My First ever Caribbean Cruise aboard the Glory March 2016 Review w/pics

[Alexv500]

Loving the review! We are going to be on the Glory in December. Cant wait for the rest of your review.

 

 

Thanks! You're going to have such a great cruise and a great time, loved the Glory! Will you be sailing this same itinerary as well?

[Alexv500]

Evening Adventures Onboard

 

After enjoying a very fun and delicious dinner, it was time to explore the ship at night, lots was going on tonight and I was very anxious to see what there was to do tonight! Everyone in my family pretty much did their own thing as they settled onboard, grandmom went to see the welcome aboard show with my aunt and I decided to take my mom and one of my brothers on a little evening stroll along the promenade and just take them exploring with me! The outdoor Promenade is one of my favorite places to be on any cruises, and it's even better at night when all you can hear is the sound of the ocean passing by-I just LOVE that sound! One fun fact-what I loved so much about the Caribbean is how warm it always was at night! Like not once did I ever wear a sweater on this cruise! Every night was so nice and pleasantly warm outside, something I am not used to! I know here in California it gets very hot, but the warmth out in Florida and the Caribbean is something very different and I think that's the humidity! Most hate the humidity but I surprisingly really liked it, maybe it's because I am just not used to that type of warmth-here we always have dry heat!

 

 

Relaxing out on the lido for a bit!

 

 

Me and my brother Nathan hung out on the lido a bit and watched a movie and I also ended up budging and bought the wifi package LOL! I kept telling myself I wouldn't get it, but I gave in and bought it (next cruise I am definitely not going to get it because I need to disconnect from the world!!) The rest of my family was pretty pooped out, especially my mom and brothers since they had taken a red eye flight to get to Miami and hadn't slept good since like 2 days before so they were exhausted and jet lagged! We also were stopping at our first port of call and that would be beautiful Half Moon Cay, Bahamas! And everyone was very excited and looking forward to it because of all the pictures we saw beforehand. So with that said..

Next up: Arrival to Half Moon Cay!

[Alexv500]

Gooood Morning from Half Moon Cay!!

 

 

 

We made it finally!! Today was the day! I had been waiting for this day for sooo long and after seeing so many pictures and videos of this magnificent and beautiful slide of paradise, I was finally here and I just could not believe it was real that I was finally here, AHH! I woke up pretty early at around 6:30ish and decided to head on up to see what was going on up on deck, well that and I was just super excited to get this day started already! I was also ready for breakfast because..well..I love my food!! Me and Grandmom were the only ones in my family awake, the rest were knocked out in their cabins sleeping but it's okay they were exhausted so we let them get their rest! While grandmom got ready for today, I headed on up to the lido and to my spot on deck 10 to go checkout the sunrise, and oh boy take a look at this beautiful sunrise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My grandma also enjoyed her breakfast too and she loved the coffee in the MDR so much and would always ask for more Lol! I would get OJ and Apple juice, nice and cold too! During breakfast, it was around 8am ish and we were already approaching the island as we felt the engines slowly slow down as we neared HMC! So after breakfast, we headed on up the front of the ship to my favorite spot on deck 10 to watch as we slowly pulled into HMC! And once I saw crystal clear blue water.. well I was freaking out and buzzing with excitement because never in my life had I seen such turquoise blue water, I was already in deep love with the Caribbean! The last time I had seen such blue water was when I went on vacation to Cancun many years ago when I was 10, so it's been a while since and HMC smokes Cancun!

 

 

 

 

We're here!

 

 

 

It was finally time when we began to hear the announcement for tender tickets! There was one problem though, my family was all over the ship and we needed our entire group together to get our ticket, however getting my family together and finding them is like herding a herd of sheep! So me and grandmom had to get the rest of my family together after they ate breakfast and got ready and all their stuff ready for our day on the island! Everyone was super excited to be on the island and we had all been looking forward to it forever!! My mom in particular was extremely excited like me, she had been looking forward to HMC from the minute she booked the cruise, today was definitely going to be the best day ever in paradise!

