Mandymouse’s A Carnival Splendor/Oasis of the Seas ...

[mandymouse]

.. with a smidgen of Disney Trip Report


Introducing

Me & Paul


Our Itinerary


May '17

10th Drive up to Manchester, stay at Premier Inn, Trafford Centre

11th Fly to Orlando/Stay at Pop Century

12th DHS (am), Epcot (pm)

13th Drive to Fort Lauderdale/Embark Carnival Splendor

14th Day at Sea

15th Grand Turk

16th La Romana

17th Aruba

18th Curacao

19th Day at Sea

20th Day at Sea

21st Disembark/Drive to Port Canaveral/Embark Oasis of the Seas

22nd Day at Sea

23rd Day at Sea

24th St. Maarten

25th San Juan

26th Labadee, Haiti

27th Day at Sea

28th Disembark/Fly home


Welcome along to my latest trip report. Now you all know how much we love Disney, but with all the construction going on at Disney Hollywood Studios (our favourite park), we have decided to put off a big 2 week holiday to WDW till all the Star Wars stuff is ready in 2019, and as we really enjoyed our cruise to Hawaii with Carnival we decided to try a Caribbean Cruise with them along with a cruise on a ship that I have wanted to sail on for the last few years, the Oasis of the Seas ... so here we go ..


Wednesday 10th May ‘17

It was going to be a busy day today. I was up at 5.50am to see Paul off to work, and after getting the house ship shape I had an appointment to get my nails done (I'd had my hair done the day before), then later that morning I met my friend in town for a Costa

Paul was home from work at 6pm and after a quick dinner, last bit of packing and a quick stop for petrol, we hit the M6 at 7pm and headed north to Manchester. We always like to stay at the Premier Inn at the Trafford Centre, and we arrived just after 8.30pm after an uneventful drive on a lovely sunny evening

I'd already done on-line check-in, so I just had to give my signature and we were given our key. We dropped our luggage at the room and wandered into the shopping centre for a glass or two of something fizzy for me and a Stella for Paul at our favourite Champagne bar

We left around 10, and then it was straight to bed as we had an early start



Tomorrow – We’re off to Orlando .. Woohoo !!

 

[mandymouse]

Thursday 11th May


We slept reasonably well considering we were so excited!!! Again we were up at 5.50am, and after a quick shower and getting ready we left the hotel at 6.30am and took the 20 minute journey to Manchester Airport. We had another clear run to the airport, and parked in the multi storey car park opposite Terminal 2


The check-in desks were pretty quiet and in no time we had dropped our luggage off and were heading up the escalator to security with our boarding cards. We had paid for Fast Track (though really didn’t need it), so we were through there quickly after I was quickly frisked ooh-err missus


We wandered through Duty Free then had breakfast at Frankie & Benny's, which was delish. It came to just over £21 with a 15% off voucher I had printed off from the Eat, Drink, Fly website

Next we took a better look around the shops, but I didn't see much, just a necklace in Accessorize which I bought


While we waited for the gate to open, we had a couple of drinkies at the Spinning Jenny Bar then boarding began around 9.30am

The pilot announced that the flight would take just 7hrs 55 mins (yay!!), and we pulled back from the gate a few minutes after our scheduled 10.30am departure


Once the seat belt signs went off, the drinks trolley came round, so we both enjoyed a vodka & diet coke with a pack of those amazing pretzels they hand out

An hour or so later lunch was served, though I wasn’t really hungry after our lovely brekkie, but I'm a bit weird and actually enjoy airplane food The chicken curry was very tasty and I always enjoy the crackers and cream cheese, though didn't bother with the salad or the Gu dessert

I watched Rogue One, The Girl on the Train, and 3 episodes of New Girl. The flight went really quick. A Fab lolly was served and we were also offered a sandwich an hour before landing, though we didn't bother with that as we had some Pringles and chocolate that we'd brought with us

We touched down at 1.50pm, and were off the plane pretty quickly. At Orlando Airport we were first taken into a room filled with the passport scanning machines, and as everything went ok with our scans, we went through to passport control. It was the quickest time ever with the Immigration Officer as all he asked was how long we were staying .. Nice one


