Splendor is an excellent ship.

[ukittenmerightmeow]

For those who have been on the Splendor recently... is the aft pool & hot tubs adult only?

[ShellySea]

What was your Cloud 9 cabin number? How was the noise level?

 

Thank you

ShellySea

This was our 10th Carnival cruise out of 14 total. The others being with RCL, Princess, Celebrity and Costa.

Cruising since our mid twenties and we live in Florida!

After reading alot of negative reviews on the Splendor, we were a little worried especially after their mechanical issues a couple of weeks ago. I do believe however that if anything goes wrong with a Carnival Ship it is highlighted and exploited especially on the media and the reviews. Mechanical faults happen and we were kept up to date all week before the cruise.

The ship was repaired on time for our cruise and even though our itinerary was not altered, we received additional entertainment with Chris Tucker live in St Thomas. I have never laughed so much!!

 

Boarding the ship was the easiest i have ever ever experienced. They now have zones and check in times. Ours was 1230. Arrived at the terminal, short line to the check in. Showed boarding pass and passport and then to our amazement were told to board the ship!!

I asked what about the sail and sign card? Answer...it would be waiting in our mailbox outside the cabin. I love this new system. Literally 5-10 mins after arriving at the port we were on the ship! Amazing.

 

The room was not ready, so we had lunch at the Tandoor. The indian food here is delicious, i wish all Carnival ships had this. We ended up having lunch here nearly every day. I really mean it, the the food was great. Forget about greasy burgers and pizza, stop at the Tandoor lido deck aft, you will not regret it, assuming your ship has it of course. I believe only 4 ships have it, dream class and the splendor and that does NOT include the Vista to our dismay.

 

Our balcony was a cloud 9 spa balcony. It was worth every penny!! We used the VIP only thermal pool every day. It was rejuvenating. I believe again very few ships bar the dream class and the Vista have this massive Thermal whirlpool. The saunas, relaxation rooms, rooms with heated lounge chairs were amazing. This was one of the highlights of the cruise, the Tandoor came a close second.

 

I read alot of comments about the ship being old and the pink decor. What are those people on about??? Too many cocktails?? The ship is fine, modern and the decor yes its pink, its fine, its a Carnival fun ship for crying out loud. BTW the spa balcony decks are not pink if color really makes or breaks your cruise! Some people you will never please.

The deck layout was easy to navigate. I loved the open lido aft, not many carnival ships have this anymore. Nice to be in a jacuzzi looking out at the sea. The main pool area, another thing i have read negative reviews about is absolutely fine. Don't let these grumpy reviewers put you off. The main pool area is fine, nothing wrong with it. Not completely open like most ships but when the roof is open its just the same. The roof closed one day in Grand Turk when it rained so we could watch movies on the big screen, a positive thing i believe.

 

No Guys Burgers which is ok with me. The off the grill was just as good, fresher i thought and the fries were better. With the Tandoor, BBQ pit on 10 aft, mongolian wok the burrito bar we had way better food options than on our other Carnival cruises.

The Mongolian Wok was delicious. BBQ incredible and you know how i feel about the Tandoor!! Every ship has to have the Tandoor....please Carnival.

 

MDR we had anytime seating. Service and food were great. Lobster, filet mignon, oysters, mussels whats not to like. Water filled quickly, warm bread, everything was superb. Im sorry but i read these negative reviews about the MDR and carival food and it really annoys me. Why are people so unhappy with life that even on a cruise they find something to complain about. Can you imagine those same people at home, going out to dinner giving the waiter a hard time, finding something just not right. Sad.

 

Entertainment apart from Chris Tucker Live was ok. Same 80s shows playlist etc. They should start changing them up or bring Chris Tucker on every cruise.

 

Disembarking just like arriving was a breeze. We use self assist. Up at 715am with room service breakfast. Out of the cabin and the ship by 800am and through immigration customs by 820am. Shuttle took us to our car 5 mins from port and home by 1130am in Sw florida!

 

Great cruise. Great ship. Great time. We will miss you Splendor!

