Glory review - Western Caribbean 12/18/04

Cruise ship: Carnival Glory

Length: 952 ft - Guest Capacity: 2974

Speed: 21 - Tonnage: 110,000

Sail-away: 12/18/04

Return: 12/25/04

Ports of Call: Western Caribbean trip: Key West, Belize, Cozumel & Progresso

Cruise grade: A :) (as opposed to A+ or A-)

At ports of call we did: Key West - shopping; Belize - cave tubing with Reggie; Cozumel – Chankanaab Park snorkeling from shore plus the royal dolphin swim for the kids, then a couple of hours at Paradise Beach (wonderful time):D ; Progresso – shopping:o .

Embarkation felt smooth, efficient and quick. We found ourselves on board before we knew it. Ship was full. Lots of kids. We contributed two. We had booked balcony guaranties per our TA’s suggestion. Did not get upgraded – being a prior Carnival guest and having booked about six months out seemed not to have helped at all -- but quickly decided that being on the 6th deck (“Upper”) was convenient for getting around the ship. Deck 5, just a few steps away, was the primary, high-traffic deck, the one with the casino and the one you travel on to get to the various lounges, shops, etc.

Disappointments: Almost none, but let me just mention them and get them out of the way: CABIN ASSIGNMENT: Sailed with 3 other families. One other family, like us, had booked a balcony guarantee. We had asked our TA to try to keep the two balcony-cabin families together. Didn’t happen. Another family got sandwiched between our two almost-adjacent cabins. Not a big deal but we couldn’t open up the divider between our balconies as a result of having a strange family between us. It irked a little because it made no sense to us that Carnival would put a not-related family between us. Just seems like someone, somewhere, either didn’t care or was sloppy. Lesson: if you’re traveling with friends and want to be together, and if that’s more important than the possibility of being upgraded, don’t go the “guarantee” route. PROGRESSO: Wasn’t impressed with this port of call. It wasn’t awful. It just wasn’t “vacation” material. Just bought a few trinkets and a shirt on shore; nothing special. Seemed a waste of valuable vacation time. Almost everyone I chatted with thinks Carnival would provide a better cruise experience by giving us an extra day in (beautiful) Cozumel and skipping Progresso altogether. I won’t easily select an itinerary with Progresso again. Not that bad; just not good.

BACK TO THE GOOD: The ship looked nice. It’s a beauty from the outside and nice enough on the inside. Not quite the “classiness,” appearance-wise, of Royal Caribbean or Princess, or the other higher-brow cruise lines, but, hey, we did this for fun and for the kids – son 16, daughter 12. Not quite fair to call it the “Wal-Mart” of cruising as I’ve heard some say. Our kids loved the ship and the cruise, as they had loved the Carnival Conquest – the Glory’s sister ship – two Decembers earlier. The dining room food was very, very good. The special, $25 per person supper club was even better and worth the expense. Do this at least once during the cruise. Leave out the little ones; they won’t mind. Service overall was OK. It was not less than I expected and it wasn’t more, either.

Shore Excursions Highlights: Definitely do the cave tubing in Belize. Reggie would be a good choice. He is personable. Most of all, he is reliable. He get’s an “A+.” Besides, if you book with him through the internet and pay in advance, you get to do this for $55 per person, a huge savings. I understand this excursion costs about $99 per person when you book through the cruise line. We stopped for lunch on the way back to the ship. Great food. Buffet-style and seconds were permitted.

Cozumel: If you aren’t an expert snorkeler & scuba diver but just want some pleasant snorkeling from shore for yourself and the kids, Chankanaab Park is a great place to do it. You see tropical fish swimming right around you and you might even see a barracuda, too. I saw one but it quickly swam off after checking us out. After a couple of hours at Chankanaab we checked out Paradise Beach. A $12 cab fare. Fair enough. Paradise Beach lived up to all the chat on the message boards. A very nice beach resort. Great staff, good food and drinks. Bumped into Paradise Tom as we were getting ready to leave. Hi, Tom. Thanks for the good time there. The kids and I enjoyed the food, drinks, the sea kayaks, the ice berg and the trampoline and the whole atmosphere in general. A great way to spend an afternoon at a cruise port-of-call. Paradise Beach and Chankanaab Park were my favorite stops on the cruise, as good as or better than the jungle cave tubing in Belize.

