I went on the Carnival Glory 8/2-8/9. We went to Key West (not bad), Belize (not worth it), Cozumel (got suckered into doing the Passion Island excursion) and Progresso (pretty nice).
Pros: the Glory is very big, clean, nice. We were upgraded to the top suite (one level under the best room). The suites are beautiful. The balaconies are really nice. Because we were in the suites we got to check in in their "Captain's Check-In" or something like that. We got to by-pass the huge check in line. Very nice. If you are in a suite make sure you check in there. It will save you one giant headache before you even get on the ship. The staff seemed so-so. Some seemed really pleased to be there. Others seemed like they've been on the boat for years. The food was good. The shows they had were top-notch. There seemed to be a lot of things to do during the days at sea.
Cons: They have you pre-tip before you even get on the ship. Not bad, but after 7 days we felt obligated to double tip. Their Emerald Room (Dinner Club) was ok. We rushed to sign up. There really was no need to. Most of the tables were empty. Plus, at $25 per person, plus wine, etc., and we all agreed it was not worth it. The Activities Director really pushes for passengers to sign up for excursions. He also pushed to keep people from going off shopping on their own: safety, lack of shops, etc. We found nothing could be further from the truth. It was apparent Carnival wants you to shop in the shops they've given their "approval" to. In Belize for instance, we went outside the "port" shops and found tons of merchants selling the exact same things as in the port, however, for a fraction of the price. Plus, you really feel like you are supporting the local economy. A few friends in our group did one of the tours out to the ruins in Belize. They were extremely disappointed. "Rip-off" and "waste of time" is what they said.
Additional Cons: There were several instances where it seemed they were still trying to work the kinks out of the ship. Examples: out of certain wines, closed-access tv stations showed the same day over and over again without putting on the other activities, excursions all ending at the same time creating a bottleneck of some 1000 people all trying to get on the boat at the same time. Our group signed up for the "Passion Island" excursion in Cozumel. The Activities Director really talked this one up. The guide we had was great, other than that we'd all have to say it was a rip-off ($70+ per person) and a waste of a trip to Cozumel. There was really no snorkeling. The beach was nice and they did have unlimited drinks for free; however, considering we were only in Cozumel for a few hours, our time would have been better spent doing something else. Our entire time in Cozumel was spent on this excursion. If you heed any advice I give, do not waste your time on this excursion. I had been to Cozumel several times. Friends in our group had not. Other than the drive to the Island, they didn't get a chance to see Cozumel at all.
Excursions: Key West was ok. Belize (see above) was very short. We had to take tenders to get to shore. We couldn't get off the boat for at least 3 hours after we arrived. Cozumel (see above). Progresso. Several people in our group took a tour of the ruins. They liked it enough. It was supposedly better than the ones in Belize. The rest of our group took the shuttle to Progresso and had the best time out of all the ports of call. Progresso has a lot of shops, the people are really friendly and there are some great bars to enjoy a drink. Plus, right outside of the little market there (where the ship's shuttle drops you off) they have a double decker bus where you can have a 30 minute tour of the city for $2 USD and a tip. Well worth it. Definitely grab a few friends and walk around Progresso if you go there. The ships have only been going there for a couple of years so the town is still in it's infancy as far as being filled with tourist and tourist activities.
Lines, lines and more lines. Anyone who has been on a cruise before will be used to this.
Worst part: 4 out of our group (including myself) got sick as a dog after we got back. I was in bed for a week. The verdict by my doctor: "The Flu. No matter how much they clean those ships, all the passengers are all breathing the same air."
Oh, my friends would kill me if I didn't mention the piano player in one of the bars. I think it was something like "The Red Room". We hung out there the last night and really regret not going there sooner. It's a 360 bar with a piano in the middle spinning around slowly. The guy was pretty good and could pretty much play anything you can think of. He really got the crowd into it.
