First Time Cruiser (Canada)

Author: Judy H.
Date of Trip: September 2001

My first cruise was on the Carnival Glory. We sailed from New York to St John and then to Halifax. This was my daughter and my 100 years of births (40, 60) so we celebrated together. Not her first cruise.

Day 1 – Embarkment went really well. The luggage was in the room by the time we ate lunch. We had a set dining and the staff were great. With a food allergy, I was given special care and was glad they took care of me.

Day 2 – We went to the briefing so we would know what to expect. A day at sea, so we had a great breakfast in the dining room first then went to the briefing. Had lunch at the buffet and was a little disappointed. My advice is to circle all food stations before making a selection. The Mongolian Wok line was really long so I bypassed it every day until the last day. The entertainment was not what we expected so we walked out and just walked on the deck and had hot chocolate. We tried to family friendly comic, Bill???, and it wasn’t too family friendly. We had to leave.

Day 3 – St. John – We didn’t take an excursion, but we found some quaint shops and make a day of getting to know the locals. We visited several old churches and enjoyed meeting the people. We came back early since there was an error given to us about the time and had lunch on board. We had the burrito bar and it was very good. We got back in time to have a very relaxing spa.

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Day 4 – Halifax – We took the excursion Peggy Cove’s and Halifax. Ellen, our tour guide, was excellent and knew the area very well. She held up spellbound with her stories. Peggy’s Cove is a must if only for the beautiful scenery. I really wish we had done the hop on hop off since we would have seen more of the city. Because of technical issues the show could not be done, instead there was a singer who knew how to sing that was much better than the shows.

Day 5 – A relaxing day at sea. Just laid around and enjoyed the rocking and rolling of the ship. Hurricane south of us kept us rocking, but it was entertaining. We went to the animal towel demo and it was interesting. We enjoyed the family comedy of Steve White. He was very good and stayed clean since we had lots of kids in the audience. A good night.

Day 6 – Disembarkment – went really well, except for our ride to the airport. We did the SuperShuttle and it was super slow. My advise – use the cruise line. You pay more but you get to the airport faster.

All in all a good cruise. The rooms were spacious, clean and plenty of storage. Our wait staff and room staff were excellent. The food in the dining room was better than the buffet but I was a little disappointed in the quality of the food. I was told it usually was better. The entertainment by the wait staff was great.

I am sure I am missing something as I sit and still rock and roll until I get my land legs back.