I'm onboard Splendor-Ask Me Anything - Feb 2018

Onboard the Carnival Splendor, on a wonderful 7n cruise to Mexico. We were so happy when Splendor returned to Long Beach.

I had intended to do more of a live review, posting the menus & Fun Times as we went along. I had brought along my portable scanner and purchased the highest level of internet package to help facilitate it. Well, that didn’t work out because the speed still stinks, and I was not able to upload any of the scanned items, after trying several times at different stops, etc.

So, here it is, the last day of our cruise, so I thought I’d just give some overall findings, and see if anyone had any burning questions that I can try and find the answers to.

1. The Carnival Hub app is extremely helpful, so go ahead and download it before you go. It only 'activates' once you are onboard, and just functions as a count-down timer until then. You don't need to purchase any internet plan to use it, however if you want to use it's included Chat feature amongst your party onboard, it's only $5 per person.

I found myself referring to it multiple times per day, both to see what was going on at any given point to the day, checking what the dinner menu was that evening, weather updates, account balance, etc.

Another feature, that's not duplicated anywhere else, is an easy way to view the specifics of your Cheers purchases. On the bill you get at the end, it just lists the date, location, and total (0.00 unless tax was added, or you added an additional gratuity). In the Account Summary pages, you just click an arrow next to each purchase and you can see the exact drink you ordered, and the original cost. However, one warning; once you get off the ship, you lose access to it all, so I'm transferring it to a spreadsheet so I can see where I ended up with as far as break-even point is concerned. Useful for OCD types.

How was embarkation?

Is muster drill inside or out?

We'e the hot tubs warm?

How was embarkation?

It was very fast, once we got there. We ran into lots more traffic than usual for a Saturday, so we didn't get to the port until about 12:30 (was shooting for 11-11:30) - we have priority boarding, but there were really no lines that I saw. It took us a total of about 10 minutes tops to get onboard.

The new terminal is beautiful! There is a good video on YouTube someone made that shows it well.

We didn't even get to spend any time in the new Captain's Lounge because we were able to go directly onboard. I didn't see any 'zones' of people waiting, but don't know if it bogged down later in the afternoon.

Is muster drill inside or out?

The Muster Drill was totally outside, at the actual lifeboat loading areas. Didn't need to bring your life jackets, but in Long Beach you should bring a jacket or sweater. They do scan your cards to make sure everyone came.

Were the hot tubs warm?

We bought the Spa Access package so we only went into the Thalassotherapy pool. If I get a chance tonight, I'll stick my hand in some of them and see how hot they seem.

2. Alcohol Delivery - Just saw in the debarkation paperwork that they are delivering the purchased alcohol to our cabin on the last evening. Yay, I’m glad they changed back to this method. It was always such a mess to try and re-package it the morning amongst our carry-off luggage, after we had sent off our other bags the night before.

3. Music - Overall good selections, two different solo guitarists, Mary & Jessie, both pretty good. 


Christine was our piano bar performer for this cruise. Very funny, and a little dirty too.

Free at Midnight - a great rock band playing at different spots (outside Casino and Splendor Lobby. I wish they would go back to having these play in some of the smaller clubs onboard. Don't like to sit near the smoker's bar in the Casino to hear nice rock music.

Hope you are having a wonderful trip? Did you eat at the steakhouse? If so, any chance there was the new menu? Also, did you attend any comedy shows? Were they overly crowded? Does one need to arrive very early for a decent seat?

THANKS so much and enjoy the rest of your time !!!

Hi! Glad you are having a wonderful cruise. Was the weather nice in the Mexican Ports?

Thank you for trying to post things for us. Hope you didn't spend too much of your vacation time on your efforts.

I know you would make me (and a lot of other people) extremely happy if you could post the fun times and menus after you return home. I would really, really appreciate it! :)

Thanks,

Cheryl

Hope you are having a wonderful trip? Did you eat at the steakhouse? If so, any chance there was the new menu? Also, did you attend any comedy shows? Were they overly crowded? Does one need to arrive very early for a decent seat?

 

THANKS so much and enjoy the rest of your time !!!

Yes, this was my next question! Comedy shows & overcrowding .... :)

Did you eat at the steakhouse? If so, any chance there was the new menu?

No, we didn't eat at the Steakhouse. However, from the Carnival Hub app, I was able to see the menu, but I don't know how to tell if it is the 'new' or 'old' menu. I'll see if I can upload screen shots of it using TapaTalk in a bit when I transfer my internet package from my laptop to my iphone in a bit. It not, I'll post them later from home.

Also, did you attend any comedy shows? Were they overly crowded? Does one need to arrive very early for a decent seat?

