The Not-So-Mexican Splendor Cruise Review - April 26 - May 3

[aggieastrosfan]

Would getting off in Long Beach not technically be utilizing the Vacation Guarantee since you were not allowed to debark in Cabo? Is there not a provision in the Guarantee for a refund of the unused portion of the cruise?

 

The guarantee allows for debarkation at the first non US port of call. The letter they left in the cabin stated that since Long Beach was neither a scheduled call, nor is it a foreign stop, the guarantee does not apply and no refunds for unused portions of the cruise will be given.

[TortieGal]

Would getting off in Long Beach not technically be utilizing the Vacation Guarantee since you were not allowed to debark in Cabo? Is there not a provision in the Guarantee for a refund of the unused portion of the cruise?

 

Maybe someone saved the letter? I know I chucked ours. But, it specifically said you would not receive compensation for the unused portion of the cruise and the Guarantee could not be used because Long Beach was not a scheduled stop.

[TortieGal]

The guarantee allows for debarkation at the first non US port of call. The letter they left in the cabin stated that since Long Beach was neither a scheduled call, nor is it a foreign stop, the guarantee does not apply and no refunds for unused portions of the cruise will be given.

 

I would say great minds think alike but you beat me by one minute... ;)

[bunky_1998]

OK, so here's my little review of the past 7 days aboard the "Fun Ship" Carnival Splendor:

 

Ship: Basically exactly like the Carnival Glory, except too much pepto-pink paint and more cabins. Yay.

 

Not much to do onboard unless you want to feed your face or hear another tired presentation on how Carnival can help you can spend more $$$$ both on the ship and in port. At the Lido deck pool, the JumboTron TV blasted CNN at full thunder volume all morning and beach scenes the rest of the day (nothing makes me happier than seeing scenes of all the warm sunny places I am unable to visit during my 7-day Carnival Swine Flu experience). Lido deck band was tired, played same songs everyday.

 

Staff: Cabin Stewards and Dining Room waitstaff were AWESOME. They were a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing cruise experience. Bartenders were hit and miss, little to no personality. Entertainment acts? None to be found.

 

Food: Lido Splendido buffet was a unmitigated GOAT RODEO. I loved the idea of offering a Burrito Bar and Mongolian BBQ, but they caused lots of wait time for food. Do yourself a favor and avoid the buffets: food was average and wait lines were long (unlike on the Glory). Our foursome ate in the dining hall for nearly every meal after Sunday. The food there was very good and the Pinnacle Steakhouse was Outstanding!

 

Port of Call: Cold, Foggy and Rainy San Francisco...Good Times.

 

But hey, we sure made some memories there! While leaving the boat, I got to see a screaming, cursing passenger almost get into a fistfight with the Carnival Security folks.

 

Two minutes after witnessing the near-brawl, we watched a passenger have a heart attack and collapse once onshore (bystanders stated he had an altercation with members of the Carnival Security team regarding debarking for good in Frisco). Very scary, but thank God my friend Dennis was there (aka "Gumby&Pokey" on the CruiseCritic Boards), who as a former EMT immediately took command of the situation and started CPR on the poor fellow. The ship's nurse came up a few minutes later with an AED and hopefully this guy was OK.

 

Summary: Ship was boring, Food was Good, Staff was great, ports of call left much to be desired and the H1N1 Virus sucks. I don't blame Carnival for not going to Mexico, but couldn't we have just sailed around in warm weather for a few days?

[kelz66]

 

Ship: Basically exactly like the Carnival Glory, except too much pepto-pink paint and more cabins. Yay.

 

 

You are not the first to say this...but really..can someone point out where this bright color was?

 

It was pink , but far from a bright pink...I was caught off guard by how NON pepto pink it was. :confused::confused:

 

It was more of a mauve pink.

 

Everyone I talked to agreed that they were surprised after reading all the pepto comments.

[Ashleezmom]

I thought the same thing, not really Pepto pink...and I kinda liked the pink/black decor...:)

[kelz66]

I thought the same thing, not really Pepto pink...and I kinda liked the pink/black decor...:)

 

It was not bad...I agree with Anne that it did seem disjointed and some things clashed instead of complimented.

[btorlv]

Thanks for a great review and the live form the Splendor thread. We are leaving sun 5/10 for Victoria and Vancouver not where we wanted to go but we have never been there. You guys all need to write carnival and ask for some type of credit. i was given $200obc plus we were upgreaded from a 4a is to a 8c bal. My point here is how could they treat us different you guys should of got the same as we did. I really think after Carnival sits back and takes a look at the facts somthing will and should be done for you guys. Most of us here at cc have 10plus cruises under are belts so a cruise credit would work for all partys imo.

[bunky_1998]

Kelz, it looked pepto pink to me. Being a man, I'm not familiar with mauve pink, and if I were my wife would be upset.

[StevieG]

I would say great minds think alike but you beat me by one minute... ;)

 

It appears that Carnivla arranged all this to avoid having to pay off on the guarantee. That is very sad indeed.

[kelz66]

Kelz, it looked pepto pink to me. Being a man, I'm not familiar with mauve pink, and if I were my wife would be upset.

 

 

Why would she be upset?

 

:confused:

[StevieG]

Maybe they needed to restock some FRESH stuff?

 

If they had to they didn't. The only place that would have been possible was SF and the anchored next to an empty warehouse. Maybe I missed is but I didn't see any trucks hauling in fresh supplies.

[BSQ]

Port of Call: Cold, Foggy and Rainy San Francisco...Good Times.

