Quick Review Carnival Glory January 2-9 2016

[jreichow1972]

Cabins 9262, 9258, 1114

 

Just wanted to share a quick review of our cruise. Sorry no pics or food porn. We had 8 in our group my husband and I in cabin 9262, my daughter, son in law and granddaughter in 9258 and daughter, son and mother in 1114. We originally had 3 lido balconies in a row but when we invited my mother we had to change cabins and had chosen to let Carnival choose the cabin as this option was cheaper than us choosing our own by approximately $500.

 

We flew Southwest to Fort Lauderdale on New Years Eve and it was cheap but we didn't like the boarding groups vs choosing the seat at booking. We had one of the last boarding group called and most of our group was scattered throughout the plane which worried me being my sons first flight and he had to sit among strangers and the flight was very turbulent the entire flight; so much so that the Captain apologized several times for the bumpy flight and stated he requested elevation changes several times trying to find us a smooth ride but there was nothing more that could be done.

 

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale and rented two Hyundai Santa Fe's from Budget that we pre-reserved online. They were pretty fast to get us checked out and on our way.

 

I booked us in the Homewood Suites Airport on 74th St if I remember correctly. It was around $750+ for 2 nights, cheaper than 2 decent hotel rooms. Our room had a bedroom with a king bed, a bedroom with 2 queens and a living room with a sofa sleeper. It worked out great for our group and we all really liked the amenities. There were lots of kitties at the pool and I was excited to see them but once I got close I was saddened that the big orange guy had a big limp and the black and white one had a wound on its hip. I was glad these kitties were allowed to stay there. They were definitely well fed by the guest.

 

New Years Eve we drove to Bayside Marketplace hoping to try Bubba Gump but it was so crowded being that they had a big festival in the adjoining park. It looked like so much fun but our group was tired and finding parking looked like as huge deal so we headed towards Miami Beach to find more festivities and parking issues so half the group opted to order a pizza in the suite and the rest of us went to Dolphin Mall to try to eat at Cheesecake Factory. Sadly they were out of 2 simple plates my husband ordered (a Cuban sandwich and then a club sandwich) so we left and went to Kona Grill which was much better.

 

The next day was spent shopping and trying to get my mom items she needed for the week seeing as American Airlines temporarily separated my mom from her bags at O'Hare when she was flying to my house. For dinner we finally made it through the traffic and finding parking to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp. All I will say is the drinks were good but overall that place is highly overrated, overpriced and service was sloooow!

 

Next day was embarkment and we took the cars to Budget for return and waited for a bit for a shuttle to port , nothing too exciting but it sure was hot out. I believe we made it to the port around 11 and were on the ship by noon eating a Guys Burger. It was a pretty quick and painless embarkment. Luggage made it to all our rooms by the time we got back from dinner. We had anytime dining and my daughter went to the hostess stand and was told seating was immediate, she went to the casino to get us and we went immediately which at that time we were told a 45 minute wait and were given a pager. Dinner service was great, our servers were awesome. This was our first time trying the American table/feast menu and it seemed like a downgrade compared to the old menu. I ate the flat iron and it was kind of gross and I left most of it uneaten which I normally never do, I love any steak and usually clean my plate!! Back at the room, time for bed and what do I hear... a water noise. It sounded like water sloshing back and forth in a pipe. At first the noise was not to bad but as the night went on it got louder and woke my husband during the night.

 

The next day was a nice calm sea day. We ate the buffet on lido for breakfast, Guys for lunch and MDR for dinner for formal night. During the day we spent time at the 18 & up pool & hot tubs. I ended up buying a package at Pixels for photos and we ventured into the Casino. MDR service was poor tonight and our server completely forgot my 17 month old Granddaughter's food twice. We all mostly ate Prime Rib and Lobster and all agreed again that the food was not as good as last cruise. I had earlier contacted my steward about the water noise and has an engineer in our room listening to the water noise. He seemed to be clueless and thought there was a hot tub over our room when there were cabins. Again the water noise continued and was louder.

