Carnival Glory 10/17/10 review, Long with pics

[Esher127]

Day One

 

It had finally come… we booked the cruise in March so we were pretty excited for our very first cruise by the time October came. We drove to Virginia Beach to stay with some friends who then drove us to the Norfolk Cruise Terminal the morning of the cruise. Our ticket said to get there between 1:30-3:30, so we got there at 12:00. Lucky for us, people were already getting on the ship when we arrived at the cruise terminal! We got a warning about an increase in Noro from the previous cruise, but other than that scary letter the embarkation process went quickly and smoothly. An hour after arriving we had made it through the line and we were walking onto the Carnival Glory.

 

The first few hours were really exciting. We’d never seen the inside of a cruise ship before, and exploring it was a blast. We went straight to our room and dropped off our carry-on’s, then went for our first trip around the ship. I think the most amazing thing we how enormous the ship looks from the outside, but how much smaller it seems on the inside. We grabbed our first lunch at the Fish & Chips, and that was awesome. We walked around some more and then tried the Mongolian Wok for our second lunch, then headed back to our room to unpack. By the time we finished it was time for dinner in the Main Dining Room. After that the excitement and travel had worn us out, and we headed to the room to crash.

 

I should note that we had room 7204, a 4J room on the very front of the ship. The room was AWESOME. A room with a window, a balcony that nearly no one knows is there much less uses, and for barely more than an inside room. People have complained that the room is too far away from things, and the balcony is too windy when the ship is moving, but we didn’t find any of that true. On that class of ship, I wouldn’t consider any other class of room. Also, there is motion in that room, but it wasn’t any more-so than any other place in the ship. Your results may vary, but the motion wasn’t a problem for us.

 

 

 

 

This is the balcony right infront of our room.

 

 

Interior of our room

 

 

Lunch #1

[Esher127]

 

Lunch #1

 

 

Amber Palace

 

 

Camel Casino

 

 

Ivory Club

 

 

Club Blue

 

 

Golden Dining Room

[Esher127]

Day Two

 

The morning of day two some harsh realities set in. The first of which came with our first Fun Times... Somehow in all the conversations I had with my Carnival PVP and my reading on the forums here on Cruise Critic I didn’t realize how much more stuff would have extra fees on the ship. I knew that alcohol, the casino, and the spa would have extra fee’s, but freakin’ lazer tag?! Cooking demo’s? And the bigger problem was that there was usually only one thing going on at any one time on the entire ship, so if you weren’t interested in that one thing or weren’t willing to pay for it... well, grats on being bored. And we’re not the type of people that can just sit in a chair on Lido ALL DAY. We ate, we hung out in the room, we lost $3 in the casino in about 15 seconds and decided that was a bad idea, we walked around, we were bored out of our mind. Our vacation had suddenly turned from great, to not very good. We went to dinner for the second night, and now that the excitement had wore off, we realized that the service in the main dining room was, well, horrible. Non-existent, really. We picked anytime dining and always got a table rapidly, but after that the wait staff seemed more bothered that we were there than anything. After dinner we went back to our room and crashed. I really can’t emphasize how much of a letdown day two was for us, and I’m not even sure how to explain it. Carnival just didn’t live up to our expectations, out preconceived ideas of what was offered, or a feeling of value for what I paid for.

 

 

 

Sea as smooth as glass!

