Carnival Glory

Carnival Glory Review

7.13.12 & 7.20.12 Sailings

Just The Facts:
Ship:  Carnival Glory
16 July through 26 July, 2012... Back to Back Cruises
Captain:  Salvatore Rassello
Cruise Director:  Josh ‘Big Sexy’ Waitzman
Ports: Boston,MA- Saint John, New Brunswick- Halifax, Nova Scotia
Weather:  Good all week

This review is for two 5-day cruises on The Carnival Glory.  This was my 30th and 31st Carnival cruises, 72nd & 73rd overall, 3rd & 4th time on the Carnival Glory, but my first time to sail from Boston and this itinerary.  I am traveling solo on the 7/13 and the following cruise 7/20 for a B2B, but have some good cruise friends on board for the first sailing.

Day One--Monday--Travel--Embarkation

Carnival Glory Lobby Bar

A very long travel day starts with a 3:30 am wake up to finalize packing and loading as I have a 5:30 am check-in at the Waco regional airport.  I was away just a little after 4:00 am for the hour drive to Waco.  I arrived in good time and check-in had begun by the time I arrived at the terminal from long term (free) parking.  A simple connection and a nice flight to DFW for the 8:10 am flight to Boston’s Logan airport.  Our flight flew right over NYC and you could clearly see the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Manhattan Island, Brooklyn, Long Island, and even the Statue of Liberty although it was very small from that altitude. Still very interesting to see.  Just a few more minutes to Boston and when we approached Logan airport we flew just above the Carnival Glory docked in the harbor.  They have free bus service from Logan this month and I had some detailed instructions so I thought I’d try it.  I found the bus pick up and did fairly well although I got off one stop early at the transfer point, (there was two stops for the World Trade Center-one above and outside and one a level below street level) but soon figured out my error.  The final bus drives directly in front of and drops you just a block from the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal.  It was a simple process and would have taken less than 30 minutes without my mistake, but still only took 45 minutes.  The price was certainly right.  This put my arrival at the terminal at about 2:00 pm.  There was a long line for people to check their bags with the porters, but I had a smaller bag so bypassed that process.  Once past the guard who wanted me to check my bag (I didn’t) it went very quick.  I went through security (the bag fit the scanner just fine) then used the VIP check in line and was processed straight away.  Carnival has a brand new VIFP rewards system and after having received a ‘white’ card for the previous six cruises it did seem a bit of a let down to get the ‘platinum’ card once again.  I’ll be noting some of the changes to the program on this cruise review.  From off the bus to the lobby took less than 20 minutes and I then went straight to my cabin to drop my bags. It was easy to get to my cabin as I was only one level below the lobby area.  It was a relief to settle in and refresh as it was a hot day in Boston and I was tired from the long trip.  I did  want to eat before they closed the Lido buffet for boat drill so I sample the roast beef as I always do on the first day of the buffet and it was only fair.  My primary late lunch was the Mongolian Grill and it was very good as usual then the Mango Mousse and the Dulce de Leche cheesecake for dessert.  It was now nap time and my interior cabin is ideal for that.  I napped until the numerous  announcements about boat drill that began about 4:45.  For sail away I invited myself to my friends balcony as we sailed from Boston.  It was located far forward on starboard side just below the wings of the navigational bridge, in fact we waved at the harbor pilot and ships officers, who return the wave.  It was interesting sailing directly below the approach flight path to Logan airport.  I have ‘Anytime’ dining on this cruise and I met my friends for dinner about 7:15 or so.  There was a fair line for seating but it moved fairly quickly.  Once we reached the MD station a few well placed suggestions to the MaitreD about Diamond VIFP’s  having to wait was quickly addressed. Alwyn and Desmond arranged to have a 4-top table next to a window standing ready for our party for the balance of the trip.  Dinner was very good. I had the Pasta with Marinara sauce as a starter and two entrees: Shrimp with Sweet & Sour Sauce and the Sliced Beef Brisket.  All were very good.  The Welcome Show was scheduled for 10:15, but knowing I could see it later on the ship TV and being so tired from the LONG day I retired to the cabin following dinner.

Day Two--Tuesday--at Sea

Monica

The water is dead calm and it’s a bit hazy this morning.  I had a great nights sleep and didn’t get around until 9:00 am..  I went to the MDR for my usual first morning on a Carnival ship breakfast of Eggs Benedict, Bacon, Hash Browns, Melon, Pastry, Tomato Juice, and Milk.  It was all very good a good sign for breakfasts this week.  After breakfast I explored the ship and visited most of the public rooms.  They do have Thirsty Frog beer on draught at the lobby and sports bars.  Good to locate that right away.  I had some cabin time and worked on this review from the lobby area on deck 3.  I am very used to an aft cabin, but think I think I can make this work very well. I had a late light lunch at the Fish & Chips on deck ten then attended the Glory Murder Mystery in the Amber Palace Theater.  They will have a murder mystery fun event during the course of the cruise, that’s something new so I will try to participate.  The water is still very calm, but the haze became a fog by early evening.  I met my friends at 6:30 for dinner.  I am very glad that we made prior arrangements for a standing table as there was a very long line for the dining room.  I guess everyone wanted the Captains night special dinner.  We entered from upstairs as previously arranged and the Maitre’d Desmond seated us immediately.  Sweet.  Our waitress tonight was Monica and she did a great job.  I ordered the Pasta Carbonara, White Stuffed Mushrooms, Shrimp Cocktail, Prime Rib with Baked Potato, and Fruit Plate.  Others ordered the Lobster, Pumpkin Soup, and Strawberry Bisque.  Lot’s of good selections tonight and all were very good.  After dinner we attended the late production show Just Rock in the Amber Palace Theater.  It featured some great music from the early days of Rock&Roll and some pop as well.  The productions singers were very good and the dancers and costumes were wonderful. A very high energy show.  There were a lot of activities on the ship...something for everyone I would say.  Following the show my friends saw the late night adult comedy show in the Ebony Cabaret, but I retired early after a short walk around the ship.  It was a wonderful FUN day on the Carnival Glory.

Day Three--Wednesday—Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

Village of St. Martins, New Brunswick

Fog very early, but soon it was beautiful weather in Saint John this day. I had a very nice MDR breakfast in the Platinum dining room as we sailed into Saint John harbor.  The Disney Magic is already docked and we were as well by the scheduled time of 8:00 am.  We left the ship and met a local friend who happens to operate a business, Distant Waters, directly across the street from the cruise terminal. She loaned us her car for the day (how great) so we drove up the coast to the St. Martins area and the Bay of Fundy Trail.  St. Martins is a very small fishing village with a pair of covered bridges and very near the famous caves created by the extreme tides in the Bay of Fundy, approximately 60 feet every 12 hours.  At low tide you can walk to the caves and at high tide they are covered by water.  We drove the Fundy Trail, a National Park Trail, taking in the coastal sights and even a waterfall then returned to the Caves overlook restaurants for lunch.  We all had the special of the day: Lobster roll and a Moosehead draught beer.  The lobster roll was fantastic, one of the best I can remember.  We returned to St John and returned the car and visited with our cruise friend (Thanks so much!) then went down to Steamers Lobster Company just across from the cruise terminal for some beers and to take advantage of the free Wifi.  In addition to the Alpine beer I had to take advantage of the opportunity to have another Lobster roll.  It was good, but not as the one early in the day.  We boarded the ship about 3:30 and I was off to the cabin shower before the ship activities.  BTW--because of the extreme tides we debarked on deck 3 not deck zero as usual in a port.  The VIFP Party was held in the Ebony Cabaret at 4:30. This was the first I have attended since the new past guest program was introduced just a few weeks ago.  There was a big difference with no blue and red cards in attendance, I’d estimate there were 120-150 people at most.  There certainly was an effort by Carnival to make the party different & special.  The live band opened with a few numbers, they had some audience participation with a conga line & some new dance steps, the complimentary drinks and appetizers were plentiful, they showed the usual film with all the old & new Carnival ships, and my friends were recognized as the only Diamonds on board.  Josh, the CD did his part to make it special. It was different and an improvement, but It will be interesting to see how long this level of commitment is maintained.  I enjoyed the Fun Ship Specials from the party and spent some time in the casino and the sports bar before dinner.  Dinner was again good and since I basically had two lunches I ordered light: just the French Onion Soup and the Seafood Pasta.   The productions show tonight was ‘The Magic and Dance of Justin Illusion’ in the Amber Palace Theater.  Then late they had Superstar Live in the Ebony Cabaret.  There were a lot of other interesting activities such as: Bingo, Latin Fiesta, Romantic Dance, Sing-Along in the Piano Bar, and more.

Day Four--Thursday—Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Tall Ships in Halifax, Nova Scotia

It rained overnight, but weather cleared and it was a beautiful day. I was up early and prepared a laundry order for my cabin steward before going to the MDR for breakfast.  I had to send back my eggs, they were very over cooked, but the waiter made it right.  We arrived a little late into Halifax but was docked a little after the 9:00 am scheduled arrival.  We actually debarked on deck 3 and deck 2...so it was very convenient for me on deck two. My plans for the day was to enjoy the waterfront and the Tall Ship Festival fortunately scheduled for Halifax that day.  The cruise pier is a great facility located right on one end of the Halifax waterfront.  Soon I met my friends just off the ship and we started down the waterfront.  There are nice shops, restaurants, monuments, and interesting attractions all along the waterfront.  Soon we came to the first tall ship, the Peacemaker. Then another and another, all very interesting.  We did sail on the tall ship Silva for a nice harbor cruise.  It was great seeing the tall ships from the water side as well as a great view of our cruise ship and the harbor.  After the cruise we had a very nice lunch (and free Wifi) at Salty’s a famous Halifax eatery right on the waterfront.  I ordered a scallop plate and it was wonderful.  In two days I met two of my culinary goals for this cruise:  a good Lobster Roll and some Digby Scallops.  After lunch we saw more Tall Ships such as the Roseway, Unicorn, Pride of Baltimore, CSS Acadia, Lynx, USS Providence, and HMS Bounty.  We even took the ferry across the harbor to Dartmouth for additional interesting views of the harbor.  Most of the day was gone and we had not even visited  two of the best sites in Halifax: The Historic Citadel, and the Maritime Atlantic Museum.  We did hear the noon cannon fired from the Citadel.  There were many 1812 era reenactors all along the waterfront, I enjoyed them having previously been one myself in younger days.  Dinner tonight was good.  I ordered the Tom Ka Gai soup, Beef Stroganoff, Pork Tenderloin and Tiramisu & a Fruit Plate for dessert.  Tonight was the Mega Promenade Fun Hop with the late night Mexican buffet.  After a long day though I had some cabin time and relaxed.

