Glory
Glory Overview
Tonnage: 110,000
Length: 952 ft
Passengers: 2,974
Crew: 1,150
Registry: Panama
Conquest-class ship of 110,000-tons. Funship 2.0 upgrades on board; Guy's Burgers, Redfrog Pub, Punchliners comedy, EA Sports Bar
Best For People Who WantExciting and ritzy nightlife; numerous singles; alternative dining venues; one of the largest ships in the Carnival fleet; spacious cabins for three and four passengers; cabins with balconies; excellent fitness and spa facilities; high-energy atmosphere with varied daytime activities, including abundant children's programs.
Should Be Avoided By People Who PreferAn elegant, quiet and relaxing cruise; private areas away from the public, especially children.
Onboard ExperienceCarnival Conquest, Carnival Glory, Carnival Valor, and Carnival Liberty are the big sisters of Carnival's Destiny class. Glory weighs over 110,000 tons. Expanded children's facilities, comprising a separate children's pool, a mini-movie theatre, and an indoor playground, account for some of the extra footage on the ship, as does the trendy supper club "The Point", serving gourmet cuisine, and the best U.S.D.A. prime beef.
There are 22 bars and lounges throughout the 13 passenger decks. Other amenities include an Internet café, four swimming pools, and a 15,000-square-foot health club. The ship has no lack of entertainment of all varieties, featuring the Cinn-A-Bar sing-along piano bar and White Heat disco, along with gorgeous production shows and side-splitting comics in the main theater called Amber Palace.
DecorCarnival's ship designer, the renowned Joe Farcus, chose "color" as the theme for Glory. Each of the public rooms has a different hue as its base, which makes the entire ship a tribute to Roy G. Biv, also known as the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). Rooms are generally named after colors and the resulting theme is based on something each color commonly represents. It's an amusing theme that you will be reminded of consistently as you journey through the ship.
Public RoomsAs the atrium is the unifying aspect of the ship's design, it receives the title name for the ship's theme; Colors. A custom designed light projection apparatus, described as a digital kaleidoscope, projects beams of various constantly moving color designs onto the giant wall behind the atrium bar. In the center is a small stage for non-imposing background music; behind the musicians glass elevators rise to the top deck.These elevators are the best way to view the digital light effects. The "Promenade" on Deck 5 includes the Burgundy Bar (wine bar), a kid's area called Ultraviolets, The Camel Club Casino, The Cinn-A-Bar sing-along piano bar, The Blue Bar for combo music and the White Heat disco. The ship's secondary showroom at the stern, is the Ebony Cabaret, where entertainment varies between a live 4-piece band playing Beatles tunes and late-night "blue" comedy.
On the opposite end of Glory is the three-deck high Amber Palace inspired by Catherine the Great's legendary Amber Room; aim for the lower balcony seats, a little off-center, for the best view. Hidden on Deck 4 is the Ivory Club, a cigar bar which features jazz music and dancing before dinner. For sports fanatics, there is a Sports Bar with satellite ESPN on seven large-screen televisions, in addition to video poker machines built into the bar.
Other diversions include the small Black & White Library open for several hours each day and various boutiques selling a wide range of duty-free jewelry, perfume, and alcohol along with the usual cruise items.
CuisineGlory offers attractive breakfast and lunch buffets ,including an excellent salad bar and made-to-order dishes. For those with a sophisticated palate, the new menus feature chateaubriand, rack of lamb, and lobster, along with chocolate desserts. On the other end of the scale, delicious pizza and Caesar salad are available 24 hours a day. Delightful specialties can be found near the Prometheus Lido including the Sur Mer seafood station and an Asian food station that regularly rotates its dishes. There's a complimentary sushi bar on the Promenade Deck in the evenings, and vegetarian and low-salt items on every menu and at all stations.
RestaurantsCarnival's Total Choice Dining provides for four seating times for a table in the main dining rooms at 5:45 or 6:15p.m.m and 8 or 8:30p.m.m. Of the two main dining rooms, the Platinum Restaurant, located aft, is framed by three walls of windows so it boasts better views. The Golden Restaurant is located mid-ships with windows only on two sides. The best tables are on the balcony, the middle lower section being a bit noisy. The friendly atmosphere is encouraged by the tables seating between four and six people, although there are quite a few tables for only two diners.
