Glory 7/1

[lxh11]

This was our 4th Carnival cruise. Due to the proposed shuttle launch we arrived at Port Canaveral by 9:30am to beat the traffic (we live in Orlando). Checked in by 10:30am and waited in line until they started boarding at 11:30am.

 

Went straight to the Red Sail restaurant and the first thing I noticed was a bad smell. The kind of smell when dirty cloths are being used. The staff were using water & clothes to wipe down trays and the water had probably gotten grubby and not refreshed.

 

The buffet was the usual fare, tasty. Fish & chips were fabulous, cripsy and the fish had great flavor. The bouilabaise was also good. But the fish & chips on Thursday were doughy and undercooked.

 

Sailed about 6pm as we waited for passengers held up in traffic. Platinimum dining upper level - we had a lovely view of the ocean and our dining staff were super corteous and pleasant. The South African maitre'd Robert made a small speech, but other than that he never came to our table. I did chat to the assistant maitre'd one evening as I left the dining room.

 

This was the week of July 4th, so there was a lot of children on board, but more noticeable were the amount of young adults all over the place. There were many many people from north & south Carolina seeming to be travelling in packs - they were loud, obnoxious and rude.

 

Our room was on the Upper deck forward and our steward unlocked our balcony partition so that we had a bigger balcony (my inlaws were next door).

 

The carpet of our stateroom had not been vacuumed when we embarked and it never got vacuumed the whole week. Also our room steward did not dust before we arrived or at any time during the week. The bathroom was always spotless. I adjusted my gratuity for him at the pursers desk.

 

I overheard my neighbor telling her husband that she was not going to pay the gratuity for the dining staff as she only planned to eat in the Red Sail!!!!

 

The food this cruise in the Platinum was hit and miss (in my opinion). I am a reasonably good cook and enjoy well flavored food. The strip steak, sirloin and chateabriand were all bland and the strip steak very tough. The appetizers were always good and the chilled soups were terrific. The roasted pumpkin soup that is usually always a stand out was just o.k.

 

The deserts in the dining room this cruise were just o.k. Lots of interesting combinations of things, but nothing really worked for me. The tiramisu one evening was served in a shallow dish and had not been chilled properly it was sloppy. The creme brulee had a raspberry twist and it had the consistency of custard. The dark & blanc chocolate pudding, had no chocolate in the bottom of my bowl and was actually more like a bread and butter pudding. It was after this desert that I chatted to the assistant maitre'd about the deserts and he knew before the words were out of my mouth that the dark & blanc desert was "off".

 

The deserts in the Red Sail had way more flavor for the most part.

 

The veal, the seafood selections and pasta were all very good.

 

The ports of call Belize, Costa Maya & Cozumel were all great, Nassau was just the same as always.

 

We tendered in Belize and took the Bacab Park tour, the tour guides spiel on the bus was really interesting.

 

We took a taxi into Mahahual in Costa Maya, found a nice spot on the beach and just relaxed all day and swam. This little village did not exist 2 years ago, most people have just moved from other places in Mexico to cash in on the cruise passenger boom that is just starting.

 

The hurricane damage in Cozumel is very apparant, but reconstruction is ongoing. Everyone was very friendly and we spent a great day shopping and had lunch at an outdoor restaurant on the main street.

 

Nassau - we paid $4 each for a taxi ride to cabbage beach and spent a couple of hours relaxing. The sea was fabulous. We left when a large group of 20+ people arrived from the Glory and proceeded to take over climbing on each others shoulders and having the time of their lives, while having no consideration for their fellow men, who were enjoying the peace and tranquility.

 

The 2 shows Rock down Broadway and the Vegas show were the same shows we saw 2 years ago on the Glory. The comedian Jim Brick was fabulous, his commentary on life in general was hysterical.

 

Past Guest Party - an individual invitation was sent to our cabin for each past passenger. It did not state "joe public plus gust", just your name and the request that you bring it with you. The 2 drinks I had must have been wiped with a dirty cloth as they smelt really bad.

