Just back from the Glory!

[bubbles1209]

We're back from the Glory! There will be a review with pics to come, I promise, but I wanted to drop a line & say we are back. It was a bittersweet cruise, you'll see why when I post the review, but overall, despite the weather we had a great time! I'll try to have everything together by the end of the week at the latest. Very tired, been up since 7 this morning, a long day with flights, didn't get to our home airport until after 6 this evening, gonna get some shut eye. More later I promise!:)

[jolyn928]

I can't wait! Glad you had a good time, and I hope the 'bitersweet' comes out okay in the end!!!

[jdbmga]

Can't wait to hear all about your cruise. We are on the Glory in July.

[TakeMeAway1001]

Welcome back, I will be watching for your review :)

[amyrfc]

Can't wait for your review! We are on the Glory next May...wish it was tomorrow though! hahhahaa...will you post your review on this thread? I'm going to follow it so that I don't miss it! We all look forward to hearing from you!

[jas1178]

Headed out on Glory in July too! Can't wait for an early taste, through your review.

[jdbmga]

Headed out on Glory in July too! Can't wait for an early taste, through your review.

 

Jas, come join our roll call. We'd love to have you. :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=826922

[jas1178]

Hey Debbie, just signed in over there. Wow, 35 page roll call. Thanks for the reminder.

[gazingm42]

Would really like to hear how it was. We leave in 6 days!

[meme2manthajoe]

We had a fabulous time on the Glory in April!!!!

[bubbles1209]

I'm back, and I have had some rest. I've decided to do this review a little different than my past ones, it's gonna be one that seems to be in real time, so that you can enjoy the days as we did........one at a time. Before the review is done, there will be a link to the pics in my signature like the rest that I have. Since it's Sunday, I'm already a day behind, so I will start with Saturday & Sunday and will add to the review daily. Just remember that in my review, my opinions are just that..my opinions, and this just reflects our experience and not necessarily the experience or opinions of others that were on the same trip. So hang on, we're about to start a 7 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Carnival Glory through my eyes. :)

 

Saturday, May 23rd, Embarkation & Sailaway

The alarm went off at home at 4:15 a.m., followed by a wake-up call to make sure I didn't oversleep from a friend and co-worker that delivers papers and was already on his paper route. I got up, had my coffee, got a shower, got dressed, and double checked that everything was set & off as it should be before we left. 5:15 a.m., on the way to the airport and arrived by 5:30, our flight was at 6:50 a.m. We parked the car, and went to the main entrance and waited for our friends to show up. It was their 1st plane ride, 1st cruise, so they were anxious but excited. They pulled up at 6:00, and before long we were all checking in for our flight, checking our bags, and once through security it was time to board the plane.:D We flew to Atlanta, arriving at Atlanta around 7:30. We had a layover until 9:00, so we grabbed a bite to eat, and before we knew it we were boarding for our flight to Orlando. It was cloudy all the way to Orlando, and when we arrived at 10:35 a.m., it had been raining. On the flight in, as we were going in for a landing, you could see the standing water from where they had gotten so much rain in the week before we got there. We got off, got our luggage, and called Cocoa Beach Shuttle to let them know we had arrived per their request. We had booked a round-trip private transfer through them about a month or so before the trip. They came and picked us up, after we had our bags loaded and were getting into the van, there was a lady who was wanting to ride with us, and the driver told her it was a private shuttle. She wasn't happy and was asking our driver what her name was. The driver told her what her name was, and this lady was calling the shuttle company on her cell phone to complain about it as we were driving off. We were on the way and about 5-7 minutes into our trip, the driver got a call asking about where she was, and the driver told her dispatcher what exit we were approaching. I heard the driver ask her dispatch if they wanted her to turn around, and apparently they had said no, keep going. Turns out, she had been told that if we were willing to turn around and go and get this lady that they would give us a discount for the inconvenience of it all, but since she was so far out to just keep going. So we did. We arrived at Port Canaveral around 11:30. We tipped the driver and off we went for embarkation. Embarkation at Port Canaveral was quick and smooth. We got in line, put our carry-on stuff through the X-Ray equipment, hopped the escalator up a floor, and was met by a lady handing everyone a sheet of paper to fill out about their health. Basic yes/no questions....Sore throat, fever, etc. this was because of the swine flu thing I'm sure. We filled it out real quick and got in line. We were called up fairly quickly (within 5 minutes) and were asked for our funpasses, passports/i.d. The only odd thing I saw about it all was when she had this piece of paper that you used to receive in the mailed documents (before they started the on-line setting up your account and accepting the cruise contract thing) it was the piece of paper where if you weren't using a credit card you would write cash over the credit card info part, sign your name and initial that you were the one responsible for the charges on the sail & sign. I didn't see the point since we had done everything on-line, but we filled it out real fast, and were handed our sail & sign cards. We were then sent a little further down since we were using cash to put money on our account. We were given a receipt, and on our way up to board the ship. We had to show i.d. and our sail & sign before getting on, and then stopped for the picture they take as you board to put you into their system. A quick stop for that 1st boarding photo, and we were in the lobby. We ordered 4 drinks, and set out for some food on the Lido deck. We were done and heading to eat by 12.

