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 want to go to the aquarium, and we didn't see much else to do in downtown Long Beach, so by 12:30 p.m. we were ready to try to head to the ship. We easily jumped on the free bus that dropped off at the Queen Mary - right next to the Splendor.
At the port by about 1 p.m. there was an average amount of people trying to check in. We saw a fairly long line outside so stood in it. After a few minutes, a Carnival rep let us know that this line was for guests on decks 1 & 2 only. For our deck (7) we were directed to go inside the dome to check in. There was no line at all for the dome security check in. The line inside the dome to check in for your keycard was fairly long. We probably stood in line about 30 minutes. It is fun to people watch at this point.
We were on board the Splendor by 1:45 p.m. and by the time we walked through the pink lobby area and found our way to our deck, the rooms were open for us. We had 2 aft balconies on deck 7. The rooms were as expected. However, what was nice was that the ship appeared newer and cleaner than any other ship we have been on in the past. When we saw our room steward later that afternoon, we asked him to take down the partition between the 2 connecting balconies and for a lounge chair. At booking, our PVP said that the partition between the balconies totally opened up to make an extra large balcony. This was not the case. A door opened, but the main partition was still there.
Quiet. Balcony divider didn't totally come down between us and our family in 7442. Angled dividers so your neighbors can see in. Didn't feel too much motion.