Thanksgiving on Glory- Eastern Caribbean- My First Review

[DutchCruiseFan]

This is the first Carnival review i am reading, and i love it:D

[splintz]

i'm glad you commented on my post and stated you had a picture review from the glory. the review really helped since it mirrors our plans.

 

-i am also from MD. Carroll County about 30 miles north of Baltimore city.

-flying southwest out of BWI to FLL the same day as the cruise on a direct 7:20 flight.

-taking the carnival shuttle to the ship.

-having fttf and you answered a question i had about where to go.

 

we plan on going to megans bay in st thomas we went there 5 years ago and loved it.

 

any advice on san juan we plan on just walking around and going to the forts. are they walking distance?

[cruisexlife]

Did you feel that the excursion was too short? I have heard others say the time at the beach was not long enough.

 

I do feel our time on the actual beach was too short, because we spent a lot of time out snorkeling. If you don't snorkel at all, I bet it would be alright. It depends though. I see you're on the Liberty the week before I am. If your excursion is from 9-2, then yes, it will be too short, as you won't have a "whole" day at the beach. But if it's from 11:30-5:30 like mine was, as you saw, the sun was setting, and the onboard time was 6:30. If you have an all-day call, then maybe try to go on your own. But this is the beach I've ever visited in the Caribbean. I would most certainly place it high on your list of options! :D

[cruisexlife]

I'm so loving your review. I will be on exact itinerary in March.

 

1-My plan for PR is to hit a beach close by and then have an authentic meal. Do you know if there is public transportation that will take you to beach areas near or at port?

 

I don't know. While we considered a beach day, we opted to spend my first time (mom went before I was born with some friends) and mom's first in many years with the history aspect of the island. I heard the beaches were nice. There are many taxis right off the ship dock, so I would suggest that you find a beach that's close and common, and just arrange a pick-up deal with one of the taxis.

 

2- Thinking about St. Johns. Do you really need to book this as an excursion or can you get there on your own using same mode of transportation. Are there some additional perks or benefit by using Carnival.

 

No, there are public bueses to Red Hook, then public ferries to St.John, and taxis and whatnot to take you to the beach. The only reason I booked was because of our late arrival and the sun going down at 5:30. I didn't wanna get caught up in a public area in St.John's, 20 minutes before I had to be onboard, in the dark. Like I stated above to anotehr person, if you have an all-day, then I would consider maximizing your day and going on your own. But if you're coming on Glory, Splendor, Sunshine, and whatever ships arrive a little later, I would suggest the excursion. GREAT excursion, one of the best we've done.

 

 

 

My answers are in red, hope I helped! :D

[cruisexlife]

i'm glad you commented on my post and stated you had a picture review from the glory. the review really helped since it mirrors our plans.

 

-i am also from MD. Carroll County about 30 miles north of Baltimore city.

-flying southwest out of BWI to FLL the same day as the cruise on a direct 7:20 flight.

-taking the carnival shuttle to the ship.

-having fttf and you answered a question i had about where to go.

 

we plan on going to megans bay in st thomas we went there 5 years ago and loved it.

 

any advice on san juan we plan on just walking around and going to the forts. are they walking distance?

 

-Glad my review helped, and sorry it couldn't be finished before your departure this weekend!

 

-I'm 20 minutes south of Baltimore in Anne Arundel County.

 

-I flew out at 6:15, the first flight, but mom and I had a joking little conversation about giving up our seats for the 7:20 flight to get free flights later, but we said no. It wasn't until we took off that she told me she was serious. :D

 

-Meet the shuttle at baggage claim.

 

-This was my first visit to St.Thomas, but I heard Magen's is gorgeous. You'll have a great time!

 

-Yes, the forts are walkable, if you can handle the heat and uphill climb. If not, there are taxis. There is a fort right above the ship dock, which I showed, that we didn't get to visit. We spent our time at El Morro, about a 15-20 minute walk.

