Glory, glory.... a 7 day Eastern Caribbean Review

[onegroundcafe]

Welcome to my first review! This cruise on the Carnival Glory was my 12th, my DH's 11, and my DD's 10 (she would have been platinum, just a year late). The ports we visited were: Miami-embarkation, Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk.

 

Day One-Vacation has begun!

DH had to work until 4:00 pm on Friday and so we took off for Miami that night after work.

 

We drove until we reached Jacksonville, FL. We found a hotel to crash at for five hours, headed out for drinks and then went to bed.

 

I also did my nails in Carnival colors for fun.

[laurrbarr]

Can't wait to read more! Heading on glory for same itinerary Saturday!!!! Love the nails!!!

[onegroundcafe]

Day Two-Miami we are coming for you!

 

Our alarm went off at 5:00 am (not that we slept anyway we were too excited) and we were ready to go. We were on the road by 5:45 am.

 

We took the toll road thinking it would shave a half hour off of our time. However during the drive we did a Chinese fire drill at one of the tolls stops and lost the toll ticket (we found it later but wow that was rough!) We used Premier parking for parking and paid 56.00 for our seven day cruise. The directions they sent were straight forward and easy and we were parked and headed to the terminal by 11:00 am.

 

We hadn't cruised out of Miami in a few cruises but the process was still the same. The immigration lady was very funny, she asked DD if her stuffed animal had a passport and told DD that Uni (the stuffed animal) would have to stay in Miami with her.

Security stopped us for two bottle of wine in our carry on and then checked our bottled water for bubbles, it really was water so we were okay. However the mother next to us wasn't, her water wasn't really water and two security people were called over to deal with that situation.

We were off to the Captain's lounge and I was not so impressed. Upon entering we were told to have a seat and they would call us when they had our cards ready. We were not allowed to board until around 11:30.

DD got a map of Glory and we sat around to wait to board, water and lemonade were offered, no cookies.

(DD and her Uni that needed a passport)

 

We were allowed to board at 11:30 am and we walked past the fabulous "Just ask" shirts (I want one!) and headed to our room to drop off our belongings

We always do an interior room to save money and we aren't in our room very much. Lunch was next in order since we hadn't eaten today and I knew just where we were headed...the famous Guy's Burgers.

 

More to come tomorrow...including a ship's tour, spa shenanigans, and our first "American Table" experience.

[onegroundcafe]

Usually on day one of the cruise I like to eat the Italian selections on the lido but we had never been on a 2.0 cruise so when in Rome....

We headed to Guy's Burgers to try the Cruise Critic worthy famous burgers. We wanted "The Ringer" and "The Pig Patty" and what we got were...burgers with cheese. It seems like all cruise this happened and it was up to you to doctor your own burgers. Even if you asked for the burger by name you still got...a burger with cheese. After months of reading about these burgers I was disappointed. But hey, I wasn't cooking them, nor cleaning up after them so my disappointment was short lived. DD had the FF and they were too spicy. She survives on FF so I was worried what the rest of the cruise would bring.

 

After lunch we went for a swim in the Dolphin pool, explored the hot tubs, and DD went down the water slide. We always were swimming suits under our clothes when boarding because you have the pools to yourself on day one while people wait for their luggage to arrive.

 

At 1:00 we headed to the Spa for the Spa tour and went around to the different places and at the end got a "free" bamboo, hot stone, and scented massage, DD loved it. We got a raffle ticket to enter the Spa Raffle at 5:00 pm.

 

We then went around and explored our new home for the next few days until it was time for the dreaded Muster Drill.

slide DD went down about 100 times

Photo of EA Sports bar, we spent no time there...not football season, no Peyton Manning, no need to watch any sports.

[van1025]

So thankful for a glory review! We sail on her in September!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[AriannaFan]

Finally a glory review! Thank you

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[onegroundcafe]

DH for some reason was hungry and decided he needed a snack so we went back to the Lido Bar and found Fish and Chips.

