From cancelled flite to great cruise....Glory 2/23-3/1

Let me first start by saying thank you to all of you who posted to my other thread about my cancelled jet blue flite on 2/22..as you know by now I was in a panic....here i was thinking (as we allways do) fly out the day before...well now its going to be 2 days before...

a little background here: this is our 12 carnival cruise..me (47) DH (52), DS (28)+DIL (26), DS (26)+DIL (27), youngest DS (25) and college buddy(25) now known as CB.....

My oldest DS + DIL had a 5:30 a.m. flite to Orlando with a stop in NY...they got out of boston in time and had a delay in NY but they made 1 of the last flites out...NY had over 1200 cancels....so they are well on there way....now to the rest of us.....BTW CB flew from NJ on wed.so didnt have to worry about him...now on to the 5 of us at home.....

Fri. 2/22...my cell phone starting ringing around 1:00 a.m...to be honest with you I did not come down stairs to answer it...knowing if it was a true emergency, that the call would have been to my home phone...so around 6:00 a.m. i get the 5 messages from Jet Blue that my 11:30 a.m. flite was cancelled do to bad weather...hmmm...looking out through my sleepy eyes all i saw was clear skys...hmm again....called jet blue on hold for 45 min...now the panic is starting to set in....finally get a human to talk to...try to get out on the 9:00 ish flite ...no can do........then i get disconnected....(Honest at that point I was not rude)...

call back and book a 4:00 flite..ok will still get there...in the mean time my 2nd DS + DIL paniced when DH tole them flite was cancelled and that we were trying to make the (9:00) flite they thought that meant head to the airport...we were still at home on phone....so 2 on flite to orlando, 2 at airport with no flite...3 at home.....

DS at airport decides to stay there and try to get an earlier flite...ok we are still at home....well guess what Jet Blue calls and cancels by 4:00 flite...by now its really panic time for me...DH + DS are pretty calm (hate them).....they now put us on an 8:30 p.m. flite......DS at airport gets a 4:00 flite to Tampa....DH says no...we will stick with the 8:30 by now the tears have started........DS + DH rent a movie (Mr. Woodcock) and preceed to watch and laugh hysterically while I sat in the corner hysterical......

well guess what Jetblue calls and cancels 8:30 flite.....so we now (which i wanted to do all along) head to the airport and manage to get 3 seats on 2nd DS flite to tampa...we figure at leat we are in florida. we will change our car rental and drive to orlando..

so we have lunch at Legal Seafoods at airport...I am a little calmer now..thanks to the Cranberyy Bog Martini...hmmm good....

plane is here waiting for us...yeah.... we board and then hold on...have to stop to de-ice.....couldnt they have done that before we boarded....a little scary but whos care my new theme is postive thinking and we are going on a CRUISE...

1st DS calls he is in Orlando...horray...3 down 5 to go....he says dont worry i will rent a van and come get you in tampa...well at that point we said sure, not thinking about 7 people and LUGGAGE in 1 van....(note to self) 2 cars next time.....

Well guess what we are off only 45 min late but still in the air...DH and i could not sit togther (but to be honest) better that way...we were all ready to kill by this time, me from being crazed and them for being so calm....

we finally after 3 cancelled flites, yelling , tears, and cheers land in tampa...Glory here we come......more in a little bit....

Keep it coming Sheri! Even those of us who did not post were anxiously awaiting news of your trip...and knew you would have quite a story to tell! So glad it worked out!

I was following your story before and was so glad that you finally got on your cruise. Hope you had a great time. Will be waiting for your next post.

Don't leave us hanging here...:eek:

Gecko7:)

What a story! This has all made me very nervous. We are flying down the day before for our cruise in 3 weeks, but now I wish it was 2 days before!!!

Hi Sheri

So glad to hear you made it to your cruise :) Now waiting to hear all about your cruise

Oh, how crazy! You have a wonderful humor about it, thanks for the entertaining story of your trip down. Can't wait to hear about the cruise.

You definately have me thinking about flying more than the day before next FEB when we cruise (parents are flying from PIT)!

