Recent Splendor Cruise - Random Thoughts

[Rock712]

I started to write a review of our recent Splendor cruise a couple of weeks ago , but realized it was turning into one of those minute by minute accounts of our time on board ..... so , instead I think I'm just going to throw some random thoughts and impressions out there and especially thanks to certain people that kept us entertained throughout the week

 

First , thanks to the poor guy throwing a fit at embarkation because he kept insisting to everyone he should be able to board first due to his " handicap ". As the first group of Diamond/Platinum guests were being escorted aboard , he just shoved his way into the line , all the while hobbling and barely able to walk with the assistance of his wife and a cane. Everyone just sort of stepped to the side, not wanting to be the one to complain. Of course , 1 hr later we see this same guy charging to the front of the Buffet line , walking perfectly fine , no limp , no hunched over , and miraculously , thanks to the healing powers of being aboard ship , no cane. We saw this same thing repeated as he charged through for a good seat in the showroom , and also boarding the tender for Half Moon. Later in the week as he was bounding up the stairs I mentioned to him that I was glad he seemed to be feeling better and he just gave me the " look ".

 

Next , special thanks to the group of people travelling together from a country lets just say is " Far East" of here. It was wildly entertaining to watch you push your way to the front of every line , ignoring peoples complaints because you didn't speak or understand English. Yeah , didn't speak or understand English until you needed something , at which time you spoke better English than most of the other passengers on board.

 

Next , Carnival , for the love of everything that is sacred and holy , stop putting bathrobes in every cabin. There are just way , way too many people that use that bathrobe as their main piece of clothing , especially on sea days. Folks , if there's more of you than there is bathrobe to go around it , please put something else on. I know you're on vacation , but so is everyone else and we're trying to eat and keep it down.

 

Oh , and special thanks to "that guy". The one guy we've had on every single cruise we've been on that has to be the center of attention at every show , event , demonstration , excursion , etc. You know who I'm talking about , it's the guy who when he and his wife walk into the showroom everyone start's thinking ' for the love of sweet Jesus , do not let them sit next to us "

 

Also , if you're going to play bingo , have some small clue as to how to play. Special thanks to that guy that around the third or fourth number called stands up and yells Bingo

 

All in all , we had a wonderful week on the Splendor. Great ship , great service , very friendly crew. Like I said , started to write a full review but was getting bogged down in the details , so if you're wanting to know anything specific about the ship , ask away and I'll try to reply

[NCTribeFan]

LOL. Know just what you mean.

 

I saw more people walking around in bathrobes on Freedom last December than I'd seen on my prior 20 Carnival cruises combined.

 

First morning in the buffet for breakfast, an older woman was standing there - in her pajamas and bathrobe - complaining loudly about WHY IS THERE NO RAISIN BRAN?? I walked up and asked her why she wasn't dressed? No response. I then asked her if she went out to restaurants at home wearing pajamas and a bathrobe? She just looked at me like I had two heads. I then told her she really needed to put clothes on before going out in public and if she couldn't be bothered, to ORDER FROM ROOM SERVICE! Maybe they have Raisin Bran!

 

Sheesh.

 

Had the same experience with the cane use. Won't go into too much detail because the people were on my Roll Call. We walked several city blocks out to eat the night before the cruise. Next morning, there he was in the terminal using a cane so they could board right after Plat/Diamond (this was in the days before FTTF). Never saw the cane again once on board. SMH.

[ready2cruzagain]

LOL. Know just what you mean.

 

I saw more people walking around in bathrobes on Freedom last December than I'd seen on my prior 20 Carnival cruises combined.

 

First morning in the buffet for breakfast, an older woman was standing there - in her pajamas and bathrobe - complaining loudly about WHY IS THERE NO RAISIN BRAN?? I walked up and asked her why she wasn't dressed? No response. I then asked her if she went out to restaurants at home wearing pajamas and a bathrobe? She just looked at me like I had two heads. I then told her she really needed to put clothes on before going out in public and if she couldn't be bothered, to ORDER FROM ROOM SERVICE! Maybe they have Raisin Bran!

