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

[jgeraci7]

When Katy & I hit Ensenada on our way home, we went out with a bang!  Did the blowhole tour, drank margaritas, shopped for final treasures, & barely got our bags packed on time!

Thanks for helping me live through it all again.

Joyce

[Jamman54]

11 minutes ago, jgeraci7 said:

When Katy & I hit Ensenada on our way home, we went out with a bang!  Did the blowhole tour, drank margaritas, shopped for final treasures, & barely got our bags packed on time!

Thanks for helping me live through it all again.

Joyce

 

Wow! You packed a lot into the five hours that we were there. Since we were there on the Inspiration a few weeks prior we didn't feel the need to go out this time. Hope you had a great cruise. We sure did! 😃

[Ak4n3]

16 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

 

 

 

The woman sitting her has that look that says, "I don't care if this is a photo op for the entire ship.  I'm going to SIT HERE and save my seat, dammit!" 

At least she's actually on the seat and not a phantom sitter... 😛 

Edited June 18, 2019 by Ak4n3

[Jamman54]

Day # 24  (May 11^th)  -  Debarkation Day / Crowne Plaza Hotel.

 

We were up at 6:30 am, just as Captain La Fauci spun the Carnival Splendor around to dock in Long Beach……

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the General Debarkation information……

 

 

 

Here is the Diamond member Debarkation Information…..

 

 

Self-assist debarkation began right at 7:45 am. Once we heard that announcement we decided to vacate our cabin and head down to the Black Pearl Restaurant to wait for the Diamond checked luggage debarkation to begin. We didn’t go to the Lido for breakfast because we knew that they would coffee, tea, juice, and Danish there.

 

Just after 8 am Danielle came in and said that priority luggage was in the terminal and ready, and that we could leave the ship. As we got off the ship, Captain La Fauci and some of the Senior Officers were there to say goodbye. We thought that was a nice touch!

 

We made that long walk into the terminal and down to the baggage claim area. We found our luggage fairly easy even though there were a lot of priority bags. Getting a porter was also easy, and soon we were breezing towards customs. The porters have their own line directly to customs, so we passed many of those self-assisters that had gotten off way before we did. 

 

It took about ten seconds for the Customs Officer to wave us through and send us on our way. The porter took us to where the shuttles and car services can pick you up. Now, here was our problem. Since the paperwork had said that the Carnival Splendor wouldn’t be back in Long Beach until 9 am, I had scheduled our pick up at 10 am. It was now 8:30 am.

 

I made a call to the dispatchers at Execucar, and they said that the driver was now on the way. Great job Execucar! Our car arrived at 9:05 am….

 

 

We have Santa for our driver! No wonder he got here so fast. How’s that for luck. He must be making a few bucks during the off season. We never felt safer…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We decided a long time ago that we would not be flying home the day we got off the cruise. We just didn’t want to stress out about anything, so instead we booked a hotel near LAX so we could relax and decompress before flying out the next morning.

 

Our trip back up to LAX from Long Beach was a lot quicker than the way down, so I guess Santa was utilizing his magical powers. Not really, since traffic is always lighter on a Saturday morning. In no time at all we had arrived at the Crowne Plaza Hotel…..

 

 

 

 

Santa helped transfer our luggage to the bell man and he was on his way. We were early, very early, as it was not even 9:45 am. I went to the front desk to inquire about early check in, and they had a room ready. The cost for checking in this early would be $30. Not a problem!

 

Once we had our keys we stopped at the business center to print out our boarding passes for tomorrow’s flight. We then told the bell man our room number and he said he would be up with our bags shortly. Our room was on the 15^th floor. As we got off the elevator this sign caught our attention and made us chuckle…..

 

 

We are in room # 1529…..

 

 

Here are some views of our room…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

From up here our room has a great view of LAX…..

 

 

 

 

 

Our luggage was delivered promptly, and once we got settled we realized we were getting hungry. We made our way back down to the lobby and decided to eat at the Century Tap Room…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First things first, we need a drink…..

 

 

Here is the Century Tap Room menu…..

