My Solo Splendor repo cruise (with pics) 10/24/14

Hello again everybody!! I’m Jeff “Jamman” Maskall, and I am a Cruise Addict!! I’ve just returned from another GREAT cruise on Carnival, this time back on board the Carnival Splendor. This was an 8 day repositioning cruise that started in New York, and ended in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In between were 3 sea days, followed by port calls at St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, and St. Maarten. I had never been to St. Kitts or Antigua before, so I was excited to be going to these ports for the very first time.

I did this cruise as a solo, because since Patti is a teacher, there was no way she could take off. I look forward to the day when she is able to retire, and we can cruise anytime of the year together. Shortly after getting off the Liberty in August, I received one of the Diamond offers, for the “almost” free cruises, which I’m sure by now, almost everybody has heard about. Book an inside for $100, get $100 OBC, just pay the port taxes and fees. Yes, that one. How could I resist? So with Patti’s blessing I booked it, though I did upgrade to a balcony cabin, and because I was sailing solo, I had to pay double, but it still was a very good deal for me. I will tell you that in 36 Carnival cruises, this was the FIRST time an offer like this came my way, so there is hope for everyone out there!!

I just want to mention that my cruise was really just the first half of the Splendor’s repositioning cruises. The cruise after ours would be sailing from San Juan, and ending up in Miami, which will be the Splendor’s winter home. They will be visiting completely different ports as well. My picture review buddy gapearl is aboard that cruise, so I know we’ll be hearing from her once she gets back. Hope you are having a GREAT cruise Kim!!!

As I said in my previous reviews, my goal is to make you feel like you are along for the ride, to see if the Splendor is the right ship for you, and to give you a glimpse of the port of calls. So without further ado, let’s get this party started!!

Friday, October 24th is finally here!! It’s a cloudy, cool day, but it’s better than the previous two days where it rained nonstop. The weatherman says that it will be sunny and about 60 degrees for our sail away this afternoon. I’ll take it!

The car service arrived right on time at 9:30, for what should be about an hour ride to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. It took a little longer because traffic in midtown was horrific, so I was dropped off just before 11am. I gave the porter my one bag, watched him put the orange FTTF tape on it, and then made my way inside the terminal.

Before you could get in any line, you had to fill out a health questionnaire, which only took a minute or so. Then as you entered your line, an agent would review your form, and then sign off on it. This was no big deal. The big deal was what I saw after going through the scanner, and that was the line extending out from the VIP lounge. Then it hit me. With the Diamond offer that was later offered to some of the Platinum members, this cruise was going to be overflowing with VIP members. There was no way that the VIP lounge was going to handle that. So what they did to expedite the VIP’s was take small groups of VIP’s at a time, take their boarding passes, go get their Sail & Sign cards, and then lead them to the regular lines to be processed. It still was slow getting checked in, took me about 45 minutes or so, but I was done before boarding began. At 11:50 they began boarding Diamonds and Platinums, so I was among the first 30 or so to board the ship, and as you can see, I’m smiling ear to ear…..

It’s great to be back on the Splendor again. My first view is of the Atrium elevators…..

The Shore Excursion Desk in the Lobby, port side…..

Shore Excursion Desk info…..

Guest Services, in the Lobby, starboard side…..

To be continued…..

I am looking forward to your review. Already I can see you had a good time, but missed your better half :)

YES! Another awesome Jamman review! Can't wait for more! :)

The Splendor Lobby Bar…..

My first Thirsty Frog Red of the cruise…..

I am planning to purchase the Cheers program, but on New York sailings, they don’t start selling them until 7pm. I’ll talk more about the Cheers Program later.

The Welcome sign for Diamonds, Platinums, and FTTF on the big doors…..

My cabin is located right by the Atrium elevators, on the port side…..

It is a standard balcony cabin…..

To be continued…..

Here is my balcony. It came with two chairs, one which reclined, and a small table…..

Looking forward from my balcony towards the bridge….

Looking aft from my balcony. You can see we are being refueled…..

Standard Carnival bathroom sink…..

And shower…..

To be continued…..

Oh, I love your reviews, and our next cruise will be on Splendor. You take amazing pictures, I can't wait to get a preview of what I will see. Thanks for taking time to do this!

The safe is the keypad type…..

The fully stocked mini bar…..

Welcome Aboard drink coupon and ship’s pin…..

Muster instructions on the cabin door…..

Looking down to the Lobby floor from Deck 8…..

The Splendido Pool area…..

To be continued…..

The Splendido Pool Bar – port side…..

