Carnival Glory observations

[Purvis1231]

Carnival Glory out of New Orleans- Observations

 

Embarkation- we had purchased Faster to the Fun (FTTF.) We arrived at the port around 9:15, dropped off our bags and then parked in the main garage. We made our way to the port. We told the lady we had FTTF so she told us that we would be called soon. By 10:00 were sitting in the waiting area.  At 10:45 they started calling Diamond, etc and within 15 minutes they called FTTF and we were on the ship. We took our stuff to the cabin. No one checked to see if we had FTTF, later I heard that many without FTTF also took their bags to the cabins.

 

Cabin: We had a standard balcony cabin purchased two years ago at the height of the pandemic at a great price. It was fine for two adults and a teenager. The cabin steward was competent and did a good job cleaning the room. He requested that we keep the snoozing sign on until we wanted the cabin cleaned. This was a good idea since we stayed in the cabin more than normal to enjoy the balcony.  The only problem we had was constant noise and smell coming from the toilet. We brought Lysol spray that we used regularly.  

 

Entertainment: The cruise director Johnny was fun and entertaining. He had an excellent voice for the announcements. There were several musical venues that we enjoy but spent a lot of time in the Colors Lobby for music and trivia type games. We never went to the main showroom, but others told us that it was good.

 

Pools: we spent time in both the Lido pool and the aft pool. On seadays they were crowded. Most people thought the aft pool was adult only so there were few children or teenagers in it so we spent a lot of time there. On port days the pools were relatively empty, so we enjoyed those days since on two port days we did not do an excursion. The cabin shower was warmer than the hot tub, but we used them several times.

 

Excursion: We did an excursion in Honduras with the Shore Excursion Group (Creg Henry was the tour operator) to a sloth/monkey/bird exhibit because the Carnival excursion was sold out. It is a nice uphill walk to meet the excursion. Once we got there the three of us got into a beat-up Toyota Corolla. The driver was an outgoing local woman who was well spoken and provided a lot of information about the island. The exhibit was quite disappointing. It was a rundown group of buildings and monkeys, mostly in cages although some were free in the trees. The actual interaction with the animals was fun but brief. I hope they were well-care kept. The driver then took us to a chocolate store, and then a rum cake store that had a great view of a bay. Overall, I would not recommend this tour.

 

Bubbles program: My teenager and I bought the Bubbles package and found that the wait staff was not always eager to serve us even though I often tipped extra. I generally requested the bartender not to open the can and most complied with this.

Food: The food on a Carnival ship can be hit and miss, the Glory was no different. We ate at all the food venues except for the Steakhouse. We ate in the main dining room four times in the evening and three times for breakfast. Each time the service was adequate, and the food was mostly good. We multiple appetizers serval times and on lobster night, we got a few extra lobsters. Our only complaint is that the bread was too hard and dry to eat without dipping it in soup. Breakfast service was good but some of the food was cold before it was served.

 

We ate several nights in the buffet and the menu often mirrored the main dining room food. We always found enough food to enjoy. Last night of the cruise, I did witness something a little funny. Carnival needs to remember a ship sailing out of New Orleans has people that like to have gravy often. That night there was white rice on the buffet but no gravy and a group of people in front of me could not understand that and finally made the server dip out the pan juices from some pork on their rice. Breakfast and lunch had a good variety of food that made most passengers full. We were disappointed in Guys since the French fries were nothing special and the burgers were overcooked and once burnt. 

 

Disembarkation: We hoped FTTF would help with disembarkation but unfortunately that was not the case. We were given instructions to meet at 8:20 at the mid-ship main dining room but we tried we got caught up in a crowd of people trying to carry their monster suitcases off the ship. It took an hour to get through the crowd to exit the ship. Once we got to the luggage area, we found a porter who help us navigate through the passport line and to the parking garage elevator to our car where he loaded our bags.

 

 

[Purvis1231]

One other observation is that smoke lingered on Deck 5 around the casino and you could not bypass the casino nor smoke while walking on deck 5. 

[icft]

In what area was your cabin and what was its condition?

 

Thanks

[Purvis1231]

6 hours ago, icft said:

In what area was your cabin and what was its condition?

 

Thanks

Our cabin was 7334. It was a good location right near the mid-ship elevators. The room was in good condition-clean and well-cared for the only real issue was the noisy and smelling head. One new thing is that there were charging ports in both bedside lamps. 

[80sGal]

Is there still a hot tub in the fitness center?  On Glory next week!   

[grantbob]

On 7/9/2023 at 9:38 PM, 80sGal said:

Is there still a hot tub in the fitness center?  On Glory next week!   

 

No. They took it out a few years ago. It's now the class room for yoga/spin classes.

[Happy fool]

Appreciate the observations. I’m going to be in New Orleans this winter and thought I’d add on a cruise to soak up some sun. I’m on a Facebook group that has so many negative comments about cruising on the Glory that I’m second guessing my plans. The negative comments include theft and drug dealing!!  I don’t mind an older ship and appreciate that it is not as huge as some of the newer ships.