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

[gusandgidgetsmom]

Try motion-ease. You put a drop behind your ear and you are all set. I was on this same cruise and my Grandson used it. The one night he forgot it he said he felt bad. No sleepiness like Dramamine. You can get it at Walmart. Recommended to us by an Amish doctor.

I'm just going to give him the Children's Dramamine, and I think he will be fine. I just tend to be neurotic about these things. ;)

[gusandgidgetsmom]

We have been going to HMC for some time now- I think it was our 8th time during the same cruise Kath was on. Our fruit has always looked like that but this time we got whole apples, oranges and pears. Not a fan of them. Had been looking forward to pineapple and melon cut up. When was this? As I am afraid they changed things.

Cabana snacks....

 

[Jamman54]

We have been going to HMC for some time now- I think it was our 8th time during the same cruise Kath was on. Our fruit has always looked like that but this time we got whole apples, oranges and pears. Not a fan of them. Had been looking forward to pineapple and melon cut up. When was this? As I am afraid they changed things.

 

I took that picture last August.

[caro1998]

My thanks to both of you! The map of the island was helpful as well :)

Caro

 

 

No worries, I almost did the same thing! Guess we have cabanas on the brain!! :D

[gusandgidgetsmom]

Can you not take the train to Penn Station? We took the train (ended up 21 hours-never again!) but took it to Penn Station. From there it is only a 10.00 cab ride or only a 16.00 fee for a hired town car for 4 people and all our luggage. We were dropped off right at the front door of the pier on second level and picked up there as well.

I'm leaving from NYC next April (two-hundred eighty-something long days away!), and we're planning on taking the train and the bus. Will be a bit of a pain with luggage, but we're cheap! I may see if my lovely SIL will drive us, she has a huge van, but she may not have the same school break we have. I guess I could check if CT Limo has a ride to the pier, but they take so long because they have to stop all over the place to pick up customers.

[Cyber Kat]

Your DH is OK in my book!!! I am a big Devils fan. Was a season ticket holder for years, and I have never missed a Home Devils Playoff Game!!

 

 

We both love hockey and the Devils (My license plate is HOCKEY!). We had season tickets from the beginning until they moved to Newark. I work in Whippany and it was too hard to make the games so we gave them up :(

 

We were at the 1995 Stanley Cup win and the one in 2003. Awesome moments for a hockey fan! And we have one of those pics with the Stanley Cup. It was nice that they did that.

[Cyber Kat]

Do they also pick you up & provide door to door service at the end of the day? It was so hot the day we were at HMC that we will definitely get a cabana next time. And there WILL be a next time as we absolutely LOVED the Splendor. We don't need all of the bells & whistles of the bigger newer ships as we wouldn't be interested in rock climbing walls, zip lines, & such. However, we LOVED all of the live music options all around the ship. We were very pleasantly surprised!

 

I don't know about the return trip. We didn't want to stand in a really long line to go back to the ship so we left a bit early - I think it was 2:30. It looked like the jitneys were going past and we probably could have flagged one down, but we walked over to the BBQ area - which was quite close - and caught it there.

 

We're not into all the bells and whistles either. The Splendor had plenty to keep us entertained.

[Cyber Kat]

Hi,

Where do you go to rent one of those "clamshells" are there areas spread through out the beach? I am wondering the same thing about towels?

 

Thanks!

Caro

 

There are 2 - possibly 3 places to rent the clam shells spaced down the beach. If you get a cabana, they provide towels. I think there is also a place you can get towels with your S&S card. If you bring them back, you don't get charged. It works like the one up by the pool on the ship - but I'd check before you get off.

[Cyber Kat]

It is an excursion through Carnival. They book up fast. They are in a row along the beach.

 

The cabanas and villas are booked through the excursions on carnival.com or through your PVP or TA. You pay for and get the clam shells (with S&S) on the island. There are shacks/stations that rent the clam shells and some water toys like giant tubes, kayaks and those 2 person sail boats - sunfish, I think they call them and also paddle boats.

