Carnival Splendor - Bahamas Review

[Ginamarie]

A trip on the Splendor was originally not in the cards for us in 2013. We sailed on Freedom of the Seas in August and thought that would be our extend of cruising for the year. However, the low rates on this ship were too good to pass up, and when I inquired about getting adjoining cabins for our family (necessary because we are 5 people now and I can't trust three little ones in a room of their own yet) it was not a problem. We wound up being joined by my mom and two younger siblings, who booked a cabin right next to our two. I did not have high expectations for this bargain cruise, but it wound up being a lot of fun.

 

Embarkation- check in at the desk was faster than I've ever had. We had to wait for awhile before boarding began, but there were plenty of seats.

 

Itinerary- This was our first time taking a Bahamas itinerary from NYC. Sailing from NYC is magical, and we loved watching the skyline and the Statue of Liberty. In Pt. Canaveral, we planned to have breakfast at one of the WDW hotels so that the kids could see some Disney characters and then walk/shop at Downtown Disney. We wound up having delays at the pier and they extended our time in port, but we couldn't take advantage of that since the rental car place wouldn't be open any later. We barely made it to our breakfast reservation (45 minutes late!) but they took us anyway. Our second stop was supposed to be Nassau, which I was hoping to enjoy, but rough seas kept us from docking there- even though we made it all the way to the pier and then had to turn around! We did make it to Freeport, but had planned on staying onboard that day, so we didn't get off of the ship. There is a small shopping area at the Freeport pier, but that's it within walking distance.

 

Cabin: We had three balcony cabins on deck 8- all the way forward. It was a great spot and very quiet aside from the baby across the hall who was screaming for a long time one night. We were able to open the balcony dividers between our cabins to make it like one long balcony, which was nice. Cabins were spacious, beds were comfortable and everything was immaculate. This was one of the cleanest cabins I've been in. The bathroom was small, but adequate.

 

Activities: Carnival was not kidding about having a fun ship. They had activities going on all day long, both for adults and families. We played a ton of trivia and won some of the coveted ships on a stick. I wish some of the nighttime activities didn't start as late as they did, but otherwise, I can't complain. We were not bored. The stage shows were kind of meh. They only had two singers onboard (who clearly hated each other) and the dancers were not very good.. lots of dancing in different tempos and not unison. We thought the game shows were fun, but not your traditional mainstage show. Malcolm was fine as a cruise director, though not what I expected from prior reviews. I wish the daily activities were better described in the printed materials. We didn't know what some of the listings meant, and a couple of times activities were listed for the wrong time period. The pools/water slide/splash pad got high marks from our group.

 

Dining: Our wait staff was very good, except that we had to keep requesting lemonade while the tables around us were served and refilled without a problem. Food was surprisingly better than expected. The only thing I had that I didn't like was a salad that tasted like soap. Soups were generally excellent, pasta was well done, fish was great, etc. I loved my chocolate melting cake on a couple of nights. The hubby and I tried the steakhouse, which was also very good. Oddly, we never met the maitre d, and only saw him walking in our area of the dining room one night. He did not stop at our table. The buffet was also good and we didn't have trouble finding seats except during the chocolate buffet. I wish they would find a faster way to get out pizza (which was delicious) and set up a larger mongolian wok station, because the lines get too long. Also, the chocolate buffet was a mad house. There has to be a better way to organize that. Do not miss the rotisserie which is upstairs at the buffet. The kids loved those chicken legs. Oh, and the Carnival chocolate chip cookies were to die for.

 

Ship Layout/Maintenance: As with many Carnival ships, it can be difficult to navigate decks 3-4, and the casino area reeks of smoke. Otherwise, we didn't have any problems. The ship was always being cleaned except that the tables on deck 10 around the pool were not cleaned frequently and people would leave their food out, and that was gross.

 

Kids Club: All three of my kids enjoyed the kids club. It was great that they would take my 2 year old even though he is still in diapers. The staff in the clubs were wonderful and the activities were really cute. I wish they didn't close at odd hours and start charging after 10 pm, but I don't want to nitpick here.

 

Service- Service on this ship was superb. Our cabin stewards were always around smiling and knew us by name. All of the employes we dealt with were pleasant and helpful. We were impressed.

 

Overall- this was one of our better cruises, and, for the price we paid, an amazing value. I would not hesitate to sail on Carnival again. Our last Carnival cruise had been on the Ecstasy and while we enjoyed it, this experience was much better. I think from here forward, we will try to stick to the newer classes of Carnival ships. I'm seriously considering another spin on the Splendor for 2014, especially if I can find a good deal on a different itinerary.

