Glory 4/29 Review - GREAT CRUISE

[Hogladyrider]

A little about us before we get into the details. This was my 5th cruise on Carnival and I just booked my 6th today. Our 1st time on Glory. I got hooked on these boards last year and I discovered a wealth of information from these boards. I highly recommend everyone utilize this great web site, in fact it can become addictive.

 

We live in Central Florida so we are only about an hour drive from either Port Canaveral or Tampa, which is a real treat. That means we don’t have to be concerned about luggage weight since we don’t fly!

 

We are both in our mid 50’s and love cruising. No kids at home, just two dogs who have filled that empty nest syndrome so when we cruise its vacation for them as well, they are boarded at a nearby kennel and they come home happy and exhausted, I refer to it as “doggie camp”.

 

I booked this cruise one year in advance directly thru Carnival, I use the same PVP each year and she has treated us right. I booked a balcony guarantee room. I learned on these boards to watch the pricing on the Carnival web site and each time I saw the price go down I called my PVP and was issued a credit no problem, this resulted in a savings of $100 pp over the time between when we booked and final payment.

 

We were pleasantly surprised when our docs arrived to find we were in Cabin 8267 up on Verandah deck. This was our first cruise with a balcony and from everything I’ve learned on Cruise Critic people say once a balcony you won’t go back, now I know why!

 

We arrived at Port Canaveral, dropped off our luggage curbside and got in line to park in the garage $84 for the weeks parking prepaid before you enter the garage, so far smooth as a baby’s bum. Got in line, got into the port, got in the Fun Pass lane and things were moving quickly. We were onboard the ship before noon time, it was easy, easy, easy.

 

Tip, make sure if you are traveling out of the country that you complete the immigration papers provided with your documents before you arrived at port, you must submit them prior to boarding the ship. I filled out ours the night before departure but there were lots of cruisers who had to stop and take the time to complete these simple forms.

 

We checked out our cabin, it was ready, dropped off our one carryon. Well Wishers had delivered my surprise for Gary, two cases of Coors Light and Gary had surprised me with a Carnival Bon Voyage pkg of Coronas and a cooler and hat, I was thrilled.

 

 

Off we headed for the 1st drink and lunch. I ordered one of the drink of the day specials, to have the souvenir glass to make my own drinks in throughout the week. I honestly don’t remember what we ate for lunch but it was good, I think it was a burger.

 

We had a 1st meet and greet schedule with others from our Cruise Critic Roll Call board for right after sailing time before 1st seating of dinner. It turned out great, met several of our fellow cruisers we had been posting with the past several months. Since our luggage had not arrived prior to dinner it was shorts in the dining room for Gary. We both had a steak that first night and we were really pleasantly surprised to discover that we had been given a table for two which was really appreciated. Why you say, well because we work opposite shifts, me days, he nights, so we do not get to spend any time together except on the weekends so this was an R&R cruise vacation for us. There were several tables for 2 on Glory and we had not requested this but we truly enjoyed it. Our waiter was Thomas from India and he was fantastic as was his assistant, shame on me I don’t remember her name except that she was from Romania and her husband was also on the ship in housekeeping, she too was fantastic.

 

Seas were pretty rough both Saturday and Sunday and there were lots of people complaining and sick. I had learned on these boards to bring along Ginger Root and we both took it as directed, twice a day with food and we had no problems at all and I get seasickness easily. At the end of the week the captain announced that seas had been 15 feet those first two days! The boat rocking was something I'd read about over and over on these boards and I admit I was VERY concerned about spending my cruise week seasick, but not true. When we check with the Princess and RC ship cruisers that were on the same port stops as us their boats were rocking these two days as well. The ocean is a BIG place, so a boat is a boat and is going to rock when the waves are high.

