Glory Review 08/05 It was JUST Ok.

[beerman123]

Ok. So my wife and I had this cruise planned for months. We had both been on Carnival before but I had only been on one trip before so I thought I knew what to expect.....I was right in some aspects and wrong in others..........ok on to the review.

 

Embarkation- It was a LONG line. we left from port canaveral this time and it was a mess. First line took an hour and a half to get through. But I was okay with that because I figured hey were looking for bombs and stuff so the line made sense.

 

Food- It wasnt good at all. The breakfast made me sick every time i ate it. Omelets were really really greasy. sausage was swimming in some liquid. It was just bad to look at. Believe me I'm not one of those cruise snobs but McDonalds looked better. If I had breakfast I stuck to cereal. Dinner in the dining room was just ok. There was a few times when they served it to me and the people i was with and we just laughed becuse it just looked like vomit. But the steak was really good. After my first cruise I expected alot and maybe I went into this cruise a little jaded but all I can say is that I was looking foward to getting home and having a good meal. I'll get to the waiters later...They were good.

 

Excursions- Except for the Bahamas they were awesome. St. Thomas is absolutely beautiful and St. Marrten was too. If you go to St. Thomas do the St. John excursion to trunk bay. if there is any place on this earth that makes you thank God you're alive this is the place. warm clear water. Beautiful scenery. It's the total package. Bahamas was nasty. Drug dealers. smelled like a sewer. Could'nt get away from the people selling worthless crap. St. Marrten wa nice. people made you feel welcome. Two out of three aint bad.

 

Service- The wait staff was great.Catered to every need. made us laugh. The cruise director was a little cheesy. I think his name was Mark Price. I had three ocassions with him where I could talk to him personally and no matter what I said to him he said the same thig " Carnival is great. If theres something wrong Carnival Didn't do it " I know thats his job so that doesnt bother me but other than that every other service person acted like they worked at the days inn. Our room Steward wasn't anything to write home about. He did his job which is to make the bed. I didnt expect much else from him.

 

The Boat- First...the piano bar wasnt open the whole cruise. I asked a worker why and he said " The piano guy called out sick"...alrighty. the karioki was ok But not like on the Valor. Most of the time was taken for people who wanted to try out for some " american idol" show and the rest was taken for the : regulars " which is noones fauly but mine. other than those complaints it was the same as the Valor.

 

The Kids- MY GOD...I completely understand that this is when kids are on cruise ships and I figured that there would be many many kids but these kids were nuts. If your 12 year old is making out with some other 12 year old in the " regular " world, would you like it? Than why tolerate it on a cruise ship? these kids were bad in the sense that they were try to be naked at every possible moment. This cruise made me realize that if I have a daughter a cruise is not for me because she would end up topless in fromnt of boys on the upper decks sooner or latrer. Seriously, how can parents not be watchiching their kids. I had a kid on board.......If he was on board as a teenager he wouldn't hve left my side.....Learn to be a parent cause clearly there are some people with serious parenting issues. I woulda been beating some a$$ if they were mine.

 

Debarkation- We were on the boat in the middle of the whole " Liquid bombs " thing that apparently became a danger ( like liquid bombs were'nt invented until a certain president needed approval ratings ) Getting off of the boat was really fast considering. from the time they called our deck until the time we were on a bus was maybe 20 min. nothing to complain about there.

 

In conclusion- Maybe cruise ships just aren't for me, Before the cruise I read this board and was feeling so excited about the time I would have. Also, from my memories of the last cruies I expected such great things from breakfast time to bed time. Maybe I let the half naked 12 year olds that were making out or the greasy omeletes ruin my time. But I just got back yesterday and I feel like I need a vacation again. I fully understand why people like cruises and the last cruise I had was absolutely great but cruising on the glory was work. Believe me....I don't ask for much. I am not one of those people who have a fit when my prime rib isn't cooked as I like or if the pool is full of kids but I got off the boat on saturday and I feel like I had to try to have a good time and thats not how vacation is supposed to be.

