that. We visited the farmer’s market, which was fine but we have amazing farmer’s markets in New York so there wasn’t much to get excited about. St. John is a pity-inducing rust-belt type town and I wish its citizens the best, but they should find another source of income.

 

Getting Off

We did “Self-Assist” disembarkation and although we had to stop by the guest services desk to look into a minor error on our bill, we walked out of our stateroom at 8:30am and we were back in our apartment at 9:17am.

 

Summary

Overall, as much as things went wrong, we can’t beat how inexpensive and convenient the trip was. Upon returning home, I started to think about what was in the fridge, what I could cook for dinner, etc. and I realized that one of the greatest gifts of the vacation was getting away from our every day responsibilities. We didn’t need Broadway-caliber shows, gourmet meals or posh accommodations - just a peaceful room, time together and someone else to make the beds and for this, Carnival delivered.

[ehogan]

Thanks for your review, allnamestaken.

 

Since you are a New Yorker - I have a question.

We will be docked for two nights at the Manhatten terminal in October and we were wondering if it is possible/practical to walk from the terminal to Rockefeller center? We are in good shape and used to walking long distances.

 

We would also like to take a carriage ride (is it in or is it around Central Park) - where would we pick this up and any idea of cost?

 

Thanks so much in advance

[Rirruto]

Thanks for your review, allnamestaken.

 

Since you are a New Yorker - I have a question.

We will be docked for two nights at the Manhatten terminal in October and we were wondering if it is possible/practical to walk from the terminal to Rockefeller center? We are in good shape and used to walking long distances.

 

We would also like to take a carriage ride (is it in or is it around Central Park) - where would we pick this up and any idea of cost?

 

Thanks so much in advance

 

Rockefeller would be a good 25-30 minute walk from the cruise terminal.

 

Here's some info on the carraige rides:

Standard Carriage Rides: The standard carriage ride through Central Park costs $50 plus tip for the first 20 minutes (per carriage, not per person). Every additional 10 minutes in the carriage is $20 more, and longer rides are negotiable. Prices may vary, so make sure you check with the driver before the ride begins. 
Things seen on the tour include: The Wollman Rink, Pond, Zoo, Sheep Meadow, Mall (statues), Dairy (tourist information center), the Carousel and the Dakota (where the former Beatle John Lennon lived). Approximate distance of the ride is .75 miles.

 

NOTE: There are no reservations for standard rides, only walk ups. To take a standard carriage ride, you can locate a carriage on Central Park South between 5th and 6th avenues.

[yogimax]

 

Since you are a New Yorker - I have a question.

We will be docked for two nights at the Manhatten terminal in October and we were wondering if it is possible/practical to walk from the terminal to Rockefeller center? We are in good shape and used to walking long distances.

 

We would also like to take a carriage ride (is it in or is it around Central Park) - where would we pick this up and any idea of cost?

 

Thanks so much in advance

 

If you enjoy walking, it is possible and practical to walk to Rockefeller Center. You will notice though that the Avenues from 12th to 6th are extremely long.

 

I'm not sure of the cost of carriage rides, but the southern portion of Central Park makes for nice walking. Also, don't be afraid of the stereotype given to crime. Rudy Giuliani did a great job in bringing the crime rate down to among the lowest for U.S. cities. In addition, Central Park now has one of the lowest crime rates in the city. Obviously use common sense (don't walk in unlighted section of the park at 2AM) but don't be afraid to explore and enjoy!

[allnamestaken]

As the others have noted, you can easily walk to Rock from the cruise terminal, but since you have a limited time in the city, it may be worth it just to hop a cab there. Once you are done seeing the Center, you can walk up 5th Ave (north as the the street numbers get bigger) and get a carriage at 59th St. Most of the carriages are lined up across the street from the Plaza Hotel. Alternatively, you can take a pedicab through the park, but I don't know what the rates are for either.

[divetrash]

Hey allnamestaken!

 

I was in the Chef's table with you (the solo gal with the short brown hair). I have to agree that the Chef's table was TOTALLY worth the extra charge. A really great experience from start to finish. It's funny because I remarked to the the ladies at the end of my table that it felt like a cross between Top Chef and Iron Chef too. Definitely food porn all the way.

