Carnival / Glory questions from an RCCL cruiser

[nc_cruiser1]

My family and I have previously only cruised with RCCL, but we are strongly considering a Dec 18th cruise on the Glory (returns to port on Christmas

Day). I could probably get answers to these questions by doing a lot of research here, but I’m too lazy for that, so here goes:

 

On RCCL (VOS), we booked two cabins – a balcony and an interior across the hall from each other on deck 7 (one cabin in my name, one in my DW’s), and then put our two teenage boys in the interior, while we took the balcony. Of course, this arrangement is against official policy (and for good reason… but we keep tight control on the boys and they are well-behaved). We even made it clear to our cabin steward what we were doing. Anyway, would we be able to the same thing on the Glory?

 

Second, probably our biggest complaint (but not a big issue) on VOS was late-night noise emanating from inconsiderate neighbors. Are there noise considerations on the Glory? (We will bring earplugs!) We are thinking about decks 7 (Empress) and 8 (Veranda). The latter is directly under public areas (pool, etc), so is noise above the cabin a potential problem? How about noise from proximity to the elevators (not an issue on VOS)?

 

Is there a “smoking side” to the ship? If so, how big a deal is that for non-smokers, like us (we do not like smoke!)?

 

What can we expect for teen programs (boys are 14 and 17 years old)? Remember, this is during the holiday season.

 

Will Carnival doing anything special for Christmas (esp Christmas Eve)?

 

Finally, any suggestions for excursions on the Western itinerary? We can be mildly adventurous, and loved climbing Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica, snorkeling in Cozumel and we like beaches a lot.

 

Thanks for any help!

[CruiseDawg2001]

We just got off Glory July 31st, and I think I can adress most of your questions.

 

First, with the cabins you wont have a problem. 'Offical' Carnival policy is that underage persons can have their own cabin if it is ajacent to their parents/guardians stateroom.

 

As far as noise... well, no matter where you go you will always have the possibility of inconsiderate people. If your getting a balcony, you might have a problem with doorslammers. I usally yell something; not like they can see who its coming from! :) Under the Lido Deck (Deck 9) you wont have any noise at night; with the exception of the midnight deck party they have one night, after 6pm there isnt anything going on out there. Close to the elevators though, I would be careful with. The elevator lobbys are high-traffic areas and the doorslammers might not care that they are being loud as they pass your cabin to get to theirs.

 

Smoking side was the Starboard side, but that realted to outer decks only. Many places within the ship were non-smoking, save for the dance club, the casino and a few of the lounges.

 

Kids programs I cant comment much on, but there is a special 'teens only' disco.

 

Holiday type stuff I also cant comment on, but I know the ships are decorated and they offer a special dinner.

 

Excusions on Western... the Fiesta party boat in Cozumel!

 

You'll love Glory, shes a great ship.

[cruztime]

Hi,

 

We were on the Glory this past May and are going again this October. We had Empress deck aft balcony. actually a stern cabin. We loved it!. It fact we booked the exact same cabin for October. The Empress deck is my recommendation. We have had the Empress deck on the Pride, Spirt and Glory. It is a deck sandwiched between 2 decks of just cabins so there is no noise from above or below. We have never experienced noisy neighbors. There are only a few cabins along the stern, so noise is not an issue. Maybe we've just been fortunate enough to have good neighbors, but we've never had a problem. It is a very convenient location to the Lido deck and Red Sail buffet, just 2 decks above and the Platinum dining room, just 4 decks below. It's far enough back from the elevators, so that is not an issue either. Take Empress and you can't go wrong.

 

As far as smoking, I too am very sensitive to it. I really didn't notice it except in the casino. The ventilation in the cigar bar is so good, you don't even notice them.

 

Sorry I can't give any info on programs for kids since ours is a little older and likes having his time at home. But I can say, I've never seen much of kids until we get in port, so they must keep them pretty busy. The teen Disco and of course the arcade are pretty popular for teenagers.

 

Have a great cruise

 

Have a great cruise.