4/9/05 western glory review

[edpeeks]

First of all, we've been on over 15 cruises. Furthermore, I have never been on a bad cruise. I will give you my take, likes, dislikes and recommendations in this review. These boards have been a great help to me over the years of cruising and I feel that posting about my experiences may be of help to others.

We drove down from Tennessee the day before (Friday). (Big Tip: If you ever fly to a port, fly in the day before, never on the same day of embarkation, unless of course, you like stress and not having any control over your travel.) We stayed at the Radisson. We did this for two reasons. One it had been posted that it was a nice hotel. It was. And I was trying to save the $70. port parking charges. My opinion is I won't do it again. Next time I will stay in Orlando, do the parks or some sort of amusement and drive over Saturday morning. I got the Radisson for $152. (tax inc.). I feel that I could get something nicer on Priceline (I have several times before) and I will pay the $70. parking. Here's why; there is bedlam on the morning of embarkation. Although they left within 5 minutes of the shuttle reservation we are early birds and it isn't something I want to go through again. Also, when we got off the ship by the time the shuttle arrived, we could have been down the road had we ported the luggage to the care and split.

Embarkation was fine. From the time we arrived at the ship, 1 1/2 hours later we were eating lunch. There were lines to get on but they moved quickly.

As you may have guessed by the "next time" above, we will (Lord willing) sail the Glory again. We found it to be a delightful ship. Our OV cabin was huge! We were on the first deck. Had adjoining rooms for the kids. We never heard them. I had read other posts about the thin walls but that is not the case. Our teens were never heard. The room was spacious. We couldn't figure if it was slightly wider or maybe it was the furniture layout. But you will like the rooms on the Glory.

We had also heard some not so nice comments about the food. We enjoyed it. There is so much variety. The pizza was as good as it has been reported. The deli was great. The sushi was OK. And what I mean by that is it was not the most seafood ladened, but it was good tasting. My father in law went to the fish and chips, he said it was good. At no time did we experience food that was "slightly above cafeteria food" as we had read on other posts. Dinner was always a delight. The only negative thing I would say about the food is that breakfast is always the same every monring at the Red Sail. We would have appreciated some variety but we enjoyed the food.

One other downer, I thought the soft serve was tasteless. The hamburgers and hot dogs were enjoyed more than once. We did not do room service.

The ship had to been learned. We had been on the Grand Princess a couple of years ago and will not go back on that class of ship again due to the choppiness of the ship'a layout. Glory was somewhat that way but easier. If you are in the Platium dining room use the aft stairway/elevators to deck 3. Speaking of the Platium. on our table in the back lower part (354) there was some spirited vibrations a couple of times. The tables on either side did not vibrate but ours was going wild sometimes.

Ports: Key West -- we did the conch train (inde). We've done it three other times but with every driver you get different info. If you get tickets fromt the booth on the corner where the Burger King is you pick up the train on the same street immediately past the flags. Do not go back to where the trains unload passengers, you'll waste time. We were transported from the Navy base. Not problem, they provided adequate transportation.

Belize -- We did Reggie's Cave Tubing. We enjoyed it but my recommendation is to do it during the wet season. The water level (at the end of the dry season) was low in several spots that we had to get up and walk until it was deep enough again. The guides were great and our group was small, unlike the ship's groups. It is a tendered port but no problems.

Cozumel -- We went to Chankanaab. Get there early and the place is yours to pick from. As with our return visits to the same ports we will try something different next time maybe Paradise Island next time. However, there was nothing wrong with Chankanaab.

Progreso -- We took the ship's Merida tour and shopping trip ($35pp). We did it because of the time factor and with Progreso being a relatively new port. We didn't want any surprises.

The two days at sea were fine. If you have to be next to the music you may have to look for a lounge chair. However, we wanted quiet and we found it aft.

John Heald mantained his reputation. It was my intention to ask him about this future on this boat but never got the opportunity. He never aluded to leaving.

The casino was huge. The Purser's office was always helpful. The crew was a mix of smiles and "far away" looks. I really think it is a matter of where they are on their contract and of course there own personality. Overall, it was a pleasant crew. There were no constant announcements or selling as I had heard on these boards. There is really not need to go to the disembarkation meeting. Ours was packed (as we walked by the Amber Palace). They replay it on your TV. Also the TV is a good place to check your bill.

The ship was clean even though you didn't see many people cleaning during the day.

If you have any questions, please post. We are going on the Destiny out of San Juan July 4th and the Navigator the the Sea out of Miami October 1st. Those two cruises eased the pain of getting off the ship yesterday.

Overall, we would definately cruise the Glory again (for itself and because we can drive to Port Canaveral in (9 1/2 hours).

