Glory ... memories of last week ... Western

[ditzymm]

Here's a ditzy review of the best cruise ever 7/31-8/7/2004 ... our first cruise to celebrate our 25th anniv. and 50th birthdays - wasn't sure if I would survive since motion sickness has always been my forte ... patch behind the ear worked beautifully throughout the cruise except I did have blurred vision which is a side effect. Soooooooo what did we do ... stayed at the Raddison at the Port the night before which is a beautiful hotel with waterfall pool, they provide parking for the cruise week free of charge, and a free shuttle to and from the port. Arrived at the boat for check in 11:30 a.m. and were sitting down to lunch by 12:30 - WOW. The entire week was fantastic!! We had gotten so many tips from these postings that I was well prepared indeed. Remember to bring along a nightlight for the bathroom since it can be mighty dark at night and the light blaring. Our room was on the Lido deck 9254 and we loved the balcony (bungee cord a plus to keep the ocean waves lulling you to sleep) and spacious accommodations. Never found out who our room steward was yet the room was kept impecably so the job was done beautifully. Meals were great whether dining in the buffet lines or deli or burger/grill or pizza or oriental. Don't miss the Supper Club which is absolutely superb and worth every dollar - they had to roll us out - teehee! Our room had been decorated to the hilt with Anniversary and Birthday decorations plus lots of gifts from our travel agent and friends. So many have bashed Progresso yet that port took my heart - I loved the cultural and true living of this Mexican city, $2 city tour was well worth the trip down the pier and the shops were so reasonably priced that you didn't need to barter. Give me Progresso anytime over Costa Maya or Belize!! I could have used another 3 or 4 hours to soak up the sun on their beautiful beach. Cave tubing is a must in Belize yet be aware the water is low this year and people do bottom out. The ruins in Belize are okay yet the ones at Progresso much better. Costa Maya is just a port so save your shopping dollars by staying on the boat. Their big pool area and musicians are worth the venture if you want to get off the boat yet the shopping gets better at the other port of calls. No matter, you will have a great time on the Glory. Entertainment was great and the CD Stuart Dunn was charming. One warning for customs - it is $800 per person duty free and cannot be combined with other family members!! per person and per item - it cannot be a family package deal as we were informed on the boat. Send me an email if you want more info!! If you are going on this cruise I know you will have a great time!!

[alprice]

Thanks for the great review, we are doing this cruise in April!

[roohound]

One warning for customs - it is $800 per person duty free and cannot be combined with other family members!! per person and per item - it cannot be a family package deal as we were informed on the boat.

 

Are you Canadian by any chance?

[ditzymm]

Nope not Canadian although I spent many a summer in Crousetown NS ... I don't recall the info on Canadian customs and had stated the U.S. info in my review ... I do recall you cannot bring in Cuban Cigars and have a strange amount of liquor which does not even equate to a full liter ... take care! :cool:

[ken56]

we are booked on her for 2/12/05 and can't wait. we have a group of 6 couples so far...... may be adding a few more soon I hope. we have been to all the ports but progresso so that should be interesting to see and compare experiences about. we tend to like the culture thing too so this is encouraging to hear that you liked it so well. oh yes, about the bungee thing for the balcony door.......how long should it be ? 12 ", 18" , 24" or what? we will be having our first balcony room this cruise. Feb. cant get here soon enough. lol. any secrets to share about the ship? please tell us more ! happy cruising all.

[Newsgirl]

Thanks for the review! A few of us are booked on the Glory for 01/29/05 and can't wait. I've never been on the Glory but my friends have and they loved it. Good tip about the bungee cord to keep the balcony door open, would have never thought of that.

 

Glory 01/05

Victory 10/03

Triumph 07/03

Victory 12/01

[GreggV]

Ditzymm

 

Thanks so much for the review. We are cruising on 9/25/04 on the Glory. We are staying in room 9234 which is also on the Lido deck. How was this floor? Is it noisy or busy since its an active deck?

[MistyandShane]

I am so glad you had a good time I cant wait.

 

Newsgirl,My DH and myself will be on the Glory on January 29 also.

 

Misty

[ditzymm]

we are booked on her for 2/12/05 and can't wait. we have a group of 6 couples so far...... may be adding a few more soon I hope. we have been to all the ports but progresso so that should be interesting to see and compare experiences about. we tend to like the culture thing too so this is encouraging to hear that you liked it so well. oh yes, about the bungee thing for the balcony door.......how long should it be ? 12 ", 18" , 24" or what? we will be having our first balcony room this cruise. Feb. cant get here soon enough. lol. any secrets to share about the ship? please tell us more ! happy cruising all.

Davison, MI ... awesome! ... we are from a small town just outside Grand Rapids, MI ... TYG ... Michiganders on the water ... teehee! ... alrighty ... here's what will work: 36" bungee cord, nightlight, collapsible cooler 12 pak, refillable water bottle that will hook onto your belt loop, lots of film ... truly, the formal nights were not as formal as all get up in the dining room; supper club was much more so with suit and tie for the men (DH mentioned you had better have an extra notch to expand the belt ... LOL) ... remember if you don't like something in the dining room, just reorder something else or a steak - steak is always available every night no matter what is on the menu and it is delicious!! on lobster tail night, most everyone we saw ordered two since it is absolutely scrumptious! >>>>>>>>>>>>>> enjoy!!

[ditzymm]

Ditzymm

 

Thanks so much for the review. We are cruising on 9/25/04 on the Glory. We are staying in room 9234 which is also on the Lido deck. How was this floor? Is it noisy or busy since its an active deck?

