I'm off today for Barcelona Spain where I will board the NEW Carnival Magic. I will cruise the 16-day Transatlantic to Galveston Texas and also the first 6-day US inaugural cruise.
Look for reviews here soon.
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Carnival Ecstasy Review
Carnival Ecstasy ReviewAugust 29 -September 3, 2011
Just the Facts:
Ship: Carnival Ecstasy
Captain: Roberto Tine
Cruise Director: Steve Cassel
Ports: Galveston-Progreso-Cozumel-Galveston
This is a ‘tweener cruise booked as a get away from the excessive heat in central Texas. It is my twenty-fifth Carnival cruise, forth time on the Ecstasy, and first time to sail as a Carnival Milestone. We booked it a week prior to sailing.
Monday / Embarkation / Day 1
I had some ranch chores very early so we did not get away as early as usual for the drive to Galveston, but we were on the road about 7:30am and arrived at EZ Cruise parking about 12:20. Our timing must have been good as there was no waiting and Jason the shuttle driver was arriving with a bus just as we unloaded. Same for the Pier. We were after the early rush and before the majority of arrivals so security and the lines were reasonable. They have opened part of the new terminal area preparing for the arrival of the new Carnival Magic in November. It should go smooth for them when they arrive. They do have a VIP security line, but the VIP check in area was very busy. We actually got our cards and checked in at the regular
counter, it was faster. This will have to be addressed before the arrival of the Magic, as they will have more VIP's especially on early sailings. I was disappointed that I didn’t have the Milestone card, but that was soon corrected on board at guest services. We dropped our bags in the cabin and went to the buffet for lunch. DW and I had a nice salad. I had a nice Chicken and Vegetable bowl from the Mongolian Grill and roast beef from the Carving Station. Something new: the Carving Station & Rotisserie are now located outdoors on Lido deck between the Mongolian Grill and the usual Burger Grill. After lunch one bag was delivered to the cabin, always a concern when it’s only one. I went down to the Lobby Bar and met my new friend for the week Johnny Mendoza the bartender. Time for another Funship Special before ‘boat drill.’ Muster drill began about 3:45 and was completed before sail away. The pool was much busier than usual for a sail away from Galveston, but it is very hot so people took advantage. We listened to the two person Reggae Band for a while on Lido deck and they put out a lot of very good music for two people. The second bag arrived at the cabin so no worries about ‘naughty’ room or lost bags. They have two welcome shows as they used to do in the past. I like this much better than the one Welcome Show as it was usually so late I didn’t go. This show started at 7:00 pm and featured the Singers & Dancers, the two comedians from the Comedy Club, and Cruise Director Steve Cassell. All were very good and I enjoyed the show. Late dinner is at 8:15 in the Wind Song dining room. We have a 4-top banquette table, but we will be changing this. Dinner was just OK. They are using the NEW ‘Didja’ menus. I missed my usual tomatillo soup, sweet & sour shrimp, and Creme Brulee for the first night. I did have the Escargot, Fruit, the Pork Steak (a large grilled chop), and the Black Forrest Gateau for dessert. The escargot and dessert were very good. We were both tired after a long day so retired to the cabin after dinner. A long but FUN first day.Tuesday / Fun day at Sea / Day 2
Great sleeping with the inside cabin, just enough movement to rock one to sleep. I was off to the Wind Star dining room for breakfast about 8:30 am. I’ve had the same breakfast on the first morning of all my CCL cruises although this one will need to be altered: no more sectioned grapefruit & oranges. I did order: Melon and Eggs Benedict with side of bacon, and hash browns. The eggs were over cooked (all the way through), but were good. They were perfect on my last Ecstasy cruise. DW always does a room service or buffet breakfast on a cruise. Neither of us are much for sun, we get all of that we want at home, so indoor activities for the day. I walked around the ship this morning and when DW joined me we got a shaded table outside lido deck. Since lunch just opened I got another bowl from the Mongolian Grill and DW another good salad. The Key Lime Pie for dessert was very good. After lunch I had a nice two hour nap. This is
Wednesday / Progreso, Mexico / Day 3
We were docked on time at 7:00 am. at the longest pier (~5 miles) in the world. I went to the dining room about 8:00 and again ordered the Eggs Benedict. I wanted to see if I could get it cooked properly and it was. We took our time and left the ship about 10:00 am and rode the
complementary shuttle into town. They have a new drop off point about a block+ beyond the municipal building. We went to a shop we like in order to get a Mayan bag as a gift. We then went to our usual Progreso hangout: Le Saint Bonet. We spent a few hours enjoying the breeze and gulf view, a few Bohemia beers, some Margaritas, and talking to the vendors. I did get a 30 minute+ massage ($10 + tip) in the old bar area of the restaurant. We then had a roadie margarita and took a taxi ($10) back to the pier. The Ecstacy sails early (3:00 pm) but they do keep the buffet open a bit later for the arrivals back to the ship. I had a beef and vegetable bowl from the Mongolian grill. The past guest party was held in the Blue Sapphire lounge at 5:00 pm and the h’orderves were actually good. Later in the cabin they delivered a Platinum h’orderve plate and they were also very good. They do a great job with them on the Ecstasy. For dinner this evening I had the Fried Shrimp with Plum Sauce, Chicken Noodle Soup, the Jerk Pork, and Tiramisu for desert. The shrimp used to be one of my favorites, but these were over cooked and all batter and no shrimp (remember the ‘where’s the beef’ commercial), the soup had no flavor. The Jerk Pork was better and the Tiramisu was good. Our waiter has yet to come to our table, but the service from Lauren the assistant has been excellent. The talent show was tonight, but we did some people watching on the Promenade deck before retiring.Thursday / Cozumel, Mexico / Day 4
We arrived on time at 8:00am at the Puerta Maya pier. The weather is cloudy with light rain. Our original plans were to spend the day at a beach resort, but with the weather we decided to just take our time and go into San Miguel. I had a MDR breakfast this morning, fried eggs, toast, and ham. I ordered eggs over medium and they came back hard, but the replacement eggs were very good. Second time the eggs were not to order, I may as well be eating on the Lido buffet. We left the ship about 9:30 and took a taxi ($7) to downtown San Miguel. We visited with our friend
Nelly at her Mayan Pearl store and Martin my barber. I spent and hour at the internet store while DW shopped in the area. About 11:30 we went over to Wet Wendy’s Margarita House & Restaurant. I really like what the owners Chad & Clara have done with the improvements. They already had the most unique drinks in town, but the restaurant is fully operational and getting good reviews. I had the blackened chicken quesadillas and they were great. Our specialty drinks were also wonderful, I’d love to visit at night when we do a land based visit to Cozumel. We returned to the ship about 3:00 pm and DW had some pool time while I had some cabin time. I did arrange to get a Carnival Future Cruise certificate this afternoon. Always a good idea to have a few of these on hand before booking a last minute cruise. The Captain made a formal announcement about the potential hurricane developing in the gulf. It looks as though we will be able to stay west of it on the return, but we will have higher than usual seas. The Ecstasy show band played in Chinatown, a wonderful public venue space, and it was Variety Night with various shows and games throughout the ship. Dinner was one of the better ones this cruise, I had the Thai Chicken appetizer, and two entrees: the Seafood Variety entree and the Chateaubriand. The seafood was the better of the two. For dessert I had the souffle and a fruit platter. We did some shopping and visited the Piano Bar this evening before retiring.Friday / Fun day at Sea / Day 5
