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

[pirate4me2]

We headed to the Military Appreciation Gathering at 11 in the Amber Palace. This was our first time attending it, and I think it is nice how Carnival honors those who are serving. We then headed to the room and changed into our swim gear and went up to Serenity to check out the hot tub situation. Can I just say….I love the happy yellow color of the hot tubs on Glory? They are so cheerful! I just wish the jets hit higher up on your back, Chris had a backache/shoulderache and was hoping they would help, but they hit your lower back, not upper. Anyway…one hot tub was crowded, one was not, so we climbed into the uncrowded one and settled in. The water was the perfect temperature, and we hung out in there for about an hour, until it was time for Lights! Camera! Inter-action! in the Amber Palace at 2:00.

 

This was the first time I had seen this activity on a ship, and it was OK. Passengers were told to act out scenes from a certain movie, or guess an actor/actresse’s face from a blurred out headshot with clues given, etc. It isn’t something I will attend in the future, but it was fun for a one-time thing. We decided to head up to Lido for lunch when the show ended at 2:30, and I hit up the deli for a sandwich. The line was LONG, but moved very quickly. I got the BLT, which was yummy, but I hate how tough the crust always is on that sandwich. I ended up un-crusting it and eating it that way.

 

There was a movie trivia in the casino at 3:30, where they said that you had to guess the name of the movie based off of them reading a very badly written plot. It was hilarious, and Chris and I did terribly, but it was fun. When we left to head back to the room to clean up for dinner, we went thru the atrium, and holy cannoli the line at Guest Services was crazy….I am so glad I didn’t need to go visit them! I don’t know what the issue is that people were having, but dang.

 

perfect sea day!

yellow hot tubs

 

BLT

Edited November 18, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

We headed to dinner right at 5:45 when the Golden MDR opened for Your Time Dining, and there was no wait. I don’t know why we were hungry since we had just ate a few hours before, haha. There was no wait since they had just opened, and we were sat in Mere’s section of course! The stuffed mushrooms I started off with were yummy, better than the ones from the steakhouse actually! My Caesar salad (the ONLY ONE I had this cruise, can you believe it??) was good, but the teriyaki salmon that I normally enjoy was just meh tonight. I was really disappointed! My  warm chocolate melting cake I had for dessert to finish the meal off was wonderful, and I didn’t feel guilty eating every single bite since my entrée was a fail. Haha.

 

white sangria

 

‘shrooms

 

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

 

We finished dinner in time to go to the 7:30 seating of Epic Rock, and the cast did an amazing job. If you are sailing the Glory and get to experience this Playlist cast, you are in for such a treat, they are amazing. From there we headed to the atrium for the 80’s music trivia with Dustin, and they gave away free drinks to people who were really getting into the dancing and excitement of it. When that ended, we finished the night out in the piano bar with Keith. Dustin came in about 9:30 or so and hung out, and Chris informed me that he had been doing that most of the cruise. I thought that was pretty cool!

 

I stayed until 11, then decided to call it a night. I can’t believe tomorrow is the last day onboard!

 

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

It’s my last day aboard the Glory, wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

 

I really slept in today, I didn’t get up until 9:30. I knew tomorrow would be an early morning, and after that the dogs and cats would be waking me from my slumber at 6 am every day. Argh. Chris and I finally headed down to Creams at 10:30 for go-go juice, and today I ordered an iced latte with coconut flavor added in. YUM-O! They were hopping today, they had 3 people whipping up the concotions, so the line went quick. We took our coffee and headed down to sea day brunch at 10:39, and surprisingly there was no wait. The hostess escorted us to a table with 4 other ladies seated at it, and brunch went downhill from there.

 

Seriously….this was the worst service I have experienced in the dining room aboard a Carnival ship, and I am so sad! The ladies informed us that they had been waiting for drinks for a while, but after we were seated the food orders were all taken quickly so I figured they were just old and grumpy. Buttttttttttt…..we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Dang, did they have to go fetch the chicken, wait for it to lay the eggs for my eggs benedict, then kill it, pluck it, and cook it for Chris’s salad? When the food arrived we all dug in….and more disappointment. Chris’s chicken on his salad was cooked on the outside but raw on the inside. My eggs Benedict were cold. The hashbrowns were soggy and cold. The only good thing, and it actually was pretty dang amazingingly yummy-licious, was my cheddar grits. We waited, and waited, and waited some more until a server came around so we could tell him the issues. He quickly brought me another plate of eggs benedict and new meat for Chris’s salad. The chicken was cooked, thank goodness, and the plate for my entrée was piping hot but they were barely warm. At this point I said forget it and just ate the lukewarm eggs benedict. We had been in the dining room over an hour and a half.

 

Go-go juice

 

my original eggs Benedict, covered in hot sauce.

cheddar grits, with my signature hot sauce 😂

 

let’s try this again...