[TONYnDEB]

We sailed Splendor in Oct 2016. Absolutely no complaints, loved her! Great ship, great food (I loved Tandoor as well) and awesome crew! Serenity has a great bar but no pool or hot tubs. However, aft pool w/2hot tubs is adult-only. Also, 2 hot tubs located deck 10 midship (1 port/1 starboard) and we rarely saw anyone in them, had them to ourselves almost anytime. I don't think anyone knows about them unless they happen to see them when wandering up to 2nd deck of lido buffet. Btw, always plenty of buffet seating on 10 if you want to get away from the main lido crowd. Happy sailing! [emoji41][emoji924]⚓️

 

 

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Edited April 7, 2017 by TONYnDEB

[BIGREDIOWAN]

We sailed on the Splendor in February 2016. While we had a good time we did have some issues while we were on her. We didn't let them ruin our good time, but I also don't think Carnival handled it as well as they could've at the time.

 

1. I went to the spa and had a shave done to my face. I told them on the questionnaire that I shaved with the grain. Well, she did that the first time she shaved my face, but the second time she shaved against the grain. Super close shave, but my face was horribly irritated the rest of the cruise. I received no credit for this or my money back and instead came back twice for lavender treatments that didn't help. This was on the first formal night so the rest of the cruise once I woke up the next day was really painful.

 

2. Our excursion in the Dominican Republic started off disastrous. No one from the excursion company showed up for over 45 minutes, not really Carnival's fault, but when I went and asked the Carnival reps that were waiting at the port with all the excursions about this excursion they had no idea what I was talking about which really irritated me. We ended up receiving a $13 credit onto our onboard account because of this, but the excursion deck manager was really rude about it. We did end up going on the excursion and it was fine, but we let the company know about it as well.

 

3. The final straw was when my wife was served bloody chicken in the MDR. That's when I went to the customer service desk and complained. No one ever tried to contact me in reference to this which left a salty taste in my mouth.

 

If you go on enough cruises stuff comes up, I realize that and I'm good with that, but how you respond to my complaints is what matters to me. I certainly don't expect perfection, just a good time and address the issues as they come up please. For these reasons we probably wouldn't sail on her again, but I'm glad that folks are having a good time on that ship since we were on her. Maybe they addressed some things.

[qzyksw]

For those who have been on the Splendor recently... is the aft pool & hot tubs adult only?

 

Hello,

I was on 3/26-4/2.....which is spring break week. If it is, nobody said anything to our kids, that is were they swam most of the time. They said the main pool was crowded and my wife had some rude kids to deal with and she did not want to go back.

 

 

BTW- had a great time.

[pe4all]

Hello,

I was on 3/26-4/2.....which is spring break week. If it is, nobody said anything to our kids, that is were they swam most of the time. They said the main pool was crowded and my wife had some rude kids to deal with and she did not want to go back.

BTW- had a great time.

When we were on Splendor on the 2/26 sailing a worker went over to a woman who had a child around the age of 4 sitting on a lounge next to her and asked her to remove the child from the area! She got quite upset - yelling at the worker- but did take him from the aft pool area.

[ShellySea]

This was our 10th Carnival cruise out of 14 total. The others being with RCL, Princess, Celebrity and Costa.

Cruising since our mid twenties and we live in Florida!

After reading alot of negative reviews on the Splendor, we were a little worried especially after their mechanical issues a couple of weeks ago. I do believe however that if anything goes wrong with a Carnival Ship it is highlighted and exploited especially on the media and the reviews. Mechanical faults happen and we were kept up to date all week before the cruise.

The ship was repaired on time for our cruise and even though our itinerary was not altered, we received additional entertainment with Chris Tucker live in St Thomas. I have never laughed so much!!

 

Boarding the ship was the easiest i have ever ever experienced. They now have zones and check in times. Ours was 1230. Arrived at the terminal, short line to the check in. Showed boarding pass and passport and then to our amazement were told to board the ship!!

I asked what about the sail and sign card? Answer...it would be waiting in our mailbox outside the cabin. I love this new system. Literally 5-10 mins after arriving at the port we were on the ship! Amazing.

 

The room was not ready, so we had lunch at the Tandoor. The indian food here is delicious, i wish all Carnival ships had this. We ended up having lunch here nearly every day. I really mean it, the the food was great. Forget about greasy burgers and pizza, stop at the Tandoor lido deck aft, you will not regret it, assuming your ship has it of course. I believe only 4 ships have it, dream class and the splendor and that does NOT include the Vista to our dismay.

