Carnival Glory January 23, 2016

[RoyalVisit]

Hi Everyone,

 

I didn't find a roll call in the LGBT forums for the January 23, 2016 sailing on the Carnival Glory so I'll be the guinea pig. There is one under the Carnival forum, many appear to be doing the back to back sailings.

 

I can't convince my better half to socialize much but I'm going to try my best this time round! Second cruise for us on Carnival but we've been on sever al others. Four of the seven ports are new to us so we are looking forward to visiting them.

 

Scott :)

[robear14]

We'll be on this cruise as well.

 

We haven't been to Half-Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Antigua, or Martinique yet, so it'll be nice to explore some new places. We've already booked some excursions, but I don't think we've figured out what to do in St. Thomas yet.

[RoyalVisit]

We'll be on this cruise as well.

 

We haven't been to Half-Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Antigua, or Martinique yet, so it'll be nice to explore some new places. We've already booked some excursions, but I don't think we've figured out what to do in St. Thomas yet.

 

We haven't booked any excursions yet! can't make up our minds. We found Grand Turk crowded around the beach area by the pier (2 ships in last time) so I think we will probably go to the museum and maybe walk the bird/nature walk to explore the island a bit. Half Moon is fantastic, we always head to the furthest beach away from the food stations where it is a little quieter. I like to lay back, read a book and watch the palm trees sway! :)

 

Antigua and Martinque are new to us too as are St Lucia and St Kitts. I'd like to explore all of them so I have to sort out what we can do by foot vs a tour.

 

We're toying with the idea of taking the ferry over to St John in St Thomas as we have been there twice before as cruise ports.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions you have for the ports you have visited!

[robear14]

St. Lucia and St. Kitts are beautiful islands. We did island tours that included a beach stop on both of them. If you're interested in that sort of thing, I'd recommend it so that you can see a majority of the popular places on the islands.

 

The bus tour on St. Lucia went from the port and made its way south, stopping at various sites along the way: a banana plantation, an active volcano, a waterfall, and quite a few overlooks with amazing views of the sea. It ended at a beach between the Pitons; the snorkelling was amazing there. After the beach time was done, we took a speedboat from the Pitons to the port, again stopping for a few minutes at a few spots to take pictures.

 

For this cruise, we booked a hiking excursion on Gros Piton. I know it's not a normal relaxing thing to do on vacation, but we figured we might as well do it while we're still young and able!

 

The tour we did of St. Kitts had two major stops (that I can remember) besides the beach at the end: Brimstone Hill Fortress and Romney Manor. The fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage site with great panoramic views of the island. Romney Manor is where batik tapestries and clothing are made. I thought it was really interesting because I had to do batik in art class in high school. Before getting to the beach, there was a short stop at the top of a hill where the island is very narrow and you can see the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Caribbean on the other. The beach was OK; there was a bar that offered drinks and some food. It was a little crowded for me, but it was still a beach in the Caribbean, so I couldn't complain too much.

 

We're going to do a catamaran snorkeling tour that stops at Nevis for this cruise.

 

For Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk, we're just going to a beach. In Antigua, we're planning on an eco-adventure type of tour. We booked the St. Pierre tour through Carnival for Martinique; we figured it would be the easiest thing to do since we're not fluent in French. St. Thomas is a question mark for us. We've only been there once and did a tour with a beach stop at Magen's Bay. Initially we were thinking about just going back to Magen's Bay, but the price to do only that didn't seem to make sense.

[RoyalVisit]

Thank you so much for your suggestions and comments! I have been looking at the St Kitts Highlights tour which includes Brimstone. We both like island tours. We like to experience some history, nature and culture when we travel. We went to London, UK this summer and one of the highlights of all the places we visited was Kew Gardens and Kew Palace because it has extensive greenhouses and a treetop walk. Shortly after we came home from that trip we booked this cruise.

 

The exchange rate for Canadian to USD is miserable right now so I'm going to hold off to see if that changes and hopefully the tours will still be available when we are ready to book them.

