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    Carnival Splendor Review 8/13/16 - 8/21/16

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    DJW8385, I don't know if it's your picture or not, but on Ship Mate there is a picture of cheese cake tagged as Carnival Splendor, and it does look delicious.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

     

     

    Yup, I know that picture on there because it's my brother picture lol. If you want, you can check out my photos on there. My username on shipmate is the same as cruise critic.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Splendor - 8/13/16-8/21/16 South Caribbean - long review

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Here is my review of my trip. I want to thank everyone on CC who gave me advice, input as I was planning. I hope you enjoy and find it useful. If you have questions, just ask.

     

     

     

    Background

     

     

     

    We are a family traveling with our two kids (Girl-9, Boy-7). I have been on 4 previous CCL cruises (Holiday, Inspiration, Victory and Dream) and this would be my first traveling as a gold member. My wife, has been on two prior CCL cruises. It would be the first cruises for the kids. We had stateroom 9221. Prior to leaving, we received an upsell call for a captain’s suite. We passed as it was an additionally $2,500 or as we saw it, almost another cruise. We flew out from NYC on the morning of the cruise.

     

     

     

    Getting to the ship

     

     

     

    After a slight delay in NYC, we arrive in Miami International. We pick up our luggage and were directed to check in at the airport. The line moved slow and seemed disorganized. We were told that we had to check in here since we have the CCL transfer. We were given our Sail and Sign cards and told we would not have to wait in any lines, expect security when we got to the port.

     

     

     

    We take the transfer to the port and there she is, the Splendor. It is always exciting to see the ship for the first time. The Glory was also in port with us. When we arrived at the terminal, our checked bags were taken from the bus and would be brought to our rooms. The lines at the port was large and suddenly the check-in at the airport seemed organized and efficient. We were told to stand in line but it didn’t feel right, so I asked another person, indicating I had checked in at the airport. We were sent to Gate A (pretty sure) and were put on a short line. We were then taken off the line as we had our sign and Sail cards already. Security moved fast and after a few more zigs and zags around the terminal, we were on the ship! My son was the first to jump on proclaiming that our vacation had started!

     

     

     

    FTTF

     

     

     

    We had purchased FFTF. Since we had to check in at the airport, at first I didn’t really see the point but my opinion changed over the cruise. Here is why: When we got to the port, it helped us move along having FTTF. When we arrived at the ship, our room was ready which was amazing and when traveling with 2 small children, allowed us to free our hands. During the cruise I needed to go to desk services for a few minor things and having the dedicated line moved me along faster. I think I waited 5 minutes at the most for someone. The night before debarkation, I had a simple question, the line was so long without FTTF that I would have paid on the spot just to skip it and spend more time enjoying my cruise.

     

     

     

    Food/Service

     

     

     

    Please keep this in mind, my philosophy is that when you are cooking for large groups of people it will never be as good as Per Se or some other high end restaurant. I’m looking for variety in my meals. Prior to going, I read a lot of complaints about the new menus and the lack of table clothes. The new menus were fine and we did have table clothes on the formal nights. We had a conversation at dinner about whether a table cloth really increased our dining experience, for us it did not. Food, like most things, is a matter of personal taste. The only thing my kids were upset that was missing from the new menus was sushi as they both love it. The Bitter and Blanc, which I had read a lot of people upset that is not on every night, I found gross and not my taste. Once again, food is very much a matter of personal taste.

     

     

     

    MDR

     

    We had the early seating at 6 pm. This was a mistake on my end. I originally had YTD, which my wife and I did on the last cruise and loved. I was worried with the kids that we would miss the shows if we did not eat early, plus it is close to our normal time. We ended up going to the late shows and YTD would have probably worked better. We were seated in the Black Pearl upper. This was another thing I did not like about the early seating. YTD was in the lower level of the Black Pearl while the early seating was upstairs. This meant that you had to get up and bother people to see the shows that waiters performed on several nights. My kids are young and totally wanted to see the waiters dancing. It wasn’t the end of the world but the waiters on the upper level were not into the dancing. It was apparent and kind of funny.

     

     

     

    My service was ok. I didn’t tip any extra as I did not feel it went beyond basic. I found myself filling my own water often (which I don’t mind but I feel is basic service) and wasn’t offered the choice of getting a drink most nights. While in Aruba, we got back late as it was late port and missed dinner. We went to the MDR YTD and they sat us as I do not like the buffet (more to come on that). On that night, I found the service much better than we were having at our usual table. I’ve read a lot of complaints about the time dinner takes. I found on average dinner was an hour to an hour fifteen depending on if we got desert or not. It moved fine, even sitting with a 7 year old who is can’t sit still.