The one morning I have a date for breakfast is the one morning I slept in. The extra rocking was wonderful and I slept very well. I was able to meet my friend just a bit late and had a good breakfast in the MDR. Again had to make a second request on the eggs. After breakfast the Captain made another announcement about our changing course to avoid the tropical depression, a bit rougher seas, but we will avoid the worse of the storm and should arrive in Galveston on time tomorrow morning. It will be rainy for most of the day. The popular Newlywed & Marriage Show is this morning in the Blue Sapphire lounge and they have moved the lido deck activities to the Promenade deck so there is a lot to do on this final sea day. I used my entry to the slot tournament, but didn’t make the finals. I also played some Texas Hold ‘Em poker. You now use your S&S card and do not need a second PokerPro card. You still have to cash out the card separately though as it is not applied to your S&S account. I did win a little. We had a late lunch in the Panorama (lido) buffet. The salads are always good. There was Tea Time in the piano Bar in the afternoon and the Captain made another late announcement that the TD is now TS (tropical storm) Lee and that we will not make Galveston on time as we can not maintain normal speed in the northerly winds. The ‘Farewell’ party with complementary drinks was held at 5:00 pm in the China Town lounge. This is not publicized at all so be sure to watch for it listed (in small print) in your FunTimes. We ate dinner in the Panorama on Lido deck this evening as we wanted to see more shows. It was very good, I had Baked Ham from the carving station, Penne Pasta with shrimp, Chicken Parmesan, Crab Cake, and a selection of desserts. The ham was wonderful and had a honey mustard condiment, perhaps the best meat of the cruise. On previous Ecstasy cruises they had the 2nd production show on day four, but they have it on day five the same night as the Punchliner Comedy Shows. It really makes it hard to see the best shows. We went to the first ‘family’ show of comedian Mike Lucas and he was great. We then went to the production show Dream Voyage in the Blue Sapphire showroom. It was very good, but my favorite was Xtreme Country. The liquor purchased in Progreso was delivered to the cabin this evening so it was time to pack. Because we would be arriving late in Galveston we knew there would be confusion with the debarkation so we decided not to do self debark and use general debarkation. We had our bags out by 11:00 pm and we where able to see the end of one comedy show and then the midnight show of Mike Lukas. He was great.
Saturday / Debarkation
Due to the Tropical Storm we arrived in Galveston almost two hours later than the Ecstasy usually arrives. I had time for my final MDR breakfast and we stayed in the cabin as long as possible. About 10:00 we went to China Town on Promenade deck the designated meet location for Platinum guests. We were called about 11:00 to debark and we got through US Customs and walked to the EZ Cruise parking lot. We were away before noon and arrived home about 5:30 pm.
SHIP
The Ecstasy is an older ship. She seemed in great shape. She does show her age is some areas, but is very clean and nice. I like the layout. There are a lot of “hump” locations on the upper decks which make watching the sea or views very nice. Also the ceiling above the atrium is skylights and only the Fantasy has the same, on all other Carnival ships it’s not direct light. I like it. That’s all the sun I want to see during the day. There is a lot of neon but it is not dated at all more of a retro feel and it is impressive in the evening. The neon also changes colors throughout the voyage. A very different look. No smoking areas have expanded and now include the Piano Bar and all of the lobby area. The new mini-golf area is very nice. When she leaves Galveston after the next cruise she will have a two week dry dock before it goes to her new home port: New Orleans. Not sure what they will do as the public rooms all look good. I assume some deep cleaning and maintenance.
CABIN
We booked late on an interior guarantee deal. We received a 4C, cabin U229 located aft so I was happy with that. The cabin steward is excellent. One of the better we’ve had. The cabin was always clean and ice chest filled. The cabin was a quad, but didn't have the drop down from ceiling bunks. They were built into the large heavy wooden head/side boards of the units. A great change is you can now use your sail & sign card as your cabin key, The Ecstasy was one of the last of the Carnival ships that you had to use a separate key card. There are no refrigerators in the interiors. (OK by me I never use them) As mentioned the fan improves the air circulation.
DINING / FOOD
I’m sure that most were pleased with the food on the cruise, but personally I was very disappointed. There were some good dishes, but overall the quality was below the standards I had associated with this ship. I reread some of my previous Ecstasy reviews to confirm and the quality was just not the same. I also do not care for the new Didja menus because of fewer choices. My waiter never introduced himself other than trying to challenge me on the second day with my table location. We had a lot of Canadian college kids in our area and they were having a very good time. We found it somewhat entertaining, but it was disturbing to some guests.
CREW
I think CD Steve Cassell is a perfect fit for this ship. I liked him and his style. The Captain was informative with his announcements especially when we got the bad weather on the return. As mentioned the Cabin team was very good. My waiter was non existent, but serving his own purgatory with the college kids. The Ecstasy had won the Crystal Eagle award in the past, but I predict they never will again. I know a lot of experienced crew bailed when the new home port was announced.
GENERAL
There is really a lot to do on the ship with bingo, casino, trivia games, & very good and varied entertainment. This is a very good starter ship for cruise newbies and the Carnival Ecstasy used to be one of my favorite Carnival ships, but no longer. Perhaps I have outgrown her, but I don’t see myself ever sailing on her again. I am so happy that the Carnival Triumph and the NEW Carnival Magic are coming to Galveston.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Alaska & Yukon Cruise Tour
Holland America Line
Alaska / Yukon Cruise Tour Review
Alaska / Yukon Cruise Tour Review
July 23 - August 4, 2011
Just The Facts:
Ship: ms Zuiderdam 7/23 - 7/26
Ship Captain: Werner Timmers
Tour Director: Tom Shoperson
Cruise: Vancouver-Inside Passage-Juneau-Skagway
Tour: Skagway, Whitehorse, Dawson City, Tok, Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage
Weather: Partly cloudy most of the time--nice and cool.
This is my 1st Holland American Line cruise and 1st Alaska visit and tour. There will be a lot of new experiences this trip. I’m a part of a Travel Agent Familiarization tour and traveling solo on this trip.
Travel Day
I was able to arrange a flight from Waco which makes it much easier as the airport is only an hour+ from the ranch. It’s small, only two gates, so very easy. I had a short 1:00 pm flight to George Bush Airport in Houston then after a 3 hour wait the long direct flight to Vancouver. We arrived about 9:00 pm and I cleared Canadian customs and took a Taxi ($35) to the downtown Hyatt Regency. The hotel was great and a very good location. I used Priceline.com to book the room and received a very fair rate-IMHO.