We grabbed a bite, and before we knew it, it was time to check out our cabins. We did, and most everyone in our group decided on a nap before muster drill. I was on the balcony, wasn't sleepy yet. Our luggage arrived before muster drill, so I went ahead and unpacked everything and settled us in for the week. Muster drill came around before we knew it, and we were setting sail headed off onto our cruise. After a little more napping it was dinner time before we knew it, we were all 4 together for dinner, so we took the night for exploring and getting to bed early for some rest..........after the casino of course, DH always is there......every night. Nassau the next morning was our 1st port of call.

 

Nassau

 

Our port time in Nassau was 8:30 until 2:00. It was a Sunday, but since we had already been to Nassau, we elected to stay on the ship and sleep in. Our friends went out exploring for a little bit, but weren't impressed and came back pretty quickly. Then, they, like us, still tired from the day before, elected to catch up on some much needed rest. After catching up on some rest, we got ready for the 1st formal night, and the Captain's cocktail party. We went to the cocktail party before dinner. We had the 8:15 dinner seating, and if memory serves me correctly the cocktail party for the late seating was at 7:15 ( I think that's right, don't have my capers in front of me). After that, we had dinner, had some pictures made, and decided to go to the casino for a little bit, and agreed to meet our friends later for the Motown hour at the disco. It started off slow, most people don't get into it until they've had a drink or 2 I guess. There was this 1 lady who was out there dancing with 2 guys she knew, guess they tired out, 'cause they left her out there dancing, and just as she was about to quit, DH went out there to dance with her and :eek: boy did they get the party started! Everyone was laughing & cheering them on, our friends & me were watching, I went and snapped a few pics. There was this blonde lady who came up behind DH with her back to his, right up against him dancing with him and the lady he had started dancing with, and it was on! I told my friend Marilyn.....he thinks that's me.........and he did.........he said he started to reach around and grab her, but didn't, he turned around instead, and was surprised to see a stranger there, but kept right on dancing & partying. After that, everyone was dancing and the party was started. It was a lot of fun........and yes, I did go dance with him later. After an evening of that, we headed to bed, and looked forward to sleeping in. We had a great time that night!

More tomorrow on our 1st sea day.

[amyrfc]

what a great start to your review! can't wait for more... :D

[mjmagee]

Please post more review, please!

Marilyn

[WAcruisers]

cant wait for more!:D

[MTcruiser]

Great review...I can't wait for more.

[bubbles1209]

Monday, May 25th, Fun Day At Sea

 

