I choose this cruise because of the proximity of our home and the timely was good for all 10 family members. My husband and I cruise often with over 30 cruises and I do compare ships and cruise lines. We mostly cruise Royal Caribbean but have use NLC, Holland, and Celebrity. I guess you get what you pay for! This by far was the WORST cruise we have ever taken. We can overlook a lot but when you start adding up each thing this cruise ship does not offer value for the money you spend. The food quality is poor. The buffet is awful. The food is greasy, cold, and not presented well. One morning, I wanted a biscuit and bacon (Which they serve you). The biscuit was as hard as a rock and cold and the bacon was as cold as if you got it out of the fridge. Upsetting when you stand in the long lines to get you breakfast. The Mongolian BBQ was good but the lines were always so long that we only had it once, the same with the pizza. The food was very poor and along with the mattresses it is enough to say "Never Again". But that's not even the worst. As I said this was a family vacation costing nearly $10,000 for our family. I one thing that we wanted was for everyone to have fun during the day and then have dinner together at night. When I book 5 months before the cruise everything dining option was filled. I was told by Carvinal "not to worry that when I got on the ship it would be taken care of". We were given "My time dining" which I thought was fine...no problem. First night arrive at the dining room Black Pearl and they tell me that they only have ONE table for 10 in the dining room and it was already taken, would we like 2 tables!! NO! So Isabela the Maitre de came to talk to us and they said they would put 2 table together for us. Fine. Now 45 minutes later they seat us in the back, next to the exit doors. Ok this is the first night and I cal overlook it. That night it took nearly 3 hours for us to have a complete meal. Isabela came to the table and said it would be taken care of for day 2. Well, this procedure happened EVERY Night. I spoke to Neil in the Golden Pearl trying to either have a different dining as Isabela stated that the Golden Pearl had many larger tables. About the 3rd day, I went down and spoke again to Neil. He said would work on it and notify me with a message to my room. Never any message. Ok. This was our 50th Wedding anniversary and I just wanted to spend time,,,,not waiting time with my family! On the last night, I thought ok we've been patient and they will have a table for us. Who was I fooling! My son going down to request a table and they told him a 30 minute wait, no problem but they only had 2 tables.....I cannot tell you how mad I was! After 7 days they still could not get their act together. Finally, between Neil and Isabel they found 2 table and used them together. We arrived for dinner at 6:10. At 8 we left the table before dessert because we had missed the first show and unwilling to miss the next. Don't get me started on their Easter service....no minister..put on by the crew who couldn't even pronounce half the words in the scripture and kept asking for help. Never Again!!! Read Less

Family Cruise that was available locally. Splendor is an average ship with a poor layout causing you to venture up and down on the floors just to get from the front to back on the same floor. Children were 7 and 10 on the cruise and were bored with the camp stating activities were too juvenile for them. Food as usual for Carnival was only fair. Service in the dining room was very good as long as you had the right waiter. Embarkation went smoothly. Entertainment was very good. Children really enjoyed the room service. Cabin stewards did a good job in keeping room tidy and stocked. one of my pet peeves is the number of lounge chairs by the pools being reserved by people clipping towels on the chairs and they only use the chair for an hour or so while other guest could have been enjoying the chairs. Carnival needs to come up with a solution. Read Less

