Splendor 8 Day Eastern Caribbean Review

[jam19872016]

Thanks so much for this review! I've been on her once before and will be back on her in 27 days!

 

I'm so ready to get on her in 19 more days...can't wait

 

Our next cruise will be here before we know it! :D

[jam19872016]

Day 2:

 

Fun Day At Sea

 

Today was a sea day. This marked my 16th day total on the Splendor and ties the Conquest as most days sailed on the same ship. My mom was up a little after 7, and out of the room as promised so I could be lazy for a couple more hours. Her sleeping that late is basically unheard of. I dragged myself out of bed around 9:30.

 

For breakfast I went to the sea day brunch. My mom was not hungry but she joined me. Quite a bit of will power, hungry or not if I was around someone eating I am eating again lol.

 

I had the steak and eggs.

 

 

And the banana creme pie for dessert.

 

 

The food was all very good. Service has always been hit or miss at brunch for some reason. Things started off a bit rough, I ordered a salad that I never received. The head waitress was MIA for the meal until the end but I loved her. Not sure where she was but she saved the experience, a super nice lady whose name escapes me now but I did still remember it when I filled out my survey so at least I was able to compliment her there.

 

I did not really worry about my salad because I did not want to over eat. It would be lunch time soon so I just wanted a little bit of food to hold me over until then. That was a mistake, and I am sure my mom regretted not eating.

 

Next was casino time. My mom took to the slots way more than I had anticipated she would. That was not good for me, because if I'm here, well I might as well play. They held the big loot draw at noon, and if memory serves me correctly, in the past when the prize rolls over to the next day the amount of money in the pot would increase by $X00 with X being the number of days the cruise has been going. So for example, on Day 1 it starts at $100. Day 2 it is $200 or $100 + $200 if nobody won the first day and so on and so on. They did not do that this time, adding $50 the first day, $100 the next and so on and so on. That just seems so cheap too me. It saved them less than $2000 (yes I am the guy who did the math through the week lol) which is peanuts to the amount of revenue the casino makes.

 

Niether of us won the big loot draw again, in fact it rolled over until the 7th day of the cruise something I have never seen before.

[jam19872016]

Next we were off the art auction. My mom did a lot of stuff for my benefit so of course I didn't mind going to the art auction. But o man was this a bore. And it was also almost very expensive. They offered free champagne which I did not try because I figured it was probably not very good. By the second hour I was wishing I had something to take the edge off. If you don't mind sitting through this, this would be a good opportunity for free booze, they were very free flowing with it. I expected it to be one round and done but they just kept coming back with more and more champagne.

 

My mom saw a couple pieces she really liked. It was by an artist named Craig Tracy. She does not do good in high pressure sales situations. Just ask the two different companies who have sold her a time share (what a useless concept) and I am not good at talking her out of these things (I may have been present at both time share presentations, and a cosigner on one of them :o).

 

The price for the two pieces she liked, was $2100. She was seriously considering it and asking me for advice. I don't get art. I can't understand the idea of spending that kind of money on a painting. I get that a lot of people are into that sort of thing, but I just literally cannot comprehend why. She was reluctant which just meant they kept coming down on the price. She had them down to around $1400 for both. Finally they came down to $800 for one of them. She made the right choice (I think) and did not purchase. I did look it up online later, because I have no idea the value of these items and it turns out they are worth around $1,100 so she would have made a good purchase, if you are into that sort of thing. But I mean she is not an art collector so why make the investment?

 

My mom did win one of the raffles.

 

 

She was tickled.

 

All in all this event lasted about 2.5 hours. Which meant we missed lunch. I think if we had known how long this would have gone on for we probably would not have gone to it. We did not attend anything else art related the rest of the week just in case. I get that some people are into this, different strokes for different folks and all, but if this is not your thing, I don't recommend going unless you want the free champagne.

