Glory review w/pics 6/13/09

[dopey1200]

I'll try to make this as brief as possible while still giving as much info as I can. I relied heavily on reviews from others & I hope I can help somebody else with mine.

 

7 of us flew from Cincinnati to Orlando the night before the cruise. The group includes: myself (Lisa 43), my DH 45, our 17 yo DS, my 2 single brothers 45 & 46 yo, & my parents (dad who is 71 & mom who is 70 & in a wheelchair, I will also be posting a short review in the disabled cruisers forum). We stayed at the Sheraton Suites Airport & used their free shuttle to get from the airport to the hotel. We paid about $100 a night per room & they were very nice suites. We hoped to see the space shuttle launch on Saturday morning at 7:17am, but had checked the internet the night before & saw that is was cancelled. We had previously arranged for a shuttle through Airportability to take us to Port Canaveral from the Sheraton as well as take us back to the airport after the cruise. Cost was about $35 a person round trip. Our driver picked us up promptly at 11:00am & it was about a 45 minute drive.

 

Embarkation went smoothly & as quick as possible when checking in 7 people, 2 of whom have the same name. The lady who checked us in was very nice, patient & helpful. We were on board by 12:30 & told our rooms would be ready by 1:30. Went up to the Lido deck for lunch & it was of course very crowded. We did stumble across the Fish & Chips & Deli, since the buffet was so crowded. Half of the elevators were closed to the public so they could transport luggage, which was a bit inconvenient for my mom in the wheelchair. Had to find our way to the other elevator bank to get her down to her room.

 

Rooms were indeed ready with our luggage waiting by 1:30. My brothers were on Deck 7 next to my parents who had a handicapped room. We were on Deck 1 & our room had 2 upper beds, even though we only needed one. They only put the bed down when they turn down service, so it wasn't in the way all day. The room were very clean upon arrival & were kept that way throughout the cruise

 

 

The wheelchair accessible bathroom in my parent's cabin was almost as big as our entire cabin. Very nice & easy for them. The shower was designed to roll a wheelchair in it, or you could use the seat that folded down.

 

 

 

Food:

 

All of the buffet food was pretty good. The omelet station seemed to go unnoticed & rarely had a line. Between the 7 of us we tried foods from each of the following for lunch: Deli, Oriental, 24 hour pizza, fish & chips & of course the buffet. Nobody ever had anything to complain about. The 24 hour ice cream & frozen yogurt was quite yummy! And the chocolate buffet was pretty good too. Here's my plate from the chocolate buffet. It was cake, cheesecake, chocolate wontons, a muffin & banana fritters w/vanilla sauce (I know, it wasn't chocolate, but it was on the buffet & it was good!)

 

 

The food in the main dining room was always very good. The only complaints were that the prime rib wasn't always cooked as ordered & the corn fed chicken (from the daily menu) was chewy, but it still tasted good. I can't remember all the things I ate but I'll list what I remember: Panko crusted shrimp (very good), lobster tail & shrimp, pork chop, & some kind of pasta. For starters I had the shrimp cocktail (almost every night, it was good, but only 4 shrimps, so order 2!), strawberry soup, crab cake & some various salads. I meant to take pictures of everything but it always looked so good that I dug right in. For dessert I tried the chocolate melting cake (delicious, get an extra scoop of ice cream), cappuccino pie, baked alaska & creme brulee. All were very good.

 

Our waiter was Habib from Tunisia. On the first night he was all business & not overly friendly but after a few nights he was having fun with us. My son noticed that he couldn't clap in tune with the others when they sang, so we kidded him about that. He admitted he wasn't a good dancer or singer, but he did get up on the platform to dance at our request. He told another waitress to go to a different platform because we wanted to see him dance. He was hilarious, he had no rhythm at all & was always behind on the dance moves. But he did it for us, so that was very nice of him. On the last night my brother told him that collects coins & has some from Tunisia & Habib said he could have brought him some coins if he had known.

 

More to come....

[BaseballMomof4]

Looking forward to hearing more!! Were the rooms on deck 7 balcony cabins? We are sailing the Glory in December and would love to hear all about your experience!

[TakeMeAway1001]

I can't wait to read more, thanks for taking the time to post a review :)

[nae418]

Nice review, can't wait to hear more. I'm on the Glory on August 1st. By chance would you

have any capers that you could e-mail me? nae418@yahoo.com. Someone was nice enough to send me theirs from February 2009, just wondered if anything changed.

