Here's My 20+ Page Splendor Review/Cruise Journal!!

[WAcruisers]

What a wonderful review.........well written and comical! I can't wait for the rest of it.

[SenatorsFan]

Hope you've had a very Happy Anniversary. I look forward to reading the rest of your adventures.

Heather

[luvcdays]

Thank you so much for writing your take on the cruise. You are one of the best writers I have seen on these boards and I agree with you on almost everything! Scary huh!

 

Regarding the banquettes along the windows on deck 5, I find it very entertaining to people watch there (yes, Stacy & Clinton would have a field day) and read a book, but with the high backs, you can't enjoy the water view, which is the reason I cruise. Also, I don't know whose brilliant idea it was to put the mini golf course above the Serenity area. It's hard to relax with all the screaming children up above you!

 

Happy Anniversary to you and your wife and many more to come.

[carqueen1]

Happy Anniversary! I am waiting for the rest of your review! I leave in 2 weeks on the Splendor....:D

[CalmCruiserNC]

Day 5: Cabo, here we come!

 

Yet another calm night at sea. Seems that in spite of Jimena, the Captain has kept us not only out of harm’s way, but sailing on some of the calmest seas we’re ever experienced.

 

As usual, my day begins in the gym – but contrary to yesterday morning, today there was less than half of the crowd I encountered at the same time yesterday morning. I’ll predict I’ll have the place to myself by Saturday.

 

Linda is off playing the Match Game or something and I’m sitting up in the Lido Liner Bar area having my idea of lunch – a massively stacked turkey sandwich on rye with lettuce, tomato and a little mustard. The Deli is really one of the ship’s best places to eat.

 

What’s different back here today is the humidity. Now that the Captain has sailed south and far west of the storm for an entire day, he’s turned the ship directly toward Cabo – and the heat and humidity are increasing every hour. After my lunch, I’m heading up to my quite, shady spot on the Serenity Deck. I know I’m not the most exciting cruiser whose ever written a review, but for kindred spirits simply looking for a gentle and relaxing vacation, I can definitely tell you where to find it onboard.

 

Sadly, while a few spa treatments would be a nice contribution to the relaxation I seek, the spa services onboard seem ridiculously expensive and are, from what our fellow passengers have shared, followed by an obligatory, rather persistent sales pitch for products or more services, which they felt negated a good deal of the relaxation value of the service they had paid for. So, even though I came on the cruise with a spa budget set aside, I’ve decided to pass.

 

It also seems that a lot more people have discovered the Serenity Deck – unfortunately, they don’t seem to understand the “serenity” part – boisterous, cackling laughter, obnoxious carrying on – speaking so loudly their conversations were inescapable. The “regulars” up here are obviously joining me in my contempt for these horrid, ill-behaved newcomers. If all they wanted was an adults-only section, the Lido Liner pool area would be a MUCH better and more appropriate choice. People up here are trying to read their books, relax while gazing at the sea, take a nap in the sun — or write a review. Conversation up until now has been minimal, quiet and private – sensitive to the space of others. Shouldn’t the name of the area itself give people a reasonable clue as to how to behave — or am I expecting too much?

 

Linda and I grabbed a little something to eat and played cards back on the Lido Liner area. While there, we decided to skip dinner in the MDR and instead have something simple from the buffet and watch the Big Screen movie, “Seven Pounds.” We remembered hearing the title months ago, but couldn’t recall anything about who was in it or what the story was about.

 

So we went to the gym (they do need more variety in their music – same songs over and over again, day after day), checked out my latest photos (still none worth buying), bought a red/orange pseudo-pashmina for Linda’s salsa dress for the second formal evening and headed back to our room.

