Maybe we expected more....

Carnival Glory Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 103

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Carnival Glory

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 03, 2015

Ship: Carnival Glory

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7217

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

This was our fourth Carnival Cruise in two years and our first on the Glory. We were very excited because we met our Son and his family in Florida to travel together.  The cruise itself was good and we had fun due to the fact we were with our family.

Mike the Cruise Director was amazing and knew people and we are convinced he never slept!  Our dining staff (Wida and Widana and Rudon) were wonderful and went out of their way to serve our every need.  They were especially kind to our grandchildren.

Saying that; our experience was nothing near the other cruises we have had on Carnival. Many disappointing things happened like not getting any notice of an itinerary change of not being able to go to Half Moon Cay because of the hurricane, our only notice was from other passengers; it was our second time not being able to go on the island. The embarkment was delayed without any information given for why it was, our room not being cleaned one evening and Housekeeping was put out with us when we called for towels. Our excursion on Grand Turk was very disappointing and nothing like the excursion desk described to us, our shower was cold all week, we complained but nothing happened and several other things; even the timing of the entertainment, in the past you are able to go to things at 7:00 PM if you have the late dining.  On the Glory everything happens at 8:00 or 9:00 and if you have late dining you miss it, with the exception of the 10:00 show that is too late for the kids.

We will definitely go on more cruises, we are fans.  Maybe we just expected more because of our past experiences.


 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
The food was ok, not a lot of variety or choices. Breakfast was basically the same everyday and the variety was not as much as on other ships. But you can never go wrong with a Guy's Burger!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
The activities were ok, just not as many as in past cruises. The times were really screwy to if you had the late dining, you missed most of the fun. We ended up with an extra day at sea, there wasn't a lot to do except live by the pool.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
The evening shows were amazing, the music was good; just not enough performers in the lounges other than the main lobby. Mike our cruise director was fantastic and all over the ship all day. We don't think he ever slept! The only issue was the time, unlike other cruises we have been on, if you had the late dining, you missed a lot of the programs or had to wait for the 10:00 PM show.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5
Our Grandkids signed up for Camp Carnival, but chose not to go.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The Cruise Director Mike was amazing as well as our dining staff Widana, Rodan and Wira. Also Azra in the dining room was darling with our grandsons. Most of the staff was good; but a lot didn't go out of their way to be friendly as we have experienced on other cruises.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Ship tip

If you travel on the Glory and want to see all the entertainment, schedule the early dining time!

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5
South Beach is awesome with the food and ocean. Take the excursion to the Everglades if it is available.

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

1 out of 5
We have been scheduled to go there twice and haven't made it yet! Maybe they should tell you that may happen before you book your cruise.

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5
Our kids did the Scuba excursion and we took the grandkids on an island tour and private beach. I would have liked to see more of the island.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5
Use the city buses for free and go to El Morro.

Grand Turk Island

5 out of 5
This was our second time on Grand Turk. Take a taxi and go to Governors Beach or the beach at the pier, Pillary Beach is nice but pricey and the chairs etc. are only for the people staying at the resort or available at high cost. Stay at the port at Margarita Ville if you can't get to Governors Beach.
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6 Comments

Saltseagirl    9 years ago

Thanks for the comments: The problem we had with not going to Half Moon Cay wasn't the Hurricane, it wasn't being notified of the change and finding out from other passengers.  The website and e-mails received from Carnival still had us going to Half Moon Cay up until embarkment. The lack of communication was terrible.  We were compensated some for not going to Half Moon Cay this time but not the first time.

As far as early dinner, it conflicts with having time to shower and change after a day at port (at least for our family).  We were traveling as a family of 6 ranging from age 4 to 60.  The late dinner has worked well in the past for us, just not with the different show schedule on the Glory. In the past the ships had great shows and entertainment at 7:00 to allow those with later dining to attend. Our grandkids love the shows! We don't want to do anytime dining because we love the attention you receive with a regular dining staff and the relationships that are made. (And I apologize our waiters were Wira and Widana, I typed their names wrong!) 

Like I said in my tip: If you want to see the variety of entertainment on the Glory, schedule early dining.

As far as Camp Carnival, our grandkids haven't wanted to go either time we have gone on a cruise with them.  Just their choice, they like to stay with us as a family and they are most welcomed to do so.

Like I said, we will definitely cruise again and had a good time, just the lack of communication and other things caused it to not be as great as in the past.

aprilt27    9 years ago

We really weren't crazy about the Glory either

MrChocoholic    9 years ago

mandytucker76 your comment made me crack up. It was the same with my daughter, who's 13, aboard Carnival Elation. Her instant BFFs she met at Circle C (for freshly-minted teens) were way more important than dad. 

MandyCruisesToo    9 years ago

Hell my kids dont even want to be at dinner with me or go to the shows all they wanna do is Camp Carnival. Im lucky to get 3 or 4 hours a day on sea days.

ChrisandFrank    9 years ago

They missed it because of the hurricane. Not any fault of carnival. Maybe next cruise pick early dining so the kids and you can enjoy more after dinner activities before bedtime

karlielynn    9 years ago

Where did you go instead of half moon cay? we are taking this same cruise November 14.

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