[kcwingwalker]

A trip on the Splendor was originally not in the cards for us in 2013. We sailed on Freedom of the Seas in August and thought that would be our extend of cruising for the year. However, the low rates on this ship were too good to pass up, and when I inquired about getting adjoining cabins for our family (necessary because we are 5 people now and I can't trust three little ones in a room of their own yet) it was not a problem. We wound up being joined by my mom and two younger siblings, who booked a cabin right next to our two. I did not have high expectations for this bargain cruise, but it wound up being a lot of fun.

 

Embarkation- check in at the desk was faster than I've ever had. We had to wait for awhile before boarding began, but there were plenty of seats.

 

Itinerary- This was our first time taking a Bahamas itinerary from NYC. Sailing from NYC is magical, and we loved watching the skyline and the Statue of Liberty. In Pt. Canaveral, we planned to have breakfast at one of the WDW hotels so that the kids could see some Disney characters and then walk/shop at Downtown Disney. We wound up having delays at the pier and they extended our time in port, but we couldn't take advantage of that since the rental car place wouldn't be open any later. We barely made it to our breakfast reservation (45 minutes late!) but they took us anyway. Our second stop was supposed to be Nassau, which I was hoping to enjoy, but rough seas kept us from docking there- even though we made it all the way to the pier and then had to turn around! We did make it to Freeport, but had planned on staying onboard that day, so we didn't get off of the ship. There is a small shopping area at the Freeport pier, but that's it within walking distance.

 

Cabin: We had three balcony cabins on deck 8- all the way forward. It was a great spot and very quiet aside from the baby across the hall who was screaming for a long time one night. We were able to open the balcony dividers between our cabins to make it like one long balcony, which was nice. Cabins were spacious, beds were comfortable and everything was immaculate. This was one of the cleanest cabins I've been in. The bathroom was small, but adequate.

 

Activities: Carnival was not kidding about having a fun ship. They had activities going on all day long, both for adults and families. We played a ton of trivia and won some of the coveted ships on a stick. I wish some of the nighttime activities didn't start as late as they did, but otherwise, I can't complain. We were not bored. The stage shows were kind of meh. They only had two singers onboard (who clearly hated each other) and the dancers were not very good.. lots of dancing in different tempos and not unison. We thought the game shows were fun, but not your traditional mainstage show. Malcolm was fine as a cruise director, though not what I expected from prior reviews. I wish the daily activities were better described in the printed materials. We didn't know what some of the listings meant, and a couple of times activities were listed for the wrong time period. The pools/water slide/splash pad got high marks from our group.

 

Dining: Our wait staff was very good, except that we had to keep requesting lemonade while the tables around us were served and refilled without a problem. Food was surprisingly better than expected. The only thing I had that I didn't like was a salad that tasted like soap. Soups were generally excellent, pasta was well done, fish was great, etc. I loved my chocolate melting cake on a couple of nights. The hubby and I tried the steakhouse, which was also very good. Oddly, we never met the maitre d, and only saw him walking in our area of the dining room one night. He did not stop at our table. The buffet was also good and we didn't have trouble finding seats except during the chocolate buffet. I wish they would find a faster way to get out pizza (which was delicious) and set up a larger mongolian wok station, because the lines get too long. Also, the chocolate buffet was a mad house. There has to be a better way to organize that. Do not miss the rotisserie which is upstairs at the buffet. The kids loved those chicken legs. Oh, and the Carnival chocolate chip cookies were to die for.

 

Ship Layout/Maintenance: As with many Carnival ships, it can be difficult to navigate decks 3-4, and the casino area reeks of smoke. Otherwise, we didn't have any problems. The ship was always being cleaned except that the tables on deck 10 around the pool were not cleaned frequently and people would leave their food out, and that was gross.

 

Kids Club: All three of my kids enjoyed the kids club. It was great that they would take my 2 year old even though he is still in diapers. The staff in the clubs were wonderful and the activities were really cute. I wish they didn't close at odd hours and start charging after 10 pm, but I don't want to nitpick here.

 

Service- Service on this ship was superb. Our cabin stewards were always around smiling and knew us by name. All of the employes we dealt with were pleasant and helpful. We were impressed.

 

Overall- this was one of our better cruises, and, for the price we paid, an amazing value. I would not hesitate to sail on Carnival again. Our last Carnival cruise had been on the Ecstasy and while we enjoyed it, this experience was much better. I think from here forward, we will try to stick to the newer classes of Carnival ships. I'm seriously considering another spin on the Splendor for 2014, especially if I can find a good deal on a different itinerary.

 

Nice review................thanks for sharing!

