~~~Carnival Glory~~~Review~~~Part 3

THE PORTS:

NASSAU, Bahamas: (Sunday) 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM (you are told to be back by 1:30 PM). We all took a taxi to the Atlantis and saw the "Dig" there. They charged us $29 per adult, I think the kids were $24, which included a tour guide for about an hour. After the tour you can go back on your own if you would like. That was really unbelievable how the whole thing is set-up. The Atlantis is remarkable. You are awed by the size of it. By the way you cannot use their pools or beach unless you are a guest there or at the Comfort Inn. After the Atlantis we walked to the public beach which is right next door to the old Sheraton We were there for about 15 minutes and the sky just opened up, we were soaked through including our backpacks. Ended up going back to the ship to change and go shopping in town. Really to short of a time in port. That evening is the first formal night.

DAY AT SEA: (Monday) There are a lot of different activities to do during days at sea, just look at your Capers and figure out a schedule for yourself. I mostly enjoyed being by the pool and read or using the pool and hot tub. That is just my preference since I just wanted to relax, did a lot of the activities the last time on the Pride.

ST. THOMAS: (Tuesday) You get into port about 8:30 AM and then you get called to go through immigration about 9:00 AM (everyone has to go through immigration even if you are getting off the ship or not). The ship leaves at 8:00 PM (you are told to be back by 7:30 PM). We got off around 9:30 AM since we had a printed confirmation that we had an early private excursion. The six of us then took a cab (a truck set-up like an open bus) for about 15-20 minutes to our chartered sailboat called the Winifred for a daysail which was about 6 hours of a fantastic time. This was the main highlight of our vacation. Sharon is a Coast Guard Certified Captain and she meets you at the dock and takes you out by dingy to her boat. You snorkel off St. John for about an hour. She is very detail oriented and explains everything from making sure you put on your suntan lotion (which should be at least 30 SPF) at least a half hour before you get to her dock to how you have to wear your snorkel equipment. This trip is for both the beginner and the experienced snorkeler. She makes you put on even more lotion on the way out to St. John and makes you wear a T-shirt that she provides so you do not get burnt. From the get-go she and Tommy, her first mate make you feel very comfortable. The never ending rum punch was great. As you snorkel lunch is prepared, so when you get back to the boat you are rinsed off with fresh water and then you are ready for a great lunch. Oh, they even talked my NON-SWIMMING wife into getting into approx. 40 feet of water. She was dead set against going into the water from the start of our trip and they worked on her all the way out to St. John. They have these buckets with a clear bottom that you can see below the surface if you do not snorkel which is what she used. Tommy guided us (with my wife in tow) for about a mile snorkel adventure seeing sea turtles, rays, grouper, jacks, etc., it was absolutely phenomenal to say the least.

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten. (Wednesday) Your in port at 8:00 AM, the ship leaves at 6:00 PM (you are told to be back by 5:30 PM). The docks and the shops there look fairly new unlike Nassau which looks like it needs to be knocked down and rebuilt.

All six of us decided to do the Divi Little Bay Beach Experience, it included 2 drinks and a barbecue lunch and the cab ride there. The lunch was good, it included ribs, chicken, salad, potato salad, etc. They have chaises set-up for the group, you can rent umbrellas there also. My friends wife and I took their kids jet-skiing, it was $45 for a half hour, what a blast. The kids had a great time. There is also a bar there that you can purchase drinks, such as Piña Coladas, etc. There is a banana boat ride, snorkeling, scuba, all pay as you go. They have a DJ that plays music and beach games. The beach there was great. We were talking saying how nice it would be to stay a week that resort. It was worth the money.

DAYS AT SEA: (Thursday – second formal night & Friday)

DEBARKATION: Since we had a 2:05 PM flight out and we were taking Mears transfer through Carnival, we were in no rush to get off the ship. We stayed in our cabin until around 9:15 AM and then made our way down through customs. There was a bit of a line but it went smooth. It took about a half hour for everything, I am sure that earlier was more crowded and it took longer. After customs we went to the carousel that had our color luggage tags. My wife and I agree that is went a lot smoother than when we were on the Pride two years ago, searching through a warehouse with luggage all over the place, it was so disorganized. We got a porter to take our bags to the bus and after 20 minutes we were on the way to the airport around 10:00 AM. Arrived at the airport around 11:00 AM and we went to Chili’s to get some lunch and then we made a bunch of phone calls. Off to the gate area we went until they called our row. JetBlue left on-time and we hit a bit of turbulence in the beginning of the flight. Landed on-time and my daughter and her boyfriend picked us up at JFK Airport.

Thanks for the great review! I did this intinerary last year and thouroughly enjoyed it. Glad to heard Marcus Anthony is still singing...He was great. From what I hear the cruise director John will be leaving Carnival shortly.

Glad to you a great cruise :)

There are 6 of us leaving out on the 18th, so glad to hear the rest of your review. Especially interested in the part about the Emerald Room. being it is year #25 for hubby and I, were are planning to go to dinner there several times. Now that I know what nights are formal, can make my choices better.

Great Review. We're thinking about the Glory Eastern itinerary for next summer so this helps a lot.

Thanks

Elise