What It's Like on Recently Refurbished Cruise Ship Carnival Glory (2024) (2024)

Built in 2003, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Glory is a workhorse of the Caribbean cruise circuit. The 2,980-passenger ship now makes Port Canaveral its home, where it primarily operates three and four-night voyages to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

The second of Carnival’s Conquest-class ships (which also include Carnival Conquest, Carnival Valor, Carnival Liberty and Carnival Freedom), Carnival Glory recently underwent a drydock in March and April of 2024 that further spruced up the 21-year-old vessel, and added new features to the ship, including the conversion of the SkyBox Sports Bar into Carnival’s popular Heroes Tribute Lounge.

Cruise Critic hopped onboard a quick sailing to Nassau and back in July 2024 to see what the ship is like following its most recent refit.

Carnival Glory’s Interiors Have Plenty of Funky, Old-School Charm

Love it or hate it, Carnival’s original Fun Ships were undeniably original. Designed by longtime designer Joe Farcus, almost every item on these ships – including Carnival Glory – was custom-designed, and revolved around an over-arching theme that ran from stem to stern.

Though it was built in 2003, Carnival Glory’s interiors feel like a throwback even further, to the early 90’s, when flashing lights, neon and crazy fixtures reigned supreme.

Case in point: the giant, human-sized candles in the White Hot Nightclub. Or the multi-colored ceiling tiles in the Old Glory Atrium that blink on and off in a dizzying array. Or the crimson-haze of the Cinn-a-Bar Piano Bar, which looks like something out of Blade Runner.

No one can ever claim Carnival’s interiors were boring – and this ship showcases some of longtime designer Joe Farcus’s best (and maybe most bizarre) work. They’re, bold, they’re funky, and they hold up surprisingly well.

On the new features front, look out for the rebranded SkyBox Sports Bar, which has now turned into the Heroes Tribute Lounge on Deck 5, next to the atrium. A former kiosk further aft has become a dedicated Carnival Adventures shop filled with necessary excursion gear like hats and water bottles, and the ship’s video arcade has been refreshed and rebranded as The Warehouse.

Cabins and Suites aboard Carnival Glory Are Now More Modern

While Carnival’s cabins have always been generously sized compared to its competitors, their electrical systems used to be an ongoing source of pain, with just one North American and one European outlet per room.

That’s changed onboard Carnival Glory: all staterooms and suites have been outfitted with new bedside lamps containing one North American outlet, one USB outlet, and one USB-C outlet. We were able to plug our laptop in, charge our DSLR, and recharge an iPhone – all at the same time.

Carnival’s cabins have also undergone a soft refresh in 2024, too, so expect to see new carpeting, beds and bedding (the beds in our Carnival Glory aft-facing balcony stateroom on Deck 7 were among the best we’ve ever slept on!).

Carnival also states that all balcony windows and doors were replaced in the 2024 refit, though we were disappointed to see the use of white plastic synthetic railings has supplanted the old polished teak ones the vessel used to have.

Carnival Glory Is a Great Size for a Quick Cruise

One of the best aspects of Carnival Gory during our three-night voyage from Port Canaveral to Nassau and back was that it was, in many ways, perfectly suited to these short runs. At 952 feet in length, Carnival Glory is not a small ship by any means, but it is not so big that you can’t get to know it in a short period of time.

A lot of that success has to do with the fact that Carnival Glory and its sister-ships have most public rooms clustered around a corridor that runs along the starboard side of Deck 5. Not only does this function as a primary social gathering spot for passengers, but this corridor – technically known as the Kaleidoscope Boulevard – also serves as a shooting-off point for major public rooms like the Casino, the Alchemy Bar, and the Old Glory atrium.

Moreover, Carnival Glory offers plenty to do for the entire family – and Carnival’s superpower has always been its ability to attract folks to cruising regardless of age, race, or religion.

Yes, if you look hard enough, you’ll notice the dings and the rust. Carnival Glory is, after all, an oceangoing vessel that is entering into the latter stages of its career at sea.

But the ship’s dedicated crew keep Carnival Glory looking spotless on the inside, day in and day out. The ship delivers a better-than-average cruise experience, especially on these short runs where time is at a premium and the parties are practically non-stop.

Carnival Glory may have just turned 21 years old, but its 2024 refit has left it looking better than ever.