Happy to know all the food was good. Also was a Galley Tour offered? if so, beginning

or end of cruise? Thank you.

 

 

Nae

[dopey1200]

The layout of the ship was very confusing. I still wasn't completely sure of it by the end of the cruise. On the Lido deck & on Deck 5, there were non-smoking areas. On Deck 5 it was by the Creams Coffee bar & Sushi place. The sitting areas there became our meeting place before dinner.

 

 

For those of you who think it might be chilly in the dining rooms, it was! I always had a sweater with me. It was pretty much cold in any of the inside areas of the ship.

 

A few pictures from around the ship.

Deck 10 at night:

 

Deck 10 during the day, very crowded!

 

 

The main pool:

 

The water slide. Always a long line & my son said it was OK, kinda slow.

 

I never did get to check out the miniature golf or the gym. My husband did visit the gym twice & said it was packed both times.

 

Shows:

 

We saw two comedians, Al Ernst & Percy Crews. We saw them both at their early shows & they were both very good. They also each were doing a later "R" rated show, but it was in a smaller lounge & you had to get there early to get a seat. We never got there early enough.

 

Justin Illusion was an OK show. Some of the illusions were very impressive while others were easy to figure out.

 

The show called Just Rock should have been called Just Pop/Disco. The only rock music featured was from the 50's & 60's. It was an enjoyable show, but wasn't appropriately named.

 

Some of us did stop in to watch the marriage show, which was very funny.

 

Souldrive was a classic rock band that performed in the Ivory Bar almost every night. They were pretty good but lacked a really good lead singer. The guitar player was awesome & was sure to include a screaming guitar solo in every song.

 

On board activities:

 

Bingo was $20 for 3 cards. Beware, sometimes you only got to play 1 game for your $20 bucks! Make sure you go when they have 3, 5, 7 or 10 games so you get your money's worth.

 

We took part in some trivia, the bean bag toss contest & some of the colors competition. All of it was a pretty good time.

 

I wanted to participate in the On Deck for the Cure Walk but they had it at 2:00 in the afternoon, in the heat of the day & I had seen enough sun by then (it was on the second to last day). I did make my $10 donation & got my t-shirt & wristband, but didn't walk.

 

There were so many activities going on all the time, there had to be something for everyone to enjoy. There were several times when things that I wanted to overlapped each other or interfered with dinner.

 

Next up is Port days & shore excursions, but it will have to wait another day!

[dopey1200]

Were the rooms on deck 7 balcony cabins?

 

We all had interior rooms.

 

By chance would you

have any capers that you could e-mail me? nae418@yahoo.com. Someone was nice enough to send me theirs from February 2009, just wondered if anything changed.

Happy to know all the food was good. Also was a Galley Tour offered? if so, beginning

or end of cruise? Thank you.

 

I do have all of the capers, but sadly, no scanner. :( If you are looking for something specific, let me know. The galley tour was on the last day at sea.

[junebug8]

Great review so far! Keep it coming.:)

[dapaddo]

I have aquestion about the pool. It looks like people are standing up in it do you recall how deep it was?

[Vidimom]

Thank you for the wonderful review so far! We will be sailing the Glory 9/5 doing the western. Look forward to hearing more and all your wonderful pictures!:D

[Tweetydee]

Thank you for taking the time to do a review of the Glory. :D It doesn't seem like there are many Glory reviews out there with pictures. My family, 7 of us, are planning to sail aboard her on 2/28/10. Right after the drydock. Hope you had a wonderful time, and I can't wait to read more.

[WAcruisers]

Great review!:D

[poptart]

looking forward to the rest! :D

[RAVI360]

keep it coming

[djeddiebear]

Keep it coming, I'll be there in 3 weeks! Pictures please.

 

Anyone know where the secret door is on the Empress deck?

 

Eddie

[a320plt]

Nice review, can't wait to hear more. I'm on the Glory on August 1st. By chance would you

have any capers that you could e-mail me? nae418@yahoo.com. Someone was nice enough to send me theirs from February 2009, just wondered if anything changed.

Happy to know all the food was good. Also was a Galley Tour offered? if so, beginning

or end of cruise? Thank you.

 

 

Nae

OMG! You are on the crusie on the Glory right before us. We sail August 8th. LOL:D:eek:

[Bookworm77]

Thank you so much for this review!! The pics are great.

 

DH & I are on the Glory 3/28/10 and I am counting down the days already!

