Glory Review, December 26, 2015

[declansdad]

What are you taking the pictures with? They have all turned out good, just curious. Thanks

 

 

I have an older Canon Rebel DSLR and I use a feature in Photoshop to remove the haze from the pictures.

[cruisin blue]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. The pictures are wonderful! It has been several years since I have been on Glory, but I still have fond memories. Always love going to San Juan and exploring in the forts.

[declansdad]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. The pictures are wonderful! It has been several years since I have been on Glory, but I still have fond memories. Always love going to San Juan and exploring in the forts.

 

 

Thank you for the nice comment.

 

San Juan is definitely a place I plan on returning to.

[silvercrikhix]

Thanks for posting such a nice review with great photos!

[declansdad]

Thanks for posting such a nice review with great photos!

 

 

You're welcome, hope to have some more completed today or tomorrow.

[pghsteelerfan]

I was going to try to wait until you were finished before commenting, but I just got caught up with your section on San Juan and couldn't resist. The pictures that you got in San Juan are gorgeous! We were just there on Liberty this past September and spent time at Castillo San Cristobal and I'm seeing things in your pictures that we totally missed. We planned to spend more time but after checking in, and a delayed embarkation, we didn't get back off Liberty until 4PM, which didn't leave us much time. We've been to El Morro in 2013 on Valor, but again, I obviously missed so many photo opportunities. I would love to spend a week in San Juan and even then, I don't think I'd get to see everything I'd like to.

 

I am really enjoying your review as I'm also kind of reliving one of our cruises - Glory in 2010 on an Eastern Caribbean. The only difference is wen went to HMC (loved it) since Amber Cove didn't exist yet. I'm following along and looking forward to the rest and thank you for taking the time to share your cruise.

[sparks1093]

Thanks for the review. We're booking the Glory for 11/2017 so it's nice to see what we're getting into:).

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review and photos.

 

Keith

[nydney1]

Enjoying your review. Our next two cruises are booked on the Glory.

[declansdad]

So we’ve reached December 31st and we were getting to spend the day in Grand Turk, our final stop. We planned to continue our theme of a relaxing cruise once again and had no real plans for this stop. The only plans we made were to hang out by the pool, Declan wanted to have a go at the FlowRider, a look through the shopping area and a walk towards the conch graveyard. And that is exactly what we did!

 

As we approached the dock, I could see the Carnival Pride was there but I’m not sure how long she had been there. We got off fairly quickly and there were many people from the Pride just getting off as well.

 

We headed straight for the pool area and were able to find 3 loungers near the far end of the pool, close to the cabanas. There was a beach umbrella next to one of the loungers so that was a bit of a bonus. We got Declan signed up for the FlowRider right away and it was a good thing we did. They only had the 90 minute sessions left and the next available slot was at 2 pm.

 

We stood at the bar for a bit trying to get some drinks but it was very busy so we opted to return to seats and flag down a waiter. That didn’t take too long and Declan once again went for a frozen drink while we split a bucket of the local Turk’s Head lager which wasn’t too bad at all.

 

Pretty much the entire day was spent just relaxing, reading and people watching by the pool. Near the end of the afternoon a young couple from the UK grabbed the chairs next to us and we had a nice conversation about the UK and Canada.

 

As for Declan and the Flowrider, he mastered the body surfing fairly quickly but he didn’t have much luck with the traditional surfing. In fairness to him, neither did anyone else.

 

We enjoyed the time at Margaritaville, even with lots of people around, the pool area wasn’t too bad. We didn’t eat so I can’t comment in the food.

 

We finished our island time by browsing through some of the shops, checking out the space display and looking for conch shells.

 

Once back on board, we had a bit of a rest and then got ready for our New Year’s Eve dinner. This was another elegant night and lobster tail was on the regular menu. As was the case with the first cruise elegant night, most people were dressed up. I think we only saw one family that didn’t dress up at all.

 

This was the second cruise for us that included New Year’s Eve at sea. The first time we didn’t make it to midnight, partially because we had an excursion the next morning at 8:30. This trip we planned on being part of the on deck celebrations (the fact that there was to be free champagne helped as well).