The only thing that was quite slow was the luggage coming through, but by 3pm we were driving away in our hire car


Half an hour later we arrived at the Pop Century. Unfortunately the area by the Computer Pool where we like to stay was closed off as the rooms were being refurbished, but we were given a room by the main pool, which was very central

As we were so early, we decided to do a Wal-Mart run. We got our usual water, mountain dew, sun tan lotion etc, then once we dropped it back at our room we took the bus to Disney Springs


We were both a little hungry, so our first stop was at The Boathouse where we enjoyed a Yacht Club Club Sandwich and fries along with a Strongbow Cider for me and Stella for Paul. It was all lovely and it was so nice to sit by the lake and a nice breeze was blowing to keep us cool

Next stop was Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar where I had a rum cocktail and Paul had another lager. We had a quick stop at Raglan Road then caught the bus to The Boardwalk

We spent a few hours at the Atlantic Dance Hall. We love it here. The DJ was good as were the music videos, especially the old 80’s ones, got to love a bit of Whitney


We left around 10.30pm (3.30am back home), which was very good for us for the first night. We then took a taxi back to the Pop Century and called it a night


Tomorrow - Disney Hollywood Studios & Epcot

 

[ukintheus]

What a great start, lots of smooth sailing and you've already done a bunch of things and it's only your first day! Really looking forward to hearing all about this trip, you've got a lot going on for this one.

 

[mandymouse]

What a great start, lots of smooth sailing and you've already done a bunch of things and it's only your first day! Really looking forward to hearing all about this trip, you've got a lot going on for this one.

Thanks for reading along Jenny

 

[mandymouse]

Friday 12th May


We slept reasonably well and got up at 7.30am. After showers and getting ready we left around 8.30 and took the bus to DHS


First stop was Tower of Terror, which we love ..

then we used our 9.20 Fastpass to ride it again

As we wandered towards Hollywood Boulevard the March of the First Order started, so we stopped and watched that, then grabbed a cake and coffee from Starbucks

Next we used our next FP which was for RockNRollerCoaster, then we used our last FP at Star Tours which was a great video that we hadn't seen before where we were following the Millennium Falcon

I wasn't feeling too good, I had a bit of a stomach ache and a headache so we went back to the room so I could chill and Paul went for a sunbathe


After an hour I felt much better, so we took the bus to Epcot. While on the bus Paul checked his Facebook and said that The Churchill's had checked into the Flower & Garden Festival, so I felt pretty confident that we'd run into them around World Showcase


Now a few years ago one of Paul's friends had given us 3 one day, one park tickets, which we hadn't been able to use in previous trips. We'd used two this morning in DHS, so had to buy one more for Epcot. So what were the chances of Paul buying his ticket and Deb and Matt walking by as they were leaving? I shouted out to them, and we had a quick chat and I met their friend Susan too. It was lovely to see them, but what a shame it wasn’t 'Around the World' where we could enjoy a drink together. Anyway we all went our separate ways. We wandered up towards MouseGear taking photos along the way and as this was going to one of only a couple of chances to do some Disney shopping this trip, we got some ideas of things to buy for when we were exiting the park later

Before we'd left for Epcot Paul had checked for any Fastpasses and just 2 became available at Soarin' for 4.35pm, so we had taken those (someone must've just cancelled them as we checked on-line), so we headed towards Soarin' but had 15 minutes still to wait. We realised that we hadn't eaten since our pastries this morning, and as I wasn't sure how my stomach would react after not feeling so well earlier, we decided to share a Mongolian Beef with rice at the Sunshine Seasons food court, and as always it was delicious


We rode the new Soarin' which we had previously seen in California, but I didn't realise that this film finished in Epcot, I really liked that ending, but I still miss the original


Next we sauntered up to World Showcase where I had a cider and Paul had a lager from the Rose & Crown, and we sat outside in the lovely sunshine enjoying them

I enjoyed a Grey Goose Slushie in France and Paul had a Kronenberg, then we had another Grey Goose concoction at the US Pavilion

We were both really hungry now so we decided on a little feast in china to share, Orange Chicken, Spicy Chicken and Beef Noodle, Mmm, it was all very nice

We were both feeling tired tonight so we headed back to MouseGear and bought our souvenirs, then as we were exiting the park there wasn’t a line for SpaceShip Earth, so we hopped onboard

Like a pair of lame-os, we were tucked up in bed by 10pm after sorting out our paperwork for our cruise tomorrow


Tomorrow - Carnival Splendor

 

[rivercottage]

lOVING! Paul's shirt!

