Glory - Western

[Zyzygy]

Thanks for the helpful tips.

 

Have already booked tubing through Carnival for the reasons mentioned.

 

Belize or Bust!

[Gloryhound65]

I was on the 6/3/06 western cruise along with fourteen other family members, celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents.

 

It was an incredible time. Best week of my life, I'd say.

 

I was in cabin 6379.

 

I also used deck 5 as my way to get around the ship without going above decks, but here's a tip: You can walk through the dining rooms on 3 and 4 when they're not serving. Nobody will tell you you can't do that.

 

I haven't found a roll call for the 6/3/06 cruise. I'd like to, and maybe catch up with some people I met on the cruise.

 

 

If you're going on the Glory soon and spend any time in the casino, I'd ask you to make an effort to seek out Olga, a young brunette dealer from the Ukraine. She's a very sweet girl and if I were in my 20s I'd make it my mission to get her US citizenship if she wanted it. She's an excellent dealer, too, and seemed to bring me some luck. I never did badly when she was my dealer.

 

I'll be cruising on the Glory again in the next few months. I fully intend to get on while Olga is still on this contract. She had been on the Glory for just one week when I got there, and she was a bit homesick. When things were slow and nobody was playing at her table, I made it a point to stop by and give her some business or talk to her and get to know her a bit. That was time well spent with a girl who's very worth talking to.

I count her as a friend I won't be able to see very much, and I hope she thinks of me in the same way.

 

If you read this and see Olga in the casino, I dare you to drop by and say "Chris from the June 3rd cruise sends his regards."

 

If several people say this to her, and especially on several different cruises, it might be rather amusing to see what happens next, particularly when I take my next cruise. She might not remember who I am until I re-introduce myself!

 

 

 

BUT...I do have a chance to catch up with her or maybe just about any other crew member on the Glory, as I live not 20 miles from Port Canaveral and the cruise ship crews get some liberty time during home port days (Saturday for the Glory) and a prime stop for them is the European Corner cafe at the Merritt Square Mall. I might catch up with any Glory crew member I met who goes there if I get lucky and time my visit right.

 

On my last night on the Glory, after concluding a wildly successful run at the port side roulette table (I made enough to pay for two cruises!), I took

my camera and made photos of all the places on the ship that I liked most and also got photos of the crew members that I'd want to remember, including most of the casino dealers. Just reviewing those photos puts me back on the ship and elevates my spirits.

 

I was very definitely depressed for a couple of days after returning. I'd go back on board this instant, if I could.

 

My onshore activities at the various stops: Shopping at Cozumel, snorkeling at Belize, as well as a shore walkaround at Belize, Kohunlich Mayan ruins at Costa Maya, and a beach day at Nassau. Next time I'll dive or snorkel at Cozumel and ignore the shopping. I never much got into that but I went with a family group.

 

Carlos N' Charlie's bar on Cozumel is not air conditioned but it's sort of fun, and aimed at the college crowd. It's worth taking a look just to see the interesting way that the waitresses administer shots to the customers.

That's a funny ritual they have there. You'll have to see it. Or experience it.:eek:

 

 

 

Chris

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I was on the 6/3/06 western cruise along with fourteen other family members, celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents.

 

It was an incredible time. Best week of my life, I'd say.

 

I was in cabin 6379.

 

I also used deck 5 as my way to get around the ship without going above decks, but here's a tip: You can walk through the dining rooms on 3 and 4 when they're not serving. Nobody will tell you you can't do that.

 

I haven't found a roll call for the 6/3/06 cruise. I'd like to, and maybe catch up with some people I met on the cruise.

 

 

If you're going on the Glory soon and spend any time in the casino, I'd ask you to make an effort to seek out Olga, a young brunette dealer from the Ukraine. She's a very sweet girl and if I were in my 20s I'd make it my mission to get her US citizenship if she wanted it. She's an excellent dealer, too, and seemed to bring me some luck. I never did badly when she was my dealer.

 

I'll be cruising on the Glory again in the next few months. I fully intend to get on while Olga is still on this contract. She had been on the Glory for just one week when I got there, and she was a bit homesick. When things were slow and nobody was playing at her table, I made it a point to stop by and give her some business or talk to her and get to know her a bit. That was time well spent with a girl who's very worth talking to.

