Carnival Glory v. Carnival Liberty

Hello CC!!!

It's finally time to book #My2ndCruise and I'm excited & I'm torn...

I stumbled across a 7 day itinerary that looks pretty good and I particularly like the price and ports as well... But which one to choose? Our dates are pretty open as we're planning for next year, we just prefer late summer/fall/early winter. My 1st cruise was right after Thanksgiving and while it was fun to boast on Turkey Day that I was soon to be in the Caribbean, finding affordable flights posed a challenge.

Here's what I'm looking considering:

7 Day Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL

Departs from: Port Canaveral (Orlando), FL Aboard the: Carnival Liberty Ports of Call: Nassau, The BahamasSt. Thomas, USVISan Juan, Puerto RicoGrand Turk

Sat, Aug 30, 2014

(Sat - Sat)

Ocean view from $549

OR

7 Day Eastern Caribbean from Miami, FL

Departs from: Miami, FL Aboard the: Carnival Glory Ports of Call: Half Moon Cay, The BahamasGrand TurkSan Juan, Puerto RicoSt. Thomas, USVI

Sat, Nov 15, 2014

(Sat - Sat)

Ocean view from $559

I LOVED Miami (thanks to having my personal tour-guides/friends there) but I am wanting to do something 'different' this go-round. While I've been to two of the ports on both options, I want to go back and explore what I didn't get to see the first time around (which was a lot considering I wanted to be a beach bum the first time around :D)

My cruising companions truly don't care one way or the other, they just want to know when, where and when to hand over the $$$... As it stands it'll be me, my OH (first time cruiser), my mother and possibly his mother and more to join in as it's decided....

SUGGESTIONS are welcome & solicited. Thanks guys!!!

It comes down to 2 things, for me. Home port and ship preference.

Flying to/from Miami can be pretty steep. You can fly into Ft Lauderdale and taxi down, which saved me $100. In my opinion, with all the sights around you, Miami is more "fun" to leave from.

That said, the Glory didn't impress me as much as the Liberty. The overall experience didn't come close. The Liberty has a nicer theme to it, while the Glory's insides were uneasy on the eyes, and garish. Also, the Liberty staff were much better than the Glory. Ironically the Glory's director will then be on the Liberty at the time of that sailing.

Have been on both....Hands down...the Glory. The Glory has also had the recent 2.0 upgrades. Itinerary is also 10 times better.

Our first cruise was out of Port Canaveral on the Glory. We thought the port was great to sail out of since there are restaurants right on shore when you leave and everyone waves. We have been on Glory twice and will be on Liberty for the first time this spring. I've read LOTS of great things about the Liberty.

Since the ports are basically the same except HMC vs Nassau, then it would be HMC hands down.

It comes down to 2 things, for me. Home port and ship preference.

 

Flying to/from Miami can be pretty steep. You can fly into Ft Lauderdale and taxi down, which saved me $100. In my opinion, with all the sights around you, Miami is more "fun" to leave from.

 

That said, the Glory didn't impress me as much as the Liberty. The overall experience didn't come close. The Liberty has a nicer theme to it, while the Glory's insides were uneasy on the eyes, and garish. Also, the Liberty staff were much better than the Glory. Ironically the Glory's director will then be on the Liberty at the time of that sailing.

Thank you for your feedback! :)

Miami was a fun city to visit pre/post cruise. I actually have friends there from high school and undergrad so it's like a reunion to go. I'm leaning toward that but wanted something 'different'. HMC was amazing and my favorite out of the 3 I visited on my first cruise, so that makes sense.

Have been on both....Hands down...the Glory. The Glory has also had the recent 2.0 upgrades. Itinerary is also 10 times better.

Thank you islandhoppingfool ((funny s/n)) - I was looking at the upgrades and liked the thought of those as well. My first cruise was on Destiny and while she was kind to me, I want to see what all the hype is about on the newer/upgraded ships. Thank you again!

The "Glory", the Liberty is sailing during prime hurricane season.

Our first cruise was out of Port Canaveral on the Glory. We thought the port was great to sail out of since there are restaurants right on shore when you leave and everyone waves. We have been on Glory twice and will be on Liberty for the first time this spring. I've read LOTS of great things about the Liberty.

 

Since the ports are basically the same except HMC vs Nassau, then it would be HMC hands down.

