Splendor - Mini Review - 9/30/13

[Feelin' Nauti']

Cons -

Music by the pool........Same music over and over again.... BORING!!!!

Loud too.

Same goes for the Movie screen.........Same slide show of tropical locations and kitesurfing.... no movies played during the day.... BORING!!!!

Very tiring after 8 days.

 

Malcolm the CD needs to get his act in gear.... The activities are very limited on this ship in my opinion... I really expected more.

Sorry to say, but Malcolm was the worst Cruise Director I have ever came across.... He was not funny. He was actually irritating with his Woohoo. :rolleyes:

 

No lunch served in the MDR :eek:

They call it brunch... serving steak and eggs....

 

Buffet -

Not the best selection going for breakfast / lunch... Basic food served. Not impressed at all....The choices never changed.

The lay out of the buffet was horrid....

 

Pool lounger -

Saw two loungers with towels on them that were vacant.... I waited and watched for some time... I decided to claim the loungers and moved the towels.... After sitting there for over 20 minutes, a man came over and stated that the loungers were his.... I told him I asked the lady next to the loungers if anyone was sitting there... she said no!!! Plus I was watching the loungers for people to return for quite some time ... The Gentleman said he was sitting behind at the table eating.... I asked him why he didn't say something to me when I moved "his towels!?!? :cool: He quickly called security and she told me "to chill and have a drink!" :rolleyes: In other words, he can reserve his lounger while having lunch, no matter how long it takes.... I got up and found another lounger....

 

Photographers are constantly annoying with cameras asking if you would like your picture taken. No thank you!!!!

 

Pro-

The shows are well done and entertaining. Most of the comedy we saw was also very good.

Punchliner comedy club entertainment was entertaining.... The only issue was that it was very difficult to find seating

We also spent a great deal of time and made a lot of donations in the casino. Slots were extremely cold.....

 

Main Dining Room:

The main dining room was excellent. No complaints at all. Food was fantastic. Also the service. We ate at the Golden early sitting and had great waiter Erik.

Very surprised to see shorts / sneakers being worn in the MDR...:rolleyes:

Even though on Formal night Carnival states - no short sleeves, yet saw several men wearing polo tops. Guess some feel they are on vacation and can wear whatever they please....That's their choice I guess.....

 

Staff:

We found most of them very attentive and friendly.

 

ROOM:

Our room was spotless when we arrived on Empress deck.

Light in balcony didn't work... wasn't a big issue to us.

Our cabin was directly across the service room... Heard noise at all hours of the day and night...

Cabin Steward Jesse and his helper Duke were very attentive.... Extremely friendly.

 

So, did we enjoy ourselves? yes we did without a doubt.... Good things and bad things, like every vacation.....Overall, I would give this trip 3 stars out of 5 if you're asking me to do so. ;) And would cruise Carnival again, if the price is right!

[disfan13]

We were on the same cruise.

 

Malcom was OK - but we don't take part in most of the activities - we like to relax during the day. Woo Hoo

 

We also never hang out on the lido with the loud music and hairy butt contests etc. Not our cup of tea - but I will say that I would walk through there early in the AM and chairs were saved.

 

The buffet layout was not good at all - the food also was not great.

 

We knew going in that there was no lunch in the MDR - we never take advantage of that anyway.

 

Men are allowed to weat short sleeves during elegant night - no sleevless and no shorts. Polo shirts should have been the worst you saw.

 

We usually found chairs in Serenity, we met a great couple who we spent the days with up there - whoever was there first got our chairs - but we were there early.

 

What did you do in the ports?

[Feelin' Nauti']

disfan13

 

I stand corrected.... You are right. Short sleeves are acceptable on Elegant night.... In my mind, I don't find that elegant on a gentleman on dressy attire evening. ;)

 

We usually don't take part in all of the activities. Maybe one or two.

We basically like to lounge by the main pool to find shade.

Didn't even go near the Adult only pool in the aft.....

We mostly stayed at the water slide pool since it was more quieter.

