Carnival Splendor Review (overdue!!) OV 7 day Western

[SunnydayKim]

Before I get to formal night, I forgot that this Sea Day I finally made it to tea time :) I had always wanted to do that, but had never done it on a previous cruise. I went by myself as Steve didn't want to join me. It was fun. I met some nice people including a Carnival dancer who was having “ship time” with her mom. This cruise was one of a few per year that Carnival team members are allowed to “act as guests” with their family members onboard. They did have to wear their nametags still at all times, but could wear “normal clothes” and be in guest areas, etc. This dancer had her mom visiting on this cruise. It was interesting hearing about her contract and chatting with the other people during tea. Tea itself was fun with lots of choices of tea, yummy cucumber sandwiches, cakes, crumpets, etc.

 

 

Ok... on to dinner & the evening.

 

 

We like to dress up for formal nights. Not tuxedos and ball gowns, but nicer clothes than other nights. On normal nights, Steve & Keiran will wear khakis and a polo shirt and I will wear a sundress or skirt & shirt;

 

 

 

Sorry for the odd focus on these pictures. We had a new camera that worked great at times, not at others depending on the light. We ordered it off Amazon 4 days before we cruised, so didn't really have time to play around with the settings! Oh well, best underwater shots we have ever had, so I will take it! (and learn before our next trip a bit more on how to use the thing!)

 

 

 

Our server team made a fun little hat out of a napkin for Keiran!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve making a funny face, but the only picture I have of us this night!

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned, we were eating with Johnny & Sharon each evening. It was fun to hear what they thought of their first cruise. Although we were with them on this trip, we really hardly saw them! Other than dinners and one port day that we had an excursion planned with them, we only ran into them a few times. That is OK. We just did different things on the ship! That is a great thing about cruising, there is something for everyone- and then you can share your experiences over a nice dinner!

 

 

 

Here is a picture of Uncle Johnny & Aunt Sharon

 

 

 

Food was good. I actually ordered the regular steak I believe tonight. I really enjoyed having the pasta dishes as appetizers too throughout the cruise! I am not a big prime rib or lobster fan, so none of that for me. It has been a while and I can not remember night-by-night food!

 

 

One thing to note, we never stuck around for desert. I think that Steve did one or two nights while I took Keiran up to camp; but usually, I was stuffed, Keiran wanted to go to camp right after he was done, and desert just didn't happen in the evenings. (don't worry, I had my share at lunch time or tea time!)

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we took Keiran to camp and Steve & I checked out a comedian. The family comedy shows were still really funny on this cruise. If we liked a comedian, one (or both, depending on the night) may try to go back and see the adult show too; however, usually the adult shows had a long line and could be standing room only unless you got there 30 minutes before it started. However the family shows never had a wait!

 

 

After the comedy show, we played in the casino a bit. I am a sucker for those “carnie bets” like in BlackJack the $1 bet for pairs- like QQ, JJ, KK, etc. I had a lot of fun and sat at the same BJ table for a couple of hours and walked away a tiny bit ahead for the night! I went and picked up Keiran tonight and Steve stayed out in the casino to play poker, craps, etc. Overall on the cruise, we ended up down a bit, but not as much we could have- it was entertainment after all!

 

 

 

A side note about Camp Carnival. This was Keiran's 3rd cruise. He absolutely LOVES Camp Carnival. This cruise he went an hour or two during sea days and then after dinner for 3 hours or more depending on if he wanted to stay for the party or whatever was happening after 10 pm. The counselors are great and no matter the ship, he has always had a great time. There were not a whole lot of kids on this cruise, but still 6-8 kids in his age group anytime we went.

 

 

 

Tomorrow is Cozumel or as we called it, an extra sea day!

 

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

Loving your review! I only just discovered Guy's burgers last November on the Freedom and did enjoy them, but I did miss the Tandoor grill that once was there.

 

Splendor is a ship that I would like to sail on. In fact I was briefly booked on it for a Canada New England cruise later this year, but the dates interfered with something I need to attend here at home, and only other time I could get away was end of October. So for me even as a Canadian:D too cold for that itin.

Now doing the Victory out of Miami, but I would love to cruise on the Splendor.

 

Thanks for your review, I am looking forward to reading more.:)

 

Glad you are enjoying the review!

 

We loved the Victory! That was Keiran's first cruise and it has the same, lovely Lobby decks that no one uses.

 

Enjoy your fun in the sun in Miami and on your Victory cruise!

 

Kim

[RHilla619]

Thank you for taking the time to do this! I just booked my cruise on Splendor last night out of NYC in August so I'm loving the info and the pics! Couple questions what dining/seating plan were you on, set time 6/815 or the my time dining? If you were on my time dining was there ever a long wait for a table? Did either of you get the cheers drink package? If so what was the total cost per day? Thanks in advance and I'm looking forward to the rest of your review!!

[SunnydayKim]

Thank you for taking the time to do this! I just booked my cruise on Splendor last night out of NYC in August so I'm loving the info and the pics! Couple questions what dining/seating plan were you on, set time 6/815 or the my time dining? If you were on my time dining was there ever a long wait for a table? Did either of you get the cheers drink package? If so what was the total cost per day? Thanks in advance and I'm looking forward to the rest of your review!!

 

Thanks for reading! You will love the Splendor.

 

We had 6pm seating. With the little guy at 4 years old, we usually eat early. We only didn't go to dining room one evening as we had a late lunch and just picked up a little something in buffet that night.

 

We didn't get the Cheers package this time, but did in the Glory cruise in September 2014. We didn't feel it was worth it for us this time with the prices changed. I believe it is $49.95 per day per adult in the room plus gratuities. We just do not drink enough to justify it! A few beers an evening; I can tell you, when we did get the CHEERS on our last cruise, we ended up drinking more!

 

Will continue with review this evening.

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

We woke up to another beautiful day today and room service again! Along with room service, it was part of my morning routine to go and get a coffee from the specialty coffee place on the Promenade Deck. A mocha latte on the ship is less than at Starbucks, so I am good with the $4 spent on this each morning. I just have gotten too used to my flavored creamers at home to do the regular coffee without LOTS of cream and sugar.

 

 

After breakfast, we got dressed and decided to just walk off the ship and walk around Cozumel. Keiran had never been, but Steve & I have been 4 times now. We didn't have any plans for the day and just planned to make it an extra sea day after walking around a bit.

 

 

In port we walked through the shops, did some people watching and bough a souvenir for Keiran. We were maybe off of the ship for 45 minutes total.

 

 

See, we did get off the ship today- if only for a few minutes! Splendor and Pride.

 

 

 

 

I think the only picture not of the ship I took this day! Keiran in Cozumel. The sun was REALLY bright that morning; by the late afternoon though it was overcast.

 

 

 

 

Back on board, we played a round of mini-golf and then went swimming. And swam, and swam. We had the pool to ourselves. I think Keiran must have had about 100 races across the pool with either Steve or I. Soon it was time to get changed and get some lunch after all of that swimming! Keiran played in the waterworks area a couple of times. But, he preferred the pool or beach!

 

 

 

Waterworks on the Splendor

 

 

 

I believe today we had hamburgers and hotdogs from the grill. We usually try to sit in the same area daily for lunch so that if we go to different places for lunch, we know where to find each other. After lunch, it was time for a nap! Keiran slept for nearly two hours I think this day. All of that pool fun will do it to you!

 

 

After nap, Keiran went to camp for an hour or so and Steve and I am sure did trivia :) Also some exploring around the ship.

 

 

Deck 3 Deck that there is never anyone on!

 

 

 

 

Ship pictures!

 

 

 

It was a lovely extra sea day for us! The evening was filled with dinner in the MDR with Johnny and Sharon and then camp for Keiran and casino for Steve & I. I believe we went to one of the comedy shows as well (many of the evenings run together!) We did check out the piano bar one night, I do not remember which one. The piano singer had a very heavy accent and wasn't a very good singer...when singing and Elton John and the Beatles just didn't sound the same. He was very nice and funny, but it sounded like bad karaoke to us. We haven't had the best of luck in piano bars on our last few cruises. On our wedding/honeymoon cruise in 2009, we had a great piano bar on the Legend. I guess it just depends on the entertainer and also your mood.

 

 

The casino wasn't very good to us this trip until the last night. We didn't lose a ton, but didn't win either.

 

 

Next up, 3 port days in a row. First stop, Costa Maya which we had never been too. Here's a hint, we loved it!

 

 

Kim

[beshears]

Well it is 4 minutes before I go home from work. I hope to be able to READ this tomorrow. :)

 

We will be going on the Splendor the 12 of April, and were getting anxioux.

 

I have been making all kinds of notes, and I may be making notes from your review also.

[SunnydayKim]

Costa Maya, Mexico

 

 

We had never been to Costa Maya and didn't have an excursion planned. We had heard that you can take a tram to the beach, so that was our extent of the “plan” today. After a lido breakfast, we got changed and were off to the beach! (Note, we did bring a 12-pack of water with us on this cruise and took bottles of it into port with us each time. Often, we would also get an extra bottle while in port too.)

 

 

Our tram with a “thatched” roof!

 

 

 

 

We took the tram- $3 per person, Keiran was free to the first stop, Blue Bay! Why not? I think we were the only people who got off here, the driver pointed us in this direction and this is all we saw...

 

 

 

But then, as we walked towards the beach... beauty.

 

 

 

 

And... no one there. We had the entire beach to ourselves! No paying for a chair or umbrella. No mandatory drinks. Just sand, water and an ocean to explore with our snorkeling equipment we brought from home!

 

 

Keiran really loved that there were bits of coral all over the beach (not enough to hurt as you walked). So, he decided to bury some and mark it with “X marked the spot” all over the beach! That was fun!

 

 

Buried Treasure...

 

 

 

Steve went out snorkeling first while I stayed and played with Keiran, then we switched off! We absolutely loved this beach. Seriously, saw no one for the first hour +. Then, at the most shared “our beach” with 10-15 people.

 

 

Under-water selfie

 

 

 

Sting-rays, be careful and do the sting-ray shuffle in the sand though!

 

 

 

(continued as there are more pictures)

 

 

 

Kim

[092306]

Enjoying your Splendor review! We just sailed on her this past October with our 4 year old son too and our cabin looked just like yours with the over the door shoe holder for all the little things and the decorations. Loved your pictures and glad you had a great cruise!

[SunnydayKim]

Well it is 4 minutes before I go home from work. I hope to be able to READ this tomorrow. :)

 

We will be going on the Splendor the 12 of April, and were getting anxioux.

 

I have been making all kinds of notes, and I may be making notes from your review also.

 

Hope in the midst of your anxiety you are able to get EXCITED! :D You will love it! And, just go in with the mindset that you will have a great vacation- and you will!

 

Hopefully my review can keep you sane through breaks at work tomorrow ;)

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

Enjoying your Splendor review! We just sailed on her this past October with our 4 year old son too and our cabin looked just like yours with the over the door shoe holder for all the little things and the decorations. Loved your pictures and glad you had a great cruise!

 

Glad to know parents of 4 years olds are prepared!

 

And, how funny... you all had your honeymoon cruise on the Legend! So did Steve & I! We actually were married on the Legend in the port of Tampa before we sailed so that about 80 of our family/friends could be there! Then 20+ of them stayed on to sail with us.

 

Great minds think alike, in honeymoon cruises and over-the-door everything you need holders!

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

Costa Maya was heavily hit by a hurricane in 2007 and then again in 2012, and ships (so we were told) all of the ships have still not fully returned to stopping here. The people that we met on the beach were very friendly, and very laid back!

 

Notice all of the seaweed; there was a lot on the beach but you saw people "raking the beaches" when we first got there. We didn't run into any in the water and the beaches had plenty of clean sand too.

 

 

We bought a few bottles of water and I bought a beautiful silver bracelet there on the beach- cash only BTW.

 

We swam, snorkeled and played in the sand for a few hours here. There are bathrooms right near the beach, little booths set up with people selling things and a few hotels/restaurants along the walkway of the beach.

 

 

You can see the Spendor in the background!

 

 

 

 

We ended up eating lunch at the Blue Bay restaurant since we used their beach front! The food was very good (tacos!) and the salsa was homemade and great. They also had a kids menu, which was nice as Keiran can be a bit picky. I think he had chicken strips & fries.

 

 

It rained a tiny bit a couple of times, but we were already wet and it stopped quickly. Dark clouds did look like they were coming though so, we packed up and headed back to port shortly after lunch.

 

Cloudy but sun shining through!

 

 

 

We walked around a little and then took a cab (a whopping $5 dollars total plus tip) back to the port. It was time for a nap!

 

 

Some more beautiful pictures of a great little spot in Costa Maya...

 

 

Keiran collecting coral for his treasure hunt

 

 

 

Mommy & Keiran in the water!

 

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

(Can you tell we really enjoyed this port?!)

 

Daddy & Keiran

 

 

Trees on the beach

 

 

They have a nice little park with trees and some artwork that is interesting right on the beach.

 

 

 

 

One last picture of our beautiful beach...

 

 

Kim

[erewhon]

Enjoying your review, thank you.

[beshears]

I don't have time to read all your review, but I'm beginning to like it, and will read more tomorrow, as I'm leaving work right now. I have a question, what is naan? I guess that is some kind of Indian food, etc?

[beshears]

Here's another quetion.

 

I'm a KID at heart.:)

 

Do they have the Dr. Suess parade on all of Splendor's cruises, or just the one you were on? Is it where everyone can see it,or in a certain area just for children with their parents. I have never heard anyone talk about it.

 

I haven't got that far in your review, and I don't know if you went to Grand Turk, San Juan, etc., as that is the direction we are going in April. Maybe it depends upon what direction the Splendor is going to have the parade?

[beshears]

Is "tea time" on the first sea day? What time, and what deck?

[sprath]

Naan is a type of bread. It's kind of like a flat bread, only yummier.

The Seuss parade started at the rear of deck 5. It went through deck 5, down the atrium stairs and ended in the lounge in front. I believe it is on all Splendor cruises, but can't guarantee it.

[SunnydayKim]

[quote name='erewhon']Enjoying your review, thank you.[/quote]

Glad you are enjoying it! Thanks for reading it!

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

[quote name='beshears']Here's another quetion.

I'm a KID at heart.:)

Do they have the Dr. Suess parade on all of Splendor's cruises, or just the one you were on? Is it where everyone can see it,or in a certain area just for children with their parents. I have never heard anyone talk about it.

I haven't got that far in your review, and I don't know if you went to Grand Turk, San Juan, etc., as that is the direction we are going in April. Maybe it depends upon what direction the Splendor is going to have the parade?[/quote]

[quote name='sprath']Naan is a type of bread. It's kind of like a flat bread, only yummier.

The Seuss parade started at the rear of deck 5. It went through deck 5, down the atrium stairs and ended in the lounge in front. I believe it is on all Splendor cruises, but can't guarantee it.[/quote]

That was my husband answering about the naan & Seuss parade! (FYI)

And, yes, as far as I know the Splendor is one of Carnival's cruises that has the Seuss parade, story time and breakfast. It should be on every sailing. Check the fun times on the first day. If I remember it was 10am? It will be open to everyone. It was not associated with the kids camp.

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

[quote name='beshears']Is "tea time" on the first sea day? What time, and what deck?[/quote]

Tea time is on both sea days :) So, if you miss the first one, go the next time. Or... if you end up enjoying it like I did, go twice :) I will get into the second time on our last day of the cruise, but I took Keiran with me to tea time the second time :)

It was at 3pm I believe. It is in the Fun Times you get. They leave one in your room, but as an FYI to anyone who doesn't know you can pick up another at Guest Services or the coffee shop or most bars will have extras too. Just ask. We always like to each have one of the little fun times tear-aways on us at all times, so we know what is happening!

Kim

[citcatt1]

I'm taking my son and a friend on the splendor for graduation in June and looking at your pictures reminded me of my son when he was young and used to sit in the window. He loved it! :)

[SunnydayKim]

[quote name='citcatt1']I'm taking my son and a friend on the splendor for graduation in June and looking at your pictures reminded me of my son when he was young and used to sit in the window. He loved it! :)[/quote]

:D Glad my pictures brought back a sweet memory for you! Enjoy your upcoming cruise!

Kim

[SunnydayKim]

This was the only time that we didn't eat on the ship. However, Steve & Keiran still wanted ice-cream! After a quick trip to get some ice cream it was time for a short nap. That is something I miss from the cruise, napping! Keiran hardly naps at all anymore at home or “school” (daycare) but when you are swimming for multiple hours, you need a nap! Steve & I enjoyed our little afternoon naps as well most days it was both of us, but sometimes the other went out exploring or to do something else.


This afternoon and tonight were pretty similar to all evenings- dinner at 6pm, Keiran to camp afterwards and Steve & I did the comedy show and casino. There was one night that we went to the main lounge show. It was OK, but it really isn't our style of entertainment.


Off to bed relatively early for us all tonight as we had a busy day planned for tomorrow... Isla Roatan Honduras :)


Side note on Roatan. Steve & I were married in 2009 aboard the Carnival Legend in port in Tampa. We had about 80 people attend our wedding and reception onboard and then 20+ stayed on with us as we sailed to Cozumel, Belize, Isla Roatan and Grand Cayman. Steve & I both loved Roatan and couldn't wait to get back! This was our first trip back and we were very excited to see the island again and go on the tour we had planned.


Next up... the beautiful island of Roatan, Honduras.



Kim

[SunnydayKim]

Roatan (Mahogany Bay) is a beautiful island located off of the main land of Honduras. This was the only day in which Steve's Aunt & Uncle would be going on an excursion, and- it was with us! I had pre-booked an excursion outside of Carnival with Victor Bodden Tours. We had a driver and a van for $25 per person who would take us where ever we wanted to go on the island. I thought this was a great deal and had a few conversations via email with the tour company prior to getting to the island. They verify everything with you and try to “plan out” your day a bit before you get there. I have to say that I was impressed with Victor Bodden's company and our driver. We paid cash at the end of the day plus a generous tip. It was one of our favorite days and both Sharon & Johnny said it was the highlight of their cruise.


We had a bit of a wait until we were “cleared” after docking and so it was a madhouse at 9:30am getting off of the ship. But, we were “dinged” off and made the long treck up to the road past the little shops and cruise tours. Note, if you do a private tour it is about a half mile walk up a fairly steep hill to meet any non-Carnival tour. However, it was a nice little walk and we soon were met by our driver who took us to the van for the day!


[B]Music to greet us in Roatan! [/B]



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We learned so much about the island itself, the people, the culture, income, schooling, etc. However... now I can not remember all of the details and would hate to pass along the wrong facts. You will just have to go there and take a tour and learn for yourself (haha!) However, I can tell you that it was all very interesting and we loved it.


Some pictures along our drive...



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Kim

[SunnydayKim]

Our first stop was at a little outside market up on a high hill looking over the water and island. We purchased a bracelet made from a Hondurian coin and a picture from a local artist. We also just looked around, took some pictures and talked with a few local vendors.


[B]The only picture we got of all of us![/B] (Johnny, Sharon, Kim, Steve & Keiran!)



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[B]Big Guns. [/B]This was a bit of an eye-opener. These are Honduran military on guard. And, this picture doesn't show the extremely big guns that they had their hands on...



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[B]Beautiful scenery. [/B]Great view from up here. The road was a bit scary driving up to this point! One-way road with two way traffic a few places on the island!



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Kim