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Thanksgiving On Splendor - Eastern Caribbean - CruiseXLife's Photo Review!

cruisexlife

By cruisexlife,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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cruisexlife

cruisexlife

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Hello guys, it is me, CruiseXLife, again, I have just returned home from a great cruise on Splendor, and I am very excited to begin my fourth photo review on Cruise Critic! :D

 

A little bit about me. My name is Anthony, I am in my low 30's, and I live between Baltimore and Annapolis, Maryland. My job requires me to only travel when school is not in session. This was my 10th cruise overall, 9th on Carnival, and 2nd on the Splendor. If you read my Glory Thanksgiving Review (the links to my previous three reviews are in my signature if anyone is interested), you would know that this cruise would be the 6th annual Thanksgiving Cruise that my mother an I have had. Mom and I went to book in June. This past year, she met a man named Elron, and they have been dating ever since. I am very happy for my mother finding someone, but I was a little apprehensive when I realized that he would coming with us. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy, I just did not want to 3rd wheel in a room with them (not even on a bet), and I do not have the money to cruise alone. So, I decided that I would not go this year, and that I would drive to see family in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

 

Come September, I am talking with a friend of mine named Katie. We met in China back in 2014 in a hotel lobby, and realized that we live within 20 minutes of each other, and ended up becoming good friends after the trip. During our conversation, Thanksgiving comes up, and I explain to her the situation. She said "why didn't you ask me to go? We could book a room together, I am dying to get away." With that said, I opened up Carnival on my laptop and got my credit card out.

 

This was Katie's first cruise. We decided that we would go on a different ship than them, and that we would have our own fun. Since the only time I did Western Caribbean was on crutches with a broken leg in a storm, I wanted to try it again. I did Jamaica on Freedom in 2014, so I wanted Belize/Roatan. So, it was either Carnival Freedom's 7 night from Galveston, or Glory's 7 night from Miami. Airfare ruled out Freedom (not only was it ridiculous, but the airport is like an hour to an hour-and-a-half from Galveston, and many don't fly in for these), so we went to book the Glory. However, Katie found out that she needed to work Saturday November 21 in order to get the week off, so any cruise leaving on Saturday was out. We then looked at Carnival Pride from Baltimore, but neither of us wanted to leave from the cold in Baltimore, we wanted a hot week. We just decided to go along with Splendor. We even scored a Spa Interior room! Here is the itinerary:

 

Sunday Nov. 22: Miami Florida 4PM Departure

Monday Nov. 23: Day at Sea

Tuesday Nov. 24: Amber Cove, Dominican Republic 8AM-4PM

Wednesday Nov. 25: St.Thomas, USVI 11AM-7PM

Thursday Nov. 26 (T-Day): San Juan, Puerto Rico 7AM-3PM

Friday Nov. 27: Grand Turk 11AM-5:30PM

Saturday Nov. 28: Day At Sea

Sunday Nov. 29: Miami, Florida 7AM Arrival

 

Here is a photo of Splendor docked in Amber Cove to hold you guys over as I get the photos ready! ;)

 

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cruisexlife

cruisexlife

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For the night before the cruise, since Elron has an SUV and a spare bedroom in a house closer to the airport, Mom and I spent the night with him. We woke up at 4:30AM, loaded the remaining bags, and drove off to BWI around 5:00. Katie was having a friend drive her, and we planned on meeting in the check-in counter for Southwest at 5:15. We met up and checked our bags, and proceeded to security.

 

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Boarding started at 6:00, and we arrived around 6:15, but somehow the door was closed? We waited in a panic for someone to come back, as there were 10 of us still waiting to get on the plane that we were no late to (it departed at 6:45), and we were let on. However, we could not sit together. I scored the exit row seat that did not have a seat in front of it, so I took a very nice power nap!

 

Skies were very smooth, and for a good amount, we had a thick layer of flat white clouds. The Southwest plane was brand new, and the crew was great. I LOVE Southwest, if your city offers a Southwest flight, it is certainly worth it!

 

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We began our decent, and I was very excited to find that we were landing in FLL to the west, so I would get to see the ships! Regal Princess, Allure of the Seas, Carnival Conquest, two Holland America ships and the Celebrity Eclipse disembarking passengers as we landed. The Navigator of the Seas was under the plane. Packed day!

 

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We got off the plane and proceeded to baggage claim to get our bags. Katie had a scare in China and was without a bag for 9 days of the trip, so she had 3 outfits in her carry on. She was not playing! We had to wait about 40 minutes for a shuttle to come to FLL to get us. We booked through Carnival, it was wither $28 or $31 per person per way, I forgot. I snapped this pic in the waiting area.

 

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cruisexlife

cruisexlife

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The shuttle eventually came after about a 40 minute wait, which we didn't mind. Time to chill and charge our phones. We got on the shuttle, stopped at 2 other stops, and drove out of FLL towards Miami. It began to rain, and the windshield wipers on the bus were VERY loud and aggressive. It actually became comical to watch how hard they smacked!

 

Saw this sign on the way into Miami. Let's test this statement later on in the cruise.

 

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After about a 40 minute drive, we entered Miami. Somehow the only photo I got.

 

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I was on the opposite side of the bus, so this picture was hard to get, but there she is! It's always a good feeling seeing your ship for the first time on embarkation day, I could see Katie getting excited!

 

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We went through the new tunnel and came out and turned into the ship.

 

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We waited about 10 minutes for them to unload our bags, and we got off of the bus and began our walk into the terminal. We had FTTF, so after leaving our bags with a porter, we walked in, waited about 10 minutes to go through security, and then made our way into the general boarding room. I think this is when it really hit Katie that Splendor is HUGE

 

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There was no line to get our room keys. We went right to the counter, got our keys, proceeded up the escalator, took our picture, and got on the boat. The atrium was so beautiful to look at, I really do not get the complaints of Splendor being an ugly ship, it really is nice. So nice that I forgot a picture walking in!

 

Although, I did snap one of the Spa Interior cabin upon walking in. We need the beds separated, but we were very lenient with our steward throughout the week, as this was his first time ever on a cruise ship!. But I immediately took a liking to the relaxed colors and Asian décor.

 

DSCF6017_zps550hivwy.jpg

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cruisexlife

cruisexlife

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I'm following along too. Also going to have the same itinerary on Jan. 3. Can't wait!!!:)

 

Following. Leaving on this same trip on Janurary 3rd

 

You guys are in for a great time. I will try to get it done quickly so you guys can plan activities. I did something really fun in Amber Cove that I will get into later!

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cruisexlife

cruisexlife

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Looking forward to pics and review of Amber Cover. We are going there next year on the Vista and looking forward to a new port.

 

I can't wait to show you what I did, thanks for following along!

 

So excited for this review! I'm going on the Splendor in June!

 

You're in for a great time!

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cruisexlife

cruisexlife

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Thank you for all the pictures. Can't wait to see more of Splendor ... we will be on her for our first cruise on December 13th ... different itinerary ... but am loving seeing your photos!

 

First cruises are so exciting. I will write quickly so you get to see as much as possible before you go! :)

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pghsteelerfan

pghsteelerfan

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So happy to see you have started your Splendor review as I have been looking forward to it. I've been out of Miami and to all of the ports except for Amber Cove, so really excited to read about what you did there. And you know I LOVE your pictures! Thank you for doing another review! :)

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