Splendor Embarkation

[johnieo]

RedRover96,

 

What time are you planning to drive from San Diego to north of L.A. on that Friday? California traffic is horrible especially on a Friday. To what city are you driving to north of L.A. a lot depends on where you are going to IE: what freeways to take and what time of day. I've lived and worked in the L.A. area my whole life and I'll try to help as best as I can

 

John

[azcruisers85379]

Looks like another negative review popped up today on the Splendor and the embarkation/debarkation process. I wonder if Carnival has anyone working on whatever the problem is. I know often it is not something they can control, but it sure seems like a embarkation confusion is a common problem with this ship/port.

 

I just posted that very question along with some others from the negative reviews I've been reading on the forum at carnival.com. Maybe they will give us some answers and let us know what processes they have been working on to make embarkation a little less painful in Long Beach.

[RedRover96]

RedRover96,

 

What time are you planning to drive from San Diego to north of L.A. on that Friday? California traffic is horrible especially on a Friday. To what city are you driving to north of L.A. a lot depends on where you are going to IE: what freeways to take and what time of day. I've lived and worked in the L.A. area my whole life and I'll try to help as best as I can

 

John

 

We’re head to San Luis Obispo coastal area, hope to leave San Diego in time to clear LA just after lunch (hoping). Our flight gets in mid AM Friday, drop stuff off in San Diego & drive north. I am pretty much a be early type of guy, however this time I am trying to figure out how to be one of the last and not be too late on Sunday. I guess my biggest concern is what time to leave the SLO area and have plenty of time to get to LB by no later than 2:30. Nothing like starting a week cruise in a panic!! Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

RedRover96

[johnieo]

good luck on the drive because it's a 300 mile plus drive from San Diego to San Luis Obisbo. this is going to take you any where from 5 to 7 hours depending on the traffic. unfortunately you have to take the two worse freeways thru Los Angeles, the 405 and the 101. on the return trip it's also another 220 plus miles and this is going to take between 4 to 5 hours on a good day. If there are any major problems it could take longer. If I were you I would not take the chance of something going wrong on Sunday morning.

 

What time of year are you doing this?

 

John

[Cavners5]

John, you live just down the road from us...Carson City!:D

[johnieo]

Cavners5

 

hi there my family and I live off the 88

[CRUISING71]

Splendor 8/21/11 will be our first West Coast cruise. Galveston, TX Carnival has their embarkation down to a science - so easy and quick if you get there around 10-1100.

 

Suggestions for us would be helpful in making this West Coast embarkation more enjoyable than what some others have experienced.

 

Thanks!!!!!

 

p.s. come to Texas - you won't regret it.

 

I will be cruising with you...yeah. Thinking of sailing out of Galveston next year, but heard Galveston tends to have fog problems. Is that true?

[garagesalegran]

A big Texas howdy to you Cruising71! Occasionally, Galveston has fog, but I really don't think it's that much of an issue - at least that's my opinion. Winter months seem to be the fog season for Galveston. We just sailed on Conquest March 6-13 and had no problem w/fog. A couple week's before us, the ship was delayed a few hours by fog. FYI, the Conquest is leaving Galveston and the Magic is coming in it's place. Disney is coming in Nov-Dec 2011 for a few weeks.

[LittleJeanne]

All this talk about the lines for the Splendor are kinda worrying me, We are planning a cruise on the Splendor in Jan. 2013 with a group from my work.We there will be abou 7-8 couples going and several are older with monility issues. Standing around waiting in line may definitly be a problem for 1 couple of the people in our group.

 

Our best experience ever barding was on the Ecstasy. We were there at 11 in the morning unloading our luggage. Then we drove to the parking area and dropped of our car and were shuttled back. We made it through all the scanners and getting our s&s card and were on the ship eating lunch by 11:30. Our worst experience was waiting for the Elation it took us 1 1/2 hours waiting, in the terminal with their AC not working. Most times we usually manage to be on the ship within the hour and its usually even quicker. As was mentioned earlier the Florida ports don't seem to have the long delay issues with getting people on their ships either.

 

It all kinda makes me wonder if just maybe the embarkation experience might be affecting whether people choose to cruise from the Long Beach port. Maybe Carnival should look into that aspect as they are evaluating their west coast itineraries.

 

All the comments here have me wondering about whether it would be feasible for hubby and I to take a cruise out of Long Beach ahead of time to scout out delay issues for our group.

[RedRover96]

good luck on the drive because it's a 300 mile plus drive from San Diego to San Luis Obisbo. this is going to take you any where from 5 to 7 hours depending on the traffic. unfortunately you have to take the two worse freeways thru Los Angeles, the 405 and the 101. on the return trip it's also another 220 plus miles and this is going to take between 4 to 5 hours on a good day. If there are any major problems it could take longer. If I were you I would not take the chance of something going wrong on Sunday morning.

 

What time of year are you doing this?

 

John

 

Cruise departs 6/26, thanks for the feedback it will be a big help!

