Carnival Splendor - July 28th - LONG Detailed Review and Diary!

[saltydog77]

Thanks! Please be patient as it will take me quite a few days to finish. Went right back to work on Monday and still trying to catch up at home!

 

Catrin

Thanks for your review, we travel very soon counting the days till we will be on board. We were on the splendour at Easter, returning with our family and grand daughter who will be celebrating her first birthday on board the boat .Your family look so happy to be on board and we are loving the great write up .Did not know we had to verify our cabana and pick our number.We will have a pram any suggestion to which one will be best thanks. regards Jen and Frank

[Neotericisis]

Cathy I am LOVING your review!

 

I sail on her on 09/22 so I am soaking every word and pic in. Thanks so much for sharing!

 

You have a beautiful family!

[Crusin Karen]

Great start! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. You have a lovely family and LOVE the large font/type too! ;)

[freddymale]

great review, we are cruising on the splendor in sept..looking forward to the rest of it

[Steve-Carol]

Nice review-thank you . We will be sailing on Sept. 11. One quick question..This will be our 4th time sailing out of N.Y. The last 3 times I dropped my wife and luggage off in front of the terminal while I went to park the car, then took an elevator down to meet her. I noticed you said you drove to rooftop parking where someone took your bags and then you went down to check in.

Thanks, Steve & Carol

[BattyL]

Loved reading your very informative review. We are also sailing on the Splendor in Sept. Just counting the days now....

[megnut78]

Love it so far!! Can't wait to read more!

[stsnfes]

Thank you for the review! We are sailing in January and love the details.

[keene state mom]

Awesome start Cathy .... It was great meeting you and your family and looking forward to reliving this cruise with your review .

 

Gail

[Catrin]

Thanks for your review, we travel very soon counting the days till we will be on board. We were on the splendour at Easter, returning with our family and grand daughter who will be celebrating her first birthday on board the boat .Your family look so happy to be on board and we are loving the great write up .Did not know we had to verify our cabana and pick our number.We will have a pram any suggestion to which one will be best thanks. regards Jen and Frank

Hi Jen and Frank,

Yes.. you will need to go to the Shore Excursion Desk when you arrive and pick a cabana. Please Google Half Moon Cay Map.. you can see the layout of the cabanas. There are also a few good You Tube Videos as well. We had picked #10, which was the same Cabana as our Liberty Cruise. Away from the noise, yet close to the bathrooms and dining tent.

Please take a look at my Liberty review (link below) for pictures from our day at HMC.... as there will be no pictures from this cruise. :(

Catrin

[Catrin]

Nice review-thank you . We will be sailing on Sept. 11. One quick question..This will be our 4th time sailing out of N.Y. The last 3 times I dropped my wife and luggage off in front of the terminal while I went to park the car, then took an elevator down to meet her. I noticed you said you drove to rooftop parking where someone took your bags and then you went down to check in.

Thanks, Steve & Carol

Hi Steve and Carol.. Yes, exactly. This is how it was done when we went on the Triumph in 2009 too. We arrived early and our car was sniffed by guard dogs. We pulled up to the sidewalk where we unloaded the car with a porter who put our luggage on a cart. We tipped him a few dollars. We were then able to walk down the flight of stairs inside to the terminal. It could not have been any easier. I would suggest to everyone that you get there early. You may have to wait inside the terminal for a bit, but there are plenty of chairs inside.

Catrin

[Catrin]

Awesome start Cathy .... It was great meeting you and your family and looking forward to reliving this cruise with your review .

 

Gail

Gail.. I loved meeting you and your sister and families. I knew immediately once we met that you both were just like me! I think, as you know.. that we liked and disliked many of the same things (or people) on this ship!!

 

Cathy

[Catrin]

DAY ONE CONTINUED

Before you know it, it was almost 6pm… and you know what time that is.. Dinnertime! We booked Early Seating once again. This just works out for us. We enjoy going to the same table nightly and enjoy having the same wait staff all week. Only once did we feel that we were a bit rushed to make the 6pm dinner seating, but overall we were happy with the decision to stick with the Early time frame. We were seated in a booth for 4 with a chair on the end. Not the most ideal situation, but in fact there were only three out of 8 nights that all five of us ate together. Kyle had 3 dinner passes and Allison loved eating dinner with Camp Carnival, so she did that three nights as well.

 

We met our dining staff immediately. Marselus, Pol, and Ferdinand. We had great service all cruise. Water constantly filled, bread replenished (I have two teen boys, don’t forget!).

