Carnival Splendor Review - April 20-27th

[KelSny1011]

Hello Carnival and Cruise Critic Loyalist!

 

I would like to start my review off by stating that this was my 6th overall cruise, 5 have been with Royal Caribbean, and that this was my first cruise with Carnival.  I will do my best to be as detailed as possible for those who might be doing this cruise in the near future and are new to the ship or to Carnival.  Hopefully I won't upset those who adore Carnival.

 

Some might be asking "what made you switch to Carnival?"  Well, we live in Southern California, so we decided to save some $$ on flight & hotels by booking a 7 day cruise out of Long Beach cruising the Mexican Riviera, AND...we had never been to Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta.   Initially, we booked (2) Ocean Balcony rooms.  There was myself (37), my husband (38), my sister (30), 16 y/o son, and 12 y/o son.  My sister and our boys shared a room and my husband and I had our own room.  We also had friends joining us who also booked the same type of room.  This was their first cruise ever.   Few months after we booked I received an email offer to upgrade both of our rooms to Ocean Suites, and we decided to do it for both rooms.  Price for us was worth the upgrade.  If anyone is curious about the cost it was roughly around $500 more per room.  I will start on the room and go from there.

 

Ocean Suite

Our rooms were next to each other but not joining.  However, our room attendant took the divider out so that we could share a balcony.  The rooms were much more spacious, the larger bathroom was a GREAT added bonus having all of that added room, as well as the vanity area.  Our room attendant was amazing!  He did a thorough job cleaning mine and the boy's room.  He always made sure we had new towels for both pool and rooms.  He always made it a point to make sure there was nothing we didn't get and always checked in with us if there was anything we needed if we were to bump into him while coming in/out of our room.  Onto our perks, as I have read that there are conflicting stories about this on CC.  We were considered priority everything.  So we were able to board the ship early and did not have to wait in the LONG lines to board.  We also got priority on tendering in Cabo.  Getting off the ship we were also priority and got to be one of the first people to leave the ship as well.  Now, with that all being said, we were not treated like suite guest, and what I mean by that was that all crew members when approaching these exclusive areas would ask us why we were approaching area and that we needed to wait our turn.  It wasn't until I flashed my sea pass card and told them that we had a suite would their attitudes change towards us.  If that's their procedure with everyone, it's awful and they need to do a better job at approaching guests.  It's seriously the most simple question when guest are approaching the designated areas.  "Are you FTF, diamond, or suite guest?"  Then the guest answers and you proceed.  How we were approached.  "I'm sorry ma'am but this is only for FTF, diamond, and suite guests"  then I would have to say "I am in a suite" for them to change their tude towards me and my family.   When we were leaving a crew member who was managing the diamond FTF and suite disembarkation approached us with this gloriously rude statement before consulting with us, "Unless you have a early flight you need to wait with the other guests" as we were going into the dining area where our letter told us to go.  I looked at her and said "We are in a suite" as I walked past her holding up my letter and sea pass card.  She immediately apologized and was trying to show us where we needed to seat.  So bizarre, because I really don't know why we were being profiled so badly...lol.  Maybe because we are young'er or look young'er?  I dont know but it's bad practice to just assume vs. asking.  It definitely put a bad taste in my mouth about the staff around the ship.

 

Layout of Ship

Horrible.  Not a fan.  I do not like that EVERYTHING is on the lido deck.  I also think the ship was very narrow making it feel like we were all corralled cattle trying to make our way through tight spaces the entire time I was on the ship.  I'm not sure if only the Splendor's layout is this way or if all Carnival ships are like this but I wasn't fan.  I have sailed on similar sizes of ships on RC and never felt like I so confined when I was in the common area places.  Even the Wind Jammer seemed bigger and I never thought I would say that!!

