An Amber,A Thomas,A Juan,A Turk,a Dee and a Jim - Carnival Splendor Journal w/ Pics

Following!!

You and Dee sound like our kind of people! Loving your review.

Going on the Splendor June 4th. Can't wait for more!

This was our 3rd time - we really Love that Ship......thanks for following along

I've laughed out loud a few times, please post more!

Glad we could make you laugh!!...more laughs to come...will get the 2nd Day in Hollywood up on Monday and the 1st Day of the Cruise on Tuesday

Following!!

Thanks for following along - 2nd Day in Hollywood Beach will be posted Monday and the 1st Day of the Cruise on Tuesday

You and Dee sound like our kind of people! Loving your review.

Thanks ...and you our kind of people...we do LOVE us some Vegas!!!

Looking forward to hearing all about your cruise.

Thanks for posting! Looking forward to the rest :)

awesome review!!! cant wait for more!

Thanks for posting! Looking forward to the rest :)

Thanks for reading....more to come today

awesome review!!! cant wait for more!

Thanks...Day 2 in Hollywood Beach is up next!!

April 8th - Hollywood Beach and Fun with the Yoopers - Day 2

I managed to prop an eyelid open about 7:30am, having had LOTS of sleep, and quickly realized that removing my lips from my teeth would have to wait a little bit. I made a ‘reach over’ to make sure there were in fact 2 of us and then did the obligatory rewind and playback of the events from the day before in my head. I hit pause to wake Dee up so she could watch too. By the end we were both smiling realizing we were not in Jail, did not have any ‘Promise to Appears’ and still had our Wallets and Passports.We had SO MUCH FUN and best of all we’d get to do it all over again today…. or do we??? As we laid there we realized neither one of us had any recollection of what plans we had made with the Yoopers…or if we had made any at all. Conclusion # 768 – Orange Juice makes us forget.

We had to put our Run and Workout off for another day just in case we were supposed to meet up with everyone early. We sent a message to D and after getting ready and not having heard back from her we sent her a message saying ‘we were going out for Breakfast’.

As we were leaving we ran into the Lady in the Robe’s Husband and asked him if we could possibly check-in and he said “Sure but if you are your way out right now stop by later” With the possibility of us having Orange Juice with Breakfast or running into Mr. Chicago again we insisted that we pay him now so it “didn’t slip our minds.”

We only met the Lady in the Robe that 1st Night but we ran into or spoke to her husband several times during our stay and he was an absolute gem. Always had a smile on his face and was always offering to carry Lounge Chairs to the Beach for us or telling us to take the Bikes for a ride or asking 'where we had been?' and 'what we had done?'. While we were paying our Account he made us both a Cappuccino and gave us Caramel Sticks to dip in the Cappuccino. He showed us a Video of his 8-year old daughter teaching herself how to ride a Unicycle in 4 hours. We could just feel the Love he had for his Family.

The VILLA EUROPA, www.villaeuropahotel.com, is a boutique hotel with Studios and 1 and 2 Bedroom Beach Suites located in the heart of Hollywood Beach and just a ten minute drive from Fort Lauderdale Airport…. and was very reasonably priced in our opinion. The Hotel just received a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence and is described as “the perfect beach getaway ….. conveniently located on the beach, a short distance from area points of interest, restaurants, shops and entertainment options…. enjoy outdoor barbecue areas, on-site parking, laundry facilities, free local phone calls as well as complementary wireless internet access. Cable TV provides additional in-room entertainment with more than 100 channels.”

We would absolutely stay here again – it was better than advertised and it was literally 20 seconds from our door to the Beach at a Lazy Canadian’s pace......

This is looking up Cleveland St from the Broadwalk and you can see the corner of the Hotel on the Left

The Villa Europa is just behind the yellowish Hotel

…and was at least $75.00 – $150.00 lower in pricing than any of the other places we looked at. We used and LOVED the Courtyard…we did not use the Bikes – there are 4………

...we just LOVED the entire stay.

