This is my review of our Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Glory, 8/30/03. I hope you enjoy it! A little background: Ages: I am 37 and my husband is 54. I have taken 4 Carnival cruises and 1 Princess cruise. My husband has also been on 4 previous Carnival cruises. I did not care for my cruise on Princess. For me, Carnival surpasses Princess in every aspect that is important to us: service, food and fun. We are big Carnival fans and feel that no other cruise line would be a better fit for us. We also vacation at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun which we enjoy just as much as cruising.

We flew from NY to Orlando two days ahead so we could relax before our cruise. We took the Cocoa Beach Shuttle for $21 p/p to our hotel, the Comfort Suites. I do not recommend booking the ocean-view balcony rooms as the view is mostly of the parking lot. Location was convenient. There was a Winn-Dixie right across the street where we purchased a box of wine and a 12-pack of beer to take on the ship. There were also multiple restaurants and clothing shops within walking distance. We met up with an old friend who lives in Cocoa Beach. He took us around to some of the local bars and restaurants. Our two days in Cocoa Beach flew by and then it was Saturday morning: cruise day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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EMBARKATION

This was going to be a very exciting day because I was giving my husband a very big surprise. Six months earlier I had arranged for his daughter, 26, and his son, 29, to come on this cruise with us. We had managed to keep the secret all this time. Lisa had to fly all the way from Seattle, and Marc was flying from Philadelphia. I was very nervous that something would go wrong, but everything went smoothly. They even made it to the cruise terminal before us. This was their first cruise. My husband and I took the free shuttle from the hotel at 11:30. Once at the port, we dropped off our luggage and made our way to the terminal. Things seemed to be organized well. I was rather angry that the security refused to hand-check our 800-speed film. We only allowed the film to go through that one time and one other time when coming back from shore. After a total of only two passes through the machine, there was some damage to the film in the form of dark spots. Fortunately, only some pictures were damaged. We made our way upstairs to the check-in area, and then my husband heard someone saying, "Daddy, Daddy." It was his daughter. He couldn't believe his kids were going to be on the cruise with us. Needless to say, he was very happy. We got through the check-in process quickly and were on the ship by 12:30.

CABINS

We first went to check out our cabins. Our cabin was 7439, one of the L-shaped cabins with an extra long balcony. I did not feel that there was any extra space inside. There was plenty of closet space and drawers. The room stewardess, Johanna, introduced herself right away. She immediately took care of several small requests we had. She took excellent care of us all week. Marc and Lisa were one deck above us in an inside cabin. They received the same excellent service from their steward. At embarkation, we had received a flyer with our Sail & Sign cards advising us not to use the cards to lock our safe. I had brought 4 old S&S cards and we used those instead. Before leaving our room, I used Funvision to book our Shark-Ray Alley tour in Belize. I found it very easy to use.

VERY IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO!

1. Check out dining room assignment
2. Eat lunch at the Lido deck buffet
We were assigned to late seating, as requested, in the Platinum dining room. We went to check on our table, and found that it was a table for 8. We considered asking for a table for 4, but decided to wait and see how that night's dinner went. As you will read later, we certainly made the correct decision. We then made our way to the Lido buffet and enjoyed a rather large lunch. Afterward, we wandered the ship, then went back to our cabins to prepare for the lifeboat drill. Our luggage had already arrived. The drill was painless. We returned to our cabin, spent some time on our balcony, and rested up for dinner.