 

 

 

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y348/Al300/Carnival%20Glory%20Cruise/1F08D7EB-17E1-46F8-B494-6B8989482A5D_zpsuuiuewt7.jpg' alt='1F08D7EB-17E1-46F8-B494-6B8989482A5D_zpsuuiuewt7.jpg'>

 

Quick selfie I took! I look really bad in this picture but hey you can see the blue water behind me along with my tender ticket on my shirt hahah!

 

 

 

Up Next: We're finally in Paradise!

Edited April 23, 2016 by Alexv500

[ryancmetzler]

Sio glad to see you back Alex. I'm really looking forward to the rest of your review. I sailed the Glory over Thanksgiving last year and really liked her - BUT - what I'm waiting for is whether you had any interaction with Jordan on the entertainment staff - she's my only child and I miss her - her contract ends May 7th, so she'll be home soon. This was her first contract and she's still seems unsure of whether she will return for another contract (it will have to be another ship as the Glory won't have an opening when she starts another contract).

 

Funny thing is - I also use to work on Carnival - back in the 80's I was a "gift shop girl" and then the shop manager on the Carnivale, Mardi Gras & Festivale. I actually met her father while on the Festivale - he was a Purser!!! I think they work alot harder now than we did. It was a great time for me!!

 

Hey, since you love cruising so much - how about working onboard???

 

First, you raised an amazing person. I just got off the Glory today with my brother and we both talked and danced with Jordan a bunch. She is a natutal, I find it hard to believe it was her first contact. She is very excited to go home!

I hope she finds what she loves to do but it world be great to see her again.

[cruisinbabs]

Finally Getting on the Ship!

 

 

 

Let's see here where did I leave off? Ah yes boarding the ship!

 

 

 

So once our zone was finally called, we proceeded on up to the gangway, and it was approximately noon when we started to board. Boarding is the best part of embarkation day, just finally being able to get on the ship, after soo many months of waiting, here is it- the moment you've been waiting for for so many months! I was literally on cloud 9 (heh see the reference I did there to the cloud 9 spa on some of Carnival's newer ships haha!) Once I am on the gangway, I am just so happy, like this is finally happening!! I have seen countless videos of people's vacations onboard many of the other carnival ships and I always see them boarding their ship here in Miami, but never did I imagine that I would too be going up that same gangway, boarding a ship on the vacation of a lifetime for a week in the Caribbean Islands! A dream come true!! Finally!

 

 

 

So once up the gangway, I finally set foot on the ship for the first time-nothing better than your first step onboard any ship! Let the fun begin I am on vacation!!

 

 

Almost thereeeee hurry up people I wanna get on already!

 

 

 

Once onboard the ship my first order of business- GUYS BURGERS ASAP! No one knows how long I had been waiting to try a burger from Guy's, I had heard nothing but how amazing these burgers were and I had to try it, forget the buffet, I gotta get to guys! So immediately I headed up to the lido and so did the rest of the group, since our cabins weren't going to be ready until 1:30 we had time to kill and eat, what sucked was having to carry around all our stuff we had with us, and with my big family, we had ALOT of carry ons LOL. I quickly got in line to get me a Guy's burger and the one I got was the ringer and it was AMAZING!!! Here in California, burgers are a big deal here and we have so many burger joints here that are unique to California such as In N Out and Habit Burger (which I love with all my heart) so we Californians are pretty picky with our burgers and Guy's was SOOOO GOOD, they got my stamp of approval, way better than In N Out, that's how good they were!! Oh and the fries, OH THE FRIES from Guy's don't get me started...I miss them so much!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finally arrived at our cabin, and it was just two cabins away from the elevators and I actually loved the easy access we had to the elevators, very convenient! I just LOVE walking into my cabin for the first time and looking for it, just one of the many things I love about embarkation day! We walked into our cabin and everything was very nice, neat, and clean! They even had the beds separated like I had requested! No complaints about the cabin!

