rimom71

I have spent hours in the thermal suites on both Breakaway and Getaway and have never noticed any sort of policy that would prohibit you from bringing in a drink of your own, especially using a plastic tumbler. They offer beverages in there (teas and fruited waters) so people are often drinking something. As long as your container in unbreakable I can't imagine that anyone would notice or mind. Enjoy! :)

Did you try the salt room? I can't remember if you mentioned that or not

Jumping in to say that we spent a great deal of time in the Thermal Suite on our Breakaway cruise and the salt room was...puzzling. It's a comparatively chilly room with large crystals of salt in the center of the floor and on the ceiling. We kept trying it because of its putative therapeutic properties but honestly experienced nothing other than a sense that this all had to be a joke and was there perhaps a hidden camera in here filming all the gullible folks...?

We had a very humorous experience with another couple in there, all sitting around meditatively and trying to take it seriously until the other husband finally broke and said, "Now what exactly are we doing in here?!", at which point we all cracked up and agreed it was super-gimmicky.

In short, the thermal suite is amazing, but don't do it for the salt room.

You are a terrific writer, love your style! Your recounting of the stairs "race" made me lol.

We're on the Getaway on 7/4 in a spa cabin and can't wait for that thermal suite. Ahhhh. Adored it on Breakaway.

Will make sure we hit the Flamingo Grill!

So glad your inaugural voyage has been a success! :)

Thinking about the Carnival Pride cruise leaving Baltimore on April 19, 2015. How early a flight from BWI do you think it's safe to book on the Sunday we arrive back in Baltimore? Thanks!

Spectacular! What a fascinating look "back stage". Ben has ensured that Ocean Blue will host our anniversary dinner on Getaway next July!:D

Wonderful review! Just booked Oasis this morning for November 2015....so long to wait, but so excited to sail this gorgeous ship. Thanks so much for sharing your trip!:D

Loving your review! Already excited for our turn on Dream in April!

Terrific review, Brianna! Will be waiting excitedly for the one following your Dream cruise so we can see what's in store for us come next April!

Yikes! What an eventful last morning! So my question is...have you booked the next one yet?:p

What a marvelous and helpful review! We are less than an hour drive from Boston and have considered sailing on Dawn, but keep getting drawn to the newer ships. Your review has put her back on my radar however!

It looks like you all had a wonderful time. We travel with our 8 year old son and have found cruising to be the ideal family vacation; plenty of activities to interest each of us and ample opportunities for "adult time" as well! :)

Submitted one this morning for our 4/19/15 cruise on Dream. Put "Fare Viewer" in the field that asks where you saw the rate. Did not link to website or a screen shot. Change was approved in mere minutes, bam, 20 dollars off remaining balance! Couldn't be easier.

What a well-written review...a pleasure to read! Thanks for sharing your experience.:)

We most recently used Camp Carnival on our 8/3 sailing on Freedom. When completing our boarding info, I filled out the info online that you are describing. I believe that you only had to print out the form if your child has some type of allergy, medical concerns, or other special needs. We did not print anything and were good to go with just the online registration.

On boarding day Camp Carnival ( well, it's Camp Ocean now on Freedom) was open for tours and registration but not for drop-offs. There is a family orientation the first evening during which you can also complete registration, be introduced to the staff, and hear about the programming. We attended this on Splendor but found it pretty useless, so skipped it on Freedom. Camp was open for drop off beginning the first full day and starting at 10am. In our experience the first day drop off can be somewhat chaotic as they don't seem to have separate lines for those who have pre registered...but getting there about 10 minutes early at least put us near the front of the melee. 😀

Make sure that you have your Sign &Sail cards for you and the kids when doing pick up and drop off... They will not take them nor release them without seeing the cards. Unless the kids are age 9 or older, at which point they may sign themselves in and out of Camp.

Our son is 8 1/2 and loved Camp Carnival on both Splendor and Freedom. In fact he enjoyed the kids program on Carnival far more than ones on Celebrity, NCL, or Princess. There will be a weekly schedule for each age group that you can pick up on the first day of your cruise that will show what activities are happening for the kids throughout the trip. Camp usually opens at 10am and closes from 1-2 on Sea days, reopens until 5, closes from 5-6, reopens for kids dinner at the buffet for 6, then back to the club until 945pm. Late night has a charge and goes from 10 until 1am. On port days kids may stay at the club while their parents are ashore and they will be given lunch if they are there during that time.

