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Carnival Dream

Carnival Glory

Carnival Sensation

Monaco (Monte Carlo)

My husband and I had a fabulous time on the Glory. I surprised him and booked a suite, instead of the inside cabin that he thought we would have. When we arrived at Port Canaveral, I was very happy that we did upgrade. It was about 12:00 noon, and the regular line was soooo long. But, we zipped right through the VIP registration line, and we were on the ship in less than 10 minutes. 
We had to wait awhile for our cabin, so we went to the Red Sail Restaurant for lunch. I tell you people get crazy our buffets, so be careful. You'll probably find all the tables taken in the front of the restaurant, but just keep going back, or better yet go upstairs, hardly anyone was up there. Plus, the seafood restaurant is upstairs, and they have some fantastic fish & chips, calamari/onion fritters, and awesome bouillabaisse. There is a good asian counter, as well on the first floor. Later in the week, I had the chicken and mushroom dish, and the soup (which I added some of the jalepeno vinegar and soy sauce, so it was like a hot sour soup). 
We purchased a soda card ($46), and my husband and I were able to share it all week. The bartenders never compare your sign & sail card to the soda card. There's also free iced tea and punch, as well as coffee. After about an hour, we went to our cabin. My husband still didn't know that I had upgraded to a suite. The look on his face was priceless when he opened the door. He said, "Oh my God, what have you done!!!" I was smiling from ear to ear. 
The suite was magnificent. If you can afford it, go for it. It's about twice the size of a regular room. Two huge windows and the door looking out to the balcony. The king size bed is very comfy, and the couch makes out to a bed, if you have a 3d person. Tons of storage space. There's a dressing room, and the bathroom is awesome!! Jacuzzi bathtub, two sinks, and marble everything, so roomy and sooo nice. I had ordered a bottle of champagne, and we sipped champagne out on the balcony, as we set sail, and watched the horizon fade into the distance. That will be a memory that sticks with me forever. 
The muster drill (which was before we set sail) was uneventful, but wait awhile before you go to your designated area. It is sooo hot, and if you get there early, you'll be stuck in the back with tons of people smashing you against the wall. 
FOOD: Overall the food was very good. We dined at 8:15 in the Golden Dining Room (table 183) on the main floor. This was a good location, as the waiters do little song and dance shows almost each night, and they're entertaining to watch. Mr. Veeeeee......the Maitre' Deeeeeeeeeeee .... is quite a character too. The chocolate melting cake is wonderful, and I'm not really a chocoholic. Our head waiter was Cesar and his assistant was Louie, both were wonderful. I brought wine on board, and he never charged me a corkage fee. Best yet, we dined at the Emerald Room Supper Club one night, and the steaks were the best we ever had!!! I had the filet mignon and my husband had the prime rib roast. He's a big steak guy, and he said it was the absolutely best steak he'd ever had. Be careful though, with all the appetizers, salads and stuff ... I was full b/f they brought my main course. BTW, you can order as much as you want, several appetizers, salads, soups ... probably entrees too .... but we were so full, we couldn't even finish ours. Don't forget about the free room service. We had pre-breakfast coffee, tea, and croissants on our balcony almost every morning, then we go to the Platinum Dining Room for breakfast. Room service also offered lots of different sandwiches and salads which were wonderful when I returned form scuba diving and was starving to death. The hamburger/hot dog counter provided quick service, and they were very good. The pizza counter was also quick, and the pizzas were very typically Italian in nature - great crust. The de chevre pizza was my favorite (goat cheese and mushrooms). Both hamburger stand and pizza counter are in the back of the ship, Deck 9. 
LAYOUT - I'd studied the layout before we arrived. I would highly recommend a review of the layout, b/c you can only go from one end of the ship to the other on Deck 5, maybe Deck 2 too. The best way to navigate is use your Deck and just go down to whichever area of the ship you wish to visit. There are 3 sets of elevators, back, middle, and front - so this is the best way to get around. For example, we were in the front of the ship, so I would just walk all the way down the hallway in Deck 7, go up 2 floors, out the door, and there was the pizza, hamburger, and ice cream stations. Plus, that's where the adult pool is, much quieter than the main pool area. 
BARS/ENTERTAINMENT - My husband and I are not late night people. We only made one show, the Illusionist (don't remember his name, but he was great!!) However, I did attend a wine tasting in the Emerald Supper Club (cost $10) with 5 different wines to sample. Lots of fun, and I learned a lot. Also, I attended an art auction. They give you a couple glasses of free champagne. Very interesting - they actually have paintings by Marc Chagall, Picasso, Rembrandt, and other big names. Someone actually paid $72K for a Picasso - way outside my budget. The lobby bar and entertainment were wonderful. There was a classical music ensemble, and a very talented duo who sang romantic songs in the evening. It was wonderful b/c we were close to the elevators, and the beautiful music wafted up through the atrium to our room. I would just lie in bed w/a glass of wine, and be lulled to sleep by the wonderful music. 
EXCURSIONS - I'll write a separate review of these; however, I booked all my excursions through Carnival - scuba diving in Cozumel, Belize, and Honduras, and the Jeep Tour Adventure in Freeport, Bahamas. I would highly recommend the diving through Carnival - wonderful vendors. 
DEBARKATION - very smooth! We were # 7, and we were off the ship by 7:45, on the shuttle bus by 7:55, and off to Orlando by a little after 8. 
Good luck everyone!! I'm so jealous b/c you're going to have a great!!! time! 
Christine 


