Carnival Glory 11/13 Western Caribbean - First Time Cruiser trip report

[grrlscout]

Hey all!

 

First time cruiser here, so please take what I say from that perspective. I have nothing to compare this trip to.

 

The players: Myself, my girl, and 21 friends and friends of friends, mostly from Phoenix.

 

The occasion: 40th birthday for one of above-mentioned friends.

 

Some of the group flew to FLL, we and some others, went to MIA. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, Port of Miami

 

 

Pretty much across the street from the Port.

 

 

We spent the night buying / stashing our hooch and raising a ruckus with another group going on the same cruise, from Atlanta.

 

The next morning, breakfast, and the cabbed over to the port. We got there around 11 am, and check in went suuuuuuper fast. But then we waited and hour or so before we could board. Then, so long Miami!

 

 

The first night was fun (from what I remember). I believe we ate in the dining room that night. We were slated for Your Time. But two of the group couldn't come at the last minute, so we took their seats at the table they shared with our other friends.

 

Ack! I have a meeting. But I shall continue this shortly.

[grrlscout]

Hehe! I'm posting in the meeting from my phone.

 

I forgot to mention our cabin. We were on 8, dead center, aft. I thought it was quite spacious and comfortable. It was across the hall from the pool pump. You really only heard it when they opened the access door. Even then, it was just a hum.

 

We had friends next door, port. On the starboard, some strangers, then in the corner and the next two rooms, more friends. Our guy Irwin (who was fantastic) opened up the balcony dividers, so we had one huge balcony to gather on.

 

Ok, back to the food. I'd say I'm a foodnik. I did my research before the trip, and my expectations were not high. I probably should have lowered them a little more.

 

Across the board, I found the food to be underwhelming - over cooked, under seasoned, just very... Meh. I didn't find much of a difference between dining room and buffet meals, other than the service. Lines for alternative dining were often very long.

 

Things I did like, food-wise: grabbing some sushi before dinner, grilled cheese sammiches from the deli, having bagel and lox delivered in the morning.

 

Ok... More in a bit, when I'm back at my desk, so I can include pics.

[CasinoQueen]

Thank you for your Review......Keep it comming :)

[grrlscout]

Oh and we had dinner at the steakhouse one night (Thursday). That was the best meal of the cruise, by far. I had no complaints there.

 

Coffee was total weaksauce too. Thankfully, some Starbucks Vias, visits to the coffee bar, and the occasional dose of Bailey's carried me through.

 

ANYWAY.

 

First night at sea, mostly hung around in the sports bar, since that's where most of my our friends chose to congregate, since they are huge football fans. I have zero interest in sports, so I socialized, or wandered off the explore from time to time.

 

Then we had a day at sea. That morning, I got up early, ate my bagel and lox on the balcony, and then explored the ship, end to end, top to bottom. Window-shopped and borrowed a book from the library.

 

Later on, I spent a little time by the pool (Azure, I think - the adult one) and in the hot tub. But I have a pool and sunshine at home, so after about an hour, I was done.

 

More socializing on the big balcony / sports barring... I was sooooo tired. But I wanted to go to the Friends of Dorothy M&G. I managed to stay up, and corral everyone over there. But we didn't stay too long. Everyone was boisterous and irritating the citizenry, I'm sure. :o I made my exit, and blessedly, to bed.

[grrlscout]

The next morning, we got up bright and early for our first port day: Cozumel!

 

A lot of our group were planning on going to Carlos n Charlie's. But that's just not my kind of deal. Four of us grabbed a cab to Playa Corona, for snorkeling and relaxation

 

 

 

We got there about an hour before opening. But we were able to get changed, and get some snorkeling in while we waited. Plus we scored a primo table.

 

 

We had planned on bailing from there around lunch time to grab some food in town, and then head to a couples massage at Cozumel Spa.

 

Then we spied a lady setting up shop in a tent just for massages. Instead, we ate lunch there, and I got a very nice 30 minute massage from the lady (Susanna).

 

We needed a change of venue, and the manager suggested Las Boyas, and called us a cab. As we were piling into the cab, I spotted a plant nearby, and asked him if it was epazote.

