An honest Splendor review 1/13/2013

[CWcruisers]

And to go through your suitcase without you present - that is not how it's supposed to be done. I've heard people who have questionable items are called down to the naughty room, and are to be present while the bag is searched. Considering the kind of time pressure & constraints the screeners are under, I'm surprised he or she had time to spare to bust wheels off new luggage.

 

You're only called to the naughty room if your suitcase is locked. Otherwise, if they see contraband, it is removed and a letter placed inside your suitcase.

[travelexplore3]

You're only called to the naughty room if your suitcase is locked. Otherwise, if they see contraband, it is removed and a letter placed inside your suitcase.

 

This is exactly what happened. There was a letter inside. When I called guest services from our room they asked I bring the suitcase, letter, reciept for suitcase and tags that were attatched to suitcase since I still had them. We removed the tags upon arrival to the port and they were in my purse.

[travelexplore3]

I have sailed both Carnival and NCL, I like them both. If I had to choose one it would be a tough choice. Carnival has some things that NCL doesn't and NCL has some things Carnival doesn't. On my NCL cruise they cut out the stop to their island(GSC), it was a georgeuos day but the Captain decided to cancel because he felt that the water was too rough for the tenders - was I disappointed? Yes I was, however I did not let it RUIN my cruise. I was still in the SUN and away from home and work! IMO you should have taken the refund and not gone on the cruise.

 

At first we were gonna cancel and take the refund....but decided 2 days in cabo, a new ship, new experience..why not?I was just disappointed at how there wasn't enought good to make me ever come back. I understand everything that happened and some of it I could have spoke up, but I was so overwhelmed and felt so defeated I thought why even bother, there's enough people complaining and upset onboard I don't need to add to it anymore than I already have. Everyday the line to guest services was 30 minutes or longer....lots of people were upset, just not everyone is posting about it. All in all I did regret going on the cruise when I wrote my review, now I'm glad we went and I fullfilled my questions about what carnival is like. I totally get that is was an off cruise but in whole aside from it being an off cruise...looking at the cruise and onboard stuff only (entertainment, food, employee interaction etc) there are good points and bad....and all in all carnival isn't for my family. And we would have never known had we skipped the cruise. Now we know.

[travelexplore3]

I'm not ungrateful for what little service we encountered. No one ever cleaned up after us when we ate in the buffet. There was always people waiting for our table after breakfast, and lunch so we carried our trays to the busser that way he didn't have to clean our table. The 2 days in cabo we didn't eat anything on ship until dinner, we ate off the ship. 3 dinners were eaten by the pool and we carried our trays to the trash so no one cleaned up after us.

[QTPieRye]

Everyday the line to guest services was 30 minutes or longer....lots of people were upset, just not everyone is posting about it.

 

So true!!!! The lines at guest services were ridiculous the entire cruise! And you are correct, there were a lot of people upset on the ship, for whatever reason. Unfortunately, most people aren't members of CC ;)

[truecruiser]

Didn't you know on other cruise lines the stewards automatically know when you leave the room? ;)

 

ROFLMAO! :p

 

 

and Qt, but you are, and we all read your posts

[RRLLAL]

Thank you for your review. With the Splendor being the one class we haven't sailed on Carnival, after reading your review I CAN'T WAIT to sail on her. I know there is a lot more to do and many other dining options.

 

I'm also a little jealous. I would love it if they damaged one piece of my luggage and was reimbursed an amount that would allow me to buy a full set! You were one lucky cruiser.

 

Sent using my Commodore 64 on Tapatalk 5.3

[CWcruisers]

I'm not ungrateful for what little service we encountered. No one ever cleaned up after us when we ate in the buffet. There was always people waiting for our table after breakfast, and lunch so we carried our trays to the busser that way he didn't have to clean our table. The 2 days in cabo we didn't eat anything on ship until dinner, we ate off the ship. 3 dinners were eaten by the pool and we carried our trays to the trash so no one cleaned up after us.

 

O.K. I'm sorry, but this is really looking like a justification for the tip removal. Really? No one cleaned up after you ever?:rolleyes: Did you use a public restroom? Someone was cleaning those.