[johnieo]

Cruise departs 6/26, thanks for the feedback it will be a big help!

 

good luck!

[RedRover96]

Johnieo, I assume you think Sunday traffic south bound on the 101 will be bad??? I know with the coastal areas in NC it can be real bad on Sat & Sun as people come & go to the coast.

THANKS!

[Cavners5]

We are coming from our Hotel in Anaheim, so we are giving ourselves about 45 minutes to and hour....is that about right?

[ronrythm]

We are coming from our Hotel in Anaheim, so we are giving ourselves about 45 minutes to and hour....is that about right?

Should be plenty of time. I live next to Knott's and I've made it in under 30 minutes!

Enjoy

Ron

[Cavners5]

Thank you!

[LitchfieldParkCruisers]

We went last March..Spring Break 2010. We drove from Phoenix AZ....got to port about 12-12:30....got a lame boarding zone # and waited outside for about an hour..then things started rolling and we were on the ship in another 30 minutes.

We are going on Splendor again this September and will get there earlier. I don't mind standing in line awhile to get on a cruise ship. It's part of the anticipation..it's been building up for almost a year..then finally you are boarding that bad boy!!

Oh, I wish I was in a line to board a cruise ship right now!!

 

LPC

[nancalderon]

Ok we will not be able to get to the terminal til about 1pm the earliest do you go straight to terminal or do you still have to go to the Queen Mary sound like the QM is for early check in? 1pm or after is probably not consider early check in?

[johnieo]

Johnieo, I assume you think Sunday traffic south bound on the 101 will be bad??? I know with the coastal areas in NC it can be real bad on Sat & Sun as people come & go to the coast.

THANKS!

 

It depends on the weather,if the weather is good ie: beach day, traffic might back up from just north of Santa Barbara to Ventura, this is about 40 miles, it could take about up to 2 hours. if the traffic is flowing then you should be able to it in 30min. Then from Thousand oaks on the 101 there could be traffic all the way to the interchange with the 405 this is also about 30 miles and could take up to 2 hours.

From the 101/405 interchange to the 405 /10 interchange this area always backs up. this could take about 30 min and it is only 10 miles. from the 405/10 interchange to the port is about another 30 miles this part normally is ok and you should be able to zip along. I assume you will have at least 2 people in the car so be sure to use the carpool lanes they will help to get past alot of any traffic

 

John

[RedRover96]

You have about convinced me to take 2 cars from San Diego to SLO then get up and leave very early 5-6 AM Sunday, leave a car parked at the port & have my son and fiancée pick it up at their leisure Sunday & turn it in in San Diego. My son is one of those types the thrill of the journey is to be the last to board the plane after showing up at the airport just in time….. His goal would to have a nice brunch in SLO leave around 10-11 & get to LB in 3 ½ hours. Drives me bonkers!!!!

[Liffey]

Standing around waiting in line may definitly be a problem for 1 couple of the people in our group.

 

I was part of the long wait on April 17 (with Nemspy who posted above). We sat most of the time - although all those people waiting to see friends disembark did take most of the seats in Zone One, which has the best viewing spot to see people as soon as they leave the dome. Grrr!

 

There was very little actual standing, though. Once things got going, they kept going. However, places to sit were more scarce in the other zones - something to keep in mind. It sure isn't as easy and comfortable as San Diego.

 

It all kinda makes me wonder if just maybe the embarkation experience might be affecting whether people choose to cruise from the Long Beach port. Maybe Carnival should look into that aspect as they are evaluating their west coast itineraries.

I agree that Carnival needs to address what they can in this situation. The last time we were on Splendor (two years ago), the lines were not as bad, but it was still unpleasant standing around outside and trying to avoid the sun during both check in and the wait for our zone to be called. It also seems like Long Beach has fewer check-in agents than in San Diego.

 

I completely understand that these delays are out of Carnival's hands, but as it's become a big issue, I wish the waiting area was more pleasant. Kick out the people there to meet relatives, put in more seating and cover, and maybe get some entertainment going (even drink sales?) when the wait is long.

 

All the comments here have me wondering about whether it would be feasible for hubby and I to take a cruise out of Long Beach ahead of time to scout out delay issues for our group.

While I enjoy any excuse for a cruise (grin), the delays completely depend on what Customs decides to do that day. This time we did Early Check-In, which I can't recommend enough. Maybe your party would be interested in doing that as a precaution then going over to the Queen Mary for a leisurely champagne brunch. (I haven't had the brunch, but it's close to the ship and involves sitting!) Or do as we did - check in early then go back to the room on QM to sleep until noon. :)

 

By the way, Early Check-In was in front of the dome, not at the Queen Mary despite the QM insisting to us the day before and the morning of that ECI was going to happen on the QM, even though the weather was fine. This led to us kinda-sorta trespassing into the QM museum while it was closed and waiting inside for half an hour, wandering around and enjoying the facilities, before someone finally nervously asked why we were there - lol! We trotted over to the dome and got the last Zone One card. (Whew!) John Heald confirmed recently that Splendor only has Check-In at QM during bad weather, so unless it's raining, believe John and don't trust ANYthing the QM says! Carnival's people at Early Check-In told us that no matter how many times they explain to the Queen Mary people (who are otherwise so friendly and professional) how Splendor is different from Paradise in this regard, people still get misdirected by QM staff.

