ok here you go.. our first day on the glory long :)

[newbie2cruise]

Hey everyone it is great to be back from our first cruise……… NOT REALLY! A little bit of background information on us, Dh and I are both 29, and we brought along our son, who is 5 ½ as well. None of us had ever cruised or been on a big ship before.

WE flew into to Tampa on southwest airlines on Friday afternoon, the day before. 1st let me say I was happy to do this as our flight was delayed for 2 hours because of some storms, We did purchase the insurance just in case, but it was nice to know we were in no big hurry. I would’ve been a basket case if we flew in the day of the cruise. 2nd the airfare to Tampa was only 59.00 pp each way from Chicago!! Very cheap, we had booked when the price was 79.00 pp , but it went down a month later (same place same flights, all non stop) so we were able to cancel then rebook, so we now have a 120.00 credit to use for our cruise in November.

Finally arrived at the Tampa airport (one of our favorites very nice and clean) and went to the AVIS rental car desk. Through cc I learned that they give a discount to Sam’s Club members, they offered us the next biggest car for only 5.00 and Dh was thrilled (men and there cars) I’m very happy we opted to rent a car for the day, we drove from Tampa to Cocoa Beach . If you do this please use the 528 by pass around Orlando saves tons of times, but it was a toll road (4.00 total I think) WE stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on “the strip†because we have free points! The Ron Jon place looked awesome! I would love to go back sometime. The room was nice and comfy and did I mention free?? It is very easy to find the hotels and find your way around. We went and picked up some pizza and the best garlic rolls in the world next to the convenience store and went to bed.

The next morning we got up around 9:30 ( sorry folks as excited as I was I can sleep anyways) got some free breakfast , they have the best cinnamon rolls there. Got a few last minute items and were at Avis by 10:50 am. Final cost of rental one way from Tampa to Cocoa beach area was 19.99 for an alero. Great deal! They also have a free shuttle which was promptly loaded up and we were off. They did not make us wait until 11:30 like other shuttles from the hotels etc. About 7 minutes later we went around a curve and there she was. It was just like the commercials, big and beautiful. The port was crazy, as expected. We were the 2nd small group of people there and waiting for a long time for a porter. We had booked a guarantee 6a, cabin with window, and were eager to see where we were! All the porters( maybe 6??) were helping the people disembarking. Finally they started setting up the bins and helped everyone else that had come but not us. WE finally just carried our 2 suitcases (yes it can be done! ) and handed them to a guy who had just put together one of the crates, we did tip him but he literally had to move our bags about 1 foot from the sidewalk to the crate. WE found out we had 2384 cabin on the 2nd deck, main. No upgrade with the exception that we were not on the Rivera deck, I guess. Remember to use the bathroom before you go into the terminal. The lines went very fast thru security and we were on the way. Upstairs there was a very long line to the right, but no one on the left, both said fun pass, which we had done. I asked the ladies if they were open and they said yes, come on over. I found out they had just finished with the skippers clubs etc, so we literally walked right up, showed our birth certificates and got our receipt stamped. Less than 5 minutes for the whole deal. WE then went to pick up our sign and sails, again less than 5 min. in that line. Finally getting closer! The line for id pictures for the sign and sails took about 2 minutes to get thru. I always thought you got a digital image of yourself on the card, since it is your ship lifeline, but you don’t. On to the final stop, got the small map of the ship( very helpful and pocket size) and our embarkation pictures. We were all grinning like the Cheshire cat when we finally found it in the photo gallery later.

