Glory review - 12/18/04 (Western) part 2

[nc_cruiser1]

Part 1 is here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=114757

 

Dining: OK, let’s start with the dining room. We requested main (early) seating and got the 6:15 seating in the upper level of the Golden Dining Room. The variety of entrées offered was very good – every evening there was a selection for beef, poultry, fish, shellfish, pasta, vegetarian, and either lamb, pork or veal. I felt that the quality was about equal to that on Voyager, but DW felt that Voyager was a little better. The beef was good, especially the prime rib. Salads were disappointing. The appetizers and desserts were fine. Overall, I would rate the dining room experience a little better on Voyager, not so much because of the food itself, but because of the environment and small details in service. Glory Golden and Platinum dining rooms are pleasant and attractive, but can’t match Voyager’s stunning and elegant 3-level dining room with its grand staircase and chandelier. As an example of a service detail, every night on Voyager, we were asked if we wanted fresh ground pepper added to our salads and entrees. On Glory, that doesn’t happen. Your table is supplied with a pepper shaker. Not a big deal by any means, but just one of those little things.

 

We brought five bottles of wine on board. We knew there was a $10 corkage fee in the dining room, and were prepared to pay it, but hoped that maybe it wouldn’t be charged, as had been the case for others. The first night, we brought our bottle and placed it on the table. Our waiter (Cicero) came by and introduced himself. He noticed the bottle and said there is a $10 corkage fee. We said OK, and he brought the receipt to be signed. The next night (which was a formal night), we corked the bottle in our room, and carried it in my DW’s handbag. We discreetly poured it ourselves, and placed it back in the handbag. Obviously, our wait staff could see that our wine glasses had wine in them, but they basically pretended not to notice, and we were not charged the corkage fee. This is what we did every other evening when we brought our own wine.

 

Formal nights were nice, especially the first one (Captain’s Gala Dinner – Monday night), where complimentary cocktails were served prior to dinner in several lounges (this was also true on Voyager). There are signs at entrances to the dining rooms that say “Proper attire is required to enter the dining room”. They might as well take the signs down. On the second formal night we noticed a man come in dressed in blue jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. One night, at the table next to us, two girls (about 10-12 yrs old) came to dinner barefoot. Their mother was already seated and yelled “Where are your shoes?” The girls just shrugged and sat down. We didn’t let any of this detract from our dining experience. We just laughed and shook our heads. There were few tuxes during our seating. I seemed to notice many more at the late seating. I asked the wait staff about the dress code rule, and was told that it is intentionally not enforced, as they choose to emphasize the “fun” of cruising. Just a style thing.

 

We ate at the Emerald Dining room ($25pp extra) one night. It was very nice. We both had steaks and they were great. All the food was great. Service was nicely attentive, although the Sommelier had quite a bit of trouble opening the bottle of wine we ordered. I see two things Carnival could have done better here: First, the room is located directly under the sports deck with its running track. I guess Carnival figured no one would be jogging at night. Well, someone sure was using the track when we dined! For awhile, every minute or so, we heard the distinct thumping of a runner right over our table. Second, Emerald was not equipped with its own restrooms. You leave the dining room and descend a flight of stairs down to the Red Sail buffet restaurant and use those restrooms.

 

Buffet food at the Red Sail was fine. Typical buffet food, good selection, with a variety of carved meats. Really liked the chocolate buffet on Friday. I felt the buffet was about equal to Voyager, but DW liked Voyager better. Two things where Glory stands out: First, there are more non-dining room options other than the buffet. Voyager has pizza, but Glory's pizza is better. Both have a grill (Johnny Rockets on Voyager). Both have ice cream. Both have sandwiches, but <i>Glory</i> offers more selection with its deli. Glory also has sushi, a small Chinese buffet, and a fish and chips place. Second, on Glory, all this food is in closer proximity to the pool areas, making it convenient to eat at the pool decks.

 

A big difference to us, though, was room service. Glory offers a limited selection of cold items. There is a large selection on Voyager, and we loved getting a cooked-to-order omelet delivered to enjoy on the balcony for breakfast. On Glory, we settled for cereal, fruit, yogurt and coffee.

 

Speaking of coffee, here is our one pet peeve about the Glory. Plastic, Tupperware-like coffee cups for room service?? Please! Coffee is meant to be enjoyed in a china cup or mug! I can understand the Tupperware cups in Red Sail – proximity to pool where you don’t want broken glass. The first thing DW bought in Key West was a souvenir coffee mug. Not a big deal, really, but just one of those little things.

 

Service: In the dining room, our main waiter (Cicero) was a little less friendly than the one (Monty) we had on Voyager. Seemed a little more rushed. He warmed up more as time went on. The assistant (Jonathan) was great - very friendly with the kids. There is more entertainment done by the wait staff than on Voyager, including a red-white-blue color contest all week (you have to be there). Our cabin steward (Derrick) was super – efficient and unobtrusive. He kept out cabin spotless and cooler filled with ice. Service on the decks and in the lounges was also very good all week.