Day One--Saturday--Embarkation
I was up early, still on Texas time, and went next door for a Tim Horton breakfast by 7:00 am. Because it was early and a Saturday there were few people out and I decided I would do a downtown walking tour. I went several places including Canada Place and the Gaslight district. I
waited at the famous steam clock for the 8:00 am blast, but it never happened. The clock was very interesting though. It was too early for the shops to open, but I was really only interested in the sites and architecture so it worked well for me. Because you must clear security AND customs before even reaching the cruise check in area it tends to get busy with lines. I was told to arrive either about 11:00 am or after 3:30 in order to avoid the long lines. I originally intended to do the Vancouver tour bus and arrive late, but since I was out early I decided to head to the pier early. I took a taxi ($5) from the hotel to Canada Place and arrived just after 11:00 am and checked my bag with the curb side porters. I then proceeded to security where all cruise passengers for all the ships are screened. Once they have 
scanned your bags and checked your ID your proceed to customs. They have lines for Canadians, for Americans, and others. Since they do this before boarding you don’t have to clear customs when we reach Juneau. At this point passengers go to whatever cruise line they are sailing. This morning it was only the ms Zuiderdam and a Princess ship so I was directed to the Holland America Line area. I will say that the shore personnel were very helpful and it was a smooth process. I was checked in including security photo and directed to a waiting area until boarding at 11:30. This was set up well so that rows of chairs were filled as needed and then passengers could be directed to board in order. We did start boarding and I was on board ship by 11:45. I then discovered a long forgotten feature: All cabins are ready upon boarding. That is fantastic and I understand it is a 
fleet wide policy. This is my first HAL cruise, but I did receive a Mariner Society invitation to dine in the Vista dining room for lunch from noon-1:30 pm. This is a great idea and feature as it takes pressure from the Lido deck buffet and adds a benefit for repeat guests. I did dine in the MDR and had the Salmon entree, but I did go up to the Lido Restaurant and get a wonderful Bread Pudding for dessert. I explored some of the ship in the afternoon and took a short nap until muster drill at 4:30. Soon after we sailed away from Vancouver and under the Lion's Gate Bridge and began our adventure. Our group met in the Atrium Bar for a meet & greet and then had dinner in the Vista Dining room. I had the Smoked Alaskan Seafood Appetizer (salmon, scallops, etc), French Onion Soup, the Alaskan Crab Legs entree and Apple Strudel for dessert. I don’t recall having crab legs on a cruise ship in many years. All were very good. They had a welcome show in the Vista Lounge theater at 9:30, but I retired to the cabin soon after dinner.Day Two--Sunday--Inside Passage
There was sunshine at dawn, but very soon it was a very foggy morning that continued through most of the day. I went to the Vista dining room for breakfast and had Eggs Benedict as usual on the first day of a cruise. They were very good. I explored more of the ship before a 10:00 am meeting for our TA group. I had some cabin time and I’m very happy that I took the up-sale and took a verandah cabin. I can see the scenic coast as we sail north up the famous inside passage. I do suggest the starboard side. I went to the Lido restaurant for lunch and had Baked Ziti with meat sauce and another bread pudding for dessert. The weather did clear somewhat so some more cabin time and coastal viewing. I did bring binoculars and that helped a lot. I did see the first whale just after lunch. At 3:00 I attended a Cocktail seminar. They have 3 over 7 days, but this one is the only one I could attend and this one featured martinis. They made four:
Strawberry Champagne Dreams, Cosmo Cubana, Tanqueray 0010, and Green Appletini. My favorite by far was the Cosmo Cubana consisting of lime, mint, cranberry juice, sour mix and pineapple favor rum. It was an entertaining presentation. The portions/samples were generous and having won a trivia question I had an extra to sample as well. That’s more alcohol than I am used to drinking--LOL. Some more cabin time and a nap was needed before dinner. For dinner I dined in the Pinnacle Grill, the premium dining room. It was a large beautiful room with a lovely view as we sailed. The china and silver presentation was wonderful. For dinner I had Jumbo Shrimp, Dungeness Crab Cakes, a Porterhouse Steak, Creamed Spinach, and Asparagus spears. For dessert I had the Baked Alaska and a Vanilla Souffle. My favorites were the Shrimp and Baked Alaska, but it was all very good. I had a taste of the Fillet Mignon and it was better than the Porterhouse, but IMHO the steaks grilled out on the ranch are better, but of course I am bias and had to sample theirs for comparison. The Pinnacle Grill was a great two+ hour dining experience and I would dine there at least once per cruise. The great meal, wine, and cocktails earlier really put me in the mood for a good sleep so I had a bit of cabin time and turned in on the (exclusive to Holland America Lines) Sealy pillow top mattress for a great nights sleep.Day Three--Monday—Glacier Bay--Juneau, Alaska
After the great rest we turned back the clock an hour overnight so we have an extra hour today and
we are three hours from Texas time. The weather is cloudy and overcast, but no rain as forecast. About 7:30 am we approached the entrance to Glacier Bay. The scenery is spectacular especially the further up we travel and soon I saw our first iceberg. They have a Park Ranger giving a presentation in the lounge and observation areas, but 
the view from the verandah is great. I ordered a room service breakfast as I didn’t want to miss any of the scenery. They do have a nice variety of hot breakfast items that you do not see on most cruise lines these days. I had a very nice ham & cheese omelette. We reached the basin where the two branches of Tracy Arm split and turned around about 9:45 am. I’ll get to see the scenery on the opposite side on the return. The ship stopped when a bear was spotted so that most could see the bear. You just don’t think about a large cruise ship stopping for a photo opportunity. I had a nap before we reached Juneau about 2:00 pm. I went over the State of Alaska Museum and the Alaska state office building. The museum had some great exhibits and historical presentations. The state office
building has a library and free Wi-Fi. I was able to catch up on email. I then visited several of the tourist shops and found the enamel artist I wanted to see for a pin. I then decided to visit the Red Dog Saloon and had a great time visiting with tourists and people from the group who also came by for local Alaskan beer and a few Duck Farts. The entertainer played both country and sing along bar music. It was fun and I ended up staying until time for the ship to sail at 10:00 pm. We were among the last to leave Juneau it seemed at least the town was shutting down. Back in the cabin late I ordered club sandwiches from room service and packed for the early departure next morning. I had to have my primary bag out by 1:00 am. For the land portion they we will be following a similar procedure as the bags may not travel with us on the motor coach.Day Four--Tuesday--Skagway, Alaska
We had to meet at 7:45 am in the ships theater for an tour orientation and met our tour director
for the land portion of the trip. Soon we debarked the ship and had a bus tour of Skagway, the scenic overlook, and cemetery. They then dropped us at the Westmark Inn hotel and we were free to explore the Skagway area the rest of the day. Skagway is very much an 'old west' type of town that now caters to the tourists. I visited the Klondike National Historic Museum and related exhibits then had time for a visit to the Red Onion Saloon for an early lunch. I then watched the Days of ’98 Show with Soapy Smith at the FOE Theater (photo right). I really enjoyed the show and local history they presented. Then to the Skagway Brewing Company to meet new friends and try a unique locally brewed beer, Spruce Tip Ale. At 7:00 pm we attended a entertaining show by local Steve Hite featuring the history of the Klondike gold rush and the development of the railroad. After the show and with an early wake up call I retired to make notes and rest, but I really enjoyed my day in the town Skagway.Day Five--Wednesday--Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