The sunny and spacious Grand Buffet restaurant, which features amazing views of the sea, offers breakfast and lunch buffets. Alternatively, you can enjoy a meal served alfresco poolside in the Azure Lido area just behind the Grand Buffet. For those who prefer to dine when the mood strikes them, this poolside Lido restaurants offer buffet dinner between 6:00 and 9:00p.m.m without reservations. Breakfast is also available in the Platinum dining room. For those looking for a quick snack, the hamburger and hot dog stand, located in the Azure Lido near the stern pool, serves food throughout the afternoon. There are self-serve frozen yogurt and ice cream machines, and multiple lemonade, coffee, and iced tea stations. The Glory's pizzeria has a great variety of pizza types on offer in addition to Caesar salad, both served 24 hours a day. There is also a deli for lighter lunch choices. The room service menu features sandwiches, desserts and breakfast fare.
The Café; known as Creams on the Promenade Deck serves delectable sweets and a range of coffees. The Sushi Salmon Bar, adjacent to the JavaCafé; is open evenings only and serves sushi.
For a cover charge of $25, guests can sample fine wines and dine on the excellent menu choices at Emerald Room Supper Club. There is a small combo playing behind a tiny dance floor, which proves to be ample for those couples obviously celebrating a special date together.
ServiceThe staff on Glory is prompt, well-organized, and prone to showing off, as when balancing trays on their heads while serving dessert. The maitre'd makes a point of learning the names of all couples celebrating an anniversary.
TippingAll Carnival cruises have a $10.00 per person per day (excluding children under two years of age) gratuity comprising $5.50 for the Dining Room service, $3.60 for the stateroom steward, and $.90 for the alternative dining rooms. This charge can be either automatically added to the Sail & Sign card or it can be prepaid (prepayment is mandatory on the Cruises-to-Nowhere). The purser's desk can decrease or increase this amount throughout the cruise. Tip room service, the maitre d', casino, spa, or other staff as you deem fit. The bar and beverage tabs all include a 15 percent gratuity to the bill.
EntertainmentThe main theater, the Amber Room, presents outstanding production shows featuring beautiful costumes and Vegas-quality light shows, but even the smaller venues have great acts and music, particularly the sing-along Lindy Hop piano bar. There is a Caribbean band on the pool deck. More interactive activities include numerous bingo games, ballroom dancing, karaoke, and "game show mania".
CabinsWhile the décor in the cabins is somewhat reserved, they are some of the largest available on any cruise ship, and many are fitted with lovely private balconies. The suites and ocean view staterooms come with complimentary bathrobes and a mini bar. The cabins located on the outside are 220 sq. feet and include a coffee table and plush leather sofa. The inside cabins are 195 sq. feet in area and are great for families or large groups of singles due to their pull-down berths that provide extra sleeping space. Families might prefer the 230 sq. feet cabins located next to the children's center. All the large bathrooms include a shower (the suites are the only cabins with tubs), basket of toiletries, and hair dryer. The cabins come standard with a color TV that includes ESPN, CNN, and movies. There is plentiful storage space, with three closets and a several drawers. for those of special needs are available.
Fitness/SpaThe gym's 15,000sq.q. feet is full of treadmills, stationary bikes, stairmasters, rowing and hydraulic weight machines, and of course free weights. The strategically placed equipment allows you to enjoy the lovely panoramic views offered by the floor-to-ceiling windows. For runners, a lap on the jogging deck, which surrounds the smokestack, is equivalent to 1/11 of a mile.
AttireCasual wear is standard during the day. For the two formal nights, men can rent a tuxedo, though most men opt for dark suits. The ship has men's and women's accessories available to rent for these formal nights. No jeans in the dining room ever, no shorts after dark.
User Reviews
by Paul Revere
1 Review
Publication Date: June 3, 2012
Please be aware and leery of Carnival Cruise Line. They will advertise a 7 day cruise and if the cruise is cut to 6 days or less they won't refund you the difference. You talk with them on the phone or write to them all they do is give excuses for what took place. This is a criminal act of fraud and should not be accepted by anyone. If you decide to cruise with Carnival Cruise Lines please be cautious.
by Jeffrey
2 Reviews
Publication Date: June 10, 2010
My partner and I just got back from a 4-day cruise to New Brunswick, St John in Canada. I was excited for the cruise, and thought I would write a little article about it.