Edited November 18, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

The Groove for St Jude was happening on Lido at 12:30, and we left the MDR at 12:15 to head up there. This was our first time participating, we each got a bear for our dogs back home. I still haven’t had the heart to give them the bears though, they are too cute! Haha. We headed up to the hot tubs on Serenity after that, but you could tell we were not in the Bahamas anymore…it was windy and chilly! We lasted maybe 30 minutes up there, and let me tell you…that wind was EXTRA chilly getting OUT of the hot tub! I headed back to the cabin and curled up in front of my lovely window with a blanket to read and warm up, and that is where I stayed until we decided it was time for lunch at 3:30. We decided to eat at this time since the Platinum & Diamond Reunion party was at 5:00, and we didn’t want to have empty tummies when we went there since we knew we would be drinking. Hahaha. I didn’t want anything heavy, so we decided to just order sandwiches from room service. I got the BLT, and it was so good. 

 

The P & D party was held in the comedy club (deck 5 aft), and when we walked in a bar waitress that Chris had befriended earlier in the cruise (I WISH I could remember her name! Why didn’t I write it down, danggit???!!!) told us to sit in her section. All I can say is….she is amazing, and she took care of us. We were double fisting the whole party, and we each had 2 drinks to go. I love White Russians, and she knew that the ones in the short glasses taste better than the ones in tall glasses so she made sure to bring me those.

 

Like my zoo?

 

 

 

our bears for Divya and Traveler

 

good White Russian!

Funship Special 

 

White Russians

Edited November 18, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

We were pretty tipsy when we left the party at 6:15, so we headed to dinner. I got my beloved caprese salad to start off with, which was awesome, and the cornmeal crusted chicken with a side of creamed spinach. It was all delicious! I love that meal. I got the cheese plate again for dessert (just wanted the chunk of blue cheese, don’t care about the rest), and Mere and his team did a great job taking care of us.

 

I decided to turn in early tonight since I knew tomorrow would be a super early day, and we had to pack, so at 8:30 I headed back to the cabin. Chris went to the piano bar and shut the place down (not really…he stumbled “home” about 12:30 or so) after I was long gone into Dreamland.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 18, 2019 by pirate4me2

[pirate4me2]

GOING HOME:

We had instructions to meet at 7:00 in the Golden MDR for priority debarkation, so we got up at 6:30and headed down there at 6:50. When we got to the atrium, disembarkation had already begun! We were able to slip into line, and we were thru Customs and in the Uber at 7:38. Our Uber back to the Wyndham from the port was $8.34.

 

The drive home was uneventful, and our pups were super glad to see us when we arrived home at 7:15. Until next time….happy cruising, and peace out!

[Joe817]

Excellent review pirate! Thank  you for taking us along and the fascinating pictures of going thru the Canal! Good job! 

[retiring soon]

Hi al!

 

pirate ~ great job on your review!👍 Sounds like you had a fun time. I felt the same about sea days but have also grown to like them. Ideally a cruise would have a port day followed by a sea day. I was just on a NCL cruise where the last day wasn't a sea day & that was crummy.

Your food pictures have me wishing my next Carnival cruise was sooner than Feb. 2021!!

When's your next cruise?

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

[pirate4me2]

36 minutes ago, retiring soon said:

Hi al!

 

pirate ~ great job on your review!👍 Sounds like you had a fun time. I felt the same about sea days but have also grown to like them. Ideally a cruise would have a port day followed by a sea day. I was just on a NCL cruise where the last day wasn't a sea day & that was crummy.

Your food pictures have me wishing my next Carnival cruise was sooner than Feb. 2021!!

When's your next cruise?

 

~ Jo ~ 😊

 

Hey Jo! I cruise again Jan 13, 2020 on the Carnival Paradise. Ive never been on any of the older, smaller CCL ships, so this will be interesting!

 

 

[BigEasyCC]

On 11/13/2019 at 4:13 PM, pirate4me2 said:

it was amazing! More coming tonight. 🙂

 

ohhhh a trolley ride! I need to add that to my list!

 

 

It's a Street Car. (Trolleys are in San Francisco.) Just thought you might like to use the correct local term. Either way, do it!

[BigEasyCC]

On 11/13/2019 at 11:21 PM, pirate4me2 said:

Great to have you along for the journey! I can’t believe with all the cruises you have done this will be your first from NOLA. There are lots of “husband day cares” around. 😜

 

 

I’m glad I’m not the only one who raves about Ruby Slipper! Oh my. I really want some Chicken St Charles right now!

Love Ruby Slipper too. I work down the street from the one on Magazine.