We met early in order to board the famous White Pass (WP&YR) narrow gauge railroad. This is the most popular shore excursion in Skagway (actually anywhere in the world between May and September), but we are using it as the first leg of our land journey. The railroad follows the famous White Pass over the mountains and has spectacular scenery. We had a short stop in Fraser as we had to clear Canadian customs and we changed time zones as well. Later we
stopped at Lake Bennet Station for a nice railroad lunch of stew, homemade bread, and apple pie. We arrived at the end of the line in Carcross in the late afternoon. After some time in Carcross and spotting the first American Bald Eagle of the trip we boarded the motor coach for site seeing on the way to Whitehorse. A representative of Yukon Government Tourism Department joined our coach to welcome us and provide information on the trip to Whitehorse. The Westmark Hotel in Whitehorse is very nice and everyone in the group is preregistered at each hotel and we receive our keys as we leave the bus. Very quick and convenient. Several of us had dinner at Klondike Rib & Salmon BBQ and I had a great meal of Alaskan Halibut, garlic mashed potatoes, vegetables, and sourdough bread. For dessert I had the Sourdough Bread Pudding-it was outstanding. We attended a Klondike theme production show called Frantic Follies. It was a show for tourists, but very well done and very entertaining. After the show a nice Yukon Gold beer in the bar before retiring about midnight, but the unusual thing is that it is still daylight.Day Six--Thursday--Dawson City, Yukon Territory
We left early as this was our longest travel day leaving Whitehorse on the scenic Klondike Highway. We had some photo stops at Five Fingers Rapids and Tintina Trench overlook plus a nice break with a game of horseshoes at Moose Creek Lodge and lunch in Minto, all on the upper Yukon river. We did see our first bears today too. We
arrived in Dawson and were assigned our rooms for our two night stay. Dawson City is like arriving in an old west movie set with: dirt streets, wooden board walks, old false front buildings, and Saloons. What a perfect place for a group ‘pub crawl'. Several brave souls started out at the Westmark Inn Lounge, then Bombay Peggy’s, then the Drunken Goat Tavern, then to the Downtown Hotel for the Sourdough Toe drink initiation, then Diamond Tooth Gerties for the midnight saloon show, then finally only the hardy finishing at the Midnight Sun for a live band. The Sour Toe Cocktail Club event involves drinking a shot of Yukon Jack whisky with a mummified toe representing the first of an old ‘98er who lost it to frostbite. It is quite a ceremony. Diamond Tooth Gerties is a full casino with three nightly shows. I believe they charge admission for the 1st touristy show, but not for the later shows. The Drunken Goat has very good greek food. Yukon Gold beer was my drink of the night and it was quite a fun evening. This was a very late night, but still not very dark at 2:00 am. No northern lights visible.Day Seven--Friday--Dawson City, Yukon Territory
I slept in on our off day in Dawson and it was needed. I signed up for the noon Jeep Tour
excursion of the Dawson Gold fields. It was a nice three+ hour tour up to the King Solomon Dome, the source of all the gold creeks in the area. We stopped at Gold Dredge No.4 the largest used in the Klondike. Back in Dawson I visited the nice area museum located in the former Territorial Capital Building. For dinner I ate at Sourdough Joe’s and had some great uniquely battered halibut fish & chips. I walked around town before retiring much earlier this eveningDay Eight--Saturday--Tok, Alaska
We started the morning with a three hour river cruise on the Yukon Queen II going down the Yukon river. Originally we were to sail all the way to Eagle Alaska and motor coach from there, 
but there was a highway that was questionable so it's now just a return cruise from Dawson. We stopped and watched numerous bears on the side of a mountain. We were lucky to see so many bears including a large cinnamon colored bear and black bears with cubs. We returned to Dawson then left about noon by taking the George Black ferry across the Yukon River. From there we traveled a short way to the U.S. Canadian border at Poker Creek, Alaska where they stamped our passports and we lost that hour of time again. Poker Creek is the most northerly border station in the United States. After posing for photographs at the Welcome to Alaska sign we were met by a pilot vehicle to lead us across the ‘Top of the World Highway’ a dirt/gravel track following the top of the mountain ranges (photo right) until we reached Chicken, Alaska. Chicken is a remote but very unique roadhouse with a small cafe, saloon, and station. From Chicken we followed the Taylor Highway to Tok, Alaska founded in 1942 when the new Alaskan highway meets the Taylor highway. This was an interesting Westmark facility celebrating Christmas in July and delivering to each room a hot chocolate at bedtime. The restaurant also had some good Tex/Mex. The new route added some new places to see so it was a fair trade off for a shorter cruise and the town of Eagle. Chicken, Alaska was unique enough!
but there was a highway that was questionable so it's now just a return cruise from Dawson. We stopped and watched numerous bears on the side of a mountain. We were lucky to see so many bears including a large cinnamon colored bear and black bears with cubs. We returned to Dawson then left about noon by taking the George Black ferry across the Yukon River. From there we traveled a short way to the U.S. Canadian border at Poker Creek, Alaska where they stamped our passports and we lost that hour of time again. Poker Creek is the most northerly border station in the United States. After posing for photographs at the Welcome to Alaska sign we were met by a pilot vehicle to lead us across the ‘Top of the World Highway’ a dirt/gravel track following the top of the mountain ranges (photo right) until we reached Chicken, Alaska. Chicken is a remote but very unique roadhouse with a small cafe, saloon, and station. From Chicken we followed the Taylor Highway to Tok, Alaska founded in 1942 when the new Alaskan highway meets the Taylor highway. This was an interesting Westmark facility celebrating Christmas in July and delivering to each room a hot chocolate at bedtime. The restaurant also had some good Tex/Mex. The new route added some new places to see so it was a fair trade off for a shorter cruise and the town of Eagle. Chicken, Alaska was unique enough!Day Nine--Sunday--Fairbanks, Alaska
We left Tok now traveling on the Alcan or Alaska Highway a very nice road. Our morning stop was at Rika’s Roadhouse, the site of a very early roadhouse at Delta Junction an important crossroads of rivers and early roads. This is now a state historic park and a good stop with museum, restaurant (good bear claws), and exhibits. This was also our first sighting of the trans-
Alaskan pipeline. From here we followed the Tanana river down to Fairbanks spying a moose along the way. We had a miners lunch of stew and biscuits and visited a gold drudge at Gold Dredge No.8 just outside Fairbanks. We then visited the El Dorado Gold Mine and had a train ride that stopped at various mine displays, including underground, for demonstrations of mining techniques. We then saw a sluice run and gold panning demonstration before we got to pan for our own gold. It was quite fun and everyone got a few gold flakes, I was pleased with my take. You can certainly understand how people got ‘gold fever’. We arrived at the Fairbanks Westmark with all the conveniences of a larger city hotel. A few took excursions to the arctic circle, but I took advantage of the Wi-Fi and little business desk (multi plugs for charging, etc.) in my room and caught up on some work and notes this evening.Day Ten--Monday--Denali, Alaska
We were around early this morning in order to catch the morning Alaska Railroad train to
