Carnival Glory B2B: 97 Photos, 19 Videos, 1 Long Review

[somewheretropical]

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful review! I really appreciated the secret features and places video. I'm definitely going to need to try the food at Fish & Chips! Your photos are amazing.

[canadiancruiser13]

This is my review of our most recent cruise: back-to-back Eastern & Western Caribbean cruises on the Carnival Glory during the last week of April and the first week of May, 2014.

 

Our ports of call included Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Grand Cayman, Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk.

 

Almost all of the pictures and videos were shot with a Canon EOS 70D camera, with the exception of the time-lapse videos and underwater videos.

 

I'll get things started by sharing a few of my favorite pictures from the cruise...

 

One of the best days of my entire life!

Relaxing in a private cabana at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.

 

 

 



One of my favorite cruise destinations: Grand Turk

 

 

 



From the balcony of our cabin, we had a beautiful view of the ship's wake

and quite often some beautiful sunsets and sunrises

 

 

 



My favorite place on the ship: the aft swimming pool and Jacuzzis.

In 2 weeks, we had three afternoon rain showers where they closed the dome over the aft pool.

Of course, at all other times it was open to take advantage of the warm Caribbean atmosphere.

 

Totally enjoyed your review.

 

My DW and I plus a friend will be on CCL Glory this coming October.

 

Recently my DW read on John Heald's blog that he plans to have a new Cruise Director schedule out soon.

[evanAction]

Thank you very much for the review. Will be on the Glory in 130 days for the HMC/PR/THOMAS/TURK route. They haven't released the CD schedule yet, but I'll try and tune your singing friend out if we have him. Can't wait! :)

 

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[cruizinisthebest]

Awesome review with beautiful pics and cute videos. Thanks for sharing. Must be alot of work. Might give Glory a try next year. I don't care about the CD or their annoying announcements. Especially if they were good in every other area. So the advice to avoid him I will disregard. lol.

[boaterette]

Loved your review. Funny that you commented on the boat in the water looking fake. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw it. But I have seen the beautiful clear water there and knew it was real. Awesome story about surviving cancer. Thanks for sharing that.

[Georgiagolfer]

Really enjoyed your review. Thanks for the heads up about the CD. We will be sure to tune him out during our cruise.

[pbmsmile]

It seems like you were able to bring soda back on board a couple of times in the middle of the cruise. I thought that was only allowed at the beginning?? Did you just walk right in with the soda with no questions asked??

[Spaniel Lover]

Yes... there's no problem bringing soda onboard at any port. There's no rule against it. I do it on every cruise. Years ago, I used to buy a six-pack at home and pack it in my suitcase. That seems like a waste of valuable space to me now. Usually at the first port of call, I will buy some soda and bring it onboard. For some reason on this trip, I waited until the second port of call... and then got some more on the second week, too.

[kmc500]

That was fine outdoors, but a little weird when I had to wear them indoors at the shows, shops, and restaurants! On future cruises, I'm definitely going to be packing an emergency backup pair.

 

Good plan. Not sure how "sight challenged" you are, but my wife without her corrective lenses is darn near helpless. Can't see well enough to drive or read. Two days into a week visiting SXM she lost her glasses at Mullet Bay beach to a rogue wave. Since her glasses were the kind that are sunglasses as well, she had no spare at all. It made for a rough remainder of the week, since one of her pleasures is relaxing on the beach reading. She now makes sure to bring a backup pair when traveling.

 

Love your review!

 

Kevin C

[Spaniel Lover]

Prior to our cruise, we spent two nights at the Bentley Hotel on South Beach.

Here are a few pictures...

 



The Bentley Hotel

at the Corner of Ocean Drive and 5th Street

on South Beach

 

 

 



The entrance to the Bentley Hotel is somewhat hidden.

It's underneath those umbrellas for the Belini Italian Bistro.

The restaurant's umbrellas totally block the hotel entrance sign.

 

 

 



The hotel has a swimming pool up on the roof, with a beautiful view.

At its deepest point, the pool is only four feet deep.

 

 

 



Here's the view from the rooftop pool area

 

The Bentley is an older hotel that has recently been remodeled and modernized. Hotels on South Beach are super-expensive, so we opted for their least expensive room: a studio with no view. While I've definitely stayed in far nicer hotel rooms, the thing this hotel had going for it was an outstanding location. You just couldn't beat being right across the street from one of the best beaches in the world, and being right on Ocean Drive with all the restaurants and night life. There were two restaurants on the ground floor of the hotel building, and dozens more restaurants and bars to choose from as you walked down Ocean Drive. It was a fun and memorable stay.

 

I wrote a review of the Bentley Hotel for TripAdvisor.com

You can ready my review here

[Spaniel Lover]

All around the city you'll find these automated kiosks for renting bicycles

including one conveniently located right across from the Bentley Hotel

 

 

 

Miami's South Beach is right across the street from the Bentley Hotel

Just walk across the street and go through the park and you're on the beach



Sorry this picture is so crappy... I shot it with my cell phone.

 

 

 

On Saturday afternoon I walked about 7 blocks from the hotel

to South Pointe Park for a view of the cruise ships leaving the port of Miami

 



 

 

 

Of all the ships we saw that day, I was most excited about the Norwegian Getaway

because we'll be cruising on her later this year



 

 

 

Here's a video I shot of the Norwegian Getaway heading out to sea:

[YOUTUBE]A1Glc9DrBQg[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

Here's a video of the Carnival Liberty heading out to sea:

 

[YOUTUBE]9SOJiFKRzLQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

While I was shooting cruise ship photos and videos,

there was a very friendly pelican that positioned himself for a nice photo



 

 

 

On our way out of the park we saw a young kid with amazing skateboarding skills for his age:

 

[YOUTUBE]lPup7K4LO0o[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

When our cruise was all over and we were flying home out of Miami International Airport

I shot this video which gives a pretty good aerial view of the Port of Miami at the 3:50 mark

[YOUTUBE]jXcsQAgZoCo[/YOUTUBE]

[Rock_ON!!]