 

 

 

Patti had the chicken quesadilla and I built a bar pie. The food sure hit the spot.

 

To be continued……

[Jamman54]

Patti got these shots in the lobby area of the hotel. This is the Sushi Bar…..

 

 

The Landing Restaurant…..

 

 

 

 

 

This is the business center and gift shop…..

 

 

The Boulevard Market Café…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued….

[Jamman54]

We went back to the room to nap and relax for a while. Later on Patti went down to get us some snacks in lieu of dinner, and went outside to check out the pool….

 

 

She went across the street and took a few shots of the hotel and some planes coming in for a landing at LAX….

 

 

 

 

 

Before coming back upstairs she stopped to check out the gym…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was working on the pictures when she got back…..

 

 

Here are a couple more LAX views….

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed in the rest of the night, watching television until we crashed.

 

Coming up next:  The adventure concludes.

[Jamman54]

Day # 25  (May 12^th)  -  Heading Home. Happy Mothers Day!

 

We were up at 4:30 am to get ready for our 9:15 am flight back to New Jersey. I called the bell man at 6 am to come get our bags, then did the express phone check out.

 

The bell man arrived promptly, loaded our bags, then took us down to the hotel shuttle. From here it was only a ten minute ride over to United’s terminal.  We checked our bags, which were all over 50 lbs, went through security, and were sitting at our gate at 6:50 am. We couldn’t believe we made it there so fast.

 

Our jet has arrived at the gate. We will begin boarding at 8:30…..

 

 

We are back in Business Class, seats 1A & 1B…..

 

 

 

Right on time we push away from the gate and head for the runway…..

 

 

 

 

Soon we are taking off and heading for New Jersey…..

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

They are serving breakfast on this flight. This is Patti’s breakfast…..

 

 

This is my breakfast…..

 

 

We both enjoyed the buns…..

 

 

Once again, we ate and drank our way across the country enjoying the views from above…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Five and a half hours later we are approaching our destination…..

 

 

The weather in the northeast  is not great today so we have zero visibility as we descend towards Newark……

 

 

 

The clouds open up a bit as we come in for a landing….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are officially back in New Jersey…..

 

 

Once we landed I got a text from United informing us that our bags had arrived on an earlier flight. After tracking down someone who knew where they were, we found out that they were placed next to the luggage carousal that our flights luggage was coming to. I got a porter to grab our luggage and take it to where our car service was picking us up. Forty five minutes later we were back at home, another adventure concluded.  THE END.

 

Well folks, that concludes our longest review ever. Patti and I agree that the Hawaii cruise on the Carnival Splendor has got to be near the top, or on the top, of our list. Speaking of the Carnival Splendor, we’ve had four great cruises on her, and since she will be heading to Australia later on this year, it is likely we will never sail on her again. We will miss you!

 

Thanks to you, the readers, for hanging in there with us on this long journey. I hope that the information and details about the Inspiration and Splendor, along with their ports of call, were helpful in some way.

 

A big shout out to the crews of both ships, but especially the Splendor. The Cruise Director, Lee Mason, is destined for great things. He is very approachable and simply a great guy! The Fun Squad was a blast. Thanks to Tyler, Conner, Danielle, Cheeky Charlie, and gorgeous George for a job well done. It was fun to get to know all of you. To my buds at the Splendido Pool Bar, starboard side, you guys were awesome. Thanks to Ruther, Amarsha, Komang, and Samson. It was a pleasure hanging out with you every morning.  Our room steward Kadek, and his helper Alex were flawless. To our waiters in the Gold Pearl and Pinnacle Steakhouse, thanks for a job well done.

 

Next up for me is a 5 day cruise on the Ecstasy in August with my son Ryan. I will not be doing a review of that one, but will post pictures at our photo hosting site. On September 16^th Patti and I will be sailing on a B2B on the Carnival Sunrise from our home port of New York. The first leg will be taking us to Bermuda, and the second leg will be going north to Canada and New England. Once again we will be taking all of you with us as we check out the “new” Carnival Sunrise!

