GAPearl Goes Solo on the Splendor! 11/1/14 SJU-MIA Repo Cruise Review.

[gapearl]

The ride back to the ship was beautiful and scenic. We were back at the Splendor at 2 pm. The crew was fantastic! I don't think I've ever had such attentive service on any similar tour. I left a $20 tip in their jar on the way out. If you ever happen to find yourself headed to Grenada, definitely book with High Time Sail. Their sister company is the Rhum Runner, but they don't have the stop at the underwater sculptures.

 

Here I am with the awesome High Time crew.

 

 

 

Almost back home.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2014 by gapearl

[gapearl]

Back at the ship.

 

 

There were some really good dancers at the port putting on a performance.

 

 

 

The steel drum band was still playing.

 

 

I still had an hour and a half before all aboard for some shopping. There are lots of shops with all kinds of souvenirs. I bought a few things to bring home, including a bottle of locally made rum from duty free. It was $29 and I had $30 left so that couldn't have been any more perfect. The bottle number was hand written on the front.

 

 

Sadly it was time to head back to the ship. While shopping I did get two marriage proposals from a couple of local guys. "Don't go back to the states! Marry me and stay here on the island! No need to leave!" That was a tempting offer for a single woman with a biological clock that's ticking that loves the beach and is not looking forward to another harsh winter. Sadly I had to turn them down and head to the gangway with my sail and sign card in hand. Like Martinique, I fell in love with Grenada and can see myself coming back for a few days on a future land trip.

 

Edited November 17, 2014 by gapearl

[gapearl]

At 3:30 pm, there was an art auction being held in the Red Carpet Disco. I've been wanting to come to one of these since reading the Cruise Confidential series. I got an invitation that said free champagne and a free piece of art just for showing up. Well I guess that was late in the auction because I never got either. I'd think the champagne would be passed out first. You know, get the people tipsy so they spend more money. There were raffles for free pieces of art that would be given out throughout the auction.

 

 

 

 

The auctioneer started going. Holy *blank*. :eek:

 

sfvgkglhlsdjfvnglkjdsfldsj can I get one thousand, one thousand HEY lvkslfvjskjljpfyfcfjvlsjvsdv can I get two thousand, two thousand HEY shv;kjsdhnfvjkhdnfkjh three thousand, three thousand fjpwiejpowfpowpfwefp;owjf

 

I swear that's what it sounded like. The first piece of art on the auction block went for over $5,000. I remember thinking I'm soooo out of my league here. Expensive art isn't my thing, but I wanted to check the auction out just for the heck of it. There was a big crowd and they were some serious art lovers. I stayed about 20 minutes, then off to the sauna for a bit and back to my room for a nap.

Edited November 17, 2014 by gapearl

[gapearl]

Dinner time!

 

Salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

 

 

Sushi.

 

 

French onion soup.

 

 

Sicilian style chicken.

 

 

I had my usual for dessert. Sorry I forgot tonight's dinner menu again but here's the dessert menu.

 

[gapearl]

Our dinner entertainment tonight was a conga line through the dining room.

 

 

Be careful! You don't want an oops moment!

 

 

 

Here I am in another white dress. I was proud of myself for not spilling red wine on either like I did on the Breeze.

 

 

The Red Frog Caribbean beach party was at 10:30 pm. I skipped it but heard it was pretty empty. Instead I went to The Beat in the Spectacular Theatre at 10:30 pm. This was probably the best show I've ever seen on a Carnival ship. There were 8 female dancers and 4 or 5 males, plus the male and female lead singers and the backup band providing live music. The talent was very good and I'm glad I went to see it.

 

After the show I headed to the Red Carpet Club, hoping to see some of my new friends and hoping there was a good crowd. The DJ was playing a good mix of old school music and there was an older crowd on the dance floor having a blast with a Soul Train line going and everything. Besides them there were not a lot of people hanging out and it was clear tonight wasn't going to be a good night yet again. I like to dress up every night and take part in all the evening activities because I'm a workaholic homebody with a lacking social life (believe it or not). This is the most "going out" I'll do all year, and the night life on this ship was just disappointing. I've come to love how lively Carnival always is after dinner and get excited about my cruise nights out, but every cruise is different is this one was simply a dud. I headed back to 2344 at midnight. I was tired anyways from going and going nonstop for a week now and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. I must be getting old.

 

The promenade was a ghost town.

 

 

 

Up next: I broke a sweat but I did not break a nail. The most adventurous thing I think I've ever done!

