Jump to content

Review of Carnival Glory Eastern, Dec. 15-22, 2013


CruzCrazy
 Share

Recommended Posts

Background: This was my 10th cruise on Carnival (aka platinum cruise). I was grandfathered in with 71 cruise days instead of the 75 days it will require after the first of the year, so basically just one cruise sooner, but, hey, I'll take it. It was just my husband and I this trip, and we were celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary.

 

Getting there/pre-cruise hotel: We left for the airport around 5:45 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. flight from ROA-CLT-MIA. Flights were on time and smooth. We had a layover for a couple of hours in Charlotte and were at MIA and collecting our luggage at around 3:30, grabbed a taxi, and were at Hampton Inn Brickell downtown by about 4 p.m. We were upgraded at check-in (this was our 3rd trip to this hotel in the last year and we're points members). We had a suite, which was nice and roomy, but the view was not much to speak of. We got the usual coupons for a drink from the bar for happy hour, but the bar happened to be closed to the public for a private party. We did get to use our coupons, however, as they let us use them in the miniature "grocery store" beside the check-in desk in the lobby on the 6th floor for a cold bottle of beer, LOL. We like this hotel because it's in a good neighborhood where you can walk around safely. There are good places to eat nearby and a Publix if you need to pick something up last minute. At check-in, We signed up for the 10 a.m. shuttle to the Port of Miami. So far, so good!

 

We walked to the Brickell district (just a couple of blocks) and had dinner at Burger and Beer Joint, as usual. If you like really good angus burgers and a sports bar atmosphere, this is your place.

 

The next morning, we went downstairs for breakfast (included—it's Hampton Inn) at around 7:45. Busy as usual, but we found something to eat to tide us over until Guy's Burgers for lunch.

 

Embarkation: We packed up and went downstairs and out front to wait for the shuttle at about 9:45 a.m. Shuttle arrived just before 10 a.m., and we and another couple headed to the port. They were on the Breeze, so we let them off first and then it was our turn. We paid the shuttle driver ($8 per person plus tip) and then handed off our 2 large bags to the porter, handed him a tip, made sure he knew we were priority, and then were directed to priority check-in. As this was my "platinum cruise," we wondered how much different the process would be compared to past cruises (I was thinking not so much different since we'd had Faster to the Fun for the previous 2 cruises). We did the usual—showed our passports and boarding pass, went through security screening, and went upstairs—all in about 10 minutes tops. It was early, though, around 10:15 a.m. when we arrived at the port. (Yes, we did get the usual "don't come to port until 1:00: e-mail, which we ignored). At the top of the stairs, there was some confusion, as the first agent tried to put us in the Faster to the Fun line. I hesitated and kind of stalled while another agent walked up, and then she sent us to the Captain's Lounge for platinum/diamond guests. I don't know exactly what I was expecting in here, but there was a desk like a hotel check-in with a couple of agents working. We were next in line and were processed and given our Sail and Sign cards and had our security pictures taken and then had a seat to wait for boarding. There was lemonade and ice water. There were maybe 10 other people already seated. Another couple came in just after us and then there was a lull except for the people who were with a wedding party who had some kind of confusion as to where they were supposed to be. Once they were taken care of, we chatted for a few minutes and then a gentleman came in and said we would be ready to go momentarily. I decided to use the restroom and was surprised that there is not one inside the priority lounge—no biggie, just had always assumed that there was one. Went to the restroom, came back, and it was boarding time. We had our S&S cards ready, and he led us out and around and up the escalators. The photo backdrop was ready (last time we had boarded before they even had the backdrop set up), but DH was ready for a Guy's Burger, so we strolled past, showed our cards a couple of times and were in the atrium by about 11:30. Not record time, but not bad! We had cabin 9201 (category 6K) all the way forward on lido deck, and it was huge in comparison to our previous balcony cabins on any ship. I had seen many pictures and had done my homework, but the actual experience was even better than I had imagined. The size is said to be 320 sq. ft, and we had a real sense of roominess all week. The electric shades were up on the "window wall," and we had basically the same view as the captain all week. Yay us! No balcony, and I had wondered/worried how we'd do without one. Here's a photo, and I'll be back later to continue the review.

