My first review attempt!!! – Carnival Splendor May 12-20th w/pics!!

[cruisinbabs]

I am back.. I am so sorry for the delay.. life has been a tad busy.. but I have not forgotten about my CC peeps!!! So lets continue!.....

 

 

After getting our safety briefing and the other 2 sets of people get their turn, it is finally our time to board!

 

When they ask you your weight.. remember you are not at the DMV and they need it for balancing the helicopter for the flight.. SO NO LYING!

 

---Our turn! (mom would kill me for getting backside shot.. lol.. oh well!)

 

---I LOVE MOMS SMILE!!!

 

Her and I were both excited to do something we never thought we would ever do... Hubs on the other hand being prior military this was nothing new to him but he was excited for us and still enjoyed the ride...

 

Just a lil teaser for now.. gotta go to lunch and I will be back!!!

[cruisinbabs]

We tested our headsets to make sure they were working.. weird to get used to how they work but you get the hang of it pretty quick.

 

The pilot was super nice and you can totally tell he loves what he is doing. He is a retired military pilot and does this for fun.. shoot, I need to figure out how to live on a island for "fun" but still be able to pay some bills.. lol...

 

The take off was different.. so weird you just go .. well.. up! I was giddy like it was Christmas morning!

 

---I mean... seriously... just wow.

 

 

 

---I love the color of this section of water... unreal.

 

 

---Oh you know.. just circling the island... you can see the ships way off in the distance.

[cruisinbabs]

---Rounding the lighthouse.

 

It got beat up during Hurricane Ike pretty bad... Also come to find out wayyyyy before any of our time if the island was low on supplies they would turn off the lighthouse light and let ships run into the shallow reef so they could loot it.. what would you call them??.. Land pirates???

 

---This is what is left of a 200 year old ship wreck.

 

 

---One of my most favorite pictures from the helicopter. Love how you can see the stark contrast of the shallow water and then the "wall"

 

I ended up submitting this pic on John Healds page and he used it for a cover photo for a day. Love that guy!

 

 

[cruisinbabs]

 

---One of my other favorite pictures. The ships almost look fake! But I guarantee you this photo was not edited in any way. Loved being able to peak down at the Liberty too... hehehe

 

 

 

Then just like that... our ride came to an end... we were in the air for I believe 15 minutes.. island is not that big so it goes pretty fast. The pilot warned us ahead of time that as we land, the helicopter shudders right before you touchdown.. glad he warned us cause I would have been like "what IS happening??"... he said he had a lady freak out on him one time and after that he started letting people know what to expect.

 

We took off our emergency packs off our waists, handed them back to the ladies running the desk, hopped back into the van for them to shuttle us back to the cruise ship center.

 

---uhhhh... yea... ummm... OUCH??.. 'NUFF SAID

[jbhcw]

Absolutely amazing pictures:):):) thanks!!

[Garycruz]

I'm really enjoying your review. These are some of the most amazing pictures I've ever seen. You really do get some breathtaking views from a helicopter. Very different perspective. Thank you for sharing. :)

[cruisinbabs]

Absolutely amazing pictures:):):) thanks!!

 

 

Why thank you and you are welcome.. I have no fancy equipment by any means.. just a nikon coolpix point and shoot camera. woo!:D

[cruisinbabs]

I'm really enjoying your review. These are some of the most amazing pictures I've ever seen. You really do get some breathtaking views from a helicopter. Very different perspective. Thank you for sharing. :)

 

 

Thank you so much gary! It was hard for me to see how they turned out besides what i could see on my camera screen.. so I was hoping they turned out ok.. hubs took some shots too because i couldnt reach over to take a pic off the left side of the helicopter..

 

the experience was truly amazing and for me.. worth the 139.99... Im in the caribbean, on vacation.. meh why not?! :-)

[jeanneful]

This was all worth the wait!! Thanks so much for this awesome review!!!

[cruisinbabs]

This was all worth the wait!! Thanks so much for this awesome review!!!

 

Glad you were able to hang out and wait.. again I do apologize for the wait.. been busy busy bee since I got back... work(waaa!!!), mommyhood, appointments, back to roller derby practice... daily grind.. gotta pay for the next vacate somehow right?? :)

 

I am going to post some more of grand turk here shortly.. (im at work "multi-tasking")

[Mrsfabo]

Beautiful review question how did you enjoy being on the boat for 21/2 days?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[pirate4me2]

Those pictures are amazing!!

