disneyfan68

Hi everyone,

We booked this cruise late so traditional late dining wasn't available. It was the week before when I checked. We have MTD. I booked 8:15 each night. I'm disappointed to hear MTD limits you to only one dining room. Would this have been the case with traditional dining. We have never done MTD before. Also what are the chances late would open up? We also don't know show times so difficult to plan meal times.

Thanks!

Karyn

My dad and I both ordered the Cowboy Ribeye.....it was absolutely delicious :p

 

Baked Potato with all the trimmings

 

The cheesecake was HUGE. Now I have seen pictures from other people showing the cheesecake but pictures do it no justice. I ate about half as did my dad. We took the rest back to the room to eat later

 

We ate at the Steakhouse on our cruise. All ordered the cheesecake but me. My back was to the kitchen but my husband's face said it all when he saw it coming. Crazy big! You are so right. The picture does not do it justice. It is huge!!!!

My kids 7 & 9 liked NOT going best. Lol

They really didn't enjoy the whole CC experience. I was surprised because they are easy to get along with boys. You really just never know. I think they love being outdoors, exploring, hanging at the pool, basketball, ping pong, ice cream, and mini golfing with us better than stranger kids

Same here :rolleyes:

First trip at ages 12 and 10 and second trip ages 14 and 12 - both really didn't like it at all. Maybe its the older ages. They tried more this last time because they were in the same age group. Seems some kids go in already knowing each other. My kids tend to be a little quiet so some other kids come across loud and obnxious. They are glued to us. Only saving grace for us was we had 2 cabins.

Thank You Karyn. I was surprised at how big the Splendor was...that was our first time seeing it up close in a port

It's 113000 so not too shabby. When we ported in Nassau, it was the biggest ship in port with the exception on Disney Magic. Nice ship.

The Carnival Splendor

 

 

 

So excited for your review! Can't wait to read the whole thing.

Awesome to see Splendor. We sailed on her the following itinerary.

Karyn

We had #8 also! Loved the location and would get that one again also!

 

Hey that's ours! Haha! I have the same pic in my review :D

We rented #8 when we were there. It was close to the restrooms, not far from the food pavilion, and far from the crowds. When we go back, I will make sure to try and get that one again.

We also had # 8 a few weeks ago (pics in my review). It was on a recommendation and it was perfect. Closest to restrooms and not too noisy. Loved it!!!

Who is the current CD and how long will he/she be on board? Any info on the special entertainers not to be missed?

 

MARAPRINCE

Malcolm "Woo Hoo" Burn (or Burns) - no sure

I am not sure how long he will be on board but had been on the Miracle prior to the Splendor. He is from the Bronx so local to the port.

The entertainment was OK. Nothing was spectacular. The Punchliner Comedy Club changes comedians throughout the week (some start and get off while others get on board at ports). We did 2 family shows and 1 adult show. Again ok.

The production shows were ok as well. The last show was cancelled as the seas were too rough and it was dangerous to the performers.

I just booked this cruise today for July! Can't wait!! Thanks for your review! Quick question: Are Grand Turk and HMC basically "private" islands -- just beach and water activities?

Congratulations!

I don't believe Grand Turk is a private island although we were the only ship in port. Margaritaville is right as you get off the ship, but I do think there are other resorts on the island.

Others can weigh in :rolleyes:

Realized after we got home we forgot to empty one of the dresser drawers. What are the chances of seeing this clothing again?

I sent an email to the Guest Care Department and left a voicemail. We had 2 cabins, and of course, checked every drawer and closet in my kids cabin but no my own.

So silly we didn't check. Thanks.

Karyn

Did they have the nightly tastings on sea days? If so, when was the night for Nonna's meatballs? Missed it last time since it is one of the more popular offerings?

 

When was the Dr. Seuss parade? Did you go to the special Dr. Seuss breakfast?

 

I'll be doing the same ports starting on 5/28. Looking forward to good weather in all the ports.

 

MARAPRINCE

The Taste Bar had tastings on all sea days. I believe the second to last sea day was Italian. We skipped that one but that might have been the meatballs :rolleyes:

The Dr. Suess parade was during the afternoon like 2:30pm. We did not go but I recall it being Saturday I think (our 2 sea day going out). Also did not do the breakfast, but the line to reserve was long and it did sell out. We were on a spring break cruise so lots of kids.

Sorry I'm not much help with Dr. Suess. I have the Fun Times at home and will take a quick look tonight.

Thanks for the review and great pictures. Your kids are adorable.

Thanks!!!

Thanks for the review! We were going to book the April 10th cruise but we'd be away on April 15th (Tax Day) and I wasn't sure if we would have all of our taxes done by then! I didn't want to be away, although it was DD's Spring Break week. We booked this same cruise in June though.

 

Did you book the Flowrider before your cruise or when you arrived at Grand Turk? Trying to decide if I should do it beforehand or wait until we get there.

 

Did you notice long lines trying to get off the ship in Half Moon Cay (long lines waiting for the tender to take you to HMC). I figure I'd ask, I know you had a cabana and FTTF.

 

I read somewhere that most of the ship was sick on the ride home? I'm assuming it was due to rough seas??