Last two sea days I brought my rain umbrella up to give me shade. :D

 

One day a mother with an infant in diapers was in the main pool.... There were no pool attendants enforcing the rules.... :cool: I kindly mentioned to the mother that Carnival has a rule children wearing diapers aren't allowed in the pool.... She totally ignored me........ Hmmm! So, I said it even louder... :o Thinking will she get the hint.......again she acted like she didn't hear me and didn't say a word....... But she must've she removed herself and infant from the pool.... So did I and moved to another pool. :cool:

 

Comparing the Serenity area from other cruise lines we've been on, we found the Serenity to be a joke.... Just a couple of cushioned loungers. :rolleyes:

So we avoided this area all together.

 

As for the ports

We have done them several times.

 

We LOVE Half Moon Cay.... Didn't want to leave.

At Grand Turk, we stayed right there on the beach... Found a lovely spot under the trees.... I walked my DGD over to the pool area several times....Which was like bath water..... Wish the ship stayed longer.....

Bahamas, we decided to go to Junkanoo Beach... Which was nice...Not a beach my DH would go back to.... Very rocky with coral.... Definitely need watershoes there.... Good thing was very little beach vendors... Not like Cabbage Beach...

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Found the answer; thanks!:o

[CheekyChops]

Received the email questionnaire from Carnival. Filled it out as we know they do take the comments seriously.

 

Had more positive comments than negative.

 

On the Con:

The quality and DAILY selection of food in the Lido buffet could have been better and the coffee was bad.

 

Bring back seperate breakfast & lunch in the MDR.

 

They could be more pro-active on the saving of pool loungers. Saw more with towels on them than people and left unattended for a while.

 

The Serenity deck was a slight disappointment but that is because we have experienced Serenity with the hammocks, clam shells and hot tubs. Also logistically it was a bad decision having it under the mini golf area. However, saying that, we always found somewhere to sit there.

 

Lastly, ENOUGH with the picture taking. lol

 

 

Pro's:

Quick Embarkation and self disembarkation.

Tandoor buffet was good though I over indulged and had to buy Maalox in Nassau.

We liked Malcolm. He was always friendly and happy. WooHoo!

Gabriel in the casino was very attentive and always followed up.

Our room steward was the best.

The cash back on the slot play.

The free drinks after 1500 points (should be on the entire ship - not just casino since there is a time rationing anyway)

Lunch buffet on HMC was plentiful.

The cocktail party was fun (they used to raffle off a free cruise, guess no more)

The ship was very clean!

 

Sadly the gluttony was the worst we have EVER seen. They obviously can't control that.

 

We had a great time though. =D

[mking8288]

Nice review as each of us have valid & different points of reference for the same ship - did my share and will do a short one with CC's format. Just finished Carnival's online survey yesterday - chilling after being back for over a week now and wanted to bring up constructive criticism for CCL to go over and share. Reviews like yours were very helpful before we booked our cruise and giving back is to share our experience with the rest.

 

MDR food and services, to us, were excellent - especially dinner and daily Starter choices. Buffet is a disaster, IMO, due to poor design/flow/layout as being one long continuous line, whether you needed only cold salads, soup, entrees or just to grab a cup of coffee plus the (where is it .... 1/8 mile away, okay - 20 steps) half & half with sugar.

 

Definitely pushing for lots of photos all over the ship (heck, at least they weren't standing ourside our hallway/corridors) but coming off the gangway in ports - wow, 3 or 4 or 5 different poses - in pairs, groups & alone (especially when they aren't busy) .... truely, and really no specials or bundles for buying (except for the gifts ... which we fell for, of course - using our OBC)

 

We keep thinking about "Woo Hoo" Malcom too and not sure what to make of him and his team / staff - with a gut feeling that the synergy really isn't there and that more efforts & activities on the ship on Sea Days would've been nice - "you mileage might vary, of course" and we didn't see him everywhere on the ship (except in the theater - okay, he's a very, very busy CD with numerous duties ...)

 

We normally spend a "reasonable" block of time on (any) ship's casino and invest in the crew's "welfare" funds & contribute to cruiseline's earnings, but not last month - ventilations being very poor and too smokey for us to spend time in there, unless we get free laundry (long way to Platinum for us) for those clothings inhaling second hand smoke.