 

Grand Cayman, we made it, last cruise we missed it due to weather. My husband and son did the USS Kittiwake snorkel, the rest of us went to 7 Mile Beach to a place called Royal Palms. We had a great afternoon. The facilities were clean, nice beach, nice bar, great drinks and the pool was awesome too. I would definitely go back there. The guys reported back that the USS Kittiwake snorkel was not too exciting although the ship wreck was interesting. They just seen far better snorkeling at other ports. Back on the ship we opted for the buffet, casino, then bed. Like the previous nights that water noise continued and we again notified the steward.

 

Mahogany Bay, second time here. We loved the first visit and this time rented a cabana which was a good choose as it rained most of the day. The cabana was very nice and they had a server to bring food and drinks. There were some sodas in the cabana fridge, water floating devices and plenty of seating. My husband snorkeled on the far side of the wooden pier which he likes. He also slipped and fell on a pier step which was very slippery. It was a nice but rainy beach day. Back on board we again went to the buffet for dinner, sat on our balcony and then went to bed. Again that water was sloshing in the pipe and was getting pretty loud. We were in communication with guest services who offered to switch rooms to an interior or we could get compensation. I took the later because I still wanted to have the connecting balcony with my daughter and granddaughter.

[jreichow1972]

Belize, last time we saw Xunantunich but today I'm babysitting on the ship and the rest of the group is doing the River Wallace & Altun Ha Ruins. The whole group told me when they returned that the female tour guide spent so much time stopping the boat ride to point out monkeys, crocodiles or alligators and other wild life that their time at the ruins was ruined. When at the ruins they only got 30 minutes to climb 2 sites which was enough time to get to the top and immediately come down. They said they would have rather had more time to explore the ruins and less time on the river. They also questioned if they had fake crocodiles or alligators because they looked fake. My husband also said this site was not nearly as impressive as Xunantunich. Back on the ship more of the same as previous nights. Buffet, Casino, Gift Shops, Photo Gallery, Bed and of course that noisy water noise. I think it was this night or last night that it's sounded like a giant draining pipe early in the night and was quiet the rest of the night, yeah!

 

Cozumel, last time we did the Cozumel Bar Hop which was awesome! This time with the baby we decided Nachi Cocum. After checking in we decided to get massages 45 minutes for $50. My mom & I should have swapped cause she complained hers was too hard and I said mine was too soft. I wish I could go back in time and not get the massage cause I didn't feel like I got my money's worth. It was basically a over priced back rub. They guys rented jet skis and one was having mechanical issues so that was an ordeal. I was not impressed with Nachi Cocum after reading so many good reviews on here I had higher expectations. Food & drinks were not very good, beach was ok, pool water was cold, hot tub cold. The overall facility was nice, servers were good. We left early to shop in the port, went to Fat Tuesday's then back on the ship to eat at the buffet, more casino and back to the cabin. The water noise continued every night/day of the cruise when the ship was in movement.

 

Last sea day. We went to the Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast which was really done well. We all enjoyed it and it was just adorable! Afterwards I needed to close my picture package by 1pm but I was waiting on the pictures from the Green Eggs & Ham Breakfast which came just in time. We did the future cruise seminar but didn't book because the $100 IBC wasn't enough to make me have a sense of urgency to book now. We packed our bags and spent time on the cabin resting, I'm still having cold symptoms. Then we went to the casino and lost a little money before bed.

 

Disembarkment was a breeze. We were to the airport by 10:30am even though we dragged our feet for our 3pm flight. Wished we had earlier flights cause it was a real long day waiting for that flight,

 

In summary we had a great week. Our family has some great memories and pictures. The ship was nice, seas calm, extremely friendly staff and mostly good weather

[WAHMto5]

Thank you for the review! Can't wait to go back on the Glory in a few weeks!

[tmg698]

Can you tell me about the picture package?

[jreichow1972]

Can you tell me about the picture package?

 

 

I got the 10 pictured for $150. Got some small free gifts like a picture of the Glory, a lanyard, a travel coffee cup, a luggage tag and a USB drive that they told me they would upload a digital copy of my pictures on but then charged me $10 after I selected my pictures on the last sea day. I still considered it a good deal.