Just back from GLORY Eastern - FABULOUS!!

[Gabsabunch42]

Just back from Carnival Glory – Eastern Caribbean Itinerary – August 6, 2005

I think the Carnival Glory is a beautiful ship. The ship was always clean and being taken care of by a very hard-working, friendly crew. We had a fabulous cruise, and would sail the Glory again in a heartbeat on the Western Itinerary (hopefully someday). My husband and I were traveling with our son (20) and our daughter (14).

 

 

Embarkment: Saturday, August 6, 2005: We arrived at the terminal at 10:15 a.m. The gentlemen at the entrance directed us to the baggage drop area, where we dropped off 4 bags (1 being a collapsible wheeled cooler with 12 beers and 24 sodas, and we cushioned those with a towel), and gave the porter a tip, and proceeded to the parking garage. We paid $70 for the week, parked the car, and unloaded our few carry-on bags and made our way into the terminal entrance. Because we were so early, we did not have a line anywhere except to board. We put our stuff through X-Ray (we had to take our computer out of the case) (We brought the computer mostly to copy our digital pictures from the camera). Then we went to the check-in area, showed our documentation. We don’t have passports, so we just showed our birth certificates and our Drivers Licenses (Hubby, Son and I), our Fun Pass, Tickets, and Sign and Sail Card Application. They ask if you want your children’s S&S Card activated for purchases. Next we proceeded to the next line for our S&S Card. Then we went to the line to board. We were in this line by 10:45. We were probably one of the first 50 people in line here. We waited a long time here. Finally at 12:00 they started boarding. By this time, the terminal lobby was packed! We boarded the ship and went through a line where they scanned our S&S Cards and took a picture of us (I guess to have a photo to match each card), then we had our boarding picture taken, then on to the Lido Deck for Lunch. By the time we finished eating, it was 1:00, time to go check out our room, explore the ship, purser’s desk to have our cards punched, unpack our bags (which all arrived by 5:30), did the muster drill, watch sail-away, and go to dinner. (We were assigned 5:45 Seating in the Platinum Dining Room, Upper Level)

 

 

Our Room: We had a category 8A, Room 6240 on the Upper Deck, Forward, directly above the Amber Lounge Theater. We loved our room. It was a balcony stateroom with queen-sized (I think) bed, a single bed for son, and an upper bunk for daughter. The room had 3 nice sized closets for clothes (2 closets for hanging, which contained about 10 hangers each, and 1 closet with shelves). The desk area had 3 empty drawers to use (top fourth drawer contained hair dryer, middle drawer contained bible, ship info, etc.). The single bed had two large drawers underneath for storage. The bathroom had lots of shelves. It would have been plenty of room for 2 people, but for the 4 of us, we needed our hanging shoe holder for more organization. Also in the room were 3 bedside lamps, 2 little nightstands, a chair, a stool, a table, and a desk. The balcony had two chairs and a small table. (Note; The balcony light only worked on the two evenings which we were in port. As soon as the ship sets sail, the outside power was disconnected and the outside lights went out.) After I left a note for the cabin steward on the second day to please put some ice in our cooler, he refilled it every couple of days for us. We did have robes in the room, but we did not ever receive an amenity basket at all. Do they not do that any more? Also, we were supposed to receive a bon-voyage gift in our room, but nothing was there. A couple of days later they presented us with a coupon for $15 off a purchase of shipboard photos. That came in very handy. We had to ask our room steward for pool towels on Sunday. We saw other folks walking around with them and asked where we get them and they said that they were in their room, so we had to call our room steward to bring us some. Not a big deal, but a little odd that he would forget something like that. We had towel animals on all nights except the first and last nights. They were very cute. We only saw our room steward a couple of times the entire week, and he did a fine job taking care of our room.

 

 

Notes about Packing: I thought we had packed way too much, but although we did each have a few things we didn’t wear, it was nice to have all our favorite clothes to choose from. We took a lot of stuff. Good stuff to have: Extra hangers (we took a couple dozen extra hangers and loved being able to hang all our shirts/blouses – I guess you could probably ask for extras, but it was easy to take extra and we had plenty of room in our luggage), Over the door shoe holder (very handy if you have 4 people in your cabin), alarm clock with large lighted digital display, power strip/extension cord (take if you will have to plug more than 2 things in at one time), clothespins (clothesline pulls out in shower area to hang bathing suits to dry), superglue (hubby’s sunglasses broke twice), post-it notes to leave notes to each other, and a small flashlight to find stuff in the room at night. Stuff we took but didn’t use: Duct tape (I would still take ‘just in case’), walkie talkies (had bad interference when we tried to use them, so we packed them away and were better off not lugging them around. We saw each other all the time to check in with each other)(Note; A friend of my daughter rented walkie talkies from the purser’s desk and said they worked very good), bungee cord (didn’t feel the need to have door propped open), Air freshener/night light (to be activated the light switch had to be turned on – defeated the purpose of the night light, and the room always smelled fine, so didn’t need an air freshener). Take some tummy medicine. With all the eating and diet changes, your stomach may be upset. My husband was constantly popping tums all week.