 

Sunday - Nassau was our first port and it was a beautiful morning. We enjoyed room service every morning with our coffee and juice and often pastries. Having coffee on the balcony at dawn was just awesome. We spent a lot of time out on that balcony. It was our first visit to Nassau and the only plans we had made were to take a cab over to Atlantis and walk around which worked out just fine. Then when we got back into town we hit the Harley Davidson store for a t-shirt for a coworker and then we got back on ship, had some drinks, and sat on our balcony and watched everyone coming back on ship. It amazes me how people wait until the very last minute to return to the ship and they tell you what the cut off time is but some people push the limits.

 

Monday- Sat at aft pool most of the day, enjoyed the hot tubs and meeting new people. I prefer to hang out at the aft pool as I find it is more laid back and quieter. Of course we consumed our share of drinks and food. Had our daily ice cream which was great, as were the deli sandwiches also. That evening we attended the Carnival Past Guest party and the Amber Palace show which was great. Past guest party meant free drinks and we were all given a Glory pin, which I put on my Bon Voyage hat! We sat behind the $750 bingo winner in the Amber Palace prior to the show starting.

 

Tuesday-St Thomas, we watched us pull into port from our balcony it was breathtaking. We were off the ship rather quickly and off in a cab, or if you call it that, it was a pick up truck modified with the bed off and open air seating in the back, very accommodating.

We headed to Sapphire Beach for the day. I had wanted to take the ferry over to St John but Gary wanted the beach and I was concerned about returning in time so we opted for Sapphire Beach which was beautiful. It was $10 pp each way to and from Sapphire Beach. The beach is located at a resort and you just walk thru and onto the beach. I must admit the cab ride to the beach is about 20 minutes and a definite Disney “E” ticket ride. Steep hilly streets, no guard rails and they drive on the opposite side of the road from the US. Another new adventure to add to our life journey.

 

We hung out at the beach and enjoyed the gorgeous water until after noon time then went back to the ship for lunch and hung out on our balcony. No shopping for me as all we saw was jewelry and that’s not us.

 

Wednesday – St Maarten, it was overcast in the morning but we headed out to explore the town. I had reserved a rental car but we decided against it after we saw how hilly and crazy the roads were in St Thomas, we didn’t need that added stress, we’d pay for a cab if we wanted to travel. We took the water taxi $5 for unlimited travel for the day downtown and we walked all thru the shops. The streets are narrow and get very crowded. Figure up to 6 ships at any one time in port with 3000 per ship, that’s a lot of people walking around at one time. Well the overcast turned into rain which turned into downpour and I mean downpour and not just a shower! So now you had umbrellas on these tight sidewalks and all these tourists worrying about getting wet. Us we didn’t care it’s only water and we were on vacation. We decided to walk back to the ship. But not before we visited the Belgian Chocolate Factory for some white chocolate for him and dark chocolate for me – YUMMO! Just about all the stores in any of the ports all have the same items that can be purchased at home from the comfort of your own computer via the internet………….so we saved in that department. When we got back to the ship we were drowned rats but happy drowned rats. We boarded the ship and were greeted with warm dry towels, what a treat! After lunch and a shower it was nap time, a good day for a nap. The weather even put a damper on the deck party that evening, it was canceled and a movie was shown instead. We had wanted to go to Orient Beach but due to the weather we decided to stay local. I had been to Orient Beach several years ago on a previous cruise.

 

Thursday and Friday were days at sea and we just chilled.

 

Saturday morning came and we watched us pull back into Port Canaveral. We were off the ship and home in our house after picking up our dogs at the kennel by 10 am now that’s what I call a breeze for embarkation! We were self assist off the ship; we had two bags on wheels and one carry on.

 

Now for my miscellaneous comments.

 

Yes, I smuggled liquor on board. I brought wine with me and vodka to make our own Bloody Mary’s which we enjoyed in our Carnival glasses. Heck I could have paid for my cruise with all the Bloody Mary’s I could have sold to other guests. I was asked constantly where I got that drink!

 

I emptied out the room refrig with the Carnival supplied mini bar and put all those items in a cabinet and put our own stuff in the refrig which worked out fine. It took some time getting the refrig restocked Friday night but was worth it. We used our room trash can, which was stainless steel for a cooler for canned beer and kept it in the shower during the day.