 

1471080_10202271881950417_525685632_n.jpg

Edited by CruzCrazy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I've been cooking, taking a break now to continue on. To address some questions about these cabins: No, it was no hotter in this cabin than any others we've had even though we left the shades open all day. No, the motion did not seem any worse even though it was deck 9 and all the way forward. BUT, there was a bad vibration at times when we were at sea. One night it was bad enough to wake me up. At first, I thought we had hit something in the water. I've never felt anything like that, and it would happen about every 15 minutes or so on 2 different nights. Other times, there was just the familiar rocking motion. Did we miss our balcony? Okay, a couple of times we did. We are accustomed to opening the balcony door in the evenings while getting ready for dinner and enjoying the fresh breeze, and sometimes I will have my first cup of coffee out there or read. To be honest, we didn't miss it as much as we thought we would, but there was one disadvantage to 9201, and that was if one of us wanted to sleep in, the other had no way of knowing what the weather was like without going outside because raising those blinds would obviously wake someone up. With a balcony, I could always slip out there quietly and enjoy a cup of coffee while DH slept in. On the other hand, we enjoyed having more space, and DH loved this 6K cabin. Yes, you must close the shades at dusk if you have your cabin lights on, but that was no problem. All you do is push 2 buttons. We did raise the shades one night after dark to star gaze, but all of the cabin lights were off when we did.

 

We dropped our carry-ons off and went to have our first Guy's Burger (plain cheeseburger and then selected our own toppings from the toppings bar). I love those fries!

 

I went to see if our luggage had appeared. I came around the corner to find DH's bag but not mine. Hmmm. Crazy thoughts instantly ran through my mind. My bag is lost. My bag has been confiscated for some reason—maybe they won't let me have my curling iron. DH would have died if he had seen my face. Oh well, it is what it is, I thought. It's either coming or it's not. Good thing I have my carry-on, I think. I'm trying to play it off as I insert my pretty platinum card in the slot and enter to see my bag sitting inside, LOL. Psych.

 

Okay, so we unpack first so we can feel relaxed and enjoy the afternoon knowing everything is organized. Done. Next: A Miami Vice for me and a beer for DH. Vacation! We generally hang at Red Frog on lido, and they hooked us up. Before we knew it, it was time for muster drill, which was pretty painless—no worse than usual and very necessary. There was an unofficial M&G scheduled for after muster drill, but we were just about to sail away from Miami, so we headed up to deck 10 forward to take photos. By the time the Glory had made the turn and headed out to sea, both the Breeze and the Conquest were ahead of us. December is a nice time to cruise, but there is a shortage of daylight, so it was basically dusk by the time we were underway. DH said everybody has probably left the M&G by now, and we like to eat early most days. We had Your Time Dining, so we could eat whenever we wanted between 5:45 and 9 p.m. We went to freshen up for dinner.

 

Dining room/food: We were anxious to see for ourselves what the dining room would look like. I personally thought the appearance of the dining room was fine. The tables are nice and shiny, and there are wine bottles on the table with the table number medallion hanging from the wine bottle. There are water carafes on each table. Service was excruciatingly slow. We had a table for 2 near the back, but there were 4 other tables for 2 to my right and 1 to my left, and the tables are very close together in more or less a row. It created what seemed like one very long table, and it was like eating dinner with people you don't know and aren't really seated "with," so it was kind of awkward. I feel ridiculous taking pictures of food in the dining room, so I took very few. Sorry. I tried to make myself do it since the menu is new, but I just couldn't bring myself to take many. I had the pork chop from the grill menu, and it was okay. We shared a Caesar salad "for the table" and there was really not enough salad for two people in the bowl. We were never offered grated parmesan for the salad, and it was different from Carnival's usual Caesar in that I couldn't taste any anchovies, which I like, but many people probably don't—I'm guessing that's why they have eliminated it. As a side dish, we ordered baked potato, and it seemed like forever before they brought the sour cream around. The waiters seemed to be scurrying around more than usual, and they handled the flatware a lot, putting some down, taking some away, putting more down. The whole process was not very streamlined. I had the Nutella tiramisu, and it was okay. Nothing to write home about. Nowhere was there crème brulle, Grand Marnier soufflé, or bitter and blanc. I was sad about that, but we are definitely not foodies, and we did not go hungry. We don't care about tablecloths for every night as long as the dining room looks nice and clean, which it did. Incidentally, our waiter referred to the dining room as the restaurant, as in "Good evening, welcome to the restaurant." Overall grade for the 1st night dinner: About a C+. Room for improvement. Here is a photo of the dining room:

 

 

1489247_10202271894470730_927356665_n.jpg

I'm not going to go into detail about every minute of every day and what we ate every night. I'm just going to sum up by saying we ate dinner every night in the Golden Dining Room (forward, downstairs, Your Time Dining), and on the 2nd night we were seated in a different section near the window on starboard side and had fantastic service from "Suki" (Sukatiawan) from Indonesia and his team. We requested his section the next night, and by the night after that, the hostess knew us on sight and seated us in his section without asking. The dining room hostesses were some of the best we've ever encountered. The food was okay, with the exception of the New York strip, which was not very good. It was under the "from the grill" section of the menu but came loaded down with a big garlic clove and seemed to be swimming in grease. I basically couldn't eat it. The chateaubriand was good. The prime rib was okay. There were mashed (whipped) potatoes, which were decent. The stuffed backed potatoes were dry and small and just not very good in my opinion. The plain baked potatoes were okay, but it's hard to mess up a plain baked potato. Chocolate melting cake was always on the menu, so DH was very happy about that, but he was very sad that Baked Alaska was missing. No pumpkin soup, which I missed, but there were a few soups available. One night there was mushroom soup and one night there was tomato soup that I remember, and they were good. I think there was onion soup one night, which neither of us ordered. By the way, in Suki's section, he brought out 2 separate Caesar salads (no bowl for sharing), and we always got grated parmesan. On the 2 elegant nights, they gave us flavored champagne for toasting (I think the first elegant night it was peach and the 2nd was definitely strawberry). There were tablecloths for elegant night. The old familiar table numbers were back, and the water carafes that graced the tables for the other nights were gone since I guess they're not very elegant. All in all, the elegant nights seemed more familiar. Here is a photo of the table on the 2nd elegant night:

 

1525666_10202271946752037_1397357343_n.jpg

The maitre d' was very visible and stopped by our table (and others through the week) to chat and get our feedback. I was kind but honest and said I preferred the old menus over the new. He indicated that about 80% of the feedback so far had not been favorable to the menu switch. We complimented the service, and he seemed very receptive to our comments and advised us to write our comments down for corporate, so I hope we get an e-mail survey. Overall for the entire cruise, I would give the dining room food a B- and the dining room service/friendliness an A. Although the service was slower than what we have become accustomed to on prior cruises, our waiter was really good and remembered our preferences and was very friendly and accommodating.

 

For breakfast, DH did the lido buffet, and I stood in line for his cooked-to order eggs. Then I just had continental breakfast every morning. I like the chocolate muffins and a cup of coffee.

 

For lunch, I would usually have a sandwich from the deli. We're not big fans of fish and chips, so we never ventured up there. We also never found time to get any pizza. To be honest, I have a lot of food intolerances, and I have to be careful what I eat.

 

Entertainment: As far as entertainment, there were several different comedians. The first 2 got off in St. Thomas, and then 2 different comedians came aboard. We saw 2 of the adult shows and thought they were pretty funny. They emptied the lounge (or tried to) after each show, and it was held in the aft lounge next to the piano bar. We did not go to any of the production shows. We did stop in one night just to see what the video production style was like, and the male singer was butchering a song, so we immediately walked out.

