Just Returned from Splendor W/4yo & 7yo

[baismom]

We had an AMAZING time on our Splendor cruise last week. I am going through post-cruise-depression right now :). This was my 3rd Carnival Cruise (I've also done 2 Princess Cruises) and it was our first with the children. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

I took a few notes along the way that I thought may help others cruising with children for the first time:

 

-There is a good chance you won't get any "adult time" on the cruise if your child doesn't like the kids program. I wish I hadn't looked forward to being able to attend late-night comedy or the piano bar because I never made it to either place!

 

-It's ok to send one child to the kids program and not the other (this didn't occur to me until day 2). My 4 year old LOVED going to Camp Carnival. My 7 year old hated it. Once we found things my son could do with us, and we had great one-on-one time with him.

 

-We love eating in the Dining Room for breakfast but with kids the Lido Buffet was MUCH easier.

 

-On the Splendor, there are DRAWERS under the twin bed. We noticed this when we were packing to go home!

 

-The late night movies on-deck can be great for families (even if they are rated R). We had our kids bring their pillows from the room and my daughter slept through the movie while my son played his DS and payed no attention to the movie.

 

-My daughter was totally dehydrated the second day at sea--don't forget to have your children drink lots of water!

 

-Bring your video camera to dinner each night. We missed getting my daughter dancing with the waiters the night we forgot the camera.

 

-They will bring your kids' food to the table at the same time you get your appetizer which keeps them occupied.

 

-Randi's Happy Horses in Mazatlan is awesome and SO worth the money!

 

-The Dolphin Encounter in Puerto Vallarta was also fantastic...book it outside of the cruise line, it is 1/2 price and there were absolutely no issues with transportation.

 

-Certain forms of onboard credit are refunded to you if you don't use them on the last night of the cruise--we got a nice check back because of our Early Saver onboard credit we didn't use.

[MNmomof4]

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise. I'm been toying with doing this cruise in january 2011. My kids will be 3 and 5 by then. How are the pools for little ones? My will are use to the waterworks and they love being in the water.

[baismom]

My kids loved both pools. My 4 year old was big enough for the water slide & she loved it. We actually thought we would use the waterworks and on the last day of the cruise we realized that we hadn't even tried it!

[BC Gal Ann]

We are traveling with a 6 year old in December on the Splendor.

 

We are thinking of packing a short wetsuit for the water park and the pool, as it might be cool for her. Do you think this might be a good idea. She is also looking forward to going down the slide.

 

Did your children enjoy eating with you in the dining room for dinner? We are confirmed for early dining and are hoping that she will like it there. We have talked up the banana splits....

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip....Thank you for sharing a lot of informative information. I would have never thought of taking her to the movies with her pillow and DS.... great idea....

 

Was there one place on the ship that your children especially liked?

 

I have booked private tours in PV and in Mazatlan for our family. I may get someone to take her on Randi's horses while we do some shopping... might be a good plan... thanks for the idea.

 

If you can think of anything else that might help make this a fun filled holiday, I would really appreciate it.

 

Thanks

 

Ann :)

[baismom]

I think the wet suit is a good idea--the pool was cold our first day and we went in September!

 

My children liked eating in the dining room because they loved our waiters and were excited to see the "show" each night. We also told them that it was a place to show all of their good manners and my daughter pretended she was "Fancy Nancy" each night while eating :).

 

One thing I forgot--if you take them to "Welcome Aboard" show, sit in the front & middle of the theatre. They drop streamers from the ceiling and my son's favorite part of the entire cruise was when he collected a "huge streamer ball" to take to our room that night.

 

My kids LOVED going up and down the glass elevators. Mini golf was ok, my son got frustrated when the winds kicked up and it was difficult to get the ball in the hole. They also thought it was so cool that I would allow them to get ice cream whenever they wanted from the Lido Deck. There is a deck party one night and they enjoyed that as well.

[BC Gal Ann]

Of course the glass elevators... she will love them....

 

Ice cream whenever she wants.... perfect idea...she will totally love that....