I count her as a friend I won't be able to see very much, and I hope she thinks of me in the same way.

 

If you read this and see Olga in the casino, I dare you to drop by and say "Chris from the June 3rd cruise sends his regards."

 

If several people say this to her, and especially on several different cruises, it might be rather amusing to see what happens next, particularly when I take my next cruise. She might not remember who I am until I re-introduce myself!

 

 

 

BUT...I do have a chance to catch up with her or maybe just about any other crew member on the Glory, as I live not 20 miles from Port Canaveral and the cruise ship crews get some liberty time during home port days (Saturday for the Glory) and a prime stop for them is the European Corner cafe at the Merritt Square Mall. I might catch up with any Glory crew member I met who goes there if I get lucky and time my visit right.

 

On my last night on the Glory, after concluding a wildly successful run at the port side roulette table (I made enough to pay for two cruises!), I took

my camera and made photos of all the places on the ship that I liked most and also got photos of the crew members that I'd want to remember, including most of the casino dealers. Just reviewing those photos puts me back on the ship and elevates my spirits.

 

I was very definitely depressed for a couple of days after returning. I'd go back on board this instant, if I could.

 

My onshore activities at the various stops: Shopping at Cozumel, snorkeling at Belize, as well as a shore walkaround at Belize, Kohunlich Mayan ruins at Costa Maya, and a beach day at Nassau. Next time I'll dive or snorkel at Cozumel and ignore the shopping. I never much got into that but I went with a family group.

 

Carlos N' Charlie's bar on Cozumel is not air conditioned but it's sort of fun, and aimed at the college crowd. It's worth taking a look just to see the interesting way that the waitresses administer shots to the customers.

That's a funny ritual they have there. You'll have to see it. Or experience it.:eek:

 

 

 

Chris

 

...so... if I read this correctly - are saying you like Olga or not? :confused:

 

Just kidding! :D

 

I'll see if she brings me some luck too...

 

Tom

[momsoftwins]

for those who have just gotten back from the glory (western)...can you remeber what the time was for the last tender in belize? we are in port from 8-5? maybe the last tender would be 4? maybe thanks

[LizaMM]

I love reading all this Glory info!

 

My cruise on the Glory was just fabulous! I was fortunate that we had a great PianoMan - Barry Miller - who left shortly after our cruise. It was a packed house in there everynight and I considered the fellow Piano Bar folks my cruise buddies and we'd bump into each other by day and hang out! A great Piano Bar is a wonderful thing so I am very happy to hear that it will be picking up again!

 

When I sailed the last tender in Belize was at 4:00.

 

Those of you in the 7### cabins are on a great deck! The Empress Deck is a super place to be on the Conquest and Triumph class of ships and aft on this deck is great! You will have Pax decks above and below which reduces the chance of noise disturbances, when you are far aft on the ship (past the last stairwell/elevator) fott traffic is greatly reduced in the hallways AND you can very easily hop down 2 decks (stairs being my choice on a cruise) to the Promenade Deck (deck 5) which means you have easy access to all venues.

 

When I sailed on the Glory I was in a cabin on the Panorama Deck and enjoyed that a lot as well. It really suited my needs for that particular cruise.

 

Keep on writing those reviews!! I always appreciate a good Glory Fix!!

 

ENJOY!!

[richandsue]

well, i have no control over the past, but starting NOW, the Glory piano bar is back in business!!!!

 

Glad to hear the Glory Piano Bar is BACK! We will be sailing the Glory on July 1st. I believe that is when you will be on the ship. Looking forward to spending a lot of time with you. Our group loves the Piano Bar. My husband and his identical twin brother (kind of Kenny Rogers look a likes) will be enjoying your music, as will my daughter and her boyfriend Scott, who will be singing along with you and helping you ge the crowd going. See you in a few days. Can't Wait!!!

 

Sue & Rich

[tocruzagain]

We also have cabin 7444 booked on the Glory for our Nov. cruise...so we have a little while to wait yet. I'm glad to hear that the cabin and location was excellent as well as not too hot back there. This will be our first balcony cabin also and have read that the aft is the place to be. Thanks for the info on it!!

