I just returned from my Mexican Riviera cruise. I went with my girl and our daughter. This was our 4th cruise overall and 3rd on Carnival. This was however, our first time on Carnival Splendor. I had read numerous reviews prior to sailing and the reviews were mixed. I must say we had a great time every day. Obviously there were things we liked and disliked or thought could be improved on.

The embarkation process was excellent. We were on the ship by noon. Our room wasn't ready, but we did drop off our carry on luggage. We went straight to the buffet. Due to it being early we were able to get a deck chair in front of the big screen. They were showing a NFL football game. I enjoyed the rotisserie chicken station one level above the buffet. We relaxed there for awhile and then walked around the ship for a bit. Our bags didn't get to our room until 4pm which didn't make me happy. They searched my bags but said they didn't find anything, but there was a smell left on my clothes. That was my biggest complaint for sure. Muster drill went by very quickly and we were off and sailing.

The highlights for us were the comedians, Karaoke Live, the ports of call and Camp Carnival. The lowlights would be the dance club being empty every night, the burrito bar and mongolian grill closing at 2:30 or 3:30pm everyday, sushi only being from 5-8:15pm and them not going to Mazatlan. One of the other lowlights was the fact the gym was rather small. It was a tight fit in there around the free weights and machines.