     

     

     

    Dinner choice

     

    I really like the new menu. The ports of call is a great addition as I would prefer to have something local as oppose to a DIJA that I probably already have had. Lobster was available for free on the first formal night. Our food came out quickly, was warm and cooked accordingly. My wife, who likes to limit her meat intake, found plenty to eat and a variety. My 9 year old ordered only from the adult menu and was always able to find something she enjoyed. My 7 year old did a mix and match from the adult menu and kids. It was cute – I will have the shrimp cocktail and a PBJ. The one night that I did not like the food in the MDR was the second formal night. I was just blah. I do believe they had prime rib but I had also eaten more red meat than I usually do and was tired of it. I ordered a few appetizers instead, which worked just fine for me. As this was an 8 day cruise, they threw in an Eastern Caribbean port of call on the last night.

     

     

     

    Buffet

     

    When we arrived on the ship, we went to the buffet. It was a mad house. It is to be expected. I prefer to sit and order food as oppose to wait in line. Thinking about it, it is not the waiting in line that really bothers me, it is the searching for the seats. We went to the Rotisserie and the burrito bar. I loved the burrito bar and often found it to have no lines. It was fast and yummy. The buffet lines were very long after Grand Turk as everyone got back about lunch time.

     

     

     

    Pizza

     

    People crack me up as some act like they have never seen food before. While waiting for 30 minutes because my son wanted pizza, I watched a guy who had two burgers on his plate (eating one while we waited, which I thought was a smart idea!) get two pizzas. I am amazed at how much people pile on their plate. I get it, you paid for it. The pizza was fine with a few choices.

     

     

     

    Burgers

     

    I had a burger one afternoon and it was fine. The lines were often very long for this. My son and daughter had a hotdog and both hated them. The fries were also tasty.

     

     

     

    Indian

     

    Always a homerun. Line moves very quickly and the food is tasty. I love the pickled vegetables as they are super spicy.

     

     

     

    Deli

     

    My son grabbed a turkey sandwich. The line moved quickly and there appeared to be a nice variety.

     

     

     

    Dr. Seuss Breakfast

     

    This was fun and took place on the last sea day. It costs and extra $5 and it is basically the brunch menu modified. Kids (and I saw some adults) could take photos with some of the characters.

     

     

     

    Brunch

     

    Brunch was great. I loved the variety of food and the pace of the meal. I had Steak and Eggs one morning while on another I had an omelet.

     

     

     

    Room Service

     

    Room service was lacking but served its purpose on early port days for us to get some food before taking off. For some reason, no matter what time we put for room service to arrive, they always showed up 15 minutes earlier.

     

     

     

    Ports

     

     

     

    Grand Turk

     

    We went to Jacks Shack. It is a nice walk down the beach and quiet. They also serve food and beer. Beer was $4 per beer. The beach was as clear as can be. For some reason the cruise took an hour off our time at Grand Turk. We were only there until 1 pm instead of the published 2 pm when we booked. That sucked as it was a short early stop to begin with. This was the only place we saw for hair braiding, if you are interested. This was the only port where another ship was also in (Conquest). Getting back on the ship was a little crazy and we saw at least two people pass out while waiting.

     

     

     

    La Romana

     

    We arrived an hour later than our published time. This was the port everyone complained about prior to the cruise on here. We arranged a tour through Seavis and it was amazing. They picked us up right at the dock and took us to their offices. We paid and off we went to a Saona Island. While at the island, we had lunch and drinks were free. We were not hounded by anyone for anything. The beach was ok. I think we were spoiled in Grand Turk. On the way back, we stopped at a sand bar and were able to snorkel and play with starfish. This part was amazing and made the trip. They also handed out a lot of rum. I would highly recommend this trip.

     

     

     

    Aruba

     

    My wife and I had bene to Aruba before, spending a week at the RUI. We booked through Carnvial the North Shore Jeep Safari. This was a blast. The drivers were while and the ride bumpy. Make sure to bring sunglasses. My son forgot his but we used his water goggles. The drivers were great and we stopped at a donkey sanctuary, a natural bridge, a church (waste of a stop), the California Lighthouse and then finally a beach. The beach was nice but there was a lot of coral. This is not going to be Palm Beach but it was a great way to end the day. The ride was very bumpy and we were encouraging our driver to be as crazy as possible while off roading. There are other tours where you drive the jeeps, our kids are a little young for those. This tour was great though. You are very dirty by the time you get to the beach.