 

Embarkation & disembarking was efficient for us, at our time of choosing & we let them moving the heavier suitcases for us. Our dining & stateroom crews did an excellent job keeping us happy and we're impressed with the size of the staterooms on Carnival - thinking about it, how CAN we go book the NCL Breakaway with 135 SF cabin (even our BIL complained that "theirs" were way too small now that he's back on another CCL ship)

[Feelin' Nauti']

Received the email questionnaire from Carnival. Filled it out as we know they do take the comments seriously.

 

We had a great time though. =D

I was wondering about this on the last day.

On other cruise lines they deliver comment cards to the stateroom to fill out.

 

Opened my email, sure enough, there it was... filled and sent!

 

MDR food and services, to us, were excellent - especially dinner and daily Starter choices. Buffet is a disaster, IMO, due to poor design/flow/layout as being one long continuous line, whether you needed only cold salads, soup, entrees or just to grab a cup of coffee plus the (where is it .... 1/8 mile away, okay - 20 steps) half & half with sugar.

 

We keep thinking about "Woo Hoo" Malcom too and not sure what to make of him and his team / staff - with a gut feeling that the synergy really isn't there and that more efforts & activities on the ship on Sea Days would've been nice - "you mileage might vary, of course" and we didn't see him everywhere on the ship (except in the theater - okay, he's a very, very busy CD with numerous duties ...)

We only saw Malcolm in the Theater twice, only for a short period of time.... :cool: No biggy for me.... But if he wants the ship to be "FUN" you would think he be up and about with his guests. :rolleyes:;)

 

Agree with the food in the main dining room.. Everything was perfect and enjoyable to eat....DELISH!!!

Chateaubriand, prime ribs, lobsters, alligator appetizer, frog legs, tiger shrimp, lamb chops, escargot, cold soups, banana split... licking chops here. :p Could go on and on......... :D

[PittsburghGirlee]

I was on the 9/22 sailing of the Splendor, not a fan, sorry...

 

I cruised with Malcom for the first time in 2006 on the Victory and LOVED LOVED LOVED his energy and WOO HOO's. Sadly, the Splendor must have taken a toll on him.

 

Me and my BFF took a wrong turn trying to find the Puchliner for brunch and ran smack right in to Malcom. He pointed us in the right direction very "ho hum". I told him that we first cruised with him on the Victory in 2006 and we loved his energy and loud WOO HOO's, he just kinda brushed us off and said that it is a hard job and walked away:eek:. Hmmmm, ok maybe a bad day, but each WOO HOO, turned in to woo hoo as the cruise went on. He looked as miserable as his Woo Hoo's sounded.

[WMQueenie]

Malcolm told an interesting story during his Q&A on the last sea day about having a heart valve replaced (leaky valve) and how the doctor on board kept him stable until they got him to the next port. Maybe that has slowed him down.

[jimbo5544]

I was on the 9/22 sailing of the Splendor, not a fan, sorry...

 

I cruised with Malcom for the first time in 2006 on the Victory and LOVED LOVED LOVED his energy and WOO HOO's. Sadly, the Splendor must have taken a toll on him.

 

Me and my BFF took a wrong turn trying to find the Puchliner for brunch and ran smack right in to Malcom. He pointed us in the right direction very "ho hum". I told him that we first cruised with him on the Victory in 2006 and we loved his energy and loud WOO HOO's, he just kinda brushed us off and said that it is a hard job and walked away:eek:. Hmmmm, ok maybe a bad day, but each WOO HOO, turned in to woo hoo as the cruise went on. He looked as miserable as his Woo Hoo's sounded.

Not a fan of Malcom or the Splendor, I am confused?

[PittsburghGirlee]

Not a fan of the Splendor....I really don't cruise because of a CD. I don't even think about it at all when booking...I couldn't even tell u the names of any of them accept for Butch and Malcom. They both stood out and I have cruised with them more than once. Butch, the most...

 

You can see more specifics on why I am not a fan of the Splendor on our Roll Call for 092213 posted by me if you like.

[cruizinisthebest]

I've yet to see a Splendor review that compels me enough to book her. And the prices for the time of year I like to cruise don't help. Such a shame. The ship is only an hour away from my front door. ;) Oh well. Maybe one day.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip overall OP!

[Feelin' Nauti']

I've yet to see a Splendor review that compels me enough to book her. And the prices for the time of year I like to cruise don't help. Such a shame. The ship is only an hour away from my front door. ;) Oh well. Maybe one day.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip overall OP!

