Just back from the GLORY...Not much fun....

[spottythecat]

Hi, I hate to report my poor experience...however, I just wanted to share my pros and cons of the Glory.

 

We are a family of four...Me and my husband and 2 boys (5 & 7).

 

It was Spring Break, gosh, tons of college students drinking foolishly and swearing and smoking on the decks. I had to tell several groups to watch their language around the younger kids. The same with the smoking. Amazing to me was that alot of the smoking was done by elderly folks who enjoyed cooing at our boys while they blew smoke in their faces! UGH!

 

When we booked, though *****, we were told that our boys could be in the same age group for Camp Canival. Nope...they had to be split. How do I tell my 5 1/2 year old that he will watch Sesame Street with 2 year olds in diapers??? So, neither one went to the Camp the entire trip.

 

The food...I must say the PIZZA, GRILLE, AND BUFFETS were GREAT! The dining room was not very good. They don't know what cooking steak "medium" is...so, everything was welldone.

 

We weren't offered a children's menu or activity menu sheet until our final night. I mean, no one said the kids could order a burger, chicken etc...We dined the first 2 nights in the dining room, and didn't return until the final night when I finally asked for a children's menu. Even our server told us the entire time that she hated her job and couldn't wait to get off the ship in April!

 

Our inside cabin was snug, but clean. The cabin stewards did a great job. The shows were not very high quality. Simon Cowell from American Idol would have a field day critiqueing the few singers on board. I have never seen such heavy, chubby female dancers.

 

The scottish guy who did bingo and other games had too many remarks about gay people. How do I explain those remarks to 5 and 7 year olds? The cruise director did the same during one of the shows....just too many jokes about being "drunk," "hungover" etc...My husband and I are not big drinkers and I just didn't find this material suitable for children.

 

2 of the 3 air hockey tables were broken in the arcade. So were many of the games.

 

3 days at sea was just too much for our family. The basketball court was fun for the first 1/2 hour until the big guys came along and took over.

 

The staff just seems like they don't care. And, we were shocked that we were charged a set amount for gratuities...even though the dining staff deserved less.

 

The hair dryer in our room didn't work on high speed, only on "cool"...we reported it twice...still not fixed when we left....

 

The photography they provide with various backdrops was great! We captured a great family photo!

 

I must say, we definately prefer Royal Caribbean for a family cruise. The party atmosphere just wasn't our style. We really missed the rockwalls, bowling alley's, bungee jump etc...

 

Anyways....that was our experience...

[donnavb5]

I would NEVER cruise on spring break.

But sorry your experience was so bad.

[tracyg13]

I can sympathize with you on the Camp Carnival issue because the same thing happened to me. My son was going to be six in less than two weeks and he still wasn't allowed to move up a group. He also did not want to be with two year olds in diapers. I asked everyone I could and could not get them to change their minds. So, he didn't attend Camp Carnival either.

 

Spring break is a tough time to go. It's hard though, because really the entire month of March is spring break.

 

Sorry, your trip wasn't up to expectations, but thanks for sharing.

[Heirloom]

I'd be thoroughly disgusted myself if trapped on a cruise ship while college drunks disrupt family peace ! OMG, with young children, drunkedness and loud filthy language....that's a bummer.

 

A few critics on threads have suggested that college break immature drunks generally take the shorter cruises (like 3-4 days)....may we ask, how long was your Glory cruise?

 

Thanks....and we feel for you.

 

Heirloom

[spottythecat]

Our cruise was 7 nights....it sailed March 11 - 18th (today)

[kodiac]

I am sorry to hear that you had a bad cruise. No matter what cruise line, Spring break is not the time to have a family vacation. Most family cruises are in the summer. I perfer less children on our crusies so we cruise in October and April/May. I agree that the vulgar language should have been refrained around children. I love to tell adult jokes and have a good time; however, when children are around - I refrain from this type of activity. You would expect this conversation at the late night "R" rated comdey show or on the topless deck. Please do not let this one time ruin your perception of Carnival Cruise Lines.