 

A side bar about Fish and Chips....we have been on the Valor three different times and never ventured to eat there, I hate fried food. After reading Cruise Critic I discovered that Fish and Chips has Ceviche and Tuna and Watermelon and the most important to our family they had REGULAR FF (this was a life saver over the cruise), so DD and DH snacked and I looked at the Fun Times. I love to highlight the fun things we can do on the cruise.

Then they called for the Muster Drill....blah! We ended up being in the front for the Muster Drill (score!) and Muster Station H apparently has mostly life rafts and not life boats so we were hoping nothing happened to the ship!

The fun officially begins after Muster so we headed to the Red Frog Rum Bar to get my Miami Vice for sail away, a Root Beer for DD, and a Cruiser for DH.

 

One of the things I would like to change about embarkation day would be the closeness of sail away to the spa raffle, but alas we went up to the spa for the 5:00 raffle. We did not win, but DH set me up for a Top to Toe service for $129 that night at 8:30.

 

I had read that if you forgot something toiletry-wise you could go to guest services and ask for a replacement, this was not the case, I was sent to the Fun Shops which don't open until 6:30 on embarkation day.

We did get our deck of cards from Guest Services and got ready to go to dinner.

 

This was our first time with the whole American Table/Feast concept and after reading CC I was apprehensive, but for the most part I loved it! We had anytime dining and since Camp Carnival is not open the first day DD went to dinner with us. We were seated at a table of three immediately upon entering and our server was Pande. He was amazing! He did these neat magic tricks with DD and she was thrilled.

I liked the table without the tablecloths, but the tables were small with all the stuff on them (bottle of wine, bottle of water, wine glasses, water glasses, butter dish, app plates, bread basket, silverware) and the huge heavy menus.

I ordered from the Port of Call Menu and got the Ham Croquetas and Empanadas and Black Bean Salsa along with the Grilled Mahi Mahi. DH got the Salmon off the everyday menu and DD got chicken nuggets.

Pande did an excellent job of explaining the menu to us. The "Mains" come with a side and "From the Grill" lets you choose a side, DH got Bacon Mac and Cheese and loved it! New to us was the option to order a steakhouse entree for 20.00 ( I guess saves you the gratuity of the 35 dollar steakhouse reservation?) For dessert DD got the WCM and I got the Nutella Tiramisu that I had been so looking forward to. It was not what I expected, more like a mousse than a tiramisu. DH got coffee.

 

After dinner DH and DD went to use her Platinum arcade card ($5 worth of games) while I went to the spa.

Part of the arcade

 

My top to toe massage was 75 minutes long and included a full body exfoliation, a full body Swedish massage, a foot and ankle massage, a facial, and then a scalp massage. It was very relaxing, followed by a five minute sales pitch for $130 worth of facial cream. I politely said no and went on my merry way.

 

I found DD and DH in our room and DH went to the casino. DD and I went to bed.

[onegroundcafe]

You are welcome, seems Glory reviews are few and far between. I am heading off to bed now and will post tomorrow about Half Moon Cay day and see where I end up.

 

Good night all!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[tbbtravels]

Awesome report!

[sjn911]

Very fun review..thanks..

[Seago2]

Love it! I absolutely love Glory.

[onegroundcafe]

Day 3-Take me to Half Moon Cay!

 

I learned that by reading the Fun Times Cay is pronounced like "key" and not "K" like the letter, as GI Joe would say "knowing is half the battle"

 

I woke up at 7:30 am wondering why I woke up at 7:30 am on a vacation day, but decided to go for a run. I headed to the gym and thought that I would not be able to find a treadmill. Typically dreadmills are very busy for the first two days of a cruise and then by day three everyone has given up. However today was to be my lucky day and I found a torture device in direct sunlight.

In order to get to the treadmill I had to step all over the poor Sunrise Stretchers who were camped out right by the women's locker room exit (guess I needed a Sunrise stretch too!) I ran for a bit and we were docked in the ocean near HMC so there really was no scenery to run to besides the tender boats racing to the Glory to take us lucky people to HMC.

I got bored, hence the name dreadmill, and decided to finish my run in the open ocean air on the jogging track.

My view while running.

 

After I was done with my run I decided it was time for my family to wake up and eat some breakfast before going ashore to HMC.