 

[Kevin Stringer]

I always like reading your trip reports and I'll be especially interested in how you enjoy the two cruises.
I do have one question - how the heck did you take that photo of both your hands and feet? Do you have a mouth operated camera?

Kev

 

[mandymouse]

lOVING! Paul's shirt!

Thanks, most of Paul's shirts are Mantaray at Debenhams

I always like reading your trip reports and I'll be especially interested in how you enjoy the two cruises.
I do have one question - how the heck did you take that photo of both your hands and feet? Do you have a mouth operated camera?

Kev

Cheers Kev !! Lol, in the past I have been known to balance my iPhone between my knees with the timer on, but this time I just got Kerry to take it

 

[mandymouse]

Saturday 13th May


We weren't in any hurry to leave this morning, but I still got up just after 7am after waking briefly at 4.30 & 5.30


We got showered and returned the few things we had used the previous two days to our cases


This was our first time travelling to Fort Lauderdale and using the Florida Turnpike, and after taking one wrong turn just after leaving WDW, we were off on our 3 hour drive. The journey down was pretty much along one very long and quite boring motorway with little to see but trees


Even so, the journey went quite quickly with us stopping just after 2 hours for a KFC. It was our first time using a service station too, which was slightly weird as the service station was off the fast lane and shared between the carriageways


Anyway, we were heading to Fort Lauderdale Airport to drop our car off, which was straight forward then we took a taxi to the port


I'm sure it was gone 12.30 when we arrived at the Carnival Terminal and it was very busy. We handed our luggage over to a porter with a little tip (don’t eat yellow snow, lol no not that tip ) then joined the huge line to show our passports and boarding cards. Luckily a member of staff pointed at us, said ‘Two of you?’ and let us cut most of the queue. We then went through an airport style security, then lined up again to have our boarding cards checked and photo ID taken


Boarding had already started, so after having our Embarkation photo taken we were onboard, which by now was around 1.15pm (45 minutes in all, not bad) Yay !!


Our room was also ready where we found our room keys in the mail box outside. We dropped off our carry on bags and went off to explore. As we left the room we ran into our room host Joseph, who asked us how often we would like the room serviced. We told him we were more than happy for him to sort our room out once a day in the morning and after a handshake we set off for a wander. This ship was very different to the Legend, so we got lost quite a few times, though this is half the fun of exploring. We found a Tandoor food station at the back of the ship, so Paul gave that a try and gave it a thumbs up (got a feeling we'll be coming here often)

We continued our tour and along the way grabbed a couple of drinks. Around 3pm we got changed into our sunbathing stuff and sat out in the sun for half an hour before the Muster Drill

Like on the Legend it was very chaotic but at least this time they were scanning everyone's cards to see who was missing. Once that was over we headed back up on top deck for sailaway at 4pm, but the Captain made an announcement that as they were waiting for a delivery of fresh water, sailaway was put back to 7pm

So we chilled for a while and enjoyed a few more drinks. Before sailaway we popped back to the room and found our luggage waiting outside, so we sorted that out before heading back up

After leaving Fort Lauderdale we got showered and went down to dinner. As we had 'Any time dining' we were to go to The Black Pearl Restaurant on Deck 3. We were seated near two other couples, one couple from Manchester UK, the other couple from Manchester USA and of course we flew out of Manchester, so we were in the Manchester Corner

We had a lovely meal. I had chicken quesadillas to start and Paul had salmon, then I had a veggie lasagne with a side of ratatouille, and Paul had steak, then to finish off Paul had apple pie with ice cream (sorry, no foodie pics tonight)


After dinner we headed to the casino as Paul loves having a go at the roulette table. He had mixed fortunes, so fingers crossed he does better next time