 

-You're going to have a blast, come back to this review and tell me how things go! :D

 

-PS- I would've booked your Pride cruise, but after I saw the price tag on it, and the price tags of flights and the Liberty the same dates, they ended up being about $7 different. So i cracked my piggy bank and opted for the unbeaten path, literally, in Liberty's sense. :D

[cruisexlife]

There was a little cemetery right by El Morro, which looked pretty cool. We never got to go in. Next time!

 

 

An English sign I snapped for you guys!

 

 

I forgot to mention while in St.Thomas, but St.John hosts the Virgin Isladns National Park, so if you collect stamps like we started to do, bring your passport book! They stamp inside El Morro too.

 

 

There is a tram if you don't want to walk it.

 

 

 

Here we go!

 

[cruisexlife]

This is the first Carnival review i am reading, and i love it:D

 

Glad you're enjoying it thus far :D

[cruisexlife]

I think it was $5 a person to get in, but I can't remember. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. But I'm just going to attach some pics & a few captions. If you have any questions, just quote the response I have the photo you're questioning and tell me your question and I'll be glad to answer the.

 

Entrance.

 

 

Inside the fort.

 

 

My little friend (:

 

 

The lookouts on every bend on the wall. I think this was the principle one, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

 

A small island off of the fort. Wonder if it has nice beaches (:

 

[gizmo911]

Great review and your responses were very helpful, Thanks

[cruisexlife]

Please excuse my extra late response, I snagged up deals in Dallas Love Field on Southwest from Baltimore ($60 per person, per way once the Wright Amendment expired!), but i brought my computer just to make sure I kept this review going.

 

Here are just some more pictures I took before we left El Morro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We sadly headed back to the ship after this. More to come!!

[cruisexlife]

We began heading back towards the ship. Here are some shots on the way back.

 

 

In love with the streets of Old San Juan.

 

 

Since we had some time, we saw this church, and we decided to stop in for a little.

 

 

Inside. Very miraculous and timeless.

 

 

A dead body of a Saint. Despite the creepiness, it was very cool. :D

 

[cruisexlife]

View as you exit the church. We sadly had to head back to the ship, as the onboard time was 3:00.

 

 

License plate. I took pictures in the other places too except Grand Turk, I just didn't like the picture enough to post them.

 

 

So much culture.

 

 

Went shopping here. Mom got some matches for her collection, and I got a little wooden carved coqui for my travel self at my house. I buy/collect small momentos from the places I really like. The shelf includes some things, coral I found on the beach at Daydream Island, Australia; A model car from a museum in Munich, Germany; Rocks from the Great Wall of China; Anne Frank House Tickets from Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and model clay soliders from the Terra Cotta Soliders Museum off of Xian, China. I also have many gifts from my friends and family from their travels on the shelf and around my house. I love creating a worldly and cultural feeling in my house. If you haven't already guessed, traveling is my favorite hobby! (:

 

 

Ships soaking up the sun.

 

 

I really don't remember taking this, but I found it in my album and I really like it.

 

[cruisexlife]

More views before going back to the ship.

 

 

Really love the narrow streets and the culture in San Juan.

 

 

The vendor who pointed us to lunch. He heard us talking about finding a restaurant, so he pointed us that way. On our return visit, we bought one, because we both really liked them. He was not pushy at all, they're handcrafted and authentic, and he's not trying to rip you off. He's worth a stop when you dock in San Juan.

 

 

The Lineup!

 

 

The gangway to the ship. The San Juan terminal sure looks nice.... More on that later!

 

 

After bosrding, I got a small salad, as I was a little hungry, before sailaway.

 

[Giggles2007]

When I sign on to CC, I always look first to see if you had added anymore to your review :)! I really love all the detail and the time you took to walk us through...its almost as if we were there with you. I am really enjoying the San Juan part. We are visiting there in April and I always like to fully know about each port before I visit. So your review is really helping me get some ideas!