My husband and I were married two years ago, but as life happened, had to delay our honeymoon a bit. We chose a cruise because for the money, you just cant beat the price, and we were lucky enough to not have to fly out! I had been to the Mexican Riviera 10 years ago on an RCCL cruise, but 10 years was a long time, and wanted to try another cruise line. The ONLY real complaint we had was the number of unsupervised children on board or how many children attempted to get into the 18+ areas - not really the fault of the cruiseline, but of their parents. Over all, we had a terrific time. Embarkation was easy ... I only wish the maps to the ship layout was a little better. Most people didn't realize there was a 2nd half to the Lido buffet towards the aft, so lines got super crowded unless you ventured towards the back of the ship, which is what we always did. It also took a while for us to realize the bbq buffet was one deck up from the Lido ... lots of passengers had to point that out. Cabo: We chose to get off the ship, but didn't go on any excursion. Things worked out beautifully, because we were able to walk the gorgeous beach - and although the vendors were EVERYWHERE, we were able to eat what and where we wanted. The port was very clean, and the tenders were efficient and on time. Mazatlan: We booked the Mini Speed Boats. While we were bussed to the El Cid Marina, we didn't realize that the excursion company only had a total of 6 speed boats so the tour experience was split in half - a few hours of a wonderful all-you-can-eat buffet at a beach resort and the ACTUAL time on the speed boats. The beach resort was wonderful and had ropes to keep the vendors from being in your face all the time, however, once a security guard arrived, he allowed the vendors to enter the area one at a time. By the time it was our turn on the speed boats, we were a little disappointed that we were accompanied to a certain part of the marina and then allowed to do laps (probably 8) of a certain area. We thought the tour would be a little longer or we would be allowed out in the open sea, but it was more like doing circles. While the excursion was enjoyable, we wouldn't do it again. All in all, we enjoyed our experience, but Mazatlan was split into 2 parts, the old and new. Unfortunately, you have to be bussed through the old to get to the new. Not a place I would feel comfortable walking around. Puerto Vallarta: EXCELLENT! We booked the Las Caletas tour and our only complaint was that it wasn't any longer. It was truly a hidden jewel and I would do it all over again. The BEST part - NO VENDORS! Just relaxing, away from civilization, but with all the amenities. We even booked an hour massage! We LOVED MarQ our Activities Director, but the ship entertainment was our biggest disappointment. A solo guitarist sang on the lobby deck, but was so off key it was more like someone you'd find singing on the corner in Hollywood. Punchliner comedians were fantastic, especially towards the end of the cruise. The new gentleman working with JJ (Bingo) was unsure of what he was doing most of the time, and looked like he was a "college friend" hanging out with her, instead of knowing what he was doing. He definitely looked like he was winging it most of the time. One thing I loved about the Splendor was the retractable roof of the Lido deck. Nice to have it closed on the chilly sea days. The BAD ... the movie nights on the Lido deck ... wished they were in the theater instead. So irritating to have to read the subtitled movies because we couldn't hear anything due to the screaming kids out swimming in the pool late at night. Bottom line, we LOVED and enjoyed our experience so much we decided to book another cruise and bring our grown children and their families. Read Less

One of my favorite Carnival Ships. The Imagination never disappoints. This smaller ship is perfect for the cruising purist. The cruise basics: large clean room (inside on carnival is larger than industry standards) , excellent and attentive service, MDR with wonderful service, and days of sun sun sun. No bells and whistles like the larger ships but so enjoyable for me and my 2 friends. First time cruising out of Long Beach, I am an east coaster. However, embarkation was quick. Headed straight to the pool with our carry on's got a drink, stuffed our shorts and t shirts in our bags. (trunks on under neath) and immediately started enjoying the sun. And did so for the rest of the cruise. Room was ready when we went down about 3:30, changed napped and headed to dinner MDR. Service was wonderful as always on Fantasy Class ships. (Despite the awful decor) And each dinner that followed on the cruise was delicious with wonderful service. Chocolate Melting Cake every night. No problems the entire cruise. Enjoyed Catilena Island it was my first time there. Comedy shows were spot on! And the atmosphere of mostly young 30 somethings with no kids on this cruise was ideal! Another Carnival Cruise down in the books! Oh and the price on this Cruise so much cheaper than if out of Miami on the east Coast, might cruise out of Cali again very soon. Read Less

I stopped cruising Carnival several years ago after a particularly bad cruise on the Carnival Spirit but this cruise coincided with grandchildren's Spring break and family birthdays and it was affordable, though by no means inexpensive. Thought the family activities were really fun, the cruise itself left me resolved to not cruise Carnival again for several more years. Two of us shared an obstructed view "junior suite" that was really an average cabin with a balcony so small that you could not sit on it without moving the chairs sideways to the rail. The view was completely blocked by a rescue ship. It seemed that there were few advantages to this class until we compared it with regular ocean view cabins on lower decks. For us, service was pretty much the same as non-suite cabins on other cruise lines with the addition of free bottled water. When we compared it to the standard ocean-view service our family received, though, it was quite different. They received once a day cabin cleaning (no turn down service) and no luggage collection for diebarkation without a special request. The ship has been redone and is generally comfortable. My one complaint was the poor lighting. Our "suite" had bedside lamps that were non-functional and extremely poor lighting in the closet areas. With closet doors opening to the entry instead of the window and no overhead or interior lights, I needed a flashlight to see the clothing storage area. This ship has one fairly small swimming pool that was usually crowded. There was a very nicely designed water slide area that was not crowded that the grandchildren really loved. Entertainment was really awful. The atrium entertainment drove me out with the volume and I spent one sad evening in the piano bar listening to a guy who really couldn't play and didn't want to. I generally avoided it. We enjoyed the spa and found the spa attendants to be better than on most ships. The one drawback there was that the ship redesign put the running track above the spa so that it was quite noisy. Dinner service was spotty. The one night that we were celebrating two birthdays, our desert order was not even taken yet when other diners had finished and left the dining room and their tables were cleared and reset for breakfast. Food was average. Though no fault of the ship, I'm sure, debarkation was delayed nearly two hours and the ensuing lines to leave the ship were extraordinarily long - 35 minutes in our case. As "suite" guests two of us had priority debarkation but chose to disembark with the family. We were unable to gain any privileges for the family, even though the fares for everyone were paid by the "suite" passengers. I would rank this as a good cruise for families with children who are cruising on a budget. Don't expect the service or amenities you might enjoy on one of the other cruise lines but you can have fun anyway. Read Less