What sold me on my Splendor cruise was the price...as well as the destination and duration.... along with the fact that it sails out of NY... Wish more cruise lines did. . . .

 

You need to understand that no matter how good something is, someone will be unhappy with it. I read the reviews with a grain of salt. ;)

 

DH & I are very positive people, out to have a great time, relaxing and enjoying not having to cook and clean.

Even with minor negatives I've mentioned above,

I can honestly say --- DH, family members, and I had a blast. :D

We would cruise again on Carnival if the price and itinerary were right.

[CheekyChops]

Don't get cabin 9257. We were plagued with sewerage smell from the toilet and loud gurgling sounds. They resolved temporarily but would come back within hours.

[lingram001]

I take all reviews with a grain of salt. I love that people provide their own perspectives, but I form my own opinions.

 

I heard people complaining all the time about an inside cabin. My family and I love inside cabins. We like the dark, cave-like sleep atmosphere we get from an inside. If I would have gone with the reviews, I would have never gotten an inside.

 

I can’t wait for our January Splendor cruise and any cruise is better than being at work!

:)

[cruizinisthebest]

What sold me on my Splendor cruise was the price...as well as the destination and duration.... along with the fact that it sails out of NY... Wish more cruise lines did. . . .

 

You need to understand that no matter how good something is' date=' someone will be unhappy with it. I read the reviews with a grain of salt. ;)

 

DH & I are very positive people, out to have a great time, relaxing and enjoying not having to cook and clean.

Even with minor negatives I've mentioned above,

I can honestly say --- DH, family members, and I had a blast. :D

We would cruise again on Carnival if the price and itinerary were right.[/quote']

 

I also read reviews with a grain of salt. I form my own opinions. I booked 5 cruises without ever reading a review or being a member of this board. So at the end of the day, I and the small group of us that always travel together make our own decisions. And I think if the Splendor was better priced for the summer months, I would book it hands down. I have family in Florida so that also compels me to almost always cruise from there. Coinciding many cruises with reunions, etc.

 

I don't find you negative at all. And just like you said, no matter what, someone would be unhappy with something. You had a great time anyway. That's all that matters.

[Feelin' Nauti']

Don't get cabin 9257. We were plagued with sewerage smell from the toilet and loud gurgling sounds. They resolved temporarily but would come back within hours.

:eek:

Oh my! Did you request a new cabin?

 

On one of our cruises, friends had a funky smell in their cabin, they complained and were given a new cabin.

 

I'm always very careful in cabin selection, making sure it's not located near room service doorways, laundry rooms and elevators.

If we are near one, we never had a problem.

 

On this ship, I would advise any one to look were the service area. We were directly across from one.... 7371... Walls are thin.... We constantly heard opening/closing doors; glasses clanking, people talking, carts being wheeled. Early morning, woke me up several times. :rolleyes:

We also heard banging from the cabin next to us. :o;)

 

I can’t wait for our January Splendor cruise and any cruise is better than being at work!

Enjoy! My favorite quote is

One bad day at sea is better than one good day at work. ;)

[disfan13]

I've yet to see a Splendor review that compels me enough to book her. And the prices for the time of year I like to cruise don't help. Such a shame. The ship is only an hour away from my front door. ;) Oh well. Maybe one day.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip overall OP!

 

The crew on the Splendor were awesome - the ship it's self was very confusing to navigate. The prices in the summer are usually higher based on demand - factor in flights and it should make the decision easier. ;)

 

We were on the same cruise and had a great time like the OP. There will always be minor things but overall - we would sail the Splendor again.

[CheekyChops]

:eek:

Oh my! Did you request a new cabin?

 

On one of our cruises, friends had a funky smell in their cabin, they complained and were given a new cabin.

 

Just asked our room steward to resolve but realized it wasn't gonna get fixed. Didn't complain cause we didn't want it to become a priority on our vacation. We had a good time, would sail on Splendor and Carnivsl again. :)

[jimbo5544]

Not a fan of the Splendor....I really don't cruise because of a CD. I don't even think about it at all when booking...I couldn't even tell u the names of any of them accept for Butch and Malcom. They both stood out and I have cruised with them more than once. Butch, the most...

