I just returned home from my sailing on Carnival's Glory. It was the first cruise I've ever taken. To prepare for my upcoming trip, I read many, many reviews on the Glory, and absorbed many recommendations and suggestions that previous sailors had written. I suggest to anybody who has not sailed before, to do as much research on the ship that you are sailing on, and read all types of reviews on that ship...good and bad. I know it helped me out immensely. I will start out with embarkation: I was a cash paying customer. (luckily) I saw extremely long lines for those passengers who were using their credit cards for their cruise. My friend who was sailing with me was using a credit card. But because I was leaving a cash deposit, I was ushered to a very short line. (I was 4th in line) the crew member assisting with the lines at embarkation asked if anyone was with me, and I told her of my friend who was in the credit card line, and she said she could come on over to where I was to check in. It was quick, smooth and painless. I was blown away once onboard. The Glory is certainly a sight to behold. She's a big and beautiful vessel. My friend and I decided to walk around the ship and try to become as familiar with it as we possibly could in a day. Well.... let me tell you, my only complaint was the layout of the ship. It took us 3 days to finally figure out how to maneuver around without feeling like a mouse in a maze. But once we had the ships layout under our belts, all was good. We requested late seating, and were in the Platinum Dining Room. Our dining experience was nothing short of awesome. Our head waiter, Donovan, did an amazing job of taking care of us. The food was spectacular. So many wonderful selections to chose from, from appetizers all the way to desert. Our first day at sea was nice. We spent time out on the deck getting some sun, and swimming. The pools were sparkling clear and clean. They are filled with salt water, which if you happen to accidently swallow, taste....foul to say the least, but its for swimming in, not drinking! I did become adventurous and took a couple trips down the water slide. I never ran into a line. I just trotted right up, and slid right down. It was a blasty blast. (just be sure to plug your nose at the end, or you will get a nose full of that yucky salt water!) There were always plenty of deck chairs available to choose from. And, I hate to sound terrible here, but, it was so nice to have so few kids on this cruise. It was mostly all adults. We took a couple of excursions. In Cozumel, we did the Mayan Ruins in Tulum. This was great. It was a long day, but it was filled with alot of interesting facts. I would recommend this excursion. Next, we ended up in Roatan. We didn't take any excursions here, but our dining mates told us the beaches on the other side of the island were beautiful, and a lobster lunch with all the trimmings was out of this world, and only 16.00! What a steal. I believe it was this night we saw our first show. It was comedian Anthony Acosta. It was the late adults only show. He was raunchy, but funny. It was a good time. On to Belize. I know everyone says to do the cave tubing. I'm sure its great. I, however, have a fear of spiders, and was told to expect encounters with spiders (plural). I saw no need to sign up, spend money to put myself in direct fire of my phobia, so my friend and I opted for the snorkeling excursion that included a private island. This was my favorite. The barrier reefs were just incredible. We purchased an underwater camera to take pictures. (I hope they turn out) I will always remember the breathtaking sights I saw on this excursion. Thursday, our second and final day at sea, was a rough one, I'm not going to lie. We were definitely feeling Ike's wrath this day. But, I do not feel it took away from my experience. It was a day at sea, no big deal. With so much to do on the boat, I wasn't bored. The Captain, and Butch, our Cruise Director, kept all of us informed. The Captain was taking us as far out as he could away from the storm. We took in a show this night, the Rock Down Broadway. It was great. I hear people complain about the entertainment quality on ships. I figure, if you want a broadway show, book yourself a vacation to New York and take in a show on broadway. The entertainment, I thought, was just fine. On to Friday at Freeport. Again, we did not take a shore excursion in the Bahamas. We wanted to do a little shopping and get back on the boat and enjoy our last day on the Glory. I can't say enough about my first cruise. The ship was clean, the staff was always friendly, and all members greeted us whenever we passed by. There was plenty of live music, which I thought was good. I hear alot of ships are using CD's for their music. Not Carnival's Glory. It seemed that they had musicians that catered to most everyone's musical taste. Our cabin steward, Rashad (I think was his name) was phenomenal. He was like a cleaning ninja. We never saw him go in or exit our room, and he always seemed to know when we were gone. How he knew when to come in and clean is still a mystery to us. We never really had a "set" schedule that we adhered to for him to figure it out. I guess some things just aren't meant to be answered. Disembarkation was very quick and easy. Our last day was bitter sweet. Anxious to get home and see my husband and pets, yet sad to be leaving the best vacation I ever had. All in all, I must say, that I think there are two types of people in the world, those who love cruising, and will always love cruising, and those who don't. Carnival made me a lover of cruising, and I can't wait to sail with them again.