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

[EAZYLIVING]

Great review Gapearl. You are a superwoman! Your yest for living life is turnt up!:D

[girlscruise2011]

The past guest party for gold VIFP members and above was this afternoon. Free rum punch was passed out and you could get a beer or a glass of wine on request. The appetizers weren't much. The waiters came by with that bacon cheesecake thingy and something else with pork. I haven't eaten pork since 1993 so indulging in one of those might not be a good idea. I don't know what else was being served as no other waiters came our way, so I couldn't tell you what else was being served. It would be nice to see a tray of something vegetarian offered. Believe it or not, not everyone loves bacon.

 

Cruise director Malcolm on stage with one of the singers.

 

 

A little live music from the show band.

 

 

Me with my Franny! She made Wednesdays so much in the months leading up to this cruise. :D

 

 

 

More roll call people.

 

 

They showed the video where you cheer for every ship you've been on. Even the Carnival Vista got a huge round of applause, and Malcolm had to remind us the ship isn't even out yet! All the diamond members were asked to come on stage and tell how many sail days they had with Carnival. This cute couple had the most. I think it was something like 466!

 

 

Kim, Franny here. It was great to meet and hang with you. I'm glad I was able to make your Wednesdays a little better. The pics continue on the Liberty page. We did have a great roll call and lots of great people. The Troubleifics need you so Hopefully you'll change your mind and join us again for the reunion.

 

Loving the review. I've been away from Cruise Critic for a few days so I'll definately have to catch up. You had some great excursions and beautiful pics. Thanks for helping me relive the cruise.

 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving

 

PS-Naked Johnnie sends his love

Edited November 26, 2014 by girlscruise2011

[gapearl]

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Friday, November 7

Cruise Day 7- Grand Turk

 

I was a good girl this morning and headed to the gym at 8:15 am for a 45 minute workout. My pinky toe was STILL hurting so instead of running, I biked 5 miles and did some strength training. I had a great front row seat from my stationary bike as we were pulling into port.

 

 

 

I left the ship at 10:15 am.

 

 

 

Lots of people are ready for a day at the beach.

 

 

[gapearl]

I was full of excitement as I left the ship at for what was to come, and that would be a helicopter ride!

 

 

 

Sean was there to say hi and see Sheila and I off.

 

 

The four of us booked on the 10:30 am helicopter tour met out front and were driven about three minutes to the helipad. Those gas prices here, though!

 

 

Here it comes!

 

 

[gapearl]

Upon our arrival, the first thing we had to do was fill out a waiver. The waiver asked for our weight. You NEVER ask a woman her weight! :rolleyes: Ok so do you want my precruise weight from a week ago or what? Our weight was needed to determine where we would be seated in the helicopter due to weights and balances. There was even a scale there. LOL, good luck getting me on one of those lying bastards after five warm chocolate melting cakes. I ended up in the middle seat in the back, which is where I initially didn't want to be but it turned out to be an awesome seat since I got the good views on both my left and right, as you'll see in my pictures.

 

 

 

 

We had to wait a few minutes for the helicopter to go get fueled up for us. Gas, yeah that's kind of important. No water ditching today!

 

 

[gapearl]

We were given a safety briefing and put on an inflatable lifevest around our waist. It was required that we keep it on for the entire ride.

 

 

A map of the island that showed where we were headed.

 

 

 

 

 

And we're off!

 

[gapearl]

South Caicos is about 22 miles away. Only 10 islands in Turks & Caicos are inhabited, and Grand Turk is the second largest next to Providenciales. Our captain (sorry, I can't remember his name) said he used to do charters from here to the Dominican Republic. He's working on getting paperwork and licenses to do charters to other islands within Turks & Caicos but the government is taking their time processing them. He also said it's 500 miles to Miami. When a hurricane is coming he island hops all the way to stop for gas, which makes for some long days. He also pointed out the wall, where there's a drop off of 6,000 feet and has some great diving.

 

 

 

 

The pilot said normally you can see hundreds of stingrays but they haven't been spotted since the tropical storm a month ago.

 

 

This is a shipwreck from 199 years ago.

 

 

Click here for a video!!!!

 

Edited November 26, 2014 by gapearl

[gapearl]

The Grand Turk lighthouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gapearl]

Here we are approaching the Splendor.

 

 

Getting closer....

 

 

 

 

 

[LizBear12]

6,000 feet drop off?!? Good Lord that is terrifying! The pics from the helicopter ride are great, I went on a helicopter over the chicagoland area and thought that was cool, I would love to do one over the ocean! You got some awesome views of the ship from up there

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited November 26, 2014 by LizBear12

[gapearl]

 

Check out that drop off!

 

 

 

The cruise center.

 

 

Margaritaville.

