An honest Splendor review 1/13/2013

I would like to start off by saying this was our families 10th cruise but it was our 1st cruise on carnival. We are avid NCL and Disney cruisers, we have also done 1 RCCL. It was me 36, DH 40, and son 13. We had been looking forward to this trip which we all now know was shortened by 1 day making this 6 night into a 5 night cruise followed by a port cancellation of Puerto Vallarta...why oh why didn't I just cancel? But we moved forward with the cruise. And here is my review:

We were shocked to arrive at 11:20am to the port and see a line we had to stand in that wrapped all around the terminal and up over by the queen mary. I thought "wow, I guess this is how the do it". It was cold but sunny, so we stood in the long line, and we stood, and stood and stood with NO ONE to tell us anything, or why we were standing and not moving. Everyone around us was complaining about why it was taking so long....it was very ridiculous and very unorganized. After 3 1/2 hours we were finally thru check in and security and working our way onto the ship looking for our room. We were starving since it was now 3:10. Upon arrival to our room our bags were waiting by our door...all except my husbands. OK on top of all this confussion his bag arrives 4 hours after ours...we had already set sail when it arrived. Now we had just purchased his suitcase litterally the night before the cruise. The bag arrives with 2 wheels busted off the bottom of the suitcase with a tear in the bottom of the suitcase material and his bottle of Captain Morgan was removed which we half expected. I was Pissed. I headed with the broked bag and reciepts to guest services. They gave me a full refund for the suitcase, the extra night I had to pay in the hotel, the food we paid for the night before. This crruise was not off to a good start.

For dinner we just headed to the buffet...food looked really bad, and not much options at all, so we headed out to get some pizza. I will say the pizza is very very good. We ended up eating pizza for a meal everyday. They also had a Deli which became my saving grace as I am a vegatarian and they offered a veggie sandwich. Carnival doesn't offer much for vegatarians. We tried the Dining room on the 2nd night...we had the anytime dining which is again unorganized. There was a long line, we were given a buzzer and we stood around for 40 minutes waiting for a table. When we finally were seated the waitstaff was cold, not friendly and were very slow. It took 2 hours to be served fruit cups, soup, salad, and my husband had steak. We passed on the desserts because we felt uncomfortable. Due to lack of options for me (vegatarian) we opted to never eat in the dining room again. So our meals for the next few days were pizza and sandwiches.

Cabo san Lucas was very nice, the people were very friendly and helpful, we did have a tour thru Johann and sandra which was the los archos tour...worth every penny! We ended that with a delicious lunch at Cabo Wabo.

We felt very ripped off as our 1st day in cabo was from 9:30am until 4pm and day 2 if you even can call it that was 7:30am - 1pm. I can't believe that Carnival can qualify that as a day!

We had a total of 3 1/2 sea days which we had hoped to fill up with fun stuff however..... it was a lot of stupid competitions (hairy chest) and the pool inside under the closed area was packed full of people, art shows bore us, we don't do spa's and there was really nothing else to do, so we decided to make of it what we could and spend some family time watching movies in our room....or so we thought. WHy did no one warn us that movies cost $10.99 per movie????? Jesus!!! Of all the cruise ships we have been on we have NEVER EVER paid for in room movies, they are free on every other cruise line. So we ended up watching a bunch of boring shows on tv for 3 1/2 days straight.

The nighttime shows were very good....we did enjoy those, the comedians were fantastic! We also enjoyed the mini golf of the ship as well. My son DID try out the kids club for his age group and he did enjoy it and went in 3 of the 5 days for a few hours.

We DID like the layout of the ship, we felt the interior was very nice, we LOVED our balcony room, the rooms are very spacious and nice.

Our room steward was very rude and never spoke to us, we asked him once to unlock our refridgerator to which he replied with a sigh like we were bothering him. The only people who really were nice to us and spoke to us was guest services. They were great, and the kids club counselor was great as well.

