Another Splendor - 01/10/10 Review

[stay_or_go]

Sunday January 17th : Debarkation

 

Back on the plane and back to Toronto:

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts:

 

All told, we had a wonderful cruise. Bright sunshine the entire trip and good seas for most of it. We ate well, we relaxed a lot, the kids had a great time and we really had no issues to speak of.

 

 

The two days at sea were wonderful and we had a great time in the ports.

 

The Splendor is a fine ship, it is well maintained and it was very clean all week. There might have been a little more movement on the ship than on other cruises at least Jayne thinks so and she is a pretty good judge of those things.

 

The general crew was friendly and acknowledged the passengers all the time, the officers and officer staff, not so much (which I mentioned on my comment card.) Funny how rank and file crew pride themselves on how they greet customers but the same does not hold true with the officers and senior staff.

 

The singers and dancers could have had a little more energy, but the lead singer and some of the dancers were at the end of their contract so that might have had something to do with it.

 

The serenity deck was good, but there are two problems with it:

 

1) the mini golf area is right above it and wayward balls would come onto the deck from time to time

2) some adults really don't get the concept. The deck is not where you want to be to have a conversations at full volume. It is for adults to relax, read, sleep etc. not for a group of adults to have conversations at full volume while others are relaxing.

 

One final comment, being an ex smoker (smoked a pack a day or more for almost 25 years), I know how the addiction is and I know how hard it is to quit, but I think all inside areas of the ship should be non-smoking. We played scatagories in the cigar lounge one morning and the stench was awful. Why the entertainment staff would schedule the game there is beyond me. Same thing for the piano bar, the stench from the smoke was terrible. But you know what they say, ex-smokers are the worst so take what I had to say with a grain of salt.

 

 

You can see that we ate in the dining room all week, every night and the food was as good as it has been on other cruises. I ordered something different each night instead of 7 nights of WCMC :) and enjoyed the variety. The lido was great for breakfast and lunch and again, the only lines that were large that we saw was during the chocolate buffet. We ate up in the deck 10 portion of the lido a couple of times as there was usually no one up there and you could get a window seat with no problem. Room service was good and quick when we ordered it, but we only ordered it once.

 

All in all we had a great cruise, thanks for remembering it with me. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[True North 23]

Your review was one of the best that I have read. Thank you for your time and effort! You kept a positive attitude and it looks like you had a wonderful vacation. Great pictures, fun family....

[stay_or_go]

Your review was one of the best that I have read. Thank you for your time and effort! You kept a positive attitude and it looks like you had a wonderful vacation. Great pictures, fun family....

 

Thanks, it was a great trip!

[mississauga]

Great review and pics! Thanks for taking the time. It's a lot of work. We were on the Splendor in May but had the Canada itinerary due to the H1N1 scare in Mexico. We also had a wonderful cruise on the Splendor....a wonderful ship with great staff.

[stay_or_go]

Great review and pics! Thanks for taking the time. It's a lot of work. We were on the Splendor in May but had the Canada itinerary due to the H1N1 scare in Mexico. We also had a wonderful cruise on the Splendor....a wonderful ship with great staff.

 

Thanks!

[lisa e]

Great review and thanks so much for taking the time..I have a question..We are booked on the splendor in July and I am wondering if the rooms are comfortable for 4? I have 2 six year olds..We have an OV spa cabin but I am considering moving to a balcony they are a bit smaller but I know it will be a nice place to relax after the boys go down..How was the spa? did you get a chance to use any of the facilities? Thanks again for the wonderful review..Lisa

[stay_or_go]

Great review and thanks so much for taking the time..I have a question..We are booked on the splendor in July and I am wondering if the rooms are comfortable for 4? I have 2 six year olds..We have an OV spa cabin but I am considering moving to a balcony they are a bit smaller but I know it will be a nice place to relax after the boys go down..How was the spa? did you get a chance to use any of the facilities? Thanks again for the wonderful review..Lisa

 

 

The rooms are fine for 4 people. My wife and I had the king bed (two twins pushed together) then there was an upper bunk and a sofa bed. Carnival cabins have lots of storage space and lots of closet space.

 

We did not use the spa at all so I cannot comment on it.

 

The balcony cabins are great, nothing like sitting out on the balcony enjoying a sunrise, a sunset or just a day or night at sea.

[alreadypacked]

Great review!! Looks like a good time was had by all.

[bnaj]

Hi Stay_or_Go, we are travelling on the Splendor in March. I noticed on the forms that Carnival can "at any time" charge $9pp/pday for the fuel service charge. Did this happen to you?