Sheesh.

 

Had the same experience with the cane use. Won't go into too much detail because the people were on my Roll Call. We walked several city blocks out to eat the night before the cruise. Next morning, there he was in the terminal using a cane so they could board right after Plat/Diamond (this was in the days before FTTF). Never saw the cane again once on board. SMH.

 

LOL...I wish I could have seen you telling her that! I just don't get why people would go to eat on a ship in their robes. MHO would be no self respect.

[Fire LT]

Rock, I LOVED your post!!! A great way to start my day. I am confident that we have all seen similar behavior. It just seems to be part of the "cruise experience". It seems that some people, as soon as they get on board, just lose their minds. I shudder to think they behave that way back home among relatives and friends. Rather than get mad I just give a sigh and a chuckle while I shake my head.

 

My family and I are so looking forward to our Jun 29th cruise on the Splendor. We have never sailed on the Splendor and excited to be going on her. If you have time to write a regular review I would love to read it.

 

Alan

[GrummanTiger]

Rock712 - My sister and I are booked to go on the Splendor and were wondering if there is a small fridge in the staterooms? We will be in an inside room... a first for me.. :( How did you like the staterooms on the Splendor?

 

Thank you for your help!

GT

[Ascott318]

Rock712 - My sister and I are booked to go on the Splendor and were wondering if there is a small fridge in the staterooms? We will be in an inside room... a first for me.. :( How did you like the staterooms on the Splendor?

 

Thank you for your help!

GT

 

No fridge in inside rooms. You could bring a small cooler that folds and just have cabin steward put ice in it.

[NCTribeFan]

I was in an inside and there was a fridge/mini-bar.

 

I use cruisedeckplans dot com to look for this stuff. Their "updated" site takes some extra hunting, but for all Carnival ships (except Sunshine; can't find this info for her), you can eventually navigate to a page that has links to every deck. Find your deck and there will be a list of every cabin showing the # of beds, whether there's a convertible sofa or drop down bunk, window, balcony, fridge, tub, etc.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Haha love it. Hilarious. One of each on every cruise. Haha. None bother us tho. We are in no rush. We are on vacation.

[MazziB]

Fun review. Like you, I tend to see these little DISTRACTION more and more. I sure hope these trends do not catch on to the majority of cruisers. All in all most cruiser are very polite and pleasant.

I DO HAVE A SPLINDER question.

What would you say is the most congested areas of the ship and at what times to best avoid those areas. I'm planning on my trip to be a relaxing vacation.

[GrummanTiger]

NCTribeFan - Thank you for that information! I checked it out and like what I found! Thanks again.

 

GT

[Vitamin_Sea]

Rock712 - My sister and I are booked to go on the Splendor and were wondering if there is a small fridge in the staterooms? We will be in an inside room... a first for me.. :( How did you like the staterooms on the Splendor?

 

Thank you for your help!

GT

 

Been on Splendor twice and one coming up... yes, it has a small frige

 

The rooms are a nice size.. great ship

[tigereye]

I hope these "crazy" passengers don't get their feelings hurt and stop cruising. It's a ton of fun sitting on deck with a cocktail or 3 talking about them and making fun of their actions.

[riffatsea]

Thanks for writing. I think the guy with the cane's antics sound awful! Some people will try anything to get ahead!

I am sorry though but I thought the person telling the woman to get dressed had a lot of nerve!

There is no rule against wearing the robe out of your room. It is not like going out to a restaurant at all.

IF any of you have been to high class spa resorts like the Golden Door you would know that folks are encouraged to wear their robes as it is supposed to be a relaxed comfy environment. As long as no body parts are showing then how is wearing a robe different than wearing one over your bathing suit at a pool ?

I wouldn't wear a robe to the buffet but I don't have the right to tell others what to do!

