Carnival Splendor Oct 7th Review with Pics!

[Corntea]

Explored the ship a bit more and then headed to our 6:00PM Early Dining seating. We prefer this as at home we eat around 5:00 and we like to eat early and then enjoy the evening. It worked great for us, but each family should decide what will work best for them. They put us at a table for 4 which is nice to enjoy family time, but throughout the week I found that my DH and I were craving the social interactions of being seated with strangers.

Dinner- I don’t remember what the whole family had each night, but here is a weekly recap of THEIR choices for the week in the MDR. I’ll tell you mine in each day’s description. J

DH-Ate lots of steak (wonderful) and a burger (not as good as Lido), BBQ Ribs (Yummy), Jerked Pork Loin (Highlight!) Desserts were mostly Warm Chocolate Melting Cake (Delish!) and Sherbet (Yum).

DD8- Ate a Caesar Salad, Grilled Chicken Breast and steamed Veggies, every single night J She is not a picky eater, and tried some of everyone else’s food, but she just REALLY loved that chicken! J Warm Chocolate Melting Cake most nights and sometimes an extra scoop of ice cream! J

DD5- Ate A LOT of STEAK (YUMMY), Pizza (Fine but never cut which I found odd) and Hot Dogs, plenty of fries. Warm Chocolate Melting Cake or a scoop of Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert each night.

Me- This first night I had a salad for my starter and a delicious Linguini with sausage, bell peppers and mushrooms which was quite good! Of course I had to order the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, but splurged and got the Crème Brule too! Why not? J

After dinner we headed to the Red Carpet Disco for the Camp Carnival Welcome Aboard Party! I recommend anyone with little ones do this to get your kids excited about Camp Carnival. Fun dancing and contests and even a visit from Fun Ship Freddy!

I would love to tell you about our fun nightlife here, but truth is we were back in the room and in bed by about 9:00PM! J

Here are some pics of the upper and lower bunks. You will notice the navy blue towel over the bed rail. The bed rail is completely open, and while I’m sure it would have been fine, it made me nervous, especially with my DD5. I tucked this towel around the bar and tightly into the mattress each night and the girls felt cozy and secure. J

Lower Bunk

 

Upper Bunk

 

 

Our First Towel Animal!

[Corntea]

MONDAY (SEA DAY)

We woke up late (for us) around 8:30, and headed to breakfast in the MDR. On our last cruise my DH and I discovered we loved having breakfast and lunch in the MDR as much as dinner and loved being matched up with strangers to meet. Unfortunately they seated us at a table by ourselves and we were too shy to ask for anything else. Later in the week we would just ask to be seated by the window and they would put us at a table with others, but they always asked if that was OK. Breakfast was great, although I can’t remember what anyone ate. J

At 10:30, DD8 wanted to head to Camp Carnival for some games and playing the Wii. We took DD5 to get an ice cream cone, cause that’s what you do when you’re killing time on a cruise ship! J

We picked DD8 up at 11:30 and she was sad to leave, but hungry for lunch. We had lunch on the Lido Deck. I must say we all loved the pizza, but the De Chevre (Mushroom and Goat Cheese) is the BEST! We hung out by the pool and watched the Ice Carving demonstration which was fun.

[Corntea]

At 1:00 we surprised the girls by taking them back to CC to do the Beary Cuddly. It is basically like Build a Bear, but you stuff the animals by hand. They had a choice of about 10 different animals ($15-$20) and about 10 different outfits ($8-$15 each). FYI- Each animal comes with a Carnival T-Shirt, so you would HAVE to buy an outfit. We had fun and then took the animals back to the stateroom to relax for a few minutes.

Camp Carnival is split up into age groups. (2-5)(6-8) and (9-11)We had really hoped that they might make an exception and allow DD5 into the 6-8 year old group, but they said no. Unfortunately she gets homesick easily and this proved to be difficult when not with her sister. We decided to make the best of it and let them pick what they went to and not push DD5. At 2:00, DD5 went to the Prince & Princess Party and they got a crown and played games and watched a cartoon. DD8 went to the Speed Stackers and Bean Bag Toss and then played some games.