 

I really enjoyed reading your updates. We travelled with Carnival once before but left with definite concerns. I'm glad to see that you enjoyed this trip and didn't have any huge concerns.

 

Oh, can you tell me about your experience with Immigration. Did you have to get up at the crack of dawn and go down to the lounge?

 

Welcome Home!

 

Nancy

[Chacooe]

Sunday January 17th : Debarkation

 

Early Sunday morning, I was having a nightmare that the cruise was over and they would be kicking me off the boat soon. i awoke with a start and realized that it was just a bad dream until I looked out my window and we were back at the home port. Yes, they would be kicking me off the boat today.

 

 

Here, there and back again:

 

 

 

 

It is so unfair, they treat you so nice, they pamper you, they stuff you with food and drink, they make your bed, clean you room, entertain you and then in the end send you packing.

 

We dressed pretty quickly so that we could eat before we got off the boat, but unfortunately we ran out of time.

 

They called self-assist deck 9,10,11 at 7:30 earlier than scheduled.

 

They called self-assist deck 2 at 7:45 just when we were leaving the cabin to make it to the lido to grab some breakfast.

 

They called self-assist deck 8 at 8:00, just as we were starting to get food.

 

So we stuffed some cereal in our pockets and grabbed a cup of coffee and headed back to the cabin to grab our stuff.

 

We took the stairs so that we would not bog down the elevators and said goodbye to cabin 8248.

 

We then waited for the elevators and must have spent 20 minutes waiting for an elevator to take us from deck 8 to deck 3.

 

When we finally made it to deck 3, we got in line to leave the ship and sat in the same spot for another 20 min. The escalator had broken in the terminal and we had to wait for the backlog to clear.

 

Eventually we made it into the terminal, took the shorter line for customs as none of us are US citizens and then took the elevator downstairs, walked to the parking lot and met the shuttle.

 

We were on board the shuttle and moving at about 9:10:

 

 

 

 

The embarkation process could be a lot better organized if carnival would do the following:

 

1) Leave the rear ship elevators open for people going up and down from the lido and those not disembarking early.

 

2) Leave the mid ship elevators for people getting off the ship only. These elevators only work the floors disembarking only.

 

3) Leave the bow ship elevators for people getting off the ship only. These elevators only work the floors disembarking only.

 

 

There seems to be people who just don't understand the need for elevators for people leaving the ship. We had some people on deck 8 who needed to get to deck 9 and were younger than me. Hello, ever heard of an invention called stairs??????????????

 

I think with a little more though, the process could be made much more organized and much more pleasant for all those leaving the ship.

 

Had we not done self assist, we would have been Zone 34 and when we did make it off the ship, the luggage porters had only brought out bags from zone 1 to zone 8. We would have been waiting a long time.

 

The Prime Time Shuttle again was nice and quick and had us at the airport within a half hour or so. The driver dropped us off at AVIS so we could pick up another rental car for the next two days.

 

We headed up to Universal Studios and stayed at the Hilton Universal on Sunday night. They allowed us to check in early when we got there which was good. The hotel was well maintained and the continental breakfast we had Monday morning was great. A danish, a muffin, a croissant, a scone and a whole bowl of fruit.

 

We spent Sunday at Universal Studios avoiding rain showers but ended up being quite soaked:

 

 

 

We ate dinner at Bubba Gumps in the Universal City Walk and then called it an early night back at the hotel.

 

Monday morning, we packed our bags, had the great breakfast and packed up the car, left it in the hotel parking lot and went back to universal. It poured the entire day until about 3:00 when the sun came out, just in time for the delayed 3:00 pm showing of waterworld.

 

Jayne and Melanie singing and dancing in the rain:

 

 

 

 

Waterworld 3:00 Performance (notice the sunshine?)

 

 

 

Another Waterworld shot:

 

 

 

 

Following the show, we left Universal and drove to Disneyland for some dinner and some shopping prior to going to LAX for one more night in LA.

 

We stayed at the Airport Hilton Monday night and caught the Air Canada flight to Toronto the next morning.

 

I have heard that Section 34 did not disembark until around 11:00 am, so yes you would have had a long wait, but then to if it came down to timing they would have let you off the ship just so you would not be late getting to LAX to make your flight.