No, we haven't tried the comedy shows on this trip. We are part of a Premier Cruise, and the casino keeps having drawings in the evenings that you 'must be present to win', so I haven't had time to peek in. However, the lounge they have them in, El Morocco lounge is pretty big. I'll try to swing by later tonight & sneak a peek.

You are awesome...THANKS SO MUCH !!!

If the steakhouse menu has an appetizers such as smoked oysters, or bone marrow then its the new menu..if neither of those are app options its the old menu....that's all I can recall because those are the apps I wanted to try lol....

Was the weather nice in the Mexican Ports?

 

I know you would make me (and a lot of other people) extremely happy if you could post the fun times and menus after you return home. I would really, really appreciate it! :)

Cabo (both days) were in the low 70's, and party-cloudy. Puerto Vallarta was very warn & sunny, in the 80's. However, on the sea days, the captain wasn't able to find us any real sunshine, so it was a bit brisk. Especially the two sea days heading home; the Serenity Deck was unusable, as it was very windy and cold. That's the one part I dislike about this ship's configuration; that the Serenity Deck is above the Spa Deck, on both sides. I prefer the location when it is in the back of the ship.

I'll definitely be posting the Fun Times and menus when I get back. Our awesome waitress in the Dining room, Ausrine, is helping me fill in the few pieces I missed, and the Puerto Vallarta menus, because we missed dinner that night because we went to Rhythms of the Night excursion.

If the steakhouse menu has an appetizers such as smoked oysters, or bone marrow then its the new menu..if neither of those are app options its the old menu....that's all I can recall because those are the apps I wanted to try lol....

Then, from what I see in the Hub app, it appears to be the old menu, unfortunately.

Appreciated...sorry to hear about the weather that's a bit of a bummer for sure....

 

I'll definitely be posting the Fun Times and menus when I get back. Our awesome waitress in the Dining room, Ausrine, is helping me fill in the few pieces I missed, and the Puerto Vallarta menus, because we missed dinner that night because we went to Rhythms of the Night excursion.

Thank you!!

Looking forward to your posting of the menus! The hubby and I just booked an August cruise for our anniversary (we started dating on the splendor 4 years ago in August) and are debating which night we want to do the steakhouse. I don't want to miss the spaghetti carbonara in the MDR!!

It seems to be chilly coming back on most cruises.

It seems to be chilly coming back on most cruises.

Yea that’s California weather for you. It MIGHT make 70 degrees most days but if you’re on the coast/ocean it gets downright chilly in the evening/nights.

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The hot tubs at the end of the Lido deck (9) that are 18+ were deserted tonight and you had to walk through water to get to them so I couldn’t check the temp (sorry). The two hot tubs at mid-shin (inside) on deck 10 were barely warm (98.4) but because they are usually full of kids, so that makes sense. I’d recommend avoiding those germ-filled cess-pools unless absolutely necessary.

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The hot tubs at the end of the Lido deck (9) that are 18+ were deserted tonight and you had to walk through water to get to them so I couldn’t check the temp (sorry). The two hot tubs at mid-shin (inside) on deck 10 were barely warm (98.4) but because they are usually full of kids, so that makes sense. I’d recommend avoiding those germ-filled cess-pools unless absolutely necessary.

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I am on next week's sailing. Any idea if there was any clock time difference between the ship's clock and on shore in Vallarta when you were there?

Also... did you take any water taxis in Cabo? Location/Prices?

THX

Mark

The hot tubs at the end of the Lido deck (9) that are 18+ were deserted tonight and you had to walk through water to get to them so I couldn’t check the temp (sorry). The two hot tubs at mid-shin (inside) on deck 10 were barely warm (98.4) but because they are usually full of kids, so that makes sense. I’d recommend avoiding those germ-filled cess-pools unless absolutely necessary.

 

 

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Thank you for checking. We will have the spa pass! Can't wait for the T-pool!

Too bad that the ship technology did not support your live report with pics etc. Must have been frustrating for you since you went to the trouble to take your equipment. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise so you could spend more time enjoying your cruise. When you get time post cruise, it would be wonderful to see copies of the Funtimes or any pics that you want to share. I am curious to hear about the disembarkation today and if there were specific times for FTTF (how early could FTTF start disembarking and what was the latest option for disembarking). If they post disembarking times on a notice, it would be great to see a copy of that.

Looking forward to reading those Fun Times and menus. Thanks in advance for sharing!

Any idea if there was any clock time difference between the ship's clock and on shore in Vallarta when you were there?

No time change in Cabo but the night before Puerto Vallarta they had us move our clocks forward 1 hour. That meant we were still 1 hour behind local time in PV. After we left PV, the ships time moved back 1 hour to return to Pacific time.

Also... did you take any water taxis in Cabo? Location/Prices?

Didn’t take any water taxis so I’m not sure of the cost. They are readily available all along the docks as you exit the tender area.

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