Home from the Glory (long review)

[laf500]

First I would like to say it was a beautiful ship and we had a great time! We left from newark, nj airport friday morning at 7:30am and arrived in orlando by 10:00 am. We took a cab to the radisson hotel. We expected hurricane charley to hit a lot sooner then it did. We heard all the theme parks(disney, universal, etc.) were closing at 1:00 pm. We had beautiful weather when we got down there and hung out by the pool at the hotel all day. The storm hit around 6 pm and lasted throughout the night. We hung out the night in the lobby bar and made friends with other people going on the glory. We also met up with a very large group from the royal caribbean cruise that apperantly sailed early and had to leave them. They were refunded and put up for the night in the raddison and had a special dinner buffet set up for them, but they were not in very good spirits missing their cruise. One person I talked to lost all her luggage as well.

The next morning we got up and booked the free shuttle to go over to the boat for 11:30am. At this point we heard the glory was not in yet and they didnt know when it would be getting into port. I went across the street to the Mcdonalds and saw the glory at about 10 am. Apparently the people were late disembarking and no one would be permitted into the port area until 1pm so they were pushing everyone's shuttle times back 3 hours. I didn't want to wait for a 2:30 shuttle so i called for a cab to arrive at 12:30. The cab came late about 1:30 and it was a loooong wait to get into the area to get on the boat. The waiting area is also very very hot! The need some fans at least in there. Finally boarded the glory about 3 pm.

Went to our room to check it out and drop off our carry-ons before heading up for lunch and our luggage came while we were there, very very quickly. The room was very nice, lots of room the only thing i wasnt too happy with is that the garbage from the people before us was still in the garbage can in the bathroom when we got there. Not a big deal but kinda gross to see, but I guess with all the hussle and bussle the room stewards were in a big rush. Our room steward did an excellent job cleaning and taking care of the room. Again only complaint is that we had 8 o'clock dinner and he often would knock once and hten open the door aroun 7-7:30 when we were always getting ready. I didnt liek that much.

We had dinner in the platinum dining room and the food was very good. I was on the triumph last year and thought the food this year on the glory was much better. Still wasn't a big fan of the desserts though. Our waitress and busgirl were both the best ever!

In Costa Maya we did the Coral Reef Snorkel tour. We enjoyed it a lot. It got a little long though and really not many fish more coral then fish. I heard horrible complaints about the beach snorkel however so I guess we chose the right tour. This tour I believe was about $65.00. Afterwards we did some shopping and back on the ship.

In Belize we did the cave tubing. It was great. Had a wonderful time. The hike is long and very tiring though. If someone is not in the best shape it can be a struggle. Im not in great shape and i was ok but definetly by the end i had had enough of the walking. This tour was about $89.00. Definetely so a tour in Belize not much else to do. Oh and lunch is included with this tour but be careful, i thought i had chicken and rice and we were informed later that we ate iguana. It really tasted like chicken to me but it would have been nice to know lol. And there are tiny fish in the water that bite on your butt in the tubes. You can barely feel them and it doesn't feel like a bite more like a little tickle, but I got a little freaked out when the guide told us that, i would have probably been better off not knowing ahead of time because i got worried.

In Cozumel we swam with the dolphins. By far our favorite excursion and soooo worth the money. It cost $170.00. We swam with them and snorkled with them. I did this excursion in both cozumel and jamaica last year and the cozumel tour was much better. IN jamaica you were not allowed to bring the cameras in the water, this tour you could. They make a video of your group and it costs $35.00 to purchase. After the tour we did some more shopping and then went to Fat Tuesday's and partied partied partied. We had the best time! It got a little crazy there and the ship video guy was filming everything, luckily it didn't make the video or I would not be able to show my family or my boyfriend when i got back lol.

The final stop was progresso. This was my least favorite stop. We did the Corona beach tour. Not worth the money in my opinion. it was $35.00. The section of the beach carnival has was right next to the road where all the cars would go bye and honk and yell and the open bar all the drinks were small and watered waaaayyy down. My advice if you wanna go there, take a cab and go on your own.

I didn't go to any of the shows except the comedy shows. Percy Crews was hysterical if he is the comedian on your cruise go and see him. We spent most of our nights at the casino bar, where the best bartender ever was. If you go gotta get some drinks from Peter! He was great. We tipped hom big at the end of the trip. He even partied with us at Fat Tuesday's and bought the whole group we hung out with drinks (like 30 of us). We usually went to the wite heat club after and danced and partied til that closed then up to the outdoor bar and pizza late night.

