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

[cruisexlife]

From about 11:30 to 2:15, I stayed in my chair. I listened to music or read a book, and kept flipping sides to start on a tan. Around 2, I got up, got my things, and headed to the burrito station for lunch. A burrito and some chips and salsa to dip in hit just right. I looked out into the distance and saw Cuba hanging out in the back.

 

 

After lunch, I made my way back to the room to shower and get ready for tea. Here was a shot I got of the deck.

 

 

Here were some boats with Cuban locals on them. There is a possibility hat they were refugee boats, and on the way back, apparently we had to do some maneuvers to avoid a persistent bunch who would not stand clear of the ship. But the thought kept crossing my mind throughout the cruise: "what would their life be like if we picked them up?". Now, I think "what would their life be like now, two weeks later?". Pretty deep conversation topics, but I would appreciate if we kept political opinions out of the comments about it.

 

 

 

Happy days on Splendor!

 

[092306]

Love your amazing pictures! Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

[cruisexlife]

I went back to the room and changed. After changing, I walked back to the top deck to check out more views. Cuba became even more prominent!

 

 

Beautiful view looking up. I really like the upper deck layout of the Splendor compared to the Conquest class.

 

 

I then went down to the Gold Pearl for Tea. I met Katie, and I was happy to see that Mom and Elron had joined us. I had some Earl Grey, some strawberries and cream, and macaroons. Turns out Katie had made some friends from North Carolina and they (who also showed up to tea) invited me to hang out with them afterwards in the Laconium. I agreed, seeing I had nothing better to do.

 

 

We all left, and I headed back to the room, threw my bathing suit back on, and headed up. We had the place to ourselves. From about 3:45-4:30, we just hung out in there and talked. They were nice people, don't get me wrong, but I did not connect with them as much as Katie did. And that's fine, different strokes for different folks. Around 4:30, I left and headed over to the Thalassotherapy Pool. I LOVED this pool, it was so relaxing and serene. This is where I stayed until around 5:15, when I saw the sun start to go down. I made a quick pit stop at my room for my camera and I headed to the aft of the ship.

[cruisexlife]

Wow. I know this is going to be good.

 

 

This sunset was already coming out nice.

 

 

 

I am a sucker for a beautiful sunset.

 

 

It chilled out after about 20 minutes and left this beautiful mellow color.

 

 

It was now around 5:45, and I decided to hit the gym. Tonight was formal night, so I figured I should do it now. I lifted some, ran a bit on the treadmill, and used a few of the leg machines before hitting the sauna. After my workout, I headed back to the room, where I showered and got my formal wear on a little early. Mom has been asking for a new photo of me for her house, so I wanted to go get one done and buy it for her to give to her at Christmas. I was out of my room at around 7:00.

 

I went to one of the basic photographers and took my photo. I had some time to kill before dinner, so I went to the El Mojito Bar at the end of the promenade, picked up a drink, and sat down next to someone. His name was Zachary, and he was from Tennessee. I had a good conversation with him about politics and current world events. We agreed to meet again after dinner.

 

At 8 I went to dinner with everyone. Had a lobster and a salad. Normal formal night. Then, after leaving, I met Zachary again, and we decided to head to the show together. I forgot the name, but I'm pretty sure it was Latin Fever. It was a very good show!

 

After the show, I decided to leave and get to bed, as we had a very excited day planned for tomorrow, that I will share with you all in the next segment. Here was the view looking down the bridge wing at night.

 

 

Next: Amber Cove!

[cruisexlife]

I.m on the exact cruise in kate January!! So excited to see it through your eyes. Thanks for doing this review!!:):)

 

Thank you! That is what I like doing with other people's reviews, living it through their eyes. I hope I do a good job! Feel free to leave any questions or comments along the way!

 

Loving this review! We have the same itinerary in Feb. - 2nd time on Splendor. Can't read to follow the rest of your "splendid" review!:)

 

Thank you! You are in for one great cruise :D

[cruisexlife]

Loving your review! Seeing the pictures of the ship makes me want to experience her firsthand!

 

I hope you get the chance to, she is a great ship! :D

 

Still following along and have to tell you....I LOVE your sunset pictures with all of the different colors in the clouds and the one you got of the rainbow is excellent. One of the best sunsets we ever saw on a cruise was out of Miami. :)

 

You know where I got my best sunset, in St.Thomas. And I will not give too much away, but let's just say that this time did not disappoint either! But yes the winter cruises from Miami are nice because you leave right as the sun sets, and you can get amazing views.

