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Glory April 2-9, 2023. Spring Break - What were we thinking?

tcmagnum

By tcmagnum,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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tcmagnum

tcmagnum

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Hello.  I’m going to try and do a ‘Live’ once we get on the ship.  We’ll see how that goes.  If I get behind, I will catch up once home.  But first, a long explanation of how we came to book this cruise and our plans for the cruise…

 

Back in August, several of us were at a wedding (where I officiated) and started talking to our cousin/her husband who was taking her 2 high schoolers and 2 of their friends on a spring break cruise on Carnival.  One thing led to another.  My sister and I decided to join them.  My daughter-in-law then wanted to go.  Then her mom.  Then a sister-in-law.  So, by the time we were ready to book, we had 2 rooms being booked.

 

My sister and I decided to go for it, and we booked an Ocean Suite.  We want to see if we think it’s worth it for a bigger room with a balcony.  The other three decided to book an Aft-View Extended Balcony.  They decided to have three in a room but with a bigger balcony.  My cousin and her group are in 2 inside cabins on the 2nd or 3rd deck.  Excited to see if we use our balcony a lot (with this being a spring break cruise, I have a feeling we will be).  And curious to see if we like the bigger balcony with regular size cabin.

 

None of us have been on Carnival in many years.  We are regular Celebrity cruisers.  But when this was first booked by my cousin, it was a spring break treat for the kids.  And now adults are tagging along.  So, we have much to learn/see.  Our goals:  We are very much looking forward to ordering the Chocolate Molten Cake in the MDR - we are even thinking of ordering it for appetizer and dessert a few nights.  We will be in the casino many nights.  We go to Vegas every year and enjoy many games.  Don't expect to win big but would like to have fun.  Drink package...Lol.  Snorkeling and Scuba Diving.  Relaxing in the sun with a good book.  Just relaxing being away from work and cold weather.

 

The two cabins with balconies – everyone did the drink package.  My cousin also got the drink package since they had booked her alone in a room and her husband in the other room with all the kids.  Lol…My sister/cousin/sister-in-law/I just got off a Celebrity cruise with the drink package and most of us saw the benefit.  So, we are hoping we make good use of the drink package this trip.

 

The teenagers all have internet packages (you know how teenagers are).  I have the premium internet package (might need to be in touch with office).  My cousin also did the premium internet package.  I don’t think anyone did any internet.

 

Getting there:  All but one of us live in Kentucky (in Louisville or just south of there in a small town).  The other lives on the east coast of Florida.  We are all driving Saturday – Leaving around 7:00am.  Around a 10.5-hour drive (better than the 12.5 drive to Tampa in February).  The plan is to check into our hotels (one in Slidell and one in West Bank/Gretna).  Grab something to eat.  Not sure about hitting anything in the French Quarter.  It will depend on how grumpy we are after the long drive.

 

We all joined AARP and used gift cards to pay for our cruise/internet/drink packages.  Loved saving 10%.  And very easy to do.  I even have some left on a gift card and plan on spending it on the ship.

 

My sister and I have booked a snorkeling excursion for one day.  And I think everyone but 3 of the teenagers are joining us.  I don’t think we are ‘cool’ enough for the 18-year-olds.  Lol.  Then my sister and I have the ‘beginners scuba diving’ excursion.  We are very excited to do this.  We both have taken this class before but separately and years ago.  We both want to take the time to get fully certified and this is a good step to take.  The others have a private beach resort book (privately booked not through ship).  Jamaica, we have nothing planned. The excursions all looked to have a ton of driving involved and none of us wanted to spend our time on buses.  So, we might stay on the ship and enjoy the drink package.  Or walk around the port.  Who knows.  Most of us have been to Jamaica before, so not too worried about it.

 

When we checked in my sister/I was waitlisted for anytime dining.  But one of the perks to booking a suite is ‘preferred dining time’.  And overnight, we were moved from waitlist to confirmed anytime dining.  Very happy with that perk.

 

The five of us all got a check in time of 10;00/10;30, so we plan on getting to the port parking lot by 9:30.  Suites get preferred boarding and the other 3 bought the ‘Faster to the Fun’ pass, so they should be able to get on pretty close to us.  We don’t care if we get to stay in our rooms right away. But we do plan on trying to drop off our carry-on bags.  Then heading to bar for a drink or three.  My cousin and her group got a 10:30/11:00 check in time.  They will be meeting us on the ship once they are settled.

 

The packing has started.  We have a rule in our group:  You can bring as much luggage as you want, but you must be able to control/move your own bags.  Not much of an issue getting on the ship because the porters are right there.  But we do ‘self dis-embarkment’ at the end of the cruise and we do need to think about the amount of luggage at that time.  And I am the biggest over-packer of them all.  But this is my daughter-in-law’s first cruise, so she may pack more than me.  Lol…

 

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pinklucky61

pinklucky61

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I'll be getting on Glory the 16th.  Usually go in the spring and I've never been bothered by spring breakers.  Except for embarkation and debarkation, everyone usually pretty spread out around the ship.  In my 60's btw.

Have a great trip, good luck in the casino!

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pinklucky61

pinklucky61

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Btw, if you happen to notice port arrival times for FTTF and if they're allowing early arrival for them, please let us know.  I purchased FTTF for my cruise. I expect to get a fairly early time by staying up late tonight for check-in, but who knows!

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