[OCruisers]

edpeeks .... Enjoyed reading your Glory review! :)

 

Please tell us a bit more about Progreso. Would you do the "Shopping Tour" again ... or try something different?

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[4tune8]

Thanks for the great review:) . We are booked at the Radisson for this Fri for the 4/23 Glory sailing. What time was your shuttle reservation? Was there alot of confusion at the hotel Sat morning? Also, how do you arrange for the shuttle back when you get off the ship?

 

Thanks for the info :) (I can still cancel my reservation without penalty if necessary...)

[mnsawyer]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your Glory cruise. We were on the same cruise and loved it! Back to work today and reality has set in! Got home around midnight Saturday night. Busy day yesterday but everything is done at home - laundry, grocery shopping, etc.

[caviargal]

Were the waits to get off the ship long? Many recent posters have complained.

 

Did you try the specialty restaurant? If yes, were getting reservations difficult?

 

Was chair hogging a big problem?

 

thanks

[mnsawyer]

Our ship was full but if you waited until say 12:30 instead of noon for lunch, it was much easier. Yes, lines but again, if you went earlier or later the wait was much shorter. This ship was wonderful and we had an incredible time. Even on sea days, we found chairs up on sun deck (14). It was very quiet there and a bar close by. It was windy the week we sailed but it kept you cool.

[mnsawyer]

Oops...forgot to mention...didn't try the speciality restaurant but heard others experience was good.

[edpeeks]

Progreso, would I do the shopping tour again? Probably not. At least with the ships tour. We went to some very tiny shops. And I didn't think the prices were good at all (compared to other silver prices on previous trips). However, if I found another tour (independent) I would probably go back to Merida since it is a very big town (1 million people).

At the Radisson, there are a lot of people standing out front. When I called about a month out from the cruise to get a reservation for the shuttle, 11:30 was the earliest. While we were standing there they shuttled Disney and HAL passengers first. (I heard in several ports that Disney received preferential treatment, probably paid more money!?) We did call the Radisson after standing around a while after getting off the boat. They told me the shuttle had been running since 8:30 (again probably for Disney and HAL).

Yes, there was a wait to disembark. But you know it is the same on almost every ship. I feel a good part of the anxiety is the leaving a "pampered" world and heading to the stress of travel. I really think that part of cruising is always going to be tough. After all, they do it week in and week out. If there was a better way, I hope that they would do it.

We did not eat in the speciality restuarant.

Deck lounges were tough to find near the pools. Go to the back of the ship and there is not problem.

[lilsonicfan]

Great review!

 

Can I ask, did you have any worries about the tendering in Belize - what time did you get to leave the ship since you were booked with an independent tour? And what time did you get back?

[mnsawyer]

We did a ship's tour in Belize (Goff's Caye) just because I was worried about tenders, etc., with an independent operator. I spoke with a woman the day we were in Cozumel and she said that she and her sister were not allowed off the ship until 10:30 a.m. ship's time which is 8:30 a.m. Belize time. They were very disappointed they had to wait for a tender so long since it really didn't give them much time to enjoy Belize. They took a ferry to Caye Calker and loved it but again, not time to do much of anything.

[WellesleyIslander]

I was also on the ship the week of 4/9 and had a great time! I had no problem finding a lounge chair near the music/live band-even on 'sea' days. The ship was beautiful, and the food was very good. We did the baboon sanctuary/city tour excursion in Belize and it was great! We walked through the jungles of Belize and were able to get very close to the Black Howler monkeys to take our pictures. Cozumel was the favorite port on this cruise for me. I did get out to Paradise Beach and it was just as it was described on this board-delightful! We got there early and got 2 beach chairs right near the shoreline with an umbrella-I could have stayed there for days drinking those margaritas!:D

[shabcruzn]

Good review!

I have two questions--based on the info from everyone the "Fish n' chips" is on the second floor of Red Sail inside--is this correct? Is it on the left or right? I know I have read some reviews of people who could not find it.

 

Second question: How did the self-assist disembarkation work? Some have said it was not organized, others got off with no problems?

 

Thanks!

[mnsawyer]

WesleyIslander - we must have been right near each other at Paradise Beach - we were the first ones there at 9:15 a.m. My DH hasn't stopped talking about Paradise Beach! We stayed until 2 or so. We loved the Glory and had a fabulous week with the exception of the seas on Friday night. Thank goodness we had a balcony so that I could open the door - made things a little less clastraphobic!

[WellesleyIslander]

mnsawyer: We also got to Paradise Beach around 9:30 or so! I wish I could have gotten to meet you while I was there! My sister got a great massage there and just loved it! I agree about friday night though-very rough. As far as the fish-n-chips, if you go to the 9th deck (lido) and go to the aft, the fish & chips is upstairs and kind of in the middle.