[EngIceDave]

No offense and this IS NOT directed to the OP, but when reading some reviews, comments and opinions, I always wonder what the age of that person is.

[STiVo]

I would have been upset about the piano player. But you brought something up unintentionally. What was this idol-style kareoke contest thing? It sounds kind of fun (for me anyway). Does anyone know something about this?

[suzy1212]

Sorry your trip was so disappointing!

[trvlcrzy]

Hi, Beerman123,

Sorry your cruise wasn't everything you expected. DH and I did Carnival Glory's Western itinerary in March '05. I wanted to reply to your review, because we were in St. Thomas and St. Maarten with you during your cruise. DH and I were sitting at breakfast on the Caribbean Princess and saw that funnel coming into view as the Glory approached. We were surprised to see our "old friend" come by. It was fun to count back from the bridge to find "our cabin."

 

Happy travels!

[beerman123]

Well, I'm 28 years old....dont know what that has to do with anything but thats what i am. The " american idol " style karioki was fun to watch the first night than the 2nd 3rd and 4th night when the same bad song wa sung by the same exact people as the 1st night it got kinda monotonous. They participated in a contest and if they won they sang in the amber palace. Butit was the same people every night so it wasnt a suprise who would win. But, for example, to win the contest people would have to sing songs from madonna in the movie evita....now does evita make good karioki? I dont want to say it was dissapointing cause it wasnt....it was just less than the last cruise. We saw the caribean pinces and the ship looked great in St. thomas we hope you enjoyed it cause we were wondering how that ship would be. The point I was hoping to make was that maybe I'm just not the right guy for cruises. Maybe our first cruise was some kind of fluke and was good to start to finish by accident. But i can see why other people would enjoy cruising so much and if I was in the advertising business I would come here because you cruisers do a hell of a job selling the fun thats to be had on a cruise. One more thing I can point out...the boat was REALLY rocky. I saw ALOT of sea sick people which isnt anyones fault. But the little tour boat in the nasty bahamas was less rocky.

[Zyzygy]

We were on the Glory the week before and enjoyed it. I do think every review is helpful, though, and appreciate the effort of submitting it.

 

I did see teens traveling in groups and a few girls sitting in boys' laps. I didn't, however, see them actually doing anything that I thought disturbing, even late at night.

 

I didn't go on the F-Deck, so I don't know about any topless 12-year-olds.

 

I've reached the age where everyone under 30 looks like a 12-year-old to me.

[Hollyspop]

If you found the breakfast so disgusting, why in the world didn't you go to the dining room for the remainder of the cruise. We always have breakfast in the dining room and have never been dissapointed. With so many dining choices on the Glory I find it hard to understand why anyone cannot find ONE that will please them.

 

Was it also necessary to take a shot at the President? What function did he serve on the cruise? Your all around anger came thru loud and clear !!

[osiebosie]

Hello Beerman,

 

We were on the cruise with you.

 

We really enjoyed our food. Except for one morning, we ate breakfast in the dining room. It was always good. So was our dinner. Everyone's different.

 

Yes, there were children, children, children everywhere! I think it was the last hurrah before school starts. If you were to cruise in two more weeks, you'd be amazed at the lack of children on the ship. It does make it nice for those of us whose kids are grown and so we are out of the kid loop.

 

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. Ours wasn't long enough. We were just getting into the relaxation mode when we had to pack and get off.

 

At least the weather was GREAT! We had the one rain storm, but that was after a sunny morning. Cannot complain!

 

Shay

[LHP]

I would not give up on cruising. You just need to go at a time when children are in school and sail on a more expensive cruise line. As you grow up, you will learn not to let petty things ruin an entire vacation, but until then...spend the extra money and don't sail on a mass market line.