 

 

Mushrooms

 

 

Uh... fish... I don't remember, lol

 

 

Lighthouse we came close to pulling into Nassau

 

 

We backed right in between the Triumph and the Sensation

 

 

The Glory and Triumph together

[Esher127]

Day Three

 

We woke up with more hope for today because we’d be docking in Nassau. We’d never been in another country before, so that we exciting! We stood on the balcony in front of our room watching the ship dodge rain clouds as it SLOWLY pulled into Nassau. Soon we were tied off and walking into the city. I had printed off Frommer’s walking tour and it didn’t take very long to realize that wasn’t the great idea I thought it would be. Nassau is a dirty, nasty place that’s not exactly the tropical paradise we thought it would be. One more disappointment. The traffic is INSANE, there seem to be no laws whatsoever and crossing intersections seems like playing with your life. All the same, we made it up to the Queen’s Staircase where we got a very good but unsolicited tour, and then up to Fort Fincastle. We walked back down to Junkanoo Beach and that wasn’t what I thought it would be either. I’ve seen people’s pictures and it looks great, heck it even looks great In MY pictures! But the reality is it’s covered in trash, you can’t walk barefoot for all of the broken glass in the sand, and you’re looking out at an industrial wasteland. We then walked back down to Fish Fry and had lunch at Goldie’s, where we had our fill of Conch fritters, conch salad, conch burger, sky juice and Kalik. After that we headed back to the ship, and stopped by the straw market. The straw market is fun and obnoxious all at the same time. It’s neat to watch people make things, and a lot of the vendors are entertaining… but some cross the line when they walk up to you, put things around your neck, and then demand money for them. After we has our fill of the market we went back to the ship where I suddenly started not feeling well. I didn’t leave my room the rest of the evening, as my lunch apparently didn’t agree with me. My girlfriend didn’t have that issue, and she was perfectly fine, so I don’t know what my problem was. We skipped dinner though and I didn’t leave the room for the rest of the evening.

 

 

 

Queens Staircase

 

 

Fort Fincastle

 

 

More Fort Fincastle, Cruise Ships in the distance

 

 

Caught a lizard!!

 

 

Junkanoo Beach

 

 

Fish Fry

[Esher127]

Day Four

 

We did an overnight in Nassau, so we were still there for another entire day. We decided to give Nassau another shot so we got off the boat and this time grabbed a taxi to Goodman’s Beach. As it turned out, Goodman’s Beach was much cleaner, and was a good place to swim and relax on the beach. There was a lady selling snacks and beer on the beach, and we spent a fun few hours there. When we were done we decided to walk back... I don’t know how far that is exactly, maybe 4-5 miles? I’m not sure. About halfway back, when we got to Fish Fry, a giant storm opened up and dumped rain on us. That didn’t stop us from walking though, and this was one of the best times of our vacation for me. We walked in the pouring rain which felt GREAT and despite all the puddles and the grime it was… perfect.

 

When we got back to the ship we got cleaned up and headed to dinner. We got lucky and were sat in a new section with a different waitstaff and the service was so much better it wasn’t even like the same experience! Our waitress, Sirima, was outstanding and really the only person who ever went above and beyond on our entire cruise. She. Was. Great. After dinner we headed to a show, Justin Illusion, who made scantily clad girls vanish in between dance acts. It was a great show! We headed out to the Serenity deck and sat in a hot tub to watch our ship pull away from Nassau. At this point we had started to feel like we were figuring this cruise thing out as we’d had a really good day… That was awesome until a Carnival employee kicked us out of the hot tub because it was 10pm. Apparently he didn’t get the memo on it being the “fun ship”. Seriously. It’s the ADULT area, and the hot tub closes at 10pm? Seriously?! Seriously. Whatever. To bed we go.

 

 

 

 

These two were Goodman's Beach

 

 

 

 

Sushi Salmon, back on board

[Host Faith]

Great review and photos, keep it coming! We're having a family reunion on the Glory next May, going from NYC to Canada, however your photos and descriptions of the ship are very helpful.

[Esher127]

Day Five

 

We arrived in Freeport this morning. I’d just like to say I’d heard nothing but bad things about Freeport... that most people didn’t get off the ship, that it was just ugly industry, and you know what? Freeport is frickin BEAUTIFUL. I mean, after Nassau a land of fire & brimstone would have been beautiful, but I’m pretty sure Freeport is honestly pretty. We took a taxi to Lucaya and then met up with Leo from Trikk Pony. She took us even further east on the island to a public but very secluded beach where a small group (5) of us rode horses. We rode on the beach, in the woods, and through the water all the way up to the saddle! It was a spectacular ride on one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. Leo is a class act, and I encourage anyone who is interested in such a thing contacting her for this excursion. It was worth every penny.