 

The tip on the show... will make sure we are there early to get the seats.

 

By your statement, you must have put your children in nicer clothing for dinner, that is what we are thinking of doing.... she has been a flower girl 3 times and is so well behaved when dressed up. We plan on always being dressed up for the dining room.... just makes it that much more special.

 

We put her to bed between 7:30 - 8:00PM at home, but on holidays if she does not get cranky we will let her stay up much later. We can always try to give her a nap in the afternoon - that may not happen as she is so active and always likes to be on the go. Did your children have a nap?

 

Did your children like to walk the length of the ship and explore. Our son who is 25 likes to do that and I am hoping he will take her to do lots of exploring.

 

What time did you get to the Long Beach Pier and how long did it take until you were able to board the ship? Did your children get bored waiting or did you take something for them to do?

 

 

I can hardly wait for our holiday and being able to ask you these questions has made it that much more special for me.

 

Thanks,

Ann :)

[baismom]

Nope! They woke at around 8am and usually made it until 10pm

 

 

Did your children like to walk the length of the ship and explore. Our son who is 25 likes to do that and I am hoping he will take her to do lots of exploring.

Yes, my son liked to do that. There was a lot of space for them to run so sometimes we just grabbed a chair along the deck and watched them run back and forth :). In the early evening (after early seating) there weren't many people on the deck.

 

What time did you get to the Long Beach Pier and how long did it take until you were able to board the ship? Did your children get bored waiting or did you take something for them to do?

 

We got to the pier at noon. We did our funpass online so we literally just walked right on to the ship. No line at all. We went straight to lunch on the Lido Deck (Indian Food was AWESOME) and then our room opened at 2pm.

[MarkRosenthal]

We had an AMAZING time on our Splendor cruise last week. I am going through post-cruise-depression right now :). This was my 3rd Carnival Cruise (I've also done 2 Princess Cruises) and it was our first with the children. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

I took a few notes along the way that I thought may help others cruising with children for the first time:

 

-There is a good chance you won't get any "adult time" on the cruise if your child doesn't like the kids program. I wish I hadn't looked forward to being able to attend late-night comedy or the piano bar because I never made it to either place!

 

-It's ok to send one child to the kids program and not the other (this didn't occur to me until day 2). My 4 year old LOVED going to Camp Carnival. My 7 year old hated it. Once we found things my son could do with us, and we had great one-on-one time with him.

 

-We love eating in the Dining Room for breakfast but with kids the Lido Buffet was MUCH easier.

 

-On the Splendor, there are DRAWERS under the twin bed. We noticed this when we were packing to go home!

 

-The late night movies on-deck can be great for families (even if they are rated R). We had our kids bring their pillows from the room and my daughter slept through the movie while my son played his DS and payed no attention to the movie.

 

-My daughter was totally dehydrated the second day at sea--don't forget to have your children drink lots of water!

 

-Bring your video camera to dinner each night. We missed getting my daughter dancing with the waiters the night we forgot the camera.

 

-They will bring your kids' food to the table at the same time you get your appetizer which keeps them occupied.

 

-Randi's Happy Horses in Mazatlan is awesome and SO worth the money!

 

-The Dolphin Encounter in Puerto Vallarta was also fantastic...book it outside of the cruise line, it is 1/2 price and there were absolutely no issues with transportation.

 

-Certain forms of onboard credit are refunded to you if you don't use them on the last night of the cruise--we got a nice check back because of our Early Saver onboard credit we didn't use.

 

I just had to laugh, we just returned from the Splendor on what we thought was going to be a nice family vacation but our 8 year old loved Camp Carnival so much that he checked in around 8 each morning and some nights we had to get him at midnight to leave. He even ate dinner with them some nights, to be "with his friends" instead of eating with us. He had the week of his life and in the end that is all that matters, so we were the opposite of you, we had lots of adult time to rest and such.