[beshears]

I understand where your coming from on some of your comments, but I did TRY to write a review in CC under member reviews, but it would not let me do it.:( So earlier this day, I wrote a review in this area with the title of Slendor review. As of now, I haven't seen it come through as yet.

 

I understand where your coming from on the "bathrobe" situation. I seen people doing the same thing, and that is BAD. I do love those robes, as I did not have to bring one myself. In fact my friend who went with me knew I loved them (I am NOT a big person, and I do understand where your coming from in regard to wearing of the bathrobes), so my friend bought me one to have at home. I wrap it around me a couple times, but that's OK. :)

 

As for what went on the ship, we really didn't see anything out of the way, until we were standing with everyone else on the last day, waiting for the elevator to stop and pick us up. There must had been a scuffle or words before that time, as there was a lady call this man's wife a B.........and etc., and kept going on and on and on. Then our elevator came and she put her luggage on, but was holding the elevator up by putting her luggage on the are that you walk across, thus the elevator would not cross. Finally her husband/boyfriend finally grabbed her by the arm and pulled her on the "full" elevator that was waiting on her.

 

As for us, we had a good cruise with everything on board and off, until the last day of leaving the ship.

[Rock712]

Fun review. Like you, I tend to see these little DISTRACTION more and more. I sure hope these trends do not catch on to the majority of cruisers. All in all most cruiser are very polite and pleasant.

I DO HAVE A SPLINDER question.

What would you say is the most congested areas of the ship and at what times to best avoid those areas. I'm planning on my trip to be a relaxing vacation.

 

Honestly , never really felt crowded and congested anywhere on the ship the entire week. I guess if I had to pick though , two things do come to mind. The area where the shops are located did seem smaller than some of the other ships we've been on. There is one shop on each side of the ship , one sell clothing , toiletries , genl mdse , etc , and the other sells watches and jewelry. At least twice during the week they ran specials where they took certain mdse , T shirts and purses one time , and watch sets the other , put them on big table outside the stores , and offered great deals. OMG , the people were absolutely crazy. The area was small enough , but then add a large group of people trying to get those 2 for $20 T shirts and you've got a rugby match going on. Now , as a disclaimer , my lovely bride was one of those people right in the middle of the scrum. I just leaned against a wall , out of the way , and every once in a while I'd see a familiar arm lift up out of the crowd , holding a T-shirt , I'd give the yes or no nod , and back in she went for the next round.

 

The other area that seemed a little small was the Pixels picture gallery. They did have pretty good hours , but if you go there and it's crowded , wait and go back another time. Sometimes it just seemed like there was way way too many people in too small of an area doing the " where is our picture " death march. I'm especially fond of the ones that after being there for hours , frustrated and unable to find their pictures , will just start pulling other peoples pictures at random , looking at them , trying to will themselves into that picture.

 

Seriously though , thought the Splendor was a great ship , hope you have a fantastic time !!!

[teetime213]

Rock,

 

we were on the same cruise as you and agree with you on everything. Out of the 6 or 7 cruises we have been on with both Carnival and Royal, the other guests on this cruise just seemed very rude. I know everyone is on vacation so we did not let anything REALLY bother us....we had a Great Vacation and loved the ship and crew. But my father, who has mobility issues and is in a wheel chair would have people practically step over his chair to beat him into an elevator. We would have to wait till the 5th or 6th elevator to show up before we could get him into one...It was absolutely CRAZY around dinner time by the Golden Pearl early sitting. That is where I would say was the MOST packed with people. Stay away if possible or just take the stairs.

[MazziB]

Rock712:

 

Thanks for the heads up. Yet, I also am one that LOVE those sales. Now I know to take a Chill Pill before I go there. LOL.

[Rock712]

Rock,

 

we were on the same cruise as you and agree with you on everything. Out of the 6 or 7 cruises we have been on with both Carnival and Royal, the other guests on this cruise just seemed very rude. I know everyone is on vacation so we did not let anything REALLY bother us....we had a Great Vacation and loved the ship and crew. But my father, who has mobility issues and is in a wheel chair would have people practically step over his chair to beat him into an elevator. We would have to wait till the 5th or 6th elevator to show up before we could get him into one...It was absolutely CRAZY around dinner time by the Golden Pearl early sitting. That is where I would say was the MOST packed with people. Stay away if possible or just take the stairs.

