Carnival Glory Review-Eastern Caribbean Jan 27-Feb 3

[Ciardasully]

Hi! I'm enjoying your review and your photos. I will be on the Glory out of Norfolk, Va. in May as are a few others that have posted here. Are you going to be able to post any pictures of the pool areas of the ship or any of the new venues such as Guy's Burger Joint? Thanks for taking the time to post your review. :)

 

That is so exciting that you will be sailing out of Norfolk. We loved the ship and had a good time.

 

Now...I am a dork. I realized that I never went swimming in the pool. I went to the beach in Grand Turk, went to the hot tubs a couple of times and went swimming before the cruise in Key West. I don't care for crowds so I didn't really go to the pool. Also, I can be a sleepyhead so Bryon went a few times while I was still sleeping.

 

So here are the few photos I have of the pool. Since this is my first cruise and hence, my first review, I realized there were many more things I should have taken photos of. I guess it's all a learning curve. Oh and I went to Guys on our last sea day which should be coming up later. We are heading out to dinner with friends (and ones we hope to convince to go cruising with us!)

 

 

 

[jaxie001]

:D Ohh my gosh, thanks so much for taking the time to write this fantastic pictorial review! And Congratulations on your wedding:)

 

My fiance and I (along with our kids and some other family and friends) will be doing the same itinerary on the Glory in May, and getting married in St Thomas. It's been so helpful to read and see the pics and I plan to forward the link to all our sailing guest, none of which have cruised before. I think this will be a great read for them.

 

Did you happen to save any of the fun times from the ship? And I'de be curious to know how many drinks made the Cheers program worthwhile..Like yourselves I don't want the unknown bar bill either at the end, but not sure if it would be useful for some of our guests. Any advice appreciated :)

 

Again Thanks for taking the time to write your review :)

[Ciardasully]

:D Ohh my gosh, thanks so much for taking the time to write this fantastic pictorial review! And Congratulations on your wedding:)

 

My fiance and I (along with our kids and some other family and friends) will be doing the same itinerary on the Glory in May, and getting married in St Thomas. It's been so helpful to read and see the pics and I plan to forward the link to all our sailing guest, none of which have cruised before. I think this will be a great read for them.

 

Did you happen to save any of the fun times from the ship? And I'de be curious to know how many drinks made the Cheers program worthwhile..Like yourselves I don't want the unknown bar bill either at the end, but not sure if it would be useful for some of our guests. Any advice appreciated :)

 

Again Thanks for taking the time to write your review :)

 

Thank you and Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! St. Thomas will be an amazing place to get married! I am honored that you will send my review for the first time cruisers to read. I read lots of reviews before my first cruise (Glory and other ships too) so I wanted to help other first time cruisers and entertain the not-so-new cruisers. Plus, I have enjoyed it because it's like I am reliving my trip.

 

Just to warn you, if you go to the Love and Marriage show, they pick the newest married couple (along with the longest married couple and one in between.) That will most likely be you! On our ship, the Love and Marriage show was originally scheduled on Wed but got moved to Sat to accommodate the Playlist shows that had been canceled earlier that week due to the rough seas. Every couple won a bottle of champagne.

 

As far as the Cheers Program, Bryon said we saved money but not a huge amount. Bryon might have more to add on that. He's the numbers person in the couple.

 

I am sad to say that we didn't get copies of the Funtimes :(. We tore the schedule off every day (it's perferated for easy carrying) and I didn't think to grab another copy at guest services which would be easy enough :(

Edited February 9, 2013 by Ciardasully

[afreetdragon]

Sea Day: The seas were very choppy. Bryon was feeling seasick (though I didn't believe him at first) but we attempted Brunch.

 

Bryon ordered Eggs Benedict and I ordered the chocolate chip pancakes.

 

 

Bryon and I went back to the room and slept. We woke up and went to the Cruise Critic Private Party. Unfortunately I only took one photo and this was it.

 

 

Then we went to Pirate Pizza and had a snack.

 

 

I went back and sat on the balcony.

 

 

 

Coming Up Next: Dinner!

 

Thanks for the memories! I'm in the middle of the meet n greet photo. That was an awesome party.

[Eng23]

Thanks for the reply and pictures. It's funny how you mention a learning curve in regard to posting a review. I know what you mean as I just recently did a review of the Allure of the Seas. Everytime I thought I had included all the hot spots or some detail about a port I found myself going back and adding things I forgot or someone asked about. :D

 

You are doing great. Keep up the good work. :cool:

[Ciardasully]

Thanks for the memories! I'm in the middle of the meet n greet photo. That was an awesome party.