 

In the casino, DH played the slots just a little, and I played roulette a couple of times. We just about broke even, and it was fun while it lasted. We're not big gamblers and just play to have a little fun and as a diversion. We did see a guy who had just won $2500 from the cash cube game. We were headed down the promenade and were just coming up on the casino when this guy started yelling and waving his hands, running towards us on the promenade. He was carrying his shrink-wrapped money, and we congratulated him. They took his picture with his winnings. We saw him in the casino a few times after that, so I'm not sure if he gave any of it back or not, but good for him for winning.

 

The piano bar was mainly a bust, and the piano man was not that good IMHO. We met some people at dinner who said the same. That's a shame. It seemed like he tried hard, but to me the important thing about the piano bar is being able to sing along, and he changed almost every arrangement so that the song was almost unrecognizable. He did pass out percussion "instruments" and tried to get the crowd involved that way, but we weren't impressed. We tried a second time, but it was more of the same, so we didn't stay long. Incidentally, I heard the piano guy say he would be on the Glory through April.

 

The night clubs were basically empty (at least until after we went to bed, LOL). We did catch one movie outside on the big screen one afternoon, and it was Zookeeper, which was cute but predictable. In the cabins, they played Here Comes the Boom so many times I thought I would scream but didn't in deference to our neighbors.

 

There was a Latin group who performed at various locales around the ship, but we don't particularly like that kind of music. They seemed to be able to carry a tune, though. There was a duo called "Two's Company," and they were good. There was an acoustic guitarist/singer named David Lazarus, and I could have listened to him forever. He played in the atrium lobby the night we caught him.

 

Matt, the cruise director, did a great job and was out and about quite a bit. The past guest party or whatever they call it now was in the theater. I got called to do the congo line and go up on stage to learn the little "line dance" thing that they do now. They recognized the diamond guests and handed out those appetizers that I don't touch. There were trays of drinks, as usual, and the "towel animal" video where you are supposed to applaud if you've been on the ship they mention, and as usual when they said Carnival Glory not everyone applauded, which is an old joke by now. This took place at 4:15 in the afternoon, by the way, so not a very convenient time, but there was a good crowd.

 

Ship's décor/cleanliness: The ship was very clean, and our cabin especially so. Those 6K and 6J cabins have only recently been added, so everything had a new feel about it, decorated more with blues and golds like the Breeze. I had heard that the general décor on the Glory was kind of dark and gloomy, but I didn't find this to be the case. There was lots of black floor tile, but that didn't bother me, and I kind of liked the colors. The atrium was decorated for Christmas with a very large tree, and there were garlands on the railings. There was a Christmas tree lighting, some "snow" a couple of nights, and Santa himself showed up on the last night, Dec. 21. Here's a photo:

 

1526251_10202260218418836_1314210464_n.jpg

 

Oh, before I forget something funny, I had pre-ordered a Happy Anniversary cake from Bon Voyage before sailing and had a confirmation for a 6-inch chocolate heart-shaped cake to say "Happy Anniversary." It was in our cabin upon boarding, and it was in a nice box with a card that said exactly what I had requested, but the cake itself said "Happy Honeymoon." We got a laugh out of that but remarked that we hoped someone on their honeymoon didn't get a cake that said "Happy Anniversary." We didn't report it since it wasn't that big a deal, and of course the cake tasted the same no matter what it said. We didn't finish it because there is so much else to eat all the time, but it was the thought that counted and the cake was good.

 

Platinum gift: The platinum gift was a tote bag with an insulated zipper compartment on the bottom that said Carnival and had logos of the various 2.0 attractions. Here's a photo:

 

1505417_10202271904030969_1914471909_n.jpg

 

 

Also, we did get a plate of chocolate treats and a pin that said "Glory 2013" as part of the platinum perks. We didn't use the send-out laundry service. I had to go to guest services a couple of times and used the platinum/diamond/FTTF line, which worked fine. We didn't have any tender ports, so we didn't use the priority tender perk.

