Spring Break on the Splendor....better late than never!

[takmom]

I will start with some background info…this was my dh and I’s 12th Carnival cruise and our kids 7th we have 3 kids…ages 15ds, 13ds, and 11dd. I have never written a review before, but I figured it was time to give back…I really enjoy reading others reviews as it really helps to pass the days till my next cruise.

The family decided to let me stay at the Queen Mary the night before…I was the only one that wanted to do this :p I have to say I really enjoyed our stay there…as did the boys as well, so much so that they want to stay there the next time we cruise on the Splendor…as there WILL be a next time ;) You have to keep in mind when staying here that this is NOT the Hilton…it is what it is and if you appreciate its history you will enjoy your stay there as we did. We arrived around 8:30pm so we didn’t do much walking around till the next morning.

We got up the next morning and this was our first view of our home for the next 7 days…can’t beat that!

We had breakfast in the café and then I took the kids and toured the Queen Mary. We started in the engine room and managed to thoroughly freak my dd out. We found the propeller room and even my 15 yr old would not go in. I did manage to lean into the room and get this picture.

After this I had to drop my dd off with dh in the gift shops as she refused to “tour” any more of this ship…determined there were ghosts everywhere! I than took the boys up to the bridge and walked around some more…killing time till we get to step foot on the Splendor!

[takmom]

Around 11 we gathered our bags and checked out of the Queen Mary and walked over to drop our luggage off with the porters. We were than advised by the porter to just head to the beach for a few hours as they were delayed in getting the ship cleared and it would be a few hours before boarding began. I’ve been told this by porters before so we decided to head to the VIP area and at least check in and get the “real” scoop.

We found the VIP room with no problems…they went over to the dome to grab our kids cards as they are not yet platinum and we were ready to go. They were slightly delayed in boarding the ship, but by 12:30 we were on the Carnival Splendor heading for lunch on the lido!

My ds and dd and I headed upstairs to the rotisserie and had some chicken and all the fixins…yummy! My dh and other ds headed to the burrito bar for their first of many burritos. We all sat in our usual table…as this is much like the Conquest class we have a normal table/area we all meet at for meals in the buffet. This is also when I order my first DOD…I think every cruise must be started with a DOD!!!

After lunch we did our usual…walk around the ship:) I did not realize until than how much the layout of this ship is like the Conquest Class. Almost everything is in the same place…the major difference is in the pool area.

Here are a few pics of the ship.

 

Not sure how many pics I can post in one post...so I will add a few more on the next page...

[takmom]

This is how close you are to the Queen Mary.

Mini Golf

Atrium

El Mojito

Spectacular Spectacular

[birches321]

Thank you thank you! We're going May 16th and these are some great pics!!!

[takmom]

After wandering around it was finally late enough that we could go down to our rooms, we had a balcony and we got the kids an inside across the hall. This is all of us hangin out in our room.

At 4pm we had our CC meet and greet. Met some very nice families that we saw throughout the cruise and our kids even became good friends…specifically the Club O2 teens. After this it was time for the boat drill…pretty standard, no lifejackets required, head to muster station that is now printed on your sail and sign card, listen to directions and you are free to enjoy the cruise!

We usually head to an upper deck to enjoy sail away but this time we decided to take advantage of our balcony. That way we could get ready for dinner as we had early seating. I have never seen this before but a family almost missed the boat! The gangway had been pulled in and then they started to reattach it…you than see a family running across the bridge to the boat. I’ve seen this in ports before…but not the embarkation port…LOL. Here is a pic of our escorts...

We headed to dinner…we love the first night! My oldest ds love’s crème brulee and that is always on the first night menu! There are 5 of us and we often get a table by ourselves but this time we got a table for 10. We sat with a very nice family from Vegas and our kids became fast friends.

After dinner my dh and I had to split up as we have kids in 3 different age groups. I went with my dd to camp carnival and he got the older boys. There were A LOT of kids on the cruise being spring break…the lines to turn in the paperwork were crazy! No biggie…I’m on VACATION! (That seemed to be the theme of this cruise). I than headed to the disco for the family party with camp carnival…we have done several of these and my dd got bored...so we met my dh at the El Mojito for Martinis. This is usually our bar of choice…but this cruise the bartender was just not as easy to talk to or understand. We than headed to the Spectacular Spectacular for the welcome aboard show, where we learned that we are ON VACATION! Goose the CD was good…we have had better and we have had worse, but as he says...we are ON VACATION…so it just didn’t matter :p my dd headed to her room after this and my dh and I wandered the decks outside for a bit and headed to bed as well.