 

There was no 8:30pm show in the Amber Palace on Wednesday or Friday, with the result that the Illusion show at 10:30pm on Wednesday was jam packed with people sitting in the aisles.

 

In general the friendliness of the crew was lacking (with the exception of the dining staff). Wesels the South African shore excursion guy was very curt and unfriendly unless you were purchasing one of his overpriced tours!!

 

Debarkation is odd, self assist passengers go first (those that carry ALL their own lugage). However, most people have now opted for this option, so if you put your luggage out the night before you are now the last to debark. We did not get off until 9:40am and customs and immigration takes forever.

 

Happy to answer any questions.

[cruiser4life79]

not to be rude but it seems like you should have taken more of an upscale cruise like Celeb, i mean all people arent going to sit and be bored, althought i agree show some respect but you know how younger people are,plus it was july 4th, what did you expect a completely quiet cruise, anyone could have told you it was going to be loud and alot of kids.

 

The people from nc and sc were probably loud that is how the southern people are, i assume ur not from the south, i have been on a number of cruises, different ships and nothing ever seems to be like you have described. so im confused. not to be crictical but i have never had a room that wasnt kept up.our rooms were always kept clean and tidy. hope you enjoy ur next cruise

[silentbob007]

OP ... that is standard for debarkation now. Self-assist first and the rest later. It really varies from ship to ship, cruise to cruise, IMO, how many people do self-assist.

[lmondrop]

I was on the same sailing and we had a wonderful time...sure there were a few things that did get to us like our very loud and obnoxious neighbors that were slamming doors all night and day and up at all hours of the night talking VERY loudly....but we just tried not to let it get to us.

 

Interesting - we never got our invites to the past guest party....I thought they didn't do it on this cruise???? Both of us have cruised on Carnival and we had the gold s&s card....I wonder what happened?

 

There were definately a lot of teenagers but they were off doing what teenagers usually do.

 

The food was great with the exception of the prime rib on Friday night....two other people at our table ordered it as well and none of us ate it....it looked a little odd....Other than that we had a fabulous time....I guess its all relative :)

[newcruiser915]

I was also on that cruise... I would agree that the food was definitely hit or miss, as was some of the service. Our first two nights, we were in the Platinum Lower. While our waitstaff was very nice, they were extremely slow... Normally, I don't mind a leasurely meal, but we had two little ones with us, so it made it more stressful. We switched our meal time and was moved to the Golden Restaurant and had the most outstanding waitstaff. We love you, A.J. and Cho!!! The food prep seemed at times spotty, and A.J. was good to point out the better entrees. The Red Sail was a total disappointment. We ate there one night and I could have kicked myself for not going up to the dining room. Lunch was so-so. However, I have to admit, I'm not a huge buffet fan, so I didn't expect a whole lot.

 

Our steward was very nice, and the kids loved his towel creations. He would always personalize it with something from the room.

 

Another thing... We were going budget on this trip, and went guarantee inner (first cruise). We were right under the Amber Palace. Not a good place to be, because they change the sets at night. Lots of banging... Thank God for earplugs!!! However, the beds were very comfy, and I got some of the best sleep!!!

 

As for the kids on the trip... You know, I expected the worst travelling at that time. I brought kids, and I expected A LOT of kids. Yes, they were there, but for as many of them as they were, I was amazed at their bahavior, the way their parents kept an eye on them on deck, and in general just politeness when you spoke with them. One exception is that parents should teach their kids to let people off the elevators before they get on... Little nit... As a whole, though, I found plenty of places to get away for some piece and quiet.

