This was my second cruise to the Mexican Riviera on a Carnival Ship out of Long Beach. We went in the summer of 2008 and now spring break of 2010. This time we were on the Splendor. Overall I must say we had a very enjoyable time. We drove to Long Beach on the Saturday prior to our cruise (it left on Sunday) and we stayed at Hotel Maya (used to be The Coast Hotel). Hotel Maya has been refurbished and it was very nice. We had the stay and sail package where you can stay the night before and leave your car there all week while on the cruise. They have a shuttle van that takes you to the port right up the road. The shuttle driver Gopal gave us his card so we could call him when we returned and he promptly came to pick us up. The hotel is right on the bay by the Queen Mary so you can watch the Carnival ship dock on Sunday morning.

On Sunday we headed to the port about noon. The embarkation process was extremely easy and well organized. A porter quickly took our bags and we headed toward the port. Within 5 minutes we had our sail and sign cards in our hands and were headed to the ship. Within 10 more minutes we were on the ship headed to the lido deck to have lunch. The rooms were ready by 2 pm and we went to check out our rooms. We were in room 7360 which is a basic balcony room. I must admit it was a smaller room than I expected and the bathroom was pretty small in my opinion. But there was ample closet space for our clothes and about 15 hangers. The rest of our family had inside cabins on deck 7 as well and we all thought it was pretty quiet. Of course it was spring break for many and there were over 1400 kids on the ship. I recommend staying in the middle of the ship with rooms above and below you as well as on the sides of you.

Our room steward was Jennifer (from the Philippines) she was awesome and took care of our needs, including ice, extra beach towels, etc. The ship was very, very, clean (did I say it was clean?...very clean). Everywhere you looked people were cleaning...I liked that! Read more