 

Before I end this I have to thank my wife Patti. I couldn’t do these journeys, or these reviews, without her. She is my best friend, my rock, and a heck of a photographer!

Speaking of photography, the photos you see on these reviews are only a small portion of all the photos Patti takes during our cruises. If you would like to see the whole package, there is a link in my signature for our Cruise and Vacation albums. Feel free to check them out if you are so inclined.

 

So until next time, may you have blue skies and calm seas!!!

[nybumpkin]

48 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

 As we got off the elevator this sign caught our attention and made us chuckle…..

 

 

Jeff, I laughed at this post. When I was in high school I was in the marching band and we participated in a competition in Virginia Beach. Our band director gave us a lecture about being respectful of the other guests in our hotel. The next morning at 7 a.m., the two lead trumpets awakened everyone in the building to a duet of "Norwegian Wood."😮

 

Thank you so much for taking us along on your vacation. It's been great!

[mommio]

Thank you for such an interesting review!  I waited for a new entry everyday lol.  

[blarko]

Best review I’ve read on CC. Thank you again for all the time you spent doing it.  I felt your sadness as the cruise came to an end. Looking forward to your next adventure.

[Webecruzen]

Thank you and Patti for sharing your wonderful vacation with us.  The time you put into the review while away and once you are home is so appreciated.  We look forward to seeing you both soon.  

[schwesterellibelli]

Thanks for the amazing review.I enjoyed it very much. I hope to meet you both on the Sunrise  Canada cruise.

[Saint Greg]

54 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somebody tell those mountains it’s June!

[pbxtech]

Thanks for another great review. 

[Saint Greg]

25 days went by fast! Thanks for the great review, @Jamman54!

[luvcruzing]

Thank you, Jeff and Patti, for all your hard work and dedication in writing this review. A very enjoyable read.

[matt082600]

Jeff, an absolutely fantastic review, as always!  Thanks for taking the time to write it and thanks for taking us along on your journey!!  Leaving on the Sunrise in 2 weeks myself....

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, nybumpkin said:

Jeff, I laughed at this post. When I was in high school I was in the marching band and we participated in a competition in Virginia Beach. Our band director gave us a lecture about being respectful of the other guests in our hotel. The next morning at 7 a.m., the two lead trumpets awakened everyone in the building to a duet of "Norwegian Wood."😮

 

Thank you so much for taking us along on your vacation. It's been great!

 

Thanks for coming along for the ride again!

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, mommio said:

Thank you for such an interesting review!  I waited for a new entry everyday lol.  

 

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!

 

1 hour ago, blarko said:

Best review I’ve read on CC. Thank you again for all the time you spent doing it.  I felt your sadness as the cruise came to an end. Looking forward to your next adventure.

 

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your kind words!

 

1 hour ago, Webecruzen said:

Thank you and Patti for sharing your wonderful vacation with us.  The time you put into the review while away and once you are home is so appreciated.  We look forward to seeing you both soon.  

 

Always glad to have you along with us. See you next month!

[bunnyette]

Thank you for a wonderful review, glad you got home safe & sound!

[Jamman54]

1 hour ago, schwesterellibelli said:

Thanks for the amazing review.I enjoyed it very much. I hope to meet you both on the Sunrise  Canada cruise.

 

Glad you enjoyed the review. See you on he Sunrise!

 

1 hour ago, pbxtech said:

Thanks for another great review. 

Thank you so much for reading! 

 

1 hour ago, Saint Greg said:

25 days went by fast! Thanks for the great review, @Jamman54!

 

Glad to have you along Greg! Looking forward to your next adventure.

 

1 hour ago, luvcruzing said:

Thank you, Jeff and Patti, for all your hard work and dedication in writing this review. A very enjoyable read.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

 

14 minutes ago, matt082600 said:

Jeff, an absolutely fantastic review, as always!  Thanks for taking the time to write it and thanks for taking us along on your journey!!  Leaving on the Sunrise in 2 weeks myself....

 

Thanks for reading and your kind words! Enjoy your cruise on the Sunrise!