Ctlee88

Thanks.

 

Couple questions:

 

Is the open observation deck aka "secret deck" is that on Panaorma Deck or the Lido Deck?

 

Did you ever feel people on the observation deck invaded your privacy? Was the balcony still private?

Secret deck is right around the corner on Panorama, and is next to the left side of your balcony. Balcony is completely private and covered, we were usually the only people on the observation deck anyway.

My husband and I stayed in 1008 this past may. Easy access to spa, very quiet, and the door to the "secret deck" is right around the corner. Was a little bit rocky in rough waters but nothing a little Bonine didn't fix. Would absolutely recommend!

I think for a shorter day it would've been worth it for my husband and I but for a 9 day cruise it was just not worth it. We felt like we had to drink to get our money worth. We saved money overall but we felt like we had to keep drinking to break even.

For splendor they are coed. Not sure about other ships but I'm assuming other cloud 9 facilities are the same. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong :)

My husband and I are in our mid-20's, and did an 8-night cruise on the Splendor recently. We are moderate to heavy drinkers and figured the Cheers program would be the best bet for us. We definitely saved money when all was done (about $400) but we decided we wouldn't do it again. It came to about $950 for both of us, but we felt like we were drinking all day to get our money's worth. We definitely would not have had as much had we not used Cheers, and probably would have come in under $950.

Mixed drinks that my husband usually drinks were around $6.50, so drinking about 9 was a lot. Additionally, even though tip was included we still felt guilty half the time putting "0" which meant we would tip $1 every other drink. When you're sitting at a bar for 35 minutes talking to the bartenders, it's hard to not tip even knowing that a 15% tip was already included in your Cheers price.

This is just our opinion. Again, we have no problem having 5-6 glasses of wine through dinner and gambling and shows but drinking all day every day to get our money's worth just didn't do it for us!

Happy cruising (and drinking!)

OP thanks for the great review. We will be sailing on 7/7/14 on the Splendor. I can't get enough information about her.

Glad you had a good time and thanks again for taking the time to share your experiences.

My parents and grandparents will be on that sailing..the booked the day after we got home! Ha! If you're looking for faster to the fun there are still 3 left as of Tuesday night!

Was smoking allowed on the right side of deck 10's secret deck/balcony area?

Well I don't know if it was technically allowed, but i smoked there occasionally (away from the rooms, even though our room was the first one there) there's a little bench right there. But no where to place your butts so bring them somewhere or a cup. It is an open area on the right side of deck ten so if one wanted to get technical....haha. I only did it once or twice, very very windy out there when moving at full speed ahead!

Forgot to mention this...there was a certain gentleman who smoked a cigarette of a different kind (if you smell what I'm stepping in) VERY often on that secret deck. We could smell it, and he would light it in the little foyer right before he went out because of the wind. Really didn't bother me but I could see it bothering others. Guess he was lucky we were the first balcony there..ha!

Ok thanks! So there are places to lay out on deck 10 or 11, even if the roof is retractable? This whole retractable roof is throwing me off! :p Luckily we are going in June so the air should be warm and the roof won't be retracted unless it rains??

 

it just seemed weird to see the jumbotron in an enclosed space! lol.

Decks 10 and 11 are open, there's a pretty small area of about 50 chairs around the pool on the Lido (deck 9) that's retractable.

DOWNY WRINKLE RELEASER!!!! I'm telling you, this stuff is a lifesaver. I used it on all my dresses and wrinkled shirts after I boarded. You spray, smooth the wrinkles and shake it a bit and let it hang...voila!! I had to go to a few stores to find it.

We will be in a spa cabin next month!! Where did you lay out in the sun on the ship? I haven't seen pictures of the ship without the retractable roof so when I first look at deck 10 overlooking Lido, it was enclosed!

The first day or two we laid on deck 10 - overlooking the lido. The lido area is small compared to the other areas to lay out. Deck 11 and 10 have large areS on both side of the ship to lay out. Always saw empty chairs. Keep in mind the right side of the ship decks 10,11 are smoking so if that bothers you keep it in mind (didn't bother me).

After that we only laid out in serenity. Not sure who the knuckleheads were who put the mini golf and the slide right above it but again, definitely not a deal breaker and much more quiet than anywhere else. The serenity chairs have pads which is really a nice touch. Also there's a bar on one side. It was easy to get to via stairs since it is located deck 12 forward, 2 floors above our spa cabin.

The chairs do fill up somewhat fast but my husband and I always managed to snag 2 at some point in one of the 4 areas, and no one was hogging any chairs.

I was on the cruise a week before OP and I loved it. I'm puzzled by the people who can't look past the decor. I notice it for a second and then forget about it. As long as I'm not in sensory hell, it's all good.

I felt the same way. The decor was definitely a bit much on the first day but after that I literally did not even notice it! Would never be a deal breaker for me.

Glad you had a Great Time!!! Do you have the copies of the Fun Times? If so can you post them for us? We will be sailing on June 9th - I can't wait to be back on the Splendor.