     

     

     

    Curacao

     

    We booked through Resorts for the Day at the Santa Barbara Beach Resort. It was great. They picked us up at the port and took us right there. While there everything was included: food, drinks, and facilities. The beach was very calm and clear. If you bring snorkel gear, you will see lot of fish. The food was very tasty. I had fish tacos and we all shared chips/guacamole and fried plantains. The drinks were strong and they kept coming. We were brought back to the ship with plenty of time to get onboard.

     

     

     

    Sea Days

     

    This cruise had three sea days and I’m hooked on the two sea days coming back. My seven year old went to Camp Carnival and loved it. He kept asking to go. My 7 year old was more interested in the trivia going on and the other activities on the ship. There was always something going on. I did not find it hard to get a chair but I also preferred the AFT pool. The Lido pool was packed and it is expected as this is the hub of the party. I would recommend going to the Aft pool and enjoying the day. I also enjoyed using my balcony for peace and quiet to read.

     

     

     

    Entertainment

     

    Chloe is amazing. She is everywhere. My daughter wants to be a cruise director when she gets older! Charlie, Jesse, Trip and all the fun squad really made the cruise. We spent more time in the lobby in the evening than on past cruises and we had a lot of fun.

     

     

     

    They just started a murder mystery on the ship based off of Clue. My wife and daughter followed it a little bit but it was a letdown. They felt it started strong but ended weakly.

     

     

     

    I saw the following shows: 80s Show (there was some technical difficulties and the 815 time show was cut short). Wife and daughter went back for the 1015 show. I also saw 88 Keys and Rock of Ages (not the right name but you get the idea). I enjoyed the Rock show the best. Wife and daughter went to the 70s Studio VIP show. They enjoyed it and there was some interaction between the dancers and audience. The dancers (who we kept running into in port!) hang out in the piano bar after 88 keys and were available for pictures after the Rock show.

     

     

     

    There is a lot of music around the ship. My wife and I commented though it seems like they are all playing the same songs. I heard more Michael Jackson on this cruise than I ever want to hear again. It is not that I do not like MJ, it was just like the same three songs were played all over. Run For Cover was really good though we are pretty sure the male lead singer has no soul.

     

     

     

    We went and saw all the comedians but unfortunately we saw them doing the PG shows as my daughter was with us. They were hit or miss and some you could tell would be much better working blue.

     

     

     

    Did not visit the following: Casino, Night Club, Piano Bar.

     

     

     

    I discovered the Cool, a sports bar on the last night! Not sure how I missed it but I did.

     

     

     

    Final Thoughts

     

    The seas were calm, the sun was shining and the drinks were cold. I really enjoyed my trip. Shame on people who bash this ship and vacation. I got in a hot tub one afternoon and everyone was complaining. I got out as I’m on vacation. First world problems! Be happy you are in a place where you can go away for 8 days and buy $8 drinks. Is the ship pink? Yes it is. If I could change one thing, it would be how strong the AC blasts all over. You are walking in wet from the pool and warm from the sun and bam! You are freezing. I would go back on the Splendor in a second. My kids informed me this was our best vacation every. They want to do a B2B next year.

     

     

    Great review. My family and I were also on this cruise with you. The ports were great and we all had a great time.

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Forums

    Carnival Splendor Review 8/13/16 - 8/21/16

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Good question! I always forget, let me check

     

    PC

    Sea day

    Amber Cove

    St. Thomas

    San Juan

    Grand Turk

    Sea day

     

    PC

    Sea day

    Grand Turk

    San Juan

    St. Kitts

    St. Maarten

    Sea day

     

    Picked a moderately priced interior on 9. Final date of payment: April 3, April 10. So it's doable!

     

    SAN JUAN, my favorite port. I haven't been to Amber Cove. On my upcoming cruise next year, I'm looking forward to St. Kitts and St. Maarten.

    Carnival Splendor Review 8/13/16 - 8/21/16

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    I will be on a 6 day, western cruise; Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I am a bit disappointed by what I have learned of Montego Bay, in that it is very industrial area, and nothing pier side. Have to take a bus to a terminal building and then get tours or taxis from there. I have a slight mobility problem/walking, and this will likely mean I have to stay on board that day. But I will attempt Grand Cayman and Cozumel, because I know those ports and enjoy them, and can handle those. The ship sounds amazing though. I love the Tandoor, and am looking forward to trying the Rotisserie.

    Thanks also for mentioning the disinfecting wipes. I sometimes think I should have brought some, especially for the tv remote and the telephone, so this is a good reminder.:)

     

    IIRC, when we were in Montego Bay on the Carnival Dream in 2014, we walked off the ship and thru a terminal and outside the terminal is the buses and taxis. Maybe they changed that since we cruised. Hopefully someone will be able to assist you :) The Cayman Islands is a tender port (fyi) and once you get to land, you'll have to walk up a semi steep ramp from the tender to the ground.