We booked the Flowrider as an excusion before we left. Many ppl didn't seem to know about it, and when they saw it, thought they could just get in line. All of the time slots were full. So depending on time of year, I would book it in advance.

Since we had FTTF and a cabana, we were in a separate waiting area for the tender so I didn't get a good feel of how long the lines were. We arrived at HMC by 9:30am and saw tenders going from the ship to island until at least 11:00am or later maybe. Our ship was also completely sold out as far as I know.

I did not see passengers sick. It was very rocky on our 2 sea days home so I believe it was seasick not actual sick :D

Karyn

The seas were definitely a little bit rough, but I don't think MOST of the ship was sick. I don't doubt that there were people feeling motion sickness, but there were many, many people who were out and about and appearing to be well and happy.

Agreed!

Nice review, thank you for sharing! Can I ask, do you feel like the Hilton day passes were worth the money? How were the facilities, and the food? Thanks in advance :)

I feel the Hilton was worth the money considering you get most of it back. They had a nice pool and it was walking distance from the port. The beach wasn't the nicest (like on Paradise Island) and it was small but we used the pool. Your day includes use of beach and pool, towels, snorkeling, non motorized water sports and a $40 meal voucher. The pool had plenty of loungers plus cushioned chairs for 2 and small cabanas. You could eat in the inside restaurant or the pool grill. We ate at the grill and it was good. The servers were very friendly. They will basically run a tab and you pay and tip at the end. The pool is also lifeguarded.

We had a nice day there.

Karyn

When we sailed on Freedom of the Seas, I booked the Hilton Rose Resort for a day through Jamaica for a Day and it was great. Not sure what kind of activity you were looking for but it was a relaxing day. It was an all inclusive day pass and we had a lot of fun. Pictures are in my review below.

http://www.ResortForaDay.com/product-p/mbfmjahr.htm

Island Marketing also offers some great excursions and we used them for Cozumel and Grand Cayman and were very reliable.

http://jamaicacruiseexcursions.com/FalmouthExcursions.htm

Karyn

Curious...What is with the Mega Line to get back on the ship [as seen in two pictures] in Grand Turk? I've never seen lines like that to get back "on"....

 

HLR

Only in Grand Turk until 3:00 and our first port. My only guess is everyone spent every last minute they could :D

love the review.. :-) thank you for taking the time to post one. great pictures and it looks like you had a blast even though you had some rough seas and not so great sea days.

 

sailing on her in a few weeks and can't wait!!!

Thanks! Have fun!!!

Hi Disneyland. Thanks for the great review with pics. I have two questions. Is the jimmy Buffett parrot band full time on splendor, or we're they just on that sailing. Also, do you know how deep the pool was at the colonial hilton, or basically, is there a section 3 or 4 feet for those who are "swimming challenged:o"

Hi Mia!

Jimmy and the Parrots are a professional cover band. It seems from their website they arranged a fan cruise so over 100 fans were on board. They arranged to play at Margaritaville and also on board one day. They were listed in the Fun Times as not a Carnival entertainment. They also played randomly on board and on the islands (unscheduled). They were really good!

The pool at the Hilton was 3 to 8 feet so you should be fine :D

Karyn

Isn't it fun waiting for the tender? :D:D:D

Glad you had a great time, but sorry the sea days weren't as nice as ours.

When's your next cruise?

Nothing planned yet :(

GREAT review so far!!! Glad you enjoyed "our" cabanas at GT & HMC!! :D We will be back in GT in August. Looking forward to the rest of the review!!

Thanks Jamman! Your review really helped in my planning. I chose the cabanas you recommended and they worked out great!

We also took your suggestion of taking the last tender back in HMC. We too rode with the crew. It started pouring as passengers were lined up and we had seats at the bar and stayed dry :D Last tender was scheduled for 4:15pm but we didn't leave the island until 4:50pm. Loved HMC!

Karyn

That's about it. Feel free to ask any questions about anything. We had a great time, but would have liked 1 less sea day and 1 more port which is difficult from NYC. The 3 ports we visited we really liked and would consider Nassau as a vacation in the future.

The ship was very nice and is good condition. The service was good most of the time. It was very crowded due to spring break and lots of kids just running around. Also lots of young kids and teens in hot tubs at night with no parents in sight. Lido pool area is a little too small for number of passengers and the pools crowd quickly. As others have said, Splendor needs a better Serenity area. They really don't have one.

Looking forward to our next cruise!

Karyn

For Nassau, I booked at day pass at the British Colonial Hilton. For those of you who know Nassau, the Hilton is walking distance from the cruise terminal. It is right behind Senior Frogs. The day pass was $60 for adults and $30 for children under 12. Adults received a $40 voucher for food/drink and children $20 so it was a great deal. We ate at the pool grill. The servers were very friendly and helpful and we had a great day. We all had too much sun from HMC so shade was the order of the day. We arrived the Hilton around 10:15am and the pool area was quiet. I guess many go to Atlantis. We talked to a couple staying there and they said the pool was the busiest they had seen it and it only had around 10 people in (most from cruise).

There were 5 ships in port - Carnival Splendor, Sensation and Victory, Disney Magic and RCCL Majesty of the Seas.

Hilton is taller hotel behind Senor Frogs