Splendor trip report and review: June 7-14, 2009 - Canada

[AQW]

Greetings from the lovely Carnival Splendor! I'm keeping a trip journal on my computer; I'll try to pop in a few times to upload entries here. If you like loooooong, verbose tripi reports... this one's for you. If you're looking for quick-and-dirty ship info or someone who's going to experience everything on board... not so much.

 

AQW: me, age 39, mom of:

Dexter: 7yo son

Celeste: 4yo daughter

 

Also traveling:

Sheila aka Nana: my mom

Trevor: my 8yo nephew

 

So here we go!

 

Sunday, June 7th

We arrived at the port at 3pm, waited two minutes for security, walked right up to the hospitality agent for our keys, and were on the ship within 15 minutes. By far the easiest embarkation I’ve ever experienced - we picked exactly the right time to arrive.

 

We immediately checked out our room (#8390 - 8D balcony, Verandah deck port side aft). My mom and nephew were next door in #8394. We had asked for connecting staterooms, but at the time of booking the reservation agent explained the partitions between the balconies are completely removable so we would have “one big balcony” and could access each other’s cabins that way. Not exactly true - the entire partition separating us from our OTHER neighbor could be removed, but there was only a small space that could be opened up in the partition separating the two balconies in our party. Strike one - traveling as a family with children, it was very important to me that we have full access to each other’s cabins, and I was promised this would be the case. Not at all happy.

 

The stateroom is typical Carnival. This particular room has two twins (can convert to a king) and a sofa that converts to a twin - no upper bunk, to my son’s dismay. His disappointment lasted about ten seconds; when he realized the sofa converted into a bed (instead of him just sleeping on the sofa) he declared that “even better than a top bunk” and went on his merry way to check out the balcony. Kids. LOL

 

Plenty of storage room in these cabins - I overpacked for three people and still only used half of the shelf and drawer space.

All bags arrived by 4:30pm. Unpacked, got situated, and reported for muster at 5:15p. A word about the life jackets - thinner and far more comfortable than those on the Paradise, Pride, or Disney Magic. Having these new thinner jackets was the difference between an upset and whiny 4yo (last month on the Paradise) and a happy-go-lucky 4yo… made muster a better experience for everyone. Thank you, Carnival! Muster was almost pleasant - plenty of elbow room, an amicable crew member assigned to our area, and the new comfy life jackets… off to a good start.

 

We sailed away during muster, which I always find a bit anti-climactic and disappointing. By the time we returned the life jackets to the room it was time for dinner (6pm early seating, Black Pearl upper, Table #216). We had a five-top for our party - actually, it was a four-top with an extra chair stuck onto the end. Things were a bit crowded, but we made do. The location would normally be less than ideal - isolated from any other tables, right next to the server station and the drink station - but it was the perfect place to sit when traveling with three children, since they could move around without disturbing anyone else. Our server, Aut (pronounced “ott”) from Indonesia, was an absolute peach - the kids took to him right away. He brought crayons and menus/activity sheets, chit-chatted with them, and set a fun tone for the evening.

 

Then Celeste (the 4yo) knocked her bread plate off the table while coloring and it broke on the floor. She was mortified and started crying, poor little thing. The assistant maitre’d (Crina from Romania) rushed over, picked up the pieces, and told Celeste that she had brought the dining room good luck - that good luck comes as soon as the first dish is broken on each cruise, so afterwards everyone can relax and have a good time. She thanked Celeste - who was now smiling - and gave her extra crayons. Celeste said “Thank you Miss Yolande” and I laughed and explained that Yolande was our maitre’d on the Disney Magic last year - she made a big impression on Celeste by fussing over her and making sure that her dairy allergy never felt like a handicap, arranging for special desserts, etc. Crina immediately started asking questions about the allergy, then said she would send the hostess over to plan for the rest of the cruise. Crina also stopped by twice more during dinner to chat with the kids and make sure Celeste was doing fine. Definitely top marks for service so far!