 

 

Dining: We had 5:45 seating in the Platinum Dining Room, upper level. I thought we would like this seating because this is when we normally eat. However – with this seating you miss the sunsets. It came to pass that we only went to the Dining Room on 4 nights (2 of them the formal nights – which were Sunday and Thursday). If we cruise again, I would pick the later seating. The following were noted: Although we were one of the first ones into the dining room every time we went, we were always one of the last to leave. Our waiter seemed slow to us. There was a female wait team handling the tables next to ours. They were very friendly, always chatting and joking with the passengers at their tables, and were very efficient with their tables. While being polite, our waiters were not overly friendly. As far as the meals themselves, my daughter (who is very picky) did not enjoy anything at dinner except her salad. I (who am not picky) only enjoyed one entrée – that being a scallop dish). The guys seemed to enjoy more of their meals than we girls did, even double ordering a couple of nights. I did think the flourless chocolate cake was fabulous. On the first formal night, the photographer came around and took pictures, but on the second formal night, the photographer did not go to every table, but just picked out a few and ignored the rest of us (what was up with that?!). As far as dress, we saw most folks dressed very nice and elegant on formal night and very nice on casual nights. I did see blue jeans (even on formal night), flip flops (ick), and even shorts (yes, I even saw one man with ‘dressy’ shorts on formal night). Folks if you have an outfit that is a little tight, wear it the first formal night because by Thursday’s formal night, it may not fit anymore (my hubby almost didn’t fit into his suit anymore!) The dining room looked beautiful, but overall not thrilled with the dining experience. We did not eat in the dining room for breakfast or lunch, but tried out the buffets (very good), Fish and Chips (very good), deli (excellent), pizza (excellent), ice cream/yogurt (excellent), and the Hamburger grill (very good). Son and daughter purchased soda cards and we took soda for refreshment in the cabin. Punch and lemonade were available all day and hubby and I drank that during the day. Hubby brought beer to enjoy in the cabin. He also brought some little bottles of liquor (he acquired while working for the airlines). He mixed those with sodas and orange juice (which he filled into a water bottle from the breakfast buffet) for evening drinks in the cabin. I don’t drink usually, but did enjoy a few strawberry daiquiris over the week.

 

 

Entertainment: The shows every evening were very good consisting of Las Vegas type shows, a talent show, a few comedy shows, and a magic show. My son enjoyed the Karaoke Bar, while my teenage daughter latched onto a girl and boy that she became very attached to, and they spent most of their time in the teen club. Note: She is 14 and did not want to do the 12-14 camp carnival. She just went to the teen club on the second night and met up with some other 14 year olds. Even on a cruise, she was getting phone calls in the cabin from her new friends. They hung out together the entire cruise. Other entertainment included lots of bingo games, drawings, game shows, contests, and of course the casino (blew a little cash in there). We thought our cruise director Mark Price was very entertaining.

 

 

Ports: Nassau: My daughter and I stepped off to do a bit of shopping (hubby and son chose to stay on board). We bought some souvenirs. Since we were only there for a few hours, we did not do an excursion. This port was just ok for us. St.Thomas: Immigration because you are re-entering US territory. We docked at 10:00. They were to call early tours first (tours before 10:30). Ours was a private tour with Godfrey for 10:00 (he said he would wait if we ran late, and there were others on the ship who booked as well). At 9:30 we got in line outside the designated immigration area on the ship and at a little after 10:00 the line started moving. We had to show our BC and our Photo ID. Then the next line they ask you for your room number and they give you a sticker verifying that you have cleared immigration. Then we took our documents back to our cabin safe, and down and off the ship. We were off the ship by 10:30. Note: They never did ask for proof of my early tour even though I did have a confirmation e-mail with me. Note: EVERYONE on the ship will have to go through immigration here even if you are not leaving the ship. Our tour: Godfrey offers a tour where he will pick you up at the ship in his open bus and take you downtown for shopping until noon, then he takes you on a 2-hour tour of the island, similar to a roller coaster ride on those windy roads lol. He will then take you to either Coki, Sapphire, or Megans Bay for 2 hours. We chose Coki Beach. Godfrey says that Coki is the clearest of the 3, Sapphire is the least crowded of the 3, and Megans is the most beautiful (but there is a $3 fee to get into Megans bay. Hubby and son snorkeled and had a blast. It was a small beach. The water was very clear and refreshing, but the beach itself was kind of dirty with all kinds of bottle caps, sticks and pieces of glass lying around. Overall this tour was fabulous. We had a great time. We were back to the ship around 4:30 pm. St. Marten: We just took the water taxi over to town and did some souvenir shopping. We were more interested in relaxing on the ship, so we made a short day of it at port. Days at Sea: Fabulous. Just spent the days lounging around and enjoying ship food and entertainment.

 

 

Debarkment: We did self-assist debarking, which meant that we did not put our luggage out the night before for pickup. Instead, at 7:30 when they called for self-assist to debark, we grabbed all our luggage and went down the gangplank, showed our customs sheet, our BC, and our photo ID, and walked off the ship. We were on the road home by 8:30 am. If you put luggage out the night before, you have to wait until they clear your luggage off the ship, then Mark will call the tags of the luggage that are off and you can leave when your color tag is called.

 

 

Other observations: We felt a LOT of ship “turbulence” on Saturday and Sunday evenings and Monday. We were rocking like crazy. It did not make me ill or anything, just an observation. Thursday and Friday were very smooth days at sea.

 

 

Lines at food areas were typical but not awful. Always plenty of places to sit and eat.

 

 

The first couple of days I saw at least 3 people slip and fall. Please be careful – the floors can be very slippery especially near the pools.

 

 

On the television in the room we were able to keep track of our sign and sail card spending, you were also able to book tours, and we were also able to check out the evening dining room menu.

 

 

If there is an excursion that you really want to do (check out what is available at your ports at the carnival website), I would book the tour before you leave because for our cruise, there wasn’t a whole lot of tours available anymore.

 

 

I hope this helps future cruisers. Please feel free to ask any questions. I will try to answer as best I can. I did save all the Capers and will scan them next week sometime and figure out a way to make those available for you to look at.

[gypsyrose]

Great review!! We do the same trip next year and I love reading other reviews. Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

[Stella_Illuminata]

Fabulous review! Glad to hear you had a good time :)

 

Next time you're in Nassau, if your interested, try the Dolphin Encounter or the Dolphin Swim at Blue Lagoon. I did the Dolphin Swim and it was amazing. You're right though - your time there is limited. I'm not sure how much time you had, but when I visited Nassau with NCL it wasn't a tight squeeze or anything for the excursion, but it was still not a lot of time.

 

How was the self-assist debarking? We're not sure which way to disembark to choose...

[gypsyrose]

Fabulous review!! Glad you had a great time. Looking forward to the same trip next year. Too far away:mad:

[Gabsabunch42]

Fabulous review! Glad to hear you had a good time :)

 

Next time you're in Nassau, if your interested, try the Dolphin Encounter or the Dolphin Swim at Blue Lagoon. I did the Dolphin Swim and it was amazing. You're right though - your time there is limited. I'm not sure how much time you had, but when I visited Nassau with NCL it wasn't a tight squeeze or anything for the excursion, but it was still not a lot of time.

 

How was the self-assist debarking? We're not sure which way to disembark to choose...

 

My daughter did not want to do the dolphin encounter because when we cruised in 2001 we did a stingray excursion where they came up to us..and she did not like that. I wanted to take her to Atlantis, but she was in a hurry to get back on the ship to be with her new friends!:confused: .

 

The self-assist was wonderfully easy. At 7:30 we went and stood by the elevators. It took a few minutes for us to squeeze onto an elevator with our bags. To do this you must be able to carry/roll all your bags. The guys lugged the two LARGE rolled bags. DD and I wheeled the smaller two bags. Now, if you have an early flight, you can arrange to get off early even if you choose not to self-assist, but you have to prove you have an early flight. We wanted to get off early due to we had an 8 hr drive home. It worked out fabulous. We were home by dinner time.

[TVMet]

Good review, we will be on the Glory next year. How do you get in touch with this Godfrey in St. Thomas?