 

And your statement that Carnival is not for your family based upon a cruise that was compromised seems to be another justification for removing your tips. I've been on 11 different cruise lines and you can't judge something on a one time experience on a cruise that was compromised from the start though no one's fault. This ship had a mechanical problem on a previous cruise due to a fishing net. I guess if we are going to blame anyone, it's the owner of the net.:rolleyes:

[ib4cruzn]

People like you are the reason that the staff on the cruise ships have a low oppinion of the passengers. .

 

No it isn't. They hate most everybody equally.

[CWcruisers]

No it isn't. They hate most everybody equally.

 

Really?!?:confused: That's funny, I have several crew members who are happy to see me return and one who I spent a day with in his home country of Bali. Funny how a little kindness goes a long way. I just spent two separate occasions in my second home in Cabo San Lucas with Brad Alexander, the piano bar entertainer on the Splendor, and he lives to make his customers happy. So do most of the crew members if you take the time to get to know them.

[terri910]

No it isn't. They hate most everybody equally.

In that case, the great majority of crew members on our cruises deserve extra $$$ just for being such good actors! :)

[punkndrublic74]

Yikes, fanboys. Anyways I was on the cruise before the OP and can say the crew was a off and looking as if they didn't want to be there. They did give some vibes as if we're a burden. Lots of sighs and looks of being annoyed. I'm wondering if something was going on behind the scenes.

[CWcruisers]

Yikes, fanboys. Anyways I was on the cruise before the OP and can say the crew was a off and looking as if they didn't want to be there. They did give some vibes as if we're a burden. Lots of sighs and looks of being annoyed. I'm wondering if something was going on behind the scenes.

 

 

Yes, the ship was experiencing mechanical difficulties which eventually, as you well know, changed the itinerary and caused people to miss their flights etc. There was already moaning and groaning going on when the itinerary was changed before the criuse even departed.

 

Put it simply, grumpy passengers make for grumpy crew. Just how many times can you say you're sorry for something that is beyond your control before you start looking annoyed.

[spaceystacie2006]

Haha what I meant by honest...was to include all info that most people leave out of their reviews. Again these statements are just my opinion and its what happened to us. I did say how I liked the ship, and how much we liked our stateroom. Carnival has some good points, I never said they didn't. But the bad outweighed the good in our case. I'm not sure that anyone liked having their cruise cut short, missing a port, having the second day of a port cut way short, and I'm not sure anyone else would like their bag broken they just bought the night before. We didn't really pay attention to any staff except the ones we spoke to directly. I removed my tips because only 3 days our room was cleaned, the one time we spoke to the room steward he was rude. We only ate in the dining room 1 time. As for vegatarian food....I'm a non meat eater. No meat/fish/eggs. So I was hoping they had options like the other cruiselines I've been on. None of them have a plethera of options for vegatarians but they certainly have more than 1 thing on the menu. I've had quasadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, burritos, rice bowls etc. That we're all vegatarian on other lines. I was assuming they offered the same. That's all. I was not saying we had a horrible vacation at all, we were bored on the ship...yes. and did not enjoy the cruiseline. There were good points on the ship like the comedians and such but overall it wasn't for us. And yes we chalked it up to a lesson learned. We give everything a shot and if its not for us we don't do it again. This is why we only cruised rccl one time. It wasn't for us. We prefer disney and ncl.

 

We had similar experiences we are not happy with the service food or camp carnival after our DD came back bruised oh and cried for 30 min without the staff doing anything.

[spaceystacie2006]

Yes, the ship was experiencing mechanical difficulties which eventually, as you well know, changed the itinerary and caused people to miss their flights etc. There was already moaning and groaning going on when the itinerary was changed before the criuse even departed.

 

Put it simply, grumpy passengers make for grumpy crew. Just how many times can you say you're sorry for something that is beyond your control before you start looking annoyed.

 

I can say this is not exactly true we were looking forward to our cruise even with the changes this was the first time we took our two DD's with us on a cruise and they couldn't wait. Several of the staff had the mindset screw it we are out of here I even had a staff member state that what they did didn't matter this was their last cruise! :eek: Really thats the attitude you are going to have??? So I can say that we went into this excited and ready to relax after lossing my FIL then two months later a cross country move for work and it has been a crazy few months in our home and this was suppose to be our great escape but turned out not to be. We tried to talk with the staff and be friendly but the only person who responded was our room steward noone else seemed to care...including guest services.....our last 2 cruises were totally the oppisite and were perfect in every way.