[KruznKel]

Our cruise was 7 nights....it sailed March 11 - 18th (today)

 

Sorry you had such a bad experience..:( but March is typical for spring breakers.. We cruised 03/05 -03/12 and we did experience some partying from college students.. but nothing out of the ordinary.. Well behaved in my books..

 

Albeit I have no children.. I would not have them on deck on the smoking side of the ship.. if I did.. If you were on the non-smoking side of the ship then you should have reported it to security..

 

As for the dining room all you had to do was ask if your kids could have something different.. not wait until it was told you could..

 

Your server sucked.. too bad.. maybe her attitude contributed towards your bitterness..

 

Hope you enjoy RCI as much during spring break.. It is the same on all ships I am sure..;)

[da1425]

Thanks for posting your concerns in what I feel is a very fair manner. I'm glad to hear that somethings lived up to expectations! Too bad that the entire trip didn't...hopefully you have a great time on your next Royal Caribbean cruise! I've always wanted to go on one of their boats!

[BettyBurrito]

It's a bummer that your son couldn't be with his big brother :( . You guys were probably looking forward to some alone time.

 

However, I have long learned to stay away from any kind of vacation during spring break. The college kids are everywhere.

 

Last year my husband was on an airplane headed home from a business trip during spring break time. Since we live in Florida, there were plenty of college kids on the flight. There were two girls on the plane that were looking at x-rated magazines in plain view of other passengers :eek: .

 

Anyway, just take this one as a lesson and plan future vacations during other times.

 

Thanks for the review :D .

[jerseygirl3]

We were on the Liberty last month with my sister, BIL, and their twins. The twins were almost 3 months shy of turning 6, so my sister was reluctant to put them in the 2 year old group. The counselors said that was fine, they could move up no problem. They gave her the option of either trying out the younger group and if it wasn't for them, to move them up, or move them up from the getgo. She moved them to the 6-year-old group from the start. The kids did love the camp and the counselors were wonderful.

 

Sorry your cruise wasn't so great...ours wasn't so great on the Liberty either.

[BND]

I have no real problem with your post except for one statement "chubby heavy female dancers". What do you consider heavy and chubby? Were they any good? That's what you should have critiqued. Dancers generally are not stick thin.

 

We have friends who just got off Glory a few weeks ago and they had nothing but great things to say and they were traveling with adults and children in their group. And they intentionally avoided college spring break time which is pretty much the whole month of March. We're going in Nov and I expect to have a great time.

[deborahjo]

I have heard they were thinking about putting bowling alleys on ships but I did not think one was out yet..

[megansdad1]

I have heard they were thinking about putting bowling alleys on ships but I did not think one was out yet..

 

i haven't heard that either, I would have to avoid a ship that has one. I may never see the light of day.

[BND]

I don't see how you could ever bowl on a ship. Even in calm seas, there is enough motion to keep the ball from rolling straight and the pins would fall over. Can't imagine how they do it.

[Knights on the Beach]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I can't imagine coming back from a cruise and describing it as "not much fun", so I am sure you are disappointed. The Glory is my favorite ship so far, and we've been on both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. We've never cruised during spring break, nor do I think we'd ever be likely to do so. To date, we've avoided the ships with the rock climbing walls because that's just not what we look for in a cruise. I'd be interested to know which ship you were on that had a bowling alley and bungee jumping, as I'd like to avoid that one as well. I know the Enchantment now has the bungee trampoline, which was just added last year.

[micnmag]

Spottycat, I was on the Enchantment of the Seas a few years ago on Spring Break and I would have to say it was worse then what you were saying. We had 4 girls in the cabin next to us that slept all day and then partied all night I (in their cabin). My dh said they were nocturnal. The noise was unreal. They always left their door open and what a mess that was. We never figured out with their age's how they did not have adults with them. We knew they were young because several were celebrating their 18th birthday. It took 4 yrs before we would do RCCL again. Security did nothing.