I would like to start off by saying this was our families 10th cruise but it was our 1st cruise on carnival. We are avid NCL and Disney cruisers, we have also done 1 RCCL. It was me 36, DH 40, and son 13. We had been looking forward to this trip which we all now know was shortened by 1 day making this 6 night into a 5 night cruise followed by a port cancellation of Puerto Vallarta...why oh why didn't I just cancel? But we moved forward with the cruise. And here is my review:

We were shocked to arrive at 11:20am to the port and see a line we had to stand in that wrapped all around the terminal and up over by the queen mary. I thought "wow, I guess this is how the do it". It was cold but sunny, so we stood in the long line, and we stood, and stood and stood with NO ONE to tell us anything, or why we were standing and not moving. Everyone around us was complaining about why it was taking so long....it was very ridiculous and very unorganized. After 3 1/2 hours we were finally thru check in and security and working our way onto the ship looking for our room. We were starving since it was now 3:10. Upon arrival to our room our bags were waiting by our door...all except my husbands. OK on top of all this confussion his bag arrives 4 hours after ours...we had already set sail when it arrived. Now we had just purchased his suitcase litterally the night before the cruise. The bag arrives with 2 wheels busted off the bottom of the suitcase with a tear in the bottom of the suitcase material and his bottle of Captain Morgan was removed which we half expected. I was Pissed. I headed with the broked bag and reciepts to guest services. They gave me a full refund for the suitcase, the extra night I had to pay in the hotel, the food we paid for the night before. This crruise was not off to a good start.

For dinner we just headed to the buffet...food looked really bad, and not much options at all, so we headed out to get some pizza. I will say the pizza is very very good. We ended up eating pizza for a meal everyday. They also had a Deli which became my saving grace as I am a vegatarian and they offered a veggie sandwich. Carnival doesn't offer much for vegatarians. We tried the Dining room on the 2nd night...we had the anytime dining which is again unorganized. There was a long line, we were given a buzzer and we stood around for 40 minutes waiting for a table. When we finally were seated the waitstaff was cold, not friendly and were very slow. It took 2 hours to be served fruit cups, soup, salad, and my husband had steak. We passed on the desserts because we felt uncomfortable. Due to lack of options for me (vegatarian) we opted to never eat in the dining room again. So our meals for the next few days were pizza and sandwiches.

Cabo san Lucas was very nice, the people were very friendly and helpful, we did have a tour thru Johann and sandra which was the los archos tour...worth every penny! We ended that with a delicious lunch at Cabo Wabo.

Just to clarify (because others on here are going to ask or just assume and then flame you) - were you upset at your bag arriving later than normal, missing your alcohol or the bag being damaged?

So all in all, a few other bits of information for anyone brave enough to venture into Carnival....

we stayed at Best Western Golden Sails, the send and they pay for a taxi to bring you from the airport to the hotel, they also pay a taxi to take you to the cruise port and they pay a taxi to bring you back to the hotel after the cruise. We didn't need a taxi back to the hotel as our vacation was continuing on to Disneyland. So we took a supershuttle back to LGB to pick up our rental car. Super Shuttle is $11 per person from port to airport.

Also we canceled our prepayed tips and had them pay us out on the last night. We didt feel anyone deserved them..bottom line. We have NEVER not paid tips and given extra ever before on anyother cruise line. But this cruise was a mess, and people were rude, and quite frankly we just shouldn't have gone thru with the cruise. But we did, and I'm glad we did. Now we know that Carnival is a cruise line we will not ever try again.

The disembarkation process was the ONLY organized thing Carnival did.... took us 20 minutes to get off and thru customs. *For anyone wondering we still have not been compensated for the 6th night we paid for when we only had a 5 night cruise....they say we will be reimburssed by Feb.2 so we shall see. Good luck to anyone willing to spend their hard earned vacation dollars on carnival.

Just to clarify (because others on here are going to ask or just assume and then flame you) - were you upset at your bag arriving later than normal, missing your alcohol or the bag being damaged?

Ahhh thank you for catching that, I never write reviews and i'm not to good at it. I pretty much figured they would take the alcohol....we only tried to smuggle because most people seem to get away with it, it was ok though I did expect that and they did return it to us when we were disembarking the cruise, and I figured this is why the bg was late, so I wasn't mad about it arriving late either. I was upset about the broken bag. We just bought it the night before, it was a very expensive Samsonite 28 inch spinner suitcase. If it had gotten some marks or something like that on it I wouldn't have complained. But 2 wheels were not just snapped off but the bottom of the suitcase the hard plastic was shattered off and torn. It was unacceptable.

Good for you. Sounds like a pretty horrible experience.