 

Dinner the first night was a very predictable event. Since they brought back Shrimp Cocktail on the everyday menu, this would be Matt’s choice NIGHTLY. He also ordered the Nacho Chips with Guac and Salsa this night. I think Allison missed having the chips each night, however! Matt has been on 10 cruises..and he has ordered the same thing EVERY SINGLE NIGHT…Plain Pasta with Grated Parmesan cheese. Imagine that? You are on a cruise with a smorgasbord of choices and you order pasta? I think the cruise line certainly made money off my kid!!

 

Allison and I had the chicken tender appetizer. Allison loved this.. I think they should make this available each night, or substitute it for those things they call Chicken Nuggets on the children’s menu. Once she had these the first night, this is what she wanted all week!! I also had the tomato soup, which was excellent. For dinner, Kyle had the Flat Iron Steak, I had the Brisket, and Steve had the chicken. Here is a picture of the Brisket, one of the only food pictures you will see. I had to sneak that one!!

 

For Dessert, I think we have had the same desserts for several cruises now. Steve had Black Forrest Gatueau, I had Crème Brule, Kyle had warm chocolate melting cake, Allison had the vanilla ice cream that came with the cake (she loves the chocolate piece in it!) and Matthew? NOTHING. He wanted to have an ice cream cone for dessert! Overall, this meal was a winner. No surprises... all foods we have enjoyed before.

 

 

A note about dining times. If you are going to have Early sitting – can you please arrive as close to the time as possible? The party of eight who sat across from us constantly arrived late.. as late as 6:45 for dinner. I felt bad for Marselus and Pol as they scrambled trying to serve them while keep their routine for the other tables.

 

After dinner, we all split up! The boys each took off on their own, as Club o2 and Circle C meet and greets took place right after dinner. As I said before, the Camp Director if Kyle could participate in the Meet and Greet since he just graduated from High School and is just over 18. I had to fill out the registration form so he could attend. I was so glad this worked out. He met a group of kids immediately, some graduates and some HS Seniors. I knew we would not see much of Kyle. Matt is different, as he looks specifically at the Circle C events and decides when he wants to go. He did not do a lot of socialization outside of Circle C but really enjoyed it when he went.

 

Steve and Allison went to the Camp Carnival Family Party. In the past, this party was over an hour long, with tons of kids, Funship Freddy, Dancing, Balloons, etc etc. This party was 30 minutes and as Steve said, a DUD. Very few families attended…. And believe me, there were HUNDREDS of kids on the ship! A couple of songs, NO Funship Freddy (very sad for Allison!) and a dance contest. But.. the cool thing.. Allison won best GIRL Dancer!! She was so excited to show me her medal.

 

Why wasn’t I there? Well….. I saw on the schedule… 80’s music trivia was at the same time! There is ONE trivia game that I always try to play.. and yes, that’s 80’s music. I am a nut. I know things I should not know. I have a memory of the 80’s … I can tell you where I was when I first heard songs, etc. Truth be told, I have no idea what I had for breakfast this morning but I remember 1984 like it was yesterday!! Well, the quiz was “name that song” – which they played snippets of 1980’s songs. Then they asked 10 random 80’s trivia … with questions about smurfs, transformers, Dukes of Hazard etc. The music was simple…. And yes, I got all 15 songs and artists correct. The other questions? Forget it. I got 4/10 correct. But.. in the end… when they asked for final scores.. there were two people at 31 points… and I had 34. So… a Splendor Ship on a Stick was mine!! I am strangely proud to say I have won a trophy on each of the last 13 cruises. No Trophy on our first… because they did not exist!!

 

After Trivia, I met Steve and Allison – we showed off our trophies and medals! It was now close to 9pm, and we had been up since 4:30am… and we were all getting tired. Steve and I took Allison for a few casual pictures, and then back to the cabin for bed…. Steve stayed with her and I went to the Piano bar for a half hour or so and then also went to bed. I did not go to the Welcome Aboard show. Our Cruise Director was Malcolm Burn, who we cruised with on the Victory in 2007.

 

The boys? Matt came back shortly after 10 – tired as well. He had a fun time and met some kids. Kyle came back at midnight and stated…. This is going to be a FUN time.