 

Our cabin steward was "Toto," and he did a great job. I asked for ice the first day, and he made sure our bucket was always filled with fresh ice after that without my asking. DH had a hard time with the mattress being way too firm for him, and our steward tried to help that by putting an extra comforter under the sheet. We tipped him and our waiter extra at the end for a job well done.

 

Ports of call: Nassau, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk. We had done this very same itinerary last December, so we were very relaxed about what we did.

 

In Nassau, we stayed on the ship and enjoyed just relaxing on lido. We have been to Nassau so many times, and the last couple of times we've just stayed on the ship.

 

In St. Thomas, we took a short taxi ride to Emerald Beach and enjoyed that. The Best Western there is very accommodating to cruise ship guests. There were clean bathrooms, a nice bar and grill, and a nice stretch of beach. It is near the airport, but that didn't bother us. Since we docked at Crown Bay, the taxi ride was not even 10 minutes. We have been to Magen's Bay twice and to Sapphire Beach last year, and we thought Emerald Beach was just as nice or even nicer than Sapphire, and Magen's was bound to be crazy crowded with so many ships in port. We had toyed with the idea of going over to St. John/Trunk Bay, but we decided against it because we didn't have that long in port. Here is a photo of Emerald Beach, St. Thomas, USVI:

 

 

1512795_10202271921031394_1801735116_n.jpg

 

 

 

In San Juan, I was under the weather, so I spent the day on the chaise lounge in our cabin reading a book and DH just chilled on the ship. Oh, well.

 

In Grand Turk, we just chilled at Margaritaville, got in the pool a little, and had a couple of drinks. Not very adventurous, but that's what we felt like doing, and it was a beautiful day.

 

Weather: The weather all week was great. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy, not too windy, and temps in the 80s. Considering it was sleeting the morning we left home, we were happy.

 

Other: We didn't go to the steakhouse this time since we wanted to check out the new menus. I used the gym one morning—standard equipment—I like their Life Fitness treadmills. We don't go in for trivia or bingo so I can't comment on any of that kind of stuff, but I kept hearing announcements for those. The internet café was down on deck 4, kind of hidden away, dark, and gloomy, and there were never very many people in there. The ship had wi-fi, so maybe those who were using the ship's internet package were using wi-fi. We had our IPad, but DH sometimes preferred using their desktops.

 

Debarkation: We signed up for Luggage Express, which we've done for the last several cruises. For $20 per person, the cruise line will collect your luggage the night before and make sure they are checked in at the airport and routed to your final destination. They print your boarding passes so that when you get to the airport, all you do is go through security screening and head to your gate. We had to meet in the Copper Room adjacent to the forward dining room at 8 a.m. and were led off as a group. This is very similar to the process on both the Liberty and the Victory except that this time there was coffee, orange juice, ice water, and pastries in the room while we waited. Nice touch. By 8:10 a.m., we were headed back to reality. One last ding of our cards, then out and down the escalator, bypassing all the luggage carousels since our bags were on the way to the airport, and then we went through customs. That was a breeze, and we were in a cab by 8:17. At 8:32, we were at MIA with nothing but our carry-ons. Our flight was considered early (11:40 a.m.), but we had about a 3-hour wait. I'd rather be waiting at the airport than be late, though. BTW, the charge for Luggage Express goes on your Sail and Sign card plus any charges for your bags that the airline gets paid. If you want to use this service, look for the paperwork with your Fun Times and make sure you return it to guest services by the deadline. It was interesting because we got zone 1 tags for platinum guests, zone 2 tags because our flight was "early," and zone 4 tags for Luggage Express. It seems silly to throw away zone 1 and zone 2 and use zone 4, but that's what was required for Luggage Express, and we feel it was worth it not to have to deal with the big bags. They were waiting for us at our home airport, which we worried about just a little since our connecting flight was cancelled and we had to re-book on a different flight, but there were no problems.

