It was GLORY-ous!!!

[k2]

Just got back from the Glory Western on Sunday. I know that I enjoyed everyones reviews when my cruise got close, so I journaled my days...

 

Some quick observations of the Glory:

* She looks beautiful!

* The food is good, and exactly what I expected.

* The service is excellent!!! It has been better than our last few cruises. It seems to me that workers on Carnival are happier. This is just my observation as I could not find a single staff person that was unpleasant or not eager to help. This has not been my experience for the majority of my other cruises. Only my first cruise had better service and that was well before the many staff cuts in the industry.

* The aft pool on deck 9 is adult only, but the area around the pool

seemed open to everyone???

* The Serenity area was beautiful.

* The big screen is awesome and adds a lot to the overall deck experience.

* The bedding is very nice, but the beds are worn. We had 4 cabins

ranging from interior to suite and all of us shared in this

observation. They all dipped in the middle and were not firm enough

if you have a bad back. My husband found the bunk to be more firm and

comfortable for him.

* Main restrooms were always clean.

* There is hand sanitizer everywhere, but most people ignored it.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, April 18, 2010: Miami

 

We got to the pier at 10:45 and were on the boat by 11:30. We headed

straight up to eat and were able to get in our room by 1:10. We did

the safety drill around 4:00 and then went up to the Lido for sail away.

It was rainy, but we did get a quick break as we left port. The

weather was wet and windy, so I headed down to the room and took

advantage of the time by unpacking (luggage was at our room by 5:00).

Dinner ran very smooth and all of the food was good. I had the pasta

and it was delicious! After dinner we went to karaoke and had a

blast. I went for a walk to check out the many things going on and

then headed to bed around midnight. The ship was still busy with

activity; where do these people find the energy?

 

 

 

Monday April 19,2010: Day at Sea

 

I was up for sunrise. Around 8:00 we settled into our chairs and

embraced a day of fun and sun. The chair hogs were out in full force.

We watched the Master of Mixology contest and the Hairy Chest

contest. It was funny and entertaining. I did not see deck patrol

all day and we were positioned between the 2 pools. Today was elegant

night with lobster and prime rib served in the dining room. The food

was amazing and they would bring you as much as you want. The cheese

and spinach stuffed mushrooms are wonderful. After dinner we checked

out karaoke and the piano bar. It was a relaxing and fun night.

 

 

Tuesday, April 20, 2010: Cozumel Mexico

 

 

Woke up this morning and headed straight up to get some sunrise and

island pictures as we arrived at Cozumel. What a beautiful morning!

After we were docked I headed down to the room to round up my crew and

head up to the Lido Deck for a light breakfast and then off the ship

for our Cozumel Adventure. Breakfast was busy with lines everywhere,

but they were manageable and we were soon on our way. We got off of

the ship on deck 0. There were no lines except those caused by the

people that were capturing the moment as you stepped off of the ship.

Just stare up and pretend that you are in absolute awe as you pass by

and they won’t even bother you ;-). We were docked at the Porta Maya

Pier. I liked the pier area that we were at before better (Senior

Frogs was just off of the ship). This one did not have the same open

market flavor to it that we experienced past times in Mexico. Not to

say that it wasn’t nice; it was beautiful and well kept. We headed

straight to the Taxi station and on to Chankanaab Park to swim with

the dolphins. I cannot say enough about this excursion. Phillipe met

us at the door, checked us in for our excursion, and took us into the

park early so that we could take his guided tour of the ruins before

the dolphin swim. It was amazing to learn more about the Mayan

history and how it linked with other places that we have visited.

Phillipe took many photos for us and got us back just in time for our

Dolphin Swim Adventure. Now we booked this online directly and they

threw in a Manatee Encounter for free. This was amazing! I really

cannot do this experience justice describing it. We had a hug, kiss,

handshake, pull, and foot push. They also did many pass byes for us

to pet the dolphin and we finished with a free swim. We had a group

of 7 and it was just us with the trainer. We got out of the water and

headed straight to the manatee for our encounter. Wow, he was still a

‘little guy’ at 8 years and about 850 pounds! We pet him, fed him,

and kissed him. They gave us a brief overview of these amazing

creatures and then off to preview our movie. Yup, had to have it. At

$40 I thought it was a steel! We then grabbed a snack and daguarie

and headed to the pool for a quick swim. After re-fueling, we went

and snorkeled off of the coast. There were decent fish and many entry

points. The beach was clean, chairs were available everywhere, and

service was impeccable! The weather was partly cloudy and upper 80’s.