[cruisinbabs]

Beautiful review question how did you enjoy being on the boat for 21/2 days?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

thank you mrsfabo.. :-)

 

answer: i actually really enjoyed being on the ship for 2 1/2 days before first port.. it was different but I really enjoyed it!!!

[cruisinbabs]

Those pictures are amazing!!

 

 

thank you pirate!! i was super excited when i downloaded them off my sd card and they came out better looking than what i could see on the grainy screen. :-)

[Jamman54]

Finally caught up reading your review. You are doing an AWESOME job!! Looking forward to the rest!!

 

We get a cabana every time we go to GT now. Well worth it for us. When we are back in GT in August on the Liberty, The Splendor will be there with us.

[cruisinbabs]

So we get back to the cruise ship center and before we went on the helicopter, we were on a mission to find her a sun hat that we would come back and get after the helicopter ride so we didnt have to lug it there..... she has a hard time finding one for her small noggin but low and behold we found her one with an adjustable band so it wouldnt flop around on her head.. She said best 30 bucks spent on a hat and they even had her favorite color... purple!

 

---My mom is just so darn cute!!!

 

---Tourist?? I see no tourist here.. lol!!! Love the bag she found!

 

 

She also wanted another bag to carry because the black one with just the strings was killing her shoulders.. fair enough.. found the hat and the bag in the same store.. SCORE!!

 

So now mom has her hat and bag... our next mission was to head to Jack's Shack.. They wanted to walk there via the street.. I said "heck no!! We are in Grand Turk.. we are walking on the beach!!!"

 

---Of course we had to stop by the official Grand Turk weather station.. Yup it's sunny!

 

So we trek on down the beach.. (mom and hubs complaining the whole time.. lol)... Time for a ship picture!

 

 

So here's the deal.. we get to Jack's Shack.. I know that place is always packed but people were saying they had been there an hour and still had no food... which I knew from researching before we went...

 

HOWEVER... by this time we are some starvin marvins and we are ready to eat and relax.. I am super lame and didnt get any pictures at Jack's Shack, I saw Topher in person, nope no pictures of him either because he was surrounded by group of people and he was living it up.. you know.. that deamn dog has the life... seriously has it good.. lucky dog!! When I die, please bring me back as a pup so Jack can adopt me and bring me home.. I promise I would be the best dog EVER!!!

 

So we decide to leave, this time we take the street behind Jack's Shack to start walking towards cruise ship center to get back on board to eat.. still not too bad of a view.. but I prefer to walk on the beach.. lol..

 

---Beachfront property anyone??

[TeamLincoln]

So enjoying this! Thanks for taking the time to do it (even if you're doing it at work-shhhhh!) Quick question you might be able to help with, please: if I'm not mistaken, you have to have 25 sail days under your belt to become gold. Do you already have to have 25 days prior to the sailing, or do they count the days of the cruise you're on? For instance, we currently have 21 days and are taking an 8-day for our next cruise. Will we be gold for this cruise, or have to wait until our next cruise when we'll start with 29 days? Seems silly, I know, but I want that gold card! Thanks again for the review-totally enjoying every second of it and living vicariously though you! - Jennifer

 

Sent from my SCH-I800 using Forums mobile app

[cruisinbabs]

So enjoying this! Thanks for taking the time to do it (even if you're doing it at work-shhhhh!) Quick question you might be able to help with, please: if I'm not mistaken, you have to have 25 sail days under your belt to become gold. Do you already have to have 25 days prior to the sailing, or do they count the days of the cruise you're on? For instance, we currently have 21 days and are taking an 8-day for our next cruise. Will we be gold for this cruise, or have to wait until our next cruise when we'll start with 29 days? Seems silly, I know, but I want that gold card! Thanks again for the review-totally enjoying every second of it and living vicariously though you! - Jennifer

 

Sent from my SCH-I800 using Forums mobile app

 

 

Thank you for the nice words on the review. :-)

 

No it's not silly... Gold card is serious business!!! Lol.

 

When you check in you will get your gold card and your pin in your cabin! Woohoo!!!!