Our first towel animal :p

[MrOCT31]

Keep it going! I live in So Cal and to be honest haven't really wanted to go on this cruise as I've been to some of those parts of Mexico and other than Los Cabos not feeling it for the other stops. Very interested in your opinion of the ports and how it was during spring break since if we take our kids it has to be then due their sports schedules the rest of the year and it's the only week we can really do anything without pulling them out of school, which ain't going to happen!

Anyway, please carry on!:D

[takmom]

Day 2 was a sea day…absolute relaxation for us! My dh and I are runners so we headed up to the track when we got up and had a nice run…it’s hard to run too far when you’re going in circles…but hey, Im ON VACATION…we got about 3 miles in. We headed back to the room for a shower and woke the kids up to see if they were interested in breakfast. All 3 were up and ready so off to the MDR for breakfast. The kids like to eat in there and so do we…I like my food brought to me instead of waiting in line. It’s the same menu every day…I ordered my eggs over medium and they were perfect every time….not the case on other ships we have been on.

We did a little shopping and wandering around the ship until it was time for lunch(see a theme here...relax and eat again) we decided on a quick lunch in the lido since we were heading up for the wine tasting. Wine tasting was excellent as always. Not always the best wines but we always learn something and come out feeling pretty good. Went back to our room and noticed there was sun on our balcony…so decided to relax on the balcony and get a little sun without fighting the chair hogs :D

This was elegant evening so got showered and ready for the night. We headed up to the promenade and had our Martinis as it was Martini Madness night and 1.00 off of drinks for the Captains Celebration…here is how they poured our martinis

I do miss the old Captains cocktail party…this is nice but I just miss the tradition. Anyways…headed to dinner and had some lobster...Yummy!

After dinner we went to the show…The Beat. Not a bad show…we enjoyed it, but I love these types of shows and it’s just part of our cruise tradition. We than did our typical wander around the outside decks to walk off dinner…than off to the rated R comedy show. I don’t remember who the comedian was, but he was good! Off to bed.

[takmom]

Keep it going! I live in So Cal and to be honest haven't really wanted to go on this cruise as I've been to some of those parts of Mexico and other than Los Cabos not feeling it for the other stops. Very interested in your opinion of the ports and how it was during spring break since if we take our kids it has to be then due their sports schedules the rest of the year and it's the only week we can really do anything without pulling them out of school, which ain't going to happen!

Anyway, please carry on!:D

 

We have done this cruise as well as the 8day out of San Diego. I prefer the ports on the Splendor! I think there are just so many options for families to enjoy in each of these ports.

We did this same itinerary last year on the Pride, but we did it in Feb...not spring break. I really didnt notice much difference in the ports...just lots more kids/families on this cruise.

[takmom]

Day 3 was our second sea day…we got up and did our run…another 3 miles and had another nice breakfast in the MDR with the kids. We had then planned to relax by the pool, but of course our 10:30 arrival was too late to find any chairs…headed to the serenity deck and it was also full. We did manage to find a couple chairs and a table to put our feet on so we sat and read for a couple of hours. We were disappointed that there was no one enforcing the over 18 policy! I saw a couple kids using lounges with their parents on the serenity deck…maybe they couldn’t read the sign! Oh well I’m ON VACATION! After a little reading we headed for the lido for some lunch…loved the burritos and the dh enjoyed the Mongolian grill. After lunch we decided to go read on our own balcony…we again had sun and we just took turns with the 1 lounger we had. We had privacy and no chair hogs…LOL.

Serenity deck on embarkation day...

Tonight we had reservations at the Steakhouse with my dd. Funny my 11 yr old dd really enjoys her meals up there, but my sons are not interested in “wasting” that much time for dinner…LOL. But first we went to the past guest party...here is what they offer, please excuse the half eaten appetizers :p

My dd started with her usual escargot…she LOVES IT!