Will I do Carnival again? I don’t know. Can’t complain about it enough to say never. Still, we’ve done two cruises with them and my son wants to try RCL. Me, I love the cruising but now that I’ve done 3 – my wife and I had a great time on Princess back in ’95 – I’m ready to try an all-inclusive in Cancun, Cozumel or somewhere similar. I’d give Carnival and the Glory an A or 4 stars out of 5. They didn’t “exceed my expectations” really, but they did a good job of providing what I expected, a generally good time.

The trouble with a 3,000 passenger ship is also part of its attraction. It has lots of facilities and activities for all the passengers. Yet, when so many people want to do the same thing at the same time – whether it be seeing an evening show in the Amber Palace showroom or soaking up the sun on a beach chair on the Lido deck – you have to plan ahead or suffer the consequences. If you don’t get to where you’re going at least a half hour before the start time, you likely won’t find a seat. So, plan ahead or be flexible and find something else to do and don’t sulk about it.

Other miscellaneous advice: if you like exploring the ship like I do, then do it. I learned that you can get to the forward-facing part of the ship from decks 6,7 and 9. There might be another one or two, also, but I don’t know. Deck eight is the one that the ship’s bridge is on. So, when you go all the way forward on Deck 9 and step outside, you’re actually on top of the bridge. This is way cool, because on deck 9 you can step out to the end of the bridge, meaning that you’re actually sticking out to the side where there is no ship under you but the bridge itself. Look at a picture showing the bridge jutting out and you’ll understand what I mean.

If you want to see pics I’ve posted of this cruise go to: http://community.webshots.com/user/nikoniscool

and select December 2004 Cruise.

Hi:

Great pictures. But i have a question We are going on the carnival glory on January 15, 2005 and we would love to do the cave tubbing tour. Did you book it throught the internet or how. And if you did can you send me de webpage. I know through carnival is going to be a little expensive, and we have spend already enough on this cruise. I will appreciate it.

Thanks a lot a happy holidays

Lyneida

The Carnival Glory was my first cruise! I loved it. I had such a great time, I wanted to go aback on to the same ship again. Though I had nothing to compare it to, it was amazing!! :rolleyes:

Thanks for ther review. Your comments about a large ship being crowded at the same places at the same time is so true. We found that on Pride last summer that you basically had to show up about 1/2 hour early at a show to get a decent seat. Oh well-just another reason to have a drink!

Elise

I went on this same cruise on the Pride two years ago and I rented a car and went into Merida at Progresso, and my husband took the Chichen-Itza tour. We were both thrilled with our days. Downtown Merida is gorgeous and totally Meixcan while still being modern (we got pesos at an ATM and at lunch at McDonald's) I speak Spanish so that may help, but I adored this stop. Of course, Cozumel is incredible too but I don't just want to see touristy stuff. I like a port I can sink my cultural teeth into and I think Progresso is amazing.

Just my two cents.

Esther

I was on the 12/17 Glory this year and had a wonderful time. Can't say enough good things about the ship, the crew and staff, food, entertainment. I was aslo pleasantly surprised at how well behaved most of the children were. I attribute this to both the parents and the Carnival staff that took care of the childrens activities.

The highlight and major reason for taking the cruise was the stop in Progresso so I could take my wife to Chichen-Itza. I had been there about 10 years ago and knew she would enjoy exploring the site and climbing the pyramid. At that time I was staying in Merida for about 4 days and felt I was finally experiencing a real traditional Mexican town and not just a tourist port or border town. I would have prefered to spend some time in Merida again as well as visit Chichen-Itza and just skip Cozumel. We are not in to tourist shopping and can find most all of the jewlery, watches, cameras, and t-shirts at home or on the internet at the same or better prices. We would rather spend our vacations on outdoor activities or experience more typical daily life of different cultures.

I suppose the only negative comment I would make about the cruise is how wasteful some folks can be with food. I expected to enjoy the food and eat more that I should but I had a hard time understanding why a few people would find it necessary to take extremely large servings of food only to leave most of it on their tables. I couldn't help but wonder what the staff thinks since many of them come from less affluent cultures.

The Glory was beautiful. The entire cruise experience has given me some great memories I plan on daydreaming about through the rest of the winter.

"Life is mostly attitude and timing!"

Ester & Robiwan:

You both mentioned Chichen-Itza and the opportunity to experience a different culture as reasons in favor of having Progresso as a port of call on this cruise. You have a good point. :o

My wife and I went to Chichen-Itza years ago, back in about '82 or '83, I think. It was a long bus ride from Cancun, where we were staying, but worth the trip. Amazing place and awe-inspiring. I guess that if your plans for Progresso include a trip to Merida or an organized trip to an ancient ruin it is a good port of call.

My mindset wasn't on "culture" for this cruise, I have to admit. I make no apology for that. The cruise was for me to have a "fun" break after 2 years of hard work without vacation and for entertaining our kids and just having a good, "fun" vacation with the kids, kind of like a trip to Disneyland. :D

Like both of you, my wife and I believe that it is important to learn and experience other cultures. I'm half-Japanese and half German-American. My wife is one-half Korean and 1/4 each of Irish and Native American. Both of us were raised speaking our mother's native tongue and both of us were raised part of lives in the other culture. My wife flies internationally as a flight attendant. She's been all over the world. I've been overseas as a military dependent and as a soldier and otherwise. So, we understand the importance of learning and experiencing other cultures.

So, I guess my reason for putting down Progresso as a cruise port of call was that I didn't see this Carnival cruise as the vehicle for a cultural experience. A cruise certainly can be, and probably does, provide a great opportunity for that for those who want to use it for that. And, no doubt, there's room on these ships for both kinds of cruisers.

I wasn't focused on culture or history THIS TIME; just on touristy, Disney-type, mindless but harmless, FUN, like sunning, swimming, snorkeling and cave tubing. I'm guilty. :o Not perfect all the time. ;) Que sera.

If a cruiser is looking for the kind of "fun" experience from a cruise that we were seeking THIS TIME, then Progresso kind of stinks as a port of call and doesn't hold a candle to Cozumel. If you're a cruiser who also wants to use the cruise as an opportunity to experience another culture, then Progresso, or, more appropriately, places accessible from Progresso, make it a fine port of call.

BOTTOM LINE: This review will let the readers know who likely will enjoy Progresso (and vicinity) and who won't enjoy it as much. That's the main point of posting reviews, anyway, isn't it?

We plan to take the kids to Washington, D.C. for some American culture. Europe is also in our sights, as well as Australia, Japan and Korea. We'll fly to those places and maybe catch a train for fun and culture. Maybe we'll just do an all-inclusive instead of a cruise sometime in Cancun or Cozumel to enjoy that area more on a "just-for-fun" basis.

Glad you two enjoyed Progresso more than we did.

I do want to emphasize in conclusion here that my family and I (and our friends who joined us on the cruise) LOVED the cruise. It's hard to beat a cruise for a fun, usually relaxing vacation. A few things could have been better. That they weren't didn't leave me grumpy or with regrets. The ship is pretty enough, especially from outside. I recommend the Carnival Glory for all those who choose it with the right attitude -- look for the good and enjoy it rather than focusing on the bad and being miserable. Choose it for fun or for fun-plus-culture. Life's too short to find reaons to hate or regret something. ;)

Great review and beautiful pictures.

Great review and photos! The suite at the Radisson is nice. Bet you were thrilled to get the upgrade and it is close to the pier, isn't it! Question for you about Belize. Since you were using an independent tour operator, did you have any problems getting a tender? Doesn't the Glory dock from 9-6 which would be 8:00 a.m. Belize time, correct? What time did you meet Reggie at the pier? Did you have to wait for others? I assume plenty of time to get back for the tender? Thanks!

