Carnival Glory Review 3/28/09

[boocicle]

We really enjoyed Nassau. We thought we were going to stay on the ship but decided to go to the beach. I am glad we did. Cabbage beach was really beautiful and the sand was so soft.

 

We got back on the ship late so I can't answer how crowded the ship was during our stop.

[WAcruisers]

We really enjoyed Nassau. We thought we were going to stay on the ship but decided to go to the beach. I am glad we did. Cabbage beach was really beautiful and the sand was so soft.

 

We got back on the ship late so I can't answer how crowded the ship was during our stop.

O.K. dumb question..........cabbage beach is that a private beach at a hotel or is it a public beach? Do you have to take the water taxi to it? I have been to Nassau once and only went in the straw market and then went on the jittney around to some restaurant and walked on a public beach (had broken beer bottles every where). Do they charge you for being on the beach?

[boocicle]

We took a taxi to the beach and I think it cost us 4 dollars each one way. The ride took maybe 8-10 minutes. Cabbage beach was a public beach. They let you off near the RIU and you walk down to the beach. Once we arrived at the beach you are approched to see if you want a chair or anything to drink. They were not too pushy. We rented two chairs for $15. There were people just laying on towels, so you don't have to rent a chair. We did not see any public bathrooms. I think you could walk down the beach and maybe find some toward Atlantis.

 

The beach was very nice. The water was kinda rough that day. The waves at times might have been 4-6'. You could buy beer, drinks (alchohol, virgin, or soft drinks) and food. We brought our own cooler with some snacks and had no problem with that. I did not see any broken bottles or any trash for that matter. It was a really nice time.

[TeacherCruiser09]

I am super excited and have really enjoyed reading the review of the Glory. I will be going with the DBF in Dec and cannot wait! Any other tips and tibits will surely be appreciated!

[TeacherCruiser09]

Is the supper club worth it? I know I read one review, but anyone else have an opinion? I'm just trying to figure out if it is something I would like to do!

[cruisingirl75]

We'll be in room 2221 on Sept 19. My DH and I don't mind the ship's movement all that much, we actually sleep better. We liked the front of the ship so much on our last cruise, we booked a room in about the same location on this year's cruise. I guess the movement doesn't bother us at all.

 

Love your review of the Glory and have been thoroughly enjoying it.:D

[boocicle]

Is the supper club worth it? I know I read one review, but anyone else have an opinion? I'm just trying to figure out if it is something I would like to do!

 

 

The wife and I both thought the food was much better in the Supper Club than in the Main Dining room. The service was great as well. You have a much larger selection on menu. The cuts of beef are better and larger. You will get plenty of food for the $30 surcharge.

 

The only downside for me was it does take about 2.5 hrs and the location could be better. Other ships have their speciality restaurants in better locations IMO.

 

If we went back on the Glory or any other ship with the Supper Club we would have atleast two meal there. $120 well spent in the Supper Club.

[bubbles1209]

Came up with some last minute tickets to the Masters. What a perfect weekend!!

Wasn't the weather here beautiful when you came? And how about the way it ended, could you have asked for a more exciting way to wrap up the week-end? They put on quite the show for us:) We'll be on the Glory on May 23rd, can't wait for more of your review!

[Lucyt1207]

Loved your review. We will be first time Carnival sailors on May 30...we have been on everal other lines but know that each does things their own way.

 

The room safes...how do they open and close? We have had safes that were a number code that you create yourself and we have had safes where you use an old credit card. If we need a credit card, I would much rather bring an expired one than ruin the magnetic strip of a current one.

 

thanks for your help.

[jdbmga]

The safes on Glory require a card to open.

[sheri18]

love the review......we were on the glory last year and loved it.....one of our favorite cruisies so far.....we went to the atlantis is nassau and loved it....have lots of pics in my link below.....

 

keep the reivew coming....

[sweetjem]

Ok on to Nassau:

 

My wife had been to Freeport once and complained that she didn't really like it. Other friends of ours had been to Nassau and said they didn't like it either. With that said I didn't have really high expectations of the stop. We were on the fence on staying on the ship and skipping Nassau. We really didn't research much on Nassau just read a few posts on CC and some info from Frommers.

