Just off the Splendor...ask away

[Jeffbhhs]

Too many better ships than Splendor out of NYC. Without the 2.0 updates I wouldn't book the Splendor.

 

Which ships are better? I can understand saying that you don't want to go on the splendor, but honestly not sure which are better... There are 2 other NCL ships there and only one of them could really be considered better and that's really only cause its brand new... However I have sailed NCL from NYC and have not been thrilled with them at all... The newest NCL ship has some of the same issues that all mega ships now have and that is dealing with entertainment, one of the biggest problems is that you have to "prebook" your entertainment... To me it is really unacceptable that you have to do this, this is one of the main reasons why I chose to go on the splendor over the breakaway... The other issues are the price and itinerary, the Breakaway starts at $1100 for OV and the itinerary is terrible it sits in Bermuda just, I for one really do not like Bermuda, I would rather not even stop there... The other NCL ship is the Gem which has a similar itinerary to the Splendor, but I prefer Carnival and the price was about the same for 1 additional day on the Splendor...

[foilman2002]

did you rent a golf cart for the day? cost? :rolleyes:

 

If you're talking about Grand Turk, I just emailed them this week and the cost for a golf cart for the day is $80.00, seats four. This is for our sailing in October.

[sailorJo]

To each his/her own, but I loved the Splendor just the way she was! I would have liked a Guys burger, but if it comes at the expense of the Mongolian Wok, Burrito Bar or Sushi Bar - I'll pass. I can get a good burger and fries any time.

 

The Splendor has plenty of bars and lots of drinks, so I don't need any of the specialty bars the 2.0 "upgrades." bring, either.

 

Quite frankly, other than the Guys - I don't see what all the hoopla about 2.0 is all about.

 

I agree with you 100%, Kath! And I'm sure I'll agree even more after my very first experience on the Splendor in...wow, only 10 days!! Whoohoo!:D

There are so many wonderful food venues to explore I doubt there's even enough time to try them all.

[Cyber Kat]

I agree with you 100%, Kath! And I'm sure I'll agree even more after my very first experience on the Splendor in...wow, only 10 days!! Whoohoo!:D

There are so many wonderful food venues to explore I doubt there's even enough time to try them all.

 

I didn't :( - I wanted to try the Deli and just never got there. We ate breakfast up in the Rotisserie area, but I never got my chicken and bacon mac and cheese. I thought about sampling the Tandoor, but since it was low on my list - I never had that either.

 

I would have loved to do the brunch more often - we only did it once. I wanted to sample some of the lunch offerings. There is NO shortage of food or food offerings on the Splendor.

 

I'm planning another cruise on her just so I can hit much of what I missed!

[cruizinisthebest]

We spent less than $1000 each for an aft wrap!

 

 

I'll keep checking the pricing. I would really like to try the Splendor if the price was right and the itinerary was good. Just totally not interested in going back to the bahamas.

[Cyber Kat]

I'll keep checking the pricing. I would really like to try the Splendor if the price was right and the itinerary was good. Just totally not interested in going back to the bahamas.

 

We like the GT, HMC and Nassau itinerary. I can take or leave Nassau, but it's worth it to get GT & HMC.

 

I would do San Juan, St Thomas and Grand Turk The only itinerary I wouldn't be interested in is the Port Canaveral, Freeport and Nassau. But that said, I cruise for the sea days more than the ports. I LOVE those 4 sea days on the cruise out of NYC.

[chardee04]

How was the gym? I plan on keeping up with my workout routine while on the ship since I know there's no hope for maintaining my diet. :p

[reno3]

Seriously thinking of the Splendor for next year. I'm less than an hour fro the port. But the itineraries suck.....well at least for me. All but one and the prices are rather high out of NY. With no 2.0 upgrades I'm trying to decide if it's worth it. Was hoping once the schedule for the Pride came out that the itinerary would be something other than the Bahamas. Lo and behold, the Splendor and the Pride have the same itineraries at the same time. Come on now Carnival!!!:mad:

 

I posted almost the same....Why does CCL not rotate the itinerarie of the Pride and Splendor :confused: I have one week that I can cruise and I don't want to go to PC, Nassua or Freeport :mad: DH says if we cruise next year we have to drive to the port....we can drive to the Pride and Splendor.

I also noticed all of the "good' reviews of the Splendor are for the GT, HMC, Freeport itineraire! I would book in a second if I could book this itinerarie....

[Cyber Kat]

I posted almost the same....Why does CCL not rotate the itinerarie of the Pride and Splendor :confused: I have one week that I can cruise and I don't want to go to PC, Nassua or Freeport :mad: DH says if we cruise next year we have to drive to the port....we can drive to the Pride and Splendor.

I also noticed all of the "good' reviews of the Splendor are for the GT, HMC, Freeport itineraire! I would book in a second if I could book this itinerarie....

