8/13/05 Carnival Glory review

[Cruzin4aBruzin]

Hello everyone. Sorry this is like a week late, but it's been crazy getting back into real life again. Anyways, this is my first post, but I have always read this site. I'd also like to state before I begin that I have cruised RCI, X, NCL, and of course Carnival. Also, I'd like to say that we thouroghly enjoyed ourselves aboard Glory, but I AM going to tell it like it is (this doesn't mean we didn't have a good time though). OK, so here it is:

 

Embarkation: It will go smoothly unless you had to return a rental car like we did. See, we we're traveling with a group of 9 and came from a week in Disney World. We needed to return the car to Avis. It took them forever. But, once they we're in the terminal with us it was smooth sailing.

 

Dining: The Red Sail was a very enjoyable restaurant. Particularly the fish and chips, grille, and pizza were my favorites. The oriental and deli we're ok, but didn't really strike my fancy. As for the main line: It was generally good, but I thought more than 5 hot dishes would be better (but maybe the red sails other venues make up for it?) You'll also notice that if it's crowded there, that seating is always available on the upper level. I'm glad to see Carnival had an abundance of seating, as the RCI Mariner (last cruise) didn't have enough in the Windjammer. Now, for the Sushi bar: It was generelly very good, but I think the hours were bad. I always managed to miss it b/c it was during dinner. Also creams was pretty good as well. Now onto the dining room. Our party had main seating in Upper Golden. I'm not going to lie, that is by far the ugliest dining room I've seen on a ship. The food made up for it though. I was very impressed with carnival's presentation and the taste. It has come a long way since our last carnival cruise on Destiny in 2000. I recommend getting the pasta as a starter every evening--they were always good. And the filet mignon was very very good. And one night they will have a dessert called white and black pudding--don't put that off--you must get it--it was amazing. One thing I want to say though is that our service was not the best. We were at table 232 with Christian. He is very nice, but also very shy. He didn't play with the kids like they usually do, he never replenished our silverware (unless asked to), and just wasn't around that much.

 

Entertainment: The entertainment on the Glory was fairly good. They had two broadway style shows. The first one is ok, but the second one I liked better (I think it was rock on broadway). We also had an illusionist and a magician that does comedy too. Also throughout the week we had four comedians. I felt that they were all lacking in ability. I really enjoyed their clean PG shows, but when I would go back to the R show later they we're never funny. They just cussed a lot and picked on ppl in the audience--they didn't have any REAL material. On a last note, the cruise director Mark Price, is probably the best cruise director I've ever had. The guy is funny and can act on his feet. I totally enjoyed his presence.

 

Key West: This is a pretty nice port. Not a lot to do except shop. The main street there is called Duval Street. We went to Jimmy Buffetts to eat. Not much else to say here.

 

Belize: I really liked it here, despite its bad wrap (I got that impression from the cruise staff). We shopped a little by the harbor and then went to Goff's Cay. I love this. It's a tiny island that you can snorkle off of. I had never done anything like it. Also, the way they speed boat you off of the ship is pretty interesting.

 

Cozumel: This was my favorite port. We went straight to Channakab National Park. This place is heaven. They had awesome snorkeling--fish were everywhere--like they would just bump into you. And the beach was nice too. One thing you will notice about Cozumel is the hurricane damage. For example, those of you that frequent the park know of the large thatch roof that adorns the top the entrance building. It's gone. Anyways, we got dinner on the ship (it was open seating in the platinum room that night) and headed back off to shop. SIDE NOTE: we parked next to the fascination. Did anyone know they put a nice mini golf course on there? I was so jealous once I saw that...haha. Think the other ships will get it?

 

Random Glory Thoughts: I thought the glory was a nice ship, but some things just didn't compare to RCI voyager class. The signage throughout the ship looks tacky--fiber optic signage? I think they need nicer signs. For example: the entrance to the red sail could have a red fabric sail with the words painted on the mast. Fiber optics just didn't cut it for EVERY sign. Also, we got our free lanyards in the casino. We were told that these are only for ppl 18+ yrs of age. It also seemed that they were giving away lanyards with a clear plastic case at the Carnival Vacation Club Kiosk. The casino treated me well though--I won the highest jackpot on a slot machine--500 dollars. Some more things I'd like to add: The gym needs to stay open longer than 8pm (I like to work out after dinner), the Grille needs to stay open like forever (haha...ya...it was that good), and the slide needs to stay open longer than 5pm. Also, about the rooms: we had 3 inside rooms. They were very nice--esp. those new beds. I wanted to take it home:D . One thing that needs improved though: the showers still have curtains on them. This was very messy. No matter how careful one was, the whole bathroom always seemed to flood. And one last note: Carnival seems to have started this "team colors" competition throughout the week. At dinner you are assigned a team color. The more you participate in an activity, the more points your team gets (red, blue, or white teams). I must say that this is one thing I hated. It was awful--everywhere you went ppl were shouting out their team color and fighting. One night some guy took his shirt off in the dining room to express his "team pride." I just think the whole thing got out of hand.

 

All in all though--great cruise. Feel free to ask any questions. Thanks!

[dancedoc]

Cruzin4aBruzin thanks for the review. Can't wait to get on the Glory in October, leaving on October 22. How was Avis we have reservations with them on October 21 and 29th. If they are not a good sevice I will cancell those reservations right now. What was bad about them? and would you rent from them again? Thanks

[vicocala]

Thanks for the review, I can't wait to get on the ship tomorrow!

[cruisemates2]

Vicocala,

 

Lucky you! We will be on her Oct 1st. Just received our docs so we are really excited now! I am reading every review and it sounds like most everyone loves the ship. Have a great cruise. Please let us know your thoughts when you return.

[Cruzin4aBruzin]

The one, I really like Avis. This time they were just very slow processing the returning of the cars in cocoa beach and there was not a shuttle waiting to take up back. Now, on the flip side: last year we took the mariner and used avis and they we're quite snappy. Just depends how things work. There really is no trouble though. But, when you see that ship, you want to get on fast...haha. Hope you enjoy the Glory.

[mnsawyer]

Thanks for the review. We sailed the Glory in early April and rented a car from Budget. It was excellent and I would use them again in a second. We waited all of 10 minutes from the time we dropped off our car until we were getting into a van to the port. We loved the western itinerary and glad to hear you liked Goff's Caye. We did that tour too. Chank is great in Cozumel too...the snorkeling is the best! We liked the red, white and blue contest in the dining room but that's just us. Thought it made things fun. I guess I didn't notice the fiber optic signs??

[Mary&Jim]

Thanks for the review. We sail on the Glory November 12th and can't wait. There are 35 in our group so it should be fun. I'm a bit nervous as I picked this ship and I've never been on Carnival before. Sailed lots of times on RCL.

 

Thanks again,

 

Mary