[cruisexlife]

When I sign on to CC, I always look first to see if you had added anymore to your review :)! I really love all the detail and the time you took to walk us through...its almost as if we were there with you. I am really enjoying the San Juan part. We are visiting there in April and I always like to fully know about each port before I visit. So your review is really helping me get some ideas!

 

I'm glad! You're going to have a great time, especially in San Juan! Like mentioned at the beginning of the visit, it is now my favorite cruise port! So much culture and energy and I am so happy to make a return trip in March. I hope to finish this review within the next week, but as stated above, I am on vacation in Dallas, Texas, and it will be a little slow today and tomorrow. But I am home tomorrow night, and it should be completed by Sunday! :D

 

Thanks so much for being an avid reader. It's a lot of work, not only taking the pictures, but downloading them and writing about them. Despite all the time and effort, I think I have achieved the 2 main goals of writing a review. A) Reminicing my vacation, and having a permanent photo thread where I can always go back through and read it like a book, and B) Paying back those who helped me with my cruise, and also giving people something to read for pleasure or to help pass time until their cruise! :D

[cruisexlife]

Please excuse my long delay, I was on vacation in Dallas. Shoutout to anyone from that area, I love that city!

 

 

 

Anyhow, Here are some pics I took of the sailaway from San Juan.

 

 

 

After I finished my salad, we dropped our stuff off in our room and headed to the open decks. We both grabbed some drinks and began our sailaway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One last glimpse of the island, I'll be back soon! Such a beauty, really one of the more important Caribbean gems, and it's sadly overlooked by many passengers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nieuw Amsterdam and Disney Fantasy. Shortly after this pic, the Disney Fantasy began to drop its lines. It had a 3:45 departure for a sea day, then stopping at their island of Castaway Cay, before ending their cruise. Nieuw Amsterdam had a later deabrk, and was headed to St.Thomas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

El Morro, where we visited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2015 by cruisexlife

[declansdad]

Enjoying the review, we just booked this trip for next December.

[cruisexlife]

Enjoying the review, we just booked this trip for next December.

 

Thanks so much, you'll have a great time! :D

[rmandmm]

I'm pretty sure we're standing on our aft balcony on the Fantasy watching you guys leave. I remember paying special attention to the Glory as we'll be on her next. I tried to zoom in our your pic above to see if I could see us. Couldn't quite make it out! :)

 

Thanks for the awesome review--it's really really great with all the detail! :)

[cruisexlife]

One last view before we left.

 

 

With the departure from SJU over with, I made it to the VIFP Party, which I was a little late for. It started at 3:45 in the Amber Palace. Mom and I are both Gold members on Carnival, both enjoying cruises onboard the Carnival Pride, Carnival Glory and Carnival Freedom. I have 39 nights, she has 34. I did a 5 night on Glory with a friend back in 2013. Either way, here is a picture.

 

 

They had lots of free drinks and appetizers. Always one of the fun parts of the cruise.

 

Afterwards, we hung out, got burgers from Guy's as our late-afternoon snack, showered, etc. We went to the Taste Bar and dinner. We also went to Endless Rock or whatever it was called. Nice show. Spent a couple minutes in the casino as well. Afterwards, we desided to turn in for the night. Tired from our active day in San Juan. We snapped these pics from the Deck 10 Secret Deck before we went to our room.

 

Disney Fantasy in the distance. Sorry it's a bad pic, I tried many times and I couldn't get a good one. But you get the idea.

 

 

Looking aft.

 

 

Next: Our Day in Grand Turk :D

[cruisexlife]

I'm pretty sure we're standing on our aft balcony on the Fantasy watching you guys leave. I remember paying special attention to the Glory as we'll be on her next. I tried to zoom in our your pic above to see if I could see us. Couldn't quite make it out! :)

 

Thanks for the awesome review--it's really really great with all the detail! :)

 

I myself paid extra attention to the Fantasy, because at the time I was planning a cruise on it with my aunt... More on how we chose Liberty towards the end. You'll love Glory, she's a great ship.

