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

[hawaiideb]

We will be sailing on the Splendor to celebrate our 25th anniversary in October, and have really appreciated your review. We take our one and only DD to college next Friday. Reading your review has reminded me of the many great cruises we have taken as a family throughout the years, complete with meltdowns, ice cream galore, sleep deprived teenage years, etc. Thanks for sharing your memories, and helping DH and I get excited about our upcoming trip on the Splendor!

[Crusin Karen]

Good luck to Kyle and again, thank you for this very enjoyable review. It is nice that you had some one on one time with your children as well as your husband! :) We always sit at the "main pool" on our cruises because I love being where the "action is" and enjoy people watching! :p But on our May Splendor cruise we spent the majority of the time at that aft adults area. Bonus was we were usually lst on line when the deli opened! :D My favorite was the turkey... by the end of the cruise they would start making it when they saw me approaching!! ;);)

[Catrin]

After Dinner, even though it was formal night, I somehow convinced my three kids to have their pictures taken. Now.. picture this… all the families in their fancy clothes. All patiently waiting to have beautiful pictures taken. Then there are my three kids, crazy hair, wrinkled clothes, fighting with each other while waiting in line. Yup… proud motherly moment. But, in the long run, great picture. Moral of the story.. get these pictures done early in the cruise. The longer you wait, the more forced the smiles are!!

 

After pictures, the boys went one way, and Allison went to camp for a few hours.

 

That night, Steve and I hung at the Casino Bar.. Listened to the band… who was very different than our last cruise. This band played a lot of 90’s music.. Oasis, Incubus, Train, etc. The band on the Liberty were a lot more enjoyable.. playing 70’s and 80’s… everything from the Eagles to Kool and the Gang. And this band… they were just TOO LOUD. You know when a band gets so loud that you cannot understand what they are singing? Yes, that loud!! That was a huge theme this cruise. The noise level of the entire ship seemed just SO LOUD… from the DJ’s, Bands, even the TV on the Lido.

 

We picked up Allison from camp after an hour or so …. Had yet another ice cream cone and went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day!!

 

Catrin

[Catrin]

Ok.. lets finish this thing up!!

Day 8 – Last Day at Sea

 

The last day at sea… is usually a sad day… you try to capture everything you wanted to do, and at the same time you know it is the last day to relax. Plus the thought of packing enters the mind…. So the mornings are SO important!!

 

During the week, Steve had a hard time sleeping. Not because of the cruise, but because he is scheduled for a hip replacement, and overall, he just cannot sleep! He decided he had had enough in the room, and knew that it was early enough to go find a lounge chair on the Lido Deck! He arrived there a little after sunrise … when the Lido Deck crew members were putting out the chairs. He was able to pick his chair on the side of the pool, right under the awning. But what he actually witnessed, he said, was more humourus than any comedian, better choreographed than any cruise showtime extravaganza…. And that was the CHAIR SAVING!! He saw the woman who we saw earlier in the week save 15… YES FIFTEEN… chairs in the first two rows. By simply placing 15 Carnival beach towels over the chairs. She did manage to sit herself in one of the chairs and her husband in another. Then he said another woman wanted SIX chairs on the side.. where he was sitting. The woman asked if he could move down three chairs so she could have six in a row. Steve…. Being the big jerk he is (haha!) said… No, I woke up early to specifically get this chair!! And this was all at 7am. Imagine that. I bet those two ladies had done this every single day this week. And how dare Steve ruin their routine!!

Allison and I woke up quite early ourselves and met Steve by the Lido Deck for breakfast. The chair to Steve’s right was yet to be claimed, so it became mine. I went to the buffet and gathered breakfast for Steve and Allison and we ate on our lounge chairs…. But I was not really in the mood for breakfast…. I wanted PIZZA! Yes, pizza for breakfast.. life is good... especially when there was NO LINE!! It was going to be a lazy morning…. Steve and Allison in the pool. I watched Billy Joel and Mariah Carey on the Big Screen. I left for a few minutes at one point to check out the last minute deals at the shops (nothing special for me) and to buy our pictures from the night before.

 

 

 

I changed Allison in the bathroom near the Lido and she went to camp for couple of hours. I read a little then decided to give up my chair. It was time to get a little packing done.

