10 Day Carnival Liberty & Carnival Splendor Adventure

[jam19872016]

Wow! That was a close one. Don't think we'll ever try a PC / POM side 2 side. We are a bit closer when we do our PC / Jax side 2 side in October. Only a 2 1/2 hour drive, so even if we don't get on the road by 10, we'll be there by 1. Glad you made it and are looking forward to the rest of your review. :cool:

 

Way too close! Jacksonville will be much easier plus traffic is usually only bad during rush hour, with Miami you never know. Glad your enjoying the review, Splendor really kicked it up a notch it was a fantastic cruise.

[caryatid]

I am so glad you made it to the ship! I would have been a nervous wreck! Forgive my ignorance, I'm still new to crusing, but why wouldn't someone like a cabin in a lower deck at the front of the ship? Congrats on the big gambling win, that must have been really exciting!

[lazydayz]

Thanks for the review of the Liberty. We are sailing on it next week and your review helped to get me prepared.

 

Glad you made it to Miami and the ship. I totally agree about parking at POM. In PC or FLL, I use offsite parking. In Tampa, we valet park at the port, which is AWESOME. But in Miami, we park at the port.

 

Looking forward to reading about cruise II

[flcruiser05]

SO glad you made it to the ship!!

 

Thank you for you wonderful review of the Liberty. We are sailing her in August for the first time and are really looking forward to it.

 

Can't wait for the rest of your review

[jam19872016]

I am so glad you made it to the ship! I would have been a nervous wreck! Forgive my ignorance, I'm still new to crusing, but why wouldn't someone like a cabin in a lower deck at the front of the ship? Congrats on the big gambling win, that must have been really exciting!

 

 

Believe me, I was a nervous wreck :eek: The room turned out all right especially for the price I paid, but being that low and forward you are right above the anchor which can be quite noisy when arriving and departing tender ports. You will also hear the waves slapping the front of the ship in choppy water. It was not bad when you were prepared for it, but that booming noise startled me a few times when it had been otherwise calm. If you need a quiet room, I would advise against this location, but I found it peaceful (may have felt otherwise in rough seas).

 

Thanks for the review of the Liberty. We are sailing on it next week and your review helped to get me prepared.

 

Glad you made it to Miami and the ship. I totally agree about parking at POM. In PC or FLL, I use offsite parking. In Tampa, we valet park at the port, which is AWESOME. But in Miami, we park at the port.

 

Looking forward to reading about cruise II

 

Have fun on the Liberty! I would love to sail on her again sometime. I will be sailing from Tampa for the first time in October, glad to hear Tampa has valet I may be able to convince M to just park at the port.

[jam19872016]

SO glad you made it to the ship!!

 

Thank you for you wonderful review of the Liberty. We are sailing her in August for the first time and are really looking forward to it.

 

Can't wait for the rest of your review

 

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it. Liberty is a great ship, you will have a blast.

[cloudninecat]

Going on the Spender next month. Loving your review so far. Glad you didn't miss the ship.

[jam19872016]

Going on the Spender next month. Loving your review so far. Glad you didn't miss the ship.

 

Have fun on the Splendor! Glad your enjoying the review.

[jam19872016]

Day 5: Fun Day at Sea

 

The casino activities were in full force this morning. The snowball raffle was at 10:30 which was only open to premier guests followed by the fireball raffle from noon until three. This raffle was open to everyone playing in the casino with at least 100 slot points or comparable table play. Following that was the winner's wheel, also open to everyone. After that was Matlida the Cash Cow at 4 for Premier guests only. Guess where I ended up spending most of the day? I wanted to try to sneak off to brunch, but it seems like service is always terribly slow at brunch and I would likely miss a drawing if I tried, so brunch was a no go for me today.

 

They did have a small breakfast station set up in the Casino with pastries, danishes, and juice. A nice touch, they really did not want you to have to leave lol. They also walked around late at night with trays of pizza. I grabbed a simple omelet from the omelet station on Lido. All I asked for was cheese because I had a plan for lunch. He seemed confused, just cheese? Don't worry, I will eat 16 more times today, a cheese omlette is all I need for now :)

 

So my first trip on Carnival was on the Breeze. My second was on the Splendor. They both have Tandoor a delicious Indian place located at the aft of the Lido deck. In those days, I just assumed Tandoor was a staple on every Carnival ship. I now know that it is available on just four of their ships! The plan was to be reunited on embarkation day, but well plans changed. Today it would not be missed!

 

 

I was in hog heaven! I love Indian food and it is just not available anywhere near the small town I live in. I am a huge fan of spicy foods as long as it is not overpowering. Mexican food is readily available, but it is either not really spicy, or is so spicy all you can taste is heat. To me, Indian food is spicy yet flavorful and I would imagine that Tandoor is probably pretty close to authentic since it is prepared by Indians. This my not be pleasing to everyone's palate, but if you enjoy spicy foods, do not miss out on Tandoor the food here is excellent!

