Pirate’s GLORY-ous Cruise, Nov 3-10, 2019 Review

[pirate4me2]

Sorry for the delay in posting more tonight, I got sidetracked with household chores and have to be to work early tomorrow for a meeting. I PROMISE there will be more segments posted tomorrow! 

[jimbri]

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[E@syPe@zy]

Oh Yea!  A cruise from New Orleans!!  I love cruising from NO! 

Love your photos and really looking forward to the rest of your review, as we have not been on the Glory yet.  I too love the Dream class of ships, but I can have fun on any ship!!

I can't believe you only ordered a half a dozen char broiled oysters for two.  My DH and I LOVE oysters!  If you get a chance, try them at Drago's at the Hilton Riverside.   (That's the problem with New Orleans....there are so many great places to eat!)  They are to die for!  As you walk into the Hilton, you can smell them being grilled...heavenly!  And they serve them with some of that delicious New Orleans french bread.  I've got to get back to New Orleans!!

Loving your pictures and your report.  Looking forward to more.  Thanks so much for taking the time and talent to do this!! 😊

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

pirate ~ glad to see your review underway! I'm sailing from New Orleans in 2021 so will make note of Ruby Slipper etc. Don't think I've ever eaten oysters so that'll be different.

 Looking forward to more of your journey.

 

Jeff ~ looking forward to your reviews next year too!

 

Have a nice day folks, crummy snowy one here.

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

[grandmarnnurse]

15 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

Great start to your review! We have a B2B booked on the Glory in April. It will be our first visit to NOLA. 😀

I will have to keep a look out for that review! Love your reviews and Patti’s pictures! 

[pirate4me2]

7 hours ago, jimbri said:

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Thanks for reading along, and I PROMISE more to come tonight!

 

1 hour ago, E@syPe@zy said:

Oh Yea!  A cruise from New Orleans!!  I love cruising from NO! 

Love your photos and really looking forward to the rest of your review, as we have not been on the Glory yet.  I too love the Dream class of ships, but I can have fun on any ship!!

I can't believe you only ordered a half a dozen char broiled oysters for two.  My DH and I LOVE oysters!  If you get a chance, try them at Drago's at the Hilton Riverside.   (That's the problem with New Orleans....there are so many great places to eat!)  They are to die for!  As you walk into the Hilton, you can smell them being grilled...heavenly!  And they serve them with some of that delicious New Orleans french bread.  I've got to get back to New Orleans!!

Loving your pictures and your report.  Looking forward to more.  Thanks so much for taking the time and talent to do this!! 😊

 

We kept hearing about Drago's from our Uber drivers taking us to and from the port, so I will def check them out next time! As for the half dozen...we were TRYING to be good and not eat too much, lol, but we learned our lesson...next time a dozen for each of us! Hahaha.

 

40 minutes ago, retiring soon said:

Hi all!

 

pirate ~ glad to see your review underway! I'm sailing from New Orleans in 2021 so will make note of Ruby Slipper etc. Don't think I've ever eaten oysters so that'll be different.

 Looking forward to more of your journey.

 

Jeff ~ looking forward to your reviews next year too!

 

Have a nice day folks, crummy snowy one here.

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

 

Hey Jo! Glad you found me! :) It is chilly here today, and it LOOKS like it wants to snow....but it better not! I hate snow. For sure try the cargrilled oysters in NOLA, they are amazing. I really did not want to try them, but I am so glad my uncle made me!

[aztekpm]

Nice start, I really enjoy your reviews!  Coincidently I was in Key West last week, when both the Glory & Victory were in port.  That along with the boat race set-up & practices, made KW a zoo on Tuesday!

[scuba_ninja]

Great start! Looking forward to more! I'm on the glory end of December, so this is a nice preview. 

Edited November 14, 2019 by scuba_ninja
Spelling. Sorry, on mobile.

[pirate4me2]

1 hour ago, aztekpm said:

Nice start, I really enjoy your reviews!  Coincidently I was in Key West last week, when both the Glory & Victory were in port.  That along with the boat race set-up & practices, made KW a zoo on Tuesday!

Hey hey, small world with us both in KW! I bet the boat race practices would be cool to see!

 

9 minutes ago, scuba_ninja said:

Great start! Looking forward to more! I'm on the glory end of December, so this is a nice preview. 

Glad my review came at such a good time for you! More coming up now!

