Carnival Splendor review (Nov 9-17; NYC-Bahamas)

[Lerin]

Mixed thoughts on your review:

 

Normally I'd say to try a different line, Carnival isn't for you.

However, you mentioned the biggest problem was the tight schedule and being rushed on excursions. This can be true of all cruises. But with that said, it only happens if you let it. On your 3rd port you didn't do an excursion and said it was great.

If you do ever cruise again, don't register for any excursions. Or at least research them carefully beforehand.

 

Sorry it wasn't your gig, how was it for the others in your party?

Thanks for your review.

[jimmybuffet21]

 

Did you hear the code operation star-bright that went off on the last morning at 430 am

After that I never went back to sleep. It was on deck 10.

 

Oh!! So glad you heard what it was! My family and I all heard it but couldn't remember what was said! That's a med emergency right? And yes, that was my wakeup call too.

[Giantfan13]

Cruising with your children is fun, but with a 1 year old AND a 3 year old, the vacation part of it is gone.

We are seniors, and we do cruise Carnival because it gets us a sea and it's cheap. But it's hard enough to take care of kids at home, on a ship it must be tons of work.

Next time you do a cruise, (hopefully you will do another cruise) either wait till the kids are a bit older so YOU can have time to enjoy your cruise, or leave them with the grandparents and have a second honeymoon on your own.

 

Not to criticize, but why do Disney with such young children?. If it was more for you, OK, but they will not enjoy Disney at that age. In hindsight, you would have been better off doing what you wanted to do, relaxing and avoid all that rushing. Even at dinner, it's best to be served, but with such young children I can see where you are coming from.

 

Don't discount cruising again, just wait till the kids are a bit older and you can send them off to Camp Carnival.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[riclop]

Recently returned from sailing on the Splendor 11/9-11/17. Please note that this review is an expression of my opinion based on my experience. While we had an awesome time, my review will probably focus a bit more on what I was less-than pleased about.

A little about me- first time cruiser, in my (lower) 30’s, traveled with a large family group (ages ranging 1-60ish), also brought my husband (my age) & children (1 and 3 years old). Since I never cruised before, I was a bit anxious (I tend to expect a crisis always) and really had minimal expectations. Honestly, as long as I made it back to land safely, I knew I would be happy. Yes, I’m dramatic. I was nervous about how the vaca would go with the kiddos in tow, but they did wonderfully. Grandma and Grandpa came too, so I did get to enjoy some downtime as well.

I would say, overall, I will not likely cruise again anytime soon. I don’t think it’s for me for a few reasons. Mainly, I prefer to be on land. It was very rough when we were in the Bahamas and although it’s probably par for the course for many of you, I didn’t like large waves rocking the boat. Being a first-timer, I didn’t know how normal this was, and asked several staff members throughout the evening if this much rocking was “normal.” Some of them said no, some said yes. I spent half the night wondering if I was going to have to run to my muster station. To my surprise, the next day I found out that many people had also been asking staff the same question, hoping to have their nerves eased as well. I feel that staff (cruise director?) should really take charge during rocky waters and perhaps make an announcement informing cruisers that the rocky travel was normal. It would have calmed many of us and we could have enjoyed the previous evening a lot more. I’m sure there are many first-time cruisers on many of these voyages.

I also prefer to abide by own schedule. The stops at port were too short to truly fully get full value for any excursion, in my opinion. We did Disney at Port Canaveral and Balmoral Island (beach day) in Nassau. While both excursions were great, time was ridiculously limited and, especially at Disney, I felt overstressed in trying to cram in as much as I could. When you factor in wait times for park rides (40 mins per ride) and a break for lunch, you really don’t get to experience a whole lot at Disney, and you still pay full price admission. You also have to take a monorail/ferry back to the transportation center where you catch a bus back to port, so that also takes time away from your “fun.” We did all of our transportation through Carnival, as I wanted to be accounted for in the event I was running late or something (again, I plan for the worst!) Balmoral Island was great- but again, you are only on the beach for a little over two hours. We did the Deluxe version of this excursion, which includes lunch. It is worth the extra $10; actually it simply makes more sense if you are planning to eat on the beach, as lunch items run about $10-$12. In Freeport we simply got off the ship with no plans, and it was great fun. You can easily spend a few hours here just walking around. There is a Senor Frogs, small shops and a live band was playing the day we were there. It was nice to be off the ship and not feel stressed by time.

