About six years ago my husband and I took a 3 night cruise from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico on Carnival Paradise. It was loud and children were out of control all over the ship. The ship itself was not esthetically pretty either. After that trip we thought we would never cruise Carnival again. This year we decided to give it one more shot and we are glad we did!

Our 7 night Mexican Riviera cruise began on Carnival's Splendor. We had heard that this was known as the "pink" ship so we were not sure what to expect. Indeed she was pink, but a lovely shade that was not overbearing.

We had a Spa Balcony room that comfortably fit my husband, myself, and our 9 and 11 year old children. The balcony was quaint and since these are non smoking rooms, there was no smoke blowing past. These are the only rooms on deck 11 and are all located next to the spa. The stewards were superb and friendly and the spa facilities were lovely. Read more