DH and I headed to do some laundry. Normally I don’t start out a cruise by doing laundry, but the bag of PINK EYE stuff was creeping me out. For those who may need to know, the washer takes $3 per load and the dryer is $3 per load. I always pack detergent just in case, but they did have it for sale in a dispenser along with fabric softener and bleach.

[Corntea]

We picked the girls up around 3:00 and then started showers and getting dressed for the first Elegant Night! The girls had been so excited about this since we told them we were going on a cruise about 6 months ago. They had seen pictures of Mommy and Daddy dressed up on our past cruises and could wait to get in on the act! They thought it was pretty cool to get a manicure on the balcony overlooking the ocean.

 

 

 

After getting dressed up, we headed to decks 3 and 5 for some pictures (before anyone could get messed up). We got to meet the Captain and he really enjoyed talking to the girls. J

[Corntea]

Elegant Dinner was wonderful! I ordered the Greek Salad (yummy). As a second starter I had the Alligator Fritters. I wish I had ordered 5 more plates! They were DELICIOUS and I reluctantly shared my portion with everyone at the table and they all LOVED it too! For my Main dish I had the Spaghetti Carbonara, which was good but paled in comparison to the Alligator. J For dessert I ordered Warm Chocolate Melting Cake (of course) but they also brought me a slice of Banana Cake with a candle and sang “Happy Birthday” to me. My birthday wasn’t until Thursday, but I happily accepted it and had a few bites even though I hate banana. The gesture was so sweet, but I scarfed down my Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. J

After Dinner we went to the Show which was The Beat. It was pretty good, but the lead vocalists were both great! The dancers were in line with what we’ve come to expect. Good, but not amazing. The show is fun and has lots of music. My sweet little DD5 who is our dancer and has music in her bones fell asleep half way through. J After the show we headed to the room and again we were in bed by about 9:30. haha

[4hunters]

Really enjoying your review! We've sailed Splendor twice and have another trip booked on her this coming December before she departs for NY. We'll be sad to see her leave. :(

[Crusin Karen]

Really enjoying your review! We've sailed Splendor twice and have another trip booked on her this coming December before she departs for NY. We'll be sad to see her leave. :(

One person's pain is another person's gain! :( BTW, love your countdown clock; take a look at mine! :eek: We were all ready to book Miracle for our annual May (2013) cruise when we saw that Splendor was replacing her. So we are booked on Splendor and excited to try a "new ship" for us since we have never sailed on her. :p Enjoy your cruise, then book the Miracle when she goes out your way. You will LOVE her!

OP, very nice review and your daughters are just adorable. Very nice looking family! Thanks for sharing this with us. :);)

[fergusonvt]

Thanks for the review, cute kids. In a couple of years you will be beating the boys off them with sticks!

[4hunters]

One person's pain is another person's gain! :( BTW, love your countdown clock; take a look at mine! :eek: We were all ready to book Miracle for our annual May (2013) cruise when we saw that Splendor was replacing her. So we are booked on Splendor and excited to try a "new ship" for us since we have never sailed on her. :p Enjoy your cruise, then book the Miracle when she goes out your way. You will LOVE her!

OP, very nice review and your daughters are just adorable. Very nice looking family! Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

Too funny about the messages in our countdown clocks! :D Yeah, I'm already planning our next cruise which will probably be on Miracle - we're excited to try her out. We'll have to put our notes together after our next cruises and see which ship we wind up liking better. ;)

[TrqoisWtrs]

Your girls are adorable. But you've spoiled them for life. They'll never be satisfied with just a nail shop. :)

 

They thought it was pretty cool to get a manicure on the balcony overlooking the ocean.