April 8th - Hollywood Beach and Fun with the Yoopers - Day 2 (continued)

We decided to follow one of D’s recommendations and head North up to Ocean’s 13. They have an elevated Terrace overlooking the Beach and as she had said ‘the Views were GREAT and the people watching entertaining’. There wasn’t an Intravenous Hook-up for Water available on the Menu so I ordered a Glass of Water and a Coke which unbeknownst to me we would be sharing while Dee started her day off with a Coffee which we didn’t share. It must have been hot already because the Water in my Glass evaporated almost instantly. Fortunately for me the Waiter carrying the Pitcher of Ice-Cold Water never seemed to be too far away.

Dee went with the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict while I went with the New York Strip Steak and 2 Eggs and a side of Bacon. The food arrived quickly and shortly thereafter Dee found out she did not like Crab Cakes but did like the side of bacon I had ordered. I asked her if she “would like some more of my Coke with my Bacon?” and with her mouth full of Bacon and the straw from the Coke she politely used one finger to respond which indicated 1 more Glass would be in order so I requested a refill.

While the 2 of us were enjoying my meal we watched a fellow with a Metal Detector put a lot of ‘finds’ in his Cargo Shorts. Conclusion# 769 – The Belt holding up his shorts worked very well. Don’t know why but we were absolutely fascinated by the whole process and watched him for quite a while.

Sitting on the Terrace looking out over the Beach and the Atlantic Ocean was a really nice way to start the day so I gazed across the Table, beyond the empty, bacon grease glazed, white, side dish and the tall glass holding only a straw and a few ice cubes and mouthed the words ‘Elephant shoes’ to Dee.

It was a GREAT start to our Day.

We headed back towards the Villa Europa with a mission to stop at a Store we had seen the day before and get a particular Tie-Dyed T-Shirt for Dee’s youngest Son. I wanted to grab a Photo of one of the 'Dunes' on the way back as well.

That accomplished we spent some time at the Hotel using the Free Wifi to check for breaking news on Facebook,twitter and the Score. There was a message from D saying that they “were heading to the Festival that we had talked about the night before at 3:00pm and we should Uber over around the same time.” Her next message gave us all the details –the Dania Beach Arts and Seafood Festival and the address. Conclusion# 770 – Well lookie there; Plans. We immediately Googled the Dania Beach Arts and Seafood Festival. It turned out it was a Free Event and the 5th Annual so they had to be doing something right. We like Seafood ,and had our fingers crossed that there would be more Seafood than just Crab Cakes, however we wouldn’t necessarily consider ourselves Artsy folk. It took Dee 2 and me 6 Bullets before we stopped reading:

• Fresh Delicious Seafood.
  
• All day live Music – Dee’s done reading
  
• Culinary Delights from Top Local Restaurants
  
• Fine Arts, Crafters
  
• Local Retailer Booths
  
• Beer & Wine Garden – Jim’s Done reading
  
• Magnificent Sand Sculptures
  
• Family Activities, games, and rides
  
• Chef Showcase featuring culinary imaginations and creations
  
• Live Performance Art
  

With Dee being a Music Lover, me being a drinker of Beer and Wine + the Yoopers and THE FRIENDS and The Spin Doctors as the Headline Act we knew we’d be in for a GREAT Afternoon and Evening. So we decided to celebrate the only way we knew how and headed up to the Riptide Tiki Bar for a Bucket…..or 2……or???

April 8th - Hollywood Beach and Fun with the Yoopers - Day 2 (continued)

At 3:00pm we were still sitting at the Tike Bar and decided to kick the bucket and head back to the Hotel to try our hand at Uber Conclusion # 770 – It was a SHARED success. I had downloaded the App before we left home. We don’t have Uber or Lyft in Canada as the Owners of all the Dog Sleds are resisting. So here we go; I punched in the address D had given me for Frost Park and after a few more selections it said Jose, our Uber Driver, would be there in 6 minutes…then 5….then 4…then 1….then I got a message stating the Uber was there. We don’t see it. Then my phone rings and it’s our Driver Jose and he said he ‘was there’. I took my hat off and sang “Jose can you see” ……. “us waving?” and he said “No”. I said we were “on the Corner of Cleveland and North Surf” and he said he ‘could not drive down North Surf because Cleveland is a One-Way Street’ and he ‘was on the Corner of Arthur and North Surf’. We peaked our heads around the Corner and saw the flashing headlights on Jose’s Car and walked towards it. Dee got a bit of a surprise when she opened the Back Door and there were 2 Girls sitting in the Backseat. “These your daughters Jose?” I asked and after he answered we had one of those ‘So that’s what that "Share”selection on the Uber App meant’ moments

Dee got in the Back Seat with the 2 Girls and I got in the Front Seat and off we went along North Surf in the direction Jose said he ‘could not go’ past Cleveland St to Oklahoma St. where we turned Left and were on our way. Hmm, you got some ’splaining to do Jose. We were able to get some Uber Information from Jose during the ride. The 2 Girls, who were from Georgia and off to attend a different Music Festival, were friendly so it was enjoyable ride past the Airport to Frost Park and was $27.00 cheaper than the ride we got from the Airport early Friday morning.