 

We spent the early part of the evening at the comedy show and the Latin Nights show in the Amber Palace. This was the third show that the main stage performers at put on during the cruise and once again it was pretty good. They did have a talented group of singers and dancers on this cruise. Declan decided we should sit near the front for this one and his seat was on the edge of the splash zone. It isn’t the SeaWorld splash zone but I’m fairly certain if you sit in the front row or two of the middle section, you will get wet.

 

We eventually made our way to the Lido deck where the Glory Days band and singers were providing the entertainment. The band is quite good but the singers are a bit weak, in some cases karaoke like. As we got closer to midnight, waiters appeared with the free champagne, nice touch. At midnight the ship horn went crazy and the noise was incredible. Yet on the first cruise we heard none of this.

 

Soon it was time to call it an night. The next day would be a sea day and out last full day on-board. I’ll leave you with some pictures of Grand Turk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[declansdad]

 

The view from our loungers

 

 

FlowRider Time

 

 

Poser!

 

 

Successful Role!

 

 

Not so successful attempt to surf

 

[declansdad]

Space Capsule Replica

 

 

One of my favourites!

 

 

One small step...

 

 

Apparently the only jet ski in Grand Turk.

 

 

Grand Turk Sunset

 

[declansdad]

I was going to try to wait until you were finished before commenting, but I just got caught up with your section on San Juan and couldn't resist. The pictures that you got in San Juan are gorgeous! We were just there on Liberty this past September and spent time at Castillo San Cristobal and I'm seeing things in your pictures that we totally missed. We planned to spend more time but after checking in, and a delayed embarkation, we didn't get back off Liberty until 4PM, which didn't leave us much time. We've been to El Morro in 2013 on Valor, but again, I obviously missed so many photo opportunities. I would love to spend a week in San Juan and even then, I don't think I'd get to see everything I'd like to.

 

I am really enjoying your review as I'm also kind of reliving one of our cruises - Glory in 2010 on an Eastern Caribbean. The only difference is wen went to HMC (loved it) since Amber Cove didn't exist yet. I'm following along and looking forward to the rest and thank you for taking the time to share your cruise.

 

I'm glad you are enjoying everything. Both of the forts are huge and there is plenty to see. You can easily spend lots of time there.

 

 

Thanks for the review. We're booking the Glory for 11/2017 so it's nice to see what we're getting into:).

 

 

She's a great ship, I'm sure you will enjoy the cruise.

[declansdad]

Enjoyed your review and photos.

 

Keith

 

Thanks

 

Enjoying your review. Our next two cruises are booked on the Glory.

 

 

I hope they are soon. Are they back to back cruises?

[sparks1093]

I'm glad you are enjoying everything. Both of the forts are huge and there is plenty to see. You can easily spend lots of time there.

 

 

 

 

 

She's a great ship, I'm sure you will enjoy the cruise.

 

From what I've been reading about her we'll have a blast:).

[declansdad]

So we are at our last sea day, always a bit of a sad day because you know the next time you wake up they will be kicking you off the ship.

 

The last day is always pretty typical for us and given our theme us not doing much but relaxing on this trip, it fit perfectly. Not much going on but some time in the sun, some time in the casino, some time in the arcade, checking out the last day sales, eating some food and having a few beverages. All in all the day was a success.

 

We did do the sea day brunch again and this time we had a table to ourselves. It wasn’t busy so we were able to talk to our server a bit and find out more about their life aboard ship. It is always nice to find out a little about how the crew works and lives for the period of their contracts.

 

The evening brought us to the final main stage production, Epic Rock. For me, this was the best show of the week, great music, great singing and dancing. A word of warning for those of you with young children. Sitting in the front row center may not be the place to be for your kids at this show. It is a little more riské than the others and there a couple of segments with the female performers that are definitely geared to an adult male than the shocked 11 year old boy we saw. Do get me wrong, there is nothing lewd or obscene, just a little more adult-oriented. I would have no problem taking younger kids, just sit a little further back. LOL.

 

There wasn’t many pictures this day but I did take a few of the cabin. Sorry for the lack of ship pictures, I didn’t take many on this trip for some reason.

 

This is the convertible sofa

 

 

The main beds pushed together to form what they call a king bed.

 

 

The TV and door to the balcony. All the cabins had flat screens I believe.

 

Some shots trying to show the size of the balcony

 

 

 

[declansdad]

Some final pictures from our last night.