 

He was pleased I knew what it was, and then gestured me over to the side of the building, where he had planted his habaneros, and he offered me one.

 

It became my first souvenir.

 

[Jess S]

I sail on Sunday on the Glory, keep it coming please!

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Nice start!! Can't wait to hear more!

[grrlscout]

Las Boyas was just what we were looking for -- out of the way, and not too touristy. Very interesting interior as well.

 

 

The ceiling is also draped with dozens and dozens of the namesake buoys.

 

The drink selection is pretty pared down. But that was fine by me. Some Sol, and a little sipping tequila, and I'm a happy girl.

 

 

Since it's a cantina, the snacks were frequent, and delicious.

 

They started out pretty tame - some peanuty extruded corn thingies out of a bag.

 

Then, some simple nachos - tortilla chips, with homemade salsa, and a little crumble of queso fresco.

 

So then, I think they tried to see how serious we were about authentic food. They brought out a little conch ceviche. It was sooo freakin good! Limey, spicy, and simple. The conch was tender and fresh.

 

 

That was followed by another plate of conch, since we gobbled the first one up, and some simmered pork rind. It tasted like those crispy fried pork rinds, but soft and juicy. The texture took me by surprise, but the flavor was divine.

 

 

Then there was a plate of fries (meh), a semi-spicy ground beef and potato hash (tasty!), and some of the most delicious chicken wings I have ever had.

 

He said they got the chicken fresh this morning. It tasted as if it was marinated in something tart and salty, and then quickly fried. They were so juicy and crispy on the outside.

 

The manager / dj / bartender (Julian) was an superb host as well. He kept the food and drinks coming, and we had a lot of very interesting conversation with him. Julian's wife did all the cooking.

 

Sadly, we had to grab another cab and head back to port, exhausted, and stuffed. Pretty sure I crashed super early that night.

 

[grrlscout]

Next morning, same deal. Get up early, wolf down some breakfast, head downstairs. Belize was a tendered port, and we were in group 4.

 

On the agenda, cave tubing with cave-tubing.com (the "Butts Up" people). About 6 of us made it there quickly, no problem. But we were missing 6 more. We waited and waited at the terminal. And yes, it seems very sketchy around there.

 

 

Finally, 4 more came, and we hopped on the bus to go. We figured the other two just weren't coming. By then, it was almost 10:00am - we were an hour behind!

 

We were picked up in an old charter bus with a bullet hole in the windshield and dilapidated old pa system. But it was relatively cool inside and the seats were comfy.

 

The crew introduced themselves, went over their patter, and busted out the cashew wine and rum punch

 

 

Note aforementioned bullet hole:

 

Our guides kept the chuckles coming, but without being too cheesy or rehearsed. The complimentary cashew wine and rum punch certainly didn't hurt. Btw, stick with the wine - the punch tastes like Tang (or just sling it back fast).

 

After about a 45 minute drive, we arrived at their pavilion in the forest. We had a chance to change clothes and stash our stuff before hopping onto the quads.

 

We took a very rutted, wet, muddy quad trail through the jungle, and it was a total blast!

 

After the ride, we took a short van ride down to the park where the caves are.

 

[ Sorry, no pics yet. I took all the cave tubing pics on a water-proof disposable, that I haven't had developed yet ]

 

Don't expect a peaceful, quiet hike. The park and trail are jam-packed with tourists doing exactly the same thing. Since we were running late, we really hoofed it along the trail. We probably passed 4 or 5 other groups.

 

There are a couple different put in points. We went to one farther upstream. This way, you float through two caves. While the first one is cool, it doesn't even compare to the second. But it is less crowded.

 

The put in is very well organized. The guide gets in first and has the guests link ankles under armpits, to form a single column. The guide then pulled us along.

 

We were issued headlamps, rather than helmets. They are lighter for us to carry and cooler on our heads, though weak. There were so many groups jammed into the caves, there was plenty of light anyway.

 

The water and caves were gorgeous. I was dying to jump off my tube and take a dip. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and masses of people, we weren't allowed.

 

We were allowed to take off our life vests though, and they made nice pillows. Since Richard did all the work of tugging us down the river, we had nothing to do but take in the beauty.