Day Five--Friday—at Sea

Air evacuation by Canadian Coast Guard

A great night at sea, very smooth sailing.  I usually leave the TV on in the cabin on the navigational channel overnight as a night light, for ships position, and ships time.  When I looked at it very early this morning it indicated that we were heading northeast, that’s opposite what we should be doing.  About an hour later I found out why when they announced that we had a medical issue and we would be having an air/sea rescue.  About 8:30 am a helicopter rescued the patient using the aft area of deck ten as a staging point for the lifts up to the helicopter.  I had never witnessed one before and it was interesting to see first hand.  The crew did a very good job as did the Canadian rescue crew.  After the rescue I met my friends for a MDR breakfast. We needed to use the new breakfast drink vouchers that the Platinum guests receive in the new VIFP program.  The dining room was absolutely packed, the line stretched beyond the lobby & elevators to the stairwell.  They had to get help from the buffet area because of the MDR demand.  We got seated, got our Bloody Marys, and got a great breakfast.  I casually roamed the ship this morning after the excitement and long breakfast. It’s somewhat cool I guess, the staff are wearing jackets, but I find it very pleasant weather.  I had the Mongolian Grill for lunch, a much longer line today from the first day before anyone had discovered it then cabin time and clean up before meeting the Captain.  My friends were the only Diamonds on board and they are allowed to invite one guest so I was able to accompany them to an invitation to Tea hosted by Captain Rassello on the Bridge.  This is a part of the new VIFP program.  We met Sebastian Emura at the Guest Services desk and he took us to the Bridge to meet the Captain and staff Captain.  The Bridge is cool for sure and the view is so good from there...we did see a whale at a distance.  They served tea and coffee and some light cakes.  It was very casual and very nice with just the three of us and three ships officers.  We took several photos and the ships photographer also took a photo that the Captain signed and gave to us.  After tea time I watched JJ the solo guitarist performing in the lobby area.  He is very good.  I’m a fan of Timmy Pierce and Will Marion (now on the Breeze) and made a point to catch him again when I could hear more music.  While listening to JJ I could see the huge lines forming for AnyTime dining in the lobby.  It make me appreciate the special table set aside for us in the dining room.  Dinner was very good tonight, I ordered the New England Crab Cake, Panko Crusted Jumbo Shrimp, and the Prime Rib of Beef with Gran Mariner Souffle for desert.  It was good bye to Monica and crew as I will be eating in the Platinum dining room on the next cruise.  After dinner I attended the production show Livin’ In America.  It was fantastic, I’d seen it before, but still really enjoyed seeing the show again,   lot’s of action and the dance costumes are very interesting.  Not needing to pack I could stay out later tonight so I did get to go see JJ perform for a full set.  I’ll have to add him to my favorites.

Day Six (1st day of 2nd Cruise)--Saturday--Boston, Massachusetts

First at Mongolian Grill and Desert Station

I tried to sleep, but announcements began fairly early this morning. I went down to the MDR for breakfast as they were already calling various decks for debarkation.  After breakfast I went back to the cabin to pack since I have to change cabins and finished that by 9:30 am. I went to deck three to use the telephone and wait for guest services since I was to be there at 10:00 for my B2B.  They have a very efficient debark and had everyone off before 10:00 other than a few stragglers. Evidently customs is a very easy process in Boston and they only take your Customs Declaration card with no ID checking.  I was the only B2B guest this cruise and all I had to do was walk to the end of the gangway and give them my card and go right back on the ship. Didn’t actually have to set foot on the ground....very easy.  I then returned to my cabin to move my bags to the new cabin and they were already gone.  I then went up to my new cabin on deck seven and the cabin was ready for me with my bags inside.  Thank you Carnival Glory guest services and housekeeping departments.  Easiest B2B ever.  I settled in to my new cabin then went down to guest services to get my new Sail Card at 11:00 am. when the computers reset for the new guests. I also got to visit with a lot of crew and observe operations for the brief time that I was the ONLY passenger on board.  Right at 11:00 I noticed new guests coming aboard so I went to the Platinum/Diamond window and voila my new card was ready and I’m all set for the new cruise.  I now went upstairs to the Red Sail (lido deck buffet) for lunch before it would get busy.  I actually was the first through the Mongolian Grill and it was very good-as always.  I stayed on Lido deck for desert and to use the telephone while I had coverage.  I did talk to the DW and talk her through the process of how to boot the internet network modem as she had lost internet service on the ranch.  We use satellite in the rural areas just as on the cruise ship.  And I thought she was mad & ignoring me the past few days (LOL).  After lunch I went down to deck three to drink a Thirsty Frog Red, listen to JJ, and watch passengers board.  Very interesting observing people coming on the ship.  I went back to the cabin to finish my comments for the previous cruise and get ready for Safety Drill that began about 4:30 pm.  Following the Safety Drill I watched us sail away from Boston from the upper decks.  It was a beautiful day to begin a cruise.  While watching the deck party and sail away I received a phone call on my cell from Carnival.  They asked where I was and thought I had missed the ship.  They were surprised to hear that I was on board, but it was confirmed by the background noise of the sail away party.  It had to be a mix up with the B2B, but nice that they were concerned that I had missed the ship.  I checked out the Serenity Deck area and some other places I had not explored on the first cruise.   I actually saw them enforce the adult pool restrictions.  Before dinner I went by to hear the band Music Connections in the Blue lounge. I have late seating this cruise in the Platinum Dining room located far aft of the ship.  I have a ten top table on the main floor, a good location, and nice fellow guests.  For dinner I ordered the Tomato Soup, the Shrimp with Sweet&Sour Sauce, a Chicken Pasta dish and a Fruit Plate for dessert.  I skipped the Welcome show (again) and retired after dinner.

Day Seven (2nd day of 2nd Cruise)--Sunday--at Sea

They still have an adult pool & hot tub on the Glory!

Very calm seas and great weather.  I went for my usual 1st day breakfast in the MDR this morning.  There were two other groups from Texas at the table, unusual on this itinerary.  Another great breakfast then I popped into the internet center to get my account extended from previous cruise...save the $3.95 set up fee and get some bonus minutes.  I walked around the ship this morning and the decks are packed with pax taking in the sun.  Alwyn introduced me to the Sous Chef yesterday and I happened to see him in the Red Sail while sampling some desserts (Key Lime pie & Cherry Mousse) and asked him about the Chef’s Table.  I decided I’d do it and he reserved a space for me for the following evening.  I enjoyed some good afternoon movies in the cabin and had some great BLT’s from room service.  It actually cooled on deck when I took my early evening walk, but that’s fine with me since I’m escaping the Texas heat.  The show band played in the lobby area before dinner, a very nice touch. This was again Cruise Elegant night, but truthfully the majority did not dress up and less than half the men wore a jacket.  Dinner was again very good, I ordered Pumpkin Soup, White Stuffed Mushrooms, Shrimp Cocktail, Prime Rib with Baked Potato, and Fruit Plate.  The chef came by the table to explain about the Chefs Table Dinner too.  After dinner I went to the late showing of Livin’ In America.

Day Eight (3rd day of 2nd Cruise)--Monday--Saint John, New Brunswick

City Market in Saint John

Very smooth seas overnight and beautiful weather today.  I was up, but skipped breakfast as Chef said to eat light today so my plan is to just have an early lunch.  I was off the ship about 9:00 am and the plan was to walk around uptown Saint John.  I went to the City Market first then spent some time in Kings Square and the Loyalist Burial Ground.  Soon it was time for my early lunch so I went to Billy’s Seafood Market located at the City Market for a Lobster Roll.  It was served with a choice of salad, (I had greek) and it was fantastic, best of the trip.  After lunch I went through Brunswick Square (an indoor mall), Market Square, and used the Library WiFi to catch up on email.  On the Boardwalk I saw a boat coming in and made a query and it goes to the only other area I wanted to see: the Rapids. My timing could not have been better, It was both high tide and I was allowed to join the next tour ($40). We were off on a harbor tour then the rapids that are created when the tides of the Bay of Fundy push back the flow of the St John’s river. Very interesting.  I headed back to the ship about 3:15 pm for the 4:00 sailing.  It was a FUN day in Saint John.  The VIFP Party was held from 4:30-5:15 so I went to get my complementary Funship Special cocktails.  It was the same procedure as the previous cruise.  There were no Diamond Members on board so I was senior Platinum guest with my 193 sailing days and got my photograph on stage with the department heads.  I then had to get ready for my special Chef’s Table dinner as we were meeting at 6:30 in the lobby.  There were 13 guests for the evening and we first went to the very busy galley for champagne and appetizers.  We even made a Warm Chocolate Cake from scratch and placed it in the oven.  We then went to our private dining area, the Silver Room, located off the Golden Dining room. We enjoyed a wonderful eight course dinner, my favorite being the Wagyn (Kobe beef).  I may have a separate review of then dinner.  After the 3 hour dinner I saw some of my MDR tablemates on Lido and ended up in the White Heat Disco.  Very interesting to see the music change from tunes and music I knew in the earlier hours to more up to date urban music that the younger set enjoyed later in the evening.  Certainly felt my age, so a change to the Cinn-A Bar piano bar that had a very lively crowd of sing along folk.  A very late night for me getting to the cabin about 1:00 am.

