Splendor NYC-Exotic Caribbean 8 Nights Review w Pic. 9-22-13 to 9-30-13

[mking8288]

Charlotte Amalie @ St. Thomas, USVI - 7AM to 3PM (Sailaway @ 3:30PM) Day #5 of our cruise, oooooh no! It's half way already ....

 

We tried to get 5 or 6 hours of sleep overnight as it's a very short distance for the Splendor to cover between San Juan & St. Thomas - the Atlantic "ocean" was very calm and we cruised rather slowly, not being in a hurry.

 

We quietly arrived around 6 AM before sunrise and docked at Heavensight (Long Bay) as the only ship calling here today - 3 ships were docked ast time we're there - and, we have the entire town to ourselves to explore.

 

We're left our cabins and headed down to Gold Pearl for another nice sit-down full breakfast, open seating and not too busy - more of less "ignoring" the fury of activities going on around the ship & outside, as the gangway was being prepared while waiting for local officials to clear the ship, etc. Priority & special assistance, and ship-tours, etc. are being asked to wait & listen to the calls at the proper time by "Woo Hoo" Malcom and not to rush down & block the Fwd stairs, etc. From our balcony, we didn't exactly see a mass oxodus of people rushing off the ship when we got back from our leisurely high energy breakfast around 7:45 AM - as our plan is meet up and go explore on our own at 8:30.

 

All 9 of us managed to easily fit into one of the FWD glass elevator (max. pax capacity is 18 ??? really) and then walk down 1 set of stairs to Deck 0 - then, we stroll across the walkway into Heavensight Mall, some of the stores & shops are just opening up - pausing for photos.

Reminder - KEEP LEFT, here in the Virgin Islands, US or not - folks drive on the LEFT side of the roadway, before crossing the streets - look LEFT first then look right. Drivers, however, do STOP for you & wave you to cross first by yielding at intersections if you use the crossings and not dart across a/k/a jaywalking. "Downtown" key intersections do have traffic lights and there are "Walk" buttons to press & then wait for the lights to turn green/red ....

 

Taxi stands & tours can be arranged 2 blocks from the Pier, thru the Mall heading toward Al Cohen Mall further up. We opted to take the local taxi to checkout the shops in town - official rate of $4 USD p/p. We all fitted into a full size & air-conditioned van (instead of the open-air type) and the driver took us immediately without waiting for more pax.

 

 

 

 

With maps in hand, we established our locations for everyone just in case anyone get lost wondering off - the downtown taxi dropoff is at the Vendor's Plaza or Emancipation Garden, basically the Outdoor Flea Market on the waterfront on Veteran's Drive. Here, we set up & negotiated a 2 hour tour around the island including the East End, with a 30 minutes stop at Sapphire Beach - ending up back at the Ship with plenty of time to spare. It's supposed to be priced at $25 p/p or 50% of what CCL charged, we got it for $20 p/p - and OFF we go. Our friendly driver/guide had 2 other parties of adults & children, and we're soon heading up to the scenic stop on top of the hill overlooking the Bay with a great view of the Pier & the Splendor. Our next stop was the Drake's Chair overlooking Magen Beach with a bit of story telling with British VI in the distance across the waters. Then, we started winding our way & downhill to Sapphire Beach on the East End, where we're shown the facilities in case anyone has to go, and down to the nice & quiet beach to play a bit of cystal blue water and walk the sands to get a bit wet. Thirty minutes later, we met up with our driver & left, stopping again with another scenic overlook of the Beach condo-resort near the St. John Ferries, passing the Race Track rounding near the waterfront Marriott Resort - this last segment back to the ship took about 30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Our tour last a little longer than planned but we're back across the pier at Heavensight at 1:15 PM, and our group split into two - the hungry ones went back to the ship directly to eat while the rest of us did a bit of economic investment in duty-free shopping ...

 

Lunch this afternoon is in the Lido as it is the only option besides calling Room Service - we settled on a "lighter" meal of salad, fruits and comfort food of chicken w. sweet corn & freshly baked cornbread - and, downed it with ice cold & diluted lemonade (as it's otherwise too sweet for our taste - imagine those with diabetic conditions ...) He he, not eactly easy on calories, but it was good - before retreating back to hanging out on our balconies to watch the returning passengers with their trophy shopping bags and beach towels. All abroad is 3 PM and sail away at 3:30 PM - before we knew it, we're pushing away from the pier slowly, only a few minutes behind schedule.

 

As we set sail for Grand Turk, our camera captured the distant image of one of the high-speed ferry (to/from Redhook or Cruz Bay) boat zipped across the Bay. If the Splendor's schedule is timed right, we plan to do St. John next time .... (that, means we will be back)

[mking8288]

Cruising en route to Grand Turk for 1 PM arrival tomorrow, we have a busy evening ahead of us - catching tonights' Big Show, "The Beats" @ 7 PM since we skipped the first one before our late dinner at the MDR, the menu looking good tonight. Time for some Pizza from Lido deck - and a power nap next, or whatever .... sounds good, huh.

 

 

 

We sat downstairs in the theater for "The Beats" with good seats and there're still plenty of good spots at curtains up - Cameron and Michelle, the vocalists were pretty good, can both sing & dance, along with the other 13 dancers - plus the Splendor live band. Overall, we found the show to be okay, not exactly standing ovation but applauses from audience in appreciation of the performance. With so many dancers, we "feel" that the stage is a bit on the small end. Afterward, we made our way to the MDR via the smoky Casino.

 

As usual, timing in our MDR was running late again but it wasn't packed with folks, the crowd must be hitting up the Lido and/or Room Service, and some eating at the Steakhouse. Services are good - BIL still find the beef overcooked and is ordering medium-rare this evening, not a problem from our head waiter at all. Oh, no - I got another free entree again without asking ... there goes my dieting discipline.

 

 

With our not-so-early arrival for Grand Turk, we can sleep late before brunch or whatever - Gold Pearl, Lower Level, again is our destination in the morning, being pampered and not in a hurry to go anywhere. It's going to be a beach day - and, HOT & sunny.

 

 

The Splendor is running its normal speed of around 21 knots since distance between our two ports were several hundred nautical miles and unlike earlier in the week, seas being calm & waters not choppy - nobody in our group complained of getting seasick. After brunch, we went to the Pixels Gallery to look for & check out more pictures before getting ready for arrival.

Grand Turks - it's HOT one as forecasted and we're ready, suntan lotion to pair with water bottles, hats and beach towel. It's late September and you still feel the hot sun walking down the pier toward the beach, on either side once you exit the terminal building with the shops inside.

 

We waited a little while after grabbing small bites in the Lido as a light lunch first - hitting the hot pavement around 1:45 PM. Too late to rent any Clam Shell ($20 rental fees w. S&S Card as deposit) but managed to grab 2 of the few remaining oversized Beach Umbrellas in red for $15 USD each in cash, to provide shading as we managed to round up 4 loungers among 6 of us. We spend about 2 hours on the beach and in the water before calling it quits, did a bit of souvenir shopping in the stores before returning to the Splendor around 4 PM (being the only ship in the port today.) Time to shower up, rinse off the sands and PM snacks.

 

 

 

All abroad is 6:30 for 7:00 PM sailing to NY - we're out in our balconies again, watching our fellow cruisers returning from their day excurisons.

[cathyoo]

Great review. I am enjoying it even though our Splendor cruise will be doing Half Moon Cay, Nassau and Grand Turks.

 

I love reading about the ship and your pictures are absolutely stunning.

 

Thanks so much for sharing your memories.

[MrBanana1240]

Amazing review. I am finalizr the booking of my Splendid cruise. Glad you had fun.

[mking8288]

Thanks all and feel free to comment or ask questions ...

 

Just a few more pics from Grand Turk & random ones that we've missed from previous ports & odd ones on the Splendor to share:

 

At Grand Turk, it seemed that folks were having a good time and returning from the day at the beach late, and missed the All Abroad time at 6:30 PM - PA announcements were paging a # of passengers & crew members were out on the pier waiting - one of the last one to literally run back toward the gangway stumbled & fell. Hope the Splendor didn't leave anyone behind during the sailing (2 names were called) as we pushed away from the pier as the sun already faded - many heads out on the starboard balconies in the darkness ... and thunderstorm sparks in the distance. Previewing this evening's MDR menu - great choices for Starters, going to order 2 or more plus the main course. With two full Sea Days before reaching NY, we plan to sleep late tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

While we some of our meals in the Lido buffet, we had more fun passing our times in the MDR - perhaps we had a great team serving us, and the Starter or appetizers were mostly quite good ... (IMO and shared by others in our group, better than RCI's and in more "generous" portions than NCL's - subjectively speaking, of course)

 

Reality - it's somewhat sad that we are now heading home toward NY - it's stil warm outside on the balcony with calm seas - we will probably do some day dreaming on the upper decks tomorrow (haven't found time to check out the quiet library) - only 2 more sunsets ...

 

 

 

Sea Day #3 - Zone 19 Luggage Tags: "Oh, no - we don't want to leave & start thinking about packing" One of these days, we are going to do a B2B. Yikes - 5 blank blue tags were placed in our cabin this morning by our stateroom crew, along with CBP Custom Declaration Forms.

