First Timers (sort of) Glory Review 03/25/2017

Greetings, my name is Bighumps and I have been lurking for about the past year and a half or so. I blame this board and certain reviewers for our new found addiction. I have taken my first hit and I already want more. In fact, we are already planning our next cruise and I am finding myself once again at the computer, poring over reviews and itineraries trying to find the next perfect vacation. It is maddening really. I wonder how many hours I have spent on here? Some might even say that I am a little obsessed (my wife), and I might even be a little possessed (with the cruise bug), and I have many of you to blame for it. I guess the main culprit would be mitsugirly and some of her reviews. Her style of writing and her pictures were somewhat of an escape for me and reading her reviews held me captive and had me longing to go on a cruise of my own, so I pulled the trigger and put a deposit down on the Carnival Glory for her March 25th sailing. That was more than a year ago and now we are a week home from the cruise.

I wanted to write in a journal so I could remember the cruise. I have taken some great vacations over the years and I have great memories of all of our adventures, but I know I have forgotten a lot of things as well. Some of the best family moments happen on vacation and someday I want to be able to reminisce about our experience. So I figure, why not write a review. The reviews here got me motivated to finally take the plunge so maybe my musings will do the same for someone else. Problem is, my head is full of all sorts of thoughts and memories of things that I want to write about so it is going to be difficult for me to put them all into a cohesive and structured body of work. I'll probably be all over the place but I will do my best. I will try to post some photos as well. This first post is just to get my feet wet so bear with me and maybe I can put something together as I am not much of a writer.

What did I think of the ship? How would I rate our cruise and overall experience? Stay tuned...I'm going out to lunch with my family.

Great! Looking forward to it. Loving the reviews to keep me busy until our cruise on June 17th!

Tuning in! We sail on Glory on 7/8 so can't wait to read about your trip :D

So a little about my family. As I said, my name is Bighumps (a variation on my last name) and my wife is Shellhead. We will have been married for 20 years come June. My two children are Moosejaw and Suzkapluz (lets call her Suz for short). A couple of almost good for nothing teenagers. Also along for the journey are my parents and Shellhead's parents to make us a party of eight. It is everyone's first cruise except for me.

All right, I confess. Yes, I have cruised before. It was years ago though. It was on Premier Cruise Lines Big Red Boat back in December of 1995. That was a short three night cruise to the Bahamas that ported in Nassau and Freeport. I didn't take notes and I didn't take any pictures. All that I have from that cruise are memories. Actually, I do have one or two pictures that were taken by the ship that we purchased. I also had a souvenir glass that survived many moves and was finally shattered some years back by a broken off piece of shelf. So really there is nothing left. I actually had to struggle to remember the names of the ports. I remember having a great time though and it is part of the reason that I started looking into cruises last year. I think I was trying to dig up some information on the Big Red Boat and came across this board. I started reading the reviews and got hooked.

One deterrent that we have to cruising is distance to embarkation ports. We never really considered cruising to be a realistic vacation for us because of the cost alone of getting us to the port. Thanks to million mile secrets we were able to accrue some Southwest Airline Rewards points and were able to fly for pretty cheap. I have to admit, it was fun figuring out how we could do this for as cheap as possible. As soon as I booked the cruise I was looking for credit card sign up bonuses and it paid off as it only cost us just over $1000 to fly the four of us to Fort Lauderdale and back. We live in Boise so that is a pretty long and expensive flight for us, especially during spring break. But one thing you should know if you are reading this and have never cruised before; if you are sitting on the fence on whether to take a cruise or not and you are intimidated by all the planning and the overall cost of taking this kind of vacation, it is probably more affordable than you think. What helped us was planning for it a year in advance. After we booked the cruise and paid the deposit, we had a year to save and plan. It was fun planning and the motivation was there for us to save. We didn't even have to go to nuts with that. We still traveled, we still ate out, and we still goofed off. However, we still did make some sacrifices. The biggie for us was cutting Directtv from our budget. We now just have Netflix and Playstation Vue and are very happy with that and do not plan on going back to being a slave to satellite TV contracts. We made some other sacrifices here and there, but it wasn't as brutal as you might think it would be.