Activities vary by age but include video games, movies, crafts, board games, physical activities (ie gaga ball, basketball), dance parties, etc. My son really enjoys going to Kids Dinner at 6pm, then spending the evening at the club. If he doesn't happen to be interested in a particular activity he will hang with us and swim, play mini golf, hit the arcade, or go to karaoke. He also got a big kick out of the family friendly comedians whose shows were offered at 8 pm and 9 pm. He has enjoyed some of the theater productions as well, particularly if they involve something like juggling or magic....

I do suggest doing the Camp Carnival preregistration for each of your kids while you are completing your check-in paperwork online; it's a nice time saver on the first cruise morning when the kids are ready to hit the club!

We think cruises are the ideal family vacations. Hope you have a wonderful time!

None on Freedom as of the 8/3 sailing. Unfortunately, as my husband sure would have enjoyed it.

We were on the same sailing and had a ball! Great ship and fantastic crew. Enjoying reliving it through your review! :)

Thanks for the review! Glad you had a great trip. We board next Sunday...whoo-hoo!! :)

So, I've now sailed on Princess, Celebrity, NCL, and Carnival and experienced their various methods of doing the muster drill. I found the one on my Carnival Splendor cruise this past April to be by far the most painful...forcing everyone to pack in like sardines and remain standing, repeatedly demanding quiet and threatening to "not start until there's silence" (what is this, the high school cafeteria?), then walking through the crowd with those ridiculous clickers to get head-counts (uh-huh, I'm SURE that's completely accurate).

Yes, obviously, muster drill is important. If there's an emergency, I want to know where I'm supposed to go and what happens when I get there. I understand that they want people's attention so that everyone can get the information. But is it really necessary to do it in this way? We were fortunate in April that it was cool standing on the deck. I was reminded while reading "Ben the Bendy Man"'s review of his recent cruise how difficult an experience it was and how fortunate we were that it wasn't 90 degrees outside while we were enduring it!

Now I ask my more experienced CCL cruisers...do all the Carnival ships do muster like this, or is it unique to the Splendor? We're heading out on Freedom next Sunday and wondering that experience will be like.

This is also a plea for Carnival to start using the scanners for Sign and Sail cards to get an accurate headcount. I'm sure it would be a time saver and actually enhance safety. Princess has the technology; I'd bet they'd share. ;)

Yay for Ben! I've enjoyed your NCL reviews and was really pleased to see one here on Carnival! We had a great cruise on Splendor this past April and am looking forward to revisiting from Ben's point of view. More please! 😁

Great start! Sailing on the Dream out of NOLA next April and love seeing the pics and reviews. Looking forward to the spa section!

And also don't really understand Carnival's fascination with the burnt orange cabin decor--I have a theory that it's a cost-cutting measure because those colors are always on deep discount from the manufacturer....:D

Fellow RI cruiser here! We sailed Splendor out of NYC over the April break and had a really good time. Were so disappointed that won't be an option next year, and the prices for airfare to Florida are insane that week! Nice to hear that Galveston is an option; I wouldn't have even thought about that. Magic sounds like a terrific ship, and that you had a great time! Enjoyed your review!

We were on Splendor for Easter week and also had a great time. So glad you enjoyed your cruise! Thanks for sharing!

Just off the Splendor yesterday and had a wonderful cruise. We have previously sailed on Princess, X, and NCL. There were lots of kids and families as it was spring break in New England. Had FTTF and it was worth every penny! Flawless embarkation and instant cabin access. Liked the Rotisserie (look for it upstairs from the main buffet area) and Tandoor, the aft adult pool, the Cool Club cigar bar, the covered Lido pool for cool or rainy days, comfortable beds, huge ocean view cabin with ample storage and well-designed bathroom, good food (super Caesar salad), and terrific kids club (my son's favorite by far among four cruises). Disliked the tacky decor (laughably bad but honestly we don't sail for how the ships look), unappealing spa area (we decided against the weekly pass after touring the area as it was very broken-up in space and had no good lounging area...but NCL Breakaway is a tough act to follow in this regard), painfully slow dining in the Anytime dining room regardless of what time we went, and the gauntlet of photographer stations along the main thoroughfare on deck five. The ship is a bit challenging to navigate because several of the decks don't go through from forward to aft, but we figured it out.

Things we were afraid we might have to deal with after reading CC but thankfully didn't: hordes of obnoxious drunks, packs of wild children, constant announcements on the PA, horrifically loud music by the pools, dreadful food.

