Great cruise, but...

Item: Carnival Glory
Rating: 4
Author: jameeh

Carnival Glory Cruise Review

jameeh

Contributor Level: First Mate

135 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 6

Helpful Votes: 103

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (New Orleans Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 12, 2020

Ship: Carnival Glory

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9217

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Not my best cruise experience but hey, they all can't be 5 stars. I always have a great time on cruises. Cruise lover forever!!

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Fast embarkation but it would've been helpful if we were advised on the change of check in process. We received our sail and sign cards once we reached our state rooms. I will admit that this change got us on the ship faster but it would've been nice to receive some advance notice.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I haven't been on a Carnival cruise in 4 years but my previous experiences were great. I was a bit disappointed with Carnival Glory's variety and some of the quality was a little subpar. My major disappointment: no Asian stir fry! I really missed a freshly prepared meal and the variety of vegetables. Also, this cruise had no white rice. This is a staple in many parts of the world so I don't understand why it wasn't available. Another disappointment was that there was literally only Lipton tea available. What! I've never experienced this lack of tea diversity on ANY of my previous cruises.

Guy's Burger Joint

3 out of 5

Very dissappointed. Beef patty was not flavorful, toppings weren't great: mushrooms overcooked, grilled onions were mushy. I didn't return.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Some of the singers were phenomenal but for a 7 day cruise there was simply hardly any shows.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The staff was a mixed bag of experiences. The first day onboard I was hard pressed to see anyone looking happy to be there. As the cruise wore on, some would smile, actually say good day. Others would barely make eye contact. The cabin stewards and wait staff were the most personable. The cruise director, Cookie, was animated, engaged, and embodied what a cruise director should be. He gets 5 stars!

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Ship cleanliness: 4 stars Ship layout & design: 1 star This ship by far has the worst layout I've experienced. The public spaces are in need of a serious overhaul. The ship was built in 2003, but I was surprised how compartmentalized it was and not optimized for public traffic. Not easy to maneuver from the front to back of ship and vice versa. Elavators were a bit slow and hard to discern if they were going up or down. The decor was all over the map. Definitely my least favorite ship and I've been on 15 cruises (Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean)

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Liked the cabin location. SInce it was on the Lido deck, it was close enough to a lot of venues but far enough away from the traffic and noise. My only issue was that the balcony had an actual door instead of a sliding door. The door needed to be slammed in order to keep the wind from whistling through it. I know, I know, such a "First World" problem.

Ship tip

Your cruise experience will be what you put into it. Although this wasn't my favorite cruise experience, I met some wonderful people and had a great time at the ports of call. Cruising always recharges my batteries and gives me a sense of adventure.

Thumbs up