 

Well, we're back home after a very long day in the airport with that flight cancellation. We had a nice cruise, and it's almost Christmas. After that, it will be time to start planning our next trip.

 

I will answer any questions I can, and I will post a few more random photos a little later. Going back and forth to the kitchen, trying to keep an eye on my Christmas Eve dinner preparations.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To answer a question above, I'm not sure about a free cruise for a certain number of points in the casino since we don't play that much. I know they keep track of your points, but I thought that was just for the Drinks on Us program. I'm not saying they weren't doing it, though. I did see a jar full of tickets that had something to do with keeping your on-board receipts for a drawing, but I'm not exactly sure what that was about, and we didn't ask.

 

Here are some random photos of the cruise. This is another view of our cabin. That sofa did pull out into a bed, though we had no need for that.

 

1497528_10202260267980075_719129811_n.jpg

 

Here's one of the chaise lounge area, where I spent a lot of time while in the cabin:

 

 

1525249_10202260266820046_1077286264_n.jpg

 

I was up at sunrise on the first sea day and took this picture from inside the cabin. If you look closely, you can make out some streaks on the glass, but I don't think it caused too much distortion.

 

1483331_10202271906911041_440367751_n.jpg

 

Here's a photo of the Glory in the process of docking at Crown Bay in St. Thomas. That's the Ruby Princess we're pulling in next to.

 

1486643_10202271912111171_97226028_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had room 9200 back in October. Loved the room. Probably the most time that I have ever spent in the room. Just sitting on the couch or in the chair watching the water. We were up there at night when leaving Nassau and there was a Disney ship in the distance that was shooting off fireworks. That was cool to see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had room 9200 back in October. Loved the room. Probably the most time that I have ever spent in the room. Just sitting on the couch or in the chair watching the water. We were up there at night when leaving Nassau and there was a Disney ship in the distance that was shooting off fireworks. That was cool to see.

 

I bet that was an awesome sight to see the fireworks.

 

I just realized something else, and that is that I am not plagued with "mal de debarquement" after this cruise (where you still feel the motion of the ocean even after being back on dry land). Of all my 10 cruises, this is the first time I have not had that afterwards. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that our view was forward rather than watching the water rush by on the sides....just wondering. I guess that phenomenon would be kind of like people who get car sick in the rear seat but not in the front seat while looking out the front windshield.

 

I spent more time in the cabin than ever before, too. DH wants another cabin like this for our next cruise, but they are very hard to come by. Just doing a quick check, I only found one available for the time span of November 2014-March 2015 :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your review. We will be in 9200 in January and looking forward to it.

 

How were the other restaurants?? Guys, Blue Iguana?

 

Thanks

Tami

 

Guys was great. I only ate there twice (visions of the calorie content danced in my head), but it's vacation, right? The fries are really good. We usually just got ours as a plain patty with cheese and then dressed it to our liking from the toppings bar that is located nearby. DH ate one everyday for lunch.

 

As for the Blue Iguana, I don't go in for that kind of thing, but I will have to say the food always looked fresh. I noticed people getting breakfast burritos there quite a bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bet that was an awesome sight to see the fireworks.

 

I just realized something else, and that is that I am not plagued with "mal de debarquement" after this cruise (where you still feel the motion of the ocean even after being back on dry land). Of all my 10 cruises, this is the first time I have not had that afterwards. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that our view was forward rather than watching the water rush by on the sides....just wondering. I guess that phenomenon would be kind of like people who get car sick in the rear seat but not in the front seat while looking out the front windshield.

 

I spent more time in the cabin than ever before, too. DH wants another cabin like this for our next cruise, but they are very hard to come by. Just doing a quick check, I only found one available for the time span of November 2014-March 2015 :(

 

When we booked last year we had no idea about these rooms the PVP told us about them. They don't usually come up as an option when you try and book yourself. Or at least not in our searches. Just lucked into it. Really enjoyed it though. It was my mom's first cruise ever so she will be really spoiled if she ever goes again. Did still have the feeling of the ocean when we got on land but not as bad other times.