Next it was time for a boogie, so we called in at the night club and enjoyed a final drink there. This cruise was definitely more lively compared to our previous cruises, people were up late and dancing, it had a good atmosphere about it


No idea what time we headed to bed, but we'd had a good first day onboard (Paul informed me the next morning it was around 12.30)


Tomorrow - Day at Sea

 

[ukintheus]

The Florida Turnpike is weird even for those of us that live over here! It threw us off too when the petrol station was in the middle and you had to get off on the fast lane but handy to be off and on quickly. Your time at WDW seemed to go by so fast! I hope that it didn't feel that fast to you, but I'm sure it did! How was sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale? Pretty easy or wouldn't do it again?

Love the photos from the ship - it's always good to see what the other options are, sounds like you had a good first day, and a long one at that! Did you buy a drink package?

 

[eeyorefanuk]

Enjoying as always

 

[mandymouse]

The Florida Turnpike is weird even for those of us that live over here! It threw us off too when the petrol station was in the middle and you had to get off on the fast lane but handy to be off and on quickly. Your time at WDW seemed to go by so fast! I hope that it didn't feel that fast to you, but I'm sure it did! How was sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale? Pretty easy or wouldn't do it again?

Love the photos from the ship - it's always good to see what the other options are, sounds like you had a good first day, and a long one at that! Did you buy a drink package?

Oh right, so it wasn't just weird for us then Jenny? It was nice to just have a flying visit to WDW, we'll save a big trip for when all the Star Wars stuff is ready in 2019 Yes we had the drinks package which is always good to have that paid off before your trip, and yes we would happily set sail from Fort Lauderdale again, it wasn't a big deal driving down there

Enjoying as always

Aww, thanks hun

 

[mandymouse]

Sunday 14th May


I had slept quite well after waking at 5.30, and at 7am when I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, I caught up with my trip report


An hour later Paul woke up and I suggested we'd go for a fast walk on the jogging track. The jogging track is a rather short one on deck 13 and it would take about 10 laps to do a mile. Well to say having a fast walk would be a challenge was an understatement, it was so windy up there it was hard to even walk straight, but we persevered and stayed out a good half an hour, and we guessed we did about 2 miles


We went back to our cabin for a shower then we went in search of the coffee shop. We had purchased the Cheers programme before we left home and this would give us 15 alcoholic drinks, speciality coffees, soft drinks and bottles of water. We enjoyed our skinny lattes, then headed to the Lido deck for breakfast where I had some fruit and a few sausages, scrambled eggs and roasted potatoes, then we went back to the upper decks for a sunbathe. It was still very windy and cloudy too, so it made our 2 hours up there bearable


After our time in the cloud/sun it was time for a little lunch. The smells from the Tandoor were calling us and the chicken biriyani, beef kebabs and naan didn't disappoint


We had a couple of Angry Orchard ciders (for me) and Stella's (for Paul), then as we still hadn't got a clue where most places were on the decks 3, 4 & 5, we went off for an explore


After figuring out where we'd actually had dinner the night before, we then enjoyed a couple of Mimosa's at the Serenity bar


As sea days can be so exhausting, we decided it was time for a nap It was about 3.30pm and we thought an hour of shut eye would do the job. Next thing I knew Paul was waking me up saying it was 7.15!!!!


I leapt out of bed, showered, washed my hair, dried it with the slowest hair drier in history that was provided in the room and got dressed for Elegant Night


It had gone 8.15pm by the time we were ready, and the dining/bar decks were very busy with people having photos taken with the various backdrops, and everyone looked lovely all dressed up

We found a bar we hadn't been to before (El Mojito) and I had a delicious Pomtini (pomegranate martini) and Paul had a Grey Goose and diet coke. The deck became very quiet as people made their way to dinner, and once we finished our drinks we did the same. There was a long line for dinner, and we were given a pager so we sat in the atrium with a cocktail listening to the Easy Breezy Band, who I must add were very good

Our pager finally went off and we were seated. Sadly the service tonight was very slow, but once the food started to arrive, it was nice. We both started with mushroom soup, then I had a veggie Indian curry assortment and Paul had the sea bass

After dinner we went to the casino for an hour and I think Paul finished about even (he's enjoying this gambling malarkey far too much )


I think it was about 11.30pm when we made our way to bed, and we'd really enjoyed our sea day

Tomorrow - Grand Turk

 

[ukintheus]

What a lovely at sea day. Lots of relaxing and cocktails. I must admit that I loved the drink package on RCI, I wish DCL would offer it and include water and coffee. You got to visit quite a few of the bars today, so it was a very successful day.