When we got there and saw the Park and the Crowd we wondered how we were going to find the Yoopers and THE FRIENDS but Nature has a way of taking care of these things and fortunately for us G’s Nature was calling so we ran into him before we even got into the Park and as he was headed towards the massive row of‘Johnny on the Spots’ he gave us a fairly good description of where everyone was. Conclusion # 771 – Ya don’t Buy Beer. Ya Rent it.

We followed G’s Directions and found the Group just beyond the Dania Beach Sand Castle Carving

just where he said they’d be. Woulda been easier if G said ‘just look for theApartment Building sized Beer Cooler’. We said “Hi” to everyone and after receiving my well-deserved ribbing for the “early night’ the night before Dee and I headed off towards the Beer Tent to get a Bucket. We ordered a Bucket of 5 Beer for $25.00 which saved us absolutely nothing off of the $5.00/beer cost and after paying we were told “Sorry we’re outta Buckets.” I was pretty sure I saw a Vacant Unit on the 6th Floor of M and D’s Cooler so we carried the 5 Beer Back, placed 3 Beer in the Cooler and sat down. It was then that M & D told us ‘not to do that again’ and ‘to just drink the Beer in the Cooler. It was for everyone’. My offer to ‘pay our share’ was met with the same response I got from Dee earlier in the day at breakfast so I got M and D another Beer each out of the Cooler.

My 1st attempt to twist the Cap off of my Beer quickly revealed it was not a twist-off ; the finger has healed nicely. It was Hot so all we needed was for someone to cry and we’d be at a Blood, Sweat and Tears Concert. Sick of drinking Blood but still quite thirsty I asked if ‘anyone happened to have a Bottle Opener’ and the results were 1 Bottle Opener attached to a Lawn Chair, 1 attached to the Cooler, 1 on a Key Chain and 1 on the Bottom of a Flip Flop from the Yoopers. Conclusion# 772 – Boy and Girl Scout Beer Garden

Now settled in we were able to catch the last few songs from the band, Brothers of Others, as they finished their Set a little after4:00pm. They sure sounded good to us and the rest of the Group, having been there for most of the Band’s time on stage, agreed.

The next Band started around 4:30pm and they were called Purple Madness, a Prince Tribute Band and they were AMAZING!!!! They had the entire Park up dancing and singing along to all of Prince’s most popular Songs – and there’s a lot. We were all partying like it was 1999. They played straight through until just after 6:00pm and once they were finished Dee and I decided to head over to the Food Tent and Truck Area to get a bite to eat before The Spin Doctors started their Set.

We decided we wanted Maine Lobster Rolls so we ordered 2 – 1 with a side of fries and 1 with a side of Yellow Rice. They were $22.00 each and we felt an instant bond with the Lobster we were about to eat as the 3 of us now shared a feeling of being rolled; however when you factor in the cost of the FREE Admission for the Event we were all good. Each of the $5.40 bites were tasty and Dee’s fries were Great while my Rice went the way of Dee’s Crab Cakes from earlier in the day.

The Spin Doctors hit the Stage shortly after 6:30pm and the entire Park was up and Rockin’ for the next 90 minutes. It was a GREAT time – we danced, we sang, we laughed and we did our Best to evict all the Occupants of M and D’s Cooler. Conclusion # 773 – Mission Accomplished.

On of M and D’s friends had recently broken his ankle along the Broadwalk in Hollywood Beach and with him using one of the 4–wheel, kneel-on Rollators, D using a Crutch, it was only fitting we had the guy who was blind in one eye, me, lead the Group out of the Park. The ½ Blind led the Injured at a very slow pace until we were safely in the Parking Lot.

