Was It Glorious???

[vawalkers]

We are a family of four: myself, DH, DS (age 28), and DS (age 12). We booked this voyage based on our oldest son's work schedule. He had always been deployed when we sailed before so this was our first cruise together. DH and I had a balcony cabin on the Empress Deck with the boys across the hall in their own room.

 

We drove down from Virginia and stayed at Hilton Miami Airport the night before our cruise. It was a beautiful hotel. We were able to see the lights of the planes landing and taking off as well as the lights of the Miami buildings from the pool. Airplane noise was not a problem in our room.

 

The next morning we drove to Premier Cruise Parking. We parked, hopped in their second van after a short wait, and we were off. Several passengers on the Breeze were dropped off before we made our way to the drop off area for the Carnival Glory. From there, we checked a couple of bags, walked up to a friendly young lady who checked our passports, went through the security check point, and up the escalators. We were then greeted by another smiling Carnival official, given a zone 7 sign, and directed to a line to receive our cards and take our individual pictures. We experienced a wait of approximately 20 minutes in line. We were able to board as soon as we had our pictures taken as our zone was already called. From the time we set foot in port until the time we boarded was approximately 40-45 minutes at most. We were on board by noon.

 

I have to admit that there is something special about walking through the glass enclosed boarding ramp. You know you are about to embark on a new adventure. Excitement builds from the moment you begin searching for that perfect cruise until you make that wonderful walk from the Carnival terminal onto the deck of the ship. It was no different this time. In fact, it was far better knowing that this time, both of our boys would be with us.

There was a wait for the elevators so we elected to walk up the stairs to the Lido Deck. We found a table in the Red Sail Restaurant, dropped our carry ons, and found that special first lunch. DH and our oldest enjoyed Guys Burgers. Our youngest enjoyed Fish and Chips. As for me, it was a feast upon cilantro-lime rice, wonderfully seasoned black beans, corn, and fajita chicken from the Catina. Everything you normally put in a tortilla, sans tortilla.

 

After lunch, we found deck chairs and began our vacation in earnest. We had boarded in nice swim shorts and shirts. You could not really tell we were prepared to swim in our family boarding pic. So....we began to enjoy the sun, the chairs, and occasional slides down the water slide. Our youngest enjoyed being the first down the water slide!

 

Around 3:00 we made our way down to our cabins. We had not purchased FTTF, and our bags were not there yet. However, we had packed nice shirts/shorts in our carryons in event we needed them before our bags arrived. Then we made our way down to the mandatory safety briefing. There seemed to be a delay both in beginning the briefing and in releasing our side of the ship afterwards. No biggie other than it was a bit warm.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Lido deck for sail away. The Norwegian ship left first, then the Breeze, and finally we began to move around 5:05 pm. Another wonderful feeling: that of the ship moving away from the dock!

 

After exploring the ship for a while and watching the sunset, we made our way to dinner. We had Anytime Dining. I had been hesitant to book ATD as we often experienced long waits when we sailed from Ft Lauderdale. This voyage, we had no issues at all. It took three evenings to find a waiter in which we connected with. But, when we found Visarut we asked for him each evening. He was incredible. He knew I preferred lime with my water instead of lemon, decaf with dessert, and the boys wanted iced tea. He also took a few minutes to simply talk to us, to ask about our day, to interact with us instead of take our order and move on.

 

As for the food. That is where Carnival Glory lost a lot of its glory. I have been reading reviews over the past few months thinking that there are some pretty picky people out there :). After all, we had enjoyed the food on the Freedom and the Miracle in the past few years. This time, I have to side with those who have stated many times that the food is no longer as good as it was. The soups (normally one of my favs) was always watered down, beef was tough, and in general most every dish was off a bit. Lets just say that the best meal I had in the MDR was a grilled chicken breast....um......Still, we enjoyed our time together at dinner.

 

The next morning was our day at Nassau. I was concerned about coming into port at 7 in the morning. However, other than the shops not being opened yet, it seemed that everything else revolves around the ships. We had booked a private snorkel excursion through Island Marketing. It was just the four of us. I am not the strongest swimmer and wanted the peace of mind that there would be personal instruction and a watchful eye upon us. I have to admit, I never thought in a million years I would be jumping OUT of a boat. But jump out I did to snorkel and have the time of my life! All of us had a blast. After snorkeling over the reef, we spent some time alone on a white sand beach followed by a water tour of Nassau. It was worth every penny we spent. Family memories at their best! When we returned to the dock, we had enough time to poke our heads in the Straw Market and a couple of other shops. Then, it was back on board.

