Just off the Glory

[thechandlers99]

Our 8 day cruise on the Glory ended today. We had the most amazing time with our family on our first Christmas cruise. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them.

[BC Gal Ann]

How wonderful for you to have a Christmas cruise. I am so glad that you and your family enjoyed it.

 

Did you do anytime dining? If so what dining room was it in and did you like it better than a scheduled dinner time.

 

Did they have the laundry special of $15.00 a bag and if so what day was it on?

 

What ports did you stop at? What did you do in the ports? I am always looking for things to do when in port.

 

Thanks in advance for any information. :)

[thechandlers99]

Did you do anytime dining? If so what dining room was it in and did you like it better than a scheduled dinner time?

 

We had a group of 11 so we chose to do an assigned dinner time. To be honest I didn't hear anyone talking about anytime dining so I can't give you a review. I will say that the Golden Dining Room is the one used for anytime and it is much more convenient than the Platinum because it is located midship.

[thechandlers99]

Did they have the laundry special of $15.00 a bag and if so what day was it on?

 

Yes, I did see a form offering a laundry special. I do not remember the day because we did our own laundry.

[thechandlers99]

What ports did you stop at? What did you do in the ports? I am always looking for things to do when in port.

 

The ship called in St. Maarten, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk.

 

St. Maarten - we took the water taxi to Front Street and went shopping. It was $6 pp for the entire day. When we go off, we walked to the left and then turned around and walked the other way. We stopped and had lunch at a fabulous restaurant called Greenhouse. We had been there before and it's so yummy. It is also right in front of the 2nd water taxi location so you don't have to walk all the way back to the main location.

 

St. Thomas - we booked an independent excursion on The Fury. It was awesome. The rate was $70 pp and it included a 4 hour sail to Turtle Cove to snorkle with the sea turtles. Unfortunately it was too windy and rough so they took us to a reef and a wreck instead. After snorkling, the rum punch was free flowing. There were only 20 ppl so it was very nice. They pick up and drop off at the marina right next to Havensight so no taxi needed.

 

San Juan - we stayed on the ship. Several in our party went to Barcardi and they enjoyed it.

 

Grand Turk - we spent the day at Margaritaville and then took a walk down the to conch shell graveyard. If you make a right at the end of the pier and walk towards the point on the beach, you will find tons of empty conch shells. We came home with 3! Great FREE souvenir!

[BC Gal Ann]

Wow, what a lot of great information.... Thank you so much.

 

That is the itinerary that we are going to be on when we cruise on Carnival Freedom next year. We are also going on the Glory, just after the Freedom cruise. The air fare from where we live is more expensive for each of us than the cost of one of the cruises. We try to make it worth our while spending so much on the air fare.

 

I am going to look into what you did in the Ports. Was there something in these ports that is a must buy...

 

In San Juan I am going to go to a restaurant called La Bombonera to have a special bun and a coffee leche. My family is going to try the segway tour.

 

In Grand Turk we are thinking of renting a golf cart. Although Margaritaville sounds like a lot of fun and the conch grave site - I am going to see that for sure.

 

St. Thomas we were thinking of touring with Sunny Liston, but I am going to look into the tour you took.

 

What you did in St. Maartens sounds just perfect to us.

 

Did you go into the Casino on the Glory? My daughter and I stop in each evening for a short while. ( we consider this entertainment) as we never seem to win much. Was it very smoky?

 

Did you try the coffee shop, as I find the coffee on the lido deck not to my taste.

 

Our stateroom on the Glory is on the Port side, where was yours located? Did you find the room hot or was it quite comfortable.

 

Did you try eating in the dining room for lunch? I am thinking of doing it once on the cruise.

 

Thank you again :)

[thechandlers99]

No problem at all! :)

 

This was our 3rd time on the Glory. It's a great ship. You will have a blast.

 

To answer your questions...

 

Was there something in these ports that is a must buy?