Edited November 17, 2014 by gapearl

[mzspyc1]

The auctioneer started going. Holy *blank*. :eek:

 

sfvgkglhlsdjfvnglkjdsfldsj can I get one thousand, one thousand HEY lvkslfvjskjljpfyfcfjvlsjvsdv can I get two thousand, two thousand HEY shv;kjsdhnfvjkhdnfkjh three thousand, three thousand fjpwiejpowfpowpfwefp;owjf

 

I swear that's what it sounded like. The first piece of art on the auction block went for over $5,000. I remember thinking I'm soooo out of my league here. Expensive art isn't my thing, but I wanted to check the auction out just for the heck of it. There was a big crowd and they were some serious art lovers. I stayed about 20 minutes, then off to the sauna for a bit and back to my room for a nap

 

I literally laughed out laugh at this! I went by the auction on my last cruise and this was my thoughts exactly! Loving your review as usual Kim!

[smeck]

The safety drill was your typical safety drill and was over soon enough. I changed clothes and headed to our informal meet and greet by the aft pool. No one was really on the lido for the sailaway party and I heard it never really got going. We had about 100 people gathered. It was so nice to meet all of these new friends I've been planning this cruise with for the last year.

 

Troublifics was our second roll call nickname. If only you knew...:cool:

 

 

 

 

After hanging out for a little while I headed to the El Morocco Lounge for the midnight comedy show of Donnell Grey. He was really funny and I was laughing the whole show.

 

 

 

You have to explain the details of two roll calls, I guess I'm a bit slow. Lol. Enjoying your review as always.

[deetrayn]

I LOVED the Breeze! I'm thinking of booking her again for 2016. When my feet started hurting, that's when it was time to head to the bar and take a seat. Oprah calls those 10 minute shoes- you stand for 10 minutes then sit down. lol

 

 

 

Gracias! :D

 

You're welcome. When I did wear heels that hurt my feet, I called them my grand entrance/grand finale shoes. They were on when I arrive and leave, but either took them off, or was sitting during the time in between. Lol. :D

[gapearl]

Lovin your pictures... and your review. This sounds like an awesome itinerary. We went to Martinique on our first ever cruise and Grenada in 2009. I think Grenada is one of my favorite stops.... they love Americans because of our help when they were being over run by communists way back in the 1980's.... very friendly island. Also very jealous of your time on Puerto Rico.

 

This was indeed a great itinerary. I'd love to see stops here more often. Hopefully you'll get to have a similar some time in Puerto Rico at some point. :)

 

I literally laughed out laugh at this! I went by the auction on my last cruise and this was my thoughts exactly! Loving your review as usual Kim!

 

LOL the auctioneer was cute though but my goodness. I thought I talked fast!

[gapearl]

You have to explain the details of two roll calls, I guess I'm a bit slow. Lol. Enjoying your review as always.

 

Roll call taken to a group on a popular website you're not allowed to talk about on here. Starts with an F. ;)

 

You're welcome. When I did wear heels that hurt my feet, I called them my grand entrance/grand finale shoes. They were on when I arrive and leave, but either took them off, or was sitting during the time in between. Lol. :D

 

Grand entrance/grand finale shoes. I'm stealing that. :)

[MotoRacer598]

Great review Kim! Nice to meet you! Man, i look like crap in that pic you posted...lol

 

Thanks for the coupons!

[wrigley80]

I spotted a few scuba divers.

 

 

A praying girl.

 

 

Here's the new one to replace the first one. These were all students. I think this is so cool, but also kind of creepy.

 

 

Remember that scene from the Will Smith movie I Am Legend, when his dog runs into the building and he chases after him and comes across the zombies that are in a circle holding hands meditating? Ok that's the only reason I find this creepy because that's what this reminds me of.

 

 

 

 

WOW.....I think I would be extremely creeped out. But I guess if you know what's down there before ya jump in then you are more prepared for it. Its still weird to see people standing underwater (even though you know they are statues). Thank you so much for sharing these great photos

[TrqoisWtrs]

Hi Debbie! OMG how funny was that? It was a pleasure! Have you gotten your husband plugged into CC yet?

 

Uh, yeah, like that's going to happen. :rolleyes:

 

Sounds like you had a great time in Martinique. We had booked an excursion through Carnival, but the night before we got a letter saying it had been cancelled - lack of participants. DH was not happy. Later on, we were talking to other people and found out 2 other excursions had been cancelled for the same reason. Thought that was an odd coincidence. We just chalked it up to the Martinique doesn't like us vibe we had been getting all along....:confused:

 

sfvgkglhlsdjfvnglkjdsfldsj can I get one thousand, one thousand HEY lvkslfvjskjljpfyfcfjvlsjvsdv can I get two thousand, two thousand HEY shv;kjsdhnfvjkhdnfkjh three thousand, three thousand fjpwiejpowfpowpfwefp;owjf

 

Omg, you crack me up. that was so true!