 

Sadly we were in Freeport for such a short time that was really all we had time to do. Our taxi ride back was super informative though, as he told us about how the port was mostly privately owned, and it was put in the hands of 3rd party ownership while the real owners battle some crap out in court. The end result is the 3rd party is financially raping the island, making it too expensive for tourists or cruise ships to come/stay there, resorts are going out of business, unemployment is skyrocketing, businesses are closing, and once successful people are now taxi drivers. It was a sad story. But it explains why there’s so many excursions that are so much cheaper than Nassau. I would have MUCH rather been in Freeport for 2 days! Honestly I want to go back, and I’m not sure if I care if I never see Nassau again.

 

We headed back to the ship and went to dinner. This time we requested Sirima and had another great dining experience. SO much better than the previous waitstaff.

 

 

 

These two are from behind the Radisson Hotel in Lucaya, Freeport

 

 

Lucaya Beach

 

 

 

 

Horse ride!!!

[Esher127]

Day Six

 

After a couple great days in ports we were hoping we were getting this cruise thing figured out and we’d have a better day at sea. Nope. There was NOTHING TO DO!! Same thing as before... pay to go do something, gamble, have some tea, or sleep. It’s a good thing we loved our room because we barely left it... I’ve never been so freakin bored for an entire day. I honestly don’t know what people do... we would occaisionally make a lap around the ship to see if there was something going on somewhere... but all of the clubs and lounges were empty save for the overcrowded lobby. By this point it felt like we’d been on the ship for a month and we wanted OFF. We didn’t want another day at sea, we didn’t want to hear from our obnoxious cruise director about all the crap we could spend MORE money on, we were done. But since it’s a cruise, you’re trapped, and that’s a crappy feeling.

 

Day Seven

 

We couldn’t get back to Norfolk any SLOWER. They went over the plan on how to get off the ship about 500 times and then didn’t do ANY of it. We did the self assist thing, waited to hear our floor get called, but no floors ever got called. We finally got tired of waiting and just left the room only to find out people were freely leaving the ship. THANKS FOR THE NOTICE!! We carried our luggage off the boat and never looked back. I understand the people who let carnival/norfolk take care of their bags had an even harder time with lost luggage and such. Glad we didn’t do that.

 

Conclusion

 

I’m in no hurry to get back on a cruise ship, and if I do it won’t be Carnival. Maybe they’re all the same, but it just wasn’t what I thought it would be. Before I got on the ship I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to see/do everything on the ship, that the service would blow me away, the food would be awesome, and our 6 days would fly by. Everything ended up being the total opposite of what I expected. Some of my biggest complaints:

 

- Carnival never stops reaching in your pockets. They always want more. I wish I’d known I only paid for room and food, everything else was extra. At least I would have been prepared.

- The service wasn’t special. Everyone but Sirima did their job and nothing more. It’s no wonder they push for pre-paid gratuities because no one would get tipped if they didn’t. Tips are for going above and beyond, not for doing the bare minimum to stay employed. Also, having to still give the dude a 15% tip for taking 45 minutes to get my drink of the day is B.S..

- The food was ‘meh’ and declined as the cruise wore on. We are also accustomed to eating local and organic, and the food on the ship made me feel like crap. Never sick, just tired, gross, and like I didn’t want to eat it anymore. The ingredients might be exotic… snails and lobsters and whatnot, but the recipes are mostly bland, predictable and SALTY.

- Late night you can have Pizza, burgers, or sandwiches from room service. THAT’S IT.