 

Our balcony was a cloud 9 spa balcony. It was worth every penny!! We used the VIP only thermal pool every day. It was rejuvenating. I believe again very few ships bar the dream class and the Vista have this massive Thermal whirlpool. The saunas, relaxation rooms, rooms with heated lounge chairs were amazing. This was one of the highlights of the cruise, the Tandoor came a close second.

 

I read alot of comments about the ship being old and the pink decor. What are those people on about??? Too many cocktails?? The ship is fine, modern and the decor yes its pink, its fine, its a Carnival fun ship for crying out loud. BTW the spa balcony decks are not pink if color really makes or breaks your cruise! Some people you will never please.

The deck layout was easy to navigate. I loved the open lido aft, not many carnival ships have this anymore. Nice to be in a jacuzzi looking out at the sea. The main pool area, another thing i have read negative reviews about is absolutely fine. Don't let these grumpy reviewers put you off. The main pool area is fine, nothing wrong with it. Not completely open like most ships but when the roof is open its just the same. The roof closed one day in Grand Turk when it rained so we could watch movies on the big screen, a positive thing i believe.

 

No Guys Burgers which is ok with me. The off the grill was just as good, fresher i thought and the fries were better. With the Tandoor, BBQ pit on 10 aft, mongolian wok the burrito bar we had way better food options than on our other Carnival cruises.

The Mongolian Wok was delicious. BBQ incredible and you know how i feel about the Tandoor!! Every ship has to have the Tandoor....please Carnival.

 

MDR we had anytime seating. Service and food were great. Lobster, filet mignon, oysters, mussels whats not to like. Water filled quickly, warm bread, everything was superb. Im sorry but i read these negative reviews about the MDR and carival food and it really annoys me. Why are people so unhappy with life that even on a cruise they find something to complain about. Can you imagine those same people at home, going out to dinner giving the waiter a hard time, finding something just not right. Sad.

 

Entertainment apart from Chris Tucker Live was ok. Same 80s shows playlist etc. They should start changing them up or bring Chris Tucker on every cruise.

 

Disembarking just like arriving was a breeze. We use self assist. Up at 715am with room service breakfast. Out of the cabin and the ship by 800am and through immigration customs by 820am. Shuttle took us to our car 5 mins from port and home by 1130am in Sw florida!

 

Great cruise. Great ship. Great time. We will miss you Splendor!

 

Is booking a CLOUD 9 cabin worth the extra?

 

Thank you

[ShellySea]

I would like to read comments regarding CLOUD 9 cabins. Feedback on location and is it worth the extra money?

 

Thank you

 

ShellySea

[imajavalover2]

Does anyone know if we booked a cloud 9 cabin are we able to use the amenities 24/7 or are there set hours?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[LADYBROOKS]

This was our 10th Carnival cruise out of 14 total. The others being with RCL, Princess, Celebrity and Costa.

Cruising since our mid twenties and we live in Florida!

After reading alot of negative reviews on the Splendor, we were a little worried especially after their mechanical issues a couple of weeks ago. I do believe however that if anything goes wrong with a Carnival Ship it is highlighted and exploited especially on the media and the reviews. Mechanical faults happen and we were kept up to date all week before the cruise.

The ship was repaired on time for our cruise and even though our itinerary was not altered, we received additional entertainment with Chris Tucker live in St Thomas. I have never laughed so much!!

 

Boarding the ship was the easiest i have ever ever experienced. They now have zones and check in times. Ours was 1230. Arrived at the terminal, short line to the check in. Showed boarding pass and passport and then to our amazement were told to board the ship!!

I asked what about the sail and sign card? Answer...it would be waiting in our mailbox outside the cabin. I love this new system. Literally 5-10 mins after arriving at the port we were on the ship! Amazing.

 

The room was not ready, so we had lunch at the Tandoor. The indian food here is delicious, i wish all Carnival ships had this. We ended up having lunch here nearly every day. I really mean it, the the food was great. Forget about greasy burgers and pizza, stop at the Tandoor lido deck aft, you will not regret it, assuming your ship has it of course. I believe only 4 ships have it, dream class and the splendor and that does NOT include the Vista to our dismay.