[margie4233]

very interesting post! we are on the glory oct 1st. it will be our first cruise.

my question is about dinner menu on formal nights. was lobster available, & baked alaska? i`ve never had either, & wanting to try it . I`ve read that niether is available any more, but t6hought i`d ask you since you are fresh off the glory.

Thanks!

[Gabsabunch42]

Good review, we will be on the Glory next year. How do you get in touch with this Godfrey in St. Thomas?

Send him an e-mail at godfrey@godfreytoursvi.com. He charges $20 pp. Very worth it!! Check out the ports section of cruise critic.you will see lots of reviews about his tour there.

[Gabsabunch42]

very interesting post! we are on the glory oct 1st. it will be our first cruise.

my question is about dinner menu on formal nights. was lobster available, & baked alaska? i`ve never had either, & wanting to try it . I`ve read that niether is available any more, but t6hought i`d ask you since you are fresh off the glory.

Thanks!

 

Yes on the first formal night the guys each ordered 2 lobster tails. (Yes you can order more than one entree!!) I don't recall seeing baked alaska. Daughter had quail on the first formal..did not care for it. There is an appetizer, salad, entree and dessert for each dinner. On the second formal night, 3 of us had prime rib and son had black tiger shrimp. These were all good.

[margie4233]

Thanks for the info! we`ll have to make sure we go to first formal night. sure hope i can find the baked alaska!!

 

i just got our cabin number through the "gift" method, it says 2312 , but i can`t find were its at. do you by any chance remember what deck this might be on?

[kimcruiser]

I really enjoyed your review. We are trying to figure out a cruise for 2007 and this sounds like a good one. Thank you

[KenMo]

Thanks for the info! we`ll have to make sure we go to first formal night. sure hope i can find the baked alaska!!

 

i just got our cabin number through the "gift" method, it says 2312 , but i can`t find were its at. do you by any chance remember what deck this might be on?

 

Last I heard, Baked Alaska is no more.....fire hazard.

 

Your cabin is on Main Deck, port side. It's midship, more towards the bow.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

[OCruisers]

Gabsabunch42 .... So enjoyed reading your review -- Thank You!

 

You mentioned the only line with a wait you experienced on embarkation was the actual line to board the ship. Were there seats while waiting ....?

 

:confused: Since you have your CAPERS from the cruise, would you do us a really big favor and check to see ( when you have time) if "Fish'nChips" is open the day we embark ...?

 

Thanks again for your review!!!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Gabsabunch42]

Gabsabunch42 .... So enjoyed reading your review -- Thank You!

 

You mentioned the only line with a wait you experienced on embarkation was the actual line to board the ship. Were there seats while waiting ....?

 

:confused: Since you have your CAPERS from the cruise, would you do us a really big favor and check to see ( when you have time) if "Fish'nChips" is open the day we embark ...?

 

Thanks again for your review!!!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

 

Unbelievably, no. You know those lines like you wait in at the bank and amusement parks? It was like that. After a little while, everyone was sitting on the floor. That could have been better. We waited in this line for about an hour and a half.

 

According to my Saturday Capers, the Fish and Chips is open on embarkation day form 12:30 to 3:30, as well as the Deli, The Grill, and the Buffet, etc. We actually were eating at 12:15, so I bet everything was actually open then. The Fish and Chips is on deck 10. You have to go up one level form the Red Sail Restaurant (Buffet) which is on Deck 9, Lido Deck.

 

Have a great cruise!

[basketballmom]

Gabs! Glad you and your family had a great time. I just got my pictures back this week and after reading your observations, I am really "cruisesick" now:)

[atlcple2]

Fabulous review! Glad to hear you had a good time :)

 

Next time you're in Nassau, if your interested, try the Dolphin Encounter or the Dolphin Swim at Blue Lagoon. I did the Dolphin Swim and it was amazing. You're right though - your time there is limited. I'm not sure how much time you had, but when I visited Nassau with NCL it wasn't a tight squeeze or anything for the excursion, but it was still not a lot of time.

 

How was the self-assist debarking? We're not sure which way to disembark to choose...

 

Self-assist debarking is the only way to go!!! We were on the Spirit in January of 2004 and it was a breeze! Immigrations/customs lasts less than 1 minute and we were in a taxi and on our way to the airport in 10 minutes. We will be on the Caribbean Princess on 9/3 and the Glory on 2/18/06 and plan to do that on both cruises. Last year we had 1 very large suitcase on wheels and 2 carry ons. We always take too much stuff, so this weekend I wanted to see if I could get all my clothes in a 21" carry on...I did it! This way we won't have to check our luggage getting on the ship either! Yep! I am pretty proud of myself!