Hey Gregg ... great time you will have on the Lido deck which is perfect in location for the buffets and mini counter service, pools and hot tubs, and fun deck activities ... we didn't notice too much activity in 9254 except on the Conga night ... DH and I were zonked out from a day in the sunshine frolicking about so we didn't stay up for the HUGE conga line - guess we didn't miss much since our ceilings shook and the walls vibrated soooooooo we know everyone was having a great time!! we had our room decorated with the foil Bday/Anniv hanging ornaments and they just shook that one evening ... other than that just the warm breeze and waves lapping was all we heard ... also, the Lido deck is perfect to reach all the activity on deck 5 Promenade which includes the shoppes, casino and musical revues ... enjoy! ... we would love to go again!!

[ditzymm]

Hey all ... if you have an even number cabin you are in for a super treat ... all the ports and piers were on the even number cabin side soooooo you are in for a great time when the afternoon returnees come on back carrying BIG sombreros and odd souvenirs ... late stragglers get heckled from all of us hanging over the balconies and the party boat drunks saunter up the gangway to cheers galore ... there were even a couple people delivered by wheelchair with just a bit too much in their system - oh my! ... remember it is a free ride via bus or tender (Belize only) to the port shopping area so don't pass getting off the boat - it's only minutes to come on back if you don't like what you see! and the best deals in the spa (manicures and treatments) usually cost less on port days yet you need to get your appt. early on ... taxi into Cozumel is $6 and internet cafe only $1 for 30 minutes (on the boat it is $60 for 90 minutes minimum) ... remember the ports are 2 hours earlier than boat time and you need to stick with boat time for all departures!! When riding on bus over the pier into Progresso, look over the into the water and you will see lots of stingrays in the water!! ... toooooooo kewl ... be careful having your hair braided at the ports since they use a community comb - nothing appears to be sterlized as far as I could tell ... yech!

[GreggV]

Thanks for getting back to me ditzymm. What dinner seating did you have and which resturant were you assigned?

[ken56]

thanks for the added info MM..........we are not cruise newbies by far just never been on the Glory........#10 cruise. we do have 3 couples who ARE newbies so it will be fun seeing how they react to a really BIG ship. we've been to all the other ports but Progresso so I am looking forward to that one.........quiet beach day and maybe some shopping in town, the wife wants to go to Merida however.......I'm not so sure I care to do an all day trip like that. were the lines to get off the ship in the ports horrendous? with 3000 other people on board I would think it would be a long process to get off to go into town.

[ditzymm]

When we arrived on the ship, our S & S card had us assigned to 5:15 Platinum ... we attended the first evening and found it to be just too early for the shows leaving us boring time on our hands ... we sent in a request to the M'D for 5:45 and were assigned the Golden - perfect! ... just enough time to get through dinner and on to the great evening activities ... our table was 141 with a perfect view of the window (not a window seat yet close enough) ... being in the dining room center there was less movement as well ... the crowd in the Golden Room participated in the dining room antics at almost a crazy level which was just too much fun! ... we enjoyed our waiters who were absolutely the best ... our head waiter is now on a 3 month leave yet the assistant waiter Jesus is still on board and he is superb as well ... remember, if you order dinner and don't like it, order something else, if nothing fits your tummy, you can order steak any night and it is absoutely delicious!! ... lobster night just about everyone orders two since it is sooooo scrumptious!! ... the gentleman two tables over actually went through 4 lobster tails if you can believe it ... along with several deserts - where he put it all is beyond me!! ... enjoy!! :cool:

[ditzymm]

3000 people on board ... 1200 staff ... actually we had almost 5000 people aboard ship when we cruised and only felt the crowd during the muster drill ... over 1/3 were under 18 and my daughters group of 13-15 year olds was at 650 ... incredible!! ... we never felt once there were lots of children on board much less people in general ... the ship is so BIG that everyone is spread over quite a large area ... children at dinner were never a problem nor on the pool decks so I commend the parents for keeping them at bay ... where they all were I never discovered - teehee! ... port days were not a problem getting off the ship nor returning ... all was civil, organized, and really quite quick even with the tenders to Belize ... Carnival has it down to a science with groups meeting in the auditorium for the various excursions and loading onto the buses for tours a snap ... if you are not on an excursion and just taking the free shuttle down the pier into town, you would leave after the excusions so it was truly a walk down to the gangway and right into the port shopping and then onto the shuttle ... no wait either coming or going ... usually there were 3 or 4 gangways open daily and that made it a smooth passing as well ... water was sold right at the gangway making life easier yet ... enjoy! :cool:

[ymelancon]

I was your next door neighbor in Cozumel (on the Fascination)!!! Beautiful ship. I even met some folks on your cruise at Pancho Villas Restaurant at the Port. Glad you enjoyed yourself. Thinking about trying the Glory myself. Are all the cabins on the ship suites?

[ditzymm]

Yes! you were there ... and we were right alongside ... we too ate at Pancho's since we had the free margarita coupons I found online ... delicious in every way!! ... food and shopping were fantastic ... Glory does have suites altho' they are not a suite boat entirely ... we had a category 8E with a balcony on the Lido deck - perfect and we couldn't have had anything any better as far as I was concerned ... lots of space all around and storage galore!! ... the Fascination didn't have as many balcony rooms apparently or at least as far as I could see ... Glory is I believe at least 65% balcony rooms putting their prices right up there ... check it out - beautiful boat ... did you enjoy your boat and cruise as well ... I don't think I would have a changed a thing!! ... :cool:

[ymelancon]

We probably passed right by each other. Yes, I'm definitely going to check out the Glory. The Fascination was nice. We had an outside cabin, but the room was really tight for space. I could have used more room and more hangers!! (smile) We didn't have any free Margarita coupons, but we did get alot of free jewelry at the various shops at the port, especially from Diamonds International. My sister got a free myorka (don't know if I'm spelling it right) pearl at Touch of Gold! Thanks for the info.