Probably the hardest part of the planning for me was choosing the excursions. We did an excursion in every port except for Cayman Islands. There, we just hopped off the boat and went to the beach. It was a phenomenal day...more on that later. We also chose to book excursions at Little French Key in Roatan (thanks Mitsugirly), Lamanai ruins in Belize, and Tulum in Cozumel. We didn't book any ship excursions and I thought all were well priced except for LFK. Even though I thought LFK was great I think it was a little too pricey for the short time we were there. I will go into a little more detail on each one of them later.

Waiting for the cruise was hard, but it was awesome to have something to be able to look forward to. My wife was worried that at some point I would have a melt down. Sometimes when my expectations are high and things don't go according to plans, I tend to get a little edgy and somewhat negative. I remember my Dad on vacations. He was always so uptight and wound up. He would get after us kids to help him get ready and load the camper and then when we'd inevitably start goofing off and getting distracted he would lose it and fly off the handle. Mom would get riled up because we made dad mad again and then mom and dad would start fighting which would kind of put a damper on the beginning of our trips. It was like that every...single...year. I guess I picked up on some of that from my Dad because I have expectations, and when they aren't met, I get moody. I guess I'm somewhat of a control freak in this regard because I get excited for vacation and I want everyone to have an awesome time. I feel responsible for every aspect of the trip and if something doesn't go well I feel that that reflects on me. I know it is a personality flaw of mine and I have a few more. My wife worried that this would be one of those trips and I promised her that I would be on my best behavior. I even worried for myself. Would I be able to handle this kind of pressure? Planning a trip for eight people and making sure everyone had a good time? I was determined to try ;), and I am happy to report that everything went relatively well.

Was the cruise perfect? Of course not. There were some snags here and there but nothing major. Every time we ran into a problem the cruise staff was able to remedy each situation. I was very impressed by the service. Phenomenal people. The thing that impressed me the most about our cruise was how well the service was. It really was one of the highlights of our cruise. I already miss seeing Eduard our head waiter in the dining room and Arnold our steward in the hallway. Everyone we dealt with on the Glory was pleasant and my expectations were exceeded by a mile. I think I went in with slightly lower expectations, knowing that there would be some things we would have to put up with, and that I would just take the good with the bad. Fortunately, there wasn't too much bad to be had. It was actually quite rad :cool:. But the only really bad that I had was with the chair hogs. I knew it would be an issue but it still got to me. When people are inconsiderate it ruins my mood. Once again, I will comment more on this later. I just wanted to get rid of this preliminary stuff and introduction and I will try to go through this review in chronological order. My next segment will be on the travel to get there, but I won't go to much into our pre-cruise activities. I will only touch lightly on those.

So we booked a Southwest flight into Fort Lauderdale on the 23rd. We decided to do the 23rd because it would give us some time to tool around Fort Lauderdale and it was also a cheaper flight that saved us about $500. Suz was probably the most excited about the flight because she has never flown before. She is much like me in this regard. I have flown a lot and there is a part of me that hates flying, but atthe same time there is some excitement there. I love to travel. Going someplace new is like an adventure for me. Even if it is a long road trip, if I have never been there, I relish every moment of that trip. I'm from the west so my road trips involve a lot of open roads with treeless plains and sagebrush, butif I am going on vacation or going someplace new, sometimes half of the fun is getting there.

So as the 23rd arrives we are all packed and ready to go. We have been packed for more than a week now and we have gone over our packing list over and overto ensure that we didn't miss anything. I have planned meticulously and Shellhead is finally in the spirit of things as well. She didn't really help metoo much with planning, didn't read the reviews, and for some time preceding the cruise, I didn't think that she really cared all too much, but I think that the few weeks leading up to the cruise that her excitement was building as well. I spoke to the parents on a regular basis to make sure that they were onboard with everything and that there wouldn't be any cruise day surprise. But as we are taking our bags out the door to head to the airport, I felt surprisingly calm. I felt that we had planned well and that things were going to go smoothly. That is an oddity for me. Usually when I travel, I am always stressing that I have forgotten something or leaving someone behind. It has happened of course. Nothing as serious as Home Alone and forgetting Kevin, but I have forgotten to pack key items before when going on a trip. We won’t go into that.

