Glory Review 6/11 - 6/19 (long)

[rtscruiser]

We sailed the Carnival Glory eastern Caribbean route June 11 – 19, 2005. This review reflects our experiences on this cruise – yours may be better or worse, but it’ll certainly be different. As a summary, we found this to be a very good cruise – probably a 7 or 8 out of 10 – and a fine value for the dollar, but as you’ll see it wasn’t perfect by any stretch. For the details, read on . . .

 

We began our cruise vacation by staying at the Radisson Resort at the Port on Friday night. It’s a decent property, but we found the staff to be indifferent and poorly trained. At check-in, we were not offered a shuttle time to the pier, or a cruise parking lot pass, or given free passes for breakfast. Each of these had to be retrieved later when we realized we didn’t have them. When I politely called housekeeping for some extra towels, the young lady said “yea” and hung up (we did get the towels, however.) When you factor the free parking into the room rate the Radisson makes some sense, but it certainly isn’t worth $149 per night without the parking.

 

Embarkation was a total mess. Tropical Storm Arlene hit Florida the Saturday we embarked. Apparently Glory arrived into port 90 minutes late as a result, then Port Canaveral was evacuated for some sort of a security breach (rumors ran from bomb scare to a dead passenger.) So everything was slammed accordingly. By 11:00 traffic backed up past the drawbridge trying to get to Port Canaveral since the gates were closed earlier in the day. Getting to and from the Port took hours instead of minutes and the Radisson shuttles were caught in the mess. Our 12:30 shuttle from the Radisson finally left the hotel at 2:15, with dozens of excited and sweaty hotel guests each hoping to get the next shuttle when it finally returned from the Port. Many bailed out and hired cabs or private shuttles. Once we got to the Port, there were long lines everywhere and the place was showing the strain of a very long morning. After checking in at the Skipper’s Club – where Carnival inexplicably had no one to escort us to the boat – things calmed down. We had a quick pizza lunch and got ready for the muster drill. Glory sailed a little over an hour late around 5:30.

 

Our balcony suite was nice. It was smaller than we expected and certainly smaller than the balcony suites on Sensation – our previous Carnival experience. The dressing area outside the bathroom seems a waste of space, but the bathroom itself is great – love those two sinks and a full shower. Our suite was spotlessly clean and Edsel our cabin steward was ever present. I tipped him $20 immediately and asked him to keep our smuggled drinks chilled. He appeared with a Coleman cooler and we were swimming in ice the rest of the trip. Edsel seemed to straighten up every time we left the cabin – even for 15 minutes. The kids enjoyed his towel animals and chocolates. We enjoyed the mid-day refreshed beach towels. In short, Edsel was a great steward and we tipped he and his assistant an additional $50 when leaving (in addition to the Sign and Sail “gratuity.”) I’m so spoiled by balcony cabins now I’m not sure I could ever do with less.

 

We ate breakfast and lunch in the Red Sail casual buffet dining room since we prefer a less formal setting while coated in sunscreen. The food there is pretty good – hot, fresh and suitably buffet-like. Breakfast included all the standard morning fare – including some fantastic fruits; lunch was varied and good. We especially liked the deli and the fish and chips station. Burgers and pizza made for reliable stand-ins if nothing else looked good.

 

Dinner was the 8:30 seating in the Golden Dining Room. The late seating is nice if you prefer a long afternoon and ample chance for clean-up and happy hour. Food is a tough subject to rate since food is such a personal thing, but the ten people in our party agreed no one had anything “bad” and everyone always found something to enjoy. I thought the food ranged from very good to sometimes excellent. Our Headwaiter Franky was one of the highlights of our cruise. He was alternately professional, funny, irreverent, touching – just a wonderful individual. Now, our group liked to party a bit and we no doubt brought out the wacky side of Franky. We looked forward to dinner each night and Franky’s antics. He freaked out when we all ordered then changed seats while he went to retrieve our meals. By the end of the cruise he was family. Two of our group had only previously cruised Norwegian, where apparently you have a different waiter every night. They agreed that while the food on Norwegian was better overall, they would easily trade that for the experience we had with our waiter. His assistant, Edi, was new to Carnival and new to English, and mostly seemed confused by everything that was going on, but he did a fine job. Their work rated an extra $100 from the group.

 

As a quick aside, one member of our group has severe food allergies and required a special diet at every meal. Our hostess, Kristina, was assigned this task by Carnival and was flawless. She even met our traveling companion at breakfast and lunch to assist in meal selection. I was so impressed I sent a note to the Ship’s Food & Beverage Director noting Kristina’s extraordinary efforts. She greeted us with tears in her eyes the next night since she was called into the Director’s office that day to receive congratulations for her work.

 

Nassau was Nassau. It’s a very short port stay. Thanks to the suggestions on this board, we hoped on the #10 jitney and enjoyed the beach and beach chairs in front of the Wyndham Hotel. So, for a whopping $2 each, we had a great beach visit and were back on the ship in about 4 hours.

 

This sailing has 3 full days at sea. We hit the main pool deck by 9:30 each day and had no trouble getting chairs. By about 11:00 there were no chairs remaining, though there were always tons of chairs available in other areas and other decks. It’s hard to complain about tanning in the Caribbean sun, but a couple of minor complaints. For whatever reason, the slide was not open until the final two days and the pool near the slide was not filled until then, either. The pools on Glory simply aren’t large enough for a ship this size. In the afternoon, the people in the pools were basically shoulder-to-shoulder – they looked like a bunch of buoys bobbing in the pools.