[Crusin Karen]

Too funny about the messages in our countdown clocks! :D Yeah, I'm already planning our next cruise which will probably be on Miracle - we're excited to try her out. We'll have to put our notes together after our next cruises and see which ship we wind up liking better. ;)

LOL....we'll have to do a joint Splendor/Miracle comparison review. :cool: I don't know if you have ever cruised on a spirit class ship, but they are really great! OP, sorry to hijack your review. :o

[Corntea]

TUESDAY (CABO)

On Tuesday morning, we woke up around 7:40AM and we could see Mexico and it’s beautiful beaches out of our balcony. Around 8:15 my husband went down to deck 5 to the Loyalty desk to get our Tender Stickers. A good tip is that only one person needs to go to get your stickers and they can ask for as many as you need. The desk opened early as it was supposed to start at 8:30, but he got there at 8:20 and he got tender #11. The way the stickers work is that when your tender # is called you can go then, or any time after. We had ordered Room Service Breakfast, so we enjoyed our cereal and bagels and fruit as we saw the arches approach and then we turned into the bay and we stopped moving and dropped anchor around 9:30.

We headed to the tender at about 10:30 and they were already on Tender #35, so the tender process goes super fast! It took us 10 minutes to get off and onto a tender from the time we left our room.

When you get off the tender, please keep one thing in mind. The venders selling tours are very pushy. They are trying to earn a living, but your time is very valuable. If you are looking for a tour, you will easily find one. If not, tell them “No Thank You”, sometimes 6 or 7 times and keep walking. We were looking for a tour for day two and this was what we consistently found.

Glass Bottom Boat Tour- 45 min tour to land end and the Sea Lion Colony and you will see FISH! :)They then drop you at a beach of your choice Medano or Lovers Beach. Then they’ll pick you up at whatever time you specify. Cost was between $25 and $30 for our family. Now, an observation: We saw the Lovers Beach scene, and I would have hated it. It was crowded, but that doesn't usually bother me as long as I get my space on the sand. Also, if you want access to food or shopping, this is not the beach for you. The scary part to me was that there were people snorkeling all over and the speed boats were zipping through them and seemed oblivious to the children and humans! See below for our Medano Beach experience.

We PLANNED to do the tour on the following day, mostly for the Sea Lions, but never got back to do it.

[cardqb]

Loving the review! We're just over three weeks away from our next cruise on the Splendor and it's helping to build our excitement!

[Regestd]

We'll be on her for the first time on 12/2 and can't wait. Your review is great and getting us more excited - can't wait to hear about Medano Beach. We were thinking of the glass bottom boat and then over to Medano but I've heard a lot of the beach was washed away in the recent heavy rains.

 

Keep going with your review and we'll all be checking back often. Thanks for taking the time!

[jjfromsd]

<snip>

 

After getting dressed up, we headed to decks 3 and 5 for some pictures (before anyone could get messed up). We got to meet the Captain and he really enjoyed talking to the girls. J

OMG!!! For a second, I thought your girls were posing with Danny DeVito! :D

 

Nice pictures and nice review. I was aboard the Disney Wonder while you were on the Splendor, but I'm looking forward to boarding her in December.

[chipq]

Loving your review, thanks for sharing. Anxous to read about Medano Beach...have done Lover's Beach before but was lucky and not a crowd early in the day. Funny you mentioned the reckless boating in and around the snorkel enthusiasts. My son and I were planning to snorkel off Lover's Beach but there were so many of the 'glass bottom' boats criss crossing the area witht he most fish we just hung on the beach and wandered over to the Pacific Coast side. P.S. Great pictures.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[tee3240]

Really enjoying your review! We've sailed Splendor twice and have another trip booked on her this coming December before she departs for NY. We'll be sad to see her leave. :(

 

I'm sorry for your loss, but really looking forward to her arrival on the East coast!!:)

[lbfluffy]

We'll be on her for the first time on 12/2 and can't wait. Your review is great and getting us more excited - can't wait to hear about Medano Beach. We were thinking of the glass bottom boat and then over to Medano but I've heard a lot of the beach was washed away in the recent heavy rains.