Denali. We had the very nice McKinley deluxe rail car with high domed viewing area and plenty of room. It’s about two hours by rail from Fairbanks to Denali station. I had a nice breakfast on the train and a few Moose Marys as well. It was a lovely trip. When we arrive we were taken to our accommodations, the McKinley Village Lodge, but I only had time to drop my bag as several signed up for a River Rafting excursion at 1:30 pm. The river outfitters were great suiting you up in waterproof suits that were needed on the cold Nanana river. The rapids were great and we had a fun crew even attacking another float trip close to us. It was an 12 mile trip and a great adventure. (photo: I'm in the blue suit on left side of the raft) After returning we waited at the McKinley Chalet Lodge bar and enjoyed a beer and great view as the rest of our group was coming over for the Cabin Night show. Cabin Night is a dinner theater show and was the best show we saw on the entire trip. The food was also good: a family style all you can eat with ribs, salmon, corn on the cob, baked beans, salad, and cobbler for dessert. Following the show we met at the Chubby Salmon a watering hole located back at our lodge.Day Eleven--Tuesday--Denali, Alaska
I tried to sleep in as long as possible, but it was only 8:30 or so. I had a nice buffet breakfast in the lodge and it was not busy as I’m behind the morning tour schedule. It was a great buffet with egg station and any breakfast item one would want. I was able to pick up some Wi-Fi from the
employee dorm so I did some email and notes after breakfast including uploading photos. The big excursion of the entire trip is this afternoon, the Tundra Wilderness Tour. We loaded into a Denali Park bus at 2:45 and proceeded into Denali National Park and traveled along the park road 53 miles then returned. The tour driver is a Park Naturalist and narrates along the way. We crossed several rivers, mountains, tundra and changed elevation many times on the drive. The photo left (click it to enlarge) was taken at Polycrome Pass where you 
can really view the glacial effect on the topography. Also golden eagles flying on the wind. We were very lucky as we saw much more wildlife than the normal tour. We did see all of the ‘big five’ and a group member kept a count. We saw: 14 Moose, 7 Grizzly Bears, 18 Dall Sheep, 15 Caribou, and two Wolves in addition to two Golden Eagles, and the state bird of Alaska the Willow Ptarmigan. The Wolf is the hardest of the ‘big five’ to see so we were lucky to have one run down the road and along side the tour bus (photo right). The tour lasted well into the evening as it’s still daylight, we stopped at each animal sighting and several rest areas, and scenic locations. We were returned to the hotel at 10:30 pm so it was a long and interesting tour. A very late snack then to the room for needed rest.Day Twelve--Wednesday--Alaska Railroad--Anchorage
I had another deluxe breakfast buffet and this was even better as it was a gift from Holland
America Lines. I went over to the Denali National Park Visitors Center early and enjoyed the movies and exhibits before the rest of the group arrived next door at the Alaska Railroad station for the trip to Anchorage. We again have the wonderful McKinley observation rail cars for the trip south (photo: click to enlarge- the McKinley cars are in the middle-blue). We observed the beautiful scenery along the way as well as more wildlife. I had a very nice early dinner of prime rib in the dining area. The upper portion of the rail cars is observation and the lower has dining, restrooms, and outdoor platform. It was almost to the very end of the tour, but we actually saw our first bull moose along the railroad tracks between Wasilla and Anchorage. We arrived at the Anchorage depot about 8:00 pm and soon checked into our rooms at the Westmark Hotel. This is a very nice hotel and location right downtown. We then went to Humpy's, a popular local watering hole and restaurant. I had a nice Halibut fish and chips again. This was kind of a farewell for the group as this is the end of the official Holland American Line cruise tour part of the trip.Day Thirteen--Thursday--Anchorage, Alaska
We started the day in the hotel with a breakfast and presentation sponsored by the Anchorage
Visitors Bureau. (Photo: the Westmark Hotel is one of the highrise bldgs in lower left) They also furnished us some attraction passes for various tours, museums, the zoo, Alaska theme shows, etc. Good timing as I watched a sister city ceremony at the town square with Russian folk music and dance. Then I did the trolly tour and watched some Alaska movies. I was very impressed with the Anchorage Museum, a very large impressive building with extensive displays, art, and historical exhibits. I had a great dinner at the Glacier Brewhouse one of the top rated restaurants in Anchorage and just across the street from the Westmark. It was worth the one hour+ wait. I had a green salad and an entree with freshly grilled Halibut, Salmon, and Cod. It was excellent. After dinner I took the 8:00 pm shuttle to the Anchorage airport. Day Fourteen--Friday--Travel
This day became much more difficult than planned. The red eye flight from Anchorage left just as the day began about 11:30 on Thursday night and we arrived in Denver as planned just about 6:40 am Friday morning. As we came in for the landing the plane diverted just 200 feet from the runway. The early morning fog was too thick to land. The plane diverted to Colorado Springs for fuel and was to return to Denver, but some mechanical problem caused a complete cancellation. We were to be bused back to Denver but I already knew I would miss the afternoon connection into Waco so I just opted for a later flight from CSO. I really didn’t want another bus ride since I had so many in the past two weeks. A LOT of passengers had shipped 50lb boxes of salmon and were now having to man handle it to a bus. I hope it stayed refrigerated. The new plans were to get me to Waco about 10:30, alas that flight was delayed and I missed the Waco connection in Houston. Continental Airlines furnished a very nice room at the Hilton and the rest was sorely needed. So I returned to Geo. Bush for the 11:30 morning flight to Waco and made it home to the ranch about 2:00 on Saturday afternoon.
Ship
This was my first time to sail with Holland America Line and I was very impressed perhaps most by all cabins are ready upon boarding. I believe the verandah cabin and balcony are larger than Carnival’s in the same category. Very clean and ship shape.
Crew / Staff
Cruise: The staff and crew are very good. Our waiters were excellent. The bar staff all very friendly. Tour: Tom our tour director was excellent, he kept everything squared away for us along the way. The motor coach drivers were very knowledgeable within their individual areas.
Cabin / Rooms / Other
Cruise: I had cabin 7119 a verandah on starboard side. The room is very nice with small couch, leather chair, push button safe, shower & tub, robes, mini bar, full windows, and roomy verandah. Tour: All of our hotels on the land trip are Westmark Inns, a chain owned by Holland America Lines. In the remote towns they are small and quaint and in the city modern full facility hotels. I was very pleased with the hotel properties. On the land portion of the trip you will eventually probably have to use a ‘long drop’ or outhouse. We went to some very remote locations so be prepared.
Food
Cruise: Although only on board for a short time from what I observed the food overall was very good on the Zuiderdam. I would really like to sail a longer cruise on HAL. My favorite was the bread pudding. There is also ice creme in dessert area of the Lido buffet. Tour: The included foods were good standard fare usually served as a theme such as in a rail depot or a gold mine. We really found some great places to eat along the way. I will say that food is more expensive in the Yukon and Alaska than in the lower 48 so be prepared for that. At least there is NO sales taxes on purchases.
Highlights
The beauty of the landscape can be very overwhelming. Very spectacular, but the camaraderie of the TA group was the highlight. As wondrous as all the beautiful landscapes were, the group of people I was traveling with was the highlight for me.
Comments
If you do Alaska I highly recommend an Alaska or Yukon cruise/tour with Holland America Lines. They are the experts and own their own rail cars, motor coaches, and even hotels. It allows for a smooth and efficient vacation experience. If one only does the usual southeastern cruise ports they have not seen the real Alaska. I was so impressed I will be recommending a cruise tour to my friends for September 2012.
