Miami debarkation

[mzlinda]

Just off the Glory and already in a taxi enroute to the airport at 7:40 am

[SkyMaster]

I'm proud of you. As we say in the South, "You Done Good". Hope you had a GREAT cruise aboard the beautiful Carnival "Glory". ;)

 

"SKY"

[Sabalon]

Wow...that's early.

 

Since you just got back from the Western route (which I'm 21 days out from), I expect a full report (once home and rested) with pictures, scanned funtimes, scanned menus, etc.

 

Or just a quick how it was, I guess that'll do too :)

[firemanbobswife]

Awesome. That's been my experience each time as well. That's why I have no issues booking early flights. Hope you had a great cruise on my favorite Carnival ship!

[mondello]

Just off the Glory and already in a taxi enroute to the airport at 7:40 am

 

Why? I always enjoy every possible minute of a cruise. I'd rather be taking my time leaving the ship than rushing off. Besides, I usually spend time in the home port pre- and post-cruise for at least an extra day or two.

[firemanbobswife]

Why? I always enjoy every possible minute of a cruise. I'd rather be taking my time leaving the ship than rushing off. Besides, I usually spend time in the home port pre- and post-cruise for at least an extra day or two.

 

 

Not everyone is the same and can take extra days off. Why question why someone does something? Just do what works for you and move on.

 

Who said they were rushing? You have to leave anyway so why delay the inevitable? I would rather get off early and beat the lines for Customs and at the airport. It's a good thing not everyone wants to leave at the same time. Less people in our way! There's no right or wrong way and you can't fault people for doing what meets their particular needs.

 

I and I'm sure others appreciate the fact that they posted that their debarkation went smoothly.

[mzlinda]

Wow...that's early.

 

 

 

Since you just got back from the Western route (which I'm 21 days out from), I expect a full report (once home and rested) with pictures, scanned funtimes, scanned menus, etc.

 

 

 

Or just a quick how it was, I guess that'll do too :)

 

 

Sorry but I won't be doing a full review. I'm not a detail person.

 

I will say that this cruise was just OK for me but that was due to circumstances not in Carnival's control. Here is some background info. We were in cabin 7439 which is an L shaped cabin with a long balcony, very far aft. This was a girls trip with a friend. I've been on the Destiny, Breeze, and Fantasy (3 times because I live close to Charleston), and RC Adventurer of the Seas.

 

We boarded the ship in the midst of tropical storm Colin and our cabin was aft. The first two days were extremely rough and pretty rainy too. Everything in our cabin shook and vibrated to the point where it was hard to sleep at night. In the MDR one night we were slammed so hard that everyone screamed. By the 3rd night, us 2 seasoned boaters and fairly experienced cruisers were at the guest services desk asking for motion sickness meds which were cheerfully dispensed to us for free. We were never actually sick, but feeling a little green. We blamed all that motion on our cabin choice but by about the 4th day, the seas were calm, the sun was out, our room stopped vibrating and we were able to finally enjoy our extended balcony. Our last full day was a sea day and the captain announced that we would be proceeding full speed ahead back to Miami due to an onboard medical emergency. By 8 or 9 pm we were docked back in Miami with a not-so-beautiful overnight view of the terminal building from our balcony.

 

As for the ship's itself, it shows its age similar to the Fantasy, but everything was clean, and we always received that friendly Carnival service that I love. Our room steward Imade introduced himself the first day, explained that he would service our room twice daily and told us what hours he worked. We had a bottle of vodka from bon voyage and he refilled our ice bucket morning and night. He did a great job.

 

We had YTD which I hate but my friend loves. We had a different waitstaff most nights. The first night service was pretty bad, but the others nights were all good to excellent. MDR food was typical Carnival food. Nothing really outstandingly good or bad.

 

We didn't see any production shows. We saw one comedian named Percy. His show was just Ok. They did have Quest on this ship but we missed it, which I regret, since it is hilariously funny. The calypso duo on lido was awesome, the house band Resting Beach Face was great and the cruise director Eric was the best CD I've ever encountered. OMG when he does music trivia in the lobby and makes people in the glass elevators dance, I die laughing.

 

I was impressed by our captain who kept us well informed about the weather and our schedule.

 

We visited Goff's Caye thru Ecotours and we visited the monkey farm and did a mini island your ---one of those was Belize and the other Roatan although I don't remember which was which. My friend arranged the excursions. We just walked around the ports in Cozumel and Grand Caymen since we had visited those islands on previous cruises.

 

Overall it was a pretty good cruise but it was overshadowed a bit by the bad weather at the beginning, and by about 3 days of feeling queasy, and by that horrible feeling I got in the pit of my stomach just knowing there was an emergency onboard so severe that we returned to port early which means something terrible happened to someone.

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were both a breeze because we always get FTTF.

 

Well, I guess I did a little review after all. I'll have to figure out if I can copy/paste this into the review section.

