My Solo Splendor repo cruise (with pics) 10/24/14

[Lisa0719]

Jeff, it was very nice meeting you. Wished we could have spent more time together. I love sailing out of NYC too and will miss it in the winter months.

 

Your pictures are great but I saw you taking them and it didn't appear you have a fancy camera with all kinds of lenses. What do you use?

[Jamman54]

Love reading your reviews. Glad there is another one so soon and looking forward to reading the rest.

 

It's nice to see you back with another review. I'm looking forward to following along! :)

Heather

 

Thanks gals!!! There is much, much more to come!!

[Jamman54]

Loving your review, I'm on the Splendor in 10 days!

Cannot wait!

 

Thanks for reading! I'm sure you will have a GREAT time on the Splendor!

 

Thanks for posting another great review! I look forward to more. I am now especially interested in this ship since I will be sailing on her next year, though it will be a northern route for a change:)

 

Then this review, and my previous Splendor review are required reading! :D Thanks for following along, and if you have any questions at all, just ask!

[Jamman54]

Great review and pics Jamman!!! Looking forward to reading and seeing more! :-)

 

Thanks so much for reading!! I'm just getting warmed up!

 

 

I'm sorry...but I am enjoying this way too much! There will be "NO HAVING A LIFE" until you finish. No Breaks of any kind, be it food breaks, or any other kind, is that clear? :D

 

I love your reviews and pictures. Hurry back. :) Well, I guess I should go get in rush hour traffic on my way home from work. Too bad I can'tread any more until I get home. There should be another installment by then. Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews.

 

I love your enthusiasm! :D Don't worry, I won't drag this out forever, though this is looking like this could be a long one. Since Patti let me do this cruise solo, now that I'm home, she has to come first!:D

[GRANNYOFSIX]

Good Morning Jamman 54 .....we will be on the Splendor in less than a year - I just started my countdown!!! I am enjoying your review and the fantastic pictures so very much! Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to post for all of us!!!

 

Do you know if the Splendor has the new pizza menu offering QUATTRO FORMAGGIO?

 

I hope you enjoyed your cruise:)

Edited November 7, 2014 by GRANNYOFSIX

[Jamman54]

Jeff...The pictures and comments are great and although I never made the meet and Greet, I did talk to some of the folks in the photos at various times on the ship!

 

I never take pictures anymore so I'm enjoying yours!

 

It was a fun time!

 

Yes it was a fun time!! Thanks for reading, and feel free to chime in any time with your comments and experiences.

[Crusin Karen]

Karen! :-). Miami, glory in May. Maybe?? ;-) girls cruise... Got 3 splendidos and one of my friends from here goin.

 

 

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Oh.....I am in such very serious cruise withdrawl. I cannot even REMEMBER when we did not have at least one cruise booked and most of our cruises were in May since it is our anniversary month. We had a very unexpected and very EXPENSIVE setback a few months ago and just can't even THINK about another cruise just yet. I am keeping fingers crossed that 1) we win the lottery 2) CCL offers us a few cruise! :rolleyes: Don't think either one of them is going to happen, so I am enjoying land life thru these reviews! And thankful for all the great memories I have made on my cruises! Thanks for the offer and happy countdown and planning. Jamman, sorry to highjack your review with my tale of woe!!! :o:o

[Jamman54]

LOVE your reivews!!!:D

Thank you for taking the time to do this.

 

I have to say, your first picture of the Statue Of Liberty, might very well be the most AMAZING picture of her that I've ever seen:D

Beautiful!!!!!!

 

Sorry Patti couldn't join you on this one, but you are one lucky man that she let you go at it alone.:D

 

Cannot wait for more....

 

Thank you, again..

 

Thanks for reading! The sunset in the background as we sailed made for some very interesting pictures. Yes, I am a very lucky man in many ways! :)

 

So glad your back with another review!! Looking forward to travelling along with you!

 

Thanks for coming for the ride!

 

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[Jamman54]

Love seeing pictures of the Splendor. My wife and I will be sailing her again in April out of Miami. The ship holds a special place in our hearts. I proposed to her onboard in 2012.

Cant wait to go back!

 

Thanks for reading. Hope this review helps bring back more wonderful memories!

 

Hi! Nice review and pictures to go along with it. I think I might recognize a person from your meet and greet?!

 

I loved the Splendor, you never forget your first! Hope to do a repeat sometime in the near future.

Carry on!;)

 

Thanks for following along! There were many well travelled cruise veterans at the meet and greets, so I'm not surprised that you may know somebody.