 

I watched a YouTube video about the Pitons hike and while it looked like a lot of fun, I don't think my knees could cope with that. I have been having this ongoing battle with patellofemoral syndrome. I'm 37 with knees going on 80 apparently. Regular exercise, a healthy diet and extensive walking helps to a point. Thankfully we have two dachshunds to keep us off our butts.

 

I think I was confusing Coco Cay with Half Moon Cay, I think Half Moon has the one main long primary beach for everyone versus Coco Cay which has several beaches on each side of the island. Either way Half Moon will definitely be a beach day for us.

 

I haven't looked into Martinique much yet. I read somewhere that Empress Josephine was born there and they have a small museum dedicated to her so that might be interesting to see.

 

We are on the 6pm dining this time (neither of us are night owls) but we are going to try our best to experience some of the special midnight events this time. I'm crossing my fingers for some steel band music.

[RoyalVisit]

One booked! We booked the "Top 10 Best of St Kitts tour". We are in St Kitts on a Sunday, so I hope that doesn't affect us too much with places being closed etc. I don't care about shops - we never buy much!

[robear14]

That looks like a good tour to see the most popular spots in St. Kitts.

 

We figured out Antigua - we'll be doing an eco tour with Adventure Antigua.

 

I think all we have to figure out now is St. Thomas. We're thinking of just finding a beach to go to since it's the last port day and we'll need some rest.

[RoyalVisit]

So many tours to choose from in each port, it's been hard to make up our minds! The eco tour with Adventure Antigua looks fun! We did a glass bottom boat tour in Aruba and it was great. My swimming skills are not the best unfortunately - even living by the sea!

 

I really have to sit down and make time to figure out what we are going to do in each port. I don't want us to have a tour in each port, I think we will just want to walk around for some of them. We were in London in August and we had a very busy itinerary (to see as much as we could in a short time) so I think we will take it easier on this trip, especially since we will no doubt have been sick of shoveling snow by then!

 

I think we might hit the beach in St Thomas too or maybe go over to St John by the ferry. As long as I can lounge a bit in the sun and read my book I am blissful! I've picked up Celia Umrie's memoir "The Happy Hoofer" and her other book "Not Quite Nice" to take with me. My husband says I am an old British woman at heart! haha

 

I work in a political environment and my husband also works in government so I enjoy being distracted by the vacation experience.

 

I should really put a list of our cruises together like I see on everyone's profiles here.

[RoyalVisit]

We decided to take the Discover Martinique tour. Not sure we will book any other tours. None of the Antigua tours are grabbing our interest.

[RoyalVisit]

Question - was the tour you had of St. Lucia one of the Carnival excursions or another company? and if so, which one? I am confused about what to book for St. Lucia. Thanks!

[robear14]

We didn't book through Carnival the first time we went - we did a tour with Spencer Ambrose. The one who did was called West Coast Island Delight. We stopped at a lot of places and had time to snorkel between the Pitons. The lunch was really good especially if you like spicy food.

 

The only difference from the description on the website was that we took a boat back from Jalousie beach all the way to the port. There has been a bad storm system that hit the island a few weeks before we got there and I think we took more time driving south due to roads being closed from downed trees and mudslides.

[RoyalVisit]

Thanks! I'm having a hard time on making up my mind for St. Lucia. Some of the tours are longer (6 hours), or have multiple shopping stops... and my "better half" isn't keen on those pieces nor on the idea of catamaran portion (he's worried we will get stuck on a party boat). I checked into a leisurely trail tour which sounds nice but it's pricey. Less than 70 days now so I am getting extra excited but also want to wrap up the excursions.

 

 

We didn't book through Carnival the first time we went - we did a tour with Spencer Ambrose. The one who did was called West Coast Island Delight. We stopped at a lot of places and had time to snorkel between the Pitons. The lunch was really good especially if you like spicy food.

 

The only difference from the description on the website was that we took a boat back from Jalousie beach all the way to the port. There has been a bad storm system that hit the island a few weeks before we got there and I think we took more time driving south due to roads being closed from downed trees and mudslides.