 

 

 

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/y348/Al300/Carnival%20Glory%20Cruise/A4078D5E-9C73-428A-9C18-2981247C668F_zpslck9woeg.jpg' alt='A4078D5E-9C73-428A-9C18-2981247C668F_zpslck9woeg.jpg'>

 

My home for the next 7 days! Excuse our bags, we immediately got in there and just dropped everything LOL!

 

 

 

Grandmom and I dropped off our bags in the cabin, and then headed back on up to explore the ship and admire the Miami views! Just waiting for our luggage to get here, but I was in no rush, I understand the crew has thousands of pieces of luggage to deliver so no biggie for me! Now time to go and explore this beautiful ship!

 

 

 

Up Next: Embarkation Day Fun & Exploring the Ship!

 

 

 

I also want to thank the time to thank every single one of you for taking the time to read my review! It means so much to me and I just love doing these reviews and sharing my amazing experience aboard the Glory! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask me! Thank you all so much!

 

 

Yes! Guys burgers!! Nom nom nom! We just got an in and out here in my town here in Oregon and it's the only one in the state! We also have a mom and pop burger stand that is pretty good too. I think it's a west coast thing. Hehehe. :-). Enjoying your review buddy!

Edited April 24, 2016 by cruisinbabs

[twinklen01]

Evening Adventures Onboard

 

After enjoying a very fun and delicious dinner, it was time to explore the ship at night, lots was going on tonight and I was very anxious to see what there was to do tonight! Everyone in my family pretty much did their own thing as they settled onboard, grandmom went to see the welcome aboard show with my aunt and I decided to take my mom and one of my brothers on a little evening stroll along the promenade and just take them exploring with me! The outdoor Promenade is one of my favorite places to be on any cruises, and it's even better at night when all you can hear is the sound of the ocean passing by-I just LOVE that sound! One fun fact-what I loved so much about the Caribbean is how warm it always was at night! Like not once did I ever wear a sweater on this cruise! Every night was so nice and pleasantly warm outside, something I am not used to! I know here in California it gets very hot, but the warmth out in Florida and the Caribbean is something very different and I think that's the humidity! Most hate the humidity but I surprisingly really liked it, maybe it's because I am just not used to that type of warmth-here we always have dry heat!

 

 

We also were stopping at our first port of call and that would be beautiful Half Moon Cay, Bahamas! And everyone was very excited and looking forward to it because of all the pictures we saw beforehand. So with that said..

Next up: Arrival to Half Moon Cay!

 

I don't like humid weather :( how hot and humid was it during the day?? I know you like it but did your family like it or was it miserable? Trying to prepare myself for when I go. I'm hoping spring isn't to bad-lol!

 

Half Moon Cay is the place my daughter is dying to go to. I can't wait to see the rest of your pictures and read more of your review :)

 

BTW- Guy burger looks so good!!!

[cruisinsly]

Thanks! You're going to have such a great cruise and a great time, loved the Glory! Will you be sailing this same itinerary as well?

 

We will be on the Western Itinerary. We are taking my mom with us to stay in the room with our son. She has never been to Mexico and wants to see Tulum, so we decided on this itinerary.

[sc4125]

First, you raised an amazing person. I just got off the Glory today with my brother and we both talked and danced with Jordan a bunch. She is a natutal, I find it hard to believe it was her first contact. She is very excited to go home!

I hope she finds what she loves to do but it world be great to see her again.

 

Thank you so much for this. I'm going to print it for her. I know she's excited to come home but I'm telling you from experience - once she's home for awhile she's going to miss ship life (lol). You know moms - I just want her to find something to make her happy.

 

It was so nice of you to take the time to post this!!

[Alexv500]

Hey everyone I'm back!! Sorry it's been a while since I've worked on the review and I feel bad for leaving you all hanging! No worries I am going to get back to it soon, school has just been crazy ahh lots of stress! Graduating next week! But I have made lots of progress regarding my cruise review- finally finished editing and uploading all my videos for you guys so I will link those along with the review as it goes :) Hope everyone is doing well!