~~I will add links to friends photo pages as they become available~~
Monday, July 18, 2011
Alaska Cruise Tour
I'll be off on an adventure on July 22nd. I am going on a Holland America cruise tour of Alaska and the Yukon. This will be my first cruise on Holland America, my first trip to Alaska, and my first trip to the Yukon Territory. I'll try to post a portion of my review as we go.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Carnival Glory Review 2.27.2011
Carnival Glory Review 2.27.2011
Just The Facts
Ship: Carnival Glory
February 20-February 27, 2011
Captain: Salvatore Rassello
Cruise Director: Jorge Solano / Bloggers: John Heald
Ports: Miami- Nassau- St. Thomas- San Juan- Grand Turk- Miami
Weather: Good all week
This was my 24th Carnival cruise, 64th overall, 2nd time on the Carnival Glory, and my 2nd John Heald Bloggers cruise. This is the second week of a B2B and the week of the John Heald Bloggers Cruise. Within the Bloggers we are also traveling with a group of friends from the CruiseMates roll call (although private group) this week.
Day One--Sunday--Embarkation
We have an easy embarkation as we are already on the ship. I again had breakfast in the dining room as I know I will be busy this next week. After breakfast I returned to the cabin to pack for our change of cabins. Mr. Wi and housekeeping made it so easy for us by arranging for our new cabin to be prepared early. About 10:00 am we moved to our aft balcony, cabin 8457, our favorite on a Conquest class ship and met Mr. Gregorio our new stateroom attendant for the week. The cabin was all set to go and as the aft cabins have some Conquest decorations it seemed like ‘home’. It even had a Gauguin tile in the bathroom. We went down to meet the Purser and the other B2B pax at 10:30 as prearranged by Guest Services. They gave us our new Sail & Sign cards and as soon as the final guests were off the ship they walked down to U.S. Customs and we did our thing and returned to the ship. A very simple process. We returned to the cabin and headed up to Lido for lunch as we knew it would soon again be busy. First stop was to see Mr. Frank and get a nice bowl of Mongolian chicken and vegetables. While in line I saw our friends arriving and as they are experienced cruisers several also made their way to the Mongolian Grill. As
most of our group are all Milestone and Platinum they were all soon aboard and eating lunch in our designated meeting area on Lido deck aft. As a group we have all the 8N balcony cabins so this is a logical public area meeting spot just above our cabins. After meeting everyone and lunch we went back to our cabin to finish unpacking and to settle in for the week. In the cabin we had a fruit basket delivered from the group manager, and an OBC credit notification as well as champagne & strawberries from Bosque Travel. The Bon Voyage department brought a Birthday gift: a cooler of coca-cola, mug, and hat. Boat drill was held about 4:00 pm and we did our usual thing. Following boat drill we had our first sail away party from the deck 8 aft balconies. This will become a regular and infamous occurrence throughout the week. It was fantastic weather as we sailed out of Miami and everyone was in great spirits. Everyone in the group came by and picked up their group schedules, party invitations, and pre arranged liquor purchased and extended the sail away until the Bloggers Welcome Party in the Amber Theater. This is our first scheduled Bloggers party and I do say that the Glory really prepared some great h’orderves. Very different than what they serve at the Past Guest Party. It’s also hard to serve 
280+ people, but they did a great job. They were also very generous with the cocktails too. This was the first time to be able to see some extended friends & bloggers and see John Heald for the first official time. Of course I think our group will have the most FUN this week. We have dinner in the Platinum Dining Room and we have two great 10-top tables on the center lower level. Great location and we have the same waiters so that we can table hop this week. For dinner I had the Tomato soup, the Sweet & Sour Shrimp, Flat Iron Steak, and the Crème Brule for dessert. All were very good. After dinner many went to the casino or various music venues. The ‘Welcome Show’ with Jorge was at 10:30 pm in the theater and some attended although we retired early.Day Two--Monday--Nassau, Bahamas
Great weather today. We arrived very early in Nassau and several in our group met early for private excursions on Lido aft before 8:00 am. I got up to see them off then met a friend in the MDR for my usual 1st day Carnival breakfast of Eggs Benedict, Grapefruit, with sides of Bacon, and Potatoes. After breakfast back to the Lido aft to met others getting their breakfast and meeting in our spot. By 10:00 this had turned into our annual Bloody Mary Party that lasted until after 1:30 pm. We had a wonderful view of the Nassau harbor and the Atlantis resort so it was a wonderful morning visiting with group members and friends as they arrive back from town. The Lido Maitre’d who I met last week came by with the Food & Beverage manager to visit and he promised a surprise for our Texas night party later in the week. We had to break up our Bloody Mary party in order to attend our Sail Away party at 2:30. We had to break up our sail
away party in order to make our private cocktail party in the Cinn-A-Bar at 3:30. This was a party just for the twenty+ in our group and special friends held in the piano bar on Lido deck. Our host was Flat Mike who had joined us on the previous group cruise on the Carnival Splendor in lieu of real Mike who could not make it due to health. We were so happy that both made it for this cruise. John Heald popped in for just one minute to say hello, but I noticed in his entourage Chris Prideaux from the Carnival head office. Chris is Director of On-Board Programing for the fleet and I asked him if he would join us for a quick Q&A in an informal (cocktail) situation and he agreed. It was great fun. In fact one of the suggestions made at this get together has now gone fleet wide, the need for a regularly scheduled Veterans meeting on each cruise. Several in our group have been suggesting this for years and now we had THE man who could do it. He agreed and did it. We also implemented a trick we learned on the Splendor that will work well for us on this cruise. If you get a good bar server adopt him as your own, we did and Victor was his name. For me, what little was left of the day was devoted to cabin time. This evening is the Captains Reception although we no longer attend. The Platinum gifts were left this evening and what should it be? Coolers! After all the trouble last week of no cooler I now have five. It is also the first ‘cruise elegant’ night, but the gentlemen in the group wore our Hawaiian shirts for a dressy, but causal look. This was again ‘Lobster Night’ in the dining room, still a bit of a surprise as Lobster is usually on the 2nd elegant night. I had the White Stuffed Mushrooms, and both the Lobster & Shrimp entrée and Prime Rib. For dessert I had the Cherries Jubilee. Many attended the late production show, Livin’ in America, in the Amber Palace Theater and others did their thing in other venues. After enjoying a very long and busy, but FUN day we retired to the cabin.Day Three--Tuesday—at Sea
Weather is again perfect today for the first day of March. I started the day with a very nice omelette from Mr. Frank and met others in the usual Lido aft location. We did scheme an idea for later in the day though and that was to enter the Mixology Contest. This is a contest where passengers come up with a mixed drink and then it will be served on the ship the rest of the week. Between the group we came up with: a drink recipe, the name of the drink (key), and our PR guy for the crowd. After breakfast I joined several others for TV trivia in the Amber theater, no luck though. The Bloggers slot tournament was this morning a few in our little group made the finals for later today. I had a nice Lido buffet lunch then it was time for Mixology entries. Several of us entered but whoever was chosen would go with the ‘special’ drink. It worked perfectly, Storm’n Norman, the crazy hat guy, was chosen so we were in the contest and since we had a slot conflict I became the mixologist. The name of our drink was ‘Johnny’s Underpants’ named