[pghsteelerfan]

I really enjoyed your review!  You had me cracking up up several times and I enjoyed the pics you posted.  It was also nice seeing an old friend, Glory.  I mentioned NOLA earlier and just love it there and yes and I have to thank my liver for putting up with all of the fun on that trip and the one to FL last month with the same group of friends.  Our next cruise isn't for 6 months and the one before that was in 2015, so I love being able to enjoy reviews to help pass the time and get ideas of places to see.  We have got to get to KW, I'd love it.  Hemingway House would definitely be on my list (love the cats, have 3 of our own) and definitely some of the bars.  We'd love to spend a week there.  Our next is on Magic to HMC, GT, Aruba and Curacao, and we've never been to Aruba or Curacao so really looking forward to it.  I also saw that they are starting to try some alternate itineraries out of San Juan starting in 2021, so I've got one that I'm now in the process of arm twisting my DH to do.  We've done the current itinerary out of San Juan on Valor and Liberty and so far it's my favorite.  Thanks for taking the time for a review, I really enjoyed it. 

 

[pirate4me2]

1 minute ago, pghsteelerfan said:

I really enjoyed your review!  You had me cracking up up several times and I enjoyed the pics you posted.  It was also nice seeing an old friend, Glory.  I mentioned NOLA earlier and just love it there and yes and I have to thank my liver for putting up with all of the fun on that trip and the one to FL last month with the same group of friends.  Our next cruise isn't for 6 months and the one before that was in 2015, so I love being able to enjoy reviews to help pass the time and get ideas of places to see.  We have got to get to KW, I'd love it.  Hemingway House would definitely be on my list (love the cats, have 3 of our own) and definitely some of the bars.  We'd love to spend a week there.  Our next is on Magic to HMC, GT, Aruba and Curacao, and we've never been to Aruba or Curacao so really looking forward to it.  I also saw that they are starting to try some alternate itineraries out of San Juan starting in 2021, so I've got one that I'm now in the process of arm twisting my DH to do.  We've done the current itinerary out of San Juan on Valor and Liberty and so far it's my favorite.  Thanks for taking the time for a review, I really enjoyed it. 

 

 

Thanks for reading! Glad I could help tide you over a little until your next adventure. :)

 

I think you'll really like Aruba and Curacao, after all the ports we have visited those 2 remain high on my list of favorites. I am itching to get back to them!

[NCTribeFan]

I ordered the caprese salad once and the tomatoes were like cardboard that was spray-painted pink (like so many seem to taste these days).  Inedible, which made me so sad because I love it!

 

Back in May when I was on MSC Armonia, I started taking photos of my favorite crew members that showed their name tags.  That way I can pull up the photo when I'm writing a review or responding to the post-cruise survey and want to acknowledge someone in particular.  I admit my memory isn't what it used to be! 😜

 

I'll be on Paradise for the first time in 3 weeks, but I've sailed the Fantasy-class ships many, many nights, so I expect it will be like returning home.  I actually love that class ship.  I don't need (nor want) a big tv by the pool.  Don't even need a steakhouse.  I've just always felt the food and service on smaller ships tends to be better.  Of course, there are plenty of people who don't want to sail on older, smaller ships, but I like them.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and pics with us!

[pirate4me2]

33 minutes ago, NCTribeFan said:

I ordered the caprese salad once and the tomatoes were like cardboard that was spray-painted pink (like so many seem to taste these days).  Inedible, which made me so sad because I love it!

 

Back in May when I was on MSC Armonia, I started taking photos of my favorite crew members that showed their name tags.  That way I can pull up the photo when I'm writing a review or responding to the post-cruise survey and want to acknowledge someone in particular.  I admit my memory isn't what it used to be! 😜

 

I'll be on Paradise for the first time in 3 weeks, but I've sailed the Fantasy-class ships many, many nights, so I expect it will be like returning home.  I actually love that class ship.  I don't need (nor want) a big tv by the pool.  Don't even need a steakhouse.  I've just always felt the food and service on smaller ships tends to be better.  Of course, there are plenty of people who don't want to sail on older, smaller ships, but I like them.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and pics with us!

 

Oh I would cry if my caprese was like that, I adore that dish!

 

That is a great idea about the crew! I try and make a note in my phone when we meet an outstanding crew member, but I failed a few times this go-round.

 

Let me know what you think of Paradise. I am really looking forward to sailing on her in January, but also a bit anxious since I have never been on such a small ship! I do not mind not having a steakhouse onboard as Mom and I never go (I mainly go for Chris, he adores it) and I really couldn't care less about the Dive In Movies...I just go occasionally if there isn't anything else I want to do and they have a decent one showing. I am really hoping I fall in love with the Fantasy-class as that will give me and Chris a whole bunch more "new" ships to sail!

[NCTribeFan]

I'm surprised you never sailed a Fantasy-class out of Charleston since you don't like to fly.  That's why I have so many nights on that class ship.  I've sailed 63 nights on Fantasy-class ships with 4 more coming up!  I'm practically Platinum on that class ship alone! 😄

 

I'll write a brief summary when I get back.  Probably no photos since I've gotten so lazy and there are so many out there on the World Wide Web already!

 

And I confess that I got the idea of taking a photo of the crew members when I saw someone doing it on Armonia and thought "oh, that's a good idea!!"