A Road Trip without the Road

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 42

Review summary

This was our first cruise, in our minds it was a road trip without maps, drive times, and endless miles of I95 traffic. In many ways it was just that. While our balcony room was lovely the rest of the ship was like a quick stop at an Atlantic City casino hotel. If you love over-blown disco design, a multiplicity of textures and colors, and constant noise, then the Carnival Glory is the ship for you! The food fit our road trip expectations-- like the restaurants you go to when traveling, every once in a while you hit excellent, most meals were good, some were fair. Quantity was stressed over quality. And just like at a roadside diner, breakfasts were the best! Something to keep in mind when touring the East Coast by large boat: the harbors have to be big enough to hold the ship. This means that overall this is a very urban experience. We sailed at night (and there was dense fog the whole trip) so we saw little of the coast line. No whales for us! We enjoyed the museums and restaurants in port and can highly recommend the Boston Aquarium if you want to see the wild life. Overall, we had a great time. In order to have that great time, we had to manipulate the experience to suit our needs. We found the quiet spots on the boat, didn't go to the dining room since our reservation was at a time we didn't enjoy, and supplemented the dining choices by finding wonderful local restaurants in each port of call. We laughed about the excessive loudspeaker announcements encouraging us to spend money (and the lack of announcements about where to disembark). We amused ourselves planning our perfect cruise-- the star watching deck, the whale migration patterns posted for all to see, and the greenhouses for fresh veggies. Would we recommend this cruise? To those who have either a sense of humor or love of kitsch, yes. To those who need things to fit their definition of perfect or need serenity, no. Also important to note that despite Carnival claiming to have gluten free options, they really don't understand what gluten free means. They were very willing to serve us rice pasta at every meal but could not tell us the ingredients in other dishes. The gluten free french toast and pancakes were pretty rubbery and gross. Better to pick through the regular options and eat what you can than tell them you are gluten free.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Boston, Massachusetts