Having cruised many times before I was very excited to go on yet another trip. I had never been on carnival and was excited to try a new line.
We got to the ship early and were actually in line when the early embarkment office opened. we were in zone one and got right on board ship. The embarkment went very smoothly.
We had two rooms, they were suppose to have a door between them, hmmm no ...
My husband and I just took our 2 kids, ages 12 and 16, on their first cruise. The 2 of us had previously sailed on Carnival. We first sailed on the Elation to the Mexican Riviera in 2001 and then 3 years ago took the Victory out of Miami to the Caribbean. All 3 cruises were a lot of fun but this last one didn't quite live up to the service we had previously had with Carnival. Let me start with ...
We are a family of 5, cruising with 9 yr old daughter and grandparents. This was our 13th cruise, the first to Catalina (although we've been on 2 of the shorter 3 nighters to Ensenada).
We drove in from Phoenix and stayed 2 nights in LA to go site seeing. We stayed at the Radisson in Culver City, booked thru Priceline at $55/night which was well worth it. Parking is $14/day with in/out ...
We arrived at the Carnival port by 11 a.m. (much earlier than we expected). Now I understand why Carnival calls to say don't arrive until 2 p.m. It sure was busy with departing guests when we arrived at 11 a.m. So we just found a porter to drop off our check in luggage then drove back to downtown Long Beach to visit Walmart for a few last minute provisions and to drop off the rental car. We didn't ...
My best friend and I were all set to go to the Mexican Riviera on the Carnival Splendor, then she got ill, so I took my Mom and we had a blast! Mom had never cruised before and I had cruised only once with my husband 4 years ago on Norwegian (we did the Hawaiian islands 7-day cruise). We flew from Phoenix to Los Angeles and used our pre-paid transfer to get on a bus to take us to the dock at Long ...
Sailed aboard the Splendor to Mexico June 20-27 2010. This was our second Carnival cruise, first on this ship. I found the ship to be extremely clean and well maintained. My room (with Balcony) was well laid out, clean and comfortable. Once again I was lucky to have an excellent steward who always greeted us by name and provided greater than expected service. I sailed with 21 family members and ...
We cruise regularly with our children (12, 6) and were curious about Carnival having sailed on NCL and Disney exclusively. We chose this itinerary (Ensenada and Catalina) based on convenience and were aware that they weren't the most exciting of destinations. Hence, we weren't surprised to find that it is barely worthwhile disembarking at these locations.
We did one excursion (a Carnival booked ...
In June 2010, I decided to take a week-long cruise. The four I'd done previously were all on Disney Cruise Lines (Bahamas and Mexican Riviera), but my budgetary restrictions this time around demanded that I take a closer look at a cheaper vacation. Booking through Expedia.com scarcely two weeks prior to sailing, I opted for the least expensive option: a Carnival cruise to the Mexican Riviera ...
What type of narrative works here?
Long and drawn out or cut to the nitty gritty?
See my first attempt below....
Carnival Splendor Mexican Rivera June 20 - 27, 2010
This review is written in 3 parts; General Overview, Tips and Hints and a Narrative.
The General Overview will provide my perspective on various aspects of the cruise line, ship, and general impressions overall.
Tips and ...
We chose this cruise because it was short, and only a 2 hour drive from our home. We had an easy commute. On Southern California freeways, this was a pleasant surprise.
We arrived early so we could get a parking space in the parking structure --$15.00 per day. We booked a verandah suite which allowed us VIP priviledges, so we waited in the VIP lounge. We didn't have to wait long and were ...