Glory 12/22 review- Long-!!

[Jaxgal]

I had posted a short one yesterday when we returned..here is the full one I just submitted...

 

 

Embarkation- Very smooth. My husband and I arrived at the pier around noon and we were on the ship in about 30 minutes. Lines moved pretty quickly as long as you do what they tell you to do. One big bonus, apparently only a special Christmas cruise event, was free Champagne on embarkation day until approx 6pm. That was quite unexpected and we took full advantage of that! J

 

Debarkation- We were off the ship by 9:00 am. This was the best debark we have ever gone through...no crowding in the halls and stairwells...was very smooth.

 

Cabin- We had cabin #1030, balcony on the Panorama deck. This was our first balcony and now that we’ve had one, don’t think we’d want to book anything else. Our room steward Benni and his crew were great. The cabin was kept very clean every day. They always seem to know when you are gone. We left one day and came back in 30 minutes and the cabin was all done!! We always had ice. Mini-bar/fridge was a nice touch. Ask to have the mini bar unlocked to keep your bottled water cold, even if you don’t want anything in the mini-bar. We really enjoyed the balcony. The sound of the water is really soothing after a long day. We did not hear any noise at all when docking in the various ports like we have on other ships being on the lower levels. Overall great location, convenient to the lido deck and buffet areas. A bit further from level 5, where most of the action was, but an easy elevator trip down.

 

Ship- Kept very clean. It is in great shape and they are always painting and cleaning. I never saw a room service tray in the hallway for more than 30 minutes and ours disappeared just as fast. The crew was all very friendly, smiling, asking if you needed anything. I never encountered a grumpy staff member, with the exception being the Maitre’d (mentioned in the dining room section below). For a Christmas cruise, with all staff members being away from home and their families, we were very surprised at how friendly and cheerful everyone seemed. Some public areas inside are really cold, so be sure to bring a sweater or long sleeves for the evening shows.

 

The layout was not as easy as the Inspiration in our opinion, but it wasn’t overly difficult with one exception. We spent 20 minutes trying to find the internet café! :p We knew what level it was on and that it was in between one of the dinning rooms and the Ivory room but for the life of us, we could not find it! Turns out it’s actually in the Ivory room hidden back in one of the corners. Only found that out by asking one of the waitresses in the Ivory room. Other than that, it was relatively easy to get around using level 5, where the casino is located, to get from one end of the ship to the other.

 

Cruise Director- Weeeeeeeeeeeeee Jimmy. He was Scottish and always full of energy and cracking jokes. Most people said you either love or hate him, but we were somewhere in the middle. At times the Scottish accent was a little much and reminded us of Shrek, but it wasn’t like he could help it. He was good at his job.

 

Shows/Activities- We checked out the first adult comedy night and that was ok, not great but not bad. We saw the hairy chest contest and that was entertaining as always. Additionally, we checked out the Xmas night show and that was really good. They had lots of the younger kids come up on stage and sing and they were so cute. They did a great job! We went to the past guest party for the first time and that was good. We were offered a variety of different free drinks and munchies. We spent a bit of time in the casino, but not too much, not big gamblers. We also spend some time at the deck party, piano bar and karaoke, all of which were fun and entertaining. The galley tour was also fun and informational, recommended.

 

 

Dining Room- Our dining room staff knew all of our names and they were so efficient that we were one of the first tables done first each night. It helps that of the two tables they were servicing the one had 4 people out of 8 there at the most and on several nights the one table was empty. They always knew I wanted a skim milk cappuccino with my dinner, I never had to ask after the first night.

 

One thing I do have to nitpick on was the attitude of our maitre’d in the Golden Dining Room. We have cruised with Carnival before and after every cruise on the last night we have received a signed ship print from the maitre’d. When I asked for one this trip since none was offered upon exit after dinner, I got a blank stare and a cold “that has been discontinued “ from him. Well, about 5 minutes later I saw a lady in the gift shop carrying one so I asked her where she got it from…she said the maitre’d in the Platinum Dining room. So we went down there and asked the maitre’d and he went out of his way and hunted down two of them for us. Needless to say we were not at all impressed with the Golden’s maitre’d after that incident. He was the only staff member that in passing would just stare straight ahead or not make eye contact or greet anyone. No biggie though. If he were to be more friendly and positive I bet the tips at the end would reflect that in a positive way, but guess he doesn’t agree.

 

Food- It was all great. Hot, fresh, and of great quality!!

 

If you can't find something to eat and enjoy on this ship, then what in the world do you eat at home everyday??? Seriously…There are so much different food choices, we just don’t understand how someone could not find something they like. I could understand one particular item not being cooked to your liking on a particular day, but that is something they would gladly fix immediately and would be an isolated incident.

 

The buffet- lunch and dinner had a lot to choose from- chicken, fish, fresh salad bar, fruit, bread, veggies, rice, potatoes…etc, etc. and usually a specialty area each day such as French cuisine, Indian food, etc.