 

Declan and our bar server, Lester. One of the most personable servers on the ship. If you ever sail on the Glory, you will know Lester as soon as you hear him.

 

 

Our wait staff, Ovie, Katherine and Jeffrie. The best bunch on the ship!

 

 

After each production show, the performers head out to the Atrium to meet the passengers. On the last night they took pictures with anyone who wanted one, so we said Why not!

 

 

I was disappointed the two male leads hogged the center area of the photo.

 

This was the Atrium Christmas tree area from above

 

 

And our final towel “animal” of the cruise

 

[skidawg79]

Loving your review! Old San Juan is awesome, if you ever get a chance, look at the cruises that leave out of Old San Juan and go a day or two early. Some beautiful beaches down in the Condado area and it gives you move opportunity to explore San Juan. If you like Pina Colada's seek out Barrachina's (birth place of the Pina Colada), they are amazing. :-) We had a similar experience at Magen's Bay as well, saw a young lady hugging the garbage can....apparently they make the drinks strong at the bar there... haha.

[Britbrie]

Great review!! I loved the forts in San Juan as well!!

[jimbri]

Great photos!!

[declansdad]

Loving your review! Old San Juan is awesome, if you ever get a chance, look at the cruises that leave out of Old San Juan and go a day or two early. Some beautiful beaches down in the Condado area and it gives you move opportunity to explore San Juan. If you like Pina Colada's seek out Barrachina's (birth place of the Pina Colada), they are amazing. :-) We had a similar experience at Magen's Bay as well, saw a young lady hugging the garbage can....apparently they make the drinks strong at the bar there... haha.

 

 

San Juan was beautiful and we would really like to go back there, possibly to a resort and not part of a cruise. We have looked at starting a cruise there but flying to San Juan from where we are can often be expensive.

 

 

The young lady we saw wasn't hugging a garbage can at that time but she was sure hugging lots of people. It was fun too watch but I'm sure she didn't think it was fun later on.

[declansdad]

Great review!! I loved the forts in San Juan as well!!

 

Great photos!!

 

 

Thank you, glad you are enjoying the review and photos.

[jamscckmc]

Thank you for the review? Could you tell me what time you docked in Miami, what time you got off the ship and how long it took you to get to the airport? Thanks!

[declansdad]

Thank you for the review? Could you tell me what time you docked in Miami, what time you got off the ship and how long it took you to get to the airport? Thanks!

 

 

We were docked around 7, had breakfast and were off the ship by 8:30. We didn't go to the airport that day, we spent another day in the area and flew out the next morning.

[declansdad]

So this brings us to the end of the cruise.

 

We were back in Miami and docked around 7 am. In fact I think we were well into the channel by the time I realized where we were.

 

We were pretty much packed so it was just a matter of getting ready for the day and heading up to the Lido Deck for some breakfast. It wasn’t very busy and they started calling self-assist while we were eating. They soon called the early groups and FTTF (I think that put is in group 1 or 2) so we headed down and waited only a couple of minutes to hear that final ding from the security machine. While we were in line they did turn some people back because they hadn’t called their number yet.

 

Finding our one checked bag was pretty easy, probably the best luggage setup of any of the ports we have been in. All the luggage was on an airport-style carousel and each carousels had certain numbers assigned. Took maybe 5 minutes for us to see our bag. Customs was pretty easy and we were quickly outside lining up for a cab.

 

We weren’t flying out that day so we were off to pick up a rental at Budget, about a $12 cab ride. We did notice on the fare card that the gratuity was included in the fare, we didn’t see that in the cab ride to the port. Picked up the car without a problem and we were off on our drive to Hollywood via South Beach and the AIA.

 

We spent the morning looking around South Beach and driving up the coast to the hotel. Our flight home was early the next morning, SouthWest this time, and we were back in Portland, Maine by 11:30. Couple of stops in Maine and back home in Canada later that evening and a great welcome from a couple of cats.

 

So to wrap this up, we had a fantastic time. We really enjoyed the Carnival Glory and her crew. Can’t think of anything bad to say about the cruise part of the trip at all. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. There are also some more pictures of the trip in the link found in my signature if you are interested in seeing more.

 

Thanks for reading everyone.

 

Some pics from the South Beach area