 

I thought about doing a load of laundry, but it’s a bit of a hassle if you don’t plan ahead. If you don’t have quarters, you have to go to the casino and go through some procedure that seemed more complicated than necessary (why can’t I just go to the purser’s desk?). The machines are quite small, and a load will cost you $5-$6 NOT including the detergent. If you’re planning to do laundry, plan to bring a roll of quarters and detergent with you for sure. They do have a wash and fold special — a whole bag of laundry for just $15 — and that sounds like a bargain compared to doing it yourself UNTIL you see the BAG! A couple of t-shirts, a few pairs of socks and my gym shorts had the bag busting at the seams — definitely NOT worth $15!

 

Our dinner and movie date didn’t turn out as we had hoped. The food wasn’t very good up on the Lido buffet – in fact, it was pretty poor – and the movie was even worse — so we ended up going to the MDR for dinner after all. Our discussion tonight was about the quality of the food onboard, and the unanimous opinion was that our label of “perfectly adequate” was actually an over-representation of the sad truth that the food aboard Splendor isn’t very good and service in the MDR is perfunctory at best. Other than the Pinnacle Steakhouse and the deli, I simply can’t recommend cruising on the Splendor for it’s food or dining service. Mind you, there IS plenty to eat — and much of it is tasty enough — but the cuisine on board is definitely NOT the highlight of the Splendor.

 

After dinner, we made a tour of the clubs — danced a bit at the disco’s 70’s and 80’s party (fun for sure, but freestyle dancing isn’t my idea of dancing), popped into the piano bar (EXCELLENT performer, but the lounge is EXTREMELY smoky), listened to a few guys audition for the role of James Brown at the karaoke competition in the Morocco lounge (no one remarkable, but a lot of fun nevertheless) and headed to bed by midnight.

 

Tomorrow, the scheduled time in Cabo is from 7AM until just 2PM, so we need to get started early if we want to have any time to do much of anything.

[sing2sas]

I too am rethinking the supper club. It sounds like wonderful food and the chance to have a very exceptional meal. I've always thought CCL had good enough food, but not usually the kind to make you sit up and take notice. I appreciated your comments about the spa selections and things to eat that won't assure us of taking home 5+ extra pounds at the end of the week.

[crystal blue]

Thanks for the great review so far. Looking forward to the rest. I also enjoyed the supper club when I was on the Freedom a couple of weeks ago and the food was outstanding. I'm on the Splendor this Sunday and already have my reservations set for two nights. I would recommend the supper club to everyone.

[CRUISING71]

Just to be a contrarian--

 

Thank you for your review-- Since you did not step off the ship in Ensenada your opinion of this port does not make any sense!

 

All the times we've been to Catalina we used Avalon's tenders, never the ships.

 

You are so right about waiting to be out of port to get that first DOD. The sales tax rate is almost 10%!

 

We were on the same cruise with Calm cruiser...they use the ship's boat to tender us, not Avalon's tender.

[CalmCruiserNC]

Day 6: Cabo San Lucas – Margarita Day!!

 

The alarm was scheduled to go off at 8AM, but Linda was up and ready to go by 7:30AM — so we were among the very first people off of the ship.

 

Once off of the tender, we walked around the marina, past the dolphin adventure and stopped in front of a restaurant, Wamango de Baja, to check out what they had to offer. Sitting at the very outside section of the bar was a man, who we later learned was vacationing in Cabo from Canada. He told us that it was the best place on the bay to eat, so Linda and I took him at his word. Linda ordered huevos rancheros (excellent) and I ordered my first margarita (yes, it’s not even 8:30AM yet) and some guacamole.

 

Before I continue, you should probably know that Linda and I really aren’t drinkers, but on one day during each and every cruise, we (as in “I”) declare it “Margarita Day” and on that day, we (as in “I”) get plastered. Today is that day!

 

So, while we were having breakfast, the gentleman who convinced us to come into the place shared with us that for the past 36 hours, the people of Cabo had been relentlessly at work cleaning things up for the arrival of us and the Mariner of the Seas – and they had apparently done such a great job that we couldn’t really see any evidence of storm damage, even though they had endured a pounding of torrential rain and extreme wind that left everything covered in mud. He was soon joined by two 50-something, stoutly-built, bald-headed identical twins who proceeded to polish off a half-dozen bottles of beer in less than the time it took Linda to eat her breakfast. That will prove to be important later in the review.