 

I had the gazpacho and the Spa Carnival tilapia, both of which were delicious. My nephew ordered beef barley soup and shrimp cocktail… then proceeded to eat three MORE orders of shrimp! Aut kept challenging him to eat one more, one more - and he kept up! My kids like cruising as an opportunity to eat what I call “kid crap” - pizza, burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc. Blech. But hey, it’s their vacation. Celeste had a hot dog and jello, Dexter had pizza and a banana split. Trevor topped off his shrimpfest with crème brulee. LOL My kind of kid, I’m tellin’ ya.

 

After dinner we went to the Camp Carnival registration in the large showroom, which was a complete zoo. I was SO glad I’d printed all the forms online and filled them out beforehand (thank you Cruise Critic, for informing me this was a possibility!). What would otherwise have taken us at least 45 minutes instead took 15-20.

 

Back to the cabin, jammies and bed for my early-to-bed, early-to-rise pair. They get to stay up late on cruises (normal bedtime is 6:30p for the 4yo and 7:00p for the 7yo) but tend to completely fall apart as 9pm approaches. I’m writing this at 10:15pm on Sunday and while I feel some back-and-forth motion, we’re not rockin’ and rollin’ nearly as much as I’d hoped. Overall a good thing, since my mom flirts with motion sickness, but I miss being lulled to sleep by the rock-a-bye of the ocean. Tomorrow - sea day. My kidlets will be up by 6:00am, continental breakfast being delivered at 7:00, then… who knows?

 

That's it for now! :D

[viaggiatrice]

Fun Review so far!!!!

[Payd]

Greetings from the lovely Carnival Splendor! I'm keeping a trip journal on my computer; I'll try to pop in a few times to upload entries here. If you like loooooong, verbose tripi reports... this one's for you. If you're looking for quick-and-dirty ship info or someone who's going to experience everything on board... not so much.

 

AQW: me, age 39, mom of:

Dexter: 7yo son

Celeste: 4yo daughter

 

Also traveling:

Sheila aka Nana: my mom

Trevor: my 8yo nephew

 

So here we go!

 

Sunday, June 7th

We arrived at the port at 3pm, waited two minutes for security, walked right up to the hospitality agent for our keys, and were on the ship within 15 minutes. By far the easiest embarkation I’ve ever experienced - we picked exactly the right time to arrive.

 

We immediately checked out our room (#8390 - 8D balcony, Verandah deck port side aft). My mom and nephew were next door in #8394. We had asked for connecting staterooms, but at the time of booking the reservation agent explained the partitions between the balconies are completely removable so we would have “one big balcony” and could access each other’s cabins that way. Not exactly true - the entire partition separating us from our OTHER neighbor could be removed, but there was only a small space that could be opened up in the partition separating the two balconies in our party. Strike one - traveling as a family with children, it was very important to me that we have full access to each other’s cabins, and I was promised this would be the case. Not at all happy.

 

The stateroom is typical Carnival. This particular room has two twins (can convert to a king) and a sofa that converts to a twin - no upper bunk, to my son’s dismay. His disappointment lasted about ten seconds; when he realized the sofa converted into a bed (instead of him just sleeping on the sofa) he declared that “even better than a top bunk” and went on his merry way to check out the balcony. Kids. LOL

 

Plenty of storage room in these cabins - I overpacked for three people and still only used half of the shelf and drawer space.

All bags arrived by 4:30pm. Unpacked, got situated, and reported for muster at 5:15p. A word about the life jackets - thinner and far more comfortable than those on the Paradise, Pride, or Disney Magic. Having these new thinner jackets was the difference between an upset and whiny 4yo (last month on the Paradise) and a happy-go-lucky 4yo… made muster a better experience for everyone. Thank you, Carnival! Muster was almost pleasant - plenty of elbow room, an amicable crew member assigned to our area, and the new comfy life jackets… off to a good start.

 

We sailed away during muster, which I always find a bit anti-climactic and disappointing. By the time we returned the life jackets to the room it was time for dinner (6pm early seating, Black Pearl upper, Table #216). We had a five-top for our party - actually, it was a four-top with an extra chair stuck onto the end. Things were a bit crowded, but we made do. The location would normally be less than ideal - isolated from any other tables, right next to the server station and the drink station - but it was the perfect place to sit when traveling with three children, since they could move around without disturbing anyone else. Our server, Aut (pronounced “ott”) from Indonesia, was an absolute peach - the kids took to him right away. He brought crayons and menus/activity sheets, chit-chatted with them, and set a fun tone for the evening.