[Ilovepj]

I am going on the Glory on Nov 25 th, and I do read the reviews, but I also know that not everyone enjoys the same things, First reason I picked Nov, is because I dont want to be with alot of kids, not that I dont like kids, I work as a nanny, and I am a grandma, but when I go on vacation, I want to be away from the kids. Second, this is my first carnival cruise, I went on RC, last May, and I enjoyed it, but also there were things, that I guess could be changed, but again I had a great time, I am picky I guess you would say about food, but I always found something on the menu that I enjoyed.

 

Well I am sorry the Glory was not for you, But I would rather be on the Glory, then at work changing diapers, lol.

[rhy]

I too was on this cruise, and loved it. I was very reluctant to take a cruise, but can say we had a great time. I also thought the buffet breakfast left something to be desired, but my 13 year old daughter loved it. I just used room service or the dining room for breakfast and had a good meal each time. I didn't mind the kids, but I do have 2 of my own. I knew were they were and we had set meeting times, but I did not require them to be with me all day (we both would have suffered).

 

I thought the dining room meals were pretty good, considering they had to serve 3000 people, and the meat was cooked to my request each time. We did eat in the Emerald room one night, and it was very good, but way too much food.

 

 

I also thought the boat rocked a bit much considering the sea state, but didn't think it was too bad, even during the thunder storm.

 

I guess everone has different views about things, but I thought it was a great week (except when I got the final bill)

[wolfie_47]

Actually I'm not to surprised at the OP's review, after 4 cruises on Carnival the Glory was by far the worst ship we have been on. Still beats being at work though... ;)

[Patinthehat]

For everyone here who just sailed the Glory... why is the talent show gone? My brother and I have been practising a song for months now, and have been getting really excited to perform in the Talent show which has been on all our cruises. To do this, we both have to bring our instruments, which are rather inconvenient (a guitar and some drums). Should we bother?

 

Does anyone here know for sure why it is gone, and if it will come back?

 

Thanks a bundle,

 

Pat

[osiebosie]

Pat,

 

Maybe you should start a thread on the talent show. I don't know if you will get proper answer here. We just noticed there was no talent show while we were waiting to disembark, and since we have no talent :o , we didn't really pay alot of attention to the tryouts or anything.

 

I always enjoyed the talent shows. Some were very cheesy, and some were very good. Obviously, you don't want to pack your instruments if you don't need them.

 

 

We didn't notice the boat rocking very much. We've both always enjoyed the motion of the ocean, so maybe what we thought was gentle rocking was really making someone else ill. As far as we were concerned, it could have rocked more.

 

Hey, does anyone know anything about the poor man and his family who had to get off after St. Thomas?

 

Shay

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for your review beerman!! We cruised Glory and loved it, maybe it has went down in the last few years.

[rhy]

I am not sure what happened to the person taken off in St Thomas. We had a cabin on the dock side and noticed 2 people walk off and one on a stretcher. There was an ambulance and a car for the 2 people walking. The sad thing was the ambulance did not use their sirens. We said a prayer for their safety and well being, and hoped everything turned out OK.

[wcrzx]

Beerman Sorry you cruise sucked but I have no desire to hear your political views! "Debarkation- We were on the boat in the middle of the whole " Liquid bombs " thing that apparently became a danger ( like liquid bombs were'nt invented until a certain president needed approval ratings ) "

 

Next time try to get your facts straight. It was the British not us

[RVman]

I too was there on the Glory last week (8-5) with a group of 20 of us. Our group ranged in age from 19 to 75 years of age. We had a wonderful time and we thought the food was really good.

 

Maybe your omelet was greasy because of your cook. I think I counted 5 different omelet stations. We found us a good little omelet cooker and his was not greasy at all. We had them every morning and by the end of the week he knew exactly the way we wanted it, even tho he probably made hundreds of them every morning.

 

The piano bar was closed, but I did see a lady playing a baby grand in the lobby located right outside the piano bar and casino on several different occasions.