 

We finished up and headed on our way, in search of some suitable souvenirs for our staff and friends at home. As has been the case in every port we’ve ever visited, no matter which shop you pop into, the identical merchandise will be available — and the further away from the port you venture, the lower prices get. We’re not really in search of anything unusual — and ended up buying bottles of hot sauce for my assistant, Steven, and bottles of vanilla for everyone else. The lowest price we managed to find for a 4 oz bottle of vanilla was $2 – one quarter of the price the same bottle was being offered for at the flea market directly off of the ship’s tender pier.

 

Now, for another lesson in Spanish, you may find it interesting to know that “Cabo San Lucas” is originally part of the Mayan language, and it means “Hot as Freakin’ H-e-l-l” Truly, I can’t remember a more sweltering place we’ve ever visited, and while it is early September, it’s also well before 11AM. What the temperature reaches by mid-afternoon, I would be horrified to discover. Luckily, we plan to return to air conditioned splendor (see how I cleverly fit the name of the ship into my review) long before then!

 

On our way to my second margarita, we stumbled across an absolutely beautiful restaurant, O Molé Mio, filled with some of the most amazing metalwork tables, chairs and spiral staircase I’ve ever seen. I have no idea who the artist was – and we (as in “Linda”) were still full from breakfast, so we didn’t stop to eat there. A note for future visits is to definitely experience this place!

 

Linda also fell victim to a barker on the street, imploring us to pop into his jewelry shop – and we were actually impressed by the selection and the quality of his merchandise. He even offered us free bottles of ice water and beer while we shopped — which was definitely a first for us! Had he been offering margaritas, I would have been tempted to just hand the credit card over to Linda and let her go crazy. Luckily, margaritas aren’t among his offerings.

 

He did have something Linda was VERY interested in purchasing – a silver sugar spoon with a Mayan calendar bowl. Linda’s close friend, Barbara, collects sugar spoons and it would be the perfect Christmas present for her, so Linda asked how much it cost and was told — after a lot of explanation and weighing and polishing and calculating — $45. Linda politely said that while she certainly meant no offense and was sure the spoon was well worth the asking price that she and Barbara have a friend’s agreement to keep Christmas presents around $25 (which is true) — and the price started coming down, down, down. Mind you, there was no negotiation happening, for Linda a $25 limit is a $25 limit — but in less than three minutes, we were walking out the door with the silver spoon in our possession for (insert drum roll) $25! I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that we could have had it for less, but haggling really wasn’t the point.

 

We headed back toward the ship about 11:30AM, planning to stop for another margarita on the way. We walked past the restaurant we had breakfast at and the Bald Brothers were still perched on their stools, enjoying their beers. I had to ask if this was their usual routine and their somewhat-slurred answer was “Only on days ending with a ‘y’”!

 

For my second margarita, we chose a different restaurant, No Worrys, which was offering 2-4-1 margaritas, placed an order and started up a conversation with the table of ladies seated next to us. They were sailing on the Mariner of the Seas that had also left Long Beach at the same time Splendor did. Their captain had decided to sail more aggressively and took the ship through some of the outskirts of Jimena in order to visit Mazatlan on Thursday. The said the seas were quite rough, and they had to hold onto something whenever they attempted to walk anywhere. So I guess that was the big trade off — no Mazatlan but calm seas for us. I’m OK with that.

