If You're Lucky You Get What You Pay For...THIS TIME You Get So Much More!!!

After days of searching, I finally stumbled upon a website that has some GREAT pictures of the fabulous new Carnival SPLENDOR...our beautiful, new vacation home for the week of November 21st through November 29th 2008! So join me if you will for a picturesque tour and see exactly what a well-spent $650 to $940 dollars can purchase ;)

Let's start our tour by dropping in to the place where much of the fun happens on any cruise ship, THE LIDO DECK. It is on the LIDO DECK that many of the planned activities aboard ship take place. It is a great place to meet other passengers, hang out either in the pool or if you're very cute and wear that swim suit well, you can simply lay around and DECORATE the side of the pool with your beautiful self!

THE LIDO DECK ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

THE LIDO DECK POOL ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

If by some chance you are just not a pool person, you can still enjoy spending time on THE LIDO DECK on the Spectacular Carnival SPLENDOR because there are still things for you to do here as Carnival took the time to place a (are you ready for this?!) POOLSIDE MOVIE SCREEN on the deck where they will show first run movies that are still in theaters!

POOLSIDE MOVIE SCREEN ON THE LIDO DECK OF THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

Also, being the great host that the cruise line has come to be known as, Carnival made sure to place not one but TWO poolside bars on the LIDO DECK so whether you are in the pool, using your beautiful self to decorate the side of the pool, or taking in a movie beside the pool, refreshments will never be further than a waiter or a hop, skip, or a jump away!

POOLSIDE BAR ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

Okay, let's move now to one of the things Carnival is most well known for: EATING! If you don't already know about the vast amounts of GOOD FOOD available to you on a Carnival Cruise you'd better ask some body! Believe me when I say you can GET YOUR EAT ON 24 hours a day for the duration of the trip if that is what you wish to do, and to make it even better, (with the exception of the reservations only supper club called Pinnacle) all this eating is INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF THE CRUISE!!!

So let's see some of the places you can indulge your apetite.

The LIDO DECK RESTAURANT is a great place for casual dining and some parts of it are open around the clock. The Lido Deck Restaurant has a great buffet style of dining that has more varieties of foods than I can begin to tell you about here. Most cruisers tend to eat breakfast and lunch here and dinner in the dining rooms which I will tell you about a bit later, but the important thing to remember is that it is YOUR CHOICE.

LIDO DECK RESTAURANT SELF SERVICE LINES

There is a ton of seating that will accommodate couples, families, and even groups as large as the one we will be traveling with. Also on the LIDO DECK is a 24 hour pizzeria, a deli, and a grill which provide other options for getting your eat on!

SEATING N THE AMAZING LIDO DECK RESTAURANT

Another dining option for cruisers is to eat in what are known as the formal dining rooms. On the Spectacular Carnival SPLENDOR, there are two dining rooms. They are known as The Black Pearl Restaurant and The Gold Pearl Restaurant. Our group will be assigned seating in one or the other once our final payments have been made and our tickets are processed. What this means is that we will have a standing reservation for dinner in our assigned dining room each evening of the cruise at the same time (I requested the late seating which means if it is available we will have reservations at either 8pm or 8:30pm depending on the dining room to which we are assigned). We will be seated together or minimally at tables that are close to each other and will have the same waiters serving our meals every night of the cruise.

Keep in mind that this reservation will be available to each of us every night of the cruise. However, you DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE DINNER IN THE DINING ROOM IF YOU DON'T WANT TO. It is completely up to you and you do not need to cancel your reservation if you choose to eat elsewhere instead. The option is simply available to you if you choose to use it.

A few points to know about eating in the dining rooms:

• There is a dress code that dictates nice casual attire -- this means no cut-off shorts, tank tops for men, etc.
• Meals are ordered from a menu and served by waiters.
• You may order whatever you want...if you want to try each entree, you may order and WILL be served one of each or whatever you order.
• You may order seconds of anything you enjoy.
• Two nights during the cruise the dining room dress code will be CRUISE ELEGANT only. On these two nights, men are required to wear slacks, shirts with collars, and a jacket. Women must wear nice clothes (i.e. dress slacks, suits, or dresses). In the past these were the formal nights on the ship and Carnival still encourages formal dress on these nights though it is NO LONGER REQUIRED.

