Glory review-western-8/13/05

[Midgetized]

Warning-this is gonna be a long one-especially the Belize part.

 

This was my bf and my first cruise, I am 23 and he is 26. We live in Tampa so we just drove to Cocoa Beach the night before and stayed at the Best Western Oceanfront. I don't know why some people on here advised not to go there. I didn't find anything wrong with the hotel and there was even a fridge and a microwave in the room. At $89/night it was definately the best deal. Art's shuttle picked us up in front of the hotel in the morning, it was $4/person each way.

 

We got to the port around 12-12:15 and were on the ship by 1pm. We had filled out the funpass beforehand and told them that but the lady still pointed us to the regular line. We saw a line off to the left that at one point said Skipper's Club and a few minutes later the sign was turned around and said Funpass. Luckily the line went fast so it wasn't too big of a deal. We headed straight up to the Lido deck for some food cause we were starving. We got asked about 8 times in the little amount of time that we were there if we wanted the drink of the day and I was starting to get worried that they were going to be bugging us like that the whole trip. Luckily that was the last time we were ever asked to buy it.

 

After eating we went to see our cabin and drop off our carryons. We had booked an oceanview guarantee a month and a half before the cruise and our cabin assignment was up within the next week. We got cabin 1296 on the Riveria deck. The deck was fairly quiet(except for the bratty kids running up and down the halls and screaming) and we didn't feel a lot of motion. The muster drill was long and boring of course and I'm very glad we weren't some of the first people there. I would have hated to stand behind all those sweaty smelly people forever waiting to get out. I think they need to find a way to tell people that the ship is not sailing until everyone is at the drill so that people will be encouraged not to try to skip it.

 

As soon as the drill was done we ran back to our room to put the life jackets back and then ran up to the deck to watch the ship leave. Since our side of the ship left the drill last, the ship had already pulled away by the time we got to the top to watch. We hung around for awhile and then went back to the room. I looked out the window and almost wanted to puke. We were moving along SO fast and we couldn't even stand to look at the water for more than a few seconds. I was really hoping the whole trip wouldn't be like that because it would have ruined the entire point of getting an oceanview. Luckily it was only like that the first day and the rest of the days we sailed at a more leisurely speed. We were both feeling a little seasick by then so we took seasick pills and took a nap.

 

At the advice of this board we brought a cooler with us. It was a pretty decent size cooler and we packed it with 2 12-packs of soda, 2 12-packs of beer and some water bottles filled with rum and vodka and a couple that actually had water in them. We duct-taped it to death and checked it with the rest of our luggage. We were getting worried because all the rest of our luggage had arrived yet but still no cooler. Luckily when we woke up from our nap it was waiting for us outside our door. I don't like how they do the luggage thing though. When people said the luggage would be delivered to our rooms, I thought they meant it would be inside our rooms and not just sitting out there giving someone the opportunity to steal it. No one touched ours but we kept getting notices about some guy's formal clothes that were "lost".

 

We woke up in time for our first dinner in the dining room. We had requested the 8:30 seating but saw on our S&S cards that we had been given the 8:00 instead in the Platinum Dining Room. When we got there though we found out that we had been given a table for 2 and we hadn't even requested it. We were both really happy about that since we weren't really that excited about having to socialize with a bunch of random people. Also this way we didn't have to worry about people having to wait for us if we were a few minutes late to dinner.

 

Our waiters were Erwin from the Phillpines and Marta from Poland(which was a weird coincidence because I'm half Polish and my bf is half Filipino). They were both really nice and did an amazing job, we've never had such great service anywhere. As soon as we finished one course, they were right there to take away the plate and bring us the next one. We never had to ask for water refills because they were always getting filled up before we were anywhere near finished. The song and dance thing was a little corny but we enjoyed it, especially when they had the whole dining room doing a conga line one night. The food every night was excellent, unfortunately we were too stuffed most nights to try the desserts. We decided to try the duck one night since neither of us had ever had it and it ended up being the best dish there. It was like a steak but way better, soooo tender and good.

