GAPearl Goes Solo on the Splendor! 11/1/14 SJU-MIA Repo Cruise Review.

[Handsome58]

Wow!!!!!! Is all I can say. To climb those rocks and waterfalls. I know you are a pretty lady and all woman so I hope my next comment does not offend you or any readers!!!! BUT YOUNG LADY YOU HAVE SOME BALLS!!!!!!! Wow to not only travel solo but to do this extreme tour...YOU ARE THE LADY!!!!!!!

[wrigley80]

I am all caught up again in your review. I wish Carnival would have more itineraries with Dominica. We were there in 2005 on the Carnival Destiny on the Southern Caribbean route. It is a beautiful island.....very tropical. I couldn't get over how it was 85 degrees and sunny down by the ship but once you got up into the rainforest it was 60 degrees and cool.

[jcpelly]

Dominica is absolutely my favorite island in the Caribbean. Been there twice on cruises and once on a week long scuba diving trip. I would book a cruise just to go there again. If you can you should get to Mendenhall Falls. It's about a 45 min hike to an amazing falls and doable if you are in halfway decent shape. Another hike is to Boiling Lake and the start of the trail is at Titou Gorge. That one isn't recommended if you aren't in shape. It's a 6-7 hour round trip hike up and down, and up and down the whole way. You can see the steam in the distance and you swear it is just over the next big hill but that happens about 20 times till you are there. Couldn't walk the next day. That cold water of Titou Gorge never felt so good after that hike. Trafalgar falls is easy to get to and beautiful also and you get to sit in the hot baths at the base. Can't wait to get there again.

[ch27088]

Thanks Mary! It truly was a beautiful place.

 

 

 

You should see the shoes in my closet! DSW is one of my favorite stores. :D

 

WE are kindred spirits because my husband claims I could open a shoe store inside of my closet (I wish he would, he would...) LOL!! By the way, DSW is my one of my favorite stores as well.

 

The review is awesome, but Kim climbing down a waterfall, goooooo girl is all I can say. Dominica is beautiful, and I know several people that have actually gotten married on the island. Maybe one day soon, you can go back and get married there as well!!! IJS!

[jcpelly]

Dominica is absolutely my favorite island in the Caribbean. Been there twice on cruises and once on a week long scuba diving trip. I would book a cruise just to go there again. If you can you should get to Mendenhall Falls. It's about a 45 min hike to an amazing falls and doable if you are in halfway decent shape. Another hike is to Boiling Lake and the start of the trail is at Titou Gorge. That one isn't recommended if you aren't in shape. It's a 6-7 hour round trip hike up and down, and up and down the whole way. You can see the steam in the distance and you swear it is just over the next big hill but that happens about 20 times till you are there. We couldn't walk the next day. That cold water of Titou Gorge never felt so good after that hike. Trafalgar falls is easy to get to and beautiful also and you get to sit in the hot baths at the base. Can't wait to get there again.

 

You can see the steam in the distance and you swear it is just over the next big hill but that happens about 20 times till you are there. Doesn't look that far away in the picture...Yea right:). Other photo shows how high in the hills you climb to get there. Our guide seemed to just float up and down the hills.

[gapearl]

hi Kim - That was a kick @ss excursion you did in Dominica. Will definitely keep that in mind - after visiting on this cruise we would love to do a land vacay.

 

We ended up signing up with the Wacky Rollers 4-wheel drive trip thru Carnival and that was surprisingly a lot more fun than we thought. The last stop was the Titou Gourge where we got to swim and it looked similar to this when we looked up. Water was freezing/refreshing. Guess that's where they filmed some of Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

 

Deb

 

I've never done a 4 wheeler but it sounds like fun. Seems like a lot of people want to come back here. I surely do.

 

I absolutely love Dominica. First visit was in 2009 on my Victory (RT from San Juan) cruise. It's why I did the Conquest repo last year and Splendor this year. Went on Levi Baron's excursions twice to Titou Gorge but this year, we went to the Kalinago Village (great excursion, too).

 

It really makes me sad that Carnival dropped Dominica from their regular itineraries. It truly is the most beautiful place I've ever been.

 

From what I gather money and politics are why Carnival dropped Dominica, which is such a shame. If they continue making the unique itineraries like they've been doing lately, we might see more stops here in the future.

