papadave

Thanks for the review. I was on the December 11th sailing, immediately before yours, and reading what you wrote gave me a chance to relive what was a good cruise overall, with a few glitches.

Yes, they need to work out some issues with service in the dining room during brunch and tea -- I think that is mostly due to understaffing. Perhaps they also need to do a little more observation and training.

The maître 'd in the dining room is a big part of the problem. He did not notice obvious things. For example, there was a table for 10 which dwindled down to a table for 1 -- how does that happen? Who wants to sit alone at a table for 10? I was at that table the first night and insisted on moving -- a request which was accommodated -- but it appears that he never went over to check on the few people who remained at the table. On the first night, four people were seated at the beginning of the meal, three others came 40 minutes later. This threw off service and conversation was very awkward.

That much said, the food was very good for a cruise ship. More food was good than bad. I really should sit down and write a review myself. Thanks again for yours.

Agreed, the OP should ask for appropriate treatment. From what I saw on a recent Carnival cruise, staff was very concerned with keeping those who needed help getting around where they needed to be for the comfort of all passengers. Even those of us who are not disabled benefit greatly when things are done in an orderly fashion.

As a general note, while there can be long lines to get into the shows, I was always able to walk in a minute after a show started and find a seat. The adult shows use very strong language and both underage people and those who won't enjoy lots of cursing leave a few seats free at the start of the show. Still, if you are trying to enjoy the experience of being in a comedy club, you may want to get there when the doors open, order a drink and enjoy the company of friends before the show starts.

I will add that I thought the stand up comedy on the Carnival Splendor in December was quite good.

I don't recall the cabin being larger than I expected from an inside cabin. I shared the cabin with my daughter, so beds were well set up. If you are planning to sleep in the same bed, the cabin is not the best choice. The porthole itself is a nice touch. If I were sailing on the Glory again, I would try to book the "inside" cabin with the porthole. Enjoy your cruise.

50th street, C or E train, then go west toward the Hudson River. The ship is in the Hudson River.

A taxi from midtown with tip might be $10. NYC taxis do not hit you with high fees for luggage, so short taxi rides are a relative bargain.

I've done the walk with a small piece of luggage for a 4-day cruise, but would not suggest this with enough luggage for a full week.

My family had lunch there yesterday and I can definitely recommend it. Be sure to order the fries, which are cooked in duck fat, and ask for salt to go with them -- we were presented with three different specialty salts including a bacon flavored salt and a very spicy salt, but only after we asked for some salt.

I took a look at their site today and can't tell if any of the restaurants with deals through Groupon are actually worthwhile. Mostly Indian food available, some French, ice cream, then stuff in the suburbs.

FYI, The HOHO bus is a deal if you are a group of 2 or 4 (about half price for a single day), but for a family of 3 we'd have to pay full fare for the third person. I have no affiliation with the website, but I thought it was worth a mention.

We had some interesting First Nation food on Vancouver Island in 2009, but won't be making our way to Vancouver Island this trip. Is there anywhere you would recommend on the mainland?

Since this thread has been so helpful thus far I thought I would post my question here. We will have 2 full days in Vancouver on 7/3 and 7/4 prior to our cruise on Friday. There are a few things that we know we want to do but I'm not sure how to schedule them between the 2 days. There are 4 of us including 2 teens and we will be staying at the Sunset Inn so we also need to figure out how to transport ourselves on public transit from/to that location.

 

1. Capilano bridge

2. Stanley Park

3. Queen Elizabeth park and Bloedel Conservatory

4. Granville Island

5. Gastown

6. Grouse Mountain

 

Can we fit all this into 2 days? Which should we do in the same day to save time and will we be sorry if we skip Grouse Mountain? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Susan

This would be too much for my family. Stanley Park can be a full day. Gastown plus Granville Island the other day. If you must go to Capilano bridge and Grouse Mountain, expect that to take up most of one day, but you won't have as much time as you might want in Stanley Park.

Hi all!

We booked our flights yesterday! Air Canada was having a sale so we jumped on the deal. The only problem is that our flight back to the East Coast leaves Vancouver at 6 am.

 

Dave and I don't mind getting up early...it's getting to the airport in time that concerns me. We *could* stay the the Fairmont Airport, but it is a little pricey ($244.00 tax included). The big advantage is that we just have to walk down the stairs and we are on the concourse.

 

Honestly, I'm leaning toward this, just for the convenience, plus Dave would LOVE watching the planes take off and land. We've already spent A LOT on this vacation (but it is worth it!!) so what's a little more?

 

Any thoughts?

