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Carnival Splendor 6/10/13 ... a ramble


Cyber Kat

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This is my second try. I have no idea what happened to the first one I started. This is going to be a sort of review, kind of a stream of consciousness ramble. I'll try to keep things in order, but sometimes things will just come to me. Feel free to ask questions!

 

Day One

 

My cat woke me up at the usual 5am, so I decided to watch the ship come in on the NYHarbor web cam. It was nice to know that she had arrived safely and was docked at pier 90.

 

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My DH and I arranged to have a limo take us to the pier because it works out a bit cheaper than parking there and it's so convenient. Just a great way to start a vacation. We were dropped off at about 10:15am. We planned to meet my sister at the snack bar on level 2, so we grabbed a seat to wait and watch all the poor people, whose cruise was over, leave the ship.

 

When my sister arrived a bit before 11am most everyone was off the ship and lines were beginning to form at the embarkation area. Because my sister is platinum, we had priority boarding, but they were just moving everyone right through. (there is not FTTF at NY yet) Security check went fast and they herded us off to the VIP Lounge. The one at pier 90 is nicer, but smaller than the one at pier 88 (unless they have redone it since the last time we cruised.) There were comfy chairs and couches arranged in 2 rooms with lemonade, water and cookies.

 

They told us to have a seat and that we would be called by name to get our the S&S cars - very nice - no waiting in line. We also met up with some others from our roll call. We waited maybe 15-20 minutes, then called us to board. "Everyone follow Rob," they said, and so we did! They moved everyone quickly through the S&S photo area and on to the boarding ramps - which were the old style ones where you have to climb a series of zigs and zags to the level of the main lobby deck. Such fun dragging suitcases up the steep ramps. It's an adventure!

 

I should mention that by this time the overcast day with the threatening clouds had decided to carry out the threat. It was pouring down rain. The Manhattan Cruise Terminal has apparently added a water feature - you enter the ship by passing through a waterfall.

 

Wet, but inside the atrium, we were greeted by the people with the maps, people with mops and a group from a local NY radio station WKTU. The KTU folks were playing music and they had a wheel you could spin to win a prize - t-shirts, tote bags, hats. A nice fun way to start our cruise!

 

We wanted to sign up for the Behind the Fun tour and the excursion desk was going to open at 12 noon. So we parked ourselves in some chairs and DH got us some drinks. There we were on board the Carnival Splendor (which does have a lot of pink!) before noon, with drinks in our hands! Let the FUN begin.

 

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I'm going to stop here and make sure this sticks before continuing on. Stay tuned!

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We saw someone setting up behind the Shore Excursion Desk, so we went over there and there was 1 person ahead of us. We were able to get on the Behind the Fun Tour - no problem.

 

When I was looking at shore excursions way back in like January, I saw the cabanas on Half Moon Cay. I had also looked at them when we went there in 2011. I thought the price was $229 per PERSON - because that's what it says on the Carnival web site - DUH! But it's not - it's $229 for FOUR people or $57.25 a piece. By the time I found that out, they were sold out. Some one had said that you could put your name on a waiting list, so I asked about this and the Shore Excursion person, said, "Sure!" So I took care of that as well.

 

They had told us back in the VIP room that the cabins would be ready at 1:30. After we finished at the Shore Excursion desk a little after noon, my sister went down to check things out. She came back to report that our room was read and that the steward said we could move in. YES!

 

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We opened the door and this is what greeted us!

 

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It was still raining, so we checked out the balcony briefly and checked out the room - it was great! I LOVED this room! A word of caution for those who have motion issues - we felt more motion in this room than on our usual mid-ship, deck 7 or 8 balconies. Not a problem for us - but it might be if you tend to get sea sick. There was no noise from the club below - which they used for the Comedy Club and Karaoke. There were engine noises and thumping when we stopped, started or maneuvered, but other than that we didn't hear anything. We did get soot on the balcony once when they were doing some kind of drill in Grand Turk that involved sounding the ship's horn. The steward cleaned it up quickly including some that we had accidentally tracked in on the carpet (I want some of whatever they used on that carpet - it was amazing!).

