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

[wrigley80]

I'm all caught up again. It's been so long since we were in St. Thomas. After seeing your photos I want to go back. Coki Beach looks like a great beach to relax

[darth frosty]

This is a great pic as you scroll down it takes on a 3d appearance/effect

 

Love the review got 2 weeks to go

 

 

 

[murphy4]

love the pictures!

[TwinDani]

Can you p

 

 

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[mvaygibson]

Enjoying the review and pictures very much. Thank you! I just got off the Freedom this past Sunday, 11/09, and already miss it!

[Cruisertommyboy]

Next August my wife and I are going on the Liberty out of San Juan for the first time. I have been reading everything possible about the ship and the ports of call. I came across one of your reviews and was hooked. So I have spent the first day and a half of my retirement reading your reviews.

Thank you very much for taking the time to write these and thank you for the journey.

Just curious as to the restrictions you don't like with the 49.50 Cheers package

Tom

[Jamman54]

Next August my wife and I are going on the Liberty out of San Juan for the first time. I have been reading everything possible about the ship and the ports of call. I came across one of your reviews and was hooked. So I have spent the first day and a half of my retirement reading your reviews.

Thank you very much for taking the time to write these and thank you for the journey.

Just curious as to the restrictions you don't like with the 49.50 Cheers package

Tom

 

Thanks for reading!! I hope my reviews are helpful with your planning.

 

My three hang ups with cheers are as follows. Can't order a double, Can't order a floater for my mudslides, and can't order buckets of beer. Yes, by waiting the allotted time you can make your drink into a double, or add a floater, or accumulate enough beers for a bucket. At 37.50 where the savings are substantial, I didn't mind doing that, but at 49.50, where my savings would be minimal, not so much.

Edited November 14, 2014 by Jamman54

[deetrayn]

Your pics are awesome!! Makes me feel like I'm there, and not just viewing photos. Thanks for sharing!! :)

 

Dee

[gapearl]

Kim - go up a couple posts. Some sort of dice game. :)

 

Not silly at all. You're not the first to ask. Go back to post# 175. :)

 

Oops! Don't know how I missed that. :o

[clearwatergirl]

Wonderful review! Enjoying all of it. I've never been on the Splendor but your pictures have made me feel like I'm right there with you. Not sure I'll ever get to sail on the Splendor as it leaves from NY. Living in Florida allows us a large choice in cruising. Being a native New Yorker, I really appreciated the pics of Manhattan. Brought back a lot of memories, some not so good. (9/11). I was lucky enough to visit NYC recently and see the Memorial. The museum wasn't open yet. The Freedom Tower is outstanding. Have been over the VNB but never under! :D

 

Your photos of Coki Beach in St. Thomas look nice. We will be heading there for the 4th time in February and we're trying to decide what to do. Maybe we'll try Coki Beach.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Thanks for sharing. ;)

[gapearl]

Looking towards Coral World again…..

 

 

The water is crystal clear and calm…..

 

 

Feeling hot, it was time to get in the water and cool off. I grabbed my water camera and dove in…..

 

 

Looking towards the beach bar…..

 

 

We are set up under that group of trees…..

 

 

Here I am, enjoying the beautiful water…..

 

 

To be continued…..

 

My first ever visit to St. Thomas was in 2008 on a land trip. I spent the day here at Coral World and Coki Beach and had a ball! They had a shark interaction for $30 (might be more now) and I was in a pool with 5 or 6 of them. It was great! lol Like you said there's really good snorkeling there too. I'll always have fond memories of Coki Beach. St. Thomas is one of my favorites.

[wrigley80]

This is a great pic as you scroll down it takes on a 3d appearance/effect

 

Love the review got 2 weeks to go

 

 

 

 

Good catch in this photo....that's crazy. I just did it to see the 3D effect.

[cruizinisthebest]

Enjoying your review Jamman, my homeboy! I'm about 30 miles from you and used to work in Somerset. I really need to book the Splendor!

 

We went to Coki Beach back in August. It was great. Never made it to Coral World as we couldn't get the kids out of the water and DH had a field day snorkeling. Good thing I didn't buy ticket in advance like I started too;)

Edited November 14, 2014 by cruizinisthebest

[shipty2]

question about the blt from room service; I notice that it is listed under cold sandwiches, and in other reviews have seen this with untoasted bread. My question is do you have to specify that the bread should be toasted or do they do this now automatically? thanks.

