A Christmas Family Cruise Wunderba!!
Carnival Glory Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 24, 2016
Ship: Carnival Glory
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 1411
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
Where to begin our family (15 of us in total) cruised on Carnival Glory for a wonderful 7-Day Caribbean Adventure!! This itinerary had 4 ports in 3 different countries; Dominican USVI Caicos &Turks and San Juan. We did excursions on almost every port. Some of them were booked through the cruise line other ones we booked on our own (either to save money or to have a different flavor and experience than the cruises Excursions ) I think my favorite ports were Amber Cove Dominican Republic in Puerto Plata and then Grand Turk of the islands.
There are so many things to do on board the ship especially on full sailing days. Parties Comedy Casinos theaters or dancing. Our family loved going to the comedy clubs. we had children in our group so we would go to the earlier family-friendly and when the kids went to bed and were with one of the sitters the rest of us would go to one of the adult only shows and really enjoyed it. in the theaters they have other shows like Las Vegas themed nightclub shows. They also have family friendly shows and game shows. The kids have Club Carnival which includes activities with day care in different hours of the day and after care for later Club. some of this is free and some of it includes an additional fee. The kids go into appropriate age groups.
Back to the excursions there were so many choices my husband and I love to snorkel so we did a couple of the excursions that included driving to a beach or hiking through the river going to the 27 Falls of Damajagua in Amber Cove (that was the best Excursion ever )! We booked on our own thru Iguana Mamma. When we were in Grand Turk that's where my husband and I rented a 4-wheel drive ATV and explored the whole Island. The island itself is only about 3 miles long so we spent several hours riding all around and then went to a secluded beach for a real piece of paradise.
While we were in San Juan I really enjoyed seeing the artist out on the the port walkway and seeing some the local culture. **Helpful hint there's a CVS as soon as you get off the boats on the main street along the port drive. There we also went to The Big Fort ** a good thing to note is the Parks and Recreation run a Free Shuttle running from the port to both of the forts and stopping at the Cathedral and returning you to the cruise port.
While in Saint Thomas many members of the family booked a tour with Godfrey tours which was off on our own again. This tour was really great. The director driver who was the owner knows all about the island as a local. Our ship came in late. Many of the cruises excursions had to be cancelled. Godfrey guy knew we were coming late. He specifically waited for us at port. We got our full tour and I think even a little bit longer than had been planned. He worked late for us and brought us right back to the cruise port. He stopped at several places on the way back so we could have time to shop. He also took us to two different beaches. Some of our group stayed at the beach. The rest of the group did other shopping and returned to the port. He was very flexible and quite organized with dropping everybody off and to do two different parts of a tour with our large group. The beach crew were picked up later and returned to port with plenty of time to spare!
On the ship we had a wonderful cabin Steward. We were on the Riviera deck (deck 1) Arwin was our room Steward. He was just fantastic and genuine. Whenever we came back from an Excursion our ice bucket would be full and of course our beds were made with some kind of towel creature waiting for us. In the main dining room or maitre d Armand aka "Tiger" did a fantastic job with our group of 15. We were spread out over two tables. Tiger and his team were just constantly checking on us and getting our food out at nearly the same time which I think was quite a good feat. Because we cruised at Christmas time we felt we should give both our cabin Steward and our Maitre d a small little gift. They were both very moved by the little gestures of the small gifts. Most of the employees on the cruise lines are away from their families during the holidays which is the busiest cruising time for all of the ships. At the end of the cruise we gave a tip to both of them for their outstanding service!!
I as the rest of the family thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and the specific itinerary. The only thing I would do different is to not cruise on such a big holiday. All of the ports are very busy. I think I like doing Christmas in one of our family's homes. Happy Cruising!!
Asst fresh fruit platter room service ^^
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
If you don't have an early excursion just wait to get off the boat. there will be less crowds and no fuss. The boat will prob not leave without you if 5 minutes late re boarding. All rooms get free room service limited menus but you need to give a tip. Bagels and lox din rms & deli on lido Pizza247
Ports of call
Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic