Back from Glory Eastern Caribbean -Review

[SunnydayKim]

There were tons of open “tramlike” cabs waiting outside the dock. One said he was going to the beach, $9 per person. We hopped on!

 

 

 

The ride was through the whole island I think. So interesting. A lot of poverty on the island that we saw. But really beautiful landscape, flowers and scenery. Very hilly as well! And green! The tram/cab driver did give a mini-tour, but it was hard to understand him and we caught every third word or so. The drive to Coki Beach took about 20 minutes (with a stop at the mini dock to take some passengers over to St. John). They drive on the left side of the road and the streets are very narrow- so it was an interesting ride as well!

 

 

We rented 1 chair ($5). And got one that was open in the shade. The beach near some trees was not the best sand. But, then you took a few steps towards the water. Great sand, some small smooth rocks and the water was amazingly clear!

 

 

 

 

Just loved the view here. And the crystal clear water.

 

 

 

And there was a reef with yellow/black striped fish, white fish and others just a short swim out. You could see the fish with your eyes above the water. I would have loved to snorkel there, but we just swam and had fun. Keiran met some other kids there and they played in the water and sand with some sand toys we brought. Steve & I hung out near the shore in the water near Keiran and took turns swimming out to look at the reef or just waded there in the shallow water.

 

 

 

There was a bathroom (nice as well) and outside showers. There were also some shops, a restaurant and bar on the boardwalk up from the beach. We only used the bathroom & shower before leaving. We had bottles of water with us.

 

 

The view- it was amazing and so pretty to see the green all around you while being in the water. I really loved this beach as you can tell! The one thing I didn't love was that there were a lot of people trying to sell things on the beach- not just food & drink but purses, crafts, etc. We never were asked- but we were never out of the water or shore! Only to get a sip of water or re-apply sun screen.

 

 

 

 

A few more pictures coming up...

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

The next thing we knew, it was after 1pm! We had enough sun and although we hated to leave, the ride back was a slightly different way (another $9 per person) with a crazy driver- but with great views along the way! We also had an iguana jump out of a tree onto our cab/tram while waiting to leave the beach. He got away before I could get out my camera!

 

 

 

 

 

On the ride back

 

 

 

 

We did a little bit of shopping back near the port and then got on the boat and had a late lunch. Another Guy's Burger day for all of us. The trip back took only about 10 minutes (a lot shorter than the ride to the beach). After lunch and an afternoon drink (and cherries!), we all took a nap. A really long nap!

 

 

 

Pictures from our balcony before dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner tonight was great service again. I believe this is the night that I had the ribs (really good!) and Steve had the Indian vegetarian dish plus a side of grilled chicken to mix in. Keiran had chicken nuggets & fries with the Cherry soup this night I believe.

 

 

After dinner, it was back to the routine of dropping Keiran off at camp and Steve & I playing in the casino. I think that we also did some music trivia one of these nights! We never did make it to a show (other than the comedians) but that is OK with us. In past cruises, we haven't liked them that much. I continued a bit of my luck on Blackjack and then continued to give any winnings and then some back to slots or other games! Overall gambling wise, we lost about ½ of what we had budgeted for gambling. So, it is all part of the entertainment!

 

 

I think that I mentioned that I was drinking apple cider- Angry Orchard. Really good, not heavy and fills a whole glass! If you like cider or light beer, try one on board! Yummy!

 

 

I think that we were all back in the room by 10:30 this evening after picking Keiran up and getting milk. Early morning the next day as we get into Puerto Rico at 7:30am (and Keiran was waking up with the sun each day!)

 

 

Up next, a hot day in PR!

 

 

Kim

[Seany527]

 

We also took advantage of the Matchplays with a "classic cocktail". I would order a Mai Tai and drink about 1/4 of it slowly while at the pool, doing trivia, walking around the ship, etc. Then, get another when it got watered down.

 

Between the two of us we prob had about 50 matchplays on the trip and won about 40% of them (I had a higher percentage of wins than Steve did). So we made out with getting a couple hundred back in casino play as well.

 

Kim

 

 

Can you please explain exactly how the match play works, when you have some time. I'm really confused by it. Thanks 😄

 

 

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[SunnydayKim]

Can you please explain exactly how the match play works, when you have some time. I'm really confused by it. Thanks 😄

 

 

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Sure!

 

You order a drink off of the classic cocktail menu. I think that there were 6 options. The Mai Tai was good, and so was The Cruiser. You get your receipt (they will give you two for this a REPRINT - you sign that one) and the original (store that one away).

 

At the end of the day (or a few days worth) you take your receipts for the classic cocktails to the cage at the casino. They exchange each receipt for a Classic Cocktail drink (even when $0 charge on CHEERS) with a $5 matchplay coupon.

 

We only used them on Blackjack or Craps. They can only be used on an even-money bet and FOR even-money. (IE once I got a Blackjack using one and only got $5 instead of the $7.50 for the matchplay portion of my bet). The dealer will be able to tell you if your bet is match-play eligible.