 

After the float it was a blessedly brief walk to the bus, which whisked us back to the pavilion. There, lunch awaited us, and our dry clothes. Lunch was homemade chicken tamales. There, they stuff the masa with a whole dang chicken leg. So watch for bones. The masa was a bit gelatinous, I assume from chicken fat, but it was quite tasty, and included. We enjoyed a local brew as well, and took a couple for the road.

 

 

As Richard promised, there was no need to stress about getting that last tender. We were back at port with almost an hour to spare.

 

[grrlscout]

I don't even remember what I did that night. It might have been the one where we tried to catch the name that 70s & 80s TV theme song. But by the time we made it our seats it was over. That's right. It lasted all of 15 minutes.

 

The other entertainment thing I was going to do was the mixologist thing. But when I read that you're supposed to charm the audience and "personality counts," I interpreted that to mean that if you are bubbly and show off your tatas, you'll probably win. So I wadded up my application and threw it in the trash. Turns out, I was right.

 

ANYWAY... Roatan.

 

 

It was our shortest port of call, and we were an hour late. We had reserved scooters for the day, so that made the short time extra sucky. Luckily, they were able to change our reservation to a half day.

 

The Captain's Van's van picked us up outside the port gates and whisked us away to the West End. After what seemed like heaps of paperwork and IDs, we finally had our scooters, and we put-putted off through traffic and up into the hills.

 

We finally made our way to the West Bay (?) and the Thirsty Turtle.

 

I frolicked in the water, drank beer, and got an epic sunburn. I veered from my "beer only" rule and got a cocktail, and quickly regretted it. Boy howdy that was strong. If I didn't know better, I'd think they slipped some grain alcohol in there. ;)

 

BTW keep an eye out for the ladies toting boxes around the beach with foil poking out of the sides. I spied a local buying something from one of them, and then pounced on the next one I saw.

 

Turns out, they are selling pasteles.. little meat pies in a corn masa shell or pastry. Deeeelish and $2 a piece.

 

 

Off we went again! Up a hill to some resorty place whose name I can't recall. Infinity Bay, maybe?

 

Absolutely no one was there. We had the beach all to ourselves, and found a sandy patch in the middle of the rocks to sit in.

 

Time to head back came way too fast. We had to scoot back down to Captain Van's. I picked up a couple pounds of coffee from a little market across the street, and then we were shuttled back to port.

 

By far this was my favorite port. I want to plan a vacation to JUST Roatan.

 

That night... pretty sure I didn't even eat dinner -- just passed out. :o

[Buckett]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review, I'm really enjoying it so far!

[grrlscout]

Well, shoot. It's about time for me to head home. But tomorrow, I'll cover scuba on Grand Cayman, another day at sea, and the return to Miami. :)

[Duanerice1]

Nice report. Like hearing about other's experiences on the same cruise. Have to agree about the food. Just OK but there was some stuff that was pretty good.

 

Probably saw you at the sports bar as I was watching the game too.

 

keep it coming,

Duane

[Cjlovestocruise]

Yes please finish tomorrow as I am sailling on the Glory on Sunday.

[KY Deb]

Great job with the pics!! I posted my review in the REVIEW section and it is available today. Looks lame after yours (no pics) but gives you an idea of what we experienced. I really enjoyed the Glory.

[hobbyhrs97]

Looking forward to your review,we sail on the Glory in Jan.

[grrlscout]

The ride over to Grand Cayman was a rough one. We both totally hurled that night. :(

 

Since this was a tendered port, and based on our experience at Belize, we made it super crystal clear to our people to please be at the gathering place (Amber Palace) at the crack of dawn. Well, 6:30-ish.

 

This time, all were accounted for at the appointed time and place, with coffee and bagels in-hand. We got the "1" stickers and then sat there for about an hour, until we could board the tenders.

 

What we did not realized was that Grand Cayman is on the same time as ship time. We were ashore an hour earlier than when our SCUBA shuttle was set to arrive.

 

 

We took this opportunity to do a little window-shopping (at those prices, ONLY window-shopping) and grab a hair of the dog at the nearby Hammerhead's. Since we only had a half a bagel and a tepid cup of coffee, and still feeling a little oogey, we shared a little nosh too.

