Carnival Glory Review - Plus FTTF and Cheers Review

[ctdahlquist]

We cruised the week of December 16 through 23, and I have a number of observations that I'd like to share. Rather than a blow by blow review, I thought I'd address many of the controversial topics being discussed here on Cruise Critic.

 

This was my 9th cruise, with previous cruises on Holland America, Carnival, Commodore, MSC, and Royal Olympia. My most recent cruises have been on Freestyle NCL, so comparisons will be mostly with Norwegian.

 

Food

 

Although the MDR fare is less gourmet that was previously experienced on Carnival back in 2002, we were pleasantly surprised by the overall flavor and temperature of our food. It is my feeling that many will enjoy the more approachable menu now featured. In no way is the MDR food comparable to Applebees or any other mass-market chain back on land, nor is it comparable to higher-end establishments. It fits somewhere in the middle.

 

We did not enjoy breakfast in Red Sail (Lido buffet area), as the offerings were cold and didn't seem as fresh as they could have been. We also did not care for the processed eggs that were offered.

 

Guys Burgers, the burrito offerings, fish and chips station and the pizza were all excellent, although we have some gripes about availability and wait times. Carnival has replaced MDR breakfast and lunch on sea days with a brunch, and we found no MDR lunches available while in port. This resulted in long lines in the buffet and other alternative dining establishments, especially when passengers return from shore looking for lunch or an afternoon snack. Carnival should better coordinate the availability of food venues with the times passengers return from ports of call to avoid excessive crowding.

 

Service

 

This is where Carnival shines, in my opinion. Most of the staff were smiling, greeting customers and seemed happy with their jobs. Service was both fast and efficient and at a level not experienced on 8 other cruises. Carnival gets 5 stars, in my book, for excellent service!

 

Funship 2.0

 

We very much enjoyed the new food and drink venues, especially the Alchemy Bar. The creative cocktail concoctions are very well made with high quality ingredients. Drink prices around $9.00 are quite a bargain for upscale and robust cocktails and are a better value than those found on land.

 

Activities and Music

 

There seemed to be activities and live music at all times on the ship; it was a high-energy cruise, and everyone seemed to be having fun. We didn't find a lack of music or entertainment, especially in the evenings. While in Grand Turk, I had the opportunity to view the Sapphire Princess which was pulled up along the other side of the dock, and I was astounded by the lack of anything going on aboard that ship. It was really crickets on the Princess Ledo deck, as compared to the party going on aboard the Glory.

 

Faster to the Fun

 

This worked out great for us. Upon arrival at the terminal and clearing security, we were ushered to the front of the line, thereby avoiding a long queue of at least 100 people. We then waited for about 10 minutes before VIPs were allowed on-board, and we boarded approximately 5 minutes later. Having priority at guest services is also a big plus, especially the last night of the cruise.

 

Cheers

 

So, this was the first cruise on the Glory offering the Cheers program, and we signed up immediately. While we enjoyed the care-free aspects of this program, I can't say that I would sign up for it again. Mixed drinks on carnival average around $9.00, so we figure we'd have to enjoy at least 5 per day to break even. We soon realized that the Carnival's cocktails are stronger that those found in land-based bars, so we didn't always need or want to reach the 5 drink mark. In hindsight, perhaps sticking with bon voyage liquor plus one or two alcoholic drinks around the ship would have worked better for us.

 

Carnival vs. NCL

 

Although the service on Carnival was outstanding, I really missed the Freestyle cruising to which I have become accustomed on NCL. There are simply more dining options with fewer lines and hassle on Norwegian. I really HATED having to wait until 8:15 for dinner, as we were often hungry much earlier, and we didn't want to wait in line at the buffet. Freestyle is less regimented, more predictable and makes for a more relaxing experience, in my opinion.

 

Scary Reviews on CC

 

Based on my recent Glory experience, many of the extremely negative Carnival reviews are utter nonsense. Did we enjoy all aspects or our cruise? No, but we also managed to have a good time, and we feel we received a great value on Carnival. My advise to CC readers is to take all reviews with a gran of salt, then form your own impressions. Don't be held hostage by some of the outlandish opinions of others. Go and have fun!

 

Overall

 

Overall, we had a great cruise, and we would certainly recommend the Carnival Glory to others. That said, we are still exploring options on other lines including NCL and possibly Celebrity. The new Celebrity Reflection looks absolutely stunning, so perhaps we'll giver he a go next time.

[mavvie]

It is nice to see someone who cruises other lines have positive things to say about Carnival for a change. I don't think Carnival deserves the bad reputation given to it. We are sailing on the Glory on the 13th of this month and I can't wait. It sounds like the 2.0 upgrades have enhanced the experience on the ship. Guy's burgers and Serenity deck here I come. This will be our first time using FTTF, and hopefully it ends up being worth the money as well.

[tlevans513]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review on Glory. It is appreciated.

[Joy&TomSTL]

We leave on the Glory in 11 days. Did you by chance use the "high speed" internet? There is a necessity for us to be in contact with family and husband's business. We were wondering if it is worth the money or just continue to use the internet cafe.

 

Thanks again for your thoughts on the Glory.

[ctdahlquist]

We leave on the Glory in 11 days. Did you by chance use the "high speed" internet? There is a necessity for us to be in contact with family and husband's business. We were wondering if it is worth the money or just continue to use the internet cafe.

 

Thanks again for your thoughts on the Glory.

 

Sorry to say that we didn't have any experience with the internet package; we were just enjoying being disconnected for a week. If you are going on the Eastern Caribbean trip, you should be able to access 3g or 4g in St. Thomas and San Juan (depends on your provider).