 

Aw, I missed meeting you :(

[Ciardasully]

Thanks for the reply and pictures. It's funny how you mention a learning curve in regard to posting a review. I know what you mean as I just recently did a review of the Allure of the Seas. Everytime I thought I had included all the hot spots or some detail about a port I found myself going back and adding things I forgot or someone asked about. :D

 

You are doing great. Keep up the good work. :cool:

 

I am sure I will have a miscellaneous post at the end for things I forgot :) And I think, why didn't I take a photos of the burrito bar when getting my burrito? I'll have a sharper eye next time. Plus, I was a little overwhelmed the first day or two so I hope next time I won't be overwhelmed because I will be a pro! :D Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I am glad you are enjoying the review.

[Ciardasully]

By the time Sat rolled around, we became sad because it was our last day.

 

I was a sleepyhead and Bryon went for a swim. I ran down to get a breakfast burrito and I grabbed eggs benedict off the buffet for Bryon. We watched the morning show and our Cruise Director Josh said that our cruise was not over and we still have 1/7 of the cruise.

 

Bryon and I stopped in the casino. He played some blackjack and I did some slots and lost $30. Oh well.

 

We decided to go to the talk on future cruises. We found it boring. The guy giving the presentation first kept talking about getting the Carnival Mastercard. Bryon and I have a United SkyMiles card (funneled all our wedding costs through that) so we are not interested in having two rewards cards. Then the guy started talking about ships and kept telling us to go to the website. So...that's what we did. We left and went to the computer area. It costs money to access the internet except for the Carnival website.

 

 

We hadn't gone mini-golfing yet so we decided to go. We went to the Lido deck to check out golf clubs and the balls. It was a cool day outside.

 

 

Ship in the distance.

 

 

 

Needless to say, I had a bad day and lost. Here is Bryon in all his glory. (No pun intended.)

 

 

Bryon asked me if I wanted to take a close up of the card and him beating me for my review. I said no, I would tell them I lost by a large margin (I hate losing.) Well later on when I was in the bathroom, Bryon took my camera and took a picture of the card. So here is the pic.

 

[Ciardasully]

We had a snack from Pirate's Pizza. If they do not have the type of pizza you want when you order, it is usually only a 7 minute wait.

 

 

Pizza wasn't enough so I went to Guy's Burger because I hadn't had one yet. Bryon had had a couple but he wanted a Pig Patty with chipotle mayo. I made him write his order on the back of a receipt so I wouldn't forget it. Guy's Burgers was busy and I was expected to know what I wanted right away. The workers seemed a little rushed. I knew what Bryon wanted and I just quickly chose a cheeseburger.

 

 

Fixing bar.

 

 

And yes those are potato sticks on a cheeseburger because it just looked cool.

 

 

This was Rohan. Rohan was really funny. Bryon had taught him how to make "Half and Half's" (Or Black and Tans) and Rohan was excited to learn something new. We had fun. We sat there and talked to friends. Sadly, Rohan had to leave to go work for a private party. We left shortly thereafter.

 

[Ciardasully]

I wanted to go to tea time. Luckily Bryon was a good sport about it. Also, some friends of ours were coming, a young couple. We arrived before they did and got a look at the demographic. It was mostly older woman with a few husbands in the mix. Our friends showed up shortly thereafter.

 

A bad pic of tea. Not even sure if this photos was intentional.

 

 

Yummy goodies. They had many desserts and salmon items. Bryon and I don't like salmon so I didn't get any photos of those.

 

 

[bmckim]

FYI. They will not send a bar waiter over during High Tea. If you would like a drink, bring it with you. I asked a few times for Scotch flavored tea.

[Ciardasully]

Bryon decided to go back to the casino and I went to Hasbro the Game Show with our friends.

 

We walked in at the end of the first round. Each participant picked a Monopoly piece and at the end each piece would reveal a monetary value and the highest one is the winner.

 

 

Josh, our cruise director, was the host.

 

 

There was a break with an old Mr. Potato Head commercial.

 

 

It was life-size SIMON. Each team had to memorize the order and get into it. But they would change colors each turn so it was challenging.

 

 

 

The winner at the end. I can't remember what he won but all contestants for a Hasbro card game and a $20 giftcard to Hasbro.com

 

[Ciardasully]

I finally got some Sunset photos though the sun eventually went behind the clouds.

 

 

 

 

 

[perfect match]

Thanks, great review! Decided to read it because some friends of ours just booked a western Caribbean cruise on the Glory for the end of March. After reading your review, I'm sure they will have a great time on this ship!

[Ciardasully]

Hard to believe this was our last dinner.

 

Bryon got the frogs legs and I got the Grilled Chicken Breast served over Fettucine with Mushroom Sauce.

 

 

 

Bryon got the Prime Rib and an order of Macaroni and Cheese (with Bacon!) I had the Macaroni and Cheese.

 

 

 

Greg asked me if I was getting the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake and I surprised him by saying no. For the first time all cruise, I changed my dessert. I wanted Cappuccino Pie. Bryon ordered the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. I liked the Cappuccino Pie but I think the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake was better.

