Splendor Review - 8/5 - 8/13

[doolange]

Just off the Splendor and wanted to give a quick review.......

 

We traveled in a group of over 50, me being the group leader. I am 44 years old, my husband is 47 and I have three kids ages 21, 20 and 17. This is my 11th cruise and the 3rd on Carnival. We ranged in age from 5 to 85. All family. Some were first time cruisers and others were seasoned cruisers.

 

GETTING ON THE SHIP - We only live 20 minutes from the port. I left my house at 11 and was dropped off by 11:25. I packed 2 cases of water and was told at the pier that we could not check it (last year on the Miracle, I put luggage tags on the water and it arrived safely in my room). We then had to lug the 2 cases of water around the ship until our room was ready. Make note of this if you are bringing bottled water. They charge $5 on the boat for the water so it does pay to bring your own if you drink a lot of water! The check in line was fairly long and a little disorganized. They split you into two groups/lines but one line was moving way faster (I know because someone in my group was on the other side and was done almost half hour before us). Once on the ship we headed to the Lido deck and got some food and waited for our cabin to be ready. It took us about an hour to get to this point (12:45) and the cabin was ready close to 2. The luggage was already at our cabin so I unpacked and settled everything. We then did the drill and watched sail away. It happened to be a gorgeous day for sail away. Then it was time for dinner at 6:00. Myself and my daughter are gluten free. Last year on the Miracle, this was never a problem. This year it was a disaster. Our meal always came very late and we were eating dinner while the others were on dessert. I complained on day 3 to the Maitre D and it got a little better as time went on. Also, our waiter had our entire group to handle (again over 50 people). It was too much for him and he ran ragged. It was not his fault it was under staffed. That too changed as they got him more help as time went on (we did complain a few times at the bad service).

 

SEA DAYS - We stayed by the Lido deck because we had little kids. There are 3 pools on this boat. The Lido pool has music, movies and action all day long. It was also the main pool for kids to stay in. However, I did notice the water got literally gross by the afternoon. It is too small a pool for the amount of people in it. Kids were jumping in constantly and running around playing tag. They should have a staff member monitoring this better as someone could really get hurt. Also, I sat right next to the pool every day and NEVER saw anyone checking the water. With such a small pool, they should not allow jumping and they should really monitor the water. The water got really cloudy and dirty looking at the end of every day. The only time I went in was when everyone got off in St. Thomas and I stayed on. It was crystal clear that day. On the last day, I sat at the edge and put my arms in. Nevertheless, I came home with a horrible rash on my arms (sea lice?)

At the back of the boat is the adult only pool. That was better but also very crowded for the amount of people. If I wasnt traveling in a group, I would have stayed there. The 3rd pool is at the bottom of the water slide. Again, small but an option. There are only about 10 chairs here as I think it is more or less a place for you to jump in after using the slide. I do love the action by the main pool but I think with this size boat, they should have a bigger pool. They also had a really nice water park for kids to use.

 

FOOD - The breakfast was terrible. I am comparing this to Princess and Royal but the choices were very limited. Melon, cereal boxes, oatmeal, grits, bacon, potatoes, pancakes and omelets. The omelet line was at least 10 deep each morning. I ate an omelet every day and I started to count. They had 1 or 2 omelet makers for this size boat. I had to wait at least 20 minutes every day. You could go to the dining room but some people in my group tried that and said it was a really long wait as well. The buffet lunch was only open from 11:30 to 2. After that, they had the grill (served hamburger and hot dogs), pizza and sandwiches (back of the boat near the adult pool) open. You cannot believe the lines for these after 2. The people in my group with small children had to get them at camp at 2. When they brought them to eat, they had to wait on this enormous line. I even took a picture it was that bad. It wrapped around the pool deck every day. I had to grab something early, like it or not, because they were closing the buffet at 2 and the lines were ridiculous the rest of the afternoon. Pizza line only allowed you one slice, but someone in my group tipped the guy 10 bucks and then he always gave them more than one slice lol.

The dining room food was fine, the usual cruise fare. But Carnival has cut back big time on food. No more 24 hour buffets and even the deck party, after Puerto Rico, had no food.

 

ENTERTAINMENT - I really liked the lay out of this ship. It was really easy to find people and all the venues were close to each other. We especially liked the Legends, comedians, hypnotist (my son was hypnotized). The Red Carpet Club was really nice. Big dance floor and lots of seats. It was right near the casino so it was nice to gamble a little and walk right into the club. I found there was always something to do. It really is a "fun ship"

 

OVERALL - Overall, we had a great time. My nephew, who is 5, cried getting off the ship and still carries around his cruise card. I have never been on a ship where I didn't have fun. We love to cruise and especially love leaving out of NY. We travel with a lot of fun people so we would have fun no matter what. Hey, I'm not home cooking and cleaning so it has to be a good time!