It was time to Uber. We split up and G, V, Dee and I went together while M, D, and a few of their friends made up another Group while one their friends Rollerbladed back. The 4 of us wandered over to G and V’s RV as they had a few things to do plus it gave us an opportunity for us to see their Rig. We had been following along with their adventure on Facebook as they were towing their Truck and had 3 Harley’s with them – 2 of which were Bikes and 1 was their Dog - and letting him out was one of the things they had to do. Don’t think we have ever seen a nicer RV.

Doggie Duty, or maybe ‘Doodie, done G requested an Uber and a few minutes later we were on our way to The Walkabout Tiki Bar for one last ‘Hurrah’. We were the last to arrive and when we did so we found our Group around the Bar. Conclusion Not Necessary – No Surprise There. Immediately M came up to Dee and I and said ‘D sends her apologies for not being able to make it but the last day and a half had taken a toll on her knees and she needed to get off her feet.’ We understood completely as the last day and a half had taken a toll on us too and we needed to get off our feet as well so after ordering a couple of Cups of Wine and we grabbed a few Tables adjacent to the Broadwalk in front of the Bar and we sat down.

We spent the next hour or so reminiscing, telling stories, laughing and just having a good time before Dee and V decided it was time for a Swim. They both assured us they were just going to go in up to their knees. The 2 of them headed across the Broadwalk and down to the Beach and after taking off their Shorts we could see them splashing around in the Water.

They were back fairly quickly and the ‘Good Times’ went on for another hour before it was Last Call at the Walkabout Tiki Bar. We all did our Best to ensure that their Last Round of the Day was their most profitable and one of the Sisters who Tarbends there gave M the key to the Bathroom and asked him ‘to leave it in its place when we left’. Conclusion #774 – Obviously Not their 1st Rodeo.

Another 45 minutes of Good Times left us with a decision. M suggested we all head down to Logan’s Bar which would be open until 4:00am but apparently Wine is our 'Good Decision' Drink because we said “as much as we’d like to we have to be up pretty early and we’d like to feel somewhat respectable the next day when we board”. Pretty sure G and V were happy to hear us say that as they were heading towards Key West the next day.

I am not good at Good-byes at all so I quickly gave my Round of Hugs and said my ‘Until Next Time…’ to all and headed 75 feet or so down the Broadwalk to wait for Dee. I must have had a Bug in my eye or something cause my eyes sure were watering. Dee and I are so fortunate to have made such GREAT friends during our years together.

We walked South towards the Villa Europa at a leisurely place and saw this flying at one of the Hotels...

We laughed the entire way as we relived some of the best moments over the last couple of days and once back to the Hotel we sat at the Table in the Courtyard for a few minutes, finished our Roadies, had a smoke and called it a Night.

I am really enjoying reading about your pre-cruise adventures! And of course, I am laughing my way through because you are such a hilarious story teller! :')

I am really enjoying reading about your pre-cruise adventures! And of course, I am laughing my way through because you are such a hilarious story teller! :')

Thanks so much CruisinMama2003.......Embarkation and the rest of our 1st day on the Ship will be posted tomorrow morning...Hope you keep reading along :)

Enjoying the review. You tell a great story!

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Thanks for posting.

Enjoying the review. You tell a great story!

 

Thanks so much...glad you are enjoying....more to come

 

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Thanks for posting.

You are very welcome

August 9th – Day 1– Welcome Aboard the Carnival Splendor

We woke Sunday morning to sunny skies and 2 well-earned Hangovers. I completed the morning ‘reach-over and valuables and necessities check’ and then we ran through the ‘memory playback’ and from all indications we were Summons and Subpoena free so we got up, showered, dressed, got our 2 Bottles of Wine out of the Fridge and packed them into their insulated Carriers and then into the Carry-on along with our Smokes and Necessities and then re-packed the rest of our stuff in our Suitcases. And with hands nowhere near Steel I shakily split 2 liters of Duty-Free Crown Royal between 3 RumRunner Flasks and packed those securely in the Luggage.

We had SO MUCH FUN in Hollywood Beach with the Yoopers and The Friends but…….

WE ARE GETTING ON A SHIP TODAY!!!

