Glory Western, 2/10/07 - The Good, the Bad and the HOLY CR@P!

[sharecruises]

Thanks Rodger....what a lovely valentine :)

I am afraid I would also not like the boat trip...my bf has a boat and goes out on the rivers and lakes in florida all the time, and we have been deep sea fishing...I have seen many gators,some manatees, plenty little ignuanas so it simply does NOT appeal to me

What I find really disturbing tho is the cruddy "resort" they took you to, seems to have been a waste of time

That is why RECENT reviews of cruises are soooo important, many people "loved" the river/altun ha tour from Carnival, but they never said about the resort stop off...this may be new, or maybe new operators...but it does not sound like fun

Thanks to this I finally got hold of trevor with Smugglers Run Plantation which gets raves for horseback riding, I am arranging a private tour to ruins with family style lunch at Smugglers Run and see the plantation, etc...it sounds really good and I am very excited

Belize has been my biggest "worry" of what to do since I don't like the idea of cave tubing, and my bf has a boat and an atv so we don't want that sort of deal, we live near beaches...I wanted something we do NOT have in Florida....ie, Mayan Ruins...I feel great about Trevor and Smugglers RUN

Bernie...I hear ya...that swamp tour would be fun...I also would encourage people to visit our everglades before or after a florida port cruise....Everglades are a unique eco environment...the airboats are fun *you wear ear muffs....you will see gators and all sorts of stuff...very different
and really worthwhile

I honestly think an airboat tour of everglades *or swamps, sounds a LOT more interesting than the boats tours in Belize

another interesting point...there is a state park near ocala , Silver River State park,where you can go out in your boat and see monkeys in trees....they are there from the time years ago when tarzan films were made there...some got loose and formed a little colony :) It is pretty cool

You can get trips to glades/airboat trips from any florida port, including Canaveral/ Orlando area...the everglades takes up the middle part of the state

[Saul_Goode]

[COLOR=blue]Bernie,[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]We live in Colorado Springs, and it's too damn cold![/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]The guy is sitting in the very back of the boat, port side, with his arm resting on the side of the boat. He is mostly bald, and a pretty big guy. His shirt is a T-shirt and has the Big Dog emblem on it.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Next to him, near the center of the seat, is a younger woman in a light blue tank top with her hair pulled up, no hat is visible. She is wearing very dark sunglasses. That is the person who I assumed was you. She looks like your picture on this board.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Anyway, I guess it's not really important. I was just curious. It interests me to think about how our names and faces travel around without us.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Roger[/COLOR]

[Saul_Goode]

[COLOR=blue]ShareCruises,[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]The little place where they took us to trade our bus for a boat, had some problems, but I didn't find it as offensive as Bernie did. Of the things she mentioned, which were all true, the smell was the worst. I spoke to the people running it and they had just had a backup in the grease trap and were hurrying to fix it. Honestly, it didn't smell as bad as being behind any fastfood restaurant in America. [/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]The pool should absolutely have been fixed, it's not that hard to do. [/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]But the food was very good! Our tour guide, Melanie, had told us on the bus that the secret to making good rice was to use coconut milk instead of the water. The restaurant had this dish (more than a little coincidence, I'm sure) and when it was brought to the table, I was surprised that there was some strange looking chicken with it on the plate. Since others were eating it and the vomitorium had been unoccupied the whole time, I decided to try it. It was very good! I liked it a lot. Of course it cost too much, everything does in a tourist oriented place like this.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]What shall we call this place? A port, bus stop, personal conveyance exchange? What ever it was called, it was obviously a previously established business struggling to catch up with the sudden influx of new customers. They were building new thatched roof buildings, running a restaurant and attempting to provide a place for local artists and business to display their wares. There was an artist that carved figures out of wood, which is what Belize is known for, and he was very, very good. The other business had the same overpriced touristy things that every port has, but nobody pushed us to buy anything or braid our hair, so I didn't mind it at all.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]You should see the pictures I got of the crocodiles. They are wonderul. They were exciting for us to see because we are not exactly overrun with wild crocodiles in Colorado, in the same manner that seeing a wild bear would excite someone from Belize. Come to think of it, I've only seen two wild bears and to say that I was excited is to undersell it. I was also feeling scared, protective of my kids and basically feeling my body misbehave in ways I'd never experienced before, if you know what I mean.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]And yes, Valentines Day was awesome! Best one yet! I'm not sure how many 'points' in the hole I was at the begining of the cruise, but my negative balance has improved quite a bit! And, all of her girlfrieds are jealous which is like getting intrest on my investment! :D [/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Where is Smugglers Run? In my extremely limited exposure to vacationing in general, and cruising in particular, I have not heard of Smugglers Run. Is it an excursion destination in Belize?[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Carnival has an airboat excursion available and I almost chose that one instead of the Altun Ha/River Wallace tour. Maybe we will do that one next time.[/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Roger[/COLOR]