 

"Its a one time bargain - 3 pieces of whatshisname for $20,000; you'll never find another deal like this." :eek: Seriously? Do you know how many cruises I could take for that? :D DH and I went to the last auction and lord, never again! Two long boring hours...after the first hour I wanted to leave, but DH was like, no, I want the free art! lol. Finally we were able to leave and get the art. I still need to check it out online to see if it has any value, considering it had a cert of authenticity. :rolleyes:

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Hey, great review and pics Kim. The Splendor looks like quite the interesting ship and the itinerary was unique if nothing else. Just having sailed the Breeze a month and a half ago, it was fun comparing the two ships. Maybe I will sail this ship someday if I ever get the chance. You do have fun and have inspired me to take a solo cruise (with another tentatively planned for next month - my cruise newbie friends don't want to go until next year now) with your reviews. Funny about getting liquor through security in SJU no problem. I couldn't even sneak a medium bottle of blue Curacao back onto the ship without getting caught on the Breeze, LOL. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

 

ps-check your email :)

[bettyboop16]

Hi Kim,

 

Enjoying your review!!:)

Martinique was 1 of our port stops this past Feb. our 2nd time there. If you walk down the pier & bear right & on the left are some tents for information & folks selling their wares...you can find a few private tours of the island & the guide speaks english.

We went to a huge outdoor market in the city that sells a little of everything. I believe the got a map from 1 of the info ladies there.

 

Betty

[Chelleum]

I was in Puerto Rico in June, and we rented a car too and did a day trip to Ponce. Your review and pics is bringing back some funny memories of my BF and I getting lost On our way to Ponce.

 

Can't wait to read the rest of your review. I was on the ship with you.

 

Sent from my LGMS659 using Forums mobile app

[cruisexlife]

Loving the review! Thank you!

[boaterette]

I was thinking the same thing about your lipstick before I even read your comment. Darn good lipstick.

[rozeedee45]

Your review is wonderful . I'm going on my first solo cruise in less than 2 weeks [emoji106]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gapearl]

Great review Kim! Nice to meet you! Man, i look like crap in that pic you posted...lol

 

Thanks for the coupons!

 

Hey Steve! Oh stop you look fine. lol :p

 

WOW.....I think I would be extremely creeped out. But I guess if you know what's down there before ya jump in then you are more prepared for it. Its still weird to see people standing underwater (even though you know they are statues). Thank you so much for sharing these great photos

 

Yeah you gotta know what's down there before going. It was really cool and I've never seen anything like it anywhere. Glad you're enjoying the pictures.

[ch27088]

In my most southern girl, country, Paula Deen voice, I'm yelling HEY Y'ALL! Welcome to a new Georgia Pearl review!

 

I'm just back from the beautiful Carnival Splendor. She's a nice ship and you'll get to real all about her.

 

 

Many of you here know me from my previous reviews, but I'll still reintroduce myself. My name is Kimberly and I'm 34 years old from Atlanta. I sailed with my three favorite travel partners- me, myself, and I. This was my 12th cruise (all on Carnival plus one Royal Caribbean) and my 7th time cruising solo. How about my vacation nails!

 

 

It was a slow cruise year for me and this was the only cruise I took in 2014, but I still had a busy travel year. After taking four cruises last year, I decided I wanted to focus more on land trips this year. That led to a week long trip to Colombia, a week long trip to Guatemala, a weekend trip to Puerto Rico, and a four day birthday trip to Las Vegas.

 

While I'm on the topic of land trips, I suggest that everyone travel to another country and immerse yourself in another culture at least once in your life. And by that, I don't mean flying to your favorite cruise port and saying at a resort for a week. Go some place totally new, book a family owned bed & breakfast or guest house, and have them teach you some words in their language. Skip McDonald's and eat at the little hole in the walls. Go to a few museums, order a snack from a food cart, and sit in the local square for some people watching. Participate in a festival. Have a drink with a local and learn about their way of life. I never would have been able to exprience events such as Carnaval de Barranquilla or Semana Santa (Google it) if I only did cruises. Also, because so many Americans are afraid of Colombia and because my review will reach so many thousands of people, let me say that my week in Cartagena was the best trip I have ever taken on land or sea! It's an amazing city full of friendly people and rich culture. Don't pass up a cruise with a stop there, or even better if you're looking for an interesting place for a land trip, consider Cartagena. I'd love to see Carnival add Cartagena as a regular stop on the southern Caribbean Aruba/Curacao route in the future.

 

Ok, getting back on track. Just before Christmas, I learned here on Cruise Critic that the Splendor was repositioning and had a couple of really unique itineraries. Well Santa must have thought I was a really good girl last year (he clearly doen't know me very well :p) because he left me a very generous gift that allowed me to book December 26. I just couldn't resist this fabulous itinerary! The first half of Splendor's repositioning was from New York to San Juan. Check out Jamman54's review of that one.