[gapearl]

Just stumbled across your review(s) and LOVING it! Your zest for life is amazing. :)

 

Hey Emily! Thanks so much! I got your inbox. I promise I'm going to respond soon. :)

 

Loving your review, I have been anxiously awaiting like everybody else. :D Thank you for posting the pics of the waterfall repelling, I have been looking at a land vacation in Costa Rica for 2016 that has a lot of hiking, yoga and waterfall repelling and that just helped me decide that I should do it. That looked amazing!!! First to get in shape and throw in a cruise or two for good measure.

 

Trixie :D

 

Thanks Trixie! I'm planning to go to Costa Rica at some point next year. There are so many fun things to do out in the rainforest there. You should definitely go and do everything you mentioned!

[gapearl]

Wow!!!!!! Is all I can say. To climb those rocks and waterfalls. I know you are a pretty lady and all woman so I hope my next comment does not offend you or any readers!!!! BUT YOUNG LADY YOU HAVE SOME BALLS!!!!!!! Wow to not only travel solo but to do this extreme tour...YOU ARE THE LADY!!!!!!!

 

LOL thanks a lot! It takes a whole lot more than that to offend me. Go big or go home, right? :D

 

I am all caught up again in your review. I wish Carnival would have more itineraries with Dominica. We were there in 2005 on the Carnival Destiny on the Southern Caribbean route. It is a beautiful island.....very tropical. I couldn't get over how it was 85 degrees and sunny down by the ship but once you got up into the rainforest it was 60 degrees and cool.

 

I know! I'm kind of looking at the Triumph 11 day for February. It goes back to Dominica and Grenada, and it's only $340 for an inside with no solo supplement! :eek: I really have my heart set on a land trip so I doubt I'll book it, but it's on my radar as a maybe.

[gapearl]

WE are kindred spirits because my husband claims I could open a shoe store inside of my closet (I wish he would, he would...) LOL!! By the way, DSW is my one of my favorite stores as well.

 

The review is awesome, but Kim climbing down a waterfall, goooooo girl is all I can say. Dominica is beautiful, and I know several people that have actually gotten married on the island. Maybe one day soon, you can go back and get married there as well!!! IJS!

 

I was just thinking the other day that I either need to stop shopping or I need a bigger closet. I'm thinking about turning one of my bedrooms into a large walk in closet. :)

 

Dominica is absolutely my favorite island in the Caribbean. Been there twice on cruises and once on a week long scuba diving trip. I would book a cruise just to go there again. If you can you should get to Mendenhall Falls. It's about a 45 min hike to an amazing falls and doable if you are in halfway decent shape. Another hike is to Boiling Lake and the start of the trail is at Titou Gorge. That one isn't recommended if you aren't in shape. It's a 6-7 hour round trip hike up and down, and up and down the whole way. You can see the steam in the distance and you swear it is just over the next big hill but that happens about 20 times till you are there. Couldn't walk the next day. That cold water of Titou Gorge never felt so good after that hike. Trafalgar falls is easy to get to and beautiful also and you get to sit in the hot baths at the base. Can't wait to get there again.

 

You can see the steam in the distance and you swear it is just over the next big hill but that happens about 20 times till you are there. Doesn't look that far away in the picture...Yea right:). Other photo shows how high in the hills you climb to get there. Our guide seemed to just float up and down the hills.

 

Those are great pictures! Richard did tell me about the boiling lake hike and that it's 3 hours each way. If and when I make it back to Dominica, I will definitely be doing that! That hike would be the perfect excuse for spending the entire next day in the spa. :D

[wrigley80]

LOL thanks a lot! It takes a whole lot more than that to offend me. Go big or go home, right? :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know! I'm kind of looking at the Triumph 11 day for February. It goes back to Dominica and Grenada, and it's only $340 for an inside with no solo supplement! :eek: I really have my heart set on a land trip so I doubt I'll book it, but it's on my radar as a maybe.

 

 

Wow!!! $340.00 for an 11-day is a great price. That would be tough one not to book...haha

[gapearl]

Dominica continued....

 

After returning to the port area from my canyoning excursion, I strolled through the outdoor market to pick up a few souvenirs.

