Carnival Glory
by Donna Nye
Western Caribbean
September 10, 2005
Ship
We had opted to fly down the day of the cruise, and had booked an early AM flight for Sat the 10th of Sept. A few months before our cruise American Airlines had dropped that flight and the next earliest flight had us arriving at 12:58, which were were able to make and everything went on time. Once we picked up our luggage and found the Carnival reps in the baggage area, they said to just go outside and place luggage where the bus would be. After a short wait, a bus did arrive and with in half an hour we were on our way, arriving at the pier about 2:45 and onboard by 3:00. When driving over the bridge to get into the port, you could see both Carnival Glory and Disney Magic, what a sight, both large ships, but Glory being a bit larger. Since it was later in the day, we were able to get through embarkment fairly quickly and I did print out my "fun pass", they didn't even look at it, but I think by having that, it lets them know everything except showing the elusive credit card, is in order. For some reason, after you finish at the first stop, you need to then go to another area to actually pick up your sign/sail cards, seemed to us, it would be easier and quicker to do that all at once and then go and board. Next stop was to have your picture taken for the sign/sail card, there was a small line for that, and next we were entering the ship.
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This was our first cruise on any Carnival cruise and I was expecting to like it, but not as much as I actually did. We did a quick stop at our aft balcony cabin, deck 7, #7442, to drop our carry-on luggage off and then go to the buffet and get a quick snack, since we haven't eaten since we were in O'Hare before we took off. We were able to get a nice lunch, and meet some of my son's family that was just finishing their lunch. By this time it was almost sail away time and the 4:00 muster drill, so we rushed back to the cabin to pick up our life preservers and get to our station, all were on just one deck, deck 4. We did notice they never checked to see what passengers were from what cabin and if all were accounted for, but eventually we were able to return to our cabins and watch the sail away. We headed up for the pool deck to see the ship leave; there we met our cruisemate Robo and Darlene and her traveling companion. I know Darlene was on the ship, but I never saw her again, so I'm hoping she enjoyed the cruise as much as we did. I should also add, we were afraid of some nasty weather in the area, but as luck would have it, left and moved further north/east, so weather was not a problem for the entire week, now this week is looking different. The average temps all week were all in the 80's and even 90's by the time we hit Belize, almost too hot, but since you are always near water and have those lovely sea breezes, it was not too much of a big deal, and our A/C in our cabin was always at the coolest and felt wonderful.
The main buffet restaurant, Red Sail, was located on deck 9 and a smaller area for fish and chips on deck 10, so it was nicely located and easy to find. We did have a major problem with the flow or layout of the ship. Only deck 5 were you able to go from one end of the ship to the other, you always had to go around because of the 2 dining rooms placed at the ends, which made it impossible to get through, other than going a deck up or down. I was also a bit disappointed, that you couldn't walk all the way around (outside) the ship, just wasn't possible, although there was a large area where the joggers could do their daily miles and not be in the way of any passengers on one of the pool decks. Both dining rooms were 2 stories and at each end of the ship, so they had 4 different dinner times, 2 early and 2 later. The theater, Amber Palace was located in the front of the ship, so you needed to go through the casino to get there, but there was a wide walkway to get through without walking directly through the game tables or slots. There were some nice shops onboard, deck 4 and numerous bars throughout the ship. Very cool disco close to the kid's video arcade which was also very impressive
There were 3 pools and half a dozen hot tubs, 2 pools in the main pool area and a nice quieter aft pool on deck 9, which I enjoyed on some days as well as the main pool area. I must say, I never had a problem getting a lounge chair near any pool that just was not a problem. I did have a few problems with the actual lounge chairs, they have a plastic piece that holds the top of the chair in place and they were always falling out, just not a good lounge chair, but plenty of them.
This cruise we had breakfast a few mornings in the dining room, which we found to be the way to go, usually some long lines to get breakfast and lunch some days, depending on what time you are trying to eat, service in the morning for breakfast in the dining room was pleasantly quick and made to order. I was craving waffles, and couldn't find them in the dining room or the Red Sail, but was able to have eggs benedict in the dinning room, very good. It was also nice having eggs made the way I wanted and not just scrambled, which was available everyday in the Red Sail. We were very happy with the daily lunch buffet, always a different selection and tasty.
Since we were traveling with a group, we had 3 different tables in the dining room, so we were able to chat with the other tables, take pictures, etc. The waiter and asst. waiter we had were very good; our orders were always served in a short amount of time and to our liking. I especially enjoy all the desserts served, some evenings I had no room, but when I saw the menu, had to order and they were always excellent! We had no complaints of any of the dinner meals, all were good, some better than others.