[Jamman54]

Well, Jamman, it's ABOUT TIME! I have been waiting forever for you to start this! ;):p Your pictures bring back such great memories of our 3 cruises on Splendor. Sure wish we could have done this cruise with you, but you are giving me the next best thing writing about it and sharing your pictures! BTW, I watched you sail out on the web cam and took 2 pictures of the ship! :)

 

Hey Karry!! What took you so long? :D Did you see my special segment at the other place? Glad as always to have you along for the ride, and I know someday you and your DH will be standing next to us as we TAKE these pictures!

 

 

I watched your sailaway too .. At work...shhh... Lol

 

I am excited to follow along for new ports you got to experience!

 

Great pics of sailaway... What a perfect day!!!

 

Someday hope to meet up with you and Patti on a cruise. ;-)

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Hey Barb!!! Ship look familiar? :D Thanks for coming back and following along. We couldn't ask for a better sail away, given it was the end of October! I'm sure our paths may cross one day.

[Jamman54]

Good Morning Jamman 54 .....we will be on the Splendor in less than a year - I just started my countdown!!! I am enjoying your review and the fantastic pictures so very much! Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to post for all of us!!!

 

Do you know if the Splendor has the new pizza menu offering QUATTRO FORMAGGIO?

 

I hope you enjoyed your cruise:)

 

Thanks for reading, and I hope my review will help you prepare for your cruise. I only had the pizza once,(it was good), but I didn't notice that pizza being offered, but I could be wrong.

[Jamman54]

YYIIPPPPEEEE:p

 

ANOTHER AWESOME CRUISE REVIEW IN THE WORKS.

 

WELCOME BACK JEFF.

 

LOOKING FORWARD TO MUCH MORE. AND IT'S FRIDAY. WOOHOO.

 

Thank you so much for reading! Much, much more to come!!

 

Jeff, it was very nice meeting you. Wished we could have spent more time together. I love sailing out of NYC too and will miss it in the winter months.

 

Your pictures are great but I saw you taking them and it didn't appear you have a fancy camera with all kinds of lenses. What do you use?

 

Hey Lisa, it was nice meeting you too! Please feel free to add your comments and experiences as I move along with the review. To answer your question our primary camera is a Sony DSC-H10, and our second camera and water camera is a Fuji FinePix - XP60

[manmtnmike]

Any info on the lounge bands or dance bands name and music styles?

Thanks,

 

Mike

[Jamman54]

Any info on the lounge bands or dance bands name and music styles?

Thanks,

Mike

 

I am actually down in Atlantic City now, so I don't have the Fun Times with me, but when I get home I'll get that info for you. Late tonight or tomorrow.

[jbhcw]

so glad to see this review...you do such a great job!! Also got the offer...but just couldn't do it:mad:...But will enjoy your review....excited to be sailing her next year to Bermuda!!

[JohnSpo]

I really wanted to take this repo cruise but I could not fit it into my schedule. I do look forward to experiencing it through your review to see how it went. Thanks for sharing it.

[JohnSpo]

Grannyofsix, I was on Splendor in September and yes they did have the quattro cheese pizza. The pizza is the thin crust "Italy" style pizza and all of the choices are excellent. :cool:

[Jamman54]

We are now officially heading out to sea….

 

 

At this point I head back to the Liner Bar for some beers, and to wait for the Cheers Program to become available. Gusti, my favorite bartender back there, keeps checking the computer for the go ahead to sell it. Three beers and a half hour later I finally can purchase the Cheers Program. My cost was $37.50 a day plus gratuities for a total of $345 for the 8 day cruise. I found out later, that the very next day, the price was jacked back up fleet wide to $49.95 plus gratuities per day. It’s funny because back in August when I sailed on the Liberty, I purchased the Cheers Program the first day the price dropped to $37.50, and now I’m purchasing it on the last day at that price.

 

As soon as I purchased the program, all the drinks that I had purchased individually up to this point, were credited back to my account, and now counted towards my drink limit for the day. To summarize my Cheers experience on this cruise, I wound up about $100 ahead of the game. At $49.95 I would have been about even, and that being the case, I would not purchase it, because of the restrictions on the program.

 

That being taken care of, it was time to head back to the cabin to get ready for my first dinner of the cruise. Here’s a night time view of the Atrium from near my Deck 8 cabin…..

 

 

I had traditional Late Seating in the Gold Pearl Restaurant, all the way aft. I was seated at a table for 10, table #438, on the lower level, Deck 3. Once again, I had a wonderful wait staff. These guys were GREAT the entire cruise. Let me introduce you to Inyoman, Elvir, and Satriva…..

 

 

Now for my tablemates. I had hoped that a few from our roll call would have been assigned to my table, but that didn’t happen. I do not have any pictures of my tablemates because a few mentioned that they really didn’t want their picture taken, so in deference to them, I honored their request. But that doesn’t stop me from telling you about them, so here goes.

