Family Glory Cruise February 2-9, 2020

[grandmarnnurse]

Ok. I’m going to start this while waiting in lobby of our hotel in New Orleans, for our ride to airport and flight home. We booked this cruise last Summer, to join our daughter and her family that had already booked. We were booked for a B2B in April on the Magic to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. It was to be a family cruise, but this daughter, and her military husband, could not make it in April, so we decided to join them. I am so glad we did! It was a fabulous time! We flew out of Rochester, NY on January 30, wanting to spend a few days in New Orleans first. We stayed at the Courtyard by Mariott on Iberville St, right in the heart of the French Quarter. We had 3 lovely days of exploring. Our daughter and her family arrived at hotel the day before cruise, flying out of Minot, ND. We got 2 ubers to the port on Sunday February 2, and honestly, it took us all of 10 minutes to walk from Uber onto the ship, and dropping bags in our cabin (we had FTTF). This was Super Bowl Sunday, and it sure was a super day! I will just review food, cabins, etc. I took a ton of pics, but not sure how to post them on here. 
EMBARKATION: literally the fastest and easiest we’ve ever encountered! Walked right on at around 10:30-10:45. 
CABIN: We had an inside cabin on Deck 7(7244) which was right down the hall from my daughter’s balcony cabin (7208) and grandchildren cabin (7210). Ours was perfect for just us, but I did love sitting out on her balcony. 
CONDITION OF SHIP: I read a lot of negative reviews about our ship before hand, but let me tell you that the ship was beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! Rust? Of course there is rust on the outside of a ship that sails in salty water! But that certainly doesn’t ruin my vacation! I can’t believe some people are so picky and petty that that would ruin their vacation. 
SIZE OF SHIP: I wasn’t sure how I’d like a smaller ship, as our most recent ships have been 4,000-6,000 passenger ships. This one was around 2,900. It was perfect! We NEVER encountered a line in the buffet, as we did on larger ships. NEVER!

FOOD: What can I say? I think I gained 10lbs! Food was always fabulous! Large variety in MDR and other areas. We ate in the Steakhouse one night, and our steaks were cooked to perfection. We also had the Art at the Table desert. 
ENTERTAINMENT: On our last cruise, I was less than thrilled with the Playlist Productions, but the shows were much better on this cruise. Especially the Epic Rock production. 
CRUISE DIRECTOR: Lee. He was outstanding! He really got the crowd going!

DEBARKATION: Although we had FTTF, we chose the last time slot to get off the ship. We were in no hurry, as we had another day in New Orleans. We were actually of the last 300 passengers off the ship! We breezed through until we hit the line at customs, but that moved right along, and were in our Uber in no time.

I think this covers everything. If you have any questions, let me know. I did not cover our ports.

[mexicobob]

4 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

Ok. I’m going to start this while waiting in lobby of our hotel in New Orleans, for our ride to airport and flight home. We booked this cruise last Summer, to join our daughter and her family that had already booked. We were booked for a B2B in April on the Magic to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. It was to be a family cruise, but this daughter, and her military husband, could not make it in April, so we decided to join them. I am so glad we did! It was a fabulous time! We flew out of Rochester, NY on January 30, wanting to spend a few days in New Orleans first. We stayed at the Courtyard by Mariott on Iberville St, right in the heart of the French Quarter. We had 3 lovely days of exploring. Our daughter and her family arrived at hotel the day before cruise, flying out of Minot, ND. We got 2 ubers to the port on Sunday February 2, and honestly, it took us all of 10 minutes to walk from Uber onto the ship, and dropping bags in our cabin (we had FTTF). This was Super Bowl Sunday, and it sure was a super day! I will just review food, cabins, etc. I took a ton of pics, but not sure how to post them on here. 
EMBARKATION: literally the fastest and easiest we’ve ever encountered! Walked right on at around 10:30-10:45. 
CABIN: We had an inside cabin on Deck 7(7244) which was right down the hall from my daughter’s balcony cabin (7208) and grandchildren cabin (7210). Ours was perfect for just us, but I did love sitting out on her balcony. 
CONDITION OF SHIP: I read a lot of negative reviews about our ship before hand, but let me tell you that the ship was beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! Rust? Of course there is rust on the outside of a ship that sails in salty water! But that certainly doesn’t ruin my vacation! I can’t believe some people are so picky and petty that that would ruin their vacation. 
SIZE OF SHIP: I wasn’t sure how I’d like a smaller ship, as our most recent ships have been 4,000-6,000 passenger ships. This one was around 2,900. It was perfect! We NEVER encountered a line in the buffet, as we did on larger ships. NEVER!

