My DH and I flew down to L.A. from Calgary, Alberta, a few days before the Splendor's November 29/2009 sailing. We stayed at the Sheraton Garden Grove in Anaheim--very new hotel and nice--and booked a Red Shuttle to take us to Long Beach on embarkation day, November 29th. ( A high point of arriving in L.A. early was that we were able to have a drink with some dear folks that we had "met" on our ship's roll call at the Carnival website forum prior to our cruise--very lovely people!)

Due to both a medical emergency and rough seas on her return trip, the Splendor was very late arriving and didn't dock at Long Beach until around 3:00 PM. We were in Zone 1 and did not board until after 7:00 PM. (Carnival gave each of us a 15.00 onboard credit to cover lunch for that day). It was a very long wait and many people were frustrated, but I don't think anyone really blamed Carnival as the circumstances were beyond their control. Our two adult daughters arrived via Carnival bus transfer from LAX on sailing day, as did our two good friends---another couple who had booked this cruise as well. We spent some time that day on the Queen Mary, and also went to the Long Beach side on the complimentary local shuttle bus. Had lunch on an outdoor terrace at a nice Japanese restaurant.

Once we boarded, we were able to go straight to our cabin which was a very nice Category 8D balcony on the Lido deck: #9262. The cabin was festively decorated for my DH's birthday--(I had ordered this in advance)--which was that very day. We opened the balcony door and were thrilled---it was larger than the pictures we'd seen, and can easily seat two comfortably, as well as two or three extra people standing. Our cabin itself was beautiful---lots of room and extra storage space, and the bathroom and shower were very roomy. Loved the flat screen T.V. and the very comfortable bed! Our cabin steward, "Pam" was a super nice guy and treated us like Cal and Rose from "Titanic". As soon as we met, he asked if we needed anything and I mentioned that the bathroom sink seemed to be a little slow to drain. There was a repair person at our door in about 5 minutes flat who fixed the problem instantly. Wish we could get that kind of service back home! Pam was amazingly efficient, as well as friendly and kind. When I was seasick on the third day---(DH and I had worn the motion sickness patch starting on the first day, but it caused both of us have one giant pupil and one tiny pupil in our eyes, so we took it off right away, and this caused my seasickness). Pam was so understanding and empathetic---he even rushed down to the Guest Services desk to bring me Dramamine. There was ice in our ice bucket day and night, and we had wonderful turndown service with towel animals each evening. Once, one of our daughters came to visit us and bumped the towel animal, causing it to fall apart. When Pam came by to see how we were doing, he noticed and made a new towel animal in what seemed like three seconds flat. It was like watching a magician! Read more