Splendor 1/4 - 1/12

[4merlurker]

Off the splendor today. Not too much to say. Everything was "just ok". We had a nice time. Fun but also very relaxing.

 

The short & sweet:

 

Weather: Sucked (no fault of carnival). We have officially dubbed this the GREY CRUISE LOL. I think the sun may have peeked out once or twice for about 5 mins. Never warm. Very windy - VERY rocky...the entire cruise - thank god for bonine!

 

Food: OK....nothing stood out as WOW that was delish must have it again.

 

Drinks: Nice and Strong! The kids were happy to see Angry Orchard!

 

Service: Very good! But, the crew members did gather in our hallway laughing a chatting a lot - not really working...but whatever - My cabin was always clean.

 

Entertainment: Great! Enjoyed most of the shows. Did a lot of trivia. Lost at bingo.

 

Excursions - did our own thing. Had lots of fun! Thought the port times were too short but with the lousy weather I guess it didn't matter in the long run. (GatorLand, Atlantis,Grand Lucayan)

 

Casino = SMOKE! but it didn't stop us from spending a lot of time (and $$$) in there LOL!

 

Decor - Kinda cheesy but you get used to it.

 

I think if the weather was better it would have been a COMPLETELY different experience. Never used the pools but did go in the hot tubs daily. I don't think the slide was ever open?

 

All in all we had a nice time and were away from work for a week!

 

Any questions?

[asalligo]

I was watching the weather and feeling bad for the guests on the Pride and Splendor last week. Even central Florida saw some freezing.

[naz022292]

We were also on this cruise... Even with the grey weather, we were able to get into the ocean in Nassau! We spent the day at the Melia on Cable Beach (formerly Sheraton). For $30pp you could use their chairs, umbrellas, 3 or 4 pools, hot tubs, water sports (kayaks, peddle boats, etc), towels, etc... We took a taxi for $5pp to get there. The beach was beautiful - the ocean was warmer than Hampton Beach NH! At least we got to all of the ports - and the weather was rather nice in Freeport! We met a couple in Nassau that was supposed to dock in Freeport on Tuesday and couldn't because of the seas.

 

You are right about the boat being rocky... I woke up one night thinking I may fall out of bed! We enjoyed the cruise a lot and took advantage of all of the indoor things to do, but I agree, it would have been a different cruise if we had the 75-80 degree sunny days that I was hoping for!

Now back to real life! No more free food and who is going to make my bed in the morning!!!

[canadiangal40]

Could you tell me who the Piano bar entertainer was and if he/she was any good? Did you get to see any comedy shows and were they funny?

[naz022292]

Hopefully the OP can answer your questions... we didn't go to the piano bar. I believe that Keith played some nights. We saw him in the lobby and he sounded great but spent most of the time talking. As for the comedy, we saw the family friendly act and that was funny but very short. We did go to the production shows most nights and thought that they were great. The have a full show band and very talented dancers and singers. There was a juggler one night that was terrific and very funny. I don't remember his name - but don't miss his show.

[Vitamin_Sea]

I was watching the weather and feeling bad for the guests on the Pride and Splendor last week. Even central Florida saw some freezing.

 

Yes, the weather was terrible last week and it effected many states.

[stsnfes]

Could you tell me who the Piano bar entertainer was and if he/she was any good? Did you get to see any comedy shows and were they funny?

 

 

We were also on this cruise. The Piano Bar is Tonya. This is the first time we didn't hang out in the piano bar. We tried two nights in a row, but we gave up. She is a super nice lady but my two issues:

 

1. She didn't know the piano bar standards. I love current music (I am in my mid 30s and love pop, hip hop, rb and even rap ) but not in the piano bar. She tried, but they were feeble attempts and she gave up half way thru. It isn't a cruise if we can't sing some of these songs.

 

2. Too much talking and being silly. Yes, I like to have a good time, but she just talked nonstop.

 

Others may love her but she wasn't for us.

Edited January 13, 2014 by stsnfes

[stsnfes]

Hopefully the OP can answer your questions... we didn't go to the piano bar. I believe that Keith played some nights. We saw him in the lobby and he sounded great but spent most of the time talking. As for the comedy, we saw the family friendly act and that was funny but very short. We did go to the production shows most nights and thought that they were great. The have a full show band and very talented dancers and singers. There was a juggler one night that was terrific and very funny. I don't remember his name - but don't miss his show.

