Sunday, September 12, 2010

Profile and Photo Tour of Carnival Glory


My subject this time is Carnival Glory. Glory is a large cruise ship - - one of Carnival Cruise Lines’ Conquest class. She is not the biggest ship Carnival has but not the smallest by any means. Rather, she is one of five 110,000 gross ton ships which are the real backbone of the Carnival fleet.

In putting together a new profile and photo tour of the Glory, I was struck by just how a large ship gives guests so many choices. Take the open decks for instance. Following her most recent re-fit, Glory now has an adults only retreat area with premium deck chairs, hammocks, a hot tub and a bar. If luxuriating relaxation does not interest you, you can ride down a three deck high waterslide, plunge into a nearby pool or unwind in another hot tub which is adjacent to this pool. If that is not appealing, how about relaxing in a deck chair and watching a movie, concert or sports event on a 12 by 22 foot LED outdoor screen. There is also another pool and two more hot tubs near by as well as a bar and a Mongolian Wok buffet station. People looking to be more active can use the jogging trail, the basket ball court, the volleyball court, the mini-golf course, the golf practice net or play shuffleboard. Then there is another pool with two more hot tubs that is under a retractable glass roof. It also has deck chairs, a bar, a grill and the ship’s pizzeria. If none of this is appealing, there are also the indoor facilities including a large spa, restaurants, bars, theaters etc.

One could go through a similar list for all the dining options. However, the point is that a ship of this size gives one considerable latitude in designing ones vacation.

Of course, there are more people on a large ship than a small ship assuming that both ships are in the same market category. (A large premium ship can have less passengers than a smaller mass market ship). But then on a smaller ship, there is less space and less facilities and so there is more concentration of the people.

Carnival Glory is a mass market ship. In fact, the original vision behind Carnival was to open up cruising to everyman. To this end, the line aims to provide good quality facilities and service at a reasonable price. Over time, it has evolved from being a party oriented line to being a family focused line, although there is still considerable emphasis on having fun.

Carnival Glory is currently winding up her first summer season homeported in New York, where she was sailing to Canada and New England. In the next few weeks she will move down the East Coast doing cruises from Norfolk, Virginia and then Charleston, South Carolina before taking up residence in Miami for the winter. Next Spring, she will follow the same route in the reverse direction.

Beyondships new and updated profile of Carnival Glory is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-profile.html and the photo tour with dozens of new photos is at http://www.beyondships.com/CarnivalGlory-Tour-1.html