[travelexplore3]

Stacie, thank u for posting. I've chalked up all of these cheerleaders and childish remarks to the fact that they were not on our cruise. The posters who were on our cruise or the one before us seem to understand my being upset. Everyoneelse seems to think my statements are ludacris. Whatever, I posted to share me experience with others and cruisers who were on our cruise that shared the same experiences. I'm sorry to hear about ur fil. I know exactly how much u were looking forward to this trip, I'm so sorry u had a bad experience as well.

[travelexplore3]

Yikes, fanboys. Anyways I was on the cruise before the OP and can say the crew was a off and looking as if they didn't want to be there. They did give some vibes as if we're a burden. Lots of sighs and looks of being annoyed. I'm wondering if something was going on behind the scenes.

 

We noticed this as well. Frankly I think they were already burned out when we got on. And contrary to what most posters here think, there was a ton of passengers complaining....I think the employees were just totally burned out. But again, I work in customer service and I too get very burned out with customers in my face 8 hours a day but I never give less than 100% because my income is very important to me. If they rely on tips as so much of their income they need to treat people at 100%...at least try to look like they enjoy their job.

[travelexplore3]

O.K. I'm sorry, but this is really looking like a justification for the tip removal. Really? No one cleaned up after you ever?:rolleyes: Did you use a public restroom? Someone was cleaning those.

 

And your statement that Carnival is not for your family based upon a cruise that was compromised seems to be another justification for removing your tips. I've been on 11 different cruise lines and you can't judge something on a one time experience on a cruise that was compromised from the start though no one's fault. This ship had a mechanical problem on a previous cruise due to a fishing net. I guess if we are going to blame anyone, it's the owner of the net.:rolleyes:

 

Our room steward did the few times he cleaned our room. I'm sure someone came along and removed our trays and dishes off the top of the trash can...but no, no one cleaned our stuff off a table. But I'm done justifying why I pulled my tips. I said why I did and that's the way it is. I do not any one of u any further justification and I didn't owe you a reason why I did it in the first place. I do not care what you think about it. At this point it being ran into the ground by you and like 2 other posters....get over it. You wrent on this cruise.....and the others who have posted here that were on this cruise encountered the some of the same issues and employee behavior as I did. So go find someone else to pick a part. My reasons were justified.

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[truecruiser]

... I even had a staff member state that what they did didn't matter this was their last cruise! :eek: Really thats the attitude you are going to have???...

 

In what regard was this said? In relationship to what (what was the discussion)?

 

are you saying that this crew member said s/he didn't care about not doing their job bc it was their last cruise, or did s/he say in reaction to all of the turmoil as a result of the breakdown that had been plaguing the crew and ground employees with such high stress that s/he wasn't going to let it affect him or her bc they were on their way to leave right after the sailing? I could see the latter, but not the former.

 

The whole crew doesn't rotate at the same time. different positions change at different times, with most positions working 6 months on, 3 months off, and when they return from leave, they usually get sent to a different ship, so the crews are never the same. I once cruised in february and had a great waiter. cruised again 6 months later on a different ship and there he was (he had just returned from leave).

 

when they are about to go home after not being home for half a year, sometimes missing significant milestones like the birth of a child, they are focused on the upcoming good reunion. they aren't bogging themselves down with the problems at work, but in none of the instances have i ever found them to be lax at their jobs. In fact, quite the opposite.

[DEBnGAB]

Did you find the Tandoor for lunch or try the Indian Vegetarian for dinner? Both are excellant.

 

(The pineapple chutney on vanilla soft serve was one of my secret pleasures last November.)

 

I'm a meat lover but really enjoyed both the Tandoor and I tried the Inidian veggie Dinner twice....big serving, couldnt finish it, so much food but delicious!