We have stayed at a B&B in Richmond, only a couple of minutes away from the airport. It was considerably cheaper than a hotel, but it was not a luxurious place. If you are price sensitive, there are moderate and even cheap B&Bs in the area.

I too found some variance in prices. My advice is to do as I did, contact three different car services and get a price from each. We wound up booking for $64.40 from home (Battery Park City) to the port, and $66.40 for the return trip. The second highest quote was close, with the highest price around $77 in each direction. For all trips, this includes tolls and a 20% gratuity.

Well, I orginally was in R60 on Fantasy, but due to price drops (not ES), I moved "up" to a 4E, so I won't be in a 1A on that ship after all.

 

And my Pride booking on 4/17/11? I just changed that to Glory on 10/16/11. I took 2217, one of the porthole cabins because they look so nice. And if someone can join me, no need to climb any ladders!

 

Sailing in October to Bermuda in the bow when I have motion issues may be a bit of an adventure! :o

I'm on the Glory on June 14th in 1211, sharing with my daughter. I have not been on Carnival before (so far RCL, HAL, NCL, Costa), but if I like it I will go again if the price is right. I'd actually consider sharing a room, as I spend next to no time awake in the cabin on a cruise. Does Carnival have single shares set up, or is this something individuals need to work out on their own?

HAL, at least on the Ryndam in Alaska this summer, has anytime dining working very smoothly. I mention this after reading all the posts and noting that NCL does not do this well and that other HAL ships may need some time perfecting service with anytime dining.

As I said, in Alaska it worked quite well. Daily schedules differed and some times we were not back on the ship at our usual dining time. It was nice to have a seat in the dining room. Also, having had an unsatisfactory cruise with set tablemates in 2008, it was nice to sit with new people most nights, or sit by ourselves from time to time.

I'd like feedback from anyone familiar with this relatively new attraction in the Botanical Gardens at the University of British Columbia. It sounds pretty good, but at $20 per adult for a one hour tour it also seems to stretch our budget.

Question:

Have been to Vancouver before...seen the Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain and Granville Island and seen town somewhat....we are planning to come in 1 day early but could come 2...is there anything else to tour that is special except Stanley Park???? We are not shoppers....we are sightseers???

 

Lou

Drive an hour north past Horseshoe Bay for some spectacular scenery between Vancouver and Whistler. An overnight stay can be had for around $100 per couple and there are many great outdoor activities. Check squamish tourism websites for details.

Apparently the deal on laundry and dry cleaning varies from cruise to cruise. You should ask at the front desk as soon as you have the time and they will tell you what is available. Earlier this year, on the Noordam, we purchased the unlimited laundry package and had everything laundered from the first day of the cruise to the next to last day. They wash, iron and fold everything.

As far as the worst item, it would have to be venison which my FIL ordered for dinner on a Princess cruise. It came very underdone and he ended up sending it back 3 times in an attempt to have an edible meal. In the end, it was not good and he barely ate any. However, the next day the waiters got him good...it was lobster night and he was the last one at our table of 8 to be served. Everyone was waiting for him to get his plate and when it arrived it was a whole lobster including antennae. Turned out it was rubber, but absolutely real looking!

Most people have never cooked venison. Medallions should be served very rare as the meat is quite lean. It will have a chewy texture. It is not for everyone. Cooked past rare it is like eating a shoe. Otherwise, venison is tasty in chili or a stew.

Were you able to order a different main course without ruining the entire dinner?

The worst thing I remember on a cruise was osso bucco (RCC) which was cooked through but was not cooked for a long time. Imagine an Irish stew thrown together in 15 minutes and you may get the picture. All the ingredient were there except for the long and slow simmering that melts away the fat and gristle to create a superb dish from a cheap cut of meat. That much said, I was able to get a different entree in just a few minutes.

On RCCL, fro NYC a few years ago, we were sent to the buffet on embarkation. I tried the paella which was unbelievably bad. Nothing on the buffet was very good at embarkation. However, all the dining room meals for the remainder of the cruise were fantastic.

A close runner-up was roast turkey on the buffet on the Norwegian Dawn last year. It tasted as if it were left over from a previous meal (which would not surprise me), but I was well informed enough to wait for a short while and find food elsewhere on the ship. Lots of good food was available at all times.

I have been on the Westerdam in an SS. The room, the balcony and the bathroom are all really nice. If you don't need the concierge and other added amenities, the SS is a great value for the money. I wish HAL could come up with less confusing terminology, because some folks have gotten less than they expected. However, when you see a huge price difference it normally indicates something. We paid only a few hundred dollars over the rate for a standard balcony and got an SS and would be very happy to do so again.

If you own 100 shares of CCL stock you can contact HAL and they will give you instructions for obtaining a $100 ship credit for your cabin.