We visited the straw market in St. Thomas before our excursion. It had the typical things a market like that does (knockoff brands, etc) but there were a few stands with great local jewelry. I got a beautiful pair of earring made from conch for $20. Also, St. Thomas is the place to buy liquor. Normally each person is allowed to bing back 2 liters of liquor each but if it is purchased in St. Thomas that goes up to 5 liters each. The prices were great too.

 

In Grand Turk we are thinking of renting a golf cart. Although Margaritaville sounds like a lot of fun and the conch grave site - I am going to see that for sure.

We spent a lot of money on the sail in St. Thomas which is why we chose to stay put in Grand Turk. Our friends took a taxi to a little hotel called the Grand Turk Inn a few years ago. They purchased a day pass and said it was amazing. You might want to check that out. The conch shells cannot be missed!

 

St. Thomas we were thinking of touring with Sunny Liston, but I am going to look into the tour you took.

You will not be disappointed with The Fury.

 

Did you go into the Casino on the Glory? My daughter and I stop in each evening for a short while. ( we consider this entertainment) as we never seem to win much. Was it very smoky?

We went to the casino every night after dinner. The first few nights we played Blackjack but then it got way too busy so we moved onto the penny and nickle slots. They had abour 6 Blackjack tables but for some reason only one of them was a $6 minimum *all the others were $10). Because of that the $6 table was always packed and sometimes there was a line for a seat. Ironically the $10 were usually empty. I was somewhat annoyed that they never opened an additional $6 table. It would seem that a full $6 table is better than an empty $10 table but I guess they don't see it that way. The slots were fun and I won over $100 on the penny slots. It did get very smokey at times and I had to leave because my eyes started burning.

 

Did you try the coffee shop, as I find the coffee on the lido deck not to my taste.

I don't drink coffee so I can't help with this one! :)

 

Our stateroom on the Glory is on the Port side, where was yours located? Did you find the room hot or was it quite comfortable.

I believe our room was located on the Starboard side. We were in 8261 on the Verandah deck. It was a great location right next to the forward elevators. The room was comfortable to me.

 

Did you try eating in the dining room for lunch? I am thinking of doing it once on the cruise.

We did not eat in the MDR for lunch on this cruise but we have in the past. It was good when we tried it. We were very diligent about reapplying sunscreen on this trip so we got nice and tan, not burned. Because of this we spent every moment we could by the pool and ate at the grill or buffets each day.

 

Let me know if you have any other questions!

[thechandlers99]

I was trying to load pictures directly into this poast but for some reason I can't. I've put some links below if you are interested...

 

Grand Turk Beach -

Our Conch Shells -

Everyone's Shells -

[BC Gal Ann]

Thank you so much for answering my questions.

 

Do you have a picture of the earrings that you purchased in St. Thomas at the straw market? I always look for items that are local. I would love to buy a pair for myself. Did you see any necklaces that were made locally?

 

I hope that we can pick up some Grey Goose Vodka there also. It is about $55.00 a bottle here in British Columbia.

 

I checked out The Fury website and it looks like an amazing excursion. When we get closer to cruising, I am going to book them.

 

As for the Casino. How wonderful that you won $100.00 - I mostly leave my money behind.

 

I wonder why the Glory does not get it that a lower minimum gets more gamblers to the table.

I like to play the slot machines and I especially like the ones with bonus spins.

I think I might try the slot tournament or at least convince my daughter to.

 

Have you ever tried any of the spa treatments?

 

I have seen pictures of the Glory and it does look like a very nice ship.

 

Did you try the afternoon tea in the dining room?

 

Did they have nice tee shirts for sale in the store on board?

 

Have a nice evening :)

[chiapetti]

Thank you for sharing and good luck with the thread.

[thechandlers99]

Thank you so much for answering my questions.

 

Do you have a picture of the earrings that you purchased in St. Thomas at the straw market? I always look for items that are local. I would love to buy a pair for myself. Did you see any necklaces that were made locally?

 

I hope that we can pick up some Grey Goose Vodka there also. It is about $55.00 a bottle here in British Columbia.

 

I checked out The Fury website and it looks like an amazing excursion. When we get closer to cruising, I am going to book them.