Glad to hear you ended up ON the ship :)

I am trying to ge my reiview in as quick as i can but its going to have to be in dribs and draps.....to my saga today....we went from sunny and hot caribbean to hot florida to cold boston...22 today...and guess what...50 in house....apparently they came to deliver propane while we were gone...could not get in driveway with all the cars (we were on the glorious glory) so they did not deliver or leave a note..so we could call...hmm..so now i sit here with no heat trying to type with frozen fingers...(well not really frozen) but cold none the less.....now back to review....

as i said DS #1 with DIL pick us up at tampa, we pile luggage in...(it actually fit) and drive the hour to orlando...we went to Girodano's for pizza and drinks...( i see a pattern here)........then to Shearton Safari hotel for the nite by now its allmost midnite , and we are all totally exhausted....off to sleep...or at least try to ...i get to exicted thinking about trip that it is hard for me to fall asleep...jeez you would have thought the martinis would have helped.....hmmm....

well we now alll get up fairly early 7:30-8:00 well at least some of us DS #1 is like me and wants to get an early start...besides we have to shop for water shoes for cave tubing in Beleize.....

well remember I said how we actually fit all the luggage at Tampa airport well guess what..forgot about DS#1 + DIL whose luggage was allready at hotel....again note to self 2 car rentals and leave 2 days before....

so here we are trying to get 7 people and not sure how much luggage at least 14 peices plus carry-ons so you can imagine...more tears and jeers....hmm.....the fun has begun...but as the theme goes "we are on a cruise"....or at least attempting too....

<a href="http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2017723990103166372gnAieR"><img src="http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/43052/2017723990103166372S600x600Q85.jpg" alt="002"></a>

sorry first time trying to post pics...new to this..so here we are DS#1 trying to explain to DH that 7 people and 14+ peices of luggage can fit into the $300.00 car rental ( 1 day) boy did they get us...

Sheri18 don't leave us hanging. We want more, more, more. I am so happy you and your family made it. I was praying hard for you!

Tap....Tap....Tap....., fingers getting sore!!

OMG Sheri....I can so relate! We did the Glory last year.....see picture below of our packing job! We are going again in 11 days, driving from VA. We have 11 going from VA, three more meeting us there. To conserve fuel and parking this year we decided to take only two vehicles instead of three....and so the fun begins. Our trusty suburban (shown below) and our DS's Xterra with a luggage rack (which will be full with their 2 year olds gear :) )are the vehicles we decided on. So.....because nothing is simple when you have this many people involved, now we have to drive an hour and a half west to go to our sons soccer game (his friend is also playing and his family traveling with us) and depart AFTER the game and drive all night to FL. (we have already started our rain dance hoping for a cancellation! ;) )Our DS, DIL and GS will have to drive 2 1/2 hours NNW to meet us at the soccer game because we have to put one person and some luggage in their vehicle. (note to self: remember...this is saving about $300 in gas and another $105 in parking!) We are leaving a day ahead to allow us Friday to recover on Cocoa Beach. Now we are stressing! I will be thinking of your drama as things unfold and remind myself that it could be worse....after all, we are going on a cruise!

Enjoyed following the thread while you were gone and really appreciate the update. Can't wait to hear more!

o.k. we finally squished and I do mean squish all of us and luggage into truck...and off we go...oh ya wait...need water shoes...off to store....we all pile out of the clown car...into store some of us get water shoes..hmm wonder who's size they didnt have...MINE...no size 6....oh well "we are on a cruise" remember theme.....

we now pile in again....and FINALLY off we go.........we drive the approx. 1 hour to the port and then up over the hill we see our home for the next week...more tears and cheers...mostly mine and DS#1..we love this....so here is what we see:

never so happy.....DH and DS#1 drop us all of with luggage...CB meets us there...we are ready to go...oh yeah have to wait for DH and DS to return car and get back (DS has credit card)...they get to car rental return and forget that they needed to fill up tank or the charge was $7.00+ so off they go to fill up at $3.45...we are all patiencetly waiting...(well not me) the rest were calm..i must have called there cell phone 3-4 times....o.k. now they are back...into building we go and into the VIP room....lol just me and DH kids are in reg. line...not platnium yet..ha ha....but a really nice lady takes them out of line lets them check in so they are just about ready when we are then personally escorts us onto the ship...sweet.....

now we have been platnium before but I must say Port Canaveral has the best and easiest set up platnium or not.....this was the easiest embarkation..at port 11:30....DOD by 12:00....hence the theme "on a cruise" besides its 5:00 somewhere....