[JNicho4920]

I'm sailing on the Splendor in Oct and I am taking the train to Penn Station from central NY....the Albany area.....was thinking about taking a cab from there to the pier but the town car sounds much better...how can I get info about that...would really appreciate and help

 

Thank you

Terri

[Cyber Kat]

A few tidbits about Half Moon Cay ...

From Wikipedia "Little San Salvador Island, also known as Half Moon Cay, is one of about 700 islands that make up the archipelago of The Bahamas. It is located roughly halfway between Eleuthera and Cat Island. It is a private island, owned by Holland America Line, which uses it as a port of call for the cruise ships it operates in the region. Prior to being owned by Carnival Corp, Little San Salvador was the private island of Norwegian Cruise Line."

 

It has the most gorgeous beach with soft white sand and tropical blue clear water.

 

Because it's owned by Carnival corporation (through their acquisition of Holland America Lines), you pay for everything with your S&S card - except for the little shops by the tender dock - which are run by local Bahamians.

 

Food and soft drinks are free, but alcoholic beverages are not. Prices are pretty much the same as on the ship, but they have a few specialty drinks as well. They had a couple of things you can buy by the pitcher. A bucket of beers is more than on the ship because you don't get the discount. It is nice having the ice and the bucket.

 

If you get the Cheers program - it's not available on the island. I'm sure it's because they don't have the computers, so they can't verify who you are and whether you've reached your 15 drink limit.

 

When you arrive at the island from the tender, there is a dock and a short walk to the main square - I thought sure I had a photo of the square, but I can't find it. It's pretty - there's a fountain, and a bar, some shops and the desk for the shore excursions.

 

Right at the end of the dock area, there is a stand that has lemonade and water. It's free - make sure you drink LOTS of water. And put on sunscreen often. The sun is intense and it is HOT.

 

They have stations set up to do the usual pier side photos.

 

As I mentioned in the previous post they took us in the jitney, right to the cabana.

 

Here's what it looks like inside ...

 

Those lounge chairs were soooo comfy - the cushions are nice and soft. The fan is a misting fan to cool you off. There is an air conditioner, but we didn't need it. It was fine with the fan and the open windows and the shade. The red cooler contained the soda and 3 water bottles and ice. You get 2 big water bottles, but I mentioned that we don't drink soda, but we wanted the water. I think that's why we got 3.

 

It also had the fruit. We got a plate of whole apples, one of whole oranges and one of pears. People have said they got cut up melon and pineapple. I'm guessing it's whatever they have the most of on the ship. There were bowls of apples, oranges and pears at the buffet throughout the cruise.

 

We also had a humongous bag of tortilla chips! I think it must have been the ones they refill the bowl at the Burrito Bar with. It was definitely commercial size. They were very salty - which is good in hot weather - and I wished I'd brought the leftovers back to the ship for our cabin.

 

We also had sour cream, salsa and guacamole. The salsa and guacamole were quite tasty and we made quick work of that!

 

We could have had 4 pairs of swim fins and 4 snorkels, but we said we wouldn't be using them, so they didn't bring them. We did have the nice foam floats which were great in the water.

 

And they brought us towels as well.

 

Here's another shot of the inside ...

 

Here's the view from the lounge chair ...

 

 

Once again, this is Terra Cotta cabana #13 - for those picking out cabanas in the future.

 

And here is a shot DH took of them using the lifeboat as a tender ...

 

He has a longer telephoto than I have.

 

Here are some shots of the beach ...

 

 

That's my 6 photos so follow me down to the next post so I can put in some more ...

[Cyber Kat]

After our snacks, we did some swimming and floating around. The water was gorgeous - not to warm, not to cold - just right! I could have stayed there all day. But we were thirsty and it was Noon - time for a drink!

 

It was so nice to have the shower there to wash off the sand!

 

My sister and I headed for the bathrooms and the bar which were both just one villa and 2 cabanas down the road. There is a path that's a bit cooler, but it's easier to walk on the road.

 

These are a few shots I took on our last cruise to HMC ...