Back to the port we made a quick, but fun, stop at Fat Tuesdays for a

drink and headed back to the ship at 4:15. There were lines to get

back on the ship, but they moved right along and we were on in no

time! Dinner service was good as usual. I had the chicken and cheese

quesadilla and black bean soup for starters. Loved the quesadilla,

the soup was ok ( I just wanted to try it) and the free range chicken,

it was ok. I finished with coffee and the chocolate melting cake

(again) and was full and satisfied. After the last few exhaustingly

fun days, I was yearning for nothing more than sleep, so I called it a

day and headed off to an early date with my pillow! Onward to

Belize!!!

 

 

Wednesday, April 21, 2010: Belize

 

I had an amazing nights sleep and arose at about 6:30 and headed

upstairs to enjoy the sunrise. It was muggy and pleasant. The

sunrise was again cloudy, but gorgeous! I love it in the Caribbean.

By 10:30 they were calling for anyone to head down and to shore. The

lines for tendering were poorly managed and if you took the forward

elevators down, you were immediately merged into the front of the

line. This caused a bit of concern for the many people in line, but

truly there was no place else for them to go. RCCL does do a much

better job at this, as you can only get down at one end and the line

forms down a long hall. Just an observation. It was not big a deal as

we all made it on shore and back. Onshore the shopping was ok… same

stuff and similar prices. I did stop at the pharmacy for some

swimmer’s ear meds (my son needs it periodically, so this will take

us through this years swimming season). The purses were good prices,

I just was not crazy about any of them, and I can get them for similar

prices at home. We checked out the shops and headed back to the ship.

The slide was open and we were able to get chairs by the pool without

a problem. We spent the rest of the day enjoying sun and fun on the

ship. At 5:15 I headed up and went to the future cruise talk and

purchased my next cruise credit. I think that I will even pick up 2

as they are good for 5 years, but that is changing to 4 years very

soon…. They have already started printing the pamphlets to reflect

this change. We had a delicious dinner (Fried Mozzarella, Potato

Soup, Enchiladas, Tiramisu), caught the Illusionist show and then went

on to Karaoke on the big screen. Mid-night came and went, so we

finally decided it was time to get some rest for tomorrow in Isla

Roatan.

 

 

Thursday, April 22, 2010: Isla Roatan

 

I woke to an amazing sunrise. Words cannot describe how beautiful

this island is. I took pictures from the ship, but know that seeing

it in real life is the only way I will ever appreciate it. We had

breakfast and headed off the ship to Mahogany Bay at around 10:30. I

found that the shops were mostly made up of the major players

throughout the Caribbean. There were a couple smaller shops. I

bought a handmade purse. They were not looking to bargain, prices

were pretty set except for the jewelry carts. The beach was possibly

the nicest that I have seen in the Caribbean. It was beautiful, soft,

and clean white sand; with crystal clear water. We were well in the

90’s and the ocean was mid 80’s at my guess. We spent the day in the

water and on the beach. I heard the snorkeling was not that good, but

I did not try it myself. We headed back onto the ship at 3:00 had a

quick bite to eat and then went to shower for dinner. I had wild

mushroom soup, salad, filet mignion. It was very good. I checked out

the hypnosis show and decided that I was uninterested. The ship

seamed quiet tonight compared to the other nights. There were ‘high

winds’ so they closed the uppermost exterior decks. This did not

affect the lido deck. We went to bed around 10:00. Swimming with the

stingray tomorrow. This will be our second time so we are excited!

 

 

Friday, April 23, 2010: Grand Cayman

 

We arrived on time to Port. We headed down to the lounge to get the

tender tickets at about 9:45. They were having everyone sit down

because they would not have the tickets yet. When they got the

tickets they made no announcement and there appeared to be a lack of

procedure. Everyone just rushed the table and they split the stack

and handed them out to whom ever. We noticed that the left line was

getting #2 tender tickets and the right line was getting #9+. We took

the #2’s and were the first ferry to shore. Not a very exciting port

area. We mulled around until it was time to meet our tour guide from

Soto’s, then it was on to Stingray City. We had a great time. This

was our second time with Soto. There were a lot more people on board

this time so the tour did run a little long. It was great, and a few

people with our group were there for the first time. The snorkeling

was good and the water was refreshing. There were a ton of stingray

and they were hungry! We had a great time and headed back to the ship

and were back on board at about 4. The weather was partly cloudy,

warm, and windy. Back on board it was our second cruise elegant

night. We had Prime Rib I think. The food was good as usual and the

service was great! We checked out the Rock and Roll show and they

featured ABBA. The lead singers had great voices but the overall

production was boring. We called it night after the show… I was

definitely seeing myself tire from the busy week.

