Glory Review Wanted. Recent cruisers please post review!

[basketballmom]

Yes, you can find it with the storage organizers in the household section.

 

And yes, it is so nice to hear positive things about the Glory staff. Of course, if I believed everything I have read on any of the cruises I have been on, I would never cruise:)

[CinD]

Was there good snorkling and calm waters at Magen's Bay??

 

The water was very calm at Magens Bay. We saw a few fish there, but Coki was a much better place to snorkel.

 

Incidentally, you can find the over-the-door shoe organizers at the Dollar Store. I got mine there for $1.25. LOL - Like a dummy, I put it on the INSIDE of the bathroom door.....maybe that's why we didn't use it so much :D

[ashumate2]

Any new reviews?

[Girlsnightout]

Ashumate, we'll be cruising with you, 2 more weeks!

 

A couple of questions..mknopick, did you have to reserve the jeep ahead of time, or did you just find it when you got off? We're thinking of doing the same. Do you recall what the rate was?

 

How early could you get off in St. Martin?

 

Do you REALLY have to wait until 12:30 to get off in St. Thomas? Yikes, we're meeting up with friends on the Zuiderdam that day and had planned to meet at 10:00 at Sapphire beach. I think docking at 8 or 9 and then not being able to get off until 12:30 is ridiculous. What if people have early excursions? Can anyone comment further on this?

 

Thanks!

[tocruzagain]

When trying to debark in St. Thomas do they tend to get those with booked excursions off the ship first before others? It seems that I read something on these boards earlier about that and the person knew this in advance, joined in the early group of excusion people and got off the ship much more quickly. Just wondering...we will be on the Glory in November and trying to figure out this whole time frame of St. Thomas/immigration thing.

[mamagina]

Great reviews here!

 

We are doing the western itinery 4/23.

 

Does anybody remember if Carnival offers the Laundry Service deal midweekon the Glory?

Last year on the Spirit they did a bag of laundry and returned it folded to our cabin in one day for $15. It was great! I would love to be able to pack half. I know I can do my own laundry but I don't want to waste the time on vacation.

[ciship]

Great reviews here!

 

We are doing the western itinery 4/23.

 

Does anybody remember if Carnival offers the Laundry Service deal midweekon the Glory?

Last year on the Spirit they did a bag of laundry and returned it folded to our cabin in one day for $15. It was great! I would love to be able to pack half. I know I can do my own laundry but I don't want to waste the time on vacation.

 

We just got off the PRIDE. There were four of us and I did laundry twice that week....no biggie. I asked for one of the bags for the $15 special b/c I would be in port that day and wouldnt have time to do laundry myself. The bag they brought me would fit a pair of childs jeans and thats it!! It was so silly...it was a really tiny bag and I had a whole suitcase full of laundry with all four of us changing twice a day. Just fyi.....the bags are really, really small.

[Girlsnightout]

A recent Glory review mentioned that embarkation took 2 hours, and that they couldn't get off in St. Thomas until 12:30! :( They also mentioned lines in the dining room. Was that unusual (I hope) or does the Glory normally have those horrendous waits?

 

How were these things on your cruises on the Glory?

[ciship]

I would love to try the Glory because I have always been on Carnival, but I am leaning toward trying the Mariner of the Seas with RCCL because of her much better reviews and options. We have to go out of Pt. Canaveral no matter what and these are my two best choices. I wish I could read some better (recent) reviews of the Glory.

[shabcruzn]

Cool. Where exactly did you find it? With storage and organization things?

 

Look in the Houseware department in the the home organization section. You can also get them for a dollar at places like Dollar Tree.

 

See you on the Glory!

 

PS. are you AKA?

[Magnifique1908]

Look in the Houseware department in the the home organization section. You can also get them for a dollar at places like Dollar Tree.

 

See you on the Glory!

 

PS. are you AKA?

 

Thank you.....nice to see another person from my sailing!!!!!

 

Why yes I am ;)

[big_duck]

Ashumate, we'll be cruising with you, 2 more weeks!

 

Do you REALLY have to wait until 12:30 to get off in St. Thomas? Yikes, we're meeting up with friends on the Zuiderdam that day and had planned to meet at 10:00 at Sapphire beach. I think docking at 8 or 9 and then not being able to get off until 12:30 is ridiculous. What if people have early excursions? Can anyone comment further on this?

 

Thanks!

 

If the ship is not delayed in arriving, and

 

If Immigration is not late on getting on the ship and they provide enough people for the amount of pax, and

 

All the passangers cooperate and report to immigration on time

 

Then the ship should be cleared for debarkation in a timely manner.

[shabcruzn]

Thank you.....nice to see another person from my sailing!!!!!

 

Why yes I am ;)

 

DST here :D --but its all Greek love especially when it comes to cruising!!