 

Entertainment: A lot of variety and the quality was generally very good. The Amber Palace is a great, attractive theatre. On the last day, they put on a special Christmas show that was nicely done and involved the kids. The offerings in the lounges were varied and fun. They need to move karaoke to another venue than Bar Blue – it’s too popular (not enough room).

 

Excursions: We just walked around Key West, up and down Duval Street like typical tourists. We arranged our own excursions - Coral Breezes Shark Ray Alley / Caye Caulker excursion in Belize, Paradise Breach in Cozumel, and a combo Dzibulchaltun / Merida tour in Progreso. We liked everything we did. I will write up separate excursion reviews in the Ports ‘O Call boards. We had a passenger that missed departure in Belize – we were pretty far out when the ship stopped to let him on board from the speedboat that brought him. Two passengers left behind in Progreso. A Mexican patrol boat brought them to us. At all of these ports (other than Key West) it is very easy to arrange your own tour upon arrival, right at the port, even on the pier. Numerous operators are right there to offer all the popular excursions, and you will generally pay about half of what the cruise lines charge. There is also extensive shopping offered right at the ports in all cases (except, again, Key West, where the ship docks at a military base). We had fantastic weather all week, except on debarkation (how appropriate!).

 

Tipping: We left the standard tips on S&S, and gave our cabin steward and assistant waiter a little extra. We also tipped room service and the deck wait staff a few extra $$ for good service.

 

Debarkation: Only Glory returned to port on 12/25. Disney and HAL had altered their normal schedules into longer cruises to avoid returning to port on Christmas and New Years Day. So debarkation was easy. It was a cold (by their standards), rainy day in Port Canaveral.

 

Summary: We enjoyed our Glory cruise very much, as we did on Voyager two years ago. As others have commented, RCL seems to emphasize the “elegance” factor a bit more than Carnival (but there is certainly “elegance” on Glory, while Carnival emphasizes the “fun” factor more (but there is certainly “fun” on RCL). I would take either cruise again (in a hearbeat!), but I would say that Carnival was a little better value at about $200 pp less.

[iluvdoxies]

I agree with you about the supper club location on the Glory---

the lack of a restroom close by was very inconvienent!

And the joggers, too. WE ate at the supper club the first time we were on the Glory, but not the other 2 x., just for that reason.

The supper clubs on the Spirit class shps are designed MUCH better-

 

Glad you had a great cruise!

[PelicanBill]

Super trip report, really enjoyed the comparisons.

[ShelleyQT]

We were on the Dec. 18th voyage of the Glory with you. It was nice to read your review (I haven't had time yet to write mine.)

 

I couldn't agree with you more about those cheap plastic cups! They had a very unpleasant feel both for cold drinks and for hot drinks.

 

In fact, one of the things I had been looking forward to was getting coffee from room service and sitting on our balcony in the morning. The first morning I tried it, I took two sips of the coffee and put it down...so much for that fantasy. It's a small thing, but definitely "One of those things."

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks for the second part of the review, enjoyed it and will remember to buy a cup or 2 in Nassau when we go as we are doing an eastern.

[Cruising89143]

Thanks for your review. I posted a review several weeks ago on the RCI board. This was my first cruise on a Voyager class ship which was the Navigator. I have been on quite a few Carnival ships including the Glory. I felt that my cruise on RCI was a good step above anything that I have experienced on Carnival. The ship has a major wow factor. Nothing like it out there. I also felt that the service on RCI was a huge step above Carnival. Much more polished.

 

 

Glad that you enjoyed yourself and thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

[barbiegirl]

Which islands did you have to tender in? Do you remember what night was Carribean, or your least favorite in the dining room? We would like to do the supper club but need to decide which night. Thanks!

[nc_cruiser1]

barbie,

 

The only tender port is Belize, however, the pier at Progreso is several miles long and the only way to get from the ship to the city is by bus, so it's almost like tendering there.

 

They didn't have a Carribbean night in the dining room. They did have a couple of late night buffets on the Lido deck, one of them was a Mexican buffet.

 

Your last question is tougher. I would not do Emerald on the formal nights (Monday and Thursday). We chose Tuesday, but I would not do that again, as one of the featured entres was filet mignon, which I love. That leaves Saturday (embarkation day), Wednesday, and Friday (right before debarkation). Personally, I would probably choose Wednesday if we did it over, but any of those choices would work. Even though Emerald features beef, they offer many other great choices, including lobster, fish, veal and lamb.

 

Hope this helps! You will have a great cruise on Glory.

[barbiegirl]

Thank you so much! You were a great help!

[whitecloud]

Will be going on 4.9.05 cruise. Really appreciate your report.

 

Will be sure to bring our own cups to sip from in the mornings. This is one of the main reasons we got a balcony along with having three women rooming together.

 

Grandmother 60's ;), Mother 40's:D, Grandaugher almost 20:eek:.

 

Really, though, we promissed grandaughter her space. I , told mother , that I only hoped that grandaugher :eek: did not cramp my style at single events.

 

Thanks again for your review.