Just back from the Glory! Here's my lengthy review....

[NewYearsCruizer]

Carnival Glory Dec. 29-Jan. 5 Western Caribbean

 

We booked our trip through a local travel agent. Our group included three couples in our late 20s. This is the second cruise my husband and I have taken.

 

Day 1-

We flew US Air to Orlando, and used Mears for the transfer to the port. Embarkation was easy and fairly quick. Staff at the pier was friendly and the lines moved quickly. We had no problems bringing beverages on board. We used a variety of strategies for this- we brought 8 bottles of wine aboard, both in carry on luggage and in checked baggage. We also brought three bottles of liquor on board, all in checked baggage. Some were in glass original containers, some were in plastic original containers, some were in water bottles. We also brought soda and water on board. No problems with any of our strategies. Once we got on board, we had lunch on the Lido deck, and tried to familiarize ourselves with the confusing layout of the ship. We got on board around 2:00, but people had been on board as early as 11:30. Our bags arrived around 5:00 to our rooms. We had an interior cabin on deck 8. We didn’t hear any noise in our rooms, except when there was a deck party above us on the Lido Deck and it was very very loud, and occasionally we heard them hosing down the deck. We met our steward Jose from Nicaragua, and he was happy to rearrange the beds into a King for us. He also unlocked the fridge for the week, and told us it was okay for us to empty it out, put our items in, and put the items back in at the end of the week. We gave him a tip in advance and he kept our ice bucket filled and took very good care of our room. We dined in the Platinum dining room. We had a private table for our party of 6. Our waiter Rudy and assistant waiter Djoko were both from Indonesia. They were excellent! We were charged a 10 dollar corkage fee the first night for them to open our wine, but the rest of the week we brought our wine already corked and no longer had to pay the charge for the rest of the week. We spent the first night enjoying each other’s company, and exploring the decks of the ship.

 

Day 2 At Sea –

One of our group members was an early riser. He awoke early and grabbed some great seats on the Lido Deck. The clothespins came in handy to keep our towels in place! We spent the day enjoying the sunshine and drinks on the deck. The waterslide is tons of fun! The aft and main pools were refreshing. The pool near the waterslide wasn’t open until after noon. The hot tubs in the middle of the ship were always crowded with mostly children. They weren’t as warm as we would have liked. This was the first formal night of the ship. We found the cruise director Wee Jimmy to be a bit on the annoying side. We also didn’t see him around as much, except for when he was MC’ing an event. On our last Carnival Cruise the director made himself much more visible.

 

Day 3 Cozumel-

We arrived in Cozumel at 10:00. We had no trouble getting off the ship quickly. Half of our group went on an excursion through Carnival to Tulum. The other half (including me) went to Paradise Beach. Paradise Beach was fantastic. The cab ride was about 12 dollars, and we each bought a bracelet for 10 dollars. The bracelet included use of the floating loungers, bungee trampoline, coconut rock climbing wall, water trampoline, iceberg, snorkeling, kayaks, and more. We enjoyed a bucket of 5 beers for 15 dollars. We also had a Mexican platter of delicious food. Paradise Beach wasn’t too crowded, even though there were 4 ships in port. The bathrooms were clean and the lockers and showers were nice. There is free internet at the bar! We shopped for a bit before heading back on board. We bought a 2 liter of soda to bring back on board. We found the secret decks and watched the ship depart Cozumel. This evening we did a bit of Karoke, and explored the bars and clubs on the ship. We spent time in the sports bar, and enjoyed dinner in the dining room. We tried to see a show in the Amber Palace, but it was standing room only, as we arrived too late! Go early to get a good seat, especially if there’s only one show for the evening.

 

Day 4 Belize-

We got on the second tender boat, and met Vitalino Reyes from http://www.cavetubing.bz We had the experience of a lifetime with Vitalino. We didn’t book this excursion through the cruise line because Carnival’s cave tubing tour is twice as expensive, and is half the trip. Vitalino is the pioneer of cave tubing. He trained the rest of the guides, and all the equiptment the other guides use is his! He knows the river and rainforests better than anyone else. We learned all about the culture of Belize in the van ride there. It was nice to have such a personal experience. It was just the six of us, him, the driver and his two young sons in the van. He got us to the river first, before any of the other tours. He took us through the rainforest, stopping to explain interesting information about the vegetation. The hike was entertaining, and informative. It was about a 30-40 minute hike. Most was flat, but there were a few hills and stairs. He showed us the areas where the other tours started and finished, and it was easy to see that we were getting twice, if not triple the experience of the others. We jumped off a cliff into the refreshing water. We paddled backwards into a cave that nobody else was going into, and Vitalino showed us his “secret room”. Then, we floated down the river, and experience of a lifetime! We then had a delicious lunch before returning to the pier. We did a little shopping, and then took the tender back to the ship. This was New Year’s Eve, and we were surprised that it wasn’t a formal night. Many people did dress up, and there were some extra activities planned. We enjoyed counting down the seconds in the lobby, and there was a nice balloon drop. We spent time in the Cinnabar, requesting songs from the Piano man.

 

Day 5 and 6 At Sea-

A cold front came in and made the seas VERY ROUGH and it was quite windy and chilly. We tried to sit out and enjoy the Lido Deck, but it became uncomfortable. There didn’t seem to be much planned in case of bad weather. Perhaps board games could be checked out or additional indoor activities planned in case of days at sea like this. For anyone who wasn’t a gambler, or a family with small children, there wasn’t much to do. Many people became sick on the boat these few days, including two in our party and even Wee Jimmy! The ship even ran out of ginger-ale! We were also disappointed that more information wasn’t given to the passengers about the weather conditions. A couple announcements were made, but anxiety was high due to the stormy conditions and the unknown reasons and potential duration of the rough seas. We did enjoy the R rated comedy of Al Jackson one night and attended the Justin Illusion magic and dance show the next night, which was quite enjoyable and impressive!

 

Day 7 Nassau

We had no trouble getting off the ship in Nassau. We took the 10 bus to Cable Beach. The bus is only one dollar a person, and is quick and much cheaper than a Taxi. We entered the Wyndham hotel, and paid 15 dollars a person to use the facilities of three properties. We enjoyed the hot tub, water slide, and beach loungers. When showers came, we explored the hotel, but headed right back out to the beach when the sun returned. We spent the afternoon watching the boat set sail from the front balconies. These are easy to get to from unmarked doors at the front sides of pretty much all of the decks. They were very private, and had a great view! We packed, and spent the evening enjoying our last dinner. We generously tipped our waiter for his excellent attention and service, and headed to the Legends Show in the Amber Palace. Some performers were excellent, others were awful. Our Aretha and Garth were stellar!

 

Disembarking was a bit chaotic. There was confusion about what time we were docking. Some information indicated 7 am, others indicated 8 am. Many, many, many, announcements were made throughout the morning about who was to get off the ship when. The Lido deck breakfast was packed, and the staff seemed to rush us out of there. We used Mears transportation to get back to the airport.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions! I appreciate this board so much for helping me plan a wonderful trip.

:)

[VentureMan_2000]

Nice review! :)

[letsgocruz1]

Thanks for a great review!! We are sailing the Glory in June and I just received a phone call from one of my very best friends, and she said she and her family are sailing with us.:) We're gonna have a blast!

 

It sounds like you had a great time. When you say there was free internet at the bar at Paradise beach, did they have the computers available or should we bring our laptop? That would be awesome to be able to send a couple of emails home and check in with everybody.

 

How much was your cavetubing excursion? Is this something that would be okay for children to do (they will be 11 and 7 and are in good shape)? And, did your cruise not travel to Roatan? We will be going there the day after Belize.

 

Welcome home and thanks again for posting!

[NewYearsCruizer]

There were two laptop computers at Paradise Beach at the bar. They were free! It was nice to send a quick email to family and friends. There was a 15 minute limit.

 

Our cave tubing was 45 dollars, and that included lunch. We used cavetubing.bz and loved it. There were other children that age on the river, and I think it would be just fine for them, and actually quite fun if they are up for the adventure! I would warn them that the caves do get a little dark, but they can keep the headlight on and they should be ok.

 

We didn't go to Roatan, we were supposed to go to Costa Maya but it got canceled a few months before we went.

 

Have a great cruise!

[minimartha]

Great review thanks. When was the second formal night?? We will be on the Glory the 12th.

Thanks

[NewYearsCruizer]

On our ship, the second formal night was the second at sea day after Belize.

[letsgocruz1]

There were two laptop computers at Paradise Beach at the bar. They were free! It was nice to send a quick email to family and friends. There was a 15 minute limit.

 

Our cave tubing was 45 dollars, and that included lunch. We used cavetubing.bz and loved it. There were other children that age on the river, and I think it would be just fine for them, and actually quite fun if they are up for the adventure! I would warn them that the caves do get a little dark, but they can keep the headlight on and they should be ok.

 

We didn't go to Roatan, we were supposed to go to Costa Maya but it got canceled a few months before we went.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Do they supply life jackets for everyone? I'm assuming they do. Also, are the tubes roped together so that no one gets separated? I guess that's what worries me most. Well, that and a snack coming up out of the water and biting one of us (stupid, I know, but I can't help it!)

[NewYearsCruizer]

Yes, they supply life jackets, a tube, and a head light for everyone.

 

There were a few small fish in the river, but they didn't bite or bother anyone. :)

 

They don't rope the tubes together, but everyone links together with their feet under the person in front. The guides were in the front and the back so nobody got separated.

[scomar]

NewYearsCruizer Carnival Glory Dec. 29-Jan. 5 Western Caribbean

 

We found the secret decks and watched the ship depart Cozumel.

