Trip notes
Ship – Carnival Glory
Dates – February 21 – 28, 2010
Day 1 – Depart from Miami
Beautiful day! It's warm and sunny; everyone is friendly and the ship is very clean. There's a big-screen over the pool on the Lido Deck!
Had lunch in the Red Sail Restaurant (buffet). Decent selection of good food and salad.
We had the early seating in the Golden Restaurant. We were seated with a couple from Michigan; she is also a travel agent and he's in IT! Dinner was so-so... the Mahi-Mahi was dry and my seat was very low – the table was up around my shoulders, so it was very uncomfortable. I asked to be seated somewhere else so we'll see how they handle it tomorrow.
There were some very good bands playing and lots of room for dancing BUT, every one of the nightclubs was smoking and made us very uncomfortable. After a few minutes, it was difficult to breathe and the smell was awful.
Day 2 – At Sea
It's raining! What a bummer. The indoor pool area is nice (Lido Deck, at the rear of the ship).
Drinks are moderately expensive ($4.95 and up for beer, $7.25 and up for mixed drinks), but the mixed drinks are fairly strong with “double-pours” of alcohol for all of them. All-in-all, not a bad deal!
Disco dancing was a blast. I busted a move (my split) and had a great time.
They changed our table and it was much better. The staff here is fantastic!
The main show tonight, “Living in America,” was excellent. The singing and dancing were very entertaining.
We saw a very funny comedian – John Wesley Austin. We went to the “R-rated” show and it was a riot.
Day 3 – Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman is surrounded by coral reefs, so tenders are used to ferry passengers from the ship to shore. Unfortunately, rough seas today forced them to shut down the tender services for the day, so we have another “full day at sea.” They announced this morning that they will provide another itinerary of events to keep us busy.
The captain took us out to sea and we had a beautiful morning. It sure was packed up on the deck, but we had no problem getting chairs.
We just relaxed for the afternoon and went to the “return guests” celebration in the Amber Room (the theater).
Day 4 – Isla Roatan (Honduras)
We bought the beach package for two for $39.95. It included two beach chairs, a cabana, two floats, and unlimited use of the “Magic Sky Chair” from the main island to Mahogany Beach. The beach itself is very clean and has two restaurants/bars with rest rooms.
Travel tips
We didn't save any money by purchasing the package on the ship, but it was very convenient.
Get a frozen drink at Fat Tuesday on the main island in one of the refillable cups. You can refill them at the bars on the beach for a discounted price.
You may encounter jellyfish at the beach – they are very small and the sting doesn't last long.
They had “color war” where the passengers are divided up by room floors. It really was a lot of fun!
Day 5 – Belize City
We ate breakfast at the restaurant and were seated next to people we hadn't met before. It turned out that he was one of my high school teachers and remembered me! What a small world!!!
The ship anchored several miles out and we took tenders to the port.
We didn't do any of the excursions, opting instead to check out the port. It's a pretty large area, so there were many shops to visit.
I talked to people who went on the “river tube cave adventure” and they were very disappointed. After a long bus ride and orientation, the ride on the river was very slow and crowded.
We saw a couple more comedians (the R-rated shows) and they were both very funny.
Day 6 – Cozumel
More small shops at the pier. We were able to refill our “Attitube” at Fat Tuesday!
We spent most of the afternoon on the ship enjoying the nice weather.
The show tonight was from “Justin Illusion” and it was excellent! I don't know how he pulled off some of those illusions!
I can't stand them, but my husband said the escargot were the best he's ever eaten. They were perfectly cooked and not-to-heavy on the garlic.
Day 7 – At Sea
Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate and we had rain and cool weather for most of the day. We took advantage of the sales in the shops for the rest of our gifts.
The bottom line
The crew of the Carnival Glory were absolutely wonderful. They displayed very high levels of energy and were very friendly throughout. KUDOS to both the staff and management.
Entertainment
The staff entertainers were very good throughout the trip.
The special entertainment was also very good.
Some of the live bands were excellent. In particular, Music Connection were fantastic musicians.
Get involved in the activities aboard the ship. You get to meet new people and have a lot of fun along the way.
Food
The food in the dining room was rarely better than so-so (other than the GREAT escargot mentioned above). Even the lobster tail was fairly bland.
The Fish and Chips buffet on the Lido Deck was consistently very good.
Don't expect refills on your coffee at breakfast in the dining room. At least not in under a half hour.
Smoking is a real problem on the ship. Virtually all the lounges with dancing music were smoking and we talked to many people who were turned off by this. There were even people smoking in their cabins, making the hallway outside their rooms unpleasant for everyone.
Overall, this was a pleasant vacation, with the wonderful staff and crew making up for the mediocre food and nearly overcoming the smoking issues.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
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