Chomping at the bit!!! Anyone off 1st Splendor Cruise back from Mexico?

[famof4togo]

There are some notes on Splendor from a cruiser on the Jan 27th cruise. There on the last page of their Role Call thread. Here's a link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425290&page=6

 

Also some posts from cruisers on-board in the Roll Call thread for the Feb 3rd cruise. Here's that link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2476296&page=17

 

Ok, I've just decided I'm going to get the internet package, take along my computer & scanner for our cruise on Splendor on the 17th, and do a thread with live updates.

 

THANKS I'll take all the crumbs I can get at this point....

[mara93]

There are some notes on Splendor from a cruiser on the Jan 27th cruise. There on the last page of their Role Call thread. Here's a link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425290&page=6

 

Also some posts from cruisers on-board in the Roll Call thread for the Feb 3rd cruise. Here's that link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2476296&page=17

 

Ok, I've just decided I'm going to get the internet package, take along my computer & scanner for our cruise on Splendor on the 17th, and do a thread with live updates.

 

Ohhh going to be looking for your thread.

[cvpends]

There are some notes on Splendor from a cruiser on the Jan 27th cruise. There on the last page of their Role Call thread. Here's a link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425290&page=6

 

Also some posts from cruisers on-board in the Roll Call thread for the Feb 3rd cruise. Here's that link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2476296&page=17

 

Ok, I've just decided I'm going to get the internet package, take along my computer & scanner for our cruise on Splendor on the 17th, and do a thread with live updates.

Hurray!!!

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[Missileer]

We were on the 1st Mexican Riviera Splendor cruise. Got off on 3 feb.

1st cruise to use the refurbished Dome. Some bumps but overall the shore side staff did a good job. Waiting to board is now all inside and quite comfortable. As you are walking from the parking garage you enter the Dome on your left. There were uniformed Carnival folks directing traffic.

 

We sailed on Splendor a lot when she was out west last time. So no real surprises. The Bar B Que for lunch is really good and the Steak House is excellent in every regard.

 

We did not go to the Dining Room so can't comment but the Lido Café was very good with lots of variety.

 

The Crew was very attentive every where

 

The comedians were topical and very funny. The two shows we went to were SRO!

 

Deck 7 and deck 10 have observation areas forward but they are not well advertised and you have to go thru hall ways of cabins to get there so they are not busy and a great place to watch as you enter ports for example.

 

We thought she was starting to show her age and could use a dry dock for some spiffing up but it did not detract from our very fun cruise.

 

 

 

Enjoy

[famof4togo]

We were on the 1st Mexican Riviera Splendor cruise. Got off on 3 feb.

1st cruise to use the refurbished Dome. Some bumps but overall the shore side staff did a good job. Waiting to board is now all inside and quite comfortable. As you are walking from the parking garage you enter the Dome on your left. There were uniformed Carnival folks directing traffic.

 

We sailed on Splendor a lot when she was out west last time. So no real surprises. The Bar B Que for lunch is really good and the Steak House is excellent in every regard.

 

We did not go to the Dining Room so can't comment but the Lido Café was very good with lots of variety.

 

The Crew was very attentive every where

 

The comedians were topical and very funny. The two shows we went to were SRO!

 

Deck 7 and deck 10 have observation areas forward but they are not well advertised and you have to go thru hall ways of cabins to get there so they are not busy and a great place to watch as you enter ports for example.

 

We thought she was starting to show her age and could use a dry dock for some spiffing up but it did not detract from our very fun cruise.

 

 

 

Enjoy

 

 

Glad you had an overall good trip ! Two quick questions....Do you know if the steakhouse menu was the "old" or "new" menu? Also, was the comedy club overly crowded? Does one have to go a 1/2 hr early or so to get a good seat?

 

THANKS IN ADVANCE

[Jiminy1955]

There are some notes on Splendor from a cruiser on the Jan 27th cruise. There on the last page of their Role Call thread. Here's a link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2425290&page=6

 

Also some posts from cruisers on-board in the Roll Call thread for the Feb 3rd cruise. Here's that link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2476296&page=17

 

Ok, I've just decided I'm going to get the internet package, take along my computer & scanner for our cruise on Splendor on the 17th, and do a thread with live updates.

 

 

Oooh I'm excited & will be watching for your live review!!!! :D . We sail on March 10th!