 

Oh well, it was fun being "outlaws," and again, because of ECI and having a room on the QM, we were largely untouched by the mess. Mostly it was just annoying to watch people try to scam the system by boarding before their zone was called, or seeing people form an impatient throng of ten different self-created lines in the hope to be the first to rush the ship when their group or zone was called. Clearer boundaries and kicking out people loitering in the wrong zone would really help.

[Liffey]

Ok Do you go straight to terminal or do you still have to go to the Queen Mary sound like the QM is for early check in? 1pm or after is probably not consider early check in?

 

Correct - go straight to the terminal. One p.m. is within normal check-in times.

 

(And, as others have said and I just posted, Early Check-In for Splendor - not Paradise, but Splendor - is only at the Queen Mary when the weather is bad. John Heald has confirmed this. Don't believe anyone who says differently, especially if they work at the Queen Mary! The QM staff is wonderful, but the miscommunication over Early Check-In remains an issue.)

[Durangler]

Bumping this for a couple follow-up questions. :)

 

For those who have sailed out of Long Beach in the past several weeks, how was your experience?

Has "Early Check-In" worked out? How early does ECI begin?

 

For those who did the "Behind the Fun" tour, how was the sign-up process? How late was to late to sign up?

 

Does anyone know what the "Shore Excursions Desk" 1:00pm - Briefing on Deck 9, Fwd, is all about?

What's Briefing? Info about excursion? (my guess) :confused:

 

Got this from Hearld's Blog, Fun Times 4/3/11.

 

OPEN　

Cloud 9 SpaSM 11:30am - 10:00pm Deck 11, Fwd

Main Pool 11:30am - 11:45pm Deck 9, Fwd

Aft Pool 11:30am - 11:45pm Deck 9, Aft

Whirlpools 11:30am - 11:45pm Deck 10, Fwd

Shore Excursions 12:00pm - 7:00pm Deck 3, Fwd

Shore Excursions 1:00pm - Briefing Deck 9, Fwd

Formalities 2:00pm - 6:00pm Deck 5, Fwd

Splash Park 2:00pm - 5:00pm Deck 11, Mid

Nuemage Body Art 2:00pm - 8:00pm Deck 9, Mid

Loyalty & Cruise Desk 5:00pm - 7:00pm Deck 5, Mid

Full Casino 6:00pm until late Deck 5, Mid

The Fun ShopsSM 6:30pm - 11:30pm Deck 5, Fwd

Photo Gallery 6:00pm - 11:00pm Deck 4, Fwd

Formalities 7:00pm - 10:30pm Deck 5, Fwd

Alexandria Library 7:00pm - 8:00pm Deck 4, Fwd

 

Thanks for any replys! :)

[johnieo]

Hi Durangler,

 

My wife and I just got off the Splendor on 5-29. We stayed at the Queen Mary for the night before embarkation. At about 9 am I walked over to the dome and saw the Carnival people starting to set up for early check-in and was told they would start about 930 am. I walked back to the Queen Mary got my wife and got back to the early check-in about 935 am. we were all checked in by 945 am, got our sail and sign cards , got zone one card and was told zone one would be called about noon. We arrived back at the dome at 1215 pm, zone one had already been called and was all gone, and the longest wait was the security checkpoint. we were walking onto the ship by about about 1230pm.

 

Hope this helps

[LittleJeanne]

Thanks so much to those who tried to answer my questions.

 

Even though we were looking at spending the night elsewhere, it looks to me like we might be better off planning on staying on the Queen Mary to more efficiently get our group through the process.

 

I'll definitely be keepingmy eye on any developments at theLB port over the next year.

[Durangler]

My wife and I just got off the Splendor on 5-29. We stayed at the Queen Mary for the night before embarkation. At about 9 am I walked over to the dome and saw the Carnival people starting to set up for early check-in and was told they would start about 930 am. I walked back to the Queen Mary got my wife and got back to the early check-in about 935 am. we were all checked in by 945 am, got our sail and sign cards , got zone one card and was told zone one would be called about noon. We arrived back at the dome at 1215 pm, zone one had already been called and was all gone, and the longest wait was the security checkpoint. we were walking onto the ship by about about 1230pm.

 

Hope this helps

 

Thank you johnieo! Yes, it helps!

That's great info for everyone. :)

I'll plan on getting to the dome no later than 9:30 am.

If I may ask, was there many passengers checking in at that time? Was there a line forming?

Glad to hear everything went smooth for you.

Hope you had a great cruise.

Thanks again.