    Carnival Splendor Review 8/13/16 - 8/21/16

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted · Edited by DJW8385

    thanks for your great review! Sounds wonderful. I really looking forward to my upcoming cruise on Splendor. I am glad the room temps are cool, as that was a problem on my last two cruises. Thanks again, and Magic looks like a great ship too, and one that I have my sights set on for the future.:)

     

    I'm glad you enjoyed my review. I'll be uploading some photos and the fun times once I figure out how to upload photos on here. What's the itinerary sailing with the Splendor??

    Carnival Splendor Review 8/13/16 - 8/21/16

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Thanks for the complete and useful review. You certainly have an obsession with germ transmission. I don't know if I would even remember to wipe and spray everything like that. It seems like you had a great time. Thanks for all the great info.

     

    No problem! I've been watching videos on youtube about some rooms not being cleaned. A subscriber I've been watching on YT suggested to bring some disinfectant wipes to re-clean the surfaces for that added layer of protection. I see you're doing a B2B. What's the itinerary? I'm booked on the Magic (8/5/17).

    Carnival Splendor Review 8/13/16 - 8/21/16

    in Carnival Cruise Lines

    Posted

    Okay, I finally got settled in and just a heads up, this review is lengthy. Some information, my parents, brother, cousin, my two friends and my brother three friends went with us on this cruise. I hope you all enjoy my review!

     

    Hilton Miami Downtown 8/11/16-8/13/16

    This is my brother and I second time staying at this hotel. Prior to me booking, I couldn't find this hotel in Expedia. Somehow, I searched for this hotel and they had a few available rooms left so we book. In the notes, they mentioned that the hotel is going through some renovations. The day we checked in, everything looked familiar like we haven't even left. We last visited this hotel in 2013 prior to our cruise. The front desk agent told us that he had some rooms either on the 1st floor or 15th floor. The only difference is that all of the first floor rooms are newly renovated and the fifth-teen hasn't been renovated yet. We opt for the first floor and the rooms were very nice. My brother and I rooms both (rooms125, 127,129) had views of downtown Miami, just as we did in 2013. My parents (room 108) had a nice view of the Port of Miami. The hotel offers a bar and you can order food from their menus. The chicken wings were GREAT (highly recommend).

     

    On Friday, we booked a sightseeing cruise on Expedia ($20/person) that took us on a scenic cruise through some of the famous actors homes and other landmarks. It was a 90-minute cruise and was worth the money. After that, we did some shopping at Bayside marketplace. It started raining so we headed back to the hotel. After the rain had stopped, my brother, cousin friends and I, took Lyft to South beach. This beach is beautiful. We used our sunscreen and mosquito repellant. After the beach, we took a Lyft back to our hotel, showered and went downstairs to the bar to order some food. The morning of the cruise was very exciting. Since my parents had a great view of the port, I wanted to see what ships were in port that morning. I spotted our ship (Carnival Splendor). We checked out and took two taxicabs to the Port of Miami. Heading towards the port, our cab driver told us the tunnel that we were going underneath is new. After the tunnel, we were in the port and the Carnival Splendor was right there.

     

     

    Embarkation Saturday 8/13/16

    We arrived to the Port of Miami around 12:15P.M. We all had the 12:00-12:30 check-in time. We dropped our luggage off at the porter and then proceeded to line. The port line to go through security was really long and I knew we wouldn't be on the ship for an hour or so. There was this port worker answering questions so I asked her about the special needs line for my dad and she instructed him to the line and told us that one other person may accompany him, so my mom went with him. She then asked to see our boarding passes and said that we can go directly inside because they were already doing the check-in for our time (we're a group of ten). The big line I had seen upon walking up was the 12:30-1:00 check-in time.

     

    Once inside, my parents were going the screening and so were we. Everything was really quick and the lines to get our sign and sail cards were expedited and efficient. We were on the Carnival Splendor by 12:45p.m. and I was really impressed. I love the new check-in procedures because this has been the quickest I've ever been on a ship. Once inside, we tried to see if our rooms were ready and they weren't, so my family, friends and I all went up to the lido deck for some lunch. The Carnival Splendor is a great and beautiful ship. Everything is well laid out on this ship. Our ship was sold out, so there were crowds of people but it wasn't as bad as I imagined for being a sold out cruise. The interior of the ship is PINK. It's not overwhelming and after the first day, I was use to seeing the color pink.

     

    After lunch, we went to our rooms to unpack the carry on items and to wait for our other luggage. After that, I explored my parents, my brother and my friend’s room. My stateroom was 8300, my parents were 8292 and my brother's stateroom was 8266, and my friend’s stateroom was 6412. These staterooms were balcony staterooms on the port side of the ship. My brother's friends stateroom was 8274 which was an inside room.

