Hello again everybody!! I'm Jeff "Jamman" Maskall, and I am a Cruise Addict!! I've just returned from another GREAT cruise on Carnival, this time back on board the Carnival Splendor. This was an 8 day repositioning cruise that started in New York, and ended in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In between were 3 sea days, followed by port calls at St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Antigua, and St. Maarten. I had never been to St. Kitts or Antigua before, so I was excited to be going to these ports for the very first time.
I did this cruise as a solo, because since Patti is a teacher, there was no way she could take off. I look forward to the day when she is able to retire, and we can cruise anytime of the year together. Shortly after getting off the Liberty in August, I received one of the Diamond offers, for the "almost" free cruises, which I'm sure by now, almost everybody has heard about. Book an inside for $100, get $100 OBC, just pay the port taxes and fees. Yes, that one. How could I resist? So with Patti's blessing I booked it, though I did upgrade to a balcony cabin, and because I was sailing solo, I had to pay double, but it still was a very good deal for me. I will tell you that in 36 Carnival cruises, this was the FIRST time an offer like this came my way, so there is hope for everyone out there!!
I just want to mention that my cruise was really just the first half of the Splendor's repositioning cruises. The cruise after ours would be sailing from San Juan, and ending up in Miami, which will be the Splendor's winter home. They will be visiting completely different ports as well. My picture review buddy gapearl is aboard that cruise, so I know we'll be hearing from her once she gets back. Hope you are having a GREAT cruise Kim!!!
As I said in my previous reviews, my goal is to make you feel like you are along for the ride, to see if the Splendor is the right ship for you, and to give you a glimpse of the port of calls. So without further ado, let's get this party started!!
Friday, October 24th is finally here!! It's a cloudy, cool day, but it's better than the previous two days where it rained nonstop. The weatherman says that it will be sunny and about 60 degrees for our sail away this afternoon. I'll take it!
The car service arrived right on time at 9:30, for what should be about an hour ride to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. It took a little longer because traffic in midtown was horrific, so I was dropped off just before 11am. I gave the porter my one bag, watched him put the orange FTTF tape on it, and then made my way inside the terminal.
Before you could get in any line, you had to fill out a health questionnaire, which only took a minute or so. Then as you entered your line, an agent would review your form, and then sign off on it. This was no big deal. The big deal was what I saw after going through the scanner, and that was the line extending out from the VIP lounge. Then it hit me. With the Diamond offer that was later offered to some of the Platinum members, this cruise was going to be overflowing with VIP members. There was no way that the VIP lounge was going to handle that. So what they did to expedite the VIP's was take small groups of VIP's at a time, take their boarding passes, go get their Sail & Sign cards, and then lead them to the regular lines to be processed. It still was slow getting checked in, took me about 45 minutes or so, but I was done before boarding began. At 11:50 they began boarding Diamonds and Platinums, so I was among the first 30 or so to board the ship, and as you can see, I'm smiling ear to ear.....
It's great to be back on the Splendor again. My first view is of the Atrium elevators.....
The Shore Excursion Desk in the Lobby, port side.....
Shore Excursion Desk info.....
Guest Services, in the Lobby, starboard side.....
To be continued......
I did this cruise as a solo, because since Patti is a teacher, there was no way she could take off. I look forward to the day when she is able to retire, and we can cruise anytime of the year together. Shortly after getting off the Liberty in August, I received one of the Diamond offers, for the "almost" free cruises, which I'm sure by now, almost everybody has heard about. Book an inside for $100, get $100 OBC, just pay the port taxes and fees. Yes, that one. How could I resist? So with Patti's blessing I booked it, though I did upgrade to a balcony cabin, and because I was sailing solo, I had to pay double, but it still was a very good deal for me. I will tell you that in 36 Carnival cruises, this was the FIRST time an offer like this came my way, so there is hope for everyone out there!!
I just want to mention that my cruise was really just the first half of the Splendor's repositioning cruises. The cruise after ours would be sailing from San Juan, and ending up in Miami, which will be the Splendor's winter home. They will be visiting completely different ports as well. My picture review buddy gapearl is aboard that cruise, so I know we'll be hearing from her once she gets back. Hope you are having a GREAT cruise Kim!!!
As I said in my previous reviews, my goal is to make you feel like you are along for the ride, to see if the Splendor is the right ship for you, and to give you a glimpse of the port of calls. So without further ado, let's get this party started!!
Friday, October 24th is finally here!! It's a cloudy, cool day, but it's better than the previous two days where it rained nonstop. The weatherman says that it will be sunny and about 60 degrees for our sail away this afternoon. I'll take it!
The car service arrived right on time at 9:30, for what should be about an hour ride to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. It took a little longer because traffic in midtown was horrific, so I was dropped off just before 11am. I gave the porter my one bag, watched him put the orange FTTF tape on it, and then made my way inside the terminal.
Before you could get in any line, you had to fill out a health questionnaire, which only took a minute or so. Then as you entered your line, an agent would review your form, and then sign off on it. This was no big deal. The big deal was what I saw after going through the scanner, and that was the line extending out from the VIP lounge. Then it hit me. With the Diamond offer that was later offered to some of the Platinum members, this cruise was going to be overflowing with VIP members. There was no way that the VIP lounge was going to handle that. So what they did to expedite the VIP's was take small groups of VIP's at a time, take their boarding passes, go get their Sail & Sign cards, and then lead them to the regular lines to be processed. It still was slow getting checked in, took me about 45 minutes or so, but I was done before boarding began. At 11:50 they began boarding Diamonds and Platinums, so I was among the first 30 or so to board the ship, and as you can see, I'm smiling ear to ear.....
It's great to be back on the Splendor again. My first view is of the Atrium elevators.....
The Shore Excursion Desk in the Lobby, port side.....
Shore Excursion Desk info.....
Guest Services, in the Lobby, starboard side.....
To be continued......
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