For lunch, I was alone.. and decided to wait in line for the Mongolian Wok, since I really enjoyed it the first time and the line did not seem too long. What a mistake… kind of. The line took about 30 minutes because others in front of me had two or three bowls to complete! But, in the end.. it was an outstanding lunch.

 

The buffet area on the last day at sea is split up into two areas.. the normal buffet with assorted offerings and salad bar… and the very popular CHOCOLATE Buffet! Well, believe it or not, I am NOT a huge chocolate fan. I do love basic milk chocolate, but most of the chocolate offerings on the ship are just too rich.

BUT>>> I know who is a complete chocolate lover who would LOVE the Chocolate Buffet. My Allison. So, I picked her up from camp and I let her pick a few things from the Chocolate Buffet. Her favorite? Chocolate dipped donuts and Chocolate Shake! But most of the other items were again too rich, even for her taste. I really liked the Chocolate Won Tons.

[Catrin]

In the afternoon, I was in for a treat. Out of 10 cruises with my kids, this was the first time that I attended the Camp Carnival Talent Show. Kyle and Matt never had any desire to participate in past years… but Allison certainly did! She and two other girls practiced and they planned on signing and dancing.

 

Well.. this was the funniest hour of the entire week. Those kids were so funny and wonderful. Was there any real talent? No, not at all. There was the one kid who moaned and hummed the entire song. There was the one kid who just ran around the stage and danced aimlessly. There were the four girls who hula hooped … and the one mean one who kept getting mad when the others forgot the routine. There was the poor little girl, with the professional stage mom, who acted like it was a real audition for Carnival American Idol… and then there was Allison. Who proudly sang her One Direction Song while her friend danced in the background! One girl did not show up, but it wouldn’t stop these girls from doing their thing!! She was so happy to watch everyone and be there with the wonderful friends she made all week.

(all ready in her One Direction Shirt for her 1D song!)

In the end.. all the kids received a light up bracelet. How cool is that??

 

Steve took advantage of me going to the talent show (Allison was insistent that Steve NOT attend!) … he continued packing and had quite a bit done when we came back to the room. Before we knew it, time was approaching dinnertime. Allison wanted to go to the last dinner with her friends, so I brought her up to the Lido Deck right at 6. Camp Carnival dinner was packed that night.. I think a lot of other families had the same idea!! We said goodbye to her .. with plans to pick her up right at 10. There was a Camp Party planned for the last night.. with Tshirts, games, songs, etc.

 

I took some pictures of the Buffet area the last night... in case you wanted to know what was offered.

 

[Catrin]

I also walked by the adult pool after I dropped Allison off at dinner... look how peaceful and empty. This would be a wonderful time to go!!

 

Our last night at dinner was a nice dinner with my boys. We could tell that Marselus, Pol and Ferdinand knew that we had done our tipping by Auto Tips, because they both thanked us, but did not hover waiting for anything else. We noticed them giving the table next to us outstanding service… both Steve and I wondered if these folks had removed their tips and our servers were waiting for cash tips? Just a theory.,, who knows!

 

(here are the boys packing... cant you tell??)

 

For dinner, the boys both had the Bacon Mac and Cheese. They loved it and wish this was offered all week! I had the prime rib and it was very good. I believe Steve had the same. For dessert, I had the Grand Mariner Souflee. Always wonderful.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our week in the dining room with our service team. We had very good service all week. Nothing outstanding, just very good. Food was once again terrific.. but nothing stood out as exceptional…. (besides my favorite Bitter N Blanc that is!) One thing that WAS very good, however, was the bar service. Our bar waiter always had a Sprite for Matt and Diet Coke for Kyle waiting. He knew that Steve liked his Captain and Diet at dinner and actually called Steve “Captain” all week!

 

After dinner, we said our goodbyes and went back to the room to finish our packing project. We felt comfortable that most of it was done and went decided to spend our night (until Camp Pick up time) on the Promenade Deck ( we saw Matt at the Circle C Goodbye Party in the Disco) and then in the Piano Bar with Hailey. Even though it was only for an hour, we sat at the Piano and had a terrific time. We spotted those passengers who had sat at the piano all week… they knew all the songs, the jokes, etc. I really liked Hailey. Not a traditional player, but certainly suited the younger crowd on this cruise. She is quite talented, very young, and should not be missed.