 

Excellent review sound like for the most part you had a great time except for those rough seas. Where exactly did you find the secret deck? We are going in May and love to know about secrets :rolleyes:

 

Thanks

[NewYearsCruizer]

You go walk to the very front of the ship and look for the unmarked door that goes to the outside. Our favorites were decks 6 and 7. The door to the deck 6 balcony was on the left of the ship (facing forward) and the door the some of the other decks were on the right side. There were two other decks below us on the 6th floor but they were roped off for crew only. People who weren't crew did sneak down there though. These are the best places to watch the sunsets, ships going in and leaving ports. Many times, we were the only people out there!

[scomar]

Thanks so much for the info I will be sure to take advantage of the views

[pacerzfan]

Thanks for the review!!

[ken06kim]

In regards to your stop in Nassau - what was included in the $15 charge for the Wyndham. Did this include drinks/food? I assume probably not.... Can you snorkel from their beach if you have your own gear? Is their a time limit for the $15.00?

[NewYearsCruizer]

The fifteen dollars included use of the pools, towels, hot tubs, beaches, slides, etc. at the Wyndham, and the amenities of the two properties to either side of it. This doesn't include drinks or food, but we found a duty free shop in the hotel where we got very inexpensive sodas and liquor and beer. It was way more affordable to make our own drinks than buy them from the bar. (over five dollars for a drink at the bar versus a six pack of soda and a bottle of rum for five dollars at the duty free shop). We did order a light lunch from the pool bar, and it was yummy. I didn't see snorkel equip but it was a bit chilly the day we were there so there wasn't much out. If you have your own gear you can certainly snorkel from their beach. We thought the 15 was worth it due to being able to use the hotel amenities, towels, and very comfortable chairs. There was no time limit, and I'm assuming you could use the bracelet for more than one day if you wanted to.

[DDofcruisemaniac]

Hello!

 

I was on the same cruise, and agree with every comment about the ship and overall cruise experience!

 

It was an overall good cruise, with some noteworthy items that will make me think twice about doing another carnival cruise though....the lack of things to do during the at-seas days (when weather is crap) really made me realise that I am not fond of the things they do offer in such conditions ( bingo, etc) - also, the entertainment was so-so during this cruise. One night the seas were too rough for the dancers to put on their regular shows (not Carnival's fault really), but the show they had instead was a mish-mash of other shows....really not well put together.

 

Also, the food was ok - I must say the supper club was awesome. Our Maitre d' (Michael) was more present than our waiter, which was surprising.....?

 

All in all it was worth the $ we paid for it, and a holiday is what you make of it!

[RPhCruiser]

Just curious, do you remember which day the Past Guest party was?

[DDofcruisemaniac]

It was held on the Thursday afternoon at 4 I believe.

[carnivalkim]

Thanks for the great review...I can't wait until September....:)

[NCTribeFan]

So, you guys were chair hogs, huh? :p

 

Good to read about the cave tubing. I'm hoping to book Legend next December and am reading all the cave-tubing reviews/threads I can find.

 

I tend to read and relax on sea days. I'm not sure exactly what I'd do if it were really rough, as reading tends to exacerbate any seasick issues. I'd probably just load up on Bonine and have a long nap.

 

Or distract myself my losing a bunch of money in the casino.

 

Thanks for the review!

[Dem&Mag]

I am getting ready to take my first cruise and the cave tubbing is interesting to me. My question is how "tight" does the cave get? I have some small clauterphobia issues and if it gets too tight and cramped I may have issues, also how long are you in the cave?

[mipo777]

Great review. We're going on the Glory this weekend & have an early flight home out of Orlando @ 11am. Wondered what time you did actually get into port on Sat & when they were letting the 1st groups off of the boat.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Mike

[NCTribeFan]

I can't answer those questions, but let me recommend, if you haven't already, going to some of the reviews of other cruises that include Belize and checking out the links to photos.

 

TallyRockChick did an excellent, in-depth review of her Miracle cruise about a month ago and she had several photos from during the excursion.

 

I tend to be claustrophic and the idea of "real" caving has always frightened me. But I don't think the cave-tubing is really like that. And I think being outdoors will help in that respect.

 

Besides, these days I find I'm much more claustrophic in a crowd of people than I am in a confined space. That's one of the main reasons I haven't sailed any of the biggest ships yet. Just TOO many people!

[mipo777]

I think you mean this one.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=674178&page=6

[teedee]

Thanks for the great review...I can't wait until September....:)

 

Me either! I have a feeling time will go at a snail's pace until we get onboard.

 

Terri

[DEL67]

Dem&Mag:

 

You are in caves for most of your float down the river. How long depends on how many caves you go through. However, the caves are quite large - probably 20 feet or more across with high ceilings. At no time would you feel that you are in a "tight" place.