Other than continental breakfast, I usually only order room service sandwich once a cruise, but would like to try something different next time. I do love that fajita wrap sandwich, but figure, it is time for a change.

 

It does come toasted most of the time but twice on the Paradise I had the unfortunate experience of it coming on I toasted bread which was revolting to me. Now I always specify just to make sure.

[Jamman54]

Your pics are awesome!! Makes me feel like I'm there, and not just viewing photos. Thanks for sharing!! :)

Dee

 

Thanks for following along!! Much, much more to come!

 

 

Wonderful review! Enjoying all of it. I've never been on the Splendor but your pictures have made me feel like I'm right there with you. Not sure I'll ever get to sail on the Splendor as it leaves from NY. Living in Florida allows us a large choice in cruising. Being a native New Yorker, I really appreciated the pics of Manhattan. Brought back a lot of memories, some not so good. (9/11). I was lucky enough to visit NYC recently and see the Memorial. The museum wasn't open yet. The Freedom Tower is outstanding. Have been over the VNB but never under! :D

 

Your photos of Coki Beach in St. Thomas look nice. We will be heading there for the 4th time in February and we're trying to decide what to do. Maybe we'll try Coki Beach.

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Thanks for sharing. ;)

 

Thanks for reading!! I think you would like Coki Beach. I'll never get tired of cruising from NYC. Glad my pics brought you mostly good memories. Sailing past lower Manhattan always brings a tear to my eyes.

[Jamman54]

Enjoying your review Jamman, my homeboy! I'm about 30 miles from you and used to work in Somerset. I really need to book the Splendor!

 

We went to Coki Beach back in August. It was great. Never made it to Coral World as we couldn't get the kids out of the water and DH had a field day snorkeling. Good thing I didn't buy ticket in advance like I started too;)

 

Howdy neighbor!! Thanks for reading. Working on the next segment now.

[murphy4]

Wonderful review! Enjoying all of it. I've never been on the Splendor but your pictures have made me feel like I'm right there with you. Not sure I'll ever get to sail on the Splendor as it leaves from NY. Living in Florida allows us a large choice in cruising.

Thanks for sharing. ;)

 

we are taking the Splendor out of Miami in March. :)

[murphy4]

I was reading your other splendor review. Are there 2 MDR's? if so why did you prefer one over the other? we are a party of 8, all adults

[Jamman54]

I was reading your other splendor review. Are there 2 MDR's? if so why did you prefer one over the other? we are a party of 8, all adults

 

Yes there are two MDR's. It's not a matter of preference, if you choose traditional dining, (either early or late seating), you are assigned to a dining room, you don't choose. If you choose Your Time Dining (YTD), that is in the Black Pearl Dining Room, lower level.

[Jamman54]

Welcome to St. Kitts!!!

 

 

I woke up at 6:30am hoping to catch another beautiful sunrise. As I lay in bed, I could feel the excitement building up for the day ahead. Over 40 cruises under my belt, and this was going to be my first visit to St. Kitts. I was really excited about the excursion I had booked through Carnival, called the Rail & Sail. It is a 2 hour train ride around the island, followed by a catamaran sailing along the coast.

 

As I made my way to the bathroom, I noticed that a piece of paper had been slipped under the cabin door…..

 

 

I was so disappointed. My only solace is that we’ll be back here next August on the Carnival Breeze, so I can certainly book it again. My back up plan for today would be to join the roll call beach bums, and visit one of the beaches, so that’s what I’ll do. I stepped out on my balcony, looked forward, and saw that we had smooth seas once again…..

 

 

And yes, I did catch another beautiful sunrise!!

 

 

I went back to bed for another hour or so, then went back out onto the balcony to watch us as we approached St. Kitts. I never saw the top of that hill the entire time we were here!!

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

This is the town of Basseterre, St. Kitts……

 

 

This is the pier where we will be docking…..

 

 

Here are some views of Basseterre, St. Kitts…..

 

 

 

 

Once again, we will be the only ship in port today, so the Captain elects to back us into our berth…..

 

 

To be continued…..

Edited November 16, 2014 by Jamman54

[Jamman54]

I was hungry, but not wanting a big breakfast, I decided to utilize the Continental Breakfast station…..

 

 

As always, I took my breakfast upstairs to the Deck 10 seating area…..

 

 

This was my view as I enjoyed my breakfast…..

 

 

The seating under the yellow umbrellas is also part of the smoking area on Deck 10 aft, starboard side…..

 

 

We are officially docked. We are early as it is only 8:30am…..

 

 

The cruise terminal at Basseterre, St. Kitts…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

It is a bit cloudy out, but no rain is in the forecast. Boy, those hot tubs look inviting…..

 

 

Here are some views of Basseterre from Deck 10 aft…..

 

 

 

There is a casino just off the pier…..

 

 

The gangways are out, but the ship has not been cleared yet…..

 

 

A view of the empty pier…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[ColdinNH99]

Hello again everybody!! I’m Jeff “Jamman” Maskall, and I am a Cruise Addict!! I’ve just returned from another GREAT cruise on Carnival, this time back on board the Carnival Splendor. This was an 8 day repositioning cruise that started in New York, and ended in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In between were 3 sea days, followed by port calls at St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, and St. Maarten. I had never been to St. Kitts or Antigua before, so I was excited to be going to these ports for the very first time.

 

 

 

I did this cruise as a solo, because since Patti is a teacher, there was no way she could take off. I look forward to the day when she is able to retire, and we can cruise anytime of the year together. Shortly after getting off the Liberty in August, I received one of the Diamond offers, for the “almost” free cruises, which I’m sure by now, almost everybody has heard about. Book an inside for $100, get $100 OBC, just pay the port taxes and fees. Yes, that one. How could I resist? So with Patti’s blessing I booked it, though I did upgrade to a balcony cabin, and because I was sailing solo, I had to pay double, but it still was a very good deal for me. I will tell you that in 36 Carnival cruises, this was the FIRST time an offer like this came my way, so there is hope for everyone out there!!

 

 

 

I just want to mention that my cruise was really just the first half of the Splendor’s repositioning cruises. The cruise after ours would be sailing from San Juan, and ending up in Miami, which will be the Splendor’s winter home. They will be visiting completely different ports as well. My picture review buddy gapearl is aboard that cruise, so I know we’ll be hearing from her once she gets back. Hope you are having a GREAT cruise Kim!!!

 

 

 

As I said in my previous reviews, my goal is to make you feel like you are along for the ride, to see if the Splendor is the right ship for you, and to give you a glimpse of the port of calls. So without further ado, let’s get this party started!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, October 24th is finally here!! It’s a cloudy, cool day, but it’s better than the previous two days where it rained nonstop. The weatherman says that it will be sunny and about 60 degrees for our sail away this afternoon. I’ll take it!

 

The car service arrived right on time at 9:30, for what should be about an hour ride to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. It took a little longer because traffic in midtown was horrific, so I was dropped off just before 11am. I gave the porter my one bag, watched him put the orange FTTF tape on it, and then made my way inside the terminal.

 

 

 

Before you could get in any line, you had to fill out a health questionnaire, which only took a minute or so. Then as you entered your line, an agent would review your form, and then sign off on it. This was no big deal. The big deal was what I saw after going through the scanner, and that was the line extending out from the VIP lounge. Then it hit me. With the Diamond offer that was later offered to some of the Platinum members, this cruise was going to be overflowing with VIP members. There was no way that the VIP lounge was going to handle that. So what they did to expedite the VIP’s was take small groups of VIP’s at a time, take their boarding passes, go get their Sail & Sign cards, and then lead them to the regular lines to be processed. It still was slow getting checked in, took me about 45 minutes or so, but I was done before boarding began. At 11:50 they began boarding Diamonds and Platinums, so I was among the first 30 or so to board the ship, and as you can see, I’m smiling ear to ear…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s great to be back on the Splendor again. My first view is of the Atrium elevators…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Shore Excursion Desk in the Lobby, port side…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shore Excursion Desk info…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guest Services, in the Lobby, starboard side…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

 

 

Hello

Jeff

It's sherry and Ron, how are you?

We had a great time I the cruise and really enjoyed our time with you and everyone else from cruise critic.

We booked a cruise on the conquest for New Year's Eve was wondering have you ever been on that ship before ? If so, did you post all your pics, Info on ship etc.. I would love to read it.

 

 

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[Jamman54]

Hello

Jeff

It's sherry and Ron, how are you?

We had a great time I the cruise and really enjoyed our time with you and everyone else from cruise critic.

We booked a cruise on the conquest for New Year's Eve was wondering have you ever been on that ship before ? If so, did you post all your pics, Info on ship etc.. I would love to read it.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Hey Sherry!! It was great meeting you and Ron. The Conquest is one of the ships that I haven't cruised yet, but hope to in the near future. New Year's Eve is an awesome time to sail, and I'm sure that you guys will have a blast!