March 14, 2025 – Cabo Frio, Brazil – Partly Cloudy – 85F

Port Information.  Cabo Frio is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Cabo Frio (“Cold Cape”) got its name because due to it's geographical location, the water in the cape is colder than the surrounding areas.  It is made up of islands, beaches, and a central city.  The latest population data indicates that Cabo Frio is home to approximately 230,000 people.  The oldest part of the city has buildings that date back to the 18th Century.  The area cannot accommodate cruise ships. It’s a tender port and we plan on catching a ride in when the excursion people are gone.

I also got some specifications on the RSSC Splendor.

As Andy told me, it's a big ship for the passenger capacity.  It's just that much more comfortable.

The room was relatively quiet so I did sleep a little.

I was up in La Veranda when it opened.  I was told by one of the suits (on this ship, the suits are in sea foam green in the morning and lunch and then in black in the evening) that the ship has no cottage cheese and I could tell that the sour cream they brought me was Greek Yoghurt.  There must be sour cream available (for the baked potatoes) but it is too much of a hassle to get (and it could still not be sour cream).  So, for the first time in my cruising career, there will be no “classic cruise breakfast”.  I should mention that the pancakes made to order are delicious along with the preserves in those cute little bottles.  And again, scrambled eggs are great as are the fried eggs made to order. So, plenty of breakfast options.

Table 62 on the Veranda seems to be a good option.  Good views and quiet.

Around 10 AM, we went down to the tender pontoon, which is down a flight of stairs from Deck 4 The seas were calm so the jump on to the tender was not an issue – there weren’t a lot of passengers going ashore this run. 

It is not a very long ride to the tender berth (did get a nice picture of Splendor and Ellen on the tender)

but the route is scenic

 including a "luxury resort hotel"– Hotel Residencial Portoveleiro (where you can rent a studio for $75 including breakfast).

Cabo Frio is composed of several islands some with more beach than others.  We were told that there are quite a lot of shops just a short walk from the pier – however, we spoke to some people who had just completed that walk and it was longer than indicated – maybe 40 minutes or more – and there was not that much to see.

We decided to walk inland a few blocks to see what the place looked like. Some newer condos or apartments were basically what the shore adjacent neighborhoods was made up of.  Not too many shops in the direction we were going – we did see a restaurant or two.  We came back to the tender pier by walking on a road parallel to the water. 

We found some shade near the tender pier and watched several small boats go out filled with locals – some of the boats seemed to be handling more passengers than they should (they were pretty low in the water).  There were several tour vendors launching small boats into the water but there were also a steady stream of people ready to hop on. 

It was getting warmer and we were being surrounded by locals so we headed to the tender port and then to the ship.

We had lunch out by the Pool Grill – there is a covered area with large windows and comfortable seats just a few steps from the buffet area.  I had an Impossible Burger, which is larger than the commercial burger I usually have.  It arrived a little overdone and the bun (more like a brioche) was huge – there was a lot of a white sauce I didn’t like so I scraped it off.  It was OK but I was expecting something different.

There is not a lot to do in the afternoons – all of the shaded lounges in the pool area are taken early in the morning and occupied all day long.  

For dessert today, we went to the very inviting, Coffee Connection on Deck 5 Midships.  The staff there is very friendly and the service and coffees are really good.  I had my signature Mocha (not decaf since it was early in the afternoon) and it was perfect.  Served with a smile by Joy.

We went to the Observation Lounge – Deck 11 Forward.  The bar doesn’t open until later in the afternoon and there is no food there but the view is good and there is a lot of seating.

Before heading out to dinner, we wanted to find the self-serve Launderette on our floor (we had seen the sign for it).  It is in the adjacent hallway but there is a door pass that connects the two hallways so the Launderette is just a few feet from out suite.  It is fully equipped with new washers and dryers - instructions are in symbols but we will figure it out.

We had dinner in Compass Rose.  We asked for #115.  The dinner does not take as long as it does on some ships.  The service is efficient and the two servers per table keep things moving. Tonight, I had the San Marzano Tomato Soup (always hot and good) along with Pasta Pesto (also good but could use some more sauce).  Ellen had the Dover Sole, which comes as a whole fish and is deboned at the table. Ellen had sauteed mushrooms and a side of pasta pesto with her fish. The coffee and tea comes quickly and is hot. We both had apple pie a la mode for dessert.

Tonight’s Show was “Divos and Divas” , a musical review.

  

Andy said that this show was created for RSSC so no photos due to copyright.  Featured artists: Barry Manilow (“Copacabana”), Whitney Houston (“Somebody to Love”), Barbra Streisand (“There’s a Place for Us”), Bruno Mars, Queen (“Bohemian Rhapsody”), Dolly Parton (“9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You”.  It was a good show. 

The show ended about 10:30 PM so back to the suite to settle down.  We are going to be on a totally new schedule on this ship.