[banditoo]

 

Ok, I've just decided I'm going to get the internet package, take along my computer & scanner for our cruise on Splendor on the 17th, and do a thread with live updates.

Wanna Cruize, I will be watching for your live updates! :D:D :D

[Missileer]

Glad you had an overall good trip ! Two quick questions....Do you know if the steakhouse menu was the "old" or "new" menu? Also, was the comedy club overly crowded? Does one have to go a 1/2 hr early or so to get a good seat?

 

THANKS IN ADVANCE

The Steak House menu was the "old" one and they were unsure when the "new" one would be introduced on Splendor.

We arrived at both comedy shows late and stood in back. All the seats were taken.

[Paddy41]

Did you happen to eat at the Steakhouse? If so, can you confirm if it was the "new" menu or the "old" menu?

 

Thanks in advance...

 

 

Just returned from the Splendor on the 17th Feb. It was the old menu in the steakhouse.

[Paddy41]

Thanks for the reply....Did you attend a comedy show? If so, did you find it overly crowded? Meaning do we need to go 1/2 early to get a decent seat?

 

Thanks in advance...

 

 

Yes. Go 1/2 hour early. It was crowded most of the time. Just came back from our cruise on the 17th.

[Paddy41]

I can answer a few questions but I was with another friend who, it turned out, didn't want to do hardly anything except sleep so I missed a lot.

 

 

All the menus were new ones except for the steakhouse and the seaday brunch.. Our favourite meal was part way through the week when they had filet mignon and beef short rib on the menu. Served with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was yummy.

Starbucks coffee served in the dining room on sea days.

[Moviela]

I was on the 2/3 sailing and had a great cruise. The boarding was nice, Captains lounge is much improved over the double-wide trailer out front. It is nicely themed and decorated. There was a short delay prior to calling boarding. This is because CBP demanded the entire crew present inside for inspection of their papers. As I was boarding the entire gang way was filled with crew waiting to go into the immigration area. The upshot was that my stateroom was not ready. No fault of Carnival, but I suspect CBP was acting on a tip and looking for a person of interest among the crew.

 

The ship has everything I like except Guy's burger. It had extras like a Westernized Mongolian Wok and a tasty BBQ joint. The Serenity deck was spacious with 2 tubs and a tiny pool. I had a spa room at the front of the ship with a cool elevator to the spa decks. I enjoyed the spa pool many times. The sauna rooms were nice except for the crusty old fart that yelled at everyone to "close the door."

 

The steakhouse was a dream come true. Perfect from start to finish. A nice display of the steaks and chops when taking the order, close attention to order selections and valuable suggestions. The free $6 bottle of wine was nice on the first night, and they happily sent to bottle to the MDR to enjoy the next night. My steak was well seasoned and cooked to a proper medium rare. The baked potato was hot and steamy and my request to lather it in butter was followed in an artistic manner. The service was as good as it gets anywhere. Attentive wait staff, and chef's timing of the meal showed long experience and a desire to make good food a great time. Even the furniture and lighting was comfortable.

 

Ship excursions are expensive on board. In Cabo I entertained the touts in the harbor and bargained for a quad runner trip along the beach. Less than half the Carnival price, and a private tour for my wife and I. In Matzatlan we went with some folks from the roll call to Stone Island for lunch at Lety's. Thourghly enjoyable company and food. In PV I wanted to see the Rythms of the Night show, but knew the show did not end in time for a timely return to the ship, so I did pay a fortune through Carnival for the trip. The show exceeded my expectations by far and included a decent buffet dinner on the shore. They crew on the catamaran put on a show of their own that was funny and slightly bawdy on the way back that made the 45 minute trip back fly by. We were a half hour late with crew in white outfits tapping their feet and checking their watches as we boarded. Good thing we were on a Carnival excursion and held the ship for us. There were about 150 people.

 

The sea day brunch was wonderful. The small filet they serve just melts in your mouth. I swear they must be bribing the purveyor to get meat of that quality. I was compelled to leave a nice tip for the brunch service.

 

Splendor is slightly wider and shorter than the Miracle it replaces in Long Beach, and I consider it an upgrade. I am sailing her again in September.