 

Overall impressions from our first day…. The ship is PACKED. Crowds everywhere. Especially on the Lido Deck, pool area, dining rooms and Promenade deck. LONG lines for food everywhere. The Splendor feels more closed in than other ships. I think it is the design of the Lido Deck with the enclosed roof over the middle pool. Once the roof opens, I hope it has a different feel. Tons of families, TONS of kids…. And we noticed immediately a very young crowd.

 

Tomorrow.. Day at Sea, a long lazy day.

 

Catrin

 

[Catrin]

DAY TWO – DAY AT SEA (in the rain)!

 

I slept like a baby… something about those Carnival Beds and pillows!! But as soon as my eyes opened…. I felt something NOT GOOD….. the ship moving. I looked outside and immediately I knew it was going to be a tough day. I took my Bonine immediately and went back to bed for a bit. We love Days at Sea… I love reading, relaxing…. Steve loves hanging by the pool… and Allison was going to camp for a bit then swimming in the afternoon.. and maybe Mini Golf!

But.. as life is unpredictable … so are our kids. Allison woke up and immediately was sick. In her 8 cruises, she has never complained of motion sickness, so we were a bit confused and concerned. She was cranky, uncomfortable, etc. I knew the best thing for her at this point, (having gone through it so many times before) was fresh air and to get out of the room. Steve and I decided to give her a Bonine, which she took without an argument.

We went up to the Lido Deck for breakfast…. Kept it simple this day because we were dealing with a very cranky kid. Cheerios for Allison, Special K for me, Omelet (with no line) for Steve. After breakfast, we decided to try to find a few lounge chairs to relax in.. the roof was closed and it was raining. There were hardly any people on the Lido Deck, since it was relatively early… But…. Could you believe we could only find ONE chair?? Yes… the chair hogs were OUT in FULL Force on this cruise. It was ridiculous.. and got worse as the week went on. I am not sure how it happened, but two more chairs opened up in the row behind the one chair.. so Steve and Allison took the two chairs and I took the one chair in front of them. We were able to get two towels on Deck… for those of you who did not know.. you can just show your Sail and Sign card on the Lido Deck and sign out towels there. You DO have to return them, or you will be charged. We liked doing this instead of taking from our room. No sooner did Allison lay down, she was OUT. The Bonine had kicked in. I felt so bad for her.. there is nothing worse than being sick on a cruise. Steve decided to take a nap too…. As a disclaimer, he did not sleep at all…. Major pain in his hip.. the bed did not suit him well.

 

 

Allison slept for almost three hours. During this time, I read and just enjoyed people watching. When she woke up… it was amazing. She was a new person. And what did she want?? Yes… you got it…. Pizza!! So, I got in line and waited. And waited… and waited. I DO appreciate the Pizza is fresh and made in front of you …. But there has GOT to be a better way to produce, cook and serve Pizza for 4000 people. Each four Pizzas took about 5 minutes. Some people took the whole pizza (four slices). So, this day, the wait was about 25-30 minutes. But as mom with a sick kid who wanted one thing.. yes, I waited. Supermom!! And yes.. since I was waiting.. I got 6 slices.. two for Allison, me and Steve. Lunch was simple.

 

Right around lunchtime was the Ice Carving Demonstration, right in front of our chairs. It was very cool to watch the creation and the scene. I was very comfortable watching from my lounge chair… for a few minutes.. until people thought nothing about standing right in front of me… and even at one point sitting on my chair watching the demo!! This talented guy created this Indian Head in record time. (although I have a feeling he breaks the record EVERY cruise!!).

 

 

After lunch.. Allison announced she wanted to go to Camp! So I brought her right upstairs to Camp Carnival for the afternoon. I have no idea what we did the rest of the afternoon.. I think I continued to read, and rested... it is tiring doing NOTHING!!

 

Catrin

[Catrin]

A couple of notes before I continue on....

 

The TV on the Lido Deck.. in the mornings, it often played music concerts.. Billy Joel, U2, Mariah Carey... and some were repeated during the week.

 

In the afternoon, the DJ came out to play music .. VERY loudly. I did see the Latin band on the Lido deck on our last day at sea. I am not sure if they played here daily, but people seem to appreciate the live music. I sure do miss the live Lido deck bands of the past.

 

At night, there were movies played on the Big Screen with Popcorn served at the Lido Deck Bar. The popcorn... was awful. But, it was still cool to have Popcorn for a late night snack. Movies played included Lincoln, The Avengers, The Truth about Charlie and a few others.

