My wife and I are both teachers living 60 miles North of Port Canaveral. This was our 7th cruise, having also cruised Royal Caribbean, American Hawaiian, NCL and Princess. (See my report re Diamond Princess.) We are glad we chose the week before Christmas, fares being half the going rate between Christmas and New Years. We were surprised to see about 500 children on board! A lot of grandparent-parent-child families could be seen. We even met a family with 4 generations on board. We found Carnival Glory an excellent alternative to the much more expensive Disney cruise ships. Most of the children and teens seemed very happy with the programs and facilities provided. You would hardly see them except mealtimes, which was appreciated.

If all cruisers were like us, they would probably go out of business. We do not gamble, drink nor buy ship souvenirs or photos. I reserved this cruise about 6 months in advance, requesting GUAR Inside Stateroom, hoping for upgrade. We were upgraded 1 category to 2nd (Main) deck, which is perfect for going to events at one end of the ship to the other. You can only do it on the 1st and 2nd deck ! The rest of the ship is a maze!

We had our son drop us off at the terminal at 11:20 a.m. Leave your car at the pier and it will cost you $70 for the week. We were on board at noon. The welcome aboard buffet lunch was super duper and varied and well-labeled. All serving facilities on the Lido Deck 9 "Red Sail" restaurant were operating ALL AFTERNOON! I know, Carnival says embark @ 1:30 p.m. But folks were allowed on board at noon, I suppose to keep the lines and crowding down. We were simply requested to not go to our cabin until 1:30 p.m. So, we thoroughly enjoyed the meal and toured the ship. The spa tour was interesting and fun to total in our minds all the $ we would not be spending there. The hair-guy was a hoot ! With thick British accent, he kept mentioning we'd have 2 "full moon" nights, which we translated as FORMAL nights! The SPA really is a nice facility, with beautiful garden setting & waterfall, hot tub (that was hot like it is supposed to be!) and plung pool, lockers, sauna and steam rooms...all free of charge. NO CHILDREN allowed there nor in the Nautilus-type exercise rooms. There are another 6 "not-so-hot" hot tubs mainly on Lido Deck. Children dominate the 3 main (saltwater) pools and the 142-foot spiral slide, lining up 100 deep for a turn. But, I caught it when it first opened on Cozumel day...once was enough for me! Read more