Paul Hamel

Age: 52
Occupation: Production mgt
Number of Cruises: 4
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: GLORY
Sailing Date: January 15th, 2005
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

Traveling from Ontario, this was our third Carnival cruise and definitely the best - deserves a 4.5 star. We were initially concerned about congestion on such a large ship - but were rarely inconvenienced or crowded.

Embarkation went fairly smooth - Port Canaveral is a good facility with parking next door @$70. We arrived about 11 am and boarded by noon for lunch on Lido deck. Our cabin on Panorama deck 10 was ready by 1 pm. The cabin was comfortable with plenty of storage, a good shower and a bar fridge - bring along some beverages. Best of all was our first balcony - simply fabulous. Our steward Jennie did a superb job without being intrusive.

We originally requested 6:15pm dinner but were assigned 8:30pm. As suggested, we approached the Maitre'd on Saturday afternoon and he was very pleasant and accommodating - even providing a couple of different table location choices which was very much appreciated.

The Glory is big, bold and beautiful although the decor is not really my taste. There seemed to be plenty of space with the exception of crowding in the photo gallery and shops.

Our dining experience in the Golden DR was most enjoyable thanks to the friendly conversation with West Virginia families (Hi Y'all) and the outstanding service from Anthony and Shanita. We were all impressed with the selection and quality of our fine meals. We were also impressed with the variety of food available from the Red Sail restaurant on the Lido deck. In addition to the typical buffet lines there was 24hr pizza, a deli, Chinese food, burger grill and a seafood area one level up. Always clean with comfortable seating choices. Based on our experience, I can't imagine any complaints regarding meals on board.

The entertainment was on par with previous cruises - trying to appeal to all tastes. Plenty of venues to relax to music besides the Amber Palace.

We arranged our own tours with via taxi's except at Belize I chose to just take the tender to port to view shops etc. At Progresso we went to the ruins at Dzibilchaltun and hired a guide rather than take the full day tour at Chichen Itza - very informative and worthwhile without taking the full day.
Ridiculous number of International Diamonds shops at Cozumel??

Debarkation went relatively smoothly with choice of self removal of luggage or the traditional night before method. No longer have to meet with Customs Inspectors in the showroom at 7 am. Much improved system now.

My only criticism would be the constant barrage of sales hype for everything imaginable. Also seems to me, with all the good photo opportunities available, they might sell more photos if less costly than $20.

Overall this cruise was impressive and also restored our faith in Carnival. We found most crew members to be friendly, informative and accommodating. Although the weather could have been better - it was a welcome break from cold Canadian winter.

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