[pirate4me2]

I slept in some today, thanks to my late night at the piano bar last night. I woke up at 9 and Chris was watching a movie he had downloaded to his iPad. We got dressed and headed down to the Morning Show in the Amber Palace at 9:30. It was OK, not as funny as past shows we have seen. We hung around for the Fun Aboard, Fun Ashore show that took place immediately after, hoping to maybe win a prize. Yeah, no luck. I don’t know why we even bother with that anymore. 

 

We were hungry after that, so we hit up the Sea Day brunch in the Platinum dining room (deck 3 aft) at 11:45. This dining room is soooo pretty, I wish it was where we were having dinner! We were sat at a table in the back by the windows with 3 other couples. I decided to try the Voyager burger, which was SO GOOD but MESSY! The egg yolk broke and it ran everywhere, but it was TOTALLY worth the mess. I also decided to be brave and try something new, so I asked the server if there was a way to get a small serving of the shrimp salad that is listed under the “Signature Tower.” I just wanted to try it, and I am so glad I did…it is yummy! Chris and I split the chocolate cake for dessert and it was really, really good…super moist and way better than room service chocolate cake!

 

When we finished with lunch I went back to the room to spend some time reading in front of those windows, enjoying the view. Chris napped, and we wasted away most of the afternoon that way.

 

Chandelier in Amber Palace. I love chandeliers 

 

Amber Palace

 

Mai Tai at brunch

 

Delicious shrimp salad!

Best Burger ever!

chocolate cake

 

Chandelier and light outside Platinum MDR. I told you I like chandeliers!

Edited November 15, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

Tonight was the first elegant night of the cruise, so Chris and I dolled ourselves up and headed to the Golden dining room (deck 3 forward) about 6:15. Chris asked the hostess for a waiter that liked to cut up and was funny, so she sat us in Mere’s section. He and DWI (yes, that was his name!) and the other crew member were great! Mere really is funny, and the service was top notch tonight. Chris and I decided to be brave and try a new app tonight, the fried oysters. They were OK…I wont order them again, they were not terrible, I just think there are better options for an appetizer. I also got the spinach salad, which is good but not as good as in the steakhouse, and the Indian vegetarian entrée, which was FANTASTIC. This was my first time trying it, and I am so glad that I did...I loved it! It was spicy and definitely something I will get again in the future. To finish the meal off, I got the cheese plate, which was OK…I really just wanted the blue cheese, hahaha. 

 

They were showing The Lion King movie on Lido tonight at 7:30, and we swung by there to watch part of it until the Piano Bar fired up at 9. We decided to get there early to get a seat, so we walked in at 8:45…and the place was packed. The secret was out that Keith knew how to entertain! I hung around until 10, and left Chris there since he was having a good time. I went back to the room, took a shower, and made sure we had everything packed up that we would need for our day in Key West tomorrow. After that I read my book a bit more, and called it a day.

 

Next up, a new port for us…KEY WEST!

 

Oysters

 

Vegetarian entree 

 

 

Goodnight!

Edited November 15, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

Yay, it’s time for us to visit a new place, Key West! This port was what sealed the deal for us booking this cruise, and I have heard great things about KW, so Chris and I were super excited.

 

We woke up at 7, and we were approaching the island. I could see Carnival Victory was in port with us today, and seeing her brought back happy memories of our quick 3 day cruise aboard her back in 2016. Chris and I got dressed and headed out to grab some grub before going ashore, and I opted for my port day favorite, a breakfast burrito from Blue Iguana. Chris had a carb craving and went for some pizza, hahaha. I was a bit disappointed in my burrito though, as it was barely warm today. Booo!

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

Once we ate we headed down to disembark, and it was a pretty disorganized madhouse at the stairways once we got to deck 2. I had thought that since we waited for a bit after we docked the crowds would have dissipated, but nope. We finally walked down the gangway onto the pier and set off on our adventure.

 

First, we walked to the Southernmost Point. The line to get a picture taken with the buoy was long, and I hate my pic taken anyway, so I snapped a pic of it with other people in it. If this is any of you reading it…here’s another pic of you on vacation! We then headed back to Hemmingway’s House, which I really only wanted to go to for the cats. Yes, I am a crazy cat lady, and I made it my mission to pet as many of the 59 resident cats there as possible. The house was cool to see, and I did learn that the lot is the largest private property in Key West at almost an acre in size. The pool was also the first pool built in Key West and is still one of the largest there.

 

 

 

 

this is cool!

 

 

 

Kitty!

I told you I like chandeliers 

 

Kitty napping 

 

 

 

 

 

They have cat houses!

pool

 

Putty Cat prints!