 

 

This will be LONG and very picture heavy. Good crew, good ship, good bye is not my writing style. You will be reliving my trip from beginning to end. Reviews take a long time to put together and are done around every day responsibilities, so please be patient with me between posts. I love comments and respond to them all. Also to those of you who have the inside scoop on my cruise, either through my personal social media page or if you were on the ship with me, please don't mention anything specific before I have the chance cover it. I promise, NOTHING will be left out. This review will be full of humor, adventure, and ladies some really cute shoes, so enjoy!

 

Ok so let's get to it! I had a painfully long wait after booking. I thought this cruise would never get here. :eek:

 

 

GaPearl, you have no idea how long I've been looking forward to this review. Good to have you back, and I'm now ready to start my day reading your review.

[gapearl]

Uh, yeah, like that's going to happen. :rolleyes:

 

Sounds like you had a great time in Martinique. We had booked an excursion through Carnival, but the night before we got a letter saying it had been cancelled - lack of participants. DH was not happy. Later on, we were talking to other people and found out 2 other excursions had been cancelled for the same reason. Thought that was an odd coincidence. We just chalked it up to the Martinique doesn't like us vibe we had been getting all along....:confused:

 

Omg, you crack me up. that was so true!

 

"Its a one time bargain - 3 pieces of whatshisname for $20,000; you'll never find another deal like this." :eek: Seriously? Do you know how many cruises I could take for that? :D DH and I went to the last auction and lord, never again! Two long boring hours...after the first hour I wanted to leave, but DH was like, no, I want the free art! lol. Finally we were able to leave and get the art. I still need to check it out online to see if it has any value, considering it had a cert of authenticity. :rolleyes:

 

Get outta here! Which excursion did you have booked? I'm glad I didn't book a Carnival excursion after all. I was going to to book the beach one to guarantee I'd find a beach with no problem, but couldn't bring myself to do it after I found the ferry for 7 euros.

 

$20,000 is a very significant chunk of my mortgage! No way!!! I might stop by the art auction again one day but I won't be staying until the end.

 

Hey, great review and pics Kim. The Splendor looks like quite the interesting ship and the itinerary was unique if nothing else. Just having sailed the Breeze a month and a half ago, it was fun comparing the two ships. Maybe I will sail this ship someday if I ever get the chance. You do have fun and have inspired me to take a solo cruise (with another tentatively planned for next month - my cruise newbie friends don't want to go until next year now) with your reviews. Funny about getting liquor through security in SJU no problem. I couldn't even sneak a medium bottle of blue Curacao back onto the ship without getting caught on the Breeze, LOL. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

 

ps-check your email :)

 

Hey Steve! The Splendor was definitely and interesting ship. It was so PINK! It doesn't come close to the Breeze. I'm actually going back and forth now on a future cruise between Breeze and Splendor. It's definitely a ship vs itinerary debate I'm having with myself. Maybe your next solo cruise will be from San Juan! Alrighty will do later.

[gapearl]

Hi Kim,

 

Enjoying your review!!:)

Martinique was 1 of our port stops this past Feb. our 2nd time there. If you walk down the pier & bear right & on the left are some tents for information & folks selling their wares...you can find a few private tours of the island & the guide speaks english.

We went to a huge outdoor market in the city that sells a little of everything. I believe the got a map from 1 of the info ladies there.

 

Betty

 

Hi Betty! I saw the information tents and people selling their stuff, but I never saw any private tours. It could be I just didn't see them or maybe they were already gone by the time I got there, as we docked at 10 am and I didn't leave the ship until 11:30. It's ok, I still had a great day. I'm sure I'll find myself in Martinique again some day.

 

I was in Puerto Rico in June, and we rented a car too and did a day trip to Ponce. Your review and pics is bringing back some funny memories of my BF and I getting lost On our way to Ponce.

 

Can't wait to read the rest of your review. I was on the ship with you.

 

Sent from my LGMS659 using Forums mobile app

 

I stayed lost in Ponce! haha It's a really nice city and I hope more people might consider renting a car for a day trip. Did I meet you at any point? I met so many people I can't remember! lol

[gapearl]

Loving the review! Thank you!

 

Glad to hear you are! :)

 

I was thinking the same thing about your lipstick before I even read your comment. Darn good lipstick.

 

I love MAC. :D

[gapearl]

Your review is wonderful . I'm going on my first solo cruise in less than 2 weeks [emoji106]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Congrats! I LOVE solo cruising! You'll have a great time I'm sure. :)

 

GaPearl, you have no idea how long I've been looking forward to this review. Good to have you back, and I'm now ready to start my day reading your review.

 

Hey there! I'm glad to find you here again! You're not gonna get any work done once you start, just a warning. ;)

 

Ok y'all I'm going to get back to work on Dominica. It's going to be a really log post that I'll probably have to divide into two parts. I should be able to get the first part- the good part- done before I leave for work later. :)