Carnival Glory 3/16-3/23 Just Back

[mobydog]

Greetings! We are just back from a wonderful relaxing week on the Glory. I love reading everyone's feedback prior to travelling and thought I would share with you our thoughts from our trip. Background: We are an extended family that travelled for spring break (Ages 70, 68, 44, 42, 13, 9).

 

We were lucky enough to purchase a FTTF prior to our sailing...we felt it was worth every penny and would do it again! The computers were down at embarkation as we entered the line which was growing ever longer but with FTTF we were able to skip the line and bolt on Board. The whole process from entering the port to entering our available room was under 30 minutes. Some of our bags made it there before we did :) Being able to be escorted down to the front of a tender line by cruise staff was great as we were able to be the first on the tenders. Additionally, the ability to walk up to Guest Services with no line and immediate assistance rocked (note: some people who waited in the Guest Service line for awhile will give you the stink eye:eek:). We were also in Disembarkation Group 1, which incidentally, the computers were down at Immigration, and they were hand checking passports so I am sure that line only grew throughout the morning. Overall, Money well spent. My parents were in a suite so they had Priority boarding as well but they went to a different line than we did.

 

Things We Loved:

• While number one was the time spent relaxing with our family and much needed down time, the boat offered many wonderful things.
  
• FTTF.
  
• Allyn Ball, comedian in the Punchliner, was freaking hysterical and not to be missed if he is ever on your sailing. We saw both his adult and family shows and he was fantastic.
  
• My 9 year old loved the Hasbro game show and he was picked to participate. ..it probably did not hurt that he was wearing an England jersey with Wayne Rooney on the back (cruise director from Manchester and huge Man U. fan).
  
• The whole family enjoyed Phil Hughes, ventriloquist show.
  
• Serenity Lounge (except for the righteous chair hogs, nuff said)
  
• Guys Burger Joint and my daily breakfast burrito from the Blue Iguana Cantina
  
• Any martini creation from the Alchemy Bar. Richard the bartender has mad skills...be sure to order the martini tasting just to watch how he pours them all simultaneously.
  
• The salted caramel cheesecake at the At Sea Day brunch...best dessert on the boat.
  
• Richard, our cabin steward, if you are lucky enough to be in the belly of the boat in room 1394 and have him as your steward, you will have a fantastic experience! He was the best we have ever had! We had far better service than my parents had on Deck 7 in their suite.
  
• Husband and teenager enjoyed the gym.
  
• Kids loved getting their video game fix in at the EA Sports Bar.
  

Things That Were Just Okay:

• We did the early dining seating in the Platinum dining room. The food was just alright- nothing special and no crème brulee all week (I know, first world problems :rolleyes:)
  
• Dining Room Dress- oh boy, Carnival does not enforce the dress code policy at all. Items people packed to wear on vacation, I would not mow my lawn in, if you know what I am saying ;). If that is the best some people could pull together, it is a wonder they could afford the trip. Oh well, it made for some interesting people watching.
  
• I must admit it, I miss the table cloths. I also hate all the small plates every side dish comes on...makes for a crowded dining experience. We had a few bumpy meals where items slid around. Never happened with table cloths.
  
• We saw the Motown and the Latin Nights Shows by Playlist Productions- they were loud and mediocre at best. Not the best shows at sea we have seen. The female singers were far superior to the male leads.
  
• Kids Club- we like to hang out with our kids on vacation so the boys only went when something interested them on the schedule. We allowed them to check themselves in and out but they had to meet up with us immediately afterward so we knew what they were doing.
  

Things Not Impressed With:

• Towel Animal Theatre...even the children were not laughing. Will never get that 30 minutes of my life back.
  
• Not adjusting the schedule to address daylight savings time in the US and not in the islands...we were two hours diff in most ports.
  
• Wish they showed more current movies and sports on the big screen on the Lido deck. I enjoyed this on our Princess cruise but nothing caught my interest on the schedule. Teenager wished they showed more European soccer.
  
• The adult comedy shows were standing room only...they really should do these in the Amber Palace. It was so crowded in there and the lines were insane...they snaked around to the Casino just to get in.
  
• Love the concept of miniature golf and ping pong as activities on a cruise ship...however, putting these on the top tiers of the ship makes for an interesting and very windy experience.
  
• In the cabin next to us was the most unhappy pair of children who ever set sail on the high seas. They cried day and night. Either their parents brought ear plugs or just don't care. To make matters worse, they were also at the early dining where their lovely spawn sat near us and we got to enjoy them wailing throughout their entire meal for all SEVEN nights. :mad:
  

Itinerary

 

Okay...so let's talk about the itinerary. On our Roll Call...we had much debate about ship time v. local time. I have never cruised in the spring after daylight savings time. This was a hot mess. We were TWO hours different than ports. No big deal when we rolled into Cozumel on ship time at 10 a.m. (8 a.m. local time) but it did impact our plans in Belize when we arrived at 8 a.m. (6 a.m. local time). Let me tell you, the locals HATE it (and so do we). Carnival should either adjust their itinerary or switch to Central Time once they cross over in the Western Caribbean to make the whole experience more palatable. With that said, here is what we did in each port...

