Review: Carnival Glory to Canada - 7/17/10 - 5 days

[Dave0311]

Carnival Glory - 5 Day Canadian cruise out of New York City to St. John and Halifax

 

There seems to be a lot of people asking about this cruise lately so I thought I'd write a review. This is my first time writing a review, so I apologize if it's not as good as some of the others. :p I'll try to be informative wherever possible. But since I'm relying on my memory alone that might be difficult! :rolleyes:

 

Anyway, some background first. This was my 11th Carnival cruise, 13th overall. We sailed on the Glory back in 2006, and to be honest, it was like a completely different ship this time around. A lot of new amenities have been added since then, including the burrito bar, mini golf, and the ever-popular Mongolian wok. More on those later. :)

 

Our group consisted of me (21), my parents, my grandmother, and my uncle. All of us are platinum cruisers on Carnival. We're from South Jersey, so we drove up to the port in NYC. It was $30/day to park at the pier.

 

This was my 3rd time on this cruise (5 day Canadian cruise out of NYC). However, the last time I was on it was back in 2002. Since then we've done nothing but Caribbean cruises. It was a refreshing change from the same usual Caribbean ports. The weather at the ports reminded us of the Caribbean though. It was unusually hot in St. John and Halifax, with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s. One local even said they expected it to get into the 90s! So much for the hooded sweatshirts and long pants we brought along. :p

 

Up next I'll start with Day 1...

 

Feel free to ask questions along the way. I'll do my best to answer them.

[Dave0311]

Saturday morning we woke up around 7:00, ready to start our first cruise day! I met my grandmother and my uncle at the diner for breakfast at 8:00 while my parents finished getting ready. When I got home we loaded up the rental van. (With 5 people and luggage, there was no way we’d all fit in a car.) Our cousin at Enterprise got a good deal on the van, which came fully loaded with Sirius radio and plenty of other features.

 

 

Once our bags were loaded we drove over to my grandmother’s house and loaded them up. By 9:30 we were on our way up to New York City. Taking the NJ turnpike up, we made it to the cruise terminal by 11:30. Bruce and the E Street radio (courtesy of Sirius) made the trek up go much quicker – at least for me!

 

 

I always get excited with the first glimpse of our new home. Can you spot the whale tail:

 

 

 

While we were waiting to make the u-turn at 55th Street I snapped the first photo of the Carnival Glory.

 

 

 

 

We drove up to the pier to drop off my grandmother, uncle, and the luggage. Unfortunately, to do that we drove past the ramp to the parking. So we had to go back out to the main road and make another u-turn. This time we headed for the parking instead of the drop off area. Parking was $30/day. :eek:

 

 

 

 

After parking the car we headed into the terminal to meet up with my grandmother and uncle again. They had checked the luggage with a porter for us, so all we had to do was check in!

[Dave0311]

Since we are platinum we get VIP check-in. The last time we cruised out of NYC as VIPs, the only real perk was being escorted past the check-in line. After that we sat in a roped-off section of the terminal. It really wasn’t anything special.

 

This time around it was a completely different experience. After going through security there was a separate line for VIP check-in, away from the general check-in area. We made our way to a private room to check in. When we arrived at the room, a lady took our names. She welcomed us and told us they were expecting us. She escorted us to the private check-in desk where our SS cards were waiting for us. When we arrived there was no line in the VIP area so we got helped immediately. (The line for general check-in looked very long though!) Had there been a line, there were seats available to wait in. Lemonade and iced tea were available as well. I was very pleased with this VIP treatment; much better than our last experience at NYC. They really made us feel welcome and special. :) The whole check-in process – after security – took less than 10 minutes! Not bad, considering the huge line at general check-in.

 

I forgot to take pictures during the check-in process, but I remembered to snap one before we left the VIP room for the ship. It looked clear on the camera, not sure why it came out blurry.

 

 

We walked out onto the pier and got our welcome aboard picture taken. After that we headed to the gangway and made our way onto our new home for the next 5 days! I always get a great feeling walking up the ramp to the ship. This is it! What we’ve been looking forward to for months is finally here!