So, with that said, here are pictures of THE GOLD PEARL RESTAURANT...I was unable to find pictures of THE BLACK PEARL at the time this was written.

THE GOLD PEARL RESTAURANT ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

Here's an example of what you can expect when you walk into dinner in either of The Pearls.

A PLACE SETTING IN THE GOLD PEARL RESTAURANT ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

DINNER ANYONE?!

The last dining option I wanted to share is for those of you who may be more adventurous with their food or who may be interested in trying something new. The spectacular SPLENDOR has its very own sushi bar where you can indulge your palate in the delicacy of RAW SEAFOOD. Me, I'll pass on this one, but for the more adventurous palates among us (ANGIE, this means you ;) have at it!

THE SUSHI BAR ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

Okay, that's enough about food. Let's move on to the kids and what SPLENDOR has to offer her younger guests. As those who have cruised with kids before probably already know, Carnival offers a great kids camp which provides kids with all the amenities they need to have a great vacation of their own. The Carnival Kids Camp is set up to provide kids with specific services based on their ages. Youth activities onboard the SPLENDOR are divided into three groups:

• Camp Carnival for kids 2 to 11 years old
• Circle C for kids 12 to 14
• Club O2 for 15 to 17 year olds

Each of these camps provides activities, facilities, and even group excursions that are age appropriate for the kids to whom they cater.

For the Camp Carnival kids, the Water Park was conceived.

CAMP CARNVIAL WATER PARK ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

POOL SLIDE ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

For the Circle C Camp participants, Carnival has created their very own facility which is equipped with video games including Wii.

CIRCLE C CAMP LOGO ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

For those young adults who fall in the 15-17 year old age group, Carnival has created Club O2 and basically given this lucky group their own facility where they have plenty of room to breathe. With their own facility and dance club, this group can have a great vacation where they can party without interference from parents.

THE BAR AT CLUB O2 ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

That's the stuff that Carnival has available for kids, now let's see what there is for adults to do! Well, there are hot tubs which are reserved for adults only.

ADULTS ONLY HOT TUB ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

Then there are the many bars where adults can congregate for a good time. Let's take a quick run through some of the bars that are onboard this amazing ship.

THE WINE BAR WHICH SERVES WINE, MOJITOS, AND MARGARITAS ONLY

THE PIANO BAR WHICH HAS LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

THE BAR IN THE MORROCCO LOUNGE

THE MORROCCO LOUNGE ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

Let's not forget about THE ROYAL FLUSH CASINO where any one of us has the potential to win back all of the funds we laid out to get on this fantastic floating vacation.

After you've taken all the casino's money off its hands, you can still go dance the night away in the Red Carpet Club which is exclusively the party place of adults every night after 10pm. When you get to the Red Carpet, you will find "The Beautiful People" waiting on line to get in as YOU the celebrity onboard sail right on through to the flash of the paparazzi's cameras!

THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE WAITING ONLINE AT THE RED CARPET CLUB ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

THE DANCE FLOOR IN THE RED DOOR CLUB ON THE SPECTACULAR CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

SEATING INSIDE THE RED DOOR CLUB

The last thing I'll showcase in this post, is the theater where all of the wonderful shows we will see will take place. The theater on the Spectacular Carnival SPLENDOR is called THE SPECTACULAR SPECTACULAR and it is here that we will discover yet again what a great bargain this vacation is as we attend Vegas style shows for no extra cost!

THE SPECTACULAR SPECTACULAR THEATER ABOARD THE CARNIVAL SPLENDOR

So there you have it fellow cruisers, the inside story as to why the Carnival SPLENDOR represents so much more than what you've paid for! As you can surely see from these pictures, we are in for the time of our lives and I don't know about you, but I can barely wait!!!

Oh, before I go one more thing...For those of you who are still feeling a bit of trepidation about being in all that water or who have seen TITANIC one time too many a little reassurance...

So don't worry, there is an extra seat for everybody JUST IN CASE ;)