[BC Gal Ann]

How wonderful that your son loved Camp Carnival. Did they give you some sort of walkie talkie to carry with you in case the child wanted to leave. I have heard nothing but good things about the time they spend there.

 

Our 6 year old might just love going there also, as she went to summer day camp this past summer and had a blast.

 

We are hoping that she will spend a lot of time with us. However if she enjoys Camp Carnival and wants to stay there, that would be no problem - it is as much her holiday as it is ours.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Ann :)

[MarkRosenthal]

How wonderful that your son loved Camp Carnival. Did they give you some sort of walkie talkie to carry with you in case the child wanted to leave. I have heard nothing but good things about the time they spend there.

 

Our 6 year old might just love going there also, as she went to summer day camp this past summer and had a blast.

 

We are hoping that she will spend a lot of time with us. However if she enjoys Camp Carnival and wants to stay there, that would be no problem - it is as much her holiday as it is ours.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Ann :)

 

 

No, we didn't get any walkie talkie but they do close for lunch so we would see our son then. We would go over the activitives and he pretty much let us know which ones he wanted to do, which was most of them. We did have some time together in the afternoons but if was happy in camp then it was fine with my wife and I. We had some nice rest, some dinners alone, and my son had the time of his life.

 

I totally agree with you, it's the children's vacation too and if they want to be with their new friends that is fine. My motto is that if the children are happy then everybody is happy, if they aren't then nobody is happy. Have a great trip and you will love the counselors, they are amazing.

[MarkRosenthal]

How wonderful that your son loved Camp Carnival. Did they give you some sort of walkie talkie to carry with you in case the child wanted to leave. I have heard nothing but good things about the time they spend there.

 

Our 6 year old might just love going there also, as she went to summer day camp this past summer and had a blast.

 

We are hoping that she will spend a lot of time with us. However if she enjoys Camp Carnival and wants to stay there, that would be no problem - it is as much her holiday as it is ours.

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Ann :)

 

If your little one would like to see the 6-8 year old Carnival Capers just let me know. I can fax them to you or scan them. No problem, we are all here to help each other.

[BC Gal Ann]

Thank you so much. I would love to have the Camp Carnival Capers.

 

You may fax me at: two five zero five four seven eight seven seven five

 

Thank you so much, I appreciate your help.

 

Ann :)

[MarkRosenthal]

Thank you so much. I would love to have the Camp Carnival Capers.

 

You may fax me at: two five zero five four seven eight seven seven five

 

Thank you so much, I appreciate your help.

 

Ann :)

 

Good morning,

 

I have the capers at home so I will shoot them over to you tomorrow morning. No problem and have a great time.

[BC Gal Ann]

I look forward to seeing them tomorrow.

 

Thanks and have a wonderful day.

 

Ann :)

[MarkRosenthal]

I look forward to seeing them tomorrow.

 

Thanks and have a wonderful day.

 

Ann :)

 

Good morning Ann,

 

I sent the fax this morning, please let me know if you received it ok. Enjoy and if you have any questions just let me know.

[BC Gal Ann]

I received them.... thank you....

 

Reading them, I could not believe all the fun filled times for the children. No wonder most of the kids love going there.... I would too.

 

Thank you again.

 

Ann :)

[MarkRosenthal]

I received them.... thank you....

 

Reading them, I could not believe all the fun filled times for the children. No wonder most of the kids love going there.... I would too.

 

Thank you again.

 

Ann :)

 

Good to hear you received them, sometimes due to the color of them they don't scan or fax well. Yes, so much to do at all hours of the day. My son really enjoyed the night parties so my wife and I would watch the movies by the pool each night and just chill out. At midnight or so we would head up to deck 10 to get the little one and even then he really didn't want to go. They did lots of great projects and he was busy all of the time and like I said previously he even ate dinner with them a few nights to be with his friends. Not the vacation we planned on but it ended up great for everybody. He is already counting down days until he can get back onboard. If you need anything else from our trip just let me know.

 

I hope you have a great time.

[BC Gal Ann]

You are so kind.

 

I can hardly wait until we are on the ship. We are going December 6th.