 

I tried to watch a dive in move outdoors by the pool. The screen is big enough, but being older the pixels are the size of tennis balls and the colors are nowhere near correct. This could be forgiven except the sound was so bad they showed the film with descriptive subtitles because you could not hear. Not that they had a cheap set of speakers. There were professional line arrays on either side of the screen along with subwoofers just below them. It just sounded like the house band at an amatuer goat roping contest. The pop corn was good, I just wished they used coconut oil to pop it, and had butter available.

 

The public restrooms were bit on the small side, but I did see little people giving high five's for the comfortable accomodations.

 

Every crew member I met was as nice as they could be. The projected genuine smiles, and had an interest in serving. If I was a recruiter, I would certainly work a Carnival ship for good employees.

 

I had a wonderful time on this cruise, and look forward to The Carnival Horizon in April to show me the sights of Europe.

[no1racefan1]

We just got home today. I'm going to type up a mini-review. We had a fabulous time!

[homesclcruisers]

:)Thanks for the updates. This will be our first cruise out of Long beach and our first time on the Splendor. Looking forward to it!

[Cruisin Suzy]

Thank you for the helpful and positive review! Glad you enjoyed your cruise and I hope the next two you have planned are just as great!

 

I was on the 2/3 sailing and had a great cruise. The boarding was nice, Captains lounge is much improved over the double-wide trailer out front. It is nicely themed and decorated. There was a short delay prior to calling boarding. This is because CBP demanded the entire crew present inside for inspection of their papers. As I was boarding the entire gang way was filled with crew waiting to go into the immigration area. The upshot was that my stateroom was not ready. No fault of Carnival, but I suspect CBP was acting on a tip and looking for a person of interest among the crew.

 

The ship has everything I like except Guy's burger. It had extras like a Westernized Mongolian Wok and a tasty BBQ joint. The Serenity deck was spacious with 2 tubs and a tiny pool. I had a spa room at the front of the ship with a cool elevator to the spa decks. I enjoyed the spa pool many times. The sauna rooms were nice except for the crusty old fart that yelled at everyone to "close the door."

 

The steakhouse was a dream come true. Perfect from start to finish. A nice display of the steaks and chops when taking the order, close attention to order selections and valuable suggestions. The free $6 bottle of wine was nice on the first night, and they happily sent to bottle to the MDR to enjoy the next night. My steak was well seasoned and cooked to a proper medium rare. The baked potato was hot and steamy and my request to lather it in butter was followed in an artistic manner. The service was as good as it gets anywhere. Attentive wait staff, and chef's timing of the meal showed long experience and a desire to make good food a great time. Even the furniture and lighting was comfortable.

 

Ship excursions are expensive on board. In Cabo I entertained the touts in the harbor and bargained for a quad runner trip along the beach. Less than half the Carnival price, and a private tour for my wife and I. In Matzatlan we went with some folks from the roll call to Stone Island for lunch at Lety's. Thourghly enjoyable company and food. In PV I wanted to see the Rythms of the Night show, but knew the show did not end in time for a timely return to the ship, so I did pay a fortune through Carnival for the trip. The show exceeded my expectations by far and included a decent buffet dinner on the shore. They crew on the catamaran put on a show of their own that was funny and slightly bawdy on the way back that made the 45 minute trip back fly by. We were a half hour late with crew in white outfits tapping their feet and checking their watches as we boarded. Good thing we were on a Carnival excursion and held the ship for us. There were about 150 people.

 

The sea day brunch was wonderful. The small filet they serve just melts in your mouth. I swear they must be bribing the purveyor to get meat of that quality. I was compelled to leave a nice tip for the brunch service.

 

Splendor is slightly wider and shorter than the Miracle it replaces in Long Beach, and I consider it an upgrade. I am sailing her again in September.

 

I tried to watch a dive in move outdoors by the pool. The screen is big enough, but being older the pixels are the size of tennis balls and the colors are nowhere near correct. This could be forgiven except the sound was so bad they showed the film with descriptive subtitles because you could not hear. Not that they had a cheap set of speakers. There were professional line arrays on either side of the screen along with subwoofers just below them. It just sounded like the house band at an amatuer goat roping contest. The pop corn was good, I just wished they used coconut oil to pop it, and had butter available.

 

The public restrooms were bit on the small side, but I did see little people giving high five's for the comfortable accomodations.

 

Every crew member I met was as nice as they could be. The projected genuine smiles, and had an interest in serving. If I was a recruiter, I would certainly work a Carnival ship for good employees.