[Sparky2]

We didn't see any production shows. We saw one comedian named Percy. His show was just Ok. They did have Quest on this ship but we missed it, which I regret, since it is hilariously funny. The calypso duo on lido was awesome, the house band Resting Beach Face was great and the cruise director Eric was the best CD I've ever encountered. OMG when he does music trivia in the lobby and makes people in the glass elevators dance, I die laughing.

 

Was it Percy Crew? We loved him in the mid 2000s. At that time I don't think they had the family friendly shows.

 

We had rough weather this past January while on Glory. We did a B2B on Glory and the 1st week was calm, but the 2nd week was very rocky. They even reversed the itinerary. Unfortunately, they had to cancel swimming with the stingrays & dolphin tours. It didn't bother us cuz it was our 13th & 14th CCL cruise & we've already done the stingrays. However, I felt sorry for those on their 1st or 2nd cruise who were looking forward to those excursions.

[mzlinda]

Why? I always enjoy every possible minute of a cruise. I'd rather be taking my time leaving the ship than rushing off. Besides, I usually spend time in the home port pre- and post-cruise for at least an extra day or two.

 

 

Why? 2 reasons -

 

1. my travel companion had an early flight and we wanted to travel to the airport together. I only get to see her once a year and I would rather spend an hour waiting with her at the airport rather than 2 more hours on the ship causing a hardship for their staff.

 

2. I get FTTF so I can be one of the very first guests onboard. It seems only right to get off just as quickly as I got on so my room can be prepared for the next person. It does not seem right to think I should be first on and last off.

[mzlinda]

 

I and I'm sure others appreciate the fact that they posted that their debarkation went smoothly.

 

 

Yes, thank you! This was exactly my reason for the original post. My friend is traveling back to Vermont. She had very few options for flight times. If this keeps 1 person from stressing about an early flight that they have booked for a future cruise, then I'm happy.

[Sparky2]

Why? 2 reasons -

 

1. my travel companion had an early flight and we wanted to travel to the airport together. I only get to see her once a year and I would rather spend an hour waiting with her at the airport rather than 2 more hours on the ship causing a hardship for their staff.

 

2. I get FTTF so I can be one of the very first guests onboard. It seems only right to get off just as quickly as I got on so my room can be prepared for the next person. It does not seem right to think I should be first on and last off.[/QUOTE]

 

We're also one of the first ones on, but occasionally have been one of the last off due to late flight or staying at a hotel & cannot check in too early. Due to VIFP status, we are given zone #.

 

However, I think everyone is supposed to be out of their cabin by 8:30 so the stewards can get the cabins ready for the next guests. There are other areas where you are supposed to congregate till your zone # is called or till "last call".

Edited June 11, 2016 by Sparky2

[evandbob]

Many cruisers experience crowds in both MIA and FLL because they arrive at the airport after 10AM.

 

By getting to the airport early asap, one can almost breeze through the check in and TSA lines. They are nowhere near the lines just a few hours later.

 

Of course, having TSA pre check or global entry speeds you up as well. A great investment, even if you fly but once a year. More cost efficient than FTTF, for sure!

[mondello]

Why? 2 reasons -

 

1. my travel companion had an early flight and we wanted to travel to the airport together. I only get to see her once a year and I would rather spend an hour waiting with her at the airport rather than 2 more hours on the ship causing a hardship for their staff.

 

Great reason to leave early. My point was only that I'm in no hurry for my vacation to end. I love cruising because I can fit a 7 day cruise into a 2 week vacation and spend extra time pre and post cruise before re-entering the workaday world.

 

A very relaxing part of our Valor/Glory B2B a few years ago was just sitting on the ship in Miami enjoying the view of all the boats anchored in the Causeway. So reminiscent of the intro to every Miami Vice episode.

Edited June 11, 2016 by mondello

[Sabalon]

Thanks for the info. I'm looking forward to the trivia - got the answers? :)

 

Sorry to hear about the weather. I can understand where that would color the whole trip. Those cabins do look nice, but hearing this maybe we won't aim for them down the road. I get enough motion sickness as is!

 

I keep hearing good things about Resting Beach Face, so am looking forward. Also just learned about Carnival Quest the other day and really want to see that.

 

Glad you got to spend time with a friend - location doesn't matter where that happens!

[mondello]

Not everyone is the same and can take extra days off. Why question why someone does something? Just do what works for you and move on.

 

Who said they were rushing? You have to leave anyway so why delay the inevitable? I would rather get off early and beat the lines for Customs and at the airport. It's a good thing not everyone wants to leave at the same time. Less people in our way! There's no right or wrong way and you can't fault people for doing what meets their particular needs.

 

I and I'm sure others appreciate the fact that they posted that their debarkation went smoothly.

 

The original post seemed more a boast. Half the posts on these boards are people questioning why anyone does certain things. Seemed like a perfectly logical post, to question why, sorry it ruffled your feathers.

Edited June 11, 2016 by mondello

[mzlinda]

LOL - definitely wasn't boasting but we did worry about having such an early flight so I honestly just hoped to reassure others that early flights are doable, especially with FTTF and self assist luggage.

 

It's easy to misinterpret posts. Wasn't trying to cause any controversy.