Annemarie Young

Age: 26
Occupation: Administrative/Management
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Carnival Glory
Sailing Date: October 9th, 2004
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

My best friend of ten years and I, after years of talking about it, decided to finally take a vacation together. We figured that a cruise would be our best bet as two women traveling alone. It certainly was. As soon as I set foot on the spectacular Glory, I knew I wanted to go on another cruise!

The embarkation process took a bit longer than anticipated. We had a gentleman helping us who didn’t know how to deal with Canadian passengers. Hmmmm. Thankfully Michelle and I had plenty of patience and understanding. Heck, we were on holidays, why make it into a bad situation. A notice to first time international cruisers (ie: not from the US). Make sure you bring photo ID aside from your Passport as Carnival holds your passport until the evening before you disembark. I assume it is some sort of a customs procedure. I would estimate it took us about an hour to get through the entire process. We had a TBA cabin number (We were guaranteed a 4E rated room) and weren’t sure what to expect in terms of accommodations as it was our first ever cruise. We were assigned our cabin number – 1112. . We looked at each other and both wondered if that meant deck 1 or deck 11. We hoped for the latter. As we entered the ship, we saw that several people had already made themselves at home; lounging about, touring the ship and so on. We were very interested to find out where our room was. A quick look at the map handed to us as we boarded revealed that we weren’t on deck one, but rather 11. We confirmed this with a very helpful Carnival crew member. We made our way up the elevator to deck 11 (spa deck) and found our accommodations. The cabin was fantastic. There was a sitting area right next to a floor to ceiling window, two twin beds, a couch, TV, plenty of storage space and the bathroom was a fair size. We set off to explore the ship and made our way to deck 9 (Lido) to grab a drink. Neither Michelle nor I consume much alcohol, but we do like pop. We each ordered a Diet Coke and people watched for a while. Diet Cokes and people watching were two things that were never in short supply for the two of us on this trip. We decided to each purchase a soda card for $44 USD per person. It was a far better deal than $2.50 per drink. The only down side is that you have to have your drink by the glass, but we didn’t s
ee that as a problem. After a bit more exploring, we headed back up to our cabin to prepare for the mandatory life boat drill. Some people mention that this is annoying. Sure I too thought it was annoying but I am happy to see that there is some sort of plan in place in the case of an emergency. As we headed back up to our cabin to put away our life vests, we didn’t even realize that the ship was moving. With the exception of our last evening at sea, the seas were calm and the waves were never larger than “slight” Now that I’ve written a novel already, I will highlight some areas of the cruise in point form.

FACILITIES
We usually frequented the same couple of bars and didn’t even make it to see all of them. We liked people watching at the lobby bar as well as sitting just outside of the casino on deck 5 which spans the whole ship. The casino was crowded at times and rather Smokey. There are plenty of public restrooms scattered about the ship. They don’t get too crowded with the exception of after a show at the Amber Palace (go somewhere other than deck 3). The nightclub was fun and never overcrowded. They don’t allow drinks or smoking on the dance floor which is nice. The internet café was not well placed however. It was nestled deep in a back corner of the Ivory Bar. While there was a door to the internet café, getting to it was enough to make your lungs pop out. Cigar, pipe, & cigarette smoke – YUCK! The spa was quite nice. It was my first ever facial. You get to look through a floor-to ceiling window while you relax. Michelle told me she’s had better facials. They try to sucker you into buying their product, Michelle’s girl was worse than mine. Sometimes you are far better off taking the stairs than waiting for an elevator. I never found the Lido deck overly crowded, rarely had to wait in line for buffets and was always tempted by the ice cream. We didn’t use the gym, but did enjoy walking the track right before sunrise. You hardly notice the laps as you walk with the wind in your hair and the sun peeking through the horizon.

ATTIRE
With the exception of the dining room, the dress is very casual. Michelle and I are not fans of getting “dressed up” and felt slightly out of place during the two formal nights. There were many that took formal nights very seriously (think prom dresses & tuxes) and some like Michelle and I who wore simple I didn’t feel uncomfortable though.

DINING
If you like to eat, you’ve come to the right place. Food was certainly plentiful. We never took advantage of the room service, but there is 24 hour (limited menu) room service available. I think the continental breakfast is very popular. There is a breakfast buffet every morning, as well as a breakfast seating in the Platinum dining room. Lunch is served on the Lido deck each day until about 2:30 PM. Don’t worry if you happen to miss it though. There is a grill that serves hamburgers etc. as well as a 24 hour pizzeria and soft serve ice cream. And, don’te forget my favorite, the sushi bar on deck 5 right outside the arcade (open nightly from 5 – 8:30) Then there’s dinner. There are four seatings onboard the Glory - 5:45 p.m. or 6:15 p.m. 8:00 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.. We were seated in the Golden Dining Room for the 8:30 p.m. sitting. We really liked being at this sitting. It gave us plenty of time after shore excursions to relax and get ready for the evening. We were fortunate to have a great group of people to share our dinners with. This included a wonderful wait staff – Martina from Croatia and “Kul” from Thailand. As both my parents are from Croatia, I am fluent in Croatian and had fun speaking to Martina in our language.