At first the food situation wasn't enough to keep me from sailing Carnival but after being home a few days I am reconsidering. I just might have to jump back on the Explorer, even though it will cost a bit more. We sailed the Miracle last year and thought it was our best cruise yet. I had not one complaint. This year, it felt like the ship had major cut backs, maybe from all the bad publicity this year? Not sure but Carnival better shape up or they will be in trouble. One of the families in our group has already stated they will not be cruising with us next year if we choose to go on Carnival again. I hope Carnival shapes up before all their passengers ship out!

[rainbowflag]

It's terrible that someone in your group had to tip the pizza guy $10 in order to keep pizza from getting to the mouths of others. :rolleyes:

[doolange]

Actually the Dad had 3 kids and the kids did not want to wait on the line so he was getting it for the kids.....one slice per kid was all he wanted and I dont think that was unreasonable

[Catrin]

Wow.. what a difference from our cruise the week before.

We had pizza several times during our cruise.. and often I saw people (including myself) get more than one slice. If you wanted more than ONE PIE, they asked you to wait for yours to be made, then they helped those behind you. That was for more than a PIE, not a slice. There was no need to tip.. they happily made it.. you just had to wait for it.

 

Also, there were four guys making omelets.. two in the front of the Lido Deck, two towards the back. Each had three pans going at once. Yes, the lines were certainly long. But worth the wait!

 

Sorry you had issues in the dining room!

Catrin

[traveling1969]

Thanks for the detailed review. We're looking forward to our upcoming Splendor cruise. Is there a Mongolian Wok on the Splendor and, if so, did you try it?

 

Regards,

Harry

[doolange]

@Catrin......Only one person at each omelet station, each time I went. I did not eat the pizza but everyone was saying they would not give you more than one slice at a time? Sometimes things can change from each sailing....I was told there was over 1,000 kids on this sailing, maybe that that was the reason for the high demand for pizza, and that was why then limited it?

 

@travelling1969...There is a Wok that I did not try but others did and said it was very good......

[kids1stcruise]

The omelet station that later turned to burrito bar was always less crowded. Never had a problem there! Pizza always had a line but 2 slices were automatically given. Never had to tip to get a pizza!!

[chuletsmom]

I guess it all depends what time you hit the different places. We were on same cruise and we never waited for a table for breakfast. We had breakfast in the main dining room almost every morning. Even though the pizza line was long my husband always came back with a pie:) and I made him go back for more on two occasions! It was soo good! I did wait in line for 40 minutes for the Mongolian wok but well worth the wait! Pool was kind of skunky but we took DS to spray park and sat in the shade there.

Had a great time overall. :)

[cruizinisthebest]

So interesting reading these Splendor reviews. Thanks. OP can you tell us which itinerary you did? Good to hear the kids had a good time. That's one my main concerns with booking nowadays. Did any of the kids utilize Camp Carnival? Wow over 1,000 kids!!

[Nevaehsma8403]

My DH and I were on this cruise. We never had an issue at the piazza place. I think they only gave 1 slice to cut back on wasting it, but if you for another piece you would get it with no issue. We only used the aft pool on the day we were at Grand Turk so I cant really say anything about that except it did seem they were crowded. Our dining room staff was awesome. We were done with the whole meal by 720pm. The entertainment was ok. Lots of trivia. We gambled a bit. Our room steward sucked. He never took out any used cups and we even made sure they were empty. He never told us his name and we only seen him maybe 3 times the whole cruise. We always had to write a note for beach towels(he never replaced them when he took them). The Mongolian Wok was incredible but there will be a long line. I waited 45 mins one day. There was a tremendous amount of kids. A lot of them were behaving terribly. We sat next to a group of girls during the mexican buffet who looked to be between the ages of 13-15 throwing the F-bomb for just about every other word. We also witnessed a few kids that would pull the ice cream dispenser handles down as they walked by. Some of the adults weren't much better. This is my 5th cruise with carnival since 2010 and while I did notice some changes I am not yet ready to say "good bye". You truly get what you pay for. Overall, I enjoyed the cruise and the ship was wonderful. :D

[Lisa0719]

. . . .We were done with the whole meal by 720pm. . . . :D

 

Did you have early or YTD? If YTD, do you remember the names of the wait team?

[PortSideCruzan]

Hi :)

 

Thank you for your review. Recently off the Splendor myself, May 25 to June 10.

 

My wife & I loved our 16 days aboard the Splendor, looking forward to the

next 16. The ship had so much to offer.

 

The three shows, 'Fiesta Latina', 'The Beat' & 'Vroom' were terrific.

The Legends show during the last evening was fun also.

