Splendor Nov 22-29th

[mom2sage]

Just spent a week on the Splendor with my husband and 12 year old son (1st time cruisers) and my mom (2nd time cruiser). Overall we loved it. My son enjoyed roaming the ship with his new "friends" and coming to the cabin LATE at night (never before 11PM). My mom and I enjoyed relaxing in the sun, watching the shows, people watching, etc. My husband enjoyed the casino (craps). I was surprised that I only went in the hot tub once (never had the urge that I expected to have). My son never went in the pool or on the slide, which also surprised me. We had a great dinner in the steakhouse-they warned me that the lobster that night was not up to their specs, but I ordered it anyway and was very surprised to get FOUR lobster tails! The staff everywhere were very friendly and professional-they recognized us in different parts of the ship and called us by name. Our cabin (exterior, no balcony) was a decent size-we had 2 adjoining ones. I got lost a few times, but there are plenty of signs to help find your way. The only thing that is hard to find are bathrooms-they are not labelled on the maps. I did not notice the pink but my husband didn't like it.

In Puerto Vallarta, we took a city bus to the Malecon, which was much cheaper than a taxi. All the locals were very helpful. In Mazatlan, we took a bus again to the downtown area (Golden Zone). We walked to the ship from the old downtown area and saw lots of colorful houses.

The captain had to be evacuated after we left Cabo, which made us late, but the staff handled it all well and we had lots of food and entertainment to keep us busy until we arrived at LB. We did not even notice when our ship hit the other ship, but saw the damage later-kinda seemed like the equivalent of a fender-bender.

Tips: Bring refillable water bottles for port days. Bring a backpack.

Don't bother with the drink card unless you really like soda-my son was able to get some from friends who had the card or just drank the free stuff. the cappucino in the dining room is free, but VERY strong-tasted like straight espresso. Go to the shopping talk to get a coupon for a free charm bracelet. Got a nice souvenir of a bracelet and 7 charms for $10. Mongolian BBQ was good, but a LONG wait-45" the day I got it. The chefs were very fast for each person, but the line was long. Bring the daily schedule with you and a map. Sushi in dining room (appetizer) was good. Sushi bar didn't have much selection and was skimpy, but allowed thirds.

I would do this trip again-but first want to try some others.