Because we had an early flight we were at the Long Beach Pier by 11:00AM, we were able to do an early check-in; then it was sit around and wait. Long Beach Pier has some outdoor seating (concrete walls) but the majority of people had to stand while waiting. The Queen Mary was offering 2 for 1 brunch seatings (normally $42pp) but we passed on that offer (although I managed to snag one on their tasty treats they were offering). There is a restroom but it is small considering the number of people who are waiting in the area. By Noon, the ship was empty and we were able to begin boarding. We were in group 2 and we slowly snaked through the terminal and on to the ship. We had an aft oceanview on deck 2, one of the corner units. We were able to drop our luggage and then went to the Lido buffet for lunch. The Lido (deck 9) has several serving stations but only a few of them are open at any one time. You can chose from Asian, burritos, Indian, deli sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs, rotisserie chicken and pizza. Complimentary beverages available for breakfast include OJ blend, tropical fruit blend, milk, hot chocolate, tea and coffee. After breakfast lemon drink and iced tea area available. Salad fixings are available at every meal as are assorted "hot" foods. The Lido area is open until 9:30 - after that you can have pizza (24 hours a day) or go the deli area (from 11:30PM to 1AM). Room service is also available 24 hours a day. Soft-serve ice cream is available round-the-clock, too. It would be nice to have a cookie with the ice cream but, alas unless you head to deck 5 and the coffee shop, you won't find them on the ship after 9PM. The ship has two main dining rooms. We were assigned to the Gold Pearl - early seating - and had a table that directly overlooked the wake. The seats are not assigned, but if you weren't the first one there, someone else grabbed the two best seats at the table (the window). One night, our table for 8 became a table for 2 when we were the only ones appearing for dinner. The food was hit or miss. Most times the hot food was not hot at all and the food was room temperature. The best meal I had was the barbecued ribs (which were hot and tasty) but the French fries were cold and limp. The coleslaw was old. The shrimp cocktail was always good as was the chocolate melting cake. The food in the buffet was also so-so. Hot food was never hot - just barely warm - especially after trying to find a place to sit. Especially bad were the egg and the Mongolian BBQ stations when people would order 4 plates and have a huge line behind them. Not a good situation. The Splendor has two pool areas; one for kids and another for adults only. The kids/family pool can be covered if the weather is nasty but the aft adult pool is exposed to the weather. The ship has several hot tubs - including two in the kids/family area that are separated from the pool by tables and chairs. A huge flat screen TV is here and movies and videos are shown throughout the day. A stage has been set up at the end of this area for various entertainment venues. Lounge seating was at a premium around the pools, but seemed to be readily available on deck 14 - the Serenity deck. This deck also has access to a large water slide and mini golf. A water park is on deck 13. Our stateroom was a very nice size with a queen bed, 2 night tables, dresser and bench, refrigerator/safe combo unit, flat screen TV, couch (hideabed), side chair end table. The TV was situated such that you could not see it while sitting on the couch so you either laid on the bed to watch TV or sit in the uncomfortable side chair. We had a nicely sized window and the ledge became a holding spot for many of our belongings - camera, cell phone, etc. Ditto for the couch. The closet was in two sections - one half had several shelves and the other half for hanging garments. The bathroom was spacious with a long vanity with 3 shelves on either side, toilet and an angled shower (with curtain). Our room steward provided towel animals all 7 nights of our cruise.  We liked the spaciousness of our stateroom, however the noise and vibration from the engine room became a problem especially on the way back from Cabo. We would not book any aft stateroom on deck 1 or 2 because of the extreme vibration/noise. Entertainment was also so-so. We missed the show the first night (at 10:30) but went the following nights. The juggler was the worst - he was 1) a bad juggler, 2) not funny and 3) rude to the passengers. We enjoyed the Carnival singers and dancers along with the Splendor band. Vroom is not to be missed. We also loved the fiddler Barry Van Wie and went to both of his shows. The Carnival Legends show the last night is not to be missed. Tom from Canada brought down the house with his rendition of My Way! As for the ports, we've been to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas many times and were not interested in any specific shore excursions. Instead we wandered through the mercados close to the ship and then went back to enjoy the pool and hot tub areas. It was very hot and humid in the three ports. While it was hot and humid while in the ports, it was extremely cold in some of the common areas of the ship. The thermostats must be at 62 deg. Many, many jackets were sold on the ship. It was particularly cold in the main theater perhaps because the dancers generate so much energy they need to be kept cool. We were able to take a backstage tour and found it very interesting. The minimum age for a dancer is 18 and the oldest dancer on the Splendor is 46. The Vzoom show has 15 costume changes along with 5 or 6 wig changes. Would we book another Carnival cruise? Compared with Norwegian Cruise Lines, we'd have to say no. NCL has better (and more) food selections, more adult activities and friendlier staff. If I had to pick out the Splendor's captain from a line-up I couldn't do it. He never mingled with the passengers. The cruise director (Goose) was just there - he didn't entertain like those we've had on NCL. Our cabin steward and waiters were the friendliest to us and we gave them extra tips accordingly. An envelope was left to tip the Maitre d' - he did nothing out of the ordinary for us - in fact I thought he was frightening. I would also hesitate to cruise the Mexican Riviera again in the summer - it was just too hot and there were over 1,000 children aboard. Most times they were not a problem at all - it was after 10PM when they were gather In the stairwells, elevators and wander the ship. You have to wonder where their parents are at some point.