So I thought that Suz would be out of her mind crazy with excitement at this point about the trip because she has been talking about it so much, but both Moose and Suz seem to be pretty subdued. Shellhead, usually the calm and impassive one, seems to be the most enthused at this point. My dear mommy, a chronic worrywart for as long as I have known her, is staying true to form and my step dad is putting up with her. He knows how to deal with her well enough by now. She actually was worried that we would get bumped from our flight because it actually happened to someone that she knew. I assured her that we would make that flight and we arrived at our small airport a good two hours before our flight left. But once we got through security and our boarding passes were in hand, she finally settled down. She even looked happy. Hmmm. Getting us all here to the airport. Was the hard part over? Ahhhh, probably being a little optimistic. I still felt calm but still with a little touch of anxiety. But I haven't flipped out...yet. This is still somewhat of a first for me. Will I manage to stay easy going and even tempered...? Hmmmm. We'll see.

We boarded the plane,everybody got settled, and we were off. Suz got a window seat and at first she seemed enthused about the flight but then her and Moose got settled in with their new Nintendo Switch. I almost wish we had told them they couldn't bring it but it did make the flight go by so much faster for them. No TV screens on Southwest and only basic WiFi so Shellhead and I looked out the window and read to pass the time. We had one short layover in Denver and then on to FLL.

We got there about 11:50 and the hotel shuttle was done at midnight so I called the hotel to see if it could pick us up. We were told it would meet us out there. So while the family waited for the bags I went out to wait for the shuttle. I found it and it was about 50 yards in front of me. I had a bag so I couldn't run and I figured he would wait, so I picked up my pace. I was about 15 yards away from him when he just up and left. I yelled for him to come back but he didn't hear me. You've got to be kidding...I was so close. OK, now what? I called the hotel lobby and told the desk clerk that the shuttle guy just took off. I guess I can't blame him as it is the end of his shift and he wants to go home. I've been there so I can relate. However, the clerk calls the driver and the driver fortunately did the loop and came back to get us, right as my family was coming outside with their luggage. Whew, close call. We all boarded and got to the hotel at just before 12:30 and got our rooms. I gave the driver a good tip because he didn't need to loop around again to get it. He could have called it a day and we would have gotten an Uber, not a bit deal, but I was extremely thankful for his generosity in coming back to get us, otherwise, we would have needed three Ubers with all our luggage.

One thing that we all noticed right away was the feel of the humidity and the smell of vegetation. The air just felt heavy and wet. We just aren't used to that coming from the dry climate and higher altitude of Idaho. Nevertheless, we were all very tired and glad to be at our hotel. We weren't sure what to expect because we decided to go cheap on this portion of the trip. We booked with a solid 2.5 star hotel on trip advisor. We stayed at the Econo Lodge on Taft in Hollywood. The reason we decided to go cheap was to save money for our shore excursions and ship expenditures. We usually stay in Marriotts and Holiday Inns so this was a step down for us, but the property, although older and outdated, was quiet and relatively comfortable. We all slept well which is what we were hoping for. Our goal; get a good night sleep and enjoy our day at Hollywood Beach tomorrow. Goal achieved. One of the best parts about our vacation was that I slept great every not. And it's not as if I have a cheapo worn out bed that I inherited from my parents. We actually have a pretty nice Temperpedic bed. But the Econo Lodge...the staff was extremely friendly and courteous and we were right next door to a pretty good Mexican Restaurant which is where we ate the next night. Here is a lame picture of us eating breakfast at our small table the next morning after a pretty good nights rest.

Interesting read!! I like your writing style and attitude.

Thanks for the review.

So we didn't have any big plans for Friday. Nobody had done any research on what to do except for me. I asked everyone what they felt like doing and the typical response was, "I don't know, whatever you feel like doing". Arrrgh :mad:. So I decided that we would do the cheap route and go to the beach and a nearby nature park, Anne Kolb Nature Center.

Now we weren't very far from the beach, only a few miles, so we figured we would order an Uber. This was the first time for all of us and I must say I was extremely pleased with the experience. Easy to order and much cheaper than a taxi. It only cost us about 10 bucks to get to the beach and we used a code to get our first ride for free. We used Uber 4 times on the trip and of the 4 three were Cuban. One guy didn't even speak English but I speak Spanish so we were able to communicate. All of our guys were really friendly, although one kept dropping hints for a tip. :rolleyes: Don't worry buddy, you'll get a tip. I have never had such a tip intensive vacation. I wonder how much we spent on tips this entire trip...hmmmmm...maybe it's best I don't know.