 

One last thing to note... Since we were travelling with little kids, we did use Camp Carnival. The counselors there were AWESOME!!! Our kids just loved going to camp. There were a few nights when our kids preferred dinner with camp rather than get dressed up and have to eat with us. It was a nice break for us... But, what was disappointing to us is that there weren't a lot of activities (we are not bingo players or gamblers) for parents who had a night out (at least until 10:00 p.m. when camp closed). We would wander the ship looking for something to do. I was dying to get a little romantic dancing in, or listen to some good live music. While I know there was a little music in the lobby bar, and a terrible band in the Ebony Cabaret, that was it... We would wander around until 9:30 where we could listen to Vince at the piano bar... We LOVE YOU Vince!!! Then, off we would go at 10 p.m. It would be awesome of Carnival would start those activities a little earlier, say 8:30, so that those with earlier dinners weren't wandering the ship looking for something to do!

 

All in all, I had a great time. Since this was my first experience, I have nothing to compare it to, but I think I would do it again.

[lxh11]

cruiser4life 79 - My post reflects my observations. Fortunately bad behavior by adults and or children did not affect my enjoyment. However, a review should imo cover things good and not so good.

 

Standards for individuals vary greatly, so what might not sit well with me, might be absolutely fine with someone else.

 

We too had the gold sail & sign, the past guest party was on Wednesday night in the Ivory. The invite was a long, thin white card with our name typed on it. I think in the past it was an embossed invite and was generic (not your actual name).

 

Most people it seemed did the self assist - even tho many were completely loaded down with luggage, which I thought odd at first, then came to realise it was the only way to get off before noon!

[GoinCruisin]

Eh, you lost me with the bash against NC/SC'ers...:rolleyes: But it's good to know they were wearing their NC/SC brands so you'd know exactly which states to blame :rolleyes:

[lxh11]

Be sarcastic if you want, why takes things so personally unless you were one of those people. I could give you a couple of examples of how I knew where they were from, but I don't care to brand all people from NC & SC with the same brush - just the ones I saw on the Glory. However, here is an example.

 

I pick up 2 plates from the deli and attempt to walk down the walk way. The line of people for the deli is on one side, another gentlemen is on the other side with his feet stuck out, blocking the way. I say excuse me, and automatically assume he will scoot back. He does not, so I stumble over his feet, I turn round expecting an apology and got this:

 

"come back lady and I'll do it again".

 

This man was with a large group of people that were from Charlestown and Greenville.

[finoky]

Eh, you lost me with the bash against NC/SC'ers...:rolleyes:

 

Same here:rolleyes:.

[lmondrop]

Be sarcastic if you want, why takes things so personally unless you were one of those people. I could give you a couple of examples of how I knew where they were from, but I don't care to brand all people from NC & SC with the same brush - just the ones I saw on the Glory. However, here is an example.

 

I pick up 2 plates from the deli and attempt to walk down the walk way. The line of people for the deli is on one side, another gentlemen is on the other side with his feet stuck out, blocking the way. I say excuse me, and automatically assume he will scoot back. He does not, so I stumble over his feet, I turn round expecting an apology and got this:

 

"come back lady and I'll do it again".

 

This man was with a large group of people that were from Charlestown and Greenville.

 

That is so RUDE!!!!! There were definately a lot of those on board.....SO and I were amazed at many people's manners.....Our cabin neighbors were the WORST!!! They were loud even at 2 am in the morning! We had trouble sleeping some times b/c of them.....Worse cabin neighbors we ever had. They were also in a HUGE group they were all from ATL....They had seprated the partition to create huge balconies so it was a lot of them together drinking and also participating in some illegal activities...which we could smell :rolleyes:

[GoinCruisin]

but I don't care to brand all people from NC & SC with the same brush -

 

Oh but you DID!! You could have just said there was a large bunch of rude people... newsflash, there are rude people in every state... even FLORIDA. But instead you made it sound as though people from NC & SC are rude and obnoxious. I don't bother to ask where the rude people are from, I know they are from all over. Yes, we have rude people here... and I can tell you with certainty that the same holds true for Orlando. You can make a general statement without offending a large number of people. I've spent alot of time in the 2 SC towns you named and can tell you it's not the norm. You just ran into a large group of rude people...

[lxh11]

If you feel I am branding the entire population of NC & SC with the same brush when I am referring to my experience on the 7/1 Glory voyage, then you are a little misguided & awfully defensive. But you are entitled to your opinion so let me go on record as saying.