 

The wonderful warm turkey sandwiches on a country roll from the deli…mmm, they were a favorite snack for DH…Oriental buffet, Hot fresh burgers at the aft deck- grilled chicken there also, fresh pizza....etc.... You must try the Eggplant Tartan if you like eggplant on embarkation day at lunch buffet...I could have eaten this everyday... The fish and chips was good to try out, but a bit too greasy to eat more than once in our opinion. DH would also get the made-to-order pasta most days for lunch.

 

Breakfast buffet- if you don't like the scrambled eggs (I find them tasty), then get a fresh omelet made just for you. Yum! We didn’t try the dining room for breakfast. Room service on the balcony was great, but be sure to order a few extra items…the portions of fresh fruit are very small.

 

Dining Room dinner- Melting cake was perfect the 4 times I had it (yes, it should be undercooked, that is how it should be , M-E-L-T-I-N-G gooey chocolate in the center), the Teriyaki short ribs are melt in the mouth yummy and probably my best dinner besides the Supper Club (I want them now). Sweet and Sour shrimp were great. Black bean enchiladas that DH had were also very tasty.

 

Emerald Room Supper Club- Wow is all I can say, well worth the extra charge. Roll me out the door goodness. Lots of chef surprises, great breads, the steak I had was so tender I could cut it with my fork!! The French Onion soup, I now dream about it, it is just too good (ask for the recipe, they will give you one). Desert…I was so full by desert it was hard for me to enjoy it all, but it was tasty! My husband had the Dover sole filet and really enjoyed it. If you are a picky eater, this may not be the place for you. All of the food was more upscale. DH is very picky and he liked the Dover Filet of Sole, but didn’t really appreciate the whole experience like I did. We brought our own bottle of champagne and they did charge a corkage fee of $14, which we had expected and we did tip extra.

 

Previously we’ve done the early seating and thought it was too early. This time we did the 8:30 and found it was way too late. If we were to do another cruise, we would pick the 6:15 seating. We were back on-board from the ports by 5pm each day, plenty of time to get ready for dinner.

 

Nassau- We stayed on the ship. We have been here before and decided to enjoy a quiet day on the lido deck. DH has snorkeled here in the past and it was some of the best snorkeling he’s experienced. We’ve also explored the Atlantis and beaches in that area as well.

 

Days at sea- It was hard to find a deck chair most sea days in the main areas. People did save them with their stuff. However, we found a great spot just above the sports deck on the adult only deck, it was never crowded each day at sea.

 

One gripe/complaint is smoking in non-smoking areas. We were the unfortunate recipients of quite a bit of second hand smoke. There is nothing worse than finding a great spot on deck in the appropriate non-smoking area and someone rudely plops down and lights up. Please, if you are a smoker be observant, if you are on the non-smoking side of the ship (Port side), please be considerate of others and don't smoke there. If you’re not sure which side is Port/Starboard, an easy way to remember is the side with the ashtrays attached is smoking, the other side is non-smoking. This happened to us a few times and we got up and left because of it. The smoking rules were never enforced by any staff.

 

That was our only real complaint/issue on the cruise. We also experienced that on the balcony, but at least that we knew was a possibility and we just avoided the balcony when the neighbor was out there smoking.

 

St. Thomas- We did the St. Johns Catamaran Champagne Sail and Snorkel...it was wonderful!! Honeymoon beach was not crowded and absolutely beautiful! The crew was great and kept the drinks flowing after snorkeling. There were plenty of fish to see and lots of coral at the reef. It was a great time and we would love to return to St Thomas/St John one day.

 

St. Maarten- Here is where we went wrong. We took a cab to Orient Beach. I would highly recommend against going here unless you are looking to jet-ski, parasail, etc. If you are looking for a place to relax and enjoy the beach, this is definitely not the place.

Yes the water is blue and the sand is white, but it was so overcrowded and there were so many vendors, you could not enjoy yourself. We initially tried to just spread our towels out and sit close to where the taxis drop you off. Within about 3 minutes, 7 people had tried to sell us one product or service. How can you possibly relax or even think straight with that going on? We almost left immediately, but figured we’d spent the $/time to get there, we’d try and walk down the beach a ways and hope for the best. The going rate that day was $8.00 for a chair which would typically include a free drink at whatever bar/restaurant you were sitting in front of. We sat in front of a French restaurant which was next to Mexicana. The chairs were comfortable, staff was very nice, but you were still asked to buy items, just not as often. Maybe 5 minutes would go by before the next person would come up. We would nicely say no thank you and they were very nice in return, but at the same time that is not what we were expecting along the entire main span of beach. We’re talking 5-10 minute walk in either direction from the main taxi stand. The tide was in also from the looks of it, so it really was rows of chairs and then water, no real beach to speak of. And some of the chairs in some areas were actually in the water. ;)

 

We had wished we had gone to Pinel Island, but by the time we realized what we had gotten into, it would have cost a lot more and taken too much time to go to Pinel. So, if you want a quiet relaxing beach, Orient is NOT for you. Also, if you get a cab, get together with some people and form a group and get a group rate...it is cheaper. We paid $6pp on the way there buy joining into a family in the cab...on the way back it was $10.00 pp for the two of us.