 

The Chefs table was amazing! The Pinnacle Steakhouse was also a mouthwatering

experience.

 

Light continental breakfasts on the balcony most mornings held me over until

we arrived to the buffet or the MDR for breakfast. The omelet station(s) were fantastic.

The MDR service for breakfast, brunch, dinner was fabulous also.

 

We loved it all, from the pizza to the milk shakes & cakes at the coffee bar. The Splendor

crew was amazing! Was certainly a fun SHIP.

 

:)

[Cruisingcanadian29]

Hi :)

 

Thank you for your review. Recently off the Splendor myself, May 25 to June 10.

 

My wife & I loved our 16 days aboard the Splendor, looking forward to the

next 16. The ship had so much to offer.

 

The three shows, 'Fiesta Latina', 'The Beat' & 'Vroom' were terrific.

The Legends show during the last evening was fun also.

 

The Chefs table was amazing! The Pinnacle Steakhouse was also a mouthwatering

experience.

 

Light continental breakfasts on the balcony most mornings held me over until

we arrived to the buffet or the MDR for breakfast. The omelet station(s) were fantastic.

The MDR service for breakfast, brunch, dinner was fabulous also.

 

We loved it all, from the pizza to the milk shakes & cakes at the coffee bar. The Splendor

crew was amazing! Was certainly a fun SHIP.

 

:)

 

What was your chefs table?? We went on one last year on the liberty and I am booked on the splendor in October and worried it will be the same?

[Nevaehsma8403]

Did you have early or YTD? If YTD, do you remember the names of the wait team?

 

We had early. Our wait team was Roy, Sugiano(sp?) and Puma(that's what he told us to call him) . Our bar waiter was Hedy who was also amazing. We had a soda card and he always had our sofas sitting for us and he would always be there with more when we were out.

[Nevaehsma8403]

Sofas?!? Lol. That's supposed to say sodas. Dang auto correct

[doolange]

I sort of kept an eye on the pizza and grill lines because I always sat by that pool. Of course it you got on line at 11:30 it was a short line. The line really seemed to peak when camp let out, which was my gripe. No buffet and the parents had to wait on the long line to feed the kids. That seemed to be the worst time as all the kids were hungary after camp.

 

We did the San Juan, Grand Turk and St. Thomas run. I have done this run so often that I didnt get off in St. Thomas. However, the teens always love Senor Frogs and Grand Turk. Most in our group got off to go to Meghans Bay and loved it. Kids really enjoyed snorkeling there.

 

As far as the camp, we had all the age groups represented and they all loved it. The kids even stayed on board when we went to Senor Frogs as it really is not a place for the little ones. My sister in law couldnt get her son to sleep one night and told him "Camp Carnival called and said you can't come tomorrow unless you go to sleep". He then went right to sleep lol.

 

I agree this is a really fun ship and love the layout. Just hope Carnival listens about the cut backs. In my opinion it was apparent in the food/service area.

[PortSideCruzan]

What was your chefs table?? We went on one last year on the liberty and I am booked on the splendor in October and worried it will be the same?

 

 

Hi Cruisingcanadian :)

 

Here is our chef table menu below..

 

 

 

 

:)

[niccirn796]

OP I am sorry you and your family didn't seem to enjoy your cruise so much, based on your comments. I was also on this cruise with my DH, mom, dad, sister, and niece, and we had a wonderful time. :) I do agree with some of your observations, and some I do not.

 

Pizza: Except for the initial embarkation on the first day, they never limited the amount of pizza they gave you. My DH and I always received two slices at once. If we requested a pie, then they made it for us while they helped the people behind us in line.

 

Dinning room: My sister is also gluten free. There was never any problems or delays with her service. She made her selection the night before with the assistant Maitre D and each of her courses arrived the same time with the rest of the family.

 

Main pool: I agree with you this pool became gross looking as the day went on; how could it not with all those people in it and their sun block coming right off?!? However nobody in my family received any horrible or suspicious rash of any kind, therefore I hardly doubt what you had was from sea lice.

 

Buffet lines: Yes buffet lines can be quite long, in fact, I found it hysterical how the pizza, burgers, and deli lines grew ten fold as the other lines closed. (maybe people were afraid this was their last chance to eat? :p) However the buffet lines were open until 2:30 on sea days and 3:30 on both St. Thomas and Grand Turk days. Also, there were more than two omelet stations, there were four, and each manned 3 pans at once.

 

I do agree with you that Carnival has made some cutbacks. In someways I cannot blame them, every other business across the country is doing the same due to the recession. My DH also thinks it maybe time to look into other cruise lines, we have done RC twice in the past. Overall, I really like Carnival, this was my 13th cruise, and I look forward to my next.

