Carnival Glory trip report July 22, 2006

[tammlynn]

Our 4th Carnival cruise was as great as ever! We had booked the least expensive cabin at the last minute and was upgraded to an outside Category 6A, room 1273. Great roomy cabin and so quiet! I was worried since it was so close to the elevators, but it was quiet and the location convenient. We decided to use www.parksleepfly.com and book a hotel on Cocoa Beach after the cruise and get free parking and shuttle to the ship. This worked out as a cheaper option for us since our van was over 21 ft and parking would have been over $20/a day. The Days Inn looked like it was in sort of a seedy area of town (I didn’t go out at night), but our new van was fine and our stay comfortable. The hotel was within walking distance to Cocoa Beach pier.

 

The ship’s ambience was fun and colorful, although more subdued than other Carnival ships! Very clean. Our room was always immaculate, which was no small feat since we were traveling with our 5 year old.

Embarkation: we arrived at 1 pm and were on the ship at 1:30.

 

I thought the food was as great as ever in the dining room. My husband thought the Red Sail buffet was lacking some meat choices and his food was cold on the first day, but there are many options such as the pizza, deli, and fish and chips as well as the buffet. I was disappointed that they did not have the ice cream sundae bar like they had on other cruises; instead they have a 24 hour soft-serve station (not my favorite) available. One thing I noticed more on this ship was the lines at the buffet in the Red Sail. They could last 20-30 minutes at one station. The gala buffet was also disappointing. Beautiful buffet, but I waited in an hour long line and to mine and others dismay, they had few options left to choose from once we arrived at the food. Next time, I won’t bother!

 

Being an early bird I had no problem finding a lounge chair, but did notice others having difficulty on the at sea days. Our five-year-old loved the pools and especially the waterslide. One pool is open late which made for some great late night swimming.

 

The shows were pretty good; get there early for a decent seat! The Legends show and the comedians were our favorites!

 

Camp carnival took great care of our boy, he had a blast. They have babysitting service after ten where they have a slumber party and watch movies. The counselors are all very good. We only had difficulty when it came to pick up our child having to wait in a very slow line where on 2 occasions the camp counselor socialized and flirted with some guy who was picking up his girlfriends kids. I timed them and it lasted 15 minutes, he was gushing how she looked liked Angelina Jolie and she smile and giggle! There were over 10 parents in line and I think the camp counselor was oblivious!

 

Excursions

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Nassau: We had gotten a free shore excursion with our cruise which consisted of a 2 hour history tour of Nassau. Informative once we got started, but had to wait 45 minutes for the tour to start since we were waiting on some others. We got to spend a half hour at the Atlantis which was nice. Spent the last hour at the Straw market and did a little shopping.

 

St. Thomas: At the suggestion from another family on the ship, we decided to grab a cab to Sapphire Beach. It cost $10 per person from the ship to the beach and dropped us off in front a time-share resort. What a beautiful place. We walked directly onto the beach where there was a place to rent chairs and snorkel equipment if desired and found a place in the shade. There is a reef right off the beach with some decent snorkeling. There were a lot of people but it did not feel crowded and I would definitely return there. We did discover a cheaper transportation option, from talking to the locals. For $2 per person you can hail a “safari bus” which circles the island and would drop us in town near the internet café and cruise terminal entrance. We decided to do this and walked up the hill from the resort to the main road and within 5 minutes we were on the bus. We told the driver we needed to get off at the cruise terminal and he yelled at us when we got there! It is an easy walk along the wharf from town back to the ship.

 

St. Maarten: My favorite island. We got off the ship in Phillipsburg which one can safely walk into town if desired (about a mile). We opted for a cab at $9 per person to go to the French Culd de Sac and catch the water taxi to Pinel Island ($5 per person). Beautiful turquoise water with snorkeling and lots of shallow water (great for kids). Be careful if you arrive before 10:30. The water taxi said he does not open until 10:30. We got lucky and were able to get on board with the passengers from the cruise ship excursion at 9:30; otherwise we would have been waiting. Our taxi driver told us she would come back for us at our suggested time. We asked her to come back at 1 pm. She had wanted us to pre-pay but I never feel comfortable with that so she said she would be there anyway which she was (her name was Mary and she was very nice and also gives fairly priced tours of the island-cheaper than the cruise ship and much more personal).

:)

Overall a wonderful cruise! Carnival follows pretty much the same food and entertainment regardless of the ship! We had a lot of kids on this cruise and definitely a majority of what I have heard others call “bubba gump” type of passengers (which I have to admit includes myself). My point is if one is looking for high class and sophistication, this may not be the cruise for you! But definitely a fun laid back crowd and great value for a family vacation.

[sallyb]

Tammlynn,

Thank you for posting your review! :)

Do you remember which pool was open late and how late? :confused:

The bus you got back from the beach in St. Thomas, any idea how to catch that bus to Sapphire?

Glory will be our 4th Carnival cruise also.

Thanks,

Sally

[Doug&Suzy-Q]

I love reading reviews...thank you. So glad you had a wonderful time.

Can you elaborate on the "safari bus"? Is this a local bus or tourist bus?

You get on/off at regular stops?

Do you recall anything like this is St. Marten?

Thanks for the review.

[pacerzfan]

Great Review Thanks

[tammlynn]

HI,

Thank you for your questions.

The pool was on the aft side of the ship and it was at least open until midnight (it might have been open later, but that is as late as we used it).

You can catch the "safari bus" outside the cruise terminal. Don't be confused with the area directly as you step off the ship. The taxi drivers will play dumb or say it is dangerous. It is a local bus which circles the island and makes regular stops. You will see why some locals call it a safari bus when you see it. Some are brightly painted and are open air. Locals hit a button when they want to get off (we told the driver since we did not know exactly where to get off nearest the cruiseship and he stopped and yelled for us). The locals on the bus were kind and helpful as well and we never felt in danger, now I would not get off the bus at certain stops just because they looked a little seedy. I believe it took about thirty minutes to get back to the ship from Sapphire. If you go to Sapphire you have about a half mile walk down a steep hill where you will encounter a security shack and then the resort. We had no problems getting into the resort since we had taken a cab in (it might be a little intimidating to just walk in but if you try it let me know how it goes). As for catching the bus to Sapphire I would leave the cruise terminal (go outside the main gates-past the gold shops) and ask a local either in the touristy shops across the street from the main gate or near the internet place (which is near where you would catch the bus).

As for busses in ST Martin, I heard there is one that travels from Phillipsburg to Marigot. But since we opted to go to Pinel Island we just took a cab. I did ask several locals about a bus that might travel around the island....they all said there wasn't. But I did see locals hanging out on the street looking for rides and I did see a few buses. If anyone finds out there are buses please let me know.

Have a great trip!

Tammlynn