Carnival Glory - Western Caribbean - April 28 - May 5, 2013

[santacap]

I was in search of reviews for the Carnival Glory leading up to the trip, and had a hard time finding recent ones so I thought I would add one up to those looking like myself. She will be leaving soon for a repositioning cruise to Canada so maybe the ports won't help but alas, it was our trip.

 

We booked Faster to the Fun and for us, getting our rooms and luggage very fast was worth the price alone. We didn't utilize the priority tendering since in both tender ports we had Carnival excursions, but can see the value there. The personal guest services line was used, and became frustrating but more on that in a second. Debarkation wasnt a value for this either as we had a post cruise stay booked at the Savoy in Miami. I will definitely purchase this again.

 

We also purchased the 'cheers' program. We didnt stick it to the man, lol, but it was definitely worthwhile for us. Partly because it was nice to know exactly what our bar bill would be at the end of the week, and partly because we do enjoy a cocktail or 15. I did get to the maximum and was very politely told that I could not get anymore, which was fine with me and not at all a hidnerance to anything done on board.

 

The issue with guest services came when I was trying to open up the balcony divider between ours and my mothers room. We were told pre-cruise, no problem. I called to guest services and after some background typing and 'checking' was told this would block a door. I went out and looked and it would not block anything and was totally possible. I then called back and was told that my side of this ship was not possible due to 'safety concerns'. IMO this was used to get me to not ask again. I mentioned it to my steward and he had a confused look and said he did it last week. I called back down and got it done this time, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I don't know why they were discouraging this, but was very frustrated being lied too to get me off the phone.

 

Our stops were Cozumel, Belize, Roatan and Grand Cayman with two sea days bookending the ports. We have sailed this itinerary before and it did not disappoint. Travelling were my wife and 4 year old son, and a group of 30 + family and friends.

 

Some pics of around the ship on first day or so...

 

 

 

 

 

[santacap]

First stop - Cozumel - Nachi Cocum

 

When we booked this cruise, Nachi Cocum was probably the only 'for sure' excursion we would do without even thinking. We have done it once before in our 3 stops before to Cozumel and with our son loving the water and anything to do with the water it was a no brainer. My wife got the beach massage, and I got to jet ski so we all had fun too.

 

For a short cab ride from the pier we had the full day at the beach for 50 bucks a person including alcohol and 3 courses of food which were all fantastic. If you didnt like the beach, there was a swimming pool with swim up bar. The waiters were fast and attentive, and answered all our questions and took great care of the kids.

 

probably one of the best values we have found at port for us, as we get full use out of everything.

 

We did some shopping around the port on our return and got Josh a pair of 'Oakleys' because his broke in transport. The guy was doing the hard sell and initially wanted 65 bucks to which I of course laughed and walked away as they are not oakleys nor would I spend 65 bucks on a pair of sunglasses I'd be happy to get a weeks use out of... he tried to get me back in yelling 1 dollar, but when I went back he said 20... i went to another store and got them for 10...

 

some pics of nachi cocum and Cozumel

 

 

 

 

65 dollar oakleys

 

[finalcloud]

Thanks for the pictures. I've been looking for pictures of Glory after the upgrades. Keep them coming!

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

Took this cruise in March and thought it was fantastic. Should've written a review. :(

Loved the ship and service...really love Guys burger's....best burger around. West End snorkeling in Honduras was amazing! Cab was $20 a person and snorkeling was $35 each. Amazing. And fantastic beach. Great cruise. Thanks to you for the review.

[santacap]

Thanks for the pictures. I've been looking for pictures of Glory after the upgrades. Keep them coming!

 

I'll get some more ship pics soon hopefully. I hadn't been on the Glory previously, but have done a 2.0 ship on the Liberty. As far as the upgrades to these such as the Blue Iguana, Red Frog, and Guy Fieri burgers they were great and in the same locations as the liberty.

 

I did the taste bar when it was open, and never disappointed, was nice to try things we would see on our upcoming breeze cruise as well.

 

I didn't get a chance to go to the alchemy bar, but friends did and said the staff was amazing and made a great drink.