So anyways we took two Ubers to take all eight of us to Hollywood Beach, but one problem. We didn't specify an exact address so each Uber took us to different locations. No problem, we have cell phones, right? Easy peasy. We'll just call and see where the other group is at. Problem number one...it is windy. Talking on a cell phone is a challenge when you are out in the wind and we had to find a spot out of it. Problem number two...we aren't familiar with the area. Even google maps was a challenge. So when we get a hold of them we ask, "Hey where are you?" and the reply we got was, "Over here by the big tall blue and white hotel." Mmmmm, okay. Then they ask, "Well where are you?" and we reply, "Well we're over here by Margaritaville, by the wave pool with the surfers." Well, needless to say no light bulbs were going off. Crap, so do we head north or south along the broadwalk to find them. Yes, the broadwalk, not the boardwalk. It is an ultra long and "broad" path along the beach with a ton of shops, hotels, and restaurants. So after much deliberation and research, we decided we should head south and hope to run into them. After about a half mile we found them. Whew. There were a lot of people out and we almost missed them. ;)

So now that we are all together we had to decide what to do. We were going to get in the water but noone wanted to because of the vicious winds coming in off of the ocean. The waves were extremely rough. We saw a bunch of people riding around on these funny little contraptions that is best described as a bicycle built for four, and in some cases, more. So we all decided on that and asked around. We found a place that rented them by the hour, $30 for one or $50 for two. The guy tried to talk me into two hours and I told him I would pay him for the hour and if we went over we would pay him the extra. He didn't seem to like that but I wasn't going to commit to the $50 and get out there and decide we didn't like it.

So here is the fam minus Shellhead. From left to right Mohmar, D, Moosejaw, Suzkapluz, John Deere (JD for short), Bighumps (me), and M squared (we'll just call her M). It doesn't look to windy here, but trust me, it was.

So we continued along the broadwalk for exactly one hour. I think we covered some pretty good ground and we scoped out a Ben and Jerry's to get our scoops. :hearteyes: Yup, we love our ice cream and when we are on vacation in the summer, finding an ice cream stand is a must. So we dropped off the parents and headed back to the bike rental store. We had to push it because we didn't have a minute to spare. I was sure that the clerk ( I think he may have been the owner) was going to charge us that extra $20 if we went over. We got there right on time and he didn't charge us. To be fair though, the guy was really nice. The bikes were in good working condition and it was a lot of fun. He even provided everyone with some ice cold bottled water. My only gripe was that my knee kept hitting the bar by the steering wheel. I am 6'3" so I guess they made these things for people under 6 feet tall. I always wonder what it is like for the really tall dudes, like Shaq or something. It seems like they would have a lot of challenges because I run into stuff like this from time to time. One of the reasons I'm not fond of flying is that I can never get a seat with good legroom. I usually like sitting in the emergency exit row for this reason.

So off we go to meet up with the parents and get our ice cream fix. As you can see below, JD is overwhelmed by the choices and is stressed out that he won't pick the right flavor. Just pick a flavor and go with it dude. It's Ben and Jerrys. It's all good.

So we eat our cones and contemplate our next move. It is getting later so we decide to go to Anne Kolb Nature Center. Shellhead's parents want to go back to the room and nap but my parents decide to come with. We look on Googlemaps to see how far it is and initially it said 1.3 miles. You guys up for a walk? Sure why not. However, the 1.3 miles actually turned out to be closer to 2. I won't go into that, but it felt a lot farther than that. I think we were all still really worn out from the cross country trip yesterday. Here we are on our trek to the park and D is looking none to happy about it. And there is Shellhead on the left looking like this hike isn't phasing her a bit. She is as hardcore as they come.

Well we continue walking and we eventually get there. D actually recently had knee surgery so I was a little worried about him but he held up like a champ. I was proud of him. There was very little complaining out of everyone and we were all in good spirits. It was a pretty nice park and we enjoyed some good views. We even saw our first armadillo but I was a little slow getting the camera out so I missed it. Here are some of the views.

Mohmar had just lost her hat here. The mangroves below ate it up and there was no way that she was getting that sucker back. I told you it was windy up there. She took it in stride though and wasn't too upset. This would give her an excuse to buy herself a new chic hat on our cruise.