 

Seas were beginning to get a bit "choppy" with slightly rocky, and according to the Captain's update, waves of 3 to 5 ft. ahead - with a reminder to hold on to hand rails and careful to not fall. Didn't bother us at all - but apparently, some pax are beginning to pop their Bonnie again. Our late Brunch was uneventful otherwise, after our nieces next door "delivered" continental breakfast for us after the hungry "girls" raided the buffet for their mom/SIL. In between, I managed to find time to process and sort out several hundred pix after transferring them to the netbook, still plenty of storage on the Olympus camera's 16GB memory card.

 

We learned by early afternoon from Malcom "Woo Hoo" CD that due to expected sea conditions for the rest of the day/evening into tomrrow - the "Vroom" show in the Spectacular Theater has been postponed, due to safety concerns for the dancers/performers - till 4 PM on the next day with one showing only. Announcements would be made later on other changes or events instead of. A little surprised looking out with only tiny white wavelets and 5 ft. waves that a mega cruiseship with modern stabilizers should be able to handle with ease ... I guess not, they know better sailing weekly. Ripped DVD movies & concerts on the netbook to the rescue - I always carry the HDMI cable to hook up to HDTV for big screen playback. It turned out that the nice Viewsonic TV is using digital component inputs and the HDMI input firmware disabled/locked - okay, we will do it on the iPad and tablet along with the 11.6" LCD screen of ours.

 

MDR - Elegant Night #2 - time to get all dressed up again, from the Interactive TV Menu's preview, evening's selections and choices looking good. Turnout is good and surprisingly, many men are in blazers, shirt & ties and ladies all dressed up in the best evening outfit in the restaurants. Our server, never failed, in bringing an extra entree for someone to "dispose" of it - the "girls" took it and the twins ate it all.

 

Pixels Gallery & Fun Shops onboard - time to roundup and pay for all those pictures taken that we want to buy, although we've used up all of our available & refundable OBC by now. With no places to go and looking for things to do, it seemed like everyone else got the same idea - definitely do NOT plan to do any serious shopping on the last Sea Day. There were actually lines in the shopping area waiting for the Specials (i.e. watch sales) - that's mad crazy. Tip - if you must, do it at dinner time when roughly 1/3 or more of the pax will be in the MDR and buffet lines, less crowded - and the checkout lines at the photo gallery were always moving slowly.

[NJcruisemom]

I'm enjoying this review as well as the great photos; thank you for sharing.

You mentioned rough seas. Were there any storms during your cruise? We will be on the Splendor in early December to FL & Bahamas. This will be our first time going out of NY in winter and I'm a little concerned about rough seas. We were on the Freedom heading to Jamaica when the earthquake hit Haiti in Jan. 2010 and we didn't feel that much rocking.

[mking8288]

... You mentioned rough seas. Were there any storms during your cruise? We will be on the Splendor in early December to FL & Bahamas. This will be our first time going out of NY in winter and I'm a little concerned about rough seas ...

You are welcomed & glad to share our fun time onboard her - editing & condensing those photos take a bit more time than I realized, but it's fun.

 

Others on the sailing called it rough seas but certainly not for me and not even for Mrs. M - we've been on far, far worst rough sailings thru stormy seas out to Bermuda. We had no storms within 1,000 miles all around us going & coming, except on Sea Day #4 when we're in and out of partly sunny & cloudy skies, to fog and showers & mist, and a little bit of chops, no worst than 5 to 7 ft. waves. That's my best "guestimates" since Ship NAV did not provide those info, unlike NCL or RCI ship channels - not even water or sea temperatures or wind directions, only the very basic. Apparently, there was a fading tropical storm east of Bermuda but it's far from our ship. (see photos of the Splendor & sea conditions on our last Sea Day in next post)

 

I pulled our post-Sandy Nov. 2012 sailing for comparison - nothing even close to it as we had 50+ knots wind diagonally across the ship/deck with 15 ft. ++ crashing waves hitting deck 5 & higher, and we did a high speed run out of NY hugging the coast at 24+ knots to get us ASAP out of harm's way.

 

My understanding is that ships sailing up and down the East will run across a pressure ridge due to prevailing weather pattern somewhere near and off the Virginia & Carolina coast, resulting in choppy sea conditions - even in fair weather. That seemed to be what we saw & folks experienced on Sea Day #1 and #3 - it's more pronounced if you have a FWD or AFT cabin or balcony and worst the higher up on the deck plans, as you probably know. It's far safer than flying in these common 50 seats commuter jet on short hops when running into turbulence at 20,000 feet, IMO. From our Upper Deck 6's midship balcony, we only "felt" very little to subtle motion - missed that rocking & rolling feeling for a week now. I wouldn't worry about it at all - enjoy the Splendor as we would certainly sail her again when a great deal come along in 2014 - when we are 45+ minutes to Pier 90.