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[cruisinbabs]

Finally caught up reading your review. You are doing an AWESOME job!! Looking forward to the rest!!

 

We get a cabana every time we go to GT now. Well worth it for us. When we are back in GT in August on the Liberty, The Splendor will be there with us.

 

Jamman, thank you so much. You are too sweet. my thoughts have been with you and your family during your difficult time. I cried myself to sleep when i read your post. my heart was so heavy. i gave my son extra kisses and hugs that night as well and every day since then. (((hugs)))

 

I think next time i go to GT i will get a cabana for sure!

[cruisinbabs]

So we were walking behind these houses on the road behind it.. before it curved to the left, we hung a right cause some Splendidos were sitting under a pop up tent next to another hut serving food.. jerk chicken etc... We decided to order a plate to share.. it was really good!!!! plate of food, can of diet pepsi for me and mom and a turk beer for the husband.. 11 bucks... not too shabby. Jacks shack too busy for you, check out this place.. We hung out and chit chatted for a lil while to rest our feet and enjoy the scenery before heading back to the ship.

 

---Took this picture from the place we ate at

 

---Such a good hubby carrying mom's bag for her....

 

---Stopped in Margaritaville to grab some souvenirs and I thought this quote was quite funny.

 

After spending the last of our dollars we took ashore, back to the ship we go.. we were hot, tired and just beat.

 

Now, if you wanna buy some booze do it in Grand Turk!!... HOLY CANOLIS... if we didn't have to fly across country I would have bought a lot... now, if you live in New York or you drove to the port.. Stock up on your booze.. I would have..

 

 

---Stranger taking a pic, and they didnt know how to work my camera.. so it came out a tad blurry.

 

---Time to go people!!!!!

[cruisinbabs]

---Again mom being her cute self..

 

---I don't wanna leave... and I officially suck at taking selfies with the regular camera.. lol

 

---Ahhh... home sweet home...

 

---Went back to our cabin to drop off our stuff from being in port and this was our view... not a bad day at the office.

 

Hubs decided to stay on our balcony (he was exhausted and sore) to watch sail away while mom and I went to the aft of the ship for sailaway

[Syrenitee]

Love, love, love your review thus far. I'm going on my first cruise ever in Aug. this is the first review I just so happen to stumble upon, and I am soooooo glad I did! Can't wait to read some more.

[ibcnusoon]

Really enjoying your review, taking this same cruise next week! I have a few questions.

 

On Grand Turk, it looks like people brought their own beach umbrella (looking at the picture of the conch). I'm thinking that's not a bad idea, we are driving in and those beach umbrellas are fairly light.

 

We are also planning on going to Jack's Shack but I've now seen the prices of food and drink and I find it fairly expensive. We still may walk down to pet Topher and the other dog, and a cat or two, but may eat and grab a drink from the other establishment called The Local Village Bar. It's supposedly right on the other side of the boundary of Margaritaville (on the way to Jack's Shack) and has a huge sign that says $3.50 Beers. Maybe that's where you stopped?

 

About purchasing liquor on Grand Turk. Where did you find the best prices? Since we are not flying, I plane on stocking up on bottles and thought Nassau would be priced good but you suggest Grand Turk?

 

Thanks so much for this review, it helped so much in planning everything for us. Even the pictures from the helicopter give me a birds eye view of where to walk on the beach!!

 

Also, Grand Turk looks like a bigger island than I thought, I can't believe cruise people really get around in golf carts, looks like a lot of roads and an industrial island.

[taylorray]

Really enjoying your review. My first cruise was on the Valor for my honeymoon in 2011 Western Caribbean, then we did the Eastern on the Liberty 2013. I love HMC and Grand Turk! Our next cruise is on the Glory 2015 ugh. Thanks so much for taking the time to write this review. Looking forward to reading more!!!

[cruisinbabs]

Love, love, love your review thus far. I'm going on my first cruise ever in Aug. this is the first review I just so happen to stumble upon, and I am soooooo glad I did! Can't wait to read some more.

 

 

Thank you so much syrenitee and welcome to Cruise Critic! how exciting you are going on your first cruise!! where are you going? which ship? I am giddy for you! Cruising is so much fun and CC is a great forum to research and get a lot of information. Thank you for following along!:D