 

Saturday, April 24, 2010: Day at Sea

 

This was our last day on the boat. I tried to sleep in and headed up

to the lido deck at about 8. Chair Hogs had returned from their many

excursions and were again out in full force. Once again, I did not

see anyone enforcing the ’no reserving seats’ rule. We had our group

of seats, but we were using them all day. We took 5 chairs and had 9

people rotate thru them. I just don’t understand why people feel the

need to reserve a chair for the day for a kid who makes 5 minute pit

stops????? Anyway, it was a relaxing day. We did a load of laundry

and packed a bit before dinner. They served prime rib again today and

it tasted tough and overcooked. I wasn’t too hungry, so it was not a

concern… I needed room for one last melting chocolate cake. I did

notice that our dining room staff was a bit off tonight. They were

forgetting a few small details and seemed a little behind the ball.

It was not a big deal, but I was curious as to why. I hope everything

was OK. I loved the waiter and asst. waiter. They helped make our

cruise special. We headed back to our room to finish packing then up

to the lido to catch a movie. It was way to windy for me, so my DS

and I climbed in a warm bed and I read myself to sleep. DH and other

DS watched their last movie on deck and headed back to the room.

 

 

Sunday, April 25, 2010: Back in Miami

 

Wow … they serve a full breakfast the entire time!!!! I have never

had that on RCCL. They do an excellent job getting you off the boat

and thru customs. The Thrifty car rental shuttle took an hour! Then

they were rude and could only get ½ of us on. I was not happy! They

tell you that they run every 15 minutes, but ironically when I

complained that it took an hour when we finally got to the rental

counter, they responded ‘that’s about right for Sunday at the port’.

My response was, ‘really, because I was told that your shuttle runs

every 15 minutes’. Then of course it took ½ hour for the rest of our

party to catch up… so glad it wasn’t the hour we waited earlier. All

in all a minor frustration after a very enjoyable vacation.

 

Final thoughts:

 

This was our first experience on a Carnival Cruise. I was very

nervous that it would not be as nice as RCCL. We ran into some people

that were on RCCL and they were curious of the comparison noting that

they did not have access to ice tea and lemonade after dinner and they

no longer got mints on their pillow. I told them that we had that

plus 24 hour ice cream! All joking aside… I very much enjoyed

carnival and I will definitely cruise with them again.

[Name Of The Game]

Sounds like a great cruise!

 

Share this with the Royal Caribbean cruisers too. :D

[SMSACE6]

Very nice review, and thankyou for sharing your experience. :)

[k2]

Sounds like a great cruise!

 

Share this with the Royal Caribbean cruisers too. :D

I did share this with many of them in port. They were very interested. As I am not into arguing with cheerleaders... I will refrain from posting this on the RCCL board. If they ask, I will tell :D

[k2]

Very nice review, and thankyou for sharing your experience. :)

Glad you enjoyed it!

[bbrme]

Sounds like a great trip. We are doing the same trip but on the Valor. Are there many differences between the Valor and the Glory?

[navybaby1113]

Thanks for the review. She is a pretty ship. She was right outside our balcony in Belize.

[louann123]

Great review!!

 

 

Question:

 

1. Does the Thrifty car rental shuttle take you to the airport rental counter?

 

2. Who did you do the dolphin swim tour with on Cozumel?

 

Thank you

[k2]

Sounds like a great trip. We are doing the same trip but on the Valor. Are there many differences between the Valor and the Glory?

 

Never cruised the Valor, but it looks about the same size. The Glory just came out of dry dock so she may have some upgrades on her (like the big screen), that I am not sure if the Valor has yet.

[k2]

Great review!!

 

 

Question:

 

1. Does the Thrifty car rental shuttle take you to the airport rental counter?

 

2. Who did you do the dolphin swim tour with on Cozumel?

 

Thank you

 

Thrifty takes you to their off site location near the airport. I am not sure if they are in terminal in Miami, but we definitely were not in terminal where we picked up our car.

