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Carnival Splendor 4/22 Review/Info (LONG w/ Pictures)

CinAngel75

By CinAngel75,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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CinAngel75

CinAngel75

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Posted

My apologies, Posted to wrong line.!!!!

 

Carnival Splendor 7 Day, Mexican Riviera – 4/22-4/29

Me (37) DH (43) – Balcony cabin 9279– Lido Deck

First, let me preface by saying; this is all strictly in my personal opinion. For any past cruisers out there that may disagree, you have every right to do so. This is just IMHO. I will only comment on the things I tried and/or experienced.

Being that this was our 1st cruise I will try to throw in some lessons we learned along the way as well! Please feel free to ask any questions and I will try to answer as best I can.

I will apologize now for the long windedness of my review…it’s more like a mini-series so I will do it in sections :D

v Preparation/Planning/Packing and other frivolous information

 

Ø My DH likes to call me OCD, I print out everything, I had a cruise binder started within days of booking. It came in very handy. (I also kept copies of all the FUN TIMES and menus etc, if I can get time, I will scan those in as well.

 

§ Printed all our check-in docs (w/extra copies) early to get it out of the way, it's a relief when cruise week arrives and that part is DONE!

 

§ Print any excursion documents, confirmations, menus etc. Make copies of passports, medical insurance and other docs.

 

§ Auto insurance card and DL if you will be driving for an excursion or renting a car (ours never asked for it but they all say they will!)

 

§ Laminated my luggage tags- whole punched and attached with zip ties. I don’t want to lose luggage because my tags fall off!

 

§ Onboard, you will only need your ID when going into port, no need to carry it around the ship. We locked everything in the safe. You will need your Sail & Sign and ID when you go into port.

 

§ Get change!! You will want lots of $1s and some $5s for tips.

 

§ Power strip –YES. One plug on the counter and one in the bathroom over head. Strip used for an i-home/alarm clock, laptop, camera batteries, hair dryer etc. I have heard if it isn’t a new or gently used one they may confiscate it – we bought a new one.

 

§ I took my hair dryer -yes, there is a hair dryer in room…it is TINY and in our cabin, oddly mounted in a drawer.

 

§ shower gel/shampoo provided, I took my own-I didn't care for what they had. Leave in conditioner was helpful after the beach.

 

§ Beach towels are provided in your cabin and can be taken for excursions (one less thing to pack)

 

§ Balcony Doors- if you want it open, you can take a bungee cord…one cruiser used a bathrobe tie LOL! At night we pushed the lock slide over and it kept the door open enough so we could hear the water, great white noise.

 

§ 7 day cruise =2 elegant nights Mon. & Fri. Some choose not to “dress up” and others go all out (Tux/evening gowns). The other nights some came into the MDR in slacks/dresses, others in t-shirts/ shorts. Personally I wasn’t comfortable in shorts/t-shirt in MDR. One night we did jeans-DH wore a polo and I wore a dressy top.

 

§ I was surprised by how dry the air is on board the ship, you are on the ocean, but it’s still AC inside the rooms…body lotion and saline spray!

 

§ Some mentioned space in the bathrooms for toiletries and recommended over the door organizers. Personally, we had no issues. There are 3 shelves on either side of the mirror in the bathroom for toothbrushes and such and I kept my make-up and hair dryer etc in one of the closet shelves

 

v Embarkation in Long Beach (we only live about 45 min away)

 

Ø We were dropped off around 11:30 - got zone 6. We forgot something at home and had to wait for my son to drop it off. We were still on board and had our first drink by 1:30. You also have the option to arrive at 2:30 or so and the lines are supposed to be short as well.

 

This process wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. I had read some pretty bad reviews of the process on LB. All things considered it went pretty smoothly. That said their were the rude people that try to push right by you and through the lines..DH is a big guy, he doesn't let that happen quite as easily. When you go into The Dome and into the security lines it bottle necks some feel the need to try to get in as far and as fast as possible.:confused:

 

Ø Check in -much like the airport.