I really enjoy watching her try new things and enjoy a nice meal. Have to throw this in…they sat us next to a couple with a baby…no biggie I like kids, but this kiddo got fussy. Instead of taking the baby out of the restaurant and calming it they kept trying to feed it…kid had no interest in food. After 30 mins of this the mom finally took it out and came back with a happier kiddo. They then got their check and questioned it…it’s a pretty straight forward check…$30.00 includes meal and tips…but they were not happy! The hostess tried to come over and discuss this with them and they just rudely dismissed her and walked away…they made quite the spectacle of themselves. Oh well I’m on VACATION and this did not ruin my meal!

Did our usually walk around the upper decks outside…did many laps to try to walk off that wonderful meal, than we headed to bed.

[takmom]

Day 4 was Puerto Vallarta.

Our neighbors

We cruise often so this was not our first visit…we decided to just take a cab to the Malecon and do some shopping. We walked down the Malecon of course got our pictures of the sand sculptures…

We headed all the way down and went to the little shopping area down here:

After getting a few things we headed back to town and had lunch at Senior Frogs…the kids love going here. Saw this being made at the next table and just had to order us some fresh guacamole…

 

had our yards…kids had their virgin drinks and we were heading back to the ship. Last year we did zip lining in PV…which was great, but having a nice relaxing day was good as well.

[takmom]

A few more PV pics

This is just a block up from the Malecon...its beautiful!

The Holland America Oosterdam pulling out in front of us...

After getting back on the ship we decided to lay by the pool…we had our pick of chairs ;)

We had dinner in the MDR…not a lot of people here as we were in port till 10pm that night. After dinner dh and I wandered the deck…it was so nice out. We then headed to the front of the boat just above the bridge and watched the Norwegian Star and the Holland America boat leave. We love to watch as people get back on the boat…it’s amazing how many people are late! There were about 5 that were late this time and they just casually walked back on the ship. After sail away we headed to bed as we had a fairly early excursion planned for Mazatlan.

This is the port area...there is a little bar there and some last minute shopping...

[takmom]

Day 5 was Mazatlan the Splendor docks in an industrial area in Mazatlan…but they have these “limos” to take you into the touristy port area.

We decided to book an excursion at the last minute through Carnival…the Old Mazatlan Walking Tour. We met in the Spectacular show lounge and left as a group from there. This was a nice tour…it took us to where they have their cliff diving…nothing like Acapulco but still a nice site to see.

We walked along the water for a bit and saw this…their public swimming pool.

[takmom]

The old part of Mazatlan is being restored and is really starting to look nice. We stopped at a bakery for some complimentary pastries and of course you could purchase some as well. We than stopped at an older restored home and had some time to sit and relax. We were in a square where they hold their mardi gras…they took us to a nice little restaurant where everyone enjoyed chips and salsa and some drinks…beer and pop was free(well included in the tour).

We toured an opera house and then on to a very old cathedral…amazing architecture! It did feel kind of funny to tour this as it was holy week and there were many people in there. I just turned my flash off and grabbed a couple photos and then we left here quickly so we didn’t disturb anyone. We headed back to the ship to have some lunch with the kids and then dh and I headed back to the touristy area to enjoy some $4 margaritas and $3 beers!

If you get a chance and like a good drink…these were quite high in tequila content.

That night we did our usual…dinner, walk and I think this was the night they had the Fiesta Latina show…this was a good one. After that they had a rock n roll deck party…this was the best! They had the dancers perform on deck and even Goose sang! Then off to bed as we were getting off the ship early in Cabo.

[takmom]

Day 6 Cabo San Lucas! I love Cabo!!! This is tender port…we are lucky enough to be VIP so we get escorted to the tenders and right on.

We had plans to meet up with friends that had been staying Cabo that week. So we got off the ship and met them and 9am on the pier. We did a little shopping and stopped at a little bar for some drinks…I’m sure it was 5 o’clock somewhere???

My friend and I had booked the dolphin swim with our dd’s, so we headed to the dolphins. This was amazing!!!

We had such a good time…the excursion took a little longer than normal as our dolphin wanted to play with the other female dolphins…but still a lot of fun!

After dolphins we met the guys back at another little bar right next to the line for the tenders. We sat there and had a couple of drinks while waiting for the line to reach us…than we got in line and we were not on the last boat! Cabo is a short stay…sure wish you could stay longer it’s my favorite port!