 

You have to "match" the $5 coupon. So, you put a $5 chip down PLUS your match play coupon, and if you win- you win $10, not the $5 in chips you played. Each win or loss you do have to give up that match-play coupon. Only on a "push" in BJ would it stay.

 

Sorry if this confused you even more! Hopefully it helped!

 

Kim

[Seany527]

[quote=SunnydayKim;44137719

 

Sorry if this confused you even more! Hopefully it helped!

 

Kim

 

 

It helped a lot. Thanks!

 

 

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[SunnydayKim]

You may see a trend here. We didn't book any excursions on this trip. We wanted to just keep it relaxed and at our pace with the little guy.

 

 

This morning, we had hoped to order room service, but didn't get a room service card the night before from our steward (I think because we were using the "hooks" they usually hang them on for our hats in the room- we did request one later, and received it). But, I went up early to get milk, coffee, and back to the room to all get dressed and ready to go. We then went up to Lido to have a quick breakfast and be off on our way!

The ship was cleared at 7:30am. We were off the ship by 7:45 and it was already hot. We had become spoiled by nice ocean breezes, the water and in San Juan- it was a lot of concrete and no breeze! Glad that we had brought water.

As we were walking out of the port area, looking for a place to pick up a map, a man approached us offering a tour for $20 each and Keiran was free if he sat in our lap on the bus. Air conditioned bus. Score! Tour of the city since we had no map. Score! $40 for the 3 of us- sold. The bus was very nice and small with only about 20 seats. We are so glad that we did this tour. First- nothing was open this early touristy yet! Second, we got to see a lot more of San Juan that we originally had planned.

 

 

Our tour guide/driver was great and it was a complete history lesson and economics/social studies/geography lesson of Puerto Rico wrapped into one bus tour!

Our first stop was at the beach and a nice park. (as I said, not much was open yet!) I would not suggest getting a coconut drink here- we were sure disappointed, but it makes for a tropical & fun picture! Maybe it just wasn't ripe but it had a very sour flavor. The beach area was pretty, and the park was nice. There was also an ATM and bathroom nearby (I think the ATM is the real reason that they stop here as it is cash only to pay the driver).

 

 

 

Coconut made for a nice picture opportunity, but was not thirst quenching or "yummy" :)

 

 

 

Beach that we stopped at near the park.

 

 

 

Even at 8:30am it was hot and really sunny here. We tried to have Keiran wear his sun glasses, but... it didn't last long!

 

 

You could see that we all had gotten a bit of sun already on this trip. We did end up putting on sun screen today. That sun was bright!

 

 

Next stop....

[crazycruzer68]

What type of shopping is near the pier in St Thomas

 

 

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[SunnydayKim]

Our next stop was at the Capital building. We also saw the governor of Puerto Rico's escorted car on the way (at least that is what our driver said!). The capital building was very nice.

 

 

There was a protest going on when we got there. Maybe someone who speaks fluent Spanish can help me out. We got the gist of it that it was something to do with a mother's rights when having a baby- just not certain exactly and Google translator just confirmed that we had the right idea. "we want birth with peace and dignity"

 

 

 

 

 

The ceiling on the inside was just so spectacular. My pictures do not do it justice. The entire capital building is made of marble and the mosaic ceiling is all marble tiles.

 

 

 

 

 

We spent about 20 minutes per stop on this tour plus driving around in the mobile tour.

 

 

 

Next stop...

Edited September 18, 2014 by SunnydayKim
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[SunnydayKim]

The next stop was at Castillo San Felipe del Morro (in front of it- no time to tour it). This fort is right on the water on the far end of Old San Juan island.

 

 

 

It also has a very old cemetery right over looking the water. (Our guide told us it is a very expensive place to spend eternity.) It made for a spectacular view. Very pretty and quite breathtaking area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And one more picture! (I was doing selfies long before we called them selfies!l) ;)

 

 

Bus tour is almost over...

[SunnydayKim]

The final stop near in old downtown near all of the shops and the Christopher Columbus statue, little park. This area is right down a (very steep!) hill from the other big Fort, Castillo de San Cristóbal. We got a strawberry smoothie and drank our water & that to cool off a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

Keiran chasing pigeons in the park.

 

 

 

Columbus statue & monument.

 

 

 

Painted homes and shops all around Old San Juan. (you can see some of the steep hills too)

 

 

 

Someone does not like the hike up the hill to Castillo de San Cristóbal.

 

 

 

[SunnydayKim]

It took over 300 years to build this fort! It was pretty interesting and had a dungeon & tunnels that Keiran really liked.

 

 

 

Tunnels (flash was on). They were actually very dark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, this fort would make a good time out area! (We explained the dungeon kind of like that to Keiran, where people went to go to time out for a really, really long time)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The views from up at top of the fort were amazing. You could see the entire Old San Juan island and the cruise ships.

 

 

 

 

There's the Glory! And a couple of other ships too!