 

Keep going with your review and we'll all be checking back often. Thanks for taking the time!

 

We are sailing dec 2nd. Join our roll call if u haven't done so yet.

We want to hit Medrano beach. We ave been there before and it's great.

 

Loving the review

Jessica

[Cupcrazy]

Great review so far. Can't wait for more!

[4hunters]

Where did you go, OP? Would love to see the rest of this review. ;)

[mtfrazier89]

We'll be on her for the first time on 12/2 and can't wait. Your review is great and getting us more excited - can't wait to hear about Medano Beach. We were thinking of the glass bottom boat and then over to Medano but I've heard a lot of the beach was washed away in the recent heavy rains.

 

Keep going with your review and we'll all be checking back often. Thanks for taking the time!

 

 

Be careful with the term "glass bottom boat" in cabo. It seems to be thrown around pretty loosely there. The 2 we encountered you couldnt even see through the glass.

[kath00]

Where did you go, OP? Would love to see the rest of this review. ;)

 

Same here! Sailing in 3 weeks!! :D:D

[Corntea]

WHAT WE DID DO- We took a “glass bottom” water taxi to Medano Beach. The taxi company that we took gave us coupons for Mango Deck including a voucher for a free return taxi as long as we spent $10 at Mango Deck. When you arrive at the beach from the water taxi, (any beach) they don’t have a dock, but at Medano Beach there is an area roped off that the boats go in and you can not swim. The boat will drive up as far as they can into the sand and then some guys came up to the bow and help you “jump off”. Luckily we had all taken our flip flops off and put them in the backpack, because the boat after us all jumped off with SHOES AND SOCKS and had to wade through the waves in them. L These guys are very friendly, but they are hoping for tips for helping you get of the taxis, and it was well worth it! They carried my little girls up to the beach. J

We made our way to the Mango Deck, and it was quite warm….OK, it was stinkin’ HOT! We asked for a spot in the shade and they quickly found us a great shady table and pulled up a rack to hang our bags on. They seated us on the outside of most of the tables, which I believe was because we had kiddos. I noticed in the center of the sandy area of the Mango Deck there was an isle. Later on, there was some “Spring Break” type activity going on, J but because of where we were sitting, our kids were completely oblivious. It didn’t intrude on our family experience in the slightest.

DD5 loved to cool shade under the table and the soft sand! :-)

We had a great time at Mango Deck, and we enjoyed the sun and the sand and even the shopping. The food was good, and the beer was cold! We ordered chips and salsa, a huge quesadilla, a plate of chicken nuggets and fries, a huge plate of nachos, a Sprite, 2 Shirley Temples and 2 Dos XX. J Our total including tip was $38, and they let us hang out as long as we wanted to enjoying the shade and swimming in the ocean.

Here is a pic of the girls watching the vendor make them pens with their name embroidered on them.

For every $10 you spend at Mango Deck, you get a free tender ride back to the pier, so we got 3 free vouchers and paid the glass bottom taxi driver $2. Pretty good deal! The men were there to help us get back into the water taxi, so of course we tipped a few more $. J

[Corntea]

Back on the Glass Bottom Taxi, we got to see a beautiful view of the Splendor.

This was also when we got to see Lovers Beach and we were very glad we had gone to Medano. We went back to the main marina and shopped in the stores for a bit. The girls very wisely bought little fans because they were pretty ($2), and DD8 bought a pareo for $4. We were ready to get out of the heat at this point so we headed to the tender boarding area. We unfortunately were among the first to board, and had to wait about 25 minutes to set off. It was VERY hot! The girls were so thankful to have their fans! I was very happy I had dipped in the ocean and my suit was still wet. We are from Arizona and can handle the heat, but the heat mixed with humidity about did us in. L

[kath00]

Yaaay! Awesome pix. Katherine