[akcruz]

We did a private cave tubing tour while in Belize and had a wonderful, relaxing time. I spoke to the head of the shore excursion desk the night before we arrived in Belize and he told me to go to the Amber Palace with the rest of the ship tours and talk to one of his people there. We did, they called him, and he made sure we got off the ship on the FIRST tender. So, we were actually ahead of the group doing the cave tubing through the ship. Of course, he only did this because I had in writing that the tour was to leave around 9 SHIP TIME. We only had 10 people in our group, did two caves instead of 1, and were hooked together in a chain the entire way through the two caves. I had my two children with me and the guide ensured that they were in the front of the chain so that he could make sure they were safe. They had a blast. Our group snaked through the masses of cruise sponsored tubers aimlessly floating around. A number of them tried to grab onto our chain so that they didn't have to paddle themselves. Our guide pulled us where necessary through the slower areas so that we just sat back and enjoyed the experience. We paid half the money, and from what I saw while in the caves am very happy we did this tour on our own. We even had a tour of city on our way to caves.

 

I am not saying you need to do this on your own, just giving another side of the story. While I am sure the excursions through Carnival are wonderful, I just can't see paying the prices they are asking when you can have as good if not (and usually) a better time for less.

[lxh11]

Kelly261, how long was the bus ride to get to the Chacchoben ruins? Thnks.

[MAO]

Thank you all for posting and making the 200+ days alittle more tollerable:) So much useful information, keep it coming!

MAO

[poptart]

well, i have no control over the past, but starting NOW, the Glory piano bar is back in business!!!!

 

 

I hope it is rocking on the 11/25 sailing. My hubby and I love a good piano bar--that's where we like to hang.

Have you ever heard of Matt Yee? We were on the maiden voyage of RCI's Mariner of the Seas and he was at the piano bar just for the first month. He was awesome and it was standing room only every night--and yes we stood a night or two then just made it a point to get there early and hang out and enjoy the quiet before the party.

[kelly261]

The capers say the last tender in Belize is at 4:15.

 

In Costa Maya the bus ride to the ruins is about an hour. The tour guide talks most of the time about Costa Maya and the ruins, so it goes by pretty quick.

[kelly261]

akcruz - it is good to hear another side. If I booked privately I don't know that I would have known to go to the Amber Palace to get off the ship though, I guess you have to know who to ask about that kind of thing. Thanks.

[ikitakunai]

We will be on the Glory in August and I'm very appreciative of all these reviews! The comments are very helpful. :)

 

Question, do they add more excursion possibilities when you get onboard? Right now there is only ONE Nassau choice for our sailing (a dive) and I see that many of you did something different. I know they negotiate these as time goes on but thought they may have more offerings later on?

[lmondrop]

We are leaving on the Glory on Saturday and Nassau for whatever reason only shows one excursion for even this late in the game....I'm sure you can see more options once on board. Let you know when we come back :p

[jjcjfl]

We were on this sailing and had a great time. I tried to post a review but it timed out on me and I lost everything I had typed!

We were in cabin 8233 Forward. Great cabin, quiet and not a lot of movement. Lots of room but I could have used a few more hangers in the closet. We brought our own clock which was good because there wasn't one in the room. Don't bother bringing a nightlight for the bathroom. It didn't fit in the plug. Bought great hanger clips at Walmart that we used several times.

We spent a lot of time with a couple/family that we met on the roll call. They made a great cruise even better!

We went into town in Cozumel and spent a lot of time at Senor Frogs. It was really fun. Make sure you get a shot!

In Belize we took the City/Ruins Tour. Spent a lot of time on a bus and then went to the ruins. The ruins were cool. Glad that we booked a tour as I wouldn't have wanted to wander too far.

Costa Maya was great! We took a taxi into the village and spent several hours on the beach drinking Coronas at the Cat's Meow. What a fun place to go! Hugo took good care of us. We even met the cat!

Nassau was crowded and expensive. We shouldn't have gotten off the ship!

We found the dining room food is much better for breakfast than the buffet. Hot and fresh. Even the orange juice was better! The fish and chips were as good as everyone said. The deli sandwiches were also good. We got hot dogs and were pleasantly surprised at the chili to top them. It was delicious!