 

Then Celeste (the 4yo) knocked her bread plate off the table while coloring and it broke on the floor. She was mortified and started crying, poor little thing. The assistant maitre’d (Crina from Romania) rushed over, picked up the pieces, and told Celeste that she had brought the dining room good luck - that good luck comes as soon as the first dish is broken on each cruise, so afterwards everyone can relax and have a good time. She thanked Celeste - who was now smiling - and gave her extra crayons. Celeste said “Thank you Miss Yolande” and I laughed and explained that Yolande was our maitre’d on the Disney Magic last year - she made a big impression on Celeste by fussing over her and making sure that her dairy allergy never felt like a handicap, arranging for special desserts, etc. Crina immediately started asking questions about the allergy, then said she would send the hostess over to plan for the rest of the cruise. Crina also stopped by twice more during dinner to chat with the kids and make sure Celeste was doing fine. Definitely top marks for service so far!

 

I had the gazpacho and the Spa Carnival tilapia, both of which were delicious. My nephew ordered beef barley soup and shrimp cocktail… then proceeded to eat three MORE orders of shrimp! Aut kept challenging him to eat one more, one more - and he kept up! My kids like cruising as an opportunity to eat what I call “kid crap” - pizza, burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, etc. Blech. But hey, it’s their vacation. Celeste had a hot dog and jello, Dexter had pizza and a banana split. Trevor topped off his shrimpfest with crème brulee. LOL My kind of kid, I’m tellin’ ya.

 

After dinner we went to the Camp Carnival registration in the large showroom, which was a complete zoo. I was SO glad I’d printed all the forms online and filled them out beforehand (thank you Cruise Critic, for informing me this was a possibility!). What would otherwise have taken us at least 45 minutes instead took 15-20.

 

Back to the cabin, jammies and bed for my early-to-bed, early-to-rise pair. They get to stay up late on cruises (normal bedtime is 6:30p for the 4yo and 7:00p for the 7yo) but tend to completely fall apart as 9pm approaches. I’m writing this at 10:15pm on Sunday and while I feel some back-and-forth motion, we’re not rockin’ and rollin’ nearly as much as I’d hoped. Overall a good thing, since my mom flirts with motion sickness, but I miss being lulled to sleep by the rock-a-bye of the ocean. Tomorrow - sea day. My kidlets will be up by 6:00am, continental breakfast being delivered at 7:00, then… who knows?

 

That's it for now! :D

 

Adrienne,

 

Hope the rest of the cruise is amazing. Can't wait to read the rest of your review.

[Essiesmom]

I was on Splendor May 17 & 24 cruises, and I did the same thing on another cruise forum. Go back and check your roll call...I posted some pictures of your sailaway. I think you will feel a bit more motion tomorrow...Carolyn

[Minnesota_chillers]

Thanks for the info AQW.

We are sailing right behind you as we leave on the Splendor 6-14-09.

I do have one question you may be able to answer. I understand there is a laundry bag you can fill and they will do the load for $10.00

 

Is the size a typical bag you would see in a hotel?

 

Looking forward to more updates. We are on the same deck 8229.

 

Thanks

[mistyinca]

Great review, and it sounds like your cruise is going beautifully so far!! Have fun!!

 

I can't wait to read more! :D

[WAcruisers]

Would love to hear more!

[EverBlue]

Just got off the Splendor on June 7. If you need free internet access, you can go to the public library in Astoria, Victoria, and Vancouver. I was able to get 1 hour free internet access from each of the three public libraries. They are all within walking distance. You will find them on the map they give you.

[Essiesmom]

The laundry bag they left in my cabin was a paper bag about 18"x20". I didn't use it...used the laundry room instead. EM

[Winterstale]

Great review, Adrienne! Keep it coming! Not sailing her until November so this keep the excitement going!

[markandpen]

Can't wait to hear about today!!! Hope you had a good day @ sea. Can you feel the ship rocking now???

