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Comprehensive Carnival Splendor Review 4/17

sarj04

By sarj04,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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sarj04

sarj04

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Posted (edited)

Overall, this was a great week that exceeded our expectations. I’ll break this down into a few categories:

 

BACKGROUND: My GF and I are 25-30, fairly experienced travelers. I have cruised with Carnival, HAL, and Celebrity multiple times, also with RCCL and NCL. This was her first cruise. I was initially skeptical of the Splendor (and with returning to Carnival) after mounting negative reviews on CruiseCritic as well as some initial disappointment over the lack of post-dry dock additions. We selected this cruise 100% based on the ports.

 

ARRIVAL: We flew in early the day before for a nice pre-cruise stay at the Delano in South Beach. It’s a nice, but expensive hotel that epitomizes South Beach. I mainly include this section to advise everyone with pre or post cruise activities in Miami to stay away from “Jet Ski Tours of Miami.” We had a disastrous tour with them in which our craft ran out of gas (when we warned our guide about the fuel alarm before the tour), were left stranded in a storm in Biscayne Bay, and then got yelled at by the manager for inquiring about a refund and “disrespecting his day off.” The story becomes more appalling, but just stay away from that tour operation.

 

EMARKATION: Miami now has the staggered system. We wanted to enjoy the day in South Beach, so we signed up for the last time slot, 2:30-3:00PM. We arrived just before 3PM…it took no more than 10 minutes from cab exit to cabin entry. Completely effortless.

 

The SHIP: The Splendor is not a brand new ship, but it clearly looked like a ship that just got out of dry dock. The ship was immaculate with a crew that seemed to work tirelessly to polish every surface. Most of the furniture appeared brand new or close to it. The lido buffet area, consistent with other reviews, did look a little worn…but every other nook and cranny of the ship looked like it had received extensive refinishing with the dry dock. We enjoyed the bars on the ship and never missed the 2.0 re-brandings. So I would consider it a successful dry dock that was not nearly as disappointing as it seemed on paper. One gripe is that the smoking area rendered a large swath of premium lounge space on the lido deck midship and aft unusable for anyone hoping to avoid oppressive levels of second hand smoke.

 

The CABIN: We stayed in a Spa Balcony. The cabin was dated, but clean. We weren’t sure if we would make use of the spa facilities, but it was 100% worth it. The Thalosotherapy pool and unique circuit of tiled lounge rooms with varying temperatures and heated loungers was a relaxing daily activity after getting back after a busy and tiring day in port.

 

The FOOD: Standard limitations for a megaliner cruise ship apply. Food prepared for 3,000+ people can only be so fresh, creative, or delicious. MDR food was up and down, which is consistent with the rest of the cruise industry. Pastas were fairly bland. However, the Chateaubriand on the last formal night was the best cut of steak I have had in any cruise line’s MDR. The Lido buffet was also industry standard. Pizza Pirate was an unexpected standout…fresh made to order pizzas pool side that were very good. Overall, the included dining experience was right there with HAL and Celebrity, superior to my experience with RCCL and NCL.

 

The real star was the Pinnacle Steakhouse, possibly the best premium restaurant I have been to at sea. It was worth the $35 surcharge and then some. The food was excellent.

 

SERVICE: The service, above all else, distinguished the Splendor from my prior cruises, both on Carnival and on other lines. It was truly above and beyond. Our cabin steward, Dewa, was outstanding. He happily cleaned the cabin meticulously twice daily…no issues with the once per day option. The wait staff, Angel, Mayori, and “I’m” knew our names immediately and were attentive all week. Throughout the ship, staff was pleasant and doting. If you put down an empty glass or dirty item in any corner of the ship, someone would appear to clear it and ask if you need anything with in minutes. We had two minor room issues that were immediately addressed after contacting guest services, both of which Carnival followed up on afterwards to ensure our satisfaction. We were wondering if this was a Seabourne or a Carnival cruise with this level of service. Overall, the staff was exceptionally pleasant and hard working.

