Our first Journey’s cruise was wonderful. The itinerary had islands we had never visited and the crew was outstanding. Some of our fellow passengers needed a few lessons in manners and respect for others, but Carnival has no control over rude behavior. We were concerned 12 days would be too long, but they went by so quickly that we weren’t ready to get off the ship at the end of the adventure. We also had a medical emergency that had the ship dock at Grand Turk during dinner on the 3rd sea day. It didn't cause any interruption in service or delay in our arrival in Miami. Our thoughts and prayers are with that family.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Went smoothly even with 304 diamond & 1192 platinum card holders. Because of this the cabins weren’t ready early but, supposedly, you could drop your carry-on luggage in the cabin. We didn’t bother and got our S&S cards and dropped luggage when everyone else did.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Dining: MDR: We had anytime dining and found one of the best severs we have had in many years. The food was hot and tasty. It was delivered promptly and with a smile. After the third night they surprised me with two orders of shrimp cocktail (my favorite) just because. We requested their station and got it every night. It became popular with others so we had to get there early to be seated in this area.
Buffet: Standard choice for breakfast. It wasn’t very busy because it seemed much of the passenger component preferred seated dining. We deduced this because the ended up opening both dining rooms for breakfast. Lunch: The busiest place was the deli. Always a long line there. The sushi place nor the Crab Shack (additional cost) were rarely busy. Guys Burgers had very short lines (if any). I must say the burgers were much better than our previous ones, not greasy and fully cooked. The Blue Iguana rarely had lines and the selections were great for both breakfast and lunch. We didn’t try the bar-b-q, but others seemed to enjoy it and the lines were short if at all.
Dining Room
4 out of 5
We felt the selections were varied and plentiful for lunch. Breakfast usually had the same options daily, but still a wide selection.
Golden Restaurant
5 out of 5
We had the best wait staff: Thanyasorn, Robert & Herwin. Renewed our faith in the MDR.
Burrito Bar
5 out of 5
Good food, nice choices and quick service.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We only played mini golf and didn't use the fitness center. I lost consistently, except for one game. I did go to the Spa for my first mani-pedi. I would treat myself again for a special occasion... it took almost twice as long as scheduled (I guess that is more of an indication of how bad my hands and feet were than their planning).
Mini Golf
4 out of 5
Very windy both in ports and as expected on sea days. Not at all busy. The golf balls are not regular golf balls but lighter and more easily move by the wind. The course was fun
Guest Services / Shore Excursions
5 out of 5
With the number of Platinum and Diamond guests, they were busy but always cordial and friendly. They would take time to chat when there were no lines (happened often).
Beauty Salon
4 out of 5
The only problem was the check out. Everyone trying to leave at once. Fortunate Julia (my manicurist) cut through it all and brought me my bill as I sat in a comfortable chair.
The Fun Shops
4 out of 5
The Effy store was what one expects with prizes for free drawings often and happy winners. The personnel were friendly and likeable. The clothing selection was not as big as we expected nor very diverse.
Camel Club Casino
5 out of 5
I won! I promptly took my money and played only with my original investment.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Entertainment: It was outstanding on this trip. We went to three of the Playlist Productions (all of which we had seen on other sailings) and they did a great job of their interpretation of these shows. There was music all around the ship from steel drums, live band, guitar solos, blues, of course the piano bar, karaoke and D’jay. They were all very good and it was difficult to pick a favorite. Sadly (for me) no violin trio before dinner, but all the other music was so good it didn’t matter. Usually one of the guitars players preformed in the atrium before dinner. The Fun Squad led by the CD Cookie was top notch this cruise. We expect to see Coco moving up the ladder to a CD position in the future. She was terrific. While we didn’t go to the comedy club, our traveling companions said it was good. We attended a few trivia contests, but the same people kept winning (not us) so we became frustrated. Mini golf was difficult because it was always windy (even in port). We still played often and there was rarely anyone else up there. Movies under the stars was somewhat popular, you could check-out a blanket (needed) and get free popcorn. They unfortunately repeated movies toward the end of the cruise. Evidentially they didn’t get enough for 12 days.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
As stated under dining we had one of the best wait staff in the MDR we have ever had. If you have YTD, ask for Thanyasorn's section. She is awesome with Robert & Herwin as help they made dining in the main dining room a pleasure again. Our room steward was good and kept the ice bucket full and the towel animals varied.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
This is our 4th time on the Glory. We like the layout of the Conquest class ships. As usual the crew was excellent at keeping the ship clean (always working) in spite of some of the passengers disregard for the public areas. However, we were surprised at the rust about the ship. We understand the environment takes a toll on ships, but this seemed more than normal.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This is our preferred cabin type. We like cabins above and below for quiet. Unfortunately, we had 2 small children that like to scream and yell in the corridor early in the morning. Out of the 50 children on the ship we had these two. The parents did try, but saying "sush" loudly can almost be as bad.
