Carnival Splendor Spring Break Review & Report with PICS! (3/25-4/1)

[cdamion]

I could hug you for writing this review. My 13 yr old DD and I are sailing the Splendor ( first cruise ever ) on 09/23 * my bday - AND intend to parasail in Cabo.

I love your pics...

and hearing about your boys, as she is that age

 

Thank you SO much !

 

:D

 

No problem. I remember you posting asking questions about Splendor before. We never did make it up to the steak house. We did peek though.

 

You asked for pics of the Splendor before. At the end of the review, I will post pics from top to bottom of the ship (although inexplicably I skipped a couple places, like good shots of the atrium). There are a ton, so stay tuned.

[Markmom18]

Loving your review! Looking forward to reading more. Your boys look like perfect gentlemen.:)

 

I, too, was impressed that the young men were dressed so nicely. We vacation on our first Carnival cruise (Splendor) in August. I'm enjoying the OP comparisons to RCCL ships. Back to reading.:)

[jmwg49]

Can You please post a link to the Ocean Riders whale watching? I can't seem to find it on their website!

 

Awesome pics! We are also onboard September 23 of this year and can't wait! We will be in Cabo on the Miracle for her repositioning next March, and REALLY REALLY want to whale watch!

 

Thanks! and keep up the great review!!!

[hannahsmomtoo]

No problem. I remember you posting asking questions about Splendor before. We never did make it up to the steak house. We did peek though.

 

You asked for pics of the Splendor before. At the end of the review, I will post pics from top to bottom of the ship (although inexplicably I skipped a couple places, like good shots of the atrium). There are a ton, so stay tuned.

 

 

Hooray thanks.. !!!

 

Already subscribed to you ! :-)

[laumicmah]

Love the review and fantastic pics! Your boys are very cute!!!

 

What's the deal on the west coast cruises? Are they doing away with 7 day cruises? Will another ship replace the Splendor? This review has me very interested in doing a west coast cruise out of Long Beach. I would love to stay on the Queen Mary. We were trying to figure out an extra special vacation next year for our 40th birthdays...this cruise and then a 5 day stay in CA may be just the thing.

[cathyz]

I could hug you for writing this review. My 13 yr old DD and I are sailing the Splendor ( first cruise ever ) on 09/23 * my bday - AND intend to parasail in Cabo.

I love your pics...

and hearing about your boys, as she is that age

 

Thank you SO much !

 

:D

We're on the same cruise with you, have a great birthday and first cruise!

[cathyz]

Love the review and fantastic pics! Your boys are very cute!!!

 

What's the deal on the west coast cruises? Are they doing away with 7 day cruises? Will another ship replace the Splendor? This review has me very interested in doing a west coast cruise out of Long Beach. I would love to stay on the Queen Mary. We were trying to figure out an extra special vacation next year for our 40th birthdays...this cruise and then a 5 day stay in CA may be just the thing.

The Miracle will come to Long Beach when the Splendor moves to NY doing Mexico in the winter, Alaska in the summer, and a few Hawaii cruises thrown in here and there. But in the summer the only Carnival ship out of Long Beach will be the Inspiration doing 3 and 4-day cruises to Ensenada and Catalina.

[hannahsmomtoo]

We're on the same cruise with you, have a great birthday and first cruise!

 

Thank you !!!!!

[cdamion]

Can You please post a link to the Ocean Riders whale watching? I can't seem to find it on their website!

 

Awesome pics! We are also onboard September 23 of this year and can't wait! We will be in Cabo on the Miracle for her repositioning next March, and REALLY REALLY want to whale watch!

 

Thanks! and keep up the great review!!!

 

http://www.oceanriders.com.mx/

 

Their whale watching tours aren't on there though. I am guessing it is because whale watching season is over for now. I don't know when they come back - although I know it is fall sometime. I booked this particular tour through cabosanlucastours dot net

 

Here is the direct link if cc allows it: http://www.cabosanlucastours.net/Zodiac-Whale-Watching.htm

 

EDIT: Frankly, I would not go with any other company - the boats seat 13 max. I saw other zodiacs out there and they were very crowded, didn't go as fast, and didn't have the same kind of seating (yet they cost more). As I mentioned this was one of the best excursions I have ever done.

[cdamion]

Love the review and fantastic pics! Your boys are very cute!!!

 

What's the deal on the west coast cruises? Are they doing away with 7 day cruises? Will another ship replace the Splendor? This review has me very interested in doing a west coast cruise out of Long Beach. I would love to stay on the Queen Mary. We were trying to figure out an extra special vacation next year for our 40th birthdays...this cruise and then a 5 day stay in CA may be just the thing.

 

As others mentioned, the Miracle is coming to California to replace both Splendor and Spirit. Summers will be in Alaska, the rest of the year mostly Mexican Riviera with a couple Hawaii trips thrown in.

 

NCL is bringing a ship (the Star?) to LA for Mexican Riviera cruises and I believe those include Mazatlan. Princess has a few too, also stopping at Mazatlan. While I love Princess, Carnival is better for the kids. NCL is just not my brand - I like traditional dining too much.

[cdamion]

We got up very early because we booked a tour to swim with wild dolphins through Wildlife Connection. They advised us to immediately get off the ship when it docked and get a taxi to their office in Marina Vallarta because the tour was scheduled at the same time the ship arrived – and we were the only ones from the ship booked on the tour.