 

Sailing from NYC is always fun and even in December, the views down the Hudson - SOL - VZ Bridge out of sea are amazing each & every time - just dress warmly if it's cold. We had blinding rain, wet snow & wind sailing on 11-6-2012 last year in the dark, so missed the chance going out. Definitely wake up early for the predawn or sunrise arrival for NY - then go back to sleep or breakfast (we are NEVER, never in a hurry to get "kicked" off the ship to go home ....)

 

[mking8288]

 

 

By Sea Day #4 - this morning, it's obvious that sea conditions did not improved overnight and in fact, worsen a little bit and the weather isn't helping either, and it's windy out in the open decks. Nevertheless, we're down doing brunch again in Gold Pearl and some of us would be back in the afternoon for High Tea, modified British style as it's simplified (gotta eat that mini smoked Salmon finger sandwich) The "girls" or nieces went exploring the ship again & sat out on Deck 11 for a while. Walking by the MID ship pool, there were fewer people in it this afternoon, the hot tubs were still popular (tips - there are more upstairs on deck 10, directly above the pool and usually empty around dinner time) To us, it's not a big deal and by no means, rough sea at all - if you are on either ends high up on deck 8 plus or deck 10 FWD, it's a bit choppy.

 

 

 

Cancelled Production Show: with sea conditions not improving, annoucement over the PA by Malcom, CD was made (around noon, as I recall) that the single show, postponed "Vroom" Production Show for 4:30 PM would be cancelled but that there are other activities going on around the ship, etc. What a disappointment but the safety of the dancers & performers are obviously just as important, we understood but still surprised - given the "moderate" sea conditions of 5 ft. waves ... could they've put on an alternate show instead, well - we would never know.

 

Disembark - Self Assist/Express vs. Leisure By Zone #s: We reviewed our options for Disembarkation and decided to NOT rush off the Splendor as we’re assigned to Zone 19 for Upper Deck 6, which meant that Self Assist would likely only save us 30 to 45 minutes and that is by navigating the stairs, elevators & steps with everything ourselves.

 

Regardless, it's time to pack those dirty clothes & laundry items back into the packing tubes, stuff the suitcases and mark the CCL Luggage Tags to put outside our cabin for pickup later this evening. Others decided to do the "Easy" (sometimes) Express Self Walk-off Debarkation with their roller suitcases & carryons - 3 of them using a car service and the others getting picked up by family members. We are going to relax & wait a bit - as we are getting picked up by SIL's son-n-law in his minivan.

 

We said goodbye again to our excellent dining room team this evening (already took "care" of them 2 days ago when we celebrated BIL's 68th B'day with a bit of extra plus earlier on during the week) - skipping dessert this evening to get to the 10 PM "Farewell" show put on the crew and fellow passengers - with a hilarious cameo cameo appearance (can you spot him/her in the photo below) We also tipped a bit extra to our stateroom steward (on Day 2.)

 

Headed back to our cabins around 10:45 PM after the show ended, re-checked our 3 packed suitcases, then put them outside for picked up. They're "gone" in a matter of minutes - placed on the carts & disappeared and perhaps on its way down to Deck 0 already. It seemed that duty-free items purchased including alcohol were being returned (others had to wait until the morning of disembarkation) so there're some extra partying going on, it seemed.

 

 

 

Homeward bound - I was the last one to sleep, around midnight as I plan to wakeup to catch the predawn arrival and sunrise, and sailing home under the VZ (we won't see the SOL from our side of the side this time) and then watch Lower Manhattan & the Hudson River / West Side from our balconies. Seas are calm by now and the Splendor cruising around 18 knots, off Ocean County / Atlantic City, NJ on our way toward the Bay.

[KillaFee]

Thanks for all the info and pics! I'll be on the Splendor on Nov 25th out of NYC. Can't wait! Overall, how would you rate it compared to others? Do you think you would consider sailing on the Splendor again?

 

Thanks!

Laura

[kingston13]

I enjoyed your posts and I was on the cruise so got to relive it -- We had a great time and booked already for 1/14 and 5/12

[NJcruisemom]

You are welcomed & glad to share our fun time onboard her - editing & condensing those photos take a bit more time than I realized, but it's fun.