FOOD: What can I say? I think I gained 10lbs! Food was always fabulous! Large variety in MDR and other areas. We ate in the Steakhouse one night, and our steaks were cooked to perfection. We also had the Art at the Table desert. 
ENTERTAINMENT: On our last cruise, I was less than thrilled with the Playlist Productions, but the shows were much better on this cruise. Especially the Epic Rock production. 
CRUISE DIRECTOR: Lee. He was outstanding! He really got the crowd going!

DEBARKATION: Although we had FTTF, we chose the last time slot to get off the ship. We were in no hurry, as we had another day in New Orleans. We were actually of the last 300 passengers off the ship! We breezed through until we hit the line at customs, but that moved right along, and were in our Uber in no time.

I think this covers everything. If you have any questions, let me know. I did not cover our ports.

Glad you had a good trip. New Orleans is a great place to cruise out of. Would love to see some of your pictures. I can not tell you how to do it, but sure someone can tell you how to attach pictures.

[DebOinKC]

Glad you had a great cruise. I know you were very excited to go. How was the Courtyard by Marriott? We are staying there in October before our cruise.

[Markmom18]

Grandmarnnurse,

  Oh it’s really nice to read a positive review about the Glory’s condition. I’m on her end of next month. 😁😁  I was on the Dream last March, from New Orleans. After visiting last year, I added a couple extra days to this trip, I just loved what I saw in NOLA. Definitely want to come on a real vacation here with my hubby!  
  Thank you again!!

  🛳🛳

  Bobbi 

 

P.S.

  Did Lee the CD mention who would be the CD when he left?

Edited February 11, 2020 by Markmom18

[grandmarnnurse]

14 hours ago, mexicobob said:

Glad you had a good trip. New Orleans is a great place to cruise out of. Would love to see some of your pictures. I can not tell you how to do it, but sure someone can tell you how to attach pictures.

I tried. It showed them uploading, but then they disappeared. That’s what happens when a senior citizen tries to do something with tech! Lol!

[grandmarnnurse]

12 hours ago, DebOinKC said:

Glad you had a great cruise. I know you were very excited to go. How was the Courtyard by Marriott? We are staying there in October before our cruise.

Well, the first 3 days there we had a room with 2 queen beds because we knew that when our daughter arrived, we’d have some of the grandkids with us. The room furnishings were lovely, and I LOVED the glass enclosed shower! BUT, the carpet was badly stained. I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t replace it. It looked like some people partied too hardy there in the French Quarter, got sick, then they scrubbed the carpet too hard. We just never went bare foot, as it grossed me out. It was room 919. Then when we returned post cruise, we had a king suite, and that room was just perfect. And we were not charged any differently between the two rooms. That room was 737. The location was ideal, as it was a short walk to French Quarter, and also over to Canal Street. I suppose I should insert here our opinion of the French Quarter, mostly the Bourbon St area. It is nuts! If you are a big partier, it’s your kind of place. We are not. It was dirty, very dirty, disgustingly dirty. Urine and vomit here and there, so watch where you walk. But it is a lively area, just not our cup of tea. We would hang out at the Musician Legends Park on Bourbon St. We’d sit, have a coffee, and listen to some jazz, and eat some beignets. We toured everywhere, so leave the Quarter for a much better experience. We’d catch the streetcars over on Canal St, and go to French Market, Jackson Square, etc. The Red Line goes there. The Green Line takes you into the Garden District where some beautiful mansions are, along with Tulane and Loyola Universities. But keep in mind, if short on time, the Green Line took about 2 hours to complete. The Red Line is short. For the very best breakfast option, go to the Ruby Slipper. It is right near the hotel on Canal St. There is also a Walgreens and CVS there. Very handy. Have fun!

