Just back from Glory Nov. 15-22

[pjhootch]

I thought I would give a quick summary of what we encountered last week. We were on Glory right after the 2.0 additions a couple of years ago so were familiar with the basics of that already.

 

Crew/Staff: We found everyone very helpful and friendly. I normally couldn’t care less about cruise directors (at best) or find them irritating (most often). Everson was pretty entertaining. He had to make the same announcements as they all do, but he was so consistently upbeat and genuine that it was impossible to hate him. We had a difference of opinion with someone in guest services, but even then, she wasn’t rude.

 

Odd thing though… we couldn’t reach room service the couple of times I tried. The button on the phone got me nowhere, and dialing the number on the room service menu got me to a different nowhere. I gave up after trying on 2 different nights and just went down and got pizza and ice cream at midnight. :D

 

Food: It was decent in the MD and pretty awful at the buffet. I’ve never expected much from the buffet food- but it was noticeably bad this trip. We frequently have lunch/breakfast at the buffet. But it didn’t seem to cut it this trip. The selection was smaller than in the past, but that alone wasn’t the end of the world. It was just all bland and tasteless. I was really surprised because I haven’t had that problem so consistently before. AND… I am apparently not smart enough to learn from my own mistakes… because I kept going back and doing it again! I could have/should have wised up and eaten at the Deli/Fish and Chips or MD, so it is completely my own fault.

 

Blue Iguana- still good. Great for breakfast if you like tortillas.

 

Guy Fieri’s- ehh. I had a burger one day because they smelled good. I know better because I ate there 2 years ago. I know people love them, and they actually taste pretty good, but too greasy for me to do more than once a trip. No changes there in the last couple of years.

 

Pizza- really surprisingly tasty! We probably ate more late night pizza than was good for us.

 

Main Dining Room: Some of the food was quite nice. The prime rib was excellent this trip. It may have been a bit off as far as rare/medium rare/medium (order 1 step rarer than you normally would like), but the taste, consistency and tenderness was very good. The lobster tail was what it always is… but somehow it got smaller again! ;) The lobster was cruise ship lobster. If you really like lobster, order 2 at the same time. The salmon was always good. As everyone has noted, the selection is smaller than it used to to be. Or, it seemed to me… the basic items offered every night (chicken, flat iron steak, salmon and other things) were about half the offerings available. There was still plenty to choose from and the majority of food we ordered tasted good and was well prepared.

 

The exceptions? Dessert. Oddly, all the desserts except ice cream and chocolate melting cake seem to have suffered from the same problem as the buffet. They looked great, but all tasted the same- bland. It was difficult to tell orange from lime from banana from vanilla. Our family of 4 ordered so many different things over the week that we kind of covered the dessert map. And although none of them were bad, most of them were not memorable enough to order a 2nd time either. This probably sounds worse in the writing than it was during the eating! NOTHING was bad... in fact, it was just fine as we were eating it. It was kind of like you got to the end, and realized you hadn't really tasted much while it was going on. HA HA.

 

Sea day Brunch- This was good. We should have gone both sea days instead of being idiots and eating breakfast/lunch at the buffet one of those days. Unfortunately, we waited until the last sea day to try it. Live and learn. Next time, we will do this every sea day.

 

Music- I could probably pull up my comments from 2 years ago and just copy most of them. I can't be very positive about the musical entertainment. The music around the ship was fairly forgettable. I liked the Latin band. My husband thought they were good background music. The main rock band was on par with the buffet; bland and not worth the effort. I swear the couple that was playing in the atrium bar/lobby was the same couple from 2012. Either that, or Carnival found another couple that was equally awful. These two are NOT forgettable. They make me cover my ears and leave. As a vast improvement, the solo guitar player didn’t make me want to sit down and listen to her- but I didn’t run away screaming either. The piano bar was absolutely great, but it is just temporary folks, because his contract is up in three weeks and he is done.

 

Dive in Movies- this is kind of new. They always played movies on deck but now they are a bit newer and more of a scheduled entertainment. It was fun. We had a rain a couple of nights, but enjoyed the warm dark nights and the big screen a few times.

 

My daughters enjoyed the serenity deck, especially the hot tub up there where no children were cannon balling like on the lido deck.

 

The girls also did the comedy club and liked one of the comedians quite a bit more than another, but I could not tell you which was which.

 

The casino did not do much for me (except take my money) but my daughter did manage to basically win most of what I lost, so I call that good! I could have just taken it out of my wallet and handed it to her directly, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as entertaining that way.

