Solo Glory Christmas Cruise

[jt1602sd]

This is going to be my first review, but I figured that since reading reviews has helped me so much in planning for my cruise, I would make an attempt at review writing! Also, there doesn't seem to be many Glory reviews for the Western Caribbean itinerary, so maybe this could be helpful to some of you.

 

A little bit of background on me- I am a 33 year old female from California, active-duty military, and relatively new to cruising. This was my second cruise and my first solo cruise. Honestly, I was a bit worried about going alone, but I really shouldn't have been. In fact, I think it is my preferred way to cruise now! I never had any problem finding people to hang out with (thanks to some great people from the roll call and from my dinner table), but was also able to spend time alone and relax when I wanted. It was also really nice to have the cabin all to myself.

 

My overall impression of the Glory was very positive. I thought the crew was excellent, and the ship was very clean at all times. The Christmas decorations really helped to create a festive atmosphere. The cruise director (Matt) and the Asst. cruise director (Rev Dr. E) were a great team, and really kept the entire cruise fun! They were very present throughout the ship at all times, which was a nice change from my last cruise. On this cruise, we had the new dining concept, which I wasn't super crazy about, but I was on vacation and even though the choices seemed limited, I never went hungry, so it's really a small complaint overall as far as I'm concerned.

 

So let's get right into it! This will be a work in progress, but I will try to get it completed as quickly as possible.

 

This cruise was originally booked with a friend, but they had to back out so it turned into a solo cruise. I was very excited about the itinerary:

 

Day 1: Depart Miami

Day 2: Sea Day

Day 3: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 4: Costa Maya, Mexico

Day 5: Isla Roatan, Honduras

Day 6: Grand Cayman

Day 7: Sea Day

Day 8: Miami

 

When searching for flights to Miami, I was shocked at how much they were! I know it's because it was the holiday season, but I couldn't find anything under $1000!! Southwest prices dropped for a day or two, so I jumped on it and booked tickets from San Jose, CA to Fort Lauderdale. I decided to stay in Fort Lauderdale (Hollywood Beach, specifically) for two nights prior to the cruise, and I'm so glad I did!! I preferred it exponentially to staying in Miami, and the vibe was much more chill, which is much more my speed than the craziness of Miami! I rented a car because I got a really good deal on it (about $25/day), and had originally planned to drive out to the Everglades, but I probably could have gotten away without having one. I stayed at the Hollywood Beachside Boutique Suites which was located between the Intercoastal Waterway and the Boardwalk. I would highly recommend this very cute hotel! The rooms had kitchenettes (which I didn't really need), and was very comfortable. The location was excellent, and was literally steps to the Boardwalk, on which there was plenty of restaurants and bars to visit.

 

View from my hotel room window:

Hollywood Beach:

The Boardwalk

 

I got in late on the Friday night before the cruise, so I just went down the Boardwalk for a couple of drinks, where I noticed a HUGE difference from Miami- I had 4-5 drinks and my bill was under $15!! I'm pretty sure I paid about $8-$10/drink in Miami, so that was a nice surprise. On Saturday, I decided to take the water taxi, which was a ton of fun! It was really cool to see all the mansions and yachts, and imagine what it would be like to have that kind of money!! :)

 

Coming up: Water Taxi pictures and Embarkation!

[jt1602sd]

From the Water Taxi

[jt1602sd]

More water taxi pictures

 

The cost for a whole day on the water taxi was $22 and totally worth it in my opinion. You could hop on and off as you wishes, and taxis were at the stops every 30 minutes. You could also transfer to the Hollywood beach taxi, but I didn't end up doing that. After my day on the water taxi I went to Wine and more to pick up a bottle of wine, had dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant on the Boardwalk and relaxed in my room for the rest of the night to get ready to board the Glory the next day.

 

I returned my car to the airport, and called for my shuttle through SAS. I paid $15/way for the shuttle and it was well worth the money. After about 30-40 minutes I arrived at the Port of Miami and prepared to embark. I was there fairly early (around 11am) and got Zone 7 boarding, but only waited about 15 minutes from the start of boarding to board.

