Glory 5/20 - 5/27 mini review

[cruzincurt]

Just back from the Glory. Our background: Early 50's, 5th Carnival, 18th cruise overall. We did no excursions since been there, done that, and not interested in shows. My comments are brief bullets highlighting our impressions. We have never had a bad cruise so my negatives are those items that stand out. We did not go looking to find faults, just compared things to past experiences.

 

Positives:

 

Very few PA announcements - good, we have a watch and can read.

Price of booze on board same or cheaper than in port.

Cheap $3.50 version of daily drink special available.

Nice, soft pillows.

Coffee was OK, ice tea and juices fine.

Great ice cream and yogurt machines.

Fast, efficient tendering at Belize.

Every crew member said hello as they passed, except for one time we passed the grumpy captain in the stairwell.

No annoying pushing of drinks everywhere.

Nice tear off daily schedule.

Nice, clean ship, smooth sailing, somewhat poor layout.

I think they used up every color in the Crayola 64 box naming all the bars.

No extra charge for capaccino in the dining room.

No annoying pushing of the art auction and bingo.

Quick and easy embarkation.

Met some really nice people, especially at our dinner table.

Great Deli.

On the TV dinner menu and folio account status.

 

Negatives:

 

If you book a balcony on Verandah Deck 8, check the Lido floor plan above. The Lido deck overhangs the balconies. Constant annoying shuffling and noise of people moving the chairs around above.

 

Dirty, greasy cord type pulls on the cabinets and drawers. Who the heck picked those? Eck...Unsanitary.

 

The clothes cabinets are not tall enough to hang a long dress in.

 

After the same cloth is used to wipe the shower, toilet and counter top, they set the glasses rim down on the counter. How about a paper doily under the glasses? Same for the glasses on the room counter.

 

One glass, one soap in the bathroom. Had to ask for two glasses, two soaps; one for the sink, one for the shower.

 

Award winning French chefs do not make it for a cruise serving mainly Americans. Everything is either a mousse or souffle.

 

Poor lunch selections. Is that meat sauce really supposed to be green? Little consideration to those who stay on the ship on port days. The Deli was the only decent lunch choice, and the Deli was great.

 

No cranberry juice.

 

The slots were so tight, they squeaked when the ship moved. 40 pulls without even a cherry? 6/5 video poker, might as well throw the money overboard.

 

Some of the casino staff didn't know the games they were dealing very well, or the payouts, ie., craps.

 

Drunken 20-30 somethings, beer in one hand, bucket of beers in the other, always.

 

7-eleven says, no shirt, no service. That concept lost on the 20-30 somethings who frequented the interior Lido restrauant. Nothing like a bare chest or back in line with you.

 

Couldn't believe how many times they had to announce..."Please, no shorts or ball caps at dinner." Does that include swamp hats?

 

They kept promising the dinners would get better as the week went on, they didn't. Most entrees were dry, don't the French do sauces?

 

After $$$ for the cruise, I'm not going to pay a $1.00 for a cookie.

 

Nice, but heavy comforter. This is the Caribbean, not Alaska. Pulled it off the bed every night.

 

Summary: Nice overall cruise, won in the casino, gained a few pounds, a tan, and enjoyed our vacation. Hello RCCL, we'll be back.

[wardmav1]

Did you dock in cozumel? What nights were formal?

[baybreezin78]

We cruised the Glory the week before you and it's so funny that you mentioned the pull handles on the drawers b/c I commented to DH how nasty they were! We also had a balcony room on Verandah deck 8 and had no noise at all, so I guess it depends on what section your room is under. We thought the food in the dining room was good...but that's us. Glad you had a good time overall.

[cruzincurt]

We did dock at the International Pier in Cozumel. The other pier is gone. Parts of this pier were still damaged and some hasty repairs are obvious to at least allow one ship to dock. Two other ships tendered.

 

Our Verandah deck balcony room was directly under the seating area around the center pool. Lot's of noise from chairs being moved around above, heavy people walking, and kids running.

 

Formal nights on this new itinery were Sunday, day at sea, and I think Wednesday, Costa Maya.

 

As to the dining room food, it was fine. The best meal I had was when I ordered a steak, turned out to be a filet mignon, when I didn't like the menu choices. I always also order a baked potato regardless.

 

We hadn't been on Carnival for 4 years, so we gave them another try.

[margauxNH]

One glass, one soap in the bathroom. Had to ask for two glasses, two soaps; one for the sink, one for the shower.

 

I remember that on the Liberty. We "borrowed" a few glasses from the Lido. And hid them before our room got cleaned, as they seemed to disappear.