     

    After explorer our rooms, my cousin and I started cleaning our rooms. I packed some Clorox sanitizing wipes, Clorox sanitizing spray and I cleaned ALL surfaces of the stateroom & of the most common used things such as the remote control, door handles, knobs, and light switches. My cousin and I cleaned our balcony railing and the balcony chairs too. After that we sprayed our beds down with the Clorox disinfectant spray and did the same with our pillows. I've cleaned the phone four times with my Clorox wipes because it was really filthy especially the mouthpiece of the phone.

     

    After our cleaning, it was time for the muster drill. We were muster station D, F & G on deck 3 by the lifeboats. This drill seemed long and it was really hot out there since they had us packed like sardines (lol). They dismissed us about 30-45 minutes later by our muster zones and then it was time for us to sail away. There were three ships in port that day: Carnival Glory, Carnival Splendor and MSC Divina.

     

    The Carnival Splendor was positioned port side, which meant that we had to sail towards the turning basin to turn around. That was something new for me but cool to see the Miami skyline at the same time. We were the first ship to leave. After we completed our turn around, we sailed past the MSC Divina and then sailed passed the Carnival Glory and we cheered each other on. Once we got some distance from us, the Carnival Glory set sail as well. We were sailing through the channel and then past South Beach and that's when it started to rain. It was beautiful because it started lightning but not thundering.

     

    We met our room steward and then our luggage finally arrived. We had the late dining (8:15) at the Golden Pearl and our table was 334. Since we were a group of ten, I linked all of our booking numbers together, so that way we're sitting next to each other. Our table was directly in the back next to the window. If we had early dining, we would be able to see the ships wake. The food was great on the first night. After dinner, my parents ended up going to bed. My brother, cousin, friends and I explored the ship and went to the Red Carpet nightclub. The Red Carpet has a nice setup and layout.

     

    Day 2 FDAS- Sunday 8/14/16

    Nothing really to report as we were still exploring this beautiful ship. (Side note). We were originally booked on the Carnival Breeze but on 6/2015, Carnival did some dancing of the ships and the Breeze moved to Galveston and the Splendor took its place. Prior to the cruise, I was a little disappointed because the Splendor didn't have any of the 2.0 upgrades like some other ships in the fleet. Rest assure, this ship is great without the upgrades. I find that the Off the grill burgers are better but I did miss the guys burgers. The different food options are great. I tried the Tandoor restaurant and it was great.

     

    On the first day of the cruise, my friends, cousin and I went to the Liner bar in the aft part of the ship on deck 9 and our bartender name is Yada. She’s very nice and provides us with some information and some things on the ship. We decided to get all of our drinks from her for the duration of the cruise. (Side note, my cousin and I purchased the cheers package and we haven't hit out limit but we almost did for the first and second day).

     

    As we were trying to find the Golden Pearl, we happen to pass the FC desk as it was closed. Angel (from L.A.) informed me she was closed but she did ask me if I already knew which cruise I would like to book and I told her. She said she’d have my confirmation delivered to my room by the next evening. That was really nice of her to still book me even though she was already packed up for the evening. We're booked on a 8 day cruise on the Carnival Magic 8/5/2017 & it's going to Grand Turks, San Juan, St. Kitts and St. Marteen. I haven’t visited to the last two ports but I'm already excited. Dinner was great (I’ll upload all the pictures of the food throughout the cruise) and after dinner we were suppose to go to the comedy show but realized there was a line so we went to the club instead. We didn't get back to our rooms until 3am and had to be up by 8am for Grand Turks.

    Day 3- 8/15/16 Grand Turks & Caicos

    My cousin and I woke up around 9:30 am. The ship docked at 7am. We had only 2 hours to go to the beach here. We went to the lido for breakfast and I texted my parents to see if they left the ship yet and they did. My brother and our friends had already left the ship so my cousin and I met them at the beach. A couple of things I like about G.T. is looking at the ships in the pier with us. We docked right next to the Carnival Conquest and we took some pictures of the Splendor and Conquest. Also, G.T. main beach is beautiful. The water was warm and clear. I also took another picture of our ship in dock at G.T.

     

    Upon returning to the ship, the lines were long. We were in line for about an hour. A few people were dehydrated and a couple of people were wheeled into the gangway. We set sail close to 2p.m. Once on board, I had to visit the Mongolia Wok. The long lines are worth the wait and the food is delicious. After lunch, we walked around the ship to see what was going on and then headed to our rooms for a quick nap. Dinner was great; I had the beef lasagna with bacon Mac n cheese. After dinner, we went to the club. We're going to try seeing one of the comedy shows before the end of the cruise.

