DETAILED REVIEW & PICS: GLORY DAYS Eastern Caribbean 14-21 April for first timers

[teknoge3k]

Great review so far!

[BigCruze]

Nice

[Clarea]

Enjoying the excellent photos, thanks!

[parkesyau]

I haven’t had a chance to get back to my review today ( Mondays are horrible) but will sit down tomorrow evening and get on to SEA DAY!!! Really was a fun day! Glad you are enjoying my perspective and the pics. I loved seeing other people’s reviews and pics. Gosh I’m already googling Carribean Cruises for a few years time

[tchakra0124]

Yeah, me too. For some reason, I've recemtly become obsessed w HMC? [emoji848]? LOL!

 

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[lennythenose]

As everyone else has said I am really enjoying your review and the Aussie perspective. I laughed about your son’s eating. My boys were about the ages of your children on our first cruise. My youngest was a skinny thing but he too discovered he LOVES cruise food. He may have ordered from a kids menu one night but that’s all. They both ate from the regular menu and love it. Several cruises later at 18 and 15 and they are much more adventurous eaters than DH or me. Youngest actually finished 2 melting cakes one night a few years ago! Still not sure how he did that.

[beckiann1377]

Loving your review!! You have an adorable family!

[parkesyau]

As everyone else has said I am really enjoying your review and the Aussie perspective. I laughed about your son’s eating. My boys were about the ages of your children on our first cruise. My youngest was a skinny thing but he too discovered he LOVES cruise food. He may have ordered from a kids menu one night but that’s all. They both ate from the regular menu and love it. Several cruises later at 18 and 15 and they are much more adventurous eaters than DH or me. Youngest actually finished 2 melting cakes one night a few years ago! Still not sure how he did that.

 

 

 

That is too funny. My daughter ordered snails legs more just to have a taste. Safe to say even though they tasted like chicken she then decided to order something else. Their highlight was looking at that dinner menu every night. I can’t wait to do another cruise to the carribean. I’ll be back this evening with Sea Day and boy did we eat haha

[tchakra0124]

That is too funny. My daughter ordered snails legs more just to have a taste. Safe to say even though they tasted like chicken she then decided to order something else. Their highlight was looking at that dinner menu every night. I can’t wait to do another cruise to the carribean. I’ll be back this evening with Sea Day and boy did we eat haha

Uh... pretty sure [emoji222] snails [emoji222]don't have legs. Lol!

 

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[BigCruze]

Great info. Thanks

[parkesyau]

Uh... pretty sure [emoji222] snails [emoji222]don't have legs. Lol!

 

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OMG yet again typed wrong. Snails and Frogs legs is what i meant to write. Sheesh

[parkesyau]

YaY SEA DAY!!!

to be completely honest i can't say i was excited about this day. I mainly picked the cruise schedule with the least amount of sea days because i thought i would be bored on a ship and would rather be in port. It was only our 3rd day in and we only had 1 port so far, so i thought for sure this would be a slow day. Boy was I wrong. This is where our cruise obsession really kicked it up a notch from so many avenues. Boy did we have fun.!!!

After a slow start to the morning ( 9am sleep in for the kids was huge) we decided to try the sea day brunch. Can i just say my kids at home never sleep past 7am. We all just crashed. I loved the cabin bed i found it comfortable no problem. Im not a bed snob( my husband complains about hotel pillows because he travels so much) but this bed was great and comfortable. We all felt like we slept forever. The gentle rocking of the ocean was amazing too. Helps rock you to sleep. Safe to say no kids fell out of the bunk beds they were slightly scared that would happen at least once. I did tell them these ships sail in rougher seas than what we were experiencing. Yet again i am so thankful for the balcony view. Every morning i would throw open the blinds and let that light bathe our room. Sometimes i would head out there and sit there until everyone else started to get moving. This morning i was up half hour before the kids so i just sat out there and enjoyed the waves. It was slightly rocky today but no big deal. Quite windy though.

For brunch we had to head to platinum dining room up the front of the ship. We go a bit lost getting there and ended up going up and down a few times. Wasn't exactly well signposted to be honest i think we ended up everywhere but there.

It was not busy and we were seated straight away It was about 9:45 by the time we got there. This was one of my " other server" experiences. I can't remember his name he was lovely but no Pande.

My daughter ordered french toast crusted in fruitloops. How gross..... My kids never eat this much sugar at home and this was overload. My son ordered just a bowl of cereal. I can't even remember what i got but it was nothing memorable. Once breakfast was done, hubby wanted to go to the gym again ( i still had not been and had no intention of going). He also wants to get some washing done as by now it was about a week into our holiday and we needed to get some cleaning done. I left him to his washing/drying and gym sessions and the kids decided they wanted to hit the pool. They had also circled some activities they wanted to do. One was Clue the stage show ( goodness me) and my son wanted to o to the kids centre for a few hours or arts crafts and science in the afternoon.