- In the evening you’re pretty much limited to the main dining room or the buffet, as the burrito bar, fish & chips, mongolian wok, and deli are all closed. During lunch Sushi isn’t open.

- They closed the sushi bar one night to make way for photographers. I can only assume because the photographers earn Carnival money, sushi doesn’t. BAH!

- Photos are annoying at best. Who in the hell thought putting 2,900+ guests photos in one hall would be an efficient way to do this?! Seriously?! Carnival: You have an interactive TV system, let me pull up my photos on the TV and I’ll print the ones that I’m interested in. This should even lower the ticket price since I’m not paying for SIX BILLION photos to be developed/printed that will just get thrown away. Its an inefficient, clumsy, and environmentally unfriendly way of doing that.

- Make use of the ship, really. Most of the clubs and bars sat totally empty the majority of the ship. WHY?

- No comment cards? No follow up call/email/anything? Thanks for caring.

- Formal Night - No one cares, and that includes Carnival. After all the complaining about formal night I’ve seen on here, I expected to see a big to-do about it. We packed nice clothes and came formal, and was seated next to a guy wearing shorts and a baseball cap. The thing is... he didn’t look out of place because Carnival doesn’t do ANYTHING for formal night. No special music, decorations, anything. It’s just another night, except you’re expected to dress up. It’s a total joke and it’s disappointing.

 

The good:

- The 4J Rooms are great. If you’re going to cruise, I highly recommend them.

- Sirima was great. If you’re on the Glory and doing anytime dining, ask for her.

- The Illusion show was great.

- It’s easy to get away from people if you want, since most of the clubs in the ship are empty. That’s the bright spot in that there’s nothing to do since they’re not using those rooms.

- I’m sure there as more, I’m struggling to remember it.

 

 

 

So that’s about it. It sucks that I’m sorry that I spent the money on this vacation that I did, as there’s a lot of things I could have spent that money on that I think we would have enjoyed more. Maybe we’re just not cruise people. I kept feeling like we were doing something wrong because other people seemed to be having a great time. Maybe we don’t have enough money to have a good time. I don’t know what the problem is, but we don’t have the desire to try again. I’m nearly certain that this review will ruffle some feathers, but this is just an honest perspective of the cruise as we saw it. I genuinely hope others on the same cruise had a better time. Maybe our expectations were off, maybe our attitude was off. Either way, it’s not something I want to repeat.

 

 

 

[w8ing2cruz]

I'm really sorry that your first cruise didn't live up to your expectations. Cruising isn't for everyone. My brother and a few of my friends don't see my addiction to it. As fas as the 'nothing to do' issue - did you go to any of the games/shows during the day. Love and Marriage is hilarious and the trivia games are fun too. And those are all free. They probably had a bean bag toss game scheduled too. There are lots and lots of free things to do if you look hard enough. Personally, I am a Lido deck lizard. If the sun is out I'm up there having fun! If I happen to get a rainy day I gladly take a book and relax out on a quiet sheltered balcony somewhere.

 

Hope your next vacation goes better for you.

[Host Faith]

So sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. One thing- perhaps try a newer ship in the Carnival line, or try another cruise line before you decide cruising is not for you. Happy travels in the future no matter what you decide!

[Esher127]

I'm really sorry that your first cruise didn't live up to your expectations. Cruising isn't for everyone. My brother and a few of my friends don't see my addiction to it. As fas as the 'nothing to do' issue - did you go to any of the games/shows during the day. Love and Marriage is hilarious and the trivia games are fun too. And those are all free. They probably had a bean bag toss game scheduled too. There are lots and lots of free things to do if you look hard enough. Personally, I am a Lido deck lizard. If the sun is out I'm up there having fun! If I happen to get a rainy day I gladly take a book and relax out on a quiet sheltered balcony somewhere.

 

Hope your next vacation goes better for you.

