As new cruisers, three cruises so far, we have been sampling different cruise lines. Prior to our voyage on the Glory, out of New Orleans, we sailed on Norwegian's Breeze and Holland America's Nieu Stadtendam. All have been 7-day Caribbean cruises. Our first cruise was on Norwegian and we were in the Haven so we had our cruising indoctrination performed at the highest level. Cabins on all of our cruises were perfectly fine although nothing compares to a Haven Penthouse Suite. The main difference we found was in the food quality and quantity. On both Norwegian and Holland America, we found the food to be excellent and reasonably portioned. Honestly, the food in the main dining rooms on both the Breeze and Stadtendam rivaled the quality of the food available at the specialty restaurants. Our dining experiences aboard the Carnival Glory were mostly abysmal. The Main Dining Room (MDR) menu frequently offered "Jumbo" Shrimp Cocktail but what actually arrived at our table was four, small, boiled shrimp on a plate with a small dish of cocktail sauce. The presentation of this and other appetizers were anything but appetizing. On the first night that I ordered the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail I laughed out loud when the waiter placed the dish in front of me. I was shocked. I live on the Gulf Coast and this dish did a complete disservice to the oxymoronic term "Jumbo Shrimp" as well as the actual Menu Item Shrimp Cocktail.

We had similar experiences with numerous other appetizers as well as main courses. Portions were absurdly small for normal eaters and the quality of food stock and preparation was also sub-par. Overcooked salmon, dry and overcooked chicken breast, Shoe-leather-tough "striploin" steaks, repeatedly and the list goes on. Another item stood out as a cheap-shot. The escargot appetizer was served in a plain, round dish and there were only five escargot in the dish. A normally accepted service portion of escargot is six snails. When served shelled, they are normally placed on an escargot dish which has six dimples onto which the snails are placed. While individually these complaints might seem a bit petty, when you take the totality of circumstances and consider them in comparison to our experiences on other ships and overall dining experiences, Carnival's cost cutting measures are obvious an unsettling for us. Service aboard the ship was impeccable throughout. Drink package policy is a bit annoying but manageable.