So off i went to the pool deck for a few hours. I managed to find 1 chair up near the slides and made it a base. There was a lot of towels on chairs and not many bodies. I don't think anyone monitors what chairs are in use.

So while the kids played on the slides i decided to read a book, and sure why not, order a morning cocktail. By now it was late morning and the deck started to buzz. People were everywhere. My kids decided they wanted to swim in the pool. I don't know if i would call it a pool or an oversized spa, but there were a lot of bodies in there at one point. It certainly wasn't a smooth sailing day as the pool water was creating waves. They had soft island music playing so it was all quite nice. They also set up a " flash stall" right near the pool with leftover t-shirts etc from HMC. I got a beach bag for half price. Honestly a great purchase it was mesh and large. Better than carrying a backpack from now on.

Things on deck really stepped up a notch closer to lunch. The DJ was back which was great i loved the music. They had some ice sculpting on deck. My daughter guessed what it was going to be and won a medal from the dj which she was proud about.

I took the kids to the Clue stage show and basically its a week long game on board. They will reveal clues throughout the cruise and then you make your accusation to win a prize at the end. The clue reveal was always tied in with bingo (my hubby only stayed for one bingo) but usually its done at the start so u get your clue and leave. My daughter wanted to do this, my son couldn't care less. So off we went to get the setup of the story before returning to deck

then all the fun and games started. Sea day was when we really started to experience the "FUN SQUAD". Dustin our director was on deck and it was mixology contest time where a bunch of contestants got up and mixed up their drinks. The winning drink would be on the menu for the rest of the cruise. Dustin was great, he was very charismatic and entertaining. Leo was another member of the fun squad that loved, especially my son. He had an english accent and was just so much fun. Especially on our later events like music trivia. The deck was buzzing by now and my kids were watching the contests and swimming. By now hubby is on deck and getting a drink. Washing done and dried. What a champ. He takes my son to kids club for the activities he wanted to do and checks him in for a few hours. From mixology contest it rolled into lip synch battle or auditions which was funny to watch. Many entertaining and brave people.

The winning contestants was one guy from NY i think and a girl from Australia. ho excited do you think my daughter was to see an Aussie on board. Haha. The deck was really bussing now and everyone was dancing. The cupid shuffle is now my kids fav song and imagine how many times they did that on this cruise.

By mid/late afternoon when all the comps etc were done the DJ packed it up and it was back to calm relaxing ( boring) music on deck. I must say at this point i started to feel weird. I had only had 2 drinks with lunch but i did feel " off". Not sick or anything just strange. I left hubby in charge of the kiddies and went back to the cabin to lie down. Prior to lying down i had bought some phenergen from home in case the kids got seasick. Its non drowsy for adults unlike some other meds, so i decided to take the adult dose in case my body was just feeling the waves today. Sure enough about an hour later and a power nap i felt great and ready to go again.

Tonight was formal night. the kids were going to eat with the kids club tonight so hubby took them up to the meeting spot and we took our time going to dinner. We headed to the lobby for a drink then decided to put our names down for the dinner queue. It was about 7:00 by now and we were given a buzzer and told half an hour. I didn't specify Pande as she mainly had tables of 4 anyway so i thought we should try others. About 10 minutes later our buzzer went off and we were seated. The menu looked lovely and i had to have the lobster. It was the one and only time on the menu and it was delicious. The table was set with tablecloths etc. The food was lovely and our server was nice. But no Pande. After here we would only request Pande, she just went that extra step.

By now i am in party mode after my power nap, drugs and a few drinks under my belt. My husband could barely keep his eyes open. Oh man seriously i told him to go to the cabin i would find fun myself, but he had a coffee and stuck it out. Tonight was the motown show. We didn't bother going ( and i am glad we didn't-we saw one show or part thereof later in the cruise and it was pretty sub standard)

Back to the lobby we go to listen to the band and have a few drinks. As the motown show finished the fun squad hit the lobby for Motown trivia, so we stayed for a bit of fun. Its funny looking back at these pictures now, that was the first night trivia party and it was about 1/3rd the capacity of what it was by the end of the cruise. Popularity grew. We played, sang along, had a dance and when it wrapped up we went for a wander. there was a movie on deck and i grabbed some popcorn and kept walking. I didn't feel like comedy club but we did stumble upon the piano bar and singalong with Joanne. By now i am very " merry" and my husband is very "boring". Hahah. It was the one and only time i was tipsy and merry on board. Singalong with Joanne on the piano was one of my highlights. The room was crowded and she played some awesome songs. All bar my drunk request of benny and the jets. Hubby left me in my singalong haze and went to get the kids from kids club as it was almost 10pm. They wanted to stay for the " party" i think it was glow party, however they didn't get enough kids for it so it didn't go ahead. Wha a shame i could have kept partying.

I headed back shortly after with my "sea legs" yes lets call them that and not call them too many cocktail legs.

