Carnival Splendor in November New to Carnival any info on this ship or ports

[vrock]

We will be on the Splendor November 28th - December 5th I was wondering if anyone had any info on cabin 6266? Noisy? Also any info on the Ports on Mexican Rivera cruise.

[lucky13cruiser]

Hi,

 

I'm booked on the Splendor too, but not until January 2012 - yes, I booked it that early. Actually about 4 months ago. Got a great price for booking so early. Maybe I'll get the upsell call? I hopped on your thread because I've been cruising the postings for any info on the Splendor. I guess I'm your first reply. I don't know anything about the Splendor, but I did go on the same itinerary on a Princess cruise a couple of years ago. My partner and I went on an ATV excrusion in Puerta Vallarta - we booked it through the ship. They took us by bus to a tequila distillery outside of town, which was also the ATV location. I think they also had horse/trail rides. There was about 20 of us in the group. I'd never ridden an ATV, but I have ridden on a motorcycle. When the guide asked if anyone had experience with using a clutch and shifting, I was one of the ones who raised my hand. My partner did not have the experience, so she was given an ATV that didn't require shifting. She was also given a spot in the line near the front. I - because of my "experience" was near the back of the line on an ATV that required shifting. I didn't have a problem driving the ATV, but I sure wish I hadn't said I had experience because I ate everyones dust for two hours. The ATV trip was a ton of fun, but my advise is to not admit you have experience and try to get as near to the front of the line of ATV's as possible. After the ATV trek, they gave us a tour of the tequila distillery and there was a tasting and you could buy the same tequila that's offered in the ships shops for much less cost.

 

When we got back to the ship, we changed into swimsuits and went down to the beach right next to where the ship was docked. There was a large hotel and you could use their beach. We rented jet skis and had a great time zooming around the waves off the beach.

 

We didn't really like Mazatlan. It was VERY commercialized, stinky, too much traffic. There is a shopping area - I think it was called the "golden zone" or something like that. We were warned about the taxi drivers not dropping you off in that shopping area and instead dropping you off wherever they felt like it - usually somewhere by a store that has paid them to drop you there. That's what happended to us. We ended up having to walk about a half mile to get to the shopping area and it wasn't really that impressive.

 

The third port was Cabo San Lucas. Warning - you won't have much time in this port. The ship has to anchor offshore and they tender you in. I think we could go ashore around 8:00 and had to be back on the ship by 1:00 or 2:00. We had booked a whale watching trip that took up the whole time we were there - so we didn't have any time to check out the city after the whale watching tour was done. The whale watching excursion was great - we had a fantastic guide who really knew what he was doing . It was a smaller boat - a zodiac - and he would pilot it right up next to where the whales were. You could look over the side of the boat and see the whale swimming next to it. But we really would have liked to have been able to see more of Cabo than our few minutes standing at the pier waiting for our tour boat. Thats kind of why we booked another trip to that itinerary - just so we could see more of Cabo.

 

The excuse we got for why we spend to little time in Cabo was that it was the last stop and the captain had to head back to Los Angeles and they needed all the time to get back there. My answer would be to spend less time in Mazetlan and more in Cabo.

 

I did hear about a zip line excursion - I think in Puerta Vallarta - that's supposed to be super fun.

 

Whatever you do - I hope you have a great time.

 

lucky13cruiser.

[vrock]

:)Thank you so much for the info I have never been to mexico before this is our 2nd cruise. The first was on Princess to Alaska May 2009 we loved it. We were hooked on cruising after that trip. Have a wonderful trip.

[aggieastrosfan]

The excuse we got for why we spend to little time in Cabo was that it was the last stop and the captain had to head back to Los Angeles and they needed all the time to get back there. My answer would be to spend less time in Mazetlan and more in Cabo.

 

Unless they reversed the itinerary (which I guess they could do wtih RCI leaving), there's no way to shorten Mazatlan and extend Cabo. You're already getting to Cabo at 7 am, shortening Mazatlan isn't going to give you any more time there. You really can't stay in Cabo any later without delaying your arrival into Long Beach. I certainly wouldn't complain if they swapped them, though having a night port is cool, also - we wouldn't be able to take our son to rescue sea turtles if they were swapped. :)

 

I guess you never got to do that trip while the Elation was there - our port time was 7 am - 12 pm! :eek:

[CalmCruiserNC]

Even though Hurricane Jemina forced an itinerary change on our Splendor voyage, we had a great time. In my signature block, you'll find links to my review and 315 photos of Splendor.

 

Your room is close to the forward elevators very close to the main showroom. You can expect it to be noisy until the late show is over (around 11/11:30P) and you should also expect to hear a bit of noise from people around the elevator.

 

Bring some good earplugs just in case and you should be fine.

[lisah168]

We were on Splendor Aug 15-22 and had a great time!

 

We were in 8254, very close to the elevators. Aside from a few times people talking in the hallway (which I think every cabin nearby would be affected), noise was not an issue at all. It's so convenient for getting to places that I will choose a cabin near elevator again.

 

A few tips for Splendor/Carnival:

-the only drinkable coffee on the ship is the espresso/cappuccino they serve in the MDR along with dessert. They are free!

-During dinner or lunch in MDR, I always request Arnold Palmer (half lemondae, half iced tea). It's delicious.

-We had a massage on one of the port days. $99 for an hour of massage/facial plus one hour use of the spa. The regular price was $179. It was totally worth it...

 

For shore excursions, we did everything on our own. I highly recommend Frank in Maztlan. He did a group bus tour for us and it's worth every penny.

 

I was with a group of 42 people. Some of them had cruised with other cruise lines before and were hesitant about Carnival. After this trip, they all love Carnival now and will consider taking a Carnival cruise again. :)

[riclop]

We love the Splendor so much that we take that cruise at least once a year. You will have a great time because the entertainment is fabulous and there is always something to do.In our opinion the best deck is the empress deck because you are in between cabin floors and its close to the lido deck where the pool and buffet are located.Have a great time!!!:)