[RoyalVisit]

We booked Carnival's tour of St. John for St. Thomas. We have been there twice before and I thought it would be easier to just do this tour than trying to figure it out on our own.

 

48 days! :):D

 

That looks like a good tour to see the most popular spots in St. Kitts.

 

We figured out Antigua - we'll be doing an eco tour with Adventure Antigua.

 

I think all we have to figure out now is St. Thomas. We're thinking of just finding a beach to go to since it's the last port day and we'll need some rest.

[RoyalVisit]

Hi there - no cabin assignment for us yet, have you received yours?

 

Scott

[robear14]

Not yet - I've been checking everyday. We have a guaranteed interior, so I'm not expecting much. We plan on spending as little time in the cabin as possible.

[RoyalVisit]

Not yet - I've been checking everyday. We have a guaranteed interior, so I'm not expecting much. We plan on spending as little time in the cabin as possible.

 

Same for except we have booked oceanview. I check everyday as well but no assignment so far. I'm anxious to get on the ship already! :)

[robear14]

Just happened to check at lunch, and our cabin has been assigned!:)

[RoyalVisit]

Just happened to check at lunch, and our cabin has been assigned!:)

 

yippee!! hope it's a good location!

 

Ours is still TBA (just checked). I check every morning but nothing so far!

 

All I can think about is the cruise!!! :):):)

[RoyalVisit]

yippee!! hope it's a good location!

 

Ours is still TBA (just checked). I check every morning but nothing so far!

 

All I can think about is the cruise!!! :):):)

 

Still no assignment for us :( but 16 days away from the cruise and 15 days until we fly to Miami so I'm counting every minute! :D

[robear14]

Any word yet??

 

We started packing today - definitely getting in the cruise mood!

[RoyalVisit]

Any word yet??

 

We started packing today - definitely getting in the cruise mood![/Quote]

 

Not yet :( so I suspect we will be sleeping with the chef! ;) I have a feeling we will only find out at the pier and then end up with a obstructed ocean view! :p

 

We have also started packing, always the same issues of taking too much or not enough. He hates shopping so he ends up wearing my clothes! What do you guys wear for elegant night? I think we are going to go with dress pants, shirt and tie rather than suits as that takes up more room in the suitcase and I only like to travel with carry-on.

[RoyalVisit]

we are also currently going through a storm of rain, wind, freezing rain and 45 centimetres of snow!

[robear14]

For elegant night, I'm bringing shirts/ties, khakis, dress pants, and a sport coat. I guess technically you could consider one combination a full suit, but that's not really how I bought it... Apparently on this cruise there are two elegant nights and one 'formal' night, which is the Captain's Celebration.

 

I'm definitely an over-packer, even though every time I try not to be. I did manage to get all of my own clothes and shoes into one piece of luggage with room to spare. We don't fit into each other's clothes, so that's not an option for us. It definitely would make things easier!

 

45cm is crazy - I hope you don't have to do too much work to clear yourself out. That amount of snow will just make you appreciate the cruise more!

[robear14]

For St. Thomas, did you book the national park tour?

 

We want to go to St. John, but aren't sure if we want to just go over on a ferry and hit the beach, or do something more involved.

[RoyalVisit]

For elegant night, I'm bringing shirts/ties, khakis, dress pants, and a sport coat. I guess technically you could consider one combination a full suit, but that's not really how I bought it... Apparently on this cruise there are two elegant nights and one 'formal' night, which is the Captain's Celebration.

 

I'm definitely an over-packer, even though every time I try not to be. I did manage to get all of my own clothes and shoes into one piece of luggage with room to spare. We don't fit into each other's clothes, so that's not an option for us. It definitely would make things easier!

 

45cm is crazy - I hope you don't have to do too much work to clear yourself out. That amount of snow will just make you appreciate the cruise more!

 

Sounds like you guys are much better packers than we are! I think we will likely skip the Captain's dinner. I dress up a lot as a requirement for work so I'd rather dress down on vacation. We can share most clothes except pants but I like prints and colours so he usually leaves those for me!

 

Driveway is cleared out now, I think we got about 30 cms rather than 45cms.