I will be happy to answer any questions that anyone has.

This was an awesome cruise! :)

 

Jill

[mnsawyer]

Great review. What is the dinner schedule the evening the ship is in Cozumel? Appears that the Glory is in port from 10 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. I assume no change in dinner times since everyone probably has to be back on the ship by 6:00? How many ships were in Cozumel?

[trawleroh]

When we were in Cozumel (June 17th sailing), there were 2 Carnival ships total. Dinner was served at the normal times.

[akcruz]

We are leaving on the Glory on Saturday and Nassau for whatever reason only shows one excursion for even this late in the game....I'm sure you can see more options once on board. Let you know when we come back :p

 

 

Before we left there was only the one Nassau excursion listed, as well as limited in most other ports. Once we got on the boat pretty much all those you see when going in by destination (not through your specific reservation) were available. They give you the paper with all of them as your board.

[DREAMSAFLOAT]

Traveled on the Glory 6/17. Had a great time. Stayed at Doubletree Cocoa Beach the day before. Left Boston on Jet Blue 7a.m. arrived 10a.m rented National Car at airport & we were on the beach by 12p.m.Hotel is right on the beach pool is a bit small but not crowded in Friday.

Found a Superwalmart picked up Pepsi, h20 and libations before returning the car right across the street and took hotel shuttle $4 P.P at 11 a.m made 3 stops and we were eating at the lido buffet at 12ish. Lines at check in were not long but we did have to fill out an additional customs form in addition to Fun Pass. No pens or clipboards provided so a bit of chaos trying to fill out forms for each person in the family with carryon luggage, no pens and no place to write So Bring your own pens and be prepared.

Sea DAy very relaxing after a walk around the track and quick trip to the gym which had adequate equipment. Bkfst in restaurant seemed faster and fresher Same menu everday & met new & interesting people as it is open seating at this time.

COZUMEL did Fury catamaran & snorkel. My son loves to sail and had a blast. even got to drive a bit. Reefs are in terrible shape after the hurricane but saw some awesome fish. HINT:Get off the boat first for the most snorkel in the water time. Libations were free & plentiful on the way to the beach. Many passengers became "confused" as the mexicans say when they had too many. Beach offered kayaks, volleyball, water toys, mats, chairs & food for purchase although we did not eat but did drink!!

Catamaran picks you up right at the pier. Our tour was at 2p.m. so in the a.m we walked off the pier and walked a bit. Nothing much aroun past the tourism village area & did not take a taxi to downtown for fear of missing the tour.

COSTA MAYA Took a $3-4 taxi to MaJahual all the way to the end. Had some tequila, beer, and food. My 10 yr. old wanted a beach massage so we both got 45 minute for $40 total.. Took some negotiating but it was better than the Spa Carnival Massage!! Tourism village had shops, food beer and pool. No beach swimming though. A few "confused" aka drunk passengers just making it up the long pier walk in time for take off made a great show from our balcony room 8268 which was awesome by the way!

BELIZE what can I say? Cave tubing is it, I was very sceptical but booked at the last minute. We were the 1st group out of the Amber Palace meeting place and 1st ones on the tender and down the river. It is very dark, lots of bats and spiders about the size of Alaskan king crabs hiding in the rocks. One woman did have a slight panic attack but recoverd quickly. It is very dark. Would like there to have been more "rapids' instaed of paddleing but I am glad I didi it. It poured rain just as we made it to the bus after the trek thru the rainforest but by the time we were back to tourism village it had stopped. Had an area to buy a locker for your belongings but we brought sealed water packs to keep our valuables and $$ in and wore them around our necks. Lockers were hand made of plywood and didn't seem all that secure to me. A suggestion to the ladies about rings too. If they are at all loose on your fingers if there is a lot of paddeling in the tube they could slip off so beware! I had been to Belize 3 yrs. ago and it has improved a bit since then so it seems to me our tourism dollars are helping the country.

NASSAU took the taxi to Atlantis did the free walk around/tour ourselves. Food & EVERYTHING ELSE JUST TOO ,MUCH$$$.The ferry ride back was nice and you have to get a fresh frozen pina colad, fruit drink, virgin or with rum for the trip back to the straw market. One of the best we had the entire vacation!