 

We picked up a tired and very happy Allison at Camp Carnival at 10pm. I made sure we thanked all the staff, they were terrific all week. She left with her colored Tshirt, signed on the back by all her friends and Camp Staff! She fully took advantage of all the fun time in the 6-8 age group. I think she will always remember this cruise!

 

We had one last ice cream after picking up Allison. This became our nightly routine. Then we sat out on the Lido Deck and watched the movie for just a little bit. We knew we had an early morning ahead of us, so we headed back to the cabin to make sure we were 100% ready to go in the morning.

[Catrin]

 

Matt, surprisingly arrived shortly after us. He was done for the night. He had a great time at Circle C. He had a good mix of attending activities and hanging out with us. He was not part of a group that wandered aimlessly. If he wasn’t in camp, he was either with us, or in the room.

 

Kyle had different plans. He was going to pull an ALL NIGHTER with his friends. Just great. A miserable kid all the way home suffering from lack of sleep. But, we were surprised to find him in bed during the night. I think reality hit and the sounds of an all nighter was better than the realization that morning would come quite soon. He had a terrific time with his friends.. mostly aged 17 and 18. Hot Tub parties at night, group pictures the last day, facebook, emails, twitter. He said it was one of his favorite weeks.

 

Day 9 – GOING HOME

We woke up before sunrise this morning, to still find the ship making its way to the port of NYC. I should have gotten up and gone to the Lido deck to take a sunrise picture of the Statue of Liberty, but it just did not happen. I did spy our TV, however, ….. a picture of the ship approaching the bridge during sunrise. Ok, I cheated.. here is a picture of the TV!!

 

 

We had pretty specific instructions this day. We decided to carry all our luggage ourselves and take advantage of Platinum Self Assist. I put out a card the night before, ordering cereal, Danish and tea for 6:15 am. It arrived right on time. Everyone got up pretty easily, (well, easy for my family), showered, breakfast etc. We gathered our suitcases and said our goodbyes to Widodo and thanked him for taking great care of us.

 

We had to be outside the 3rd floor dining room at 7:15. We were able to wait in the lounge there until the ship was cleared, and then we would be escorted first off the ship. There we met the same passengers that were in the VIP lounge on our first day. It seems that they also thought this was a good idea.

 

The ship was cleared around 8am. We were the second family off the ship.. said goodbye to Malcolm and the staff on our way out and thanked them for a great week. We made it to our car within five minutes. Loaded the car, loaded the GPS, and we were driving off in no time. Three hours and fifteen minutes later, with one 15 minute stop… and we were home around 11:30am. Looking back, I would do this self assist early debarkation OVER AND OVER AGAIN!! Getting home early made it seem I had an extra day of vacation. We were able to get laundry in, unpack a little, etc. I was even at the Grocery Store by 2pm! What a day!

 

I will back later with final thoughts and other things I may have missed!

Please feel free to ask me anything!

Catrin

 

 

 

[traveling1969]

Memo to Carnival: E-mail this review to everyone on your list.:)

[Lisa0719]

loved the entire review . . . hubby and I are now traveling alone but love leaving out of NYC and being home by noon at the latest . . . . thank you for the great detailed review.

[Catrin]

Some Misc. Thoughts......

 

Platinum Benefits

 

We completely took advantage of the laundry benefit. Because there were four of us that were Platinum, we could have a total of 12 bags. We ended up doing laundry six of the eight days. By rolling clothes tightly, it is amazing what you can fit inside those paper bags. You still have to itemize all items, and every day but one we got the laundry back right before dinner. Having this done is awesome.. especially for socks, underwear and my gym clothes!

 

Priority Line at Guest Solutions. We used this three times.

 

Strawberries and chocolate treats were received in each room.

 

As mentioned before, we received the Tervis Tumblers.

 

We did not take advantage of the Slot Tournament BOGO. But Matthew did get his $5.00 Card for the Video Game Room.

 

 

Overall Entertainment

We did not take advantage of a lot of shows this week. I think that is what happens after you cruise for a while... it becomes "been there, done that"... and to be honest, I really did not miss them. I used to the type of cruiser who had to do EVERYTHING! I actually think I enjoy the laid back approach better. We did see a juggler one night... I think I forgot to mention it here. Marcus Monroe. He was pretty good... nothing fantastic... but certainly entertaining. There was a latin band that was very good..they played out on the Lido deck one afternoon. Having a live band play reminded me how much we enjoyed the calypso bands of the past. I hope Carnival one day brings back more entertainment during the day.