 

ITINERARY:

 

Cozumel: Pretty exhaustively reviewed island with no shortage of information for what to do. We used “Scuba Tony” for an excellent pair of drift dives…would definitely recommend them for the divers out there. We used Target rent-a-car afterwards for a drive around the other side of the island. Go with Alamo next door…our rental was a mess.

 

Belize: Every cruise itinerary has one “runt” of the liter. To be blunt, that is Belize City. Yes, there are some nice excursions out there, but this area just cannot offer what the other ports can. I had a nightmare getting off the ship a few years ago in Belize City, so we stuck with a Carnival tour this time, a diving trip to Turneffe Atoll. This was a nice, safe tour, but the diving did not compare to Cozumel or Grand Cayman.

 

Roatan: We spent the day at Little French Key. Simply amazing. One of the best days I’ve ever had in port on any cruise. Gorgeous island.

 

Grand Cayman: Much like Cozumel, exhaustively reviewed with lots of information. We did a shore dive and then relaxed on 7-mile beach. Royal Palms is a nice beach front bar, but it has become a ridiculously expensive tourist trap.

 

DEBARKATION:

We did not have platinum or faster to the fun status, but the staff was pretty good about getting us off the ship in a hurry for our early flight. Minimal lines or crowds.

 

 

In summary, this was a great week that exceeded our expectations. We’ll continue to select future cruises based on the itinerary/ports, but will not hesitate to go with Carnival in the future.

Edited by sarj04
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sanmarcosman

sanmarcosman

Posted
Posted (edited)

You make some excellent points regarding the service with Carnival Cruise Line. I've never encountered a crew member who behaved as though they were too good to be working in the hospitality industry on Carnival ships.

 

Unfortunately, on Carnival Corporation's sister line Princess, the crew only deign to serve their guests and behave as though they are too good to be there providing a service. I guess they take the princess part too seriously ;)

Edited by sanmarcosman
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WantaGoGlobal

WantaGoGlobal

Posted
Posted

Thank you! So glad to hear a straightforward review of the Splendor experience post dry-dock. There are a lot of fans of the ship as well as anticipated cruisers who appreciate the rare information as it happens.

 

Now if we can only see a good copy of the Fun Times, and any pics of the "new" improvements.....?

 

Much appreciated and happy future sailings!

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Tracey/Thom

Tracey/Thom

Posted
Posted
You make some excellent points regarding the service with Carnival Cruise Line. I've never encountered a crew member who behaved as though they were too good to be working in the hospitality industry on Carnival ships.

 

Unfortunately, on Carnival Corporation's sister line Princess, the crew only deign to serve their guests and behave as though they are too good to be there providing a service. I guess they take the princess part too seriously ;)

 

Have to disagree with Sanmarcosman, we thought the service on Princess was excellent! Just goes to prove (again) that everything on here is just someone's opinion!

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Jeepenfun

Jeepenfun

Posted
Posted

We were on this same cruise with you guys and it was our first ever cruise. It was amazing. I would have to think really hard to find anything bad about the ship or the whole trip. It was pretty much a flawless trip, things just flowed and happened smoothly.

 

Yes the crew was always and constantly cleaning. They are still repairing and replacing stuff on the ship. Like the stairs on Lido up to deck 10 on each side of the dive in movie screen. One port they removed all the old worn steps and replaced with new and at another port they did the other side..

 

We had a Lido deck 9 balcony room towards the front of the ship because I heard it was a quiet area of the ship and they were right. We were in 9218 and never had an issue with ship noise. Just the occasional balcony door slamming but at night when sleeping I was never woken by noise. It was just very quiet in that room.

 

I will be making my own review of this cruise too with lots of pictures. I'm still in Miami staying at a hotel right on Miami beach right now enjoying one more night before having to go home and back to reality. Look for it in a couple days. I just have 100s of pictures to sort through and get uploaded for my detailed review.

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DKane

DKane

Posted
Posted
We were on this same cruise with you guys and it was our first ever cruise. It was amazing. I would have to think really hard to find anything bad about the ship or the whole trip. It was pretty much a flawless trip, things just flowed and happened smoothly.