 

It sounds like our little girl is not going to be going to bed early. Oh well as long as she does not get cranky that is just fine with us.

 

We plan on watching a movie or two on the deck. I think it must feel somewhat like a drive in movie.... have not been to one of those in years.

 

I am so glad that your holiday was great and that you all had a good time.

 

I know that we are going to have lots of fun. I believe that attitude is everything.

 

We are hoping to take the Valor next December from Miami. The Early Saver program makes is very inexpensive and we hope to be able to get our flights with our airmiles. I thought I might see if they have a loyalty program on the ship. I have heard of the program from some of the CC posts. Hopefully they do - I am going to take all of the Valor information just in case.

 

You are the best....

 

Thanks and have a nice evening.

 

Ann :)

[MarkRosenthal]

Good morning Ann,

 

So nice to hear from you and I really hope you enjoy your trip. Since you are planning on the Valor next year might I suggest you purchase your future cruise certificates while onboard the Splendor, we purchased one for each of us. They are $100 each and for that you get $100 off your final payment plus $100 onboard credit for each certificate. You pay $100 and get basically $200 back. Free money is always good, isn't it?

 

If you need anything just let me know and I am glad your daughter enjoyed the capers. She will love coloring the backpacks, all of the art projects, the dances, and time with Friendship Freddie.

[BC Gal Ann]

Good Afternoon,

 

Wow I like free money.... I am going to purchase certificates for each of us.... thanks for letting me know... what a great deal.

 

I see that you are going to be taking the Splendor next year....that is great. It gives you something to look forward to. She looks like a really beautiful ship... I bet your son is excited knowing he is going to be cruising with her again.

 

She is totally going to love coloring the back pack, the dances, and all of the art projects.... she loves to make up stories with pictures. I bet she makes one up with Friendship Freddy.

 

I also plan on trying some drinks that sound delicious.... kiss on the lips, Miami Vice, strawberry Margarita and a peach mojito. Did you or your wife try any of these? I only like to have drinks that taste yummy.....

 

Did you try the Steakhouse? We are thinking of trying it one night, but have not decided.

 

Did you try the Burrito bar? I have never had a burrito, and not quite sure what it is, but I am going to try one. I like to try something new every day while I cruise.

 

Thanks again

 

Ann

[MarkRosenthal]

Good Afternoon,

 

Wow I like free money.... I am going to purchase certificates for each of us.... thanks for letting me know... what a great deal.

 

I see that you are going to be taking the Splendor next year....that is great. It gives you something to look forward to. She looks like a really beautiful ship... I bet your son is excited knowing he is going to be cruising with her again.

 

She is totally going to love coloring the back pack, the dances, and all of the art projects.... she loves to make up stories with pictures. I bet she makes one up with Friendship Freddy.

 

I also plan on trying some drinks that sound delicious.... kiss on the lips, Miami Vice, strawberry Margarita and a peach mojito. Did you or your wife try any of these? I only like to have drinks that taste yummy.....

 

Did you try the Steakhouse? We are thinking of trying it one night, but have not decided.

 

Did you try the Burrito bar? I have never had a burrito, and not quite sure what it is, but I am going to try one. I like to try something new every day while I cruise.

 

Thanks again

 

Ann

 

Good evening Ann,

 

Of course we had our drinks of the day, after all these years I have quite a collection of cruises glasses but of course in the good old days those glasses were actual glass and not plastic, laughing but true.

 

We hadn't planned on eating at the steakhouse but when our son stood us for for dinner we decided to go and it was wonderful, you won't be disappointed.