 

Others on the sailing called it rough seas but certainly not for me and not even for Mrs. M - we've been on far, far worst rough sailings thru stormy seas out to Bermuda. We had no storms within 1,000 miles all around us going & coming, except on Sea Day #4 when we're in and out of partly sunny & cloudy skies, to fog and showers & mist, and a little bit of chops, no worst than 5 to 7 ft. waves. That's my best "guestimates" since Ship NAV did not provide those info, unlike NCL or RCI ship channels - not even water or sea temperatures or wind directions, only the very basic. Apparently, there was a fading tropical storm east of Bermuda but it's far from our ship. (see photos of the Splendor & sea conditions on our last Sea Day in next post)

 

I pulled our post-Sandy Nov. 2012 sailing for comparison - nothing even close to it as we had 50+ knots wind diagonally across the ship/deck with 15 ft. ++ crashing waves hitting deck 5 & higher, and we did a high speed run out of NY hugging the coast at 24+ knots to get us ASAP out of harm's way.

 

My understanding is that ships sailing up and down the East will run across a pressure ridge due to prevailing weather pattern somewhere near and off the Virginia & Carolina coast, resulting in choppy sea conditions - even in fair weather. That seemed to be what we saw & folks experienced on Sea Day #1 and #3 - it's more pronounced if you have a FWD or AFT cabin or balcony and worst the higher up on the deck plans, as you probably know. It's far safer than flying in these common 50 seats commuter jet on short hops when running into turbulence at 20,000 feet, IMO. From our Upper Deck 6's midship balcony, we only "felt" very little to subtle motion - missed that rocking & rolling feeling for a week now. I wouldn't worry about it at all - enjoy the Splendor as we would certainly sail her again when a great deal come along in 2014 - when we are 45+ minutes to Pier 90.

 

Sailing from NYC is always fun and even in December, the views down the Hudson - SOL - VZ Bridge out of sea are amazing each & every time - just dress warmly if it's cold. We had blinding rain, wet snow & wind sailing on 11-6-2012 last year in the dark, so missed the chance going out. Definitely wake up early for the predawn or sunrise arrival for NY - then go back to sleep or breakfast (we are NEVER, never in a hurry to get "kicked" off the ship to go home ....)

 

 

Thanks for the great reply, mking8288.

 

We've been as high as Empress....definitely feel more rocking up there. Decided to go with adjoining midship OV on Main...we got an amazing deal. I grew up just across the river and now live just 10 miles from the city...watching the sunrise never gets old. This cruise it should be dark at sail away. Lady Liberty and the NY skyline at night are spectacular. Anyone who hasn't seen that is in for a real treat.

 

Last year's weather was awful, sorry you had to deal with that. We were trying to follow the news but power was on and off for about a week after Sandy. On Freedom 1/2010...it was 38° and raining when we left FL. It was 50° back home in NJ.

 

Soooooo looking forward to this cruise!!!!

[mking8288]

... Overall, how would you rate it compared to others? Do you think you would consider sailing on the Splendor again? ... Laura

 

Hi, what better way to spend Thanksgiving cruising to warmer ports - enjoy yours. DW is out of vacation days until 2014. Speaking for at least 6 out of 9 in our extended family that sailed on the Splendor - the most definitive answer to your question is YES, yes and yes.

 

Elaboration: 5 of us are new to CCL and we sailed with an open-mind, to relax, enjoy pampering and have a good time in good company - not expecting 5 star gourmet dining at these price points, but certainly 4 star lodging on a floating platform - and the product delivered was good. MDR meals are very good, better than RCI and different than NCL - and the Starters are very good to excellent (choices might be limited) We've cruised often enough to know that the experience dealing with lines in a buffet does NOT equate to cruising - on a 9 to 5 clock, my work's mess hall is the basement cafeteria with the food trays and not what we want on a ship.

 

Being the planner for the "gang" - "scouting" for next year has started although we aren't committed to anything yet - definitely looking at Splendor's Fall 2014 schedule and those prices looked pretty good, and it's lower vs. NCL's Gem (another ship we loved in their fleet) on the Caribbean runs. In contrast, when we returned last year from our RCI sailings, DW said let's not do "that" line again anytime soon - hated how they ran their traditional MDR ops.

 

I enjoyed your posts and I was on the cruise so got to relive it -- We had a great time and booked already ...

Thanks, please write a review and/or feel free to comment too - curious how fellow pax on our cruise felt about Malcom, the "Woo Hoo" Cruise Director on our Splendor .... To us, he was okay but nothing really stood out - and he is a busy person, obviously. Not a deal-maker or breaker, either ways.

