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

[taliacamp]

This is like reading a good book...can't wait to see what happens next! Bravo!:D

[Solo1959]

Yours is so far one of the very best reviews I've read yet ever!!!! Amazing job of reliving the cruise for all of us. I hope you know that we are all following along every moment.

 

Thank you.

 

Question - probably been asked and answered 1 million times before, but I don't know the answer. I know the hot tubs are heated... but do you know if the regular pools were heated? The water could get quite chilly. And I'm not sailing till September. Would love to have a warm pool to swim in.

[CyndiAKADisneyqueen]

I'm really enjoying your review. I leave Monday on the same cruise!

[mass02703]

A great review, probably the best I have read! We are sailing the Glory in November and I have learned so much from you. Question- Is the whole ship wireless? How much does internet service cost if you bring your own laptop?

[Inklight]

Fabulous review ... and I love your pics. Hubby and I are looking at cruising Canada next, so your review is really taunting me!

 

Loved seeing the suite ... so much room! And I'm enjoying your view of the ship, nice to see a trip through someone else's eyes.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, can't wait to see what comes next!:)

[Dave0311]

I'm really enjoying your review. I leave Monday on the same cruise!

 

Have fun! :)

 

A great review, probably the best I have read! We are sailing the Glory in November and I have learned so much from you. Question- Is the whole ship wireless? How much does internet service cost if you bring your own laptop?

 

Yes, the entire ship is wireless. We were able to connect to the wifi from our stateroom, but for some reason we couldn't get on the Internet. Maybe the Internet itself is only accessible from certain hotspots. We didn't try though, we just ended up using the Internet cafe. :rolleyes:

 

Keep in mind that if you need to rent a wireless card for your laptop, that's an additional $10/day. Otherwise, laptops use the same rates as the wired computers onboard.

 

Fabulous review ... and I love your pics. Hubby and I are looking at cruising Canada next, so your review is really taunting me!

 

Loved seeing the suite ... so much room! And I'm enjoying your view of the ship, nice to see a trip through someone else's eyes.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, can't wait to see what comes next!:)

Thank you! The Canada cruise is a nice little getaway. :)

[Dave0311]

Yours is so far one of the very best reviews I've read yet ever!!!! Amazing job of reliving the cruise for all of us. I hope you know that we are all following along every moment.

 

Thank you.

 

Question - probably been asked and answered 1 million times before, but I don't know the answer. I know the hot tubs are heated... but do you know if the regular pools were heated? The water could get quite chilly. And I'm not sailing till September. Would love to have a warm pool to swim in.

Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it! :D

 

As far as I know, the pools weren't heated. (We didn't go in the pools so I can't answer definitively.) But on our cruise, the temperatures were in the 70s and 80s, so it wasn't even really needed!

 

This is like reading a good book...can't wait to see what happens next! Bravo!:D

Thank you. :)

 

I have a couple more posts coming up shortly. Then I'll return tonight after work with more.

[Dave0311]

Yeah, the pool isn’t as crowded in the afternoon fog.

 

 

The fog doesn’t stop people from playing giant chess though. :p

 

 

At this point, I’d like to give you a short video of the fog. For those of you who have never cruised through fog, it’s a different experience. First of all, you see hardly anything outside of the ship. But the open decks within the ship are surprisingly clear. Second, the fog horn. I’ve heard the horn when we’re leaving port, during safety briefings/muster drills, and during horn wars with other ships. But I’ve never heard it consistently for a long period of time.

 

This cruise provided that opportunity. As long as it was foggy, the ship would sound its horn every 60 seconds for a few seconds. I recorded a video from our balcony to give you an idea of what it was like to hear the fog horn like that. If you’re not interested in hearing the fog horn, don’t watch the video. All you’ll be seeing in the video is the fog and some water.

 

Click the following link to watch the video:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/video/3026315200106525348XLzzad

 

The first horn is sounded around 12 seconds. Then every 60 seconds after that you’ll hear the next two.

 

Back inside, we went to the slot tournament finale. Alas, we weren’t picked to fill the wildcard seat. :( Oh well, maybe next year!