 

Food Around the Ship

Pizza on Carnival is way better, but be prepared to wait in a line for approximately 15+ minutes to get slice.  Also the same thing goes for the Deli, Burger place, and Mongolian.  The fast(slow) food besides the Mongolian was all really good.  Wasn't a fan of the Mongolian and never attempted to eat the BBQ b/c my husband is a smoked BBQ master and I knew I was gonna be bias.  Sitting to eat was sometimes a bit of a problem too.  We found going upstairs where the BBQ place was typically had open seating and we ate many meals up there due to no seats or it being too cold on sea days. Basically I wasn't accustomed to waiting around for food, and didn't expect that when cruising with Carnival.  Maybe I have been spoiled by never dealing with that on RC...I don't know.

 

Drinks - Coke Package

Joke.  You have to go up to the bar to order a drink.  Everything was served out of a can which I didn't mind at all.  Sometimes I would get it poured into a glass, sometimes they would just hand me the can, other times they would hand me a soda I didn't order.  The bartenders were not happy to serve me or my family when we wanted a drink and we would have to wait sometimes longer than other guests who were ordering alcohol b/c the bartenders knew we were only there to get a soda.  

 

Crew Members Around The Ship

Not so friendly.  I'm a "Hello..how are you" kind of person and I would barely get anything out of the crew members around the ship.  Typically that type of banter with crew members on RC gets you a smile, and some good conversations with staff while on board.  Didn't have that same experience on Carnival.  Maybe they are understaffed?  Maybe it's not something Carnival wants?  Maybe it's me?  Starting to think it's me....do I look mean or something?  

 

Cabo 

Booked a private catamaran for a party of 13 through Cabo Sails and it was AWESOME.  Food was great, crew was great, the catamaran was very nice and spacious.  They took us cruising around and we did some snorkeling by Lover's Beach.  Water was freeeeeeeeeezing.  I enjoyed watching all the boys scream as they jumped into the water.  Eventually you become numb enough where you can't feel anything and can snorkel.  We got to see some pretty cool fish and I personally enjoyed it.  Not sure my husband and boys were stoked on it because they couldn't get over how cold the water was.  Usually that's me.  I would definitely book with them again. 

 

Mazatlan

We did the Jump on/off bus.  Problem was not very many were jumping off, so it created a bit of a problem for us when we were inside the bus and got off to go on top of the bus with the rest of the party.  People who were waiting got upset that we did that and started sounding off that we needed to wait our turn.  We informed them we had waited our turn while being actually inside the bus as we walked up to the top.  LOL.  We ate at Panchos and the food was very good.  Got to see some cliff divers too, and enjoyed  hearing about the history of the city by the tour guides.

 

Puerto Vallarta

We booked the Las Caletas Beach Getaway through Carnival.  Wasn't worth the $140 per person.  We woke up that morning had our breakfast, met at the theater to be boarded onto a boat that took almost an hour to get us to the destination.  Once off that boat we were informed we have to eat now because if we don't the restaurant will be closed b/c it's only open for an hour.  None of us were hungry since we had eaten around 9-930am.  Also I have done other beach trips like this before and usually they let you off... you play for a bit, then lunch is served, and you finish off playing a little more.  I didn't like that this trip was designed that way, and I would have liked to know that going in.  So here's you warning.  Don't eat breakfast or eat lighter before booking this excursion!!!  So after eating a very large tasty meal (it was tasty) we found ourselves a nice place to put our stuff down and attempt to play in the water.  They have a bunch of stuff they advertise that you can do and we first started off by swimming out to this little wooden island.  I got a side cramp swimming out there because I was still so full. (LOL).  Then some of us decided to canoe and paddle board.  I got a paddle board and cruised around for a bit.  I was proud because I was the only one from my party who could actually stand up and cruise around.  (go me.. made sure to go by my sister a few times just to piss her off while she continuously attempted b/c that's what sisters do)  We then decided to try out the slides and the blob.  By this time it was around 230ish??  We hiked up the hill to get to the other activities and were not so nicely greeted by the Las Caletas Staff.  Personality was not something they had to check when being hired. They seemed very annoyed that people actually came up the hill to try the stuff.   They never asked us what we wanted to do and proceeded to get us weighed and gave us a helmet along with a body strap.  We then informed them "We need this for the slide?"  They were like "you never told us what you wanted to do" I snapped back "You never asked us!"  They sort of lightened up after that.  Sucks that it takes being rude back for some people to start acting more appropriately.  We asked about doing the slide that shoots you out to the ocean. We were told it's out of service. So we did the other slide they had.  Sucked...didn't like it at all.  I wanted to do the Blob and I was told there wasn't any time left and we needed to go back b/c our boat should be returning soon to take us back. Wait..what????  It's already time to go?????  Bummed we walk all the way back to the beach.  Sat there for another good hour and a half for our boat to finally come.  We were all pissed. What a waste of money.  I made sure to let Carnival know about our experience.  To me that was way too much money to pay for that kind of experience.  Also, getting drinks once you were out of the bar was a joke too. They had one bartender, he was rude, and only one guy serving people around the beach.  Not worth the $140 for our family.  We have done these type of excursions at past destinations and it's never been like this.  Even with rainstorms we have had better times then what we encountered on this excursion.  

 

My time Dining - Black Pearl

Meh...first night we got seated as a party of 13 (we actually ran into another family we know very well who just happened to book on the same cruise...what are the odds).  We asked the hostess what do we need to do to keep the same seating with the same waiter and what time would they prefer we come since we had older kids so the latest possible time to dine wasn't an issue for us.  We have done this on our past 3 cruises with RC and they always give us a time and the same waiter.  We even had a party as large as 15 on one cruise and RC was able to accommodate every single night.  Nope not Carnival.  They told us they can't do anything and it's first come first serve.  However the waiter we had the first night told us what the hostess told us was untrue and he was upset when she didn't seat us with him the second night.  We never got that first waiter again.  We also never got seated as a group of 13 for the remainder of the trip.  They would break us up into 2 tables sometimes 3 for the remainder of the cruise.  Also,  they loved to seat us up on this platform area making you continuously get bumped by all the waiting staff trying to squeeze their way through to get to the tables.  One night I got bumped while I was drinking my wine and the glass ended up clinking my teeth pretty good.  I started cracking up laughing and the waiter apologized profusely.  It wasn't his fault, but wow...I'm not sure that it's a good idea to have that many tables jammed together considering it's also area where waiters come up to perform and also have a busing station at.  

 

Brunch on Sea Days

All I gotta say is if you are a smaller group trying to eat some better breakfast, be prepared for the hostess to strong arm you into sharing a table.  We are early birds so we were a party of 4 in the mornings.  The first sea day brunch we did they got us with the "It's a long wait to sit as a party of 4 but you can sit now if you are willing to share a table" line.  Then we watched other guests get seated immediately after us to booths made for 4, and noticed that no body was sharing tables.  Eventually another family took the line and sat with us.  Very nice people, but my family are jerks (except me) in the morning and prefer to sit alone 😉  jk.jk...well sort of.  So on the other two sea days we had we just declined their offer to share a table and maybe waited tops 5 mins until they would seat us at a booth.  Weird practice especially since I never saw the dining room get crowded to the point where it justified them trying to get people to share tables.   Food was really good.  If you're still reading. 

 

Buffet

Good selection of food and I loved the egg station.  I only ate there on excursion mornings but I have nothing to complain about the food served.  Actually I give them more ** for the egg station.  I've only been on one cruise through  RC where they had an egg station, and it maybe was only done on one sea day now that I think about it.  I believe it was Liberty. My husband and sons were not happy about the bacon situation though (lol).  Apparently they are very stingy with the bacon and I found myself cracking up at their outrage every morning regarding the bacon and them trying to schmooze the servers into giving them more.  