[AQW]

Monday, June 8th

 

Did I mention my kids get up early? The human alarm clock, aka Dexter, awoke at 4:22am. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted so badly to shoot myself in the head. Tried getting him back to sleep but it was pointless… finally resorted to our usual we’re-all-sharing-a-room-and-we-don’t-want-you-to-wake-your-sister routine and stuck him in the bathroom to play his Leapster games. Celeste woke at 6:00am on the nose, so we all snuggled in bed and watched a kid movie.

 

Continental breakfast delivered almost 30 minutes late and they subbed croissants for bagels - no good for the dairy allergy. Hmmm. Not off to a good start. Went next door to hang out with Nana and Trevor for a while, then off to Camp Carnival as soon as it opened (9:00am). All three kids went to the club, so Nana and I wandered aimlessly for a while checking out the common areas of the ship, before ending up in the omelet line in the Lido restaurant (I swear I don’t know how that happened). Long line for omelets at this time of day, but they were delicious and well worth it. A leisurely breakfast, during which I didn’t have to cut anyone’s food but my own, was just the thing. We headed back to Camp Carnival to pick up the kidlets, went for a walk on deck, found the mini golf (there’s no way Dexter will let me off this ship without playing mini golf with him), and just had a good time wandering. After a bit the kids were hungry for lunch, so Nana entertained them while I played food sherpa and schlepped food and drinks for three back and forth, back and forth. Eventually everyone was fed.

 

Back to the cabin around 1:00pm for mandatory rest time - forget the kids, *I* was exhausted! We found “Build It Bigger” on the TV and laid quietly watching them build roller coasters for an hour, which seemed to do the trick. Took both of my kids back to Camp Carnival, then did a recon mission in the Lido restaurant so I could be more efficient with food gathering next time. Found the rotisserie, found the deli - we are SO set for the rest of the week. Back to the cabin to relax on the balcony, RENT soundtrack on the iPod, watching the ocean go by. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. When it comes right down to it, THIS is why I cruise.

 

Back to Camp Carnival to pick up the kidlets - and may I just whine about CC for a moment? They opened at 9am, closed from 12p-2p, back open from 2pm-3:45pm (seriously???), closed from 3:45pm-5pm, then open until 10pm (and later for paid babysitting). Closed from 3:45-5:00pm “to prepare for cruise elegant night” according to the CC capers. Seriously? It’s not like they’re polishing the silver and prepping the lobster tails in the kids club…

 

Family game time in the cabin while I made one last-ditch effort to convince Dexter to dress up and dine with us - Celeste acquiesced, but Dexter just wasn’t having it. Reminding myself that it’s his vacation too, I chose to smile and say okay. Got Smidgie dressed in her “cruise elegant” gear… Mommy-sewn Minnie Mouse dress, sparkly Minnie Mouse ears headband, frilly socks and red glittery shoes. Oh, to be four years old and adorable! Not to be outdone, 8yo Trevor donned the top half of his Prince Charming costume along with a pair of Dockers. Yes, photos to follow - I will upload all pertinent pictures once I return home next week, because believe me, sometimes you really need to see things for yourselves.

 

I gussied up and accompanied the two fancy munchkins to dinner, where Trevor proceeded to eat three servings of shrimp cocktail, a lobster tail, and chocolate melting cake with extra ice cream. Celeste packed away almost an entire serving of prime rib and topped it off with some jello. I had lobster and a bite of the prime rib, both were excellent. I would go so far as to say both were the best I’ve ever had on a cruise.

 

Picked up Dexter from Camp Carnival and headed back to the cabin with a plan to watch a quick DVD and have the kiddos asleep by 8:30pm. Unfortunately, our room was not serviced during the two hours we were gone for dinner… in fact, at this point I still hadn’t even met our room steward . I checked next door to learn that not only had their room not yet been serviced, but that they never received turn-down service the first night and had to beg the imeCapers and fresh towels off a steward who happened to be passing by. Not good. I called housekeeping and spoke briefly to the room steward, who said he would come right away. He did… then looked into the room and said “So I’ll clean it when you leave again - any idea when that will be?” I paused ever-so-briefly, reflecting back on the phone conversation less than two minutes prior in which I had stressed the need to service the room right away so I could put my children to bed, then clearly stated that I needed him to do it right away - you know, so I could put my children to bed. No need for anything fancy like emptying the trash or turning down the covers, we just needed the sofa bed prepped - so I could Put. My. Children. To. Bed.