 

The next day was our sea day. There were a few chair hogs out, but not as bad as we have seen in the past. We prefer chairs on the upper deck overlooking the pool area anyway. DH and I read while the boys did their thing. We met for lunch and enjoyed family time before getting dressed for our first elegant night. Since our oldest lives a few hours away from us and works long hours, we took advantage of the opportunity to get those prized family photos. I have to admit that I intended to purchase only the boarding pic and a family pic; however, the pics that were taken were all really good. I was pleasantly surprised and ended up spending quite a bit more than I originally planned on. :)

 

Wednesday was our day in St Thomas. We took a cab to Sapphire Beach. It was just as beautiful as others have said. I think I like it better than Megan's Bay. Now that we were snorkeling experts, LOL, we rented gear and enjoyed our time there. After a few hours, we took a cab to Charlotte Amalie so our oldest could find a bargain on a cologne he wanted....well...that and a trip to the Harley Davidson store so the guys could get tee shirts....

 

Thursday was our San Juan day. It began with a little rain. But what is a little rain when you are away from work???? The rain had gone by the time we left the ship. We did our own walking tour around the city to see the statue of Ponce De Leon, the church, the gate of the city wall, and the forts. We also took advantage of the free trolley from time to time. The view from both forts was absolutely incredible. The water so beautiful. We experienced a short shower at one time, but nothing to complain about. The sun was soon out again. We also took in a few shops downtown. I wish I could remember the name of one of them. We bought a couple of small stone nativity items that were hand painted by a local. My DH is a pastor so we kinda collect those type of things.....we love manger scenes, angels, etc.

 

Thursday evening was our night at the Emerald Steakhouse. We were really looking forward to this. We had made reservations for all four of us. My DH has often teased me that I book cruises for the Lobster Bisque in the steakhouse. We had eaten at other ship's steakhouses and were anxious to try the Emerald. The salad was fresh and delicious. The bread very good. The rest of the meal......well...if I could have stopped and gotten my money back, I would have. My lobster bisque was terrible. DH's french onion was just OK. I ordered a medium seasoned ribeye. The seasoning was all salt and charred. The salt so strong it actually burned my mouth. I ate little of it. DH's NY Strip was just OK. One DS had steak; the other sea bass. The sea bass went uneaten. I actually left before dessert with one DS and went to the Lido Deck. I was shaking my head all the time in disbelief. I must say that the couple next to us thoroughly enjoyed their dinner. Possibly it was our dinner choices, but in the past those items have been much better.

 

Friday began with a torrent of rain as we docked in Grand Turk. We waited about an hour before leaving the ship. By that time, the sun was out and we saw the most beautiful island. I have decided that for sun and surf, I never need to go anywhere other than Grand Turk. It has the beautiful turquoise waters of Costa Maya with the powder white sand of Jolly Beach in Antigua. The best of both combined. You simply walk off the ship, down the pier, and you are there. No taxi rides required.

 

We walked to Jack's Shack which is a short five or ten minute stroll down the beach. There were two ships in port that day and all the chairs were gone, but we stayed in the crystal clear water most of the time anyway. Imagine standing in water up to your neck and being able to see your toes. After a while, we grabbed some of Jack's jerk chicken and fried conch (BE SURE YOU SAY CONCH WITH A "K" AT JACK'S SHACK: conk, not conch). It was really good. We also stopped at Margueritaville for a quick dip in their pool and spent some time in a few shops.

 

There was a long line to board the ship at Grand Turk. We decided to sit on the pier enjoying the beautiful fish in the water as well as the beginning of a gorgeous sunset. It was a great day in Grand Turk. Wonder if there would ever be an itinerary in which Grand Turk and St Kitts would be together? St Kitts is our favorite island, but Grand Turk is our favorite beach.

 

Our last full day was also our last sea day. We spent our time enjoying reading again on the Lido Deck followed by time with the boys making more family memories.