 

The Splendor does GT, HMC and NASSUA (not Freeport) - this is the itinerary we did. It also does San Juan, St Thomas and GT (we considered this one but the dates didn't work out so my sister and I could be on board for both our birthdays). The Splendor also does Port Canaveral, Freeport and Nassau - I wasn't interested in this one, but I would do it if the price was right.

 

We did San Juan, St Thomas and Tortola on the Legend. I think Carnival is doing GT instead of Tortola because they have an interest in the Cruise Center. San Juan and St Thomas are good ports, too.

 

We live in northern NJ, so driving to NYC is fantastic.

 

I can't wait to sail on the Splendor again.

[Crusin Karen]

The Splendor does GT, HMC and NASSUA (not Freeport) - this is the itinerary we did. It also does San Juan, St Thomas and GT (we considered this one but the dates didn't work out so my sister and I could be on board for both our birthdays). The Splendor also does Port Canaveral, Freeport and Nassau - I wasn't interested in this one, but I would do it if the price was right.

 

We did San Juan, St Thomas and Tortola on the Legend. I think Carnival is doing GT instead of Tortola because they have an interest in the Cruise Center. San Juan and St Thomas are good ports, too.

 

We live in northern NJ, so driving to NYC is fantastic.

 

I can't wait to sail on the Splendor again.

The PC, Freeport and Nassau itin is the winter one. This is the one we did on the Miracle last Feb. just because the price was right and we wanted to sail on her one more time before she left for the west coast. This is also the itin for our Feb, 2014 Splendor cruise. That is why I posted a few messages ago that it is a shame that in the winter, CCL can't go just a bit further south. :mad:

[cruizinisthebest]

Only itin I'm considering is the san juan, st. thomas, grand turk one. It's more expensive than the others and only one date. Geesh.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[Jamman54]

The PC, Freeport and Nassau itin is the winter one. This is the one we did on the Miracle last Feb. just because the price was right and we wanted to sail on her one more time before she left for the west coast. This is also the itin for our Feb, 2014 Splendor cruise. That is why I posted a few messages ago that it is a shame that in the winter, CCL can't go just a bit further south. :mad:

 

I have been complaining about this for some time. Carnival just doesn't seem to want to schedule the longer itineraries from the Northeast. The 10 day cruise that the Miracle did prior to leaving for the west coast was extremely popular. NCL & RCI both schedule longer itineraries during the winter months. But as long as Carnival sticks to the 8 day itineraries for the Splendor in the winter (7 days for the Carnival Pride), They will only offer that crappy itinerary, and it's all due to economics. In order to entice people to book from the northeast in the winter, they lower their fares drastically. In order to be able to make some profit with these lower fares, something has to be cut, and their biggest expense is fuel. That's why they don't go any further south than the Bahamas. You know they can make it as far south as St.Thomas and back in 8 days, but to expend the fuel to get there and back is probably the difference in making a profit or not. I just wish that Carnival would at least try some longer cruises at higher rates and see how it shakes out!!!! :eek:

Off my soapbox now....

[Cyber Kat]

How was the gym? I plan on keeping up with my workout routine while on the ship since I know there's no hope for maintaining my diet. :p

 

 

Gym was good - typical ship gym. There were treadmills that were always busy the 1st 2 mornings, but not bad after that. Also recumbent and regular bikes and elliptical machines.

 

They had a number of weight machines and a free weight/warm up machine. I seem to recall a rowing machine and some kind of Pilates machine.

 

They also had classes - yoga, Pilates, boot camp - for a fee.

[Cyber Kat]

I have been complaining about this for some time. Carnival just doesn't seem to want to schedule the longer itineraries from the Northeast. The 10 day cruise that the Miracle did prior to leaving for the west coast was extremely popular. NCL & RCI both schedule longer itineraries during the winter months. But as long as Carnival sticks to the 8 day itineraries for the Splendor in the winter (7 days for the Carnival Pride), They will only offer that crappy itinerary, and it's all due to economics. In order to entice people to book from the northeast in the winter, they lower their fares drastically. In order to be able to make some profit with these lower fares, something has to be cut, and their biggest expense is fuel. That's why they don't go any further south than the Bahamas. You know they can make it as far south as St.Thomas and back in 8 days, but to expend the fuel to get there and back is probably the difference in making a profit or not. I just wish that Carnival would at least try some longer cruises at higher rates and see how it shakes out!!!! :eek:

 

Off my soapbox now....

 

They are trying - in Dec and/or Nov of 2014 and Jan and Feb of 2015 they are doing itineraries to San Juan out of NYC on the Splendor.

 

The cruise (8 days) will go to Grand Turk, St. Kitts, Antigua, St Thomas and finish up in San Juan. You can either fly home from San Juan or do the B2B - which I want to do soooo bad!

 

I priced out a B2B in Jan 2015 and it came to $3300 and change for 2 people in a balcony cabin. It's an early saver rate, so if it goes down, you can apply for the reduction/OBC.