 

 

 

Before leaving this morning, I had noticed a bank over by the gift shops and asked if they were able to exchange my euros for dollars. (I still had 110 euros from Martinique that I never used.) I was told yes I could as long as I had two forms of identification. I only had one on me, so I wanted to make it a point to have enough time to get back on the ship and grab my passport and exchange my money. I did just that but should have paid attention earlier to the hours of operation because the bank closed at 2 pm and by now it was 2:30 pm. There was a Cambio money place around the corner and I still had an hour before all aboard, but the line was snaked on the inside and spilled onto the street. Nope, ain't nobody got time for that. Back to the ship I go.

 

 

 

[gapearl]

The past guest party for gold VIFP members and above was this afternoon. Free rum punch was passed out and you could get a beer or a glass of wine on request. The appetizers weren't much. The waiters came by with that bacon cheesecake thingy and something else with pork. I haven't eaten pork since 1993 so indulging in one of those might not be a good idea. I don't know what else was being served as no other waiters came our way, so I couldn't tell you what else was being served. It would be nice to see a tray of something vegetarian offered. Believe it or not, not everyone loves bacon.

 

Cruise director Malcolm on stage with one of the singers.

 

 

A little live music from the show band.

 

 

Me with my Franny! She made Wednesdays so much in the months leading up to this cruise. :D

 

 

More roll call people.

 

 

They showed the video where you cheer for every ship you've been on. Even the Carnival Vista got a huge round of applause, and Malcolm had to remind us the ship isn't even out yet! All the diamond members were asked to come on stage and tell how many sail days they had with Carnival. This cute couple had the most. I think it was something like 466!

 

[gapearl]

Today's lido buffet theme for lunch was Caribbean food. The curry chicken was bad. Really bad. It had no taste. I make a mean curry chicken. I have no problem bragging here and saying that my curry chicken is so much better than theirs. I might make some this weekend just to make up for it.

 

Dinner proved to be much better than lunch.

 

 

I had the potato soup as an appetizer and farfalle with turkey for my entree. Sorry, I forgot a picture of it. I just dived right in.

 

 

 

Tonight I decided to switch things up and try the bitter and blanc. I had it on one other cruise and didn't care for it that much, but thought I'd give it another try. OMG it was fantastic! I savored every single bit of this warm deliciousness.

 

 

My outfit of the night.

 

[gapearl]

After dinner I went to the El Morocco Lounge where I'd end up spending the next couple of hours. There was a grown up game show listed in the Fun Times for 10:30 pm that sounded like fun. I found about 20 people from the roll call and social media group and we had our own little VIP section up front.

 

Malcolm and the entertainment team getting us going.

 

 

The first game we played required 6 single ladies and 5 single guys. I'm thinking oh cool, a dating show, I'll go up there! lol Nope it was a very adult version of musical chairs, and I lost. There were a couple of other games that involved couples and groups of friends that had me laughing harder than I've laughed in a long time. After that I was happy to see Quest as it doesn't seem to be played much on Carnival any more. Quest is an adult scavenger hunt. You divide into teams of 10-15 and have to locate things within your team. Your team leader runs the item to the front with your team number and you get points. The team with the most points at the end wins.

 

 

Cruise director Malcolm was the host and it started with some random things that no one would really have on them like car keys, a firefighters badge, a Geico card. Gheez man, all that stuff is in the safe! He asked for a sock with a hole in it. Hint- no need to rip a hole in a perfectly good sock, just show the hole that you put your foot in. Finally the show started to pick up and got really good. I knew from a previous game that you would need a phone with a dirty picture on it. Should I be embarassed to say I already had the picture ready on my phone and my team was first to score those points? Even Malcolm was like d@#&! It wasn't of me but was a picture I took in Vegas. Don't ask. He needed 5 bras (free the ta-tas ladies) and later 5 pair of mens pants. Wear some nice underwear, fellas. Other stuff needed included a body piercing not in the ear, a man on all fours barking like a dog, a man and a woman kissing, and a woman doing the twerk. Ladies, if you're going to volunteer to twerk so your team can get those points, please make sure you're wearing panties under your skirt! :eek:

 

Quest went on for about an hour and a half and got more and more raunchy. The game ended with a few brave men looking like this. I've hidden their identity to protect the innocent. haha

 

 

No surprise, my team won! We got a few ships on a stick, medals, and two bottles of champagne. No one really wanted the champagne so I brought a bottle back to my cabin to enjoy later. I was proud to have done my part many times to help team #2 win.