     

    Day 4- 8/16/16 La Romana, Dominican Republic

    Our ship arrived an hour early in port. I woke up to the local residents dancing and playing music out on the pier. Once I got out of bed, I immediately went to my balcony to capture the scenery and the music. La Romana is a great port. We didn't do too much at this port. We went souvenir shopping and went to the CoCo Campo restaurant. The service was great at this restaurant but our drinks weren't. My mom and I both had a mango Mai Tai, and it was juice. We didn't taste any of the rum. My dad and cousin both had a strawberry daiquiri, which tasted like Kool-Aid. If you happen to stop at this restaurant, I don't recommend the alcoholic drinks.

     

    After that, we headed back to the ship, since it was hot and humid. We decided to go to the lido deck since most of the people were already off the ship and we knew there wouldn't be any lines. My parents order some burgers from the grill; my cousin and I got something from Mongolian Wok.

    When I first tried Mongolian Wok on the Carnival Dream (2014), I was hooked. I told myself that if my next cruise ship has this, I’d get it. Today, I was in line for 5 minutes verses being in line for 40+ minutes when everyone is on the ship.

     

    After our lunch, we went back to the aft liner bar to visit Yada. She's from Thailand and she's been taking care of my family, friends and I with her impeccable service. After the bar visit, it was almost time to set sail from La Romana. When I got back to my room I ended up taking a twenty-minute nap and missed the sail away from La Romana. My parents, brother, cousin and two of my friends booked our shore excursion for Aruba. We decided on the Top 10 Best of Aruba. I'm excited to see what Aruba has to offer. We ended up skipping dinner and ordered room service instead. We're going to check out the comedy show tonight.

     

    Day 5- 8/17/16 Oranjestad, Aruba

    This was a shore excursion day for us. We did the Top 10 Best of Aruba excursion for $54.99. We purchased this excursion from our television the night before and our tickets were in our mailbox early the morning of our excursion. It was a four and half hour excursion so we were up by 7:00 am. The book said our excursion starts at 8:30 but we didn't leave until 9am. This excursion was worth the price we paid. We went to the California lighthouse, the national baby bridge and a couple of the most beautiful beaches I've seen. At the National Bay Bridge, there's a souvenir shop to buy some souvenirs, which we did. This tour allows the driver to drop you off by the shops that is in walking distance to the ship. If not, you can stay on the bus and the driver will drop you off at the port. My family and I choose to continue to shop in the area since we didn't leave Aruba until 10:30p.m. We got off the motor coach at 5:45 p.m. and continued to shop.

     

    Shopping in Aruba isn't bad. We weren't pressured into getting something we didn't want, just a simple "No thank you" or "Thanks". The vendors were very polite even though some of us didn't buy anything from them. We didn't stay to shop too long because we had dinner reservations at the Pinnacle Steakhouse. Originally, I had made these reservations for my parents, brother, cousin and I. My cousin is graduating with his masters in October and my birthday was on August 3, so what way to celebrate then going to a steakhouse, right? Oh man, where do I start? Before the cruise, I made my reservations back in October 2015 and I viewed the menu for the steakhouse and was astonished by what I had seen. The steakhouse menu was no different from the menu Carnival shows as an example online. It's truly a four-course meal. For starters, I ordered the baby spinach leaf salad but I forgot what my family had ordered for their starters. As our servers were taking our order, they had bought out some appetizers that were complimentary from the chef. My brother and I had the baked shrimp (really good) and my parents had some type of soup that they said was good.

     

    With the exception of my brother and cousin, my parents and I never ordered our steaks medium well and we decided to give it a try. Let's just say we DEFINITELY enjoyed our steaks and will be ordering medium well from here on out. I had ordered the spice rubbed cowboy steak 18oz(w/o the bone) and my parents had the NY steak (18 oz.), my brother and cousin both had the cowboy steak (w/ the bone). The steaks were tender and flavorful. I really didn't need to add any steak sauce since the steak was very juicy. After dinner came dessert. We all ordered Cheesecake w/ Hazelnut biscuit. When our cheesecakes arrived, they were BIG slices. I was shocked in a good way. The cheesecake was delicious. It's not the same cheesecake you get in MDR or room service.

     

    This cheesecake was very smooth and it tasted like it had some hints of coconut flakes added to it. We were able to take a couple of bites and asked for it to go. I was disappointed that our cheesecake wouldn't fit into the refrigerator, so my cousin and I left ours out. Once we realized the club was closed I went back to my room to finish my cheesecake (LOL). After that, my family and I ordered our shore excursions for Curaçao. We chose the Discover Curaçao Island Tour.