[jam19872016]

After spending all afternoon at the art auction we missed lunch so we were mighty hungry by dinner time. Tonight was elegant night. My mom was not a fan of having to change and mildly protested. If you have read my reviews before you know that I am not a fan of the idea either, but I try to follow the rules so we changed and made our way for dinner as soon as the MDR opened.

 

Tonight's menu.

 

 

 

 

I requested Rica as my server. I have never asked for a specific server before, but I really liked Rica so I requested her and was sat in her section again.

 

For my starter I ordered the fried oysters and the tart with braised kale.

 

 

 

Both were very good.

[jam19872016]

For my main I ordered just the lobster tail but got the whole dish, and the pasta carbonara.

 

 

 

I usually just order the tail, but I will order the whole thing from now on. The risotto it came with was FANTASTIC. The lobster itself is usually just ok, but this one was actually pretty good. The carbonara is always my favorite dish all week - yum.

 

For dessert I had the creme brulee and the WCMC with two ice creams.

 

 

 

Both were good, but the WCMC was still a little overcooked to my liking - same chef from before I think. No big deal, I still ordered and enjoyed it many times this cruise. We both agreed, this was the best meal of the week. Service was great as well, in and out in just under an hour.

[jam19872016]

Tonight's show in the main theater was Studio VIP. I saw all the shows last time I sailed but wanted to go again to get mom involved. I figured this would be the one that she would like the most, as she grew up in the disco era. My mom really loved this show. It sounds a little corny to say (write) it but I'm gonna say (write) it anyway. I was really happy to see her enjoying herself.

 

After the show we went to the casino to try our luck. I was doing lousy. I mean really lousy. She sat down at a Wheel of Fortune machine and didn't really know what she was doing. She usually plays for $.30 but this was a $1 machine. I don't know how much she wagered (whatever it was already set at when she sat down) but the minimum bet was $1. She triggered the bonus on her first spin (while I was nearby being slaughtered on a game called Black Widow) and won around $50. Lucky duck! I left with my tail between my legs tonight, she called it quits after that big win.

 

Our towel animal for the night.

 

 

Another wonderful night on the Carnival Splendor and dare I say it - I think my mom is actually enjoying herself.

[jam19872016]

Day 3:

 

Fun Day At Sea

 

This was my 17th day on the Splendor, and she now becomes my most sailed ship to date.

 

I love sea days. It is just so relaxing to know there is no pressure to get up and do something or you will miss out on something. It does seem a bit much though for my mom to have all these days at sea, but really I think it turned out fine and she enjoyed her days at sea just as much as I do.

 

Now I say there is no rush to get up, but in reality the casino likes to do things like schedule a drawing at 10:30am. The one time I sleep in, will probably be the time my name is actually drawn for some money. But I was up for this one, so my name was not drawn.

 

The casino was not being my friend at all this morning. When I sailed in May I had the best luck I have ever had in the casino. This trip was just the opposite experience. I walked away for a little while to go eat some lunch. Then I came back. This was not really meant to be a gambling trip, there was no budget for it and I figured that would be ok I didn't plan on being in the casino since I was traveling with my mom. Well I learned a hard lesson this trip, when you don't have the budget, STAY AWAY!!!!

 

I am not really sure what happened. I have hit some rotten streaks in the past. I have lost a lot of money in the past. Always with something to show for it - either a free or a reduced rate cruise. Well in just three days (really only one full day) I hit losses that I have never hit in a single cruise before. I was not even half way to qualifying for a reduced cruise and I made a choice I have never had to make before. I had to call it quits. I have never, I mean NEVER busted out before, but that is where I was at. I did earn a drink card - that I would be unable to use since it is only good in the casino.

 

So I was little bummed not to mention broke but it was my choice so I had to just move on and not let it affect the rest of my cruise. The rest of the afternoon was spend relaxing in the room watching some TV. I like to enjoy a little TV time each cruise as I do not watch TV at home, so for me this is something I can't do on a normal day.

[jam19872016]

Mom had indicated that she did not want to go to dinner quite as early tonight. I was starving but did not want to bug her. It was close to 7 before she realized how late it was and was ready for dinner. Things took a bit of a turn at dinner tonight.