[Linerguy]

I was on the same sailing and pretty much echo your thoughts. I wasn't expecting much at such a low rate, but it was really a great cruise.

 

Your comments about the two main vocalists in the production shows made me laugh. I've never seen to people on the same stage stand so far apart. She was actually an excellent singer – lots of soul for a cruise ship performer – but he was sharp and flat most of the time.

 

Excellent review, thanks for sharing.

[alymb03]

Thanks for your review! We will be doing the same itinerary as a 3 cabin family group in January! Can't pass in the great deals right now!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[4merlurker]

Great review! :) Cant wait for our turn! :D

[Vitamin_Sea]

Happy to see you had a good time. Nice review and thanks!

We are sailing the Splendor 1/28.

[CookieShip]

Thanks for the review, sailing on her next week! Yipeee!

Interesting that Nassau was canceled, was thinking of maybe booking Comfort Suites for Atlantis, but think I'll pass this time around. What did you guys do that day instead of going to Nassau? Does the ship just sail more slowly to Freeport or does it sorta just dock in the middle of the ocean?

[MrBanana1240]

Thanks for the review and I hope you have fun on your transatlantic cruise! Magic was recently upgraded (:

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Thanks for posting. Looking forward to our cruise in Splendor.

[Lisa0719]

We sailed right after you. Captain told us it was the first time in 17 years they couldn't dock in Nassau . . . ship was going to hit shore and tug boats weren't helping.

[Ocean Dancer]

We did the South American repo. She was our home for 7 weeks, needs updating badly. Hope you like pink!!!!!!!!:eek: Was Malcolm the CD? He is very funny, but a bit over the top! The crew was great.

[092306]

We were on the Splendor a few weeks ago and had a good time also. Thanks for the review and glad you had a great cruise!

[ndeneef]

Had a great first cruise on the splendor. Only down fall our balcony cabins 8399-8403 had the smallest connection door ever it was at most 12 inches so if you need connecting balconies these rooms are not the best choice.

[JohnSpo]

I was on the same sailing and pretty much echo your thoughts. I wasn't expecting much at such a low rate, but it was really a great cruise.

 

 

Glad to hear you all had a great time. I will be on Splendor with the same Bahamas itineary next month. I can't wait.:cool:

[Vitamin_Sea]

We are doing the same cruise next month. Im wondering how many days would be warm enough to use the pools?

[moxie99]

For our Christmas Cruise - I have two balconies booked with the connecting Inside door - should be great - am hoping we can have the balcony partitions opened as well... We can't wait - was definitely a bargain!

[Ginamarie]

We are doing the same cruise next month. Im wondering how many days would be warm enough to use the pools?

 

 

The nice thing is that one of the pools is in a domed area, so even if it is cold outside, that pool can still be opened as long as the seas are smooth enough. For us, the outdoor pools were usable on the Pt. Canaveral day and thereafter until we started sailing north of FL again. It really depends on your week though- even FL has cold snaps.

[Mira28]

Loved your review. It really gives me a good, clear picture of the ship. I'll be on the Splendor later this month for my first cruise! Is the ship lively, with any live music?

In Port Canaveral. Do you think there's enough time to go to Epcot? (Love that place.) Do you know if Carnaval has excursions there?

Thanks again and I'm glad you and your family had a great time.

[Vitamin_Sea]

Loved your review. It really gives me a good, clear picture of the ship. I'll be on the Splendor later this month for my first cruise! Is the ship lively, with any live music?

In Port Canaveral. Do you think there's enough time to go to Epcot? (Love that place.) Do you know if Carnaval has excursions there?

Thanks again and I'm glad you and your family had a great time.

 

CCL has excursion to Epcot $159 pp

 

It says its a 10 hour deal :eek:

 

Seems tight to me.. My docs say were in PC..7am- 6pm.

Edited January 2, 2014 by limoguy1

[Ginamarie]

Loved your review. It really gives me a good, clear picture of the ship. I'll be on the Splendor later this month for my first cruise! Is the ship lively, with any live music?

In Port Canaveral. Do you think there's enough time to go to Epcot? (Love that place.) Do you know if Carnaval has excursions there?

Thanks again and I'm glad you and your family had a great time.

 

 

I thought the ship was plenty lively. I especially liked the movies and music that they had on the deck, which would have been more fun if the weather had been better, but they had no control over that.

 

We rented a car and drove to WDW on our Pt Canaveral day. I thought it was too pricy to do the excursion with park tickets because there were so many of us, and the rental car wasn't that expensive. We wound up having breakfast at Ohana to see the characters and then went to Downtown Disney for awhile. (I love Epcot too, and WISHED we were going there because it was also Food and Wine Festival time, but you can't do everything!)