Myself, DH and our son and his family (kids 12.10, 8 and 2 years old) went on this cruise on March 26th. I was a little hesitant to cruise on this ship, as quite a few people were not very kind in their reviews. We have been on 12-15 cruises in the past. The ship is smaller than we are used to; however, there are benefits to this. Such as, you don't have to walk a country mile to get to your room or events every day. We booked interior rooms. Normally, we try to get a window or a balcony, but expenses prevented this on this sailing. My daughter-in-law required a frig for medicine and a crib for the 2 year old. The housekeeper had it delivered into the room before 6:00 pm! He kept the room very clean. We only requested morning service. I like to keep the rooms tidy, and with a 12 and 8 year old in the room, it was a must. I know these people work hard, so giving him one less room to turn down was something I thought he would appreciate. He did leave a towel animal every day. We were supposed to be porting in Catalina on Tuesday, but this didn't occur. We found out that the wind was high, and this made it difficult to run the tenders. Tuesday became our full day at sea. I think the smaller ship and its slower moving caused quite a few people to become seasick. I saw a a young teenage boy vomit in the main dinning room. Fortunately, I was the only one to witness the event. We did hit Catalina the next day. Mostly, we walked around for a bit. There isn't a lot for kids to do, so we headed back to the ship for lunch. We ported in Ensenada the next day. Again, not a lot to do there for kids. The 8 & 10 year old opted to stay on the ship at their camps. We walked around a bit, and made a few purchases. We returned to the ship again for lunch. Now, I will say this; the kids were fine with this, as they spent two days prior in Disneyland. The food was good. I found the main dinning room in the evening to be an enjoyable experience. I am in agreement with others who have said that people come to the dinning room very casual. We did dress up (not too formal) for formal night. My favorite dish was salmon and my favorite dessert was Creme' Brulee. Very yummy! The kids enjoyed the dishes served on their menu. The eight year old is a boy, and he was thrilled to have 24/7 pizza and ice cream! The buffet was adequate, and I enjoyed the Blue Iquana was good. I had a breakfrest burrito and I had the tomato and fresh mozzarella sandwich from the sandwich counter twice. The second time I had it on a wrap, as it was too much bread for me. We went to brunch on our sea day, as well as the afternoon tea. Our 2 year old grand daughter is very charming. She waves and smiles at everyone. One of the waiters from another table came over to see her. She ended up liking him so much, she kissed his cheek. He wanted her to dance with him during one of their shows. She wanted to dance with her grandpa. We later learned he wasn't fond of children, so she had worked her charms on him. They made over here every night, as well as the other children. All of them are well behaved. We didn't attend the shows. Some of our family went to the comedians late show. They said he was funny but very "crude." They said the sing around the piano player was really great. We hit Karaoke and trivia several times. They both were a lot of fun. My birthday fell the day after we left the ship. I found a birthday card from the staff, as well as a $50.00 gift card to the spa! I was shocked and thrilled. I went up and purchased some expensive hair products. It was a great touch! Thanks Carnival! The younger three children loved their camp and the crew. They opted to attend more than anything else going on! The 12 year old is shy, so she went less than the others. I do think they all enjoyed themselves. We purchased the FTTF option for both cabins. We arrived after 11:00 am to the port, so they had already started allowing zone one to board. Although, our room was ready, and not having to drag the bags around was nice. We only tendered once, so it wasn't a big deal to use these. Now, on debarking the ship was another subject. We went down the waiting area for FTTF folks at 7:00 am, so we could try to get to Universal Studios by the time they opened at 9:00 am. We didn't get off the ship until 9:00 am. There were people trying to change their flights over the delay. This was not Carnivals fault. We were told by other cruisers that a passenger had tried to bring in illegal contraband from Mexico and was found out. She got into an altercation over this with a crew members. Port Authority held everything up over this. It was a young lady that had been overly drunk the night before. She had cursed all over the place, talked very loudly and tried to take over the comedians act. He didn't stand for it. The family members left every single place they went when she was present. It was sad that so many were affected by one persons actions. Overall it was a good trip. I like a longer cruise, but limited time and the kids wanting to go to the amusement parks, we opted this route. Read Less