 

We arrived about 10 minutes to 7. There was a wait for YTD. I asked for Rica and was told it would be about an hour wait for Rica. I said no problem whoever is available will be fine. 45 minute wait. Yikes. Ok I can go with the flow and always love to take the opportunity to sit on the outside deck and enjoy the sound of the ocean.

 

 

 

I was also just in time for an amazing sunset, even with a better camera I still cannot capture its beauty on film though.

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

The 45 minute wait time turned out to be about 15. We did not get Rica but not really a big deal. We were sat next to a couple on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It seems they had been waiting a while for their dessert and were about to miss the 7:30 comedy show. They went back and forth among themselves about if they should just get up and leave. In the end I think they ended up missing the show or at least the start of it. I wish I could say they were overreacting, but sadly, service was slow tonight.

 

Tonight's dinner menu.

 

 

 

 

For my starter I had the shrimp escabeche.

 

 

This was ok. I don't think I like escabeche but I am not going to write it off just yet.

 

For my main I had the salmon cake and linguine with Italian sausage.

 

 

 

 

Both were good, but by the time they reached me they were room temperature at best. My mom's dinner was cold.

[jam19872016]

Dessert menu.

 

 

For dessert I had the WCMC with two ice creams and the s'mores parfait.

 

 

 

Both were very good.

 

On the way out we were asked how everything was, like we normally are. And we told the truth. The food was good. But the service was slow which caused the food to be room temperature and in my mom's case, cold. Dinner service lasted a bit over 1.30 hours which is slow, but I am not sure if it was complain to the hostess slow. They would check on us each night the rest of the week, sometimes a couple times a night. I hope we did not get anyone in trouble, but maybe got that wait team some extra training. When service is slow but the food reaches you hot, the kitchen is slammed. When it reaches you cold, I think that is the wait team not performing efficiently. I still wish I could take back the complaint, it was just not that serious.

[jam19872016]

After dinner we didn't do a whole lot. Tonight's show was Epic Rock which was not my mom's style of music. It's not really my style either, I found this show way too loud just for the sake of being loud when I watched it last time. The casino was off limits for me at this point as well so we just took it easy the rest of the evening.

 

Tonight's towel animal.

 

 

We turned in around 11 with another wonderful sea day behind us. Tomorrow would be our first port of call - St.Maarten.

[Angua]

Great Review so far! I a am just wondering how you got all of those tour photos without getting any people in them at all! It is great to see the pictures, we will be going on the Splendor for the first time in October and are getting excited, same itinerary as yours but in reverse, Grand turk is our first port and the 2 sea days are at the end.

[jam19872016]

Great Review so far! I a am just wondering how you got all of those tour photos without getting any people in them at all! It is great to see the pictures, we will be going on the Splendor for the first time in October and are getting excited, same itinerary as yours but in reverse, Grand turk is our first port and the 2 sea days are at the end.

 

I stayed on the ship in St.Kitts. Most people were out and about exploring. I would have preferred it in reverse, more time in Puerto Rico on your itinerary. We left PR at 2, which is just crazy. Thanks for reading along, glad you are enjoying the review!

[jam19872016]

Day 4: St. Maarten

 

Today we were in St .Maarten. This is my second time here, and the first time for my mom.

 

Another one of the rules my mom and I agreed to was that she would pay for our excursions if she was interested in doing anything. This was because I didn't have any plans of doing any had I sailed by myself, and I didn't really want to spend more money than I had originally intended. There was an excursion she was interested in but in the end she backed out deciding it was too much money.

 

I had read about a place in St. Maarten called Holland House that I was interested in for lunch. But with the great Splendor Casino Budget Crisis of 2017 in mind, I also backed out of my plans citing lack of funds as the issue. I really am cruising beyond my means here, but I just love to cruise so much :D

 

So the plan for today became a pretty simple one. Walk around the port and do some shopping. This is not something I recommend to most people, seriously you gotta get out of the main port area and see the island. But my mom was content in just browsing the shops, so that was good enough for me.