 

The fog cleared in time for us to see another sunset. This one wasn’t as good as the first, but it was still a pretty sight.

 

 

[Dave0311]

Tonight was cruise elegant night. This was the first cruise in quite a few years I didn’t wear a jacket or suit to dinner. Unlike me, my family doesn’t like getting dressed up for dinner. So I went with the majority and just brought along a nice pair of pants and a button down shirt.

 

Tonight was also the “captain’s celebration” night. As I’ve discovered through CC, there are no more free drinks tonight. Rather, there is a $1 off happy hour in the evening. Whoop-dee-doo. To make up for this, I received a letter from the Ocean Players Club in my stateroom this evening, stating I could receive one complimentary drink at any point in the cruise from the casino host. (Since when did I become a member of the Ocean Players Club?) I decided to save this for later use.

 

No pictures for us this year. And the photographers didn’t harass us to get pictures taken. Only one guy asked me if I wanted a picture. The rest just sat by waiting for someone to step up for a picture. I thought that was nice, since we usually decline them all anyway. :p

 

Tonight we met our head waiter, Anil. He said last night he had to cover for someone else, which is why he wasn’t with us. Tonight we also opened our first of two bottles of wine from our TA. Really only my uncle and I drank the wine, so it took us until the last night to finish the bottles. From what I recall, tonight I had prime rib and warm chocolate melting cake, both of which were excellent. Another delicious dinner down.

 

And now it was time to go to the comedy club in the Ebony Cabaret (back of the ship, deck 5). I saw Hal Spear at the 7:30 PG comedy special. It was alright. I’d see again at 9:45 for his R-rated show. Again, it was just alright. He had a couple funny lines, nothing special though. I didn’t realize another comedian, Jim Labriola, was also performing throughout the evening. Had I known I would’ve seen his show too. This was my fault for not reading the Fun Times (see, I did it) enough.

 

In the casino tonight, my grandmother introduced me to three card poker. She wanted someone to play with so she gave me some chips and told me to sit down and play. I had no idea what I was doing, but I sat down, placed some chips down, and started winning. At 9:45 I had to leave to see the comedy show. But I returned afterward with my own money and won some more. Well, a lot more. I sat down with $100, several hours and a couple three-of-a-kinds and a straight flush later, I walked away with $800 in winnings! I vowed to make three card poker my game for the rest of the cruise.

 

After my parents made some donations to the casino and I took them back for myself, we went up to the buffet area to grab a late night snack. Little did we know, there is no longer any portion of the buffet open that late at night. All that was open was pizza and grille. Oh, and a small table with some cookies on it. What? What happened to the food for those who wanted a small snack and not a full meal? Perhaps this has been going on for a couple years now and we just hadn’t noticed, but I didn’t like this change at all. I remember in years gone by the dessert bar would be open late for those who wanted a midnight snack. No more. It was a shame, because there were a lot of people up on deck looking for something to eat.

 

Start thinking positive. I just won $800! Be happy!

 

Up next: St. John

[soozles]

Dave, I was on the Glory back in June, same itinirary. We were also on the 7th floor, and ahd the same problem about connecting to the internet. My boyfriend needs to be on the internet for about an hour a day for work, so we went to the internet manager, who said that we should be able to connect, but for some reason, the 7th floor doesn't work, and hasn't worked for some time. He said every cruise he tries to fix it, tries resetting the equipment, etc., but it never works. It's something that would need to get taken care of at some point with new equipment. I'm not sure how all this technical stuff works, but basically, if you booked the Glory on the 7th floor, don't expect to get internet.

[cherishrwil]

Dave, I was on the Glory back in June, same itinirary. We were also on the 7th floor, and ahd the same problem about connecting to the internet. My boyfriend needs to be on the internet for about an hour a day for work, so we went to the internet manager, who said that we should be able to connect, but for some reason, the 7th floor doesn't work, and hasn't worked for some time. He said every cruise he tries to fix it, tries resetting the equipment, etc., but it never works. It's something that would need to get taken care of at some point with new equipment. I'm not sure how all this technical stuff works, but basically, if you booked the Glory on the 7th floor, don't expect to get internet.