 

The juggler was fun! My son was on stage with him and he still can't stop talking about it. {yes it was my son who didn't say he was traveling with his mother LOL}

[riclop]

Off the splendor today. Not too much to say. Everything was "just ok". We had a nice time. Fun but also very relaxing.

 

The short & sweet:

 

Weather: Sucked (no fault of carnival). We have officially dubbed this the GREY CRUISE LOL. I think the sun may have peeked out once or twice for about 5 mins. Never warm. Very windy - VERY rocky...the entire cruise - thank god for bonine!

 

Food: OK....nothing stood out as WOW that was delish must have it again.

 

Drinks: Nice and Strong! The kids were happy to see Angry Orchard!

 

Service: Very good! But, the crew members did gather in our hallway laughing a chatting a lot - not really working...but whatever - My cabin was always clean.

 

Entertainment: Great! Enjoyed most of the shows. Did a lot of trivia. Lost at bingo.

 

Excursions - did our own thing. Had lots of fun! Thought the port times were too short but with the lousy weather I guess it didn't matter in the long run. (GatorLand, Atlantis,Grand Lucayan)

 

Casino = SMOKE! but it didn't stop us from spending a lot of time (and $$$) in there LOL!

 

Decor - Kinda cheesy but you get used to it.

 

I think if the weather was better it would have been a COMPLETELY different experience. Never used the pools but did go in the hot tubs daily. I don't think the slide was ever open?

 

All in all we had a nice time and were away from work for a week!

 

Any questions?

Youre right weather makes a big difference on a cruise.

[Fern Crest]

Welcome home, you had a better time than many on land! :D

 

Hope you all made some wonderful memories. :)

[Keel Haul]

We have officially dubbed this the GREY CRUISE LOL.

 

Any questions?

40 shades I hope you lucky person.

[4merlurker]

Could you tell me who the Piano bar entertainer was and if he/she was any good? Did you get to see any comedy shows and were they funny?

 

Saw most of the adult comedy - The guys in the first half were great - the 2nd half of the cruise not so much.

 

Tried to go to the piano bar but it had an awful odor - honestly I couldn't stay there. (really really strong stale smoke smell. Horrible) The girl singing was great though! Sorry, don't know her name but she had dark hair and was really short.

Edited January 13, 2014 by 4merlurker

[4merlurker]

Agreed! Juggler was VERY GOOD & VERY FUNNY!

[susie8862]

Saw most of the adult comedy - The guys in the first half were great - the 2nd half of the cruise not so much.

 

Tried to go to the piano bar but it had an awful odor - honestly I couldn't stay there. (really really strong stale smoke smell. Horrible) The girl singing was great though! Sorry, don't know her name but she had dark hair and was really short.

That is really strange. The no smoking policy for the Piano Bar went into effect a couple (if not more) years ago. I wonder why it smelled like smoke.

[4merlurker]

40 shades i hope you lucky person.

 

I was waiting for that!

Edited January 13, 2014 by 4merlurker

[KruuzinAgain]

I was on this cruise as well. 4merlurker pretty much hit everything I was going to say.

I think we may have seen 6 minutes of sun. 4merlurker must have been inside buying a drink and missed that extra minute of sunshine lol!

The seas were really rough. I was so thankful we had a cabin on deck 1. It really does make a huge difference being lower down.

The casino was super smokey! We would have gambled much more if we could have breathed in there. I can honestly say that if I spent more than 5 minutes in there, anything I was wearing wreaked of smoke.

The piano bar did stink of smoke, which was odd because we never saw anyone smoking in there. I'm beginning to think that it may have been because everyone's clothes stunk from smoke if they walked past the casino to get to the piano bar.

We really enjoyed the food. Our waitstaff was awesome! Our cabin steward was great. Every staff member on the ship was friendly, except the bartender in the Sports Bar. A few people jokingly referred to him as Mr. Happy, because he never smiled.

Met some super people onboard.All in all, a great trip, even though the weather was awful. :)

[firsttimecruiser2008]

I was on this cruise as well. I share all the sentiments of the others. I didnt see anyone mention the pipes that froze in NYC first day and burst and closed part of deck 5? My kids were a little scared but it was very minor and cleaned up by the next day. The piano bar lady was Tonya and we thought she was really entertaining. I couldnt stand the smoke in the casino so I stayed out (saved $$). This was our first cruise (forget my username I have wanted to cruise since 2008 and it took me this long:(). I know Carnival couldnt help the weather but I wish there was more inside entertainment different than 100 games of trivia. I dont think the water slide was ever opened and the hot tubs were so full never got to use them. The shows at night were good and the staff was wonderful and I am gonna try this again. Maybe its better to pay more and go in the summer? Wished I could of booked a trip for next year out of New York and gotten the on board credit but they dont have a ship I guess yet.