[sharecruises]

Thanks Rodger

I hope YOU will post a Glory review too...us upcoming Glory folks are hungry for all details and viewpoints

I am glad you enjoyed the tour there....I do think that where we are from colors our perspective and also where we have traveled before

I plan to go to Alaska in the next year or two...and I am sure I will be easily amused there...it will all be very different for me

Since I am used to palm trees and boats and stuff I like other experiences on cruises...I really enjoyed the mountain views in St Thomas and also the mountain scenery and dunn river falls in Jamaica....all so different from flat south Florida....I also have enjoyed touring old forts, pirate stuff ...things I dont see here everyday

Smugglers run gets good reviews..it offers horseback riding and now some other tours....they get raves for family style dinners in an open palupa, very clean....family owned....they have citrus plantation and make their own lime pie

[url]http://www.smugglersrunbelize.com[/url]

[B] I am looking forward to your Glory reviews...thanks to all for their info :)[/B] Love it... I really think the best info is from recent cruisers like yourself
what happens on other ships/routes/other cruiselines or reviews of Glory from 2 years ago don't mean much...I love the "just returned" info :0

[B] Please keep reviews coming I am also sharing this thread with some of my fellow cruisers on our "active" roll call[/B]getting real excited now....it is getting closer and closer to May 5
Thanks again

[lsp]

Bernie:

I love the way you write. I am curious though, did you happen to sneak a picture of the "pillowcase cruisers"? I know it would have been hard for you to do considering your "VIP" status and all, having to lower your standards to take a picture of the common folk. Do you think the pillow cases were ripped off from a hotel?

Linda

[bcs819]

Roger -
Not us :( I think they were the other folks sitting next to us, as I definitely didn't have sunglasses. Once my hat blew away, I was cursing myself for not bringing them along. My screen name here is the same as my AOL account, so feel free to email pics you have and I will point us out if I find us. I was wearing a light blue v-neck t-shirt and he says he was wearing a peach/coral colored polo shirt that day. Shades for him, none for me.

The thing that bothered me about the rest stop more than the smell was that it wasn't mentioned anywhere in anything that I had read, so we were not expecting to spend almost an hour doing nothing. I don't do well with boredom and hadn't brought along a book or anything to entertain myself. We weren't hungry and there really wasn't anything to do there if you weren't eating. I am prone to odor-induced migraines so I may be a little more sensitive than others, but it was unappetizing and didn't smell like grease to me. My mother grew up on a 10 acre farm which my uncle and grandfather still run and the memory of a chicken coop came to mind. Since it wasn't mentioned, and we knew the tour was 5-6 hours, we had eaten up before we left. I did visit the vendors that were there and that only ate up 5-10 minutes. I have no problem "soaking up the local flavor" as long as it's my choice but we felt a little trapped. We did Randi's horses while in Mazatlan and we were told ahead of time that we would be spending an hour at a "local watering hole" so we knew what we were getting ourselves into.