 

Glad you're enjoying the review! :D

[cruisexlife]

We awoke to open ocean. Our arrival wasn't until 11AM. We headed out to breakfast, and came back to get ready for our day in Grand Turk. We booked the "Stand Up Paddleboarding and Snorkel Tour" Excursion through Carnival. View from the secret deck on the 7th floor around 10:15 AM.

 

 

After we got dressed and ready and stuff, we watched the rest of our arrival from the secret deck.

 

 

Welcome to Grand Turk :D

 

 

Beach by the dock. We had a nice time there, more pics later!

 

 

Edited January 30, 2015 by cruisexlife

[cruisexlife]

Again, we had to meet in the Amber Palace at 11:45 to make sure we got of the boat. We didn't go down until the tied the ropes, what was the sense? I still don't see how this is effective. It took us 15 minutes, and in St.Thomas, 20 minutes, to get from the Amber Palace down 3 flights of stairs. It's ridiculous. Adults have the sense to get off when they have to, there are wake up call options on your phone, so I don't see why every responsible person has to be treated like children. Carnival doesn't lose any money if you miss your excursion because of your own tardiness. If you disagree, save your breath. In March, I will be getting off with everyone else without an excursion, because you meet your excursion after you go through the shopping area. Sorry for the rant it just really bothers me.

 

 

Either way, we started walking towards this new island.

 

 

It's been a fantastic 5 nights so far onboard Glory!

 

 

I didn't really like this isalnd, and I'll elaborate later, but I really enjoyed the water here. So clear.

 

 

Finally!

 

 

After walking through the shoping area similar to the one in Roatan, Honduras, we went and found our excursion!

 

 

Next: Paddleboarding, Snorkeling, "Mom, I Can't Find My Phone"

[cruisexlife]

You don't realize how flat this island is until you see how big the ship looks when you're actually a good distance away from it.

 

 

Our bus ride was about 15 minutes, and we landed at this little hut, across from a beautfiul beach. At the hut, we got a bottle of water, a paddle, and our snorkel gear and put it all in a mess bag that we could strap to our boards. Here is the beach. I swear if they added beach chairs and umbrellas and charged $7 a chair, $5 an umbrella, or $10 a chair and umbrella combo with a water bottle, I know where I'd be next time we docked in Grand Turk.

 

 

SO beautiful. Here are the boards we used.

 

 

Really love this picture, going to get it framed soon. I love it THAT much.

 

 

Basically, he made us do a "test run" out to this little boat to make sure we could all do it. I've paddleboarded many times, but my mother and others had never done it/ hadn't in years, so they took a while.

 

 

I met this lady named Avery from Tampa who cruises solo 4-5 times a year, and it is her favorite thing. I wan to try a solo cruise soon, but I would never leave Mom home. Avery and I snorkeled for 10 minutes while others got a lesson.

 

We paddled over to the snorkel sight, where 3 other boats seemed to have already set up residency.

 

[cruisexlife]

So, we basically got our gear from our little mesh bag, and jumped in. He tied together our boards, and then we were free to snorkel. Here was the first view.

 

 

I love the huge ones that stick up like this!

 

 

In St.Johns, there is an influx of coral, and not many fish. In Grand Turk, there is an influx of fish, and not much coral. Just an observation I made. But anyways, FISH GALORE!!

 

 

More coral

 

 

A shark! Such a cool sight to see! The tour guides from all the groups were feeding him and all the other fishes. This was the only shot I got without people in the way.

 

 

SoThere were a naticable amount of small jellyfish in the reef, and out guide warned us before hand. Is it jellyfish season down there or something? No one in our group got stung, and I didn't hear of any, but I know there. Here is a picture of more fish.