for John Heald who famously writes his blog in his underpants. Of course the group was there to encourage the judges and after judging six entries, yes Johnny’s Underpants was the winner. It’s a frozen drink with a rum base, creme de cacao, banana liquor, and pineapple liquor. Actually pretty good. A little bit of cabin time before we have our joint cocktail party at 4:00 pm. I called the bar manager to give her a 'heads up' about our party time because after all the talk and the mixology contest everyone would probably want a sample of the winning drink. BTW-she was one of the judges. She did not disappoint, at 4:00 pm Victor and two other cocktail waiters walk out with trays of Johnny’s Underpants. (photo left) Our shared party was with the Cruise Critic folks and they were a bit surprised by our antics and organization. They were in the spirit within the hour and of course the one-hour Carnival cocktail party is our groups specialty. After the party a nap was in order, but we did attend an early performance of the comedy show. Carnival has done a great job with the comedy venue. Dinner was again very good. My selections were the French Onion Soup, Braised Short Ribs, Pork Tenderloin and a Fruit Plate for dessert. After dinner the group again split up to do various things. I attended the late (adult) comedy show and it was very good!Day Four--Wednesday—St. Thomas
Weather was perfect today although some clouds in the afternoon. Another Mr. Frank omelette and breakfast with the group this morning. This is the big excursion day for many in the group and it is important to arrive at St. Thomas at our scheduled 10:00 am time and everyone meet our arranged transport as we have some traveling to do. We want to make Trunk Bay on the island of St. John, but it will be tight. Those going met on deck 3 and soon it became obvious that we were going to be a bit late to the pier. I saw a Purser who I had been teasing for ten days about the cooler situation and she came to the rescue. Our group was literally the first off the ship and then as we walked towards the exit we saw a sign saying
“Snoozers” and knew our Safari Taxi driver was there and waiting. Our goal of making the 11:00 am St. John ferry looked much better. We loaded up and Alex, our driver, said “everyone hold on” and off we go. We were the first out of the pier area and well on our way to Red Hook before 98% of the passengers were even off the ship. At Red Hook the group split with some going to a resort/beach on St. Thomas and those of us going on got our ferry tickets ($12 return) for the 11:00 am ferry to Cruz Bay on the island of St. John. The ferry ride was short and the views of the islands were marvelous. At the village of Cruz Bay we hopped another Safari taxi ($6) for Trunk Bay. Almost all of the island of St. John is in the U.S. National Park system and it is absolutely beautiful and clean. Soon we stopped at the overlook for the famous view (so many photographs and a U.S. Postage stamp) of Trunk Bay. We were dropped off, paid our Park Admission ($4), and were in the water by noon. It was beautiful. Trunk Bay is the finest beach I have ever seen or been on at anytime. The white sand is perfect almost as if it has been sifted. No rocks anywhere and a great view of the islands beyond. This is a park not a commercial area so only basic amenities, but that adds to the charm. Well worth the effort to get there, even if only for a few hours from a cruise ship. It did cloud up and sprinkle so that encouraged us to move on and meet our goal of the 3:00 pm return ferry. We took a Safari back to Cruz Bay and looked at a few shops before getting the ferry returning to Red Hook. Our designated meet location was the famous Duffy’s Love Shack in Red Hook. This is just a parking lot bar, but made famous by it’s predecessor bar and a song by the Mama’s and Papa’s. The other half of our group was already there having a good time. The drinks are very good but a bit dear. (dear = expensive if your not a Scot) I had the ‘Shark Tank’ served in a 64 oz. fish bowl and little sharks swimming inside. After an hour or so, Alex our Safari driver arrived for the return trip to the pier. We arrived back safe and sound and in time for the girls to hit a few shops. It was a wonderful day for an excursion. I checked two places off my bucket list: Trunk Bay and Duffy’s. I was very impressed with Trunk Bay, not as much with Duffy's. BTW--I highly recommend Islander Taxi, contact Alvin at islandertaxiservices@yahoo.com they really did a great job for us. Back on board we only have a short time before our ‘special’ planned sail away party. Since this is Texas Independence Day we had a Texas theme for our usual balcony sail away. Some of our group that stayed on ship had arranged party supplies, the bar, and snacks. 
Others brought Texas neckerchiefs, and sparkle Texas pins for the group and our guests. The Food & Beverage Manager did send a great large tray of butterflied cut chicken wings with dipping sauces. We also had fruit and vegetarian snacks as well as a nice selection of wine, champagne, beer, and spirits. Everyone in the group attended as well as some specially invited friends and guests. (photo left: ornery Texans!) It was great fun and the evening was perfect. We also got to enjoy the sunset as sail away was delayed for well over an hour - more party time. The Freedom of the Seas was docked aft to aft with us and the pax on her really got to see what a FUN ship is like first hand. It was fun watching her sail away and that really opened up a beautiful view of Charlotte Amalie harbor. We finally sailed and the timing was good as it’s now time to prepare to go to the dining room. For dinner I had a Salad, Pork Chop, and the Bitter & Blanc for dessert. The group did their usual thing and after such a busy day I retired right after desert. A long and wonderful day with friends.Day Five--Thursday—San Juan, Puerto Rico
We arrived by 7:00 am even with the delay in leaving St. Thomas. I watched us sail by El Morro early this morning. The weather is great actually getting warm by afternoon. I did the Mr. Frank omelette again, it is so nice to have a fresh off the grill omelette made just the way you like it. We are docked right in Old San Juan (OSJ-the walled part of the city). Many in the group left to tour OSJ and El Morrow early this morning, but we didn’t leave until 10:00 or so. We walked around OSJ - looked at some shops - DW got some Pandora pieces - then went to meet our group at Barrachina for lunch and sample some of their famous Pina Colada. After lunch and splitting
up again we went to the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista (photo left) one of the oldest buildings in San Juan (1522) and is the second oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere. I really think that OSJ looks so much cleaner and tourist friendly than when I was here just a few years ago. DW even said she would like to return, I did show her my favorite little hotel and it seemed meet her approval. Sail away is at 3:30, but for once we are NOT having a sail away party as the carnival Past Guest party begins at 3:45 pm. We met as a group before entering the Theater so we could sit as a group and find Victor our designated group bar server. Victor did a good job as usual and we enjoyed the hour, so much we really didn’t want to leave, knowing a second party would be starting afterward, and our experience from the Splendor. Chris P, who adopted us at the first private cocktail party, and has attended all our activities so far came to our rescue and asked CD Jorge if his ‘friends’ could stay over. We stood in the aisle so they could do a quick clean before the next party, Jorge made a joke, to the servers about serving us--it was funny--but will be funnier in a moment. He later told us to take a seat, but no one did--why? We were waiting on VICTOR to tell us his assigned area which happened to be dead center. That surprised Jorge and everyone. OMG they have their own server. It is a FUN ship. Cabin time until dinner. DW had the Vegetarian Lasagna and I had the Fried Shrimp with Plum Sauce, and the Filet Mignon/Short Rib combination entrée. Following dinner I attended the comedy shows. They were very funny. Can’t beat Al and Lewis.Day Six--Friday—Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos islands, BWI
It was rainy in the morning and the seas were choppy, but it later turned into another beautiful day in the Caribbean. Mr. Frank still greets me with a big smile as I order another omelette for breakfast with some of the group. We didn’t arrive in Grand Turk until 11:00 so we had some cabin time in the morning. It was very cool watching the Princess ship sailing directly toward us to dock. We were to meet our friends at Jack’s Shack, but since it was raining stayed on board for lunch. That means hello again Mr. Frank at the Mongolian grill. Take advantage when possible of short lines at the grill. We left the ship after lunch. Grand Turk is one of the new made-for-