 

Thirty minutes later, not done. Trip downstairs to guest services, phone call back up to housekeeping, blah blah blah. To save myself the elevated blood pressure that would come with reliving the entire ordeal, suffice to say that the small people did not get to bed until 9:30pm, at which point the 7yo was crying from sheer exhaustion. Gah. All I can say is if things don’t improve with this room steward - which I have been assured they will - I will be removing auto tips for the first time in my cruising career. We’ve been on board for 30+ hours now and we still don’t have any ice, for pity’s sake.

 

To end on a happy note - I’m very much enjoying this ship! I think the décor is much more attractive in person than in photos - I actually like it very much. And now that I’ve figured out the layout of the two-deck Lido restaurant and pool area, I think it’s very well designed. But where is my rockin' and rollin'???? I'd say we're more... jiggling. Like being in a massage chair while getting a pedicure, or like... a square of jello jiggling on a plate. Strange sensation; it really doesn't even feel like the ocean! Overall, VERY calm seas. (Booooooooo.)

 

To answer the laundry bag question - I think the previous poster was dead-on with the dimensions. The bottom of the bag is not gusseted, so it lays flat and you can’t stuff as much into it. I’m a plus-size gal and I was (barely) able to fit two pairs of jeans, two short sleeve shirts, and two days’ worth of frilly things into the bag. (Oh please, almighty platinum status, sail my way soon…)

 

Tomorrow - Astoria, OR. We were initially slated to be in port from 3pm-10pm, but the Capers gives a revised time of 3pm-8pm. I was desperately wanting to take my young’uns to the children’s museum and firefighters’ museum, but learned early on they are only open Wed-Sun. HOWEVER, the “Welcome to Astoria” paperwork they slipped into tomorrow’s Capers lists the museum as a possible destination… they wouldn’t tease me like that, would they? (Answer: Yes.) So I’ll be calling the museum once we’re in port, just to double-check. If nothing else, we’ll just get off the ship and walk around for a bit, since I hear Astoria is a pretty place.

 

Bottom line - Day Two, having a wonderful time no matter what. So, so, so happy to be here. To be continued!

[ylcruiser1]

Keep these posts coming Adrienne ... I am living vicariously with you ... we will be having a completely different experience, celebrating our 37th wedding anniversary ... no kids! But, it's great to hear of your adventures ... good or bad! Wishing you better days ahead!

[JaniceB]

We had some similiar experiences on our last family cruise. When we booked our cruise the port time was one thing and we found out on the ship it was cut back. My DH was not happy, he prefers longer port times. Also, our kids were in an inside cabin across the hall from our balcony. Our balcony cabin had flooded on the previous cruise, so we were moved to the other side of the ship and down from them. We were not happy. We did complain and received some perks because of it. That was nice, but we still didn't like our kids (teenagers) that far away.

 

Enjoying your review.:)

[Essiesmom]

Adrienne...if you should happen to get on before you dock...Take the shuttle into town and ask the driver if the museums will be open. If he/she doesn't know, get off at the first stop (Liberty Theater) and ask one of the many local volunteers. If it's open, get on the next shuttle and the next stop will be the Maritime Museum, which is closer to the firefighter Museum. The Maritime Museum would be interesting for children, too. And there is a lightship there for touring, also. Carolyn

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing! What a great review

[ylcruiser1]

Adrienne ... We are all anxious to hear about your Astoria port day ... please write soon!

 

Pam

[mommyx2]

Hi, We are going on the ship on sunday. I have 2 kids age 10 and 6. Can you give any details on camp carnival hours, kids dinners and how many kids are there on board this week?? thanks

tami

[AQW]

Before anything else - Tami, I will be posting a FULL set of kid-capers (all age groups) when I return, but with you sailing so soon here's the upshot: club opens around 9am, closes for lunch around 12-2, opens again in the afternoon, closes to prep for dinner, then is open until 10pm. Starting at 10pm you can pay $6/hr for the first child, $4/hr for each sibling, for "babysitting" services. We did not use that, so I can't speak to it. But my kids are LOVING Camp Carnival - they want to be there ALL THE TIME. Hope this helps!