The Splendido Pool Bar – starboard side…..

My version of the Carnival webcam view…..

Another view of the Splendido Pool area…..

Off the Grill – Get your burgers and hot dogs here…..

The Pizza Pirate…..

To be continued…..

OK you convinced me I have to go on this ship:)

I will be on the Splendor in March, LOVE your pictures!

Love it! Keep the info coming. 101 more days and we will be aboard!

Does the Splendor have a closed in feeling?

Seems everything is closed in. Maybe its the view of the pics.

Example is the picture with the grill--

or the The Splendido Pool area….. where people are sitting at tables---

My first Thirsty Frog Red of the cruise…..

I read your Liberty review and noticed that you seem to enjoy your beer. :)

Is the Thirsty Frog Red similar to Killian's Red and the like. I know it is brewed by InBev (AB's new owner) which I normally steer away from as a craft beer guy but am curious as to how it tastes and what you normally drink at home. :)

Also, being that it was in season do you remember if they have Samuel Adams Octoberfest onboard?

Enjoying the review already! (of course)

Oh man. I'm so excited to read this. Best reviewer on CC.

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Way to go Jeff! Another good start to a great review. I thinkwe have seen this ship before......;):)

Thanks for doing this review Jamman. Looks like you're off to a great start and I can't wait to read more. I've never gone on a cruise from NYC but family members have and hey enjoyed the experience. Only drawback is traffic getting to the port and expensive parking once there. It's one of the few ports I could sail from without having to fly in beforehand though. The decor and layout seems neat and actually pretty different from the Breeze, the last large Carnival ship I was on.

Does the Splendor have a closed in feeling?

 

Seems everything is closed in. Maybe its the view of the pics.

Example is the picture with the grill--

or the The Splendido Pool area….. where people are sitting at tables---

It might seem that way when the sliding dome is closed, but once they open it up, not so much. The Lido deck both fore and aft, is what makes this ship different from the Conquest class ships. There aft pool on the Splendor is wide open, as opposed to the closed in aft pool on the Conquest class.

I read your Liberty review and noticed that you seem to enjoy your beer. :)

 

Is the Thirsty Frog Red similar to Killian's Red and the like. I know it is brewed by InBev (AB's new owner) which I normally steer away from as a craft beer guy but am curious as to how it tastes and what you normally drink at home. :)

 

Also, being that it was in season do you remember if they have Samuel Adams Octoberfest onboard?

 

Enjoying the review already! (of course)

TFR is very similar to Killian's Red. When I'm back in New Jersey I normally will drink Stella or Blue Moon drafts. I know they had Sam Adams on board, but not sure if they had the Oktoberfest.

Way to go Jeff! Another good start to a great review. I thinkwe have seen this ship before......;):)

Hey Jimbo! Somehow I was expecting you to make this cruise.....

Hey Jimbo! Somehow I was expecting you to make this cruise.....

Wish I was on it! Can't wait to hear more about it.

The Mongolian Wok. Get here when it opens or you could have a long wait…..

One of the Grand Buffet lines…..

Splendido Lido Restaurant seating, starboard side…..

The Sweet Spot…..

The Burrito Bar…..

To be continued…..

Love reading your reviews. Glad there is another one so soon and looking forward to reading the rest.

Go up these stairs to get to the Rotisserie, located on Deck 10 aft…..

The Rotisserie…..

The salad bar. The tomatoes and mozzarella cheese were missing. In fact they were missing every time I went up there!!

Baked potatoes, corn, chicken and macaroni and cheese…..

Cornbread, gravy, and other fixings…..

This was my first lunch of the cruise. It was all good except the potato salad, which was very bland…..

To be continued…..

Hey Jimbo! Somehow I was expecting you to make this cruise.....

Wish I was on it! Can't wait to hear more about it. Did not get that offer (still 2 away from our Diamond status), but will be there soon! We would not have been able to go anyway. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

Seating on Deck 10 by the Rotisserie was never crowded, even during the breakfast and lunch rushes…..

Looking down at the Sweet Spot…..

The Liner Pool and hot tubs, Deck 9 aft…..

The Deli, Deck 9 aft, port side…..

At 2pm it was time for the roll call informal meet and greet to take place at the Liner Bar, Deck 9 aft, port side. We had a pretty good turnout and a good time was had by all, as the following photos show. As usual, to protect the identities of the guilty, (and innocent), I will not identify anyone by name, but if you are following along, and I know some of you are, feel free to chime in and identify yourselves if you want to…..

To be continued…..