There were trails and boardwalks that snaked through the park. It was pretty cool but all of those mangroves looked the same. There wasn't much variation. We were hoping to see some alligators. Mohmar is terrified of them. She is also terrified of bears but we told her that bear sightings were very rare in the mangroves of Florida and that seemed to ease her worries a little. But we were on the lookout for alligators or manatees. All we saw were some birds and some little crab guys. Once again I was too slow with my camera. Amateur for sure.

Love your review! We sail on Glory in 3 weeks -actually 20 days but who's counting :-)

So after our walk we were all thoroughly beat and quite hungry. Earlier at the beach we had eaten at a Peruvian restaurant which was just okay. I was not overly impressed so I didn't think to write about it. But anyways, we were ready to eat so we ordered our Uber with yet another Cuban driver and back to the hotel we went. There was a nice Mexican restaurant that was recommended by the clerk at the hotel and nobody had any objections to trying it out. We love Mexican food and it was pretty good in my opinion. It was actually cheaper than our lunch. I think we spent under $40 for my family (the four of us) which is hard to do for dinner. I think our lunch was about $50. The name of the place was El Paso II.

After dinner we went across the street to buy our soda at the dollar store. I'm a Dr. Pepper guy so we were going to take some on board the ship. We were originally planning on buying two cases but decided on one. We would get more at one of the ports if need be. We never needed be. In fact, I drank my last Dr. Pepper on the last day and Moose helped me drink some as well. I guess I don't chug down the Pepper like I used to. I guess I'm just getting too old.

So we all made it back to the hotel and prepped for our big embarkation day tomorrow. I was excited, but not as much as I thought I would be. I was still feeling really mellow. What was wrong with me? I even slept the sleep of the dead that night instead of tossing and turning like a kid waiting for Santa Clause. Weird, not like me at all. It was actually a really quiet night.

So next morning we awoke and the last stressful part of the trip was underway. Getting everyone an Uber and getting to the port on time. Our check in time was between 11 and 11:30 so we weren't rushed, but we had FTTF and I intended to put it to good use. We got all our luggage down to the front, checked out, and ordered our Uber. We had decided that we would probably need 3 Uber X's so we all set up our phones to order. We were in luck however, because our first Uber was a Toyota 4 runner. We ordered number 2 and it was a Camry. The 4 runner got there first and we crammed as much as we could into the vehicle and we decided to see if we could get away with just using 2. When the Camry got there we crammed the rest of the people and luggage into the car and we barely fit. We ended up having to hold luggage on our laps in the back seat. Another plus...the Ubers only cost us 30 bucks a piece plus tip. Wunderbar.

So our driver is yet another Cuban and this guy speaks pretty decent English. However, getting to the right terminal seemed to be a bit of a challenge. He made some wrong turns and we got stuck back at another terminal. We had to loop around and the traffic getting in was horrendous. Okay, now I was starting to stress out a little. I was losing my calm Zenlike demeanor. I could see our ship and I knew which terminal we had to be at, so I guided him along the right path. I had to break out my Spanish skills to help him as he understood Spanish a lot better. But we finally made it and met up with our other group. The porter came, took our bags, and we tipped him. Now it was time for lines, inspections, check-in, and waiting. I just wanted on that ship dang it. It was right there. Just let me on so I can drop my stupid luggage off and go get me one of those stupid Guy's Burgers everyone is always talking about on here. Okay, now I really have lost my Zen. Everyone is holding up quite well though. Moose looks a little impatient here. There weren't any available chairs to sit on yet. Suz is looking absolutely miserable. I think the rigors of travel are getting to her. Her first few hours since arriving here at the port were not good to her. But fortunately, she would get over it and have a good time.

There it is. It's right there. Let me on. I have no virtue and therefore I have no patience.

The waiting actually wasn't too bad. JD and M got a suite so they were priority. They were totally gloating as they were up there on the walkway as we suffered down below. JD's thinking, "Ha ha ha losers, see ya. We're good to go."

We actually weren't waiting for too long after priority. They called FTTF around 11:45 ish methinks. We were herded up the stairs and onto the walkway and as we stepped onto the deck I felt a sense of relief. We did it! I was getting excited again. Let's get to the room and drop off our luggage. It wasn't hard to find our room and it was ready. We got inside to drop off our luggage and check out our new digs. It was smallish but I actually liked the layout. It would prove to be a comfortable room for the four of us. I slept wonderfully every night. We were in cabin 7384 and for the most part it was quiet. No noise above or below us. Just the occasional loudmouths out in the hallway but that wasn't much of a problem either. Everyone is on vacation and having fun and I can't begrudge others the occasional bout of exuberance, especially from the youngsters. Their was always a really good energy and vibe on the ship. The only people that ticked me off were the chair hoggers.

