Glory vs RCCL & Princess

My husband and I are planning a second vacation and decided that since we loved our past three cruises, we would really like to go on one again this year. We went on the Carnival Victory Western Caribbean in Dec 03. This year we are looking at Carnival Glory Eastern Caribbean Jan 05, hoping this might be a bigger slightly nicer ship. We enjoyed Victory but felt the ship to just be 'Standard'. Does anyone have any good feedback on Glory we would be getting a Suite this time (normally get just a balcony). Also thinking of looking at Royal Caribbean or Princess - But I know what to expect from carnival??? ANy suggestions??

Thanks!!!

Hi, Beth. There's no way for me to predict what you're going to like the most. But, if by "nicer ship" you mean prettier decor, you will likely enjoy Royal Caribbean or Princess. Both of those cruise lines have "pretty" ships. They look more luxurious. I've been on Princess back in '95 and it was "classier" (prettier decor) than the Carnival Conquest. Try checking out photos of RCCL, especially the Voyager class ships-- Mariner of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, etc., through the photo section available in (or through) cruiseclues.com. For Princess, look for the Caribbean Princess, Diamond Princess and the like, their 116,000-ton ships. The RCCL Voyager class are about 138,000 tons. The Victory that you went on was about 101,000 tons, if I recall correctly. The Glory, which we're taking this December, is 110,000 tons, likely not noticeably bigger than the Victory.

Of course, having a suite on the Glory will make your trip just that much "suiter" if the type of cabin significantly affects how much you enjoy the total cruise experience. My guess is that you'll probably enjoy the Voyager class ships on RCCL more than the Princess ships. Princess, to me, anyway, seems on average to have an older crowd, 50 and 60ish, though the big ships likely have plenty of younger, too.

As for me, with 2 kids, cost is a factor. Carnival provides the best value. And, my experience on the Conquest -- which was great -- tells me that I'm going to love it on the Glory. Beats the heck out of working! Attitude is everything. Hope you love the choice you make. :)

Imho, I think you should consider Hollnd America. Their ships are beautiful and in off times, suites can be a bargain. However, unlike RCCL and CCL, you get a lot of nifty little extras with the suites. Check it out.

Hi there!

I honestly think it depends on what is important to you. I'll share some of my observations about some of the ships I've been on and what features and benefits we enjoyed!

As far as 7 day Carnival itineraries go...we LOVE the Spirit class ships, then the Victory class, then the Glory size last. The Glory was a little big for us as far as navigating the layout and the locations of the pools and some entertainment areas. The supper club wasn't as nice, (we dined there alot on both the Spirit and the Glory) and it sounds silly, but the atrium that I believe somewhat defines Carnival, wasn't as grand on the Glory.

With that said...we had our best cruise vacation on board the 8 day Spirit to the Southern Caribbean back in Nov of 2001. The ship was gorgeous, the pools were awesome and the supper club was beautiful! We had an extended balcony on that ship and we loved it!

Some things we loved about sailing on the Grand Princess were the pools...one of which is adults only...lots of jacuzzi's, an awesome deck party, the buffet style food around the pool area was awesome, the ability to dine when we wanted with their Freestyle Dining option and their alternative Restaurants included a Southwestern style and Sabatinni's...the Italian restaurant. The ship was beautiful and we had a mini-suite which is quite a bit larger than the normal standard balcony cabin we usually book on most ships. We didn't book a mini suite due to the price, but our TA upgraded us...lucky us we thought. The downside to the cabin, was that are balcony was totally exposed to the ones above us...we had NO privacy at all. Don't get me wrong, it's not like we normally run around nude on our balconies, but we do enjoy the view and we like to do it in private! Needless to say, we would definitely cruise on the Princess again in a heartbeat, but we'll probably book a specific cabin so we know what we're getting!

I've cruised RCCL 5 times now and have enjoyed all the ships I've been on, but my favorite has to be the Adventure of the Seas, which we just got off of September 12th. We thought the ship would be too big, but it wasn't! It was beautiful and our balcony cabin on the "hump" was AWESOME!!!!!!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed the ship, which was a bonus, because we actually booked the cruise because of its stop in Aruba!

Anyway...I feel like I'm rambling now! I hope I was some help. If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at CGAGE61299@aol.com.

Good luck and Happy Cruising!!! :)

Glory is almost identical to Victory when it comes to the basic layout of the ship and the public rooms. Only the supper club would be the major difference. If you want something "better" I would go with Princess, but I love Princess. I think RCI would be a downgrade because their food isn't as good as Princess or Carnival and although they have some lovely ships, I also feel their service, especially customer service, leaves something to be desired. I'm in the minority, I'm sure, but I don't like the Voyager ships. To me they are like shopping malls. The Radiance class ships are much nicer. More sea views from inside. They are to Voyager class ships what the Spirit class ships are to the Desiny/Conquest ships are. Princess balconies are exposed, it's true, but how do you expect to sun yourself if you're enclosed? I think the concept of the exposed balconies was very good. But there are decks where the balconies are covered. Baja deck on Grand Princess was covered.