Glory 5 day Canada review

[vikqueen]

My two sisters and I sailed on the Glory from Boston on June 18 and we had a great time! We have cruised several times before but this was our first time with Carnival. We shared a balcony cabin and we were happily surprised at how well the space worked out for us! We had two twin beds and the couch was made up as a third bed, I slept on the couch and I was comfortable for all 5 nights, my sisters found their beds to be comfortable, too and we all loved the pillows! We were able to unpack and put away all three of our large bags and our carry-ons, the space was well laid out. Plus we managed to share a bathroom for the first time in over 20 years and all remained friends! :p

 

Our embarkation was smooth. It took about a half hour, and then we were able to put our carry ons in the room and go to lunch. We thought the salad bar at the buffet was very good, otherwise during the week we tried the Mongolian stir fry, which was good but took awhile, the deli which was great, and the grill for a good hot dog. We ate lunch once at the restaurant, which was okay, it was fun to chat with new people there! At breakfast we usually just had oatmeal and fruit.

 

At dinner we enjoyed sharing our table with two other groups, it was fun and funny to talk to them every night. Our waiters were very good, my only dislike was that our table (#555) was near the escalator in the kitchen which continually emitted a loud, squeaky noise. The food ranged from really quite good to okay. I especially liked the Tilapia and the lobster tail.

 

We booked our cruise late and so could only get a late dining assignment. It worked out fine for us, especially when we had sushi happy hour to hold us over! The sushi was very good, but for some reason they put cream cheese in a lot of the rolls, tasty but odd.

 

We ordered a pop up cooler full of 4 beers from the bon voyage packages, it was a great idea because then we had a cooler (and an opener) that our steward kept filled with ice for our pop/ beer/ water and wine. Our steward was great, anything we asked for was done for us, and he brought our suitcases into our room when they arrived instead of leaving them out in the hall, which we thought was very nice.

 

The balcony was great, it had two chairs and a low table, we would bring out the chair from the room when all of us wanted to sit out there and it fit us all fine! We spent a lot of time out on our balcony just talking and watching the sea. We saw whales on two different days and dolphins on the third day, it was so exciting for me!

 

More in a bit

[lauraezzell]

Enjoying your review. Can't wait for more!

[eneri59]

I'll be on the same ship in a couple of weeks. Headed north to Canada how calm (or not) was the sea

 

thanks

[vikqueen]

The first day and a half there was quite a bit of motion, and then it was really super calm. It looked like our lake early in the morning, I had never seen the ocean so calm! I don't think that's usual, though!

 

Continuing the review:

 

 

We went to the spa tour the first day and entered to win gift certificate drawings for services, but sadly we didn’t win! My sisters took advantage of first day discounts, one got a facial and the other a stone massage, both of them thought they were great and a wonderful way to start out relaxed for the vacation! I bought a spa sampler special that was offered after the drawing and used it the next morning, it included a stone massage, a facial and exfoliation, I felt wonderful.

 

Another way we found to relax on board was the serenity deck, it was very nice to go up and lounge on the cushioned chairs in a calm atmosphere. Princess has a similar area but you have to reserve a time and pay for it, so I thought this was a great amenity for free on Carnival. It did fill up at times, but we were able to find a spot every day in the afternoons. We ended up with great weather so as long as we were in the sun it was very pleasant to sit out on the deck!

 

We didn’t use the swimming pools, only tried the hot tubs. We thought most of the hot tubs weren’t too hot except for the one in the gym. The regular pools seemed quite small.

 

We did enjoy watching the NBA finals on the big screen tv above the pool. Carnival provides blankets so we were all wrapped up against the cold and it was so fun to watch with a bunch of others, plenty of fans there for both teams.

 

Our weather as I said earlier was really great, we felt very lucky! We were anticipating rain and the only time it did was on our return to Boston! It was very nice and sunny, which made touring or just hanging out on the boat so enjoyable. It still gets quite cool in the mornings and at night, and if you are not in the sun, so make sure to pack sweaters for this itinerary! We did experience thick fog coming into St Johns, I couldn’t see land til we were practically docked! But it cleared in no time!

[kristi391]

Great review! Thanks for sharing. I am going on this cruise next week with my mom and I am super excited!

 

I do have a question for you. On the couch that made up into the bed, was it soft or firm? Also, did it seem narrower than a regular single bed? I will be using the sofa bed and I am just a little concerned about it.

 

Glad you had a good time. Thanks again for sharing.

[vikqueen]

I have a picture of the beds but I think its too big, it won't let me post it! I thought the bed was on the firm side, but not too hard, the couch bed was a bit smaller than the twins but not much, I am 5'8 and not small and was very comfortable.

 

 

In St John we took the trolley tour. We had a great guide which made it enjoyable! However, some of the things she was pointing out were hard to see due to the shape of the trolley, I think you might be able to see better from a bus. Afterwards, we shopped the old market and my sister found some great tea that she bought to replace the liptons bag they offered her at dinner on board. We went to Steamers for lunch and had the best time! It is right in front of the ship. They had a guy in a lobster costume out front, and a guy cooking the lobster with a live lobster on his head (claws bound), and a karaoke singer on the patio who was actually quite good and funny! I know it sounds incredibly silly but it was fun! And they served the best lobster rolls, one of the highlights of my trip! One of my sisters had the fish and chips instead and that was excellent, too. Matched up with the Alpine beer and it was a fun way to end the day in New Brunswick!

 

The next day we were in Halifax. It looks pretty industrial coming in, but it is a lovely city. We took the Halifax/ Peggy’s Cove tour and the scenery is so beautiful! We were on a huge accordion bus and we had a horrible guide. The tour guide really makes all the difference on these excursions. However, it was still a great trip because of the scenery. You take the lighthouse route going to Peggys Cove and then you drive along Margaret Bay on the way back so the entire drive is very lovely. There were so many wildflowers in bloom which just added to the beauty of the water, pines and boulders. I would love to return to Nova Scotia and explore more!

 

We were able to watch the capt of the pilot boat leave the cruise ship and jump back to the pilot boat after leading us out of Halifax, we didn't see him leave our ship but saw him land on the pilot boat, what a job! And he wasn't young, either!

 

The internet cafe is kind of hidden on the 4th floor in a corner of the Ivory Bar. It takes forever to log in and out, but at least I never had to wait for a terminal.

 

The overall look of the ship was not to my taste, quite garish I thought, but the things that mattered to my sisters and I such as a comfortable room and a fun itinerary made this a great cruise!

[beryl patricia]

Hi

 

Great review thanks :) we are going on Glory in a few weeks time. Our son will be sleeping on the sofa so great to know it will be ok. How long did your Peggys Cove tour take ?

[vivavegas]

Nice review! Thanks for sharing your trip with us!:) Sounds like you had a fun time..

[vikqueen]

Thank you! We did have a great time. The Peggy's Cove tour took 3 hours, that is one hour on the bus ride there, including a little Halifax tour, an hour to walk around Peggy's Cove, and an hour on the way back to the ship.

[alise007]

We leave in 102 days on the Glory out of NYC --enjoying your review! My 4 yr old will be sleeping on the couch and sounds like she will be just fine (her brother gets a pull down bunk).

 

We are renting cars in Saint John and Halifax. Driving to Peggy's Cove on our own.

 

Enjoying your review!