 

I wanted to order another round of margaritas (side note … Linda doesn’t drink, she just takes the occasional sip, which means that a “round” means two drinks for me), so I checked our cash situation following Linda’s spoon splurge, and decided to conserve the cash we had remaining on hand in case we wanted to buy something from one of the street merchants or the flea market. So, I asked the waiter if they accepted credit cards and was told that their machine was broken (due to the storm?). Now this was NOT some tiny little joint where you grab a cervesa – but a VERY nice restaurant with substantial prices on the menu that told me the average diner wasn’t likely to carry that big of a bankroll — but I took him at his word and we got ready to take our leave and continue our journey back to the ship. Linda and I both needed to take advantage of their restrooms, and on my way back to our table to pay our bill, I walked in front of the cash register and asked the manager who happened to be standing there if their credit card machine was working again — and his reaction to my question made it very clear that it had never been broken! So I informed our waiter of the miraculous coincidental restoration of modern banking services in his establishment and ordered another round!

 

By this point, it was after 1PM and since the last tender was at 2PM, we figured we should beat the crowd and headed back onboard. I must confess that I have no recollection of the ride back to the ship. Next thing I remember, I’m lounging out on our balcony, feeling all mushy and sentimental, proclaiming my love and devotion to Linda and counting our many blessings. Then, I was struck by a powerful nap attack, and my experience of the sail away is only through the photos Linda took. Behold the power of margaritas!

 

I slept for a couple of hours and then showered (there was no hot water on board for most of the afternoon for reasons my margarita consumption has erased from my memory), dressed and went to the “Future Cruisers” talk — and purchased one of the OBC voucher deals for our next voyage on Carnival. I’ll share with you now that we’re not cruise line loyalists by any stretch of the imagination — and there’s a lot of cruise lines we have yet to experience — but when Carnival is dangling a deal in front of us in addition to the 25% discount we received thanks to Jimena, we figured we might as well take advantage of the opportunity.

 

The free wine was good too!

 

So back to our stateroom to get ready for the second “Elegant Night.”

 

The second formal night annoyed the heck outta me, but I’ll begin with a review of the basics. Linda was STUNNING in her hot red/orange salsa dress with the flared ruffled bottom — and became the subject of many a compliment on our walk to the restaurant. Our tablemates are all snappy dressers and we’ve become good companions. Tonight’s meal was much of what we’ve all come to expect, which is food that was perfectly OK but unremarkable. My cream of broccoli soup was very Campbell’s, save for the fact that the broccoli bits were RAW. Linda and I both ordered the shrimp cocktail (ho-hum) and the chateaubriand (overcooked, gray and somewhat tough). Escargot was also on the menu, and a couple of our tablemates ordered them, but didn’t have much to say about them. I think by this point in the cruise, we’ve all just had our fill of food PERIOD — good, bad or mediocre — so there wasn’t much to say about it.

 

The big topics at dinner were the half-dozen babies in highchairs in our vicinity who were just SCREAMING their heads off — and the rampant lack of compliance with the dress code for a cruise elegant evening at table after table around us.

 

At that point, I had had enough of it and voiced my feelings, directly and emphatically to our waiter, who basically shrugged in a “we’ve just given up” sort of way. Now, I have consciously resisted any and all temptation to compare this cruise with any other we’ve gone on (with the exception of my comment about the lifeboat drill many pages ago) so let me be as clear as I can be about this. I am NOT expecting Carnival to meet any standards other than those that it has set for itself. ALL I expect is for Carnival to tell me what the rules are and then FOLLOW them. That’s it … nothing more and nothing less. As important as rules may be throughout daily life, they are particularly important aboard a ship – and if the staff isn’t able or willing to follow the rules that we DO see — how can we have any faith that they’re adhering to the rules we CAN’T see? Ignoring the rules in this case, results in rewarding the people who aren’t following them and punishing those who do. Rewarding negative behavior can only lead to more negative behavior, and sooner or later, the mob rules — and THAT can be a very dangerous situation aboard a ship.