 

 

This is good to know, thanks. We will be on the 6th floor on the Glory in Oct. so hopefully the internet will work for us!

[grammax3]

Dave, this has been a very interesting and informative review. We are on deck 7 in a few weeks, very front of the ship, so the "secret door" should be real close? Are there any chairs on the deck outside the secret door?

 

Keep up the review, it is fantastic.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Keep the review coming, I 'm really enjoying it!!!

[MyfirsttimeonNCLDawn]

In NYC at what pier did you pick up the Glory? Was it 88, 90, 91? I leave on Mon. for that cruise. I have a 15 year old son with me. Is there anything for him to do on the ship? Thanks.:)

[bme]

Hi and thank you for a terrific review! I realize this takes a lot of work!

 

Question about the fog horn since I don't really enjoy loud noises and would certainly flinch and cover my ears every time I hear it. Does it make it uncomfortable to be out on deck? Where does the horn sound actually come from (I assume the funnel)? Not sure if there is any part of the open decks that would be manageable for me if that was going off every minute. But thankfully it does its job for safety!

[tbogie]

We were on the same cruise and we had cabin 7400. You could faintly hear the horn all night and could hear it when the balcony door was closed. On the first sea day, we toured the whole ship and the horn was the loudest in the serenity area-go figure. So, I think the horn is located in the front of the ship. It was rather bizarre to step out on the balcony and not be able to see the ocean down below. I do wish I knew about the secret door on deck 7, we would have definitely checked it out.

 

We enjoyed our 5 nights on the Glory. This is the first cruise we have not eaten at the buffet at all. I know-call us crazy. We went to the dining room for breakfast and we had anytime dining for dinner. We did eat pizza and fish and chips.

[Dave0311]

Time to answer some questions. More posts in a little while.

 

Dave, this has been a very interesting and informative review. We are on deck 7 in a few weeks, very front of the ship, so the "secret door" should be real close? Are there any chairs on the deck outside the secret door?

 

Keep up the review, it is fantastic.

If you're in the front of the ship, yes the secret doors will be very close. Just walk to the very front of the hallway. On one side of you will be another hallways that just loops around to the other side of the ship, and on the other side is the secret door. That sign I posted will be right next to the door. Just disregard it; you're allowed to go out there. As I said in the review, one of the officers in the bridge even waved to me while I was out there. :)

 

In NYC at what pier did you pick up the Glory? Was it 88, 90, 91? I leave on Mon. for that cruise. I have a 15 year old son with me. Is there anything for him to do on the ship? Thanks.:)

Hmm good question. I was thinking we were at pier 92. I guess I was wrong if 88, 90, and 91 are the choices! :p

 

Lemme check a video I took of us pulling in (which didn't turn out right, so it won't be posted. :() ... Okay, we were at pier 90.

 

There will be plenty for your son to do. On the ship there are two pools, a water slide, mini golf, an arcade, teen lounges, and lots of food. I recommend he check out Club O2, the club for kids ages 15-17. They'll have a lot of activities for kids his age and he'll meet a lot of other people his age. Even if he doesn't want to go the entire week, if he goes to at least the orientation on the first day he'll meet some other teens and can hang out with them the rest of the week.

 

Hi and thank you for a terrific review! I realize this takes a lot of work!

 

Question about the fog horn since I don't really enjoy loud noises and would certainly flinch and cover my ears every time I hear it. Does it make it uncomfortable to be out on deck? Where does the horn sound actually come from (I assume the funnel)? Not sure if there is any part of the open decks that would be manageable for me if that was going off every minute. But thankfully it does its job for safety!

The fog horn is at the front of the ship. I also used to think it came from the funnel, until I was on this cruise. :p The first time you hear it, you might get startled (especially if you're not expecting it). But after you hear it for the first time, it shouldn't be as bad. If you want to be outside, try to stay at the rear pool area if it's open (it has a retractable roof so it might be enclosed at times). The main pool area in the middle of the ship usually has enough noise to lessen the sound of the fog horn. The only time it would be really loud is if you're in the front of the ship. The Serenity area and the entrance to the water slide are located in this area.