 

 

 

random tree that I thought looked cool

Edited November 15, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

From Hemmingway’s, we walked to a fire department that Chris wanted to go visit and get a shirt from. it was about a mile there and a mile back, and he got his shirt, so he was happy. We then hit Duval Street, where there was a bar called Irish Kevin’s that he wanted to go get a drink at. He is all about Irish pubs, and this one was pretty cool. They had a guitar player there that was really good, and my Key West Sunset was really, really good. We sat and enjoyed our drinks for a bit, then went on down to Sloppy Joe’s for some lunch. I forget the name of the drink that I got there, but it was good and STRONG. Holy moly. We split an order of Sloppy Joe’s fries, which helped soak up some alcohol and were yummy. The blackened fish tacos that I got were ok…they were missing something, but still good.

 

From Sloppy Joe’s we went to Hog’s Breath Saloon, which was where I had insisted we try. I have heard so many things about it, and the staff there were nice. I got the Havana Hog Punch, which was STRONG. After that drink I KNEW I needed to stop, as I was going to be staggering back to the ship at this point. Chris insisted we try Key Lime Pie since we were in Key West, so we ordered a piece, and it was OK but not something I will ever order again…I am just not a fan.

 

We passed Sloppy Joe’s on our journey. We will be back here later!

 

Key West Sunset from Irish Kevin’s

Drinks at Sloppy Joe’s

 

Sloppy fries...either they were truly amazing, or I was drunk and that made them amazing...im not really sure. 

 

Blackened fish tacos

 

our last stop of the day 

 

Havana Hog Punch 

Edited November 15, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

We zigzagged our way back to Glory and were onboard at 2:45. I daresay we made the most of our day in Key West! I took a shower and passed out for a well deserved nap. I am ashamed to say that I didn’t wake up until about 4:30, and Chris didn’t wake up until about 5:30. We decided to head to the MDR at about 6:25, and we were sat in Mere’s section again. For some reason the MDR seemed chilly to me tonight, so I opted for the broccoli cheddar soup as my appetizer, which was good, and one of my favorite (wait, not ONE OF, but my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE) entrees was on the menu tonight: salmon cakes! Hooray! They were absolutely delicious, and as we ate Chris and I witnessed something that we have never seen before: the maître d was helping his servers bus tables. It wasn’t just one section that he was helping either, he would go to different sections and help the teams out. It really made me happy to see someone higher up like that stepping up and helping his team out. You could tell the servers appreciated it, as when we mentioned it to Mere he nodded vigorously. He said that this maître d was a very good one to work for and that the dining teams all had a better morale for it.

 

For dessert I got the smores parfait, which was super good, and we headed to the Amber Palace for the 7:30 seating of Getaway Island. It’s a corny little show but we enjoyed it, and the lead female singer was FANTASTIC. She has such a voice! From there I decided to call it a day so I could go back to the room and pack our bags for tomorrow’s day in Freeport, and Chris decided to hit up the Piano Bar.

 

Next up: Freeport, someplace we haven’t been since our very first cruise in 2012!

 

 

Soup

 

Salmon cakes

 

S’mores parfait 

Edited November 15, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

Oh before I forget, here’s a pic of Keith the piano bar entertainer. Seriously, check him out if you sail with him. You won’t regret it. 🙂

[Joe817]

Wow. Incredible review! Keep it up and thanks!

[txjenny77]

I'm considering booking the Glory for March as a family trip.  Thanks for the review!

[pirate4me2]

Today we are visiting a port that Chris and I have not been to since our very first cruise on the Carnival Pride in March 2012. I remember we had a fantastic time on the excursion that we did, a Jeep tour of the island that stopped at a beach, and I remember that the port was very industrial, but that was about it. This was almost going to be like a brand new port for us!

 

Chris was already awake when I woke up at 8, and we decided to just order sandwiches from room service for breakfast. A BLT is an OK option for breakfast, after all, bacon is a breakfast food, right? Chris got a grilled cheese that he said was really good, and once we finished eating we headed off the ship.

 

Today I had booked us day passes with Resort for a Day to go to Grand Lucayan at Lighthouse Pointe. It looked really nice online, and it included all our food, drinks, chairs, Wifi, and use of their beach and pools for the day. The only thing really not included was transportation to and from the resort, but they said that was about $25 for 2 people with a taxi. Taxi service was easy peasy to get at the port, although they stuffed us into a van with about 10 other people and space was a bit tight. The van was overloaded, you could hear the back wheel scraping the underside of the van as we went along, and I prayed we would not have a blowout on the way there. 2 other taxis went by us and hoked and made gestures and hollered “Too many people!” but our driver didn’t care. Luckily we made it safe and sound to our destination in about 20 minutes. They dropped us off at the market and we had to make the short trek to the resort, it was maybe a 5 minute walk….not bad at all. 