Your review was ver good, but your pictures were even better. The colors are very vivid and the low light shots came out great.

 

 

 

 

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[dapaddo]

Love your review! We are on the Glory in Oct. doing the 2nd part of your b2b.

 

I have a question, you mentioned lunch at HMC is that for everyone or just those renting a cabana. Also is the water ruff there? We have some moblity issues and they like to get in the water but need light waves. First trip to HMC in 14 cruises.

[krismas_tina]

Carnival Glory's Cruise Director

Eversen Bevelle

 



 

 

Up until this point, it's been a fairly glowing review of our cruise, wouldn't you say? It was simply one of the best cruises we've been on... and we've been on 24 cruises, so far! But I'm afraid that the only things we truly disliked on this cruise were the PA announcements made by Eversen, the Cruise Director. He was great on stage... an excellent host of the various shows in the Amber Palace show lounge and of the adults-only Quest show in the Ebony Cabaret. He even did a fine job giving the safety briefing over the PA system. But when it came to all the other PA announcements during the week... we'd sooner listen to

.

 

This guy must have some gigantic ego! Not only does he like to hear himself talk on the PA system... he likes to SING. Just about every PA announcement would start with Eversen singing. It got old REALLY fast. After a day or two, we were ready for ear plugs. After two weeks of it, I could have strangled the guy.

 

My advice is to locate the Cruise Director schedule on John Heald's blog before booking your next Carnival cruise and to avoid all cruises where Eversen is the Cruise Director. I know I will.

 

awww...poor Eversen! We had him as an assistant CD on the Valor a few years ago. Must have been before he was a singer because he didn't sing once on that cruise! We hung out with him several times on our cruise, and to his credit, he is a genuinely nice guy. But different strokes for different folks, right?

 

Anyway, I enjoyed your review. We are getting ready for a B2B on the Breeze in July! Can't wait!

[Spaniel Lover]

I have a question, you mentioned lunch at HMC is that for everyone or just those renting a cabana. Also is the water ruff there? We have some moblity issues and they like to get in the water but need light waves. First trip to HMC in 14 cruises.

 

Lunch is for everyone... and it's free. I enjoyed it very much. I wish I had taken a picture of the food and the area where they serve it buffet-style.

 

I've been to HMC several times, and the surf has always been very gentle. I'm sure if there's a storm coming through the area it would not be... but as long as the weather is good, I think your odds of finding gentle surf are probably very good.

[cruiseclues]

 

Tell the Truth...you deliberately broke your regular glasses so you could look cool the rest of the cruise.

 

Your review was just outstanding...a great pleasure to read...the absolutely excellent photos were just so very great...especially your food photos...and your favorite, a Guy's Burger, was my favorite, too...though it was hard to pick a favorite as they were all so very enjoyable...the organization of your review was artful and well presented...really enjoyed the videos interspersed...you two look so good together...We wish you all the very best. :):):):)

[PathfinderEss]

Great review and excellent photo's, thanks for posting.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[cruiseforward]

Loved your review...this was sooooo informative...we are cruising on the Glory in Sept for the Eastern Cruise...My husband and I've cruised multiple time, but this is our first on the Glory. My brother and sis-in-law will be joining us..his second and her first...we've rented a cabana in the past and of course we have a cabana rented, so this review was perfect to show them!...and we as well are booked for Sept 2015 on the NCL Getaway...we cruised last October on the NCL Breakaway and loved it as well ..Once again, thank you for this wonderful review of the Carnival Glory!!!

[ReggaeRoy]

Fabulous review and photos. Thanks for sharing your cruises with us.

 

What Spaniels do you have? We have two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Awesome dogs!

[seashinesunshine]

Thank you for your great review and pictures!! We are doing the same B2B next January!! 201 days to go!

[aceoutwide120]

Thanks for the excellent review! It really makes me want to do a b2b cruise. We have cruised the Eastern itinerary and prefer it over the Western. But b2b like you all did would be the best of both worlds.

[Nic6318]

Hi there

 

Just wanted to say that this was a great review and pictures that make you feel that you are there.

 

We will be on the Glory in 3 wks. and can't wait.

 

Just wondering if you, or anyone else could tell me which days on the Glory are the formal evenings.

 

Thanks a lot

 

Happy cruising

 

Ian

[cruisinbabs]

i enjoyed your review very much! i am putting a deposit down beginning of august for the glory in may (hence my new signature line.. woo!)... i am from the west coast as well so i totally understand the airfare part.. i wish i had enough vacation time and money to do a b2b... i will do one someday.. bucket list!

 

this year the toss up was the glory for eastern route or splendor our of NYC.. splendor won because it was an 8 dayer which was cheaper than a 7 dayer out of miami.. plus we got to see our best friends that live in PA that drove to nyc to meet us there.. pretty epic trip it was.. :D

 

but i am truly looking forward to my girls only trip and flying somewhat solo...

 

you and your wife are so cute and i enjoyed all your pictures and videos!

[bugsokc]

Thanks for sharing!

 

Great pictures!