dolita22

It's been a couple months since I filled out the price protection form, but I thought somewhere in the fine print there was a note about not being able to use the form if you were had an already-chosen stateroom. That the price you saw had to be in a category where you select your stateroom, not Carnival. I could be wrong or not remembering correctly, but I thought that's one of the stipulations of the form. So maybe that's why they denied your price change?

Sailed Carnival a few weeks ago after having sailed NCL for the past 6 cruises (but having sailed Carnival prior to that). We must really have gotten used to dining on NCL, because the dancing waiters threw us for a bit when they started. Kinda corny, though it didn't really bother us. We kept enjoying our dessert and were luckily seated near a window, away from the action.

For what it's worth, the staff seemed to be having a good time. We thought it was maybe a team bonding experience for them more than anything.

We were on the Glory a few weeks ago and every time we walked by the library, it was in use by many people who were playing cards, reading, or perusing the book selection. We've never seen a library as busy as that one was!

While we don't use the library on ships, but would likely visit if there's a wine bar or self-serve beer machine. :-)

We thought we'd want it for our cruise on the Glory a few weeks ago, but it was sold out from the time we booked last August until the days before we sailed, so we were never able to purchase it. (I checked daily, sometimes multiple times each day, per many on here saying it would become available and it just never did.) We wondered once we were on the ship if we'd feel like we needed it, but never felt the need for it the entire cruise. So if it were available on a future Carnival cruise we're taking, we very likely wouldn't purchase it. We don't typically go to Guest Services, don't really need to be the first to get our luggage, and prefer to take our time getting off if we're at a port where you need to tender. So to us, I'm glad we didn't purchase it. Instead, we used the money towards a bottle of alcohol for our room. :)

Thanks for your review! Sounds like you had an enjoyable time! You were embarking on the Glory the day we disembarked. :)

Did you see Clay in the piano bar? We really enjoyed that. And the Latin music group in the Ivory room was pretty fantastic!

We were just on the Glory two weeks ago, sailing the eastern route that stopped in San Juan and St. Thomas (as well as HMC and Grand Turk). Save for a few buildings near the ports that were without roofs on SJ and ST, what we saw of both islands seemed like they were in good shape after the hurricane. We didn't do shore excursions as we took this cruise to just relax, but those on our cruise that we talked to seemed to enjoy themselves on their excursions, and we didn't hear anyone who did take an excursion complaining about the state of each island. From what we saw and heard from others' experiences, the devastation those islands have experienced seems to be lessening. On the local news here in FL last week, they mentioned that power should be restored to all of Puerto Rico by the end of this month.

If I had to pick eastern vs. western, I typically choose eastern since we enjoy those islands more. Good luck deciding!

We booked a cruise last August on the Glory and sailed two weeks ago. FTTF showed as sold out every day since we booked, and I checked multiple times a day up until a week before the cruise left to see if it became available. Never did. We went without it and wondered if we'd feel like we needed it since most people on here seem to recommend it. In the end, we didn't feel like we needed it and probably wouldn't purchase it even if it were available. But there was only one port on our cruise that was a tender port (HMC), our luggage arrived fairly timely, and we very rarely take trips to Guest Services while on a cruise. So in the end, it all worked out okay for us to not have it.

I hope you get it, but if you don't, you'll still have a great cruise!

We reserved the steakhouse about 3 weeks before our cruise on the Glory last week. I reserved it for a night during the middle of the cruise that wasn't a formal night. Worked out well and was a nice break from the MDR.

ETA: On our 7-day cruise, formal night was night 3 and 6.

Hmm. We leave on a 4-day to the Bahamas out of Canaveral on Sunday. We have interior cabins in the aft area of Deck 7. I will probably enjoy the extra wave motion. Not sure about my wife or Mom. I bought Sea Bands for everyone, so maybe I'll tell them to put them on, just in case...

We had some rougher seas leaving San Juan on the Glory last week (at least rougher than I was used to) - we estimated maybe 12-15 foot waves. Knock on wood, I've never gotten sea sick, but I did put on the Sea Bands and took a Bonine just in case. The combo worked great for me! We were in the steakhouse for dinner that night and a poor woman next to us was so seasick she couldn't enjoy her meal at all.

Have fun, and hope you'll have smooth sailing!

Also just back from sailing the Glory last week, and we thought the food we had in the MDR was pretty good. I'd say 3.5 out of 5 stars if asked for a rating. Nothing stood out as stupendously awesome that we had to order it again, but nothing was terrible, or cold, or underdone, or something we absolutely hated. We don't expect gourmet food on a cruise ship, but we do enjoy food and the experience of dining on a ship. All of our appetizers, entrees, and desserts were good. Sure, there were a couple hits and misses, but I usually expect that. Try something and don't like it? Order something else! And service was always friendly - the waitstaff were all kinda quirky and fun each in their own right, and we enjoyed that.