 

I figured that a 120,000 tonnage modern mega-cruise ship should easily handle 3 to 5 or 7 feet waves with ease, and run things as if business as usual - NOT. Surprised to find those white "Seasick" bags in their holders in the hallways and by the elevators on Sea Day #4 - in case you noticed them (did you ??)

 

 

>> Back on continuation of the pictorial review as I'm just about done, with casual observations on the Splendor's disembarkation process in NYC - a few more photos. I'll wrap up with some thoughts on the overall sailing, what we noticed - the good, the not-so-good, the questionables - and some tips to help others (especially newbies) to get the most out of sailing.

 

Homeward Bound - All of us found one last "animal" in our cabin last evening, this is a different one - it's the heart with 3 sweets. Managed to get about 5 hours of sleep, which is fairly routine and usual for me - woke up around 4:45 AM without the alarm going off on the smartphone still in airplane mode, fully charged as I expect to play catching up on emails & messages, etc. for the last 5+ days (it's so nice to be "offline" and not to be live / oncall 24/7 while being away - on vacation & on leave)

 

Looking at the Splendor's NAV channel map, we're somewhere near the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in NJ, cruising slowly doing about 15 or 16 knots heading further into the Lower Bay, on course to go under the VZ Bridge and pass the Lady (SOL) overlooking the harbor - since we are all on the Starboard side, we will have to go upstairs or to an outside open deck to watch ... it's a chilly morning, temp around 60 degree F - too early for me. Switched off the phone's airplane mode - yes, it's now a VZW home signal - YAY (not really, but ...) - let those APPS & emails do their auto-updating & refreshing, end of roaming charges on the ship. The satellite tower has been turned off.

 

Went back to sleep or at least try to nap a little more - the next thing I knew, the 6:15 alarm went off - snoozed it & finally got out of bed a few minutes, as we are now sailing up the Hudson River. Wow, unless we hurry up & get dressed, we won't get to see the ship docking before we get our tails down to the MDR. Popped open the balcony door & took some picture of the predawn skyline. Before we knew it, we're making the turn to aim for Pier 90. Took a while for the ship to fine-tune its docking routines and lined up with the terminal - as we finally made our way down for one last sit-down breakfast in Gold Pearl MDR.

 

 

Amazingly, folks are already wide-awake, checking out of their staterooms and rolling their luggage down the corridors - doing the Self Assist or Express Walk-Off, etc. Still too early for me, need the caffeine "fix" - let's see what's on the "shorter" menu this morning .... bagel/cream cheese/salmon, that's good as my starter for a power breakfast.

 

 

 

Before I forget, with all the electronics & gadgets most of us are carrying around and using these days, even the single 110v outlet with an adapter and/or extension cord are often not enough - use that available 220v outlet, with an inexpensive adapter plug ... and you can run your smartphone or iPad/mini's charger off it, along with digital camera charging, and, of course, our Sony Viao netbook was powered via that 220v outlet during the cruise. You can find it cheap on eBay, Amazon, Radio Shack (and probably Target or Walmart) along with your Dollar / 99 Cents Discount Store - leave that in your cruising luggage as you will find it very handy.

[mking8288]

It's taken an entire week to sort out photos & write up comments reviewing our 8 days on the Splendor - time to wrap up mine as others just returned from their sailing this morning, a quck read of a hot-off-the-press notes pretty much read like mine. Whatever I missed & left out, others will fill it in and post theirs soon.

 

The big question is - would we do it all over again and find ourselves sailing again soon on the Splendor - "YES, we will be back" is the recommendation.

 

 

A few final thoughts - to summarize (some of which already said) :

 

Closet space – 3 full height, 2 with hanging rods of which 1 has a lower shelf, 22” carryons will fit in all 3, 1 will fit two 25” suitcase vertically if they cannot be stored underneath the beds. Under the bed, two 25" suitcases should fit easily. Sofa/bed has two big drawers that fit a lot of clothes. The desk/dresser has 3 drawers plus a center drawer where we kept 1 Sony notebook, Nexus 7 and 2x iPad2’s. The non-illuminated closet with 5 shelves can be converted into hanging shirts on the upper by removing 1 or 2 adjustable shelves. (Take a few plastic hangers as they are always handy - dispose of them afterward.

 

For balcony staterooms, there were 2 one-size-fit-all CCL bathrobes for use - keep it after the cruise ended & you will be charged. Compared to other new mega-ships (my BIL saw a "huge" difference in the size of balcony vs. the NCL Breakaway and usable space, including the bathroom) - we kept organized with packing tubes (from eBags) that we've used for air travel over the years (inexpensive - and, IKEA has decent ones at a fair price, yes @ IKEA ...)