[ctdahlquist]

I forgot to mention our impression of the shows...

 

We really enjoyed them; don't miss them. My partner is a former television producer from Hollywood, and he thought the shows were great. The talent worked very hard, and the lighting was great. We especially liked the Divas show and Latin Nights.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[KY Deb]

So glad to read your review! I have organized a cruise for 22 of my husband's business associates ( they're friends, too!) on the Glory in March. DH and I had sailed in her Nov. 2011 and thought it was just fine. However, some of the recent reviews have been a little brutal, and I've been getting nervous since I had recommended Carnival. So happy to read a review that mirrored the experience we had, and that was before the 2.0 upgrades! Thanks!

[Lil_One]

Thank you for your review! We are considering the Glory for an Eastern cruise this November.

[delta13]

Thank you for your review. I will be on the Glory this Sunday.

 

Did you happen to see any of the Hasbro Game show and if so, what was your thoughts?

[ILCruzr]

Thanks for the review! We r going on the glory 1 month from tomorrow. And doing fftf too! So can't wait!!

[Pom Lover]

Thank you for such a positive review. Nothing is perfect but you have a wonderful outlook. We sailed the Glory many years ago and would definitely sail her again. We sailed the Breeze last month and have read some really negative reviews about our sailing and I am trying to figure out if they were on the same ship as I was. We had a wonderful time. I am sure I could find negative things about the cruise but heck....we were away from work on a cruise.

[Virga]

On the dining front, was open seating unavailable when you booked? Did you happen to try to switch the first day? I also REALLY dislike their assigned dining times, and have elected to use their open dining ever since they made it available.

 

It sounds like it would have been a good choice for you as well - and I've been able to switch to 'Your Time' (I think that's what they call it) by asking the first day the couple times I didn't have a choice at booking.

[Dave_&_Lisa]

Thank you for your review. I am looking forward to our cruise more than ever!

 

:D

[hagges]

Thanks for the review. I have been freaking out a bit reading all of the negative reviews and comments of the Glory. We sail in 53 days:)

[KirkWN737]

Thanks for the review! I have yet to sail on the Glory. Hopefully in the coming years we will be able to.

[CatlinSTJ]

Great informative review! The Glory has been our favorite ship to date, so glad to see that you enjoyed sailing on her. No cruise is perfect, and no one cruiseline is perfect for everyone. At some point, probably in the not so distance future, we'll branch out and try some other options, but I've really enjoyed all of our Carnival sailings.

 

Thanks for the tips - we were considering the FTTF and Cheers programs and your thoughts are greatly apprieciated and reinforce what we already thought.

[cruzin68]

We were on her the week before. The only major negative I had was how bad the Piano Bar performer was! I agree about the Lido deck food needing to be available upon arriving back to the ship on port days. Nearly every day they were cleaning things up just as we arrived back hungry. Burgers, Deli, and Pizza were all that was left. That is a little difficult being Gluten Free. The shows were awesome. So much better than the same old that I have seen a blue million time. Fish dishes in the MDR were the best I have ever had. Loved our room Stewards and MDR staff. All in all a great cruise!!

[sharecruises]

Can you please be more specific about the "entertainment"?

 

did they bring back a Cover band or was it just house band with the girl singer??

 

what entertainment??

 

did you see the 4 "new" shows ? I was on Glory in Nov, the 3 night and we had NO production shows....really disappointing

the "new" shows were in rehersal or some such

 

what bands?? what entertainment please?? Cause I personally thought the entertainment on Glory was horrible...I hear better music locally at any bar

[ctdahlquist]

On the dining front, was open seating unavailable when you booked? Did you happen to try to switch the first day? I also REALLY dislike their assigned dining times, and have elected to use their open dining ever since they made it available.

 

It sounds like it would have been a good choice for you as well - and I've been able to switch to 'Your Time' (I think that's what they call it) by asking the first day the couple times I didn't have a choice at booking.

 

I don't think I was given the option to select Anytime Dining when I booked in June, so I selected the late seating. We asked to be switched but was told that early seating and Anytime Dining were both full.

 

They did allow us to stop by the MDR after 6:30 to take any available tables, which we ended up doing two times.

[ctdahlquist]

Thank you for your review. I will be on the Glory this Sunday.

 

Did you happen to see any of the Hasbro Game show and if so, what was your thoughts?

 

I didn't partake in the Hasbro show. If you attend, let us know what you think.

[ctdahlquist]

Can you please be more specific about the "entertainment"?

 

did they bring back a Cover band or was it just house band with the girl singer??

 

what entertainment??

 

did you see the 4 "new" shows ? I was on Glory in Nov, the 3 night and we had NO production shows....really disappointing

the "new" shows were in rehersal or some such

 

what bands?? what entertainment please?? Cause I personally thought the entertainment on Glory was horrible...I hear better music locally at any bar

 

Most of what I witnessed seemed to be house bands. For the most part, they sounded fine, and I witnessed many people dancing and enjoying the many offerings.

 

Regarding entertainment, there were countless shows, games, dancing, DJ shows, etc. going on on the Ledo deck throughout the day and into the evening. I also witnessed many bands, singers, etc. throughout Deck 5, pretty much from stem to stern every evening. On top of it all, there were multiple comedian shows each evening, in addition to the Amber Palace shows which included:

 

Latin Nights

Motown

Divas

Various shows involving the passengers, all entertaining.

 

All of these shows were very good!

 

I'm sorry if I don't recall all of the names of each band, and I really wasn't in the mood to critique each and every one. What I can say is that I was impressed with the variety of things going on; it was a very active cruise and was what I expect from a cruise.