 

I hope they have good luck with it!

[SusieCruisie]

Deck Director app was AWESOME! I was navigating around that ship with no problems by Day 2.

 

Decks 3 and 4 are the only real problem decks - all the others from 5 to 9 go forward to aft. Deck 10 - does, too but you have to go outside.

 

I want to use airplane mode so that I don't receive texts , calls , etc... Will this app still work? I just checked, it's $4.99 just want to make sure it is worth it for me.

[SusieCruisie]

I want to use airplane mode so that I don't receive texts , calls , etc... Will this app still work? I just checked, it's $4.99 just want to make sure it is worth it for me.

 

Wait, I just did the free one and it says 99 cents for the splendor... Which one should I buy? $4.99 or the 99 cents?

[Aprilmay13]

I bought the 99 cent one . I looked at it, it looks cool but I was wondering also if my phone is in airplane mode how will I be able to use the app?

[chardee04]

There's another app called Shipmate that has Splendor info and maps, port information, pictures, webcams- all free. It downloads the ship information onto your phone so it works on airplane mode. I'd imagine deck director would do the same.

[chardee04]

Gym was good - typical ship gym.

 

They had a number of weight machines and a free weight/warm up machine.

 

Thanks for the scoop. I've heard some ships don't have free weights. I'm glad that the Splendor does.

[cv322]

I have been complaining about this for some time. Carnival just doesn't seem to want to schedule the longer itineraries from the Northeast. The 10 day cruise that the Miracle did prior to leaving for the west coast was extremely popular. NCL & RCI both schedule longer itineraries during the winter months. But as long as Carnival sticks to the 8 day itineraries for the Splendor in the winter (7 days for the Carnival Pride), They will only offer that crappy itinerary, and it's all due to economics. In order to entice people to book from the northeast in the winter, they lower their fares drastically. In order to be able to make some profit with these lower fares, something has to be cut, and their biggest expense is fuel. That's why they don't go any further south than the Bahamas. You know they can make it as far south as St.Thomas and back in 8 days, but to expend the fuel to get there and back is probably the difference in making a profit or not. I just wish that Carnival would at least try some longer cruises at higher rates and see how it shakes out!!!! :eek:

 

Off my soapbox now....

 

I was on that 10-day Miracle cruise March 6, 2013 :D...and you're right! It was fantastic! And, like you, I wish Carnival would consider doing 10 or 11-day cruises out of NY...I betcha' they would be very popular. ;)

[Cyber Kat]

I want to use airplane mode so that I don't receive texts , calls , etc... Will this app still work? I just checked, it's $4.99 just want to make sure it is worth it for me.

 

Yes - it works just fine in air plane mode and with all data off. When you get the app and chose a ship (one ship is 99 cents - $4.99 gets you all the ships - cheaper if you cruise often on different ships) the directions and deck plans for that ship are down loaded then.

 

Just make sure to download the plans and directions for the ship you want BEFORE you cruise. I tested it out at home and it worked just fine.

 

Used it a lot on the ship with no charges. It's great!

[Cyber Kat]

There's another app called Shipmate that has Splendor info and maps, port information, pictures, webcams- all free. It downloads the ship information onto your phone so it works on airplane mode. I'd imagine deck director would do the same.

 

Yes - that's the way it works. The thing about Deck Director (I have both) is that it gives you Google maps style directions. You can ask for directions from your cabin to the theater or the aft pool or the buffet for instance, and it tells you step by step with visual references - take this elevator - turn left, walk past this area, turn right etc.

 

Each ship is 99 cents - the $4.99 gets you all ships.

[jimbo5544]

They are trying - in Dec and/or Nov of 2014 and Jan and Feb of 2015 they are doing itineraries to San Juan out of NYC on the Splendor.

 

The cruise (8 days) will go to Grand Turk, St. Kitts, Antigua, St Thomas and finish up in San Juan. You can either fly home from San Juan or do the B2B - which I want to do soooo bad!

 

I priced out a B2B in Jan 2015 and it came to $3300 and change for 2 people in a balcony cabin. It's an early saver rate, so if it goes down, you can apply for the reduction/OBC.

 

I hope they have good luck with it!

The one ways are a trial. It does give some options to what would be 3 to 4 days of cruising (down and back) that could less than optimum weather wise. Personally, I think they need to think outside the box way more.

[lovelearnteach]

Thank-you for the review :).

[SusieCruisie]

Yes - it works just fine in air plane mode and with all data off. When you get the app and chose a ship (one ship is 99 cents - $4.99 gets you all the ships - cheaper if you cruise often on different ships) the directions and deck plans for that ship are down loaded then.

 

Just make sure to download the plans and directions for the ship you want BEFORE you cruise. I tested it out at home and it worked just fine.

 

Used it a lot on the ship with no charges. It's great!

 

Thanks again so much! You are truly amazing!!!