Ship tip
Do as many things as you can, but try to do everything becuase you'll be exhausted and need a vacation from your vacation.
Our first visit to this island. We did not do a shore tour but decided to check out the town near the pier. We were greeted but the high school marching band. The band came down to the end of the pier and the back to the park in the town area. This port is not full of the “standard” commercial trappings found in the Caribbean. It was a lovely visit
We were advised that they use Euros here and we could exchange dollars at the end of the pier. While we didn’t get any, we still walked into the town with all its shops and figured if we saw something we really wanted we could backtrack and do so. This is place fascinating and a very busy place. We, however, did not feel completely safe by not taking a “shore tour”. If we were to return, we would book a shore tour or stay on the ship.
Major warning from the ship – no camo attire is allowed on Barbados. This is our first visit here and decide to book the Atlantis Submarine tour through the ship. What a great adventure. We met our driver on the pier for a short drive (5-10 min) to the “headquarters” where you find a static display of the sub, gift shop & sign a waiver. Then you take a boat ride to where the sub is waiting. On the way you are briefed about safety precautions and what you might see on your trip. You wait for the current passengers on the sub to disembark and then board the sub. A quick bit of advice if you are boarding to the rear of the sub be first in line or near the front and if you are boarding to the front be last in line. This is so you are near the Captain (pilot) driving the sub. It has a nice bigger window. You have your own port hole to see fish, coral, a sunken ship and if you are lucky a sea turtle. This was great and I highly recommend it.
Again they prefer Euros and an exchange hut was at the end of the pier. There was also a small market there and they had items marked in Euros and dollars. There were dancers and local reenactors in the village square, a parade by the elementary school ( they were so cute), and a busy shopping “downtown” area. Much more affluent than Guadeloupe
We have been here many times, so decide to try something new. We booked a shore tour called “ St. Maarten Best views & Sky Ride”. We were taken by bus to Rockland Estates where you were able to learn a bit about St. Maarten’s history. Then you boarded the Sky Ride and went to the highest point on the island called Sentry Hill. It was very windy and folks coming down kept telling us to hold on to our hats. They weren’t kidding. At the top the views were spectacular. You returned the same way and could get a bite to eat at the restaurant, buy a souvenir at the gift shop or wait for the next bus to take you back to the ship. We shopped and went to wit for the bus. One of the tour guides was there and since we had a long wait we chatted with her. We learned more from that interaction than anything else. The negative about this adventure is the meeting signs were not well marked. We went to the site with the “Flying Dutchman” shore tour but both signs were not up and we couldn’t find the right line for about 10 minutes. It’s a good thing we were early. We did get to watch those adventure seekers as the prepared to fly down the mountain.
It was election day on Tortola and therefore no alcohol was served on the island. Also this is a no smoking island and the ship’s casino was very busy while we were in this port, not with gamblers but smokers. As we docked we had a rainbow over the ship (sorry no photo). There is a local market and few fun shops.
Even though we were some of the first to get to off the ship, it took quite a while to find our three pieces of luggage. The lines did move smoothly after that. We just made it to the shuttle before it was ready to go to the FLL airport. We had expected very few ships docked in Miami on a Thursday, but there were three others trying to disembark.
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