 

What all of you should learn from our experience with the dress code aboard ISN’T that you should follow the rules, since the standards have obviously deteriorated way past the point of no return. What you should learn is that you can ignore everything that Carnival prints about the dress code. Evidently, you are absolutely free to wear ANYTHING you want ANYTIME you want and no one is going to say a thing to you. Ripped jeans? Board shorts? T-shirts? These and so many more options are now considered acceptable as Cruise Elegant attire! And in the less-than-getting-struck-by-lightning chance that someone actually does say something to you, just feign ignorance and you’ll DEFINITELY get away with it. So save yourself the trouble of planning your wardrobe. Leave anything decent you own at home, and just come as you are! You surely wouldn’t expect to be served escargot, chateaubriand and baked Alaska wearing flip-flops and a beach cover-up at a 5-star restaurant at home, but here on the Splendor, the maitre’d has a table waiting just for you! It just proves the saying, “You can put the people into first class, but you can’t put first class into the people!” Shameful … just shameful!

 

Thank you for letting me get that off of my chest — I feel so much better now!

 

After dinner, we danced a bit in the main lobby bar (great little duo performing there) and headed to the Spectacular Spectacular Showroom for the highly-touted production “VROOM” We lasted about 15 minutes before we’d seen enough — but we did realize that we needed to update our review on the entertainment onboard. The musicians are ALL quite good — it’s the showroom singers and dancers that are really weak. Unfortunately, as strong as the band is, the focus in VROOM is all about the singers and dancers, so it wasn’t very good. If we hadn’t seen production shows on other cruise lines (admittedly from a decade ago) we would probably have thought it quite good, but those of you who have cruised a lot know what I mean when I say production shows aren’t what they used to be.

 

We would have loved to hang out in the piano bar or danced in the Robusto bar, but both venues are inescapably smoky. I accept them for what they are, but would have enjoyed the entertainment they offered. It might have been nice if just ONE evening during the cruise each of those clubs was non-smoking, but that wasn’t part of their plan. We did pop into the Morocco Lounge and caught some of the comedian’s r-rated performance. He’s quite funny and the place was PACKED.

[CRUISING71]

Hi, Everyone!

 

We just returned from our "Splendor Meets Hurricane Jimena" cruise — and as my different-thing-to-do activity on this voyage, I decided to keep a daily review in the form of a journal. I still have a bit of editing to do, but I thought I'd start posting it. I hope you find it an interesting read —*and learn a bit about what to expect if you're planning a trip on the Splendor!

 

Here’s a SUMMARY for those of you in too much of a hurry to read 20+ pages:

 

A baker’s dozen random positive aspects:

 

- The price simply could not be beat- Total agreed.

- Calmest seas we have ever experienced in spite of the hurricane- There are time we couldn't feel the ship move. It was wonderful.

- Bonus onboard credits and 25% future cruise discount due to hurricane

- Most comfortable bed we’ve ever had

- Nicely-equipped gym facilities

- Very spacious, well-appointed veranda stateroom

- Adults-only/non-smoking Serenity Deck and Lido Liner Pool Area

- Pinnacle Steakhouse offers SUPERB food and service

- ALL Carnival staff members have been VERY friendly

- LOTS of free drinks at Captain’s Welcome, Future Cruisers, Past Cruiser events

- Unlimited soft drinks and fruit juices sticker is a BARGAIN!-

- Lots of trivia and games to join and meet other passengers

- Disembarkation was a BREEZE- We got number 9...when they called our number...we took the elvator to floor 3 and walk off the ship...so nice and easy.

 

A baker’s dozen random negative aspects:

 

- Extremely crowded Lido Buffet and Interior Promenade areas- Totally agreed.

- Late night noise levels makes rooms on Upper Deck less-than-desirable

- Food onboard was really just OK — and we’re easy to please!-The foods in the Lido was just ok. Sometime in the dinning room was okay too.

- The clocks around ship were always incorrect -- so don't rely on them

- Never-ending photo ops — and the shots are EXPENSIVE and grainy. hahaha I am victim...brought a few for $19.99 each.