[Gabsabunch42]

Gabs! Glad you and your family had a great time. I just got my pictures back this week and after reading your observations, I am really "cruisesick" now:)

 

I hear you basketballmom. We already are contemplating booking another cruise (It will have to be wayyyy in the future though). As I stated, I would love to go Glory again on the Western,. I wonder how often they change the shows and stuff.

[OCruisers]

Gabsabunch .... Thanks for your time to respond! Fish'nChips sounds great for embarkation day since most folks won't know where to find it! :D

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[basketballmom]

From what I read, they don't change their shows all that often. It's not just Carninval, all cruise lines are guilty of that. Same goes for menus too.

 

We are booked for a cruise next summer, so I'll have to patiently wait till then. But until then, I can look at my pictures every day!

[Gabsabunch42]

Basketballmom, I see you are sailing Majesty on your next cruise. Did you not like Carnival as much as NCL?

[PMARSHALL]

Gabsabunch42 Glad you and your family had a great cruise. I wish we were able to meet up by the time we made it to the bar it seems everyone must have come and gone Sheila found me while we were standing in line to get off in Nassau her DH noticed my splint on my thumb and we all enjoyed speding time together. We were lucky we did not have to stand in the long line to borad only about 25 minutes. I don't know if it was because of the early dinner but we only ate in the dining room on one formal night it was just to rush rush if you ate at 5:45.

[Gabsabunch42]

Gabsabunch42 Glad you and your family had a great cruise. I wish we were able to meet up by the time we made it to the bar it seems everyone must have come and gone Sheila found me while we were standing in line to get off in Nassau her DH noticed my splint on my thumb and we all enjoyed speding time together. We were lucky we did not have to stand in the long line to borad only about 25 minutes. I don't know if it was because of the early dinner but we only ate in the dining room on one formal night it was just to rush rush if you ate at 5:45.

Patti! I wish we could have made it down. After muster, my family wanted to go out to the 'secret' deck at the front of the ship to watch us enter the ocean. I could not say no! And then it was dinner time. I am with you about the 5:45 dinner, it was rush rush.. we only ate there a few times as well. I would not pick that seating time again. Did you enjoy your cruise? We d not care for Nassau, daughter and I went off alone and a local person came up to us and grabbed her arm and put some homeade bracelet thingie on her wrist and was begging for money. I could not understand a word of what she said except 'donation'. I gave her a couple of bucks and we headed back to the ship soon after because my daughter was freaking out because this lady would not let go of her wrist until I gave her money! How was the Blue Lagoon?

[PMARSHALL]

The Blue Lagoon was very nice the weather was the best the entire week. I would have to say our best day was at St Martin. We went on the Lord Sheffield an excursion not through the ship but it was the best time we had on the cruise. I am sorry to hear that your daughter had a scare in Nassau this was our second time there and so far we have only done the Blue Lagoon because of the issues on the island. I did pretty good in the casino and won $400 in the slots but after the DH and his bad luck I only came home with $150. Did you check out the vacation club they are selling on the ships? Sheila and I did, she got it but I decided to wait until my next cruise which will be in April 06.

[Gabsabunch42]

The Blue Lagoon was very nice the weather was the best the entire week. I would have to say our best day was at St Martin. We went on the Lord Sheffield an excursion not through the ship but it was the best time we had on the cruise. I am sorry to hear that your daughter had a scare in Nassau this was our second time there and so far we have only done the Blue Lagoon because of the issues on the island. I did pretty good in the casino and won $400 in the slots but after the DH and his bad luck I only came home with $150. Did you check out the vacation club they are selling on the ships? Sheila and I did, she got it but I decided to wait until my next cruise which will be in April 06.

I heard a little bit about it, like you earn sea miles everytime you use the credit card? As far as a credit I use my discover card for everything I possibly can because I get a 2 percent cash back bonus. Since I use it so much, I earn hundreds of dollars there and we always pay off our credit card each month, so this is a good deal for us to save for our next vacation. You are cruising in April again!? I am jealous. What ship and itinerary?

[rdrseller]

When you book your cruise, you immediately start wondering how it will be and what you will do and where you will go.

 

I think so many of us look forward to the reviews of our fellow CCers. My family is booked on the Glory for 5/27/06 and we can't wait.

 

Great review, thanks.