[Magnifique1908]

DST here :D --but its all Greek love especially when it comes to cruising!!

 

Well Alright Then! Hey there SisterGreek!!! :D

[ashumate2]

Great information here!

 

Thanks to all that have posted!

[basketballmom]

So, if there are only 3 ships in port that day, then disembarkation in St. Thomas should be quick. When we sail 7/23/05 the cruisecal says only 3 cruise ships in port for 7/26/05.

[cruisingrobert]

I'm sure some of my fellow cruise mates will post reveiews, but just a few things that stick out so far:
Radisson - pre-cruise was great - would stay there next time.
I95 going down and back - horrible in Georgia and Flordia - will never drive that way again during Easter week - took extra 4 hours each way because of traffic, weather, road construction and sometimes - no idea why cars coming to a stop on a major interstate.
Boat - very nice to be on big, new, clean boat!
Food - very good - ate too much - late seating although asked for early - but worked out better to eat late.
Food service - Our 2 waits staff were good - Micahel and Alexandra - but they seemed to be pushing us along each night sometimes taking away food before we were even done - but, no big deal. service in other areas including room service was all good.
Pool deck - crazy - worst chair saving I have ever seen - something needs to be done - when you can't get a chair at 8:15am - think this caused the most frustration around the ship - saw several folks get into fights over saved chairs - plus, chairs were shoved together to the point you could not even walk through certain areas becuase blocked by chairs.
Cabin - liked - inside on the 10th deck - perfect location for us. Our room steward was very good - Oakley - best I have ever had! He even opened up our fridge after asking so we could use it during the week.
Shows - were ok - comedian Percy was very funny at late show. Sound person in Amber Palace must be deaf - because the sound was waaaayyy too loud!!!!!
Key West - ok - did conch tour that was fine- kids were bored. Would vote not to go there again.
Belize - Cave tubing with Wet-n-Wild - Great - Junior and Charlie and Marvin - all were good - Charlie was our guide and was very good. Stopped at Amigos on the way back for lunch - that was good and so was the beer - but make sure you have change for beer - otherwise they will give you back belize dollars. We also got stuck in traffic jam on the way back into Belize City when there was a fire and they had to run hose ove road - so got back just in time - Charlie was aware of our time and did a great job. By the way - that snake issue talked about before we left - not a single snake I saw, but was looking out for them.
Cozumel - we went to Paradise Beach - 2nd folks there that morning and got to pick out a great spot - get there early folks, becasue by 1:30pm people were almost fighting over chairs. Food and drinks were very good. There is a parrot there - watch out- it bit at my oldest daughters finger and got her. Banana boat next door - did not arrive until we left - pretty dissappointed, but has nothing to do with Paradise Beach staff. Shopped a little, but not a lot - wait to get to Progresso.
Progresso - what fun - busses will take you into town - walk one block up, turn left - walk 2 blocks - your at beach. We found cabana about 300 yards up beach and no charge to use - just had to buy drinks and food - no certain amount - and then let the fun begin. You will be approached by every salesperson in progresso trying to sell anything and everything - after a few beers, it becomes a game - very good deals and you don't even have to move. When we first got there, it was not crowded, so we did banana boat there for half the cost in cozumel and had a great time - also wave runners were half cost, but did not do those. Food and Beer were all great - bathrooms across the street in restaurant were they were getting food. Overall, I enjoyed this port a lot - just be prepared to say no 1,000 times.
Captains party and repeaters party - back to back nights - thanks for the free beer!!
Getting off boat - not fun - everyone jammed the 3rd floor waiting to get off with their luggage - so tempers started to heat up as everyone wanted off - but once it got going (1 hour late getting in for some reason), it worked fine - even in a downpour!
Cruise Director - was ok - fun at times - but sucked up to the captain and Carnival a little too much.
One very interesting thing happened on the way from cozumel to progresso - we rescued a fishing boat out of cozumel - 4 guys I think - there engine died and were just floating out there - so imagine having a big cruise boat save you - the staff did well to save them, feed and dress them, and then send them back to cozumel once we got to progresso. Was topic of disccusion all over the boat.
Guess that is all for now - this is longer than I expected. Let me know if you have any questions - I got a lot of help before going myself.

[WellesleyIslander]

Thanks for the great review Cruisingrobert! Ok-I have to ask: did you see any bats in the cave on the cave tubing excursion in Belize? I wanted to sign up for that but heard there were bats...my sister was freaked out when she heard that, so she won't go for it. Also, what's with the chair hogging? Will Carnival management do something about it? Did you try complaining to the management? (I know, I know, I'm a newbie! LOL!)