Due to lack of options for me (vegatarian) we opted to never eat in the dining room again.

i'm a little curious as to what you feel cruise lines should be serving to fulfill the needs of a vegetarian. are you a true vegan, no dairy, eggs, fish or seafood. or are you just a non meat, poultry eater. i know my bff who is a vegetarian fills up on soups, appetizers, and salads, and gets sides of things like heated veggies and starches. she never goes hungry on a ship since they offer lots of fresh food options that she enjoys. she may miss out on a few protein staples that she eats at home but she has that issue in almost every land based restaurant.

So all in all, a few other bits of information for anyone brave enough to venture into Carnival....

we stayed at Best Western Golden Sails, the send and they pay for a taxi to bring you from the airport to the hotel, they also pay a taxi to take you to the cruise port and they pay a taxi to bring you back to the hotel after the cruise. We didn't need a taxi back to the hotel as our vacation was continuing on to Disneyland. So we took a supershuttle back to LGB to pick up our rental car. Super Shuttle is $11 per person from port to airport.

Also we canceled our prepayed tips and had them pay us out on the last night. We didt feel anyone deserved them..bottom line. We have NEVER not paid tips and given extra ever before on anyother cruise line. But this cruise was a mess, and people were rude, and quite frankly we just shouldn't have gone thru with the cruise. But we did, and I'm glad we did. Now we know that Carnival is a cruise line we will not ever try again.

The disembarkation process was the ONLY organized thing Carnival did.... took us 20 minutes to get off and thru customs. *For anyone wondering we still have not been compensated for the 6th night we paid for when we only had a 5 night cruise....they say we will be reimburssed by Feb.2 so we shall see. Good luck to anyone willing to spend their hard earned vacation dollars on carnival.

I'm pretty certain the staff was as glad to see you go as you were them. :(

Not cool, man.

People like you are the reason that the staff on the cruise ships have a low oppinion of the passengers. I feel sorry for everyone you came in contact with on the ship. Was that to harsh:rolleyes: I don't think so.

i am quite sure the op had a miserable cruise and nothing wrong with posting her experiences. and if i chose to spend my cruise locked up in my cabin with only the tv for entertainment i don't think i'd be posting about all the fun things we did either since i know how bored i can be watching that old boob tube. i'm also sorry that the op felt the need to remove her tips, not that she doesn't have the right but it always strikes me as a bit vindictive, punishing someone for her less than desirable experience.

if i hate an experience i just won't put myself in that position again and chalk it up as a lesson learned.

An honest Splendor review

Wow thanks for giving us an honest review. I am so sick of reading dishonest reviews.:rolleyes:

You sound like a peach.

Haha what I meant by honest...was to include all info that most people leave out of their reviews. Again these statements are just my opinion and its what happened to us. I did say how I liked the ship, and how much we liked our stateroom. Carnival has some good points, I never said they didn't. But the bad outweighed the good in our case. I'm not sure that anyone liked having their cruise cut short, missing a port, having the second day of a port cut way short, and I'm not sure anyone else would like their bag broken they just bought the night before. We didn't really pay attention to any staff except the ones we spoke to directly. I removed my tips because only 3 days our room was cleaned, the one time we spoke to the room steward he was rude. We only ate in the dining room 1 time. As for vegatarian food....I'm a non meat eater. No meat/fish/eggs. So I was hoping they had options like the other cruiselines I've been on. None of them have a plethera of options for vegatarians but they certainly have more than 1 thing on the menu. I've had quasadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, burritos, rice bowls etc. That we're all vegatarian on other lines. I was assuming they offered the same. That's all. I was not saying we had a horrible vacation at all, we were bored on the ship...yes. and did not enjoy the cruiseline. There were good points on the ship like the comedians and such but overall it wasn't for us. And yes we chalked it up to a lesson learned. We give everything a shot and if its not for us we don't do it again. This is why we only cruised rccl one time. It wasn't for us. We prefer disney and ncl.

Then you should definitely stay with the ones you were happy with. Doubt you will sway anyone else with that review. :rolleyes:

I am sorry you had a bad experience on the Splendor. A couple of years ago we sailed the Splendor to Mex. from Long Beach. All ports were cancelled due to WHO declaring Mex. dangerous due to Swine FLU. All my side trips were cancelled due to no ports. We did wind up in San Fran for a couple of hours and we had a ball. Was I upset all ports were cancelled? YES, but I made the most of a bad situation and still had a great cruise. We did receive 1/2 off our next cruise and we immed. booked the Miracle to Bermuda out of NYC. It was a great cruise. You can choose to live happy or miserable. Your Choice.