I always get up super early (before sunrise.....which on my days off never ever happens at home) most every day on a cruise, go up to the Lido deck, grab breakfast & coffee on a tray, take it back to our room and have breakfast on the balcony and watch the sunrise. Today was no different.........o.k, a little different. There was no sunrise to see, it was too cloudy. :( But I was happy with daybreak, it's so peaceful that time of morning. After breakfast and some quiet time for myself, I decided to roam the ship. It was so quiet. There were some people out and about, but overall quiet. It's like having the whole ship to yourself for a bit. Kind of eerie....a ghost town if you will, but something to be enjoyed at the same time. We didn't have any solid plans for the day except to play it by ear. DH slept in, so did our friends. They elected to have the day just for themselves, and they needed to. This cruise was an early 1st anniversary for them. They have kids (hers from a previous relationship) and they were looking forward to time just for them. I'm 41 (shhh don't tell) and it was nice to see a couple in their late 20's realize that they need time for each other, so they don't lose touch with who they are as a couple. So, after I got done exploring the ship for a bit, I headed back to the room to see if DH was awake, which he was just waking up good. I went to breakfast with him and just had coffee. The port talk for St. Thomas was at 11:00, but we skipped it, knowing that we could watch it on t.v. all day. There were a few trivia contests scheduled for the day, as well as the ice carving demonstration, and various other things, but DH before long headed to his favorite place.........the casino. I went, got lucky hit a straight-flush at 3 card poker, won a little over $300 with that. I played for a little bit longer winding up quitting while I was still ahead. We enjoyed the day being lazy, grabbing a nap, going out and people watching, and of course eating.:D Tonight was the night that they had Marcus Anthony doing a Evening of Motown show in the Amber Palace. We had seen him on 2 other cruises and decided to ask our friends if they wanted to go, they both loved the oldies as well. They said yes, so at 7:00 which was the showtime for the late dinner, we all headed to the amber palace. They had bingo before the show, so it was winding up as we all walked in. We went all the way up front and just to the left of the stage. Now, the secret here is, we've seen this same show twice already, and assumed it would be the same. In the show, Marcus Anthony always asks, and I quote "Are there any lovers in the house?" And when people raise their hands, he picks 4 or 5 couples to come up stage and dance while he sings, and dances with someone from the audience.....and he gets silly with it, making them grab his butt, it's funny. Afterwards, he gives everyone on stage a bottle of champagne. Anyway, when bingo was over, we told our friends, o.k. if the people behind us move, let's grab those seats so we can see a little better. Sure enough, they left, and we grabbed their seats. We were enjoying the show, and sure enough, he asked that very same question.........."Are there any lovers in the house?" and we both pointed to our friends. Sure enough, he called them up on stage to dance. Yes, my friends, we set them up, it was fun.:D They danced, got their bottle of champagne, and enjoyed the rest of the show. Today was Memorial Day, and he did call everyone that was in the service up to the stage to thank them for their service, I have some pics of this too, DH went up, I thought it was great of him to recognize all of the people that have/are served/serving our country. After the show, our friends had their picture taken with Marcus Anthony, and we all headed on to the dining room for dinner. After dinner, we were gonna check out the 80's flashback party by the casino bar, but it was over, and they were doing a Thriller dance lesson. We wound up going to the casino, and they wound up heading in for the night to grab some rest for St. Thomas. We stayed in the casino for a good while, and finally decided to turn in for the night. Our port time the next day in St. Thomas was 10:00 until 8:00 p.m. and we had a 1:15 excursion that was to last 4 hours or so booked for the 4 of us, so it was time to grab some shut-eye. After I spent my nightly time on the balcony (I always go out and watch the wake of the ship for a good 15 minutes sometimes much longer before I go to bed every night) I crawled into bed, and drifted off to sleep with the gentle rocking of the ship. Heavenly :)

[amyrfc]

great review! I keep waiting for more!

What cabin did you have?

Did you decorate your door?

:cool:

[cmecruise1962]

I feel like I am already there...and I have 2 1/2 months to go! Thank goodness there are people like you that post reviews to get me more and more excited!! Is it too early to start packing??? :D

[kcep02]

I am reliving the cruise through your review. We had a great time. We were in cabin 9222. No noise problems at all.

[NJEMT29]

great review we leave 7/11 cant wait. what did u think about the ship

[bubbles1209]

great review! I keep waiting for more!

What cabin did you have?

Did you decorate your door?

:cool:

 

We had cabin 7442. It's an aft balcony cabin.........can't see myself in any other besides the 9A wraps that is......yes, I'm spoiled!:D Nah, we didn't decorate the door, just more stuff to pack.

[bubbles1209]

great review we leave 7/11 cant wait. what did u think about the ship

 

Thanks, glad you are enjoying it, we loved the ship, would definitely sail on Glory again. We kind of felt right at home as we have cruised on the Liberty twice and this ship has the same layout. The Glory's in great shape, make sure to check out my pictures that I add to my signature later this week.:)

[bubbles1209]

Tuesday, May 26th, St. Thomas

 