 

Most of the post on CC lead me to believe that we should just pass on Atlantis. It was kinda of expensive and we just wanted to enjoy the beach for the few hours we were in port. We decided on just getting off the boat and finding a taxi to a beach. We had Cable beach and Cabbage beach in mind. We had breakfast on the Lido deck and it was pretty good and not very crowded. We waited for the call to unload and headed down to Deck 1. The crowds were not that bad and we got off pretty easy. Remember to take a picture ID off the boat because the S&S card in not good enough for the port authority folks. This was new to us so we had to go back and get our DL. We took our stroller and a cooler with a few drinks in it. We were not sure if there would be anything on the beach.

 

We were in port with a RCCL ship. Can't remember the name. The pier was not very busy and neither were the shops. This was a Sunday and Sunday is a slow day in Nassau. Most of the shops were closed but there were things to buy in the Port shops. We walked thru and asked a taxi driver to take us to Cabbage Beach. So the guys tell us to wait and he will take us in a few. We waited for 5-10 mins and got tired of waiting. We left the building and talked to another taxi driver. Again he told us to wait. We waited for another 10 mins and started to leave. He found us and paired us with another couple. I guess the moral of the story is just wait and be patient. This is just the routine. They want as many people in the van before they leave.

 

We loaded in the van and headed across the bridge to Paradise Island. I guess at this point I was getting kinda angry not sure why. I think I am just normally on high awareness when I travel to the Caribbean. We pulled up to an alley between a resort and some trees and the driver says Paradise Beach. I was like I thought we were going to Cabbage Beach. He says "Relax, your on vacation try and have a good time". Well, of course that didn't help. I tried to tell him I was just making sure I was in the right place and he just kept saying relax. I didn't say anything because my wife and kid were there and so was another nice family. I think we paid $8 and I tipped him $2 for the advice. As it turns out it was Cabbage beach and either I mis heard him or he mis-spoke. Who cares the beach was beautiful and the sand was as soft as I have ever been on. We grabbed two chairs for $15 and the guy pulled them to a nice spot on the beach.

 

The beach was not very crowded at this point. There were a few CCL passengers near us and down the beach toward the Atlantis were Resort guest of the RIU and other resorts. The surf was very strong for the Caribbean and at times the waves may have been as high as 4-5'. This made it difficult for my daughter to enjoy the water. She did have a great time playing in the sand. I had a fun time playing in the water. It was funny watching guys and girls get pounded by the surf. On guy got rolled up pretty good and it took his shorts almost off. Too bad it was a dude and not a girl or it would have been worth seeing.

 

Beware that you will have to turn away many trinket and hair braiding people. You would have a girl walk by and ask if you want something just to have someone else ask you in 30 seconds. After a while you just tune it out. They had all sorts of water toys avail. and they were selling alcoholic and virgin drinks, sodas, chips, coconut drinks, and massages. We really didn't need to bring anything but I am glad we did.

 

There was not a bathroom near by. We finally have our daughter potty trained and she would not go potty anywhere but a bathroom. Which is a good thing unless you have no bathrooms avail. I finally decided to take her to the RIU and try to use their bathroom. We walked in like we owned the place and used the restroom. I think I could have actually walked up to the bar and got a drink but I didn't push it. The RIU looked nice and I thought to myself that it might not be a bad place to stay sometime.

 

After a few hours we decided to head back to the ship. We had no problems getting someone to get a taxi for us. I tipped the guy a couple of dollars for getting the taxi and the driver helped us carry the cooler and the stroller back. I think the stroller was overkill this time. We loaded up with 2 other families and headed back for a very short but hair-raising ride. One of the guys in the van asked him how many people he had run down before. They guy just laughed as he almost ran over a very casual couple on the street. He took us through downtown Nassau back to the ports. I think we were charged $8 for the ride back and we tipped him 12 total. They didn't charge for our 2 yr old. He dropped us a few blocks from the pier and we tried a few shops but most were closed. So we just walked through the shops at the pier. My wife found some Conch shells that were carved into serving bowls. I forget how much they wanted but I think she paid $40 for 4. May have been asking $15 each. We had a brief talk with the lady that made the shells. She seemed very nice and I am sure they do a good business at this location. We went through the port authority checkpoint and headed back to the ship. Off in the distance you could see Atlantis. This is a really striking resort. From the ships top deck you can take some amazing pics of it. I have seen a few on CC and I took a few myself (not that amazing because I am a terrible photographer).

 

We went thru the ships checkpoint and we really wished we would not have taken the stroller. We didn't make that mistake again. It was just too much to manage in all those people.

 

Well again, I have written a book. Again it is late and I will pick it up another day. I hope to complete this before the end of April :).

 

Can you tell me how far is this beach and where did you get the taxi to go there ?