Day Nine (4th day of 2nd Cruise)--Tuesday--Halifax, Nova Scotia

Five Fisherman located in one of the oldest & most historic buildings in Halifax

It’s a cloudy morning that later turned to drizzle then rain throughout the day.  We arrived in Halifax by 9:00 am and since I’m not in a rush to debark enjoyed a nice MDR breakfast.  I debarked after 10:00 and went over to Garrisons Brewery location just a few blocks from the terminal to use their free WiFi for an hour to catch up on emails and Facebook.  I casually walked down the waterfront as the rain began and eventually headed up the hill to the Five Fisherman restaurant.  This has always been one of my favorite restaurants in Halifax and now with the Bistro area of it open for lunch I wanted to eat there.  I had a Lobster Roll (what else) served with french fries.  It was good, a little different, more of a lobster salad served on a larger french baguette.  After lunch I had an Alexander Keith’s beer in the bar and used their WiFi for a while.  With the rain not slacking I walked down to the Historic Properties area on the waterfront and to Moo’s the famous ice creamery.  After my double dip for desert I started back down the waterfront boardwalk towards the ship, visiting a few shops along the way.  I was back at the ship by 3:30 but soaking wet.  Knowing how hot and dry it is in Texas I really didn’t mind.  After drying off in the cabin it was now ‘power nap’ time.  I came very close to sleeping through dinner, just waking at 8:00 pm.  I did make it to the MDR just past 8:15 and enjoyed a nice dinner:  I ordered the Tom Ka Gai soup, the Neptune Seafood dish, and the Pork Loin.  For dessert I sampled the Tiramisu and the Bitter & Blanc.  After dinner I met our table mates in the disco for a short while, but proceeded to the Colors Lobby to hear JJ until the Mega Promenade Party began at 11:30 hosted by Josh our Cruise Director.  They had some very funny ‘music video’ competitions.  Following that I was able to visit with Josh and his wife Sooz at the bar for a while before turning in.  It was another fun port day on the Carnival Glory.

Day Ten (5th day of 2nd Cruise)--Wednesday--at Sea

MDR table of new friends

Smooth seas overnight.  I had a very good MDR breakfast and used my drink voucher for a nice Bloody Mary this morning.  After breakfast I had a nice walk on deck and everyone was out on the sunny day, but most were bundled up in blankets or towels.  It was chilly, but I enjoyed it.  I had some nice internet and cabin time today.  I confirmed my air reservations online, prepared my tip envelopes and debarkation forms, and had a nice lunch of BLT’s from room service.  They also delivered some chilled champagne and strawberries that made an excellent desert. My thanks to Josh, Carnival, & staff. I had another nice walk on deck and it was warmer, but still chilly. I had a cabin party with the champagne, strawberries, and music from my travel speakers before dinner.  Too bad I was the only one there although I did take a large glass to dinner.  Tonight I ordered the Sweet Potato Soup, New England Crab Cake, Panko Crusted Jumbo Shrimp, and the Prime Rib of Beef with Gran Mariner Souffle for desert.  It was very good.  After dinner I attended the production show: Just Rock.  After the late show I retired, it’s been a great 10 days and you know it’s been a busy cruise when you haven’t opened the only magazine your brought along to read.

Debarkation--Thursday--Boston, Massachusetts

Black Falcon Cruise Terminal-Boston

We arrived in Boston early on an overcast day.  They started calling for self debark by 7:00 am.  I packed after I awoke then went for my final breakfast in the MDR.  I debarked after 9:00 am and it was a very easy process, no immigration, you just hand over your Customs Declaration Card to the official on the gangway.  I took the City Bus back to the airport ($2.50) and it was very easy, took less than 20-25 minutes.  I was early, but they do have WiFi at Logan so took advantage of the internet.  Even booked a cruise for the friends who had been on board the 1st 5-days.  At 1:30 I was in the air and on my way to DFW airport.  I had a great view of the Mississippi River when we flew over.  A quick connection at DFW and then on my way to the Waco airport.  Believe me I noticed the Texas heat immediately upon rolling my bags out to the truck.  At least I escaped it for a while.  After the hour drive from the Waco airport (free parking) I was home about 7:00 pm.

Ship
The Carnival Glory is a Conquest class ship 952 feet long and 110,000 gross tons.   The sailings were full, about 3600 passengers.  She is really in good shape and will even be better once she receives the new 2.0 upgrades in November.

Cabins
First Cruise--I have cabin 2207 a category 1A very forward on the starboard side of Main deck (2).   The cabin is ideal for a solo and has a lot of floor space, I believe more than a standard cabin. It has one single bed, the standard three sets of closets, card swipe safe, flat screen TV, refrigerator, hair dryer, and full couch.  Mr. Kiren the cabin steward did a great job maintaining the cabin.  Second Cruise--I have cabin 7236 a category 4E interior.  I had booked a guarantee so this was a good cabin assignment.  It  has twin beds, the standard three sets of closets, card swipe safe, flat screen TV, refrigerator, hair dryer, but no couch.  Cabin service was adequate from William and his assistant. Interesting that I got new wallpaper on St John day.

Crew
The crew was fantastic.  Desmond Stephens the Sr. Maitre’d and Senior Assistant Alwyn Olivera were absolutely fantastic.  They made sure that the Diamond guests were well taken care of and could avoid the long lines for Anytime Dining.  The MDR waiters Monica and Maribel in the Golden Dining room and Edward in the Platinum Dining room were all very good. Sebastian Emura the Guest Services Manager was also very helpful and friendly.  Josh ‘Big Sexy’ Waitzman, the Cruise Director, really worked very hard at keeping all the guests happy and busy, he’s also a very nice guy and truly into the cruise experience.  All are on my list of favorite Carnival employees.

Food
We of course had the new Carnival Menus that are not so new now so this will be the last time I refer to them as the ‘new’.  In fact very soon a NEW menu will be out with shrimp cocktails & spring rolls available daily.  There is an ‘Every Day’ section and a ‘Specials of the Day’ section.  Also a ‘Didja’ selection of an unusual item and a ‘Comfort Food’ selection of a traditional item.  Our dining room for the first cruise was the Golden Dining Room located midship on decks 3 & 4.  Alwyn and Desmond arranged for us to have a standing table next to the window that was always set for three...that was very special.  The food was excellent.  Amazing that the same dishes on different ships can be varied in taste and quality.  The servers may have something to do with that as well.  Hot food is better food.  Breakfasts in the MDR were very good, I only missed one morning. The Mongolian Grill and BLT’s from room service remain some of my favorites. There are several ice crème and yogurt machines on Lido deck.  Of course the Chef’s Table experience ($75pp) was very unique.

Exceeded Expectations
The Glory still has an Adult Pool located aft on Lido deck--that’s getting hard to find on a Carnival ship. Attention in the dining room for Diamond guests is wonderful. I enjoyed the productions shows and attended each one twice.

Cruise Highlights
Everything.  This was a very enjoyable cruise.  Everything was wonderful.  Josh, Alwyn, and the other staff and crew were outstanding. The fact that I had one cruise with friends and the other with new friends provided a good mix for the 10 days.  I now have a new favorite Carnival ship: The Carnival Glory.  I just wish it was sailing from Galveston.

   One of my best Cruise Experiences-Ever!

Sunset from the Carnival Glory

 

Carnival Glory ... Bay of Fundy tides

I have just returned from a B2B cruise on the Carnival Glory and will post the review very soon.  I want to highlight this unique phenomena with this post.

We docked at Saint John New Brunswick located on the Bay of Fundy.  The bay has the some of the largest tides in the world.  When one usually docks at a port the guests debark from deck 0 (zero), but in St John we debarked from deck 3.  These photos will tell you why.  The first was taken in the morning from the gangway when I debarked....the second was taken when I returned to the ship in the late afternoon.

New Liquor Reg's for Texas

For many years Texans were legally limited to one bottle of liquor that could be brought back with you from a cruise.  The Texas legislature has now raised the limit to one gallon.  I know that's good news for those of you that bring back rum for your home made rum cakes!

Carnival Triumph

 Carnival Triumph Review 5.21.2012

Just The Facts:
Ship:  Carnival Triumph
21 May-26 May, 2012
Captain:  Vittorio Marchi
Cruise Director:  Jeremy ‘Tex’ Mayes
Ports: Galveston, TX- Progreso, Mexico- Cozumel, Mexico
Weather:  Good all week

This was my 29th Carnival cruise, 71st overall, but the first time on the Carnival Triumph.  I booked only a week+ before departure as a quick get away and are joined by the DW (dear wife) and a couple of cruise friends.

Day Zero--Sunday--Travel
We are going a day early and meeting cruise friends at their home in Cypress/Houston area for dinner.  We got away about 2:00 pm and arrived about 5:45.  We had a great dinner and visit and then off to Alvin, Texas for the night with the cruise friends we are sailing with this week.