 

I had a wonderful time on this cruise, and look forward to The Carnival Horizon in April to show me the sights of Europe.

[cvpends]

Thank you Paddy41 and moviela for your reviews. Moviela, I was curious to see your mention of hot tubs and a small pool on the Serenity deck. Last couple of times I sailed Splendor, she had neither on Serenity. Did you happen to snap any pics?

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[Paddy41]

We had to return the van we had rented at LAX to their Long Beach lacation plus had to check out of hotel so we ended up early at the terminal. Our time was originally 12:30, delayed by an hour to 1:30 (they emailed and phoned us to make sure we knew), but we still had to arrive around 12. By 12:45 we were checked in and eating lunch. Didn't see anyone taking embarkation pictures though. Many FTTF were boarding at the same time as us.

We went up to deck 10 aft to the BBQ place where there was lots of table space. Went up there again during the week because the meal was delicious. Potato salad, coleslaw and choice of smoked beef, pulled pork or chicken and a soft roll plus Guy's sauces for the meat. Really good.

Went to the steakhouse first night and as previous poster said it was a delicious meal. Free bottle of wine the first and second nights. Our server also explained that any wine on the list was 1/2 price tonight so after thinking that out we realized that we could each order a bottle of wine (4 of us), have them uncork it, taste it and then ask them to keep it for us for dining room use until gone and that's what we did. This made our wine way cheaper than buying the wine package and we got to try more expensive wines. Great deal! I don't know if they do this all the time or not. We've been on Splendor before and in the steakhouse first night and never heard of this deal!

My friend and I did go to tea time on the first sea day. It was at 3 pm in the main dining room. Cucumber and smoked salmon small sandwiches and a variety of desserts plus tea.

Over the week we saw several of the comedy shows, both family and adult and did enjoy them. The room fills up fast so go early. We would have gone to more but there was always a conflict with dinner times and/or the show they were offering in the theatre.

Sunday was the oyster day. Fried oysters as an appetizer. You could taste they were oysters but they were heavily breaded and deep fried so kind of overcooked.

Excursions: As seniors who can't do a lot of walking my friend and I chose the Land's End boat tour in Cabo and we enjoyed it. In Mazatlan we went on the 10 Best tour and enjoyed that as well. Nothing planned for P.V. but off ship they were selling a tour of the area for $25 so we decided to go after lunch. The price is for a full van but by that time no one else was looking for a tour. We ended up having a tour for the two of us for an extra $5 each and it was just the greatest few hours. The driver was an excellent tour guide. The highlight of the whole tour came at the end when he took us just off the road into the rain forest to see a 'neighbourhood'. We could not believe the little community in there with hydro, running water and 2 small convenience stores. Some homes were shacks, some were modest dwellings and a few were larger although nothing outlandish. Saw a few vehicle plates from Washington state and Arizona. Americans staying the winter. Really great tour.

Mazatlan: shrimp capital. Our tour stopped near the Shrimp Factory and we ordered a plate of beer-battered shrimp 6 jumbo shrimp and I do mean jumbo with dipping sauce, rice, veg, nachos with sauce. I believe it was around $14US and well worth trying that fresh shrimp.

We were with my friend's son and 2 of his friends and in PV they all did the scuba excursion. They just raved about it. They said so much of it was completely unexpected because it was not in the tour blurb they had read. Excellent time they said.

Don't miss the show on Monday night. 88 Keys, the Rock and Roll Piano Show. One of the best shows I've seen on a cruise.

The new dinner menu: well, you'll judge for yourself but I do love trying different foods and yet there were 2 nights of the cruise where the menu had nothing that appealed to me and I resorted one night to the flat iron steak and the other to the pork chop. There were a few really good dishes, one with fillet mignon and beef short ribs, and prime rib served two nights. BBQ ribs were good as well. Some great desserts like Grand Marnier Souffle (but I think that was also on the old menu) and vanilla creme brulee. I found the pies were a miss. A different pie was offered each night. I tried the blueberry and later the cherry and the crust is really not good while the fillling is dry. Unless you don't see anything else you like I'd pass on the pies. Sorry to say there was no Baked Alaska as some posters thought there would be. We were told it will only be offered on cruises longer than 7 days.