 

 

Hey Teetime , yeah , I cant quite put my finger on what it was , but I remember asking my wife around the fourth day that doesn't it just seem like there's an unusual amount of rude people on this cruise. It's not like anyone was being openly hostile towards other people , it just seems like there was an unusual amount of instances where I saw people just throw what I would call general manners right out the window. I mean we were all on the same ship bobbing around a big old ocean. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other , so doing something ignorant to get one step ahead in line of the next guy really doesn't get you that far in the great grand scheme of things.

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for your review! It did make me chuckle a bit, however, while I was not on your cruise, I have been on others and seen some of this behavior. I just usually come away from a cruise, and other vacations shaking my head some times, at the nerve of some people. I would like to cruise on the Splendor some day, looks like a great ship to me:)

[Cruisin 4 Ever]

Thanks for writing. I think the guy with the cane's antics sound awful! Some people will try anything to get ahead!

I am sorry though but I thought the person telling the woman to get dressed had a lot of nerve!

There is no rule against wearing the robe out of your room. It is not like going out to a restaurant at all.

IF any of you have been to high class spa resorts like the Golden Door you would know that folks are encouraged to wear their robes as it is supposed to be a relaxed comfy environment. As long as no body parts are showing then how is wearing a robe different than wearing one over your bathing suit at a pool ?

I wouldn't wear a robe to the buffet but I don't have the right to tell others what to do!

 

I think you are likely in the minority with you position on bathrobes. I have been to many spas who encourage the use of robes as well but it certainly doesn't mean that I get in line to eat in a restaurant (yes, the buffet is a restaurant) on a ship with one on. It's just tacky and I don't get why people do things like that on cruises.

[Warm Breezes]

I started to write a review of our recent Splendor cruise a couple of weeks ago , but realized it was turning into one of those minute by minute accounts of our time on board ..... so , instead I think I'm just going to throw some random thoughts and impressions out there and especially thanks to certain people that kept us entertained throughout the week

 

First , thanks to the poor guy throwing a fit at embarkation because he kept insisting to everyone he should be able to board first due to his " handicap ". As the first group of Diamond/Platinum guests were being escorted aboard , he just shoved his way into the line , all the while hobbling and barely able to walk with the assistance of his wife and a cane. Everyone just sort of stepped to the side, not wanting to be the one to complain. Of course , 1 hr later we see this same guy charging to the front of the Buffet line , walking perfectly fine , no limp , no hunched over , and miraculously , thanks to the healing powers of being aboard ship , no cane. We saw this same thing repeated as he charged through for a good seat in the showroom , and also boarding the tender for Half Moon. Later in the week as he was bounding up the stairs I mentioned to him that I was glad he seemed to be feeling better and he just gave me the " look ".

 

Next , special thanks to the group of people travelling together from a country lets just say is " Far East" of here. It was wildly entertaining to watch you push your way to the front of every line , ignoring peoples complaints because you didn't speak or understand English. Yeah , didn't speak or understand English until you needed something , at which time you spoke better English than most of the other passengers on board.

 

Next , Carnival , for the love of everything that is sacred and holy , stop putting bathrobes in every cabin. There are just way , way too many people that use that bathrobe as their main piece of clothing , especially on sea days. Folks , if there's more of you than there is bathrobe to go around it , please put something else on. I know you're on vacation , but so is everyone else and we're trying to eat and keep it down.