Pirate Bar

 

A view of the ship from inside the pirate bar

 

We got a bucket of beers for DH and my sister and I each got a frozen concoction. I think I had a Mango Daiquiri and my sister had some kind of Pirate Punch. Both were yummy! It was rather nice carrying the bucket of iced beer back to the cabana - it was cold!

 

We put the beer in the fridge and poured the ice into the cooler to keep the water cold. The bottles didn't all fit in the fridge.

 

 

Some beach shots from the porch of the Pirate Bar

 

 

You can see the various water toys in these photos and the parasailing.

 

We waited a bit and sipped our drinks in the shade, and then we headed off to the BBQ to get some lunch. DH isn't much of a lunch person, so he asked us to just bring him back some fruit and chocolate chip cookies if they had them - which they did!

 

They have hamburgers, hot dogs and jerk chicken at the barbeque. I had a burger and it was okay. I should have remembered how good the hot dogs were and gotten one of them. I hesitated on getting the chicken, because jerk seasoning is usually too spicy for me, but my sister said it was good and NOT too spicy. Next time!

 

The salads they put out are really good, so I filled my plate with them. They have no trays so if you are bringing food back to a cabana or even if you are just going to sit at one of the tables near the BBQ, you have to get creative.

 

My 2 plate solution for the buffet proved very useful here. I had my hamburger and the salads on 1 plate, I covered it with the other, then I was able to put a 3rd plate on top with the deserts - yummy cakes, brownies, cookies and lots of fruit!

 

My sister had pockets in her shirt so she put the utensils, salt, pepper and ketchup packets in her pocket. We each tucked some napkins under our arms and off we went. Just a short walk to the cabana.

 

We ate our lunch at the nice table with the fans blowing on us - it was lovely!

 

We went for another swim. It was really strange. The people who were in the villa that was next to our cabana were the same people we were sitting next to at Grand Turk - what are the odds? We had a nice chat chilling out in the water.

 

She told us the villas have a hot tub. Lounge chairs on both porches and the best part - they have a bathroom right in the cabana! They are around $500 for 8 people - not bad if you split it.

 

BTW - these new villas don't really interfere with the view from the cabanas. If you get one that's between 2 villas, you won't be able to see up and down the beach from the "porch" of the cabana, but the view ahead is unobstructed.

 

We left about 2:30 because we wanted to avoid the long hot wait for the tender back. If you are platinum, diamond or get FTTF (which wasn't available on our cruise) you do NOT get priority boarding going back to the ship. You stand in the hot sun along with everyone else!

 

DH took this photo of the ship as we headed back to catch the jitney bus back to the dock.

 

That's one of the hammocks that are scattered about in the shade. If you are lucky enough to find one that is unoccupied - go for it. There is no charge and they don't belong to the cabanas or villas.

 

When we go to the dock, the line wasn't too long, but we were only standing there about 5 minutes when I turned around and the size of the line had tripled in just that little amount of time.

 

There were 3 tenders that came in one after another, so the line moved quickly, but I advise you to bring an umbrella - it made all the difference between this wait and our last one.

 

Here's a picture of the ship from the tender on our way back

 

 

That's 6 pics so to be continued ...

[Jamman54]

Kath, your pics are making me drool!!! :D HMC is my favorite port of call. Can't wait to be there in August!!!

[gusandgidgetsmom]

go to dial7's web site. You can book on line. extremely easy and only 16.00 + tip.

I'm sailing on the Splendor in Oct and I am taking the train to Penn Station from central NY....the Albany area.....was thinking about taking a cab from there to the pier but the town car sounds much better...how can I get info about that...would really appreciate and help

 

Thank you

Terri

[gusandgidgetsmom]

Trams run about every 15 minutes or so on the island. Just go up to the road and stand and one will pick you up. We took the last tender back and we just jumped on the tram and rode it around the island to the nice long line that had formed. Of course we knew there was going to be a line as always but we just have a hard time leaving before the end!