 

We only ate in the dining room 3 nights, this was our choice. The food in the dining room was great; we truly enjoyed trying different entrees. Formal nights were Sunday and Thursday, we ate in the dining room both of these nights. Sunday night we both ordered two entrees, we both had lobster and prime rib. I had tiramisu for dessert; it was so rich I could not finish it. I loved the soups in the dining room. The second formal night I had the Indian dish and it was awesome, I truly enjoyed it all.

 

For lunch we ate at the deli, the best, the Oriental, which is open at lunch only as is Fish & Chips which we dined at several times and enjoyed. The Lido, Red Snail as it’s called had great lunches and dinners as well. The salads were the freshest; the roast pork would melt in your mouth as did the beef. I am amazed at the number of people who complain about the food on Carnival, I don’t know what they are looking for, there is something for everyone. I loved the pasta the red sauce is the freshest. The breakfast in Red Snail was just as inviting. Omlette station, fresh pastries, cereals, yogurt, nice cold milk, fruit, scrambled eggs, you name it. If someone couldn’t find something to their liking then they shouldn’t cruise in my opinion. We did not do breakfast or lunch in the dining room. Mostly we wanted to eat at our leisure that is the only reason we only ate in the dining room 3 nights. The pizza was very good as well and we never waited any length of time for our servings.

 

Our room steward was awesome and we tipped him extra. He always kept our trash can full of ice to keep our beer cold and he always remembered our names when we saw him. The room was always refreshed whenever we left.

 

The entire cruise staff was always smiling and speaking right down to the engineering staff and maintenance staff.

 

We did not go to the Captain’s dinner, nor did we go to any of the clubs in the evening most did not open until 10:30 and this was an R&R vacation for us.

 

Gary lost his fair share in the Casino, me I’m not a gambler. We had coffee at Creams several times and it was great. We are both big coffee drinkers. The cookies at Creams were great as well.

 

As for the Photo Gallery, yikes, with almost 3000 passengers there are a lot of photos to look thru to find yours! We did purchase several of the photos. This seems to be big business for Carnival. They have the set ups every night and it seems that it is mostly the females that are arranging for the photo taking in their parties.

 

We are big people watchers and what a place to sit and observe other cruisers, it was great. We sat in the lobby many nights with our drinks and just watched life go by.

 

There are great lounge chairs on the deck right behind the pursuer’s desk, quiet hideaway.

 

We loved watching the other ships pull out of port ahead of us. They maneuver these ships like they are toys so smoothly, they operate better than some people drive! It was really thrilling. The other cruise ship passengers would be on deck and we’d all start waving and hollering, it was fun.

 

This ship is not hard to get around on if you do your homework. I learned on these boards that decks 3 and 4 do not go all the way thru from front to back. This is because the restaurants are on these decks and they are both two level facilities. Deck 5 goes from front to back. We spent hours walking the ship and we loved it. The décor is outstanding, lots of glass tiles and a kaleidoscope ceiling in the lobby and promenade boulevard as well.

 

There were several weddings on the ship when we were in St Thomas and that was fun to see the bridal parties.

 

It was a full ship but yet it never seemed crowded probably because it is so big. The lines moved quickly in the buffet and there was never a long line anywhere that we encountered.

 

I did not work out in the gym but I was up there, I utilized the whirlpool for my bad knee and it was great as is the gym, it is good sized. The steam rooms on this ship are very large, I enjoyed the steam room and they also have a dry sauna. We did not partake in any other Spa services.

 

It seems to me that most of the ports have become very commercialized and it is becoming more difficult to find and purchase items made by locals. For this reason cruising for us has become more of a kick back and relax time rather than shop for souvenirs to bring back home. We did purchase alcohol on the ship, which was delivered to our room early Friday evening and the pricing was very competitive.

 

I’m sure I have left out many items so feel free to ask any questions and if I can answer them I’ll try.