 

As for the Casino. How wonderful that you won $100.00 - I mostly leave my money behind.

 

I wonder why the Glory does not get it that a lower minimum gets more gamblers to the table.

I like to play the slot machines and I especially like the ones with bonus spins.

I think I might try the slot tournament or at least convince my daughter to.

 

Have you ever tried any of the spa treatments?

 

I have seen pictures of the Glory and it does look like a very nice ship.

 

Did you try the afternoon tea in the dining room?

 

Did they have nice tee shirts for sale in the store on board?

 

Have a nice evening :)

 

I will take a picture of the earrings and post them sometime tomorrow.

 

We were on the Glory a few years ago and tried one of the pick 3 spa treatments on a port day. It was great. The spa is not very nice, IMO. I live in Atlanta and we have beautiful spas so I am spoiled. I did utilize the sauna each day which was very nice.

 

A few of my family members did afternoon tea one day and they really liked it. They had several different teas as well as small sandwiches and scones.

 

They had a bunch of t-shirts for sale in the shop and all of them were reasonably priced.

 

I stuck to the penny slots with bonus rounds. I really liked the Jade Monkey. It can be a 1 or 2 cent slots. The bonus rounds pay awesome! So much fun!

[BC Gal Ann]

Thank you for all of the information.

 

I am going to try the Jade Monkey in the casino.

 

I am also going to try the afternoon tea in the dining room.

 

Was it difficult getting off the ship in the ports?

 

Did you try the steak House?

 

Did you watch a movie at night at the Seaside Theater? If so did you enjoy it?

 

Are there any special spots on the Glory that you really liked?

 

Thanks again. :)

[jzygail]

I'm not the original poster, but I was on the Glory the cruise right before his (Dec 11 - 18), and we really enjoyed the steakhouse. The staff there were very friendly and professional. There were five of us, and we ladies split two bottles of Pinot Grigio--starting at the bar before we were seated. I have to say that by the second glass, I lost my ear's Eastern European accent filter, so I only caught about 65% of what any of the staff said to me from then on, but they were smiling and pleasant and my son translated for me when necessary :D. (It was really good wine :D)

[BC Gal Ann]

Thank you jyzgail - It sounds like you really enjoyed the Steakhouse on the Glory.

 

The wine sounds delicious and so is your sense of humor. :)

[tassycatt]

I'm not the original poster, but I was on the Glory the cruise right before his (Dec 11 - 18), and we really enjoyed the steakhouse. The staff there were very friendly and professional. There were five of us, and we ladies split two bottles of Pinot Grigio--starting at the bar before we were seated. I have to say that by the second glass, I lost my ear's Eastern European accent filter, so I only caught about 65% of what any of the staff said to me from then on, but they were smiling and pleasant and my son translated for me when necessary :D. (It was really good wine :D)

 

The steakhouse IS amazing. Ive already got my reservation for the next one!:D

[thechandlers99]

We didn't do the steakhouse this time. We did it the last time we were on the ship and it was awesome. I'm not a fan of the location - no view at all. The food is really good though.

 

It was so windy and chilly at night so we did not do the movies on the big screen. I would like to the next time we cruise.

 

I love to be right in the middle of the action so my favorite place on the ship is in the sun on the lido deck. We also liked the piano bar, Cin-a-Bar. The music was great!

[doc2dock]

On the same excursion in St. Thomas as thechandlers99 with Fury. Had a good time in spite of rough water. Had a really good snorkeling experience with Blue Water in Grand Turk. We all of a sudden came upon a nurse shark while over a reef - very cool.

 

I must say we were somewhat disappointed in the dining room food. We didn't go hungry, but the quality has gone downhill from our first Carnival cruise 6 years ago. IMHO you shouldn't have to pay extra to get a top notch meal on a cruise. Also, the singers and dancers left something to be desired.

 

However, that said, the wait staff was great and called us by name each dinner. Josh the cruise director was really good, and Misty his assistant was outstanding! The comedians were good, the hypnotist hysterical, and the juggling comedian a real treat.