Carnival Glory Review
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It's been about 10 years since I had last been on a cruise (my parents are avid cruisers) and I was bringing my husband for his first cruise experience aboard the Carnival Glory. Well, although I think he enjoyed it (as did I), it did not "blow our socks off" as I would have expected. Perhaps the memories of my last amazing cruise was a bit embellished by my imagination over the last 10 years, but I expected a lot more grandeur and pampering than I received on the Carnival Glory.
Let's start with the embarkation. We arrived at around 2 p.m. when embarkation started at 12:30 p.m., so by the time we arrived, there were virtually no line-ups. Our luggage was left unceremoniously on the pavement and although there were at least a dozen attendants nearby, no one acknowledged us or let us know what to do next.
The Carnival Glory is a huge ship (110,000 tons) but it still felt crowded. The decor was not extravagant, but kind of old, cheesy Vegas style. Each area had a different colored theme, and the ceiling was pretty neat, changing colors every few seconds. The Amber Palace, which is where all the evening shows were held, was comfortable and you could usually find a seat with a decent view of the stage. Just beware of all the pillars on the upper two floors -- they limit the view considerably. The casino was very large, and you basically had to pass by it any time you were walking from one end of the ship to the other because that deck was one of the few decks that actually spans the entire length of the ship, so needless to say, I spent a lot of time and money there! It was a little difficult to get to some places because of the inability to walk from one end of the ship to the other on every level. For example, if you were dining at the Platinum restaurant (located on decks 3 & 4) and wanted to get there from your cabin, you would have to take the elevator to deck 5 and then walk down the stairs to deck 3 to get to your table on deck 3 or 4. Here's one for you to try when you board the ship -- try finding the Internet Cafe. That one was quite a doozy!