Here are the details that I feel are worth reviewing…

Cruising in and out of NYC –not a bad deal. I don’t like to fly, so the 4 hour drive to port was great for me. Waters and weather were not bad; pretty typical for this time of year. While embarkation day was easy, disembark day was AWFUL . It was crowded in customs, everyone wanted to throw down with each other, porters were scarce, etc. I also despised the fact that announcements on the ship started at 6:30am and I didn’t step off the gangway until after 10:30. My kids were cranky, I was cranky. I knew what I had to do Malcolm… you didn’t need to wake me up and explain it to me 12 times. I felt like cattle being herded into holding areas on the ship while waiting for my debark zone # to be called… It was a very “hurry up and wait!” day. I like dropping my room key in a box at 11am and walking out the door to my car when I check-out. This was a hassle. Again, first time cruiser problems.

Food- lots to say, but I’ll keep it simple. We are on a ship and abilities are therefore limited. This is also not Wolfgang’s private charter. With that in mind, I thought everything was fine. The hype of the restaurant was comical to me, because it was just the same food from the buffet but used in different ways. So putting on a prom dress to eat the same food the gal in a bathing suit on the lido deck was eating was funny to me, but I went with it and even got some portraits to prove it. It was nice to sit together with family and enjoy a meal. We only attended the sitdown a couple times though because the two-hour ordeal was exhausting to my kids most of the time. Oh and our server was FANTASTIC.

My husband got a piece of raw chicken from the Tandoor buffet. The deli was our best bet. I wish I ate there more. The burrito bar was good too, but lines were always long and they only have two burrito makers. Pizza Pirate was average. It filled you up. Room service was a nice perk. They could definitely spruce up their buffet menus easily. I don’t miss any of the food.

A sickness of some sort (rumors were rampid, so I’m not 100% sure what was really going on – we heard everything from GI problems to E Coli to death!) was going around for 80% of our cruise. Buffet servers had to serve you your food; ice cream cones and popcorn were taken away. Handwashing initiatives were forced down your throat via memos under your door, videos on on the movie screen, announcements, etc. (not really a bad thing). We saw piles of puke in various places.

My last major irritation was honestly the fellow cruisers. Not everyone, but a LOT of people were rude, pushy, abrasive, etc. FYI- if you want to eat at the buffet then, yes, you have to wait in line like everyone else!! We had people lining up behind our backs asking us to pass back food so they didn’t have to wait in line. Sure let me grab you a scalding hot hardboiled egg with my germy bare hand. We had quite a melting pot of cultures on our ship, and I think that was the explanation for some of the diverse differences/blunt misunderstandings. OH and if you are going to be what you think is sexy and have sex on your balcony, could you please keep your moaning, groaning and swearing to a minimal? There is nothing more repulsive than waking up at 3am to the sounds of someone’s excessive jiggle being smacked outside your window, followed by a-cat-might-be-dying moans. If I can take care of my man without the entire starboard of the Splendor knowing about it, you can too. I just feel bad because so many abruptly awoken people were making fun of your “sexiness.”

I thought Malcolm WOO HOO did a good job. Not really sure how someone has the time to get annoyed by hearing the words “woo hoo” a couple times per day, but it is part of his gig. He was out and about everywhere and seemed to be into his job. Can’t say enough about how hard the staff works. ALL of the crew members I encountered were AWESOME. Take a moment and talk with them, learn about their backgrounds… many of them have children that they haven’t seen in a year or so because of their job. It will make you appreciate the luxurious life you are living. They all paid such caring attention to my children. We tipped on top of our prepaid gratuity; every dollar given out was well-deserved.

I did get a Swedish massage (by Eva) at the Cloud9 spa- AWESOME! Worth it. Eva knows her stuff.

I didn’t spend a lot of booze. Spring for the rum runners and pack ‘em like a champ. Everyone in my group brought them and none got confiscated. Drinks are pricey. A miller lite was almost $7 and a cheap glass of wine was $11.

Our room – balcony, midship – was great. Large enough for my husband and I plus the two kids and all our belongings. We did get busted for our makeshift clothesline, but our friend strung up a hammock and enjoyed that.

Helpful Tips- yes, you will need a power strip to plug things in, but do yourself a favor and don’t watch all those “cruise tips” youtube videos. You don’t need to pack 98% of that stuff.

I think that’s it. I did have a good time, but I am a tough critic. Every single day was enjoyable in many ways for us, but my next vacation we will probably return to an all-inclusive resort on land. Happy sailing everyone.

Anything thing else you didnt like. Stick to an AI.

