One word comes to mind when describing our cruise on Carnival Glory: stressful. Practically from the moment we dropped off our luggage and parked our car we encountered one problem after another, despite the fact we had recently enjoyed our cruise on Carnival Legend and expected a similar happy experience on this ship.

Security screening at the port (Canaveral) was poorly organized and haphazardly executed. I was not allowed to bring my small Leatherman tool kit for adjusting my wheelchair aboard because it also happened to have a 2 inch knife blade on it. This was despite the fact I have never had a problem taking this Swiss army knife type device aboard aircraft as well as Carnival Legend and current CSA rules allow for up to 4 inch long blades. When I politely pointed out to the security guard that the steak knives in the Glory's dining rooms were twice as long as this tiny blade, she became all the more determined to confiscate it as a potential weapon. Obviously, my white haired husband and I were quite a threat to the security of the ship. Rather than lose my expensive Leatherman, my husband left me in the care of ship's personnel so he could return the kit to our car. I hoped nothing on my wheelchair would need adjusting during the cruise. Once aboard the Glory, I waited in the ship's atrium lobby for nearly an hour while my husband went back through the long security and check-in lines all over again.

After my husband got on board we headed for the elevators that would take us to the Golden dining room where seating arrangements were being sorted out. Before we could get to an elevator, however, my wheelchair's front wheel got caught in a deeply grooved threshold (where fire doors slide shut) near the atrium elevators. In the heavy crowd we had not seen this steel groove, but being caught in this way torqued the chair's small front wheel, shattering it when we tried to turn. So now my wheelchair was unusable but the line for assistance at the nearby pursers office was too long for me to stand in and there was no place to sit in the lobby in order to wait for a remedy. Besides, it was vital that we reach the maitre d' at the Golden dining room in time to change our table assignment to one that was wheelchair accessible. Hobbling back and forth, my husband and I eventually managed to push the damaged chair onto an elevator and made our way to the Golden dining room. Read more