 

Grand Cayman- First and foremost, I LOVE this island- we honeymooned here and have been back for land based vacations. My parents and youngest son took the Grand Cayman Island Tour through Carnival that included a visit to the Turtle Farm. They enjoyed their trip (I think they could have done this on their own but who am I to complain since they took a child with them ;)). I went with my husband and teenager via local bus to Turtle Reef to scuba dive. We were able to shore dive and get two dives in that day. Fantastic experience.

 

Cozumel- There were 6 boats in port that day. My parents and family took a cab to Paradise Beach Club. My husband and boys loved the inflatables in the water, kayaking and paddle boarding. I enjoyed lounging on the beach and the beautiful pool. Very clean and nice. Food and drinks were great.

 

Belize- My family took a water taxi over to Caye Caulker. We met two great people on the water taxi from our ship and joined them on a snorkeling tour to the Coral Gardens and Shark/Ray Alley. It was cool experience to be able to see the sharks and rays so close. Because of the TWO hour time difference and water taxi schedule, we had not spare time to really explore the island and make it back to the ship on time, much to our dismay. My parents took the tender over, walked around the port area and headed back on board.

 

Roatan- My family and parents hired a driver from Victor Bodden Tours to show us around the island. Our driver was Lionel and I would highly recommend him. We went to see the monkeys (My 9 year old loved them the last time we were there and was dying to go back), drove through Coxen Hole and then headed to West Bay. I snorkeled with the 9 year old in front of the Infinity Bay Resort and my husband and teenager shore dove (you can rent gear and get a Marine Park Pass from Infinity Bay Divers). It was spectacular. While were doing this, our driver took my parents to the West End to shop and grab a bite to eat. We set up a meeting time and he picked us back up in front of Infinity Bay.

 

We could not have asked for better weather...the forecast was for rain three of the four ports but each port we had nothing but sunny skies and nice breezes!

 

Please let me know if you have any questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability!

[fourkittys]

Thank you for your review. Good information and to the point . Glad to know the Glory has some of the new 2.0 updates. Their itinery including Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay is on my bucket list now thanks to you.!!!!

[richbum]

Thanks for posting this. We are looking at cruising on the Glory...and all info is appreciated!:D

[mobydog]

I would sail on the Glory again. We really did enjoy our cruise. We are not brand loyal. Each cruise line and ship, for that matter, has it's plusses and minuses. I think each vacation is what you make of it!

 

The boys want to try one of the mega ships next time so I will have to keep my eyes peeled for a great last minute, past cruiser, Florida resident special :)

[mere08]

This is a fantastic review - thanks so much! We are traveling the same itinerary on the Legend in May with my parents and child who are similar ages to yours. My DH and I are divers so I am taking notes regarding your shore excursions. This is so helpful!

[mobydog]

Meredith...when you get further into your planning let me know if you need specific information on the dive shops and shore diving locations, etc. We did shore diving from a simple logistics stand point. Our youngest child, we lovingly refer to him as the "boat anchor" is not scuba certified. It made it easy for us to all stay together and take turns with the youngest. Let's just say the teenager got the best end of the deal :rolleyes:

 

The scuba dive boat excursions are expensive. This was our economical way to go. All three of us dove in Grand Cayman twice for a total of $90 for all including some gear, tanks, lead and refills. We had some gear and rented some other. In Roatan, my husband and teen dove for $39 total for both, including purchasing their marine park pass.

[Jamman54]

Thanks for posting your great review!! We enjoyed our cruises on the Glory.

[092306]

Thanks for posting the dive info! Didn't know about that option in Roatan and it's a lot cheaper than Carnival. Glad you all had a great cruise!

[mobydog]

Thanks for posting the dive info! Didn't know about that option in Roatan and it's a lot cheaper than Carnival. Glad you all had a great cruise!

 

 

Our driver hooked us up with tanks (his buddy has a dive shop). They only rented a regulator for my son and weights for both. We brought all of the other gear with us. We talked to Bananarama first when we got to West Bay but they would not rent the gear to us for a shore dive. We had to get it via Infinity Bay as they sold the Marine Park tag.

[CruisingObsessed]

Hi! I'm new to Carnival, was wondering about parties, trivia, games, and things like that. We have been Princess cruisers for a while, just planning to try something different and have Glory booked for fall. Princess has a deck party, something indoors at some point like a western hoe down (hoping for something less cheesy on Carnival):rolleyes: and various game shows and such. Wondering about the selection on the glory?

 

Thanks!

[WAHMto5]

Thanks for the great review! We leave in a few weeks on the Glory with the HMC, Grand Turk, ect. Ports and can't wait!!

[floridagirl2773]

We just booked Thanksgiving 2014 on the Glory!! I chose to do the FTTF as well. Thank you for your review!

 

 

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