Celeste McWilliams

Age: 34
Occupation: Business Owner
Number of Cruises: 2
Cruise Line: Carnival
Ship: Carnival Glory
Sailing Date: January 15th, 2005
Itinerary: Western Caribbean

The parking and embarkation process with Carnival Cruise Lines (“CCL”) at Port Canaveral was pleasantly easy, much different than what I’d expected after reading other reviews.

We had an interior cabin on deck #1, and were pleasantly surprised by the fine job CCL did with our pre-ordered “Bon Voyage” decoration package and delicious cookies. The cabin layout was nice and had a roomy feel. We never met our Room Steward, but were pleased at the service and cleanliness of our room.

We had the late seating dinner in the Platinum Dining Room. Our table staff (Nengah and Gergana) were absolutely fabulous. The meal choices were suitable for any palate, and all the food was wonderful.

Unfortunately, the weather was a bit too cool for us Floridians to enjoy the swimming pools, but did have a fun time at the deck games and just relaxing on deck during our sea days. The Cruise Director (Stuart) and the Social Director (Butch) kept all games fun with their great personalities.

All other aspects of the ship were very pleasing. The shows were great. The casino was very generous (to other people but unfortunately not me!). The internet café was nice. The ship was very clean. And the spa [seaweed wrap, and especially the ionatherapie] was excellent.

A highlight of the trip was the onboard art auction. A large selection of artists’ works were shown. The price paid for both my cruise and the artwork I purchased combined were less expensive than buying the piece in one of the artist’s galleries. I’m hoping to have a friend cruise with CCL soon so they can pick up more art for me.

Our 1st stop was Key West, not really considered a vacation day in my eyes since I drive there to visit fairly frequently. My only negative comment about the entire Key West experience is that CCL gives very limited information to passengers about this wonderful little town. I understand that “mutual agreements” are made between CCL and specific merchants/companies, but it seems so many people missed out on the real flavor of this island by being directed only to merchants which were found at all most of the ports. I was happy to steer other passengers to some interesting spots on the island that they wouldn’t have heard about otherwise. Key West itself is just wonderful, and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Side note: When I traveled with CCL two years ago, we traveled to a foreign port and then to Key West. Since we left the US and then returned, we had to go through Customs on the ship. Every person on the ship had to be cleared by Customs prior to anyone disembarking in Key West, which turned out to be quite a hassle since one couple overslept and did not go through the Customs check as needed. This was not the case on this itinerary, but just something to keep in mind if you’re thinking of considering a different itinerary.

I’d traveled to Belize with CCL previously, and would readily go again. Believe what you are told --- aside from the shopping village right at the ship tender dock, there is not much else shopping. For the second time, I went on the rain forest hike and cave tubing excursion --- not nearly as strenuous as you’d think --- followed by the included buffet lunch [tropical chicken, beans and rice] at Cheers. Our tour guides [one was named, of all things, Elvis!] were fabulous. Knowing that I’ve been on this excursion previously, and would do it a third time, should tell you how much fun it is. Tendering to and from the ship was a quick-moving and easy process.

Arriving at Puerto Maya Pier in Cozumel, we boarded a bus for the Cozumel Highlights & Shopping excursion. We had a wonderful tour of the southern half of the island, stopping at El Cedral [the oldest church on the island, and a few tiny open-air shops] and El Mirador, a gorgeous beach. Our return to San Miguel [downtown] provided almost 2 hours to browse the shops and pick up souvenirs. The shopping area is very clean. The town was a bit crowded --- 10 ships were in port that day --- but it was a wonderful day. The merchants are very friendly to the tourists.

Progresso is definitely on my “must someday return to” list of places. I visited the ruins at Dzibilchaltun, and was pleasantly surprised. (After hearing so much raving about Chichen Itza prior to the cruise, I was somewhat disappointed that my travel partner did not want to invest an entire day visiting ruins. That ended quickly upon arrival at Dzibilchultan.) Our tour guide Victor was wonderful; he gave us a very informative tour, and then we were able to roam the ruins freely for 2 hours. The highlight by far was a swim in the Xlacah Cenote, a sinkhole with gin-clear water. We learned that this cenote was explored by Cousteau divers, who dove to 147 feet without reaching the bottom. My only regret? Not having snorkeling gear and my underwater camera with me. The gift shops here were nice, as was the little restaurant.

I’ve heard many mixed reviews about Carnival Glory (and CCL in general), but I would definitely cruise with them a third time.

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