 

But hey, we sure made some memories there! While leaving the boat, I got to see a screaming, cursing passenger almost get into a fistfight with the Carnival Security folks.

 

Two minutes after witnessing the near-brawl, we watched a passenger have a heart attack and collapse once onshore (bystanders stated he had an altercation with members of the Carnival Security team regarding debarking for good in Frisco). Very scary, but thank God my friend Dennis was there (aka "Gumby&Pokey" on the CruiseCritic Boards), who as a former EMT immediately took command of the situation and started CPR on the poor fellow. The ship's nurse came up a few minutes later with an AED and hopefully this guy was OK.

 

Guess I was standing right behind him. I thought your friend was awesome. As he tried to get by the staff to assist, he seemed to be the only one that truly grasped the gravity of the situation at the end of the gangway.

[StevieG]

How could they let anyone disembark in Cabo? We were not allowed off the ship for safety's sake...that would make no sense to let people disembark.

:confused::confused:

 

The CDC issued a travel advisory, they did not ban travel to Mexico. At that point Carnival easily could have put together a disclaimer, much like a hospital does when you check yourself out, and allowed you to disembark, but if they did that they would have been forced to honor their guarantee for up to 75% of the ship.

[StevieG]

My weekend in Dallas was ruined by 8 straight hours of thunderstorm squaws moving through town. Where do I send my bill for ruined weekend?

 

You had the option of leaving Dallas....

[LHP]

I believe it was Host Laura who reported that Carnival gave y'all 2 hours of free drinks close to the end of the cruise. Was that true?

[StevieG]

Yep, Princess and Carnival are owned by parent CCL. They don't act like they even talk to each other. Nonetheless, Princess went to San Diego and Catalina AND gave a goodwill gesture of 50% credit on a future cruise. Carnival appeared to fumble around until the ports were filled, then gave the passengers $40 OBC. That doesn't sound like the same management style or customer service approach to me.

 

The $40 was not an OBC it was a refund of your port charges. They couldn't very well charge you for something you didn't use.

[kelz66]

I believe it was Host Laura who reported that Carnival gave y'all 2 hours of free drinks close to the end of the cruise. Was that true?

 

yes it was....:D

 

The $40 was not an OBC it was a refund of your port charges. They couldn't very well charge you for something you didn't use.

 

Correct. That is how it read on my S&S statement. refunded port charges.

 

:D

[stanford's girl]

When they announced that we were stopping in Cabo San Lucas (scheduled to be our last port of call, not our first) on day 2 for a “technical” reason (requirement of stopping at a foreign port?), we were not surprised at all.

I was on the Mariner 4/26 sailing. As we were on the dock heading for our tender in Cabo, we saw a lady being wheeled on a gurney to an ambulance. All the EMT's had blue masks on but the woman and her husband walking behind her didn't. We were told that she had come from the Splendor and needed emergency operation but they didn't say for what. I can only assume that is why you made the stop in Cabo but no one was let off except for this woman.

[Stallion]

So how much can one drink for free in 2 hours? I've got a good estimate for Host Randy. Still no actual proof Host Randy hasn't fallen off the ship!!! Strangely silent-hasn't made his appearance yet.

[GoinCruisin]

So how much can one drink for free in 2 hours? I've got a good estimate for Host Randy. Still no actual proof Host Randy hasn't fallen off the ship!!! Strangely silent-hasn't made his appearance yet.

 

Well, couldn't you call him on your cell phone??? LMAO... sorry, had to do it... :p

 

Glad to see most made the best of the situation... I can't say that I'm 100% sad I had to cancel now, it was an expensive trip, cross country, to ports I would have loved to have gone to, that was one cruise I booked for the ports... would have had a great time with my friends though, and for that I'm sad...

[Stallion]

I don't do CELLPHONES!!!

[realmccoy]

Hello all, we had a great time on board as the others. We were disapointed by not being able to stop as my birthday gift was witing for me in PV...which put a damper on my hubby's plans. I was disapointed to see all the OBC's, open bars and 50% off offers from Princess and RC when we got home. It dosn't make sense to me? They did accomodate those that were going to storm the ship if not let off in LB...but that was a safety and security issue for Carnival...which then left us in board with a late arrival in San Fran. They did do the 2 hour happy hour...but did not announce it. This was our first group cruise and had a great time with meeting members of the group and will do a group cruise again...so we are sold on that. Just not understanding why the other cruiselines are so generous. I will be getting my letter together as well...

[luv2cruise777l]

I will definitely be writing a polite but detailed letter this week. I had a great time, and made the best of what was given to us. That being said, Anne made a very good point in saying that those of us that were accomodating and somewhat understanding basically got nothing. The ones who got their way on this trip were the ones who treated the crew like absolute dirt with their yelling and screaming.

 

Not all of the ones that left early were screamers or yellers. We were very polite to the crew. We know it wasn't their fault.

 

 

 

I completely understand, we are Platinum also and have only ventured out twice to another cruiseline. Maybe a change will do us good :o

 

I too am Platinum and will be checking out other cruiselines!

 

 

The CDC issued a travel advisory, they did not ban travel to Mexico. At that point Carnival easily could have put together a disclaimer, much like a hospital does when you check yourself out, and allowed you to disembark, but if they did that they would have been forced to honor their guarantee for up to 75% of the ship.

 

I would have taken my chances in Mexico if they would have let me off the ship! They just didn't want to honer the "Vacation Guarantee".:mad:

[Stallion]

but really-if they allowed only those that wanted to get off then they could have spread the virus to those who didn't. Then you have a potential disaster that could have spread throughout the cruise ship-creating even greater legal liability issues.