Carnival Cruise Lines
Carnival Glory Cruise Review
Eastern Caribbean

Brian Himert
Age: 42
Occupation: Bidnit man
Number of Cruises: 2
Sailing Date: March 18th, 2006

We took the 7 day East Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral (Saturday to Saturday). We arrived and got onboard at 1:30...very orderly process.

We went with a group of 20+ neighbors and we all had a blast. It was a great time. We all had kids of different ages, they were busy from sun up to well past sundown. We aren't night owls by any stretch of the imagination, so it speaks volumes when you are out having fun until almost 3AM every night. As we have 2 teenagers, age 16 and 14, my wife and I were able to participate in alot of activities by ourselves. We really enjoyed the karaoke bar, piano bar, and ivory lounge (cigar smoking allowed.) Also, the sports bar was pretty cool, very comfy and lots of tv's...it is attached to the casino so we could pop back and forth. The ship had photo studios with various backgrounds and themes which allowed us to get family portraits which we never seemed to have time for. The prices for purchase were reasonable, also. However, you must remove the sticker on the back of the pictures if you go to a photo lab for additional copies. We were hassled a bit at Walgreens in Valrico, Fl about copies...however, obviously, there is no way to send them back for copies so the mgr. showed us some mercy and allowed us to have copies made. The meals were about average. They put a lot of flair into the sit down dinners, ( we had ours in Platinum dining room) entertainment wise.. but food wasn't more than average...but, believe it or not, the red sail buffet type restaurant completely exceeded our expectations. 3 times a day they whipped up something new and different, and everyone was able to find something they could enjoy. In fact, another great thing was the 24 hr pizza/hotdog/cheeseburger stand on the rear of the ship. The red sail is right inside from the lido (party) deck...not far to walk. The room service was great, too...real quick service. The staff was attentive and polite, and did their best to accommodate us. We recommend buying the fountain drink cards for the kids...we could of saved $35. by buying one instead of 2, but didn't want to have either sibling have to track down the other. The prices on the boat for water and alcohol are steep. But, as you are in a sellers market, other than getting off the boat you have no recourse than to pay. The night time shows and comedians were great, too. The kids enjoyed the magic shows, PG comedy club, etc...

We played slots, bingo, blackjack, etc...and the tables were pretty "giving"...except the last night, they seemed to tighten up and I heard a lot of complaining. But, they know you are taking your winnings off with you...so if you gamble, I recommend to do it early.

The ports of call and excursions were below our expectations, however, with the exception of St. Martin. The Bahamas were the usual straw market stuff, the ride to Atlantis ran us $4./per person by cab (reasonable) and the folks are always so polite.

The Virgin Islands were a let down, we took the champagne catamaran excursion and had to wait in the bus for about 45 minutes before leaving...the snorkeling was great...and we also went to the top of the mountain on the gondola....real fun....and great view.

The people were not as friendly as advertised...the store clerks and cab drivers were rude and pushy.

St. Martin will blow you way....clean, friendly, polite...not pushy.. we highly recommend the island tour into the French side...we stopped and loaded up on wine...and the drive back and forth was in an air conditioned tour bus unlike Virgin Islands. For $4. per person, you get unlimited boat rides to and from downtown Phillipsburg.

Overall, we would do this again, although the cost for one cabin with 2 bunks and a double for 4 people for a week was 2100.00, plus carnival does alot of "add-ons" like $84. to park, $280. "tip" ($10.perday/per person) etc etc etc. The total sign and sail with excursions ran about another 2k. Keep in mind, we aren't big drinkers, gamblers, or souvenir fanatics. We blew off both the formal nights onboard, as we went to relax not get dressed up.. we did go to the emerald club, the upscale restaurant, it is $30. per person extra, and well worth it. The crowd for spring break was mostly teenagers and their parents, some college groups (well behaved) and then an even mix of littler ones and the retirees. Everyone mixed well and we met people from all over the US.

Overall, the vacation exceeded our expectations. We arrived home after a 2 hr drive and slept until the next day!!! The language barriers with the staff can be challenging, but because we stayed out of each others way, it was kept to a minimum.

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