 

Once we were checked in at the resort (which was beautiful by the way) I needed a drink to forget the scary taxi ride. Chris and I checked out the coffee shop that was included as part of our day pass, as I really wanted an iced coffee too, but the lady working behind the counter said the machine was broken and they only had hot coffee today. Well poo! I made my way to the poolside bar and decided on a Bay Breeze, which was awesome. It washed all my worries away. The bartenders were great, very friendly (one lady told us “I will get you feeling good today!”) and I followed the Bay Breeze up with a Lucayan Harbour, which was good, then a Our Lucayan Delight, which was also good, and finally a Madras, which was just OK. I alternated between the Bay Breeze and the Lucayan Harbour throughout the day. To help soak up the alcohol I ate some Waves Loaded Fries, which were yumminess, and conch fritters, which were OK.

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

We spent some time in the pool, but the real gem of this place is the beach. The water felt like heaven, and the sand…oh my gosh, I cannot even begin to describe how awesome that sand was. It was true white, baby powder sand, so soft! I never wanted to leave! The day pass also included non-motarized water sports, and they had free sailing lessons, kayaks, and stand up paddleboards. This was a perfect beach day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

The resort began clearing out around 2, and Chris and I were some of the last day pass users to leave at about 2:30. We hiked over to the marketplace and shared a taxi back to the port with about 6 others, and by 3:10 we were back onboard the Glory. We cleaned up and walked the ship a bit to see what was happening, but ended up back at the room reading (aka napping in Chris’s case!).

 

The dinner menu didn’t really appeal to me and Chris tonight, so we opted to just hit up the Lido about 6:00. I made myself a salad which was fantastic, and got a meatball sandwich from the deli. I wont get that again, I didn’t care for the flavor of the meatballs. I wonder if they could make me a chicken parm sandwich since the have the marinara and the chicken that they use for the buffalo sandwiches? Maybe I shall try that in the future…

 

We followed up dinner with watching Aladdin on the Lido deck. Will Smith was great as the genie, and the movie was great, but the original still is the best in my mind. 

 

At 10:00 the Love & Marriage show took place in the Amber Palace, so we went and checked that out. It was funny, but not as good as some past ones. We enjoyed it though, and by the time it was over I was exhausted from the fun, sun, and laughter of the day and decided to turn in. Tomorrow was our last port day, a port that I have become very familiar with over the past few months: Nassau.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

It’s our last port day already?! Where has this cruise gone??

 

Today we are in Nassau, one of my least favorite ports of call, yet somehow I have been here 3 times in the past 4 months! Hahaha. I booked day passes thru Resort for a Day for Chris and myself, this time to Breezes. When we were here in September we went to Warwick Paradise Island, which was nice, but we wanted to try another place. Breezes is all inclusive, with food, drinks, WiFi, non-motorized watersports, a rock climbing wall, and a flying trapeze. It looked to be a good day!

 

We got up at 8:30 and took our time getting ready to let the masses exit the ship. At 9:30 we headed down to the gangway and we were able to waltz right off and onto the pier, no waiting. We made our way to the taxi stand and told them where we wanted to go, and after a short 5 minute wait they had a couple from the Celebrity ship in port with us that was going to Breezes show up, so we shared the ride. It cost us $14 to get there, and we arranged with the driver to take us back to the ship from the resort at 4:00 local time (so 3:00 our time).  

 

The resort looked really nice, and the front desk staff were super friendly. The lady took my Discover card for payment for the day pass and gave us a schedule of what was going on that day. I was looking it over when she informed me that my card was declined. Ummmm….say what? I notified Discover that I was traveling, what the heck?? Luckily I had my Visa card with me and that went thru no problem. Whew! ALWAYS make sure you take a backup card with you, just in case! I later found out from another couple on the Glory that we met at the pool bar that their Discover card declined as well, even though they too had notified them that they were traveling, so who knows what was up.

 

The lady checking us in informed us that due to a red flag for riptides the non-motorized water sports were unavailable for use, so instead of spending the day on the beach and in the ocean we made ourselves at home in the pool. Breezes has a nice swim up bar in the pool, and Chris made friends with some other cruisers and the bartender kept the drinks for them flowing. I tried something called the “Blue Drink” (yes it was blue) and that was my go-to for most of the day. Toward the end I wanted something different though, so I got a “Sky Juice” which was super yummy.

