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Carnival
Glory
7 Day Eastern Caribbean

Jennifer Leever

Age: 43
Occupation: Stay-at-home mom
Number of Cruises: 2
Sailing Date: July 23rd, 2005

Me (43) my husband (46) and one son (10) booked our cruise with Carnival because our first cruise 2 years ago was awesome. We sailed that time on the Carnival Conquest and the Carnival Glory is the sister ship to the Conquest. We wanted different ports to visit this time so we felt this would be the perfect cruise for us.

We were very happy with the ports we visited this time. In St. Thomas we sailed by Catamaran to St. John and snorkeled close to St. John Island. This was a perfect excursion for us. Great weather, clear water, beautiful scenery, and good food on board coming back. I would recommend this excursion. However, in St. Maarten we did the "Beach Break" and although the beach was beautiful and they had all-you-can-eat ribs, we got a little bored and were wishing we had something else to do. We had to wait for the return bus to the ship and wished we had at least brought some snorkel gear with us (they don't provide anything but the ride to the beach and ribs). I would not recommend this excursion.

Now, for the ship. We realized that the ship was exactly the same as the Conquest and wished we had gone on a different ship because there was nothing new to discover. The ship is beautiful, of course, but extremely crowded everywhere you go. I had discovered a high deck on the Conquest where I could be alone to read on sea days. But on the Glory, that deck was even crowded. There was nowhere to read outdoors where you could find peace and quiet. The Pools are small and always full.

Our son had a wonderful time. We brought along walkie-talkies (which they also have available on board to rent) and we kept in touch with him that way. He made lots of friends and enjoyed the freedom to run around with them on sea days on the ship. The only thing I would recommend to Carnival would be to find more fun activities for appropriate age groups. Our son decided against "Camp Carnival" activities because he thought they were designed more for younger people. He was in the 9-11 age group, but liked what the kids in the 12-15 age group were doing better.

The food is pretty good, and there is plenty of it, but the lines everywhere are long. We found ourselves waiting much longer in lines to eat than we did on the Conquest. I recommend eating in your assigned dining room for dinner. The staff are wonderful and very accommodating. If you don't like what you order, they will bring you something else. I found myself ordering 2 or 3 desserts every night just to taste them. Find out what night they are serving "Bitter and Blanc" for dessert, and don't miss it. I'd pay for the recipe if I knew where to get it.

The people in the gift shops were snobby, I felt. In fact, most of the staff on the Glory seem unhappy, unlike Carnival Conquest, where everyone seemed happy to be there. The ship is relatively clean, except the leftovers and dishes, etc. left outside cabin doors after people had eaten in their rooms. They were left for hours at a time before they were picked up and sometimes began smelling bad. Many times on the ship we noticed what smelled like sewage.

We also noticed that there was way too much noise in the hallways at night. I had to buy some earplugs just get sleep. Don't stay on the Veranda Deck (Deck 8). The Lido deck is just above and there is noise up there all night long!

Overall a good trip. But too crowded. We decided we would sail a different cruise line next time and maybe opt for a smaller ship.

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