HOLY MOLY were there some breakfast lines!!! I have always read/heard that ships sail full and we typically take cruises in the fall and spring but now that DD is in school we were taking our first summer cruise and if the story was true that ships sail full then they sail REALLY full in the summer. DH and I figured that in the fall/spring it is more 2 people cabins but in the summer it must be 5 people cabins. I have never seen such a mass of hungry people in the morning!

 

Usually on cruises DH and I will head to the omelette line and get some yummy tummy fancy eggs that we don't have to clean the pan after but after reading some CC I knew that Blue Iguana made breakfast burritos (which is what I make at home when I eat breakfast) so I headed that way and DH and DD stood in the never ending line at the breakfast buffet.

The salsa bar had: pico de gallo, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, watermelon salsa, salsa salsa, green salsa, limes, cilantro, hot sauces and inexplicably watermelon itself.

I got my yummy breakfast burrito...choice of wheat or jalapeno tortilla (I went with wheat). You can also choose Mexican style eggs or regular ( I went with Mexican style) and then add filling like the omelette station.

I had time to find a table, get drinks, find silverware, and eat my entire breakfast and people watch for about 15 minutes before DH and DD sat down with their buffet breakfast, like I said lines were long!

DD likes the chocolate muffins and DH changes his moods daily.

After some breakfast it was time to head to the room and get ready for our first port HMC!

[txjudy54]

We will be on the Glory in September and really enjoy your review. Keep them coming for the rest of the week.

[Leisure Larry]

Great review so far. Thanks for posting. Did you happen to save any of your fun times from this trip?

[onegroundcafe]

So we headed back to our room to get ready for HMC and by get ready I mean put on layers and layers of sunscreen, for our seven day cruise we brought along 9 bottles of sunscreen. Tendering for HMC was extremely organized very unlike we have seen before (here is looking at you Grand Cayman/Belize). Per the Fun Times you were supposed to go to the Future Cruise Desk and get a sticker to wear on your shirt. When your number was called you were to board the tender (a la debarkation).

So we went to the Future Cruise desk to get the sticker, (do you remember Future Cruise certificates? I miss them!) and then they saw we were Platinum and sent us to Guest Services. We headed to Deck 3 to Guest Services and they sent us to an elevator with other Platinum/Diamond people and our personal bellhop and we headed out Deck 0 and into the bright bright sunshine.

(Bring back the FCC!!!!)

We got on the tender boat and noticed all the Carnival staff sitting in one area (this would be where the A/C was located) and we had to sit there until the entire boat was full which wasn't too long and then we were on our way. The ride passed the private oasis and wowzers that was nice! We landed and got off the tender.

For our family when we get to a port we have a routine, we get off, DH spends 2 hours (it seems) looking for Free WiFi, then we find a store and purchase some adult beverage and juice for the day, then we set off to our destination. However after reading CC I knew that HMC did not have free WiFi, it was Carnival WiFi from the ship so we did not bring our smartphones along. We were not in a hurry to get off the ship due to not having a cabana.

I had read conflicting reports about HMC and the sunshades. I had read that they were stifling hot and that they were sold out by the time people got to the island. I was torn as to what to do so we tried to go it on our own and find chairs in the shade....oy vey!

We have a child so we headed to the children's area with kids slides to slide down, not one chair to be found, let alone one in the shade. The trees at HMC near where we were were pine-ish and offered very little shade. We finally after 20 minutes found a lounger and moved it to the scant shade we could find.

DD and I played in the water which was amazing and beautiful and warm! They had a fountain that kids could play in and DD and I spent hours in the water. (after a lot of sunscreen re-applying) DH could not take it anymore and left after a half hour with no shade, he hates the sun. He took the tender boat back to the ship and left us back on HMC (this was the first time he has ever left us in a port, it was really hot and sunny!).

We had tried to rent a sunshade but when I went to the water sports station #1 to get one and they told me to walk to water sports station #2 which was super far from the kids play area so I gave up and put on my sun hat and played in the sand with DD.