cruise-ships facilities similar to Costa Maya and Mahogany Bay. There is a nice area with gift shops, jewelry stores, a wave runner ride, and the largest Margaritaville in the Caribbean. There is a very nice beach and a huge swimming pool within the facility. Our group met at Jack’s Shack located beyond the port facility proper, but just up the beach. (photo right) We had a wonderful time. The weather cleared and the beach is very nice. The owners dog Topher is amazing, he spends the day digging in the sand and playing with tourists. The drinks and pricing was fair too. We did stop by Margaritaville to get our complementary margarita earned at our stop in Grand Cayman the previous week. They had a big crowd of people. We returned to the ship at 5:00 and of course we had a sail away party on the adjoining balconies. Great to watch Grand Turk disappear into the distance while enjoying cocktails. Some cabin time for me before dinner. This is the second ‘elegant night’ but a lot in our group decided to skip dinner in the MDR tonight, just as we did on this night last week. Yes experienced cruisers. We only had one table for dinner and that was nice too. I had the Escargot and the Chateaubriand with Sauce Bearnaise then the Baked Alaska for dessert. It was very good. Tonight was the second and IMHO the best production show: Just Rock featuring the Glory singers and dancers. The group again split up to the casino, comedy club and music venues.Day Seven--at Sea
We had great weather for our final day at sea. DW had her Lido breakfast and I went to the dining room to meet several of our group for a very nice breakfast. I had a four pancake breakfast to change it up and it was very good! We had a Bloggers Q&A in the morning and received our T-shirts for the afternoon photo. I had a Reuben sandwich for lunch--much better than last week. I must also mention that the ice creme was much better this week. It was too thin last week, but we also had all those kids hitting the machines all the time. DW’s favorite is to get the candied almonds from the Chocolate Buffet and put them on the ice creme. The Bloggers
Farewell Party and photo shoot was this afternoon in the Theater. Another round of cocktails (no Victor) and very nice h’orderves--thanks John. I will post the big group photo separately--thanks MGA. We actually left fairly timely for us as we did not want to be late for the ships Farewell Party (photo right) held in the Ebony Cabaret at 5:00 pm. Hello Victor, we’re setting over here!! I know Jorge must be glad to see us go by now. Hang in there my friend. There was live music, I got to dance with the DW (long story), and Victor kept us very happy. Following this party it was to the balconies for the ‘get rid of all the booze’ party and watch the sun set. Yes this is a FUN ship. We had our final dinner for the week in the Platinum dining room. One of our members arranged for some special Filipino dishes to be served to our two tables. We had Pancit with Shrimp (a noodle dish) and Chicken Adobo. Both were very good. I also had the Prime Rib entree and the Grand Mariner soufflé for dessert. After dinner it was off to the various venues for the gang, for me it was time to pack.Debarkation--Sunday
We were docked by 7:00 am in Miami. They started allowing the self-debarkation people off just about 7:30 a.m. and calling regular debark starting with zone 1-6 by 8:00 am. I had a nice breakfast in the dining room, my final Eggs Benedict for a while. We left the ship about 9:30 and took a shuttle to the airport. The Miami airport experience was not good, too busy, too crowded, too few agents and not an easy experience.
The Week
The week was very busy. I do not normally socialize that much in a year let alone a week. In our future Snooze group cruises, and we have several planned, our infamous one-hour cocktail parties will now be known as “Friends of Chris P” meetings. It will take me a month to recover from this wonderful week I am sure. Throughout the week we heard from passengers and crew, “Are you the guys having those aft balcony parties?” I’m not sure if that was good or bad, but at least IT WAS FUN!
Ship
The Carnival Glory is a Conquest class ship so we are very familiar with the deck plans. It is a very nice ship and the theme is Colors with each public room having a different color theme. The lobby areas have a multi-color display using LED lights and panels. IMHO it is not as nice as the Carnival Conquest as far as overall art, décor, and theme, but again I am prejudiced towards the Conquest.
The ship was very clean and has the recent updates such as the Seaside Theater and a very nice Serenity area.
Cabin
We have cabin 8457 a category 8N facing aft on deck 8. This is our favorite cabin on a Conquest class ship and we have had it many times. It has a standard cabin floor plan. The cabin has a double bed, three closets, card swipe safe, flat screen TV, refrigerator (never used), and hair dryer. This week the cabin cooled just fine even with the balcony drapes open. A short walk to the aft stairwell and elevators, and convenient to the Lido buffet . DW just went up for breakfast and brought it back to the balcony. You can hear the chairs scoot on the floor of the aft Lido above, but not bad enough to want a different location. Mr. Gregorio did a great job maintaining the cabin for us and keeping us in ice.
Entertainment
We got to visit with Timothy Pierce this week. A very nice young man, glad to see he will be on the Carnival Magic. I’m really glad we saw the productions shows last week as we were so busy we couldn’t this week. Those in our group that saw them really enjoyed them as we did. The Reggae band, Caribbean Ecstasy, sounded great on deck. Those that saw Thien Fu loved him. We did see all four comedians in Carnival’s Punchliner Comedy Club shows this week. They were great and of course the long time favorites, Lewis Nixon and Al Ernst were wonderful. Several in our group loved Celebration, a party band, that played all week. Ron Pass and the piano bar were very busy. He had his fans, the blogger fans and online piano bar expert, DiveTrash, there keeping him in line all week.
Crew
Our MDR waiters were very good and that was important as on our last two group cruises they were not. Victor, our bar server, loved the attention. Not only did he get good tips, but we gave him a lot of attention and complemented him to the officers. Jorge is a great Cruise Director although we probably stretched him to the limit on a few occasions-the past guest parties for sure.
Food
Our dining room was the Platinum Dining Room located aft on decks 3 & 4. We had two very nice ten-top tables for our group. The food was much better this week than last, but again I was not really concentrating so much on food this week. It’s really hard to say anything negative about the food considering how nice the Food manager was to us in sending the chicken to our Texas party. The chicken was excellent and cut so uniquely, I’ve never quite had anything like them. The meats did seem to be trimmed better and I did have some repeat orders of my favorites.
A Tale of Two Cruises
Last week it was a Jeckle & Hyde cruise, but this week it has been totally marvelous so this is the Tale of Two Cruises experience for us. It was important to have sailed the previous week as the contacts we made allowed this week go so much better for our ourselves and especially the group. Getting the food for the Texas party and being able to get off early in St. Thomas may not have been possible without the contacts made the previous week.
Bloggers
It is really special to be able to experience a John Heald Bloggers cruise. The passengers are fans of John Heald’s blog and experienced cruisers. Having John Heald as your host is very special, but in addition there is extra entertainment, special guests, extra cocktail parties, special gifts, and a special excitement on the ship. The Carnival Glory ship staff and crew really did an excellent job this week assisting with the group.
Cruise Highlight
For me it was our group of friends, extended friends, John Heald bloggers, new friends, and Carnival staff & crew that made it a very special week.
Thanks to The CruiseDuo and Misguided Angel for photos.
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