 

Conch chowder

 

And conch fritters

 

The chowder was quite pleasant, and felt good on the ol' tumtum. The fritters reminded me a bit of crabcakes. Not fantastic, but much better than what was on the ship. The rum and ginger was good for nausea as well. ;)

 

It's quite spendy in the CI, so we intentionally stuck with apps. The view was nice too.

 

 

After our snack, we strolled around a bit more, and then it was time for our ride.

[grrlscout]

I forgot to mention... from the moment we pulled into port, I could NOT get over how ridiculously beautiful the water is there.

 

It was very, very pretty around Roatan. But Grand Cayman brought it to a whole other level. I couldn't quite name the color. Azure? Lapis? Amazingly blue, and crystal clear.

 

Anyway, the guy (I think it was Scott), picked us up in the Living the Dream van. We had to cram in, since they usually cap off the tour at 9, and there were 11 of us. We knew this, and were A-OK with squeezing in, being friends and all.

 

Along the way, we chatted about the CI, and us, and him and the crew. The company is run by a trio of expat Brits. At least two of them are pretty good lookin' (the third was unseen), have lovely accents, and call you "darlin'" a lot. Men, hold onto your wives. ;)

 

We headed to a little pier / boat ramp, loaded up, and met the captain (Daniel). The boat and captain can vary, depending on what you're doing.

 

We sped off into that incredible water, signed a bunch of waivers, and went over some diving instructions. Then, dropped anchor, suited up, and one-by-one tested on said skills.

 

 

Most of us have never dived before, and started out really nervous. But the worry quickly melted away, and before you knew it, we forgot all about the tanks and gear and whatnot.

 

After the test, we got on board again, and sped away to another spot, where we could dive on our own, at a deeper reef. I spent 45 minutes just cruising around, gaping at all the gorgeous coral and fish.

 

Of course, I forgot to bring that waterproof disposable down with me. :mad: I told myself that that mistake would just allow me to "live in the moment." ;)

 

Sadly, we did have to surface again, and head back to the pier.

 

[grrlscout]

Another unmemorable night (I think we gambled a little bit), and then, another day at sea.

 

At this point, we were all pretty worn out. Each couple or mini-group pretty much did their own thing. IIRC, we mostly lazed about and watched movies in our cabin. We had that bottle of champagne still. So we have a bunch of mimosas.

 

We had gotten our laundry done (the $15/bag special), and started packing. That night was slated to be one last blowout, and the next morning, insanity -- trying to get off the ship.

 

So we were pretty much packed. We called guest services to ask about the deal for folks with early departures. Our flight was at 11am, and we knew it would be tight, trying to get there on time.

 

I tried my best to get through all our hooch ;) But we still ended up bringing half of it back.

 

 

At 5pm, I got my (now usual) sushi snack:

 

 

GF wanted the Mongolian Wok, and I wanted fish n chips. So I offered to run up and get both. Based on the location of our cabin -- directly below the Red Sail buffet -- I did a lot of running upstairs for meals, snacks, mixers, coffee, etc.

 

I noticed it was chocolate buffet day. When I passed a gap in the line, I snagged a pair of sweet empanada like things, and stuffed them in my pocket. I figured I would head back up and grab dessert after we ate.

 

Boy was I wrong...

 

When I finally found the Mongolian Wok, the line stretched the entire width of the deck. :eek: I thought maybe it was fast-moving, so I waited it out... for 30 minutes. :(

 

I put some napkins on top of the bowl, hoping to keep it somewhat warm, and darted upstairs to get my fish n chips. Certainly, the line there would be shorter.

 

Alas, no. Just as long, if not longer, but moving slightly faster. It took 25 minutes for me to get some fish and chips, fried oysters, and a bbq octopus salad.

 

I guess everyone else had the same idea as I -- hit all the stations you had neglected for the entire cruise. Rookie mistake.

 

By the time I had our entrees, it was 2:25. Chocolate buffet closed in 5 minutes. Oh well. I had our little empanadas.