The sand was like baby powder like everyone says it is and we stayed out until around 2:00 pm and then went to find a tender back.

Part of the kids area

Tender ship

Our tender ship had Mr. Radu on it (the guy that takes pictures for the Carnival website and f-book page) and we had to wait again for the ship to fill, however this time it was in the hot sun. We had a girl on the tender who would yell out numbers and those who were the age she called were supposed to holler back, it was pretty funny.

Lesson learned about HMC, get off the boat earlier and get a sunshade, it you can get one, get a cabana. Lunch is offered on HMC but we went back to eat on the ship with DH.

We got back to the ship after 2:30 so our lunch options were limited. Guys burgers is open from noon until 6:00 pm, but we had already had that yesterday. Blue Iguana Cantina was open for lunch from noon until 2:30 as was Fish and Chips. Our options were the Deli, Pizza, or Lido buffet. I got a Pastrami on Ciabatta from the Deli and from the buffet I got Manhattan Clam Chowder and loaded mashed potatoes. DH got Rib Loin, pot roast, loaded mashed potatoes and a mac n cheese roll (?), he said his lunch was not good. DD got FF and an apple.

[onegroundcafe]

Leisure Larry-I have all of the fun times and will scan them in at the end of the review, do you have a specific question I could answer before then?

[onegroundcafe]

After lunch DD wanted desperately to go to Camp Carnival. CC is not open on Day one of cruises. This year they finally gave the option to register online, in the past you had to print out the documents and turn them in. Yay for coming into the modern era Carnival!

Right outside the door of Camp Carnival was the Serenity Deck. DH and I took a nap on the almost empty Serenity deck. Hint go around 3:00 on HMC day it is empty!

After our naps I picked up DD from Camp Carnival and DH went to the casino. DD and I went and explored the ship.

We then went back to the room and played cards.

[onegroundcafe]

DD wanted to go eat with her friends at CC, so at 6:00 pm I dropped her off at Fish and Chips and went to collect DH from the casino. He was just a few points away from 1,5000 and free drinks on Carnival so we hung around until he got his free drink card then we went to dinner.

We had anytime dining so we were on floor three of the Golden Dining room. I got the the crab soup from the Port of call menu and then the lamb, DH got the seared tuna appetizer and could not stop talking about how good it was for the rest of the cruise...and still to this day.

We then went to the Punchliner Comedy Club and I got a BBC (Bailey's Banana Colada) it was so good!

The comedian for the night was John Wesley Austin and he was very funny. For the rest of the cruise the waiter asked me if I wanted a BBC, it is amazing what memories the staff has! The comedian singled out DH for laughing so much.

After the comedian was over I got DD from CC and we went to bed while DH went to the casino.

Every night after the casino he stopped by Pizza Pirate and got some pizza, he was in heaven!

[onegroundcafe]

Day Four...a Sea Day? Give me more!

 

Woke up at 8:30 and got ready to go for a run on the jogging track. I love running on sea days with the wind and the ocean all around you, beats running at home any day! Nine laps around the track on the Glory is equal to one mile for any runners out there.

After running I took some pictures of the ship.

(the ceiling changes color)

I then went back to the cabin and DD and I went to sea day brunch. Sea Day brunch was held in the Platinum dining room in the back of the ship from 8:30 am until 1:00 pm.

DD loves all things fancy, fancy Nancy is her hero! She loved eating in the dining room and even got chocolate milk served in a wine glass to her. My coffee was delicious. I got the steak and eggs (filet mignon, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, home fries) and DD got chocolate chip pancakes. Pancakes 1 and 4 did not have any chocolate chips put did have chocolate syrup, 2 and 3 had chocolate chips. She ate a few bites.

[cruisinbabs]

Welcome to my first review! This cruise on the Carnival Glory was my 12th, my DH's 11, and my DD's 10 (she would have been platinum, just a year late). The ports we visited were: Miami-embarkation, Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk.

 

Day One-Vacation has begun!

DH had to work until 4:00 pm on Friday and so we took off for Miami that night after work.

 

We drove until we reached Jacksonville, FL. We found a hotel to crash at for five hours, headed out for drinks and then went to bed.