 

We booked the dolphin excursion directly with Dolphin Discovery at Chakanaab Park. I called them and referenced their online specials and they combined 2 over the phone. We got the mid-level dolphin swim and manatee encounter for $88 total. We did have to get our own cab, but that also includes all day park admission. Way worth the $$. We brought our own snorkel gear and spent the day.

[k2]

Thanks for the review. She is a pretty ship. She was right outside our balcony in Belize.

 

I took your picture in Belize (the boat anyway) at dawn ;)

[k2]

The funny part is we were talking today about how much there was to do. We came to the conclusion that we could sail her again tomorrow, without repeating a thing, and have as much fun!!! There is way too much to fit in with just one trip :D

[navybaby1113]

I took your picture in Belize (the boat anyway) at dawn ;)

 

I took your picture too!

[wpcrambone]

thanks for your post! my hubby and i will be cruising for the first time this june - headed to canada on Glory. sounds like we picked a good ship - thanks for all the info! :)

[k2]

thanks for your post! my hubby and i will be cruising for the first time this june - headed to canada on Glory. sounds like we picked a good ship - thanks for all the info! :)

 

The crew was talking about heading north. They seemed very excited.

[evamom]

Happy to read comment:

We checked out the Rock and Roll show and they

featured ABBA. The lead singers had great voices but the overall

production was boring. We called it night after the show…

 

Yay the female is my daughter and we will be on the Glory in May! Can't wait. I think she a great voice, too.:)

[mominwestlake]

I am really enjoying your review so far. My family is going to take a spring break cruise on the Glory next March. We need 2 staterooms and I am trying to decide between: 1 balcony and 1 inside on deck 8, 2 ocean view cabins on deck 3 (more square footage per room), and 2 balcony cabins on deck 8. There are 7 of us total. Do you know if the divider between the balcony staterooms could be opened? What type cabin did you stay on and which floor?

[baf_38821]

Great review, thanks!! We will be on the Glory on Sunday!

[johnjen]

We're on Glory for a Canadian cruise in July. Your review made it more exciting since we too are RCL cruisers! Can't wait now!

[k2]

Happy to read comment:

We checked out the Rock and Roll show and they

featured ABBA. The lead singers had great voices but the overall

production was boring. We called it night after the show…

 

Yay the female is my daughter and we will be on the Glory in May! Can't wait. I think she a great voice, too.:)

 

Really??? We visited with your daughter on the beach in Roatan. She is very nice and we enjoyed talking with her. I was surprised at how powerful her voice was when we saw her. She seemed like a very nice young lady, you must be proud!

[k2]

Happy to read comment:

We checked out the Rock and Roll show and they

featured ABBA. The lead singers had great voices but the overall

production was boring. We called it night after the show…

 

Yay the female is my daughter and we will be on the Glory in May! Can't wait. I think she a great voice, too.:)

 

Really??? We visited with your daughter on the beach in Roatan. She is very nice and we enjoyed talking with her. I was surprised at how powerful her voice was when we saw her. She seemed like a very nice young lady, you must be proud! What beautiful eyes!

[k2]

I am really enjoying your review so far. My family is going to take a spring break cruise on the Glory next March. We need 2 staterooms and I am trying to decide between: 1 balcony and 1 inside on deck 8, 2 ocean view cabins on deck 3 (more square footage per room), and 2 balcony cabins on deck 8. There are 7 of us total. Do you know if the divider between the balcony staterooms could be opened? What type cabin did you stay on and which floor?

 

We were in a window cabin on deck 2. I do believe that the dividers open between balconies. Rather or not to get a balcony is a personal choice. My thoughts are that I would not pay for a balcony (have had one before). First of all they are the same size as an interior cabin inside and secondly we never really use it. That being said there was a significant difference between the interior and the OV window. My niece had the interior and it would have been tough fitting 3 or 4 in there comfortably IMHO. We were 2 adults and a 13yr old and 10 yr old in one OV cabin and it worked fine. We were in 2262 and it was a great location!

[k2]

BAF and John... enjoy the Glory. You will have a great time!

[nidaco]

Glad you and your family had a fantastic cruise. How was the CC meet at sailaway? We loved our cruise and hopefully will be writing a short review over the weekend.

 

Just curious about the Dolphin excursion. What is the website? We'll be heading back to Cozumel in Aug. and my kids want to do that. Were there any little ones around the age of five?

[ChefSusan]

Thanks for the awesome review!

 

We're on her in 18 days, and cannot wait to get on board!