We did get off to a bit of a late start as it was actually our early Friday morning’s Driver’s ‘not replied to’ Text at 8:15am asking if it was ‘OK to pick us up at 8:30am to take us to the Port?’ that woke us up so we felt it best that we put-off our Run and Workout this morning. Including this day we were now 70 days shy of 13 years in a row of missing our Morning Run and Workout. Unfortunately our Afternoon and Evening Runs and Workouts have met the same fate.

We decided to go for one last walk on the Broadwalk to get Dee an Ice Coffee while I was hoping that SmartWater had an even SmarterWater for me. Once back at the Hotel I used the Uber App at 9:55am to request a non-shared Ride and our Driver, Jacquline,arrived at 10:02am. We Ubered – that a Verb? - to the Port of Miami from the Villa Europa at a cost of $32.99 + we gave her a Cash Tip and arrived at the Port at 10:39am for our 11:00am – 11:30am Check-in time. The Rush when we see the Ship for the 1st time was a little muted as we saw CARNIVAL SPLE R along the side of the Ship.Conclusion # 775 – I’d like a ‘D’ Pat, an ‘R’ and now I’d like to buy a Vowel, an ‘O’

We dropped off 2 Pieces of Luggage with a Porter along with a $10 Bill and headed towards the Priority Check-in line. We presented our Boarding Pass and the ‘Not Sick’ and‘Not Pregnant’ Forms to the Agent. In return she informed us that our S&S Cards would be in a ‘sealed envelope in the Mailbox outside our Cabin Door when the Cabins are ready’ which in our case would ‘be 11:30am’, gave us a copy of the Carnival Splendor Deck Plans and a Welcome Aboard Information Card for the Carnival Vista and pointed out that we could either eat on the Lido or at Guy’s Pig and Anchor Bar-B-Q on Deck 5 and with all that done she pointed us towards Security. Someone’s gonna be disappointed.

All in all it took us 6 minutes to get from the Curb, complete our Check-in, get throughSecurity, where they didn’t even look at the 2 Bottles of Wine in our carry-on, and up to the new Platinum and Diamond Waiting Area where we could enjoy some Cookies and all the Water we could drink. The fact there were no Lemon Slices in the Water Coolers was a source of irritation for a few who viewed it as another Cutback by Carnival. No one asked us but we felt those passengers were plenty sour already. We really hoped they weren’t looking forward to going to Guy’s Pig and Anchor Bar-B-Q on Deck 5.

What was supposed to be about a 45 minute wait ended up lasting 90 minutes as the USCG were conducting an Inspection. We finally heard the Announcement for the Diamond Cruisers at 12:10 and we followed immediately afterwards when they called or Platinum Cruisers to board. We made a quick stop along the way to have our ‘Welcome Aboard’ Picture taken. We had to show our Boarding Passes twice more and get the Bar Codes scanned using the iPads and Dee ended up having to have her picture taken as the Scan of her Passport Photo didn't turn our properly.

It was time to board the Carnival Sple r.

The start-of -every-Carnival-Cruise-we’ve-ever-done Fun Ship Specials in the Atrium at The Splendor Bar were ordered at 12:21pm and the Countdown to the Cheers 15 had officially begun.

As we sat there I asked Dee 'if she even liked the FSS's?' adding "Cause I don't". She didn't hesitate and said "NOPE. TOO SWEET. But we'll never stop having one as soon as we get on the Ship" TRUTH. We sat there for a little while watching the reactions of Cruisers as they finally made it on the Ship. At exactly the same time Dee and I turned to each other and said “Wow, there’s a lot of kids.” When we booked the Cruise we never even gave a second thought to it still being Spring Break but as the week went along we found out it was Spring Break in a number of areas in the States and that along with the Cruise aligning with Easter meant there were a lot of Families with school-aged kids on the Ship.

Next up was a trip to the Casino Bar to have a smoke as ‘Bunkering was in Progress' and a Drink – a Miller Lite for me and a Hendricks’s and Tonic for Dee.While there we talked to a Man from Alabama, who had cruised a fair bit, and a Couple who were on their 1st Cruise and were celebrating their 10th Wedding Anniversary. Dee and I and the Man from Alabama spent 2 Smokes and ¾ of a Drink answering all their Questions about the Cheers Package, the Casino and the Cruise itself. Their EXCITEMENT was contagious!!!