 

I had heard that others had issues with finding trash on the balcony We found one cigarette butt and that was it. No problems. Here is the rainy balcony ...

 

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There were 2 lounge chairs, two regular chairs that reclined, one that did not and two of those little tables ... and room for a dance party :D

 

We dropped the bags off, and headed up to get some food.

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GREAT pics Kath!!! We have the Aft Wrap on the port side on our cruise.

 

Thanks! You should have the same experience we did. It was a great room! I really liked the layout ... and the balcony was awesome! Enjoy your cruise!

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What a great start! Have been waiting for this! :D I have a question because I am perplexed (lol) The balcony. We have had a lot of aft wraps, all on Spirit class ships and on deck 8 port side. They look mostly like the 2nd picture of your balcony. The "curvy" part at the end of the balcony is a bit deeper/bigger, than the rest of the balcony is one long bowling alley lol. Your picture it looks like you have 2 "curvy ends." :confused::confused: Thanks for taking the time to do this. RAMBLE ON! ;);)

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Can't wait to hear more. On the Splendor next year and I am anxious for any and all details. Thanks so much for re-posting. I was afraid you would give up after the first one did not stick.

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What a great start! Have been waiting for this! :D I have a question because I am perplexed (lol) The balcony. We have had a lot of aft wraps, all on Spirit class ships and on deck 8 port side. They look mostly like the 2nd picture of your balcony. The "curvy" part at the end of the balcony is a bit deeper/bigger, than the rest of the balcony is one long bowling alley lol. Your picture it looks like you have 2 "curvy ends." :confused::confused: Thanks for taking the time to do this. RAMBLE ON! ;);)

 

Karry, the Spirit Class ships are more squared off at the stern than the Splendor, so that on the Spirit Class ships the largest part of the wrap around balcony faces directly aft. On the Splendor, the majority of the wrap around balcony faces about 45 degrees to port or starboard. The "curvy" parts are the parts that face directly aft and directly port/ starboard. I hope I explained that properly.

 

Here's a top view of the Splendor. Note the angle of the Aft Wraps.

 

Splendor.jpg

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Karry, the Spirit Class ships are more squared off at the stern than the Splendor, so that on the Spirit Class ships the largest part of the wrap around balcony faces directly aft. On the Splendor, the majority of the wrap around balcony faces about 45 degrees to port or starboard. The "curvy" parts are the parts that face directly aft and directly port/ starboard. I hope I explained that properly.

 

 

Here's a top view of the Splendor. Note the angle of the Aft Wraps.

 

Splendor.jpg

Ah, mystery solved...I was afraid it was my eye sight deceiving me! Thanks for that great explanation. How do you know all these things??? :eek:

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What a great start! Have been waiting for this! I have a question because I am perplexed (lol) The balcony. We have had a lot of aft wraps, all on Spirit class ships and on deck 8 port side. They look mostly like the 2nd picture of your balcony. The "curvy" part at the end of the balcony is a bit deeper/bigger, than the rest of the balcony is one long bowling alley lol. Your picture it looks like you have 2 "curvy ends." Thanks for taking the time to do this. RAMBLE ON!

 

We had two curvy ends - I guess you could call them that - it was more of a bend. When you came out the door to the balcony, it was a straight aft section. One of the windows in the room faces aft - next to the door. We had one lounge chair there facing aft and one of the little tables and one of the reclining regular chairs. To the left of the door the cabin and the balcony bent towards the side of the ship, but was still as wide as the aft part.

 

We had the other reclining chair and a table in front of the other cabin window there, although my sister kept moving it around to be in the sun. We also had the other lounge chair placed along the wall, although we moved it around a bit too. It could be placed so the back was against the wall with the end by the railing. It fit, but you couldn't get around it.