[pasto5]

We also just got off this cruise. We were 3 couples , two teens and a 5yo. The 5yo was our granddaughter and she had a blast at Camp Carnival. The weather was better than home but still disappointing. We did the Magic Kingdom in Port Canaveral. We would have liked more time but got a lot done since it was cold and it kept the crowds down. We also did the Dolphin Encounter in Freeport. There was lots of time with the dolphins and the 3 of us really enjoyed it.

The service was good, we enjoyed all of the comedians but wished the adult shows weren't in the Morocco Lounge since it filled quickly.

I thought I was getting sick from the food but discovered it was the rock gut coffee that was doing me in. Once I stopped drinking it I felt so much better. I thought I was getting an ulcer for a day or two.

Food was adequate and I didn't have to cook it or wash the dishes.

It was hard to find things to do besides trivia and bingo which is one reason I probably won't sail Carnival again. Every cruise the activities seem the same.

Also the smell of smoke seem to be everywhere. I have asthma so try to avoid it but it was difficult. This was our 4th Carnival cruise but will be our last for awhile and not because of the weather.

[pasto5]

I would also add that the seating in the buffet area was dirty and worn out. We sometimes had to make sure that the stains on the seats were not fresh before we sat down.

For the muster drill our cabin steward and several other people told us that it would be inside since it was sooooo cold outside. So we left out cabin with light jackets. And it was outside in the below zero weather. My husband ran back to get our jackets while my granddaughter and I huddled together in the back. I tried to shield her from the wind and several people offered her scarves and gloves. Finally at the end one employee told me to take her inside just as my husband returned. We had to chase them down afterwards to get her bracelet that she was required to wear.

I will say that all of the employees went out of their way to make my granddaughter feel special.

I am hoping some of the other cruise lines have good kids programs as well :(

[pasto5]

One more comment and it is about anytime dining. We sailed with two other couples and the one couple's grandsons. We tried to eat together at dinner and waited over an 1 1/2 hours the first time. We were sent a plate of pastries and an apology the next day. One of our friends is battling cancer and it took a lot for him to make it to dinner which we explained to the hostesses. So we chose not to try again and meet for breakfast, lunch or tea the rest of the time. The 6 of them continued to try and get a table anytime between 6:30 and 8pm. They never had less than a 1 hour wait each night. So much for anytime dining. I don't think we will go that route again.

[4merlurker]

I was on this cruise as well. I share all the sentiments of the others. I didnt see anyone mention the pipes that froze in NYC first day and burst and closed part of deck 5? My kids were a little scared but it was very minor and cleaned up by the next day. The piano bar lady was Tonya and we thought she was really entertaining. I couldnt stand the smoke in the casino so I stayed out (saved $$). This was our first cruise (forget my username I have wanted to cruise since 2008 and it took me this long:(). I know Carnival couldnt help the weather but I wish there was more inside entertainment different than 100 games of trivia. I dont think the water slide was ever opened and the hot tubs were so full never got to use them. The shows at night were good and the staff was wonderful and I am gonna try this again. Maybe its better to pay more and go in the summer? Wished I could of booked a trip for next year out of New York and gotten the on board credit but they dont have a ship I guess yet.

 

During our muster drill on deck 4 water was really dripping down from the ceiling onto a few of us - I wonder if that's why?

[jakeT]

We cruised this summer on her. MDR was very slow. First diner seating were not finish by the time of second diner service. Out meal took forever. But we were not the last one out. So we did not have the worst service. Waiters look overworked. Too many tables to serve. I hope that change for the better

[pasto5]

During our muster drill on deck 4 water was really dripping down from the ceiling onto a few of us - I wonder if that's why?

When we were on the Sunshine this past June they had to evacuate all of the aft cabins on our floor due to flooding except for us. The people next to us moved out and the people they moved in the next day had been on the 3rd floor and had water running down the walls. Always makes me a little nervous when there are leaks on ships in the middle of the ocean!