 

You can see more specifics on why I am not a fan of the Splendor on our Roll Call for 092213 posted by me if you like.

No thanks, you clarified it.

[jimbo5544]

I've yet to see a Splendor review that compels me enough to book her. And the prices for the time of year I like to cruise don't help. Such a shame. The ship is only an hour away from my front door. ;) Oh well. Maybe one day.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip overall OP!

OK, you got my interest. What would compel you to sail on a ship?

[cruizinisthebest]

OK, you got my interest. What would compel you to sail on a ship?

 

jimbo I've sailed on ships. 5. I mean that's like 50 short of you, but I'm getting there.:) I followed up with another post that may explain why I said in the first one you quoted a little better.

[Feelin' Nauti']

I forgot to mention the bed....

 

PRO~

 

The bed was by far the most comfortable bed we ever slept on out of all our cruises.

Pillows were also, fluffy & comfy.

DH & I had no back problems the whole cruise.

[riclop]

Cons -

Music by the pool........Same music over and over again.... BORING!!!!

Loud too.

Same goes for the Movie screen.........Same slide show of tropical locations and kitesurfing.... no movies played during the day.... BORING!!!!

Very tiring after 8 days.

 

Malcolm the CD needs to get his act in gear.... The activities are very limited on this ship in my opinion... I really expected more.

Sorry to say' date=' but Malcolm was the worst Cruise Director I have ever came across.... He was not funny. He was actually irritating with his Woohoo. :rolleyes:

 

No lunch served in the MDR :eek:

They call it brunch... serving steak and eggs....

 

Buffet -

Not the best selection going for breakfast / lunch... Basic food served. Not impressed at all....The choices never changed.

The lay out of the buffet was horrid....

 

[b']Pool lounger[/b] -

Saw two loungers with towels on them that were vacant.... I waited and watched for some time... I decided to claim the loungers and moved the towels.... After sitting there for over 20 minutes, a man came over and stated that the loungers were his.... I told him I asked the lady next to the loungers if anyone was sitting there... she said no!!! Plus I was watching the loungers for people to return for quite some time ... The Gentleman said he was sitting behind at the table eating.... I asked him why he didn't say something to me when I moved "his towels!?!? :cool: He quickly called security and she told me "to chill and have a drink!" :rolleyes: In other words, he can reserve his lounger while having lunch, no matter how long it takes.... I got up and found another lounger....

 

Photographers are constantly annoying with cameras asking if you would like your picture taken. No thank you!!!!

 

Pro-

The shows are well done and entertaining. Most of the comedy we saw was also very good.

Punchliner comedy club entertainment was entertaining.... The only issue was that it was very difficult to find seating

We also spent a great deal of time and made a lot of donations in the casino. Slots were extremely cold.....

 

Main Dining Room:

The main dining room was excellent. No complaints at all. Food was fantastic. Also the service. We ate at the Golden early sitting and had great waiter Erik.

Very surprised to see shorts / sneakers being worn in the MDR...:rolleyes:

Even though on Formal night Carnival states - no short sleeves, yet saw several men wearing polo tops. Guess some feel they are on vacation and can wear whatever they please....That's their choice I guess.....

 

Staff:

We found most of them very attentive and friendly.

 

ROOM:

Our room was spotless when we arrived on Empress deck.

Light in balcony didn't work... wasn't a big issue to us.

Our cabin was directly across the service room... Heard noise at all hours of the day and night...

Cabin Steward Jesse and his helper Duke were very attentive.... Extremely friendly.

 

So, did we enjoy ourselves? yes we did without a doubt.... Good things and bad things, like every vacation.....Overall, I would give this trip 3 stars out of 5 if you're asking me to do so. ;) And would cruise Carnival again, if the price is right!

Malcolm says to tell you WOO HOO !!!

[BattyL]

I forgot to mention the bed....

 

PRO~

 

The bed was by far the most comfortable bed we ever slept on out of all our cruises.

Pillows were also' date=' fluffy & comfy.

DH & I had no back problems the whole cruise.[/quote']

 

I envy you! The bed in cabin 7351 looked as though two 600# people slept on it, felt that way too. I've had 2 back surgeries in 2 years, and that bed was nothing but miserable. We didn't have a decent night sleep the whole cruise. That's all I'm going to say about that bed....