Day One--Monday--Embarkation
We awoke early and it’s great knowing that you are only 30+ miles from the  cruise terminal.  Great weather today.  I started the day with a wonderful breakfast buffet from Joe’s a famous local restaurant.  We left Alvin about 10:00 am and since we are early dropped our bags at the cruise terminal.  I  then drove over to EZ Cruise parking and walked back to the terminal.  A very simple process.  We then proceeded through VIP security and then to the VIP check-in area. We were processed and sent on our way...they actually had already started boarding the ship, that’s as early as I have ever known that to happen.  Upon entering the ship the security officer noticed a glitch on my sail & sign card.  It had my personal information, but didn’t have the name of the ship printed on the card, an unusual thing.   They called Guest Services and I had to wait until they arrived.  Soon Teja the Guest Services Supervisor arrived and at least I was able to get her to agree to allow me to wait in the lobby bar area until they straightened out ‘their’ error.  It was an interesting introduction for my first time on the ship, but I had time to view the very nice lobby area.  My first impressions were very good.  Both the DW and I like the decor of the ship very much.  The theme of the ship is ‘Cities of the World’  and the lobby has a relief of the world and world globes in the decor.  Very nice.   We knew that our friend Marusya, who we knew from the Carnival Magic, was now working in Guest Services on the Triumph and soon she came over and explained that they would need to make me a new S&S card, but they could not until later when the system opened.  It was really good seeing her and we did get to visit for awhile, but she is very busy with embarkation so we made plans to meet later.  We were now off to the Lido deck and the South Beach Buffet.  It was Italian food day in the buffet so I tried that and my traditional roast beef for lunch.  The food was just okay, but the dulce de leche cheesecake dessert was very good.  We then went down to deck 8 to see if our cabins were available.  Our friends have 8404 and we have 8420 both interiors.  There were only four cabins available when we booked and at least these cabins were aft in our favorite area just below the Lido deck buffet.  The 8404 is set up as a handicap so has a nice over sized toilet area.  The 8420 is a standard interior.  After dropping my bag I went down to see Marusya at Guest Services and got my new S&S card.  Then back up to the Lido deck for the Carnival traditional sail away drink, the FunShip Special.  When I walked by the Chinese deli there was no one in line so I tried a couple of dishes.  The chinese food was good, but I wish the Triumph had the Mongolian Grill now found on most Carnival ships.  I went back to the cabin to wait for our bags and for boat drill to begin when we received a telephone call from Teja.  Because of the mix up with my card and the fact I am the only Milestone on board she offered to upgrade us if we wished to an ocean view. I was under the impression that it was just an O/V cabin and considered not taking it, but decided that we would take it so Teja took us to the new cabin.  Wow! what a surprise when we discovered that it was an not an ocean view cabin, but an ocean view SUITE!  What a fantastic cabin.  The new cabin is deck seven forward on the starboard side.  It has a small marble entry, a king bed, couch, chair, oversize balcony, bar area, dressing area, jetted bath tub, two large closets, and nice decor (trim, flooring, table tops, etc.).  The new cabin was a great surprise!  It was now time for boat drill or the Safety Instruction as it’s now called.  We went to our new muster station and received our safety instructions.  It took about 20 minutes and was not too bad considering it was a warm day.  After safety drill we were now underway and our friends joined us for an impromptu sail away balcony party.   We have sailed from Galveston many times and usually see dolphins, but today was extra special.  As we approached the final buoys we could see lots and lots of dolphin swimming and waiting for the ship.  As the ship passed through this large pod of dolphin, they began riding the wake of the ship.  They were jumping 3-5 at a time and stretched from the ship as far wide as the wake would reach or several hundred yards. It was an absolutely amazing sight.  The cabin is located just a deck below and 100 feet behind the bridge so had a good view of the Captain waving to the harbor pilot as the pilot jumped onto the pilot boat picking him up below us to the aft.  So much happening at the final buoys to Galveston harbor and to think we probably would have missed all this if we had not received the new balcony cabin.  Amazing.  We had one bag delivered just before safety drill and we did find our other bag at the old cabin after sail away so all was now well with the move and we could unpack and settle in to our suite.  All is very well and what a beginning to the cruise.  After some rest and cabin time we went to the Welcome Show at 7:30pm in the Rome Lounge (theater).  It was hosted by Cruise Director Tex and featured the Triumph Singers and Dancers with a brief appearance by the two comedians.  It was now dinner time and we were assigned the London dining room.  We had a very unusually high table so moved to the next table for the night although it was a high traffic area.  We had a nice long visit from Vlad the (up close) magician who did several amazing tricks for us.  Dinner was just good.  I ordered the Civiche from the Didja section of the menu, the Pasta Pomodoro, and the Pork Tenderloin with the Black Forest Gateau for dessert.  DW ordered the Vegetarian pot pie that she had ordered and found to be good on other Carnival ships, but it was not up to par so she just had several of the macaroni and cheese side dish.  There was a full range of ship activities this evening including the comedians in the Punchliner Comedy Club, but we retired to the cabin for the evening.

Day Two--Tuesday--at Sea

Paris Dining Room

Great weather today and the gulf is very calm. I had a great nights sleep, nothing like the gentile rocking of the ship to make one sleep well. DW prefers simple room service breakfast, but I met our friends for a very nice breakfast in the Paris dining room. The assistant Matre’D Alexandra remembered me from breakfasts on the Ecstasy.  I had my usual first morning on a ship breakfast of Eggs Benedict, Bacon, Hash Browns, Melon, Pastry, and Leche Caliente.  It was all very good.  This morning we explored the ship and visited all the public rooms.  We really like the decor and style.  I believe the Triumph is second only to the Conquest in style and decor of the Carnival ships we have sailed.  If you could add a Red Frog Pub and Mongolian Grill this ship would be ideal.  I found Scott, the FCC rep, and purchased three Future Cruise Certificates. I had used my last available one on this cruise.  We saw our friends and had some cocktails at the Capital (Lobby) Bar.  The Red Frog beer dispenser is not working...not good, but Elizabeth got some for us from deck 5.  I entered the slot tournament, but didn’t make the big board.   We had lunch on the Lido deck buffet, it was American food day.  I had fried chicken, yankee pot roast,   cole slaw, and Virginia baked ham from the carving station.  The food was better today.   The key lime pie was just okay, not tart or even really lime flavored IMHO.  After cocktails and a late lunch it was nap time in the cabin.  I enjoyed the afternoon cabin time in the suite.  We went to the 7:30 comedy show in Punchliner’s to see Chas Elstner.  He was very funny and this was a new routine from previous shows I have seen.  Tonight we moved to the Paris Dining room for dinner.  We have a nice 8-top table in the center of the nice dining room.  This is elegant night and dinner was very good.  I ordered the Pumpkin Soup, White Stuffed Mushrooms, Shrimp Cocktail, Prime Rib with Baked Potato, with Bitter & Blanc and Cherries Jubilee for dessert.  A good dinner tonight and I thought the Prime Rib was very good.  After dinner we attended the late production show The Big Easy in the Theater.  It featured almost every popular song or music with a New Orleans theme or subject.  The productions singers were very good and the dancers and costumes were wonderful.  I really enjoyed the show better than any show I saw on the Carnival Magic.  A wonderful FUN day on the Carnival Triumph.

Day Three--Wednesday—Progreso, Mexico

Le Saint Bonnet

Beautiful weather in Progreso this morning. I joined our friends for a MDR breakfast in the Paris dining room.  We again had a great picture window table and the waiter remembered my Leche Caliente.  I had three fried eggs with bacon, etc. and it was all very good.  We (just the two of us) decided to go into town about 10:00 am.  We took the shuttle into Progreso and went to our favorite Progreso ‘hangout’ Le Saint Bonnet, a restaurant on the waterfront.  There was a great breeze off the water so it was very nice.  We had some diet coke and water to cool off from the trip over then some very good guacamole and salsa.  It’s a great people watching spot as you can see the tourists and the vendors passing by on the sidewalk.  Eventually everyone will pass by and you can do your shopping without leaving your table.  The fact that they have internet access via wifi is a great bonus and I did bring my laptop to catch up with the outside world.  We enjoyed some nice lime frozen margarita’s, the ocean breeze, live mariachi music, and did some shopping.  We got a great large basket similar to the previous trip to Progreso, some large shells for the pool, and DW got another nice handmade top. After the drinks we needed to eat so we requested and they made a special vegetarian plate for us with cucumber & jicama strips and cheese quesadillas. It was very good and we had a fine afternoon at Saint Bonnet.  As usual we took a taxi back to the terminal ($8), then bought some Talavera cocktail glasses at a gift shop before boarding the ship.  It was a warm day so a shower and nap was just the thing for me.  I probably could have slept through the night, but I hate to miss dinner.  Tonight I ordered: a Green Salad, the Jerk Pork, Shrimp & Fries from the comfort food section, and Tiramisu for desert.  Tonights production show was Showcase of the Stars a guest talent show, but a well rehearsed production.  After the long port day we were happy to return to the cabin and rest.