 

Sunday was our first port-Key West. We were originally looking forward to it because we have never been to the keys but once we got there we didn't really see what the big deal was. Maybe it's because we live in FL so it wasn't really anything new to us. The shops were the same as we'd see at any beach around here. We walked around for awhile and decided to go to the Hemmingway House to see all the 6-toed kitties, since we own one. Most of the kitties were cute and friendly but some of them you could tell they had been inbred too many times cause they were kinda weird looking. We considered going to the beach after that but we were tired of walking so we just went back to the ship. First we had to stop by the Blond Giraffe though because after all the talk of key lime pie on a stick I had to try one. Neither of us have ever been big key lime pie fans but we had to admit that it was delicious.

 

Tuesday was our second port-Belize. I was really looking forward to this one because of the (mostly) good reviews I had read of the cave tubing. Turns out I should have paid more attention to the bad reviews because I got sucked under the water and almost drowned :eek: We had booked with Reggie's and we met them a little ways away from the pier. It was a pretty yucky day, cloudy and a little rainy. The bus driver seemed to be on a mission to pass every other car and tour bus on the road, no matter how much water he had to go through to do it. The hike to the caves was terrible that day because it had just rained. There was mud everywhere and it was really really slippery. We ended up in the back with another couple because we were walking slowly so we wouldn't fall, like one lady did. For awhile one guide was at the front and one was at the back but then the one at the back just went up ahead and never came back. We finally see him again about 10 min later and he's just telling us to hurry up. I thought that was a pretty crappy thing for a guide to do, someone should always stay at the back to make sure everyone is ok and they should never tell you to hurry when it's as slippery as it was that day. One thing I never saw anyone mention on here-the water is FREEZING!!! Everyone was screaming when we first stepped in it. Once we all got our tubes in the water, the people from X-stream came up right behind us and their guide told them to get in before most of us had even left. I thought that was dumb for them to do that since it's hard enough to keep track of everyone and they made it worse by putting us all together. My tube started to float down the river before I had a change to turn my self feet first and I hit this huge rock that was sticking up and my light flew off my head. Someone found it later for me but my bf and I ended up trying to stay linked

together the whole time because we were already having bad feelings about this. We didn't really like being on the tubes because you don't really have much control of where you are going. It's easy to just slam into rocks or the walls and even if you are able to paddle away someone can still bump into you and knock you back to the rocks. Once we got out of the cave I thought things would be better but then the guides were telling everyone to stay to the left. We tried to paddle to that side but the current was really strong and we were pulled to the other side. There was a couple of thick tree branches that were stretching horizontally a few inches above the water. My bf got to the branches first and started to get pulled under but was able to pull himself up on the side. My tube was going toward the braches and the guide was

standing on them telling me to get out of the tube. I started to get out and the current pulled me and the tube under the water. I was holding onto the branch underwater as tight as I could and trying to decide if it would be better to let go and hope there were no more branches and I'd pop up on the other side, or just stay put and try to find a way to the surface. I kept holding on the guide managed to pull me up out of the water. I just stood on the branch shivering and scared out of my mind because I never thought I'd almost drown on an excursion. Then we see a few more people heading toward the branches we were on. We yelled at them to paddle away but it was too late since they were already sucked into the current. A girl that was about 10 hit the branches first and her and her tube got sucked under right where I did. There were 3 of us trying to pull her up for what seemed like

forever because her tube was behind her and it was pushing her down away from us. We finally got her up on the branch with us and I think her mom either was on there or was just sitting in her tube holding on. Then this huge lady comes up on the side where my bf is and grabbed onto his arm as hard as she could. She almost pulled him under because she was so heavy that he couldn't hold her up. The guide ended up putting us in tubes one by one and pushing us over to the side where the rest of the people were. Then we had to get back in the water AGAIN to get back to the beginning. I was terrified to go back in that water but luckily the rest of the ride was ok.

