joellebridgers

Thanks so much for the info! That cements it for us, I think. We are going in February, and it will probably be crowded, but as this will be our first of many trips to Amber Cove, I think we will start out "small" just looking around the port area, and heading for RIU.

 

Thanks again for the review!:)

You are more than welcome! Enjoy your trip! [emoji3]

I got it on this last cruise on the Splendor this past month. Loved it! We didn't have to go in long lines for check in and We were boarded right after the Plat, Dia, Weddings..etc.... Our room was ready so we were able to drop off our carry ons... Then a quick bite to eat (not as many people in line) and off to the aft pool where we had pick of our chairs!

We didn't have any tenders so I didn't need it for that. It was also nice not having to stand in long lines at customer service! [emoji4] also getting off the ship was easy too!

We have sailed on Carnival when we had a late departure from San Juan, and the MDR had open seating all night.

 

 

 

To DebJ14 "Not sure what Carnival does, but it would make sense for them to have open seating that night, especially for those too cheap or too scared to eat dinner in Cozumel."

 

There is no reason for the shot at the end. Be nice.

Agreed, and I know someone who told the MDR staff that they would not make the time that was assigned so they put them at a later time and sat them with other people.

You don't have to do buffet....

I think I shared the whole page, but my review of Amber and RIU are in here

I posted a review and pictures of the RIU on the Amber Cove thread. I thought it was worth it. First, the resort is practically next door. Yes, Carnival does provide transportation.

There was nothing bad about the resort, but it's not a 5 star either.

That is sequentially out of order and a few years from being accurate.

 

Carnival acquired Costa in 2000. Splendor's first cruise was in 2008.

 

It is true that splendor was to be built for Costa, as a Concordia class ship, which itself is a direct derivative of the conquest class. It was redirected from Costa to carnival given capacity demand.

 

However, it's not as if carnival bought one laid up ship then the whole line. They bought the line first and accordingly built several ships for Costa, based on their pre-existing designs for the destiny, triumph, conquest and spirit class, and tweaked the conquest class to yield the Concordia class as they did the others to better suit the market.

I was just going off of the what was told to us by the future cruise presenter two weeks ago. He did say that Costa was building Splendor when they ran Into financial trouble, so they bought it outright. Considering Carnival doesn't really own, just controls the leading stock in Costa, this may still stand to be correct.

Reading further into this, I see that Carnival actually bought stock in Costa in 1997, and in 2000 purchased more stock, which then lead them to be the controlling stock holder. Interesting stuff....... Thanks for your input, it led me to read more about the history of their accomplishments.

Just a little information about this ship. It was in the mist of being built by Costa when they got into financial trouble. Carnival bought the ship from them, hence why it is not designed like other Carnival ships. Then Carnival purchased Costa altogether.

I was told they were $299 on the water. They included a server but nothing else. I did not hear any feedback from the guest that rented them.

Very strange, and a little disturbing for several points:

 

 

 

1. Engine room is about 3 fires zones separated from the theater, and a fire in any one fire zone would not affect sprinklers in another zone.

 

 

 

2. Engine room Hi-Fog fire suppression water mist system is completely separate from the sprinkler system in the non-engine room spaces, so again, the sprinklers in the theater should not have activated.

 

 

 

3. Sprinkler systems can be either wet or dry, depending on whether the piping is full of water at all times or not. If wet, the only sprinklers that should release are those where the fusible element melts out from high temperature (fire), so a fire in the engine room shouldn't affect wet sprinklers in the theater. If it is a dry system (not sure these are allowed onboard), then every sprinkler in a space like the theater should start to flow, not just a few, and this would require either a failure of a smoke/fire sensor releasing the sprinklers, or an incorrect manual release by the bridge crew.

 

 

 

I went back and reviewed the investigation report of the Splendor fire in 2009, to review the equipment onboard. I'm afraid this shows some either equipment failures or operational failures of the emergency systems on the Splendor, similar to those that contributed to the severity of the 2009 fire, and which were supposed to be addressed by the new maritime compliance department formed after the Triumph fire.

Not sure of technicalities of the sprinkler system, but it seems you do and you may have a point.

All I know is that evening I smelled a chemical in the air then some fresh air fragrance come through the air vents. Then I woke early the next morning, 6AM, decided to go to the gym, and saw some fire crew walking around then witnessed the sprinkler squirting away on the 3rd floor stairwell.

I think if it was that bad of a fire they would have made us report to the muster stations. Honestly I was not too concerned.

Fire was in the engine room which set off sprinklers in the theatre as well as some halls. Deck 3 stairwell sprinkler was bursting the next morning......

Sorry, yes... We were on the Carnival Splendor and it was the RIU all inclusive excursion. I think it was $59.99 pp

Ok here it goes! We pulled into Amber when it was still dark out.... I was so excited that I watched us pull in from our balcony.

We were allowed off the ship early, and our excursion started at 9 AM, so off we went a bit after 8. When you get off, yes you end up in a shopping area, (they wouldn't have it any other way). Almost tight away you will see the excursion area where we met our guide. We only waited a few minutes before he brought us to the bus area.

That's when I saw busses and taxis in lines all over, beyond the gates, up hills! Most taxis were brand new.... There had to be a few hundred of them!

We got on a brand new bus, (still plastic on the seats), and waited a few minutes before heading to the RIU. As the bus left the gates, the scenery changes.... You can see how poverty stricken this area really is.

We only drove 3-4 minutes before getting to the entrance of the RIU

We were greeted there by Dominican dancers and tropical drinks that were yummy!

It was a typical all-inclusive RIU. The pools, layout, restaurant.