Love your review! We sail on Glory in 3 weeks -actually 20 days but who's counting :-)

Yup, the countdown is fun. Cherish it. Once you're on the ship it is over too fast, but I must say it filled up all of my senses...John Denver style even. By far our best vacation. It's going to be fun planning our next cruise and I am now totally in love with the Caribbean. Have a great time on your cruise. We loved the Glory.

Following... Nice lead.

LOVE your review!! Thanks for sharing your memories and photos!

Yup, the countdown is fun. Cherish it. Once you're on the ship it is over too fast, but I must say it filled up all of my senses...John Denver style even. By far our best vacation. It's going to be fun planning our next cruise and I am now totally in love with the Caribbean. Have a great time on your cruise. We loved the Glory.

Thanks. We are so excited. I"m so ready to be on vacation!

Really enjoying your review, thanks!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Loving your review! Thanks for taking the time to do it.

Patiently waiting for the next installment.:')

So we were excited about our cabin and we lingered a little bit longer than we should have. We paid the price later as we tried to find a seat for lunch. But it was still kind of early and we all wanted to check out the balcony so... I didn't get any pictures until after we settled in a bit, but here was the layout of our cabin. Come on Shellhead, you can't be that tired all ready...we are just getting this party started. Time to get up and get some lunch.

Hey g-ma and g-pa. They got a room right next to us. They got a room right next to us but we never opened up the partition on the balcony. We could have but I think D likes sitting out on the balcony in the morning in his skivvies. Heck, he might even like doing it au naturale. Well I didn't want to find out. This was about as good as it got with sharing the balcony with them.

This one is from a little later in the day of Suz, This one wasn't on the balcony but it was up on one of the decks just after sail away. Shellhead said that if there was one word to describe the cruise, what would it be? Well here it is...windy!

So after lingering a bit in our rooms we finally decided to head on down for lunch. JD and M were on the same deck but on the other side of the ship in their precious precious suite. We felt like lower class peasants and that they really wouldn't want to be seen with us, but we basically begged them to let us be in their presence from time to time. :D So we went over there, rounded them up, and headed down to Guy's. Well right off the bat we get there and the lines are already long. Whoops. Shouldn't have lolly gagged in the cabin for so long. Oh well. What worried me was finding a table. The wait wasn't horrible, only about fifteen minutes, but as I looked around I didn't see an empty table in sight. M has a hard time getting around so I didn't want her to be uncomfortable or even have to take the food back to the room. So once I got my Ringer I was off to find a table. I headed towards the buffet area and found the Sweet Spot. Oh yeah, now I remember. Upstairs on deck 10 from the Sweet Spot is the BBQ joint and there were plenty of tables up there. I put down my burger on a table and headed back to find the gang. Well by the time I got back there they had found a table and were all crowded around by the bar out near the pool deck. They were already blaring loud music and I knew that the grandparents wouldn't be fond of this, but they were already settled in and chowing down. Well lesson learned. From that day on we would all have lunch up by the BBQ on deck 10. It was always easy to find a table in there and it was peaceful and quiet.

So anyways, I had almost forgotten about my abandoned burger. Ahhhh:eek: So off I go dodging through the crowd to seek out my precious burger that I had been dreaming about eating on my first ship day for so long. I ascend the staircase and there it is, unmolested, or so it would seem. Man I hope noone messed with it. I think I lifted up the bun to see if anyone had hawked a loogie in there a la "Dumb and Dumber", but all I could see was a ton of toppings. I loaded up on that baby and didn't hold back. Holy Hannah that was a good burger...even if it was now a bit cold. I even liked my fries. Oh man I forgot about my drink. I hurried down to the drink station and got me a lemonade. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. It was tart and sweet, just the way I like it. I would end up drinking a lot of this throughout the week and is probably why I didn't down as much Dr. Pepper as I thought I would. So giving Guys a grade, I would have to give it an A. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't the best burger I have had. I have had many great burgers over the span of my life. But for what it is and taking everything into consideration, it delivers on a good scale. It was juicy, tasty, and very satisfying. I only managed to have one more lunch over there. So even though we hit a small snag, everything was going good so far. I am pretty happy at this point.