 

I can see how this excursion may be kinda fun if the weather is ok and there isn't a strong current. But the problem is you never know what the river is going to be like or what may happen. Since it's a 3rd-world country there are absolutely no safety regulations for this excursion so it can end up being very dangerous depending on the conditions. Be VERY CAREFUL if you go on this excursion and I would not bring anyone on this that is not in pretty good shape because you never know what might happen.

 

The only good part of the excursion was the food we got afterwards. We got barbeque at a restaurant at the cave park and it was delicious. We made it back in plenty of time-about an hour before the last tender-so we still had time to look in the shops.

 

On the first day we had stopped by the Carnival Vacation Club desk because we were curious what it was. The lady set up an appointment for us and gave us an invitation to a party after Belize where they were serving free margaritas. I was definately ready for some free drinks after that day in Belize. The drinks there were nice and strong and they even gave away a free cruise during the party. This is definately a party worth getting yourself invited to. They had made the appointment for Fri for us since they wanted to see how we'd like the cruise but we ended up sleeping through it. Oh well, at least we got free drinks haha.

 

Wednesday was our last port-Cozumel. When we purchased the cruise tickets we got a free excursion and we chose the beach break at Playa Mia Beach. We were told that we'd get free drinks, snorkeling and the use of all non-motorized water toys. We were really looking forward to seeing Cozumel and it did not disappoint us. We found the taxi stand and took a taxi to Playa Mia-$14 one way. We were there in less than 15 min and everything there looked great. The beach was beautiful and there was a water trampoline, iceburg, kayaks, tubes, a pool and lots of beach chairs. There were only about 5 free drinks to choose from but they all tasted good and had enough alcohol. We had dinner at the restaurant in Playa Mia and got a platter of assorted Mexican foods-chips, salsa, guacamole, tortilla, quesadilla, etc. Everything

was delicious and it was a big amount of food for a pretty good price. We stayed until they closed and then went back to the pier for a couple hours for some shopping.

 

We had fun overall on the days at sea. We never actually ended up getting in the pools on the ship-they were really tiny and always way overcrowded and kids were splashing everyone. Once I found out they were all salt water, I was kind of glad I didn't go in. The only show we saw was a adult comedy show-which was pretty fun. We're not really into all the singing and dancing shows so we skipped though. Saw the hairy chest contest on Mon, that was one of the funniest and nastiest things I've ever seen. We went to a few activities, saw a little of the art auction, tried lots of yummy foods at the buffet and explored different parts of the ship. We slept a lot on the cruise and we got really good sleep on the ship. Next cruise we'll probably try to go to more activities because they showed a lot of them on tv and some of them were really funny. I brought a VCR tape to tape the cruise stuff but we didn't have a VCR. I guess that must only be for people in suites. I would have bought the cruise video if it had been everything they showed on TV but they said it was only just over an hour. Not worth buying then.

 

One thing I didn't like was the annoying announcements at 10am. We shouldn't be woken up by that on vacation, we should be able to sleep in if we wanted. The information wasn't anything important and it was all in the capers.

 

We did the self-assist for debarkation because we wanted to get out quicker and not have the chance of any luggage getting lost. We were the last deck called at 9:15 and it moved fairly quickly after that. When we got home we found 5 new baby kittens sleeping on our floor! We've been taking care of a stray momma cat and we kept her in the house while we were gone because we knew she was about to pop out some babies.

 

Overall, we had a great time on the cruise and would definately do it again. I'd love to go back to Cozumel because it looks like there are tons of different things to do there. I have no desire to go back to Belize though lol.

[Midgetized]

tons of pics of our trip here

 

http://photobucket.com/albums/a328/Midgetized/

 

 

Pics of the cave tubing and snorkeling in Playa Mia will come later when I get the waterproof camera pics developed.