Splendor is an enjoyable, clean, fun ship with easygoing, friendly passengers and crew. The food is fine, the atmosphere is pretty casual and decidedly un-stuffy, and the cabins comfortable and spacious. We would absolutely sail her (and Carnival) again. Have a great cruise!

Just back from the BA yesterday, and thought I'd share some thoughts. I've so enjoyed reading everyone's reviews as I prepared for my cruise!

Who we are: Early-40s married couple with an 8 year old son. We are pretty well traveled, and appreciate quality in food and service. We are recently hooked on cruising, and this was our third since last December. We have also sailed on Ruby Princess and Celebrity Summit. We had the misfortune of being among the cruisers who were bilked by the travel agent who became infamous on this forum over the past couple of months, so we were extremely happy to be able to take this trip despite all the turmoil!

Cabin: 10806, midship minisuite. We found this to be a fantastic cabin in terms of proximity to the forward elevators, and quiet due to its location between two floors of staterooms. Sure, the balcony was small, but it was large enough to sit on and enjoy the views. Décor is very attractive, and the cabin was spotless. It was quite spacious, and though the bed was near the closet, we had no difficulty accessing the closet. There is probably about 18 inches of space between bed and closet, which is plenty for pulling out or putting away clothes…no need to have a dance party there. Storage was more than ample, between large closet shelves, hangers, open nightstands, drawers beneath the sofa, and cabinets under the desk. The bathroom was pleasantly roomy, and the double sink arrangement is perfect for a family. We had no trouble fitting all of us in there at once to brush teeth, shower, etc, and we are not particularly small folks! No, there is no bar soap or hair conditioner, so if that’s important to you, bring it along. It was also helpful to bring a power squid for all our various electronics chargers (two US outlets above the desk) and a “dummy card” for the slot by the door to keep the power and a/c on even when we left the room. Being able to check our account, make reservations, see what’s happening around the ship, etc, from the TV was a super-useful feature as well.

Embarkation at Port of NYC: A disorganized mess. Our bus from Rhode Island arrived at 10:30am and we sat, waiting for a parking space to open up to unload us, for over 45 minutes. The terminal was a mass of confusion, lines going every which way, nobody giving directions, no clear signage…just a royal pain in the butt. We were boarding number 32, and we were on board by about 12:30pm. Is it a deal-breaker? Of course not, just be prepared to be patient.

Dining: My best-laid plans had us avoiding the siren song of the specialty restaurants for all but one or two special dinners. Well…suffice it to say, we wound up eating at specialties five times. We experienced Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, La Cucina, and Moderno (twice). With the exception of La Cucina, they were outstanding (and even La Cucina was certainly not bad, it just didn’t “wow” us). The adults in our party eat a lower-carb diet, so it was with some trepidation that we faced the menus. Our worries were for naught—there were plenty of excellent meat dishes, and servers were happy to accommodate our requests for extra veggies instead of starches, large portions of salad, burgers without buns, etc. Our favorites were Le Bistro and Moderno, well worth the upcharge, imo. Servers were pleasant and attentive. We had dinner at Savor one night, which was very good as well. We happened to chat with one of the chefs after the meal, who asked how we had enjoyed it. He commented that they had just this week “gone up two grades in the beef, to the middle of choice” quality, and was happy that our steaks were cooked to the proper temperature. When I joked “and we’re picky!”, he laughed and responded “I like picky!”. My sense was that they are truly making an effort to raise the quality and perception of the food, and are coming along nicely. We ate lunch in either Taste or Savor several days, and there was no variation in the lunch menu, but it was very tasty and well-prepared, even the much-maligned lunch steak. Nicely seasoned, nicely cooked.

We visited the buffet on multiple occasions, and it was fine. The layout is a bit tricky, because it’s more of a cafeteria feel than individual food stations. It’s a good idea to scope out the whole thing first, and plan your strategy accordingly! You may find that they have multiple stations serving the same type items if you just walk to the rear of the room, past the crowds. Seafood night was hilarious…people were nearly coming to blows over their places in line for a couple of measly lobster-tail halves. It was just not worth the madness.

O’Sheehans was our venue of choice for almost every breakfast, because we could get custom omelettes without having to wait in the buffet line behind people ordering three at a time….It was quick and tasty. The coffee is pretty awful, but there is a wonderful selection of teas, and juices are complimentary at breakfast as well.