 

At the very end of the piece of the deck (this was a long piece big enough for 2 chairs, the second table and the lounger along the wall). There was a piece that came around the side of the ship - not a big piece, maybe 3 feet. If you stood there you were looking directly to the side or you could lean out and look toward the bow - just like on a regular side balcony.

 

It was quite spectacular! But you want the one on Deck 6 because the others are smaller.

 

Looking toward the side of the ship.

 

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Looking toward the other aft balconies - you can see a bit of the angled wall at the end.

 

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My sister is sitting on the direct aft part and that's my DH's leg :D

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We decided it would be a good time to go get something to eat beofe we did the unpacking. I had heard that the best time to hit the Mongolian Wok was the first day! That advice was correct!

 

The Mongolian Wok had it's own section of the buffet. It's closest to the Lido pool. There is a regular buffet section opposite. I rather liked the way the Splendor's buffets are set up. With few exceptions - the Mongolian Wok, the Deli (at the aft pool), the Pizza Pirate and the Grill - the lines were short and moved quickly. When I found the Wok, there were maybe 4 or 5 people ahead of me.

 

p1674526371-3.jpg

 

There are 2 approaches - right and left and the cooks are at the center - same food on both sides. You pick your noodles and veggies as you work your way up to the cooks. You pick your protein - they usually had chicken and shrimp, one time beef and another time pork - and your sauce - Black Bean (mild), Thai Barbeque (medium) and Szechuan (hot). I chose the cellophane noodles (love them). I think, onions, mushrooms, zucchini and Chinese cabbage. And at the cook station, I got chicken and shrimp with the Thai Barbeque sauce. It was hot enough to give a bit of a tingle, but not burn your mouth. I'd say it took about 15 minutes.

 

I spotted some desserts across the way. There was no line, so you could just pop in and grab what you wanted. I got chocolate cake and some of the chocolate chip cookies, I've been hearing about, but never noticed before. I got a glass of ice water and headed up to the rotisserie, where I'd told DH and DSis I'd meet them.

 

The rotisserie area is great! It was NEVER crowded and you could always find a table. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures here, but I didn't - sorry. I also didn't sample the food there. My sister did and she said the chicken and the sides were good. DH had salami and cheese - don't ask ;)

 

The bowl of food from the Mongolian Wok was awesome - really, really good. I know they are phasing this out on some of the ships, but I think it's a mistake. It was worth standing in line for! The food was hot, the sauce scrumptious - veggies and protein done perfectly!

 

The cookies lived up to their reputation - YUMMO - cake was good too!

 

About halfway through lunch I hear, "Are you Kat?" in a most definite Scottish accent! This MUST be Happy Chappy! We all exchanged introductions of our various family members, chatted a bit, and then they set off to find some lunch too! Happy Chappy was NOT wearing his kilt - so disappointed :D

 

After lunch, we wandered around a bit, using my Deck Director app to find our way around. Either I did a really good job of research or the ship was not that difficult to get around.

 

I saw some people carrying DODs in HURRICANE GLASSES - YES! I want one! So we found a bar that had one and I got a Fun Ship Special (my second if you're keeping a tally!).

 

As I had hoped, we got the Gold Pearl dining room and we moseyed on down to see where our table was, but they hadn't put the numbers on the tables yet. I went to the casino to get a hole in my S&S card so I could put it on my spiffy spangly lanyard. I don't know how I managed to cruise so long without doing this! It was WONDERFUL! I love my lanyard!

 

We planned - or I should say Elationismyship - planner par excellance! - planned a M&G for 2:30 in the Rotisserie area. Which again was not crowded at all. I lost track of how many of us there were, but it was great fun putting faces and voices to all the screen names.

 

We hung around until it was almost time for Muster Drill ... coming up!

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We decided it would be a good time to go get something to eat beofe we did the unpacking. I had heard that the best time to hit the Mongolian Wok was the first day! That advice was correct!