[ladysail2]

Midgetized...I'm doing the same itinerary in Nov. After reading your cave tubing review and a few previously....you can bet I won't try it. Will stick to something safer. Glad you had no mishaps. I'm going to go visit those cats too. And just might try the key lime pie on a stick, LOL, sounds good.

Cozumel is always great...you're right. Lots of things to do there.

Thanks for sharing your pictures too..they're great. Hope you enjoy your next cruise even more than this one!

[gogetter]

Hello,

 

Great review....................great photos...............

 

We will be going October 22nd.........glad to hear of your adventures....

 

Kinda curious...did you all gamble? If so, how was the casino?

 

I too think the dancing and singing in the dining room is corny.......I doubt i'll be doing the lifeboat drill.......since i have only done one in 10 cruises...ship will still sail though....i just lay in my bunk in the cabin and IF they come around i tell them i'm sick.....no big deal....lol...

 

Anyways...thanks again for the review it makes me look more forward to our cruise...

[OCruisers]

Midgetized .... What a really good review! Certainly enjoyed reading every word of it. :)

 

Please do post your experience "Cave Tubing" on the Ports of Call Board under Belize! It's something folks on ALL cruise lines need to read.

 

(We don't do tubing any more. When it's good, it's quite fun ... BUT... when it's not, it can be quite scary!!! :eek: )

 

Thanks again! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[dancedoc]

Good review, I am sailing the Glory on Oct 22, someone in my group suggested the cave tubing I am passing her review along. Pictures are great. I am counting down the days. :D

[vicocala]

gogetter,

 

 

It is because of folks like you who feel you are to good to do the drills that they take so long. I really hope you reconsider

[vicocala]

gogetter,

 

 

It is because of folks like you who feel you are to good to do the drills that they take so long. I really hope you reconsider

[Midgetized]

Kinda curious...did you all gamble? If so, how was the casino?

 

Yes, we did gamble but the casino was not very nice to us :( When we first tried it, I put a 20 in the slot machine and bet 3 and won $30 so I was thinking I was gonna have good luck but I just ended up losing all that and more later. We both entered the slot tournament and didn't do very good and my bf lost $50 at blackjack. We didn't have too too much money so we didn't gamble a whole lot, I prolly lost about $100 total. The casino itself was very nice though, lots of different slot machines and table games to choose from.

[Midgetized]

Somehow with all that I wrote, I still mananged to forget a few things.

 

We did see the magic show one night also which was pretty good. The Lido deck party was fun and I liked the big congo line around the ship. Everytime I hear the "feelin hot hot hot" song now I'm going to think of the cruise :D I thought the red, white and blue team thing was a fun idea. It was a good way to get people involved and to bring a bunch of people who don't know each other together.

 

One little problem we found with the food was that around 4-5pm there weren't any options besides the grille, deli and the pizza. We usually got hungry around that time and since we didn't have dinner until 8 it would have been nice to have a few more options at that time of day. The oriental place was good but they were only open for a couple of hours each day. I had really been looking forward to a good calzone on the ship but they only had one kind available(with sausage and salami) and I didn't like that. I asked it they could make any different kinds and the guy said no because they were pre-made :( The pizza was very good though and always fresh out of the oven. I did think it was kind of strange that the only free drinks you could get in the dining room were water and ice tea. No free juice/lemonade/punch like they had at the Lido deck.

[Cruzin4aBruzin]

Hi. I just wanted to say that we were all on that same cruise. It's interesting to see someone else's photos of what you saw first hand too. Good review. I agree with everything you stated, except I wasn't the crazy about the team colors thing--but to each his own. I feel bad about the guy who lost those Armani and Hugo Boss suits though. Glad you enjoyed it as well.

[gogetter]

Hello,

 

Thanks miget.........................

 

Theone.......there are a bunch of people going 10-22-05...go to the roll call section and find the western Glory thread...