Day Four--Thursday—Cozumel, Mexico

New Pool at Paradise Beach

I had a great nights sleep and went outside early to see the Triumph enter the straights of Cozumel.  We seem to be the only ship arriving today.  I went to the MDR for a nice Eggs Benedict breakfast and then we met our friends at 8:30 am to leave the ship for the day.  We took a taxi ($13) to Paradise Beach ($2 pp chair fees).  It was our first time here since they built the new swimming pool.  It is beautiful.  We found a table and loungers between the beach and the swimming pool and settled in for the morning.  We ordered some diet cokes (they are much better in Mexico) and water fro  our waiter.  The Caribbean water was very nice and I had a nice swim.  DW was in the pool so I spent some time in the very large pool too.  The pool water was warmer than the sea and was very enjoyable.  Since the Triumph is the only ship in port it was not busy at all.  We wanted to go into San Miguel to eat so we went took a taxi to town ($20) and went to Wet Wendy’s.  We ordered two of their famous Mango Margaritas.  They are excellent.  We also ordered lunch, we had the Vegetarian Quesadillos and Chili Relleno and our friends had the special Lobster Tacos.  We did see Klara and Chad, the owners before we left.  They are very nice and we like catching up with all their experiences on the island.  They are constructing very nice new toilets at Wet Wendy’s, that will be a big physical improvement.  The food & drink are already very good and the new toilets will be great asset.  After eating we went to see our friend Nelly who owns a couple of gift stores in town.  She is now the owner of Woody’s, the sports bar, located between her shop and the 7-11 on the corner of the main square.  She has added very nice tables and chairs and has a very nice sidewalk dining area.  This is now a great people watching place or a spot husbands can have a cerveza while the ladies shop the downtown area.  Nelly gave us a tour and they have a nice large air conditioned indoor dining area and very nice toilets.  Two very important things to look for in Cozumel.  They also have Wifi.  Great job Nelly!  The only downside to our port call to Cozumel is that the ship has a 3:00 pm scheduled departure time.  That’s much too early.  We returned to the ship and cleaned up before sail away actually at 3:50.   It was cabin time until we met our friends in the Oxford Lounge before dinner.  The Oxford Lounge is a very nice room with a British Library decor.  Dinner tonight was good.  I ordered the Lobster Bisque, Pasta, Chateaubriand, and Grand Marnier Souffle for dessert.  The production show was New Wave Magic with Anders.  At midnight they also had A Kiss Goodnight, a wonderful burlesque style adult show.

Day Five--Friday—at Sea
Another great night at sea, very smooth sailing.  I had the usual MDR breakfast in the Paris dining room then some cabin time.  We spent the morning on the aft Lido deck.  Too bad the aft pools are no longer adult only.  It really makes it difficult to get swim time when kids are filling the pool even though they have designated pools for themselves.  We ate in the MDR for lunch for the first time.  It was good.  I ordered the Neptune Salad, Pepper Steak, and a Fruit mousse.  I had a walk around the ship and did some afternoon packing and balcony time before attending a Q&A session with Tex, the cruise director, in the Big Easy lounge.  The Big Easy is the piano bar and is uniquely decorated with clam shells a very interesting room.  We were able to purchase liquor and return it to our cabin at 7:00 pm so I made our purchase so that we could get our packing finalized.  We again met our friends in the Oxford Lounge before dinner.  Tonight was just an okay dinner, I ordered the Green Salad, Onion Soup (good), the Meat Loaf from the comfort foods, and the Veal Parmesian.  For dessert I had the Baked Alaska and a Fruit Platter.  Vlad, the magician came by for the final time to show us more tricks, he came by most every night and we enjoyed his talent this cruise.  The production show tonight was Wonderful World.  For late dining the show was before dinner so we actually missed it while packing, an excuse to return to the Triumph.  After dinner we retired to the cabin.

Day Six--Saturday—Debarkation--Galveston, Texas
I was up early and in the MDR at 7:00 am for my final wonderful breakfast of the cruise.  After a quick breakfast we were off to the London dining room for early self-debarkation.  We were called about 8:05 and were off the ship in just minutes.  We walked over to EZ Cruise parking and were on our way.  We crossed the bridge and were off the island by 8:30 am.  (Galveston gasoline was $3.49)

Ship
The Carnival Triumph is a Triumph class ship 890 feet long and 101,509 gross tons.  Larger than the Fantasy class ships and a bit smaller than the Conquest class. It is a very nice ship and the theme is Cities of the World with each public room representing a specific city or location.  The lobby areas have a multi-color world relief display using LED lights and panels. Our sailing was very full, probably 120% capacity or 3500 passengers.  I’ve sailed the Conquest with much fewer, but it didn’t seem overly crowded except at the pools. There was a lot that I just didn’t have time to see and do such as: bingo, the piano entertainer, tea time, the Spa, the many trivia contests, etc., but I certainly had plenty to keep me busy.  The Triumph seemed a little worn, but my last three cruises were on the brand new Carnival Magic so a 13+ year old ship is different.

Cabin
We had cabin 7233 a category OS Oceanview Suite on the starboard side  of deck 7.   The cabin has a king bed, two sets of closets, card swipe safe, flat screen TV, refrigerator, hair dryer, ship’s clock, couch, chair, dressing table & area, mirrored bar, marble entry, oversize balcony, jetted tub, and premium decor.   It was our first full suite and we really enjoyed it.  Mr. Arnold, our cabin steward, did a great job maintaining the cabin for us and keeping us in ice.

Crew
All of our MDR waiters were very good and we were glad we moved from the London to the Paris dining room.  We just prefer the aft MDR and it is usually the better of the two.  I really thought the crew overall were very good.  I was called by name most of the time.   Arnold, our Cabin Steward was fantastic.  Teja and Marusya from Guest Services were wonderful.  Alexandra made sure I always had a nice table for breakfast, Tex did a great job as CD. The bar servers were nice especially Elizabeth who was the keeper of the Thirsty Frog Ale working both in the Capital (lobby) and Olympic Sports Bar, another interesting public room. 

Food
We of course had the new Carnival Menus.  There is an ‘Every Day’ section and a ‘Specials of the Day’ section.  Also a ‘Didja’ selection of an unusual item and a ‘Comfort Food’ selection of a traditional item.  Our dining room was the Paris Dining Room located aft on decks 3 & 4.  We had an eight top table on the lower level.  The food was very hit & miss, some items were great and many were very weak.  Breakfasts, both MDR & buffet were much better than the MDR dinners-IMHO. Overall I thought that the breads were very good and that the desserts were not comparable to other Carnival ships. The cookies were always good and the salads were wonderful.  DW reports that the Vegetarian selections were not well prepared. There are several ice crème and yogurt machines on Lido deck.  I think the best food of the week was my daily breakfast in the Paris dining room and my two room service sandwiches.

Interesting
There was NO Fun Farewell party. There were no cherries in the ‘whiskey sours’ that the bar servers push during the past guest party. 

Needs Improvement
Consistency in MDR food.  Port time in Cozumel...2:30 pm is too early for a return...with the new ships coming to Galveston guests will (and should) book the ships with the better port times.

Cruise Highlights
Actually I think it was the crew of the ship.  They were all very nice and tried very hard to please.  Second would be the show: The Big Easy, and of course we enjoyed our cabin upgrade.

Another FUN Cruise on a FUN ship!! 

 

Carnival Magic

Carnival Magic Cruise Review 3.4.2012

Just the Facts:
Ship: Carnival Magic
Date: March 4-10, 2012
Captain: Giovanni Cutugno
Hotel Director: Donato Becce
Cruise Director: James Charlton
Special Bloggers Host: John Heald

Ports: Galveston, Texas -Montego Bay, Jamaica - Grand Cayman, CI - Cozumel, Mexico

This was my 28th Carnival cruise, 70th overall, and 3rd cruise on the NEW Carnival Magic. I’m traveling with the dear wife (DW), my group of regular cruise friends: the SnoozeMates, and the John Heald Bloggers on this cruise.

Day 1- Sunday- 3/4/12- Embarkation- Galveston
We left the ranch at 6:20 am for our drive to Galveston. We arrived at EZ Cruise Parking by 11:00 am and used the shuttle (driven by our friend Jason) over to the Carnival pier. They had already started boarding so it was a very easy process for us to check in. They had several agents in the VIP boarding area and we were processed straightaway and were on board in just 15 minutes. We went to the Lido Marketplace and saw friends who had already boarded. I sampled the roast beef from the carving station then as a group we all ate at the Cucina del Capitano for lunch. After lunch we met at the Red Frog Pub. A major difference from November is that they no longer sell the Thirsty Frog draft beer while in port (this may have been due to the Health Inspection being performed this morning). We had the Funship Special the traditional Carnival sail away cocktail. Tim Pierce, a friend who I originally met in Key West on a genealogy trip was performing. I like Tim and his music very much, he is a credit to Carnival. Muster drill was held about 4:00 and we met in the Southern Lights dining room for safety instructions. Just after sailing away the ship actually had to stop and return to port to debark a passenger with a health issues, but we were soon on our way. They are now using the turning basin at the yacht club so the Magic has to back to the pier. Very interesting. The JH Bloggers group had a welcome party in the Showtime Theatre at 5:00. John Heald welcomed everyone and they served cocktails-thank John. There are over 500 signed up as Bloggers on this cruise, the largest yet, and it was great seeing old friends although 300+ of these were newbies. Now that we were finally away from the port we returned to the Red Frog for the first 102oz Thirsty Frog tube served. Great fun and Will Marion was now the entertainer in the pub. Also a great guy and asset to Carnival. Dinner is 8:15 in the Southern Lights dining room. Our group has three great 10-top tables in the center of the dining room. For dinner I ordered the Tender Braised Beef Brisket in Gravy as an entree and Vanilla Crème Brulee and Black Forest Gateau for dessert. After dinner some went to the Casino, some to the Welcome Show, some to the Piano Bar, and some (me) to the cabin to rest. A great first day among cruise friends.