 

[gapearl]

We circled the entire island. The excursion from pickup to drop off was about an hour, but actual flying time was only 12-15 minutes. This was another pricey excursion at $119, but it was worth it. A helicopter ride is something I've never done and something I likely will not do again any time in the near future, so it was worth the money. They have a private beach behind their office right and we were given the option of staying, but we all chose to go back to the ship.

 

Let me also say that when I looked at booking this on carnival.com before the cruise, the times offered started in the morning and went all the way into the afternoon. I think the last time they were selling tickets for online was a 3 pm slot. However once on board, I noticed in the shore excursion book that the last available time was at 11:30 am. Also they were selling 8 seats per ride in the bigger helicopter online, but the only one that was available today was the one that held 4 passengers. I suppose I would have received a cancellation letter if I would have booked and prepaid for the 3 pm slot for 8 people.

 

Captain Kim.

 

 

 

 

Back to the ship to grab my beach bag.

 

 

I've done a swim with the horses on another cruise. It's a lot of fun if you ever have the chance to try it.

 

 

The beach is not as crowded down to the right.

 

[gapearl]

Margaritaville.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JulieMcCoy]

What a great excursion! The pics of the blues and greens of the water are so beautiful. Now, I know you like to kick it up a notch, so maybe you want to add this to your excursion bucket list: helicopter ride with doors off! We did that in Hawaii. Scary as all get out, but so fun!

[gapearl]

Sean rented a cabana so I was going to hang out there for the rest day. A few side notes about the cabanas. First, you pick out your cabana on a first come, first serve basis when you get there, so no need to rush to guest services when you board on day one. They give you a key so you can lock up your things if you decide to leave. Also, there's a button to have a server come and take your food or drink orders. They sell for $129 for up to four people, but they don't come by to keep track of how many people are actually in there so you can easily have a few more.

 

 

Cabana #9.

 

 

Sean and Jenna, my welcoming committee.

 

 

After I got settled in, we locked up the cabana to head down the beach to Jack's Shack. Jenna and Sean had already eaten and had a few drinks, but Sean wanted a second plate of food. It's always the skinny dudes that eat the most, isn't it? :p To get to Jack's Shack from Margaritaville, make a right (or make a left if you're coming from the ship) and keep straight for about 10 minutes. It'll be on your right and you can't miss it.

 

The walk down to Jack's.

 

 

[gapearl]

This place has been boarded up and closed since I was here last year. Maybe this is my chance to open up my own tiki bar on the beach! Oh wait, I can't. I have to go to culinary school to become head chef at Carnival and change the cornbread. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

 

Arrival at Jack's Shack.

 

 

[gapearl]

Here he is, the most famous dog in the Caribbean, Topher! :)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2014 by gapearl

[gapearl]

Over 100 people from the roll call were planning to come here, and boy it was packed! Jack's is a popular place already, but I've never seen a crowd this big here. I was really happy to have Sean's cabana so we could eat in there and be more comfortable. We said some hellos and hung out for about 15 minutes before leaving.

 

 

 

 

I placed an order for what I say is the best jerk chicken I've ever had with fries, and a sandy va-jay-jay to drink. The total for my food and drink was $21. I wish I also bought a bottle of their jerk sauce to bring home.

 

 

 

[gapearl]

After eating, the three of us ordered some drinks, locked up and went to get in the water. Sean went pretty far out but I stayed close to the shore. Sean said you haven't come far out enough in the water. My response? Oh yes I have! My weave has had enough torture this week and I'm NOT getting it wet today. The lady standing close by heard me say this and we engaged in a fun 10 minute weave conversation about our favorite types of hair. I prefer the Malaysian hair, but she said try Russian hair. That's gonna go over most of y'alls heads, but some of you will appreciate it. lol

 

I love this picture. haha

 

 

 

It was getting close to time to head back to the ship. On our way back to the cabana to get our things we stopped by Margaritaville to hang out for a few minutes. The DJ was asking for contestants for the booty shaking competition that was about to begin. About 20 people from the group were there and everyone was encouraging me to enter. NO. There are wayyyyyyy too many camera phones out here. The first couple of contestants went and were pretty bad. Everyone kept saying Kim, get up there.

 

NO.

 

Finally after all 5 girls had their turn, the DJ called me out. I guess he noticed everyone trying to get me out there, and next thing I knew I heard "YOU IN THE BLUE BIKINI, GET UP HERE." I was VERY hesitant but went up anyways since everyone started cheering. The DJ played and oldie but goodie, Back That A@# Up, so, I got to work.

 

"Give it up for the only black girl that can't dance!"