 

We took the water taxi which was $7pp for an all day pass. They dropped us off in the downtown area and from there we walked around the different shops.

 

Some pictures of St. Maarten.

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

Some pictures from the water taxi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

We were in port today with the MSC Divina.

 

 

 

 

Great day in port today I think. My mom seemed to be enjoying herself. She bought some T-shirts and some jewelry which appeared to be handmade and not shipped in mass from China. She was even able to haggle on the price which is her just about her favorite thing to do ever.

 

We spent a couple hours in St. Maarten then made our way back to the ship for some lunch.

After lunch it was off to trivia. Today's subject was 70's trivia. My mom and I joined together as a team as I have very limited knowledge of the 70's. My mom lived it. Lot of good it did her though lol. The guy who won was very nice and offered it to my mom, who gave it to me. I probably could have told him I have a collection already, but who am I to turn down my very own Ship On A Stick!

 

 

The next trivia was 70's songs. We didn't do good at that one either. That was pretty much the theme this week at trivia. But it was all in good fun and if we won, well that was just a nice bonus. I missed seeing Brittany as the host, she was promoted (or rotated, but it seemed more like a promotion) to a more visible role on the Fun Squad. She recognized me and we chatted a few times throughout the week. Hosting the trivia was I believe his name was Ryan. I'm not good with names I hope that is right. He was a lot of fun.

[jam19872016]

After trivia the rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying some TV. Then it was time for dinner. We went at 6 which was the trend for most of the rest of the week (when Friends was over and Seinfeld came on, neither of us really care for Seinfeld). We asked for Rica, but were told she was full but we could sit one section over if we like. Now this seemed a bit odd, her section was full, 15 minutes after the MDR opened? Ok, not a big deal. As we passed by her section, it was only about half full. Odd for sure.

 

Tonight's dinner menu.

 

 

 

 

For my starter I had the spring rolls and the seared tuna.

 

 

 

Very good.

[jam19872016]

For my main I had the seared tilapia.

 

 

This was okay. I usually love the fish but it has been falling a little short lately.

 

Tonight's dessert menu.

 

 

I had the passion fruit flan and the WCMC with two ice creams.

 

 

 

I enjoyed both of them.

 

Our server tonight was Francisco and I thought he was wonderful. If we could not get Rica, he was excellent. Now I did not realize it at the time, but this was another 1.30 hr dinner. It did not feel like it, but some diners we had later in the week noticed how long we were there, and time stamps on the pictures confirm it. No complaints to the hostess which I guess seems unfair to the other wait team, but it did not feel disorganized and drawn out as it did the night before and the food all came out nice and hot. A very nice meal, and the hostess came by to check on us as I thought she might. It felt a little awkward, but I appreciate that she wanted to make sure we were having a good dining experience, which we were.

[jam19872016]

Tonight's show in the main theater was Viva Variety: Max Winfrey. It was described as "Stunt comedy as seen on NBC's America's Got Talent". Not the best description so I was unsure what to expect. I was worried it was going to be pretty cheesy or lame but figured it was something different and should not be missed. It ended up being really good. I don't really know how to describe it any better, he does some pretty impressive stunts but in a comedic kinda way. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=max+winfrey if you want to see some clips of his show. I don't know how often he performs for Carnival but if you happen to have him on your cruise, his show is a must.

 

 

 

 

 

We both had a great time and were literally laughing at loud. Very very good show.

 

After this mom retired to the room to relax with some books she borrowed from the library. She had quite a busy day. I wandered around a bit more making sure I still went to the casino at least for the drawings. Still did not get called meh.

 

I hung out at the mega deck party for a little bit and finally got to enjoy the late night Mexican buffet. There were so many options to choose from it was insane. Why o why can they daytime buffet not be as varied as this was? I ate way too much food for this time of night, but it was so worth it. They had a "Mexican" day on the rotation at lunch later in the cruise, and it was terrible and only a couple of items, don't mistake the two, if this is offered it will pop up late at night when many people are sleeping or too full to eat again.