 

Cruising at Christmas- Being a Christmas cruise and cruising with just DH and myself, we were a little apprehensive on booking at first. We figured it would be mostly large extended families keeping to themselves, but it wasn’t that way at all. Most people were very friendly. We met more people on this cruise than ever before.

 

I did witness some rude, unhappy people. I was in line at the Creams coffee bar and witnessed a woman getting mad and yelling at the coffee bar girl because her latte tasted like "water"...Not what I experienced, but guess it’s all relative to what you are used to. She could have been much nicer about it. At times we felt swarmed by a lot of large groups of teens. I guess some parents don't really care what their kids say and do in public at night...We feel that the ship is not a baby sitter, but guess it’s easy to let your kids roam and do their own thing being on a ship...Now, there were good kids as well, but lots of loud obnoxious ones as well.

 

For Christmas they had plenty of decorations, trees everywhere, did caroling, Christmas shows at night, Christmas music everywhere all the time...plenty to feel the holiday cheer...Yet we overheard our neighbors on the balcony saying that the ship did nothing for Christmas and they were very disappointed... I guess they were in the casino or their cabin the whole cruise??? LOL...

 

One tip…read the capers, they will keep you informed. Plenty to do if you want to and plenty of things to do on your own if you didn’t want to.

 

All in all a great value and everything we’ve come to expect from a Carnival cruise. Our gripes were really small things that you can avoid. Hopefully this review helps!! Keep an open mind and you will have a great time! :D

[abitaturbodog]

Thanks for the review. We cruised on the Glory a few years back and I'm glad that she's still up to par. It's nice that you live in St. Augustine! I've heard that they will be enlarging the port in Jax so more cruise ships can homeport there. I sure hope that happens!

[Jaxgal]

Thanks for the review. We cruised on the Glory a few years back and I'm glad that she's still up to par. It's nice that you live in St. Augustine! I've heard that they will be enlarging the port in Jax so more cruise ships can homeport there. I sure hope that happens!

 

We hope so too. It would be nice to have a larger ship docked here that went someplace other than Nassau!! :D

[glentally]

Thanks for taking the time to write the very detailed review. Tell me more about Pinel island please.

 

 

 

"We had wished we had gone to Pinel Island,"

[cathyoo]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Very balanced review, my favorite kind. question; on Christmas did they do anything extra in the dining room?

thanks again

[PRgal]

Another opinion of Carnival Glory 12/22-12/29/07: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=12786413&postcount=12

[DeBeCruiser]

Thanks for your review. We also have sailed on the Celebration and the Inspiration and going on the Glory next! Did you find the Glory to be too big or too confusing to get around on the ship? Other review I have read have stated this and I was just wondering your opinion. Thanks.

 

__________________________________/

 

DeBeCruiser

 

Past Cruises:

 

04/2006 First Cruise -- Celebration -- 5 night

12/2006 Bingo Winner Cruise -- Inspiration -- 5 night W. Carib.

[MonaCD]

Hey jaxgal, it was great to meet you and Chris, sorry we didn't get a chance to meet up to say good bye. I pretty much agree with your review, I'll wait til I get home next week before I compose mine.

 

To answer DeBeCruiser. The three in my party agreed, we loved the ship but it was a little too big for us, far too much walking. As for confusing, we picked up one of the deck plan cards at the pursers desk as soon as we boarded, that was very useful but after the second day, we pretty well had everything figured out.

 

To answer cathyoo, they did have a special menu for Christmas dinner, it had turkey and filet mignon, can't remember what other special items it had. I had the filet mignon and it wasn't the best I've ever had but tasty. There was also egg nog available in the fountain up on the lido deck.

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for the review.

[Djptcp]

Hi Jaxgirl! It was nice meeting you and your DH and from the looks of your review, you both had a great time. We are booked on the same cruise for next Christmas and I appreciate the info about Orient Beach. We shopped in St. Maarten, but have been discussing what to do next time and beaching it sounds like a plan. We also just shopped in St. Thomas and the St. John excursion sounds like something we need to do, also. Thing is we love to shop and want to make sure we have time to do it, but I think we need to make time for some of the excursions.

 

We are also in a balcony cabin on the Panorama Deck next Christmas and I'm glad you liked the location. I agree, once you have had a balcony, it would be hard to go back not having one. Ours last week was on Deck 6.

 

Say hi to Dudeman for us!

[Jaxgal]

Thanks for taking the time to write the very detailed review. Tell me more about Pinel island please.

 

 

 

"We had wished we had gone to Pinel Island,"

 

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I havent been on here for a while.

From what I have read Pinel Island is a nice quiet beach with no vendors. Pictures of it look stunning. Just do a google search for it and there are many sites that come up. It has also been mentioned on the St Marten board. We are from NE FL, so I guess the quiet beaches here have spoiled us.:D

 

Quoted from a website...

 

"Pinel Island is often called St Martins best kept secret and has always been popular with locals."