 

Thanks for the words and for following along as usual! :D

[cruisexlife]

Great review so far. Cant wait for the rest.

 

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to do it!

 

Thank you to you both! :D

[cruisexlife]

Love your amazing pictures! Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

 

Thank you so much, I think you will enjoy this review! :D

[Jnas63]

I do have a question how do you go about getting to that secret deck? Can't wait to sail only a few weeks left thank you for the review it is great so far!

[cntrydncr1]

enjoying your review and pics! I was onboard with you so I love reliving it!

[LUVMYGSDOG]

Loving your review! I was only on the Splendor for a short week end but loved her!

 

 

Kim

[cruisexlife]

I do have a question how do you go about getting to that secret deck? Can't wait to sail only a few weeks left thank you for the review it is great so far!

 

On Decks 6, 7, 9, and 10 on Splendor there are secret decks at the front of the boat. Walk directly forward, and to the left and right sides, your will see a set of double doors. Walk through, and you're out. Sometimes they are closed due to strong winds, however, so be careful.

 

enjoying your review and pics! I was onboard with you so I love reliving it!

 

I love doing that! :D It was a great cruise, wasn't it?

[cruisexlife]

Loving your review! I was only on the Splendor for a short week end but loved her!

 

 

Kim

 

She is a great ship. I am sad to see those short weekend cruise vanish from the cruise industry, they looked SO fun!

[watermelonqueen99]

Loving your review! We'll be on the Splendor in April, visiting some of the same ports. :D

[hockeyluver]

Would you happen to know which dining room the YTD is in? Thank you :)

[Jenny in TX]

I am enjoying reading your review.....looking forward to the rest!

[gapearl]

I'm all caught up now. I'm really looking forward to your pictures from Amber Cove. I'm going there on Vista next year and haven't seen any reviews on it yet. Has Katie caught the cruise bug and looking for cruise #2 yet? Also are you going to forever keep yourself hidden in your reviews or might you reveal yourself one day? :p

[cruisexlife]

Loving your review! We'll be on the Splendor in April, visiting some of the same ports. :D

 

Thank you, you will have a great time!

 

Would you happen to know which dining room the YTD is in? Thank you :)

 

Black Pearl Lower, Deck 3. :D

[cruisexlife]

I am enjoying reading your review.....looking forward to the rest!

 

Thank you!

 

I'm all caught up now. I'm really looking forward to your pictures from Amber Cove. I'm going there on Vista next year and haven't seen any reviews on it yet. Has Katie caught the cruise bug and looking for cruise #2 yet? Also are you going to forever keep yourself hidden in your reviews or might you reveal yourself one day? :p

 

I will get more into Katie later on in the review. Let's just say it's not that she didn't like it, because she did, it's just that for the near future, she doesn't want to cruise. Which I understand. I'll elaborate later on. But yes, I do plan on staying hidden, at least for now! :D

[cruisexlife]

Today we had something new planned. We have never booked through a private tour operator before, always scared to end up A) late for the ship or B) in an uncomfortable situation, or C) both. However, for Amber Cove, we could not find anything worth value. Either take the ship tour for $30 pp and only get 2 hours in the city, or pay $30 pp for the taxis (they are ridiculous here!), or you spend fortunes doing something Carnival has, or you just sit in the port, with no cultural immersion whatsoever. However, I found a company called "Iguana Mama" while browsing the forum on CC, and I really liked what they had. They had a new tour designed just for cruise visitors to Amber Cove called "The 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua", where they took us climbing and sliding down waterfalls, plus the opportunity to jump 25 feet into a pool. My adventurous side came out, and Katie and I booked. Mom and Elron were originally skeptic about it, but they decided to tag along. The tour said to meet around 8:30 outside of the port, and that we would be back between 1:30 and 2.

 

We had our alarm set for 6:45, so we could eat, watch the ship pull in, and get off early. Once I got up, I went outside. Here we are, the Amber Coast!

 

 

 

We went to the buffet breakfast today. I do feel like Carnival has a great buffet breakfast, it has never disappointed me. We grabbed a window seat on 9 and slowly watch the ship slow down and approach the port. After breakfast, we walked up to 10, but walked along the outside to catch a glimpse.

