Splendor – Mexican Riviera. Dec 9th – 16th, 2012

Embarkation: A quick process, although I did only arrive at the port at 3pm so I think that most passengers were already onboard. I was checked in and in the cabin within 30 minutes. The safety drill was held at approximately 4.45pm, and was completed in about 20 minutes just before sail-away.

Itinerary: The cruise was meant to be 1 day at sea – 2 days Cabo – 1 day Puerto Vallarta – 2 days at sea. On the first sea day, while en-route to Cabo, we were informed that there was a problem with the engines and we would have to sail directly to Puerto Vallarta, then spend an overnight there so that the engines could be shut down completely for repairs while the ship was docked, followed by one day in Cabo. From past experience I have heard many folks say they would prefer to have two days in PV, so I was keen to experience an additional day in Puerto Vallarta. Being in PV (and docked overnight) proved to be a good thing as it allowed people to explore the city, experience late activities in the city, and make it back to the harbor for 3pm sailing on the second day. Might not have been good for the gamblers, because the casino (and onboard shops possibly) were closed while overnight in PV, but I think the alternatives were enjoyed by many people anyway.

Food: Generally the food was ok, with some interesting items on the menu. One area that continues to be a problem is that the food arrives at best only warm or borderline cold. Considering that most food is pre-plated and sent out in batches to each table group, it therefore suffers the problem of cooling between the galley and the table. Carnival seriously needs to either consider metal domes for each plate (which might keep the food warm slightly longer while it is en-route to the table) or a process for heating the food sufficiently immediately before departure so that it is still “warmer than warm” when it arrives at the table. If I was at a landside restaurant I would tell the waiter to microwave my plate, but I do not recall seeing microwaves in the galley when I did the Behind the Fun Tour recently.

I had early dining as CONFIRMED on my booking, however when I got to the Check-in desk I found that my card was printed with YOUR-TIME DINING. I considered going to see the Maitre D’ at 5.30pm on the first day before dinner, but then thought I will give it a try on the YTD option and ask to change if I did not like it. I was travelling alone so wanted to sit with lots of people. I enjoyed the flexibility of YTD so I will probably stick to it in future, however I do think that Carnival should have informed me beforehand that they needed to make a change. (They only have so much seating at any given moment on YTD, so you could be told to return an hour or so later if they can’t fit you in, and I could see that as a problem for a person who might need to eat at a very specific time [for medical or other reasons]).

Entertainment: Shows were good, although the live singers/entertainers who would perform opposite the casino in the evenings were a bit of a nuisance due to the volume at which they played instruments/sang and especially when they allowed novices (so-called “talented” passengers to sing) …

What was particularly good was the Christmas show put on by the entertainers and the Camp Carnival kids. The show was performed on the last afternoon at 4pm. It was really good - so if you are sailing in the month of December then you can look forward to your children having fun with this one. I did find the Christmas decorations around the ship to be a little muted, and it was focused on a few areas such as the lobby, but I suppose that comes with having a shore-side team come onboard to install everything in a couple of hours on one day.

Casino: It was busy when it was open and great fun. From last year to this year the (same) slot machines seemed to have less favorable payouts – but that may be partly due to not being subject to the Vegas regulations on payouts. Many of the new slots have additional panels at the top of the unit which need to be played when they activate specific (bonus) plays. The slots have seating that I can only describe as equivalent to sitting on a footstool, and at best your face is level with the main panel/buttons. I am tall, and even I had to stretch to reach the top panel for the specific bonus plays. I think for a shorter person one would have to stand up to press the touch-sensitive screens at the top of the machine for those particular bonus plays. Think of it as trying to watch your TV when it has been placed 8ft too high on the wall. Best would be if Carnival actually put taller seating in front of such machines.

Punchliner brunch: The traditional breakfast and lunch sessions are replaced with a brunch session on certain days (with the Comedians doing a short 5 – 10 minute slot at the top of the hour). If you want to avoid them, just arrive at 10 minutes past the hour and you should be out of there before they start the next “session” at the top of the next hour. It is after all open-seating for the brunch. They do a short intro to the full Comedy shows held in the evenings at other venues on the ship – so this brunch “session” is normally family-friendly. The menu for the brunch is mostly new, but quite limited in variety.

Cabin: I had 6203 at the front of the ship. It is an Interior with the view window onto the front “secret” deck. Almost the same as an Oceanview cabin, although if one sat on the bed then one would only see the deck area outside the window. If one stood up in the room then one would be able to see over the front of the ship’s railing for Deck 6. Definitely a nice cabin - and worth it - if you don’t mind the walk all the way to mid-ship/aft for most activities. What I did find was that it was very nice and quiet. I could not hear the neighbors at all, but let me tell you that if you suffer from motion/sea-sickness, then you do not want to be at the front of the ship when the sea is rough. I don’t have problems with this but boy was it moving around during the 36 hours out at sea while coming back between Cabo-Long Beach. You will also need to keep the curtains shut in the evening/overnight for two reasons: curtains open and lights on will put a glare out onto the front decks at night and the bridge needs complete darkness for night visibility to the fore. I only opened the curtains at night once I had put out the lights, so that in the morning it would be light in the cabin. The second reason is that due to the front decks being darkened at night (for the bridge) anyone out there in the dark could see into your cabin if you left the curtains open and you had the lights on. It was not a problem for me because whenever I came back to the cabin I found that the steward would have closed the curtains anyway.