I found our cruise was OKAY. The ship offered LOTS AND LOTS of food, and LOTS AND LOTS of alcohol. The prices of the alcohol makes you sick to your stomach, so thats why you just order it and don't look at the receipt.
I recommend NOT going to St John Canada, as there is NOTHING to do, unless you pay an outrageous amount of money for an excursion, but even then they aren't that great.
The entertainment on the ship was not good at all. They had a few late night comedy shows, but honestly, that was about it. Most of the cruise consisted of music sitting in a bar on the itinterary....convenient. for them to get you in a bar.....I found out that this 4 day cruise is basivcally a booze cruise. Nothing to do but eat and drink. I don't think I will be going on this cruise again.
by 2Littletime
3 Reviews
Publication Date: April 25, 2010
We arrived at the pier in Miami to board the Carnival Glory at 2:00 PM on April 25th, 2010. The porters were in full swing and were in an especially good mood and they even took the time to wrap the baby seat in plastic to keep it clean on its way to the cabin which impressed us. The "we" in this review refers to myself, my husband, our three daughters (19, 10 and 8 months) and my parents. I am platinum but rather than going our separate ways at embarkation we all went through the general embarkation line. The crowd control staffers in this area were excellent. However, the agent behind the counter was simply the least pleasant embarkation staffer I have ever encountered. There were some issues with our booking information because of an error made by the travel agent and then I had the audacity to be "platinum" and she had to go find my card in another area because I should have been in the VIP lounge and not in the general line with my extended family afterall as she said "you have a whole week
together on the ship, you can wait in separate lines". Other than Miss Personality at embarkation, the process was simple and uncomplicated and by 2:35 we were officially on the ship.Accomodations: The cabins, one on the Main and the other on the Riviera, were immaculate and had clearly been recently renovated as there was not so much as a scuff, a mark, or discoloration anywhere in either cabin. The only issue was our cabin on the Main Deck and that was with the airconditioning, we were four in the cabin, including an infant and the room was sweltering, at arrival it was 82 degrees in the cabin and no air was moving. We cranked up the AC and later that evening when we returned we advised the purser of the continuing issue, no resolution. On Monday, we again advised the purser and when we returned to the cabin a card had been left saying that the issue was resolved but the room was still hot. On Tuesday, we spoke again with the purser, that night we removed all the bedding except for the sheets and we put the baby to bed in the buff. On Wednesday the issue continued and another little blue card arrived saying they fixed it but alas on Thursday we had the same issue, but they brought us a fan which was much appreciated and did help with the temperature. Across the hall from us, the guests were having similar issues except that their AC vents were spreading fine black particles over everything in their cabin. On the other side of us the guests were complaining that the AC was "knocking" and keeping them up at night. So all of that to say that the Glory has an AC issue towards the AFT on the Main deck, my parents had excellent AC one deck down and our tablemates had excellent AC one deck up. But the cabin was clean and comfortably accommodated four of us.
Staff: For the first time ever we formed absolutely no relationship with the cabin steward. We met him on day one when he introduced himself and brought us an infant life vest and never saw him again. He kept the cabin clean and tidy but did nothing extra and there were no special touches. We had three towel animals in 7 nights, waited two days for the laundry to be taken, and never received the requested extra pillows. My middle daughter was the most disappointed by this as historically it has been the cabin steward that has become her favorite member of the staff on each sailing. However, please note that we don't consider this to be a negative issue, it was just different from what we were accustomed to on previous cruises. Our dining staff was very friendly and congenial. However, the week before we arrived they had changed from 2 person wait teams to three person wait teams and as the guinea pigs of this experiment we experienced less than stellar dining room service. The desire to serve us well was definitely there and the three guys were lovely young men but every night it took 2 hours to eat and it grew frustrating as the week wore on. The one thing that I do have to say really wowed us on this cruise was the service delivery given by the Maitre'd's and their assistants. Never before have we had such incredible interactions with these individuals. Dragon especially was awesome, he answered endless questions from our ten year old in the dining room and brought her copies of her favorite recipes. On the Lido we saw him carrying trays for people who were having difficulties and we even saw him clean off a table for a family. He held our baby and made the rounds of the dining room every single night smiling, happy and efficient. This was the first time that we had ever tipped a Maitre'd and it was worth every penny. His staff seemed to like him very much and many of the past guests made mention of how involved he seemed at all levels, we were very impressed. The pursers were all friendly and wonderful and it amazed me that they were able to deal with hatefulness, rudeness and spite with grace and dignity and how it never impacted the service that the passenger next in line received.