Sorry, we did not pack the fun times! I came down with a cold the last night so debarkation was a bit of a mess and we left everything in the room!

Hi everyone! Thought I would post a review on my trip since I hit a few of the categories with a lot of questions on here (Cheers, F2F and spa cabin).

Background: this was my first cruise, first time on a ship etc. Booked in October, and checked every week or so and the price never went down so it seemed like a good time to book. My husband had been on ships before but had never taken a cruise for pleasure. I did a lot of research using this forum. Frankly I was nervous based on the reviews, but we ended up loving it! For a frame of reference we are in our Mid-20s, and really were looking to relax (no lido parties for us!)

F2F: This is an absolute steal for $50! We were second in line in the priority line (After kind of just stumbling into the port with no where to go). And on the ship within 10 minutes of the start of boarding. Use for guest services was wonderful, as there was never a line for the priority, and I have to say it was worth the $50 in itself for debarkation. So incredibly fast for the self assist and we were in the car and picked up before the crowds.

Cheers: my husband and I consider ourselves to be moderate to heavy drinkers, but for us Cheers wasn't the best match. When priced, we saved $400 but that was only because we felt like we had to drink to get our money worth. I like to drink but I really felt like I was just drinking because of the program.

Cloud 9 Spa Balcony: we were in room 1007 which was the forward most balcony (also next to the open deck 10 area which was so nice!) the room was well appointed, I didn't care for the decor too much but so what? The balcony was nice and private. The location was incredible, so close to all the areas we frequented most, especially where we would lay in the sun. The spa was wonderful, we went everyday. Definitely a great perk! We also did the couples mud room because it was discounted by being in a spa room. It was supposed to be $99 but we did it on the last day and it was only $55. Would've been worth $150. A must do for couples.

Dining: nothing but good reviews for the food. We ate at the Mongolion Wok after we got on the ship, but we really weren't impressed and didn't try it again for the remainder of the trip.the pizza was mediocre (we live near New Haven, the pizza Mecca Of the world). Didn't eat at the buffet. Tandoor was AWESOME. We ate there at most lunches. Did the sea day brunch two times, both delicious. Any time dining was great, we never waited for a table more than 5 minutes. Only meal that was so-so was the burger. They said regulations made it so they couldn't cook it anything less than well done, and since I like it close to rare it was not good. Everything else was tasty! Steakhouse was incredible.

Fellow passengers: very diverse mix, but did not see any poor behavior. I'm a grumpy person when it comes to rude behavior and I honestly didn't see anything less than stellar! Very happy about that.

Casino: I'm a giant casino fan, as is my husband. We won about $1000 over the week which was nice. I got the "drinks on us" card on Wednesday which really was pointless because I had cheers. Oh well!

San Juan: rainy, I was seasick overnight because I stupidly decided to let up on my Bonine. Didn't plan on doing anything there anyway, but we got off and walked around for about 40 minutes.

St. Thomas: another rainy morning. We got in at 7am and waited for the rain to stop before we got off, went downtown to the shops, stopped for a beer, and went back.

Grand Turk: a beautiful day! We went to Jacks Shack, and it was $10 for an umbrella and the chairs were free. We spent a great day relaxing, watching the cute Labradoodle Topher dig and swim, and enjoying some local beers away from the craziness of Margaritaville. Our favorite day by far.

We really had a great time and enjoyed our time immensely. Would absolutely go on another one out of NY in May. It was warm enough, and when we came back everything was in bloom.

If you have any questions let me know!

We just returned from a trip in a spa room. You also get a discount for the couples mud room (which is DIY). It's $95 if you are in a spa room, normally upwards of $170. Hold off on booking any treatments as they get progressively cheaper. Our mud room was $55 and we did it the last day of the cruise. Definitely worth that price, we were expecting the $95 and then got the receipt and were pleasantly surprised.

I have also been hit in the face (or in my drink :mad:) with a wind tunnel of sunscreen which is another reason I was asking :) thanks for the replies!

This may seem silly, but my husband and I tend to use the spray kinds of sunscreen. Is this possible on board or is it too windy where you don't get good coverage? Thanks in advance!

I wouldn't chance this in my wildest dreams, probably not even if it was in the same port. Call them immediately!

I can't speak for the timing regarding ships time but I hope it works out for you, we did Jolly Pirates on our last trip to Aruba and loved it more than any other snorkel tour we've done there!

What were some of the issues they need to work out? Planning to spend a lot of time in the spa on Splendor in May and would love to know what you thought the problems were. Thanks!!!

Thanks everyone! I appreciate it!

I'm going on a cruise in May, and has a few questions about the different ports. Can you go back to the ship any time you want once you get off, or do you have to wait for a specific time. We don't plan on doing many formal excursions and plan on going to the beaches at the ports, but would like to know if we would have the freedom to return to the ship when we want. Thanks!!