Sheri -- this was our first cruise, and i was honestly surprised at how easy/flawless the embarkation was. We walked thru that first set of doors, at 11:27am ... and i think there were about 3 folks in front of us [no one in the VIP line] and we were on deck, having lunch within 30 min.

Quick question about the Bahamas form....do you have to fill it out when you are in line now? We did not get one in our docs and there is not one to print out for edocs. Is it one per person, or one per family? Last year we had them ahead of time; just occurred to me it could hold us up with everyone in line filling them out!

OMG Sheri....I can so relate! We did the Glory last year.....see picture below of our packing job! We are going again in 11 days, driving from VA. We have 11 going from VA, three more meeting us there. To conserve fuel and parking this year we decided to take only two vehicles instead of three....and so the fun begins. Our trusty suburban (shown below) and our DS's Xterra with a luggage rack (which will be full with their 2 year olds gear :) )are the vehicles we decided on. So.....because nothing is simple when you have this many people involved, now we have to drive an hour and a half west to go to our sons soccer game (his friend is also playing and his family traveling with us) and depart AFTER the game and drive all night to FL. (we have already started our rain dance hoping for a cancellation! ;) )Our DS, DIL and GS will have to drive 2 1/2 hours NNW to meet us at the soccer game because we have to put one person and some luggage in their vehicle. (note to self: remember...this is saving about $300 in gas and another $105 in parking!) We are leaving a day ahead to allow us Friday to recover on Cocoa Beach. Now we are stressing! I will be thinking of your drama as things unfold and remind myself that it could be worse....after all, we are going on a cruise!

Enjoyed following the thread while you were gone and really appreciate the update. Can't wait to hear more!

 

 

 

yup, thats prety much what we looked like...good luck to you with your drive, that story will be way more enternaing than mine....cant imagine with my bunch doing that..1 hour from tampa then 1 hour to port and we were ready to kill.....

Not to speak for Sheri (OK, yes I will), but I have never received a Bahama form with my docs. I now do edocs. In fact, we didnt' have to do a form on our Miracle cruise that was FLL, Nassau, St Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk. Wonder why not.

They take about 45 seconds to fill out. Just be sure you have a pen (but I'm sure that's on your packing list anyway, right? ;) ).

Saturday--as i said getting on ship was so easy....muster drill same-o-same o, just wondering why it seams that most repeat cruisers sqwak the most about the drill...we all dont like it..but it is necessary...and for pete's sake when they day do not bring drinks to the drill DONT...it holds the rest of us up, we all dont want to be there so just do what your told....

BTW that public service announcement was mostly for my bunch, they were the ones at there station getting yelled at.....thank god we werent with them...

so off we go had a quick lunch...more DOD...(which my DOD everday was strawberry diquari with absolute) ...

when to check out rooms..

.hmmm..another note to self...DO NOT let children get better room, especoally when your the one paying.....

.my 3 DS had aft balconies on the verandah deck...we wore miuch futther down in our balcony...DH and apprantley DS did not want mom right next to them.....hmm.....there rooms were awesom...next time aft balcony for me--to heck with them...wnet to our room, hmm..not so nice now...but "were on a cruise"...luggage got there right after drill, put stuff away than up to the sail-away---oh ya and another DOD.....sail away was uneventful....no horn blowing and i guess i am used to miami with lots of people on the land waving and cheering......but still thats ok. away we go.....

When we cruised in Jan., they told us that they no longer have to have the Bahama form filled out by passengers. The people working at the port were really excited about not

having the extra paper work to mess with.

Satuday nite: first dinner, we all decided (well I decided) Mom's rule, that we would all meet at the lobby bar before dinner for drinks, (make them walk)......then off to dinner we would all go....

we had the 8:00 in the platnium dining room, so we take the stroll over and down....we get to the front door show them our table# which is 333 and they walk us in....and in...and in...didnt know the ship went that far back...

we were the very last table in the dining room, 8 of us squished (again) --against a pole and a serving station...

while I am not a snob-----one would think that maybe this being our 12th cruise maybe,...not the captains table..but at least something in the middle so you could at least see what was going on...

hmmm..but once we got to the table and met our waitstaff we decided not to complain...they we the BEST....as i said 12 cruises and they were incrediable...we loved them...

sorry to the other roll call members we were too tired after dinner to make it to the piano bar.....more in a little bit..