- LOTS of kids, LOTS of obnoxious adults, LOTS of smokers Did you see the window was shatter in the circle C, because some kids thought it was funny to bang their head on the window?! Sometime, I wonder why they bother wearing jean at all..because they hang below their butt and show all their boxer short.

As for adult...my gosh...we were on our way to dinner and this lady was completely naked walk out in the hallway right in front of our son. They have towels and robe in your room!!!!!

- The ship’s layout is confusing and often inconvenient- After 7 days, I am still confused. Finally figure out...level 5 is the only level that can take you through. But too late...we are leaving. It was very frustrated with the ship layout.

- Doors on the balconies SLAM shut — VERY noisy and VERY dangerous

- Formal night dress code is widely ignored and apparently never enforced

- Our shower always flooded the bathroom floor no matter what we did- We thought we were the only have having this issues. I have to shut off the water mid shower, to let the water drain, afraid it will flood the bathroom floor. hehehehehhehe

- Spa services are absurdly priced — and you get pressured to buy stuff

- Production shows just aren’t what they used to be- Agreed...the comedian guy were not that funny.

- Lifeboat drill was stifling HOT- And hello?! why would you let your kids blow the whistle?! It was so gross.

 

Overall, we had a GREAT time — so the positives in my review will easily outweigh the negatives —*and we would definitely love to cruise on Splendor again!

 

Here come the details!!!

 

Great review

[CalmCruiserNC]

Day 7: Heading north —

 

Didn’t sleep well last night. As much as I enjoy the ship finally moving with some speed, along with that speed comes something we hadn’t encountered in the first 5 nights --- vibration of items in the stateroom. I couldn’t figure out what exactly was causing the random, ongoing rattle in the general area of the balcony window and door, but it was annoying enough to disturb our rest — and the disco was running MUCH louder and MUCH later than any other night. Even with our earplugs, it was a fitful night’s sleep.

 

The gym is, as I predicted, an absolute ghost town – in fact, the ship seems minimally populated today, probably from partying in the disco until 4AM. Right now, it’s 11AM and I am the ONLY person on the Serenity Deck, exactly as it should be. J

 

Something at lunch upset my tummy, so I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around on our balcony and watching “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – which was really pretty good — and “Night at the Museum” — which really wasn’t.

 

For dinner, Linda and I returned to the Pinnacle and had yet another marvelous dining experience. Linda had intended to go to the passenger talent show, but I didn’t want to feel queasy again, so we headed back to the room to change out of our dinner duds. In the process, Linda started watching the part of Benjamin Button she had missed, and the next thing you know, we were fully-packed, our immigration documents were filled out and I was lugging our bags into the hall. One last step out onto our balcony revealed a beautiful full moon — and we were BOTH ready to get some sleep. So much for the talent show!

 

This was the very first time we’ve spent the last night of a cruise just the two of us — and I liked it a lot! We might have started a new tradition.

[crystal blue]

I truly have enjoyed your review so far. I too on every cruise have a Margarita Day or a Cosmo Day. Always seems to happen, but mine are usually not planned.

[CalmCruiserNC]

Day 8: Disembarkation Day —

 

We were up by 7:30A. The ship had arrived a bit early and at 7:45AM all passengers choosing to self-disembark were allowed to leave the ship. We went up to the Lido Buffet and enjoyed a last walk around the Splendor. I was surprised how UN-crowded it felt, which could be an indication that a lot of people chose to leave the ship unassisted.

 

They started general disembarkation around 9AM. We were in group #19 and were off the ship before 9:45AM. We found our luggage, went through customs, boarded our transfer bus and were at the LAX airport at 11:15AM, a full two hours before our flight home to Charlotte.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

The BIG question is, based entirely on this cruise, would I travel on Carnival again? The honest answer is, “Sure … ummmm …I suppose so.” — and we definitely will because of the discount deal — but I’m obviously not too excited about it. Mind you, I can’t cite any specific reason why I’m less-than-enthusiastic. Yes, there were many aspects of the cruise that could have been better — like the food and the production shows — but those aren’t deal-breakers for us. Overall things were just fine — and in many ways I have detailed, really GREAT! So what’s up with the tentative feeling I’m left with?