§ Porters at the curb take your bags (we tipped abt $1 per bag) -Go across to check in, in front of the Queen Mary, get in line, show your ID/boarding pass - get a deck plan, Sail & Sign Card(s) and Zone #.

 

§ Zone is called - go through Security (inside The Dome), photo to assign to your sail & sign card and on to the ship – guys be prepared to take your hats off for the S&S photos (DH had BAD hat hair LOL)

 

§There is an escalator, so you will have to deal with any carryon luggage. Some had larger bags and struggled with them They do have elevator(s) but they were pretty crowded. We had backpacks and 1 rolling small suitcase – no problems.

 

Ø Onboard

§ If you are opening you S&S account with cash you can go to Guest Services to do that- you walk right by it when you board.

 

§ We purchased a week spa pass - if you are interested, you should do that same day, we were told they don't usually do it much after that. it's $149 each. More details on the spa later. I will also try to scan in some of the spa flyers.

 

Ø You can go to the Lido deck and have lunch at the buffet, grill or pizza bar etc while you wait for room to be ready usually around 2pm

 

Ø Our luggage was delivered within 15 minutes of arriving in our room – by 3:00 I was totally unpacked.

 

Ø Around 4:00 there is a mandatory muster drill everyone takes the stairs down to the lifeboat area – your muster station is listed on you S&S card…they will tell you where to go-this seemed to confuse a lot of ppl (especially since many had already hit the bars LOL)

 

Don’t forget a sweater! At sail away so many people were freezing! Long Beach can get chilly at 5 pm + the wind when you start moving.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USCA0632 <--average temps in Long Beach

 

*******To be continued :cool:

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1992547832_Dome2.jpg.da5cad090a540c61a7cab93803e4cb90.jpg

1833531957_QueenMary2.jpg.276fd5895f26ee37acc63ea1c33f6e1f.jpg

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IRL_Joanie

IRL_Joanie

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Yep-- I was just looking in the FAQ to see if their was a way to fix it!!

You can hit the red triangle and ask the hosts to move it.

 

I also hit the red triangle with the request since I thought it was an accidental post here.

 

Joanie

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CinAngel75

CinAngel75

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Where did this review go and how do I get there?

 

Go to the carnival boards...I reposted it there and added to it. Just go to cruise lines a-o and select Carnival. :)

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

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cvpends

cvpends

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Ah, even though it was as a result of a simple mistake, it was nice to see some old Holland America friends over here on Carnival. I miss the good ol' days of the "Westerdam Capt. waits for nobody" which caused the creation of HUSH!

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CinAngel75

CinAngel75

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Ah, even though it was as a result of a simple mistake, it was nice to see some old Holland America friends over here on Carnival. I miss the good ol' days of the "Westerdam Capt. waits for nobody" which caused the creation of HUSH!

 

I felt totally silly posting my first review on the wrong board.I previewed my post 15 times before I posted but neverlooked at the line! But everyone was very nice about it:o

I had already reposted on Carnival and they moved the original over as well..so now I have to redirect anyone that is interested to the correct one:rolleyes:

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cvpends

cvpends

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I felt totally silly posting my first review on the wrong board.I previewed my post 15 times before I posted but neverlooked at the line! But everyone was very nice about it:o

 

I had already reposted on Carnival and they moved the original over as well..so now I have to redirect anyone that is interested to the correct one:rolleyes:

 

I can't even begin to count the number of mistakes I have made, so I feel for you! Anyway, thank you for posting your review! :)

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IRL_Joanie

IRL_Joanie

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Ah, even though it was as a result of a simple mistake, it was nice to see some old Holland America friends over here on Carnival. I miss the good ol' days of the "Westerdam Capt. waits for nobody" which caused the creation of HUSH!

 

I saved that thread cvpends:) If you wish to reread it in full, here it is: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1157383 I am still a proud member of HUSH and SHEEPLE:)

 

Joanie

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