 

Casino

I played roulette one sea day and had a good time with the dealers and passengers playing.  My husband also said the dealers at black jack were really nice and had no complaints about the other players..  Usually he always comes back at least one time ticked off b/c the people who are playing have no idea what they were doing...so I guess that's good :P  His only complaint was that they don't do single deck black jack.  Apparently the highest table they do (at least on our ship) was $10 a hand and said they wouldn't do a $25 single deck black jack table.  Husband also stated shoes are too big and it wasn't worth attempting to play blackjack.  

 

Cruise Director and Shows

I loved him!  He was very energetic, made all the shows I attended very fun and the all the shows we went to were good times.  

 

Ambiance/People on Ship

Everyone on the ship was there to have a good time.  There was a lot of kids, but nothing that was overly frustrating at least for me and my family.  My boys enjoyed themselves immensely around the ship and I have nothing but positive things to say about the overall attitude of the ship guests I ran into or observed. 

 

General info

This is not like your Caribbean cruises; especially in non summer months.  Since I have lived in California for pretty much my entire life I knew that the temperature is cooler, the water is cooler, and that the chances were likely that 2 out of the 3 sea days were gonna be chilly outside on the ship.  I heard many complaining about that while on board so that's the only reason I'm bringing this up.  Bring some warmer clothes on sea days.  Nights and some days if overcast are chillier.

 

 

While you see some not so positive reviews regarding my experience on Carnival we still had a great time..  I don't go on vacation to be uphappy, my family and I are also very objective people, and can make anything a good time regardless of the situation.  Would I book through Carnival again?  Not in the near future.  As of right now, my next cruise will be with RC to the Southern Caribbean.  I also made sure to respond honestly when Carnival emailed me a survey to take. 

 

 

 

[GradUT]

Thanks for your very thorough review.  I have seen few reviews on this board about the Splendor, so yours was a treat.  

 

While I prefer HAL and Princess, I sail Carnival due the ports (Baltimore near me and Galveston and Long Beach near family).  I don’t have problems with the attitude of the staff or the ATD (since we do fixed dining), but your comments were valid and should provide useful information for future cruisers.

 

I also appreciated the info you gave on your shore excursions.  I would love to charter my own catamaran in Cabo, but with only 3 of us traveling, we won’t be doing that!  The info on the PV excursion was very informative, so we’ll avoid that like the plague.  And I think we’re set for Mazatlan. 

 

Again, many thanks and I’m glad you enjoyed the cruise despite some “negatives”.

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2019 by GradUT

[cfralc]

Las Caletas is one of my favorites!  I've had very different experiences than what you describe.   I guess it's not for everyone 😁  I agree with you about the COLD water in Cabo, I couldn't even snorkel and my husband did not last very long.  

[californiatripman]

28 minutes ago, cfralc said:

Las Caletas is one of my favorites!  I've had very different experiences than what you describe.   I guess it's not for everyone 😁  I agree with you about the COLD water in Cabo, I couldn't even snorkel and my husband did not last very long.  

I agree my experience was very different when I was there a few months ago.  Drinks especially were very easy to get, no wait whatsoever.  Also for anytime dining maybe make friends with hostess ours was very obliging.  Your cruise seemed to been way different than mine and i’ve been on the Splendor 8 times between Mexico, Hawaii and last August Alaska which was best cruise I’ve done

[matymil]

Good review. I mean this in the most respectful way but it just seems like Carnival is not your cup of tea which is fine. Ive sailed 8 times (& have 9/10 booked) on Carnival and would never sail another company...some people like Pepsi, some like Coke it is what it is. However the main reason I'm responding to this is because I have been on the Splendor and it was my favorite out of all their ships. Its ironic that the main reason I liked it was the main reason you didn't which was the layout. When I sailed on her it was only my 2nd cruise so I by no means was a seasoned cruise pro but I found it very easy to get around the ship and I especially liked the size (not to big or small imo). I also liked how the décor was different than any other ship. I'm not sure if you know this but the Splendor was actually supposed to be a Costa ship (I think) so it is a little different from the other Carnival ships as far as the layout and décor so I wouldn't just the entire fleet just on this ship. Do you remember which CD you had? Glad you still ended up having a good time.  

