Glory Western Review 7/25-8/1/09

[BaseballMomof4]

Wonderful review - please keep it coming!! We are sailing the Glory in December and seeing your pics is just making me more excited about it!!

[peg8148]

Could you tell me if the balcony dividers open between cabins? We want to book 3 cabins in a row and want to make sure they open. Thanks

[cjackso8]

I love your review! I'm doing this itinerary in January, and I'm very excited, especially now after reading your review! The pictures are fantastic! Which Radisson did you stay in? I'm seeing several with different names on their website, I would like to know which to book (I liked the pictures, and i'm a bit of a pushover) :D

[bdink921]

cjackso8--The pics from the beginning of the review are from the Polynesian resort at Walt Disney World. The pic of our first view of the Glory was from the Radisson--I didn't take any pictures of the Radisson itself. The one we stayed at was the Radisson Resort at the Port--it has a shuttle to the port (reserve a spot early to get a good time) and a great pool area (but a very hot pool deck). The Radisson is very close to the port and we paid about $140 w/tax for the one night. HTH.

 

pam8148--The dividers do open although we weren't with a group so we didn't open ours---loved that balcony!!

[bdink921]

Ok--next port was Costa Maya

 

We arrived in Costa Maya at around 8am and had a reservaton with Native Choice for the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins tour. We booked this tour independently as well--much cheaper than the Carnival tour offered. Apparently word got out at just how good these tours were and there were alot of people booked. We were only seeing the ruins--others were also going on to the Mayan village or to the Blue Lagoon after their ruins tours. When you get off the ship in this port, there are lots of armed guards around--this was the only port I noticed them at. It was a looong walk down the pier--a trolley was available if anyone wanted to wait for it. We walked--had to work off all of that late night ice cream we had.

 

 

We had to walk through the port area to the parking lot to meet our guides. There was a large pool, music, lots of shops right there--looked like it would have made for a fun day if you didn't want an excursion. We were organized into groups and then onto the buses to head to the site of the ruins. On the way, David--our tour guide--told us about how devastated the area was after Hurricane Dean. He said there were dead fish, rays, and eels way inland. The area is still quite devastated and they are rebuilding. There wasn't much to see along the way. It started raining at one point then the sun came out and we were treated to the prettiest rainbow

 

 

On the way the bus stopped at a roadside pineapple stand and David treated us all to fresh pineapple--so good. It took about 30 minutes or so to get to the ruins. When we arrived we had a little time to use the clean restrooms and check out the vendors--not pushy at all.

 

Our tour started and it was so interesting. David showed us how easy it was to find pottery pieces, showed us native plants and trees like the chicle tree (used to be used in gum) and allspice. I even have a cocoa bean in my scrapbook. Then we went on to the ruins--at this point we split into 2 groups as there was about 18 of us. We went with the other guide Luis and his 8 year old son (who ended up playing with my son during the tour). It was very beautiful and fascinating if you are at all interested in history. The guides were wonderful and I have many pics of the ruins so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

 

The vendors and restrooms were in this building

 

David--one of our guides

 

[bdink921]

 

 

 

There were some tablets under this little protective hut that had writings on them, but due to exposure to the elements, the writing is no longer readable

 

We walked up these steps and then into a wide open space with a couple of larger ruins that were just beautiful

 

[bdink921]

 

 

This one's my DS with the tour guide Luis' son--he spoke some English, but I think it's cool how kids can just play and get along even if they can't fully understand each other

 

After the tour we headed back to the main building where we first came in, then boarded the buses for the return trip to the port. By the way our guides told us that all the rounded hills we saw were actually uncovered ruins that will someday be excavated. We stopped in Pineapple Town again, this time for pineapple and coconut. We had the choice of being dropped off at the fishing village Mahajual or returning to the ship--we went back to the ship because it had just started to rain. At the port we shopped a little then made the long trek down that pier to the Glory--we really enjoyed this port.

 

Our tablemates who were with their granddaughter went to the resort beach break that was offered through the ship--said the water was dirty and full of seaweed, the pool was gross and although the staff really was nice, this place was not quite ready to reopen. They were disappointed. Our other tablemates--the couple--rented a jeep, I think and drove all over Costa Maya--said they felt very safe, saw alot of the area and that the people they met along the way were very friendly. Others from our roll call went to the fishing village for the day or stayed at the pool at the port--all said they had a good time.

[bdink921]

Our final port was Nassau. We had been there before on our Disney cruise and were really not impressed. We did the dolphin encounter at Blue Lagoon that time--DS loves dolphins and it was his birthday present. Afterward we left DS on the ship and ventured out to the straw market which was so not my cup of tea. We were offered drugs a couple of times and every time DH lit a cigarette many locals would come over to bum one. Not a big deal, but this one gentleman came up to DH 3 times and on the last time asked for some money. I told DH to stop smoking!!!!! Then we just went back to the ship. So we really were not looking forward to this port but ended up having a pretty fun day here.

 

This was also the only port where there were other ships--every other port it was just the Glory. I think the Destiny, Sensation, Disney Wonder, and one other ship were there with us--the port was pretty crowded. Disney Wonder was trailing us all the way to Nassau

 

 

 

 

In the terminal

 

We arrived around 830am I think and headed in to port. We were determined to get off that main first street area that has the dreaded straw market. Once we got through the main terminal to the street, the cab drivers were offering private tours to all of the sights as well as to Atlantis. We thought about it, then declined. My plan was to do a walking tour of Nassau--however I forgot to get a map so we just winged it LOL. We found our way to the Queen's Staircase. The traffic in Nassau is insane--quite the adventure making it to where we were going in one piece. A local gentleman walked up to us and told us all about the Queen's staircase--he was pretty interesting. After he was done, he told us that tips were welcome--I didn't mind seeing as he just gave us a history lesson, so we tipped him a couple of dollars. At the bottom of the staircase were a couple of vendors--low key, no pressure. We bought a couple of souvies and continued on.

 

 

[cjkumbaya]

Your review is really great - we will be taking this cruise in November. Thanks so much for sharing your fantastic cruise with all of us. Looking forward to more.

[bdink921]

At the top of the staircase were lots of vendors and Fort Fincastle which is really just a small piece of building, but it had great views from the top. Another 'guide' gave us the history of the Fort. It started raining while we were here but it was so hot that we didn't care.

 

 

 

 

Here's some of the ships that were in port--by the time we finished our little walking tour, there was one more--so maybe there were only 4 ships in port, not 5!!

 

We made our way over to the Pirate Museum--it's funny but no one wants to give directions in Nassau--they'll take you there for a charge but no directions--finally one of the vendors at the Queen's Staircase told us the general direction and we found it with no problem.

 

 

Our pirate guide--he was sooo funny

 

After we toured the museum we headed back to the ship for some uncrowded pool time. We found in Nassau that the farther you got away from the immediate port area, the nicer it was. People were pretty friendly--except for giving directions. Our tablemates and a couple from our roll call went to the public beach, said the taxi was $9, the beach was free, and the water was beautiful. The said some locals do try to sell stuff but a 'no thank you' and they were on their way. We ended up enjoying Nassau and if we ever went again, I think we would head to the beach--the water in the Bahamas is absolutely beautiful--or maybe finally check out Atlantis.

[sqerlygirl]

I was just wondering how you were able to get to the Port so early?

 

We are staying at the Radisson and we were told the 1st shuttle doesn't leave until 11:30am. We were considering taking a taxi in order to get there earlier and miss the crowds.

 

Great Review!

[cruisingirl75]

Some friends of ours were on that same cruise. They had an absolute blast on that cruise. She also mentioned about the Disney cruise ship that seemed to follow them everywhere. She took pictures of it every time she saw it.

[Melknor]

We sail 9/20 on the Legend out of Tampa. We too are going to Disney before our trip and are staying at the Poly!!! For us it is cheaper to fly into Tampa compared to Orlando. You hooked me at Poly................can't wait to read to more of your trip report.

[bdink921]

I was just wondering how you were able to get to the Port so early?

 

We are staying at the Radisson and we were told the 1st shuttle doesn't leave until 11:30am. We were considering taking a taxi in order to get there earlier and miss the crowds.

 

Great Review!

 

We didn't take a taxi--we had rented a car from Avis in Orlando and returned it in Cape Canaveral--we were on one of the first shuttles over there. It was nice to beat the crowds and get on the ship early!!!

[bdink921]

We sail 9/20 on the Legend out of Tampa. We too are going to Disney before our trip and are staying at the Poly!!! For us it is cheaper to fly into Tampa compared to Orlando. You hooked me at Poly................can't wait to read to more of your trip report.

 

We loved the Poly--a bit of a splurge though but it really gave us a chance to get into vacation mode before the cruise--a little like 2 trips in one!!! We did wish that we had just stayed the extra night though instead of going to Cape Canaveral.

[Vidimom]

I wanted to thank you for this wonderful review! We sail on the same itinerary in 11 days! Your pictures are wonderful and gave us an insight on what to expect.

 

Question: Did you see any of the passengers go outside of the gate in Belize? We are considering it as there is supposed to be a craft market a block away. Any info is appreciated!

 

Thanks again for all of your hard work!

[bdink921]

Debarkation

 

It was very sad to wake up around 530am and see us heading toward Port Canaveral :(. We were doing regular debarkation instead of self assist--our flight was at 2pm so we felt we didn't need to hurry. We had tag #14 so we figured we'd be off the ship pretty early. Getting off the ship wasn't nearly as great as getting on it though!!! Boy did the crew have some cleaning up to do!!! They are amazing. The first few groups of self assist were called early but then for some reason there was a huge delay in customs. We went to the Amber Palace after breakfast and were talkng to some folks there--said we were delayed because of our stop in Belize :confused:--I didn't get that but anyways by 1030am they were only on like #11 or 12. We just got up and got in line to get off the ship. By the time we got to customs, the agent tossed our declaration paper on the table took a quick look at one passport, then we were on our way. There were already people arriving to get on the ship for the next cruise--felt bad that there was no way they were getting on as early as we did--there were still so many people on board trying to get off.