I wasn't trying to sway anyone at all. For some carnival may be an only option due to the higher cost of other cruiselines and that's fine with me. This was my first and only experience with carnival and it sucked. We did spend 3 days at disneyland and 2 days in los angeles so we more than made up for the rough cruise...and like I said cabo san lucan was amazingly beautiful, we wish our time there wasn't cut short by carnival. As I said this is my opinions and what happened to us....we did look everyday for stuff to do onboard but honestly we aren't gamblers, we don't like the contest stuff any cruiseline does, we don't like art shows, or spa's. Some other cruiselines do offer afternoon magic shows, comedy shows, etc. Carnival did not. However we did like the mini golf on board. So like I said I did list the high and lows and it just wasn't for us. Some of you flaming me act as if you work for carnival and u take my comments so personally. Its just opinions. Settle down.

Why was your stateroom only cleaned 3 times? Was it because you were occupying it? The steward won't come in if you are there. As to the rude behavior, sometimes it's a language barrier.

Are you aware that the tips for the food servers covers all food servers including the MDR and the Buffet. So even though you didn't eat in the MDR, someone was cleaning up after you in the other areas that you were eating in and you stiffed them too.

Just food for thought for the next time you consider removing tips. The crew depend upon those to supplement their salary.

I wasn't trying to sway anyone at all. For some carnival may be an only option due to the higher cost of other cruiselines and that's fine with me. This was my first and only experience with carnival and it sucked. We did spend 3 days at disneyland and 2 days in los angeles so we more than made up for the rough cruise...and like I said cabo san lucan was amazingly beautiful, we wish our time there wasn't cut short by carnival. As I said this is my opinions and what happened to us....we did look everyday for stuff to do onboard but honestly we aren't gamblers, we don't like the contest stuff any cruiseline does, we don't like art shows, or spa's. Some other cruiselines do offer afternoon magic shows, comedy shows, etc. Carnival did not. However we did like the mini golf on board. So like I said I did list the high and lows and it just wasn't for us. Some of you flaming me act as if you work for carnival and u take my comments so personally. Its just opinions. Settle down.

I don't think it's your opinions about the cruise experience that is ruffling all the feathers. It's the removal of gratuities that irks everyone(myself included). It's your choice to do so, but be prepared to be chastised for it.

Tony

I'm fully aware they rely on tips as part of their income. Like I said I have never ever removed tips before. We usually prepay tips and hand cash as well to show we are grateful for their services. This was just different, and we felt no one really cared if we were there or not. In my opinion in which I'm entitled too I personally felt everyone was doing bare minimum in some cases not even doing bare minimum. Only ones who were standard were the kids club counselers and guest services staff. Our room was only cleaned 3 times...we thought it was because we were in the room so we would leave and stay out for like 2 hours for lunch and we would leave for a few hours for dinner and on 2 occations our room was never cleaned in the afternoon or at nite. It was very strange. Our cruise info was always in our mailbox outside our door.

Actually my husband was gonna say something to the room steward about it...but instead I just informed guest services when I canceled tips and explained why I was doing it. I totally agree with the fact that they rely on it and maybe I stiffed others but I've never felt this was before and never removed tips. I didn't feel like I was sending a message. I was just at that point totally over it. I work hard to be able to vacation...and I work in customer service and I'm expected to be 100 percent at all times while at work and I expect the same from others. When I don't get 100 percent I don't feel I should reward them with a tip. Like rewarding for bad service....umm no thanks.

Sorry you had an unpleasant cruise with Carnival. Would you mind expanding on the differences between Disney and NCL that make your cruise different.

I might decide to give them a try.

Did you find the Tandoor for lunch or try the Indian Vegetarian for dinner? Both are excellant.

(The pineapple chutney on vanilla soft serve was one of my secret pleasures last November.)

It's just so unfortunate that your first (and likely, your only) cruise with Carnival had to be one that was clearly NOT the "normal" Carnival cruise. I know I'd have been upset at many of the things you experienced, but having been on a number of Carnival cruises, at least I would have the different perspective of knowing it was a spectacularly unusual (and not in a GOOD way!) Carnival cruise.