We had a wonderful cruise and made many new friends. I really have no complaints. It was pretty rowdy but a lot of the people i talked to were the rowdy ones so they didn't bother me much. One day there was a hug fight up on the lido deck that got way out of hand. Carnival security broke it up. One of the huge glass windows was broken and they charged all 9 people in the fight $600.00 each for it. I have to say security was on point and taking care of things. All the staff was very friendly and did their jobs well. Our social director was John Heald who i sailed with last year and many of you already know him, he was great as always.

The trip home was looong our 1:20 flight got delayed because of storms in newark area and then orlando area so we didnt take off until 20 to 5 which was no fun but i made it back safe and sound and had a wonderful cruise!

Sorry sooooo long! Any questions at all feel free to ask i'd be happy to help you!

[hill6]

Sounds like you had a great cruise despite the windy beginning and flight delays at Newark due to rain seems to be the norm this summer.

[JJS2K3]

Fun reading your review :)

[SoccerMom#3]

Thanks for the review. We're thinking of sailing Glory next summer so it' s fune to read about the ship.

 

Elise

[laf500]

Thanks to those of you who posted a reply i hope my information was somewhat helpful and interesting. Happy Cruising!

[pungo3]

Thanks for the review. The Glory is on my "wishlist" and I read everything I can about her. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[dbmiller1956]

Husband, myself and 2 other couples are heading out on the Glory next month. Nice to know that this ship lives up to the Carnival reputation of friendly service in the dining room and good food. We are definitely counting down the days!!!

[dixiegirl]

laf500 - what started the fight? How could anyone even think of fighting on a vacation like that? I am leaving on Saturday and can't wait!

 

Just curious about the fight if you have the scoop on it.

[laf500]

dixiegirl, sadly the fight was over the typical male macho garbage. One guy was talking to a girl who told him this other guy was her ex and the ex got jealous and said they were still together and told the guy to stop talking to her and one thing led to another and a fight broke out. These are all men in their young 20's you know how they are. But in short the fight was over a girl. hopefully she was worth $600 a piece.

[dixiegirl]

Typical males!!!! just kidding! I do have another question though. How many electrical outlets are in a balcony room? I want to bring my alarm clock but it is not battery powered. Will I have a place to plug it in near the bed? We have a balcony room.

 

Also, do you know how early you can start boarding? Our group wants to meet up and start boarding at 2:30. I think that is a little late don't you?

[Lynne Myrna]

I was on the 7/24/ sailing, we went eastern, after registering it took about 30 to 40 min getting into the ship, which was about 1:00...it depends how crowded it is....fill out your fun pass, it makes it easier. You are going to love this cruise, it was our best one yet.

[laf500]

dixiegirl, there is only 1 outlet in the room. bring a powerstrip with you to plug in so you have mor outlets. Usually what i hear is you can start boarding between 12- 1. our ship was late this yr because of the storm. I got on about 3 or so. The whole line took about an hour for us, which wasn't bad considering so many people were there waiting til they were allowed to board because the ship was late.

[dbmiller1956]

2:30 is a little late for boarding, if you want to enjoy the ship and eat lunch before the sailing. We typically try to be onboard by 12:00 noon. Gives us plenty of time for a quick run through of the ship, signup for any excursions we already know about, check out where the dining room is located and where our table is, then have a nice lunch.

I agree with laf500, there is only one outlet, so definitely bring a power strip. We began doing that on cruise #2 and have never regretted it.

HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!

[Sandiegal]

I just got finisihed reading your review of the Glory. You gave me alot of information and helpful hints. I am going on the 8th of Jan. and it is my first cruise ever. I am excited and nervous. I know it will be lots of fun.

 

I do have a couple questions, if you don't mind. :D

 

What does the bathroom look like and consist of?

 

Is there a fridge, microwave, and coffee maker?

 

How many sets of clothes do you really need?

 

 

Do you have any info on the Spa? I had wanted to book some things prior to getting on board.

 

I think that is it.

 

Thank you for all the info and any other help you can provide.

 

Happy Holidays,

 

Sandie Robinson