Great Time on the Glory!!

This was our first cruise and I promised that I would write up a review upon returning. Everything that I have read on this website was very helpful, both the negative and positive. I thought I would return the favor. 
First the positive... We had a blast. These are only the highlights. First I have to say that Carnival had wonderful staff. Our steward, Dimiter was very polite and helpful. Our waiters, Vern and Carlo were great. They all work so hard! The cabin surprised us. It was plenty big enough for the 3 of us (although I would not like to try to fit 2 kids over age six) and the way they arranged it to make enough storage space for all the things we packed showed great engineering and foresight. I was nervous that we wouldn't have enough to do on the boat. I packed 3 books and only read 1 chapter of the first. (Very unlike me as I read pretty much non-stop at home!) We never got bored. There were activities appropriate for all of us and the shore excursions allowed us 4 very different experiences all in one trip. Camp Carnival was such a hit with our daughter that the first question she had each morning was "When can I go to camp?". Just like the ads on tv, she didn't want to hang out with us. The counselors were wonderful with the kids and very professional. I don't know how they do it and stay sane! Having our daughter in the camp allowed us to have some grown-up time. We met great people and enjoyed the nice formal dinners with our new friends or just the 2 of us. We never made it to the Supper Club because the main dining room food was excellent. Maybe next time... 
And the negative...When asked how my cruise was, I think I would honestly say while we had a great time, I don't think cruises are for everyone. Especially Carnival. I don't think Carnival is for the very serious and easily offended group. I also don't think it would be good for children under age 6 as it would be too overwhelming. There were too many crowds at times, which made even our 8 year old a little nervous. It was made worse by the fact that our cruise was full of spring breakers. I heard of at least 3 people who were escorted off the ship in hand-cuffs. 1 for indecent exposure on St. Patty's day at the Main Lido Pool deck. We had to go out of our way to make sure our daughter was not around the drunk and very inappropriate behavior of the young college-aged men who were on our ship showing off exactly how immature and insensitive they were. There was even a group of Marines not demonstrating a very good example of our US armed forces intelligence level and honor. We wrote to Carnival and suggested that they take a stricter approach in order to make the ship more family friendly. Maybe even make one of the pools a kids oriented (no alcohol) area. I think that even in a non-spring break week, Carnival is for the more party oriented crowd. Most of the activities on board involve alcohol and gambling and loud music (or combinations thereof). For the record, I have to admit here that I am not a saint. I do enjoy a nice glass of wine (or two or three or...) and got pretty tipsy myself one night in the disco and regretted it the next day when the ship was rocking back & forth in the gulf stream... So as I was saying - The other negative stuff I was prepared for...The cow herding and long waits at port docking time. No privacy. High cost of shore excursions and alcohol on board (Our incidentals, souvenir purchases, photographs and booze almost doubled the cost of the cruise over the cabin alone). Too much food (wait, is that good or bad?). 
Itinerary....This needed its own section.. I would love to plan a trip just to Belize and to the Progresso/Merida area. We went cave tubing in Belize and visited the Dzbilchaltun ruins in Progresso. I wouldn't revisit the overly touristy Key West and Cozumel. They were too crowed and there were too many cruise ships docked at the same time. However, we didn't not enjoy ourselves at those ports. They just weren't my favorite. I need to note that I did overhear on the ship people saying the exact opposite. Some people loved Key West and Cozumel and hated Belize and Progresso. I have to suspect that they didn't do research ahead of time and didn't book the right tours at those more under-developed locations. My recommendation - take the Western Caribbean if you like adventures and read-up on the port of call forum to plan before you go. (Note: We only took 1 Carnival tour. The rest were independently organized.) 
The bottom line...Will we go again? Definitely! Would I recommend the Glory to fun-party types with kids old enough to enjoy the fun activities at camp? Absolutely! Just go prepared, ignore the few not-so-great stuff and have fun. It is well worth it. 


Carnival Glory - Eastern Mediterranean

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