[disneysteve]

You can also get to fish and chips by entering Red Sail on 9 and walking up the stairs inside Red Sail. You can't miss it when you get up there.

 

We did Glory Western 2 weeks earlier (3/26-4/2) and had a great time. Lines were not a problem. We also had no trouble getting deck chairs when we wanted them, which admittedly was only twice. We're not sun worshippers.

 

Food was uniformly good. I'd love to get a recipe for their Grand Marinier souffle - it is one of the finest desserts I've ever had anywhere.

 

I would certainly do Glory again.

[Intrudr]

Good review!

I have two questions--based on the info from everyone the "Fish n' chips" is on the second floor of Red Sail inside--is this correct? Is it on the left or right? I know I have read some reviews of people who could not find it.

 

Second question: How did the self-assist disembarkation work? Some have said it was not organized, others got off with no problems?

 

Thanks!

 

The Fish & Chips line is on deck 10, facing aft, at the very aft portion of the Red Sail restaurant. The are can be accessed from stairs on Deck 9 at the aft portion of the Red Sail just before heading out to the Azure pool or there are external doors on Deck 10 that you can access from outside.

 

Self assist can be hit or miss depending on how quickly the ship clear Immigration. On our return (4/2) it didn't go smoothly and they weren't called away until 0845 - 1+45 after docking on time. Some colors were called away near simultaneously with the self assist folks.

[Magnifique1908]

So the Red Sail is two levels? What is located on each level. I'm assuming the main buffet is on the first level. What about the deli and the grill? Where are they located?

[shabcruzn]

So the Red Sail is two levels? What is located on each level. I'm assuming the main buffet is on the first level. What about the deli and the grill? Where are they located?

 

I believe the grill is in the aft of the ship and the pizzeria. The deli will be in the Red sail, first floor, when you enter from the Lido deck.

[WellesleyIslander]

There is also a grill on deck 9 forward that serves hamburgers and fries.

[mdr]

:confused: For those who sailed after the time changes:

 

It looks like Belize is 2 hours behind the ships time. Is this correct?

 

Were the ship and Cozumel on different times?

 

By the way, the reviews are great keep them coming. We are on the Glory 5-7-05. I can't wait! :D

 

Thanks!

[Magnifique1908]

I believe the grill is in the aft of the ship and the pizzeria. The deli will be in the Red sail, first floor, when you enter from the Lido deck.

 

Thanks. I took another look at the deck plans and noticed that the grille and pizzeria are not actually in the red sail but right outside near the azure pool. The deli is in the red sail as well as the oriental place and the fish and chips place is on the second level of the red sail.

[WellesleyIslander]

:confused: For those who sailed after the time changes:

 

It looks like Belize is 2 hours behind the ships time. Is this correct?

 

Were the ship and Cozumel on different times?

 

By the way, the reviews are great keep them coming. We are on the Glory 5-7-05. I can't wait! :D

 

Thanks!

Belize is 2 hours behind EST, and I think Cozumel was the same but I'm not sure. Always keep your watch on ship time and you will be ok.

[kmm59us]

I was also on this trip and loved it.

 

Whenever you are in port in Belize you are NOT TO CHANGE your watches.

We were told to keep SHIP's time.

 

I spoke with John Heald and told him he is an internet legend.

I did not find out from him about his future, but I talked with his assistant

and she said that quite a few folks will be going on the Liberty when it

comes out and she said he would also be going. I don't know if it is

permanent or temporary.

 

The one place I liked the best was all the way to the end of the ship

I believe the Azure area, behind the Adult Hot tub.

When I ate on the Lido deck I always tried to go there to eat.

 

Karen

[cjar855]

I am so Happy to hear that John Heald is the cruise director. I have seen him Twice before and he is my favorite. Does he still do "His Bedtime Story?" routine. We leave in 4 Days.

[mnsawyer]

Yup...the bedtime story was absolutely hilarious on the 4/9 sailing. We watched it in our cabin at least 2 more times! On our sailing, Cozumel was the same time as ship's time. Belize 2 hours behind. I think Progresso was behind us too. I would recommend doing a tour on Progresso. It's a very poor area and even the beach wasn't very good. Lots of trash, glass, etc. along the beach. That's just my opinion and am sure others don't feel the same way. The pier is new and nice but where they shuttle you into town isn't the greatest area. At both the pier and shuttle drop off, they offer tours. Two ruin tours and a day pass to an all-inclusive which we should have taken but didn't. Tours run from 10:30 to approximately 2:00 and are signficantly less than the ship. Many people took tours through the ship on this stop. When we got up that morning, it was still dark and many people getting off the ship for tours.