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

[Dave0311]

Right near the general store museum is another marketplace, with more local vendors.

 

 

 

 

A lot of these stalls were family-run. The vendors would bring their kids, and you could see them helping run the stall. It was great to see such an atmosphere here. One vendor even brought their dogs to greet everyone.

 

[Dave0311]

Further down the road is Market Square, which is a small mall with some stores and restaurants.

 

 

 

 

I got some A & W root beer to quench my thirst. Mmm… It was nice and thick, not from a fountain. I can’t speak for all the stores, but at least the A & W stall accepted US$.

 

 

Back outside, I just had to capture another photo of the funnel.

 

 

Let’s throw in a lighthouse for good measure.

 

[Dave0311]

Alongside the Market Square are some pubs and restaurants. There’s plenty of outdoor seating. I didn’t see many people eating though. Of course, it was still a little early for lunch. (This photo was taken from the same vantage point as the funnel and lighthouse photos. This is looking toward the main road back to the ship. The outdoor market place is to the right of the photo.)

 

 

Looking in the other direction, the road leads to be what appears to be steps down toward that dock down below.

 

 

It looks like some tours might meet down there. I’m not quite sure what the story is with that boat and the crowd of people. Maybe someone else from the cruise knows what’s going on down there?

 

 

After the photo shoot from that lookout point, we headed back to the ship. On the way we stopped back in the tent market. I found an amusing vintage ad:

 

 

There was stall selling a lot of memorabilia like that. If you liked that, you should check out that stall if you’re going on this cruise. They had a lot of funny stuff.

 

Okay, back on the ship for lunch!

[disneylover89]

Do kids need photo ID too? I hate to take passports off the ship.

[nybumpkin]

Do kids need photo ID too? I hate to take passports off the ship.

16 and over do. If you have a school photo ID, I'd bring that.

[01Sweetpea]

Keep the review coming!!! I'm really enjoying this!

 

Couple of questions...

 

1. Do the vendors take US money or is it wise to have CAD?

2. You said you previously took a walking tour, was it self-guided or did you have a tour guide?

[nothomeonacruise]

I'm really enjoying your review! I'm on the Glory in November. I'll check out the Burrito Bar when we board. :)

[taliacamp]

Dave, just wondering...would it be possible for you to take the western caribbean cruise on the Glory before Nov. 14th so you can give me your fantastic review?...lol;)

[Dave0311]

Keep the review coming!!! I'm really enjoying this!

 

Couple of questions...

 

1. Do the vendors take US money or is it wise to have CAD?

2. You said you previously took a walking tour, was it self-guided or did you have a tour guide?

 

1. The vendors do take US money. We bought stuff from 3 different stalls and all accepted USD. I'm assuming the stores in the mall (Market Square) accept USD as well since the A&W Root Beer stall did.

 

2. We just walked around the city. It wasn't really a tour. I wish I could explain more about where we went, but my friends and I were only 12 at the time, so I didn't really pay attention. :(

 

Thanks for the comments everyone! :D

[Dave0311]

Two more posts were made while I was typing up my last reply.

 

I'm really enjoying your review! I'm on the Glory in November. I'll check out the Burrito Bar when we board. :)

Definitely check it out. It was my favorite addition. And unlike the Mongolian wok, the lines were never ridiculously long. :D

 

Dave, just wondering...would it be possible for you to take the western caribbean cruise on the Glory before Nov. 14th so you can give me your fantastic review?...lol;)

I'll make you a deal. If you can get me on the ship before then, I'll be more than happy to write a review just for you! :D Sound good lol?

[Dave0311]

I have a little bit more of the review ready to go.

 

We'll be back on the ship now. :)

[Dave0311]

Am I the only one who thinks Carnival does a great job making the desserts look appetizing?

 

 

Their dessert stations always remind me of that scene from Jurassic Park when the kids are in the dining hall, right before the raptors in the kitchen scene. I just want to take a couple spatulas like the kid did and start digging in. :D

 

What’s the bad part about visiting Canada? Their water reminds me more of the Jersey shore than the Caribbean.

 

 

Oh well. There’s one thing I never get tired of looking at.

 

 

 

 

What you just saw is what happens when there’s nothing to do and I have a camera in my hand on a Carnival cruise ship. What would I be taking pictures of if I was on a Royal Caribbean or Norwegian cruise ship? I can’t imagine going up on deck and not seeing a whale tail!

[Dave0311]

Alright, I lied. We didn’t go back on the ship and eat lunch. That would explain all of those pictures. Looking further in the album, I discovered I took those photos before lunch. See folks? This is why if you’re planning on writing a review, you must take notes! I’ve lost track of time. NOW it’s lunch time!

 

 

One of my few food pictures. So enjoy it while it lasts! There aren’t too many things better than a big lunch from the grille on a Carnival cruise ship. :D

 

After lunch, my grandmother and I played two rounds of mini-golf, and my dad kept score. The course is on the funnel deck (yay!), and it is 9 holes. Just a warning to those going on the Glory: the last hole is very difficult and frustrating. It took my grandmother 6 strokes to get the ball in both rounds, and it took me 6 and 4 strokes for the two rounds. This is a par 2 if I remember correctly. Just an FYI for those who want to play some mini golf.

 

To get to the mini-golf course, walk up one of the curved staircases by the main pool, adjacent to the seaside theater. Once up on the next deck, keep walking aft, through the glass shields on the deck, and up the next set of stairs. These stairs will take you up to the deck with the jogging track. Next, you’ll have to get into the basketball court to access mini-golf. On our cruise, only the port-side stairs (the left side stairs, if you’re looking to the front of the ship) to the basketball court were open. Once in the ball area you’ll see the stairs leading up to the funnel deck/mini-golf.