 

Our balcony was a cloud 9 spa balcony. It was worth every penny!! We used the VIP only thermal pool every day. It was rejuvenating. I believe again very few ships bar the dream class and the Vista have this massive Thermal whirlpool. The saunas, relaxation rooms, rooms with heated lounge chairs were amazing. This was one of the highlights of the cruise, the Tandoor came a close second.

 

I read alot of comments about the ship being old and the pink decor. What are those people on about??? Too many cocktails?? The ship is fine, modern and the decor yes its pink, its fine, its a Carnival fun ship for crying out loud. BTW the spa balcony decks are not pink if color really makes or breaks your cruise! Some people you will never please.

The deck layout was easy to navigate. I loved the open lido aft, not many carnival ships have this anymore. Nice to be in a jacuzzi looking out at the sea. The main pool area, another thing i have read negative reviews about is absolutely fine. Don't let these grumpy reviewers put you off. The main pool area is fine, nothing wrong with it. Not completely open like most ships but when the roof is open its just the same. The roof closed one day in Grand Turk when it rained so we could watch movies on the big screen, a positive thing i believe.

 

No Guys Burgers which is ok with me. The off the grill was just as good, fresher i thought and the fries were better. With the Tandoor, BBQ pit on 10 aft, mongolian wok the burrito bar we had way better food options than on our other Carnival cruises.

The Mongolian Wok was delicious. BBQ incredible and you know how i feel about the Tandoor!! Every ship has to have the Tandoor....please Carnival.

 

MDR we had anytime seating. Service and food were great. Lobster, filet mignon, oysters, mussels whats not to like. Water filled quickly, warm bread, everything was superb. Im sorry but i read these negative reviews about the MDR and carival food and it really annoys me. Why are people so unhappy with life that even on a cruise they find something to complain about. Can you imagine those same people at home, going out to dinner giving the waiter a hard time, finding something just not right. Sad.

 

Entertainment apart from Chris Tucker Live was ok. Same 80s shows playlist etc. They should start changing them up or bring Chris Tucker on every cruise.

 

Disembarking just like arriving was a breeze. We use self assist. Up at 715am with room service breakfast. Out of the cabin and the ship by 800am and through immigration customs by 820am. Shuttle took us to our car 5 mins from port and home by 1130am in Sw florida!

 

Great cruise. Great ship. Great time. We will miss you Splendor!

 

Thanks for the review, we will be on the Splendor Dec 3.

[xkritter]

For those who have been on the Splendor recently... is the aft pool & hot tubs adult only?

 

We were on the Splendor 04/09 - 04/16 and the aft pools and hot tubs were not adults only.

[cmobley415]

This was our 10th Carnival cruise out of 14 total. The others being with RCL, Princess, Celebrity and Costa.

Cruising since our mid twenties and we live in Florida!

After reading alot of negative reviews on the Splendor, we were a little worried especially after their mechanical issues a couple of weeks ago. I do believe however that if anything goes wrong with a Carnival Ship it is highlighted and exploited especially on the media and the reviews. Mechanical faults happen and we were kept up to date all week before the cruise.

The ship was repaired on time for our cruise and even though our itinerary was not altered, we received additional entertainment with Chris Tucker live in St Thomas. I have never laughed so much!!

 

Boarding the ship was the easiest i have ever ever experienced. They now have zones and check in times. Ours was 1230. Arrived at the terminal, short line to the check in. Showed boarding pass and passport and then to our amazement were told to board the ship!!

I asked what about the sail and sign card? Answer...it would be waiting in our mailbox outside the cabin. I love this new system. Literally 5-10 mins after arriving at the port we were on the ship! Amazing.

 

The room was not ready, so we had lunch at the Tandoor. The indian food here is delicious, i wish all Carnival ships had this. We ended up having lunch here nearly every day. I really mean it, the the food was great. Forget about greasy burgers and pizza, stop at the Tandoor lido deck aft, you will not regret it, assuming your ship has it of course. I believe only 4 ships have it, dream class and the splendor and that does NOT include the Vista to our dismay.

 

Our balcony was a cloud 9 spa balcony. It was worth every penny!! We used the VIP only thermal pool every day. It was rejuvenating. I believe again very few ships bar the dream class and the Vista have this massive Thermal whirlpool. The saunas, relaxation rooms, rooms with heated lounge chairs were amazing. This was one of the highlights of the cruise, the Tandoor came a close second.