 

I noticed a lot of really rude people on this trip. I’m fairly easy going when I travel. My job is stressful and requires me to be kind of controlling and confrontational… so I prefer vacations to be really low key. All 4 of us were repeatedly amazed by the way people around us treated each other. Most of it was minor but I’ve just never noticed so much rude behavior between passengers before. There was a lady yelling at another woman on a tender boat, because the poor lady was having a sneezing fit. She was trying to cover up but a woman a couple of rows away made a huge deal about it and shoved Kleenex at her and loudly complained that the woman was spraying everyone and this is why SHE carried Lysol everywhere. People often seemed to be in such a hurry to get somewhere they literally just stepped on folks in front of them. Really? Where do you have to be that fast on a cruise ship? There was a table in our section of the dining room that was late to dinner every single night, without fail. AND they came in two different groupings. Dinner seating was at 6 p.m. Two of the party usually came in at 6:20, and the rest of the group usually showed up around 6:40. One night the second bunch didn’t appear until 6:45, as we were actually on our way out of the dining room. Our waiters handled it very nicely and made sure they were served quickly when they did arrive.

 

It was just odd to see so many little things I never noticed before. At Half Moon Cay we watched a passenger ream a bartender because the little beach bar didn’t have any wine. The bartender explained the staff brought all the alcohol with them to the island in the morning, and did not bring wine because there were so many kinds and not too many people that drank it on the beach. The lady was insistent that this was HER VACATION and she wanted to have wine. I’m not sure what she wanted him to do… go back to the ship and get her a bottle? Very strange…

 

All in all it was a great trip. The Glory is still in good shape and I would sail her again in a heartbeat. There WAS a recurring sewage smell that drifted around the front of the ship from time to time. I thought it was my imagination at first, but it was real. I'm sure it isn't permanent though. :)

[Butterbean1000]

Thank you for your honest review. We will be sailing on Glory for the first time in a couple of months. The food on a cruise does not make our break it for me. Add long add I don't have to cook it, I'm ok. I tend to agree work you about the buffet, but there are so many other choices that it is not an issue. Love the fish and chips station, Guys Budgets, Blue Iguana, pizza, deli, etc. Wet never go hungry.

 

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[Butterbean1000]

Sorry about all the typos above. Typing while riding the bus and auto correct thinks it knows what i want to type better than me.

 

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[thephillykid]

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing on her in less than 3 weeks. I have 1 question....we are non smokers, how bad was the smoke?

I'm sure we too will have a great time after all my wife's job is really stressful and we both need a break.

Thanks again.

Howard

 

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[pjhootch]

:-) I read your reply and didn't even notice the typos. Maybe I need more coffee! I agree, the food doesn't make or break our cruise and there is always something to eat that is just fine or outright enjoyable. The food is a plus when it was good, and much of the MD food was quite good this time around.

 

The buffet just was tasteless to US. Now, I have some friends that would have loved it.

[EnglishTeacher722]

Did you notice if the karaoke was running. I had heard from an earlier guest that it wasn't

[cruizinisthebest]

Thanks for your review of the Glory. We are currently booked on her but thinking about changing to another ship for the ports. Anyway, enjoy what you had to say good and bad. Thanks for taking the time!

[Butterbean1000]

One quick question, does the Glory have hair dryers? I can't remember which ship, but one cruise did not have one.

 

Thanks!

[pjhootch]

Thanks for the review. We will be sailing on her in less than 3 weeks. I have 1 question....we are non smokers, how bad was the smoke?

I'm sure we too will have a great time after all my wife's job is really stressful and we both need a break.

Thanks again.

Howard

 

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I'm not sure I can give you a good answer about the smoke. I don't smoke but my husband and 1 daughter do. I am pretty used to it, and not much bothered by it.

 

I don't think it will be any kind of an issue out on deck for you. Smoking up top is confined to deck 10 starboard. I guess it could drift when the ship is in port- but when the ship is moving the air up there is always blowing it away. We tried to sit with husband and daughter in the most sheltered location in the smoking section on deck 10 to play cards one night, and it was impossible because the wind kept trying to sweep the cards out over the side.

 

The casino is probably pretty bad for those that don't like smoke. I saw people holding their shirts over their faces and running past the casino. There is smoking on deck 3 starboard, I think, but there is no reason to go there except to smoke, so that should be easy to avoid. Bar Blue was smoky sometimes- but it is tucked away and there are a million places to drink without going in there.

 

I did not see one person smoking outside the designated areas. More importantly- I didn't SMELL anyone smoking outside of the designated areas. As a former smoker, I can pick up the scent of from a very very long ways away. ;) In fact, this cruise seemed to be fewer smokers than I've ever encountered on a cruise before.

 

Now again, keep in mind the whole smoking thing doesn't bother me at all- but I certainly am very attuned to when cigarettes are around and would have been very aware if someone was cheating and trying to hide it out of the smoking areas.

[pjhootch]

One quick question, does the Glory have hair dryers? I can't remember which ship, but one cruise did not have one.

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, but they aren't in the bathroom, they are in the drawer in the main cabin.

[pjhootch]

Did you notice if the karaoke was running. I had heard from an earlier guest that it wasn't

 

I didn't notice Karaoke this time. The piano bar was very good so I never really ventured over to where the Karaoke would have been if it was running... but I don't think it was going on.

[8esther8]

Do you know the exact date that the piano man is leaving? I sail on Dec 13th, so wasn't sure if he would be on that sailing or not. I love the piano bar!