Day 2- Monday- 3/5/12- at Sea

The seas are a bit choppy and it’s sunny, but cool. I started with my traditional first morning of a cruise breakfast in the MDR with melon, Eggs Benedict, bacon, & potatoes. There was a Bloggers Q&A this morning as well as all the usual ship activities. At 1:00 pm we had our Friends of Chris P meeting (photo left), our own little private cocktail party, in the Play It Again Piano Bar. The party was fantastic with premium cocktails and duck farts flowing. Chris P himself attended as well as some other special Carnival guests. After the party there was a lot of ship board activities including a Bloggers only Tea Time. In the afternoon I had some cabin time and ordered a late room service lunch on the balcony. The BLT and Reuben sandwiches were great. I had a much needed rest (snooze) in the cabin the rest of the afternoon. Many went to see Will Marion who performed in the Piano Bar before dinner. This was the first Elegant Evening with the special Captains dinner. Tonight I ordered: the Stuffed White Mushrooms, Shrimp Cocktail, Roasted Pumpkin Soup, and the Prime Rib with Baked Potato. My choice for dessert was Cherries Jubilee. The production show tonight was The Groove Line and the Punchliner Comedy club was busy. Our group again split up between the casino, shows, and clubs. I went to see Al Ernst in the Punchliner and then a few songs by Ron Pass in the very busy piano bar. Both Al and Ron are great and Carnival regulars. A fun first day at sea.

Day 3- Tuesday- 3/6/12- at Sea

Rough seas overnight and cloudy in the morning. I had a nice MDR breakfast of melon, fried eggs, toast, bacon, & potatoes this morning. The Bloggers had a Fun Meet this morning and we had a group set for a Trivia contest, but no one from the ship showed to host it. This is the already the 2nd time this cruise that the host did not show up for a scheduled trivia event. That’s not good. We had a cabin crawl this morning to compare various cabin types. For lunch I ate at the sushi bar that is converted to a Salad Bar on sea days. The salad and salsa are very good. There was a Bloggers slot tournament and Tea Time this afternoon. We had a nice Balcony party from 4:30 to sunset on one of the aft balconies. This class of ship is not as conducive for our group balcony parties as other ships since due to the configuration you can not access/link as many balconies together. Still fun although tighter quarters and we made use of all the champagne that was delivered to the group. Before dinner the group split to do various things including: Casino, Piano Bar, Red Frog Pub, and Comedy club. Tonight a few of us went to the Cucina Del Capitano (photo right) for a late dinner: I had the Capitano’s Arancini (fried risotto cheese balls), Calamari Fritti, Insalata Caprese, Bistecca Alla Griglia and Tiramisu for dessert. We ordered a carafe of the house wine and the dinner was very enjoyable. The steak was perfect, everyone agreed that the Arancini was the best of the dinner. Well worth the $12 pp up charge. After the late dinner I retired to the cabin.

Day 4- Wednesday- 3/7/12- Montego Bay, Jamaica
The weather was cloudy but cleared by the end of the day. I had another good MDR breakfast. Many of our group met in the lobby to begin our day in Jamaica. We bused ($5pp) to Doctor’s Cave Beach for the day. It sprinkled a bit early on but the day became warmer and sunnier as it progressed. We had a nice HQ set up in the bar area and several did the beach thing for the day. Lunch and the Red Stripe beer was very good. They had Red Stripe on tap and in the bottle. I hit the water several times and also made a trip down to the Twisted Kilt bar next door where I saw Timmy the ship entertainer. I always seem to find him in a bar on a beach somewhere. All the crew know the good Wi-Fi hot spots, but the TK also had a ginger flavored red stripe beer. I was able to arrange our usual transport back to the ship on Cap’t Ernie’s boat. It’s nice to be able to water taxi across Montego Bay and avoid the traffic and street taxi’s. Very little rest before a full evenings ship activities. Tonight is the big production magic show: Destination: Unknown with Jason Byrne. Unfortunately they had production problems and had to restart one of the shows three times. Back to the MDR for dinner. I ordered the Tom Ka Gai, Assorted Seafood Newburg, Grilled Pork Steak, Bitter and Blanc, and Tiramisu. It was all very good and Matre’ D Ken Byrne sang for us again. He is a great singer and a very nice man. After dinner the group split to do the usual: Casino, Entertainment, the unique show: A Kiss Goodnight, Piano Bar, or rest.

Day 5- Thursday- 3/8/12- Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Clear and sunny, the best weather of the cruise so far. Three cruise ships are anchored off the island today. We were up early and I had a nice omelette from the omelette station in the Lido Marketplace. Today is the big excursion for the group this cruise and we all met on board so that we could be on the same tender going over to the island. We made connections with our tour operator, Nativeway Watersports, who I have used many times in the past. They took us to our own boat for the day and we were off on our Rays, Reef, & Rum point excursion. The water was extremely beautiful, the best I have ever seen here in Grand Cayman. Since we had our own boat (photo right) I had arranged to have Caybrew, the local beer, and rum available for us so early cocktails were the first order of the day. First stop was snorkeling at the Coral Gardens. The water was nice although a little choppy and about half the group snorkeled. Next stop is Stingray City, the sandbar that attracts all the Southern Stingrays. (photo left) Most of the group hit the water for this experience. It was great fun and everyone got to kiss a stingray if they wished. It was really exciting for the first timers. We were then on our way to Rum Point for a very nice lunch on the beach. We had a very relaxing hour+ here and time for a visit to the beach, the bar, facilities, or even a little shopping. Unfortunately we had to leave paradise in order to take the boat back and catch the final tender back to the ship. We made it back to the ship in time to clean up and attend the ‘Past Guest’ party in the Showtime Theatre. We missed Tatiana, but had good service. Some in our group have sailed almost all the Carnival ships featured in the presentation and as a group we have sailed the Fantasy, Conquest, Splendor, Glory, and Magic. The ship production show this evening is WIN! in my opinion the best of the shows. Dinner was again very good, I ordered the Escargot, Penne Siciliana, Chateaubriand, and Baked Alaska. After dinner the group again did their thing: casino, shows, and clubs. The Bloggers also had a late Liars Club show. A long and FUN day!

Day 6- Friday- 3/9/11- Cozumel, Mexico
A beautiful sunny day in Cozumel, Mexico. There are five cruise ships docked today and we docked just before 10:00 am at Puerto Maya. Many of our group went to Paradise Beach for the morning. We stayed on the ship and enjoyed a casual morning and I enjoyed a MDR breakfast. DW and I took a taxi into San Miguel ($11 taxi fare) about 11:00. I went to Antonio’s Barber Shop for my usual haircut from Martin and DW went to have a ring sized at a silversmith friend (an expert at sizing small silver). As I finished my haircut, who should walk in but Chad, owner of Wet Wendy’s. We visited with Chad and then went to pick up the finished ring and purchased a very nice new Tanzanite ring that was hand made by the jeweler. We went by Wet Wendy’s for a mango margarita and some great guacamole & chips. Some friends came by so it was fun visiting and listening to the children’s xylophone folk group that played while we there. Our group was to meet this afternoon at the Thirsty Cougar a new place owned by the Wet Wendy’s group located at Calle 3 at the Malecon. (photo right) Another Mango Margarita and some very good Vegetable Quesidillas while visiting with good friends. Before long we had five tables and they took very good care of us at the Thirsty Cougar. We returned to the ship and enjoyed sail away and the sunset from our balcony. Only a short rest before dinner. I ordered: California Spring Mix Salad, Lasagna Bolognese, Duet of Petit Filet Mignon and Short Rib Confit, & Chocolate, Raspberry and Vanilla Creme Cake for dessert. Again a very good dinner and champagne was served to everyone in the dining room as this was the 40th anniversary of Carnival Cruise Lines. Ken Byrne and the waiters also had a nice little show for us. The feature show tonight was Marcus Monroe, but most did the usual: Piano Bar, Casino, Comedy Club with two new comedians on board, and very late the Bloggers had the Roast of John Heald, (photo left) probably the best Blogger event of the week.

Day 7- Saturday- 3/10/12- at Sea
Today is a beautiful day at sea. I had a very nice dining room breakfast and met a great contact for information on cruising from Galveston. There was a Comedy talk for Bloggers by Al Ernst, John H, and Calvyn this morning and they also distributed the Bloggers T-shirts. Many in the group met for lunch on deck 5 and then more meeting in the Red Frog for an afternoon beer. There is a lot to do and see on this ship, we did a bit of shopping and did attend the Bloggers only Tea Time at 3:00 for some sweets. The Bloggers Farewell was at 5:00 pm, but our group did our traditional ship Farewell party in the Spotlight Lounge at 5:15 pm. They offer complementary drinks, but don't really publicize the party, the bonus was that Will was the entertainer! He again posed for a photo with the group (photo left). The only downside is that this party has been shortened from an hour to 45 minutes since we were here in November. The group had it’s final balcony party this evening (photo right), another beautiful sunset and good times with friends. Also a good way to get rid of all the alcohol on the last night. Tonight was actually my favorite dinner of the week in the MDR. I had my favorite Panko Crusted Jumbo Shrimp, Grilled Chicken Breast (served over fettuccine), New England Crabcake, Tender Roasted Prime Rib of American Beef, and Grand Manier Souffle. Very Good. Some had a quick dinner as three from our tables were starring in the Carnival Legends show as: Bruce Springsteen, Cher, and Frank Sinatra. Final night and everyone did their own thing. It’s Pajama night in the Piano Bar tonight..great fun, the Legends Show, Comedy Shows, Casino, and more. Also it’s pack your bags night.

Debarkation- Sunday- Galveston, Texas
We arrived in Galveston well before 6:00 am. I was up early and watched the ship be turned around by a tug and then towed to the dock. The thrusters are definitely not completely fixed. The Mariner came in after us on her own power. Soon we were tied up but there was almost an hour delay before they allowed debark. I suspect I know why. Finally they began debark for self assist guests, but because of the delay we waited until we felt it was somewhat less congested on deck three. We went down about 7:30 and were able to move through to the check out. Customs went well and soon we were walking over to EZ Cruise parking and on the road. We actually crossed the bridge and were off the island at 8:00 am. Amazingly smooth debarkation even with the delayed start.