Cruzen-Thank you! That does sound fun! I did say that if I never go back to Orlando until I have children and they beg to go to Disney it would be too soon (been there more times than I would like to count)...so maybe I should just consider the HMC/Miami option.

Enjoy your upcoming cruise, will you be writing a review?

The "Glory", the Liberty is sailing during prime hurricane season.

Thank you Caribsun---Someone on my FB mentioned that. Have you ever cruised during hurricane season?

I always cruise during hurricane season and have never had a problem. Miami is my favorite port to sail from...just soo much to see and do! Liberty is my all time favorite ship. And as you know, it has the 2.0 upgrades. By looking at the itinerary, I would go with Liberty.

Glory.

Liberty might be a slightly better ship, but Half Moon Cay is a MUCH better port than Nassau.

So that's....

Liberty-2

Glory-4

I really do appreciate all of the feedback folks, thank you!!!

I always cruise during hurricane season and have never had a problem. Miami is my favorite port to sail from...just soo much to see and do! Liberty is my all time favorite ship. And as you know, it has the 2.0 upgrades. By looking at the itinerary, I would go with Liberty.

Who wouldn't love to go to Miami again, right!? I'm afraid if I did leave out of Orlando I'd fly in the day of (gasps, something most do not recommend and I said I didn't want to do) only because I don't see much to do...

I need to go look at more pics & reviews of Liberty, lol. Thank you!

We've been on the Liberty twice out of Miami. The second cruise was the same itinerary as the Glory.. HMC is amazing, well worth the ride to Miami.

We are taking the Glory in March on Western Carib. So I'll be interested to see the differences.

Either way, you have a nice cruise in front of you.

Personally, I would choose the Glory. I like sailing out of Miami better than Port Canaveral. I agree with another poster that mentioned airfare - you will get better airfare and hotel prices into Ft. Lauderdale and shuttle service is relatively inexpensive. Another plus for the Glory is hurricane season. The end of August is when it gets more active - unless you don't care if your itinerary changes due to weather. Plus November in Miami and the Caribbean is not as HOT as August.

As far as the ships - I had an awesome cruise on the Glory and 2 ok cruises on the Liberty. The Liberty's decor is much better looking. The cruises on the Liberty not being up to par had didn't have anything to do with the ship or staff - both were wonderful. One cruise was the last week of September, the cheapest I have ever seen prices and quality of the guests represented that inexpensive price. Plus, there were 3 hurricanes in the western Caribbean and our itinerary was all changed up (which wasn't that big of a deal). Because of the hurricanes we had a lot of rain and the heat and humidity was really bad. The 2nd Liberty cruise - I was sick, in bed, for most of the week. So, as you can see, these issues had nothing to do with the ships.

There is my 2 cents, for what it's worth. I choose the Glory for the date and Port of Miami.

LiteFamCruiser-Thank you! I think I'm leaning more and more toward Miami, HMC and November...

TracersQQ-Thank you for your input, CC never fails to do that!! I was thinking with it being the end of August in the first option that it wouldn't be THAT bad, but I don't mind the ports being changed...haven't thought about excursions yet. I would, however LOVE to see the San Juan & St. Thomas as those are new so I may be disappointed if we were forced to miss those stops. Thanks again!

Since they are Sister Ships they are not that much different. Doing the Liberty for the 2nd time in 2 weeks and doing the Glory in a year. We are excited about both. Each ship and vacation is what you make of it. Have fun with which ever one you pick.

Have you considered a different itinerary :)

Both ships are awesome(been on multiple times) but both itineraries are not my favorite

Take a peek at Exotic Western Itinerary. Roatan Honduras, Belize, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.We have done this itinerary I think 6 times and is always awesome :)

And always during hurricane season ;)

Have you considered a different itinerary :)

 

Both ships are awesome(been on multiple times) but both itineraries are not my favorite

 

Take a peek at Exotic Western Itinerary. Roatan Honduras, Belize, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.We have done this itinerary I think 6 times and is always awesome :)

 

And always during hurricane season ;)

Thank you :) Some of those ports are on my "Destination Wish-List" so I'm sure I will do those soon...I'm always looking for another excuse/reason to cruise ;). I started talking about both of these on FB and a friend said, "here she goes cruise planning again, lol".

I was looking at the Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica (I think it was those 3) as well in this mix but it got pushed to 3rd or 4th on the list...