 

When we got home we looked up Princess and Royal Caribbean for cruises for next year. We saw the Caribbean Princess in St Thomas and it looks nice as were several Royal Caribbean ships that followed us around the ports. However, the itineraries are the same as Carnival’s and the pricing is substantially higher, so unless someone can explain why I should spend the extra, I’m sticking with the tried and true Carnival.

 

We would highly recommend cruising the Glory and we look forward to sailing her again this time the Western route.:D

Susan

[R&K in NC]

I loved the Glory when we did the eastern back in February. Since they changed the western I think that I will try it again next year.

[dst]

Very nice review. THANKS :)

 

We are on the glory 5/20 and appreciate all the tips, although we are doing the Western its nice to hear about the ship.

[gypsyrose]

Hey Hogladyrider..very good review. I miss Glory so much. I see you have booked Elation for Jan. I have not started looking yet but will probably try for the same time frame as this one was. Even tho we ran into a little bad weather, I like it hot. You did a fabulous job highlighting everything on the cruise.

[Ilovepj]

Hi, me and my husband will be going on glory on Nov 25th (eastern cruise) and I was happy to hear how great it is. I read alot of not so nice things, so I am glad you said the opposite. I am a person that gets sick sick just looking at a boat, (lol) so like you I have read alot on here, I plan on getting the ginger root, and perhaps bonvine, (not sure I spelled that right) We are also in our 50's and so I am sure as you did, we will enjoy it as much. Well again thanks, and I am glad you have a great cruise.:D

[baybreezin78]

I love reading positive reviews! We leave on the Glory this Saturday!!!!!:D

[PTPD2312]

What a great review! Probably one of the best I've read on here so far. I too get seasick pretty darn easily. I just purchased the relief band and I'll take the bonine with me and maybe some ginger root. We're doing the western itinerary 12/30/06 in aft wrap #7445. Being my honeymoon I'm sure the boat will be rocking no matter what! :rolleyes:

 

Andrew

[mnsawyer]

Great review of the Glory...we sailed her a year ago April and loved it! Noticed in your review you mentioned that Well Wishers delivered your alcohol. Didn't think that they were allowed to deliver alcohol in your cabin now?

[jckvpa0]

Very nice review, Thank-You!

[poptart]

Thanks for the review! I really enjoyed reading it. I'll be on the Glory with ILOVEPJ in November. Hope we have good weather in St Marten as we also plan to spend the day at Orient Beach. We also have a balcony on deck 8. Was that a good location for you??

[Hogladyrider]

Great review of the Glory...we sailed her a year ago April and loved it! Noticed in your review you mentioned that Well Wishers delivered your alcohol. Didn't think that they were allowed to deliver alcohol in your cabin now?

 

I'd call Mandy at Well Wishers to confirm, but it is my understanding that they are no longer allowed to deliver alcohol to rooms, but let Mandy confirm that herself to you as I read it on these boards.

 

I do know that my order for 2 cases was one of the last orders for 2 cases that Well Wishers accepted after that it was one per room.

[sashapoo]

Great review!! We are thinking of taking the Glory for our next trip!

[mared1]

I'd call Mandy at Well Wishers to confirm, but it is my understanding that they are no longer allowed to deliver alcohol to rooms, but let Mandy confirm that herself to you as I read it on these boards.

 

I do know that my order for 2 cases was one of the last orders for 2 cases that Well Wishers accepted after that it was one per room.

 

Where is Well Wishers? Is there a way to contact them?

[beaming90]

Thank you for the great review! We are going on the same itinerary in December and cannot wait!:p

[Doug&Suzy-Q]

What a great review, thanks so much....I didn't know about the decks not going completely thru....it's nice to hear a positive and friendly review. Even though it's good (and helpful) to hear the not so nice things that occur, it's good that it can be done in a nice manner.

 

We will be on Glory in Sept....DH & I already drove over to take a look, wow what a ship, she is something....

 

Why do they call ships.....she????:confused: