B
bstarne
Guest
We just returned from a Glory 7 day western Carribean cruise. Here are some thoughts on the ship and the trip.
Embarktation: Very smooth for my friend and me. We rented an AVIS car in Orlando, drove it around for a couple of days and then returned it to the AVIS at Port Canaveral. AVIS has two shuttles that run to the port constantly and quickly got us to the port. We had stayed at the Radisson in Port Canaveral the night before (they also have transportation to the port) but opted to just use AVIS instead. We got to the port at around 10:45 and were on the ship by 11:30....I think how soon you can get on depends on how quickly the previous cruisers can get off the ship. Friends on the cruise with us stayed in Orlando (booked via Carnival) and ended up standing in line for about 30minutes to check in but the line went quickly.
Room: We had room 8454 which is a Veranda Aft balcony, right in the center of the back of the ship. Perfect location! Loved to stand out and watch the wake of the ship. These balconies are longer than those on the sides of the ship. There was a good deal of ship movement for our entire cruise and I suspect it was felt more in the aft rooms but it wasn't bothersome. The lido deck is directly above these rooms and there was some scraping of chairs above us but, again, not bothersome to me or my partner. Lots of vibration from the engine was felt on the entire ship. Our friends had an inside room on deck 6....lots of families and running children on this deck....I think if you want quiet go higher and more expensive and there will be less and less children. Our room could only sleep 2.
Ship: I have cruised before with Carnival on the Ecstasy and the Glory is much more elegant appearing. Granted this is Carnival and the ships all must have a certain gawdy, tacky look, this ship was a bit more subdued than I had expected. I felt as though the ship was quite capable of handling the 3400 passengers we had with us. I never stood in any line more than 2-3 minutes and those lines were usually for the sushi and hamburger bars. Lots of deck space to use, quiet spots can be found with some searching and loud, busy places are easy to find. As I had previously stated there was a lot of movement on our cruise. The crew told us that this was normal for this time of year and it has been worse in the past few weeks. It took a day to get my sea legs and after that I never noticed the movement too much unless I was in an enclosed space such as the bathroom or elevator. There is a noticable vibration in the aft dining room (Platinum) which is directly above the engine.
Smoke: I have read many reviews commenting on the smoking on board and how bad it can be. I didn't really have any issues with smokers except in the Casino when someone would light up right next to me. I would just move to another table and all would be fine. One entire side of the outside decks are non-smoking, as is the promenade area outside the teen club and disco.
Ports of call:
Costa Maya: small, tiny, did a bike and kayak thing which was fun but I would have had just as much fun staying on the ship. Nice shopping area at the pier.
Belize: Had a blast at Shark Alley snorkling. This is a tender port which means you are picked up for your excursion from the ship in whatever boat you are going to be snorkling from....ours was rather small and provided some nervous moments stepping from the gangway into the boat but it was fine. Our boat had to turn back because a woman completely freaked out about being in the open water on such a small boat, this made all of us have less snorkle time....one might wonder why someone would book such a tour if they were so scared of the water and then inconvience everyone else by demanding that she be taken back....I guess with over 3000 folks there are going to be some self-centered kooks. The guides were fantastic, very friendly and spoke English perfectly (English is the official language of Belize). After the snorkle we were taken to San Pedro island (La Isla Bonita aka Madonna) for shopping and bar hopping. TAKE SMALL BILLS TO BELIZE!!! They don't and won't give american dollars as change. Ask them before you order if they can give AMERICAN change, otherwise you will end up with some useless Belize bills.
Cozumel: Did the jeep and passion island excursion. This was a total BLAST. We had a fantastic time....we blew out the muffler in our jeep going through a small pond full of rocks and the guides just laughed with us! After doing donuts and flying through rivers in the forest we took a small boat to Passion Island and spent 3 hours eating, looking for shells, drinking, and sleeping in hammocks. Highly recommend this tour.
Progresso: We went to Chichen Itza... Fascinating tour and informative. Only negative is the 2 hour bus ride to and from the location. The buses were mercedes benz and very nice so at least the ride was comfortable. I would do this one again and recommend it to others. Our friends did the beach break here and felt as though it was a waste of money. The talk from the others on the ship (including the crew) is that if you are not going to do one of the ruins tours then stay on the ship. The shopping is bad and the beaches are ugly.
Food: Great! Better than I expected from Carnival. My thoughts are if you want the perfect burger then don't go to McDonalds. Carnival isn't considered a luxury line, it is a value line and you get what you pay for. The meals on the ship were well done and quite pleasing for the price of the cruise. We ate in the Emerald room one night and it was FABULOUS. Well worth the extra money. I have no complaints about the food or food service. Favorite snacking place was the pizzeria.
Disembarktation: Slow! Slow! Slow! Be patient and follow the instructions. The only thing that made it worse was the dense passengers who absolutely refuse to follow the directions stated about 20 seperate times the day before.