 

I am sure the vast majority of NC & SC people are wonderfully hospitable, kind and courteous. However I am calling out the rude and obnoxious ones that were on the Glory last week.

 

Hope that helps to diffuse your ruffled feathers.

[salty dingo]

As someone from the Carolinas, I can tell you we have our share of rednecks here. But I have also lived in Georgia and Alabama, and they have rednecks there, too. In fact, I think you'll find them just about everywhere.

 

It is beyond me how someone can be on a cruise, with all the wonderful, relaxing experiences, and be in a foul mood! The world is a wonderful place at sea, but some people just can't let go of their sour attitude.

 

When I encounter someone like that, I just think "pity that poor, unhappy soul" and never give it another thought. To remember it would be to let that person affect my vacation!

[Gloryhound65]

"diffuse".... DEFUSE. Not that really applies to feathers unless they're explosive feathers!

 

Sorry, but I'm sort of a self-appointed guardian and protector of the sacred English Language and sometimes will point out grammatical flaws or the use of the wrong word. I can't help it.

 

I don't like making generalizations, but I'd have to agree that there did seem to be more noisy, rowdy people on the Glory on my cruise (June 3) with vaguely southern accents than there were WITHOUT such accents.

 

I'm from the south myself, as is my entire family. But we're not the rowdy ones. My mother would kill any of us that behaved in such a manner!

 

Chris

[mabgab]

We are booked on the Glory in October. Very sorry to hear you had so many issues.

This will be our thrid time on the Glory...we have never had the problems you had.

There will always be some people who do what they do...doesn't much matter where they are from.

As far as your room issues of not being clean I would not hesitate to speak to the steward if the room was not up to Carnival standards...

Same with the food...

[colette5479]

Eh, you lost me with the bash against NC/SC'ers...:rolleyes: But it's good to know they were wearing their NC/SC brands so you'd know exactly which states to blame :rolleyes:

 

I hope you NC/SC'ers wear tags stating where you are from so the rest of us can avoid you!:rolleyes: ;)

[GoinCruisin]

I hope you NC/SC'ers wear tags stating where you are from so the rest of us can avoid you!:rolleyes: ;)

 

Don't worry, they require us to have our forehead branded :p LOL Also, you can see it on those beer mug helmets we wear :p

[Catnip]

I hope you NC/SC'ers wear tags stating where you are from so the rest of us can avoid you!:rolleyes: ;)

 

 

LMAO!!!!!!!! :D :D TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Issued by the Southern Tourism Bureau to ALL visitors:

 

 

Don't order filet mignon or pasta primavera at Waffle House. It's just a diner. They serve breakfast 24 hours a day. Let them cook something they know.

 

Don't order a bottle of pop or a can of soda down here. Down here it's called Coke. Nobody gives a flying damn whether it's Pepsi, RC, Dr. Pepper, 7-Up or whatever-it's still a Coke. Accept it.

 

We know our heritage. Most of us are more literate than you (e.g., Welty, Williams, Faulkner). We are also better educated and generally a lot nicer.

 

Don't laugh at our Civil War monuments. If Lee had listened to Longstreet and flanked Meade at Gettysburg instead of sending Pickett up the middle, you'd be paying taxes to Richmond instead of Washington.

 

We are fully aware of how high the humidity is, so shut the hell up, spend your money, and get the hell out of here

 

Don't order wheat toast at Cracker Barrel. Everyone will instantly know that you're from Ohio. Eat your biscuits like God intended. And don't put sugar on your grits.

 

Don't fake a Southern accent.

 

Don't talk about how much better things are at home because we don't give a damn. Many of us have visited Northern hell holes like Detroit, Chicago, and DC, and we have the scars to prove it. If you don't like it here, Delta is ready when you are.

 

Yes, we know how to speak proper English. We talk this way because we don't want to sound like you. We don't care if you don't understand what we are saying. All other Southerners understand what we are saying, and that's all that matters. Now, go away.