 

Sitting poolside right now and they're opening the roof over the pool - THIS IS THE LIFE!!! If I don't post tonight, I'll post Thursday night after Vancouver. :)

 

So here is Astoria:

 

Tuesday, June 9

 

Our first port day - Astoria, Oregon! Dexter woke at 5:45am, Celeste at 6:30am. They watched a movie while I showered and dressed, then we joined Nana and Trevor for breakfast on the Lido deck. Much shorter line at the omelet bar at 8:15am! Big breakfast, then off to roam the ship and take part in some activities. My kids went to the club (of course) while Trevor donned his suit and hit the pool. Nana and I relaxed poolside while that happy boy swam to his heart’s content - like a pig in slop when he’s in the pool, I swear. Never happier than when he’s swimming.

 

We all gathered for lunch, which went much smoother now that I had the lay of the land. The deli sandwiches and rotisserie chicken were both absolutely delicious. One of the servers in the Lido restaurant made napkin animals for the kids, delighting them by making the animals jump around. We returned to our staterooms for the now-mandatory rest time, gearing up for a brief visit ashore in Astoria.

 

Astoria is BEAUTIFUL! They set up a makeshift bazaar at the port consisting of 20-30 ez-up canopies with people selling wares inside. Crocheted dish towels, hand-scrolled woodwork, cashmere hats, jewelry, you name it. Best of all, a musical duo called Salty Dog performed classic rock tunes a few yards away… there go the kids. LOL Like the Pied Piper - if there’s music, they are THERE. They danced and jumped around with glee, much to the delight of the duo who were thrilled to be so appreciated. They patiently answered questions between songs, showed the kids their equipment, and took requests. When we put a tip in their jar the gal said “We should be tipping you - they’re the best audience we’ve ever had!” LOL

 

The weather was chilly but nice, about 52-53 degrees and breezy but not windy. We knew we didn’t want to go far into town, but we expected to get farther than 300 yards from the ship! But we had no scheduled excursions, the lines for the busses were long, and we ended up dancing the afternoon away essentially in the shadow of the Splendor - at least, what would have been her shadow if there were any sun to speak of. Not what we expected from our first port day, but we had a blast! The gentleman selling his woodwork was such a prince - the kids marveled over his wares for at least 20 minutes, and he patiently explained every detail and even showed them how the saw operated. Between him and the Salty Dog duo, the kids had an educational afternoon with lots of new information patiently shared by (somewhat bemused) older adults. I was initially very disappointed that the museums were closed (we called today and found that was indeed the case) but it ended up being great anyway.

 

Back on the ship for dinner, then dancing in the atrium. Apparently, this was the Day of Dancing! All three kids wanted to end their evening in the club, so Nana and I watched the end of the Lakers game on the big screen while laughing at all the rabid Lakers fans (or bandwagoners!) chanting “DEFENSE! DEFENSE!” complete with hand-claps. Satisfied with a Lakers defeat, we watched the (9pm) sunset from Deck 10, retrieved the kidlets and headed back to our cabins. Another wonderful day on the Carnival Splendor!

[AQW]

Wednesday, June 10

 

Up early (what a surprise, right?) but off to a slow start. The strain of late nights, early mornings, and lack of vegetables made for grumpy kidlets - oh, who am I kidding… and a grumpy Mommy too. We all went out on the balcony to watch the arrival into Victoria. We were initially slated to be in Victoria from noon-midnight and I’d read on CC that several prior sailings were not docking until 2-3pm due to winds and other ships, but instead we arrived at 9am. We had a leisurely breakfast and the kiddos ambushed me - they wanted to go to Camp Carnival instead of ashore! After many rounds of discussion and deliberation, we decided today would be “enjoy the empty ship day” during which we would get rested up for our busy day in Vancouver tomorrow. I dropped my thrilled kidlets at the kids’ club, Trevor got his swimsuit on, and we headed to the Lido pool. The completely empty Lido pool. The look on Trevor’s face was classic… the water was like glass, and he got to be the one to make his own personal impression. Heaven!