 

Vicocala.....yes i am too good to do the drill.....it's boring and worthless....the only one i went to was a waste, as they told us nothing...didn't show anyone how to work the life vests.......didn't say ANYTHING and i mean ANYTHING worthwhile.....like what to do. All they really did was act like a preschool teacher and yell at you as to where to stand ...no you can't be over there...blah blah blah....So that's why i know it is a waste.....You really aren't waiting there any longer than if every showed up or not. I do look and memorize the route to get out and am well schooled as to how to work a lifevest. Don't give me any other quips as to me and how i will hold up anything. KEEP YOUR SELF RIGHTEOUS COMMENTS TO YOURSELF and don't ruin a great review thread...because i won't shutup about this.

 

I do have a scenario for you though..........let's say you are on the jogging track forward....your cabin is Riveria deck aft...something happens......to the ship and you must attend to your muster station....do you go back to your cabin and get your lifevest????????? OR do you go to your muster station without the lifevest?

 

All i was really trying to point out without actually saying it is...they won't hold up the ship until everyone is at the lifeboat drill.......after all we are accounted for....please feel free to email me if you want to continue this conversation...gogetter2000_99@yahoo.com.

 

Sorry midge.........and again thanks for the great review.................

[beachgal58]

sorry midget, loved your review but gotta cut in a minute.... got your back gogetter!! agree 100%% i have always said the same thing, i can see me running to my cabin to get my lifejacket and running down 6 flights of steps to get to the boats. i know it is a insurance/safety thing and i comply but it is totally misrepresented, can u imagine the total chaos in GOD forbid an emergency? i do find it humorous as to the people that put these filty whistles in their mouths and blow because they say no to!! if i was in the sea, i would blow the dirty thing like crazy!! but i can imagine what is living on the mouthpiece. phooey. u stay in your cabin, i,ll come and get u guys if need be! i,m pretty sure u will know if their is an emergency.

[mnsawyer]

Good review - we sailed the Glory in early April and absolutely loved the port and ship. Thanks also for the tip on the Best Western Oceanside. I too, had read not so good reviews but we drove by and it looked nice from the outside.

[beachgal58]

hi midgetsized, whick building was your room in??? we had 5 rooms there in april 04, they all were cruddy. i mean, the carpet was sticky!! in fact i called them a few weeks ago for the heck of it to check the rates for oct, they said 100. tried to get me to reserve. no way! i told them it would have to be very cheap, i asked if they remodeled??? she did not know. i stayed katycorner from it in june, the building behind the of buildin was totaly gutted. had a yellow police tape aroud the whole building. u lucked out and got the good room. we had no fridge/microwave. the pool was great that was it. i think u got a mini suite, they must have like u!!!! in fact, i had to run down housekeeping to get towels, we paid for an extra day in my room, had late flights so we needed a place to clean up. but the pool was nice! thats all the good we saw. hmmmm

[Midgetized]

hi midgetsized, whick building was your room in??? we had 5 rooms there in april 04, they all were cruddy. i mean, the carpet was sticky!! in fact i called them a few weeks ago for the heck of it to check the rates for oct, they said 100. tried to get me to reserve. no way! i told them it would have to be very cheap, i asked if they remodeled??? she did not know. i stayed katycorner from it in june, the building behind the of buildin was totaly gutted. had a yellow police tape aroud the whole building. u lucked out and got the good room. we had no fridge/microwave. the pool was great that was it. i think u got a mini suite, they must have like u!!!! in fact, i had to run down housekeeping to get towels, we paid for an extra day in my room, had late flights so we needed a place to clean up. but the pool was nice! thats all the good we saw. hmmmm

 

Ours was behind the office on the right side if you are facing the ocean. It was on the second floor, I think #335 or 325. I don't think it was any type of mini-suite, just the regular room they give you with the park and cruise special with a king size bed. Maybe they did remodel since you were there, especially if they got hit by the hurricane.

[dancedoc]

Sorry, wrong person.