Ship
The Carnival Magic is the newest and largest in the Carnival fleet. The ship is 1002 feet in length and weighs in at 130,000 tons. My two favorites of the much publicized new improvements are the Cucina del Capitano and the Red Frog Pub. The Water Works and Piano Bar are also great. On my previous Carnival Magic review I mentioned that I suspected that there were more engine problems than just the thrusters. I can confirm that they indeed are only using 5 of the 6 diesel engines and that one did indeed fail on the transatlantic voyage. They can ‘make do’ with five, but at what expense? Is this why the ports times have been cut shorter to allow more travel time at sea? Is this why there is a ‘power down’ at night and the air does not circulate as well? What happens if another engine is lost? Will safety be compromised? As to the thrusters...they are not fully operational and not fully certified by the USCG. What is the deal? I have been told that the Magic has more USCG inspection temporary ‘waivers’ than any other cruise ship....that has to be a sign that there are issues to be addressed. Most of the general public is not aware of these problems, but I am concerned. (Added Note: This part of the review seems to have been discussed on some cruise messages boards. I will say that what I write about the USCG inspections are true and not hearsay as the USCG is my direct source of information)

Cabin
We had cabin 9475 an 8D balcony on Vista deck. I selected this cabin as it is next to the aft cabins that many in our group like to book and has a unique configuration due to a stairwell. It’s also very easy to go up one deck to the aft Lido area and Lido Marketplace. The safe has a button keypad and card swipe, there is a hair dryer, flat screen TV, two electrical plugs on the vanity/desk, robes, three section wardrobe, small stocked refrigerator, and vanity stool. No couch, but extra storage room and wrap balcony. After being spoiled by the goodies in the bath I never bring a razor, but alas no more razors in the gifts basket. I’ll have to remember to bring one from now on.

Food
We had second or late seating for dinner and as a group had four very nice tables in center area of the Southern Lights dining room. A fantastic location to see Ken sing and the waiters dance. Overall the food was very good. Our waiter, Marcel, was excellent. I was very pleased with the service. Room service was very good, but very slow...plan on an hour for delivery. The Lido Marketplace was also good.

Personal Comments
With this cruise I have spent 30 days on the NEW Carnival Magic. I do have some issues. There were many many errors in the Fun Times, i.e. food areas listed as open when they were not, entertainment times listed incorrectly, and many more. This is serious as this is the guests primary connection to the ship. As a seasoned cruiser perhaps I am somewhat biased in my expectations, but it seems as though the Carnival Magic is just going through the motions to ‘get by’ and not providing the exceptional service that I have received on other Carnival ships. There are some great individuals on board, but overall I find many of the crew and staff lacking. No adult swimming pool is a concern for me, it is one of the few cruise ships at sea without one. The Disney Magic has more adult pools than the Carnival Magic. There are so many little problems, to be honest I believe this ship is somewhat jinxed. I have to say that I will not be sailing the Carnival Magic again until some safety issues and other concerns are satisfied.

Cruise Highlights
The Snoozemates group who have sailed together many times is always the highlight. All are experienced cruisers who know how to have fun on a cruise. The John Heald Bloggers events were very nice. I think Ron Pass and his fan clubs bring a very exciting aspect to the cruise. Ron may have had more fans than John on the cruise. I enjoyed Timmy Pierce and Will Marion, both great guys and great singers. Our group as always makes their own FUN!

Another FUN Cruise!!

BUT Serious Concerns about the ship.

~~ Photos by Friends - click them to enlarge ~~

Mariner of the Seas

Mariner of the Seas Review 1.29.2012

Just The Facts:
Ship: Mariner of the Seas
January 29-February 16, 2011
Captain: Flemming G. Neilson
Entertainment Director: Kieron Buffery
Ports: Galveston-Roatan-Belize-Cozumel-Galveston
Weather: Very Good--clouds and sun

This is my 16th Royal Caribbean cruise and 2nd on the Mariner of the Seas. We booked this cruise very early in order to get our favorite aft cabin on deck seven. We are traveling with cruise friends. There will be some comparisons to the Voyager of the Seas since we have sailed her six times and it was the previous Royal Caribbean ship sailing from Texas.

Day One--Sunday—Embarkation
After checking weather for Galveston, we left the Ranch at 6:24 a.m. it doesn’t look like there will be any problems with fog as they had the previous week. We stopped at the new Love’s Country Store outside Hearne, Texas that will be our new rest/break area as it is about half way on our drive to Galveston. We arrived at EZ Cruise Parking about 11:05 and it was already beginning to fill with early arrivals. Both the Carnival Magic and Mariner of the Seas are boarding today. We used the EZ Cruise shuttle from the parking lot to the pier. The Diamond check-in was a smooth process although boarding was a bit delayed as it was the weekend of a mandatory crew check with U.S. Customs. We were aboard about 12:20 and went up to the Windjammer for lunch. The salads were very good as usual and I had the roast beef from the carving station. The roast beef was very good but the fried chicken cutlet was even better. The Windjammer soon got very busy and soon ran out of places to sit. I guess because boarding was delayed and many boarded at once. It was much more busy than other embarkations I have experienced. Our friends found us in time for dessert, I enjoyed the key lime mouse and the strawberry mouse. We found the cookies not near as good as in the past. When cabins opened at 2:00 p.m. we went to deck seven and our favorite aft balcony cabin. We’ve had this cabin location many times on several RCCL ships. The cabin was not quite ready, but since it is located at the far end of the ship cabin that has happened to us before. In the rush to get it ready, the carpet was not cleaned (we found an ear ring, lid, and confetti), and a few items left in bath. No harm though and by evening our cabin steward Ashton had everything in great shape. A new change is that there is no ice unless you request it and of course we want both the ice bucket and our small cooler filled daily. Our bags arrived about 3:30 and they brought them into the cabin, an improvement from leaving them at the cabin door. Muster drill was held about 4:00. You do not take your life jacket to the muster location as in years past. Your muster station is now prominent on your sea card and the crew assists passengers to the proper location. We sailed away about 5:00 and we watched from our great aft balcony. The weather was very nice and the dolphins were active too. The photo (above left) is the Mariner of the Seas as she was leaving Galveston. It was taken by a friend on the Carnival Magic. Great sunset to say the least. The Diamond Nightly Event is located in the large Lotus Lounge on deck 5. We went by for a glass of wine before dinner. We have 8:00 seating in the Rhapsody in Blue dining room on deck 3 and have a nice table on it’s own platform near the entry. Dinner was very good. I had the Vidalia onion tart, Tomato soup, the Pork medallions, and Savrin for dessert. The onion tart was exceptional and the pork very good. The ‘Welcome Show’ featuring the band, dancers and Cruise Director was at 10:00 pm in the theater and an Islands-a-go-go Parade down the promenade was at 11:15.

Day Two--Monday--at Sea
A very restful night and the weather is very nice. DW ordered her usual Room Service breakfast in bed and I had breakfast in the Diamond section of the dining room. I had eggs Benedict, bacon and hash browns. It was just OK, not as good as on the Voyager, but we’ll see how it progresses. They did fix a leche caliente for me and it was good. Some good balcony time and the Carnival Conquest is sailing along side this morning. I had a nice walk along the upper decks and around the pool. (see photo of pool area) I attended the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle at noon in the Ellington Lounge on deck 14. There was a fair crowd and they actually had good appetizers: cheese trays, fruit trays, and canapé trays. A very nice improvement to what they served on the Voyager. Not sure if this is fleet wide or not. For lunch we went to the Main Dining Room (MDR) as we know they have a nice salad station where you select your own individual salad items. It was windy on deck, but the aft is protected so we enjoyed some very nice balcony time until it clouded up in the late afternoon. The Captains reception was this evening although we passed on attending. The Captains Gala Dinner was a wonderful dinner, I ordered: Shrimp Cocktail, Escargot, Lobster Bisque, Seafood Brochette with scallops and shrimp on a monkfish, and the Filet Mignon with horseradish. For dessert I had the Chocolate Soufflé with a chocolate crème sauce. This was an excellent dinner, one of the better served on a cruise ship. After dinner we attended the late feature show, Voices 3 Las Vegas, in the Savoy Theater. It was a very enjoyable vocal musical show. After a long and fantastic first day at sea it was time to retire.

Day Three--Tuesday—Sea day
Weather is even better today as we enter the Caribbean. Midday temperature is 80°. DW had her room service and I had breakfast in the Diamond area of the MDR. The daily special was an open-faced omelette with peppers, onions, potatoes, and bacon. I’m still not impressed with breakfast. We had some good balcony time before a late Windjammer lunch. The first Ice Skating show was full so we spent a very nice afternoon on the balcony. The Crown & Anchor past guest parties were held in the afternoon, but we ordered cheese & fruit plates for a late afternoon balcony party. We did go to the Diamond function for a glass of wine before dinner. The late seating MDR is not that full, in fact our waiter Rosephil, from Goa, has only had only our table the past two nights so we are getting a lot of attention and service. The four of us in our party have the nice six-top table to ourselves. The Maitre’D brought a special Hearts of Palm salad, the fanciest one I have ever received. I ordered the Asian Noodles, Indian seafood soup, and the Surf & Turf, for dessert we all had the Kaluha Banana Crème Pie and a Coconut Crème Brule. After dinner we went to the Savoy Theater (photo above) for production showtime: Gallery of Dreams. It was a very interesting show featuring the Mariner orchestra and the Mariner singers & dancers.