 

Oh no he didn't! I got more cheers than any of the other girls! I happen to think my booty shaking ability is just fine (thanks ZUMBA and Daddy Yankee). Sean said he enjoyed it. haha I've even had gay guys a time or two admire and compliment my booty shaking. Everyone afterwards was saying I was definitely the best, so that DJ can go run with scissors or play in traffic. If he was a chick I'd suggest he go have his monthly misery in a shark tank. It was all in good fun though. He was still better than DJ Focus on the ship and it would have been nice to bring him onboard for our last two nights in the club. I certainly hope all those people with cameras hit delete before they hit post. :o

 

 

 

I stopped by duty free to get a bottle of rum and I made it on the ship with it with no problem at all. It was another great day at Grand Turk. There was even a manatee at the ship to say goodbye as we were coming back onboard.

 

[gapearl]

Soooo, I got no menu or food pictures at dinner tonight. My bad. When the drink servers came around with the feature shot of the night, almost everyone at my table ordered one. It was fireball whiskey mixed with something else and was great! The shots are $8.50 and you get to keep the souvenir shot glass.

 

Cheers!

 

 

Our waiters danced to Gangham Style tonight. On my way out of the main dining room, I stopped by the hostess stand to look at the menu for the Dr. Suess brunch happening the next day. The menu didn't interest me, but here it is. I think the charge for the Suess at Sea brunch is $5.

 

 

 

 

There were supposed to be five comedy shows tonight. Unfortunately there was an issue with comedian Russ Nagel's flight and he never made it to Grand Turk at all. The 10:45 pm show of Ronnie Bullard was now the only adult show of the night and he was pretty good.

 

The club started out pretty dead tonight but at least DJ Focus was playing better music.

 

 

I think the overall vibe would have been better if he had been playing different music from the beginning of the week. As the night went on, the crowd did pick up a bit. He played the wobble and had a completely full dance floor. What any good DJ would do after this would be to play a good hit song to keep everyone there, but nope! He played a country song and the dance floor cleared out quicker than 99 cent bikini pieces on the Target clearance rack. I left at 1 am, ordered a grilled cheese from room service and went to bed.

 

 

Up next- Last day! I'm so ready to finish this!

[gapearl]

I'm late to the party - just now reading your review! I think over the last few years I've read every one of yours! Looking forward to it, on page 1 now!

 

Welcome back! Hope you enjoy this one too. :)

 

Enjoyed the pics.

 

Thank you!

[wrigley80]

Here we are approaching the Splendor.

 

 

Getting closer....

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Word.....WOW. That is absolutely beautiful. We will be back in Grand Cayman in May. I just booked the Carnival Glory. How much was the helicopter ride and are there different routes to choose from. I noticed on that map that you had showed different ones to choose from

[gapearl]

Hey Kim,

I'm enjoying our trip as always...yes, thank you for taking me along with you!

Well, it feels like I'm right there. However, that ropes on the falls would have found me living up there in the mountains because there is no way I would be able to come down.

 

(I thought about you yesterday when my husband was watching Anthony Zimmerman as he toured Columbia.) He said the same things you did about the beauty of the people and how graciously he was treated. It was on the Travel Channel so maybe you can catch that episode. I know you will enjoy it. Just don't look for it before you finish this, LOL.

 

Looking forward to the rest. Love the photos, of course.

 

Living in the mountains lol. Surprisingly I don't watch the Travel Channel that much unless there's something in particular on I want to see. I'll have to be on the lookout for that episode. You know I love having you here, Jane! :)

 

I typically make it through one page of a review and then get bored with them, but I have LOVED reading your review of the Splendor cruise!

 

I admire your guts to travel alone. I had a two year gap in cruising because I couldn't find anyone to travel with me.

 

Can't wait to read the rest of your review :)

 

It would be hard to get bored reading this one, so I hope I managed to keep your attention. lol My very first cruise went solo, not because I wanted to because I didn't, but because I had no one to go with me. My second solo cruise happened because I was in the middle of a breakup and he decided not to come. From then, I just realized I enjoyed traveling solo. Don't let not having anyone to go with you hold you up from traveling. You can still have fun by yourself. :)

[gapearl]

LOVE me a gapearl review! You're such a pretty lady, lovin' the pics!

 

Heyyyy Zumba Girl! Welcome back lady! :D

 

GAPearl! I looooove you're review! How did you not stay in Dominica with your guide Berani?!?!? ;)

 

We went to Dominica on our RT San Juan cruise in 2009 and really am kicking myself in the bee-hind for not doing anything there (except make our way down to a bar and then call it a day) :rolleyes:

 

On my bucket list is Grenada!

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Glad to see you back here as well! Didn't you write a review a few months ago? I've been on and off CC all year. I think I read the first page or so and never got to finish it because I just wasn't on here that much. As cute as he was, he was only 23. What in the world am I gonna do with a 23 year old? Wait, don't answer that! Time to book another cruise to Dominica and Grenada girl! :D