 

Another fun thing we did.. that I just remembered... the last day, right before dinner... the social staff hosted a TV show and call in trivia game. We watched it and it was pretty fun... and Matt called in and answered a question and won a trophy!! It was fun to do this while packing and getting ready for dinner our last day.

 

I played very little trivia, which was strange for me. We played Famous Faces early in the week on the Lido Deck and I played 80's music.

 

Overall Crowd

Oh.... the crowds. The lines were everywhere. Lines for the buffett, lines for pizza, lines for the elevator, lines for pictures. etc. I had never felt a ship as crowded. Even the Dream, with many more people, seem to handle the flow of traffic a lot better.

The crowd was also a very young crowd it seemed. Tons of young adults having a good time.

 

Kids

Yes, we did let our 18 year old go off on his own for the week. But, the amount of kids just off on their own was amazing to me. One night after dinner, Steve and Allison played in the pool.. with a 6 year old who was unsupervised. The terror splashed, cannonballed, splashed some more, yelled, screamed, splashed some more .. yes, splashed people, on purpose. No Parents. But besides that, most of the kids were well behaved. There were just always a LOT of them, as expected in July.

That being said, I was surprised how FEW were always in Camp Carnival. In our cruises out of Florida, camp is always packed!! I did hear a parent say "She would never trust her kids with a foreign girl" .... really? These girls were some of the nicest camp counselors ever.

The kids in hottubs.... yes... it is as bad as everyone says. During the day, the hottub near the slide was always filled with kids.

 

Food

Overall I thought the food this cruise was good. The buffet offerings at lunch have certainly been reduced as the same options are on all four buffet lines. The pizza was certainly good... but the lines were just too long at times. I did try the rotisserie (just a sample) while pulling into San Juan. It was very good.. Matt did like the Mac and Cheese and had that for lunch several times during the week. I am ready for a new menu at dinner. As much as I love some of the menu items, new items would be welcomed. Room service was fine.. although very slow this cruise.

 

Cruise Director

We do not cruise for a cruise director. We have had fantastic (Karl with a K and Butch), we have had bad (some guy named Marc), we have had classic (John Heald and Lenny Halliday) and we have had Malcolm twice now. Malcolm is great... always with a smile on his face, full of energy. But, besides the introduction during the shows, we did not see a lot of him. It doesnt mean he wasnt around, just not in our path. He did send the boys trophys however.. I think that is because I mentioned to John Heald in a post when I requested a table by ourselves.

 

The Ship

Are those eggs on the ceiling? Ugly Ugly Ugly. But... we never have picked a cruise for the beauty of the ship. This was not Carnival's finer moments... that is for sure. I realize that this ship was supposed to be a Costa Ship, and that is why it is a bit different than the other ships. The layout of the Lido Deck creates a very closed in atmosphere. I loved it at night, but it did not work during the sunny days at sea.

 

Ports

I was sad to miss HMC but enjoyed St. Thomas and Grand Turk. We love sea days the best. While it is fun to explore, to me, there is nothing better than a good book, a lounge chair in the shade and happy people near me.

 

Overall

We had a great time. But we were never WOWED by this week at all. Maybe it was our laid back approach this time. It was our decision not to go all out with dressing up, wild excursions, etc. But I think it was the ship too. We just felt crowded most of the week. We were not intersted in many of the shows. The entertainment staff was just OK.

 

Will I said Carnival again? Each year I say ... I am ready for something different. But we always come back to Carnival. In our opinion, Carnival still is an amazing value. We know the kids will love the cruise. We know we will always meet nice and interesting folks just like us. We know the crew will do everything they can to please us.

The next one may be a few years from now... as I do think we need a break. But when it is time, I can be certain that we will chose Carnival again. Where else can you have a vacation for less than $100 a day.. all three meals, entertainment, a comfortable bed that is made twice a day, and waking up in a new place each day.

 

I hope you all enjoyed and thank you all for reading.

I am glad it is done! But we will be able to read this review 10 years from now and remember the great Splendor Cruise of 2013.