 

Oh , and special thanks to "that guy". The one guy we've had on every single cruise we've been on that has to be the center of attention at every show , event , demonstration , excursion , etc. You know who I'm talking about , it's the guy who when he and his wife walk into the showroom everyone start's thinking ' for the love of sweet Jesus , do not let them sit next to us "

 

Also , if you're going to play bingo , have some small clue as to how to play. Special thanks to that guy that around the third or fourth number called stands up and yells Bingo

 

All in all , we had a wonderful week on the Splendor. Great ship , great service , very friendly crew. Like I said , started to write a full review but was getting bogged down in the details , so if you're wanting to know anything specific about the ship , ask away and I'll try to reply

 

I started reading your review and thought you must have been on a different week than we were because I didn't notice any of the things you were talking about....then I looked at your signature and saw we were on the same sailing:eek:. Luckily I didn't recognize myself or DH in any of your stories so I don't think you were talking about us :D:o. Anyway we had a great time too. I just must not have been paying as much attention to my fellow cruisers as you were ;).

[Warm Breezes]

Rock,

 

we were on the same cruise as you and agree with you on everything. Out of the 6 or 7 cruises we have been on with both Carnival and Royal, the other guests on this cruise just seemed very rude. I know everyone is on vacation so we did not let anything REALLY bother us....we had a Great Vacation and loved the ship and crew. But my father, who has mobility issues and is in a wheel chair would have people practically step over his chair to beat him into an elevator. We would have to wait till the 5th or 6th elevator to show up before we could get him into one...It was absolutely CRAZY around dinner time by the Golden Pearl early sitting. That is where I would say was the MOST packed with people. Stay away if possible or just take the stairs.

 

Wow...where was I? I can't believe I was on the same cruise with guys. I really did not notice the rude passengers on this cruise. In fact the only cruise I have ever really encountered rude passengers was on our Carnival Glory cruise out of NY. But we had anytime in the Black Pearl and used the less popular elevators when we weren't taking the stairs. Maybe we just never crossed paths with these same people.

[beshears]

I just want to add my 2cents worth.:)

 

In regard to the photo/Pixel gallery, just in case you cannot find your pictures, ASK one of the people that are working in that area. Also my friend couldn't remember all the pictures that she had taken, so they looked under her room number and found them. That was nice too.:)

 

Yes, it gets very congested at times, when they have their sails, but I will say, when I get those $10 watches, they are WORTH it. Actually it cost more for the batteries, and I still have some from 4 years ago.

[Maraprince]

Honestly , never really felt crowded and congested anywhere on the ship the entire week. I guess if I had to pick though , two things do come to mind. The area where the shops are located did seem smaller than some of the other ships we've been on. There is one shop on each side of the ship , one sell clothing , toiletries , genl mdse , etc , and the other sells watches and jewelry. At least twice during the week they ran specials where they took certain mdse , T shirts and purses one time , and watch sets the other , put them on big table outside the stores , and offered great deals. OMG , the people were absolutely crazy. The area was small enough , but then add a large group of people trying to get those 2 for $20 T shirts and you've got a rugby match going on. Now , as a disclaimer , my lovely bride was one of those people right in the middle of the scrum. I just leaned against a wall , out of the way , and every once in a while I'd see a familiar arm lift up out of the crowd , holding a T-shirt , I'd give the yes or no nod , and back in she went for the next round.

 

The other area that seemed a little small was the Pixels picture gallery. They did have pretty good hours , but if you go there and it's crowded , wait and go back another time. Sometimes it just seemed like there was way way too many people in too small of an area doing the " where is our picture " death march. I'm especially fond of the ones that after being there for hours , frustrated and unable to find their pictures , will just start pulling other peoples pictures at random , looking at them , trying to will themselves into that picture.

 

Seriously though , thought the Splendor was a great ship , hope you have a fantastic time !!!

 

 

It always amazes me that some people behave as if they have never seen a sale before and if they do not "jump" in they will never buy anything again.

 

Coming from NYC, we have many stores offering merchandise at much lower prices than on the ships and as a rule, I almost never buy at full price.

 

Shopping in the ports is more fun and you have the opportunity at some ports of being able to bargain with the locals.

 

MARAPRINCE

[beshears]

Yes, I love the "bargaining" at the ports. I always look forward to that. If it is a very poor area, I generally don't.