 

I don’t know about the talent show but I do know that they had karaoke in the blue room bar and the winners of each night performed in the Amber palace the last night of the cruise with the band and the Glory dancers. The Amber palace was full.

The final winners were a Elvis, Madonna, Brittney Spears, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and a terrible Elton John. It was all fun tho.

 

Again we all thought the cruise was great and to have seas and weather like that in August was just a blessing. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

[enester]

" ( like liquid bombs were'nt invented until a certain president needed approval ratings )"

 

Yeah, we don't need to worry about carry on materials that can be used to make bombs.... they were invented a long time ago...... like box cutters.:rolleyes:

 

But what you say makes sense! - Making people wait longer in lines at airports is BOUND to make your approval ratings go up! :D

[RVman]

Hi, Beerman123,

Sorry your cruise wasn't everything you expected. DH and I did Carnival Glory's Western itinerary in March '05. I wanted to reply to your review, because we were in St. Thomas and St. Maarten with you during your cruise. DH and I were sitting at breakfast on the Caribbean Princess and saw that funnel coming into view as the Glory approached. We were surprised to see our "old friend" come by. It was fun to count back from the bridge to find "our cabin."

 

Happy travels!

 

Here you go! I took this a couple days ago. The Caribbean Princess looked great with all of those huge balconies.

[Wennfred]

Great review, Thanks, I also read some not so good Reviews out of the Glory, totally different atmosphere compared to the Valor. Nothing but great reviews from the Valor. I hope Carnival is reading this because a Change of Command is a must on Glory.

 

Fred

[STiVo]

 

God could use the Caribbean Princess as a giant shopping cart.

[elon mom]

We were also on the Glory last week and had a blast. The weather was near perfect and we met some wonderful people. The piano bar person broke their wrist the week before the trip making it impossible to play- that was announced one night by Mark Price at the show.

 

The man that was taken off the ship we heard had suffered a slight heart attack. We also watched the ambulance leaving and since their were no sirens- we hoped for the best....

 

I will try to do a review later. There were a couple of not so great things but all in all the trip was a wonderful way to celebrate our son's college graduation. Like I said we met some wonderful folks and enjoyed talking and running into people "we knew" on board.

 

Hated to go back to work today!!!! Where is Ida!?!?

[sharonella]

Maybe they did the karaoke contest different on the Glory than they just did on the Legend for us in March '06. At the very beginning of each karaoke session, they auditioned for 2-3 specific "sing-alikes" - Madonna & Britney one night, Garth & Elvis another & so on. Then the people at karaoke voted right away after each little group tried out - really didn't take more than 20-30 min each night (there were never more than 4 people who tried for each & usually only 2-3). We didn't have Madonnas every night, & Britneys every night & so on. If your karaoke host/hostess allowed people to audition more thn 1 night, or all thru the night, they didn't plan well. What might have been happening was that people who were going to try for, say, Elvis later in the week, they were probably practicing the Elvis songs earlier in the week...., but again the host could have limited that sort of thing...

 

Also - you talk about karaoke being taken over by "regulars" - you make it sound like when you go to the local karaoke bar for the first time - the 'regulars' who go there every week seem to get preferred treatment. :p On a ship, these people came on the same day you did - how could they be "regulars" in that sense? Of course there are some karaoke people (like my sister) who go to every karaoke session, for every minute, afternoon & evening, so by the end of the week, she IS a "regular". :rolleyes: It's the people like her who get there right at the beginning & put 2-3 songs in right away. But a good karaoke host/hostess will keep track of who has already sung that night, & if a "new" person comes in later in the eve, a person who has already sung will get bumped for the new person.

 

I can't answer directly the person who asked about the talent show (don't know what they're doing on your ship, specifically), but on the Legend in March they had both a talent show (which I sang at) AND a Legends show (which my sister sang Aretha at).

 

Oh yes - We did the Glory March '05 & had a stupendous time. I'm very sorry you didn't have as good a time as you expected. We've been very lucky to have had a great time on every cruise so far!

 

Sha