 

As for the burrito bar, yes we tried it but we live in southern california so we have burritos and mexican food all the time so we weren't as impressed as others were but it wasn't bad. What was great was the rotisserie although that is one deck up from the lido buffet. The chicken was great but the mac and cheese was excellent and a daily fixture for the little one. We also loved the mongolian station although that line moves slow because everything is cooked fresh for you, but it's worth the wait. The deli made some good sandwiches and although not on the menu will make a grilled cheese for the kids, another staple on our trip. We don't eat indian food much so we skipped that station although others said it was good. The burger station was fine and the pizza ok, the pizza is always busy 24 hours a day so at least it's fresh and it's filling. Personally, we like the pizza on princess much better but this is fine. So many stations to try and only 7 days to try them. BTW, if your daughter decides to have dinner with camp carnival some night and dessert you they have the usual staples for them, chicken nuggets, pasta, etc., all the things they love.

 

You are going to have a wonderful time and please ask me anything, I love to help.

[BC Gal Ann]

You really are so kind to answer all of my questions.

 

I will have to try the rotisserie chicken with all the fixings.. it sound good. I am not much for Indian food also – I find it way too hot for me and it has an unusual taste. I will also love the Mongolian station, I bet as you say it is worth the wait… there is so much to try… Our family is going to be trying so many things.

 

I plan on having a hot chai tea every day from the coffee bar (at least if it tastes good). That is something I really like, our room is on the upper deck, mid ship near the elevators so it will be so easy to get. We picked that room for convenience.

 

Did you have a balcony? We have one and it will be our first. We have only had a window room before, but the price is so inexpensive that we may never go back. I hope to have our morning coffee on the balcony each day. I love to look out at the water and just enjoy the moment.

 

How easy is it to move around the ship and to go from front to back? What decks did you take to do this?

 

I just realized that you think our dear sweet girl is mine; however she is my granddaughter - we are very close and I am always calling her my girl.

 

You live in Southern California, how wonderful – we love it down there. The weather is beautiful and the people are so nice. We live in British Columbia Canada where we have 4 definite seasons. Spring is lovely and cool, summer very hot, fall lovely and cool, winter – snow and cold.

 

Thank you again...

 

Ann :)

[MarkRosenthal]

Me again, see below

 

You really are so kind to answer all of my questions.

 

I will have to try the rotisserie chicken with all the fixings.. it sound good. I am not much for Indian food also – I find it way too hot for me and it has an unusual taste. I will also love the Mongolian station, I bet as you say it is worth the wait… there is so much to try… Our family is going to be trying so many things.

 

There are so many things to try you will always find something. It's all good, maybe not great, but it's good. We didn't starve and there is always something 24 hours a day to keep everybody happy.

 

I plan on having a hot chai tea every day from the coffee bar (at least if it tastes good). That is something I really like, our room is on the upper deck, mid ship near the elevators so it will be so easy to get. We picked that room for convenience.

 

We went through 4 coffee cards during the week from the coffee bar and they also serve milkshakes for the kids. The only thing I didn't like about it was that they have desserts there all the time. I thought maybe they should offer pastries or bagels or something in the mornings. But that was the first place we hit each morning and usually again in the afternoon or evening. A nice place to hang out and that is where the pictures are taken and my sone wanted lots of pictures taken.

 

Did you have a balcony? We have one and it will be our first. We have only had a window room before, but the price is so inexpensive that we may never go back. I hope to have our morning coffee on the balcony each day. I love to look out at the water and just enjoy the moment.

 

You have me pegged perfectly, I love my balcony and spend lots of time there each day, either with a coffee or a something else. Even in port when we were on the ship we sat on the balcony and just watched the scenes go by. I am spoiled, I love them and always try to shop around for a good deal so I can have one.

 

How easy is it to move around the ship and to go from front to back? What decks did you take to do this?

 

That is the problem with the Splendor, the traffic flow isn't as easy as on other Carnval ships. Your best bet is to use the deck that the coffee bar is on, you still might have to go up or down a deck to get around but that is the best deck. But you will always find your way, it's no big deal.

 

I just realized that you think our dear sweet girl is mine; however she is my granddaughter - we are very close and I am always calling her my girl.

 

Wonderful that you will be able to travel with her, she is going to have a wonderful time.

 

You live in Southern California, how wonderful – we love it down there. The weather is beautiful and the people are so nice. We live in British Columbia Canada where we have 4 definite seasons. Spring is lovely and cool, summer very hot, fall lovely and cool, winter – snow and cold.