The Husband was asking about the 15 Drink Limit and we explained that it was a firm cut-off and that you couldn’t even buy a drink after you hit your 15 and it would last until 6:00am the next morning. And we passed on a few tips and lessons regarding consumption and cruising we have learned over the years. When he asked ‘who keeps track?’ we told him “Carnival does as it gets ‘charged’ to your Folio Number each time you get a drink. You can always ask the Waiters/Waitresses or Bartenders who are serving you for a count so you know or you can keep track yourself.” He laughed and said “Good Luck with me keeping track” I reached into my right pocket and pulled out 13 Dollar Bills and told him ‘there used to be 15 in my Pocket’ and explained that’s how I’d “be keeping track of how many Drinks I have had each day. Each Morning I’ll put 15 Dollar Bills in my Pocket and each time I order a Drink I will tip a buck. That way I’ll know where I am at any time during the Day or Night and take the appropriate actions when necessary.” The Man from Alabama looked over at me, laughed and said “That’s a GOOD IDEA. I am gonna start doing THAT” and then as he reached into his pocket and pulled out 2 Straws he added “I am done with counting my drinks with the straws that come in them”…and we laughed and we laughed and we laughed.

With smiles on our faces we made our way over to the Elevators just past the Fun Shops and after 2 Sets of Elevator Doors in a row opened to show us jam-packed Elevators we decided to take the Stairs Conclusion# 776 – Last time I will be climbing 5 Flights of Stairs on the Cruise. It was time to head to the Cabin and drop off the Carry-on.

August 9th – Day 1– Welcome Aboard the Carnival Splendor (continued)

We had been on the Carnival Splendor twice before and knew the Ship well; despite its history and ours on it it’s one of our favourite Ships. The first time we cruised on her was in April of 2009 on a Cruise Critic Group Cruise that ‘affectionately’ became known as the ‘Swine Flu’ Cruise – a 7-day Cruise to the Mexican Riviera which quickly became a 6 Fun Days At Sea Sea and 1 cold, windy and rainy Day in San Francisco. That Cruise still remains one of our favourites despite the fact it was not what we were expecting. Conclusion# 777 - BIGGEST. BAR. BILL. EVER.

The“Let’s try this again” on the Carnival Splendor was in October of 2010, on another Group Cruise, where we actually made it to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlán and Cabo San Lucas that time. This was the 1st Cruise we had, as a Group, the now discontinued Open Bar Card.

We chose a Balcony Cabin on Deck 6 (Cabin 6447) the first time and were assigned a Balcony Cabin on Deck 10 (Cabin 1075) the 2nd time through a Balcony Guarantee Booking. We really liked the Cabin location during the 2nd Cruise which is why we went with Deck 10 this time. To be honest neither of us would pay extra to be in a Balcony on a higher Deck but in this case, with it being a Casino Bounce Back booking, it didn’t matter what deck we chose our price to upgrade to a Balcony remained the same. We found our way to the closed Doors by our Hallway and opened one of them and made our way to Cabin 1060 – Our Home Away From Home for the Next 7 Nights. Once inside the Cabin we put our Cash, Passports, Phones, Wallets and Dee’s Jewelry in the Safe, set the Combination and then we put our 2 Bottles of Carry-on Wine in the mini-Fridge which did a surprisingly good job of keeping the Wine chilled.

After that we took a look at the Bon Voyage Purchases that were in the Cabin already. The Beach Towels, the 4-Pack of Blue Moon Beer and the ‘Keep it Cooler Soda Package’ were already in the Cabin as were the Gift Notices that come with them. When friends of ours were on a Celebrity Cruise this past January the husband, Rick, sent us a message from the Ship along with a Picture stating ‘this is why I always takes care of purchases on-line myself and not over the Phone’ which he had done this time.

Funny thing is Rick had a Birthday shortly after their Cruise and his Facebook Page was chalk full of ‘Happy Birthday Lick’ greetings. We will always Remember!!! When Dee was placing the Order for the ‘Keep It Cooler Soda Package’ she decided to have some fun at Rick’s expense.