 

I read alot of comments about the ship being old and the pink decor. What are those people on about??? Too many cocktails?? The ship is fine, modern and the decor yes its pink, its fine, its a Carnival fun ship for crying out loud. BTW the spa balcony decks are not pink if color really makes or breaks your cruise! Some people you will never please.

The deck layout was easy to navigate. I loved the open lido aft, not many carnival ships have this anymore. Nice to be in a jacuzzi looking out at the sea. The main pool area, another thing i have read negative reviews about is absolutely fine. Don't let these grumpy reviewers put you off. The main pool area is fine, nothing wrong with it. Not completely open like most ships but when the roof is open its just the same. The roof closed one day in Grand Turk when it rained so we could watch movies on the big screen, a positive thing i believe.

 

No Guys Burgers which is ok with me. The off the grill was just as good, fresher i thought and the fries were better. With the Tandoor, BBQ pit on 10 aft, mongolian wok the burrito bar we had way better food options than on our other Carnival cruises.

The Mongolian Wok was delicious. BBQ incredible and you know how i feel about the Tandoor!! Every ship has to have the Tandoor....please Carnival.

 

MDR we had anytime seating. Service and food were great. Lobster, filet mignon, oysters, mussels whats not to like. Water filled quickly, warm bread, everything was superb. Im sorry but i read these negative reviews about the MDR and carival food and it really annoys me. Why are people so unhappy with life that even on a cruise they find something to complain about. Can you imagine those same people at home, going out to dinner giving the waiter a hard time, finding something just not right. Sad.

 

Entertainment apart from Chris Tucker Live was ok. Same 80s shows playlist etc. They should start changing them up or bring Chris Tucker on every cruise.

 

Disembarking just like arriving was a breeze. We use self assist. Up at 715am with room service breakfast. Out of the cabin and the ship by 800am and through immigration customs by 820am. Shuttle took us to our car 5 mins from port and home by 1130am in Sw florida!

 

Great cruise. Great ship. Great time. We will miss you Splendor!

I read you get spa products in the spa cabins. Can you tell me how these were. Was the shampoo and lotion available?

[IntrepidFromDC]

Like Kristin, we just got off the Splendor 4/16. Just a few random observations that stuck with me...

 

Maybe it's just because we're in Washington, DC - with many excellent Indian restaurants - I thought the Tandoor was below average, but not bad. Only thing that stood out was the variety of chutneys. Most meats, especially chicken, were like other food stations on Lido deck. We only ate there once.

 

The casino décor is my favorite out of eight cruises. The sculpted playing cards throughout and large lit playing cards on the ceiling made the casino more fun for me.

 

Pizza Pirate at 2am (especially prosciutto e arugula) became an every-night event.

 

I felt more shuddering at all speeds than other ships, not all day, but multiple times every day. I'm no mechanic, but it felt like something still wasn't quite right.

 

I liked the gold pearl sculptures on the ceiling in the Gold Pearl restaurant and Seussical décor throughout the ship.

 

The Steakhouse had excellent food, but the service was lacking. Our every-night server in MDR was both more professional and more friendly than the hair-flinging server we had in Steakhouse.

[LizaMM]

I read you get spa products in the spa cabins. Can you tell me how these were. Was the shampoo and lotion available?

 

Not the OP...But I sailed in a Spa Cabin on the Splendor before....

Yes, you will have spa products in the bathroom

Branded by Elemis (the spa on the ship) will be 2 each of small size shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and bar soap.

You will also get slippers and a robe - the robe is different than the typical Carnival cabin. It is a bit plusher and longer in length.

[spankym13]

Hello.

We will be on the Splendor in a month. Our FIRST Carnival cruise. Can someone give me idea of drink prices? Corona? Rum/coke?crown/coke. We are trying to decide if cheers is truly worth it.

[cindylynn13]

Any suggestions for a great serving staff/wait team in the Your Time Dining room? Sailing Splendor for the first time in a Spa Balcony cabin, really looking forward to it!

