Our Carnival Splendor Cabin was 6209 on Deck 6, this turned out to be the most forward balcony cabin on the starboard side.

My wife Kaye and I planned a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise with two other couples on Carnival Splendor, out of Long beach, CA, for November 7-14, 2010 - this was the fire at sea and cruise ship adrift sailing. After the cruise Kaye and I planned to catch the nearby Catalina Ferry to Catalina island for 3 days - the other couples were heading home after the cruise.

My plan and advice to the other couples went awry right away. Our first time to fly on JetBlue, I knew we were arriving early, around 8 AM the day of the cruise, but advised them, from multiple past experiences, that it was nice to get on board early - usually up to several hours before officially posted boarding times - to get lunch, learn your way around and make dining changes with the maitre d'. A lot of time I have gotten on board very unexpectedly early after a wait of an hour or less. We were some of the first to pre-register at the pier and get our Sail and Sign cards (cabin key cards) probably during the 9AM hour. There was also a free Long Beach shuttle we rode just a few blocks away to the shops and restaurants near the Long beach waterfront. It was too early for breakfast and most places were closed - we lucked out by getting a special, no on the menu breakfast, prepared for us at the early opening Bubba Gump's. Coming out of breakfast one of our party got hit with bird droppings - our first warning of things to come. Waiting for the shuttle back to the pier, another one of our party stepped in sidewalk gum. One of our couple had come down with a cold before the cruise and that may have spread to another of us before it was all over. Small problems so far, back to the pier to check about boarding. Read more