Just Back From The 4-4-10 sailing of The Splendor.

[mr jailerman]

I just got home late last night and have alot of unpacking to do so I will try not to drag this on to long.. My Group of 5 people flew into LA on Sat 4-3-10 and Took Supershuttles Business Class (Private Honda Van;)) to the Long Beach Hilton for only $58.00 plus tip! We got a Carnival Cruiseline Rate at the Hilton for only $94.00 for the night and it was VERY NICE.. Long Beach is a bit run down in several sections and I did not realize until I got there the gang issues that they have only a few miles from the hotel. I only know this because we had the Shuttle Driver make a Liquor stop for us on the way to the Hotel for some last minute smuggling.. Being in Law Enforcement and in the Jail division, I know the gang colors when I see them on "HOOD RATS":D (As we call the Gang members here) and their were MANY out there last Saturday afternoon.. When we went into this nearby liquor store named Eddies Liquors. All hard liquor and EVEN THE BEEF JERKY was behind the bullet Proof Glass:D!! That is not a joke either ! They would take their chance with cheap wine getting stolen, But not the Jack Links Jerky LOL ! Anyway on to the cruise.. We Boarded the Splendor on Easter Sunday at about 12:15pm. I was a few minutes ahead of my friends as I had booked a Suite for myself and my son and did get early boarding with it..FYI, Their is NO WHERE to stand inside at the Port of Long Beach if you get cold as many did this past Sunday as it was only in the mid 50's at that time and all outside so dress right for it. Again, because of the Suite, They had a VERY SMALL V.I.P Building that we got to avoid the cold in, But you still had to go wait outside when it got near boarding time. This cruise we were told from Carnival had set a record for the Splendor with having just over 1,400 kids on board ! Camp Carnival as always did a great job, But due to the # of kids to service I must say that I think they were way out numbered at times.. The first two days of the cruise as well as they last day were to cold for anyone to really use the pools at all. Carnival didn't even bother to fill the pools on our last Sea day coming back to LA from Cabo as the Seas were to rough and it would have just splashed out anyway. The food was excellent and I thought The Steakhouse was well worth the $30.00pp cover charge. It really was a 2.5 hour dinner also, so allow time for it. The weather during all 3 port days had been great ! About 85 and sunny everyday ! We did The All Inclusive "DREAMS" Beachresort in P.V for $58.00pp (1/2 price for kids) and that was great ! All food,Drinks, Pools with swim up Bars and the Beach were all included for that price ! It's a $12 US Taxi ride there but becareful as the cabs right next to the cruise pier will rob you blind if you let them. 1 wanted to charge me $30 for that $12 cab ride ! I just laughed and keep walking and of course I heard him yell $25 to me as I was leaving to find another cab outside of the pier area:rolleyes:. We did the "EL CID Beach Resort" in Mazatlan and again, This was an All Inclusive day with everything included that the Dreams in P.V had and was only $36.00pp and 1/2 price for kids ! This was a much nicer place then I was expecting for the money ! Another great deal if you don't mind booking your own excursions. In Cabo we just did a Boat tour around the arch and then went and ate lunch at Cabo Wabo which was great ! We also did pick up a few things their to bring back as well. By far the best of the ports from many peoples opinion including mine, But the shortest Carnival stop with a departing time of 3pm. My Cabin was Ocean Suite #7226 which was made available the last two weeks or so before sailing. It was being held by the special needs dept as it was an ADA Special Needs Wheelchair friendly cabin that did not sell and Carnival in the last couple weeks released it to the general public for sale for which I grab it quickly.. Carnival did say at that time that they would hold some lesser expensive cabins for any last minute ADA patrons, But that they were not going to chance loosing that $ for that Suite.. I did let them know that I was more then willing to go back into my regular OS should someone need my cabin though, But that never happened.. This cabin WAS AWESOME:D! The Suite itself is 460 Sq Ft and the Balcony is 110 sq ft !!! It was the home of 2 different Cruise Critic Roll Call Parties this week and served us all well ! The funny part was, That 2 days after I tranferred my booking to this cabin, The Up-Sell fairy called me and was trying to upsell me into a GS Penthouse that was 130 sq ft smaller then my ADA Ocean Suite and wanted me to give them another $800 for it:D! I'm sure the upsell people just saw I was in an Ocean Suite and didn't know I was in the Biggest Cabin on the ship ! I just thanked them for calling and respectfully delclined that tempting offer :-) ! The flight home yesterday made for a Loooong day with flight delays and so fourth.. But in the end, I had another great cruise with my son and some great friends, Both old and new thanks to my Cruise Critic family and I look forward to June to doing it all over again out of Miami ! Take Care all... Kurt

[grammacassi]

Thanks for the review! We sail 4/25 and I can hardly wait.:D

Cassi

[btorlv]

Thanks for the review! We sail 4/25 and I can hardly wait.:D

Cassi

Dito fot the review and we are also no the 4/25 cruise. See ya there.