 

I did go to a few more shows than I mentioned in my review, and they were entertaining but also short lived. I don't know, I guess watching someone toss bean bags isn't my thing either. And all that means you're right, I just don't think we're cruise people. I can't imagine laying on the Lido all day, but I know lots of people loved doing that. In fact, the main Lido area was easily my least favorite place on the entire ship. The TV was L O U D, and I couldn't just enjoy the ocean because of it. Serenity was better, but even then I start feeling anxious to do something.... I can't just sit all day.

 

But it also goes back to what I said earlier. I would read through the Fun times and it would say between this time and this time there's bean bag tossing. Great. THAT'S ALL! All the clubs/bar's were empty save for the casino as that's the ONE thing going on. On that giant ship why give people ONE choice?

[slmncsu]

Cruising isn't for everyone. It sounds like you and I have similar lifestyles: eating local and organic, enjoying being on the go, and wanting to get a good value.

We aren't "joiners", so we don't participate in many group activities, but we really enjoy watching people who do! I also like taking a book and finding a quiet place with a view on the ship to read, something that is difficult to do at home with three dogs, laundry and work that need constant attention!

On the Glory in particular, I enjoyed the Tea(free) on the Sea Days, the Champagne Art Auction(free-even though they want you to buy stuff) and the Wine and Martini Tastings($10-$20).

It sounds like you guys weren't able to enjoy much of the nightlife because of getting sick and being tired. This is when there is a lot of free entertainment. With several music options, the Glory can be pretty interesting.

I'm not saying you are wrong for not enjoying your cruise; I hate that you feel like you wasted money AND didn't have a great a time on your vacation! But maybe a different cruise line or a different itinerary with more stops would be more your speed.

[remharri]

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your cruise. As others stated, cruising isn't for everyone but I wouldn't totally give it up. Our cruise on the Splendor wasn't FANTASTIC! but we meet great people and made the best of it. And if you do another cruise maybe try different ports...Nassau is blah in my opinion and I've seen it one too many times.

 

Happy Travels :D

[Esher127]

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your cruise. As others stated, cruising isn't for everyone but I wouldn't totally give it up. Our cruise on the Splendor wasn't FANTASTIC! but we meet great people and made the best of it. And if you do another cruise maybe try different ports...Nassau is blah in my opinion and I've seen it one too many times.

 

Happy Travels :D

 

You hit on something there that I think is important. We chose anytime dining because we, as someone else stated, aren't 'joiners'. But as we found out by meeting people at breakfast in the Platinum Dining Room or other places, that making friends on the ship can go a long way. I love the flexibility of anytime dining, but I sortof wish that you still got seated with a big table of people so that you were forced to get to know them. As it is, we sat at a small table for two, and never really got to know anyone. This was our choice, obviously, I just didn't realize how much meeting people would enhance our experience.

 

Also, we did do the Tea Time. It was nice... the crunchy chocolate things they gave us were AWESOME. Tea Time also made me very sleepy. lol.

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank you for taking the time to post. We all know it's time consuming.

I think you'll like Royal Caribbean more. Especially the newer ships where they have the rock climbing wall, flowrider, iceskating, full basketball court. The newer ships are for the more "active" person. But, you will certainly pay for those things. RCCL costs a lot more money than Carnival.

And, you needed an itinerary with more ports of call, since you guys don't like to sit still.

Cruising is not for everyone, and you won't get bashed for being honest.

Hope you guys enjoy your next vacation.

[swilliams07]

Wonderful pics & review.........

Thank you:)

[yogimax]

We were on Glory a few weeks ago. Your wonderful pictures brought back great memories. Thank you!

[caribbeanboy]

Thank you for taking the time to post. We all know it's time consuming.

 

I think you'll like Royal Caribbean more. Especially the newer ships where they have the rock climbing wall, flowrider, iceskating, full basketball court. The newer ships are for the more "active" person. But, you will certainly pay for those things. RCCL costs a lot more money than Carnival.