SHORE EXCURSIONS
Our first port was Costa Maya, Mexico. We heard that there wasn’t much to do there and figured we would explore the port and possibly small town ourselves. The weather was quite dismal an included a fair bit of rain, thunder and lightning as we were preparing to dock. Out of the three ships that were supposed to dock there that day, the Glory was the only one that actually did. Apparently the weather was too inclement for the other two ships to safely dock. It was a good thing we didn’t book a shore excursion as all excursions had to be cancelled due to the weather. The ship provided plenty of on board entertainment including a movie (Garfield) at the Amber Palace. This was of course popular for families. We opted to wait for the rain to slow down and then headed to shore. There were trolleys that would take you from the ship to the port shops, but we decided to walk. It took about 5 – 7 minutes at a moderate pace. It was still spitting rain, but was very warm out. The water looked gorgeous, although I’m sure that day didn’t do it justice. Costa Maya is yet to be developed commercially. I could see it being a “hot spot” in the near future. Had the weather been nicer, I think we would have been more willing to explore this place. Instead, we browsed the shops, which are very overpriced, but you can barter. I would save serious shopping for Cozumel. Even Belize had better bargains. We did buy a couple of items (a beautiful girls linen dress embroidered with a sunflower, and a bandana) for under $20 USD.

Belize was our second port of call. We chose to go on the Baboon Sanctuary Tour. It also provides a view of Belize City by bus. With all the warnings that Carnival gave in regards to Belize, we figured booking a shore excursion here would be best. HA! While the tour was well organized, our experience was terrible. Firstly, we were supposed to be on an a/c bus. From what I could tell by the sweat pouring off of ourselves and all of our tour mates, such was not the case. After about 15 minutes of putting along the roads, our bus stalled. The driver tried to get it started back up to no avail. We stood at the side of the road in the extreme heat for well over an hour before a replacement bus came along. We were promised that this bus would have a working a/c system. Guess what…it didn’t. The driver finally got smart on the way back and opened the emergency exits overhead and also the front door. The breeze certainly felt good! Our tour of the Baboon Sanctuary would have been great I’m sure if it hadn’t been cut short. We were rushed through there and only saw five Baboons. All of them were too shy to come down from the trees but there was still plenty of opportunity to take great pictures. If you decide to take this particular tour be warned that Belize is very warm (by our standards) and humid. Dress appropriately and carry plenty of drinking water (you will be given a 500mL bottle at the sanctuary). I would also recommend bug spray. The mosquitoes and fire ants were out in full force that day. I wore sandals without socks and my itching feet regretted it later. Don’t let our bad experience turn you off this particular tour or Belize either. I would love to go back to visit again soon. I was most intrigued by all of the plants that are used for medicinal purposes. I heard from fellow cruisers that the Cave Tubing was excellent. The walk to get to the caves however was about 40 minutes and somewhat strenuous. The tender to and from the ship was fine and there wasn’t a long line.

Cozumel was our third port and our final shore excursion booked through the ship. We contemplated just taking a cab from the port to downtown which would have cost $6 each way. However, we wanted to see what all the hype was about on Isla Pasion (Passion Island). I am sad to say that it was quite a bit of hype. We spent more time getting to and from the island (by bus and small boat) then we actually spent on the island. Basically, for $75.00 USD per person they bring you over to the private island for a whopping three hours. Granted, it’s all you can eat and drink. Neither of us are big drinkers but did each enjoy a Corona. The beach is renowned for the latest Corona Commercials. The weather was warm but overcast and the water wasn’t very clear at all. I have seen nicer beaches on the Pacific side. We did however enjoy bathing in the warm waters for nearly an hour. We checked out the lunch buffet. It included fresh fruits, BBQ chicken, rice, chips, salsa & guacamole. I am not a very picky eater, but opted to skip the chicken and filled up on chips & guac. Out of 5 stars, I would rate the food as 1.5 – 2. Once again, had the weather been nicer, perhaps our stay on the island would have been more pleasurable. I wouldn’t take an excursion like this again. It’s really not worth it. I suppose if you really like to drink it might be…but how much can you drink in three hours? The boat ride back to our bus was…interesting. We could see some dark clouds looming in the distance and were hoping it wouldn’t rain. We were on a small (seats maybe 10, uncovered boat. It didn’t just rain, it poured as we got closer to shore. I have never seen rain like that. It was literally coming down in buckets. Some tried to seek refuge under their beach towels, but it was hopeless. We were all soaked through to the bone. I think it was the first time on the whole trip I wished there wasn’t a/c getting onto the bus. Shopping at the pier was alright. We did pick up a few items that we were able to barter for. I would suggest going d/t if you want more variety.

Our fourth and final port was Progresso/Merida. We figured it would be best to just go into the port and see what there is to do from there. Michelle had already been to Chicen Itza, and I had visited the Teotihuacan Pyramids near Mexico City so we had no desire to do this popular excursion. The pier at Progresso is so long that you are actually bused into the small city. From there, you can drive to Merida – a much larger city. We toured around the small market place that the bus dropped us off at. We made friends with two sisters from Colorado and were talking about possibly sharing a cab to Merida. There was also a city tour offered to us for $25 USD each (the cab would have cost $80.00 round trip). The city tour guide offered his tour for $20 USD if all four of us went and so we did. It was well worth the $20. We got to ride around in modern a/c bus that delivered us directly to the ship afterwards. Merida is a very modern city with low crime rates. It has a population of 900,000 people which accounts for nearly 60% of the Yucutan peninsula’s population. There were two scheduled stops; one at a Mayan monument, as well as at a popular marketplace for about an hour of shopping/free time. We arrived at the ship with a half hour to spare and were sad that Progresso was our final stop.

MISC.
- Don’t drink the bottle of water in your room IT”S NOT FREE (don’t worry we didn’t learn the hard way)
- Be flexible! Things can change/happen quickly out at sea
- Talk to crew members to find out which ports are a must see and which tours to take. Talk to your dining room waiters for great advice
- After getting back onto the ship at a port, take the stairs to deck 3 and use the glass elevators if your cabin is higher up like ours
- If you can, carry your own luggage off of the ship. We did through eight flights of stairs, but it was worth it from what others said about having to wait for luggage
- HAVE FUN & ENJOY!

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