[Yehootu]

We sail on May 11th for the Mexican Riviera. We to booked an Ocean suite so your comments are very much appreciated. Did you get a bag of laundry included as advertised? My sister is on the ship sailing here to Hawaii and back, so I'll also be able to get her thoughts. We get on when she gets off!

   Mahalo

[riffatsea]

Hi,

Everyone experiences things differently! We were on the Splendor this year on the March 28 cruise to the same ports. The main thing we found different from you was the friendliness of the crew!

We are always amazed at how they remember our names and how interesting we find chatting with them. I am not sure why you found them UNfriendly??

Food and lines and layout preferences are something that cannot be argued as they are very individual.

We only travel as a couple so our Anytime Dining was always with the same waiter and even at the same table!! By the end of the cruise it was "our" table except for one night when we were quite late for dinner.

We also enjoy Royal Caribbean but for the last few years have been only on Carnival and Princess.

Glad you enjoyed some things about your cruise and sorry about the things you didn't like.

Thanks for writing!!

[KelSny1011]

9 hours ago, Yehootu said:

We sail on May 11th for the Mexican Riviera. We to booked an Ocean suite so your comments are very much appreciated. Did you get a bag of laundry included as advertised? My sister is on the ship sailing here to Hawaii and back, so I'll also be able to get her thoughts. We get on when she gets off!

   Mahalo

Yes they do give you the letter with a bag for the complimentary laundry service.  You'll love the suite, and enjoy your time!

[KelSny1011]

1 hour ago, riffatsea said:

Hi,

Everyone experiences things differently! We were on the Splendor this year on the March 28 cruise to the same ports. The main thing we found different from you was the friendliness of the crew!

We are always amazed at how they remember our names and how interesting we find chatting with them. I am not sure why you found them UNfriendly??

Food and lines and layout preferences are something that cannot be argued as they are very individual.

We only travel as a couple so our Anytime Dining was always with the same waiter and even at the same table!! By the end of the cruise it was "our" table except for one night when we were quite late for dinner.

We also enjoy Royal Caribbean but for the last few years have been only on Carnival and Princess.

Glad you enjoyed some things about your cruise and sorry about the things you didn't like.

Thanks for writing!!

The only person who took time to remember our name was our room attendant.  Maybe they were overwhelmed by all of the kids/people on the ship since it was Easter break??  IDK...

 

I swear we are very friendly people!!

[KelSny1011]

9 hours ago, matymil said:

Good review. I mean this in the most respectful way but it just seems like Carnival is not your cup of tea which is fine. Ive sailed 8 times (& have 9/10 booked) on Carnival and would never sail another company...some people like Pepsi, some like Coke it is what it is. However the main reason I'm responding to this is because I have been on the Splendor and it was my favorite out of all their ships. Its ironic that the main reason I liked it was the main reason you didn't which was the layout. When I sailed on her it was only my 2nd cruise so I by no means was a seasoned cruise pro but I found it very easy to get around the ship and I especially liked the size (not to big or small imo). I also liked how the décor was different than any other ship. I'm not sure if you know this but the Splendor was actually supposed to be a Costa ship (I think) so it is a little different from the other Carnival ships as far as the layout and décor so I wouldn't just the entire fleet just on this ship. Do you remember which CD you had? Glad you still ended up having a good time.  

I can see that.  I guess I became bias with the way the RC does their ship layout.  Another thing I noticed more on the Splendor was the rocking of the ship.  I'm not sure if that could be the Pacific Ocean is not as calm as the waters in the Gulf/Atlantic, but there was a couple of times where I was like "whoaaaa".    I did not mind the decor.  I actually liked it and thought it was fun!  LOL.  Lee was our cruise director while on board and I loved him!!