 

While I was back there, I decided to follow up on the aft pool controversy and see how things were going on the Splendor.

 

 

Much different picture here than on the Liberty. There were a few kids in the pool, but it was certainly not overrun with kids. However, there were less kids overall on this week long cruise than on the weekend cruise I just got off of.

 

The Lido pool around the same time.

 

[jam19872016]

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the Casino trying to win some money. Nothing won on the drawings, but nothing lost on the Slots, so I still consider it a well spent afternoon.

 

Upon returning to the room, this had been sent from the Casino.

 

 

I don't drink wine, but it was a very lovely gesture.

 

Tonight was elegant night which by now you know how I feel about. Either that or you did not read this review from the beginning. Since I would be attending, I made the effort to dress for the occasion. I was not real hungry (I may have hit the buffet at lunch before it closed) so I ended up going later in the evening. It was about 8:15 when I went to dinner and I did end up having to wait to be seated. They said it would be about a 30 minute wait and there must have been a lot of people waiting, as she handed me her last pager before she ran out and had to have more pagers sent to her. In truth it was only about 20 minutes, which is the longest I have ever had to wait. It was no big deal, I had literally nowhere to be, so I used this time to sit on the outside deck and just enjoy the cool breeze and gentle sounds of the ocean. How can anyone be stressed out about waiting for dinner at a time like this. Perfection.

 

Tonight's menu.

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

For my starter, I had the blackened pork tenderloin tart and the fried oysters.

 

 

 

For my main I had the spaghetti carbonara and a lobster tail.

 

 

 

The carbonara is my favorite MRD dish of all time! I wish this was offered on all sailings, not just 6+ day cruises. It was fantastic as always.

 

The lobster tail was also consistent. Not very good. Remind me again why people get upset about this not being offered on shorter cruises?

[jam19872016]

Dessert menu.

 

 

I had the crème brulee and the WCMC.

 

 

 

Both were fantastic.

 

Dinner service tonight was excellent. Food was great and all hot items were hot. I must say, this has not been an issue for a while and I almost feel like it does not need reporting on anymore. At worst, some items come out less than hot, but never cold. Service was quick, from the time I sat down, to the time I took a picture of the WCMC, only 43 minutes had passed. Another wonderful meal in the MDR!

[carnivaladdix120]

I'm so glad you made it! Your review is so fun to read! I feel like I'm there with you ;p

[jam19872016]

As I left the MDR, there was an 80's music trivia party going on in the lobby.

 

 

I made my way past that and into the theatre for tonight's production show, 88 Keys.

 

 

It's funny how we are creatures of habit. I sought out the same seat in this theatre that I sit in each time on Liberty. It had just enough leg room to be comfortable, without leaving room for people to walk past me. Perfect :). Bonus points, it was enough out of the way that I could usually prop up on the seats in front of me.

 

Tonight's show was pretty good and my favorite of the week. I was trying to give Flick some credit thinking musicals just weren't my thing, but this show killed that theory. It did not blow me away or anything, but it was good and I enjoyed it.

 

After the show it was back to the casino for the final drawing of the night, luck of the card. This drawing was only open to Premier guests. The night before they had delivered some items to our stateroom which included two playing cards with pictures of the various casino hosts on them. One featured a host named Lillian that I have not yet met. The other featured Bunny, who was host on both my trips on the Sunshine.

 

The Premier host would randomly select cards, and if your card matched both the host as well as the number on the card you got to choose a bag from the available gift bags laid out on the table. Each bag had a stuffed toy in it (from the movie pets) as well as a check indicating your other prize. Most were cash offers between $50-200. I heard him say Bunny's name, then the card number that was a match to me! Woooo hoooo, this is only the second time I have won a drawing. Last time was for $50, which I literally lost in under two minutes :( Shame on me.

 

The bag I picked had of course a stuffed toy in it. But also, Chef's Table for two!!! Now I must say, although excited and always gracious, greedy me really wanted some cash - that I would immediately have fed back into the machines. This ended up being so much better and left me with a meal that I will never forget and memories that will last a lifetime! More on that later.

 

After this I went to the comedy show where Dwight Slade was performing his adult comedy show. It was very funny, although there were some chatter boxes around me.

 

Following the show I decided to call it a night. Not even counting the Chef's Table I had won, I left the day up even more money that I had started with. It is not fair to say you are not enjoying a cruise when you are doing terrible in the Casino. Is it unfair to say you are having a blast when you are on a super hot streak? Maybe, but let me say it anyway. I WAS HAVING A BLAST!! Let me also say again, that I am so glad I did not miss this trip!