Thanks for keeping us up. I was waiting with bated breath. Your review is awesome so far. Glad everything turned out so well for you.

SUNDAY: First sea day and formal nite.

went to bed early, got up early...went to get coffee and put towels out...now before you all yell at me...towels out..coffee on balcony, then up to deck chair...didnt hog it all day.....the best tip I got was to get clips for towels...very windy some days..they stayed on nicely....

this was the view from our chairs....cant beat that......the day was beautiful the seas were so calm...like glass....couldnt tell we were moving, oh ya we arent....off the coast comes a boat to pick up sick passenger....wow and i thought our trip started badly......no more complaining from me.....

CB---DS#3, ---DS#2 and DIKL #2 in backround......this is the life.....

sat out all day..way, way to much sun....oh yes and DOD....off to nap in afternoon, need to get up and gussy up for formal nite.....

hmmm.....guess really to many DOD....didnt get up until 6:30...panic time again....call everyone...GET UP....captains nite....or too them "free drinks"...well we didnt make it....little more time to dress up than we thought...oh well..there is allway past guest nite....

went to dinner than DH wanted to go to the casino...another theme on our curise....well off we go....slots for him...DS + company to piano bar than midnite show....

well would ya know DH did allright hit a slot for $1200.00 not bad.....looks like another martini for me....DOD for nite time......

off to bed first port tomorow...Cozumel...

SUNDAY: First sea day and formal nite.

 

went to bed early, got up early...went to get coffee and put towels out...now before you all yell at me...towels out..coffee on balcony, then up to deck chair...didnt hog it all day.....the best tip I got was to get clips for towels...very windy some days..they stayed on nicely....

 

 

 

this was the view from our chairs....cant beat that......the day was beautiful the seas were so calm...like glass....couldnt tell we were moving, oh ya we arent....off the coast comes a boat to pick up sick passenger....wow and i thought our trip started badly......no more complaining from me.....

 

 

CB---DS#3, ---DS#2 and DIKL #2 in backround......this is the life.....

 

 

sat out all day..way, way to much sun....oh yes and DOD....off to nap in afternoon, need to get up and gussy up for formal nite.....

 

hmmm.....guess really to many DOD....didnt get up until 6:30...panic time again....call everyone...GET UP....captains nite....or too them "free drinks"...well we didnt make it....little more time to dress up than we thought...oh well..there is allway past guest nite....

 

went to dinner than DH wanted to go to the casino...another theme on our curise....well off we go....slots for him...DS + company to piano bar than midnite show....

 

well would ya know DH did allright hit a slot for $1200.00 not bad.....looks like another martini for me....DOD for nite time......

 

 

off to bed first port tomorow...Cozumel...

Nice win for DH. That must have definately made up for some of your troubles, and helped to pay for that overpriced rental. :D

Nice looking group you are travelling with.

MONDAY---- got up early...DS's were sleeping in...they stayed out very late or early..depends on how you look at it..

DH didnot feel very well, so I went to get coffee and muffins..sat on deck and with coffee over looking the beautiful view...of....another ship...which was blocking our view...oh well "were on a cruise"...

we took our time getting off ship walk through first set of shops and browsed around, then took cab to town....walk around some more...looking for water shoes...doesnt anyone have size 6.......stopped into Carlos and Charlies...what else...had a drink or 2....then back to ship early, like i said DH did not feel to well......lounged around ..boy was the ship quite...waited for kids go get back from Carlos and Charlies...sat out on deck last 1/2 with binoculars making sure they made it back....saw them getting on..whistled down and they laughed because they know I would be waiting and watching...BTW DH sound asleep...guess mothers worry more....

met later in lobby then off to dinner.....food ok....service excellent......agian another early nite...beleize and cave tubing in morning....

sorry forgot to add this...as you can see i am uploading photos and trying to write at same time...thats why its bits and pieces....

this was so nice to see when getting back on board...I am sure we all felt the same way....