 

Catrin

[Feelin' Nauti']

 

Overall, we enjoyed our week in the dining room with our service team. We had very good service all week. Nothing outstanding, just very good. Food was once again terrific.. but nothing stood out as exceptional…. (besides my favorite Bitter N Blanc that is!) One thing that WAS very good, however, was the bar service. Our bar waiter always had a Sprite for Matt and Diet Coke for Kyle waiting. He knew that Steve liked his Captain and Diet at dinner and actually called Steve “Captain” all week!

 

Loving your review.... :)

Your kids are adorable.

 

Love your comment about the talent show... Hope you had a video camera.

 

Interesting comment on bar service... I find the bar service on all my cruises to really go out of their way, eager to serve ... I wonder about this, being they are tacking on 15% per drink....;)

[critcatny]

Thanks for your detailed review. I felt like I was sailing right along with you. Your kids are adorable. Glad you guys had a great cruise. We will actually be leaving on the Splendor in 2 days. Can't wait!

[windsbud]

Great Review! I will be sailing this Wednesday and really appreciated all your terrific info! I'm glad a good time was had by all.

[bridgetjonesni]

Thanks for posting your review, I've really enjoyed reading it ahead of our own Splendor cruise in December! Your photos were great too. Glad you all had fun!

[Neotericisis]

Great! Great! Great! review! Thank you so much for taking the time to let us in on your family vacation. You have a wonderful family and you seem like a really good & cool mom!

 

So glad you all enjoyed yourselves!!!

[smjlt]

 

 

I knew that taxi cabs were $8.00ea to Meagan’s Bay and they charged admission. Knowing this, I felt comfortable just walking outside port and talking to a local taxi driver. Knowing the price, there was no dealing. The taxi cabs are actually pickup trucks with covered seats in the back. They each fit about 20 passengers. Some of the passengers were going on a tour… with a two hour stop at the beach. We just wanted to stay at the beach so we only paid one way.

 

Are all cabs $8.00 each person? Each way? We are traveling with 5, am I looking at $40.00 to the beach and $40.00 back?

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

OP,

 

Very fun review. I enjoyed your trip and family while I'm waiting on an email here. Like a mini desk vacation.

 

A few things I noted. How can anything have worse lines than the Dream?! :eek: That was a record for me.

 

I also know what you mean about the 'magic' wow feeling being lacking, I just never had it with the Dream. (unlike the feeling I get when you drive under the WDW sign in Buena Vista and it sinks in, omg you are BACK!!) I'm not sure if it was just a 'been there, done that' again thing or what it was, but I never got that "I can't believe I'm on a cruise!!!!' feeling like I used to have when I boarded and didn't have the "Don't make me get off PLEASE!" feeling the last day either. It just felt like another day...? I determined that I must have been "cruised out" and ready for a break. My friend (who had just gotten off a DCL a few months earlier) said "No, you are just Carnivaled out", and was she right! 5 weeks after the luckluster (but wonderful ports!) Dream, we were on the Disney Dream for a 3 day. Holy moly. I am now a complete convert and have another 4 day planned. Even my husband said "let's give CCL a break..." and he is a WCMC lover! There was so much magic, technology, spectacular entertainment, live pirate stunt shows and fireworks and different dining rooms (same table number and wait staff, just new menu and scenery each night), it was unlike any other cruise I had taken. I was amazed by the crowd control, but then again, Disney has that down to a science, since they have to... anyway when you are ready for something a little newer with incredible venues for all ages (we don't even have any kids in our whole group! 31+ ), you might give it a try for 4 day or something. My trip journal of 1 WDW park hopping day and 3 day DCL filled over 20 fully typed normal spaces. It was really spectacular and depending on when you cruise, you can get deals that aren't so much more than the other cruise lines...

 

Thanks for posting your nice review. I was thinking about son's GF. Maybe next time she can come. When I started dating my honey, my dad said "I booked her on a cruise to Hawaii in 8 months. Put your name on the list and get on the ship." because he knew I would have a terrible time without him! And he did! And 8 months later, my honey proposed to me at a Luau in Maui! And we just celebrated our 10yr anniversary on the Disney Dream this spring! Wowwee.

 

Hmm come to think of it, if you don't want a proposal, maybe leave GF behind, teehee jk.

[terri-eddie]

For about five minutes.... until we got back to the cabin and she changed her mind. Now he is Toby.

 

Catrin

 

That is so like my daughter! She bought a hedgehog last month [a real animal, not a stuffed toy] and on the one hour drive home, it had about seven names! She finally settled on Andy.