 

Already planning next year's cruise and looks like we will be doing the Vista next March on an 8 day Southern Caribbean- so can't wait to book that soon! My goal is to get a job very soon once I'm 18 and my ultimate goal is to pay for the whole trip myself and treat my Grandmom since she's already paid for me on 2 cruises so now it's my turn to treat her, so wish me luck on getting on a job LOL I'm working to cruise, I really want that red card haha!

[bluehenfan01]

Love reading your review Alex! You take some really nice pics! I also must say that I absolutely love your enthusiasm about cruising!! You excitement and making me even MORE excited for my cruise later this month! :)

[Adge01]

Glad you are back, especially with all you have going on with graduation. Congrats on that by the way. Looks like I will miss you on the Vista by a month, taking my family for Easter break in April.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!!!!

[Jdfireman]

Excellent review...

 

I am glad to see at a young age taking a set dinner time. Its the best way to get the whole group together and catch up on who did what during the day...

 

Great review again Glad to see you enjoyed the trip. I will be leaving another mark on the Glory in June

[cruisequeen4ever]

Congratulations on graduating!! I was thrilled to see you back on a ship and this time to the GLORYous Caribbean!! So has Carnival swayed you away from Princess? I can see how an 18 year old would be more entertained on Carnival. You are so sweet to want to treat your grandma to a cruise, and I bet she has treasured taking you on these 2 cruises! Good luck getting a job, and welcome to the world of working to cruise! [emoji568]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[skymars]

Just found this review and I am loving it!!! Congrats on your graduation! My first ever cruise was on the Glory and was a gift from my grandmother (best gift EVER) for my high school graduation. I loved that ship and it got me totally hooked on cruising!

 

You really put your enthusiasm into words perfectly and I can't wait to read more. :)

Edited May 12, 2016 by skymars

[Alexv500]

Love reading your review Alex! You take some really nice pics! I also must say that I absolutely love your enthusiasm about cruising!! You excitement and making me even MORE excited for my cruise later this month! :)

 

 

Thank you so much!! And for taking the time to read it! :) I truly love cruising with a passion, and it's something I get so excited and passionate about when talking about it! What ship will you be sailing on? Have a great cruise!!

[Alexv500]

Glad you are back, especially with all you have going on with graduation. Congrats on that by the way. Looks like I will miss you on the Vista by a month, taking my family for Easter break in April.

 

 

Thank you!! I'm super excited to graduate! I'm also super excited for the Vista! What itinerary will you be doing? The 6 or 8 day? :)

[Alexv500]

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!!!!

 

 

Awww thank you so much!! :)

[Alexv500]

Excellent review...

 

 

 

I am glad to see at a young age taking a set dinner time. Its the best way to get the whole group together and catch up on who did what during the day...

 

 

 

Great review again Glad to see you enjoyed the trip. I will be leaving another mark on the Glory in June

 

 

I love having a set dining time, makes things so much easier! I've read anytime dining is a mess and sometimes you got to wait for a table- I love having the same table and same waiters every night! It's just part of the entire cruise experience!

 

I love the Glory! What itinerary will you be doing nothing? eastern or western? :D

[Alexv500]

Congratulations on graduating!! I was thrilled to see you back on a ship and this time to the GLORYous Caribbean!! So has Carnival swayed you away from Princess? I can see how an 18 year old would be more entertained on Carnival. You are so sweet to want to treat your grandma to a cruise, and I bet she has treasured taking you on these 2 cruises! Good luck getting a job, and welcome to the world of working to cruise! [emoji568]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

Thank you so much and for finding this review as well! Makes me so happy to see some of my friends from my last review! I definitely fell in love with Carnival, they won my heart, but that doesn't mean I am completely going to ditch princess haha, Princess will always have a special place in my heart since I sailed my first cruise with them :) I definitely see and Alaskan cruise with them in the future!

