Carnival Glory 8/1/12-8/6/12

[daisitroy]

Just a quick note, will do a longer thread tomorrow, but just off the Carnival Glory from NY to Saint John and Halifax. Overall great time, love those ports, and love the ship. Did notice some service/food issues but will go into more detail later. We still had a good time. Will answer any questions to the best of my ability.

Dot;)

[hockeyluver]

looking forward to reading your review, a good friend was on that cruise her daughter is one of the dancers :D

[daisitroy]

The dancers were amazing during the shows. I don't know how they do it!

[vivavegas]

Welcome Back! Looking forward to reading your full review!:)

[hockeyluver]

The dancers were amazing during the shows. I don't know how they do it!

 

I know my friends daughter left home the beginning of grade 7 and went to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, then when she graduated high school she went to Ryerson in Toronto and studied dance. Alot of hard work and determination. The stories I hear about the hours and hours of practice....:eek: She is loving it though!!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the quick review, looking forward to your full review.

[daisitroy]

Finally My Review of Carnival Glory: (8/1/12-8/6/12)

(warning long)

Just returned from a great cruise on the Carnival Glory to Canada (8/1/12-8/6/12). As previously stated it was a great cruise. Very relaxing and enjoyable. Some background: This was my sixth cruise, fifth cruise with Carnival, third cruise for this Itinerary (Saint John and Halifax), second time on the Glory (we went last summer to both ports). I was traveling with my friend this year. My friend has never been on a Carnival Cruise and really had a wonderful time. Please note I understand reviews are subjective-one person's likes may be another person's dislikes and vice versa. This is based only on my personal experience and other passengers on the same trip may have had a different set of experiences.

Here goes, thanks for waiting! Please note I am not following any particular order, just trying to get it down as I think of it, so bear with me.

Embarkation:

We had received the notice from Carnival regarding delayed boarding at the Port of NY. We had already scheduled our travel arrangements and could not change them. We figured if we were there too early we would walk down and see the Intrepid. We arrived from NJ about 11:45 am, checked our bags, went upstairs to check in, received our cards, got the picture, and boarded the ship. We were eating lunch in the Red Sail Restaurant by 12:05 pm. Perhaps the quickest boarding I have ever experienced in NY!

Room:

We had a balcony room on the Verandah Deck. The room was very clean. I did think the room actually seemed smaller than the Oceanview room we stayed in last year. The two single beds were practically on top of one another, and I don't recall that from last year. It may have been the configuration of the room, or the space needed for the balcony. Not a big deal just thought I would mention it, in case someone needs extra space in their room, they may want to consider that when booking. It was nice having the balcony, especially the morning we sailed back into NYC, saw the skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

Room Steward:

We had a very nice room steward named Marvin. The room was always clean and tidy. Towel animals at night. We left a note everyday for the ice bucket to be kept filled which it always was. All the stewards were very friendly and always greeted us and we walked through the hallways.

Emergency Drill:

Seemed a little more structured and more information given this time around. It was almost 20-25 minutes long, maybe longer and it was hot, but it is a necessary part of the cruise experience.

Dining/Dining Room Service:

Here is the part where I think Carnival fell a little short this year. I know food reviews are subjective and based upon individual tastes. I do admit I am a particular eater and there are certain foods I do not eat. I have never had any trouble before ordering entrees in the main dining room on cruises; however this trip the selection at times did not strike my fancy, which is not to say that other people did not like it either. Just my take on the food. A couple times, I found the food not edible, the waiter did offer to replace it, but I made up for it with extra desserts and either ordered room service later or grabbed a sandwich from the deli. One night we skipped the dining room and ate at the buffet and the food was delicious in that venue. I never felt the need to skip the main dining room before.

The service in the dining room during dinner also was a little less than stellar this year. Our wait staff was very pleasant and professional, but they did seem a little rushed and harried. Part of it may have been due to the fact they had three large tables of at least 10 people and our small table of 4 people. Not that they forgot about us, with just so many people to serve it was hard on them to get to everyone at once. We had to ask for Ice Tea every night, sometimes even if we asked at the start of the meal; we never received it until dessert even with repetitive asking. Same for a glass of milk for the young man who was dining at our table.

I think the wait staff did the best that they could and they tried very hard, but they were just overwhelmed with the amount of people in their charge. I know they work very hard. I will say the desserts and appetizers in the main dining room were good, and it was often hard to decide which ones to get since they all sounded so good!

Other Dining Options:

We had breakfast and lunch in the main dining room one morning and one sea day and the choices were fine, the food was good, and the service was very attentive. It was also a nice way to meet other passengers. Everyone was very friendly.

Breakfast and lunch in the buffet was also good. We never waited in line as either we went just as the lines were opening or waited until the peak serving time had ended.

I loved the Burrito Bar and the Deli. They were great options. My friend enjoyed the Pizza and the Fish and Chips. We also tried room service and the BLT was delicious. (I guess we did eat quite a bit-it didn't seem that way at the time!)

The buffet area had a Taco Bar one day which was really good and a Dessert Bar. So many items to choose from! How can one be hungry-if you didn't find something good to eat in one venue, just try another!

Creams Cafe is kind of like a Starbucks type of place, it does cost money, but I loved the Iced Moccachinos. Had to have one every day!