[Cyber Kat]

Trams run about every 15 minutes or so on the island. Just go up to the road and stand and one will pick you up. We took the last tender back and we just jumped on the tram and rode it around the island to the nice long line that had formed. Of course we knew there was going to be a line as always but we just have a hard time leaving before the end!

 

I would have stayed longer, but once again like with ATD, I was outvoted :D DH and Sue didn't want to stand in the long line!

[Cyber Kat]

We took some photos of the island from the ship when we got back. We ended up leaving later, because of the whole issue with the broken down tender. I think they let people stay on a bit longer - or people took it on themselves to stay a bit longer. Can't say as I blame them!

 

 

 

I don't know what this smoke was. At first I thought it was the BBQ area, but it was in the wrong place.

 

 

This is the dock area where the tenders go.

 

 

I think I took these from the side piece of our balcony ...

 

I took this one more for the clouds than the island ...

 

And that's six!

 

We walked around the ship, had some sushi and another drink and then we went down to the cabin to get ready for another MDR dinner!

 

Be back later!

[sailorJo]

We took some photos of the island from the ship when we got back. We ended up leaving later, because of the whole issue with the broken down tender. I think they let people stay on a bit longer - or people took it on themselves to stay a bit longer. Can't say as I blame them!

 

 

Kath, I agree with Jamman that your pictures are drool material. It's enough to want to put myself on the waiting list for a cabana, although I think it's a little pricy for just 2 people. Have to speak to DH about that and see what he thinks :rolleyes:.

 

I can't wait for my first visit to HMC. Six days to go!:)

[JNicho4920]

Kath...thank you so much for such a wonderful review...I find myself running to the computer to see your updates and pictures....it makes me even more excited about my cruise...right now I'm cruising vicariously through your pictures...thank you again

[thomarvin]

OMG. I love all your pictures. I am glad I talked my sister into getting a cabana (we are sharing the cost). I am sure she is too :p

[keene state mom]

OMG. I love all your pictures. I am glad I talked my sister into getting a cabana (we are sharing the cost). I am sure she is too :p

 

 

yes I am !!!! lol...

Kathy what number Cabana is in the middle of the two big ones. I am really loving your review, the photos are beautiful.

 

 

 

[caro1998]

There will definitely be both Taxis and Towncars lined up right outside of Penn Station at the 33rd Street exit (exit nearest Amtrak). The only time you may be out of luck is if it is raining.

 

Caro

 

I'm sailing on the Splendor in Oct and I am taking the train to Penn Station from central NY....the Albany area.....was thinking about taking a cab from there to the pier but the town car sounds much better...how can I get info about that...would really appreciate and help

 

Thank you

Terri

[gusandgidgetsmom]

The cabana's between the two large villa's start at number 9 (the one we have had for 8 times and had on the same cruise as Kath and go up consecutively from there. There is a bathroom right behind 9 and 10.

yes I am !!!! lol...

 

Kathy what number Cabana is in the middle of the two big ones. I am really loving your review, the photos are beautiful.

 

 

 

[Cyber Kat]

yes I am !!!! lol...

 

Kathy what number Cabana is in the middle of the two big ones. I am really loving your review, the photos are beautiful.

 

Thanks! I know ours was 13, after us was 14 and 15. There was a villa next to us and then 4 cabanas, I think - which would be 12, 11, 10 and 9 - then another Villa and either 3 or 4 cabanas before there is another villa. There are 3 villas next to each other - then more cabanas.

 

I'd take anything from 9 or 10 up. The beach was less crowded there and you are near, bathrooms, the pirate bar and the BBQ area.

[Cyber Kat]

There will definitely be both Taxis and Towncars lined up right outside of Penn Station at the 33rd Street exit (exit nearest Amtrak). The only time you may be out of luck is if it is raining.

 

Caro

 

FYI - the town cars can't pick up passengers unless they have been called. Only the yellow cabs can pick up passengers at taxi stands or by hailing on the street.

 

There are some gypsy cabs that will try to pick up passengers - but it is against regulations to do so. The NY Taxi and Limousine Commission strictly regulates the business.