 

The front half:

 

 

The back half:

 

 

And the funnel:

 

 

My grandmother won the first round, and I won the second round and the overall two-round score. We had a couple nice holes-in-one. And of course a couple frustrating moments, including hole #9. The wind on the on-board mini golf courses definitely comes into play. There were many times someone would hit a good shot, only to have the ball roll back to the start thanks to the wind. This cruise we played while in port, and the winds were still pretty strong. Last year on the Legend we played a couple times while the ship was moving at sea. Forget it. It’s so hard! But that’s part of the fun, right?

 

One last whale tail photo, in case you haven’t had enough yet.

 

 

Is there anyone out there who enjoys the funnel pictures as much as I do? If no one likes them, I’ll try to cut them out. I just love looking at them so much!

[Dave0311]

After mini-golf, we played shuffleboard for a little while. I forgot to mention, you get the golf clubs and the shuffleboard equipment (sticks and pucks) at the towel hut on the lido deck. It’s right near the main pool; you can’t miss it. You can see it in this picture. Look for the blue tent to the left:

 

 

As I was saying, we played some shuffleboard. How do you get to shuffleboard? Stay on the port side of the ship (left side, the side with the towel hut). Remember the curved staircase I was talking about earlier? Walk up that staircase. Now, instead of going up the stairs to get to mini-golf, keep walking through the glass shields and past those stairs. The shuffleboard court is right next to the glass roof off the dining area below.

 

Here’s a picture to help you navigate better. See the curved staircase at the bottom of the photo, near the slide? If you look closely, you’ll see the glass shields on the next deck up. The stairs leading up to the jogging track (track is blue) are just beyond the shields. The mini golf is one deck up still. The shuffleboard is on the same deck as those glass shields, port side.

 

 

Some more information about shuffleboard: the deck is not well suited for shuffleboard. Perhaps my grandmother and I are just really weak, but we had to move up toward the front of the close triangle to get the pucks to the other side. We found shooting from the top-most horizontal line (right before the tip of the triangle) worked best. If we shot from behind the scoring area our pucks only made it about halfway down the court.

 

 

My grandmother started out well and was ahead by quite a lot, but I came back in the final round and took the lead. I wasn’t very good at aiming, which is surprising considering I’m a good bowler.

 

Up next: goodbye St. John, past guest party

[fgresko]

great review, love the photos.

[Laurab23]

Did you see any whales?

[Solo1959]

Is there anyone out there who enjoys the funnel pictures as much as I do? If no one likes them, I’ll try to cut them out. I just love looking at them so much!

What?!?!? You're stopping the funnel pix? No Way!!! All of us in this Carnival Board LIVE and BREATH for funnel pix. Really! Please don't stop them.

 

Do you mind if I repeat myself? Your review is spectacular! Thank you so much for all of the work that you're putting into this.

[disneylover89]

16 and over do. If you have a school photo ID, I'd bring that.

 

Thank you!

[TIPPTONI]

Dave, Thank You!!! We will be sailing next weekend on the Glory. I was excited before you started your review. Now I'm going crazy! Great pics of the ship and port. Thanks for all the tips. Are you considering a career in the travel industry?! LOL

[disneylover89]

Thank you so much for this review :) We leave tomorrow and your review is getting me really excited!!! I love all the pics and information.

[Dave0311]

great review, love the photos.

Thanks! :D

Did you see any whales?

No, no whales. :(

What?!?!? You're stopping the funnel pix? No Way!!! All of us in this Carnival Board LIVE and BREATH for funnel pix. Really! Please don't stop them.

 

Do you mind if I repeat myself? Your review is spectacular! Thank you so much for all of the work that you're putting into this.

Well I guess that's enough to convince me not to stop the funnel pics. :p

[Dave0311]

Thank you so much for this review :) We leave tomorrow and your review is getting me really excited!!! I love all the pics and information.

Have fun on the Glory! I'm glad I could help. :)

 

Dave, Thank You!!! We will be sailing next weekend on the Glory. I was excited before you started your review. Now I'm going crazy! Great pics of the ship and port. Thanks for all the tips. Are you considering a career in the travel industry?! LOL

I'm glad I could help you too! :D I'd love to work for Carnival (corporate, not onboard) some day, but Florida's quite a distance from New Jersey. Never say never though. :p

 

I'll have a few more posts up later today. Stay tuned. :)

[anty30]

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!

 

 

nybumpkin, We will be sailing with you on Labor Day weekend! It'll be our first time on Carnival. Looking forward to it.

 

Dave, great review! Thanks for taking the time to do it. :)

[nybumpkin]

nybumpkin, We will be sailing with you on Labor Day weekend! It'll be our first time on Carnival. Looking forward to it.

 

Dave, great review! Thanks for taking the time to do it. :)

Hi anty30! Come over to join our roll call. It's a small group, but growing.:)

 

A note for 01Sweetpea (remember me from Cozumel in 2005:)?) The shops in Market Square take US dollars, but they may give change in Canadian, depending on the store and what is in the cash register.

[Dave0311]

There was still a little bit of time before we set sail for Halifax, so I took a couple last-minute photos of St. John. How about one more picture of the St. John Hollywood sign? As a bonus, the Big Pink Bus is at the top of the hill too.

 

 

Two steeples and a Canadian flag in the middle of this view.

 

 

I noticed the Glory was also flying a Canadian flag, in place of the American flag.

 

 

Looking at these photos, you might think we got hit with some rain. Well we must have left just in time, because I don’t remember it ever raining this night.

 

Of course, I was at the past guest party for a little while, so it could’ve poured and I would not have known it.

 

Speaking of the past guest party, guess what’s coming up next.