 

Our St. Thomas stop was, frankly, all screwed up. The Glory approached St. Thomas at 9:30 a.m. with everything appearing completely normal, but literally 1 mile from the harbor we stopped dead in the water. Our Cruise Director, Mark Price (who was unfailingly and annoyingly cheerful) informed us there would be a “slight delay” getting us to the dock. Three hours later we had not moved – all of us still lined up on the Promenade Deck waiting for excursions. Mark informed us that due to a computer glitch, St. Thomas had not received our passenger manifest and Homeland Security would not let us into port. None of this made much sense, though Mark also reminded us regularly that “this is beyond Carnival’s control,” (which none of us believe to this minute.) Anyway, after a “slight” 4-hour delay while we spun around outside the port, the ship was finally granted access to the port – due to the “heroic” efforts of our Captain, according to Mark Price. We needed our hero at 9:30, not 2:00 . . .

 

Anyway, as a result of this glitch, we missed our VI Snuba tour on St. John – which was a real disappointment to the kids. But, lemons to lemonade, we taxied to Sapphire Beach and snorkeled for a few hours. Missing Snuba was a real downer (tears from my younger 2), but as it turned out we did OK. The ship remained in port an extra 2 hours that evening due to the morning problems.

 

St. Martin is one of our favorite islands and didn’t disappoint. We rented from Arthur’s Car Rental (what a fine gentleman) and headed to Orient Beach. My wife and I never miss an “au naturel” beach opportunity and had a grand time at Orient Beach Club. The crowd there is always completely laid back and friendly. We swam, tanned and laid out on the floating docks. We laughed at the gawkers who strolled the nude section of the beach looking but not looking (who knew black socks and sandals were making a comeback!) For lunch we headed back to the Dutch side, rejoined our family at Sunset Beach Bar for some needed cold beers and the best cheeseburger in the Caribbean. The kids had a great time swimming at Maho Beach watching the planes land literally over their heads. My 8 year old screamed out loud when the first 757 came in for a landing, and they all got blown off the beach and into the water when an old 727 freighter took off. It was a fun couple of hours. The kids deemed it their most memorable shore experience - if you've not done this it's worth the visit.

 

Miscellaneous stuff. We didn’t do any of the shows since we don’t care for that kind of stuff./ The disco and karaoke bars were hopping most nights, though the disco didn’t really heat up until after midnight./ Bar service and drinks were good and plentiful./ The sushi bar didn’t get too adventurous with their offerings (nothing raw at all,) but it was good quality and a welcome treat./ The fitness center is well appointed and well managed – we worked out every day, took a nice yoga class, pilates class and enjoyed a couple’s massage./ We met the Captain and he was a bit like talking to an Italian statue – thank goodness his lovely wife could carry a conversation./ My daughter developed strep throat and the ship’s doctor tended to her well./ There were literally dozens and dozens of unsupervised teens roaming the ship late at night – attempting to buy alcohol and hormones apparently on overdrive. If their parents had seen some of what we saw, well, many of those kids might be locked away in towers for a while . . . /

 

I've probably hit less than 50% of our thoughts, but all in all this was a good cruise and a very good time. Perhaps the best thing I can say is that – unlike some previous Glory cruisers I’ve read on this board – we did not encounter a single instance of rudeness among any of the Glory staff. They were to a person friendly and accommodating. Our cruise was not without a few problems, but I’d recommend Glory to anyone. Our group of 10 was well satisfied with this vacation.

[languages1]

Thanks for the report. I am leaving on 7/30 glory and am anxcious. My last cruise was the elation. I am staying at Marriott and arranging all my transfers. so I hope all goes well.

[OCruisers]

rtscruise .... Your review is wonderful (really mean it)! :)

 

You've already answered so many of our questions in the review. We do have one more please! At the "Fish'nChips" station was there another fried seafood in addition to the fish? We like fried fish but just wondering. :rolleyes: Actually, any additional comments on "Fish'nChips" would be appreciated.

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[VTSAIL]

Thanks for the review. We sailed on the Glory in early May and had Franki and Eddi as our Waiters in the Golden. They were excellent then and we made sure they were rewarded both tip wise and praise wise. Glad to see they are still providing that special service. My wife and son are still talking about them and the fun times in the Golden! That brought those memories back. Thanks again!:)

[rtscruiser]

About the fish and chips station. It's easy to miss since it's up the stairs on deck 10, not in the main Red Sail dining area on deck 9. Go all the way to the aft section of Red Sail - but not all the way out the doors to the pizza shop and aft pool - and head up the center stairs across from the aft buffet line. Lines were always short. There is also lots of seating up there that most people never discover.

 

The fish and chips station always seemed to offer 3 or 4 selections besides basic fish and chips - which was quite good. I also enjoyed the fried oysters and a really good bouillabaisse, but the offerings changed every meal. If you like seafood, there's lots of variety and you'll enjoy it.

 

Have a great trip. I'm envious (but taking another cruise with friends in October - this time on Princess . . . hey, it's still owned by Carnival!!)

[OCruisers]

Thanks, rst, for your help on Fish'nChips!!! Sounds perfect to us!

 

Have a great time on your Princess cruise this fall! (We are old time Princess folks ... too many to tell!) :p

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Green4me]

Thanks for your trip report. We leave on the western route in 10 days! This is the first I have heard about the fried oysters..yum yum, it gets better all the time :)

 

All the Best