[Catrin]

 

 

I knew that taxi cabs were $8.00ea to Meagan’s Bay and they charged admission. Knowing this, I felt comfortable just walking outside port and talking to a local taxi driver. Knowing the price, there was no dealing. The taxi cabs are actually pickup trucks with covered seats in the back. They each fit about 20 passengers. Some of the passengers were going on a tour… with a two hour stop at the beach. We just wanted to stay at the beach so we only paid one way.

 

Are all cabs $8.00 each person? Each way? We are traveling with 5, am I looking at $40.00 to the beach and $40.00 back?

 

Yes.. they are EACH WAY .. PER PERSON. St. Thomas is certainly an expensive port.

Have you ever been to St. Thomas? If not, I would suggest you take a tour with your family in one of the open Taxis. They may charge $20 - $30, but that would include the transportation to and from the beach. You would stay there for a few hours and then have the tour. It would totally make everything worth it, since you are already spending $16.00pp just for cab faire!

 

Catrin

[Catrin]

OP,

 

A few things I noted. How can anything have worse lines than the Dream?! :eek: That was a record for me.

 

 

We were on the Dream the last week of August two years ago. At the time, I felt the Dream to be very crowded, (which it was!!)... but the Splendor had it beat. There may have been less people, but the ship just felt overloaded at times. The one thing about the Dream, Deck 4 is used for the kids clubs and the flow is somewhat better. The pool area, while small, is wide spread with waterworks adding an area for the kids.

 

To me.. Cruising will NEVER have that magic that Disney does. But since Steve absolutely HATES Disney, and loves cruising. We go cruising. BUT>> I did manage to take Allison to Disney this year for her 8th Birthday. A four day girls trip with me, Allie and my Mom! So... I will have memories of that magic and we will continue to cruise.

 

Every year we say we want to try another cruiseline, but Carnival keeps winning us back with a great sale.

 

Plus.. I truly believe is a cruise is what you make of it. We do not expect caviar and a butler. We TRY to ignore jerks. And we enjoy folks like us.... people who work hard for 50 weeks a year and just want to have a good relaxing time ... trying to forget about life for a week.

 

So.. even though it may not have had MAGIC... it wasn't work and my laundry was done. Cant get any better than that.

Catrin

[thomarvin]

to SMJLT: We went to Cokie beach in St Thomas and that was $9pp each way. We are a family of 5 so it was $100 beach day for us. We had brought drinks and snacks. (pick up some in San Juan) so we didnt spend any other money there.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Op, its true that CCl will never have the magic Disney does... But cruising definitely can. If you guys love Disney and cruising, you will be amazed. It really does beat the parks... (For instance, if hubby hates waiting in long hot lines, that problem is fixed. If he hates paying $4 for a Mickey ice cream bar, or hotel or food rates, that problem is also fixed etc.)

 

Since you guys have seen the islands already plenty (which is what CCL is great for, a cheap way to get to some great places), you will be amazed at how great the options are for ship activities. We have to decide if we are going to get off the ship or stay on board...a VERY tough decision!

 

Anyway your kids would like not having to be formal for MDR too. (And it includes pop machines and Steve can bring on cases of BYOB if he wants, long as you bring it with you on your carry on and it fits in the security scanner, they don't care. Its truly BYOB! Very unusual for cruise lines..)

 

Or leave Steve behind and take Allison, she will have the time of her life! Altho he will really enjoy it too. The guests were also the nicest people I've cruised with. We dont even have kids and we loved it.

 

Its true that you are being positive which is good. But if the best thing about a CCL is 'hey they feed me and I'm not at work!" Then it might be time to venture out and see what else is out there. Not saying not to go back to CCL, just saying when you are ready to be treated like a real VIP everywhere you go, don't want to stand in line for a thousand yrs (crowd control is their forte) you might look into it.

 

Nice trip log again! Maybe I should post my Disney trip log and take people along with me too...

 

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

[traveling1969]

Op, its true that CCl will never have the magic Disney does... But cruising definitely can. If you guys love Disney and cruising, you will be amazed. It really does beat the parks... (For instance, if hubby hates waiting in long hot lines, that problem is fixed. If he hates paying $4 for a Mickey ice cream bar, or hotel or food rates, that problem is also fixed etc.)