 

I hope I answered everyone's questions well.

 

Thank you to everyone else who posted comments. I loved reading them! :D

[01Sweetpea]

Tonight was cruise elegant night. This was the first cruise in quite a few years I didn’t wear a jacket or suit to dinner. Unlike me, my family doesn’t like getting dressed up for dinner. So I went with the majority and just brought along a nice pair of pants and a button down shirt.

 

 

Dave - did you find alot of men skipped the suit and went for the pants & button down shirt? Since there is only one "formal" night it seems silly to drag DH's suit with us.

 

Especially since no suit = more shoes for ME!

[Dave0311]

Dave - did you find alot of men skipped the suit and went for the pants & button down shirt? Since there is only one "formal" night it seems silly to drag DH's suit with us.

 

Especially since no suit = more shoes for ME!

I noticed a lot less suits/jackets on this cruise than previous cruises. I'm not sure if this was because of the length of the cruise or Carnival's progression toward more casual dinners. The majority of men were waiting button down shirts and pants. Hope this helps! :)

[Dave0311]

It’s Monday morning, and that means we’re at our first port of call: St. John, New Brunswick. We arrived at St. John at 8:00 am. When we woke up the ship was pulling into port. The view from our balcony was quite nice. We saw the city and the pier area.

 

 

Next thing I know, our view has changed. Now we see the industrial part of the city from our balcony.

 

 

After she pulls into port, the Glory does a 180 and backs into her parking spot. I can imagine eating breakfast in the dining room at this time would be pretty rough. When the ship is turning around or maneuvering, the aft dining room (Platinum) vibrates something I’ve never experienced before. The tables shake, the walls shake, and the ceiling shakes. You might think the ship is going to fall apart! :eek: We got to breakfast a little late this morning so we were spared this experience today. We wouldn’t have this luxury tomorrow in Halifax when we ate breakfast as the Glory was docking.

 

The bridge connecting the industrial port to the rest of the city. (That’s what it appeared to be from our angle.)

 

 

St. John’s version of the Hollywood sign.

 

 

Whale tail in the water!

 

 

This morning, as I said, we went to the dining room for breakfast. We enjoyed breakfast with some nice folks who were taking the cruise for the first time. We shared some tips with them and had a good time with them. I got two eggs over easy with white toast and peach yogurt. Breakfast in the dining room is always good. I especially like the fact that you can get fried eggs cooked however you like them. Several years ago, I wasn’t aware this was possible. And so back then the breakfast menu appeared quite limited to me. Then I found out I could order eggs like I do at home at the diner. Since then I’ve loved eating breakfast in the dining room!

 

(Now would be a good time to insert a picture of my breakfast, but I didn’t take many food pictures. I regret not doing so.)

[Dave0311]

In St. John the gangway was located on deck 2 (main), port side (left, with the even cabin numbers). You aren’t allowed to take food off the ship, so before you get off there are containers provided to dispose of your food. Also be sure to have photo ID and your sail and sign card ready. For the first time cruisers reading this, you need to use your sail and sign card to get on and off the ship at the ports. Your photo ID is needed for security at the terminal. You have to present it when going back to the ship and when leaving the ship. I’ll talk about this again in a little bit.

 

What’s the first thing I do after I get off the ship? Remember my obsession?

 

 

Now that I got that out of my system, it’s time to take some more pictures so I can guide my fellow CCers off the ship and into St. John. :p The flags guide everyone into the terminal building. Everyone must go through here.

 

You cut through the corner of the terminal, and before you exit, this is where you present your photo ID. It’s at this point where you present your photo ID and sail and sign card when coming back to the ship. (You’ll need your sail and sign card again when you get to the ship.)

 

So to make this easier for everyone to understand:

 

Getting off the ship: sail and sign card at the ship; photo ID at the terminal building.