We were in port in St. Thomas from 10 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. I made sure that I was up early to watch us pull into the port, it's very beautiful there, and St. Thomas is my favorite port so far out of all that we have been to. Grabbed me some coffee and watched us pull in. Went to the front of the ship to watch the pilot escort.....ahhhhhhhhh, just beautiful. Headed back to the cabin to make sure DH was awake, got a call from our friends, they had already eaten breakfast, so we headed up for a bite and met up with them after we ate. I wanted them to take the tram ride and see St. Thomas from Paradise Point. Fun part here was, our friend Marilyn's husband Tony is afraid of heights, but we talked them into it. We left the ship around 11 or so, walked over to the tram ride and bought our tickets. They were $21 per person if I remember correctly. Then we got in line and made our way up the steps for our turn on the tram. We were trying to stay together, but come time to get into the tram.......:eek: they split us up. So, instead of getting to hear Tony's reaction to the ride up we had to watch from the car behind them. We got up there, got some pics of them together, and us. We did a little looking around in the shops and just taking in the view for a while. They decided it was time for lunch, so they grabbed a bite to eat. By the time their food got there, it was almost time to go, (we had a 1:15 excursion planned) so they had to wolf down the rest, and it was time to take off. By the time we got through the line to get back down, and made the trek back down, we only had 10 minutes to get there. We grabbed a cab to speed things up a little. Got there, found where they were, and they were already loading up in the boat. This was an excursion to Trunk Bay on St. John that was 4 hours long. We handed them our shore excursion tickets, and got on the boat. We rode on the ouside level on the boat, (only place we could find seats). The inside level of the boat had doors that closed and air conditioning. We started the ride over to St. John. The tour guides were great, cracking jokes and pointing out celebrity homes along the way, as well as giving us facts about the 2 islands (St. Thomas & St. John). After a nice little ride over, we were finally to St. John. We got off of the boat, and learned that the guy that does the video for the ship was going to be on our tour. We were instructed before getting off of the boat of what time we were all to get back into the van to head back, and how long we would be on the beach. As we were loading up into the van, I heard the driver telling someone (not sure who it was, missed that part) not to scratch the van. And........we were off. The roads were winding that took you to the beach, it kind of reminded me of St. Kitts a little bit when we were there on our Southern Caribbean cruise a while back, only the turns weren't as bad. He stopped a few places along the way, and as he (the driver) was pulling out here came another vehicle from behind, and he pulled right out in front of them, we almost hit them.:eek: Everyone then told him............don't scratch the van! :p Of course the cab of the van had a divider in between it and the rest of the van, not sure if he heard us, but if he did.......oh well.:p

After a stop here and a stop there, we finally made it.........Trunk Bay, we're here! Our friend Tony elected to go snorkeling, while the rest of us elected for just a day on the beach. A little swimming, and of course R&R. It's beautiful there. DH headed right for the water, and our friend Marilyn was in right after him. I stayed up on the beach taking a few pics, then headed out into the water. We ran into a couple that we had met previously at the Captain's Cocktail reception that were from Florida, we talked to them for a little bit, then we all kinda went our seperate ways before too long. Everything was good, we had made it to the beach, talked with some new friends, and were enjoying the crystal clear water and then..........Marilyn screamed (not too loudly, but enough to startle us) and she jumped up on DH's left shoulder. I was behind him in the water, I looked down, and I jumped up on his right shoulder. Thank God we were in the water or he would have been flat of his back.:D There were these angelfish.....but they were big...........I mean from your wrist to your elbow long. Pretty? Of course, they were beautiful..........but it was still a fish as long as my size

7 1/2 foot. They left (were chasing minnows) and so did we............right back up to the beach. We got back in the water after a few minutes, but were watching for them..........closely.:D We just enjoyed our time swimming and relaxing, and Tony enjoyed snorkeling. He couldn't believe all of the colorful fish he got to see, said it was great. We stayed until around 4:30 (may have been later, but if it was it wasn't much later). We all showered off, and loaded back up in the van. We headed back for the boat that took us to the island, loaded up on it, and headed back to the ship. Once back onboard, we all headed to our cabins to shower and change, grab a quick bite to eat, and then left the ship around 6 for a little shopping. A lot of the places were closed, but we found some still open. We got some souveniers for some friends back home, and were heading back up to the ship between 7 & 7:30. It was almost dark, got a few pics of the ship lit up at night, and headed back onboard to get ready for our 8:15 dinner time. We all went to dinner, and afterwards, they decided to go and chill out together in their cabin for the rest of the night, they were tired.......as were we, and we headed for the casino for a while, then up to the Lido deck for a late night cup of coffee, and back to our cabin for some sleep. They had the Mardis Gras parade & beads at 11:15 starting out in the lobby on deck 3, and that procession went from there to the casino bar on deck 5 where they had Mardi Gras Dixie Music at 11:45. They paraded through just as we were finishing up playing 3 card poker as a matter of fact. The next day we were to pull into St. Maarten at 8:00 a.m. and stay until 6. Time to rest up for the next day.

[cmecruise1962]

Did you see anyone on the jump thing at Paradise Point? I think I am going to buy a ticket for my daughter for that, while I sip a Bushwhacker!! :) Great review!!

[4sisters]

Thanks for the review! My 4 sisters, 3 neices and myself leave on the Glory in 2-1/2 weeks. I can't wait to hear the rest of your review. Five of us will be parasailing in St. Thomas but I'll have to be sure and take the Tram. Can't wait for the rest of your review!!!!!!