 

Don't ridicule our Southern manners. We say "sir" and "ma'am," hold doors open for others, and offer our seats to old folks because such things are expected of civilized people.

[lmondrop]

YIKES!!! Please don't label ALL Georgians like that!!! I'm always a good neighbor!!

 

Thanks to all of you for sharing your cruise experience.

Note to self--since dining room food is spotty--if I don't like what I order I'll just order something else!!! I'm not a big eater so I know I won't go hungry.

 

Did anyone try the filet when you didn't like what was on the menu? That is what my dh has most nights.

 

Ha! Not at all....They just happen to be from Georgia...I checked thier luggage tags the last night.....We sat at breakfast with a family from Georgia and they were wonderful and delightful.....;)

[poptart]

That is so RUDE!!!!! There were definately a lot of those on board.....SO and I were amazed at many people's manners.....Our cabin neighbors were the WORST!!! They were loud even at 2 am in the morning! We had trouble sleeping some times b/c of them.....Worse cabin neighbors we ever had. They were also in a HUGE group they were all from ATL....They had seprated the partition to create huge balconies so it was a lot of them together drinking and also participating in some illegal activities...which we could smell :rolleyes:

 

YIKES!!! Please don't label ALL Georgians like that!!! Not that you did!! I'm always a good neighbor!!

 

Thanks to all of you for sharing your cruise experience.

Note to self--since dining room food is spotty--if I don't like what I order I'll just order something else!!! I'm not a big eater so I know I won't go hungry.

 

Did anyone try the filet when you didn't like what was on the menu? That is what my dh has most nights.

[cruiser4life79]

Well im not upset or anything im just tired of people stero-typing people from NC, I am a well educated person with a great southern heritage, and im proud of that. As someone else said no matter where u go there will be those wild and crazy rednecks. I just hope when were on our 2 next cruises, we don't have the problems u had, as for the problems u should have compained to somone. Book another cruise and you prob won't have the same problems.Happy sailing

 

 

senesation-5/06

miracle-9-3/06

glory- 11-11/06

spirit-6-20/07

[colette5479]

Don't worry, they require us to have our forehead branded :p LOL Also, you can see it on those beer mug helmets we wear :p

 

Thank God! As an upper-crust society girl from OK, I am only accustomed to traveling with those who appreciate the finer things in life....such as pork rinds, Boone's Farm Wine, Bolonga sandwiches, Slim Jims, generic beer, and putting penuts in their generic sodas.;) :p :D

[hstrybuf]

Overall, it sounds like a pretty good time. We've run into loud, rude and obnoxious people on land vacations as well as on cruises. On our last cruise, the most obnoxious people we met were all from one particular state. I asked while making polite conversation. I avoided them from there on, but was pretty sure that not everyone from that particular state could be so horrible.

 

Gloryhound, a lot of us cringe daily at the misuse of the English language. However, it's against the guidelines to point them out.

[frito58]

Don't order wheat toast at Cracker Barrel. Everyone will instantly know that you're from Ohio.

 

Okay, what did we do to deserve this! We love the south, just look at all the Ohio plates in South Carolina (i.e., Myrtle Beach). What's wrong with wheat toast...you forgot to mention we put ketchup on our eggs...and what are grits anyway?! Sorry, just had to get our 2cents worth in somewhere in this post of bitter Glory cruisers! We believe any vacation is what you make it, we just believe in making ours fun!

 

If there is another civil war, who gets Florida? We don't want them, they already left Ohio to migrate south!!!

[INCHARGE]

The carpet of our stateroom had not been vacuumed when we embarked and it never got vacuumed the whole week. Also our room steward did not dust before we arrived or at any time during the week.

I know the first day they are rushing to get all of the cabins done for the next group, but I would have asked him/her to please have the floor vacuumed by the time I returned that night. If nothing was taken care of, a call would have been made.This is awful that you had to deal with a dirty floor and dust all week.