Our 25th Anniversary Adventure - Baja Mexico & Hawaii on the Inspiration & Splendor

[Jamman54]

Day # 13  (April 30^th)  -  Sea Day # 3.

 

Here are today’s Fun Times…..

 

 

 

 

We were up at 7 am to a beautiful sunny day. Finally! The temperature was 75 degrees, and the seas were calm. Here are the views looking forward and aft from our balcony…..

 

 

 

We aren’t planning on having breakfast today. I’ll grab a cup of coffee and head to the Spectacular Show Lounge for the Morning Show. Patti will join me there after checking out Creativity at Sea at the El Morocco Lounge. Today they are making lei’s out of fresh flowers…..

 

 

 

It’s almost time for the Morning Show…..

 

 

Here is the view from upstairs…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

It looks like the ducks will be hosting the show today…..

 

 

 

Today’s hosts are Danielle, Lee, and Connor…..

 

 

Lee interviews Tom and Jo again…..

 

 

 

Lee also interviews Jason from the Academy of Fun. Today’s session will be about astronomy…..

 

 

Afterwards, I head up to see Ruther and Amarsha at the Splendido Pool Bar starboard side. Patti is going to do a little shopping before joining me there. She also took some pictures of venues she missed earlier. Here are some views of the Alexandria Library located on Deck 4 forward…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here is the Shore Excursion Desk along with the hours of operation and cancellation policy…..

 

 

 

 

Here is the Lobby Bar…..

 

 

Guest Services…..

 

 

I really enjoyed the new Thirsty Frog Wheat beer. They have it on tap at the Lobby Bar and Sports Bar, but only in cans up here…..

 

 

We watched Tom and Jo teach the Waltz…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

At noon the Diamond Luncheon was held in the Black Pearl Restaurant. As you entered you posed for a picture with Captain La Fauci and the Senior Officers….

 

 

This is our picture…..

 

 

With over 150 Diamond members on board, the lower level of the Black Pearl Restaurant is just about filled…..

 

 

 

This is our table….

 

 

Staff Captain Ivan Mladina is seated at our table…..

 

 

 

 

Cruise Director Lee Mason stops by to chat…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Former President Obama is working on the Splendor now! 😁

 

 

Here is the Diamond Luncheon menu…..

 

 

Cruise Director Lee and Captain La Fauci say a few words before lunch is served…..

 

 

 

Patti had the lobster bisque and the sea bass….

 

 

 

I had the pork belly and a New York strip steak…..

 

 

 

For dessert Patti had the fruit plate and I had the hazelnut chocolate cake…..

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Patti is enjoying another mocha chocolate getaway…..

 

 

Patti and I pose with Obama. 😃

 

 

 

Patti and I with Captain La Fauci…..

 

 

 

As we leave the Black Pearl Restaurant we see Tom and Jo teaching the cha cha in the Atrium Lobby…..

 

 

 

We stopped back in the cabin where we found today’s towel animal….

 

 

Patti shows off her new shopping bag…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

I went to the casino to play blackjack for a while breaking even for the session. Patti went to the $750 Balloon Bingo. She didn’t have any luck either…..

 

 

 

 

I went back to the cabin to relax and work on our pictures. Patti went up to the gym to work out. She got these pictures of the Splendor’s gym equipment…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

We are eating at the Pinnacle Steakhouse tonight. It will be a freebie because we are using Patti’s Diamond perk. Patti models her dress for tonight…..

 

 

This is our table…..

 

 

This is the Pinnacle Steakhouse menu…..

 

 

 

 

 

We are sharing a bottle of wine…..

 

 

Here are Patti and I at the Pinnacle Steakhouse…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Chef is hard at work…..

 

 

The amuse-bouche was the parmesan cream…..

 

 

Our bread plates…..

 

 

For our starters Patti had the French onion soup, while I had the stuffed mushrooms….

 

 

 

We both had the Caesar salad…..

 

 

For our mains, Patti had the Dover sole with a baked potato…..

 

 

I had the spice rubbed ribeye with wasabi mashed potatoes and mushrooms…..

 

 

 

The Pinnacle Steakhouse dessert menu…..

 

 

For dessert Patti had another fruit plate, and I had the gingerbread ice cream…..

 

 

 

After we left the Pinnacle Steakhouse we took a walk on the Promenade and then went back to the cabin for the night. We were both in a food coma! 😃

 

Coming up next:  One more relaxing sea day before we reach Hawaii.

[Cairns Cruisers]

That spice rubbed rib eye looked great Jeff.

[Webecruzen]

Now I’m looking at cruises for January or February!  The ship must have a steak house though. Wish we could have made the September Sunrise cruise work, but will definitely see you in July during our road trip.  

[Saint Greg]

2 hours ago, Cairns Cruisers said:

That spice rubbed rib eye looked great Jeff.

 

Yeah it does.

[Princess Cruiser27]

Another great read on Catalina Island. I haven't been to Catalina Island. Yes I'm slowly catching up on the review. I'll catch up more tomorrow.