 

We were one of the first couple of people off and grabbed the taxi for the quick ride to the dock. We were met by the small boat’s captain and the guide. We missed the classroom portion (which is 30 minutes) so they gave us a quick rundown on what to do (don’t touch the dolphins – swim like dolphins, not people so they will be curious, etc.).

 

We headed out of the harbor and right past the Splendor which is just absolutely huge compared to the little boat we were on and were on our way to find the resident pod of dolphins.

 

Before too long we found a couple of dolphins swimming, so we pulled up and one of the other passengers on the boat volunteered to jump in the water to see if the dolphins would stick around. They didn’t really – they maintained a healthy distance. Also the guide said the girl was swimming like a person, so the dolphins weren’t really curious. Next I jumped in with my kids. The 13 yo was cold, so he wanted out after a couple of minutes and the 12 yo got nervous very quick because of the depth and choppiness of the water, so I brought him back to the boat. The pair of dolphins lost interest and swam off.

 

Next we found another group of about 8 dolphins, including a baby. They immediately came close to the boat when we pulled up and were very curious. This time I jumped in the water and the guide was calling out to swim like a dolphin, so I did. Almost immediately a couple of dolphins came over and started circling me very very closely – as in less than 2 feet away. I had to pull my arm back once so I wouldn’t touch one of them who came within a few inches of my face. They were way too quick for me to get a picture of while I was swimming unfortunately (also, I was seriously winded from all of the swimming). Wildlife Connection said they would email pics, but I haven’t received them yet. I’ll post them if I get them.

 

In the meantime here are screenshots from videos I took once back on the boat.

 

You can’t see her, but there is a person swimming underwater about 3 feet away from this dolphin (he is circling around her):

 

 

This guy popped his head out of the water to see us:

 

 

Diving to swim under the boat:

 

[cdamion]

After everybody had their fill of swimming with the dolphins (it is very very tiring to swim around with them) we found a couple of other groups of dolphins who were even friendlier and more curious about the boat, but everybody was too tired to get in, so we ate some sandwiches the guide brought along and watched them frolic.

 

There was a Hobby Cat somebody had taken from one of the resorts along the coast and one dolphin was absolutely curious/infatuated with it. He kept swimming right up to the front of the boat and popping out of the water to check them out. He would swim ahead of the boat and leap out of the water, then go back up right along side of it and pop his head out of the water. Here are screen captures of one of his jumps (no photos because my waterproof camera’s shutter lag is pretty bad).

 

 

 

After a while we headed back to the harbor. This is another HIGHLY recommended tour. I have been a few other places where you can ‘swim’ with the dolphins, but this is the only time that the dolphins actually are interested in you and stick around. Other places, you may see them as they dart by once, or else see them in the distance. Here they seem genuinely curious about the people and boats in the water. Unfortunately, the guide said that there have been a couple collisions with jet skiers because of this.

[cdamion]

When we got back to the ship, there were a few cab drivers left. I asked one of them about tours and we chatted for a bit. Since it was slow and there weren’t more people coming off of the ship, we negotiated a tour of the area for $40 total for the 3 of us. We quickly changed on the ship and headed back out to meet the guy. We ended up with a private tour of the area for about 3 hours. We skipped the tequila factory and other things the kids weren’t interested in.

 

We started off going through downtown and old town and the cobblestone streets.

 

 

 

 

[cdamion]

Then we headed up to the hills south of the city for some views.

 

 

 

 

[cdamion]

 

 

Next stop was Mismaloya where Night of the Iguana was filmed.

 

 

[cdamion]

We continued further south into the mountains a bit towards a creek and waterfall where ziplining tours go.

 

 

 

[cdamion]

When we arrived there was a local guy jumping down a waterfall – he had to clear several feet of rocks to make it. Here are pics of him doing it blindfolded:

 

 

 

 

[cdamion]

 

 

[cdamion]

The area was pretty nice, there was a restaurant there and only a couple of people milling around. I believe we were there in between tours.

 

 

 

 

On the way back we passed the next group heading up:

 

[cdamion]

After the tour, I had the taxi drop us off near the church in the old part of town so we could walk around.

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t take any pictures inside the church out of respect for those inside praying, but if you have a chance, do stop inside, it is amazing in there.

[cdamion]

Next we headed to a large indoor flea market and then to Isla Cuale which you get to by crossing a very rickety, swinging suspension bridge.

 

 

It isn’t very crowded and is pretty lush. There are little shops there, a couple of restaurants, a community center for the locals, and iguanas resting in the trees.

 

 

 

[cdamion]

 

 

[cdamion]

We ended up stopping at a place called the Jazz Café which is a very nice, but very expensive restaurant. There was a nice little place just a couple hundred yards further up with great prices and a very nice owner, but we didn’t know it and we really needed a break and some food. We were there between lunch and dinner seatings and all they had were appetizers. We tried a couple and had some cokes which came out to over $40, but they were completely outstanding – unlike anything I had ever eaten before.

 

The restaurant was very nice right on the river’s edge. I will probably come for dinner next time I am in PV on a land based trip.

 

 

Apartments across the river.

 

 

Residents of the river:

 

 

Isla Cuale was definitely worth the visit. Very nice and quiet and a different world from the surrounding city. There were probably more locals wandering than tourists – especially towards the back of the island.

[cdamion]

After eating and relaxing at the Jazz Café on Isla Cuale, we headed to the Malecon and strolled along it as the sun was setting.

 

 

The Malecon is full of sculptures, performance artists, locals, tourists, shops, restaurants, etc. all along the waterfront. It is really quite nice.

 

 

 

[cdamion]

Of course, I had to get pics as the sun went down.