Carnival Glory (Balc Gty) OR RCCL Mariner (ins)

[Cruisechik]

For those of you who have been on both of these ships - For roughly the same cost, I can get an inside (cat L) on the Mariner or I can get a Balcony Guarantee on the Carnival Glory. Which would you recommend?

 

I have been on RCCL twice (Monarch 1998, Empress 2003) and I really like RCCL - great service, great kids program, good food. We have also sailed Celebrity (twice) and NCL (once). We love Celebrity, did not really care for NCL. We will be traveling with our 7 year old daughter.

[Lynne Myrna]

Cruisechik....I have been on both ships, we were on the Mariner last Feb with my entire family, we did not like it. We thought that the food needed improving, we had much better on the Disney Magic, the entertainment was good, we thought that the crew could have been more friendly. The Mariner is a magnificent ship, it's big, bold & beautiful, but bigger, bolder & beautiful are not always better. We were on the Carnival Glory for the Aug 23rd sailing, I have nothing but good things to say about this cruise, crew, entertainment & food. Both my husband & myself fully enjoyed this cruise. Infact, we are sailing on the Glory again this Feb. I would opt for a stateroom with a balcony, it's the greatest. There is nothing like being out on your balcony when pulling into port, or just sitting & enjoying the sunset before dinner, it's wonderful. Now you decide for yourself, because there are different strokes for different folks.....not everyone is the same. All I can tell you is that we enjoyed this cruise so very much, from beginning to end.

What ever you decide, I hope that you enjoy your cruise......Lynne

[Lynne Myrna]

Forgot to mention, that embarkation & debarkation went very smooth, we were off the ship by 9:30. With the Mariner we were not so lucky, it took much longer, they didn't have their act together.

[Cruisechik]

Lynne, thanks for your input. I'm on the fence. I've always wanted to try the voyager class on RCCL but the balcony is really getting my attention!!! Does the Glory have a very "party hearty" atmosphere?

[Firefighterhoop]

I would try the RCCL Mariner, It has things that carnival doesn't offer. (Ice Skating Shows, A 4 story prominade down the middle, mini golf, rock climbing)

 

Rccl usually has extremely fast embarkation, the longest I had to wait was 10 mins in line to get on a ship, debarkation is pretty good, but not as fast.

 

Scott

[RandomUsername723]

I would go for the Carnival Glory. Carnival does got the fun :) and Royal Caribbean food, service, and activities haven't been impressive from my experience and that of others I know. Can't comment on either ship, though I did like the Voyager of the Seas from what I saw of her on my 2 night T/A cruise.

[heather307]

I have done both, Mariner in December '03 and Glory July '04. Personally we are booking with Carnival again. The Mariner is a beautiful ship and I thought it was well laid out. We have also done the Explorer and I really like their Promenade and I did feel the crew was friendlier on the Mariner & Explorer. However, our waitstaff on the Glory was fantastic and we thought the food was much better on Carnival. Yes, Mariner has the rock wall, ice skating, etc. but we never used any of it. We had a lot more fun on the Glory and we would not sail ever without a balcony. We really enjoy our balcony cabins. Let me know if you have any specific questions about the differences between the two.

[torpeedo]

Personally we would take a balcony on any ship vs an inside cabin;)

But Glory vs Mariner, I would go for the Glory. We sailed on both and the food is much better on Glory in our opinion. Very noticably so. We never went in for all the rock climbing etc so it made no difference to us. Glory was a very organized ship. Lots of top notch entertainment. Your 7 yr old will love Camp Carnival as all the kids do. Glory is a beautiful ship and many choices of activities available to every age.

[Lynne Myrna]

Cruisechik....sorry that I didn't get back to you sooner.....when I read my reply to you, I made an error....it was the July 23rd sailing on the Glory, not Aug....sorry about that....Yes it is a fun ship, if you decide to on the Glory, you will have a blast. The Mariner had all these wonderful things going on too....I found that the Glory (being big) was cozier, & all the crew were so friendly, which makes a big difference. I don't want to repeat myself, so I won't. Read Ken's NYC review of the Glory, I think that you will enjoy it.

Lynne