 

Perhaps, as much as I have tried not to compare this voyage with any other specific cruise we’ve experienced, I can’t help but compare it to cruising in general a decade ago, which truly was a different experience.

 

So, in closing, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend sailing on the Splendor — and wish all of you who do a wonderful voyage!

[poptart]

Day 8: Disembarkation Day —

 

 

 

Perhaps, as much as I have tried not to compare this voyage with any other specific cruise we’ve experienced, I can’t help but compare it to cruising in general a decade ago, which truly was a different experience.

 

So, in closing, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend sailing on the Splendor — and wish all of you who do a wonderful voyage!

 

You are so right, crusing a decade ago was a totally different experience....but I still love and enjoy it... Since we've cruised once or twice annually it has sneaked up on us. Our daugher and sil had cruised in 1999 and didn't cruise again until 2006 and they really noticed a huge difference. They were 'where is this and what happened to that"

 

So yes we do miss a few things, but we still always have a wonderful time. I enjoy the singing and dancing in the dining, I still enjoy the shows But my favorite thing of all is I enjoy being out on the open sea. A deck chair facing the sea, a good book, a fou fou drink and I'm a pefectly happy camper.

Soothes my soul!

 

Thank you for the review. I enjoyed it.

[CalmCruiserNC]

I too am rethinking the supper club. It sounds like wonderful food and the chance to have a very exceptional meal. I've always thought CCL had good enough food, but not usually the kind to make you sit up and take notice. I appreciated your comments about the spa selections and things to eat that won't assure us of taking home 5+ extra pounds at the end of the week.

 

Although losing weight wasn't my goal, I actually lost 3 pounds on this cruise. Even with two huge meals at the Pinnacle, choosing spa selections at dinner and keeping things conservative at other meal times, combined with hitting the gym and taking the stairs more often than not worked out very well. It really is possible to enjoy a cruise without gaining weight -- and with all of the fruit and the salad bars on Splendor, it wasn't all that difficult.

[CalmCruiserNC]

[quote name='poptart']You are so right, crusing a decade ago was a totally different experience....but I still love and enjoy it... Since we've cruised once or twice annually it has sneaked up on us. Our daugher and sil had cruised in 1999 and didn't cruise again until 2006 and they really noticed a huge difference. They were 'where is this and what happened to that"

So yes we do miss a few things, but we still always have a wonderful time. I enjoy the singing and dancing in the dining, I still enjoy the shows But my favorite thing of all is I enjoy being out on the open sea. A deck chair facing the sea, a good book, a fou fou drink and I'm a pefectly happy camper.
Soothes my soul!

Thank you for the review. I enjoyed it.[/QUOTE]

I'm with you about the favorite thing about a cruise. In fact, my absolute favorite cruises were our transatlantic crossings -- day after day at sea makes for a humbling and restorative experience -- and really gives you chance to see what the ship is made of, traveling full steam ahead!

I'm glad you enjoyed the review. I figured I'd gather some feedback from the readers of this thread and update/clarify my review before posting it in the review section, though I suspect my review may be longer than the system allows in a single message.

[NWgal65]

Thanks again for this most enjoyable review!
Question: If we want to self assist for debarkation, do we have to get off in the beginning, or can we wait and get ourselves and luggage off after the crowds have cleared? We have a late flight out and have time to kill. I'd rather not rush off the ship so early, but certainly get off early enough to be courteous to the crew.

[cruizinrican]

:)[quote name='CalmCruiserNC']

Ladies, an important message from my wife: BRING YOUR OWN HAIRDRYER. The hairdryers provided in the stateroom are definitely hot enough BUT you have to hold the trigger the entire time you’re using the dryer. A week of that could leave you with a case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.