Food: The food was very good and plentiful. The chocolate buffet was amazing. The Emerald Room is worth every penny of the $30 fee and we would do this again in a heartbeat. The introduction of a burrito bar was fantastic, we ate many burritos when we came back on board after a day in port and they were always wonderful. The fish and chips this time were just okay, they were outstanding on the Valor but the Glory just wasn't able to meet that same standard.
Entertainment: Hurrah to Carnival for having a comedy bar!!! We adored the multiple family friendly shows and even a couple of the adult shows. It was excellent to have a venue like that for those of us who are less interested in the typical bar party scene. The rest of the entertainment was good, but we have cruised many times and some of it was a repeat and for us, it is difficult to offer an opinion really that would do it justice.
Ports of Call: We were on an Eastern run and we stopped in Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and Grand Turk, all places we had been before. In HMC, we were having a marvelous day until a sudden nasty storm came up and the beach was evacuated and everyone was sent back to the ship. The tenders had difficulty unloading passengers back onboard and the wait in the pouring rain didn't do much for the disposition of many of the passengers. The staff tried valiantly to get little kids off the island, despite jeers and nasty remarks from some adults and the security guards took some heat for guests getting wet. We personally took all this in stride, even our baby who was a little less than impressed with the weather but we all seemed to get the concept that Carnival doesn't control the weather. When the baby fell asleep in my arms on the tender and I had to carry her up stairs as the tender was heaving back and forth at the side of the ship, it was these same poor security guards who ran to assist me and ensure our safe arrival back on the ship, as they shivered in their drenched uniforms. In my opinion, they were excellent although some others would argue differently. We didn't buy any shore excursions this time around so we have no review for those.
Odds and Ends: I loved the fact that the Muster Drill did not involve life jackets!! WooHoo, this is a major improvement as far as I am concerned, no tripping over straps, no being surrounded by a life jacket that has been on someone else's sweaty neck and best of all no trying to keep your child from putting that disgusting whistle in her mouth!
But by far the biggest part of my review has to be the part that pertains to travelling with Baby. Our baby turned 8 months old on this trip and I have to say that all of the research, all of the worry and all of the concern about travelling with her was worry for nothing. She was the star on this cruise and we were so impressed. The staff loved seeing her each day and she had many many cuddles, smiles and treats from everyone. She acted as a substitute for many wait staff, housekeeping folks and security people who were lonesome for their own families. She willingly cuddled, smiled and played patta cake with any crew member who had the desire. She provided endless entertainment in the dining room where much to our glee on the fourth night when we arrived late to dinner our entire section of the dining room cheered at her arrival shouting her name and clapping their hands while she beamed from her stroller. She had a highchair in the dining room but by the time she made her rounds visiting from table to table as guests anxiously took their turn with the baby she rarely ever sat in her highchair. I am certain she was the most photographed person on the ship as she had her picture taken with easily 40 -50 other guests, one of which even crashed her photo shoot and insisted on having her formal picture taken with the baby. Our middle daughter exclaimed towards the end of the cruise "oh my gosh, what is Hannah going to do when we go home and her Glory Fan Club is not there?!?!" We were always aware of our surroundings and we were respectful of the other passengers, on rare occasions of fussiness we left the room, when she woke up early in the morning we went to the open decks and watched the sun rise and when she was fussy in the middle of the night we found a deck chair on the spa deck and counted the stars. With respect for others, lots of patience and a happy baby you really can have a wonderful cruise.
BTW, debarkation is the pain in the neck it always is. We take a leisurely approach to debarkation, have our breakfast, meet up with the luggage at some point later on and then leave the terminal. However, the hallways are filled with individuals who are trying to self assist with far too much luggage and people who insist on getting off before their luggage has been unloaded. This is frustrating to those of us who have cabins on the lower decks but alas, until you can fix people who choose not to follow instructions debarkation will always be a nightmare through no fault of the cruiseline.