 

 

It was now 7:30. I headed back to the room, got changed, and headed outside to watch the docking process. I went outside to this gorgeous view.

 

 

Here is the port area. It was only open 16 days when we arrived!

 

 

There was a resort right here. I forgot the name, but I did not hear of any sort of day pass to either of the two beaches they had, or their facilities for cruise passengers. There is no beach within walking distance of the ship, and taxis are ungodly, so keep that in mind when planning a day here.

 

[cruisexlife]

Here is the bridge wing shot. Dominican Republic marked the 20th country I've traveled to, which was a mini-milestone for me.

 

 

Here's the other bridge wing on the opposite side of the ship.

 

 

We met up with Mom and Elron and got off the ship around 8:10.

 

 

 

Welcome to Amber Cove!

 

 

Since we had some time, we decided to leisurely walk around the port and check it out before walking out of the port area. I could already tell that I wouldn't like it. But more on that later. Here is the postcard-type photo-op.

 

[cruisexlife]

Since our tour was not booked through carnival, the van was not allowed into the port, so we had to walk out of the gates to meet the group. Here was a photo of the Splendor on the walk down to the gates.

 

 

Immediately when we walked out, we saw this man in the van slam on his breaks, and stop in the middle of the highway, screaming "TAXI, TAXI, TAXI!", honking his horn repeatedly, as if we didn't know he was there. I very much understand that tourism is a huge part of their economy, but stopping along the highway!? He began to block people on their way to work or with other tourists! As you can see, there was even a pull-off area in which other non-ship taxis were pulling in. Do not get in any cab that stops along the highway, or with anyone who is aggressive like that. Not just here, but anywhere.

 

 

We met our group in said taxi-lot. There were 12 of us total, a party of 6 from Miami, 2 from Georgia, and us four. Our guide Raul introduced himself and lead us to his bus. We got on the air conditioned bus, and he offered us as much water or coke we wanted. For just $60 per person, I was already liking it!

 

We drove off and Raul gave his tidbits of information about the Dominican Republic, and pointed out what we passed. I will saw, this was the fastest I saw an area transform from a luxury cruise port, to a poor rural village. The change was vey abrupt. I didn't even bother taking pictures of it, I just wanted to immerse myself in it all, just more reminders of what to be thankful for in my life, as if being in the Dominican Republic wasn't enough.

 

A beautiful countryside.

 

 

After about 20 minutes, we arrived to the cave facility. They told us that from that point, everything that was going with us was going to get wet. So I left my phone behind. But luckily, not the camera, as it's waterproof! They locked our things in the bus, and the driver stayed with them. I felt confident in leaving my things.

 

We walked into the plaza to get our helmets and life jackets on

 

[cruisexlife]

We get our helmets and life-vests from the man. We put on our life-vests, and attached our helmets to the back of the vest. Here is a photo of a sign I got while I was waiting for everyone else to get theirs.

 

 

Once, everyone had gotten their vests and helmets, we began on our 40 minute walk/hike up the mountain. We had to climb up a mountain, then slide down the rivers and waterfalls, and reach the end. It started with this very pretty rope bridge.

 

 

These beautiful horses were enjoying the beautiful day! :D

 

 

Such a beautiful country.

 

[cruisexlife]

After getting off the bridge, we walked for a bit on flat ground. Then we got to an intersection, and went left. After making the left, it became an uphill walk.

 

 

I walked extra fast just to try and get a picture looking up empty stairs, guess not. But it began to get steep...

 

 

Katie usually doesn't engage in much physical activity at home, so this is when things started to get a little rough. She began to have asthma attacks, but did not bring her inhaler. There were some benches to stop, and the guides were very easy, and stopped for many breaks along the way for anyone who needed or wanted one. Eventually we reached the top of the mountain, and saw these!

 

 

After reaching the top, we had to walk downhill a bit to get to the start of our journey. I really liked this bridge.

 

 

Cannot wait to get in the water, at this point, I was drenched in sweat.

 

 

After some slight downhill walking and steep stairs, we made it to the beginning of our trip!

 

 

Next: The Waterfalls!

[jpm1973]

Can you share which waterproof camera you use and how you like it? Am hoping to get a new one and am looking for recommendations. Thanks!