 

I should also mentioned that the main pool was closed the entire first day due to the winds and rocking of the ship. Although it rained most of the day, I did not find the movement to be that excessive. I could feel it, but it was not disruptive in any way.

In the late afternoon, Steve took Allison up to the slide pool, which was open.

 

Coming Up.. kind of sort of Formal Night!!

Catrin

[lilcruiser25]

Great review! Looking forward to being on this ship in a few weeks.

[oncruisecontrol]

 

Steve and Allison went to the Camp Carnival Family Party. In the past, this party was over an hour long, with tons of kids, Funship Freddy, Dancing, Balloons, etc etc. This party was 30 minutes and as Steve said, a DUD. Very few families attended…. And believe me, there were HUNDREDS of kids on the ship! A couple of songs, NO Funship Freddy (very sad for Allison!) and a dance contest. But.. the cool thing.. Allison won best GIRL Dancer!! She was so excited to show me her medal.

 

Why wasn’t I there? Well….. I saw on the schedule… 80’s music trivia was at the same time! There is ONE trivia game that I always try to play.. and yes, that’s 80’s music. I am a nut. I know things I should not know. I have a memory of the 80’s … I can tell you where I was when I first heard songs, etc. Truth be told, I have no idea what I had for breakfast this morning but I remember 1984 like it was yesterday!! Well, the quiz was “name that song” – which they played snippets of 1980’s songs. Then they asked 10 random 80’s trivia … with questions about smurfs, transformers, Dukes of Hazard etc. The music was simple…. And yes, I got all 15 songs and artists correct. The other questions? Forget it. I got 4/10 correct. But.. in the end… when they asked for final scores.. there were two people at 31 points… and I had 34. So… a Splendor Ship on a Stick was mine!! I am strangely proud to say I have won a trophy on each of the last 13 cruises. No Trophy on our first… because they did not exist!!

 

 

Congratulations to your daughter. I have to say that I am an 80's nut too. I used to watch the Dukes of Hazard every Friday night. And after that, I watched Dallas. I also still love all those "hair bands". Their music takes up a good portion of the available space on my IPOD. :D Looking forward to the rest of the review.

[reno3]

Thanks for the review fellow Rhode Islander :D I am probably going to book the Splendor for March. I can't decide between an aft wrap and a spa balcony cabin. I do like being able to drive to the port. I am not thrilled on the ports, PC, Nassua and Freeport. I do love HMC (been twice) it is the best!! Also our son will be 19 at cruise time. He says he wants to go if we are paying :p This will be his first cruise that he will be on his own, no O2 club for him this time. Do you know if there is any other option for parking?

[Catrin]

Thanks for the review fellow Rhode Islander :D I am probably going to book the Splendor for March. I can't decide between an aft wrap and a spa balcony cabin. I do like being able to drive to the port. I am not thrilled on the ports, PC, Nassua and Freeport. I do love HMC (been twice) it is the best!! Also our son will be 19 at cruise time. He says he wants to go if we are paying :p This will be his first cruise that he will be on his own, no O2 club for him this time. Do you know if there is any other option for parking?

 

Hello RI'er!! I know there are other options for parking.. others have mentioned. One lot across the river in NJ, for example. But.. its one of those things.. pay for convenience. One year, I found an amazing Amtrak deal and we took the train. I would have considered it this year as well, if I found five tickets less than $280.00.

 

As far as cabins? I cannot comment on the Spa Cabins, but we had an Aft Wrap last year on the Liberty and it was amazing. One day, I hope to have an Aft Wrap again.... maybe after four years of college for my three kids is paid off!!

 

Thanks for reading!

Catrin

[Catrin]

I wish I could "LIKE" posts from those who comment!!

 

Thanks to all who have read so far and who have taken a moment to comment. I appreciate all the nice words and it gives me motivation to continue!!

 

Here we go for the remainder of the second day.

 

Formal Night – ummmm maybe. Or is it Elegant Night?

 

Before I knew it, it was time to pick up Allison from camp and prepare for Formal Night. We had a very simple plan this cruise. Shirts and Ties, a new dress for Allison and an old dress for me. I went across the hall to iron the boys shirts.. there was one person before me and by the time I finished, three people behind me. If you need something ironed for formal night, try to do it early in the morning!!

 

Have you ever cruised with three kids… when one or two pick the worst time to “HIT THE WALL”? Well… yes, it happed… no one wanted to get dressed, have pictures taken, meet the Captain etc. They chose that time to fight with each other, tease their sister, lay in bed until the last possible moment etc.

 

So… out of desperation I made a deal…. Ok kids… No ties. Just look presentable. Ok, no pictures, we will do it another night. Can we just Please GO and TRY to have a nice dinner? We finally left the room 10 minutes before dinner and went to the Promenade Deck to meet the Captain, Malcolm and Staff. Well, the Captain was gone (not sure if he was even there!), but we did meet Malcolm. When he saw my Platinum card and Matthew’s he knew immediately who we were and congratulated the boys for reaching their first Platinum Cruise. (I had mentioned that on John Heald’s FB Page). Sp.... out of the entire night.. TWO pictures. That's it!!

Elegant Night was just that. There was a great variety of wonderfully dressed passengers… from sequins to suits, to shirts and ties. Everyone looked great. We did not see any T-shirts that night. Even my boys looked good… maybe not as dressed up as I hoped they would be, but still very sharp looking and appropriate. Allison, on the other hand, was cranky and itchy. Cannot win them all!

 

For dinner, I had Prime Rib, and Steve had Lobster (then a second one.. they were tiny). Kyle had the formal dinner most of you wish you could have… RIBS!! Why in the world would they serve ribs on Formal Night? He said it was the best meal of the week. The boys had Spaghetti Carbonara for appetizer (me too). For dessert… I had the Apple Pastry…. One of my favorites!!! As much as I am not a dessert eater during the day, I really do like a few of the dinner desserts. The dining staff sang “Its Amore”. We had a booth on the lower level, so we did not get to see a lot of the action.. But it sounded good!!

 

Right after dinner, we brought Allison to Camp Carnival where she signed up for NIGHT OWLS.. the 10-midnight party. We made a deal.. the next day, she would wake up GOOD and then in the afternoon we were going to order room service lunch and she would nap. DEAL!!

 

We came back to our room to find our Platinum Gifts.. FOUR Carnival Tervis Tumblers! Here is a picture.. shown with my Red Frog Pub Tumbler from the Liberty last year. I used my Tervis EVERY day... with soda, or ice water. I loved having it.

(notice how Matt is already out of his formal attire!)

 

Steve and I wandered the ship after dinner. We really had no desire to go to the show. We used to go to a show EVERY night, and to be honest, just got bored with them. We watched Karaoke for a bit, just relaxing in the lounge.. When who showed up? Matthew. Nothing was going on in Circle C, so he decided to hang out with us. We love that in Matt. He has no problem hanging out with us, I think he loves that “only child” attention from Mom and Dad! We watched the dreadful singers for a bit, then ended up in the Piano Bar. Hailey Morgan is the Piano Bar Player. She had received mixed reviews here on CC. I thought she was very good… but .. well, different. She is VERY YOUNG and appeals to a much younger crowd, playing songs from Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. Not the traditional sing a long drunk piano bar songs. To hear a bunch of 20 something’s sit around a piano and sing “Stacy’s Mom has got it going on” was just weird!! But the bottom line is.. the place was packed, people were happy and we enjoyed it. Matt loved singing to songs he knew.. Bohemian Rhapsody was a favorite that night.

 

We then went upstairs and had a late night Ice Cream Cone, some popcorn, and watched a little bit of Lincoln before getting Allison. We picked her up right at Midnight and called it a night.

 

 

One person I did not mention all day? Kyle. I had a glimpse of him at dinner, but that is it. No idea what he did.. but there was a bathrobe missing at night.. and a bunch of young adults in the aft hottub all night. This would become his nightly routine.

 

Tomorrow… Second Day at Sea… and the attack of the Chair Hogs!

 

Catrin

[Catrin]

Lido Deck at night.... two different camera settings....

 

[shoppingfever]

Love the review!! Thank you for taking the time to write your review/journal! I look forward to reading more!

[Catrin]

Here is a preview of tomorrow.....

all I'm saying......

 

[Neotericisis]

I'm not looking forward to chair hogs. I WILL remove people's stuff and have done so at many resorts. To be courteous, I bring a white erase board and write that I went to get a drink etc. when I leave my chair. At resorts, I normally go to the buffet and eye a chair while I'm eating my breakfast- this takes me like 30-40 min. as I enjoy my food catch up on the newspaper etc. if no one comes the chair is mine! I'm doing the same thing on this cruise- the rules say 40 min so I'm claiming a chair.

[alreadypacked]

Great review--thanks for posting!!:) Looking forward to the rest.