 

I also did my nails in Carnival colors for fun.

 

 

woo!!! a glory review with same stops i am going next may! subscribing!! :-)

[onegroundcafe]

DD and I went back to the room and I then went to the Adults only pool and went to read for a bit. The pool is located in the back of the ship the opposite side from the Serenity deck. I was always able to find a lounger to lounge in every time I tried.

After I was done reading for a bit I went back to the room and DD and I went swimming in the pool/hot tub area by the chess pieces

The Lido is set up with the Dolphin pool (shaded) in the mid ship area between Red Frog Pub and Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, then one staircase up is two hot tubs. A few stairs up is another pool and behind that one hot tub under the slide.

The entertainment staff began moving the chess pieces for the Red Vs. Blue contest (formerly Master Mixologist). We left as the contest began in order to get ready for the Food and Wine Pairing at the Emerald Steakhouse.

Hint...to win the Master Mixologist contest you should make a frozen drink with a lot of mixers and not a lot of liquor.

We went back to the room and picked up DH for the tasting. I hate that this event always happens when CC is closed. It seems they would make more money if they held it at a time when parents could attend without children.

In previous wine tastings we had more wines to taste, this one only had four to taste: Cliford Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Kendal Jackson Chardonnay, Murphy Good Pinot Nior, and McGuigan Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our sommelier explained the three things you look for in a wine: color, aroma, taste. The foods that the wines were paired with were: green apple, strawberry, blueberry, orange marmelade, filet mignon, salmon, lime and lemon.

We attend the wine and food pairing on every ship and I learned a lot on this ship.

After the pairing was over we went to the Blue Iguana cantina and got chicken tacos and pork tacos. We then headed up to fish and chips for DD and her FF and DH put the tuna/watermelon mixture on his taco and said it was amazing!

Lunch was over and we went and dropped DD off at CC.

DH went to the casino and I went back to the adults only pool to read in the sun. I took my book and read while my feet were dangling in the pool, very relaxing! The waiter from the Punchliner asked me if I wanted a BBC, I declined.

After a few hours of reading/relaxing I went to CC to pick up DD who did not want to leave so I went to the serenity deck and took a nap on a lounger.

When I woke up I went to find DH in the casino and he told me he had tried to find me everywhere because he had gotten me a Miami Vice, it is the thought that counts, he never found me.

We got dressed and went to Elegant night at the Golden Dining Room. We both got Italian Wedding Soup (not like any wedding soup I have had before, we both said we would not get it again) and the Prime Rib.

Tablecloths were also back on the table and there was a Mango Champagne toast. The tables were even more crowded with a seashell tossed on them on top of everything else. For dessert I got the Hazelnut cake and DH got the WCM. The waitstaff danced to "Celebrate Good Times".

After dinner we checked on DD and then went to Family Friendly Comedy with the Cowboy Comedian, he was not as funny as the comedian the night before.

One of our favorite things to do on the ship is to go to the piano bar and sing along to the songs, so we headed to the Cinn-a-bar to listen to Kyle.

Unfortunately he was the low point of our cruise. He had no personality, no crowd interaction, did not ask for requests, and did not seem to have a wide range of music he played. We tried the piano bar several nights throughout the cruise but he was not good any night. The piano bar was empty and people would wander in for a song and then leave. It was disappointing.

We left and looked at pictures in the photo gallery on floor four and then picked up DD from CC.

Les Miserables was the movie for the Dive In Movie and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Les Miserables so I was so excited, we all watched it and sang together. How can it get better than Les Miserables and cruising?

After the movie was over we went to Late Night eats and got hot dogs, cookies, and a ham and cheese sandwich and called it a night. This is located across from Pizza Pirate.

 

The next day would bring St. Thomas and I finally had to choose what I wanted to do...

[seashinesunshine]

Bacon Mac and Cheese?!? You have just made my 18 year old DD very happy!

[beachesanywhere]

Love your review, will be on Glory next month. Woohoo:D

[onegroundcafe]

Thank you beachesanywhere.

Seashinesunshine-it was quite good and we ordered it often :)