 

Naturally, our first stop was the buffet. I wanted to try the Mongolian wok first, as this was something I had never had before on a cruise ship. As we walk around the buffet area I notice a lot of food, but no wok. Where is it? I go to the aft pool area. Nope. Circle around the buffet area again. No. Check the main pool area. No. (Well, yes it is there, but I didn’t see it.)

 

On my way back to our table I spot the burrito bar. No way! I had no idea this was going to be there. Thanks to CC I knew about the Mongolian wok, but the burrito bar was a total surprise. I make a mental note to check this out later.

 

Bummed out from not finding the wok, I head to the fish & chips to try some dishes I didn’t want to try the last time I was on the Glory in 2006. I got the cold seafood salad dish that has shrimp and some other stuff in it (I forget) and the calamari cake fritter. The calamari cake was awesome. It’s like a crab cake, but with calamari instead of crab. The shrimp salad dish whose name has slipped my mind wasn’t as good. It had some spice/herb in it that gave it a bad taste. Oh well. The calamari cake made up for it. :)

 

 

I know, I should’ve taken some pictures of what I ate. Looking back, I regret not taking more food pictures. There are only a handful of them. :( Next time I’ll take more. Anyway, back to the review.

[Dave0311]

After I finished my seafood, it was back to the burrito bar for me. The burrito bar was my favorite new addition to the ship. Since we were last on the Glory in 2006, she has received some new upgrades, including the burrito bar, Mongolian wok, Seaside theater, and mini golf. It was like we were on a totally different ship. But as I said, I enjoyed the burrito bar the most.

How it works for those who haven’t experienced yet, you choose what fixings you want put in the burrito. There’s refried beans, black beans, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheese. There might be more that I’m forgetting. You can also choose a meat. I got shrimp on all my burritos during the week, but I believe the other choices include chicken, beef, and pork? Correct me if I’m wrong. Three sauces with varying degrees of spiciness are available as well. I got the spiciest: tomatillo red chili sauce. There is also a green tomatillo sauce (medium) and a regular salsa (least spicy). These sauces are also available for you to take as a dip. They give you some nacho chips on the side which are very good. I got extra sauce for the chips.

The burritos are very tasty and filling. Had I not wanted to try a lot of different foods this cruise I would’ve eaten burritos every day for lunch and been happy. I loved them that much!

After lunch we all parted ways. I went off to drop my backpack off in the room and explore the ship. Since our last trip on the Glory in 2006, we have sailed on only Spirit-class ships every year. Put me on the Legend and I’ll know my way around immediately. But getting oriented on a Conquest-class ship took a little getting used to. After the first day however I felt right at home.

And by the time the cruise was over, I had just about mastered the up-down-and-around dance you have to do on certain decks with the dining rooms. We figured out rather quickly that to get to the Platinum dining room in the back of the ship for dinner, it was easier to stay on our floor (deck 7) and walk to the back of the ship from there, then take the stairs down. Rather than going down to deck 3 midship using the stairs next to our room and then going to the back of the ship – which would require us to do the dance. (As an aside, I feel they really need to design the next class of ships off the Spirit-class. Navigating those ships is so much easier!)

[Dave0311]

We had a balcony right in the middle of the ship on deck 7. My grandmother and uncle were down on deck 2. Here’s some pictures of our room:

 

 

Looking back toward the door:

 

 

Speaking of the staterooms, we were right next to the suites. A lot of their doors were closed already, but I found one with the door open so I snuck in to get some quick pictures. It was one of the grand suites.

 

 

Closet/vanity area:

 

 

Looking out from the closet/vanity area:

 

 

View from the bed to the sitting area:

 

[Dave0311]

Sitting area toward the bed:

 

 

I met up with my parents and we went to the Internet café to get some help with our laptop. It was connecting to the wifi but wouldn’t connect to the Internet. The Internet café – called Cyberspace on the Glory – is located inside the Ivory Club, which is what used to be a cigar bar.