 

The noodle bowl looked pretty decent. The topping choices were a bit weird. For example, they offered corn and green beans.

 

My fish and chips were a bit greasy, but not too bad. The two filets were each about 4" long, and came with about a dozen shoe string fries.

 

The fried oysters were mostly like slightly seafoody hush puppies. The octopus salad, tough and bland.

 

We ate in the cabin, watched some TV, and then met up with our friends at -- you guessed it -- the sports bar.

 

The entire cruise, we had been meaning to catch a comedy show. But just could NOT hang until 10pm. Since it was the last day, we made a point of making it. I'm glad we did, because it was actually pretty good. :D

 

We stayed for two acts. By then it was about midnight. We toddled back to our cabin to prepare for a busy, and EARLY, morning.

[grrlscout]

It was still dark when the wake up call came at 5:40am. *sob*

 

We threw on the clothes we had laid out the night before, and did a zombie shuffle upstairs for a quick bite to eat and some coffee.

 

Back in the cabin, we tossed any last minute items in our bags, zipped them up, and made our way to the Amber Palace. We were the first ones there, just in time for them to open the doors.

 

No numbers here. You are on your own.

 

As the room slowly filled, the tension mounted. Everyone in there (I assume) had an early flight, and everyone was afraid they would miss it.

 

Since we were so early, we had good seats, right by the door. But more people kept piling in, leaving their luggage by the door, and standing in the way. :mad: The crew kept trying to shoo them off, but they would drift right back into place.

 

After about an hour of this, they made the announcement that would could disembark. CHAOS! :eek:

 

We hurdled over some old people and babies and sprinted to the gangway - first out! :D

 

Well, of the underclass, anyway. I'm sure the Platinum folks got let out earlier. ;)

 

Customs was easy peasy. Though the agent was quite skeptical when he saw my form said "$12". He kept asking, "no jewelry? nothing?"

 

Nope. Two pounds of coffee, a pair of ashtrays that were given to us, and a couple of chile peppers.

 

 

In fact, I think I overestimated the value.

 

We were the only folks at the cab stand. I think it was 8am. The cab driver said that by the time she got back, the place would be a zoo.

 

Check-in, security, all the usual jazz. And finally, a chance to enjoy a nice cortadito and an empanada, while we waited for our flight.

 

[grrlscout]

EPILOGUE

 

We spent about 12 hours traveling back. The airline lost a bag along the way, but delivered it the next day.

 

And I STILL have the sways. Mal de debarquement, anyone?

 

Other than that, it was all good. Not sure that cruising it for me. I like to explore the locales a lot more in-depth, and not have to worry about rushing back to port in time.

 

I am glad I did it. I did like the bargain basement price, and having a cosy room and bed every night. I also liked being able to survey the various destinations before committing to a trip.

 

It was also a good solution for traveling with a group. Everyone could do their own thing, and then reconvene periodically for "together time." I would certainly go with my extended family.

[grrlscout]

Great job with the pics!! I posted my review in the REVIEW section and it is available today. Looks lame after yours (no pics) but gives you an idea of what we experienced. I really enjoyed the Glory.

 

Thank you! I enjoyed your review as well.

 

Did your hubs happen to wear a UK baseball cap? If so, I think we sat behind your guys while waiting to arrive at one of the tendered ports.

[Cjlovestocruise]

Thank you for your review. I enjoyed reading it. We sail on the Glory on Sunday.

[Sir Tyne]

Thanks GrrlScout for the review. We sail on the Glory on Sunday. How was the sushi on board?

[grrlscout]

Thanks GrrlScout for the review. We sail on the Glory on Sunday. How was the sushi on board?

 

You're welcome and happy sailing!

 

The sushi was OK. Better than grocery store sushi, not as good as sushi bar sushi. I thought it was a nice change, and the perfect appetizer while waiting for the restaurants to open.

 

They have a set menu every day of three pieces, that changes daily.

 

I found the rice a bit dry, crumbly, and broken. The quality of the filling varied, but universally, it seems they were light on the fish, and heavy on the filler (cream cheese, mayo, vegetables)

 

When they did include an actual piece of fish, I thought it was pretty decent quality.