 

The Mongolian Wok had it's own section of the buffet. It's closest to the Lido pool. There is a regular buffet section opposite. I rather liked the way the Splendor's buffets are set up. With few exceptions - the Mongolian Wok, the Deli (at the aft pool), the Pizza Pirate and the Grill - the lines were short and moved quickly. When I found the Wok, there were maybe 4 or 5 people ahead of me.

 

p1674526371-3.jpg

 

There are 2 approaches - right and left and the cooks are at the center - same food on both sides. You pick your noodles and veggies as you work your way up to the cooks. You pick your protein - they usually had chicken and shrimp, one time beef and another time pork - and your sauce - Black Bean (mild), Thai Barbeque (medium) and Szechuan (hot). I chose the cellophane noodles (love them). I think, onions, mushrooms, zucchini and Chinese cabbage. And at the cook station, I got chicken and shrimp with the Thai Barbeque sauce. It was hot enough to give a bit of a tingle, but not burn your mouth. I'd say it took about 15 minutes.

 

I spotted some desserts across the way. There was no line, so you could just pop in and grab what you wanted. I got chocolate cake and some of the chocolate chip cookies, I've been hearing about, but never noticed before. I got a glass of ice water and headed up to the rotisserie, where I'd told DH and DSis I'd meet them.

 

The rotisserie area is great! It was NEVER crowded and you could always find a table. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures here, but I didn't - sorry. I also didn't sample the food there. My sister did and she said the chicken and the sides were good. DH had salami and cheese - don't ask ;)

 

The bowl of food from the Mongolian Wok was awesome - really, really good. I know they are phasing this out on some of the ships, but I think it's a mistake. It was worth standing in line for! The food was hot, the sauce scrumptious - veggies and protein done perfectly!

 

The cookies lived up to their reputation - YUMMO - cake was good too!

 

About halfway through lunch I hear, "Are you Kat?" in a most definite Scottish accent! This MUST be Happy Chappy! We all exchanged introductions of our various family members, chatted a bit, and then they set off to find some lunch too! Happy Chappy was NOT wearing his kilt - so disappointed :D

 

After lunch, we wandered around a bit, using my Deck Director app to find our way around. Either I did a really good job of research or the ship was not that difficult to get around.

 

I saw some people carrying DODs in HURRICANE GLASSES - YES! I want one! So we found a bar that had one and I got a Fun Ship Special (my second if you're keeping a tally!).

 

As I had hoped, we got the Gold Pearl dining room and we moseyed on down to see where our table was, but they hadn't put the numbers on the tables yet. I went to the casino to get a hole in my S&S card so I could put it on my spiffy spangly lanyard. I don't know how I managed to cruise so long without doing this! It was WONDERFUL! I love my lanyard!

 

We planned - or I should say Elationismyship - planner par excellance! - planned a M&G for 2:30 in the Rotisserie area. Which again was not crowded at all. I lost track of how many of us there were, but it was great fun putting faces and voices to all the screen names.

 

We hung around until it was almost time for Muster Drill ... coming up!

 

 

 

 

We also have the same aft stateroom booked:)

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We also have the same aft stateroom booked:)

 

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! That balcony is really awesome - sooo big! We spent a lot of time on it. Two lounge chairs - no chair hogs!

 

Not far from the aft elevators & stairs. One deck down to five - where all the action is! El Mojito bar - they do the Martini tasting there. You can also get wine and mixed drinks, but not frozen ones. Red Carpet lounge night club, piano bar and El Morocco (Comedy Club and Karaoke) - all right there. Sushi bar and coffee ship just up a bit, then the Casino.

 

Deck 3 & 4 for the Gold Pearl restaurant and the El Robusto lounge and internet cafe.

 

Take the up elevator to Deck 9 and you are right by the aft pool, bar, Tandoor, Deli and the aft end of the buffet. Deck 10 gets you the rotisserie, Deck 11 the Steak house.

 

Enjoy!

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kat, could you use the stair case that is in the aft? or is that just for crew? so did you count the steps to the elevator from the room? I hope our AFT on deck 8 is just as delicous as yours was,, (OK a bit narrower) Let's hear about the drill now.

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