     

    Day 6 - 8/18/16 Willemstad, Curaçao

    Today was a shore excursion day. My dad didn't go on this excursion so it was just my mom, brother, cousin and I on this adventure. We did the Discover Curaçao Island Tour and this tour we visited the Hato Caves, Curaçao museum, salt flats, the blue Curaçao liqueur and drove across the famous bridge that we saw from our ship. The caves were hot because they were above ground. The cave tour was a half hour and then the tour continued with the other POI mentioned above. During the salt flats, we had seen some flamingoes. The Blue Curaçao liqueur was a nice tour. We watch how they made alcohol that they use as a disinfectant and it smells really good. This excursion had a souvenir shop.

     

    The Curaçao museum was interesting because it holds a lot of history. The museum used to be a military quarantined hospital and walking through the museum, they had some display of beds and bassinets, the main kitchen is very small, there's a piano room and a basement where they kept the most injured soldiers. Down in the basement were miniatures paintings of different buildings. After that, we went to the Jewish cemetery and after that we got dropped off at the shopping area that was close to the ship.

     

    We took a few pictures of the Dutch buildings by the pier and of the ship. The Carnival Splendor looked beautiful in port. After that, we headed back to the ship because it was really hot. We went to lido deck for lunch. For dinner, I ordered the steak from the steakhouse ($20.00) because of my experience from the steakhouse the night before. After dinner, I wanted to go to one of the comedy shows but fell asleep afterwards.

     

    Day 7 - 8/19/16 Fun Day @ Sea

    Today was a lazy day for us. My cousin and I slept in until about noontime. My parents and brother came into my room and told me that we missed the sea day brunch :(. After getting out of bed, we ordered the personal pan pizza from room service. This pizza is really good. The bread is PAN tossed and not the thin crust from the Pizza pirate. My brother, cousin, friends and I lounged in the aft pool and bar. Yada (our barge day from the day one of this cruise) told us about the sunset that will happen during the next twenty minutes. I took pictures because the sunset was BEAUTIFUL. I'll upload the pictures soon.

     

    After gazing at the sunset, it was time to get ready for dinner (8:15). This was our second and last elegant night dinner and tablecloths were used. Again, I ordered the steak ($20.00) from the steak house and it was delicious. I did take a picture of the menu but I forgot to do the dessert menu. From what I can recall from the dessert menu, Amaretto cake and the carnival melting chocolate cake was offered. Also the cheese and tropical fruit plate was offered on the menu as well. The staff danced for us (Black Eye Peas - I got a feeling). The food was great overall.

     

    I remember someone posting on here that the staff doesn't sing anymore but on this cruise, there were a lot of singing for birthdays and anniversaries. Another thing I noticed, that two out of the four elevators outside of the Gold Pearl were out of service only during dinner hours. This created long lines and I have no clue why this occurred. When I cruised on the Liberty (2013), Dream (2014), and Magic (2015), all the elevators by the dining rooms for dinner were in service. Instead, we walked up to deck four and walked through the Robusto Bar, walk through a hallway and walked passed the Board room and was at the mid-ship elevators with no lines whatsoever. It was a little annoying at first but we didn't have to worry about waiting in long lines to ride the two elevators that were in service. Tomorrow is another sea day and we will be returning back to port on Sunday :(

    Day 8- 8/20/16 Fun Day @ Sea

    Today is our final day at sea. We didn't do too much except to start packing. These eight days went by so quick and we had so much fun on this cruise. Since we had an early flight, we all had early debarkation tags (#3). We spent some time on the lido aft pool & bar and took some photos with our bartender, Yada. After that, I muster the courage to go down the slide on deck 11. That was really fun. At first, I was nervous but after I went down the first time, I went three more times (I'm such a big kid, lol). I didn't realize that the pools and slide used salt water. I don't remember the pool being salt water on the Magic. Maybe someone can enlighten me to why salt water was used. It didn't bother me but that it was odd.

     

    After the pool and a few drinks, it was time for us to get ready for our final dinner. Dinner was great. I ordered the ravioli and the caprese salad (Delicious). Our head-waiter (Alfonso) and his team were great. Roseanne knew my drink and folio every time I came to dinner and she remember my family and I at the club (great memory). After dinner, it was time to get my mind prepare to go back to reality. I kept looking at the map and each time we were getting closer and closer to Miami. We finished some last minute packing and then had our luggage outside by 11 pm.