PLATINUM DINING ROOM

First, this was a beautiful room. It seemed larger than the dining rooms on Destiny and Triumph. We did not experience the over-crowding that others have reported though. The 2 couples seated with us were also traveling together. Our waiter and waitress introduced themselves, Alwyn, from India, and Katarena, from Slovokia. They were truly excellent and I believe they must be among the best that Carnival has to offer. Bread, butter, water, iced tea, were all replenished as needed without having to ask. Alwyn remembered everyone's special quirks and we were constantly given additional appetizers, entrees, and desserts to try. When I told Alwyn that there was nothing I liked on Beef Wellington night, which was on Wednesday night, he told me that I could get a sirloin steak instead, no problem. Alwyn and Katarena are sooooo personable and professional. We decided to cancel our reservation at the supper club because we did not want to miss a night dining with them. We tipped them well above the suggested amounts. We also enjoyed the singing Maitre'd, Ken. He really did sound just like Frank Sinatra. We enjoyed the waiters and waitresses dancing every night, and did not notice any lapses in service due to this. I thought the food was on par with our cruise 2 years ago. The desserts were better, especially the creme brulee.

ENTERTAINMENT

We were very disappointed that comedian Al Ernst was not on this cruise. We stopped in to hear Carl Faulkenberry, and were not impressed. The young lady singing and playing piano by the casino was very good. She reminded me of Jewel. The piano bar singer sounded good also. I missed the 4 man band on the Lido deck. There were only two musicians this time, and they did not have the spirit or energy of previous bands. We attended the deck party which was tame compared to others I have attended. None of the bars or lounges seemed to be as lively or as crowded as on previous cruises. I thought the entertainment was as good as ever, but it was a very quiet crowd. The bartenders we spoke to also thought so. They said they didn't mind though, because they needed a break after the summer crowds. Many told us of out-of-control kids. One expressed the opinion that Carnival should make use of "the jail" on the ship, and that perhaps this would curb such behavior. The 2 big shows in the Amber Palace were excellent. I know some people think they're hokey, but I would have seen both shows twice if I could have. The lead female singer has a very strong voice. You won't find anything like her on American Idol. Excellent! We also enjoyed the magic show. As for cruise director Greg Kneale, very ordinary. He was constantly on ship's TV and I found him very hard to watch. I also take issue with his presentations regarding the ports. I am all for giving passengers a realistic view of the ports, however I felt he gave SUCH a negative view of port times and activities that many people were wondering why they even bothered to take this cruise.

KEY WEST
Time in Port: 12:00-6:00pm
After being warned that it would take a very long time to disembark, passengers, including us, began lining up 30 minutes early causing congestion in the stairwells. There were only 4 trolleys, holding about 64 people each, assigned to our ship. The trolley took us into town. The architecture of the old houses was amazing. That is really the best I can say about Key West. I would rather go to Progreso, San Juan, Jamaica or anywhere else. We met many rude people. We asked several people working in different establishments to point us in the direction of the Key Lime shop, and received answers of "I don't know." A salesclerk asked if I needed help. When I told her I was waiting for my friend to finish trying on a swimsuit, she rolled her eyes and turned her back on me. We did stop at Sloppy Joe's for a couple beers and had a nice waitress. When we eventually found the Key Lime Pie Shop, the pie was excellent. I really could have done without this port and spent more time at another.

BELIZE
Time in Port 8:00am-5:00pm
We had booked the Shark-Ray Alley tour and left the ship at 8:00am. We boarded a boat, put on our life jackets, and we were off. One of the guides told us that we were traveling at about 35mph. We received our snorkel equipment, stopped at Caye Caulker for a few minutes, then took a short ride to the snorkel site. We were there about an hour. We did see multiple sharks and a couple large rays. There were numerous fish and coral. I thought the snorkeling was excellent. Even more excellent were our guides, Zack and Ash. They owned the boat, called Meteoride, and worked for a larger business that contracts with Carnival. These young men were very personable, answered all questions, and really looked out for all of us. Consider yourself very fortunate if they lead your tour. After snorkeling, we sped over to San Pedro for a barbecue lunch that is included with the price of the tour. It wasn't ready yet, so we wandered into town. It had been threatening rain all morning, and finally it started to pour. The streets truly are made of sand, not pavement. We quickly found a local restaurant, Cucina Caramba, and ordered Lighthouse beer that was very good. The employees there were very friendly. Belize is 2 hours behind ship time, so the kitchen was not really open yet. They did serve us Lobster Ceviche, salsa, and chips. All very good and not expensive. I wish it had not been raining so we could have seen more of San Pedro. We made our way back to the dock where they still had the buffet open. The barbecue chicken was delicious. Finally, the sun came out. On our way back to the ship, we came upon another small boat, full of snorkelers, which was either out of gas or had mechanical problems. Zack and Ash said after they dropped us off at the ship, they would go back and get the people who were stranded. I loved the people I met in Belize and would love to go back. Only drawback to this tour: just 2 hours in San Pedro. Carnival could easily add at least 1 more hour to this time.