 

That's me, ready to go!

[jt1602sd]

Approaching the port

 

First Sighting!

 

 

 

Once on board, I had lunch at the Blue Iguana Cantina (My favorite place to eat on the ship) and went exploring for a bit. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures around the ship, but everything was very clean and I felt that the ship layout was easy to navigate.

 

Serenity area

 

 

Christmas decorations in the atrium

 

 

Lower level of the theater

 

[jt1602sd]

My cabin was 6210, a balcony cabin all the way forward.

 

 

 

View of Miami from my balcony

 

 

 

 

After the muster drill, I headed to the Red Frog Pub to meet up with people from the roll call, and met the people that I would end up spending a lot of time with for the rest of the cruise. If you have never done a roll call, I highly recommend it. Maybe I just got lucky, but these people made my solo cruise feel not so solo. After a few drinks, I left to get ready for dinner and meet my tablemates.

 

Carnival seems to do a very good job at matching tablemates, and I really enjoyed the company of all of them. I don't really have specifics as to what I ordered, but the food was enjoyable, although the selection seemed to be lacking as compared to my last cruise. I know a few people have complained about how long the dinner service took, but I didn't really notice it. Anytime you have a multi-course dinner, especially for that many people, it's gonna take a while. One thing that I didn't really like is that the waiters would take your order right away, even if your table mates hadn't arrived yet, so you were often at different points in the meal from the rest of your table. I was often the first one at the table, and sometimes I already had my appetizer as the rest of my table was arriving.

 

I did notice that this cruise seemed to be very generous with giving out champagne. There were waiters walking around handing out champagne during embarkation, as as soon as you finished, they were there to give you another glass. In order to save myself a very early hangover, I only had two glasses, but I heard of some people that had upwards of 8-10 glasses!! :eek:

There were also two nights in the dining room that they offered a toast with different champagne cocktails, and I thought that was really nice. Can't beat free booze!!

 

While on the subject of booze, I wasn't planning on purchasing the Cheers program originally, but after 3-4 beers before we had even sailed away, I decided to purchase it after all. I had about $200 of on-board credit so it was already half paid for, but I am torn as to whether I would purchase it again, especially for a 7 night or longer cruise. I ended up getting my money's worth, but I almost felt as if I forced myself to do it. If you are going to have an average of 7-8 drinks a day, it is definitely worth it, but that proved to be harder than I thought, and there were a couple of days where I only had a glass of wine with dinner. It is nice not having to worry about what your bar tab is going to be at the end of the cruise though!

 

I was supposed to meet my new friends from the roll call that night at the comedy show, but the day had caught up with me and I stumbled back to my room (which being all the way forward seemed reeeeallly far from the aft dining room), and went to sleep right after dinner.

 

Up next: First sea day

[siestakeys04]

Great review so far I cruised on the glory before the upgrades I really did enjoy the ship

 

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[mackatty]

Great start on the review, can't wait to read the rest!

[jt1602sd]

I woke up super early, which was good because I forgot to put my room service card out for breakfast, so I filled it out and went back to sleep for a bit. My breakfast and coffee arrived right on time, and my room service attendant was sweet enough to bring me a bagel to have with my smoked salmon, (which I purposely didn't order since I eat mostly Paleo), but I really appreciated the thought.

 

I wandered around for a bit and decided to catch the Fun Finds shopping show, which was quite possibly the most boring thing I've ever done!! I was hoping to win some free swag, but I just couldn't sit there long enough. I headed to the Serenity deck to read a bit and soak up some sun, but it was too bright to read on my Kindle, so I was only out there for about 45 minutes. From there I caught the end of the Punchliner Brunch, and had the hen alla diavola, which was delicious! From there I headed to the Lido to meet up with the roll call peeps, and catch the fun on deck.

 

Serenity Deck

 

View of the Lido

 

 

 

While on the Lido Dr. E hosted some line dancing classes and set up a "flash mob" to the Harlem Shake. It was very entertaining to watch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

It definitely looks like everyone was having a good time!!

[jt1602sd]

This night was Christmas Eve and Cruise Elegant night, so the mood was very festive, and everyone was enjoying themselves. They had some caroling and gave the kids Santa hats in the Atrium.

 

 

 

Dinner was good, and this was one of the nights that we got a free champagne cocktail. Since I wear a uniform to work everyday, I vowed to wear a dress to dinner each night, but this was the only night I actullay took a picture, and a slightly awkward one at that! Selfies are difficult! Haha!

 

 

I met up with my roll call friends and attended the adult comedy shows. They were hilarious!! We were even super brave and sat up front, and only got picked on a little bit. The comedy shows were definitely one of the highlights of the cruise for me! I went to bed shortly after that, ready for a great day in Cozumel!!

[tattoos]

Rock those tatts girl!!

 

Hollywood Beach is a hidden gem in the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood area. It's a quick ride to Miami from there and the beautiful boardwalk beats the much hyped South Beach any day. Inexpensive bars, funky restaurants, live entertainment, beautiful beach, etc., love it there.

 

Did you get a chance to go to Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor on Federal Hwy. near the Jai-Alai fronton?

 

Love your review, thanks for posting.

 

Rose

[jt1602sd]

Again- early to bed early to rise, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise over Cozumel while waiting for my breakfast. I was slightly obsessed with the clouds and how the sun reflected of of them, so I took a lot of photos..

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jt1602sd]

One more sunrise picture...

 

 

But then the rain came.. and it poured!!!

 

 

 

But 15 minutes later it looked like this.. :)

 

 

Gotta love the Caribbean!!

 

I booked the all-inclusive option at Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel, and paid a $5 deposit with $40 to be paid upon my arrival. Another member of my roll call happened to have booked it as well, so we planned to share a cab. It was about $20 each way for the cab, and once we arrived we paid the balance. I really enjoyed Mr. Sanchos and really felt as if I got my money's worth. I didn't eat as much as I had planned, but definitely took part in a number of drinks and Mexican beers. The food was good, and hot food was hot and cold food was cold.. which lessened my fears of Montezuma's revenge!! Haha! The staff was very friendly and not pushy at all. I would recommend this place to anyone for the value and service. They also had a swim up bar which was fun, and you could rent a locker for $5.

 

We got there early so the place was empty

 

[jt1602sd]

 

You could pay extra to use the inflatables, but I don't think they were really keeping track..

 

 

 

Swim-up bar

 

 

I did a little bit of snorkeling, but there wasn't much to see

 

 

Except for this random statue

 

[jt1602sd]

We were cruise "buddies" with the Legend the whole cruise, so they were along for the ride the whole time.

 

 

 

The sunset was beautiful that night

 

 

 

After being at the all-inclusive resort all day, I needed a rest so took a nap before dinner. Apparently that nap did me well, and I not only made it to dinner, but also ended up in the club until the wee hours of the morning. Snippets of that night include: hanging out with the crew at the club, closing the club down, pizza on the lido, losing my room key (which I found in plain sight on the floor in my cabin the next morning), and a trip to guest services. I had a great time, but definitely would pay for it the next morning.

 

Up next: Costa Maya.. the ship day port for me!

[gapearl]

Great review so far! We're a lot alike. I'm also 33, love wearing dresses on the ship every night since I also wear a uniform every day, and I enjoy cruising solo. (Wish I had the courage to get 1 more tattoo but they hurt too bad. :eek:) I'm glad to see you had fun and your worries were put to rest. Will you be booking your next cruise solo? Looking forward to reading more! :)

[jt1602sd]

Great review so far I cruised on the glory before the upgrades I really did enjoy the ship

 

Sent from my PantechP9070 using Tapatalk 2

 

Thanks! I really enjoyed the ship as well!

[jt1602sd]

Great start on the review, can't wait to read the rest!

 

Thank you! I'll be working on it throughout the week!

[jt1602sd]

Rock those tatts girl!!

 

Hollywood Beach is a hidden gem in the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood area. It's a quick ride to Miami from there and the beautiful boardwalk beats the much hyped South Beach any day. Inexpensive bars, funky restaurants, live entertainment, beautiful beach, etc., love it there.