 

As for decor, I found the Glory to be the most 'blah' of the ones we have been on. I don't know how to put my finger on it other than it didn't really seem to jive together with a vibe, if that makes sense? Would I sail the Carnival Glory again, yes, for the right price and ports, but I wouldn't solely go on our cruise to sail on her.

[ed1958]

Question for you, Did you get cut off from any more drinks that night, or were you able to purchase additional drinks after the 15? I have wondered whether they allow you to continue to have a drink, or cut you off until the next day. thanks

[santacap]

Next stop Belize... coming in as I had said my wife and I have done this itinerary but never with our son, so we found ourself kind of scraping for ideas. It came down to between the zoo and a beach break. We decided on a beach break and had a couple options, one being through an outside source and one through carnival and Bannister. The outside excursion timing was cuttin it a little close for our comfort so we decided to book with carnival. This worked out well as a destination in the end because we would be able to meet up with others in our group who were doing the snorkel / beach break through carnival as well.

 

In my opinion this was our least favorite excursion done, but made the best of it as our son would be on the water where he is happiest. The sand was rock hard, the chairs to choose from were broken and still set out, and the water was dingy, with very rocky entrances to the beach. I guess the drinks were OK, but nothing fantastic, the food was OK... on the plus the boats / tenders picked us right up from the ship and dropped us off at the ship. I would have liked to go to the land for a bit but decided against it.

 

There was a playground for the kids, but it was pretty 'dangerous' by our standards (big bolt to connect slide to wood right in the middle on top of slide), a volleyball net and a restaurant / bar area with service. The service was good and the food (hot dog, was pretty good). You could also rent kayaks for exploration.

 

All in all, it was an OK day, but probably wouldnt go back to Bannister... I didnt get many pics, but a few below.

 

 

 

 

[santacap]

Question for you, Did you get cut off from any more drinks that night, or were you able to purchase additional drinks after the 15? I have wondered whether they allow you to continue to have a drink, or cut you off until the next day. thanks

 

The one server I was with (who was very polite in telling me quietly and discreetly) would not let me, that said I wasn't ready to, it was time for bed, but I did ask just to know. But from what I heard from others on the ship, other waiters would let you no problem.

 

One other thing to report on the program, I bought my son a banana split to drink while we watched a magician but she put it under my cheers program so she couldnt serve me another until the 5 minutes had passed. Apparently the system locks you out from ordering pretty well before 5 minutes are up.

 

The wine bottles and water are automatically discounted.

 

Due to the faster to the fun we were on the ship before the system from the previous week had to reset so we had to wait until about 1 o'clock to purchase the cheers program.

[santacap]

Took this cruise in March and thought it was fantastic. Should've written a review. :(

Loved the ship and service...really love Guys burger's....best burger around. West End snorkeling in Honduras was amazing! Cab was $20 a person and snorkeling was $35 each. Amazing. And fantastic beach. Great cruise. Thanks to you for the review.

 

 

i'll have to try that one out... definitely agree the burgers are great. One time the fries were very salty, but thats nothing to worry about on vacation... just dont eat them.

 

the service for us was great they are always so attentive especially with our son. If I had one drawback it would be that our steward was a bit pre-occupied at times, but he did his job, and did it well.

[tigercat]

My son and his friend were on this cruise and had a blast.

tigercat

[santacap]

My son and his friend were on this cruise and had a blast.

tigercat

 

it was definitely a great cruise... I personally didnt notice any issues, or long lines, large groups causing issues etc...

 

I heard a couple people moaning about an anchor issue in Belize, but it only delayed our departure, not arrival in Roatan...

[santacap]

Roatan, was probably the port I was looking forward to seeing more of this time around. Last time, we did a Victor Bodden tour as a couple, this time we did a Bodden tour with our group of 30+ people. It was quite a trek out over the hill and down to the bottom where we were met by friendly faces, and not pushy sales people. All I had to do was say no, Im good and was left alone (in this area, the rest not so much). If you can't make the walk, or dont want to in that humidity, its about a 2 dollar cab ride, we had people who couldnt do it in our group.

 

On the schedule for our tour was some site seeing of 'real Roatan' and some picturesque views, some monkeys, then a private beach Bananarama to end the day...