 

 

[watermelonqueen99]

Still following and loving your review. Your bride is just lovely, you're a lucky man. ❤️

[eileen11]

Did Carnival do away with the lobster tail in the Steakhouse?  The menu had Surf and Turf, but I didn't see the large lobster tail option.  I am loving your review!

Eileen

[Jamman54]

19 hours ago, Cairns Cruisers said:

That spice rubbed rib eye looked great Jeff.

 

16 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Yeah it does.

 

And it tasted great too!!!

 

[Jamman54]

17 hours ago, Webecruzen said:

Now I’m looking at cruises for January or February!  The ship must have a steak house though. Wish we could have made the September Sunrise cruise work, but will definitely see you in July during our road trip.  

 

Sorry you won't be joining us on the Sunrise, but happy we'll get to see you when you come up our way. Keep us posted of your plans. We may be pushing our New Orleans cruises back a year. Had some large unexpected bills pop up, so we'll see.

 

16 hours ago, fyree39 said:

I love Patti's red dress!  Wow! It's lovely!

 

Tell Tom the Dodgers are on a roll!

 

Patti says thanks!

[Jamman54]

16 hours ago, Princess Cruiser27 said:

Another great read on Catalina Island. I haven't been to Catalina Island. Yes I'm slowly catching up on the review. I'll catch up more tomorrow.

 

 

 

Hey Barb! Catalina is a beautiful island. Patti and I both want to go back.

 

15 hours ago, watermelonqueen99 said:

Still following and loving your review. Your bride is just lovely, you're a lucky man. ❤️

 

Yes I am! I definitely married up!

 

13 hours ago, eileen11 said:

Did Carnival do away with the lobster tail in the Steakhouse?  The menu had Surf and Turf, but I didn't see the large lobster tail option.  I am loving your review!

Eileen

 

We asked the same question. Yes, you can get just the lobster tail. Don't know why it isn't on the menu though.

[grandmarnnurse]

The food in the Steakhouse looks amazing! 

[Jamman54]

27 minutes ago, grandmarnnurse said:

The food in the Steakhouse looks amazing! 

 

It was a great meal. We rolled out of there! 😄

[Jamman54]

Day # 14  (May 1^st)  -  Sea Day # 4.

 

Here are today’s Fun Times…..

 

 

 

 

We were up at 7 am to a partly sunny day. There are some scattered storm clouds around. The seas are fairly clam and the temperature is 78 degrees. Here’s a view looking forward, and off to the left you can see a rainbow…..

 

 

 

 

Here’s a view looking aft…..

 

 

Again, we were not planning on eating breakfast today. Patti puts some laundry together to send out. Our room steward Kadek happily sends it down to the laundry…..

 

 

Patti is going to check out Creativity at Sea, then join me at the Morning Show. Today they are making door hangers. Patti takes her kit and leaves…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

I go up to the Lido for a cup of coffee then head to the Spectacular Theatre…..

 

 

Today Tyler, Lee, and Conner are hosting the show…..

 

 

 

Afterwards, Patti and I went up to visit Ruther and Amarsha at the Splendido Pool Bar, and watch Tom and Jo conduct a tango class. It turned out to be a beautiful day…..

 

 

Soon it was time for lunch. I grabbed a couple of cheeseburgers from the Grille, while Patti went to the salad bar. DJ T-Willy was spinning tunes at the Splendido Pool…..

 

 

After lunch I went to play blackjack for a while, and again I broke even. Can’t seem to grt ahead at all, but at least I’m not losing! Patti went to visit Danielle at this afternoon’s Powerball Bingo. She was close, but no cigar!.....

 

 

 

Around 4:30 pm we both went up to the Cloud 9 Spa for a couple of hours. Back to the cabin where we found that our laundry had already been done and returned to us…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Tonight is the second Elegant Night of the cruise. Patti models tonight’s dress…..

 

 

Here is tonight’s American Feast menu…..

 

 

Here are Patti and I at our table……

 

 

 

 

We have our full basket of cranberry bread…..

 

 

We both had the crab cake to start…..

 

 

I also had the stuffed mushrooms…..

 

 

Patti had a Caesar salad, while I had a four season salad…..

 

 

 

We both had the teriyaki salmon as our main course…..

 

 

To be continued…….

[Jamman54]

Here is tonight’s dessert menu…..

 

 

Patti had two scoops of butter pecan ice cream, while I had the amaretto cake…..

 

 

 

It’s show time! Once again our waiters dance and sing for us…..

 

 

 

 

After dinner we went to see the comedy and juggling of Dana Tison. Here CD Lee introduces the show…..

 

 

Back to the cabin where we find that Kadek has left us some anniversary gifts…..

 

 

 

 

Coming up next:  We have made it to Hawaii !!!  

[DebOinKC]

Something that I have noticed in your pictures of the dining room at dinner, most of the table are empty. I think you said you had late seating. Did most people have Any Time Dining?

 

P.S Still enjoying your review & pictures 🙂