We just returned from our 7 days cruise on the Carnival Glory which included 4 ports and 2 sea days. Our ports included Turks and Caicos, San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Amber Cove, Dominican Republic.
We chose this ship not only for the itinerary but because we had never sailed her before. The ship was well maintained. Our room steward, Randy, did a good job taking care of our every need. He was friendly and greeted us every time he saw us by name. We were on deck 10 forward, which worked well for us, nice and quiet.
ENTERTAINMENT
The entertainment team led by the cruise director, Dustin, did a great job. The Fun Squad was made up of some really sweet girls with terrific personalities. Jill (JJ) should be a cruise director. We loved her! Both Jesse and CoCo were also amazing.
Everyday was jam packed with activities, certainly something for everyone.
We did not attend a few of the shows as we had seen both the Epic Rock and Motown shows on an earlier cruise. We did go to the Amor Cubano show. It was ok. We also did not attend any of the Punchliner comedy shows but they were packed at each event and we heard great feedback from fellow cruisers. The lip sync battle was really good and of course the love and marriage show never disappoints.
DINING
Breakfast:
The breakfast menu in the dining room, which was in the aft dining room (Platinum) was a bit different than what we had seen before. We weren’t overly impressed but it wasn’t a bad experience. The made to order omelets were always good and were available at many of the serving stations in the Red Sail Lido Dining Area.
The Sea Day Brunch was really good. We highly recommend the Filet Mignon and eggs! So, so good!
Lunch:
Guys Burgers never disappoints and is always highly popular. We loved the fries and often just got a plate to snack on ( I’ll worry about the calories later 😳).
The BBQ on deck 10 was a must try! The pulled pork was delicious! The Mac and cheese, a nice pairing. The sauces were really good. Our fav was the Siracha.
The Blue Iguana Cantina had really good burritos and fish tacos.
The Pizza Pirate was a popular lunch and late night spot. Not bad, not great.
The Deli was good but the lines were so long. The only thing we didn’t like is a lot of the sandwiches were premade. We prefer freshly made.....not a snob, just our preference. LOL
The Sushi at Sea was pretty good and was priced fairly. The shrimp tempura roll was yummy especially with the wasabi! 😜
The Red Sail Lido Dining has several serving lines offering different types of food such as comfort food, Italian and a carving station.
The Seafood Shack was an additional cost but again was reasonable. We didn’t eat lunch there but did choose it for dinner one night.
Dinner:
We chose Your Time Dining. For us it works well. It gives us flexibility if we want to attend a show or participate in an activity or take a nice long nap.😴😴
We were given the option to have the same waitstaff and table which we did. Mohammed, aka MoMo was our head waiter. His assistants, Mark, aka M&M, and Patrick, aka Pat Pat. All were outstanding!
We had two formal nights. The first one was on our first Sea day. We both chose the shrimp and lobster. It was delicious!
The second one was during our St. Thomas stop. Shrimp Creole and Prime Rib were our selections. Both were really good.
The third night of the cruise, we chose to try the Seafood Shack because the MDR menu didn’t really appeal to each of us. Hubby ordered Oysters and I had Steamed Crab Legs. Let me just say, the crab legs were the best I have ever had!!! The seasoning was out of this world! You are missing out if you don’t try them!!!!!
Other favorites in the MDR were the bacon Mac and Cheese (ooh, so good!), the grilled salmon and flat iron steak.
There is one specialty restaurant on board. A steakhouse. We chose not to go as we thought the up-charge was a little over the top. Again, just our opinion. I’m sure others enjoyed the experience and found the price was worth it.
You have the option to participate in Chef’s Table. I would love to try this but it’s a set menu and I have some food allergies that prevent me from committing to it. We hear it’s a great experience!
PORTS of CALL
Turks and Caicos:
We chose to do an excursion which was a food tasting, island bus tour, shopping stop and beach day.
Our guide, was very knowledgeable. Cracked a joke here and there and shared quite a bit about the island.
We were able to sample local fried fish, conch fritters and a beans and rice dish. All were very good!
The shopping area was much like any straw market area. The restrooms were poorly maintained, not fit to use. Fortunately, we also stopped at the lighthouse and the facilities there were really clean. Wild donkeys roam the roads like stray dogs. They were everywhere!
The beach was beautiful with white sand and aqua waters.
Overall, a good excursion for the historical facts but not much to see. The port area offers lots of souvenir shops including a Margaritaville with a pool with a swim up bar.
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
Again we booked a tour. This time a walking tour called Behind the wall historical tour. Our guide Noemi, was amazing! Her knowledge of the history of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and its relationship with the US was impeccable! She kept her audience engaged. This was one of the highlights of our cruise for sure!
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands:
We had an amazing time snorkeling with the crew on Castaway Girl. Our captain of the catamaran was Joleen. She was terrific! We were teamed up with Patrick, who is a marine biologist. He shared lots of great information about the sea life we were seeing as well as the history of the shipwreck we saw. Coincidentally, he grew up in our home town and attended the same high school as our kids. What a small world!! While the weather tested us a bit, Joleen was extremely competent and the whole crew were so accommodating and made it a fun experience!
Amber Cove, Dominican Republic:
We chose to stay in the cruise docking area which offers many shops, some great views, and a nice pool area with a bar and restaurant. The pool was free to use. There was also a water slide and a zip line. We had a fun, relaxing day at the pool.
We gave this cruise 5 stars. Was it without a few opportunities? No, but none of the little things warranted a dip in expectation or standards. We would love to sail Glory again and hope we are blessed to be in the company of some of the amazing crew members we met!