Ship Inspection...Carnival Glory

This week I got to board the Carnival Glory for a ship insection and a luncheon in the port of Portland, Maine. It was one of this ships stops on a 7-day Canada/New England itinerary out of NYC. The ship is part of Carnival's Conquest Class...meaning it's 110,000 tons, 952 feet long and can carry 2,974 passengers (this sailing was full). My husband and I, along with some friends, recently sailed on the Carnival Miracle and this ship seemed a LOT bigger than the Miracle which is just about 88,500 tons. My firt impression of this ship was....IT'S HUGE

Parking was easy, right across the street, however I noted that parking issues really aren't important here for my future clients because there are no ships on any cruise line that leave out of Portland...just stops there as one of it's ports. I arrived about 11 a.m. with about 50 other travel agents and we were quickly boarding at 11:15 which was good because it was absolutely freezing out!

Getting on was easy, unlike when I went to tour a NCL ship in Boston this spring. We were grouped together and brought right into the main theatre for a brief overview. Once that was done we were lead by a group leader to various public areas of the ship. I didn't really like this was of touring the ship. NCL lets you tour at your leisure and meet back at a certain time for lunch and then you are on your own again. I saw a lot more doing it on my own on the Spirit rather than being led around like on the Glory. I didn't get to see a lot of this ship. What I did see, though, was true to Carnival decor....bright, loud and glitzy, much like you would expect to see in Vegas. To some, this might not be your cup-of-tea but you will find this sort of decor on most, if not all, Carnival ships.

This picture came out dark, but it's the fitness center onboard, which is huge!

The fitness center had a complete glass ceiling, making it nice and bright inside

Seaside Theatre

Waterslide!!

This is one of the outdoor pools, right underneath the huge TV screen

Buffet

Central area of the Red Sail Buffet

Aft pool. It was freezing today so they had the deck covered by a glass canopy making it nice and toasty in there!

Adult disco

Arcade

Teen Disco...it was Monopoly themed:)

Teen disco dance floor

Teen club ceiling

Teen club

Casino

Another dark picture, but this was a sports bar complete with many TVs of various sporting events and beer on tap!

Sing-along piano bar

Another club, this one used mainly for karaoke

Main dining room, this ship had two

Grilled Grouper

Dessert! YUM!

It was over much too quick, but we all had a great time. It's so good to be able to actually see the ships you are selling, especially when your personal funds don't allow you to cruise on every single ship out there! Being on board the ship for the day will allow me to better serve my clients when they ask specific questions about the ship or experience. I can't wait to do it again, on another ship!!