 

 

Next up: Good-byes

[Ciardasully]

Thanks, great review! Decided to read it because some friends of ours just booked a western Caribbean cruise on the Glory for the end of March. After reading your review, I'm sure they will have a great time on this ship!

 

Thank you! I am sure your friends will enjoy their cruise. :)

Edited February 10, 2013 by Ciardasully

[Ciardasully]

We got our final singing from the waiters. They sang "Leaving, on a Funship" (Instead of Leaving on a Jet Place) and then did an encore rendition of "Gangnam Style"

 

 

We said Goodbye to Greg (he is between Bryon and I) and Jesus.

 

 

And this was Michael, our bartender.

 

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the nice review, and wonderful pictures.

[Ciardasully]

Thanks for the nice review, and wonderful pictures.

 

Thank you so much!

[Ciardasully]

After dinner, Bryon and I attempted another trivia and then we stayed for Q&A with our Cruise Director Josh "Big Sexy."

 

 

 

Josh isn't as evil as this photo makes him. He is a great guy. He answered lots of questions about the ship, what it is like to work on a ship and even how he got the "Big Sexy" name. (In case you are wondering, he got the nickname along the way working on a ship and tried to shake it. He went to go work on another ship and enough crew members from the old ship were also working on the new ship so the name "Big Sexy" followed him.)

 

He also talked about how he met his wife on his second day working at Carnival on the Carnival Holiday. It was a sweet story.

 

This was Big Sexy's first ever Q&A and I am glad he took the time to talk to us.

 

 

We went back to our room to pack before the Love and Marriage Show.

 

Edited February 10, 2013 by Ciardasully

[Ciardasully]

Bryon and I went back to our room and packed and then head back to Amber Palace for the Love and Marriage Show.

 

The sad hallway.

 

 

We had to sit through Bingo (remember the caller is the most obnoxious person ever) and then the Love and Marriage Show began.

 

 

The couple on the right got married on the ship, the couple on the left had married the longest and then there was a couple in the middle. There were 8 contenders for that and the men had to do a Tarzan call go get the honors.

 

 

After the Love and Marriage Show, we met up with our friends at Alchemy Bar.

 

 

And we said Good-Bye to Aleksandra and Ioana.

 

 

And then a few of us went to the Lido deck for one last slice of pizza. The O2 kids where there.

 

 

I didn't want the night to end but Bryon and I finally made it back to our room at 1:15 am (the latest we stayed out all cruise.)

[Ciardasully]

Oh Miami, I am so sad to see you.

 

 

And we are going 0 knots per hour. (Now, Bryon and I were dorks and actually liked watching Channel 14)

 

 

Since we had purchased FTTF it meant that we had luggage tags for Zone 1 and that we could get off the ship right away. We went up to Lido but the buffet lines were long so we grabbed on last breakfast burrito. We did see our waiter Greg and we got to have a conversation with him. We were friendly during dinner but he is so busy so this was the first time we got to hear about his family and such.

 

Then Bryon and I Debarked.

 

On vacation...on vacation...not on vacation...

 

 

We got our luggage and customs was quick.

 

 

 

We weren't leaving Fort Lauderdale till later and planned to spend the day at Gulf Stream but only stayed for two races and then we went to the airport and were on our way home.

 

 

Bryon and I are definitely going to go on a Cruise #2 though we need to crunch numbers. Thank you for reading and see you next review!

Edited February 11, 2013 by Ciardasully

[kdunn6]

What a great pictures and a great review. Alot of time went it to it. Will be on the Glory in 2 weeks, taking our 12 year old grandson with us. He got a kick out of all the food pictures, says he will not be trying anything "weird". I hope we have just as much fun as you did.

[HappyChappy]

Cracking review folks. Its an awful feeling when it ends.

 

We spent our last full day in America at Gulfstream Racecourse as that where our friends were going and we had nothing planned. Didnt win anything but had a lovely meal at the Irish Bar on the upper level.

 

Would love to cruise with you guys sometime.

 

At the moment we have to wait till 10th June when we board the Splendour in NYC.

[ruledbymercury]

Great review, cuz! Looks like you and Bryon had an amazing time. You both looked so happy in all the pics. I love it! So happy for you two! The Alchemy Bar looks fun! Love all the fort pics in San Juan...I love an old Spanish fort. Can't get much cooler than that for us history nerds. Someday you will have to go to St. Augustine so you can check out the Castillo De San Marcos.

 

I couldn't find my ancient CC acct (I think I started it back in 2005 when I was planning my trip with Tadd and Rick on the Triumph!), so I started a new one. Getting ready to plan our sailing on the Breeze. This time it might be just me and Tadd, which is absolutely fine. Still trying to convince a few others to go, but all else fails, it will be a romantic trip for 2. :D