 

Our table was made up of middle aged and up solos, except for one couple, so I’ll start with them. Their accents and style of dress, made me think they were from the island of Jamaica. Wrong, Jamaica, Queens!! Next to them was a gentleman named Roger. He never returned after the first night, though we exchanged hellos in the Sports Bar a few nights. Next to him was Mary, the Slot Queen, from the Cleveland area. She was very vocal and energetic. She enjoyed taking the active and unusual shore excursions, and every time I went in the casino, day or night, she was there. Next was Daryl from Detroit. He was the Slot King, though he said he was not doing very well on this cruise. The Players Club must have liked him because they sent him a bottle of wine to the table every other night. Next to me was Gary, the retired ATF agent, who sadly lost his wife recently. He was in the midst of 8 almost back to back cruises. He had gotten off the Glory, flown to New York to join the Splendor, was flying to Miami to get on the Conquest following our cruise, and after that, was getting back on the Splendor again when she finally gets to Miami. Rock on Gary!!! After the third night, he stopped showing up.

 

To my right was Don from Brooklyn, and he looked and talked like a Don, if you know what I mean. Nice guy, who loved his red wine, maybe a little too much. Lol. Next were a mother and daughter from Westbury Long Island. Very nice people, though for the life of me, I can’t remember their names. Finally, a man I’ll call the bookworm. He came to the table every night carrying a book. He was now on the Splendor for the third straight cruise, and the wait staff knew him well. His purpose was to get through his meal in a half hour or less. So, as the rest of us were looking at our menus, he was already being served his starters. He was done and out of the Dining Room before we were served our mains. Needless to say, not much in the way of conversation came from him! So that’s it, my tablemates for the cruise. Quite an interesting bunch to say the least!

 

For starters tonight, I had the chicken tenders, and the spring rolls pictured here…..

 

 

For my mains, I had the sweet and sour shrimp, and the linguine with sausage, mushrooms, and peppers…..

 

 

For dessert, I just had two scoops of chocolate ice cream…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

After dinner I went to the Our House Sports Bar to watch the World Series game, and have a few Thirsty Frog Reds. After the game, I felt too tired to gamble, so I made my way back to the cabin for the night. Here is tonight’s turn down service…..

 

 

Tomorrow’s Fun Times, my shore excursion tickets, and tonight’s towel animal, are waiting on the bed…..

 

 

Tonight’s towel animal…..

 

 

It was a GREAT first day. Good Night!!

 

Coming up next: Our first sea day and the formal meet and greet. Whooo Hooo!!!

[shipty2]

Good Morning Jamman 54 .....we will be on the Splendor in less than a year - I just started my countdown!!! I am enjoying your review and the fantastic pictures so very much! Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to post for all of us!!!

 

Do you know if the Splendor has the new pizza menu offering QUATTRO FORMAGGIO?

 

I hope you enjoyed your cruise:)

 

I was also on this sailing. They do offer the Quattro Formaggio pizza option.

[GRANNYOFSIX]

Thanks for reading, and I hope my review will help you prepare for your cruise. I only had the pizza once,(it was good), but I didn't notice that pizza being offered, but I could be wrong.

 

Thank you for your response!! Glad the pizza was good:)

Edited November 7, 2014 by GRANNYOFSIX

[GRANNYOFSIX]

JohnSpo and shipty2

 

I'm so happy to hear that the Splendor has the Quattro Formaggio pizza...........one of my favorite pizzas on Carnival! Yum......Thank you so much for letting me know!!:):)

[pghsteelerfan]

I have been looking forward to this! I noticed in your signature from when you did your Liberty review that you had another cruise on Splendor coming up. I just started today and have myself caught up and am enjoying this review as much as the others and looking forward to the rest. I really enjoyed seeing your pictures sailing out of NYC, that is something we'd love to do someday. Even though some of the pictures are of the same things from your sailaway last year, they look very different. I took just as many pictures sailing out of Miami on Liberty this spring as I did on Glory in 2010 and they are the same but look different. I have to say I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the beautiful picture you got of the Statue of Liberty...I see that one enlarged, framed and nicely displayed in your home. Thank you for taking the time to do another one of your wonderful reviews and looking forward to the rest - this is an itinerary I'd love to do.

[laurged]

JohnSpo and shipty2

 

I'm so happy to hear that the Splendor has the Quattro Formaggio pizza...........one of my favorite pizzas on Carnival! Yum......Thank you so much for letting me know!!:):)

 

Me too! Definitely one of my favourites!

[najnelle]

Love your reviews! Looking forward to more!