 

[eeyorefanuk]

your dress Mandy
Oh to be on a sea day right now

 

[mandymouse]

What a lovely at sea day. Lots of relaxing and cocktails. I must admit that I loved the drink package on RCI, I wish DCL would offer it and include water and coffee. You got to visit quite a few of the bars today, so it was a very successful day.

We loved the drinks packages on both ships too, especially when they've been long paid for so it just feels like free drinks

your dress Mandy
Oh to be on a sea day right now

Thanks Karen, it's from Karen Millen at Cheshire Oaks

Oh yes, to be on a sea day right now would be bliss

 

[mandymouse]

Monday 15th May


I was awake quite early, around 6am after probably having too much sleep yesterday I put the forward view of the ships camera on the TV and watched us dock in Grand Turk and caught up with my trip report


It was only a short stop at Grand Turk today. All ashore was at 7am and we had to be back onboard for 1.30 pm


I watched people disembark on the TV, and I could see we were docked right at the beach. I think most people will have a beach day as there are shops, bars and a large Margaritaville close by


Paul stirred around 8am, so we got changed and ready for a few laps of the running track. Once again we got in a couple of miles then we went down to deck 5 for a couple of skinny lattes


We came back to our room, showered and ready for our time in Grand Turk. Earlier the Splendor was joined by the Carnival Magic in port, which made it very busy. We disembarked and took the short walk over. As you walk off the dock, you head into a large Duty Free shop, then as you exit out the other side there was a Ron Jon shop, Caribbean shops and the usual Jewellery shops like Diamond International and a small market, but the place that made the biggest impact was the huge Margaritaville, which had a small shop, several pools, a restaurant, many bars and a Flow Rider

The DJ was in full swing, and as the Splendor had arrived first in port, the majority of the guests that had snapped up the many loungers were from it. We had a good look around, then wandered onto the beach to take some photos, then even though it was only shortly after 10am we just had to have a couple of cocktails, a Piña Colada for me and a Bahama Mama for Paul. We had one more round then as the bar became very busy we decided to explore some more

Everyone was supposed to be back on board for 1.30pm, so as you can imagine around lunchtime people started to make their way back onboard for lunch, and we did too


It had been quite a cloudy day and as we were heading back there were spits of rain that got heavier as the afternoon went on


We finally left port just after 2pm as calls were put out over the tannoy for missing guests. Next we headed up to the Serenity Bar for a couple of Mimosas for me and Pirate Punches for Paul then it was time for a chillax back at our room for an hour


Later in the afternoon we wandered down to the restaurant to check out tonight's menu (which looked good), and we grabbed a cocktail each at El Mojito the Martini bar before heading back to our room to get ready for dinner


We got changed then went down to the Black Pearl restaurant. We were handed a pager and told our table would be ready in about 20 minutes so we went back to El Mojito for a Pomtini each


As we finished our drink the pager went off so we returned to the restaurant. We had the same server as the previous night and both thought here we go again but thankfully he was more with it tonight and we both had a really lovely meal. We both had spring rolls to start and lamb shank for our main, this was definitely my favourite meal so far this cruise

We enjoyed a couple of cocktails while Paul lost most of his previous nights winnings but tonight the smoke was giving me a sore throat so I left Paul to lose his last 10 dollars and I went to bed

Tomorrow - La Romana, Dominican Republic

 

[ukintheus]

It sound like another lovely, relaxing day. Nice to see a different port, and somewhere new to explore a bit. Sometimes those short stops at port can make it a much more relaxing day because you don't have time to plan anything special. It sounds like it was a really relaxing day for a port day. The smoke in the casino would bother me I think. We avoided it when we were on RCI and it was easy to do that, but not when you have someone trying to win their life savings with you!