[jdbmga]

Great review! Looking forward to the rest. We sail the Glory on July 11th. :D

[crazycruzer68]

I know that Butch is no longer the CD, but are Jason and Phil still part of the entertainment staff?

[Squirtle]

The layout of the ship was very confusing. I still wasn't completely sure of it by the end of the cruise. On the Lido deck & on Deck 5, there were non-smoking areas. On Deck 5 it was by the Creams Coffee bar & Sushi place. The sitting areas there became our meeting place before dinner.

 

 

For those of you who think it might be chilly in the dining rooms, it was! I always had a sweater with me. It was pretty much cold in any of the inside areas of the ship.

 

A few pictures from around the ship.

Deck 10 at night:

 

Deck 10 during the day, very crowded!

 

 

The main pool:

 

The water slide. Always a long line & my son said it was OK, kinda slow.

 

I never did get to check out the miniature golf or the gym. My husband did visit the gym twice & said it was packed both times.

 

Shows:

 

We saw two comedians, Al Ernst & Percy Crews. We saw them both at their early shows & they were both very good. They also each were doing a later "R" rated show, but it was in a smaller lounge & you had to get there early to get a seat. We never got there early enough.

 

Justin Illusion was an OK show. Some of the illusions were very impressive while others were easy to figure out.

 

The show called Just Rock should have been called Just Pop/Disco. The only rock music featured was from the 50's & 60's. It was an enjoyable show, but wasn't appropriately named.

 

Some of us did stop in to watch the marriage show, which was very funny.

 

Souldrive was a classic rock band that performed in the Ivory Bar almost every night. They were pretty good but lacked a really good lead singer. The guitar player was awesome & was sure to include a screaming guitar solo in every song.

 

On board activities:

 

Bingo was $20 for 3 cards. Beware, sometimes you only got to play 1 game for your $20 bucks! Make sure you go when they have 3, 5, 7 or 10 games so you get your money's worth.

 

We took part in some trivia, the bean bag toss contest & some of the colors competition. All of it was a pretty good time.

 

I wanted to participate in the On Deck for the Cure Walk but they had it at 2:00 in the afternoon, in the heat of the day & I had seen enough sun by then (it was on the second to last day). I did make my $10 donation & got my t-shirt & wristband, but didn't walk.

 

There were so many activities going on all the time, there had to be something for everyone to enjoy. There were several times when things that I wanted to overlapped each other or interfered with dinner.

 

Next up is Port days & shore excursions, but it will have to wait another

day!

 

OMG, my kids are in your photo of Deck 10! The two boys are mine, the two girls are my nieces. Too funny! You must have been sitting right behind us.

[Nanatochase]

Could you please tell me if Robbin Cook was still there? He performed right outside the Casino bar and did the oldies. Loving your review. We've been on the Glory twice, the last time was in May and have booked her again in October.

[nae418]

OMG! You are on the crusie on the Glory right before us. We sail August 8th. LOL:D:eek:

 

 

LOL..... Yes we are.... can't wait...

[nae418]

I do have all of the capers, but sadly, no scanner. :( If you are looking for something specific, let me know. The galley tour was on the last day at sea.

 

 

Was the "afternoon tea" offered more than once? How many Late night buffets were

there and which night was the Chocolate Buffet? Thanks.

 

Nae

[nae418]

I do have all of the capers, but sadly, no scanner. :( If you are looking for something specific, let me know. The galley tour was on the last day at sea.

 

 

Was the "afternoon tea" offered more than once? How many Late night buffets were

there and which night was the Chocolate Buffet? Thanks.

 

Nae

[BaseballMomof4]

Really looking forward to more!! Can't wait for more pics of the ship!!

[al_grande]

My wife and I were on this as first time cruisers celebrating our 20th anniversary. We had a great time. Yes, Robbin was there performing in the casino. We noticed they had afternoon tea more than once as we passed through the Ivory room where it was held although we didnt participate.

 

There was 1 late night buffet that we knew about...it was a Mexican buffet.

 

The entertainment was great and there were 3 comedians...all hilarious.

 

We were on deck 8 in a balcony (8348) right below Lido. I must say that when deck chairs get moved around above they are quite noisy. However, the room location is great because elevators and stairs are close by getting us right onto Lido, the Red Sail restaurant as well as getting us right to the Golden dining room. We would book 1 deck lower next time.

 

Our servers in the dining room were Conrad and Budi...they were fantastic right from the start.

 

Cant wait to book another cruise!