We went back to the room to shower and watch sail away from our balcony. We saw a couple of whales from our balcony as we left Cabo…amazing!

This was our second elegant evening so we got all dressed up and headed to dinner. Had a nice dinner and then went to the show Vroom. This is my favorite on the Splendor…very good! We then did our normal walk on the deck and headed to bed.

[takmom]

Day 7 was our final sea day. We were exhausted so we slept in a little and skipped our run. Went to breakfast with the kids and just had a very relaxing day on the ship. We finished up our shopping, bought our photos. We had lunch in the MDR today, and then headed to the lido to get some chocolate from the chocolate extravaganza. No sun on our balcony, but that was ok I think we had had enough sun by then.

That night was the fun farewell party on the promenade aft…this was done very well on the Splendor as they had multiple lounges open for free drinks. There were plenty of wait staff and plenty of drinks to go around…we have more than our share but they just kept coming… ;)

After that we went to our final dinner…always sad when that dinner happens as it means the cruise is coming to an end. After dinner we wandered around the ship…we didn’t go to the last Legends show as we have seen a few of those and while they are fun, we just didn’t have an interest this time. We didn’t do a lot this night, other than pack and just wander around.

Debarkation was delayed…why do people have such a hard time reporting to immigration?? We are VIP and chose to carry our own luggage so once the ship was cleared we were the first group off.

We flew out of long beach but our flight was not scheduled to leave till 7:50PM so we rented a car and headed to Hollywood! We’ve done the amusement park thing so we decided to take the kids to see the sites. Walked Hollywood Blvd and then headed to the Universal City Walk. Had lunch at Hard Rock Café Hollywood…we always stop at a Hard Rock on vacation! After that we decided to head to downtown Disney for a bit…had some dinner and headed to the airport. Flight was delayed and didn’t get home till after 1am…but oh well it was a great VACATION!

We will be cruising on the Splendor again, its pink but if you look past that it’s beautiful! The staff is wonderful and I would not hesitate to recommend this ship to anyone!

 

I really hope you enjoyed this...it was actually fun to write it and relive our cruise. I will do my best to continue reviews of my future cruises :D

If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask...Im sure I missed alot here as this was all by memory.

Hope you enjoy the Splendor as much as we did...

Ann (Takmom)

[texasnana]

Great review ... looking forward to the rest. Did you feel safe in Mexico?

[takmom]

Great review ... looking forward to the rest. Did you feel safe in Mexico?

 

Thanks! Yes we felt safe in Mexico!

[WestTxCruiser]

Thanks for the review, I love reviews with pictures!!!!:D

We are looking at booking the Splendor for next summer for our family.

Will be looking forward to your future Valor and Dream reviews!:D

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Great review...Thanks so much! I will be on the Splendor soon (well, not soon enough) and I have so many questions. I will wait until you're finished before I start asking. :D

[lollylew]

Thanks for the review!

 

Have this cruise booked for January 2012 (yeah a ways away but just booking gets me excited!)

 

I too loved Cabo and can't wait to return. H ow was the weather that time of year? I don't really like cruising during the colder months (the water is too cold for me!) but I really want to see the whales so I don't have much choice. :D

[vbecky]

Great review and pictures!! We will be sailing on the Splendor in July and can't wait!!

[steelerjen]

Great Review!! Looks like you and your family had a great time! I loved the Splendor and I can't wait for 19 days!

[takmom]

Thanks for the review!

 

Have this cruise booked for January 2012 (yeah a ways away but just booking gets me excited!)

 

I too loved Cabo and can't wait to return. H ow was the weather that time of year? I don't really like cruising during the colder months (the water is too cold for me!) but I really want to see the whales so I don't have much choice. :D

 

The weather was perfect...low to mid 80s in all 3 ports! Last Feb. Cabo was still low 80s and overcast for us...and the whales were amazing to watch!!!

[lovepea]

Thanks for your review! I liked seeing your pictures, as they are not the same few pictures I have seen of the lido pool area I've seen before. I am glad you enjoyed your VACATION and the ship as well. I will be on board in 33 days and your review just made me a bit more excited!

[AZchieffan]

Great review! And I totaly agree with you about reading others reviews to get you excited for an up coming cruise. Your review got me excited. Thank you!:D