[doolange]

I am basing the pizza observation on the guests I was with. I never got it so maybe they got it wrong.....:)

 

As far as the gluten free, overall we had a problem with our server. He had 4 large tables of 10 and just himself and a helper. I don't know where the disconnect was but we too had ordered the night before and still received the meals after everyone else. I guess you had a better server?

 

My husband and all the kids were in the pool the whole time but a few people in my group did get rashes of different sorts. I had a pretty bad one down my arms, my sister in law had one bad across her chest and my daughters friend had it on her chest as well. Everyone did go in the pool but not everyone got the rash. However, I grew up with an ocean front house and I know that sea lice come in August and I know not everyone that goes in the ocean will get it. I am not really sure what the rash is from but I was also not the only one who got it. I have seen rashes mentioned on the board before, not sure what to blame it on.

 

If I had no other options, I might cruise Carnival again. Just some in my group said they would not go if I decided to go back on this boat. I always have a blast and this was no different. Just hope Carnival pays attention to the comments on the boards to improve on things......

[Feelin' Nauti']

 

SEA DAYS - We stayed by the Lido deck because we had little kids. There are 3 pools on this boat. The Lido pool has music, movies and action all day long. It was also the main pool for kids to stay in. However, I did notice the water got literally gross by the afternoon. It is too small a pool for the amount of people in it. Kids were jumping in constantly and running around playing tag. They should have a staff member monitoring this better as someone could really get hurt. Also, I sat right next to the pool every day and NEVER saw anyone checking the water. With such a small pool, they should not allow jumping and they should really monitor the water. The water got really cloudy and dirty looking at the end of every day. The only time I went in was when everyone got off in St. Thomas and I stayed on. It was crystal clear that day. On the last day, I sat at the edge and put my arms in. Nevertheless,

I came home with a horrible rash on my arms (sea lice?)

 

At the back of the boat is the adult only pool. That was better but also very crowded for the amount of people. If I wasnt traveling in a group, I would have stayed there. The 3rd pool is at the bottom of the water slide. Again, small but an option. There are only about 10 chairs here as I think it is more or less a place for you to jump in after using the slide. I do love the action by the main pool but I think with this size boat, they should have a bigger pool. They also had a really nice water park for kids to use.

 

!

Sea lice does NOT affect exposed areas - arms, legs. The tiny larval cling underneath clothing. Then a very intense itch begins with a rash. :eek: How do I know? Came in contact with sea lice while snorkeling with a t shirt on. :( Rash lasted over three weeks...

 

Think you had prickly heat.

 

~

[irishnyc]

We were on the Splendor in July, and never had a problem getting more than one slice of pizza. I do agree the lunch hours for the buffet needed to be longer, especially the days I had brunch in the MDR I wanted lunch later in the day. We usually had one adult from our large group go and pick up all the kids at camp, just so that we were all going to get them.

 

I agree, the pools were disgusting. We only used the Lido pool with our group of kids (5 kids 2-9) right after breakfast because it was clean and empty.

[melcald]

My family was on this cruise too. We had a good time. Not the best cruise we've ever been on, but it was fine. We had a terrible family down the hall from us that changed the whole feel of the cruise for us. Crew was nice, ship was clean.

 

Melissa

[matt87]

we were on this cruise too. group of 14 from RI. i had mixed feelings about this cruise. didnt care for the the ship, super tacky vegas style needs to go. carnival needs to sunshine the whole fleet, well at least this ship, and the rest of the conquest class. the splendor's upper decks felt cluttered to me. i understand they need a ship with a sliding roof over the pool for our climate but the splendor needs a refit. bigger or more pools. the funnel isnt even red anymore! next major gripe was the teens. i swear there was as many teens as adults on this cruise, and they behaved very badly. so many were drunk and drinking alot. ccl needs better security measures. everything else was fine for us, food, weather, ports were all great. gonna try the explorer of the seas next summer.

[Feelin' Nauti']

we were on this cruise too. group of 14 from RI. i had mixed feelings about this cruise. didnt care for the the ship, super tacky vegas style needs to go. carnival needs to sunshine the whole fleet, well at least this ship, and the rest of the conquest class. the splendor's upper decks felt cluttered to me. i understand they need a ship with a sliding roof over the pool for our climate but the splendor needs a refit. bigger or more pools. the funnel isnt even red anymore! next major gripe was the teens. i swear there was as many teens as adults on this cruise, and they behaved very badly. so many were drunk and drinking alot. ccl needs better security measures. everything else was fine for us, food, weather, ports were all great. gonna try the explorer of the seas next summer.

As the old saying goes, you get what you paid for. ;)

You'll see the difference on the Explorer, or any other line... Celebrity will totally spoil you.

 

I would take any cruise than be at home. ;)

[matt87]

true true! even a bad cruise is better than being at work!