 

Did you get a chance to go to Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor on Federal Hwy. near the Jai-Alai fronton?

 

Love your review, thanks for posting.

 

Rose

 

I absolutely loved Hollywood Beach.. I lived in San Diego for a long time, and it kind of gave me that vibe, which suits me just fine! I stayed in South Beach before my last cruise and did not care for it much.

 

I didn't make it to that ice cream place, but I will put it on my list next time I'm out that way! Thanks for reading!

[jt1602sd]

Great review so far! We're a lot alike. I'm also 33, love wearing dresses on the ship every night since I also wear a uniform every day, and I enjoy cruising solo. (Wish I had the courage to get 1 more tattoo but they hurt too bad. :eek:) I'm glad to see you had fun and your worries were put to rest. Will you be booking your next cruise solo? Looking forward to reading more! :)

 

Gasp!! You were my solo cruise inspiration!! Once I realized I was going to be going alone, I read your reviews and convinced myself I could have a good time regardless! My next cruise will be solo and probably the one after that and after that :). Carnival has had some great rates for solos lately! I just wish my schedule was more flexible, cause I would probably take advantage of a lot of them!! Thanks for reading!

[gapearl]

Gasp!! You were my solo cruise inspiration!! Once I realized I was going to be going alone, I read your reviews and convinced myself I could have a good time regardless! My next cruise will be solo and probably the one after that and after that :). Carnival has had some great rates for solos lately! I just wish my schedule was more flexible, cause I would probably take advantage of a lot of them!! Thanks for reading!

 

*Blushing* I feel like a proud mama! :o I see you're doing the Valor southern itinerary next, my favorite so far. :D Check out the Splendor November 1. There's a lot of solos on that cruise. You should consider it! ;)

[jt1602sd]

*Blushing* I feel like a proud mama! :o I see you're doing the Valor southern itinerary next, my favorite so far. :D Check out the Splendor November 1. There's a lot of solos on that cruise. You should consider it! ;)

 

Unfortunately, I had to cancel that Valor cruise cause work changed things up on me and I may be overseas for the month of May. Which reminds me... I need to change my signature! Haha. I have been looking very hard at that Splendor repo.. I'm thinking about just booking it and figuring out the details later!

[LandlockedCruiser01]

Great review! It's fun and informative. I've been doing my cruises solo too, and wouldn't have it any other way. Tell us how you liked new MDR menus and the "no tablecloths" look.

[GAMOM4]

Love your pictures! What kind of camera were you using and what photo website are putting them on to upload them to cruise critic? My camera lost a part on my cruise in November.....and I need a new one ..... (and this one was mostly new....but stuff happens I guess) I have NO luck getting pictures to post correcctly

[tattoos]

I don't want to hijack your post but one quick note for anyone who is on the fence about sailing solo...DO IT. Over the years, I have been on over 35 cruises, always with family or friends. A couple of months ago, I sailed on the Legend solo and had a wonderful time and have another solo cruise booked for November. It was great having the stateroom to myself, eating when it was convenient for me, meeting up with people for drinks (or not), attending the shows that I was interested in, I played trivia, I read, I ate, I gambled, I danced, I drank (not necessarily in that order). It's nice sailing with family and friends but crusing solo has more positive aspects than negative.

 

Pull up any of GAPearl's reviews if you have any hesitation about cruising solo.

[jt1602sd]

Love your pictures! What kind of camera were you using and what photo website are putting them on to upload them to cruise critic? My camera lost a part on my cruise in November.....and I need a new one ..... (and this one was mostly new....but stuff happens I guess) I have NO luck getting pictures to post correcctly

 

Thanks!! I'm not much of a photographer, but I'm glad I actually purchased a camera this trip rather than depend on my iPhone! It's an Olympus Tough LCD Digital camera, so it's shockproof and waterproof, which is good for me because I seem to be rather rough on digital cameras. I literally have about 4 of em, sitting in a box broken somewhere in my house. Haha. All I'm doing with the pictures is copying and pasting them from my social networking site, but I think I could do the same thing from my picture library on my computer as well.

 

 

 

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