[bxqlsigelsq]

I'm sure we too will have a great time after all my wife's job is really stressful and we both need a break.

[8esther8]

Do you know the exact date that the piano man is leaving? I sail on Dec 13th, so wasn't sure if he would be on that sailing or not. I love the piano bar!

 

Nevermind, I've answered my own question. If you scroll a few pages backward on the piano bar thread you can find the list of Carnival piano bar entertainers and their scheduled dates. Looks like the entertainer for Glory from Dec 13th onward is unknown. Oh well, here's hoping we get a good one :o

[MadManOfBethesda]

I didn't notice Karaoke this time. The piano bar was very good so I never really ventured over to where the Karaoke would have been if it was running... but I don't think it was going on.

 

I was on this same cruise last week. I'm not much for karaoke, but my wife and I did go to a karaoke event in the Ebony Lounge that was listed as Superstar Karaoke. The passengers were singing with a live band behind them rather than a machine however.

 

My wife went to a Q&A event with Dr. E (cruise director) and someone asked him about the karaoke machine. She recalls him saying something about them awaiting a new machine.

[ltcal94]

I saw the Glory when we pulled into St Thomas. I have to admit I was a bit tempted to sneak onboard so that I could get a Guys Burger. I did run into some passengers from your ship at the little bar near the casino at the port. They were a bit rude to the bartender and I would not have been surprised if they would have missed the ship.

 

 

 

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[pjhootch]

I did run into some passengers from your ship at the little bar near the casino at the port. They were a bit rude to the bartender and I would not have been surprised if they would have missed the ship.

 

[ATTACH]332873[/ATTACH]

 

 

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Funny, I've always found it to be against my own interests to be rude to the person I am asking to serve me alcohol! lol. I really don't know what was up with the rude folks on our ship. It had to have been pretty prevalent for me to notice it. You should have asked someone to sneak a Guy's burger off for you! lol.

[patrice1]

Funny, I've always found it to be against my own interests to be rude to the person I am asking to serve me alcohol! lol. I really don't know what was up with the rude folks on our ship. It had to have been pretty prevalent for me to notice it. .. .

 

*Like* :D

 

We'll be on her for our 25th Anniversary cruise in 60 days, but who's counting?:)

Did you happen to see which night the chef's table was in the Funtimes? We're signed up & hope it's on the actual night of our anniversary.

[seashinesunshine]

Thanks for the review! We board her in a month!!!! I make notes all the time, the one I added tonight is to have my husband order two lobster tails :)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your nice review.

[pjhootch]

*Like* :D

 

We'll be on her for our 25th Anniversary cruise in 60 days, but who's counting?:)

Did you happen to see which night the chef's table was in the Funtimes? We're signed up & hope it's on the actual night of our anniversary.

 

I am sorry, but I cannot remember for the life of me. There is a cruiser that just returned on Saturday who posted too, and he seems much better with details than I am.

 

I'm sure you'll have a good time for your anniversary. 60 days puts you right at the beginning of February and that is a GREAT time to be cruising the Caribbean.

[rjhollan]

I was on the Glory the following week (11/22-29) and noticed the same rudeness. My 5th cruise, 4th on Carnival, and never before have I seen that many rude people in one place. Like you said, stepping on people to get somewhere. Running through the hallways almost bowling people over (i was hit by flying arms several times as someone ran past me at FULL SPEED), and just a lot of line jumping and butting in front of people, as if to say, "My time is more important than yours!".... disappointing, but not much CCL can do about it; their people were all very cordial.

[thephillykid]

My DW and I are sailing next weekend and we hope that the rudeness which was seen might just be because there were so many kids on board due to Thanksgiving and the school breaks. We are hoping that we are on board for a little bit quieter time right before christmas and you would hope that people would behave a little more before the holidays. We went to the mall on Sunday, what a mistake, and saw the same general rudeness. Don't think it is just Carnival either, we were on Celebrity last thanksgiving and had the same attitudes.

[goduckies05]

I was on the 15th one as well didn't notice any rudeness or smells. Had a great time. The crew was great. Food was slow in the MDR. Had to leave early one night to make a show. Steakhouse was amazing. Can't wait for the premier cruise on February 28th on the Breeze. Food was ok in the buffet, but wasn't amazing.

 

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[danscow]

We sailed the Glory a month ago and noticed some of these same things. This was our 9th Carnival cruise, most of the previous ones being out of Texas, however, we found this trip to have the most unfriendly, rude sailers yet. This was our first Florida port. You say "hello" or "good morning" to fellow passengers and 9 out of 10 of them wouldn't respond. The pushing and cutting in line at various places was just ridiculous. it wasnt a huge deal as other passengers dont really make or break our trip, it was just simply noticeable. DH and I just ended up waiting many times for others to be finished with what they needed cuz they didn't care if you were ahead of them or not. Was interesting to say the least. We found the food in the MD to be very good and the crew were, as usual, With Carnival terrific. People do what they are going to do and you cant let others dictate how good or bad your vacation is, the rude ones are by no means Carnivals fault.