 

The Room Service Menu should be inside the cabin, it's a single sheet, printed double-sided with "Good to Know" on the reverse. If not, ask for one in case you are hungry at 3 AM.

Sail & Sign account balance can be accessed in your cabin, you'll need your Folio# on the S&S Card to access it, and you can also view all charges posted at the self-service Kiosk on deck 3 and 5 FWD, check it in the morning or later night when there is usually nobody in line - avoid it (and Guest Services) on the Last Sea Day as the cash folks will be there in numbers.

 

CCL's OBC (refundable Cruise Cash) were pre-loaded in our S&S upon embarkation but our TA's additional OBC were not there until day 2 or 3, all correctly credited - just reviewed it (on interactive TV screens) and avoid waiting till disembarkation if it doesn't look right.

Daily Laundry Specials that ran was Wash & Fold 1 standard (paper) laundry bag w. Same Day Service for $15.00 and a DEAL of $50 for 5 laundry bags. (We had 3 cabins and had we sailed on a longer itinerary - it would've been great, cheaper than using the self service laundry - and split the cost among all 9 of us ...) that is, if and when we reach Plantinum tier with the freebies.

 

Spa Specials & Fun Shop Sale on watches, etc. - they're offered during the cruise. Upon request, I will scan & post them - nice way to spend all that extra OBC if you got them. Duty-Free shopping (smoke & booze) selections on the Splendor is very, very limited and poor - if you can, get them on land in the ports, the regular "gift" shop selections on the ship are just as limited. Not much in terms of bundled specials or deals at the Pixels Shop (photography) but we did buy a Photo Album on Sea Day #3 sale priced at $6.98 (Reg. $14.9x) that nicely hold 24x 8 by 10 photo.

 

Ship's design - after a day or two, the pink color & deco didn't bother us at all - except while we are waiting for our next dishes eating in the MDR or walking thru some of the public area. Items served in the MDR included lamb, roast baby hen, roast turkey breast, mahi mahi, salmon, and tere's always vegetarian and a pasta on the daily specials. Just skip or avoid the flat iron steak as it's tough & chewy, and overcooked. Ice cream melted too fast but do try the Yankee navy beans soup, corn chowder, chicken noodles soup and caesar salad.

 

On food choices, unlike NCL or RCI - you cannot get the same by just skipping the MDR and going to the Lido buffet, and many loved the all-you-can-eat portions upstairs, do try the MDR or ATD at least once during your cruise - you will be plesantly surprised and it is really NOT as slow as you are used to. Tell your team and they can adjust accordingly, our next table neighbors of two had their own small table very close to us, but they're in-and-out in under an hour, without standing in line holding the plastic tray.

 

Our own likes & dislikes (YMMV): skip the Lido's Mongolian Wok completely, it's a disaster - not even authentic (curry sauce, gotta kidding me) and high in sodium/salt content, worst than our local Chinese takeout cooking. Thin-crust pizza (with choices) were good comfort food - short on cheese but hot & bonus for us, "free" delivery to the cabins .... from our younger nieces, LOL. Rotesserie chicken is a must and the choice of free (too sweet) beverages. Dislikes – buffet beverage serving stations too closed together w. ice & water, milk/half-n-half & sugar plus tea bags too far away, and tiny covered trash cans. Lido's setup for getting salads, trimmings and hot food are all on a single continuous long line of slow-moving, sometimes oversized passengers, and some mobility-challenged - before getting to the carving stations, and finding that one single offering of hot soup of the day.

 

Perhaps, it should get a children only section as well as one for those using wheelchairs & walkers as some of them really do struggled with the crowds. Making some of these changes are simple & easy, and will move the lines much faster when it's busy.

Corned beef and/or Pastrimi sandwiches were available (only, I think) from the Room Service Menu, that itself worth the small tipping plus getting a nice pot of hot coffee, juices & even milk and fresh fruits with cookies to snack in-between meals. Otherwise, the beef-only burgers & fries pool-side were better than land-based chains but the hotdogs way too salty for most.

Cruise Elegant a/k/a "formal night" was Sea Day #1 and Sea Day #3 for our 8 day sailing schedule, I didn't bring a suit or blazer this time - only a button-down Oxford dress shirt with neat, casual long pants and a tie and fitted right in (ideal if you are flying in & traveling with a single 22" carryon.) If you aren't dressed for the occassion, you are unlikely to get turned away as there's no host/ess at the MDR entrance upstairs on Deck 4 - might get funny looks by those nearby - not sure if the wait team serving you would risk saying anything at all.