 

Tonight's towel animal.

 

[jam19872016]

Day 6: Grand Cayman

 

One of the things that worried me was how loud the ship would be when anchoring. It was pretty noisy the first night due to the rougher seas that seem to always occur right after leaving Miami. Nothing too bad, but the occasional slap that was loud enough to startle you. Overnight tonight was not too bad. Then it happened. The sounds of the anchoring were pretty loud. But I was able to fall back asleep and was not too bothered by it.

 

When I did get up, this was the view outside my porthole.

 

 

The Carnival Sensation

 

 

 

Ok, I loved having this port hole! I have never really seen the appeal of OV without a balcony, but now I guess I kinda get it. I still can't say for sure that I would pay extra for it though.

[jam19872016]

This is my third time in Grand Cayman and it now ties Grand Turk and Nassau as my most visited port. As I have been here before and I was on my own, I took this opportunity to not get off the ship.

 

Some pictures of Grand Cayman from the observation deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

Guests being tendered ashore.

 

 

The ship was overbooked, instead of causing an ugly scene, Carnival got creative.

 

 

All kidding aside, those mattresses were there for most of the day. I wonder why?

 

After having a bite to eat, I went to the cool lounge for a round of trivia. There was only one other person there. The subject was Dr.Suess and this lady was afraid of Dr.Suess. I can't say that I have heard of that fear before, but I was happy to not have any real competition. I won by two points and earned a medal.

 

 

Remember what I said about always being gracious. Well I was gracious, but where is my Ship On A Stick?? I guess those are reserved for a real challenge lol.

[jam19872016]

Lunch today was Indian again as it would be each of the following days except one. Did I mention I love Tandoor :P I also hit the buffet but all at once instead of coming later, this way I would be ready for dinner a little bit earlier :)

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon watching some TV and taking it easy. I received these from the Casino today.

 

 

I love these! Wish I got these more often instead of the cookies, these are just so good.

 

I also got this in the casino today.

 

 

I was betting $.88 a spin and doing lousy. As I sometimes do when I am pouting, I bumped up my bet to the max, in this case $8.80, for one final spin before I moved on. I triggered a bonus and kept hitting for more and more money. My jaw dropped at about $300, and it just kept climbing until it hit $669.00. I did that bet one more time, but it didn't work again so I moved on, now up over almost $1100 for the week.

[jam19872016]

Tonight's dinner menu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jam19872016]

For my starter I had the grilled beef skewers and the cannelloni.

 

 

 

The beef skewers were excellent. I look forward to having these again next time I am in Grand Cayman. The cannelloni I was not crazy about but that was a personal taste thing. I like peas, but not in my food. It did say peas in the description but I was hoping I would not taste it between the sauce and the cheese. They were overpowering and about the only thing I could taste. If you don't mind peas, I am sure that you will enjoy this dish.

 

For my main I had the salmon cake and sword fish steak.

 

 

 

The salmon cake was fantastic. The fish was ok, I probably wouldn't order it again but it was not bad.

 

For dessert I had the WCMC and the s'mores parfait.

 

 

 

The WCMC was good as usual. How have I not tried the s'mores parfait yet? It does not sound or look that exciting but man, it was super!

 

Another great dinner, and in and out in under an hour.

[jam19872016]

Tonight's production show was 80's Pop To The Max. The music was all a little before my time, but it was still an enjoyable show and my second favorite of the week after 88 keys. There was a trend that each show on the Splendor was not as good as the last.

 

After the show I went back to the casino to return some of the money they gave me. I'm not here to make money right? Drink service started off really well this week but by day 3 I basically never saw a server. I did not seek any out, but it was odd that none sought me out. I guess with the premier, there were enough big tippers that I was not considered a big tipper anymore?

 

I played until just after midnight with no more big wins to report but still playing on their money. I watched some late night TV before turning in a little after 1. It was another great day on the Splendor.

 

Tonight's towel animal.

 

[jam19872016]

I'm so glad you made it! Your review is so fun to read! I feel like I'm there with you ;p

 

Thanks! I am glad you are enjoying the review. I am glad to be able to give back. :):)

[cloudninecat]

Next Sunday I'll be there :cool::cocktail::ship:. Loving the review. It's feeding my addiction while I wait.

 

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Edited June 25, 2017 by cloudninecat

[jam19872016]

Next Sunday I'll be there :cool::cocktail::ship:. Loving the review. It's feeding my addition while I wait.

 

That final week is such torture! But it is all worth it in the end. Have a blast ;p

[cloudninecat]

That final week is such torture! But it is all worth it in the end. Have a blast ;p

Yes it is. Thanks, I know I will.

 

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