January 2010 we sailed on the Glory -Eastern Caribbean. We enjoyed it so much we re-booked a year later trying the Western itinerary. I did not think it would be possible to like it more than last year, but we enjoyed it so much, going back in January 2012 again. We flew into Miami day before from snowy Philadelphia. Stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay again, beautiful hotel that overlooks the port, so you can see all the ships from the hotel. We checked out at noon, got a taxi over to the port. Embarkation was easy, we carried on our bags, as you can as long as they are 28" or less. We also carried on 2 bottles of wine. No problem. The whole process took about 45 minutes. The cabin was not ready until 1:30, so since we found a comfotable seat and waited about 1/2 an hour before heading up to the Empress deck where our cabin was. We unpacked, changed and headed up to the lido deck to have lunch. The buffet has many choices in the Red Sail, including a salad bar. If you can't find something suitable to your liking, there's something wrong with you. Because of playoff season, the Packers-Bears game was on the huge screen on the lido deck. We are Eagles fans, but love love love football and were thrilled that the games were broadcasted, as the majority of fellow cruises were cheering on their teams. It was alot of fun to watch the playoff games on the ship. They also broadcasted the Steelers-Jets game.

Let me start by saying that my husband and I are both busy professionals from Doylestown with 6, yes 6 children. Our goal on a Carnival cruise is to relax, have fun and not feel our ages (45 and 51). The things we enjoy most on the cruise are the shows, deck games and the comedy club. We like the dining options: dining room,buffet, pizza and fish and chips(located on deck 10 above aft pool). We prefer the Empress Deck 7 because it is between sleeping floors-quiet since we are early to sleep, early to rise. I like to be mid-ship to aft also due to feeling less movement of the ship. We also always have a balcony cabin. Every morning my husband went to the fitness center around 6:30-7 AM and I headed up the track with my i-pod. I can't even explain how wonderful it is to watch the sunrise over the ocean.

Dining room: Our dinner partners were another couple from PA, we enjoyed their company and did many things with them throughout our cruise. We only went to one of the formal night dinners, just did not feel like dressing up twice. Besides, we had our picture taken on the first formal night. It's OK to say "No" to the photographers, they are just doing their job ! It's also Ok to say "No, thanks" to the bar wait staff.. it's Ok, they are just doing their job also. Read more