We chose a 4 day to Catalina and Ensenada since this was our first time as a family of 6 and wasn’t sure what to expect. We booked 2 cabins next door to each other on the Riviera deck (4) so the kids (13, 7, 4, and 4) could be close to us. The embarkation process went smoothly. We purchased FTTF for both rooms. We didn’t need it because we arrived around noon and it wasn’t crowded but on the way out it helps avoid the lines. Either way I will always purchase it since you enjoy other perks like no line at the info desk, and no lines when getting on the tender to go to Catalina. Also, if there’s a long line to exit through customs be sure to grab a porter and he will avoid the line completely and get you right through. That was well worth $10! We had the most amazing head waiter named Arwin. We have some allergies and he was always very accommodating with a smile on his face. He was so nice that one of my twins got teary eyed the morning we left when he found out he wouldn’t be seeing him again. The food was good. There’s a lot of complaints on this site but honestly I am pretty picky and I liked the food. If there was something I didn’t like I just ordered something else! The burgers at Guys were really good. I only had it once and both my husband and I wished we had it more but we had so many other things to try. Their burritos and taco salads were delicious. Steak, shrimp, roasted corn, grilled onions, the works! Don’t eat the tacos. Not good. Even the buffet is decent. I had potato leek soup one day that was delish! I’m gluten sensitive and they did have gluten free bread, buns and pizza but they weren’t good but I was fine with all the other options they had. The kids loved the water slides, pool, and hot tub. The kids club was also a hit for movie watching and making new friends. We enjoyed craft cocktails at the Alchemy bar and there was never a wait. I think it helped that we were traveling mid week during spring break. The comedy club was fun as others mentioned and hubby won a little money in the casino. Overall, I would recommend this cruise for a nice easy getaway at a reasonable price. If you keep your expectations low you will be blown away. Read Less

We do this cruise to Mexico every year for our Mexican "honeymoon" . We have done it on several different ships. The whole time on the Splendor I kept saying" I really like this ship!" "Too bad it is leaving for Australia in 20191". We had a spa balcony and used the Thalassotherapy pool and steam rooms. I thought the gym was very well equipped. I used the bike for cardio and DH used the treadmill. I also used the free weights for my arms and machines for my legs. They had several extra classes but I didn't try any of them. I did have a lovely hot stone massage too. It was sooooo relaxing that DH couldn't do anything else for a whole day!! We loved the lay out of the ship with food stations on the Lido spread out so that not everyone was congregating in one spot. We loved the mix of activities with different trivia, all sorts of dance classes,lots of unusual atrium group activities and more! We really enjoyed all the comedy shows and although we didn't watch all the musical shows they were well attended and folks seemed to be really into them!! The staff did a great job and were patient and friendly! Everything was well organized too. I also loved my Cabo excursions where I rode a camel by the ocean but will write about that separately. We liked it soo much that today I booked the same cruise for April 2019?? Read Less