I'm fully aware they rely on tips as part of their income. Like I said I have never ever removed tips before. We usually prepay tips and hand cash as well to show we are grateful for their services. This was just different, and we felt no one really cared if we were there or not. In my opinion in which I'm entitled too I personally felt everyone was doing bare minimum in some cases not even doing bare minimum. Only ones who were standard were the kids club counselers and guest services staff. Our room was only cleaned 3 times...we thought it was because we were in the room so we would leave and stay out for like 2 hours for lunch and we would leave for a few hours for dinner and on 2 occations our room was never cleaned in the afternoon or at nite. It was very strange. Our cruise info was always in our mailbox outside our door.

Actually my husband was gonna say something to the room steward about it...but instead I just informed guest services when I canceled tips and explained why I was doing it. I totally agree with the fact that they rely on it and maybe I stiffed others but I've never felt this was before and never removed tips. I didn't feel like I was sending a message. I was just at that point totally over it. I work hard to be able to vacation...and I work in customer service and I'm expected to be 100 percent at all times while at work and I expect the same from others. When I don't get 100 percent I don't feel I should reward them with a tip. Like rewarding for bad service....umm no thanks.

Ignore other posters here, you did the right thing by removing the gratuities, especially because you were not satisfied with the service. As long as you don't regret taking them off, don't think too much on it. After our last cruise on the Carnival Miracle, I regret leaving them on. If I ever have a repeat of that cruise on Carnival or even on any line (most likely wont return for a long time,) I would give strong consideration to removing them.

OP, sorry you weren't satisfied with your cruise. You're right, Carnival isn't for you. I suggest you stay with Disney and NCL who you enjoy or try other cruise lines. You may enjoy Princess or Celebrity.

OP, I have read a couple of other reviews for your sailing in which guests also stated that the crew acted as if they couldn't wait for the sailing to be over with. They felt much the same as you have posted about the crew's demeanor.

I would suggest that if you have special dietary needs whether allergy or by choice, you are better off picking a dining time and having the same servers. My DS has Celiac and desserts are often really limited for him. Our server on the second night said, "I will make him a special dessert." And he did. One night he brought out a gorgeous fruit dish, another time it was an ice cream dish. He went out of his way because he knew my son and his dietary needs. I have to think that if you had been with the same servers and they knew what you could/would eat, they may have very likely gone out of their way to help you out.

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...We were shocked to arrive at 11:20am to the port and see a line we had to stand in that wrapped all around the terminal and up over by the queen mary. I thought "wow, I guess this is how the do it". It was cold but sunny, so we stood in the long line, and we stood, and stood and stood with NO ONE to tell us anything, or why we were standing and not moving. Everyone around us was complaining about why it was taking so long....it was very ridiculous and very unorganized. After 3 1/2 hours we were finally thru check in and security and working our way onto the ship looking for our room...

They can't begin the embarkation process until the ship is cleared. If you cruised 10x you should know this, no matter what cruise line you frequent. It only takes ONE person to mess up clearance. That's it. Just one. This happened on one of my cruises out of Miami years ago. It was very, very hot and we were waiting out in the sun for hours and an older gentleman actually had a medical emergency due to it. It wasn't good, but it is rare. Never happened again. If you wanted to know for certain what the issue was, one of you could have easily walked up to one of the ground employees.

We were starving since it was now 3:10. Upon arrival to our room our bags were waiting by our door...all except my husbands. OK on top of all this confussion his bag arrives 4 hours after ours...we had already set sail when it arrived.

so what, lolol? are you kidding? baggage can arrive up to 8 pm. That's why the first night's dining never has a dress code. this shouldn't have been "news" to you. and the fact that you had smuggled in a fifth and knew there was a chance it would be taken should have also prepared you for the potential for his bag to possibly be delivered later than yours.

Now we had just purchased his suitcase litterally the night before the cruise. The bag arrives with 2 wheels busted off the bottom of the suitcase with a tear in the bottom of the suitcase material and his bottle of Captain Morgan was removed which we half expected. I was Pissed. I headed with the broked bag and reciepts to guest services. They gave me a full refund for the suitcase, the extra night I had to pay in the hotel, the food we paid for the night before. This crruise was not off to a good start.