Hope this helps! Feel free to ask questions
Embarktation: Very smooth for my friend and me. We rented an AVIS car in Orlando, drove it around for a couple of days and then returned it to the AVIS at Port Canaveral. AVIS has two shuttles that run to the port constantly and quickly got us to the port. We had stayed at the Radisson in Port Canaveral the night before (they also have transportation to the port) but opted to just use AVIS instead. We got to the port at around 10:45 and were on the ship by 11:30....I think how soon you can get on depends on how quickly the previous cruisers can get off the ship. Friends on the cruise with us stayed in Orlando (booked via Carnival) and ended up standing in line for about 30minutes to check in but the line went quickly.
Room: We had room 8454 which is a Veranda Aft balcony, right in the center of the back of the ship. Perfect location! Loved to stand out and watch the wake of the ship. These balconies are longer than those on the sides of the ship. There was a good deal of ship movement for our entire cruise and I suspect it was felt more in the aft rooms but it wasn't bothersome. The lido deck is directly above these rooms and there was some scraping of chairs above us but, again, not bothersome to me or my partner. Lots of vibration from the engine was felt on the entire ship. Our friends had an inside room on deck 6....lots of families and running children on this deck....I think if you want quiet go higher and more expensive and there will be less and less children. Our room could only sleep 2.
Ship: I have cruised before with Carnival on the Ecstasy and the Glory is much more elegant appearing. Granted this is Carnival and the ships all must have a certain gawdy, tacky look, this ship was a bit more subdued than I had expected. I felt as though the ship was quite capable of handling the 3400 passengers we had with us. I never stood in any line more than 2-3 minutes and those lines were usually for the sushi and hamburger bars. Lots of deck space to use, quiet spots can be found with some searching and loud, busy places are easy to find. As I had previously stated there was a lot of movement on our cruise. The crew told us that this was normal for this time of year and it has been worse in the past few weeks. It took a day to get my sea legs and after that I never noticed the movement too much unless I was in an enclosed space such as the bathroom or elevator. There is a noticable vibration in the aft dining room (Platinum) which is directly above the engine.
Smoke: I have read many reviews commenting on the smoking on board and how bad it can be. I didn't really have any issues with smokers except in the Casino when someone would light up right next to me. I would just move to another table and all would be fine. One entire side of the outside decks are non-smoking, as is the promenade area outside the teen club and disco.
Ports of call:
Costa Maya: small, tiny, did a bike and kayak thing which was fun but I would have had just as much fun staying on the ship. Nice shopping area at the pier.
Belize: Had a blast at Shark Alley snorkling. This is a tender port which means you are picked up for your excursion from the ship in whatever boat you are going to be snorkling from....ours was rather small and provided some nervous moments stepping from the gangway into the boat but it was fine. Our boat had to turn back because a woman completely freaked out about being in the open water on such a small boat, this made all of us have less snorkle time....one might wonder why someone would book such a tour if they were so scared of the water and then inconvience everyone else by demanding that she be taken back....I guess with over 3000 folks there are going to be some self-centered kooks. The guides were fantastic, very friendly and spoke English perfectly (English is the official language of Belize). After the snorkle we were taken to San Pedro island (La Isla Bonita aka Madonna) for shopping and bar hopping. TAKE SMALL BILLS TO BELIZE!!! They don't and won't give american dollars as change. Ask them before you order if they can give AMERICAN change, otherwise you will end up with some useless Belize bills.
Cozumel: Did the jeep and passion island excursion. This was a total BLAST. We had a fantastic time....we blew out the muffler in our jeep going through a small pond full of rocks and the guides just laughed with us! After doing donuts and flying through rivers in the forest we took a small boat to Passion Island and spent 3 hours eating, looking for shells, drinking, and sleeping in hammocks. Highly recommend this tour.
Progresso: We went to Chichen Itza... Fascinating tour and informative. Only negative is the 2 hour bus ride to and from the location. The buses were mercedes benz and very nice so at least the ride was comfortable. I would do this one again and recommend it to others. Our friends did the beach break here and felt as though it was a waste of money. The talk from the others on the ship (including the crew) is that if you are not going to do one of the ruins tours then stay on the ship. The shopping is bad and the beaches are ugly.
Food: Great! Better than I expected from Carnival. My thoughts are if you want the perfect burger then don't go to McDonalds. Carnival isn't considered a luxury line, it is a value line and you get what you pay for. The meals on the ship were well done and quite pleasing for the price of the cruise. We ate in the Emerald room one night and it was FABULOUS. Well worth the extra money. I have no complaints about the food or food service. Favorite snacking place was the pizzeria.
Disembarktation: Slow! Slow! Slow! Be patient and follow the instructions. The only thing that made it worse was the dense passengers who absolutely refuse to follow the directions stated about 20 seperate times the day before.
Hope this helps! Feel free to ask questions