Cabin
We again enjoyed having an aft balcony cabin on deck 7, nice location and we used the stairs just about at every opportunity, so going up to the buffet or the pool deck was easy and the stairs and elevators were a short walk down the hall. The cabin itself was a bit smaller than the recent cabins we had on Royal Caribbean, but still nice size. We could have used more drawer space, but had plenty of closet space. Bathroom was nicely laid out, small shower, always nice warm water and decent water pressure. Both George and I had once made the mistake and not check to make sure the curtain was all the way inside the shower and had flooded the bathroom, but it has a little drainage area, so the damage was minimal and easy to clean up. In addition to bar soap, there were also dispensers with shampoo and liquid bath soap, so that was nice.
Entertainment
We attended every evening show, except for one night. The two Broadway type shows were outstanding, the dancers were just so good, not a set out of place and very fast paced shows. There were some times though, where the volume was just a tad too high. Lighting along with the shows was also very nicely times and perfect. Our Cruisemates group was able to get a back stage tour on the last day, very informative. I always pictured the back stage area to be much larger than it actually is, they have a very small area to get props in an out of and it has to be timed to the second. We did notice that every stage change was done very quickly. I think Carnival spends a lot of money and time on their shows and it does show. There were a few late night shows, but we were just too tired and in bed sleeping to see any of those.
Ports of Call
Our fist day was the "Key West" stop and we simply got off and explored the town, lots of the normal touristy shops, almost too many. Also lots of bars, almost one at every corner. We were traveling with some family members and my son and his wife walked all the way to the Butterfly farm and enjoyed that a lot. I did see some of the pictures and was totally amazed, sorry we didn't just head down that way. The day we were there, was very warm and humid, we just wanted to get back onboard the ship and cool off, have a bite of lunch and relax. This was the only stop we didn't have an excursion planned.
After a sea day, we were at Belize and had booked a snorkeling excursion at Goffs Caye. One of the best snorkeling days we've ever had. We had to take a boat trip, about half an hour away from the ship, but the boat picked us up at the ship, so we didn't have to take the long tender ride into town. Once at this tiny island, it was off to snorkel, this was a guided snorkel trip, 2 different groups, I ended up with a group of just 5 of us and George stayed on the boat and went with the larger group. I saw coral like I've never seen before and plenty of fish, an eel and some kind of sting ray, that was huge just swimming by, looked like it was just flying in the water, just so amazing. It was also nice having a guide pointing out things of interest, things I would have missed. He informed us, this Great Barrier Reef, is the largest living reef in the world, second to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, I had no idea. I guess a lot of the coral in the Australian reef is not alive. I've never seen coral such as this, I was in awe. Once we arrived back on the ship 4 hours later, there was still time to go into town, which I opted to pass on, but George made the ride and enjoyed seeing the port area again. We had been there the previous year and he said they've added a lot more stores, etc.
The following day was our Cozumel day and we had pre-booked the dolphin swim at Chanakanaab Park. I have always wanted to visit this park and see that and also do a dolphin swim. It was so unbelievable, we all loved it. I was just amazed at the power these animals have, plus being so intelligent. We all got to hang on to their dorsal fin and get pulled through the water in addition to having them push our feet that literally brings us out of the water. At first I was a little afraid, but after just a few minutes with then, that feeling left and I was loving it. I just hope they enjoy this kind of playing as much as we did. You do pay a high price for just doing the excursion, but they hit you again, later with a DVD or a video, plus more pictures. You can easily spend the same amount of money if you bought all the pictures and video, just overkill. We did end up buying one nice picture; kids bought more pictures and the DVD. They do let you view the video before buying and I will say, it's nicely put together with title, music, etc.just not worth that price in my opinion.
Our last 2 days were sea days, we had originally had a stop planned for Progresso, but Carnival decided to spend a longer time in Cozumel and drop the Progresso stop all together. We were disappointed in that decision; we had never been there and were looking forward to visiting a new island.
Summary
I would say if, another Carnival cruise comes along that is of interest to me in ports, ship, etc. I would not hesitate to book it. Being that this was our first cruise with Carnival, I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was, from food to entertainment and service too. We also were cruising with a really nice bunch of Cruisemates, which included members of our family. That always makes cruising a lot of fun. Other than the flow problem, Carnival Glory is a wonderful ship and yes, fun too, after all, it is one of the "Fun" ships.
I also have some Glory pictures in the Photo Gallery here at Cruisemates:
