Our 25th Anniversary Adventure - Baja Mexico & Hawaii on the Inspiration & Splendor

[Jamman54]

Patti has joined me at the Splendido Pool Bar. She is about to drink her first shot (actually two), of Fireball. Amarsha and Komang offer her moral support…..

 

 

I’m drinking an Angry Balls. For the uninitiated that is an Angry Orchard with a shot of Fireball…..

 

 

Here are Samson, Amarsha, and Komang…..

 

 

Since it was time for lunch, Patti and I both had cheeseburgers from the Grille. After she ate she went to check out the Chocolate Extravaganza…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here are some more views of the Chocolate Extravaganza…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final bingo session of the cruise is today, the $5,000 Jackpot Bingo….

 

 

Before the first game Tom and Jo along with some of their dance class members performed a dance on stage…..

 

 

 

Danielle is up there calling the numbers, but unfortunately they aren’t our numbers, so no winners for us……

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Because there were so many Diamond and Platinum members on this cruise, they had to schedule two VIFP parties. We were invited to the 3 pm VIFP Party…..

 

 

 

Captain La Fauci and some of the Senior Officers greet us as we walk in…..

 

 

The Dolce Trio is on stage playing for us…..

 

 

Samson is working this party and he is keeping Patti and me backed up with drinks….

 

 

They were bringing around a copious amount of snacks…..

 

 

After the usual ships video, Captain La Fauci addresses the crowd…..

 

 

 

These are today’s Diamond and Platinum awards, and the Spring Chicken winner…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here are Cheeky Charlie and Patti…..

 

 

They are Celebrating Diamond Guests…..

 

 

 

After the party Patti went up to the gym to work out, while I went to the casino to play blackjack for a few hours. I wound up winning a few hundred which brought me back to even. Think I’ll quit while I’m not behind!

 

We are back in the Gold Pearl Restaurant for tonight’s dinner. Here are the menus for tonight…..

 

 

 

 

For starters we both had the cannelloni, ocean scallops, and Caesar salad…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[DebOinKC]

The menu's for this cruise have been awesome. Was there somethings that you & Patti like & disliked?

[Jamman54]

For her main Patti had the salmon cakes…..

 

 

I had the BBQ pork spareribs and the southern fried chicken…..

 

 

 

Here is tonight’s dessert menu…..

 

 

Patti had the butter pecan ice cream and I had the s’mores parfait…..

 

 

After dinner we went to the casino where I entered the last blackjack tournament of the cruise. I was able to qualify for the final table…..

 

 

The casino host explains what the prizes are and the rules for the finals….

 

 

The final round has begun, Unfortunately, I busted out after the 6^th hand…..

 

 

Patti and I had a quick nightcap with Jose in the Sports Bar then called it a night. I forgot to mention that the night before we had set our clocks ahead one more hour, so we are now back on West Coast time.

 

Coming up next:  We Groove for St. Jude and a brief stop in Ensenada.

[CruisinginWonderland]

How interesting that they have Port of Call menus. Keeps it interesting for the extra sea days probably.

[blarko]

Omg! The s’mores parfait looks heavenly. Did it taste as good as it looks?

[Jamman54]

20 hours ago, DebOinKC said:

The menu's for this cruise have been awesome. Was there somethings that you & Patti like & disliked?

 

The menus were pretty good and with few exceptions were not repeated. The only things that I didn't like were the flatbreads. They came out chewy and undercooked. ☹

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, CruisinginWonderland said:

How interesting that they have Port of Call menus. Keeps it interesting for the extra sea days probably.

 

Yes, many of the Port of Call selections were pretty good, and the portions were huge. 😀

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, blarko said:

Omg! The s’mores parfait looks heavenly. Did it taste as good as it looks?

 

I love the s'mores parfaits. Patti not so much. 😎

[Princess Cruiser27]

Hey Jeff, dang I'm still trying to catch up here. LOL. Nice photo's of the Queen Mary. I also did a tour of her back in 2006 when I sailed on the Sapphire Princess out of San Pedro. Of course I love the food porn. LOL One thing about Princess, the cabins are ready when you board. When I did sailed on HAL to Alaska back in 2017, my cabin wasn't ready, I found my cabin steward, to ask him If could leave my carry on bag in the room, and he sad yes. 

 

[cruisin from vegas]

Love this review so much....giant memories for me.  I’m originally from Long Beach, a CSULB alumni.  More specifically from 1979 to 1982  a Tour Guide on the Queen Mary ( yes it’s absolutely haunted).  After college I was a crew member (casino dealer) on the brand new Carnival Tropicale, Carnival’s first new build ship from 1982-1984.  I have sailed the Splendor in the Western Caribbean two years ago (love her).  Next on the Fascination out of San Juan  in November.  (Did an NCL Mediterranean last year). Love the review!!!!!

[lisagro]

I am enjoying your review! Thanks so much for posting it!

[Jamman54]

On ‎6‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 5:48 PM, Princess Cruiser27 said:

Hey Jeff, dang I'm still trying to catch up here. LOL. Nice photo's of the Queen Mary. I also did a tour of her back in 2006 when I sailed on the Sapphire Princess out of San Pedro. Of course I love the food porn. LOL One thing about Princess, the cabins are ready when you board. When I did sailed on HAL to Alaska back in 2017, my cabin wasn't ready, I found my cabin steward, to ask him If could leave my carry on bag in the room, and he sad yes. 

 

 

Hey Barb!  Always glad to have you around. Keep at it. You'll catch up!  

 

20 hours ago, cruisin from vegas said:

Love this review so much....giant memories for me.  I’m originally from Long Beach, a CSULB alumni.  More specifically from 1979 to 1982  a Tour Guide on the Queen Mary ( yes it’s absolutely haunted).  After college I was a crew member (casino dealer) on the brand new Carnival Tropicale, Carnival’s first new build ship from 1982-1984.  I have sailed the Splendor in the Western Caribbean two years ago (love her).  Next on the Fascination out of San Juan  in November.  (Did an NCL Mediterranean last year). Love the review!!!!!

 

Thanks so much for reading. Glad you're enjoying it. You have quite the resume!

 

6 hours ago, lisagro said:

I am enjoying your review! Thanks so much for posting it!

 

Thanks for reading. The next segment will be posted tomorrow. We're almost at the end.

[Jamman54]

Day # 23  (May 10^th)  -  Ensenada, Mexico  (3 pm to 8 pm).

 

Here are today’s Fun Times…..

 

 

 

 

The map channel on the television shows us approaching the west coast of Mexico…..

 

 

We were up at 7 am to a partly sunny day. The seas are fairly calm and the temperature is 65 degrees. Here are the views forward and aft from our balcony…..

 

 

 

Patti was going to check out the arts and crafts in the El Morocco lounge then meet me at the Morning Show. I grabbed the camera and made my way up to the Lido to grab a cup of coffee. Here’s a view of the Liner Pool all the way aft…..

 

 

As I approached the mid ship Splendido Pool, I could see that there was an invasion of towel animals…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The towel animal invasion came in all shapes and sizes…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here is my last towel invasion picture…..

 

 

These are the towel hut ladies…..

 

 

To start the Morning Show Lee interviews the finalists of the Lip Sync Battle…..

 

 

Lee also interviews Tom again…..

 

 

Here is our final towel creation of the cruise…….

 

 

Patti was a little hungry so she went up to the Lido for some breakfast. I made my way to the Splendido Pool Bar to hang out with my buds for the last time. When the Grille opened for lunch I went over and grabbed a few cheeseburgers and some fries.

Patti joined me up on Lido to Groove for St. Jude……

 

 

The line for contributions was long…..

 

 

 

Cheeky Charlie takes our donation from Patti……

 

 

Patti gets a t-shirt and a teddy bear…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Lee shows off the Splendor coin and the autographed itinerary map that are going to be auctioned off…..

 

 

Lee poses with the hula dance instructors…..

 

 

Ruther and I pose with the teddy bear…..

 

 

 

Ruther makes Patti another special mocha chocolate getaway…..

 

 

 

Lee auctions off the autographed itinerary map…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Lee auctions off the Splendor coin…..

 

 

 

 

It’s time to Groove for St. Jude…..

 

 

 

 

Afterwards, we head back to the cabin for the sad task of packing our suitcases. About an hour later…. Land Ho! We are approaching Ensenada…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

The Ensenada Pilot Boat approaches to drop off the Pilot…..

 

 

We are approaching the pier where we will be docking today…..

 

 

 

 

 

I’m enjoying a beer while I watch the action from our balcony…..

 

 

Here are some views of the port area…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

They open the gates and the tour buses and vans start rolling into the port…..

 

 

The dock workers tie the Splendor up to the pier…..

 

 

 

 

The tour buses and vans are lined up and ready to go.....

 

 

 

 

We have arrived about an hour early today, and soon the passengers are streaming off of the ship…..

 

 

Patti decides that she’s going to get off the ship and check out the terminal area. I’m going to stay on board have a few more beers and finish packing.

 

Patti is off the ship. Here are a few views around the terminal…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti catches me hanging out on the balcony…..

 

 

 

 

 

The Carnival Splendor docked in Ensenada…..

 

 

Here are some more views around the terminal area…..

 

 

 

 

 

Patti catches Captain La Fauci on the pier in street clothes…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

There are plenty of photo ops on the pier…..

 

 

 

 

 

I hear a knock on the door. The Players Club has sent us some cookies…..

 

 

 

 

After an hour or so, Patti is back on board the Splendor. Here are some more views of the area from our balcony…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We hung out in the cabin until it was time for dinner. Here is tonight’s dinner menu…..

 

 

 

 

We both had the caprese salad. Patti also had a Caesar salad…..

 

 

I also had the steamed mussels and the spicy alligator fritters…..

 

 

 

For our mains Patti had the penne shrimp and bacon, and I had the shrimp creole…..

 

 

 

For our desserts Patti had the carrot cake and I had the key lime cheesecake stuffed apple…..

 

 

 

It’s always a sad time when the waiters sing “leaving on a Fun Ship”, especially after a two week cruise…..

 

 

 

 

After a walk down the Promenade we decided to call it a cruise, head back to the cabin, and put our luggage in the hallway. We have pictures of the luggage filled hallways but they are too depressing to post. 😡

 

Coming up next:   Goodbye Carnival Splendor, it’s sad to see you go!