 

NO MORE SPRINGBREAK FOR US!!!

 

micnmag

[auburn77]

I also had a lousy time on one of our Carnival cruises. In fact,it was on our last one. But we have been on four other fantastic Carnival cruises and have booked the upcoming Liberty cruise. Don't let one bad experience turn you against them.

[JSCruiser]

Sorry to hear you had such bad experiences on your cruise. I'm surprised Camp Carnival wouldn't allow the 5 y.o. to move up a level to be with a sibling. How disappointing that must have been.

 

We have cruised twice before during college Spring break time and never had any problems with rowdy partiers. I think worst behaved fellow passengers were on our President's week cruise last your. While they weren't a rowdy/drunk group, they were an extremely rude crowd. I am talking the parents here, not the kids or younger adults.

 

How about the ports you visited? Did you enjoy them?

 

I guess the best way to get over a bad cruise experience is to start planning the next cruise.

[auburn77]

I also noticed that you sailed on the Emerald Seas. We went on it for our honeymoon. Do you know what became of it?

[Daliaha]

I was on the emerald Seas back when I was 6 years old.. It was huge to me.. I remember the pictures of us on the deck, for our Easter Cruise.. And hearing the stories of how we fell asleep during the formal Dinner..

 

Looking at this site below.. It really wasn't as big as I thought..

 

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/ChandrisAtlantis.html

 

-Dolly

[Knights on the Beach]

I also noticed that you sailed on the Emerald Seas. We went on it for our honeymoon. Do you know what became of it?

 

Here'e the complete history of Emerald Seas:

 

http://www.maritimematters.com/ocean-explorer.html

 

Our first and second cruises were on that ship, and I have to say it definitely wasn't what we expected. After watching the Love Boat on TV all the time, we thought (hoped) that's what the Emerald Seas would look like! ;) Oh well, we had a great time anyway and it had us hooked on cruising for life.

[VentureMan_2000]

I'd be thoroughly disgusted myself if trapped on a cruise ship while college drunks disrupt family peace ! OMG, with young children, drunkedness and loud filthy language....that's a bummer.

 

I have to smile... many people feel the same about children on board...

 

Maybe these young adults were complaining about all the families on board with children...

 

Just maybe...

 

Interesting how there are two sides to a coin...

 

Sounds like spring break is for the college students... and summer and winter breaks are for families with children, and October, April, and May are for those who prefer to cruise without either...

[momofzeke]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Too bad you didn't spend a little more time on research, though, it may have made for a more pleasant cruising experience for you. For example:

 

1. Spring Break = lots of kids, including college kids.

 

2. One side of the ship is smoking, the other side non-smoking.

 

3. You can ask for children's menu in the dining room, and if you don't find anything on the menu you like, you can always order steak or grilled chicken.

 

4. Automatic gratuities will be charged to your S&S account on the first day. You have the option of having them removed or reduced if you wish. (This is explained in the "Welcome Aboard" brocure you received with your documents.)

 

Good luck on your next vacation, whatever it may be. :)

[gregory5]

I am glad a few things went well for you. Next time take your kids on a Disney cruise. Not man:cool: y College kids and this is a ship for kids and families. We went as a family at Christmas time and loved it. I will be on the Glory on 3-25 and look forward to meeting all kinds of people. yes I know there will be college and H.S. kids. It is also our Spring break we are all teachers. We will have a Great time. Can't wait.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I don't see how you could ever bowl on a ship. Even in calm seas, there is enough motion to keep the ball from rolling straight and the pins would fall over. Can't imagine how they do it.

 

They are going to have 4 lanes on the new NCL Pearl. That is to be a first as far as I know.

They even have self leveling pool tables on some RCI ships.

 

Bill