Pics of the pillowcases, no. We actually only took about 10 pics the whole trip, and they were all at Altun Ha. (we've been to Cozume/Nassau/Costa Maya before and sailed out of Port Canaveral - we picked this cruise because of Belize). We've both become pretty lazy on vacation and neither of us wants to carry anything - including the camera. I understand luggage gets lost, etc, but why would they BOTH have had pillowcases? He did have a fannypack on which they made him open at the security checkpoint and it looked like a pretty expensive camera inside, so I don't know what could have happened to their bags...

[Saul_Goode]

[COLOR=blue]Bernie, [/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]I sent you the pictures and I see my error now. You will understand when you see the pictures. [/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]BTW, I think the term 'Grease Trap' doesn't necessarily reflect the type of 'aroma' that we were experiencing. The trap keeps the sewer gases down where they belong, but when the grease backs up the pipe all the, uh, effluence, is exposed to the light of day. And you're right, it didn't smell like grease![/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Cheri, [/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Thanks for the info on Smugglers Run. I think we will look into that on the next trip, which I hope comes before 2008 does![/COLOR]
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[COLOR=blue]Roger[/COLOR]

[KroozFoolz]

[quote name='Saul_Goode'][COLOR=blue]ShareCruises,[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]The little place where they took us to trade our bus for a boat ...[/COLOR]

[COLOR=blue]What shall we call this place? A port, bus stop, personal conveyance exchange? What ever it was called, it was obviously a previously established business struggling to catch up with the sudden influx of new customers. They were building new thatched roof buildings, running a restaurant and attempting to provide a place for local artists and business to display their wares. There was an artist that carved figures out of wood, which is what Belize is known for, and he was very, very good. The other business had the same overpriced touristy things that every port has, but nobody pushed us to buy anything or braid our hair, so I didn't mind it at all.[/COLOR]

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[COLOR=blue]Roger[/COLOR][/quote]
We took this same tour four years ago. Sounds like this "little place" has not changed much, if at all. We were fortunate that we did the river part first. We went in March and it was really hot in the afternoon at the ruins. I agree that some mention re this stop should be included in the description of the excursion.

[bcs819]

Roger, pics are great!
Yes, the one you re-classified is him! I couldn't help but laugh - his facial expression doesn't change too much most of the time. He has a very dry sense of humor and can have everyone else cracking up and he doesn't change his expression.
It always amazes me how birds/animals are able to blend in with the environment - glad you enjoyed the trip. Thanks for the pic of you, too, I remembered you right away!
Catching crazy early train to NYC this morning for a meeting - a nice long 15 hour work day ahead :( I need another cruise!

[beachlady58]

Bernie-
Fantastic Review! You should write books!

[bcs819]

[quote name='beachlady58']Bernie-
Fantastic Review! You should write books![/QUOTE]

thanks so much for the compliments! Everyone has been so nice about the review we started looking at another cruise yesterday just so I could write another review!

[berkley123]

If you don't want to write cruise reviews for a living I would suggest submitting your work to the druise line. You are better than some of the comedians on the ships. That way you could get paid to cruise. This was the best review I have read. Keep up the great work.

[racingraysswimmom]

Hi Bernie,

Thanks again for the comic relief. What a great sense-of-humor! Any chance that you can post your Capers soon? We are all anxiously awaiting them!!;)

[genngee]

Did you ever get your capers scanned?
We are on 3/10/07 and I would LOVE to see them


[EMAIL="genngee@cox.net"]genngee@cox.net[/EMAIL]

[racingraysswimmom]

Bernie,

Your captive audience awaits your capers. We really DO appreciate you scanning them for us. Please...post them for your adoring fans!

[angeljt]

Bernie,
I just jumped ship (whoops, threads) from the Free Beverage one on the NCL boards to read your review in one of your links.
Loved the review, great style. It even made me want to give Carnival a try. :D
Maybe next time.
Jackie

[bcs819]

thanks, we actually just booked this cruise again, for our first repeat!