I totally understand what you are saying about some trips being just for fun. My family always did a beach lay-around vacation and then a cultural run-around vacation. Back and forth every year. We are trying to do the same for our kids and this year is the fun year! So we purposefully have chosen St. Thomas/St Maarten/Bahamas and then a week at Disney World and we are planning on doing nothing but enjoy how much fun our kids are having. I'm not doing any siteseeing (Disney will tire me out, but then I have a week cruise to rest!) So I do understand your feelings. I just don't want the culture to stop being available to me because in 2006, I'll want it again!

Esther

Thanks a lot for a very nice review. The pictures look beautiful. One Question for you though how was your weather in december overall did you get a lot of rain? And you dont seem to have any pictures of Belize Did it rain there?

I was on the same cruise and the weather was fantastic until debarkation (Christmas Day).

There was a little rain early in the morning (before dawn) on a couple of days, but that's it.

I have also submitted a review (in two parts) on this board. I'll be glad to try to answer any questions.

Mnsawyer:

We didn't rush to get off the ship in Belize; probably waited about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes before going down. Went down, got in a very short line for the tender and was on within, oh, I'd say 3-5 minutes. There was no issue about getting on a tender even though we booked an independent tour. No one asked any questions. As to Reggie, he was patiently waiting for us. We had paid in advance and I'd also reminded him by email the day before our cruise began that our group would be seeing him soon. So, we were confident Reggie would be there for us. Indeed, he was.

I don't recall the exact time. We stayed on ship's time and our cruise chart showed 8 a.m. arrival. I think that meant 7 a.m. Belize time. Reggie knew all that. Yes, our group of 14 waited a few minutes -- about 15-20 -- for a few others to show up (a total of 7 others), but then we were off to the jungle. More of a drive than I'd imagined but not a problem. Reggie was good at keeping the conversation going if anyone wanted to chat or ask questions.

And, yes, we we're done in plenty of time. Funny, as we walked down those jungle paths we passed several very big groups of tubers. It was as if the other tour operators were giving Reggie some kind of preferential treatment. I don't know, but it was nice being able to bypass some slower, very big tubing groups. When we were done we had plenty of time to eat a buffet-style, special Belizian chicken and rice dish that was delicious. This was at a resort-type place on the way back. They even had a little fenced-in (thank goodness) pond with a couple of little crocodiles (I think they were crocs and not gators) in it. A very good -- no, excellent -- excursion.

Migelzl:

Like nc_cruiser1 said, there was no rain until the day we arrived back in Port Canaveral. I didn't post any pics from Belize because the only ones we took there were with those disposable underwater-type cameras and I haven't even put them in for developing yet. If any turn out decent, I'll post them. Check in a week or so.

Thanks for the review, we will be doing the eastern in April for spring break and looking forward to the Glory. We are then off to Australia and Korea for a 5 wek land vacation so seem like we want about the same for our kids ages 10 and 7. I grew up in South Africa and want the kids to be exposed to all cultures but also know that they can have fun and enjoy life!!

Tropicscrazy,

Great reviews and replies. I appreciate the time and effort that you and others take to post regarding trips and experiences. It sure helps everyone know a little of what is available and what to expect on their cruise. I certainly agree with you that Progresso certainly isn't anything close to Cozumel as a shopping destination. I understand they are working toward that goal but will be a few years before they get up to speed. Sometimes I like to do the "tourist thing" and relax with a cold beverage or check out the shops too. I felt that this cruise was pretty good at accomodating cruisers for shopping in some ports, snorkeling/diving/sunbathing in others, and cultural/historical interests in another.

Your family backgrounds and the plans for international travel sound great! If you are planning to travel the Far East and Australia and like the outdoors and some of the most friendly people in the world then consider New Zealand too. I wouldn't mind retiring there.

Thanks for the review!

I've added a few more pics from the cruise to the cruise album at webshots. To see them go to

http://community.webshots.com/user/nikoniscool

and click on the album, "December 2004 cruise"