 

The Ivory Club, in my opinion, is located in the twilight zone. There’s some dead space past one entrance, and a dead end to the dining room on the other end. The windows look out to life boats. No wonder no one was ever down there except for trivia! No joke. I went down there a couple times to get the Internet café while a band was playing and there was no one there. The bar staff were standing around bored and the band was playing for the air in the room. They really need to do something to get people down there. I’d bet most people didn’t even know it existed. If it weren’t for the Internet café, I wouldn’t know it was there either! The best way to get there is to go down the stairs on the Promenade deck, right next to the sushi bar. There’s a small sign on the stairs that points to the Internet café, but it’s easy to miss. At the bottom of the stairs is the entrance to the Ivory Club. Walk around the bar and the café is on the other side. If you walk in from the other entrance(by the dining room), the Internet café is easier to spot.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a picture of the stairs leading up to the Promenade:

 

[Dave0311]

That's all for now. More tomorrow. I hope you're enjoying it so far. :)

 

If you have any questions please ask!

 

Up next: Exploring the outside decks, and the secret door on deck 7!

[cruises42]

Looking forward to hearing more. We'll be on the Carnival Glory in Sept. Have never been to NYC, was it hard driving there and finding the port?

[nybumpkin]

Dave, love your review! We're sailing the 4-day over Labor Day weekend, although we were on Glory last year before her drydock. The burrito bar sounds great - I have a son that probably will just order a tortilla with beef filling and be happy. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[Dave0311]

Looking forward to hearing more. We'll be on the Carnival Glory in Sept. Have never been to NYC, was it hard driving there and finding the port?

Since we've done it a couple times before it wasn't too bad. My dad handles the NYC traffic pretty well, so that definitely helps. Two years ago when we sailed on the Miracle out of NYC, we missed the u-turn at 55th Street. It was quite an adventure trying to get back to the cruise terminal since we had no idea where we were going. Needless to say, we were on the lookout for the u-turn this time so we didn't miss it. ;)

 

Dave, love your review! We're sailing the 4-day over Labor Day weekend, although we were on Glory last year before her drydock. The burrito bar sounds great - I have a son that probably will just order a tortilla with beef filling and be happy. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

Thanks. :) The burrito bar is great! Your son will probably love it. :D

[DentL]

great review! We leave on the 9th, I am so excited. It is my 2nd carnival cruise although I have been on other lines. Looking forward to reading the rest!

[taliacamp]

I think you did Fantastic for your first review!!! I'm cruising on the Glory in November and I have to say these are the best pics I've seen so far. Can't wait to hear (and see!) more!!:)

[corinnv]

Great review!! I'm getting so excited...we leave in a few short weeks. I need to tell DH about the burrito bar!:D

[PAERRN20]

Looking forward to the rest of the review!

[lackistar]

I am enjoying your review! I will be going on Glory in September for 5 nights.

I love reading trip reports to build up my excitement.

Thanks for taking time to do this, and I am looking forward to read the rest of your trip!

[cuppy]

Thanks for the review. I set sail on the Glory on the 31st and can't wait.

[Solo1959]

Thank you so much for this review. You're truly bringing the cruise to life, and I'm living it in anticipation of my Sept. cruise. Thank you again.

[luv2gonow]

Keep it coming:D

I agree....just off the Miracle....and that is one easy navigating ship:D

 

Went on the Canada cruise 2x....The 1st time was major fog.....fog horn blowing for 2 days.....Do I care....NO....had a great time.

 

2nd time last summer we followed a hurricane....almost didn't go was that terrified. Weather was perfect....smooth sailing. Usual 1st and last night rockiness.

I love cruising anywhere;)

[Dave0311]

Thanks for the positive comments everyone! :D There will be more to come later today.

 

Keep it coming:D

I agree....just off the Miracle....and that is one easy navigating ship:D

 

Went on the Canada cruise 2x....The 1st time was major fog.....fog horn blowing for 2 days.....Do I care....NO....had a great time.

 

2nd time last summer we followed a hurricane....almost didn't go was that terrified. Weather was perfect....smooth sailing. Usual 1st and last night rockiness.