[angeljt]

[quote name='bcs819']thanks, we actually just booked this cruise again, for our first repeat![/quote]

I see you were also on the Jewel. I'm guessing you prefer Carnival? We really like the dining arrangement with freestyle and leaving out of NY. Big draws for us. The Dawn was our first repeat...
Have a great time.
Jackie

[bcs819]

[quote name='angeljt']I see you were also on the Jewel. I'm guessing you prefer Carnival? We really like the dining arrangement with freestyle and leaving out of NY. Big draws for us. The Dawn was our first repeat...
Have a great time.
Jackie[/QUOTE]

here's my Jewel review -

[url]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=732657[/url]

Freestyle was a horrible experience for us. Only ate dinner 3 nights on a nine day cruise - everything else was buffet, buffet, buffet. Getting up at 7 am to make dinner reservations and save pool chairs is not my idea of vacation, but everyone's ideas are different.

[rmwilbo]

[quote name='bcs819']February 10, Embarkation Day

Slept like the dead. Woke up around 8:30 and ordered breakfast from room service. Food was good (but pricey as room service always is unless you're on a ship!). I should have primped more since I knew I would be forced to have my picture taken, but I was on vacation, damn it! Skipped the make-up and took the car back to Budget while my man took his time in the shower. It was only a minute or two drive, and I opted to walk back rather than get a ride.
Here will be my first Public Service Announcement:
When you reserve something, please (A)print out the confirmation, and (B)bring it with you. Since none of us are perfect, if you forget to do either (A) or (B), please be conscientious of the fact that the other people in line behind you DID do (A) and (B) and you are delaying their vacation. The woman at the counter in front of me didn't bring it, didn't print it, couldn't remember whose name it was under, and then when they finally got her a car, argued the price. THIS is why we should all be allowed Gong SHow moments. If I could have, I would have bopped her on the head, and stepped right over her to get on with my vacation. Unfortunately, I could not. I am not ashamed to admit that I made loud comments behind her like "Are you kidding me?" and "C'mon lady, you're lucky you got a car" until she finally finished up. WHen it was finally my turn, I dropped off the keys and paperwork, confirmed I had a return reservation and took the 5 minute walk back to the Radisson.
We checked out at about 11:20 and the 11:30 shuttle was waiting. What a difference from our 2001 visit. It was a disaster then but I had heard there were improvements so we tried again. Boy, am I glad! This time the shuttle was a nice bus towing a large luggage carrier. Got in and took our seat waiting for the shuttle to fill. Now I know you've been waiting for the HOLY CR@P and here it comes...[/quote]

We are taking the Sensation July 26, 2009, and will be flying (our first time, yikes!) to Orlando airport (MCO) and plan to stay at the Radisson Resort at the Port for a couple of days before the cruise. I was wondering about your Budget car rental.....it sounds like you rented it at the airport and then just returned it somewhere near the hotel. Is this correct?

[Vanessa L]

[quote name='bcs819']
Oh god, a PSA I just have to make (no flames, please):
While we all know that the dress code in the dining rooms and the booze smuggling debates have caused a great many untimely deathes here in the forums, I am afraid I must speak now about a more serious issue. If you must save money by sneaking on your own Strawberry Hill, or not buying a cocktail dress in order to afford your bingo habit, I beg you, please, buy luggage. The people going thru the line in front of us were using (totally true) PILLOWCASES. Now in fairness, I realize that there may have been some catastrophe that caused BOTH of their CARRY-ONS to go missing, but even a shopping bag would have been better, I think.

...[/quote]

ROFL! We had people getting on the Fantasy this past week using garbage bags as luggage! LOL, I'd forgotten about that! I even said to the guy as he walked by, "Awesome luggage!" To which he replied, "You know you're a redneck when your luggage comes from Hefty!" OMG, I rolled!

[bcs819]

[quote name='rmwilbo']We are taking the Sensation July 26, 2009, and will be flying (our first time, yikes!) to Orlando airport (MCO) and plan to stay at the Radisson Resort at the Port for a couple of days before the cruise. I was wondering about your Budget car rental.....it sounds like you rented it at the airport and then just returned it somewhere near the hotel. Is this correct?[/QUOTE]

yes, the Budget place is within short walking distance of the Radisson, like 5 minutes. Highly recommend them.