Just to start with some background...this is my 11th cruise with Carnival and I have also sailed with RCCL, Disney and HAL. We had FTTF so embarkation and debarkation were a breeze. After my next 7 day cruise, I will be platinum so I will never have to buy again. It is getting too expensive and now I have to buy for 2 cabins. My sons will still be minors so when I become platinum, it will include their cabin. They are only 10 days behind me so they will be platinum soon too. It was worth it as we tendered off the ship in Cabo way before any numbers were called. Getting on the ship is faster. Also, you don`t have to wait in the line at guest services. Debarkation is so comfortable as well as you usually meet in the theater or dining room and enjoy coffee and pastries and then get escorted of the ship. You get luggage tag number 2. I booked 2 cabins for my spouse and myself and one for my teenage sons. This was the first cruise in which they would have their own cabin and now we can never go back to one cabin. We were in an aft balcony 8461 and the boys in interior cabin 8455. We love the aft balconies. Cabin 8461 is large enough for 2 lounge chairs. What is so wonderful about the aft balconies is that you don`t experience the wind you get with a regular balcony. As the ship sails, regardless of the weather, you can sit an enjoy the balcony. It is so peaceful at the back of the ship. We were one below the lido and there was some deck chair scraping sounds but it was very minimal and we never heard it inside the cabin. Also, being at the back of the ship, you don`t hear alot of hallway noise as the only people really coming down to that end are the people that have cabins there. The inside cabin was as expected. We had some issues with our cabin (the door was difficult to open from inside and the drain in the shower was very slow to drain and made a bit of a mess). We notified our Steward and he IMMEDIATELY had someone come for both issues and they were resolved right away. We went to the guest services and they got us all additional keys for each other`s stateroom so the boys could enter ours and we could enter theirs. The food on wonderful! I have seen complaints about cold food in the MDR and we never experienced that at all. We had YTD and we never had to wait to be seated. We typically arrived between 5:30 and 6pm. We noticed a bit of a wait at 7pm when we were leaving. We enjoyed the food in the MDR. For breakfast we also went to the MDR every day. We love the regular breakfasts there and really enjoyed the seaday brunch. The wait for that wasn`t too long and worth the wait. We didn`t eat too many times on the Lido. We love the Tandoor and BBQ upstairs. I was a little disappointed in the burgers as our last ship had Guy Fieri and they are truly the best (we actually at at the Guy Fieri hamberger restaurant in Las Vegason our way to LA and the four of us cost $100 which really would have been free on a Carnival cruise). We also love the sandwiches on the deli. I am still missing my nightly 10pm grilled ham and cheese. The nightly shows were very good. We had Studio VIP, 88 Keys, 80s Pop to the Max and Epic rock. All were excellent! Ports were standard. I have done this itinerary many times so not overly exciting. We did make a purchase at Diamonds International in Puerto Vallarta right when we got downtown. We didn`t want to carry the bag around and so the shopping expert Fernando delivered it right to our cabin that evening. The ship itself was very clean. I loved that the roof closed over the mid ship pool so it was a lot nicer in the evening if you watched an outdoor movie. I have been very cold on other ships staying up late to watch a show so that was a bit of a treat. The ship was pink which you get used to but still very nice. There are things that I miss from the Dream and Breeze so I look forward to our next cruise on the Magic. I miss the 5th floor Ocean Plaza. My sons were in Club 02 and Circle C. As this was their 9th Carnival cruise, the programs did not disappoint my sons!!! They have graduated up from Camp Carnival 10 years ago to the teen programs. Chantelle and Frederick were amazing and my sons went to practically every activity. Really the only times I saw them were at dinner in the MDR as they did most everything else with their new found friends. My oldest son and spouse did the Behind the Fun tour. I had done it years ago on the Carnival Paradise so I didn`t go this time. They LOVED the tour! They said worth every penny. They have pictures on the bridge and with the captain. We booked it as soon as we got on the ship as it does sell out fast. Debarkation was different on this ship (except for FTTF). You don`t get a random number given to you. At 9am on the last sea day, you can choose your number from 6 - 25 to get off the ship. 6 - 12 go super fast so if you want to get off the ship early, go get your tickets early. For Christmas we bought our kids Cruise Cash ahead of time. It worked so well as it is automatically applied to their account and they knew they had a budget. cons (not many) - They need more than one barista at the coffee bar. I like an Irish Coffee in the morning (while cruising only...) and the lineup turned me off. I guess i saved $8 a day. - No Guy burgers Read Less

We use to love Carnival and are Gold members. However after the tragedy of the last cruise, I'm not certain we will be cruising with them again. The boat was filthy and extremely run down. The fact that your shoes constantly make the sticky noise no matter where you were should have been an indicator. Also the fact that they absolutely no longer enforce any time of hand sanitizing for guests should have tipped us off. A week later we all got off the ship extremely sick, even tho we were adamant about washing our hands and using the santizer when available. The 1st floor smells of stale, sewage-ish water. The gym is the most disgusting thing on the boat. I should have looked at the equipment before using it. The amount of dirt and obvious dandruff or skin on the equipment was enough to turn my stomach and even tho they have a spot for sanitizing wipes, it was never filled once on our 7 day cruise. (avoid at all costs) The spa, the tiles were coming off the walls, and the paint on the roof was in bubbles or peeled off, with large areas missing. Don't bother reading the labels in the showers, the buttons were all labeled wrong. The staff doesn't look remotely happy. And by day 4 we stopped dining in our main dining room because you would ask for a drink and you would never get it. Even the bar staff didn't look remotely happy. Hard to navigate the ship with half the 3-4 floor closed off, difficult to get an elevator (don't wear heels!) Unhappy staff. This boat needs a serious overhaul. Read Less