OVERALL TRIP fun, good weather, great people and staff. Port stops too many and too short time at each. Would rather another sea day Food was o.k. I was dying for assorted fresh steamed vegetables no sauce and never got them. CHOCOLATE BUFETT during a port day and closed at 3p.m. most items Blah. A box of Godivas would have been better. Ate in DINING ROOM 8p.m. wish there were less dancing/ shows by the waiters they just seem too rushed and busy and don't have time to get to know you the customer anymore. I like to chit-chat and find out a bit about the staff where they are from etc,but this time they seemed too rushed.

FORMAL NIGHTS on Sunday and Thurs. brought 1 dress different accessories. Had the formal wear on total for 2 nights about 3 hours. 1 formal night would have been plenty. In my opinion its just Carnivals way to push more picture taking while you are dressed up. Most pictures were taken along deck 5 and took up much of the boardwalk between the casino and dining areas and there were major pedestrian traffic jams around dinner times every night.

CAMP CARNIVAL after 4 trips for my 10 year old he used the camp less this trip than any other. We met another family with a 10 yr old and we all became good buddies. They did do the sleepover for the 9-11 yr. olds but charged an extra $26 for that. It was from 9pm-3:30a.m. They all had a blast and slept until 1p.m. the next day!!

DEBARKATION left our luggage out the night before as instructed and was in no rush to leave that day The room steward had to practically kick us out1 Luggage pick up was a nightmare. Had 4 pieces and only 1 of them was in the right carousel. Took 1hour to get 4 pieces. BOO!

We the hopped on a quick Budget car rental shuttle and had a luxury upgrade and were off to the west coast Punta Gorda for 3 days. Great trip there and glad to see they too are recuperating from all the devestating hurricaines. Left from Tampa to Boston fast 3 hour entertaining flight and now it's all over except the bills!!!

Next cruise friends and family cruise date and time to be announced.

[MAO]

dreamsafloat, thanks so much for the hint about taking your rings off while tubing, wouldv'e never thought of that.

 

Thank you to everyone else who has given reviews and info about Glory, still ahve too amny daysto wait but eventually I will set foot on her:)

MAO

[Corl4]

Just off the Destiny last Sunday and am already planning for next summer...thinking about the Glory. We love Coz and Belize is OK but have never been to Costa Maya or Nassau.

 

Two questions: Does the Glory have a teen club and a sushi bar? We definately missed our daily dose of sushi on the Destiny!

 

Thanks!

Beth

[jjcjfl]

Yes, they have both on the Glory. I don't do sushi but there were a lot of people eating it!

[LizaMM]

Just off the Destiny last Sunday and am already planning for next summer...thinking about the Glory. We love Coz and Belize is OK but have never been to Costa Maya or Nassau.

 

Two questions: Does the Glory have a teen club and a sushi bar? We definately missed our daily dose of sushi on the Destiny!

 

Thanks!

Beth

 

 

As previous poster stated....yes to both!

 

I loved the Salmon Sushi Bar! I had a late dinner seating and it was great to have some sushi at around 5:30, 6:00 before going up to the cabin and relaxing and getting ready for dinner. One day I grabbed a tray on the Lido Deck on my way down to the sushi bar, filled up and brought it up to the balcony to eat there and enjoy the private scenery.

 

I also love Coz. Really enjoyed our day in Belize! We did a ship snorkel exursion to Goff's Caye in the morning, were back on the ship for lunch and then took a tender over to port for a bit. It was very nice.

 

Costa Maya was absolutely awesome! We took the ride over to Majahual and spent most of the day there on the beach and then a bit of time walking around the port area on our return. If I had to choose....this was my favorite day of the cruise! You can see by my photos in my link below. Costs Maya is in the album titled Carnival Glory Cruise - Wednesday.

 

Nassau was not on my itinerary. I have vacationed there in the past but it was a while ago so I am sure that other posters could give you more info. Personally, I selected the Glory because of the number of Sea Days so if I were to do it now I might just spend the Nassau day on the ship having some R&R, especially if I was traveling without my kids :)