COZUMEL
Time in Port 7:30am-3:00pm
Excellent as always!!!!! Carnival, why is our port time so short here????? We all got off the ship right away, and were at Chankanaab by 8:00am. My husband and I just wanted to snorkel, and Marc and Lisa wanted to scuba dive. Lisa is certified and Marc wanted to take the Discover Scuba. We used Ramon Zapata's shop and the scuba was a total cost of $85. The snorkeling was very good. We wanted to eat in town and shop so we got a cab and were in town by 11:30.We ate at the same little restaurant we always go to, El Abuelo Gerardo, located a couple blocks back of the main square. Mostly locals go there. It was $52 for the four of us. This included 3 bottles of water, 8 or 9 beers, a huge combination platter, 2 plates of quesadillas, and all the chips and salsa we wanted. Truly amazing as always. We had to go back to the ship all too soon.

PROGRESO
Time in Port 7:00am-3:00pm
We had a wonderful time in Progreso. Despite Greg Kneale's assertion that there is "absolutely nothing to do there." What was supposed to be the worst port turned out to be the best. We got off the ship around 9:30 and took the bus into town. We shopped for a while, finding prices to be substantially lower than Cozumel. Lisa got a hammock for $15. Dresses were half the price of those in Cozumel. We then made our way to the beach. The beach was prettier than I thought it would be. When you first walked into the water, it was a little squishy between the toes. No worse than a lake in the Northeast though. It got better if you walked farther out. No waves. Very calm and relaxing. There are palapas, chairs and loungers at no charge. The sky was blue and it was very hot! After spending a little time on the beach, my husband and I decided to walk along the waterfront and see what kind of bars there were. For anybody that wants to have a great time, I recommend you go to a place called Altamar Beach Club & Restaurant. There was a 3-man band playing all sorts of songs, from The Doors, to Elvis and Mariah Carey. We were the only customers there at first. After we bought a couple beers, we were served chips and salsa. We always think the more, the merrier, so my husband bought some beers for some other people that had dropped in. Eventually, we were joined by Lisa and Marc, as well as others drawn in by the music. I don't think that Progreso had seen cruise ship passengers like us before. We were dancing and having the time of our lives. We were kept in constant supply of chips and salsa at no charge. I saw some people had ordered meals, but I was too busy having fun to look at a menu. I told the waiters that I would recommend their place on the internet, and I hope that by writing this review that they will receive additional business. The hospitality was evident and if you really want to have a party, grab some of your friends and don't miss this place. After 3 hours, we were still not ready to leave, and just made the last bus back to the ship.

DEBARKATION

Excellent. We had early flight tags and were off the ship and on our shuttle by 8:30. By 9:30 we were at the airport. They were checking the colored deck tags closely to make sure you were actually eligible for the early debarkation. Additionally, if you need to hire a shuttle service, I highly recommend Basikshuttle. They were excellent. An interesting side note about reporting for immigration: There are now signs around the ship stating that there will be a $250 fine/charge for not reporting in a timely manner. If they actually enforce this, it is a great service to everyone.

SUMMARY

We loved our vacation on the Carnival Glory. The port of call schedule was exhausting, as you had to be up very early in the morning for Belize, Cozumel, and Progreso. We thought the service on the ship was the best we have ever experienced. Thank you Carnival for giving us a wonderful vacation!!!!