 

Since you guys have seen the islands already plenty (which is what CCL is great for, a cheap way to get to some great places), you will be amazed at how great the options are for ship activities. We have to decide if we are going to get off the ship or stay on board...a VERY tough decision!

 

Anyway your kids would like not having to be formal for MDR too. (And it includes pop machines and Steve can bring on cases of BYOB if he wants, long as you bring it with you on your carry on and it fits in the security scanner, they don't care. Its truly BYOB! Very unusual for cruise lines..)

 

Or leave Steve behind and take Allison, she will have the time of her life! Altho he will really enjoy it too. The guests were also the nicest people I've cruised with. We dont even have kids and we loved it.

 

Its true that you are being positive which is good. But if the best thing about a CCL is 'hey they feed me and I'm not at work!" Then it might be time to venture out and see what else is out there. Not saying not to go back to CCL, just saying when you are ready to be treated like a real VIP everywhere you go, don't want to stand in line for a thousand yrs (crowd control is their forte) you might look into it.

 

Nice trip log again! Maybe I should post my Disney trip log and take people along with me too...

 

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

Just out of curiosity, I priced out this cruise for next year and compared Disney pricing (7 days) with Carnival (8 days) booking 1 oceanview cabin w/3 persons and one interior w/two. What an eye opener! Grand total for Carnival - $5970.00. Grand total for Disney - $10,427.00!!! I haven't even factored in air fare for the Disney Cruise. Yeah, we all like VIP treatment with no lines but at that price, it's not even remotely worth it. One more point: to pluck the statement "hey they feed me and I'm not at work." and intimate that that was the best thing about the OP's cruise is to completely ignore the rest of the review.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

(Edit, I enjoyed her review. I didn't pluck that out of it, I was directly responding to her comment to me, not the review. She said a cruise was what you make of it anyway, and at least I'm not at work or doing laundry. I wasn't 'intimating' to throw out the whole review or anything, I was just saying that there is an opportunity to be amazed, not just to feel like you are glad at least you aren't at work. But yes, I thought the review was fun and thoroughly enjoyed it! :) )

 

Yeah I never cruise in the summer. I have a 4 day interior at less than $560 per person on the Disney Magic in May. That's what I paid for my 7 day CCL. I can tell you which one is going to offer a whole lot more.

 

Cruising a 7 day on the Fantasy is going to be closer to the Oasis/Allure pricing (I compared the same week next fall, Oasis 7 day was 949 for a balcony and Fantasy 7 day was in the 1200s.)

 

I think 10k is insane and crazy but people do pay it (I guess that's why they can charge it.) Me? I'm happy with my $560-730 with my 10% off voucher and my Disney rewards dollars taking it off of that.

 

But that's why I recommend trying out a 4-5 day first. Also, you can get major deals out of Galveston right now (wish I had the time off and $ but not happening this year) and you can get good deals on the Wonder next year of Miami (or better deals anyway) but I don't care for Miami and we are going on the newest reimagineered dry docked Magic next spring which will have a ton of upgrades.

 

So yeah, DCL is expensive. But it doesn't have to cost any more than the same money you would spend on a CCL either. You may sacrifice a sea day or two, but you are getting such a superior experience, I think everyone ought to at least look for a deal at least every now and then. (Kind of like going to Six Flags, yeah its fun a few times in the summer. But WDW? That's a trip you really look forward to! -and save up for.- Same thing with CCL vs DCL.)

 

If you can afford a 7 day, I say go for it. But even if you can't, 7 days of mediocrity did not beat my 3 days of AWESOME. Not even close. (and stocking our own room and having sodas included did cut some down off of our on board room credit which no one seems to really talk about is where CCL really makes their money. Disney just collects your money up front. :D)

 

Peace!

[cruizinnj]

Catrin - thank you so much for taking the time to write a review and sharing your vacation and photos with all of us. I loved reading about your family's adventures, especially since my family is going on the Splendor in November! Your review made us even more excited :)

 

I know you did not need to utilize the camp time allocated to the under 2 year old group, but did you happen to notice the times this was offered on either your fun times or your camp schedules? My daughter will be 18 months when we sail and I was wondering what time in the camp, if any, will be available to her. I was wondering if there was time in the morning when the under twos were allowed to go (for a fee, I believe). On our last cruise, my son was 13 months, they offered a few hours each day in the mroning before camp opened. However, I have not been able to find out if this is offered on the Splendor.