 

So, was the Glory Glorious? The ship - not so much. There was nothing really good nor nothing really outstanding. Many of the crew seemed to be not as happy as those we saw two years ago on the Freedom which was our most recent cruise. This was represented across the board from different levels of employees. I have no way of knowing if it is the different ship nor a decline in employee morale in those two years. I still saw several smiling faces while onboard. Our cabin steward was definitely one of those. He was really good at his job. In fact, the most smiling faces I saw WERE the cabin stewards as we walked down the halls.They always spoke and appeared friendly. But, there was a definite feeling onboard among others that all was not well. I realize they encounter literally a couple of thousand passengers each voyage; however, so did the crew on their sister ships.

 

Was the ship clean? You betcha! We never had a problem with our room or any common area.

 

Activities - DH and I enjoyed the White Heat dance club. It was fun. Very few people there. We enjoyed Karaoke. One day I will get the courage up to sing....well....maybe....And, we enjoyed the Taste Bar in the evenings. Some of the samples were really good. Maybe they should be a part of the menu.

 

As for the overall experience: the ports were good, the entertainment was just OK as the shows were not as good as earlier ones we had seen, the food was subpar, but the family time was PRICELESS!!! I appreciate the fact that Carnival lets lower middle income people experience travel to places outside of the US; however, I would pay a few more dollars to get the old ship experience back. We prefer to stay with Carnival as we are not so many days away from becoming platinum....I think I would give the Glory a five out of a ten.

[Cruizinman]

Thanks for posting , nice review ;)

[dodgetrucksrule]

Thank you for your review. It is always nice to read about other’s experiences.

 

I have sailed on the Glory 3 times (the last in April) and the food and crew were excellent, maybe they were just having an off week.

 

I am also not a fan of the new shows. They are ok but if you sail often you see the same shows over and over again. Divas was on all 3 ships I sailed on this year.

[cjknox]

Wonderful review, thank you for your thoughts.

Edited December 15, 2013 by cjknox

[PROCRUISE]

Thanks for the very nice review. Sorry to see so many declining reviews of the MDR food on CCL, let alone the pay more venues. :(

[Colorado Kat]

Great review. We did that same cruise last year - I just love Grand Turk.

 

Sorry about the food. I'm interested to see the reviews of the new dinner menus. Maybe they will be an improvement for most, although my favorites are now off the menus.

[Heartfruit]

Was this the week prior to the menu change? I'm just wondering if the kitchen staff were both cooking the old menu and preparing for the new, they may not have had the time to do both properly. Not an excuses for bad food but perhaps an explanation.

[vawalkers]

Thank you for your review. It is always nice to read about other’s experiences.

 

I have sailed on the Glory 3 times (the last in April) and the food and crew were excellent, maybe they were just having an off week.

 

I am also not a fan of the new shows. They are ok but if you sail often you see the same shows over and over again. Divas was on all 3 ships I sailed on this year.

 

I am glad to know that you had a wonderful experience on the Glory. We truly love Carnival, and it was a bit of a surprise to us that this voyage was not the same level of satisfaction as our other cruises. We had a wonderful time together as a family, but something was off with the crew and the food. Who knows what the crew has to deal with each day? I am certain that they have a lot of "stuff" to deal with both from passengers and those in charge each day. No telling what happened on the previous week either.

 

I was sorry the Divas show was not as good as I expected. Normally, we enjoy the shows quite a bit. The Beatles show was a fav of ours. Saw it on two different cruises. We can only cruise about every 18 months to two years, and we really look forward to our time with Carnival, the shows, the food, etc. I love to cook, and that is possibly why the food was more of a disappointment.

[vawalkers]

Was this the week prior to the menu change? I'm just wondering if the kitchen staff were both cooking the old menu and preparing for the new, they may not have had the time to do both properly. Not an excuses for bad food but perhaps an explanation.

 

I am not certain if it were the week before the menu change or not. We sailed Nov 17th - 24th. I am just a little late getting this review in. We came home and hit the ground running with Christmas activities at church as well as at my work. I also wanted to wait a little while to make sure I was being objective and not having a knee jerk response to anything. Once words are on the screen and you hit "submit", it is difficult to take them back........:)