 

One thing I noticed in Roatan this time around was alot more 'commercial' places like Wendys, and grocery stores along the way. We stopped in at a grocer and I picked up some pringles, granola bars and cashews and the total came to over 20.00...

 

I also noticed alot more begging from the children, which our guide explained they are trying to discourage so dont give them anything. It was like they knew our stops and would come out at the site of a van.

 

Boy was it hot and humid today in Roatan, one of the guys on the beach was telling me that it was unusualy hot for that time of year, it hit you with a wave as soon as you got out. The beach had a beautiful breeze, but once on the other side of the building there was nothing. We were incredibly happy to get in the water at the end

 

Bananarama was a gorgeous beach, but it became very tiresome to say no thank you to the same lady offering us hair braiding, or the guy with a necklace of sunglasses 17 times. The beach had pipes in the ground that the vendors couldnt pass over so that was a little added barrier, but they could still try and get your attention.

 

The restaurant itself was pretty good, and the staff I would say was a little below par for a somewhat toursity restaurant. One was very rude, and the other wasnt very knowledgable on the menu at all.

 

The last time we were at Roatan was before the new port was built, and I must say it is very nice, and well done.

 

All in all it was very nice to see this port again, and all that it has to offer.

 

 

Jail

 

 

 

 

 

[santacap]

some more from Roatan

 

 

 

 

 

[santacap]

Grand Cayman was a very kid-centric day as we had a pirate ship excursion planned through Carnival and then off to either the beach or margaritaville, of which we ended up at margaritaville.

 

The pirate ship excursion, while I wouldnt book without kids, was a great time. The day started meeting our group at the dock after tendering, and walking over to meet a boat to take us to the pirate ship. There were 2 deck hands and 3 pirates leading the excursion. The 2 deck hands were a bit lack lustre, but the pirates really took to their roles and our son loved it. They had a good gig though, 2 hours work, get to drink the rum punch, and smoke on board (of which I didnt hold issue with, but a word to those that might, the crew were smoking in the open decks, and the guests were welcome to as well)

 

They started with a tour of the Carnival Glory and circling it, it sounded like they normally fire cannons at it, but was out of order this day. Then while heading out to a swimming spot the priates make the kids swab the deck with brushes, and are sworn in as pirates... Then they tie up a few volunteer parents to be doused with ice water while tied to the mast in order to bow to the kids wishes. When we got to the swim spot we had about 30-40 minutes to walk the plank, or jump off of 2 spots on the ship into the ocean and its beautiful waters. Life jackets were provided for all. The high jump I did a few times, and while I remembered to plug my nose and keep my mouth closed, one other did not and he was feeding the fishes over the edge soon after we departed again for shore.

 

After arriving back we were all starving, and decided on margaritaville first, then the beach. Well once our son found the waterslide, the beach very much became an afterthought... food here was good, and the service was pretty good... it was surprisingly quiet, or maybe it always is... I had never been to any margaritaville before.

 

We caught one of the later tenders and we were off and back en route to Miami with a sea day and elegant night ahead.... instead of dinner in the main dining room this night, we went to the steakhouse with friends, and man oh man did it not disappoint as per usual...

 

 

 

walking the plank

 

 

 

time to get brave... love his face

 

 

[michelle1836]

thanks for posting the review and pictures! sailing on the Glory in 2 weeks and then on the Liberty to the western caribbean. we'll be doing Nachi Cocum again too and cant wait

[Seago2]

Munchkin alert! Your son is so cute!! Thanks for the pics. I love Roatan and Belize. Keep 'em coming!

[Eng23]

Thanks for the recap of your cruise. I get on the Glory in 8 1/2 days in Norfolk. You mentioned that you bought the FTTF, I was not aware it was available on the Glory. I have not seen it offered for my cruise from Norfolk, Va. Does Carnival choose what ports it's available in? Or is it supposed to always be available on the Glory?

[santacap]

thanks for posting the review and pictures! sailing on the Glory in 2 weeks and then on the Liberty to the western caribbean. we'll be doing Nachi Cocum again too and cant wait

 

I could probably go there every visit there and still be happy... so laid back, and picturesque.

 

Munchkin alert! Your son is so cute!! Thanks for the pics. I love Roatan and Belize. Keep 'em coming!