 

Tonight's towel animal.

 

[rosalindpheasant]

Really enjoying your review... Thank you very much... We are on a count down to our first cruise in October... Patiently waiting to read more. My husband has laughed at me... I have made notes in our Cruise binder as I have been reading. Such as the "Secret" deck... :) Thanks again.

[jam19872016]

Really enjoying your review... Thank you very much... We are on a count down to our first cruise in October... Patiently waiting to read more. My husband has laughed at me... I have made notes in our Cruise binder as I have been reading. Such as the "Secret" deck... :) Thanks again.

 

I'm so glad that I could help. Enjoy your first cruise, you will soon be hooked like the rest of us. :D

[jam19872016]

Day 5:

 

St.Kitts

 

Today we were in St.Kitts. This is my second time in here and my mom's first. When we were going through excursions she did not really see anything that looked interesting to her here and we figured we would probably stay on board today but play it by ear. She was pretty worn out still from the day before and didn't feel like getting off the ship so we made today another sea day.

 

I took this opportunity to do my ship tour today. I also got some pictures of St.Kitts from the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

Our neighbor in port today was the largest ship in the world, Harmony of the Seas. It was so big and so close to us that I couldn't really get a good picture of it.

 

 

 

 

After my tour, the afternoon was spent with trivia. On a few of these my mom and I split up to double our chances of winning, since all we could do was guess the correct answer.

 

We started with general knowledge trivia. Bombed it. Next was outrageous laws which was multiple choice, make your best guess lol. I don't know if it will always be the case, but on this trivia "C" was never the correct answer. I will avoid picking "C" and see if it makes a difference next time :D.

 

The next trivia was fact or fiction. Ryan would tell us something pretty far out there, and we had to guess if it was fact or fiction. Did you know that termite farts is the #1 cause of ozone depletion? I figured that had to be true because who could make something like that up. It is a fact, who knew? I ended up in a four way tie for first place with 13 out of 20 guessed correctly. We played a game of hot and cold to determine the winner. Ryan hid the trophy somewhere in the room and we had to see who could find it first. I started off strong then lost my way. I finally found it, some guy was sitting on it. In all the excitement I didn't get a picture, but I added another Ship On A Stick to my collection. I also became known as Mr.Watermelon since so many of the questions were about watermelons.

 

Final trivia was 90's music trivia. I really should do better at this one than I do. I did ok but not good enough for a third trophy. It was a lot of fun and a great way to spend an afternoon on board!

[jam19872016]

We left for dinner around 6 and could not get Rica again. Today her section did at least appear to be full. We were sat with Fransisco again which was ok because he took really good care of us. My mom especially loved him, probably more than Rica.

 

Tonight's dinner menu.

 

 

 

 

This is the extra menu they put in the rotation on 8 night cruises. The menus do get a bit repetitive when you cruise a lot, so tonight's menu was a breath of fresh air for me.

 

For my starter I had the Michigan pasty and the tuna salad.

 

 

 

The pasty was ok the tuna salad was delicious.

[jam19872016]

For my main I had the seafood newburg and the beef wellington.

 

 

 

The seafood newburg was pretty good. The beef wellington was not. I think it was a combination of two things. I don't think I like this dish, I was trying something new. But then also, the beef was so dry I am not sure it would have been good if I had cared for it. That little side dish was wonderful though. Need more of these.

 

Dessert menu.

 

 

For dessert I had the orange rosemary cake and the bitter and blanc.

 

 

 

You are probably looking at the rosemary cake and thinking the same thing I thought when I saw it. Wow that looks dry. It was actually very good and not dry at all. The bitter and blanc I have had before and thought it was ok but did not really get what all the fuss was about. Now I get it, this was heavenly.

 

Dinner was pretty good tonight and I learned that I do not care for beef wellington. Service was great and was about 1.15hr start to finish.