To be honest i don't even remember the walk back or even getting into the room the next thing i knew i was waking up the next morning. Hubby said i managed to beat him back tot he room and when him and the kids came in, i was fast asleep. Wow i was sure i partied longer after he left. Surely it was more than 5 minutes.

All i can say our sea day was jam packed full of fun. By now we started to get to know the fun squad of Leo, Casey, Michelle, Rufio. Casey and Leo were our absolute favourites my daughter loved casey as she was australian and my son loved Leo. He was pretty hilarious. they really made the rest of our cruise one to remember. They really turned the fun up a notch.

Piano singalong is SO MUCH FUN. Don't bother with he karaoke bar. The vibe in here was great. Lots of people having fun.

I wish i could stay awake past 10pm to make it to the real night scene but with kids its hard. I think next time i have to bring my " babysitter " parents.

I didn't get seasick at all and never have motion sickness so i am not sure why i felt "off" and strange. The phenergan worked amazingly and I'm glad i had it.Yet again we had a lot of grey goose and cocktails and once more didn't hit our 15 drink limit.

Sea days are fun if done right. The ship has so much going on and so much to do. We loved it.

Now for the photos.......

Stay Tuned... St Thomas is up next ( with a slight hangover)

[parkesyau]

my morning coffee with the waves breakfast of champions?

besst tshirt ever-hubby loves games and loves this tee I got our son another great t shirt I found in our travels ( but didn’t purchase)

[parkesyau]

that Cupid shuffle

balcony life before sunset

[parkesyau]

formal night

[parkesyau]

I should say formal night was ok but nothing glamorous and extravagant. Some people went along way others didn’t. Maybe works better on ships where the angle isn’t about fun and more about posh. I could have easily done without formal night to us it was just another night I just had to carry over formal clothes.

[grandmarnnurse]

I should say formal night was ok but nothing glamorous and extravagant. Some people went along way others didn’t. Maybe works better on ships where the angle isn’t about fun and more about posh. I could have easily done without formal night to us it was just another night I just had to carry over formal clothes.

After years of cruising and having to drag formal, dressy clothes, my hubby and I are so done with it. Our last 2 cruises were on NCL, where every night is casual, no formal nights, and it was such a relief to not drag any dressy clothes. As a matter of fact, my hubby only wore khaki shorts and polos to dinner every night, and me, only a sundress and sandals. So, with that said, my next 2 cruises will be on Carnival, and not sure how dressy we care to get. Probably only a khaki pant and polo for the hubby, and a little dressier sundress for me with my sandals. We’ve cut WAY back on our packing since we decided we were done with getting dressy. One pair of sandals for the whole week, compared to my first cruise in 1995 where I had one whole suitcase full of shoes!! Lol!

[momof3cruisers]

Lovely report! Going on this cruise with the substitution of Amber Cove :( in Jan. Really appreciate all of your pictures. Your family is awesome and I love your son's stuffed animal obsession. My son was like that for many years.

 

Can you tell me what the blue drink in the martini glass is please?

[Silent Penguin]

Busy day! I can't wait to hear about St. Thomas. In 8 Caribbean cruises, we've never been to St. Thomas.

[mlipreston]

Wow what a great review. Looking forward to the rest of it.

 

 

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[Dremac373]

Although I will not be sailing this ship for my first Carnival sailingin August, I still found this review to be very entertaining to read...We will be Sailing Magic with almost the exact itinerary as yours with the exception of Amber Cove, DR as opposed to Half Moon Cay, so this is very helpful to me, and loving the pix thanx

[pbxtech]

Great Review

[Babygal77s]

Enjoying your review!! You have a lovely family!

 

 

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[parkesyau]

After years of cruising and having to drag formal, dressy clothes, my hubby and I are so done with it. Our last 2 cruises were on NCL, where every night is casual, no formal nights, and it was such a relief to not drag any dressy clothes. As a matter of fact, my hubby only wore khaki shorts and polos to dinner every night, and me, only a sundress and sandals. So, with that said, my next 2 cruises will be on Carnival, and not sure how dressy we care to get. Probably only a khaki pant and polo for the hubby, and a little dressier sundress for me with my sandals. We’ve cut WAY back on our packing since we decided we were done with getting dressy. One pair of sandals for the whole week, compared to my first cruise in 1995 where I had one whole suitcase full of shoes!! Lol!

 

 

 

Wait until later in my review where I totally mix up the day for the second Formal night and end up casual on formal night. They honestly didn’t care the waiters in the restaurant said it’s no big deal she said “it’s your holidays we want you to enjoy it”. Nobody gave us bad looks or anything. Haha I don’t think I ever want to do those fancy formal ships. This was just so casual and so perfect for families

[parkesyau]

St Thomas coming up next-sorry I’ve had a crazy week and no time. I’ll be sitting down later today and talking St Thomas.