 

Temperature in the MDR was comfortable but never cold or freezing and the ladies actually never needed to bring an extra jacket. Bring your own Hand Sanitizer if you are mindful of Norovirus - products like the "Wet Ones" or ingredients benzalkonium chloride and benzethonium chloride.

 

Pools are way too small & overcrowded for us, best time to enjoy is while in ports when many hit the beaches - ditto for hot tubs, or go at dinner time when it's less crowded & sometimes empty, especially Deck 9 AFT adults only (tubs hidden away on Deck 10 too - not inside/part of the Spa) The retractable roof over the pool is nice when weather isn't - we saw many loungers neatly stacked away & available up on Deck 10 and 11 if and when the "Hogs" are all over Deck 9.

 

Communications - Mobile network is "Digicel" (locally) for Grand Turk & US Virgin Islands, a roaming partner for AT&T and T-Mobile prepaid GSM customers, otherwise, should be in-network coverage for postpaid & 4G LTE customers (only 3G data.) Please check with yours to confirm but always beware of data charges. For VZW or CDMA - San Juan, PR is part of the Extended Network at no extra charges but NOT for USVI & Grand Turk. On the ship, you are roaming on WMS or Cellular At Sea billed thru your home carrier - unless you have a global inclusive plan or paid extra for adding coverage. Put it on airplane mode or at least turn OFF data if you must have voice access for whatever reasons. Rates for texting for all US carriers are reasonable, if you have voice coverage depending on your plan. Otherwise, in-cabin outbound calls are just $1.99 per minute to phone home/office/whatever - might be cheaper than making the satellite-to-cellular call with your mobile phone for emergencies.

 

On arrival back in NYC and DISEMBARKING - here, the Splendor & local authorities has continuously fined-tuned the process and it worked - both for those in a hurry and the rest of us preferring the leisure way.

 

We reviewed our options and decided to NOT rush off with Zone 19 Luggage Tags for Upper Deck 6, which meant that Self Assist would likely only save us 30 to 45 minutes - by navigating the stairs, elevators & steps with everything in-tow ourselves. The ship was tied up & gangway ready, cleared by 8:30 AM and then it started. Self Assist for Upper Deck 6 was the last group called around 9:10 – and after a short turnaround to re-locate the gangway into the luggage pickup area inside the terminal, Zone 1-2-3 were called by 9:30 while we sat with our hand carried on Deck 5 (plenty of empty chairs by then) and Zone 19 were called about 15 minutes, which we considered pretty quick. We rode the FWD elevators down by Reception/Guest Services (or, walk down) and exited to the gangway on Deck 3. Swiping our S&S Card one last time, we had our luggages in minutes after a short walk and a quick passport/ID check on the pier before going inside, and waited only about 5 minutes for our turn with the CBP officer in one of the longer/slower line – glanced quickly at our declaration forms for the 3 of us and waived us on – didn’t even open our US Passports. Took us about 10 minutes to walk behind & follow those dragging their 150+ lbs. luggage (using a porter would be a good idea) and shopping "trophies" get out into the lobby area (upstairs) just inside the arrival level with the huge elevators. Waited for our extended family member to arrive in his minivan and we're home by 11:15 AM zipping our way thru cross-town Manhattan traffic thru the tunnel to eastern Queens.

 

That's about it, I think - been fun to share & live those memories again ... oh, and one of our SIL gained 4 lbs. during this cruise, eager to do it again next year and she too would do the Carnival Splendor.

[annaspjs]

Great review. Thinking of going on the Splendor in April/May.

[nycmedic]

Great review. We are sailing on the splendor Nov 1st. Upper deck balcony. Can't wait.

[rob6465]

I was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in NYC and moved to houston in 2000. Next year in december i turn 50 and want so much to hit the port of san juan and show my wife where i was born. Cruising from NY would be ideal so my family in NY can also cruise for first time but it seems the cruises out of NY are so expensive....we'll see.

[kingston13]

I like sailing out of NYC as close to home. Wish the casino were larger but it is typical size for a ship. Thought the staff was tremendous. The pink doesn't bother me - not moving in permanently so anything is fine for a week. Can't wait to go 1/20 but a little worried about weather.

[jeff4la]

Incredibly detailed and helpful review. Well done.....Thank you! We are on the Splendor in 11 days!!

 

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[jeff4la]

I was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in NYC and moved to houston in 2000. Next year in december i turn 50 and want so much to hit the port of san juan and show my wife where i was born. Cruising from NY would be ideal so my family in NY can also cruise for first time but it seems the cruises out of NY are so expensive....we'll see.

 

Lately the Splendor cruises have been VERY affordable!

 

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