[cruzincurt]

Baybreezin78,

 

We did the Jubilee probably back in '98. Nice to change brands to get a comparison. One of our table mates was a nurse and hated those "cord pulls" as well. I can't think of how any interior designer would think those "cord pulls" were a good idea. In fact, they don't even come close to meeting US ADA requirements (although ADA really doesn't apply to a foreign flagged vessel, you would think they would consider the practical implications). Maybe they thought we all have hooks on our hands? Sure, they don't catch on your clothing but they could have been recessed type pulls. The RCCL Mariner of the Seas didn't even have hardware, just recesses routed into the edges.

 

I guess, in this age of virus spreading, the things about the Glory that stand out are the cord pulls, glasses upside down on the counters, no hand sanitizers (yeah I know they don't kill the NV, anything is worth a try), and the plastic cups in the Lido.

[CBCit]

I am thinking about a Wesyern Caribbean cruise next year this time, how was the weather?

[cruzincurt]

Mid 80's, partially cloudy, smooth seas all week.

[TrustNoOneKMC]

Also on the Glory May 20-27th. Here are my thoughts:

 

The good:

Wonderful main dining staff (Andrea and Surgio - yeah!)

Docked in Cozumel - didn't have to tender

As posted earlier, not too many anouncements

I thought the beds/blankets were fine - not too warm. Pillows good

Shows were ok/good - worth seeing anyway

Captain was able to sail around bad waters

MARK PRICE - CRUISE DIRECTOR! :D What else can I say! HI MARK!!!! get well soon, and enjoy your vacation!

Harriet and Mr. Friendly (passengers from the welcome aboard show):D. Harriet was hillarious

 

The bad:

Stuck with late dinner seating. Missed alot of activities scheduled between 8 and 10. Hardly any activities between 5 and 8

Karaoke - started at 9 or 9:30 every night. Couldnt get in at all. Too crowded, room not large enough to support interested singers

Not nearly enough activities during sea days.

Formal night on a port day - huh?:confused:

Layout somewhat confusing at times. Had to go up and over, then back down to get to dining rooms and certain areas

Food - was only OK - not as good as I remember from my last Carnival cruise

 

The Ugly:

Don't forget the SUNSCREEN! :mad: We brought the sunscreen, but didn't wear it in cozumel to due highly overcast skies. Still paying the price for that mistake -ouch!

Walls way too thin! We got stuck in the crossfire of a 3 bedroom orgy fest. Specifically room 7305 (you know who you are!) Hello, who the heck can go for 4 hours straight every night?!? Can we say, *****!

Getting off at Nassau. Due to the short length of time in port (6 hours total) everyone was trying to get off at 10:00am. The line didn't even start moving until 10:30. It was a mess.

[cruzincurt]

Hi TrustnooneKMC,

 

By the time I figured out where the blue bar was, I missed the group. Heard from a tablemate who had a suite, some kiddos bought the suite next door and had a continuous party including outdoor grunting activities. No doubt there were some large sail'n sign bills today.

 

Our dining servers were OK but didn't seem to have a spark, maybe because of the auto-tipping? The first night our dining starters didn't get to the table until 9:15 from an 8:30 start, never any wine glasses. Seems Carnival is geared to the "booze-cruise" concept with the bars then the excursions (and their handling charges). Not much concern for us "old folks".

[TrustNoOneKMC]

I have to say our wait staff was totally awesome. We left an additional tip on top of the sail and sign auto gratuity. The bar maids probably make out a great deal with the 15% auto gratuity on all drinks, including pop.

One more minor complaint, room service took almost an hour any time we tried to order. By the way, the $1 cookies at Creams were awesome! Was walkin' by one day, and they looked scrumptious. Room service also had totally awesome brownies.

 

I heard one of the staff members say that another staff member got lost for over an hour (or so he claimed) trying to find one of the bars for a game.

 

The carnival legends show was also fantastic.

[wrp96]

Walls way too thin! We got stuck in the crossfire of a 3 bedroom orgy fest. Specifically room 7305 (you know who you are!) Hello, who the heck can go for 4 hours straight every night?!? Can we say, *****!

 

Just the thought of this makes me go, eew!:eek:

[hill6]

I've never had problems getting cranberry juice. It is at the bars. When we ate in the dining room for breakfast I always asked for it and got it.

[dbcruzin]

Hi TrustnooneKMC,

 

Not much concern for us "old folks".

 

Speak for yourself, not all of us in our 50's consider ourelves in the "old folks" category!:D

[baybreezin78]

TrustNoOne--

 

We had Andrea and Sergio too on our May 13th trip..they are awesome! We also left an additional tip. We had Jaco as our bar waiter in the dining room...he was hilarious too....I think we had the best staff!:D

[gamecockvic]

The good:

1. Fish and Chips was excellent, ate lunch there every day.

2. Dinner was good every night, Jude and Sukanya were excellent servers! We enjoyed getting to know them.

3. The Red Sail breakfast was excellent with no wait, good food and many choices.

4. Deli in Red Sail!

5. Embarkation was very quick and easy.

6. Met many nice people at the meet and greet and on the ship!

7. Basket of goodies in the bathroom!

8. "American" flavor food and other foods. Kids enjoyed the hamburgers, pizza and ice cream! Steaks at dinner were excellent!

