Carnival Glory - Canada from Boston - Parts V and VI: Health Concerns and Ship Notes

[CaribbeanBound]

Due to the length of this review, I have broken it up into several parts which I will post as quickly as I can.

 

 

Part V - Health Concerns

A. Smoking

There was no smoking in the restaurants, show lounge, hallways, elevators, or inside any stateroom. Unfortunately, folks could (and did) smoke heavily on their verandas and in the casino. The air circulation in the casino was very poor. The casino smoke was less than hospitable most hours and so bad at times it could be smelled two decks up the stairwells. This was unfortunate since a lot of functions (like trivia and some contests) occur in the casino. We did not observe anyone abusing the smoking privilege in prohibited areas of the ship.

 

B. Pools and Hot Tubs

No problems were reported.

 

C. General Cleanliness of the Ship

The ship, it's cabins, venues, and restrooms were VERY clean. The cleaning crew did a great job!

 

D. Viruses

To the best of our knowledge, there was no outbreak on our ship. Kudos to our fellow passengers and Carnival personnel for their personal diligence.

 

E. Seasickness

We had really smooth seas for most of the voyage, and we traveled at only 7 - 10 knots (about 8 - 11 mph). I get seasick very easily and normally wear half a patch behind my ear. I didn't apply it before we left and never needed it or any seasickness pills.

 

Part VI - Ship Notes

A. Ship's Crew

We were very impressed with the ship and crew. Very friendly and competent.

 

B. Our Stateroom Attendant

Hernando was very attentive. Upon arrival he made it clear he was there to serve us and our cabin and wanted us to ask him for anything. We never needed to bother him. He and his assistant kept the beds made, and cabin and bathroom clean and picked up. We also enjoyed the nightly towel animals left on our bed.

 

C. The Shops

Merchandise did not rotate very much. There was something on sale each day. The bottled booze prices on the ship were very attractive (but any purchases were held for you to take off the ship and not consume while on board).

 

D. Internet Service

There were about 5 or 6 computers with internet access available on the ship in the hard-to-find, almost hidden, Cyberspace room on Deck 4. The ship also had wi-fi available throughout the ship. No access was free. In fact it was relatively expensive and very slow. (You even needed to pay for internet service if you wanted to print your airline boarding passes while on the ship).

 

E. Kids

Even though the ship was packed with kids due to being a short, 5-day, summer cruise, with few exceptions, they were well-behaved. It's my understanding that the ship's "capacity" is just under 3,000 passengers, we reportedly had about 3700 passengers on board. Capacity on cruise ships generally assumes 2 passengers per cabin. Cabins with more than 2 passenger add to excess capacity. Our ship sailed at over 120% capacity. Congratulations to Carnival for a profitable cruise. While the ship was very full and some venues like the mini-golf and pools were heavily crowded during most hours, the ship felt busy but it did not feel over-crowded.

 

F. Dress Code

The dress was pretty relaxed. We did not see any tuxes on the formal nights. Blazers with a button shirt, or a button shirt with tie were pretty much the norm. We did see t-shirts and shorts in the dining room on formal night, and a white t-shirt in The Emerald Restaurant when we ate there. Frankly this was really disappointing. They should enforce some decorum of their dress code.

 

G. Deck Chairs

Yes, there was a lot of "saving" of deck chairs during the day. However, you could still find deck chairs on the ship if you look around in less obvious places.

 

H. "Hidden" Decks

Folks on the chat boards often spoke of hidden decks at the front of the ship accessible only through "secret" doors. We sought them out. There are no secret doors to hidden decks. There are very obvious wooden doors with portholes that lead out to fairly large decks for lounging or sightseeing in the front of the ship that are not utilized by many passengers. They can be found in the front of Decks 6, 7, and 10 as I recall.

 

I. Photographers

Glory has a ton of photographers set up all over the ship's common areas and near the ship at each port. This ship had more display space dedicated to photographs than any other ship I've previously sailed on. The photographers, while plentiful and talented, were easily avoided if you didn't want your picture taken.

 

J. Fog Horn

The ship's fog horn works really well. It blasts loud and often when needed. We encountered a lot of thick heavy fog on this trip. It was so thick you could not see more than 20 feet at times. The horn is unpleasant and obnoxiously loud on the open deck, tolerable in the enclosed areas on Deck 9, faint in outside cabins, and silent in interior cabins. What's to get upset about? It serves a safety purpose.

 

K. Announcements

Announcements are loud, fairly frequent, and intrusive. They get downright annoying when they disrupt your cruise to make announcements looking for a particular passenger.

 

L. Elevators

We resist taking elevators because we like to pretend that taking the stairs during the entire trip will get us the exercise we need to fend of the extra pounds we would otherwise gain from all the food. It certainly doesn't hurt! When we did use the elevators, they were reasonably prompt and never crowded. Glory has plenty of elevators. We did notice they would get crowded before and after dinner, but we didn't care because we used the stairs anyway. The ship also has 4 glass elevators that run from Deck 2 to Deck 11 and offers views of the impressive Old Glory Atrium.

 

M. Customs

We went through customs in Boston upon our return. Basically just left the ship with our baggage and gave our declaration form to a customs officer with no waiting. This was very fast.

 

 

Next Up: Part VII - The Ports

 

 

You can read also the review in its entirely, with images, at http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/carnival-glory.html, but you won't be able to enjoy the input from fellow cruisers like you can on CruiseCritic. Feel free to post your questions and comments below.