 

What also is sad when it comes to the elevators (which is a problem I ran into when I cruised on the Spirit in Oct. 2008) is that when a disabled person is waiting for an elevator, people will actually go in front of them and get on the elevator. When I was on the Pride, I waited for 45 minutes for an elevator and it finally took one of the ship's officers to make people wait so I could get on. Now that is sad, but, most people only think of themselves and could care less about someone who could not use the stairs.

[mistyinca]

Funny. The escalator in the terminal seems to be broken more often that it's not!

[DenaInWyo]

Jeff~

 

I've really enjoyed this review..you did a wonderful job. I'm sad for you that they kicked you off the ship..do you think they'll do that to me too? :eek: I didn't know that was part of cruising! How COULD they??

 

Your account of your off-roading excursion had me laughing enough to draw strange looks from those around me at the time I was reading it.

 

I'll be going on this very same cruise February 28th..my first one! Going with a fairly large group of extended family and so excited I can't stand it.

 

Looks like you've got a lovely family. Thanks again for sharing!

[stay_or_go]

Hi Stay_or_Go, we are travelling on the Splendor in March. I noticed on the forms that Carnival can "at any time" charge $9pp/pday for the fuel service charge. Did this happen to you?

 

I really enjoyed reading your updates. We travelled with Carnival once before but left with definite concerns. I'm glad to see that you enjoyed this trip and didn't have any huge concerns.

 

Oh, can you tell me about your experience with Immigration. Did you have to get up at the crack of dawn and go down to the lounge?

 

Welcome Home!

 

Nancy

 

Nancy, no we did not get charged the fuel surcharge it was not added for our sailing. I don't think it has been added since the economy tanked and oil dropped to $80.

 

Immigration was a breeze this time, we did not have to get up early for special clearance in the lounge. All non-us citizens got to walk off the ship like everyone else and the lines were shorter for us.

 

The last time we cruised (on Caranival Legend) we had to go to the lounge at 7:00 am and we were late. Our names were paged for about 30 min before we finally got there. What an absolute crock that was, they looked at our passports, looked at us and let us go, less time than the official agent on the dock. Homeland security my ass (I am still a little bitter apparently)!

[stay_or_go]

I have heard that Section 34 did not disembark until around 11:00 am, so yes you would have had a long wait, but then to if it came down to timing they would have let you off the ship just so you would not be late getting to LAX to make your flight.

 

What also is sad when it comes to the elevators (which is a problem I ran into when I cruised on the Spirit in Oct. 2008) is that when a disabled person is waiting for an elevator, people will actually go in front of them and get on the elevator. When I was on the Pride, I waited for 45 minutes for an elevator and it finally took one of the ship's officers to make people wait so I could get on. Now that is sad, but, most people only think of themselves and could care less about someone who could not use the stairs.

 

 

I think a carnival officer placed at each elevator bank on each floor the morning of debarkation would certainly prevent any of this chaos. We never saw anyone with mobility issues have any trouble at the elevators all cruise, so that was good, it seemed people went out of their way to help each other for a change.

 

Unfortunately, a lady with mobility issues fell down the stairs in the golden pearl restaurant, I am not sure how it happened but she did have a walker. I think she was a little sore afterwards and the restaurant management could really not figure out how it happened. I am not sure if she knew she was headed for the stairs or not, and I hope she was not seriously hurt.

[MaiTaiMary]

Great review! Loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to post.

 

 

 

 

Cheese Cake:

 

 

 

 

 

How was the cheesecake??

 

I ask because I noticed that in the "what was the worst food you ate" thread, so many people criticized the cheesecake! :eek: I love cheesecake!! Looks good to me! :D

[stay_or_go]

Great review! Loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to post.

 

How was the cheesecake??

 

I ask because I noticed that in the "what was the worst food you ate" thread, so many people criticized the cheesecake! :eek: I love cheesecake!! Looks good to me! :D

 

Thanks!

 

My wife had the cheesecake and did not finish it, she did not think it was the best - maybe a little dry.

[2206]

You mentioned that you took your laptop. Were you glad that you had it? We can't decide whether or not to take ours. I will need to check in on the homefront a few times and don't know the best way to do this. Your thoughts?

[stay_or_go]

You mentioned that you took your laptop. Were you glad that you had it? We can't decide whether or not to take ours. I will need to check in on the homefront a few times and don't know the best way to do this. Your thoughts?

 

I took the laptop so that I could transfer the photographs over when necessary and I also wanted to have the ablility before and after the cruise to check on attractions, restaurants, flights, etc.

 

I did not take it to do any work nor to check my email, I made sure all of my clients knew I was off the grid and my family and my employer knew the ship that I was on in case of emergency.