[honeybunches]

I have been on 7 cruises so far, having just gotten off the Splendor this weekend, which was my 2nd on Carnival. She was, by far, my least favorite ship. She was showing her age all over the place, did not care for the decor of the ship at all. The shows every night were just rock 'n roll type shows, no comedian, no dance shows, very boring. Yes, I know there were comedians in the Punchliner but for the first 3 days they were the same two, just different times each night and the last 3 nights were all the same two guys. We had a balcony cabin on deck 9 and all day and every night we heard all the lobby music up until 11:45. Never was it quiet in our cabin.

And yes, according to the staff, all pools on all ships will be family. No longer are there going to be adult only pools, except on Vista and her sisters, which will be the cabana rooms, for adults only, with their own pool.

[Doggielover68]

Just got off the Splendor this weekend (for the second time) and it is my favorite ship. Everyone has a different perspective of things. I don't care about what color is inside and I wouldn't have even noticed if it weren't for people pointing it out. I love the roof over the main pool area. At night when watching movies they would close it if it got cold or windy. The food was great and we enjoyed the activities. They were doing a lot of painting, staining, etc outside and it really looked great.

 

 

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[auscgguysgirl]

Yes they do. Up to 40% off. You also get 2 complimentary activities like body mass test etc. We also received special cloud 9 DIY scub kit, cloud 9 soaps, shampoos etc, slippers, robes. :)

 

This is interesting ... we were in a spa suite on the Sunshine a few weeks ago and did not receive anything other than the 10/20/30 discount for booking 3 couples massages ... and we had to ask for them to give us the credits as they were booked prior to boarding. We've never been offered a spa service discount other than that - even w/ the spa suite.

Glad to hear overall about the Splendor though. Couldn't really find much for reviews of this ship. We are taking her December 18 for 14 days out of Long Beach to Hawaii. The Valor was "pink" before she was drydocked. Mattered very little us. We really enjoyed the ship.

[honeybunches]

I have nothing against pink/rose but, IMO, the ship was very dated. It could really use some updating. I saw a lot of burned out bulbs and the decorative "balls" (or whatever they're called) were missing from the décor in many spots on the walls. But since the ship has been sold I can see why they wouldn't put the expense into it. Again, this is just my opinion. One of the reasons I chose this ship to begin with was I read so many posts about it being their favorite ship. It just wasn't mine. ;)

[FrankandLolas2ndhoneymoon]

We are sailing on her out of Miami in December. I was beginning to second guess our choice with all the news lately. I am super pleased to hear all sorts of good words. I have read before that a lot of regular cruisers prefer the Splendor over any other ship! Please help me to not panic and begin to rethink our decision!

 

Thank You

[Daphne'sMom]

I took my Mother on her first cruise on the Splendor last month. It isn't one of the newer ships and there are areas that are showing a little wear & tear. I was pleasantly surprised how well it did look after reading so many disparaging reports. It is a nice size but no so large that my Mother wasn't able to find her way around after a couple of days.

 

The crew members were for the most part wonderful! We had a great room steward that reminded me of how it used to be. He knew our names right away and always greeted us in the hallway. The last several cruises, I don't recall seeing or speaking with our room stewards much after the first day. We did anytime dining and had great service all but one evening. The second elegant night we were asked if we wanted to wait or share a table. We decided it would be fun to share a table. Not only did we have to wait until the table had been filled with others, one of the couples ordered several appetizers and entree's which meant everyone else had to wait for them to finish each course before we got service.

 

Was our trip perfect? No, there were a few little glitches but the type of thing that happens on any vacation. The crew members all seemed to get along and enjoy their jobs. We ran into a couple of the dancers/singers at the coffee shop and told them we had enjoyed watching them. Later in the day there was a "postcard" in our mailbox from one of them thanking us for coming to the shows.

 

One thing I would pack if I were to do this cruise over - seasoned salt for the popcorn. We went to the "Dive In" movie one night and although the popcorn smelled wonderful - no butter & no salt.

 

This was my 10th cruise in 17 years - all on Carnival and was one of my favorites.

[glrounds]

We are sailing on her out of Miami in December. I was beginning to second guess our choice with all the news lately. I am super pleased to hear all sorts of good words. I have read before that a lot of regular cruisers prefer the Splendor over any other ship! Please help me to not panic and begin to rethink our decision!

 

Thank You

30 Carnival cruses and she's definitely my favorite ship. Cruised her 3 times and first of the year will cruise her again out of Long Beach.

 

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