I love cruising anywhere;)

This was definitely one of the foggy cruises. Every night and both sea days were fog-filled. It didn't stop anyone on the ship from having a good time though from what I saw. :) For those who like hearing the fog horn, they must've felt like they were in heaven! :p

 

Lots of fog pictures on the way!

[luv2cruz66]

Did this cruise on July 3rd! Love your pics!

[3sistersact]

What a great review! We're going in August and can't wait for that, plus the rest of your review. Thanks!

[disneylynn]

Love your review, I leave in 7 days I am packing this weekend.

I hear the weather can be crazy. How did you dress during the day?

Did it ever get very cold. Anything I must pack?

 

 

Thanks

Lynn

[01Sweetpea]

Great review...keep it coming!

 

I booked this cruise 2 DAYS ago and we leave in 3 WEEKS :eek:, so I'm trying to gather as much info as I possibly can. Can you also report what you did in the ports?

[Dave0311]

Love your review, I leave in 7 days I am packing this weekend.

I hear the weather can be crazy. How did you dress during the day?

Did it ever get very cold. Anything I must pack?

 

 

Thanks

Lynn

For us, the weather in port was perfect. Sunny and in the 80s. During the last day at sea, it was chilly in the morning. Other than that, I never used the hooded sweatshirts I packed. It was short sleeves and shorts every day. We got lucky because the cruise right before us was rained out at both ports from what we were told. Like any other cruise, I guess it's hit-or-miss with the weather. But with Canada you have to add in the possibility of cold/chilly weather.

 

Just keep in mind that the trip and up back from Canada (sea days) can get a little rocky, even if the weather is good. This has been our experience with this cruise all 3 times we've done it.

 

There was a lot of fog on this cruise while at sea, but that didn't stop people from using the pools or outside decks. You'll see in later pictures that the outside decks looked fine in the fog, almost as if there wasn't any fog by the pool area. But if you looked out to the sea you would see nothing but white.

 

Great review...keep it coming!

 

I booked this cruise 2 DAYS ago and we leave in 3 WEEKS :eek:, so I'm trying to gather as much info as I possibly can. Can you also report what you did in the ports?

Oh yeah, I'll get to the ports. :) Just so you know ahead of time, we didn't do any excursions. We walked around and did our own thing. In St. John we shopped in the market area and in Halifax we walked along their boardwalk to the casino and back. I'll talk about it in more detail later on. :)

[Dave0311]

I have a few more posts written up, so let's get back to the review. When I left off last, we had just gone to the Internet cafe. Now it's time for some exploring.

 

----------------------

 

We went back to our room to try to get on the Internet again with our laptop. We could still connect to the wifi, but not to the Internet. I decided I’d try again later on since the Internet manager said they were still loading everyone’s profiles into the system. He said by sailaway it should be working. Alright, sailaway it is.

 

There is still some time to kill before the safety briefing. I head up on deck to get some ship pictures. My first stop is the top deck at the front of the ship, where the slide entrance is. Nice view of the funnel from this deck.

 

(Disclaimer: expect a lot of whale tail photos in this review. It’s my obsession!)

 

 

I head down one deck to the bottom level of the Serenity area. This is the adults-only area located in the front of the ship. It’s actually on two decks: 12 and 14. I never saw a whole lot of people on the top deck of the Serenity area. Both levels have padded lounge chairs, clamshell benches, hammocks, and hot tubs. There is also a bar for drinks and a towel bar. The towels are different than the blue ones you get in the main deck area. I never got one, so I don’t know if they’re made out of a different material, but I do know they’re a different color.

 

 

One thing I noticed was that there were always some kids in the Serenity area on this ship. My guess is this is because the Camp Carnival area is on the left half of deck 12 and Serenity is on the right half. And on deck 14 you have the slide entrance. Whoever decided to put the kids-free area next to the Camp Carnival area certainly didn’t think things through. (I personally didn’t mind, but I’m sure there are others who went there to get away from kids.) This might not be a problem on all cruises, but there were a good number of kids on our cruise. For those who are looking to take this cruise because you expect less kids, don’t get your hopes up. There were just as many kids on this cruise as on my previous Caribbean cruises. For those travelling with families, this is good news for you. :)