tidygirl

Just off an 8 day cruise on the Splendor and some of my thoughts after being away from Carnival for quite some time.

Check in was chaotic they do staggered check in but there were so many people waiting out in the heat with no fans etc I felt bad for the older people. Wasn't impressed with the check in.

I was prepared for the pink ship it was fine maybe a little gaudy but many ships are that way.

Thing we were disappointed with

Buffet at night- very limited choices (need to check out Royal Caribbean ) We don't do the main dining room

Cleaning- they did clean our room only 1 time a day. They asked my husband his preference which he chose evening. That was fine with us long as my room was clean (and it was)

 

Comedy club- 4 nights of comedy 2 family shows per night the last 2 nights they did repeats of the family show. Now sorry but its pretty sad if a comedian can't come up with only 2 different clean shows for a cruise.

Nightly shows -1 or 2 nights nothing in the theater the rest was the dancers every night. They were good but I wish the cruise lines (not just Carnival ) would go back to variety shows. I say bring on some of the good American Got Talent Acts!

Disembarkment- we were #14 and we're supposed to get off the ship between 9 and 9:30 We weren't allowed to leave till 10:30 thankfully we had a late flight or I may have been panicking.

I cruise for the destinations not just for the ship so would I go with Carnival again ? Yes if another line didn't cruise to that port.we still had a good vacation , but this was some of my observations.

What's the chances of walking off the ship and getting one if you haven't reserved it? Is the driving kind of crazy there like on many of the other islands?

We used him a couple of years ago. We were so impressed had to bring the adult kids back and used him again last year. We thought he was awesome!

Thanks so much I will check into this. Our family of 4 have stayed together before and we ma k e it v work ok.

I am trying to figure out if Holland offers in side cabins that accommodate either 3 or 4 people? Do they have the Pullman beds? Looking at Oosterdam.

Any place close to the port to rent a jeep and go on our own?

Thought I had a tour lined up with one of these companies , I had told them when we'd be in port and they said yes we could do it ,but then when I called to pay they said the tour started at 8 and we don't even arrive in port till then :( now back to square one

Aruba road rentals is 15 min from the port with no pick ups.

So any other suggestions?

@ leavethekidswithmom- did you rent the jeep while on a cruise stop? Any information would be appreciated! I'm trying to find a way to go to the Natural pond. I thought I had a Utv tour figured out by contacting a place by email explaining the times we would be in port, only after calling to make a payment found out the tour leaves too early for the ship.:(

Anyone else have ideas how to get to the natural pond area?

We've been on 13 cruises different lines and have only used the main dining room one time! Gasp!

Sorry I guess I'm an impatient person I like to eat and run.

@keith10- what's an approximate cost for a tour of the island?

I had tried it a couple of weeks ago and they denied it even though the representative I talked to on the phone said I was elgible. I wish he would have adjusted the price like Royal Caribbean does I lost the $100 discount.

I showed my husband your pictures and now he wants to do this! Problem is we did something similar lat year (just not as many waterfalls and I had quite a scare when I went under several times as the life belt didn't work that great) is it possible for me to go along and just skip the jumping and sliding so Hubby can have fun and I don't have to be stressed?

CBM Tours- Can't Be Missed Tours

We had planned on going by public transportation to Pompeii but a guy had come through on the train handing out brochures and when my husband saw it and the price thought it would be worth it as we would see so much more. Price was much better than I had seen when researching.

I am glad we did it! The only complaint was I wish we would have had more time at Pompeii but when you travel on a cruise you only have so much time.

We all we wore money belts, and I bought my husband a neck wallet but it was so obvious under his shirt that he actually wore it around his waist with the main part down his pant leg he carried the passports and extra cash in there. It would have been difficult for anyone to get that!

Any one think the big ships are a waste in the Mediterranean? We were so busy with all the ports I think I'd feel like I missed out on all the ships entertainment.

I did a review on Royal Caribbean forum of "Our families viewpoint of our Mediterranean cruise) We were there in Sept 2014.

We did most ports on our own using public transportation (did a couple tours with groups.)

I was paying for 5 adults (2 girls and son-in-law ) and the prices to go on tours were outrageous in my opinion. An example for transportation into Rome would've cost $500 not counting any admissions into The Vatican ,Coliseum etc.

I think we paid $100 for public transportation.

If you can find the review it will give you ideas and see pictures.

I was surprised my family all enjoyed it even though it is different than the Caribbean!

Any questions I'll try to answer if I have it in my journal.

Another tip buy tickets online to major sites ahead of time or you just may not get into the sites!