Edited by bm6pm5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That room looks amazing! I've booked 9200 on the Valor next September. We had to call up to book that one, and got it as same price as OV, which I thought was a pretty good bonus as the windows are HUGE!! I'm really looking forward(lol, geddit?!?) to this one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Background: This was my 10th cruise on Carnival (aka platinum cruise). I was grandfathered in with 71 cruise days instead of the 75 days it will require after the first of the year, so basically just one cruise sooner, but, hey, I'll take it. It was just my husband and I this trip, and we were celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary.

 

Getting there/pre-cruise hotel: We left for the airport around 5:45 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. flight from ROA-CLT-MIA. Flights were on time and smooth. We had a layover for a couple of hours in Charlotte and were at MIA and collecting our luggage at around 3:30, grabbed a taxi, and were at Hampton Inn Brickell downtown by about 4 p.m. We were upgraded at check-in (this was our 3rd trip to this hotel in the last year and we're points members). We had a suite, which was nice and roomy, but the view was not much to speak of. We got the usual coupons for a drink from the bar for happy hour, but the bar happened to be closed to the public for a private party. We did get to use our coupons, however, as they let us use them in the miniature "grocery store" beside the check-in desk in the lobby on the 6th floor for a cold bottle of beer, LOL. We like this hotel because it's in a good neighborhood where you can walk around safely. There are good places to eat nearby and a Publix if you need to pick something up last minute. At check-in, We signed up for the 10 a.m. shuttle to the Port of Miami. So far, so good!

 

We walked to the Brickell district (just a couple of blocks) and had dinner at Burger and Beer Joint, as usual. If you like really good angus burgers and a sports bar atmosphere, this is your place.

 

The next morning, we went downstairs for breakfast (included—it's Hampton Inn) at around 7:45. Busy as usual, but we found something to eat to tide us over until Guy's Burgers for lunch.

 

Embarkation: We packed up and went downstairs and out front to wait for the shuttle at about 9:45 a.m. Shuttle arrived just before 10 a.m., and we and another couple headed to the port. They were on the Breeze, so we let them off first and then it was our turn. We paid the shuttle driver ($8 per person plus tip) and then handed off our 2 large bags to the porter, handed him a tip, made sure he knew we were priority, and then were directed to priority check-in. As this was my "platinum cruise," we wondered how much different the process would be compared to past cruises (I was thinking not so much different since we'd had Faster to the Fun for the previous 2 cruises). We did the usual—showed our passports and boarding pass, went through security screening, and went upstairs—all in about 10 minutes tops. It was early, though, around 10:15 a.m. when we arrived at the port. (Yes, we did get the usual "don't come to port until 1:00: e-mail, which we ignored). At the top of the stairs, there was some confusion, as the first agent tried to put us in the Faster to the Fun line. I hesitated and kind of stalled while another agent walked up, and then she sent us to the Captain's Lounge for platinum/diamond guests. I don't know exactly what I was expecting in here, but there was a desk like a hotel check-in with a couple of agents working. We were next in line and were processed and given our Sail and Sign cards and had our security pictures taken and then had a seat to wait for boarding. There was lemonade and ice water. There were maybe 10 other people already seated. Another couple came in just after us and then there was a lull except for the people who were with a wedding party who had some kind of confusion as to where they were supposed to be. Once they were taken care of, we chatted for a few minutes and then a gentleman came in and said we would be ready to go momentarily. I decided to use the restroom and was surprised that there is not one inside the priority lounge—no biggie, just had always assumed that there was one. Went to the restroom, came back, and it was boarding time. We had our S&S cards ready, and he led us out and around and up the escalators. The photo backdrop was ready (last time we had boarded before they even had the backdrop set up), but DH was ready for a Guy's Burger, so we strolled past, showed our cards a couple of times and were in the atrium by about 11:30. Not record time, but not bad! We had cabin 9201 (category 6K) all the way forward on lido deck, and it was huge in comparison to our previous balcony cabins on any ship. I had seen many pictures and had done my homework, but the actual experience was even better than I had imagined. The size is said to be 320 sq. ft, and we had a real sense of roominess all week. The electric shades were up on the "window wall," and we had basically the same view as the captain all week. Yay us! No balcony, and I had wondered/worried how we'd do without one. Here's a photo, and I'll be back later to continue the review.