 

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by KelSny1011

[JaniceB]

Thank you for your easy to read review.  

[dara90210]

We were on the Splendor in 2011 and also HATED the layout.  There was no direct route to anything!  It was always go down one and walk across or go up one and walk across to go back down two.

[matymil]

13 hours ago, KelSny1011 said:

I can see that.  I guess I became bias with the way the RC does their ship layout.  Another thing I noticed more on the Splendor was the rocking of the ship.  I'm not sure if that could be the Pacific Ocean is not as calm as the waters in the Gulf/Atlantic, but there was a couple of times where I was like "whoaaaa".    I did not mind the decor.  I actually liked it and thought it was fun!  LOL.  Lee was our cruise director while on board and I loved him!!

 

 

Ive heard Lee is great, hes the main one that we haven't had that I'd wanted to sail with. Actually when we sailed on her it was also very rocky. Some of the staff said it was the worse they have ever seen, it was because they lost a rudder from Hurricane Sandy which had just hit (I'm sure that's been fixed by now) It also may have to do with where your cabin was...we were smack dab in the front of the ship, like our view from the window was the front of the ship and we felt everything. Never will do that again. From everything I'm reading it may be worth giving them a shot on a non holiday week and a different ship.

[PhillyFan33579]

23 hours ago, riffatsea said:

Hi,

Everyone experiences things differently! We were on the Splendor this year on the March 28 cruise to the same ports. The main thing we found different from you was the friendliness of the crew!

We are always amazed at how they remember our names and how interesting we find chatting with them. I am not sure why you found them UNfriendly??

 

This has been my experience too. I always say good morning, good afternoon, etc. to every crew member I see/walk past and they always respond. Often this leads to a conversation, some very short, some much longer. This has been consistent on every Carnival ship I have cruised on. My guess is the OP is not as friendly as she thinks she is. When someone has the same experience over and over again, the problem is most likely the person in the mirror. 

[purplephenom]

To be honest, I only really opened your review to see if you mentioned "OMG the splendor is so pink," because it seems like most of the reviews do :-) 

 

Nice review.  It's nice to read a review where someone didn't love the cruise but manages not to tick off half the board.  

 

What you said about the crew is interesting- we sailed the Splendor twice, back to back years, around the same time each year.  The first year we had over the top friendly wait staff and steward, the 2nd time, we could barely get a hello and a smile out of them.  And there were a ton of little things that made the 2nd time not as fun as the first (but not a bad cruise by any means).

 

What you disliked about the layout was exactly what I liked about it.  I have the world's worst sense of direction, and usually end up on the opposite end of the ship as I had planned at least a couple times a cruise.  On the splendor, everything was together enough so that didn't really happen.

 

Glad you had a fun time in spite of it not being your favorite cruise.

[KelSny1011]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

 

This has been my experience too. I always say good morning, good afternoon, etc. to every crew member I see/walk past and they always respond. Often this leads to a conversation, some very short, some much longer. This has been consistent on every Carnival ship I have cruised on. My guess is the OP is not as friendly as she thinks she is. When someone has the same experience over and over again, the problem is most likely the person in the 

 

Interesting assumption.  Maybe it's my mean mug.  Have a great day!

[KelSny1011]

3 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

Lee the Cruise Director is one of the best I've experienced.  He managed to get all of us to donate to St Jude's hospital to the tune of $40,000 on our Hawaii cruise. Lee was trying to beat Matt Mitchum's $27,000 he managed to drum up on the Vista (or was it the Breeze?) and got all of us whipped up into a frenzy of donating.  Once we bypassed the $27k mark, it just kept on going.  Then Lee fulfilled his promise of shaving his head on live TV.  It was great!

 My boys and I decided the other day that he has been our favorite so far too!!  That is amazing!  What a great guy!