[Sea Turtle]

Ashumate2- Well, I’m not a recent Glory cruiser (Sep 2003) but I am considering a second cruise on this ship for this Sep so it couldn’t have been all that bad! ;) There are a lot of people on board, and some areas become thick with passengers at times, but I dealt with it, and I am really not a ‘line’ person. I can’t speak for the present entertainment but back in 2003 I enjoyed all the different entertainment venues. I’d like to see CCL limit the number of scheduled photo ops as it always causes a backup in the various hallways. I’ve never experienced chair hogging as I could care less about a chair near any pool. I just like to gaze out over the ocean, and have never had a problem locating a nice spot regardless of the time of day on any of my cruises (Glory of any other ship/line). Go, have fun!! :)



WellesleyIslander - There are indeed bats that you can easily see when you shine your light up into the cave. You do your thing by floating down the stream, and they do their thing by hanging upside down in the heights of the cave. :eek: Seriously, it wasn't frightening but they are definitely there.
I did the trip once, and it was a fun day, but not an excursion I would repeat.

Enjoy the evening!

[mom2girls]

Wellesley: I went cave tubing last year! It was an awesome experience. During the time of day that we go, the bats aren't active. They are nocturnal. They didn't bother us at all!

[SoCalCruiseguy]

[quote name='big_duck']If the ship is not delayed in arriving, and

If Immigration is not late on getting on the ship and they provide enough people for the amount of pax, and

All the passangers cooperate and report to immigration on time

Then the ship should be cleared for debarkation in a timely manner.[/QUOTE]

CCL "COULD" get smart and do what they should have and have experimented with... that is moving the St. Thomas stop to the first stop on the eastern itinerary. Sure INS has a part to play and I've also heard all the whines and groans of "but I like it this way and we planned our trip because of it etc. etc. etc...." no disrespect but, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if about a dozen things have to work perfectly AND the sun then has to aligns itself "just so" for everything to be o.k. (meaning getting off the ship while there's still daylight), then there's a problem there I think, no check that, period. CCL continues to have this problem repeatedly rearing its ugly head in St. Thomas due to the SAME reason(s) and they don't seem to have any interest in correcting it. Hey Nassau is only about 4 hours, so why not advertise the stop in St. Thomas for what it has all too often become, a pit stop thats advertised as the crown jewel of this itinerary

[mnsawyer]

Cruising Robert - thanks for your review - not sure what we are doing in Progresso next week on the Glory. From your post, assume you had no problem finding a cabana? Also, were there lounge chairs that you could put under the cabana? How was the snacks, drinks, etc.? You mentioned bathrooms across the street at the restaurant? Sounds like you are asked often to purchase things? Pain?

Did you know of anyone that took the day tour to the Reef Yucatan resort? Trying to confirm prices, times, what's included, etc. Have heard it's offered on the shuttle bus from the ship to town.

Thanks!

[mnsawyer]

Oops...forgot to mention about chair hogging...it's a big problem but I do save chairs but only 2. Two years ago, on the Triumph, we didn't get out on deck until after the shore talk and we couldn't find two chairs together. I was wild and we ended up just hanging by the pool until later in the afternoon when some chairs became available. The next sea day, we marked our spot before breakfast but we did use the chairs and only saved two. 99% of the time, one of us was in the chair with the exception of the few times we went down the water slide. We like to hang out at the aft pool upstairs. Just walk downstairs and you have the food, pool and restrooms. Seems to be a bit quieter upstairs plus fewer kids and you get some breeze especially when it's hot. It's a learning experience! I do agree that someone saving tons of chairs and not using them isn't right. You'll find people saving chairs before sunrise! Not sure if they mark them in the evening or not but think they are all put away at night and then taken out early in the am.

[cruisingrobert]

mnsawyer - they had lots of cabanas available - no set amount you need to buy as far as food and drink - those folks don't actually bother you at all - they are there when you are ready for a drink or food - all of which was good. I even noticed there was a 7-11 across the street where I could have bought things cheaper, but decided to just buy beer, soda and food from the guys who ran the cabanas. We had 4 table chairs and 2 long chairs as did all the other tables around us. You may not see as many local kids as we did - they were out on spring break as well and were selling stuff while we were there. Pain - after a while, no bid deal - just keep using the word "No" when you don't want something.
The beach trip was offered to us right before getting off the shuttle bus in downtown - price was $30 pp - but I don't see any reason to do that - just my opinion.
Hope this helps!

[hlfdzn]

Did you roll this thru the security as you were checking in to get on the ship? I like to drink Tequiza and they never sell it on the ships so I was hoping to bring a 6 pack with me . I also like to bring pop with since I find the fountain soda to be a bit flat for my taste.

Last year getting on the Disney Wonder they let us bring anything that we could carry on the ship, but we had big tote bags that got heavy with bottled beer in them.

If this is something I will be able to drag behind me...I will go buy myself one!!!