 

1471080_10202271881950417_525685632_n.jpg

Nice Helpful Review! Thanks for taking the time:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That room looks amazing! I've booked 9200 on the Valor next September. We had to call up to book that one, and got it as same price as OV, which I thought was a pretty good bonus as the windows are HUGE!! I'm really looking forward(lol, geddit?!?) to this one.

 

You will love it!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
we will be staying at the same Hampton Inn , and was excited to see they have a public nearby, was it close enough to walk to it or did you take transportation.

 

I will be on the Breeze and want to get soda for two weeks ...

 

We have walked to the Publix from the Hampton before, but it is a few blocks. No problem getting there, but if you are planning on buying a lot or something heavy, it might be better not to try to walk back. We just got a bottle of champagne, so we were fine. The weather was so nice that we enjoyed the walk. When you go out the front door of the Hampton, turn right, then left, and you are heading towards all the shops and restaurants. The Publix is towards the far end of the shopping center. Once you are in the shopping district it's on both sides of the street, but there are signs directing you to everything. You will see signs for Publix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had Suki last year on the Freedom and loved him as well! We also requested his section after our first time with him. I hope to see him on another ship in the future!

 

Yes--Suki and another server from the Liberty (Corrina) have been our faves. Suki always had a smile, and I loved the way he said, "Okey-Dokey" after everything we said :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
Yes, you must close the shades at dusk if you have your cabin lights on, but that was no problem. All you do is push 2 buttons. We did raise the shades one night after dark to star gaze, but all of the cabin lights were off when we did.

 

So is that a rule that goes with this cabin? That you have to close the shades at dusk if you want lights on? Hmm...I've never heard of anything like this before so just wanted to clarify. Thanks! (Love the great pics BTW):)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So is that a rule that goes with this cabin? That you have to close the shades at dusk if you want lights on? Hmm...I've never heard of anything like this before so just wanted to clarify. Thanks! (Love the great pics BTW):)

 

Yes, there is a sign on the wall near the buttons that open and close the shades (see below). The only time we had the shades open at night was if we had the lights off (we did have the TV on). The cabins are above the bridge where light could cause interference with navigation. When we had this cabin in December, it began getting dark around 5 p.m., so we had to close the shades while getting ready for dinner. We always had them closed by the time we went to dinner, but I've heard on these boards that people have had their stewards come by and ask them to close the shades after dark when they were in the cabin and had the lights on.

 

Oh, and just an FYI, when we got to the cabin on the first day, I started playing with the buttons right away. As you can see below, there are 2 switches. The one on the left is for the shade on the left, the one on the right for the shade on the right. There is kind of a rocker mechanism where you push the top of the switch to start the shade up and the bottom to start the shade down. Unfortunately, whoever had the cabin before us had left a corner of the chaise lounge pushed back close to the shade (the windows have a very prominent slant so this wouldn't be hard to do), and the shade got stuck on the corner of it on the way down. I didn't know at the time that if you want to stop the shade, you push the opposite rocker-type button--like if it's going down and you want to stop it, you hit the up button and vice versa. I had to run over and pull the chaise out so the automatic shade could continue on its track. Momentary panic, but no harm done. After that, I was diligent all week to make sure nothing was in the way before hitting any of the automatic shade buttons. They're really nice fabric shades--I'm thinking they are Hunter Douglas. As a matter of fact, I can see it actually says Hunter Douglas on the switch plate.

 

1505545_10202271884310476_1160067619_n.jpg

 

 

 

 

1475999_10202271884910491_451027753_n.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...