We weren't there for luxury though. We found chairs by the pool bar then headed to the restaurant for a little bite. They were still serving breakfast so I just got a poached egg and papaya. Neither was very good, but again, didn't expect it to be.

We then took a walk to see what their beaches looked like. It was very pretty but not what we are use to.

Back to our pool chairs we went where two young ladies who worked at the resort asked us if we would like to sign up for massages. We did! The price was right too! We paid $30 each for beachside 1/2 hr massages. They were heavenly! I am picky on my massages, so when I say heavenly I mean it! Plus way cheaper than on the ship. They do the massages in a thatched hut on the beach..... The sounds of the ocean while getting a fantastic massage.... Sigh!

Next it was fun time at the pool. I was excited to have a Mamma Juana, the Dominican Drink, (I had them before and they are delicious). Ok, well I was excited until I had theirs..... Waaayyyy to strong which made them taste awful.

The pool entertainment staff was doing water aerobics, so I joined in. It was fun.... After they had a BBQ at the pool of pulled pork and chicken. I had the chicken and it was good.

I honestly forget what time we headed back to get on the bus.... But I'm estimating it to be about 2pm. We did some shopping before we got on the boat. The Larimar stone is the Dominican stone, so if you like jewelry, here is your best chance of getting a piece of local flavor. I ended up with a aquamarine ring that my husband bought me..( I got some Larimar on my last DR trip). At the port they had a bar, pools, zip lines, cabanas... And more for you to keep occupied with. sorry didn't take pictures of the pool area....

Overall it was a pleasant experience. From what some locals told me, they were happy to see the port. It will help to put food on their tables. Everyone was so nice.

Chose the excursion that best fits you. I heard some people say they liked the ATV excursion. I didn't hear anyone on our ship complain about Amber Cove.

Enjoy it!

We love Grand Turk. It's just a beach day for us when we visit. It's about a 10 minute walk to Jacks. Beach chairs are free and umbrellas are $10.

 

The cabanas aren't for me as I want to be at the beach, not pool. I hear they are really nice.

Agreed! Jacks Shack is a 10 min walk to the left of the port. Away from the crowds. It looks sketchy as you walk closer to Jacks, but you are in good hands. The staff there are all pleasant and the food there is amazing if your into fresh seafood like grouper and conch!

There water there was the clearest I have ever seen and their dog Topher is a riot to watch dig holes! And no pushy people trying to sell you anything!!

If you do the RIU excursion, they have pools, including a swim up, and a beach for use.

I didn't personally watch any of the movies, but they were playing this past week.... Minions, Mission Impossible (the newest one), Jurassic Park the Lost World, Pitch Perfect 2. That's all I remember. Hope that helps

We are currently on the Spendor eastern cruise. Last night while watching the 8:15 show VROOM it was interrupted with an announcement from the captain an emergency was taking place. They tried to restart the show but the shows crew was running around placing towels in an upper section of the theatre. The cruise director came to the front of the stage to say the show was cancelled. Another announcement came on from the captain that a small fire was taking place in the engine room, but that it was being handled. We went back to our cabin to wait. About 45 minutes later the Captain came on to say that the situation was assessed and that the fire was small fire was put out and all was well. So much for Friday the 13th! We are now on our last sea day heading back to Miami.

I was on there too! We were finishing dinner when we heard the medical emergency then about the containment of the fire. When we got to the comedy club, they told us it was just a lot of smoke. Did you notice the smell of like burnt chemicals that night? Then, we believe, there was a type of air freshener pumped through the vents. My allergies were kicking!

Loved Amber! Great Port! Will do a full report this week.

Did you book a day pass on your own or through Carnival. it seems that the RIU would be close enough to take a taxi. Just wondering if this can be done without purchasing an excursion through carnival?

I booked thru Carnival. I will ask when I get to the RIU if you can just go there to purchase. I only booked thru Carnival because it was a new port with new excursions.... Not enough information, and didn't want to take a chance.

I was on her 3 years ago and had a great experience as well. We traveled with my stepson, so we didn't have a lot of adult time on the ship. The entertainment was good and so was the food.

We went in the summer, so it was packed with kids.....

Port Canaveral was an ok port. I didn't have any issues, but it's not as smooth as Miami.

You will have a great time! Enjoy!!

Yep we leave on Splendor on Nov 8th! Looking forward to it!

Amber is one of our stops. We leave on the Splendor Nov 8th. We booked at the RIU next door to the port. I will let you know how it is when we get back.

I don't typically decorate my door. Haven't for 3 years now, I think. So, although I've already been on Splendor, I don't know about magnets. I always just used window cling types of things or pasted stuff on paper and taped it on. I think tape is frowned upon, though.

 

 

 

Actually, we had a door decorating contest on the Splendor repo I did and my cruise buddy and I went in search of the winners. But, honestly, I don't recall seeing any with magnets. Some were really elaborate (and hadn't been vandalized after 8 days).

 

 

 

So, I'm not very useful! I know people are going to decorate their doors so if I think of it, I'll look to see if anyone used magnets. OP will do a much better job of remembering these things, though, since she did ask, after all! ;)

Someone gave a tip to bring magnet hooks for the inside cabin wall/s. They said it's great to hand your hats and such from to keep organized. I think it's a great idea!

Do keep us posted (maybe some pics) on the door decorating! Fun stuff!

Silly question...but I want to know if magnets will work on the cabin walls and doors... I keep getting conflicting answers. Thanks!

I have the same question as well about the magnets.... Although someone already confirmed they do not work on the cabin doors.

Wow I hope they have a photo package when I go on Splendor in 19 days! Can you tell us more? Would also like to know what sizes come in the package.