Day Four--Wednesday—Roatan
We arrived by 8:00 a.m. and the weather was great very early-you could even see the mainland and the whale tail of the Carnival Legend at Mahogony Bay. We are docked at Coxen Hole and over the years we have watched the dock area improve, our balcony is facing southeast towards the mainland. We made no plans for the day other than taking it easy so no rush this morning. I had a nice breakfast, best so far, in the Diamond MDR and DW her usual room service breakfast. We were enjoying the view from the balcony and soon the weather changed with clouds rolling in and good rain began. Our balcony is deep and covered so it was great so we stayed there until lunch in the Windjammer. They had a very nice Sirloin in the carving station. The vegetables and mashed potatoes have been excellent. The afternoon was more balcony time. There was another shower then it completely cleared. At one time you could see the mainland better than I have ever seen it before. Usually the mountains are always covered with clouds but the storms had blown them away. Once it actually completely cleared in Roatan the mainland was again covered in clouds as usual. Interesting. We went to the Ice Under the Big Top show in Studio B at 6:30. (photo left) It was great to see a new ice show and it was very enjoyable. Do not miss the ice show. It was now time for dinner and it was another good one. DW said the Butternut squash with White Bean Salad and Spinach Ricotta was the best vegetarian dish so far. I had the Crabcake, Harira soup, a special Hearts of Palm salad, Beef Stroganoff, Black Angus steak, and Berrymisu for dessert. The crab cake and hearts of palm were excellent. After dinner they had the Love and Marriage Show (adult only) in the Savoy Theater and later a buffet and country music band on Lido deck.

Day Five--Thursday--Belize
We are anchored off Belize by 8:00 am. and the weather is partly cloudy but very nice. We are sleeping in this morning and DW had room service and I went to the Windjammer as the MDR is closing at 9:00. I had a nice western omelette from the omelette station. They have a different system: you turn in your egg order and receive a number within a few minutes you pick up you eggs. Easy. We had not intended to go ashore, but decided that we would ride over to the tourist village. The tender takes about 15 minutes, but about that long for loading and unloading as well. Belize is a great place for taking tours, but there is really nothing more than touristy shopping in the tourist village. Since we have done numerous tours in the past (Belize Zoo, Cave Tubing, City Tour, Cay Caulker, Snorkeling, etc.) we just looked at some shops and returned to the ship in time for lunch in the Windjammer. They had Leg of Lamb at the carving station, but I had a pork cutlet, pasta and mashed potatoes. I took a sample of desserts back to the balcony to enjoy. Great weather for balcony time and sail away from Belize. We did go to the Diamond lounge for a cocktail before the production show: Center Stage. The show was great featuring the orchestra in a Hollywood bowl sitting with the production singers and other musical acts did production songs and tunes. It is a very good show. Dinner was very good, I had: the Scallop Risotto, Hearts of Palm, Antipasta, Black Angus Steak, Tiger Shrimp, and Tiramisù for dessert. DW had a mixture of fresh vegetables and potatoes. After dinner they had the very popular Quest in Studio B. First time cruisers should not miss the Quest.

Day Six--Friday—Cozumel
We entered the Straits of Cozumel on schedule just a head of the Allure of the Seas. Then a full stop of the ship, as it seems they had a ‘man overboard’ situation on the Allure. The Mariner lowered some boats to assist the search but proceeded to the dock as the search area was too small for the large ships. We arrived just a little later than the 8:00 am scheduled arrival time at the International Pier. I then had a good main dining room breakfast of Huevo Rancheros while DW had her room service. By the time I returned to the cabin the Allure began to dock opposite us on the same pier and we had front row seats from the balcony. It’s very amazing to see the largest cruise ship in the world docking next you. As the Allure got closer and we could see the passengers on her we noticed something interesting, they were ALL men. Yes it seems this was a special charter cruise for gay men. It will be interesting in Cozumel today. There were five ships in total in Cozumel today including the Conquest, and two NCL ships at Puerto Langosta. We had no big excursions planned, just an afternoon in San Miguel. We left the ship about 10:30 and took a taxi to town. We saw our friend Nelly at her new shop Caribbean Angel and Pepe at the Mayan Pearl. As usual I had my hair cut at Antonio’s barber shop. Martin has been cutting my hair for over five years. We were meeting friends for lunch at 1:00 at Wet Wendy’s so we went over a little early for a Bohemia beer and some guacamole & chips. When our friends arrived we ordered some of their signature huge margaritas. We both got the mango favored ones (photo left). For lunch I ordered a meat & cheese Chili Relleno and DW had cheese quesidillas. They were great. After a bit more of shopping we took a taxi back to the ship about 3:00 pm. Those that have sailed from Cozumel are aware of the ‘drunk walk’ on the pier that many make on returning to their ship. We were anticipating an interesting show between the Allure and the Mariner and it did not disappoint. Our aft corner balcony was a great location and the beginning of the ‘tunnel’ created by the two ships. (In the photo our balcony would be the one with the upper 'O' section, but on opposite side) Soon enough many of the gents on the Allure were partying and ‘doing their thing’ from the balconies. They were certainly getting attention and it was somewhat humorous, but it went too far when the nudes came out. There was a ship horn exchange and a lot of cheers both ways when the Mariner began pulling away from the pier. We enjoyed the free show and the cheese & fruit trays we ordered for sail away. Tonight’s production show was before dinner for late dining guests and featured Paul Boland, the man of a 1000 voices. This was the second formal night of the cruise and dinner was very good, my favorite of the cruise. I had the Seafood Salad, Mushroom Pastry, Hearts of Palm salad, Prime Rib, Lobster, and Cherries Jubilee. After that great meal and a busy day I retired to the cabin for the evening.

Day Seven--at Sea
Sunny today and our aft balcony is perfect as it blocks the wind and has shade. It is Chocolate breakfast day in the dining room. You could get chocolate éclairs, donuts, cakes, chocolate
pancakes, hot chocolate, chocolate milk shake, and more. I had a traditional fried egg breakfast and my usual leche caliente. MDR breakfasts did get better! DW had her usual room service breakfast. We had balcony time and worked on debarkation paper work in the morning. We attended a behind the scenes tour of the Theater and following a Meet the Stars event. These were Diamond activities and interesting additions, but there was no Diamond luncheon as they used to have on the final sea day. Time for a late lunch in the Windjammer and they had ham on the carving station. We had more balcony/cabin time and the weather was fantastic all afternoon and a beautiful sunset. We went to the Farewell Showtime which featured the Orchestra, CD Kieron, and comedian/juggler David Aiken who was very funny. Dinner was again good. I had the Shrimp Cocktail, Onion Soup, again a Hearts of Palm salad, Pasta with Marinara Sauce, NY Strip steak, and Key Lime Pie for dessert. After dinner we returned to the cabin to pack. One of the best events takes place late on Saturdays in Boleros when the ship’s orchestra breaks into a Jazz group.

Debarkation--Sunday
We were docked by 6:45 am in Galveston. It was raining, but we were lucky that there was no fog as the Triumph was delayed until noon on the previous day. No room service on debarkation morning, but a full breakfast menu in the dining room. We both had a MDR breakfast early this morning. They started allowing the self-debarkation people off just about 7:45 a.m. It was really fairly smooth considering how many people are using it. We rolled our bags to EZ Cruise parking and were on our way to fill up and head north. Gas was $3.34 in Galveston, and we crossed the bridge about 8:55 a.m. Round trip drive from the Ranch to EZ Cruise parking is 576 miles.

Ship
The Mariner of the Seas replaced one of my favorite cruise ships, The Voyager of the Seas, as the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ship home porting in Texas. They are very similar as they are the same class of ship so not much difference between the two. With a large ship there are a lot of people and the pools can be very crowded during peak times and the elevators are always full, but the additional size also means that there is room for the photo gallery, casino, bars, etc. without any one of them dominating an entire deck. The Grand Promenade is very impressive indeed and must be experienced.

Crew
The staff and crew are very good. Our waiters were excellent. Our cabin steward was very conscientious and did a great job. The Captain held a Q&A on the last sea day.

Cabin
We have cabin 7688 a corner aft on port side. It is one of our favorite cabins on a cruise ship. The room is a standard size, or actually slightly smaller, but the balcony is one of the largest on the ship. The cabin has: key pad safe, hair dryer, refrigerator, short couch, nice sliding door shower, and more. Air worked well. A long walk to the stairwell and elevators, but I needed the exercise.

Food
Our dining room is the Rhapsody in Blue, deck three the lower level of the 3 level restaurant. It was table 313 a six top table for the four of us on a raised platform and rail around it. It had a nice view of the dining room from near the entry. Our waiter was Rosephil a friend of our previous waiter Bonneventura both from the Goa India area. Rosephil was very good. The head waiter, Jean Pierre, from France came by every evening and arranged the hearts of palm for me. The bread is very good and they serve a different specialty bread in the dining room each evening. The Windjammer is excellent. Best buffet at sea IMHO. Room service was always good and prompt. Johnny Rockets was a good alternative for lunch or afternoon snack. Lunch in the dining room has the same menu each day with one special item that does change daily. There are several ice crème and yogurt machines. Room service is great. In addition to the annual crew customs situation on embarkation, the ship did receive it’s annual health inspection and received a 100% grade. That’s very good.

Cruise Highlights
Dinner & Service in the dining room, the Ice show, and the two production shows. We didn’t use many of the public areas of the ship as much this cruise as we really used our balcony a lot. On many cruises it is too hot or even too cold to use the balcony, but this cruise the weather was perfect for balcony use.

Needs Improvement
Cookies. Historically we loved the cookies on both The Rhapsody & The Voyager, but on the Mariner they were too hard to bite into them. It has to be a good cruise when the only item I’d improve is the cookies.

Comments
They really seem to do a very good job of scheduling the entertainment and production shows then coordinating them with the various receptions, and other events. We were as busy as we wanted to be all week, but we really enjoyed the relaxation time as well.

Overall another fantastic cruise!