 

 

There was open mic comedy right after that was supposed to start at 12 but because Quest went over on it's time, we only had a few minutes for it and thank goodness that was all we had. A few guys got up and told some BAD jokes. The first guy just kept rambling, making no sense. We were all sitting there staring at him with faces as blank as a Kardashian's in a math book and he kept saying you're not laughing! Well that's cause you're not funny!

 

We all headed to the Red Carpet Disco after. Finally for the first time all cruise, there was a good crowd and the DJ was playing good music. Why hadn't he done that all week? We stayed in there dancing all night and shut the place down at 3 am. Some people went to the lido for some post club pizza but I went to bed. I have to say that this was a really fun night tonight and I really enjoyed myself.

 

 

Up next: Cornbread, part 5.

[kybluecruiser]

Just now getting around to your review (sorry) lol i love your reviews. You seem like you enjoy every minute life. Another great review. Thank you.

Edited November 21, 2014 by kybluecruiser

[kmarie10531]

That is way too cool! Yes he's still doing very well. Feel free to hijack any time. :)

 

 

 

 

 

We had a pretty big disagreement on how something that was in the news recently was handled. I'm not going to go further into too much detail about that situation or either of our opinions on it, but as Monicia as my witness I practically ripped into him when he made some unfair and uninformed statements. And no, it wasn't politics. That discussion was actually rather civil. :p Don't let this princess fool you. I'm a gemini and can go from 0-100 in 0.03 seconds.

 

 

Never mess with a Gemini ! ( may 31st birthday right here )

 

 

 

someone once told me " you will get sick of cruising " I just smiled and said " Only when I'm dead " 😀

[kmarie10531]

Yes, I remember most everything. There was a girl on stage with me at the Vegas show that remembered nothing, so everyone will respond differently to the hypnosis. The million dollar question most people have is were you really under? Is this for real? A lot of people think the folks that participate in hypnotist shows are staged actors. Let me say that I have ZERO acting experience and ZERO acting talent. It is absolutely, 120% for real. Also think about this. If we weren't really under, do you think we'd be able to sit there so calm and still while the audience is roaring in laughter?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you ever happen to be on a cruise with Asad, don't be shy. Get up there and participate. Doesn't hurt that he's a hottie. :o

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the show I hit up the club for a while. By now I was famous (was all week actually, even with some crew lol). Asad was there and so was Punchliner comedian Donnell Grey. I talked with them for a few minutes and they're both really cool guys. Donnell lives in Atlanta and gave me his card since he performs at some local comedy clubs when he's not on a ship. He said to get in touch with him and he'll hook me up with some tickets. I hope I get to take him up on that offer soon.

 

 

 

I'm sorry I have to be so blunt but DJ Focus sucked. This was the third night he was playing nothing. but. reggae. Now I love reggae, I really do, but I don't want to hear it ALL night every night! The stuff he was playing tonight wasn't even mainstream reggae. It sounded like some bootleg cd he bought from the trunk of a random guy in Jamaica that recorded his crappy music at his kitchen table. Just bad! He wasn't mixing up the music at all. People were going to him requesting songs, but he wouldn't play them.

 

 

 

My girl Amberly was like this has got to stop. She went over to him like dude, you've been playing this SAME beat for three days and you have NO ONE one the dance floor! He got an attitude and was like well what do you want me to do? She replied you're the DJ, you figure it out! It was so bad she had a bartender call his boss and told him what was going on. Boss man had a talk with the him and the music was much better after that. As a matter of fact it was better the rest of the cruise. Shout out to Amberly for getting us some good music!

 

 

 

Finally, some people on the dance floor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of my last four cruises, three had terrible DJs. You've got people from different backgrounds and of different ages. A good ship DJ will mix music genres and play a reggae set, a Latin set, a top 40 set, maybe an old school hip hop set, a pop set, then the obligatory wobble and cupid shuffle, you get my drift. Carnival DJs aren't doing this any more. They're not playing what the crowd wants to hear but what they want to hear. I think they need to bring back that partnership with DJ Irie and maybe offer them some extra training, because people are going to the club and not having fun. I could have been a better DJ this cruise with my playlist on my iphone. It all starts with the DJ. In the end it was a fun night and I headed to bed at 2:30 am.