We saw people waiting for tickets at the Sagrada Familia and they couldn't even get in that day! We walked in with very little wait! Family was more impressed with it than the Vatican! !!

Can anyone recommend a company that would take us to the Natural pond and let us spend some time there?

Sorry but if you have a limit of 200-400 per day and you have 6 people you are paying for food and excursions (that require cash payment) that's not going to work.

I admit I can be cheap when it comes to drinks ! Yes I bring my Diet Mt dew with me on a cruise or anywhere over seas! It gets put in someone's suitcase!
Sorry if you want to spend your money on drinks that's your choice, but don't down others for being more frugal as that may be the reason they can take a cruise!

Well we were "crazy" and took all our cash with us. My hubby, 4 young adult kids and I all wore money belts (under clothes) and just kept out a limited amount of cash to access easily. Once onboard the ship money went into the safe. We have done this the last 2 years, once cruising out of Spain and last Venice, also doing public transportation at that.

I think it would have been a major pain trying to get enough cash out of an ATM machine to cover what 6 of us needed everyday!

I go on vacations to see the sights not look for banks and ate machine. Just my opinion.

It is unsweetened!

Also you are not supposed to fill your water bottles from the drink dispensers, but I am always amazed at the people that do even thought there are signs with multiple languages stating not too! One of these days I will get brave and ask one of these rude people if they know how to read!

Sunday- Kotor Montenegro- I had booked with Montenegro M tours Mladin is the owner and was our driver to go to Lovcen park and the mausoleum. He was waiting for us outside the port and we promptly took off. We were with him for 5 hours and the family really enjoyed him, he was informative and funny and very reasonably priced compared to tours I had checked last year in Rome, and France.

He dropped us off at the old town and we did some souvenir shopping, we would have loved to climb up to the fort in town, but we just did not have enough time ! Took the last tender back to the ship. :(

 

 

 

 

Saturday- Day to board the ship we had considered walking around some, but we were happy with what we seen the day before so we went ahead and headed to the ship. We walked to the bus station and caught the People mover for 1,50 pp which gets you closer to the port area, but be warned if you have difficulties walking of hauling your own luggage you may want to find another option as we had to go to gate 110 which is close to a half a mile walk.

Check in was quick and we were on board quickly, headed to the Windjammer for lunch. Then time to check out our rooms! Now we have had inside rooms for all but 1 of our 13 cruises and have had 4 of us in a room. (Call me crazy but I am a budget traveler! )

 

 

No shelves in the closet, no medicine cabinet behind the mirror, not much storage space at all. We unpacked 2 large suitcases, left one on the chair/small couch. and put the other in the closet. The room was very cosy, but besides showering and sleeping we were seldom in the room, and not because we couldn't stand being in the cramped space either! The one time we had a balcony room I can't even say we sat outside, so for us inside is fine for our active lifestyle!

The ship wasn't in too bad of shape we heard a little creaking and the young married couples door stuck some , but nothing major! I know there will be those that say it needs updated, but considering the age of the ship and how many people are on it every week I didn't think it was too bad!

We ate all our meals in the WJ and always found enough food so no one was hungry! Our family prefers just going and choosing what to eat and leaving when they are done. I have shown them pictures on here of the food in the MDR and they know it's usually close to a 2 hour ordeal and they say NO THANK YOU!

My one complaint on the food section would be they had only 1 choice of ice cream at night and being an ice cream lover was disappointed many nights they had flavors I didn't care for. It would be nice if they offered free ice cream in the evening somewhere!

Complaint on port stops- really not enough time some days to do much, when you have to tender at 2 of them and don't arrive at some till noon and back on by 7 or 8 when it's dark around 6:30 it leaves you feeling very rushed!

We were just on a a Greek Isle cruise last week, I took a couple things from the Dollar store for my daughter's door (she took it down! ) Our room attendant knew she was celebrating her birthday on Oct 5 and he decorated her room for her! What a pleasant surprise and we didn't even pay for it!

We were just on a a Greek Isle cruise last week, I took a couple things from the Dollar store for my daughter's door (she took it down! ) Our room attendant knew she was celebrating her birthday on Oct 5 and he decorated her room for her! What a pleasant surprise and we didn't even pay for it!

I was going to splurge on a Gondola ride for 80 for all 6 of us, but when we passed them I was in search of a toilet (which by the way are hard to find and cost 1,50€

Directions to the toilets

 

When we came back through later it was raining so we decide it wasn't worth riding in the rain! I thought the gondola drivers? would maybe talk to the people in the boat explaining things, but we saw a couple of them texting not talking while paddling!

 

We found a pizza place on a side street that we bought a HUGE pizza for 24 which had 8 slices 1 slice filled most of us up!