[grandmarnnurse]

10 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

Grandmarnnurse,

  Oh it’s really nice to read a positive review about the Glory’s condition. I’m on her end of next month. 😁😁  I was on the Dream last March, from New Orleans. After visiting last year, I added a couple extra days to this trip, I just loved what I saw in NOLA. Definitely want to come on a real vacation here with my hubby!  
  Thank you again!!

  🛳🛳

  Bobbi 

 

P.S.

  Did Lee the CD mention who would be the CD when he left?

Not that I heard. Lee was fabulous! 

[grandmarnnurse]

So, today is unpack and laundry day, but the suitcases remain open to repack, as we leave for Florida in March, and then catch a B2B cruise on the Magic April 5. 😎🛳

[grandmarnnurse]

Let’s try this upload again. First pics of our first hotel room pre-cruise.

[grandmarnnurse]

Here are some of our stay in New Orleans.

[grandmarnnurse]

Here are some more pics of New Orleans, including Jackson Square, the Cathedral, and the French Market.

[grandmarnnurse]

Here are the last of our pre-cruise stay in New Orleans. We went to one of the cemeteries the day before we cruised.

[grandmarnnurse]

Here are some of our first pics of the ship, and it includes a couple showing the crowd watching the Super Bowl in the Amber theater, and the tailgating buffet set up for us.

[grandmarnnurse]

Gotta run. Need to buy some food. Lol! Having cruise food withdrawal. I will be back later with more pics. Coming up: Mohagany Bay, Roatan Island; Starfish Island, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico.

[grandmarnnurse]

I keep trying to load more pics, but they keep disappearing! I will keep trying! I have no idea why this is happening, as I got it to work earlier today.

[grandmarnnurse]

I will try posting some pics again. Fingers crossed. 🤞Well, it worked. Just a few pics from Day Two, our first Sea Day and Elegant Night number one. So a few food pics.

[grandmarnnurse]

Well, it looks like that was not Elegant night, but our second Sea Day. Lol! Oh, well. Here are some pics from Mahogany Bay, Roatan Island, Honduras. I took a ton of pics, but mostly of my daughter’s family, and since I wasn’t sure if she wanted pics of them posted, I’m leaving them out. But one or two may pop up if I like the pic.

[grandmarnnurse]

A few pics of our night in the Steakhouse. Since we are celebrating our 50th Anniversary, and our daughter and son in law were celebrating their anniversary, they gave us champagne, compliment of the house. A very lovely evening. It was just us adults.

[grandmarnnurse]

This was our day on Starfish Island, Belize. This was a Carnival excursion, and included a Caribbean style lunch of jerk chicken, red beans and rice. Alcohol was not included, but we bought drinks in the bar there. Please note the real live starfish in the last pic. 

[Joe817]

Well done! Loving your review! 

[grandmarnnurse]

I believe these pics were from the second Elegant Night. I did include some food porn.

[grandmarnnurse]

Our last port day was in Cozumel, Mexico. We just got off ship and walked around, as it was probably the 6th or 7th time we’ve been there. Our daughter and her family rented a Jeep and toured the whole island. They had a wonderful time. I believe it cost them just over $100 for 4 hours. It was the cheapest choice for them to do with 5 people. 

[grandmarnnurse]

Sunrise on our last Sea Day. Always sad to have your cruise come to an end. Also a pic of all the towel animals my one grandson collected all week (includes some from our cabin) that our room steward, Michael, arranged on his bed. And then some more food porn. I tried that pumpkin cheese pie, as I heard great comments about it in other posts, and it WAS awesome. But the again, I like things like that. I have a confession. The food was so fabulous every single day, I confess how bad I was. I weighed myself this morning, and did gain a total of 7lbs. This is not good, as I have a B2B coming up April 5. 😳

[grandmarnnurse]

And, finally, our arrival back in Port of New Orleans. And that’s a wrap. Any questions, feel free to ask.

[Saint Greg]

10 minutes ago, grandmarnnurse said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great pictures! What is this? Is it that vegetarian pie?