 

 

 

Tonight's towel animal is a.....dinosaur???

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up next: A mermaid, a scuba diver, a student, and Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

Thanks for continuing to read

everyone!

 

[/

On my Freedom cruise in June I got hypnotized as well and I agree with you YOUR MIND MUST BE COMPLETELY BLANK in order to do this . And it's really hard to do actually , I can still remember some lady later on in the cruise almost arguing with me since she believed we were all staged and faking the whole thing ..I remembered bits and pieces still of it but not everything though .. I get reminded by my mom that I "shook what my momma gave me" during the "dance competition " part of the show

 

On SIZE]

 

 

 

 

 

someone once told me " you will get sick of cruising " I just smiled and said " Only when I'm dead " 😀

[kmarie10531]

Sorry I totally messed up that last post ... That's what I get for posting from my phone after 1030pm 😳

 

 

someone once told me " you will get sick of cruising " I just smiled and said " Only when I'm dead " 😀

[Perfect Stranger]

I should be working but I can't stop reading your captivating review!

 

You are a classy, stunning lady!

[MotoRacer598]

We all headed to the Red Carpet Disco after. Finally for the first time all cruise, there was a good crowd and the DJ was playing good music. Why hadn't he done that all week? We stayed in there dancing all night and shut the place down at 3 am. Some people went to the lido for some post club pizza but I went to bed. I have to say that this was a really fun night tonight and I really enjoyed myself.

 

 

[/size]

 

I should've stopped going to Lido after the disco every night! I don't want to see pizza or alcohol still! :p

[BIG GUY]

The past guest party for gold VIFP members and above was this afternoon. Free rum punch was passed out and you could get a beer or a glass of wine on request. The appetizers weren't much. The waiters came by with that bacon cheesecake thingy and something else with pork. I haven't eaten pork since 1993 so indulging in one of those might not be a good idea. I don't know what else was being served as no other waiters came our way, so I couldn't tell you what else was being served. It would be nice to see a tray of something vegetarian offered. Believe it or not, not everyone loves bacon.

 

Cruise director Malcolm on stage with one of the singers.

 

 

A little live music from the show band.

 

 

Me with my Franny! She made Wednesdays so much in the months leading up to this cruise. :D

 

 

More roll call people.

 

 

They showed the video where you cheer for every ship you've been on. Even the Carnival Vista got a huge round of applause, and Malcolm had to remind us the ship isn't even out yet! All the diamond members were asked to come on stage and tell how many sail days they had with Carnival. This cute couple had the most. I think it was something like 466!

 

 

I met this couple at the Casino bar. They were so nice. We just hung out and they let me pick their brains for what were the best ports of call and so on. We ended up talking for over an hour. Wish I could have got their names.

[serene56]

I am on page 11 now. Seems I just can not get caught up.

 

your NEW camera is taking awesome photos

[MistyRo76]

Love your reviews - both commentary and pics!

 

And I just have to say, that I couldn't agree more with your comments about the DJ's on the Carnival ships. In my more recent experiences, they only play one type of music (which is usually THEIR type of music) and are not open to taking requests. If they do manage to get the dance floor full, it usually only lasts a song or two and then they go back to their favorite music which obviously isn't the crowd's favorite. A good DJ should take cues from the crowd and see what fills the dance floor and what doesn't! The night club used to be one of my favorite places on the ship to spend my evenings...but lately that hasn't been the case.

 

Still working my way through your review...can't wait to read more!

 

Misty

[lifeisgoodPat]

You are the BEST! Absolutely love your reviews.

[blueangel74]

That is way too cool! Yes he's still doing very well. Feel free to hijack any time. :)

 

 

 

 

 

We had a pretty big disagreement on how something that was in the news recently was handled. I'm not going to go further into too much detail about that situation or either of our opinions on it, but as Monicia as my witness I practically ripped into him when he made some unfair and uninformed statements. And no, it wasn't politics. That discussion was actually rather civil. :p Don't let this princess fool you. I'm a gemini and can go from 0-100 in 0.03 seconds.

 

Oh yes, the disagreement. Let's just say Kim handled herself quite appropriately with a closed minded individual.