Weather: Out at sea generally windy, and on the way back to Long Beach quite rough seas were experienced. For the month of December I was surprised that Cabo and PV were warmer than expected. I was there in September last year for the same cruise, and the weather was not much different.

Land-tours: I only did the Marietas Islands tour from PV (“Whales, Dolphins and Snorkeling Tour” if I remember correctly). It was well worth the price and we saw a fair amount of dolphins and quite a few whales. The sea was smooth getting there and back, but it was high tide around the islands so we could not swim into the secret cave at the main island. We saw a lot of fish while snorkeling – more than I saw at Cabo last year - and I was very impressed with the quality of the buffet lunch provided by the tour company onboard the catamaran/boat. They also offered sodas, beer and margaritas on the way back – no alcohol permitted before snorkeling!!

I had originally considered doing a tour of PV town/shopping on day 1, but decided to just do my own thing around town. Visited the Wal-Mart to get sunblock as I forgot to bring some from home, and then caught the blue bus into town. Quite an experience, but it was a reasonable price at slightly less than US$1 each way. The bus takes you to within 4 blocks of Malecon, and when it turns LEFT after about 4 miles, then climb off and walk down to the beach front and walk south from there. There are a lot of restaurants/shops all along the Malecon and in town. I would recommend taking comfortable shoes as the cobble-stone streets in town are a killer. It just happened to be a fiesta day in PV on the first day in port (the last day of the 12 day Lady of Guadalupe festival apparently) and so there were a lot of people and families dressed up and walking along a procession route through PV towards the main cathedral, lots of flea market stalls open, etc. That also meant there were a lot of street vendors selling a variety of foods. I had very nice tacos from one of the street vendors as I walked back to the bus stop so I could catch the bus back to the harbor/Wal-Mart.

In Cabo I did not do any tours as I had done the snorkelling tour last year as well as the tour to San Jose del Cabo. I left the ship mid-morning and walked around for about 3 hours exploring the town. Had a great rotisserie chicken lunch for less than US$5 at a small Rotisserie place up on Jose Maria Morelos street, and then headed back to the ship before final tender.

Got to see the tender-paddlers (equivalent to pier runners) - lol was that funny. Floating tender dock had already left, the Splendor had lifted anchor and turned back towards sea, with a slow idle move forward when the engines were stopped and we came to a floating stop. Next thing a tiny tender boat brings 2 passengers out to the ship. And that was waaaaay past the 3pm departure time :D.

Fun cruise, fun port activities – overall I had a great time. If you have any questions then ask away. I’ll try to load some pictures later.

 

What was particularly good was the Christmas show put on by the entertainers and the Camp Carnival kids. The show was performed on the last afternoon at 4pm. It was really good - so if you are sailing in the month of December then you can look forward to your children having fun with this one. I did find the Christmas decorations around the ship to be a little muted, and it was focused on a few areas such as the lobby, but I suppose that comes with having a shore-side team come onboard to install everything in a couple of hours on one day.

 

Punchliner brunch: The traditional breakfast and lunch sessions are replaced with a brunch session on certain days (with the Comedians doing a short 5 – 10 minute slot at the top of the hour). The menu for the brunch is mostly new, but quite limited in variety.

 

 

In Cabo I did not do any tours as I had done the snorkelling tour last year as well as the tour to San Jose del Cabo. I left the ship mid-morning and walked around for about 3 hours exploring the town. Had a great rotisserie chicken lunch for less than US$5 at a small Rotisserie place up on Jose Maria Morelos street, and then headed back to the ship before final tender.

 

Good review of the cruise.

We were on the week before you. We thought the holiday program was cute. Reminded us of an elementary school program.

Luckily we still had the separate breakfast and lunch menus. There are some items on the lunch menu we like that aren't offered on the brunch menu.

In Cabo, do you happen to remember the name of the restaurant you ate at?

The nice thing about an overnight in PV is that it is a docked port, so I assume you had access to the ship all night long, unlike Cabo which is a tendered port, so you could be "stranded" either on shore or on ship if the ocean acts up.

In Cabo, do you happen to remember the name of the restaurant you ate at?

It was El Pollo de Oro. Here is a link to some reviews on the restaurant:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g152515-d2090875-Reviews-El_Pollo_de_Oro-Cabo_San_Lucas_Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html

If you go to Puerto Paraiso mall on the opposite end of the harbor, cross over Lazaro Cardenas street, then it is a 2 block walk up Morelos Street on the right side. Cross street is 20 de Noviembre.

thanks

Thanks for the review. I was also on that cruise and even though I'm a gambler, I really did appreciate the overnight in PV. :)

Thanks for the review.

i was on this cruise as well and really enjoyed getting out to PV in the evening we went clubbing at Mandella until 4am and it was an experience one i wouldn't have been able to get without the over night, now i have a new love for PV, before this Cabo was my favourite now if we dock overnight i love PV.

I agree with the food ours was exceptionally slow we had 815 late seating dining.