And, you needed an itinerary with more ports of call, since you guys don't like to sit still.

 

Cruising is not for everyone, and you won't get bashed for being honest.

 

Hope you guys enjoy your next vacation.

 

That's absolutely not true that Royal Caribbean cost much more.They have some cruise that are more expensive and Carnival has some that are more expensive. Btw on a 7 day cruise $100 more is not much more, that's waht I usually pay for a one night in a hotel without any meal included.

[soulsistah007]

How did you like Goldies at the Fish Fry in Nassau?

[navybaby1113]

Thank you for the review. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your vacation.

 

Yes, we've been bored at times on a cruise ship because we dont' like sitting int he sun either. But we do plenty throughout the day. We do almost every trivia game. Those are a blast.

 

Someone mentioned you might like RCCL more. They do have a lot more to do.

[campdaan]

THANK YOU for taking time to post all those GREAT pics, and give your take on a CARNIVAL CRUISE...

Cruising isn't for everyone, and I hope that you find a Vacation that fullfills all of your wants and needs.

[Esher127]

How did you like Goldies at the Fish Fry in Nassau?

 

The good at Goldie's was AWESOME. The plate of conch fritters was huge and it was only $4... it could have been a meal. But the real star for me was the conch burger... it was just ridiculously tasty. I think the only reason I didn't feel good afterwords was the mix of beer and about 5 pounds of conch that had all been deep fried. It was so delicious I didn't care at the time, but it caught up with me.

 

I have wondered if other cruise lines would give me a different experience. Since this was my first and only cruise, I don't know what's common across the board and what isn't. I am still curious about RCCL and NCL, and I want to go to Cayman to see the turtle farm so one day I'll probably give them a shot. I have noticed a lot more negativity towards Carnival in this forum now than when I booked in March, so maybe Carnival's just in a rough patch? I'm not sure.

 

But thank you all for the kind words on the review. I have a LOT more pictures and if anyone has any specific questions I'd be happy to answer them.

[tbjl24]

When it's just my wife and I cruising, our trips are COMPLETELY different then when we sail with friends.

 

Just the 2 of us, our cruises are very mellow. Hang out/sleep on lido during the day, go to dinner, maybe catch a show and early to bed.

 

With our friends, the days don't seem long enough. Everyone has different tastes and off doing different things: lido deck sun, pool, mini golf, casino or just hanging out and being with each other.

 

I guess my point is your experience could be completely different with a group of friends. A few more people to stimulate and drag you to things when you're feeling blah.

 

I am very anti social when it comes to crowds of people I don't know and have to force myself to do things. It would be very easy for me to sit in my cabin all day but the wifey won't let me!!!

 

I have only sailed Carnival and RCL, but the daily activities schedule are almost identical.

[nybumpkin]

I have wondered if other cruise lines would give me a different experience. Since this was my first and only cruise, I don't know what's common across the board and what isn't. I am still curious about RCCL and NCL, and I want to go to Cayman to see the turtle farm so one day I'll probably give them a shot. I have noticed a lot more negativity towards Carnival in this forum now than when I booked in March, so maybe Carnival's just in a rough patch? I'm not sure.

I would suggest trying something else before giving up on cruising generally. It sounds like you might like a more port-intensive cruise with better ports than Nassau and Freeport. (Like you, we had a great time in Freeport - I liked it better than Nassau.) Maybe a 7-day out of Florida that stops in 4 ports? Incidentally, we visited the turtle farm in February, aboard Carnival Conquest. Had a great time. My review with photos is at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1151709&highlight=conquest

[matondo]

Thank you for the review. I agree that you should not give up on cruising yet. I would talk with a travel agent and tell them what you are looking for in a crusie and they can get you matched up with what would work for you.

 

I have heard that on NCL unless you pay for the premium dining the food is not very good. This is not first hand information though.

 

I would check out other cruise line threads and read reviews, maybe you will find a line that you click with.