 

thanks... us too, I wouldve liked to see more, but when the little guy is older we can do some more exploring there. Last time in Belize we did cave tubing... id love to get to the ruins one stop.

 

Thanks for the recap of your cruise. I get on the Glory in 8 1/2 days in Norfolk. You mentioned that you bought the FTTF, I was not aware it was available on the Glory. I have not seen it offered for my cruise from Norfolk, Va. Does Carnival choose what ports it's available in? Or is it supposed to always be available on the Glory?

 

I'm honestly not sure how it is set up or how they determine which cruises it is on, but when I bought about 3-4 weeks prior to our sailing there was only 2 left, and as soon as I bought, the other one was snatched up. Perhaps there was a small window? I had read a few reviews that day on the FTTF and logged in to look, so snatched it up... I would do it again in a heartbeat if offered.

 

Thanks...

 

back later with a recap, etc etc...

[tammi0916]

Thanks for the review - on the glory next month and can't wait! Do you remember if Red Frog and Blue Iguania had the Trevis tumblers?

 

thanks!

Tammi

[santacap]

Thanks for the review - on the glory next month and can't wait! Do you remember if Red Frog and Blue Iguania had the Trevis tumblers?

 

thanks!

Tammi

 

I wish I could tell you for certain... I saw other passengers with them, so I can only assume that yes they did:)

[santacap]

some final thoughts on the ship and the cruise...

 

While we enjoyed the ports we visited, we came to the conclusion that with our son being 4, these ports may not have been the most kid friendly out there. We found the excursions that worked best for us, and wouldnt change them one bit but felt kind of limited in the choices, and I am one who will research to no end to find them for us ... Belize I would not go to Bannister beach again, possibly the zoo, or Goffs Caye, they were choices 1b and 1c....

 

I didn't get to do many shows, but did see the Hasbro game show... it was a fun time, but kind of boring after a little bit, maybe it had to do with the 'contestants' or it was an off night, who knows. The on board entertainment was great IMO. The guitar player who played by the lido deck bars was great, and had a good repetoire. I enjoyed the piano bar player as I usually do. He was good at interacting with his audience, his drawback may be the playlist?

 

The ship itself as I mentioned before I found kind of blah, without much of a theme felt. There was some wear and tear but for the most part it was extremely clean, the staff were extremely friendly, and they took pride in the ship and making us feel at home. I dont know why, but something that stood out was our steward not calling me by name but sir. Maybe I've become spoiled I dont know, just something I thought about a few times.

 

The embarkation process was incredibly smooth, members of our party did not have FTTF and felt it was the easiest they had done. I would and will purchase the FTTF and cheers programs as long as available on future cruises.

 

The camp carnival staff was amazing with our son. We had an issue last year with a non chalant staff on the liberty but this group couldnt have been more opposite for us. They were great, and had tonnes of activities that our son would love, and if he didn't well then we had a bounty of choices.

 

The cruise was a much needed break, and of course we have one booked in a year on the Carnival Breeze we are anticipating greatly.

 

Few more pics... I'll post any other thoughts I might have forgotten as I think of them...

 

 

 

[santacap]

post cruise we decided to stay at the Savoy again. This time we booked a pool view, which had a separate room and two balconies with a kitchenette. Its funny because our friends stayed in the exact same room as last year.

 

This time around we stayed after the cruise instead of before and for us it was the perfect vacation from vacation. Instead of getting off the ship and going to the airport, we got to go to South Beach. The staff at the savoy were very helpful with getting us set up as soon as our rooms were ready.

 

The hotel itself while showing some wear, and might not look the nicest walking down the halls, the views, pools, and ocean front property for the price cant be beat for us.

 

 

 

[santacap]

one thing I forgot to mention, pre cruise my wife and son stayed at the Sofitel closer to the airport and rented a car from Thrifty. I flew in from a trade show in Indianapolis on the Sunday morning, so while I cant comment on the hotel personally, they were very happy with the room and breakfasts at the hotel.

 

Thrifty has a free shuttle from the airport to the terminal and it worked out well for all as I was flying in and able to take the shuttle with them at drop off

 

any questions, feel free to ask...

 

until next year :)