Linda

Age: 55
Occupation: General Assistant at historical theater
Number of Cruises: 6 (5 Carnival, 1 Celebrity)
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Glory
Sailing Date: January 8th, 2005
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean

Our Carnival transport from airport to dock went smoothly, as did our arrival on board. The driver was efficient, but funny and knowledgeable about local sights. It was disappointing to find that our embarkation picture was quite blurry and unusable. We were cruising again with friends, and were looking forward to a great week, based on past experience with Carnival. Unfortunately, that did not turn out to be the case.

Positives: adults only hot tubs (but could have been hotter), unpolished but enthusiastic and hard working wait team in the Platinum dining room; good bartenders, and excellent shows with the singers and dancers.

Negatives: a very rude sales clerk in one of the ship stores; very poor service in the Red Sail Restaurant (casual dining) and on the Lido deck in general; and just a disappointing lack of service, enthusiasm, and poor level of customer service in general. Why can't the Glory have at least one non-smoking lounge in addition to the Amber Palace theater? Why can't smokers be more controlled in their access to every lounge, every deck, and every hallway?

I believe that the ship is understaffed for it's size and passenger capacity, and this may contribute to the poor service. However, never on a prior cruise did another passenger report that their room steward refused to help with a broken crib because they were off duty! We also found it unacceptable that when we mentioned a concern about the casual dining serving lukewarm or even cold food that was meant to be hot, we were told to 'go talk to the cooks' and then ignored. Dirty dishes sat around on tables, tables were not wiped down after clearing, and the bus boys stood around talking.

The frozen yogurt machines operated only sporadically, and the "Gala Buffet" was the worst I have ever seen. While the ice sculptures were lovely, there was entirely too much bizarre and unlabeled food, such as unknown items pressed into molds or pate rolls. The gala buffet was served in the casual dining restaurant using the regular service lines, leading to very long lines and disgruntled passengers. While the 'super shopper Rebecca' was knowledgeable and helpful in port, her talks could have been shorter. The morning show, televised and re-run all day, consisted of the cruise director, an assistant, and an unknown staffer sitting around a table making lame jokes, losing their train of thought, and spending most of the time trying to sell something.

The constant announcements and overly long solicitations to come buy something were annoying as well. Unfortunately, we talked to at least a dozen other past cruisers who were feeling the same way we were. Will Carnival respond to our detailed comment cards? Who knows? Although the past cruisers reception was nice, this may be our last 'fun ship' cruise. Next time we will probably go back to Celebrity or try Princess, which although a Carnival Corporation member is still running their own type of operation. The 'Glory' just isn't!

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