This is a bad start? sheesh. I had a suitcase busted once and i had to fill out a form! I didn't get reimbursed johnny-on-the-spot by the purser's desk, and I certainly didn't get hotel and food costs reimbursed for the night before. Didn't they give you an OBC for the missed day? I'd say the exact opposite! From where I'm sitting, your cruise looks like it was off to a pretty GOOD start considering the circumstances.

For dinner we just headed to the buffet...food looked really bad, and not much options at all, so we headed out to get some pizza. I will say the pizza is very very good. We ended up eating pizza for a meal everyday. They also had a Deli which became my saving grace as I am a vegatarian and they offered a veggie sandwich. Carnival doesn't offer much for vegatarians. We tried the Dining room on the 2nd night...we had the anytime dining which is again unorganized. There was a long line, we were given a buzzer and we stood around for 40 minutes waiting for a table. When we finally were seated the waitstaff was cold, not friendly and were very slow. It took 2 hours to be served fruit cups, soup, salad, and my husband had steak. We passed on the desserts because we felt uncomfortable. Due to lack of options for me (vegatarian) we opted to never eat in the dining room again. So our meals for the next few days were pizza and sandwiches.

I don't believe this for a second. if you failed to grab a deck plan, look at the capers closely, or check out the ship on here or elsewhere on line before you left, then you should have discussed the matter more completely with the purser's desk. this is common sense, as you were not only unfamiliar with this ship itself, but also with the cruise line.

there are tons of places to eat. nowadays there are more than ever before. some are hidden -- if you don't know about them, you might not find them until the last day or maybe not at all. There is simply no way in this world i'm buyin what you're sellin, that you couldn't find anything but sandwiches and pizza. and what sandwiches as a vegetarian? grilled cheese and arugula every day?

Cabo san Lucas was very nice, the people were very friendly and helpful, we did have a tour thru Johann and sandra which was the los archos tour...worth every penny! We ended that with a delicious lunch at Cabo Wabo.

hmmm, okay

We felt very ripped off as our 1st day in cabo was from 9:30am until 4pm and day 2 if you even can call it that was 7:30am - 1pm. I can't believe that Carnival can qualify that as a day!

so even though you had a good time, you are still unhappy? was the time in port switched? if not, didn't you see the port time clearly listed on the itinerary before you even booked it when looking at which sailing to pick? I'd love to stay in certain ports longer too, but the facts remain that: ships need to leave at certain times so they can get to the next one on time; and they need to share dock space with other liners.

We had a total of 3 1/2 sea days which we had hoped to fill up with fun stuff however..... it was a lot of stupid competitions (hairy chest) and the pool inside under the closed area was packed full of people, art shows bore us, we don't do spa's and there was really nothing else to do, so we decided to make of it what we could and spend some family time watching movies in our room....or so we thought. WHy did no one warn us that movies cost $10.99 per movie????? Jesus!!! Of all the cruise ships we have been on we have NEVER EVER paid for in room movies, they are free on every other cruise line. So we ended up watching a bunch of boring shows on tv for 3 1/2 days straight.

cannot imagine why you like to cruise. being out on deck is a great part of it. and go play mini golf or something if you don't want to sit out on deck or join an indoor activity. YOU chose to sit in your cabin all day long and watch movies....

oh, and you wonder why your cabin steward didn't come in to clean it, lol???

The nighttime shows were very good....we did enjoy those, the comedians were fantastic! We also enjoyed the mini golf of the ship as well. My son DID try out the kids club for his age group and he did enjoy it and went in 3 of the 5 days for a few hours.

We DID like the layout of the ship, we felt the interior was very nice, we LOVED our balcony room, the rooms are very spacious and nice.

Our room steward was very rude and never spoke to us, we asked him once to unlock our refridgerator to which he replied with a sigh like we were bothering him. The only people who really were nice to us and spoke to us was guest services. They were great, and the kids club counselor was great as well.

I see a lot of "LIKES" in here and yet you still removed your tips.:rolleyes: Having cruised this line so much, i know that some of the things you mention are complete aberrations. But, after reading your own words, i wouldn't even suggest you give it another try. I cldn't do that to the crew, lol!

I'd suggest sticking to your preferred lines, fo' sure.