She had tried to order a ‘Keep it Cooler Beer Package’ for the Cabin which would have consisted of the Cooler, 4 Beers, a Bottle Opener and 2 Cups but since we had already made “2 Alcohol Bon Voyage Purchases” she was not able to do so she ordered a ‘Keep it Cooler Soda Package’ which replaced the Beers with a 6-Pack of Coke, a Bottle Openerand 2 Cups. Conclusion # 778 -We really wanted the Cooler. And I was fairly certain that I would be able to put the Coke to good use. If we had not ordered the ‘Toast the Town’ Package and the 4 Blue Moon we could have ordered a total of 2 Bottles of Crown Royal however we could not order more than 4 Beer and a Bottle of Champagne. Conclusion# 779 - 2 Bottles of Crown Royal = 4 Beer and 1 Bottle of Champagne. Aside from that the Cooler is AWESOME and we will use it at home regularly, in fact I even used it as my Personal Item on the Flights back.

While we were getting organized a young man from Jamaica whose Name Tag identified him as a Restaurant Steward came walking into the Cabin and was very surprised to see us in there. He knew he had made a mistake in walking straight in like that and was very apologetic. After saying “I messed up. I should not have just walked in without knocking. I didn’t expect you to be here” we told him 'not to worry about it' and talked to him for about 5 or 10 minutes about Jamaica; one of our favourite places to visit.

Now as organized as we could be until the Luggage arrived or we got some Ice we decided to pass on Guy's Pig and Anchor Bar-B-Q on Deck 5 of the Carnival Vista.....

...so we headed along Deck 10 towards the Aft of the Ship and then took the Stairs down to Deck 9 - Lido where we settled into a meal of deliciousness from the Tandoor Station. It took me several years to get Dee to try Indian Cuisine and she now loves it as much as I do. Victoria, BC has a large East Indian population and we frequent the Tandoor or Tumeric Restaurants quite often. Conclusion # 780 – Naan Bread is one of my all-time favourites. Dee just calls it Dippy-Dippy because she dips the Bread in one of the many Sauces available so we were very much looking forward to visiting this Station frequently. Along with Lunch we ordered Drinks from the Liner Lido Bar.

After thoroughly enjoying our Lunch where one of us had a 2nd helping we made our way down to the Oceanview Bar in the Casino for a Smoke and a Drink. The Staff at the Oceanview Bar in the Casino were some of the Best we have ever experienced.

We decided to head up to the Cabin to spend the hour before the Muster Drill relaxing and as we arrived so did our Cabin Steward, I Putu from Indonesia, to first, introduce himself, and then he presented us with a Card that gave us a choice of Morning or Evening Service ONLY. When we asked him “Where the option was to select ‘Both’ was?’ he looked at the Card and rhetorically asked “I wonder why my Supervisor gave me these Cards to use?” We checked off both Morning and Evening Service, the Ice Bucket and asked him for ‘Ice twice a Day’ and agreed that our new Carnival Cooler would work better than the Ice Bucket which it did, for Towels we asked for the ones that we used which we’d leave in the Shower to be replaced twice/day as we like to Shower twice a day while cruising, Turn-down Service as part of the Evening Service and a Towel Animal each Night. He said all our requests would be met. We would meet I Putu’s Assistant, Made, also from Indonesia, the next afternoon.

Putu and Made were efficient; the Cabin was kept clean and we do our part on all of our Cruises to keep the Cabin organized as well, the Cooler was kept full of Ice, our Towels were changed as we had requested however not once did we get the Traditional Turn-down Service that we have become accustomed to nor did we ever get a Towel Animal at Night as we got them as part of our late morning Service. Getting the Towel Animals this way just wasn’t the same; on previous Cruises we got the surprise of the Towel Animal when we finally made it back to our Cabin each Night and with the manner in which we intake our liquids on Cruises there were many times when the Towel Animal was a surprise again the next morning.

Had we not been on any Carnival Cruises in the past we would not have known any better or different but even the Evening Service had us a little confused. In the past the Cabin Stewards, using their Ninja like skills, would service our Cabin while we were at our Late Dining while on this Cruise Made and Putu starting servicing the Cabins around 5:00pm and every night our Cabin was done before 7:00pm before we even got ready for Dinner. Didn’t affect our Cruise at all but was different than what we were used to.

We spent a little time on the Balcony waiting for the Call for Muster.