9. Cabin steward and cabin were excellent!

10. Great shots by photo staff!

11. Changes to itinerary were good. Enjoyed Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Nassau! Belize is very poor.

 

The less good (is anything on a cruise really bad compared to real life?)

 

1. Debarkation was disorganized (isn't "self assist" supposed to be "walk off the ship now"?).

2. 20-30 somethings with alcohol! How did some of you make it to the lifeboat drill? Oh, you didn't. So that's why the rest of us waited 30 minutes on deck with our life jackets on!

3. The loud music from the Ebony Cabaret, as heard in cabins 6444 and 6400 each night (our cabins). Can anyone at Carnival say "soundproofing" or "planning"? See above note in parentheses!

4. only two decks go all the way through the ship (only one inside).

 

I really can't think of anything else right now. It was a blast!

[TrustNoOneKMC]

By the way, is it normal to have formal nights on port days? I was surprised it wasn't on our second day at sea. And my list of "bads", as someone said earlier, weren't exactly bad. Just somewhat disappointing. (Of course, things never go perfectly.) Still a totally awesome cruise overall.

 

It was funny one day, we were in the lido for breakfast, I believe it was on the Costa Maya port day. The line inside the red sail was moving somewhat slow, and the person behind us was throwing a complete fit about how "disorganized" and time consuming the whole situation was. My dad found this funny, that someone was on vacation and complaining about having to wait a whole 5 minutes for food. Sheesh, they are trying to feed 3000 people after all!

 

My tablemates also commented about a rude person they ran into. Apparently, the chocolate gala was held while we were in Nassau. A woman behind my tablemates was screaming at the deli workers :confused: because she missed the chocolate! While I agree that the timing did suck (I didn't even realize there was a chocolate gala - lol) I can't believe someone would go balistic over this. Hello, ever heard of a Hershey Bar?

[cruzincurt]

The chocolate buffet was a nice, quiet treat for those who stayed on the ship in Nassau. We did get there just when it opened and missed the chocolate fountain. Pays to read the Capers.

 

One guy in line ahead of me at the Deli complained how long it was taking and was thinking of ordering room service instead. What's the hurry? Each sandwich was hand sliced and prepared. That's a treat.

 

Loved that craps table...$$$$$

[cbk2706]

We also were on the 5/20 Glory and had a great time. Our room steward was very attentive. We ate at 8:30 in Golden restaurant and the wait staff was great. I was worried about crowds but the only time it did seem crowded was looking for photos. Shows were good. Food was good. Red Sail was ok. I preferred the dining room. Yogurt was awesome. Getting off the ship was the only problem we ran into. We were scheduled for early debarkation because of early flight. We got black tags for our luggage but apparently they were ignored because our bags were not with the other black tagged luggage. Some of the employees in the terminal started looking for our luggage and found it still in the crates. It took about an hour and half to get out of the terminal but we still made it to the airport with time to spare. Just a little upsetting to wonder where your luggage could be. Some of the tags had also been ripped off. The staff was always pleasant to us and we met many very nice fellow passengers. I do think that passengers should consider other fellow passengers when having parties in their room as late as 1:30 in the morning. They could always go to lido deck with their parties instead of disturbing others. Just a thought.

[mnsawyer]

Wasn't this the cruise that started having Nassau as a stop instead of Key West? Any comments on the stop to Nassau especially since it's the last day of the cruise?

[richandsue]

I've heard they have a new Piano Man - did anyone go to the Piano Bar?

[TrustNoOneKMC]

I've heard they have a new Piano Man - did anyone go to the Piano Bar?

 

Actually, it's a new piano WOMAN! lol. Larraine was in the piano bar every night!

[books4sail]

Wasn't this the cruise that started having Nassau as a stop instead of Key West? Any comments on the stop to Nassau especially since it's the last day of the cruise?

 

We were the first to have the stop in Nassau. Unfortunately, if you don't get off the ship as soon as it arrives, there really isn't much time to do things in Nassau. We only spent about 2.5 hours there before we headed back to the ship. I personally could have done without this port, but I know that many loved it.

[campdaan]

 

The clothes cabinets are not tall enough to hang a long dress in.

 

 

 

We discovered that the shelves on one of the closets fold up to make a very long closet. Should be on the "Carnival Secrets" thread.

[cruzincurt]

I tried removing the bottom shelf, guess I didn't think of trying if they were hinged. Still, greasy, dirty cord pulls.....yuk.