 

We had made a reservation with Cocoa Beach Shuttle back to the airport. It was something like $70 and kids ride free. You also get 10% off if you mention Cruise Critic. We had to wait until the shuttle filled and then the 30-40 minute ride to the airport. The shuttle was fine but they drop you off in terminal B and we needed to check in at A--not a huge deal. The line for Southwest was something I don't want to see again--it was soooo long. We ended up getting to security around 1230pm and thank goodness it wasn't a long wait here too. It we had booked a flight earlier, there is no way we would have made it unless we did self-assist debarkation.

 

Final thoughts: Wow, this was just the best vacation we have ever been on!!! It was truly as near perfect as it could get (the few wrinkles there were hardly affected the great time we had). I was very hesitant about cruising on the Glory and Carnival in general--but yep, I'm a believer now :D. The couple of negatives I had were:

 

Camp Carnival--I already reviewed this on the family board, but this was one area we were a little disappointed. DS loved the kids club on Disney--he wanted to go every night to 'his club'. 'Pick me up at midnight, Mom'. Camp Carnival had many more quiet and artsy type activities instead of the active ones. Sure there were a few things he liked such as the scavenger hunt (we gave him sign out privileges only for this, otherwise he waited for us to get him), learning some hip hop moves with Fun Force, and mock blackjack but really he wasn't there very much and that was fine with us--he just didn't want to go. We had lots of quality time together so it was a blessing in disguise. He ended up being my 'date' to the shows, etc. Maybe he's growing out of the clubs but really I think he would have loved it if there were more active activites such as deck sports or gross boy science experiments.

 

Rowdy teens--There were alot of kids on this cruise--and we expected that, we brought one with us to add to the fun. For the most part they were very well behaved--you would find them in the Red Sail at night playing cards and stuff like that. There was this one small group we seemed to see everywhere. Ever wonder why many of the arcade games are broken? Well, this particular group would kick the machine until it broke--one let them play for free because the coin slot was completely busted and many of the games were broken or badly damaged. Kids were swinging off the top of the air hockey game--it was crazy. We were going to let Jacob hang out unattended in the arcade for short amounts of time here and there (he wanted to be in there all the time) until we saw how these kids were acting, especially to the younger kids. We'll just have to hang out with him for a couple more years:). One kid went to jump on the motorcycle game DS was patiently waiting for a while to play, not knowing we were watching in the distance--we just yelled 'Hey' and the kid jumped off saying 'just kidding'. We did report what we saw and security ended up having to have someone in there at night to 'babysit'. JMO but there really should be an arcade attendant in there at all times. That and camera surveillance so that the parents of these kids would get a nice hefty addition to their S&S bill to pay for the vandalized games. The only other bad behavior we saw was that someone went down the hall on our cabin deck and smashed all of the room service cups that people had left out to be picked up. Didn't ruin our cruise or anything, but I swear if my DS acted like that.....!!!!

 

Hope you all enjoyed reliving our cruise with me. Fabulous itinerary, crew, and ship. Looking at the Liberty next July for the Eastern this time--I can't wait to book the next one!!!

[bdink921]

I wanted to thank you for this wonderful review! We sail on the same itinerary in 11 days! Your pictures are wonderful and gave us an insight on what to expect.

 

Question: Did you see any of the passengers go outside of the gate in Belize? We are considering it as there is supposed to be a craft market a block away. Any info is appreciated!

 

Thanks again for all of your hard work!

 

I didn't see anyone go out of the gates to town in Belize. Our tour guides mentioned the craft market but by the time we finished our excursion it was time to get back on the ship. It didn't seem like the safest port to me though, JMHO of course. I would ask that question on the Belize board. Have a great time on your cruise!!!

[gaylebd]

I didn't see anyone go out of the gates to town in Belize. Our tour guides mentioned the craft market but by the time we finished our excursion it was time to get back on the ship. It didn't seem like the safest port to me though, JMHO of course. I would ask that question on the Belize board. Have a great time on your cruise!!!

 

Glad you had such a great time- and thank you for the review - we will be on in 11 Days - can't wait!!

 

As to Belize - we went outside the gates in 2005 and wandered - we found a few small "artsy" stores where we bought a couple of things, a very nice small oil painting done by a local, etc.

I'm not sure if it was the craft area - but it sounds like it.

[gaylebd]

Hey bdink - how about posting the recent capers if you have them?

 

We would love you for it!

[etwright]

Thanks for the review. We really enjoyed it. Sailing on the Glory in December. Can't wait!!!:cool:

[beverland]

We're on this sailing this weekend.

 

Where were you docked in Cozumel? I'm hoping since we're the only ship in port, we'll dock at the downtown San Migel dock.

 

Thanks for the great review and photos! :D