You embark on deck 3, lobby deck. There were tons of people to direct you to where you need to go for the most important part of the 1st day, LUNCH!!!!!! There were plenty of elevators and it took no time to get up to the lido deck, nine. The elevators do say the name and number of each floor you stop on, in an accent. By the end of the week , my son we say deck two, main just like the elevator., We bought a soda card for Dh , who can’t live without pop, and my first drink of the day in the souvenir cup. It was so strong, which surprised me, so I didn’t finish it. I didn’t know how my body was going to react to the ship when she started moving! I know alcohol abuse. ïŠ We ate our first buffet , burgers and fries. I was surprised at how great the food tasted and how quick the bar service was after some of the posts I have read here. I guess I lucked out, or they are super picky. Everything was great. Now for the bad news ïŒ we went down to the main deck to see if our cabin was ready, which it was. It did however have whiffs, and spots were you could detect a slight smell of A**. So the sewage smell was here. It was never so bad to bother us, but occasionally we would make a joke of it. So yes that rumor was true for us. Our bed was already a king, from our steward Charles, whom I met a few minutes later. He unlocked the fridge( which had enough room to put a bottle of champagne and wine in sideways) He then asked if all was to our liking (which it was) then I informed him we needed the couch as a bed. No problem he said, found our dining times and said it would be done then. I set off to explore the cabin. It was much bigger than I thought. Everything was nice, but the bedspread and couch were ugly orange. Oh well I didn’t care!! Plenty of storage room for all of our clothes and toiletries. We did bring along and use the over the door hanger, which came in quite handy. Thanks!! Our freebies were shampoo, conditioner, Rolaids, a reach flosser on the handle, lotion, and his and her razors. Very nice… Women love small trial sizes and samples ïŠ It was now time for the muster. My son freaked out at the drill, as the whistle blast from the horn and very loud, it scared him, so next time I will be sure to warn him or cover his ears. He received his muster tag location, on a plastic bracelet. I told him that was so he could go to the playroom. Ok so I lied , but it worked. They need to use cloth instead and it did scratch him up several times, and was quite sweaty. The drill went very fast and was super easy. I was upset to look between the rows of lifeboats to learn we were moving ïŒ So I never got to see our first sail away. Carnival should make the drill before we start moving or after imho. So we went back up to the Lido deck for our cruise critic meet and greet. Meet several cc from here, which was nice ïŠ The only time I felt queasy was now, as we looked out the windows and talked, since the horizon was a bobbing up and down, up and down, so I just didn’t look out of the window for awhile, and was fine.

Ok so all of you seasoned cruisers will find the next part funny. My son wanted to swim, so I let him sit and play in the 3†or so of water that was on the tile around the pool, and I soaked my feet. I sat there for awhile and thought hmm. That is weird, now there is no water over here, but like 6†on the other side. Duh! The ship was rocking and making the water slip and slide all over.

We went back to our cabin, unpacked and got ready for dinner. We had the 8 pm seating in the platinum dining room. Our servers were Erika and “sad†. We had requested a large table, to meet new people as suggested here, but found ourselves at a table for 4, so we were alone. I noticed almost all of the 2 seat tables were in the middle aisle past of the room. SO you will defiantly feel out in the open as you will be in the middle of two rows, with people always walking by. The walls were bright ugly silver, with flowers painted on, kind of ugly, but did I care NO!

This is where I must say the most can differ with people about cruising, I ordered the Prime rib MR and it can out perfect!! Hot and very good!! So yes I thought the beef was good! I even tried two desserts. Their ranch was a bit funky tasting, but the balsamic vinaigrette was awesome. After dinner we all three went to check out the camp, which we had already reregistered our son before dinner. He was immediate playing with the toys and his new friends. A note about kids.. there were not a lot on this sailing. We never encountered any of the problems people complained about here, such as mess, noise, being in the “wrong†pool etc. They have the room only open for the parents to check it out, and for the 6.00/hr babysitting on the first night Fyi. We stayed about 20 min and left. We had a full day and decided to got to the cabin. We watched a bit of tv and went to bed. The bed was very comfy and I slept like the dead. Next up Day 2 our first day at sea..

 

my first cruise

holiday family cruise

 

Days til Valor Vampires Cruise

[sun_n_fun]

Great review! Looking forward to reading the rest.

[Cyt4SoreEyes]

Woohoooo Great Review...you got me all siked..can't wait to catch the rest of your cruise review..!11

 

 

 

8 more days until I am in Paradise onboard the Glory

 

Cyt

 

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