 

Your situation might be completely different than mine though, everyone knew where to reach us in case of an emergency, but you might have to maintain contact. If so, bring the laptop and order some internet credits.

 

I also had my blackberry which I think I turned on one day, the day in Cabo just to check for anything important and there was nothing of any great importance. Not sure how much that will cost the company as i never see any of the phone or data charges.

 

Have a great cruise when you go!

[ERTHDOG]

jeff, you did an outstanding job with your review:)

 

i love these pictorial reviews, especially the ones that dont take 2 months to complete;)

 

we are sailing splendor on easter , and are very excited:D

 

you seem like a nice family ,and glad you had a nice cruise:cool:

 

dave

[cruiserNC]

Awesome review loved the pics!

[stay_or_go]

Thanks everyone for the comments, again, I love reading reviews and wanted to give one back!

[newbieMom]

I might need to shop for that sweet point & shoot, my little waterproof olympus that I used on our last cruise gave me no creative control at all, and I was impressed to see that yours can go to f2.8 Sweet! I thought about bringing a Rebel with a 50mm 1.8 so I could get some decent shots without risking my good camera, but you got some great shots with your p&s!!!!!! Inspiring:) I just got a 5D MarkII in November, and my husband doesn't understand why I wouldn't want to bring it for shooting video.......Ugh, no I don't think I want to be galloping on a horse down a beach with that one, LOL!

And thanks again for your review....very, very well done!!!!!

[stay_or_go]

I might need to shop for that sweet point & shoot, my little waterproof olympus that I used on our last cruise gave me no creative control at all, and I was impressed to see that yours can go to f2.8 Sweet! I thought about bringing a Rebel with a 50mm 1.8 so I could get some decent shots without risking my good camera, but you got some great shots with your p&s!!!!!! Inspiring:) I just got a 5D MarkII in November, and my husband doesn't understand why I wouldn't want to bring it for shooting video.......Ugh, no I don't think I want to be galloping on a horse down a beach with that one, LOL!

And thanks again for your review....very, very well done!!!!!

 

I know what you mean, my camera bag now with 1 body, 4 lenses including a 28-70 f2.8 Nikon weighs a ton :eek: as it is and there is no way I am taking that on the back of a horse, dune buggy, zip line or anything close to it!

[exitoffnine]

Folks - BRING YOUR CAMERAS!!

 

5 years ago I was the "anti photo guy" - hated pausing for shots and found them boring.

 

Then I bought a rebel followed by lenses and I now have L glass.

 

Two cruises ago I brought my 400d, my 28-135is lens and my 50 1.8 (total value not much more than a great point and shoot). I got some GREAT shots and had lots of fun with it.

 

Last cruise I brought my 50d, 24-70 L, 70-200 L with 1.4 and my trusty 50 1.8 (total value approaching 4k). I packed my camera backpack and my wife used my over the shoulder tamrac bag (that fits the 50d and a couple of lenses) as her carry on. On the cruise, the L lenses stayed in the safe when not in use and the camera and lens of the day went in the Tamrac bag (satchel type) with our passports, wallets, cash, etc.

 

The only day we "worried" was at the beach in St Maarten when we both wanted to swim at the same time. We simply asked my oldest son to sit with the bag and eat something while we did that. The rest of the time, the camera stayed within a few feet of me.

 

A good DSLR can handle some elements (I wouldn't take it off the ship in a downpour). In a bag, it's even safer. Unless you're a professional photographer, this is the type of thing you got the good camera for!!!! Watch for sand, put a good UV filter on the lenses and have fun!!

 

That said, I have been considering the convenience factor versus pure quality. Switching L lenses on a windy deck was a pain at times. That coupled with how much I love my L glass has led me to buy a Tamron 18-270IS lens which, imho, is the perfect cruise lens!! My 50d is weather tolerant, the lens I paid $375 for and I can pack very light. The 50d with lens will sit niceley in the safe and over my shoulder.

 

The lens isn't optically perfect (especially in low light) but works at 3.5 at the low range just fine and, extended will usually be out in the bright Mexican sunlight!!

 

So that's my compromise!

[stay_or_go]

The 24-70 f2.8 is usually on my camera most of the time when shooting for money, but I find it a little big and heavy for vacations.

 

The point and shoot gives me good control on automatic (exposure compensation at the touch of a button) and it allows me to work manually when necessary.

 

Plus the video is a nice option as well, and I can stick it in my pocket if necessay (cargo shorts).

 

Is that a 70-200 L in your pocket, or are you..... :)