 

Yes the crew was always and constantly cleaning. They are still repairing and replacing stuff on the ship. Like the stairs on Lido up to deck 10 on each side of the dive in movie screen. One port they removed all the old worn steps and replaced with new and at another port they did the other side..

 

We had a Lido deck 9 balcony room towards the front of the ship because I heard it was a quiet area of the ship and they were right. We were in 9218 and never had an issue with ship noise. Just the occasional balcony door slamming but at night when sleeping I was never woken by noise. It was just very quiet in that room.

 

I will be making my own review of this cruise too with lots of pictures. I'm still in Miami staying at a hotel right on Miami beach right now enjoying one more night before having to go home and back to reality. Look for it in a couple days. I just have 100s of pictures to sort through and get uploaded for my detailed review.

 

Thanks for your review. I'm happy to hear you enjoyed your cruise. We will be doing a back-to-back and I can't wait to see your pictures. Also happy to hear that they are still replacing/repairing worn areas on the ship. By the time we sail, hopefully all will be completed. BTW, we will be staying in a forward balcony on Lido and nice to know there are no noise issues up there.

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sturderick

sturderick

Posted
Posted

Thank you for your review! After reading so many negative reviews, we were a little afraid to book the Splendor but we did it anyway :) We are pretty easy to please and always go into things with a positive attitude, so I am sure we'll have a great time. I always enjoy reading reviews, especially when they don't nit pick all of the small things. I always want to say "YOU'RE ON A CRUISE!!" This will be our very first suite and I am very excited :D.

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Florings

Florings

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Posted
Thank you for your review! After reading so many negative reviews, we were a little afraid to book the Splendor but we did it anyway :) We are pretty easy to please and always go into things with a positive attitude, so I am sure we'll have a great time. I always enjoy reading reviews, especially when they don't nit pick all of the small things. I always want to say "YOU'RE ON A CRUISE!!" This will be our very first suite and I am very excited :D.

 

Honestly, I've read a lot of bad reviews and comments on every single ship I've sailed - and we have loved every single cruise, with no problems. It really IS good to see the positive. And I'm sure, as well, that you will have a great time! Have a wonderful cruise in your first suite!!

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RodandMary

RodandMary

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Hi, we too just returned from this April 17th cruise on Splendor. This cruise was about our 15th, all on Carnival. We have never had a bad cruise. This cruise was our best ever, aside from our first cruise of course. The joke between my wife and I and some family members is that I say that every time I return from a Carnival cruise. I rank everything from 1 to 10 and this cruise was 9.5 out of 10 and only lost 0.5 because my wife and I went to dinner one evening and half way though I told her that I am drained and need a rest - she very happily agreed and we took it easy going to bed early. This ever turned out positive as it was the evening with no comedians and no shows, so we were in tune lol. This cruise was a completely HONESTLY, FANTASTICALLY, OVER THE TOP, ENTERTAINMENT PLUS, FOOD GALORE, ISLAND SPECTACULAR, EASY GOING, MUSICALLY ENVIRONMENTALLY MUST SING NO MATTER HOW INTROVERTED YOU ARE (ME), COMPLETE LIFE EXPERIENCE, that I wish everyone could experience. That's it, I can only say one thing more, THANK YOU CARNIVAL AND YOUR INCREDIBLE STAFF WHOM ALWAYS DESERVE THE TIPS YOU REQUIRE AND THE EXTRA TIPS THAT WE ALWAYS GIVE TO YOUR STAFF HOPING THAT THEY UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH WE APPRECIATE THEIR HARD WORK. I returned yesterday to reality along with many of our co-cruisers, and I am close, but not decided on yet, which Carnival cruise we will select for November. See you soon, Rod and Mary from cold Canada.

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Florings

Florings

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RodandMary, thank you for your wonderfully happy and complimentary post. I agree with you wholeheartedly! I have always loved each of my cruises and am glad to read that I will undoubtedly feel the same way on my upcoming Splendor cruise!

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ddavis5us

ddavis5us

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the review. Had a quick question for any of the recent Splendor cruisers. Did the Wine Bar serve martinis? The one on the Valor had a limited bar selection as well as wine and I'm trying to find out if the Splendor is similar.

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