Carnival Splendor Journeys Review: Day 3 – Sea Dayfeatured

When we woke up on our first sea day, the sun was perched high and the seas were smooth. We couldn’t ask for anything more.

Sea days for us mean a day of laying out in the sun, of catching up on reading, of really doing nothing consequential at all.

They are the most relaxing of days.

We took our time, languidly getting ready and grabbing a cup of coffee (and maybe a chocolate milk) up at the Lido Marketplace before heading aft to the adults only pool. We were still working through how we felt about the Splendor, but the adults only aft pool was a clear tick in the pro column.

I laid out with a few magazines, Mom sat out with her Outlander books and Stephanie swam. Hours passed and the only mark we had of it was the folded page corners and the pink splotches forming on our skin where we hadn’t properly applied sunscreen.

By noon, we were done with the pool and headed back to the room to drop off our gear. Without the 2.0 upgrades, the Splendor’s offerings, while numerous, weren’t entirely exciting, so instead of a quick lunch upstairs, we opted for a proper brunch in the dining room instead. Sea Day Brunch is one of the Carnival things I enjoy the most. The menu is diverse (…even if I order the same thing just about every time) and it’s a nice, relaxed meal. We ordered our standards – a lox platter for Mom, mac and cheese for Stephanie and steak and eggs for me – and we talked about what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. And the next day. May as well knock out two birds with one stone, right?

Popover

Bagel Breakfast

Flamin’ Tomatoes Soup

Steak-n-Eggs

Mac n’ Cheese

Double Chocolate Brownie

We stopped in the shops to look around after brunch. The Splendor offered the standard shops – a fine jewelry shop that also housed fragrance and cosmetics, another shop with standard souvenirs, sundries, alcohol and tobacco and a third shop, the old Formalities shop (the one that has been replaced by Cherry on Top on most Carnival ships) offering flowers, candy and gifts for special occasions.

There were plenty of entertainment options for the afternoon. Cruise Director MarQ and the Fun Squad certainly kept a full schedule. With our first formal night planned for the evening, we opted to take it easy, alternating taking showers and sitting out on the balcony, so we all had enough time to get ready (you can cue up the how-long-does-it-take-three-ladies-to-get-ready-for-dinner jokes here). The smooth seas we had earlier in the day gave way to some light motion later on, so Mom and Stephanie stayed in the room to rest for the evening and I went off to my first Academy of Fun seminar.

On the Carnival Journeys voyages, Carnival offers something called the Academy of Fun, a series of lectures from guest speakers and experts on a variety of topics. Today’s seminars included one on art and the one I was attending – Social Media 101. I’m a fairly avid social media user and content generator, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from the class, but it was something new and different to try and, at the very least, I’d get a new pin out of it. And the class was interesting, certainly geared more towards an older generation interacting with social media, but the lecturer raised some poignant questions that got me thinking about the role of social media in my own life and how I interact with the different apps and platforms.

Back in the room, Mom and Stephanie had (mostly) finished getting themselves ready for formal night, and I found them on the couch, watching Frozen on TV. I took longer than I probably should have, missing the sunset while I was trying to masterfully put on fake eyelashes while the ship rolled beneath me (read: it took three tries). Stephanie captured the sunset for me, though, and we headed down to the atrium in our formal night best for the Hanukkah service. Carnival offers some really nice services for both Christmas and Hanukkah and we really appreciate the thoughtfulness put into making sure people of all faiths have a place to celebrate during the holiday season.

After the menorah was lit, we had a short walk and no wait to get a table for dinner, requesting the same dining team as the evening before. Our server, Alex, was so jovial and funny and he welcomed us back and was tickled that we had asked to be seated in his area (so much so, that he insisted on extra lobster for Mom!).

American Feast

Italian Wedding Soup

Baby Spinach Salad

Tart with Braised Kale, Blackened Pork Tenderloin

Slow Cooked Prime Rib

Broiled Maine Lobster Tail

Spaghetti Carbonara

Root Vegetables in a Pie Crust

Carnival Melting Chocolate Cake

Vanilla Creme Brûlée

It was during dinner that we read about the horrible tragedy in Costa Maya, where a bus carrying cruise ship passengers overturned on the highway en route to Chacchoben, killing at least 11 and injuring at least double that. It hit too close to home for us, one, in that we’d done that exact excursion (the last time we were in Costa Maya, as a matter of fact) and two, in just the fact that we were on a cruise, too, planning excursions for other ports. I couldn’t help but imagine the steps those people went through, planning their time in port, getting ready in the morning, not knowing they’d never make it back to their rooms. These are the things we know can happen, but never think they can happen to us. Stephanie, Mom and I were just so sad to read about the tragedy. It’s terrible at any time of year, but right before the holidays, it just seemed unbearable.

Dinner went long when we promised Alex we’d stay for show time in the dining room, so we missed the Captain’s Toast, but we had over an hour until the Playlist Production of Studio VIP, so we ended up in the promenade to enjoy some of the live music that was playing. Our fellow cruisers seemed more dressed up than usual on this particular formal night. I don’t know if it was because we were on a longer cruise or because it was the holidays or maybe just a coincidence, but we saw many women in full length gowns and more than a couple men in tuxes.

Studio VIP was the second Playlist show on the Splendor. We’ve seen it a handful of times. It’s a high energy tribute to the disco era, good enough for some sing along fun. It’s not my favorite show, but it’s always a good time.

We went from the Playlist show up to the Lido deck to catch the late Dive In Move – Hidden Figures. Mom loves this movie and always prods Stephanie and I to watch it, and I’m much more amenable to watching movies that Mom recommends when it’s under the stars on a warm breezy night. And, to her credit, Hidden Figures is an excellent movie. Much better than the movie we skipped in favor of Studio VIP (La La Land – I love me some Gosling and Stone, but, spoiler alert, generally dislike movies that don’t have happy endings).

When the movie let out, we made a quick stop at the late night grill for a snack and headed back to the room, where I promptly took a nap. At midnight. I woke up at 1:30 in the morning still in my clothes and stayed up to journal for a bit because I had nothing to go to bed or wake up early for: ahead of us was another sea day, and I had no more plans than I did today.