Guy's and the Pizza Pirate were always our go-to's for lunch (we both worked out / ran each day, so didn't feel too guilty!). Twice we checked out the Lido buffet for dessert. The chocolate extravaganza was so-so.

My DH's complaint about food was mainly the Lido buffet for breakfast. He said the options were rather limited compared to what we're used to at NCL's breakfast buffet, and that the food there wasn't great. He did find the breakfast burritos at the RedIguana and enjoyed those (I'm not a big breakfast eater, so usually just to yogurt from room service).

All in all, we were happy with the food on the Glory.

Sailed the Glory last week, and IIRC, nothing much happened in Amber Palace after 11 p.m. The latest I can recall was the Love and Marriage show, which ended around then. If your wife isn't going to bed earlier than 11, I'd think you'll be fine enjoying your time in the casino. :)

Have a great time!

My husband has also done a number of longer runs on the Epic's track - 9 or 10 miles each run. It's his favorite track on a ship to date since it doesn't as windy as on ships with tracks on upper decks. Sailed Carnival last week and the track was shut down once or twice due to winds and rains (it got quite slippery in the early morning hours).

We live a couple hours from POM and I can't convince myself to do a 3-night cruise. Too quick. A 4-night Monday-Friday cruise would be better because at least we can feel like we're gone for the better part of a week.

We were on the Glory last week and had your time dining. We ate in the MDR each night and always found ourselves there around 7:30. We were typically given a pager and told the wait would be around 30 minutes the first couple nights of the cruise. I don't think we waited longer than 20 minutes each time.

The last two nights of the cruise we were able to walk in and be seated right away.

We have been playing MyVegas for a few years and were able to use loyalty points in Vegas. Watched for OBC for the Carnival cruise we just took (disembarked yesterday), but for about the last 6 months, could never find it through MyVegas. MSC and Royal offer it, so not sure why Carnival did not. However, we lucked out through Early Saver and ended up getting a boatload (ha) of OBC to use from Carnival, so all was not lost.

ETA: We play on the computer and through the app. Collect chips/points a few times each day, and it adds up quickly! I barely play anymore since we don't have any Vegas trips planned. And NCL (our next cruise) rarely does anything with MyVegas.

Rebellious Fish! And Mango Meltdowns. And pina coloadas. And raspberry guava mojitos. Just off a Carnival cruise today and the drinks were definitely not as good as NCLs!

Thanks for your review! We were on the same cruise. :) Had fun and enjoyed ourselves.

 

I believe the free continental breakfast service begins at 5am?

 

Yep, starts at 5 a.m. Just off the Glory this morning and that was the first option to check on the room service door hanger form!

Good to know! We're in Grand Turk next week on the Glory and I've been reading about the which chairs are free and which have a fee. Definitely don't want to pay for beach chairs if free ones are available.

Dance away!

We are!! We leave tomorrow on the Glory! Booked it spontaneously in August, debated about canceling after the hurricanes, decided to stick with it and can't wait!

We had one booked last year, but decided to cancel because we moved states and moving is expensive. Didn't have anything booked until last August, when I booked the Glory somewhat spontaneously because the price was good and the itinerary was new for us. Plus, we wanted to try something new after sailing with NCL (love NCL, but there's not reason not to try something new). And now we leave tomorrow!

I like your attitude! I don't mind muster itself, just the long wait for people to show up (and shut up so the instructor will start). If everyone would follow the rules it would go much quicker and we would be able to get on with the cruise.

Thanks! And yes, I completely agree! If people would just arrive on time, shush, and listen, the muster drill will be done much faster and then the cruise can really start! :cool:

I'm probably the odd duck that enjoys having muster drill outside because to me it means the cruise is starting!! Sailing the Glory this Saturday (!!!), so good to know it's held outside and where. Good question, OP.

Balcony! I've done interior, oceanview, and balcony and I much prefer the balcony and am will to spend the money for it and cruise once a year (or once every other year, depending on other trips we have on the calendar and life busyness in general). We very much enjoy sitting out our balcony at all times - morning with room service coffee and light snacks, mid-day if it's busy on deck, at night after dinner with a glass of wine or champagne. Anytime we're in our room, we're pretty much on the balcony. My DH has cruised in oceanviews and balconies and won't sail in anything but a balcony. And my parents have also only cruised in balconies and won't choose anything else. They'd feel too claustrophobic in an inside.

It's all about personal preference, which is one of the great things about cruising!

Also, check to see if there's a Facebook group for your sailing. I'm sailing the Glory this Saturday and joined the FB group a few months ago. Our role call on here has been somewhat quiet, but the FB group is pretty active. That may be another good place to recruit people!