Spa/Thermal Suite: DH and I sprung for the spa pass for the week, and we were so thrilled to have done so. What an oasis of calm and tranquility! We never once had to jockey for seating, and found people to be very considerate about taking their things with them when they were leaving. The T-pool was divine, as were the seated loungers. We happened to be in there when we were docking in Port Canaveral, and we had the best seat in the house. Yes, it’s pricey, but if you’re going to make a point to use it, go for it!

Kids Programming: My son is eight, and a laid back, easy kid. He was somewhat disappointed with the programming at the kids club, finding it a bit too rough and tumble for his tastes. Most of the evening activities centered around very active, PE-type games which just aren’t his cup of tea. Perhaps because there were so few children on board (only 400, ranging from infants through 18 yrs), there was no variety of activities offered within each age group. We received a schedule upon registration, but found that they stuck to it very loosely, and my son wound up skipping the club altogether for the last couple of days at sea. That being said…there is PLENTY to do aboard Breakaway, so nobody was ever bored.

Activities: You name it, they’ve got it, from origami to the ropes course. If you can’t find something to do on this ship you’re just not trying. The casino is a little smoky, but I didn’t feel that it pervaded the entire atrium at all. The pools are heated salt-water, and there were people in them by the first morning. There were tons of loungers available every time I walked past the pool. My son and husband had a ball on the water slides. Interestingly, the dark pink slide (twin to the yellow) was out of service because it had started to separate at the joints and was bruising the backs of sliders. Not sure how it’s going to hold up long term if that’s already an issue.

Entertainment: We saw performances of both “Burn the Floor” and “Rock of Ages”. Contrary to many reviews I’ve seen, we thought “Burn the Floor” was absolutely terrific. Those dancers are phenomenal, and I didn’t observe anyone walking out of the theater. I actually thought “Rock of Ages” was kind of weak (as a teen of the 80s, it wasn’t a question of my not knowing or appreciating the music, either), and while there were some “racy” parts, they were pretty subtle. It was very loud, almost uncomfortably so. We saw The Second City twice, the first time doing pure improv, which was awful. The second time was a scripted show (I had reserved tickets, so I took my son) and it was better, but nothing great. I really wanted to get to Howl of the Moon, but never made it. The solo pianist was enjoyable, and we had a fun hour singing along during his set of John Denver and Simon & Garfunkel tunes. We didn’t attend any game shows or bingo, nor did we see Fire & Ice or the blues band. Next time!

Ports: Afraid I can’t be much help here, as we mostly stayed aboard to enjoy the quieter ship. Got into Cape Canaveral about 1pm, I believe, and I know some people did do the treks to the theme parks, etc. We missed Great Stirrup Cay again this voyage, due to inclement weather making tendering unsafe. The captain did make this decision ahead of time, which allowed us to get a berth in Nassau a day earlier than planned. So we overnighted in Nassau from Wed-Thurs. The main drag for shopping is just a few blocks away, and easy to find from the docks. We found some good deals there, and enjoyed the shops (with the exception of the Straw Market which was just too aggressive for my taste). Despite some high winds and a bit of a swell in the sea, the weather was warm and pleasant for the entire trip.

Debarkation: Loved being able to choose our own debarking time and selected the last one, due to exit at 9:45am. Very much appreciated being able to enjoy the ship’s seating areas while we waiting to be called. Our color was called at around 9:30am. We tried to let the masses proceed us, but still wound up in an enormous line waiting to go into the customs building. There are two escalators and a staircase going down into the area where you pick up your luggage and go through customs, and they were only allowing one person on the escalator for every six steps or so, and the staircase was completely off limits. This made a huge bottleneck at the door. Pet peeve: why does every member of a party with one person in a wheelchair feel that they have the right to shove past all the waiting people? A companion or kids, sure, but an entire party of over a dozen people because one needs access? Tempers were flaring by the time we reached the stairs. Finding luggage and going through customs itself was a breeze. We were outside waiting for our bus by 10:30am. Unfortunately, said bus did not pick us up until about 12:15pm. It was cold, and drizzling, and there is nowhere to sit at all. We probably will not use the Academy Bus transportation next time we travel out of the NYC port (even though it was perfect going in and out of Bayonne this summer).

Overall: What a gorgeous ship, and what a wonderful time we had! We would cruise on BA again in a heartbeat. Of course there were a few minor glitches or annoyances, but certainly nothing that was insurmountable. Patience, kindness, and a good attitude—for pete’s sake, you’re on a CRUISE!—go a long way!

I didn’t keep the dailies or menus, but can probably recall if you have anything specific you’re wondering about. Happy Cruising, all! :)