 

Around 11-11:30am, the Mariner of the Seas pulled in next to us at Ogden Point, so we sat back to watch - until a rowdy trio of college-age girls decided to flash from their balcony. Back in the pool, Trevor!!

 

Soon we heard a big BOOM!!!! followed by a crrreeeeeaaakkkk…. creeeeaaakkk… the roof was opening over the pool! Beautiful day - 70 degrees and sunny, with a cool breeze. I decided to venture off the ship to look around a bit - Nana took over the Camp Carnival phone and bade me farewell. On my way out I stopped at Guest Services to let them know the issues with our room steward were not yet resolved - believe it or not, still no ice. I’d personally requested ice three times, but nothing. Both rooms requested to have the (tiny) door between our balconies unlocked - nothing. Today while servicing our room during breakfast, the room steward removed the wet clothes I left hanging on the clothesline, balled them up, and put them on the bed. And left them there.

 

Really, I’m flabbergasted. Any one of these things alone wouldn’t be cause for concern - nobody’s perfect, and the stewards have a lot to do and remember. But to have request after request after request ignored just isn’t okay, particularly on the heels of an utter lack of service the other night. Gah. So I let them know very sweetly that our issues were continuing and if the housekeeping manager wanted to hear more, they knew where to find me. Then I skipped off the ship and forgot all about the creepy little room steward… it’s CANADA!

 

Talk about beautiful weather! I hoped the people who booked this cruise when it was still a Mexican Riviera itinerary were happy with the beautiful sunshine - the deserve it after being rerouted unexpectedly. I decided to forego the shuttle and walk downtown - it’s a nice stroll, about 25 minutes. I took tons of pictures and just wandered downtown Victoria. I have no idea how far I walked, but by the time I got back to the ship I was tiiiiiired. I checked in on the kids, which looked something like this:

 

Child: “Hi Mommy!”

Me: “Hi! How are you doing? Would you like to come swimming with me?”

Child: “No thanks!”

Me: “They’re showing Wall*E on the big screen soon…”

Child: “No thanks!”

Me: “But I miss you! Come swim with me!”

Child: “No thanks! Love you Mommy, bye!”

 

Sigh. Well, I know ONE person who would swim with me - there was no doubt in my mind that Trevor was still in the pool, so I put my suit on and headed to Deck 9. A glorious, glorious day for a swim! Somehow in my six Carnival cruises I had never, ever been in any of the pools… surprise! Salt water! How did I not know this??? We had a delightful time in the pool - after 90 minutes of throwing that 75lb boy around, I was exhausted. I dragged myself out of the pool and slumped down next to Nana to dry off… salt water + sunshine and breeze = feeling like a glazed donut when you dry. Ewwwww. Nana offered to stay on Camp Carnival phone duty and I headed down to the stateroom for a quick shower. Got dressed, grabbed my sail & sign card, and opened the door of my stateroom… to find a team of eight men replacing the hallway carpet. They had just spread a thick layer of white goo on the floor, so I was officially trapped in the cabin. The poor workman looked like he was going to have a heart attack when I opened the door - “NO! Please, miss, no, please, wet, please, no…” I gave him a smile, pointed at my watch, and asked “How long?” - then had to laugh when he replied “Only five minute. Okay, maybe fifteen.” LOL

 

I sat down and polished off the last two chapters of Cruise Confidential while I waited, then headed up to Deck 10 to wrest the kidfolk away from the strong pull of Camp Carnival. We headed back to the Lido pool to join Trevor and Nana (who by this time had grown roots - she literally sat at the same table for seven hours today). Dexter immediately wanted to go swimming, and when I reminded him he had chosen the kids’ club and therefore there would be no swimming, it became apparent that he was headed for a meltdown. We ate a quick dinner and made a hasty retreat just as the full explosion of anger and tears hit. VERY overtired little boy - but even though I understood and sympathized with the reason behind his uncharacteristically bad behavior, there was no way I was going to subject the other people on the ship to his nonsense. Back to the stateroom for jammies, a 6pm showing of Firehouse Dog (which made Dexter forget all about the swimming fiasco, in his excitement over being allowed to watch a normally-forbidden PG movie), a banana for snack, then tucked into bed at 7:50pm and fast asleep by the stroke of eight.

