South America & Mexico - Carnival Splendor - March 3 - 21, 2009
Overall, this was a wonderful 18-day cruise on the Splendor. This was my sixth cruise, and the third time on a Carnival ship. I was travelling "solo", however, it was nice to meet many wonderful people (a number of whom were Cruise Critic members).
THE SHIP:
My balcony stateroom (Category 8A) was on the Upper Deck, cabin 6226. It was close to the bow and on the 6th deck. The room was quite large (approx. 220 sq. ft.), very bright with a wall of glass overlooking the balcony, and could easily sleep 4 people. It had a very comfortable king-sized bed (two twin beds pushed together) with lovely linens, etc. There was a sofa that converted into a single bed and also a "Pullman" bed secreted in the ceiling. There was plenty of closet and storage space. The bathroom was a decent size (shower only; no tub) with lots of room to put away toiletries, etc. The towels were plush and the bathrobe was very comfortable. There was a desk/vanity and chair, a flat screen tv and a refrigerator. There was only one electrical outlet in the room (above the desk) and one outlet in the bathroom (up high near the ceiling). There was a hairdryer in the top drawer of the desk/vanity that worked quite well. All in all, it was a very comfortable room. My only concern with the cabin was the noise from the Spectacular Lounge located directly below it. The sound-proofing was mostly non-existent, and so I heard all the rehearsals during the daytime, and also the late show at 10:30 pm each evening. It was very loud; so if you book this cabin, be prepared to live with the noise level.