Most people know this about Carnival's hairdryers and the holding of the button so we bring rubberbands to wrap around the button and the problems solved! I have to admit I was not the one that thought of this idea but it was a GREAT ONE!

Also, if you are going to be going in and out a bunch of times from the balcony, people have learned another trick for holding these back so they dont slam shut. Guests bring bungee cords and use it to hold door open.

Just thought I would share what I knew so far.

Enjoy reading your review very much! Still more to read so I got to get back to it! LOL

[cathyoo]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. I appreciate the good, the bad and the ugly.

[CalmCruiserNC]

[quote name='NWgal65']Thanks again for this most enjoyable review!
Question: If we want to self assist for debarkation, do we have to get off in the beginning, or can we wait and get ourselves and luggage off after the crowds have cleared? We have a late flight out and have time to kill. I'd rather not rush off the ship so early, but certainly get off early enough to be courteous to the crew.[/QUOTE]

You can leave at any time you'd like once self-assist begins -- but you have to leave when the last group's number is called. From what we were told, on this cruise, that was about 10:15AM.

[templed]

We were down in Cabo for the week before the hurricane... and I can definately say that you are right when you say it is FRIGGIN HOT! We walked from the "luxury street" part of the mall over to the Mango Deck (about a 1/4 mile up the beach, uphill)... and I was drenched by the time we got there. I think it was 100 degrees F or more, every day we were there.

We took a water taxi from our resort over to Lover's beach, and ended up going back into the Marina (right where the tenders drop off) and let me tell you, I think you were spared the guantlet due to the storm... I have never been hastled, begged, pleaded with more than in Cabo... Chicklets, Time Shares, Water Taxi's...etc. etc...

[CalmCruiserNC]

[quote name='cruizinrican']:)[quote name='CalmCruiserNC']

Ladies, an important message from my wife: BRING YOUR OWN HAIRDRYER. The hairdryers provided in the stateroom are definitely hot enough BUT you have to hold the trigger the entire time you’re using the dryer. A week of that could leave you with a case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.


Most people know this about Carnival's hairdryers and the holding of the button so we bring rubberbands to wrap around the button and the problems solved! I have to admit I was not the one that thought of this idea but it was a GREAT ONE!

Also, if you are going to be going in and out a bunch of times from the balcony, people have learned another trick for holding these back so they dont slam shut. Guests bring bungee cords and use it to hold door open.

Just thought I would share what I knew so far.

Enjoy reading your review very much! Still more to read so I got to get back to it! LOL[/QUOTE]

These are GREAT suggestions! My wife definitely wishes we would have thought about the rubberband!!

[CalmCruiserNC]

[quote name='templed']We were down in Cabo for the week before the hurricane... and I can definately say that you are right when you say it is FRIGGIN HOT! We walked from the "luxury street" part of the mall over to the Mango Deck (about a 1/4 mile up the beach, uphill)... and I was drenched by the time we got there. I think it was 100 degrees F or more, every day we were there.

We took a water taxi from our resort over to Lover's beach, and ended up going back into the Marina (right where the tenders drop off) and let me tell you, I think you were spared the guantlet due to the storm... I have never been hastled, begged, pleaded with more than in Cabo... Chicklets, Time Shares, Water Taxi's...etc. etc...[/QUOTE]

There were a lot of people trying to sell us tours and whistles — actually stopped us from pausing for a look around in fear that they might assume we were considering a purchase. I know they've had a very tough year with swine flu and the hurricane, but it does put a damper on the experience.

[carqueen1]

I knew about the bungee cord tip, but never heard of the rubberband trick for blowdryer. Thanks!:D

[templed]

oh man... I forgot about those stupid whistles...

Our resort had a "buffer zone" on the beach ... (they had a roped off area that the vendors couldn't pass) but they would stand right on the rope and play those stupid whistles to try to get your attention.