[BaldByChoice]

At first we were gonna cancel and take the refund....but decided 2 days in cabo, a new ship, new experience..why not?I was just disappointed at how there wasn't enought good to make me ever come back. I understand everything that happened and some of it I could have spoke up, but I was so overwhelmed and felt so defeated I thought why even bother, there's enough people complaining and upset onboard I don't need to add to it anymore than I already have. Everyday the line to guest services was 30 minutes or longer....lots of people were upset, just not everyone is posting about it. All in all I did regret going on the cruise when I wrote my review, now I'm glad we went and I fullfilled my questions about what carnival is like. I totally get that is was an off cruise but in whole aside from it being an off cruise...looking at the cruise and onboard stuff only (entertainment, food, employee interaction etc) there are good points and bad....and all in all carnival isn't for my family. And we would have never known had we skipped the cruise. Now we know.

 

 

...I know lots of folks are jumping on you for your "honest" review, and I've spoken of my issues with a few of your points...one of them here, that the "line to guest services was 30 minutes or longer..." (all the time)---and you know that everyone in that line was there to complain? We queued up in it twice, once to ask a few questions, and another time to get change for laundry when the casino was closed...

 

Everyone is indeed entitled to opinion, and you're no different...it's the shading of facts and overt generalizations that tend to rub people the wrong way.

 

This was my first cruise, and I was hestitant to do so in any event, let alone under these circumstances of a shortened itinerary...but we made the best of it and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Was it perfect? Of course not. Was the staff 100% perfect? Of course not---where are they, ever?

 

There were legitmate issues to be certain, and I'm not an apologist for Carnival by any stretch....just be careful with how you lump those whom you don't know or have any interaction with in with your blanket statements....

[rainbowflag]

Thanks for your report.

[spaceystacie2006]

In what regard was this said? In relationship to what (what was the discussion)?

 

are you saying that this crew member said s/he didn't care about not doing their job bc it was their last cruise, or did s/he say in reaction to all of the turmoil as a result of the breakdown that had been plaguing the crew and ground employees with such high stress that s/he wasn't going to let it affect him or her bc they were on their way to leave right after the sailing? I could see the latter, but not the former.

 

The whole crew doesn't rotate at the same time. different positions change at different times, with most positions working 6 months on, 3 months off, and when they return from leave, they usually get sent to a different ship, so the crews are never the same. I once cruised in february and had a great waiter. cruised again 6 months later on a different ship and there he was (he had just returned from leave).

 

when they are about to go home after not being home for half a year, sometimes missing significant milestones like the birth of a child, they are focused on the upcoming good reunion. they aren't bogging themselves down with the problems at work, but in none of the instances have i ever found them to be lax at their jobs. In fact, quite the opposite.

 

I understand how the staffing works on the ship, I understand being away from family as we are on the west coast all our family is on the east coast and we get to go home about every couple of years!

 

I was speaking to a staff member about the issues the week before he stated that he didn't care what went on because he was on his last cruise and he wasn't going to be around to see anything else on the ship.

[travelexplore3]

...I know lots of folks are jumping on you for your "honest" review, and I've spoken of my issues with a few of your points...one of them here, that the "line to guest services was 30 minutes or longer..." (all the time)---and you know that everyone in that line was there to complain? We queued up in it twice, once to ask a few questions, and another time to get change for laundry when the casino was closed...

 

Everyone is indeed entitled to opinion, and you're no different...it's the shading of facts and overt generalizations that tend to rub people the wrong way.

 

This was my first cruise, and I was hestitant to do so in any event, let alone under these circumstances of a shortened itinerary...but we made the best of it and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Was it perfect? Of course not. Was the staff 100% perfect? Of course not---where are they, ever?

 

There were legitmate issues to be certain, and I'm not an apologist for Carnival by any stretch....just be careful with how you lump those whom you don't know or have any interaction with in with your blanket statements....

I'm not trying to say everyone in the guest service line every single day was there to complain...but the first day I stood in it there was a woman directly behind me that had her iphone stolen out of her room, the man behind her never got his promised onboard credit and was mad, and the lady behind him was furious about missing luggage, in front of me was a nice older man who was upset at a waiter for some reason, in front of him was a lady upset about carnival not reimburssing her for her hotel room because she didn't have the reciept from expedia. I'm not sayng everyone was there to complain but everyone around me was complaining.

The second time I stood in the line the woman in front of me was taking all of her tips off her bill she upset about something from the dining room, behind me was a man upset he was double charged. I'm saying it seemed as if everyone was complaining. I certainly never heard anyone claiming they were having an amazing time....ever while we were on the ship.