 

Getting on the ship: photo ID and sail and sign card at the terminal building; sail and sign card at the ship.

 

Clear as dirt? Good. :p

[Dave0311]

After you pass the security guard and show him your photo ID, you’ll see a small sitting area (because that was quite a trek off the ship). Beyond the sitting area is the Dockside Market, which is a tent of vendors selling a plethora of mementos and souvenirs. This is basically the Canadian version of the Straw Market, for the Caribbean cruisers out there.

 

 

Inside you see a lot of vendors waiting to inform you of their products and sell you something. To be honest, these were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met on a cruise. Even if you had no intention on buying something, they were more than happy to talk to you. We talked with one vendor about our dog and their dog for about 10 minutes, just because it was something we had in common.

 

 

The stall in the foreground of this picture was selling all-natural maple syrup products. They provided free samples for you to taste. I sampled their maple spread, which was very good. That’s right; a spread made out of maple syrup. The lady said it goes well on chicken and fish. We bought two jars of it: one for us and one for our dogsitter.

 

 

 

In the same picture, in the background was a stall giving out free nut samples. I didn’t try any, but my dad enjoyed them so much he bought three bags. They had a buy-two-get-one-free special. You might be able to see that posted at the top of their stall.

 

Here was an interesting stall. This guy was selling necklaces with a real image of the moon when it was at the same point in its cycle as the day you were born. All necklaces would take in sunlight and then would glow at night, just like the moon does. The “new moon” necklaces had a blue moon to designate the moon in the daytime sky (which is what a new moon is).

 

Again, we had no intention on buying one, but the vendor was more than happy to explain his works. These are very friendly people!

 

 

 

Interesting kind-of-fact: apparently mothers and daughters are born on exactly the same or exactly the opposite moon cycles, as proven by my mom and grandmother. They were born on a new moon (grandmother) and full moon (mother). Is it really true or not? Who knows, but it worked for us!

[Dave0311]

After we got done tent shopping, we ventured into the city. We didn’t do any excursions on this cruise. Sorry about that. If you’re interested in walking around and exploring on your own, I might be able to help you out a little.

 

St. John has a lot of hills. Steep hills.

 

 

This year we didn’t venture up the hills, but when we were here back in 2001 on the Victory with our friends, we walked all around the city. With my grandmother that just wouldn’t be possible this year, so we stayed fairly close to the ship this time around.

 

Hello Carnival Glory! (I just love looking at these ships.)

 

 

If you look closely at that last picture (of the Glory), you can see the crosswalks were a nice design, rather than just thick stripes. The people really seem to take pride in their city and want it to look its best in all aspects, even down to the crosswalks! This is one of the reasons I loved this cruise so much.

 

As we kept walking down the road, we ran into some friends:

 

 

This guy was a little shady:

 

 

After playing tourist for a little, we ventured into Barbour’s General Store. This general store is actually a mini museum. Admittance is free, but donations are appreciated. We walked in not knowing it was a museum. But once you walk in it becomes clear.

 

 

[nybumpkin]

This morning, as I said, we went to the dining room for breakfast. We enjoyed breakfast with some nice folks who were taking the cruise for the first time. We shared some tips with them and had a good time with them. I got two eggs over easy with white toast and peach yogurt. Breakfast in the dining room is always good. I especially like the fact that you can get fried eggs cooked however you like them. Several years ago, I wasn’t aware this was possible. And so back then the breakfast menu appeared quite limited to me. Then I found out I could order eggs like I do at home at the diner. Since then I’ve loved eating breakfast in the dining room!

 

(Now would be a good time to insert a picture of my breakfast, but I didn’t take many food pictures. I regret not doing so.)

I've always promised myself that I'd try breakfast in the dining room. This next cruise on Glory is as good a time as any to try it.

[Dave0311]

I've always promised myself that I'd try breakfast in the dining room. This next cruise on Glory is as good a time as any to try it.

You won't be disappointed. :) Everything that's available at the buffet is available in the dining room. The only caveat is that it can drag on a little because it's being served to you. I guess it beats standing in line.