 

The Caribbean was amazing!! Such a wonderful an amazing experience, loved it so much and had a boat load of fun on this cruise! Carnival was amazing, such a fun ship! Very excited for the next cruise, I need another cruise and can't wait to book the next one on the Vista! Thanks again for taking the time to read, more is on the way!

[Alexv500]

Just found this review and I am loving it!!! Congrats on your graduation! My first ever cruise was on the Glory and was a gift from my grandmother (best gift EVER) for my high school graduation. I loved that ship and it got me totally hooked on cruising!

 

 

 

You really put your enthusiasm into words perfectly and I can't wait to read more. :)

 

 

Thanks for finding my review!! Hey we got a similar story haha both of us sailed the Glory with our grandma's!! This cruise was also a graduation gift for me too, and it's the best gift I could have ever asked for, such a fun cruise!! My addiction continues to grow with every cruise I go on, can't wait for cruise #3 next year! :)

[Bimmer09]

Alex, glad to see you have already got your 2nd cruise under your belt!

 

I followed your Ruby Princess review last year so am coming along on this ride with you.

 

Keep it coming-and the more photos the merrier!

 

Cheers,

 

Norris

[Quilcruisers]

Awww thank you so much!! :)

 

Alex, thank you so much for this review. It is refreshing to see young people enjoy the great things in life and to share those with your family. Congrats on your graduation and best wishes to you and your sweet Grandma! She is so lucky to have you!

[Alexv500]

Half Moon Cay I have arrived!!

 

After about an hour of waiting for our tender number to be called, it was finally time for us to proceed down to deck 0 and board our tender to paradise! I had waited soooo long to finally be living this exact moment in which I would finally be in HMC after seeing all these beautiful pictures and videos online of this place, and now I was finally here just a 10 minute tender ride towards paradise, I could not contain my excitement to finally hit the beach! As a California boy, our beaches here are nowhere near as nice as the Caribbean. Put it this way, the Caribbean makes our beaches here look like a dumpster, that's how dirty and murky our water is here, and after this trip going to the beaches here in California will just no longer be the same anymore for me, LOL!

 

I just love tender ports because of the great view you get of your ship, the last time I tendered was last year in Cabo. (Sorry for all the random people in my pics, it was a challenge to get a good shot on a rocky tender boat lol!)

 

So after a quick minute tender ride, we were finally in Half Moon Cay and omg it was amazing to finally be there!! It was a very hot day today, and that was good because the water was going to feel amazing under this humid Caribbean sun. The first order of business and most important of all- head to the beaachhh!! Today was going to be a beach day for us, no excursions for today. When we finally made it to the beach, my jaw dropped and I just could not contain all my excitement and I dropped everything and ran into the ocean, the beach here is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life, no words can justify the beauty of HMC, omg is all I could say, this was PARADISE!

 

 

 

My whole family fell in love with Half Moon Cay and it was truly such an amazing day, and this was only our first port of call! 3 more ports after this and I was enjoying myself very much, I already knew this was going to be such an amazing week and cruise ahead! I also spent the entire day filming footage with my GoPro, and I will give you guys all the link to that video!

Please exucse the 3 minute gap of silence between 7:30-10:30-I had a song for that section but Youtube was being a pain with that so I had to take off that particular song off so they could leave me alone, so sorry about that but enjoy the video! I have videos for each part of this cruise so I will include the link to each as we go along!

 

Next up: More Pics and Heading Back on the Ship + I GOT SUNBURNED

[Alexv500]

More Pics!

 

Here are some more pics from HMC!

 

 

 

Half Moon Cay, wow is all I can say, that's just how amazing this place was, no private island in the Bahamas can beat HMC, it was AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL!! I will definitely go back, and this port was one of the highlights of the cruise, and my mom fell in LOVE with HMC!! She even said that her next Caribbean cruise HAS TO have a stop here, Haha!

 

More of the review coming up next!

 

Hope everyone enjoys the pictures and GoPro videos I've put together- plus I want to thank all of you for reading and being patient as I slowly put together this review, and thank you all so much for your kind comments, they mean so much to me! :D