 

I sort of agree about St. John too. It's quaint and charming, but they roll the sidewalks up at 5 o'clock the only thing left open are the pubs and the bingo hall. Which is why I was surprised by the fact that they stayed late in the port! I'd been before, so I definitely didn't take this cruise for the port. It was just a run away cruise for me.

 

BTW, your birthday cake was pretty good, but coming on top of the warm chocolate melting cake, rasberry sorbet and almond cake with marscapone cream, I thought I might explode!

 

Take care! And maybe try another one when there isn't a hurricane breaking up around us! LOL! But for all that was going on weather wise, the ride was pretty smooth!

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Laura

[allnamestaken]

Hi Laura!

 

Of course when Chef Michael came to speak with us before the Chef's Table to ask for our likes and dislikes, I said that I would eat anything. I was trying to be adventurous and I gamely ate caviar and other foods that I have not been fond of in the past. However, I detest raspberries and couldn't help but laugh when the plate was put in front of me. I was so happy for the birthday cake!

 

I hope you enjoyed the rest of our cruise!

 

lt

whose real name is just a bit too Google-able for use on message boards :)

[nybumpkin]

Hi allnamestaken - We were on this sailing too. Thanks for posting as a first timer! I think you hit the main reason we like taking cruises - you aren't fiddling around with where to stay, where to eat, etc. You just go aboard the ship and do those activities that appeal to you, skip the others.

 

I like Saint John a lot - it's a nice city with nice people. I like being able to get off the ship and not be confronted with people trying to sell you tours or trinkets or hair braiding or.... Having said that, I wish the 4-day cruise still went to Halifax. If you're into museum-type activities, it's a great town with the Citadel and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. And it's all within walking distance of the pier.

 

When we sailed Glory the first time in 2009 she didn't have the Serenity area, and this was the first ship we've sailed with Serenity. I'm not sure if they could have done better with the location, but it's right outside Camp Carnival, and the door leaving Camp Carnival isn't marked "adults only." That might help cut down on the kid traffic.

 

Liked your comparison of the Chef's Table to Iron Chef - Iron Chef America is my favorite show, and that's exactly how I felt when we went to the Chef's Table on Carnival Pride in July. I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

Are you thinking of another cruise sometime in the future?

[allnamestaken]

Hi Kathy,

 

I think we will definitely sail again and probably on Carnival due to price and convenience. Honestly, sit me in a chair in front of the ocean and I'm happy!

 

lt

[boaterette]

Well bless your heart for posting.

[cruises42]

How would you recommend getting into the city, Lincoln or Holland Tunnel? We'll be coming in I-95 from VA. We've never been in the city and I'm pretty nervous about the drive.

[nybumpkin]

How would you recommend getting into the city, Lincoln or Holland Tunnel? We'll be coming in I-95 from VA. We've never been in the city and I'm pretty nervous about the drive.

I think Lincoln would be easier - you're only about 14 blocks south of the cruise terminal when you exit the tunnel.

 

If you're coming in "off hours," the traffic shouldn't be too bad.

[Jeepers385]

Thanks for the review and your take on it.

We'll be sailing on her on the 25th for the 7 day to Canada and will be taking the train up. Could you tell me what Pier you left from? and we're going to be taking a taxi from Penn Station to the Pier do you think it would cost more than $25?

Appreciate your reply.

Thanks

[anty30]

Allnamestaken,

 

Thanks for the review. You are a great writer.

 

We were on this cruise also and felt the same way about our table mates the first night. However, as each night passed, it was really nice talking to them and they really made the evenings more enjoyable for us. Running into our tablemates on the ship was always fun. It felt like they were old friends by the end of the cruise. ;)

 

BTW, we loved the mongolian wok and the burrito bar. Hated the buffet, it was awful.

[happy cruzer]

Carnival does a great job of providing home port cruises which are a wonderful value. It's a bit of different experience from cruises where folks are investing more time and money and are very interested in the travel/ports. It's more of a vacation vs. travel.

 

Once you understand that and adjust expectations as you did you find it is a very good vacation value. The fact that you participated in the Chefs Table to have a good vacation memory is a good idea. When homeport cruising (i.e. going somewhere that the ports are not the big draw) I love to pick one item to experience that I will remember forever. Since my homeport is near the ruins in Mexico, I usually take one tour to a new site each item.

 

Thanks for the review.