 

Cruising with the kids is a relatively new experience for me - I went on four short cruises without them before taking them on their first cruise, a 7-night DCL sailing. They loved that experience, so I wanted to see how they would do on a non-Disney line. When the redirected swine flu sailings began selling for pennies, I booked both this 7-night Canada itinerary as well as a quickie 3-night weekend jaunt to Catalina, just to see how they would do. The difference in my cruising experience with kids vs. without is simply staggering… there is almost zero overlap. When I’m cruising kid-free I never get up before 8-8:30am, usually skip breakfast, hit at least 2-3 activities each day (bingo, trivia, etc.), always have dinner in the dining room, and enjoy some kind of nightlife/entertainment every night - karaoke, late-night comedy, seeing the revue show, singing in the piano bar, SOMETHING- it‘s very rare to find me in bed before 1-2am.

 

With the kids - I’m awakened early each day, I rarely do any shipboard activities, eat somewhere besides the dining room at least half of the time, and miss out on every bit of the nighttime entertainment. Right now it’s 8:45pm and I’m in my jammies, typing away in the dark stateroom, two semi-snoring angels snuggled near me. It’s not at all a bad cruise experience… just a different one. I do miss going to the piano bar in particular, as well as seeing the comedians perform. But I love seeing how much my kids enjoy the whole experience, and I’m just not to a point where I’m interested in leaving them behind for over a week. Three nights, sure, no problem. But I went on a week-long cruise in March without them, and although it didn’t completely ruin my cruise experience, missing the kids definitely put a damper on the trip. It’s something I won’t do again anytime soon. I think our next step needs to be planning a cruise for me, hubby, the kidlets, and someone the kiddos know and trust (like Nana or Gramma) who would be willing to babysit a few nights. Best of all worlds!

 

Okay, who let me get off on that tangent? Jeepers Adrienne, reel in the novel. So tomorrow - Vancouver! We’re expecting this to be the jewel of our port days - we have a busy day of activities ahead of us, possibly including but not limited to a trolley city tour (aka the HOHO trolley: hop-on, hop-off), a ferry or aquabus ride, and/or a visit to the science museum! (For the record, I am absolutely pulling for Science World.)

 

To be continued…

[candigirl41]

very nice balanced review. Good job.

 

Candi

[mommyx2]

Adrienne, I am loving your review. Giggling as I read it. We have cruised with and without our kids too. I feel the same way as you I don't want to leave my kids for more than a couple of days. Thats why we love cruising, my parents usually come along. My kids have loved all the ships we have been on so far and hardly want to be with us. Although my 10 yr old son loves the pool as much as your nephew Trevor it sounds like. I am so excited you are having a great time and great weather, I hope it stays that way next week for us. Thanks for answering all the ???, except for are there alot of kids on board and is camp carnival crowded. We have always cruised off season oct/ nov and never more than 20 kids total, so anxious to hear about summer vacation time>

I can't wait to hear about hop on and off tour and vancouver. I am thinking about renting bikes and going through Satnley Park I heard it was amazing.. depends on weather..

Can't wait to hear from you tomorrow, you are making my week.

 

take care and have fun, have an ice cream cone for me.

 

Tami

[AQW]

Sorry Tami, knew I forgot something... yes, LOTS of kids on board. 148 registered in the 6-8 group at Camp Carnival alone! I can't speak to the olders. The 2-5 has far fewer.

 

The club is always hopping, but they seem to be handling it fine. The lines at pick-up can be ridiculous; I can't believe they still haven't found a better way to do this. But overall, I'd say they're doing a marvelous job with a ship full of kids!

[ylcruiser1]

Yawn ... what a pleasant 2-day recap ... pull the covers down for me before you get off the ship ... maybe our paths will cross on Sunday ... now I can head off to bed nice and content and counting down MY days in port (albeit rainy forecast) ... keep 'em coming Adrienne!

 

Pam :)

[glrounds]

Love your "rolling" review Adrienne. My 4 boys are long gone, but it brings back very pleasant memories. :) Will probably be on the Splendor this Fall or Winter, but love the keen observations of the ship and its crew people. Thanks again.