 

 

 

It cost $5 per adult, free for children to tour the fort. If you have a National Parks pass, then it is included in that pass. In addition, your ticket for one fort will get you into the others. We were quite hot and getting hungry when we left this fort, so we headed back down towards the ship. We did a little window shopping and purchased some nice photographs of the island signed by the photographer in a stand on the way.

 

 

 

If you couldn't tell from the later pictures- we were hot! Time for some ship time and a cool drink!

 

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

When we got back to the ship, we were all covered in sweat. It was really hot out there! We changed into our bathing suits and headed up to Lido for lunch & then the pool. Steve & Keiran had the Fish & Chips again (and Steve also had a calamari fritter) but I was still hot, so just had a bowl of fruit and some pasta salad from the buffet.

 

 

We went in the pool for a little while before heading up to the room for a long nap. Really... Steve & Keiran slept 3 hours and I think I slept over 2 hours! We didn't wake up until a little after 5pm! We got showered, dressed and ready for our now “pre-dinner” routine of getting a drink for mommy & daddy and cherries for Keiran at the bar. Keiran also liked playing around in the arcade on the promenade. We never did put any money in the games, but he just liked trying ;)

 

 

 

I bought this picture, though I am not certain if it is from this night or not!

 

 

 

 

I had the macaroni & cheese with bacon tonight and the jerked pork I believe. If it was this night, that jerk pork was delicious. I highly recommend it!

 

 

Tonight there was another late night “night owl” party at Camp Carnival. We didn't know if Keiran would want to stay or not. It was a Pajama Party. Around 9:30, I went up to ask if he wanted to stay or come with mommy. That was a silly question- he wanted to party. At this party they danced, did some arts & crafts, played games and ate pretzels & gold fish. I brought back his Pjs to change into around 10pm.

 

 

 

No comedian on board this night. We did listen to some of the music on the promenade and chatted with some other vacationers at the bar for a while. Then, we played some more in the casino. (See a trend here?)

 

 

Next up... Grand Turk tomorrow.

 

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

What type of shopping is near the pier in St Thomas

 

 

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A few blocks away there were a lot of shops, but we didn't go there. Right near the dock there were your average touristy shops and I believe a jewelry shop as well. When we shop, we just do souvenirs on vacation! Or, local artwork/photography. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful with the types of shops! But, good deals on St. Thomas t-shirts and nice tops for ladies too! I am not much of a tshirt person, but I do like to get something from places I have been. I was able to get a nice striped tank top with just a little "St. Thomas" on an anchor stitched into the top.

 

Kim

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review and wonderful photo's. Thanks for posting.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Great Pics! We loved the Glory and that was before 2.0.

[joncorr3]

I was on this cruise too and I remember you guys. Your was so funny. He would walk up to the Alchemy Bar and sit down and Johana would give him some cherries. My wife got a kick out of that.

[ballinafad]

Do you happen to remember the name of the beach and how far it was from the port in San Juan? Was it sandy or rocky?

[theprodigy002]

Going on the same itinerary on the Splendor in January. Really looking forward to it. Especially Grand turk because I want to spend a long time in Margaritaville, hoping to see alot of pictures from it.

 

Also I am 22, just wondering did you see alot of younger people around my age on board? 18-24 type range.

[SunnydayKim]

:D

I was on this cruise too and I remember you guys. Your was so funny. He would walk up to the Alchemy Bar and sit down and Johana would give him some cherries. My wife got a kick out of that.

 

Glad that you all enjoyed his little cherry antics. He really loved those black cherries at Alchemy. And the strawberries ;)

 

Hope you all enjoyed your cruise as well! I am sure it is interesting to view your cruise through someone else's eyes (ours!).

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

Do you happen to remember the name of the beach and how far it was from the port in San Juan? Was it sandy or rocky?

 

I do not remember the name of the beach. As I recall, it was quite a drive. So, I am not certain it would be walkable. It may have even been off of the Old San Juan island. The beach looked sandy, but we really just were there in the park & beach for 15 minutes or so.

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

Going on the same itinerary on the Splendor in January. Really looking forward to it. Especially Grand turk because I want to spend a long time in Margaritaville, hoping to see alot of pictures from it.

 

Also I am 22, just wondering did you see alot of younger people around my age on board? 18-24 type range.

 

What? I don't look in the 18-24 range? ;) 30's are the new 20's!

 

There were ages from infants to 90 years old on this cruise. I didn't notice a huge number of young 20's, but I also wasn't looking. I am sure you will find people on your cruise that you will enjoy & have fun with!

 

Kim

[sonicbuffalo]

Figured we'd try something different!

[lablover61]

Great review. Of particular interest to me since we sail on the Glory in April 2015. Different itinerary , same ship ! We have been on her sister ship the Liberty , and loved it ( I love the 2.0 enhancements ) . Thanks for posting such a detailed review.

[RaiderCruiser]

Very nice review. Thanks for sharing.

[cruisingbajan]

SunnydayKim..

 

How long was your tour in San Juan?

 

Did you meet the driver when you exited the port?

 

What were the highlights?

 

Thanks in advance. We are doing this exact same iteniary in April and are looking for something to do in San Juan.