The Call for the Muster Drill came at exactly 3:30pm and at 3:33pm a female Carnival Staff Member came in to the Cabin and told us we needed to ‘proceed to our Muster Station immediately.’ I told her ‘we were going but that ‘my Wife was claustrophobic so we like to be one of the last to arrive so we are in the Front Row.’ She said “OK, But not too long” and headed out. A few minutes later we began a slow and methodical trip down the Stairs to Deck 3 where Muster Station ‘D’ was located. We ‘checked in’ using Carnival’s new iPad Check-in System and found ourselves exactly where we wanted to be; in the Front Row of Muster Station ‘D’. The Drill began 5 or 6 minutes after we got there and was over in a flash and as we climbed the 7 flights of Stairs to Deck 10 I reminded myself of the promise I made to myself earlier that “I wouldn’t walk up 5 Flights ofStairs again this Cruise.” Well 7 flights isn’t 5 but I did reassure myself that ‘this was the last time’ and that ‘there would be no more of this foolishness; it would be Elevators from now on’.

Great review! Love you humor, looking forward to more.

August 9th – Day 1– Welcome Aboard the Carnival Splendor (continued)

Some more Pics from the Balcony

Loving your review!! Can't wait for more!

August 9th – Day 1– Welcome Aboard the Carnival Splendor (continued)

The rest of Our Bon Voyage goodies; the ‘Toast the Town’ Package which included a Bottle of Barefoot Bubby and 2 Champagne Flutes, the Chocolate Delight, 1 Case of Water and Dee’s Roses - Conclusion #781 - It’s a Carnival Branded Christmas – had arrived as had our Luggage and my ‘Drinks On Us’acknowledgement Card from the Casino...

...by the time we got back from the Muster Drill and our new Cooler was full to the brim with Ice. We put the Bottle of Champagne and the 4 Blue Moon in the Cooler and zipped it up.

Since we had a few minutes before Sail-Away we took the time to get unpacked, everything hung up and organized and most importantly I put the 3 RumRunner Flasks away in their hiding place where they would patiently wait for their Flights home on the 16th unless their rest was somehow interrupted by one of Cabin 1060’s Residents. Conclusion #782– They didn’t get to rest for long.

As we were unpacking we heard a commotion in the Hallway and not being able to see enough through the Peep Hole we opened the Door to see one of our Neighbours going up one side and down the other of Putu, our Cabin Steward. She was telling him that she ‘was a Gold Carnival Cruiser’ and let him know in no uncertain terms how ‘inappropriate it was for the female Carnival Staff Member to come into their Cabin to tell them to go to Muster’. Again she repeated that she ‘was Gold’ and that she knew ‘what she was supposed to do’ and ‘even though this was her Mom’s 1st cruise she knew enough to tell her Mom what to do in an Emergency’.

Just as Putu started to explain the proper Protocol for Muster we heard the Cruise Director come over the PA System and he began to list off 10 - 15 Names. At this point Goldlady shushed Putu and told him she had ‘heard her and her Mom’s names on the Announcement so she had to listen.’ The Announcement turned out to be Instruction for the people named to report to the El Morocco Lounge (Deck 5Aft) for a “Special Muster Drill” as they had not attended the original one with an added comment that ‘the Carnival Splendor would not be able to set Sail until ALL Passengers had been mustered.’ The looks on Putu’s and Goldlady’s faces were polar opposites. It was almost as if we could see Putu thinking“Gold you so”.

10 Minutes later we went out on the Balcony and saw that the Thrusters had started....

....so we quickly went back in theCabin and poured some Wine, grabbed the Chocolates and headed back out on the Balcony to enjoy Sail-Away. Our 1st Cruise together in 2008 was on the Carnival Freedom and it was out of Miami so for the 2 of us this brought back a lot of GREAT memories. We really enjoy Sail-Away out of both Miami andPort Canaveral more than any of the other Ports we have cruised out of. It was a beautiful afternoon and and we were serenaded by a Man on the Shoreline playing the Bagpipes.....

...and we said Good-bye to Miami.

Enjoying the review. You tell a great story!

 

 

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Thanks so much...Glad you are enjoying

Great review! Love you humor, looking forward to more.

Thank-you...the rest of Embarkation Day will be up shortly

Loving your review!! Can't wait for more!

Thanks...more of Day 1 to come

August 9th – Day 1– Welcome Aboard the Carnival Splendor (continued)

More Pics from Sail-Away