So now that we are all fed and happy we wander back to our rooms to see if our suitcases have arrived. Nope. Alright, lets go explore some. It was fun getting to know the Glory. I was taking a real liking to her. In my opinion, she looked great. Navigating the ship did not prove to be too difficult, however, I did struggle at times. Sometimes coming out of the cabin and getting to the stairs I would go up when we needed to go down and vice versa. Do we need to go forward or aft? A couple of times we would walk down to one end, only to discover that we needed to be at the other. By the end of the cruise I almost had her all figured out, but I was definitely no expert. I think I needed to be on her for one more week to truly be comfortable finding my way around.

I enjoyed the artwork in the hallways. I also enjoyed the decor in many of the different lounges and such. Some nights I would just wander around until I found a live band that sounded good. There were a lot of good performers on the ship and I especially enjoyed the live music. The Piano Bar with Clay, the Caribbean sounds of Gerrant (I think that was his name), and the bands they had at the atrium and the casino. Sometimes when I didn't know what to do I would just wander around until I found something that I liked. I really wish that I would have taken some more pictures but I really got wrapped up in everything else and wouldn't think to take out the camera. I have a Canon SX40 and an I phone 6. The Canon is bulky so I didn't like carrying it around with me but the I phone was easy enough. I took a lot of pictures but not as much as I would have liked. I know that now after looking at my pictures and thinking to myself...why didn't I take a picture of that?

After a while we headed back to the room and the luggage was there so we unpacked and got situated. Plenty of room for everything. The suitcases all fit under the bed when they were empty so no problem maneuvering around the room. I was very content with how well it all worked out. Plenty of closet space and drawers for all our junk. Soon we heard the "bong" and the instructions for the upcoming muster drill. So the dreaded muster drill was upon us huh? Well I gotta say, it didn't go too badly. We walked down two decks to our muster station and they actually started right away. I didn't time it but it didn't seem to go for over 20 minutes. No funny stuff. No pushing or shoving. No obnoxious drunks. Come on man...I had heard so many horror stories of the dreaded muster drill on CC and I thought maybe I would be able to share one of my own. I was looking out for a possible culprit and I was being as observant as I could, but as far as I can tell, everyone behaved their Ps and Qs. Ahhhh. No fun. :( Maybe I should have given the guy in front of me a wedgie or something, just to liven things up.

After we got back to our room we went out to the balcony for the sail away. We were all just kind of killing time at this point becaue we had assigned early dining at six. We heard the blast of the horn as we began sailing away. Ahhhh, I love that sound. So cool! As we began cruising away we noticed people waving at us, so I mooned them. :evilsmile: Well okay, I didn't, but I kind of wanted to. I have a bit of an evil streak and I love going against the norm, but fortunately for the shore in this case, I showed some restraint.

So eventually we made our way up to one of the upper decks. This time I took my camera because I wanted to see if I could snap some cool pics. Ahh the iconic Carnival whale tail. Gotta get me a pic of that. I see that the aft pool ceiling is closed. This was the only day that it would be closed that I was aware of.

Someone got the jump on us. I wonder where they are going. Well, no matter...we will have more fun than them.

So the lighting isn't good in this photo, but I love the skyline of Miami in the background.

So our first family photo on the ship. Mohmar cut off part of my head and she did this more than once. This is another one of those disadvantages to being tall. Moose is almost there as you can see. I guess I should have taught her to use the zoom function.

It was an overcast day and if I am not mistaken, I believe that it was our only one. I think that the colors start to pop a little more after this first day. Well, time to get down to the dining room to see what the fuss is about. I read so many different opinions of the food in the MDR that I really wasn't sure what to expect.

Thank you for taking the time to post your review! Interesting read for sure. Which hotel did u stay in Miami? Sorry if u posted, I read your first part when I was really tired, but had to read it, ya know...sailing the Glory in Sept, will be my 3rd time sailing her.

Cindy

I love your review so far! Following to stay caught up on your adventure!

Thanks for your review so far. We are booked on the Glory this fall.

Love this review! My family of 5 will be on the Glory in less than a month!!

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Love this so far, we have less than a week until we'll be on the Glory.