Activities/Entertainment:

There was always something to do. Trivia games, contests, Live music above the pool area, Casino, The Olympics were being shown on the big screen, I had bought some magazines and a book, but never really got to read. It was fun to check out the different events and see what was happening. We saw four shows on board, the Rock Show, the Illusion Show, the America Show, and one of the comedy shows. There was only show I did not enjoy. The rest were great and in all the shows, even the ones I did not like the dancing and singing was amazing. The lead female singer was excellent and hopefully will hit it big one day. Josh was the cruise director for this trip.

Ports/Excursions:

Saint John is a quaint city. The port was clean and the people were friendly. We did the Railway Tour over the Reversing Falls, and even though it was a foggy day, it was one of the best tours I have done. The guide was wonderful and entertaining and the tour itself was enjoyable.

Halifax is another nice port city. We did the Horse and Trolley Tour which was a nice way to see some of the parts of the city away from the waterfront. There was a national holiday being celebrated the day we were in Halifax and it was crowded with vendors, street performers, families, people just walking along the waterfront and taking in the sights and sounds.

Weather:

We had a lot of fog, which I was fascinated by. One minute it would be warm and then the wind would start blowing, and it would be chilly. Best advice: dress in layers so you can be comfortable. You may get lucky and have all sunny days as we did on our first cruise to this region. You just never know! Just a side vent: I could not believe the number of people who really seemed to think the weather was something that could be controlled. Unfortunately, it can't!

Disembarkation:

We were assigned zones for disembarkation. Once they started calling zones we were off pretty quickly. Found our luggage and had to go to the outside upstairs sidewalk to wait for our ride back home. If I can figure out to travel with less I might try the self disembark next time, as they were one of the first groups let off the ship.

Cleanliness:

Overall, the ship was clean. The tables were always being bussed in the buffet areas. They don't use trays anymore, the dishes are bigger. It is a little difficult to balance a dish of food and a glass, especially if the floor is slippery. Just be careful.

Staff:

Staff was courteous and friendly.

Bottom line:

If you have read this far, I thank you for reading. Sorry if I digressed a little bit. We had a great time. I would cruise again with Carnival (in fact I will be on the Pride in two weeks), but maybe I will try a new cruise line just to see. I tried to write a fair and balanced review. I just kind of went with the flow on this cruise and as I already said, I enjoyed it.

I would be happy to answer specific questions to the best of my ability. Hope this review is helpful!

Happy Cruising!

Dot

[SKeighley]

gREAT REVIEW

we were on the Glory 7/21 to 27 out of Boston. My second time on the Glory. I like the way you stated the different likes and dislikes of people. I thought the food was good in the MDR on the first four days but fell short on our last day. Maybe they changed chefs. It was our first time to St John and Halifax, but we loved the trip so much we booked it again for June 2013.

[daisitroy]

gREAT REVIEW

we were on the Glory 7/21 to 27 out of Boston. My second time on the Glory. I like the way you stated the different likes and dislikes of people. I thought the food was good in the MDR on the first four days but fell short on our last day. Maybe they changed chefs. It was our first time to St John and Halifax, but we loved the trip so much we booked it again for June 2013.

Thank you. I find food is subjective. It is a matter of personal preference. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I love those ports of call and would return again in a heartbeat.

Dot

[dad son team]

Thanks for the review Dot. I sail on the 30th but only on the 4 night so we won"t be going to Halifax. I have never done this route, only south from NY so I'm not sure how I will like it. I'm not a sun worshipper but I do enjoy sitting in the sun by the pool people watching and reading a book so I hope the weather cooperates. If not I'm sure I will be fine. I cruise with the ship as the destination so I'll certainly find something to do.

[daisitroy]

Thanks for the review Dot. I sail on the 30th but only on the 4 night so we won"t be going to Halifax. I have never done this route, only south from NY so I'm not sure how I will like it. I'm not a sun worshipper but I do enjoy sitting in the sun by the pool people watching and reading a book so I hope the weather cooperates. If not I'm sure I will be fine. I cruise with the ship as the destination so I'll certainly find something to do.

Enjoy your cruise. The weather has always been different each time we went. I never found it to ever be too cold to sit outside, unless it was raining, even on the chilly days. I wore my sweatshirt so I could sit outside. One of my favorite places though to hang out were the seats along the 5th floor near the casino. They overlooked windows and cozy. I saw people napping all the time in that area. Have a great trip.

[lidodeckbound]

Thanks for the info on Glory! We will be on her on the 4 night August 16th. I sure hope the weather cooperates! But if not, I am sure we will have a blast either way!

[daisitroy]

Thanks for the info on Glory! We will be on her on the 4 night August 16th. I sure hope the weather cooperates! But if not, I am sure we will have a blast either way!

Enjoy your cruise.

[Stevedan]

I was on the same cruise and same deck as Dot. I concur with her opinions almost 100%. We felt the ship had the same strong points and same drawbacks.

[daisitroy]

I was on the same cruise and same deck as Dot. I concur with her opinions almost 100%. We felt the ship had the same strong points and same drawbacks.

Glad to hear from someone on the cruise. Hope you had a good trip.

[alexkrn46]

Great review thanks!

[daisitroy]

Great review thanks!

Thank you!