 

the resort was decorating for Christmas!

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

The resort had a pool grill that served lunch, so when I was hungry I opted for conch fritters and a crab salad sandwich. The fritters were good (Chris REALLY liked them, we ended up having to get 2 orders!) and the crab salad sandwich was delicious but had too much bun. I would do like another lady did and just order the crab salad with no bun, they gave her a heaping portion of the salad. It was really, really, really good! Chris got the jerk chicken and he said it was good but the sauce was SPICY. I tried it and loved the sauce, I ended up dipping fries in it.

 

 

 

beach

 

 

 

I love the colorful seating!

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

We packed up our belongings and headed to the resort entrance at 3:30 local time (2:30 our time) to meet our taxi. We figured we could spend the 30 minutes waiting out front for him, and if he showed up early head back a little earlier than planned. Sounds like a good plan, right? Well, that plan saved our butts, as when we walked up to the resort entrance we saw our taxi driving away with another couple in it! We assumed he would be coming back to get us, since we had arranged with him to be here 30 minutes later, so no biggie. But, after 30 minutes, there was no sign of him. Ummmmm…..this is bad. We asked the gentleman at the entrance if he could call us someone, and he said no problem, but it took FOREVER for a taxi to get to us. I was sweating bullets, my buzz was worn off at this point. Luckily the lady driver that came for us got us back to the port with 30 minutes before back onboard time, so we didn’t have to be pier runners. Whew! 

 

The dinner menu in the MDR was OK tonight, but nothing spectacular, so Chris decided to call the steakhouse when we got back to our room at 4:15 to see if we could get reservations. Coco answered the phone and told us that he could get us in at 5:30. Yes please! Chris requested that we be in his and Christine’s section again, as we enjoyed them so much the first night. We got to the steakhouse right on time, and everything tonight was better than the first! I decided to start off with the risotto today, and oh my gosh y’all it was FANTASTIC….ten times better than the stuffed ‘shrooms! My spinach salad was fantastic, and the filet mignon was cooked perfect. I was debating on trying the shrimp entrée but chicken out last minute…has anyone else tried it? If so, how was it? Should I try it next time? I got the mashed potatoes, which were perfect, and Chris’s mac & cheese was piping hot and sooooooo good tonight. To finish it all off Chris and I got 1 scoop of each of the ice cream/sherbets. The champagne sherbert was gross, but the double chocolate ice cream was amazing. Chris raved about the butterscotch ice cream, but I hate butterscotch so I didn’t try it.

 

After Chris exchanged FB contact info with Coco (they are now trading jokes), we thanked them and headed to the 8:00 comedy show with Ken Boyd. He was pretty funny, and the place was PACKED.

 

After the show, the sun and booze and big dinner caught up with me so I decided to call it a day. We were beginning our trek back home, can you believe the cruise is starting to wrap up?? I can’t!

 

our friends in port today: Ecstasy and Sensation

 

 

 

 

 

Compliment from the chef: a tomato soup shot

 

Risotto

 

 

Chandelier

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

You know, there use to be a time when I HATED sea days and I would book cruises with as few of them as possible. Now I love them. No, I do not want to go on a 7 day cruise-to-nowhere, or even a 7 day cruise with just 2 ports, but this itinerary had 3 sea days and I was looking forward to it. I can sleep in, enjoy yummy sea day brunch, and just spend my time chillaxin’ if I want. Heck yeah.

 

I slept in until 9, and when I woke up I played lazy and just laid in bed for 30 minutes or so, enjoying the fact that my cats were not there to harass me to feed them breakfast the minute I stirred. My bladder finally won out at 9:30, so I got up and got ready to start my day.

 

We headed to get some go-go juice (aka coffee) from Creams on deck 5. I got the iced moccacino, which was great, and we headed down to sea day brunch. At 10:00 the brunch is a hopping place to be, let me tell you! However, we were able to snag a table for 2 (I was not feeling human yet today, others didn’t need to be subjected to my animal-ish growls and glares) and I actually ordered the same exact meal as last time….Voyager burger, a sample of shrimp salad, please. It was all wonderful, and after my tummy was full I felt much happier and Chris (and others) were not in danger of me biting off their arm or randomly attacking them.

 

coffee menu

 

 

sweet tooth offerings from coffee shop

 

Best burger!!!!

Edited November 18, 2019 by pirate4me2