     

    Day 9 - 8/21/16 DEBARKATION (NOOOOOOOOO)

    We woke up to our cruise director (Chloe) on the PA stating that we've been cleared for debarkation (7:15 a.m.) and in a few moments they would start debarking by zones. I thought I'd had enough time to grab breakfast in the lido before leaving this beauty but we didn't because our zone was called by 7:45a.m. We did some last minute sweeps of the room to make sure nothing was left behind and then headed towards deck 3 for debarkation. Once on deck 3, our S&S cards were scanned one last time to verify that we were checked off the ship and that's when reality hit me. Exiting the gangway, I took one last good look of my home for the last 8 days (Carnival Splendor) and proceeded on towards baggage claim and then customs. Customs process was very quick. When we sailed on the Carnival Liberty in 2013, the lines were ridiculous and the wait was an hour or so. This morning, we waited no more then 15 minutes.

     

    My thoughts

    Overall, we're very satisfied with this cruise. This is my fourth cruise consecutively with Carnival and my friends first cruise. They were very impressed as well. Even though we were originally booked on the Carnival Breeze, the Carnival Splendor was a great replacement when carnival moved some ships around. The Splendor is a great looking ship; the crew did an outstanding job in maintaining the cleanliness of this ship. Like I mentioned earlier, some areas showed some signs of rust particularly on the aft part of the ship. The ship was easy to navigate despite other reviews saying the ship was hard to navigate. House keeping staff was excellent. Actually, the entire staff was excellent. My cabin was 8300 and I saw my stateroom steward about four times during the cruise. His name was Dewa and he was very nice and attentive.

     

    My mom, brother, cousin and two of my friends purchased the social media Internet package. The Wi-Fi on the ship worked great for the first two days and after that, it was spotty. I know we're on a cruise and we should put our phones away, but I'm the type of person who likes to capture important highlights of my cruise and share some of them on my Instagram. Ironically, when we were in Grand Turks (phone on airplane mode and Wi-Fi on), T-Mobile messaged me to let me know that the Caribbean islands are included in my plan with free text messages, calls .20/ minute and data speeds at 2G. I never used my phone to make calls while cruising. Usually during my cruises, I always use the Wi-Fi to check my Instagram and email accounts. My opinion is to save the $30 for something else. The Wi-Fi was better then what it was last year on the Magic, I still wouldn’t recommend purchasing this because of the spotty coverage.

     

    Though this ship didn't have any of the 2.0 upgrades, the food choices were great. I visited Mongolian Wok twice, Tandoor (twice); off the grill (the entire cruise) burgers were great. Didn't get a chance to try the hotdogs. Also tried the grilled chicken from the grill and it was dry; the deli was visited four times. I didn't get a chance to visit the rotisserie but I did see it on deck 10. Room service was ordered throughout the cruise except for the last two days of the cruise. The specialty items that you pay for from room service was okay. I really enjoyed the pan pizza and the Philly cheesesteak. The chicken wings were okay.

     

    The rooms were very cold and at night I found myself turning the thermostat up a little. My stateroom steward Dewa, asked me about my turndown service preference (on the evening of our first night) and I asked if he can do both morning and evening turndown and he said it wouldn't be a problem. Dewa asked about our other preferences such as extra towels, pillows and hangers. I didn't get to see any of the comedy shows but a few people I met said that the shows were okay but I wanted to experience them for myself. Entertainment during sea days was great with many different events going on. Some of the officers on the ship had asked my family and I how are we enjoying our cruise and made conversation with us. That made us feel valuable and a VIFP (lol).

     

    Oh, prior to this cruise, I had 21 days at sea which means during this cruise I'll be turning gold. Upon embarkation, I was handed a gold S&S card and when I had printed my boarding passes, my VIFP # had GOLD next to it despite me still be RED. If any of you guys/gals are turning gold during your cruise, you'll most likely be getting a gold S&S card. Just check your boarding passes before printing them out.

     

    I love cruising and only been with Carnival. I feel I get more value for my buck with Carnival. I mentioned earlier that we are booked on the Carnival Magic for 8/5/17 and we're also waiting for Carnival to release the itineraries for the Carnival Horizon European sailings in November/December so we can book our cruise for 2018. Many of you know that the Carnival Splendor is going to China sometime in 2018. I'll be sad to see her leave but at last she'll have a good homeport. This ship has danced around so many homeports since her introduction (England, Los Angeles, NY, Virginia, South Carolina, Miami and Fort Lauderdale). I hope Carnival sends the Splendor back to Los Angeles before she heads to China. I would love to do another cruise on her again before so goes to Asia. I hope this review was helpful and I'm sorry if it's too lengthy. I wanted to touch the most important aspects of the ship. However is booked on the Carnival Splendor, you'll have a Splendid time. If you all have any over questions or comments, feel free and drop them here.

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