[DJ56]

Thanks for the review. Just booked the Splendor one week ago. Sept. 09 sailed on the Freedom and 2 days before we left got a wonderful call from Carnival and we were upgraded to a suite from a balcony cabin for not much money. Of course we said YES and it was absolutely amazing. Reading reviews gets me more excited for this fall!!

[vbecky]

Thanks for the review! We sail on her July 25th and can't wait. About how long did it take you to get to the Dreams Resort and El Cid? We to are thinking of going to those two resorts. Would you stay at the Hilton in Long Beach again? That is where we have our reservation and parking our car at in July? Thanks

[mr jailerman]

Thanks for the review! We sail on her July 25th and can't wait. About how long did it take you to get to the Dreams Resort and El Cid? We to are thinking of going to those two resorts. Would you stay at the Hilton in Long Beach again? That is where we have our reservation and parking our car at in July? Thanks

Each resort is about 30 minutes or so from the pier. About $12 US each way. The Hilton was VERY NICE and I would not think twice about staying there again:)! Just don't wander to far away from that area or you may find your hubby has to PRE-PAY for his Jerky before it slides out from under that Bullet Proof Glass:D;)!

[cruisinchuckeee]

Thanks for the review sounds great. We are also on the 4/25 sailing and had a question did you have any problems with your smuggled items?

[lollylew]

Just curious...did you feel any movement on the ship from the Earthquake that hit? I know there was some chatter that day about whether or not those on the Splendor felt anything.

 

Glad that you had a great time! I still have a ways to go till my Splendor cruise but I still like to read others' reviews anyway :D

[mr jailerman]

Thanks for the review sounds great. We are also on the 4/25 sailing and had a question did you have any problems with your smuggled items?

All my "Items:D" got in to my cabin just fine ;)!

[mr jailerman]

Just curious...did you feel any movement on the ship from the Earthquake that hit? I know there was some chatter that day about whether or not those on the Splendor felt anything.

 

Glad that you had a great time! I still have a ways to go till my Splendor cruise but I still like to read others' reviews anyway :D

Well, Because My Suite was the 5th Cabin from the Very Front of the Ship, I DID Feel alot of movement. But I did expect that when I took that cabin, and would still take this cabin EVERYTIME I could, even with the movement:D! You know, I had the Bon Voyage Room Decorations hung as a surprise for my son and we left them up all week for the two parties and such and I found those make a good motion detector as to how fast they sway back and fouth as they are hanging in the cabin:D! Take Care and enjoy ! She is a very Pink, But Still Great ship !

[cruisinchuckeee]

All my "Items:D" got in to my cabin just fine ;)!

Great thank you

[jimbo5544]

Nice review of the Splendor. We were on her in August and loved her. We also did both of the AI's that you did and enjoyed them as well.

[deepnite10]

i can understand the wait outside of the terminal..we sailed in Jan and expected rain and cold..as it was, it turned into a beautiful day..

 

it got warm enough for us to strip off our coats and return them to the

car..if it got to cold or too hot..it d be a pretty uncomforable wait..

[Chipster2]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. We still have a ways to go before our sail date but still enjoy hearing others cruising stories.

[misterjohnny]

I too got all my items delivered to my room safely on Splendor.

 

Unfortunately, this cruise I got hit with the corkage fee for every bottle of wine we drank in the dining room. First time that's happened to me on a carnival cruise. $110 added to the sign and sail :(

[PattyMichael]

We are sailing on the Splendor on 5/9, with my 79 years old Mom. She walks with a cane very slowly. Did you see a speical needs check in desk. If we get to the port around 10:30 will we get a zone one boarding card. I might need to get her a wheel chair. From what I understand it's a long walk from the dome and bridge. What time did you board? I don't want to get there too early if she has to wait outside. Is there seating? Thanks

[mr jailerman]

We are sailing on the Splendor on 5/9, with my 79 years old Mom. She walks with a cane very slowly. Did you see a speical needs check in desk. If we get to the port around 10:30 will we get a zone one boarding card. I might need to get her a wheel chair. From what I understand it's a long walk from the dome and bridge. What time did you board? I don't want to get there too early if she has to wait outside. Is there seating? Thanks

Im sure that they must have a wheelchair for her and I would suggest it as it is a long walk on to the ship..We got to the Port at 10:30am and my friends that had general boarding got a Zone 1 boarding card. With V.I.P boarding, I was still not allowed on the ship until 12:30pm.. Hope this helps some.. Take care and enjoy..

[cateyes2u]

Question

 

Did you lock your luggage? If so, did they ask you to unlock them?

 

Sailing soon

 

PJ

[KevNSunBuns]

*sigh* We just got home a week and half ago from being on the Splendor. I'm already ready to go back!

 

Our "stuff" too arrived safely in our cabin with no problems. We stayed at the Hilton as well and they were awesome! Great service and the shuttle was great as well.

 

Have fun!