[no1racefan1]

We had to return the van we had rented at LAX to their Long Beach lacation plus had to check out of hotel so we ended up early at the terminal. Our time was originally 12:30, delayed by an hour to 1:30 (they emailed and phoned us to make sure we knew), but we still had to arrive around 12. By 12:45 we were checked in and eating lunch. Didn't see anyone taking embarkation pictures though. Many FTTF were boarding at the same time as us.

We went up to deck 10 aft to the BBQ place where there was lots of table space. Went up there again during the week because the meal was delicious. Potato salad, coleslaw and choice of smoked beef, pulled pork or chicken and a soft roll plus Guy's sauces for the meat. Really good.

Went to the steakhouse first night and as previous poster said it was a delicious meal. Free bottle of wine the first and second nights. Our server also explained that any wine on the list was 1/2 price tonight so after thinking that out we realized that we could each order a bottle of wine (4 of us), have them uncork it, taste it and then ask them to keep it for us for dining room use until gone and that's what we did. This made our wine way cheaper than buying the wine package and we got to try more expensive wines. Great deal! I don't know if they do this all the time or not. We've been on Splendor before and in the steakhouse first night and never heard of this deal!

My friend and I did go to tea time on the first sea day. It was at 3 pm in the main dining room. Cucumber and smoked salmon small sandwiches and a variety of desserts plus tea.

Over the week we saw several of the comedy shows, both family and adult and did enjoy them. The room fills up fast so go early. We would have gone to more but there was always a conflict with dinner times and/or the show they were offering in the theatre.

Sunday was the oyster day. Fried oysters as an appetizer. You could taste they were oysters but they were heavily breaded and deep fried so kind of overcooked.

Excursions: As seniors who can't do a lot of walking my friend and I chose the Land's End boat tour in Cabo and we enjoyed it. In Mazatlan we went on the 10 Best tour and enjoyed that as well. Nothing planned for P.V. but off ship they were selling a tour of the area for $25 so we decided to go after lunch. The price is for a full van but by that time no one else was looking for a tour. We ended up having a tour for the two of us for an extra $5 each and it was just the greatest few hours. The driver was an excellent tour guide. The highlight of the whole tour came at the end when he took us just off the road into the rain forest to see a 'neighbourhood'. We could not believe the little community in there with hydro, running water and 2 small convenience stores. Some homes were shacks, some were modest dwellings and a few were larger although nothing outlandish. Saw a few vehicle plates from Washington state and Arizona. Americans staying the winter. Really great tour.

Mazatlan: shrimp capital. Our tour stopped near the Shrimp Factory and we ordered a plate of beer-battered shrimp 6 jumbo shrimp and I do mean jumbo with dipping sauce, rice, veg, nachos with sauce. I believe it was around $14US and well worth trying that fresh shrimp.

We were with my friend's son and 2 of his friends and in PV they all did the scuba excursion. They just raved about it. They said so much of it was completely unexpected because it was not in the tour blurb they had read. Excellent time they said.

Don't miss the show on Monday night. 88 Keys, the Rock and Roll Piano Show. One of the best shows I've seen on a cruise.

The new dinner menu: well, you'll judge for yourself but I do love trying different foods and yet there were 2 nights of the cruise where the menu had nothing that appealed to me and I resorted one night to the flat iron steak and the other to the pork chop. There were a few really good dishes, one with fillet mignon and beef short ribs, and prime rib served two nights. BBQ ribs were good as well. Some great desserts like Grand Marnier Souffle (but I think that was also on the old menu) and vanilla creme brulee. I found the pies were a miss. A different pie was offered each night. I tried the blueberry and later the cherry and the crust is really not good while the fillling is dry. Unless you don't see anything else you like I'd pass on the pies. Sorry to say there was no Baked Alaska as some posters thought there would be. We were told it will only be offered on cruises longer than 7 days.

 

We were on the same cruise; I posted a review separately but wanted to chime in here. Agree about the oysters; I didn't have them but DH did. He really liked them but peeled most of the breading off because they were very heavily breaded. Also agree about 88 Keys--we caught most of the production shows and they were all really well done we thought. The performance by John on the piano was just spectacular!

 

We actually really enjoyed most of what we had in the MDR and overall found the dining experience to be our favorite part of the trip. I thought the Grand Marnier soufflé was kind of bland but ate it anyways because we try not to waste food unless it's just not good. The white chocolate banana bread pudding on the last night was absolutely amazing though, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

[famof4togo]

Thank you guys so much for the reviews !!! Glad you enjoy your trips !