 

We had a great family from Victoria on our cruise and spent most of the week with them since they had a boy a bit older than ours. We spent the days in Mazatlan and Cabo together and the kids played in the ocean while we had lunch and just relaxed. Vancouver is one of my favorite places especially Granville Island to eat up a storm and then to walk around Stanley Park.

 

If you need anything I am here for you,

 

Thank you again...

 

Ann :)

[BC Gal Ann]

My family lives in Vancouver, however I live 6 hours away in the Interior of BC. I stayed in one of the apartments right across from Granville Island the last time I was there. It really is a lovely area.

 

Victoria is beautiful also... they both enjoy such mild weather most of the year.

 

You really have been so helpful - I am going to purchase a coffee card, I assume you buy it at the coffee bar.

 

I get so confused when I am on a cruise ship, however this time I believe I will be able to find my way fairly easily. Thanks for letting me know the deck to use to go from front to back.

 

I plan on going down the slide - did you do this? Is there a swimming pool beside where you come off the slide?

 

What was your favorite public spot on the ship?

 

We are also going to go to the casino - a couple of nights if not more. My daughter really wants to experience everything she can. Did you go to the casino? I have read that you use your ship to shore card... I am going to take cash as then I can keep within my budget.

 

Our son wants to purchase a pop card for the week, do they use tins or is it fountain pop?

 

What night did you go to the Steakhouse? I am trying to decide what night we should go.

 

Thanks for everything....you really are the best.....

 

Ann :)

[MarkRosenthal]

Good morning, see below:

 

 

[quo

te=BC Gal Ann;21630048]My family lives in Vancouver, however I live 6 hours away in the Interior of BC. I stayed in one of the apartments right across from Granville Island the last time I was there. It really is a lovely area.

 

Victoria is beautiful also... they both enjoy such mild weather most of the year.

 

You really have been so helpful - I am going to purchase a coffee card, I assume you buy it at the coffee bar.

 

Yes, you can get them anywhere, we thought they were helpful. We didn't buy a soda card but sure went through the coffee ones.

 

I get so confused when I am on a cruise ship, however this time I believe I will be able to find my way fairly easily. Thanks for letting me know the deck to use to go from front to back.

 

It will be no problem, you will get used to everything and find your favortie areas.

 

I plan on going down the slide - did you do this? Is there a swimming pool beside where you come off the slide?

 

Yes, there is a pool next to where the slide lets' up on deck 11. That is also where you will find the mini golf which was fun.

 

What was your favorite public spot on the ship?

 

We liked the pool area and just relaxing. Actually we really enjoyed just sitting there at night with a piece of pizza or some popcorn and watching the movies. We got lots of needed rest on the trip, it wasn't a party trip for us, that was many years ago. We really had a great time. We also just loved hanging around near the coffee bar although that is near the casino and can get a little smokey at times.

 

We are also going to go to the casino - a couple of nights if not more. My daughter really wants to experience everything she can. Did you go to the casino? I have read that you use your ship to shore card... I am going to take cash as then I can keep within my budget.

 

Yes, we donated some money but it got a bit smokey for us so we didn't spend as much time in there as we usually do. Yes, you use your sign and sail for credits but they also take bills. All of the machines are coinless so if you win or want to cash out you get a slip of paper.

 

Our son wants to purchase a pop card for the week, do they use tins or is it fountain pop?

 

We were going to get one and in the end if you drink more than 4 a day it makes sense. We drank lots of ice tea and lemonade from the lido and not so much soda. I would have no problem buying the sticker though on a future trip.

 

What night did you go to the Steakhouse? I am trying to decide what night we should go.

 

We went on Tuesday because we really didn't find anything on the dinner menu that we really wanted so it worked out great. It is never crowded and well worth it. Treat yourself.

 

What are your plans for shore excursions?

 

 

Thanks for everything....you really are the best.....

 

Ann :)