 

[mandymouse]

Tuesday 16th May


I slept really well and woke around 8am. We had no plans for today as none of the excursions appealed to us and with the various reviews I had read about travelling on your own in taxis with their current crime climate we decided to just stay onboard


Paul started to stir just before 9, just as it was announced that the ship had been cleared for disembarking. We decided to go for a walk/jog first, and after struggling in the heat to do our couple of miles (it was already in the 30's), we then grabbed a couple of skinny lattes from the coffee bar before heading back to our room for a shower and to get ready for a few hours in the sun. It was surprising how many people had decided to stay onboard, but they mainly gathered near the Lido pool and the pool at the back of the ship. As the ship was a little quieter than normal, we decided to put some washing on then we sunbathed for half a hour, returned and put it in the drier, then had another half hour in the sun. Once it was finished and I'd put it away we went in search of some lunch


Once again it was a short stay in port today as everyone had to be back onboard for 3.30pm. We were happy with our decision to stay onboard, especially after overhearing a guest say that his excursion hadn't been the best, with the coach driver driving like a maniac, then them being dropped in town where they were continuously being hassled

We had a few drinks at the Serenity Bar and chatted to our girls back home on Whatsapp, then chilled in our room for an hour till it was time to get ready for dinner. We enjoyed a couple of Martinis at the El Mojito bar, then wandered down to the dining room. As it was a little later than previous nights, we were seated straight away. We had a different waiting team tonight, and they were on top form. I had cannelloni to start and Paul had soup, then we both had the rib eye beef, it was all very nice

Just for a change we stopped off at the Casino, then we went to the Red Carpet night club to finish the night off, but we didn't stay long as the music wasn't that great, so off to bed we went

Tomorrow - Aruba

 

[mandymouse]

Wednesday 17th May


I slept quite badly, and woke with a bit of a headache vowing not to drink at all today, hmm we'll see how long that lasts and as I lie here at 8.20am, I really do not fancy going for a run!!!


The ship felt very bumpy as we made our way to Aruba. We weren't meant to arrive till 2pm with all aboard at 11pm


So thankfully Paul was happy to forego his run this morning, so we got ready for a few hours in the sun and grabbed two skinny lattes on the way


It was very breezy on the open deck, which made sitting out very comfortable. Just before lunch we got showered then made our way to the Lido buffet where today we enjoyed Caribbean style food


Well my not drinking vow didn't last long as we cooled down with an Angry Orchard cider and Stella, and as we enjoyed our drinks, Aruba was fast approaching on the horizon


Once the ship was cleared, we let the majority get off while we took photos, then we disembarked too

It was a nice short walk into town and as we turned onto the main shopping street we saw a Hard Rock Cafe, sorted!! That's where we'll get a Hurricane or two and maybe share some appetisers later


We walked towards the marina and it looked like they were spending lots of money in the area to attract the tourists with big hotels, designer malls and other new buildings near the marina

We cooled off in one of the small malls and had a couple of lattes and Paul's favourite iced lemon loaf from Starbucks. We continued back along the main street, stopping in the little souvenir shops along the way, then made our way back to the Hard Rock when disaster struck (ok that may be a bit strong .. Let's say disappointment struck!!), the Hard Rock happened to be just the shop and the actual cafe wasn't within walking distance. Bummer!!


We got back onboard, and for the next few hours the ship remained very quiet. According to our Fun Times schedule the casino wouldn't be open till the ship had left port, then it was announced that the ship would remain in port an extra 2 hours. So Paul had the bright idea to have an early dinner then head back off the ship to try out the casino there


We were seated straight away and had a lovely dinner of flatbread for my starter, beef pasties for Paul and we both had Beef Wellington for our main. We both enjoyed it all

Just as we were about to leave, Paul just wanted to see what was going on in the Casino, when we noticed it was open. It was nice and quiet in there, and I even had a go. Unfortunately I was rubbish and didn't win a bean, but worse, Paul didn't either, so I went back to just watching him


We had a last drink in the lobby while watching Easy Breezy, then called it a night

Tomorrow - Curacao