[jimmybuffet21]

Cruising with your children is fun, but with a 1 year old AND a 3 year old, the vacation part of it is gone.

We are seniors, and we do cruise Carnival because it gets us a sea and it's cheap. But it's hard enough to take care of kids at home, on a ship it must be tons of work.

Next time you do a cruise, (hopefully you will do another cruise) either wait till the kids are a bit older so YOU can have time to enjoy your cruise, or leave them with the grandparents and have a second honeymoon on your own.

 

Not to criticize, but why do Disney with such young children?. If it was more for you, OK, but they will not enjoy Disney at that age. In hindsight, you would have been better off doing what you wanted to do, relaxing and avoid all that rushing. Even at dinner, it's best to be served, but with such young children I can see where you are coming from.

 

Don't discount cruising again, just wait till the kids are a bit older and you can send them off to Camp Carnival.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

Hi Len! We went on this vaca for a family members birthday. My entire extended family went and we were not going to miss out! However I am "that mom" who hates to leave her children and would have skipped the trip altogether before leaving them behind. We debated forever on whether or not go but in the end we knew it was a wonderful opportunity for us. As I mentioned in my review, the kids were awesome. My fun and enjoyment in life is being with them. yes its often hard but I don't even realize it anymore because its normal life for me. I would NEVER normally dream of doing this or Disney with the kids being so young, but the circumstances were different in this case so we seized the opportunity. My complaints really had nothing to do with not enjoying the cruise because of being there with kids. The perk of traveling with our group was that my husband and I had quite a bit of time alone thanks to some willing babysitters :) my issues were more about the clientele and logistics.

[Dorene1]

Not everyone loves to cruise, I have been on over 60 cruises on all cruise lines. I have also done 10 or more all-inclusive and for the money, I can go on 3 Carnival cruises for the price of the one all inclusive..........that being said, we will be on the Splendor for New Years, and we make our own time, looking forward to December 27th.

 

I appreciate your review and thank you for sharing it.

 

Dorene

[Andoria]

Where were you to calm my irrational fears?

 

I left out the part where I went into the bathroom (so the kids wouldn't see a terrified mama) with a bottle of wine and sat on the toilet praying the rough seas were "normal" while all I could envision was The Perfect Storm.

 

 

Snort.

 

I think waterfalls of sea water would have to hit me before I'd feel anxious.

[KillaFee]

Snort.

 

I think waterfalls of sea water would have to hit me before I'd feel anxious.

 

My thoughts exactly! I love waves. Unless dishes (or more importantly, my glass of wine) are breaking all around me....I'm fine. :p

[dvond]

We did Disney once off the ship and had till 9pm so it was fine, we rented a car at Thrifty on our own and made the 45 minute drive which was easy and basically had about 6 plus hours at the park and while having a 8 year old and 15 year old, we hustled but was able to have a pretty full Disney day. We setup a taxi to pick us up at the rental car place which was closed and got back on the ship around 8:45.

 

Would never do an excursion as they rush you and give you limited time, 17 cruises and only 1 excursion through the cruise, we research and go off on our own with the kids

[smeck]

I think the ops mistake was cruising the North Atlantic this time of the year. Odds are your going to get rough seas I would of suggested an short five day cruise out of Florida. Or an summer cruise where seas generally not always are gentler. Shame on your trave agent if you used one for not warning you.

[MsTabbyKats]

I think the ops mistake was cruising the North Atlantic this time of the year. Odds are your going to get rough seas I would of suggested an short five day cruise out of Florida. Or an summer cruise where seas generally not always are gentler. Shame on your trave agent if you used one for not warning you.

 

NY to Bahamas....North Atlantic? Not on my map...........

 

OP said it was a family cruise. Sometimes you don't get to choose for everyone.

 

Someone can tell me a million times that plane turbulence doesn't mean the plane isn't about to crash....but I hold on for deal life anyway.

 

Although others didn't find her sailing "rocky"....she did. And she just wanted a little reassurance that the ship wasn't going down. I don't blame her.

[smeck]

NY to Bahamas....North Atlantic? Not on my map...........

 

OP said it was a family cruise. Sometimes you don't get to choose for everyone.

 

Someone can tell me a million times that plane turbulence doesn't mean the plane isn't about to crash....but I hold on for deal life anyway.

 

Although others didn't find her sailing "rocky"....she did. And she just wanted a little reassurance that the ship wasn't going down. I don't blame her.

 

Close enough that she should of been warned. Really you want to make this an geography lesson. It's one of the northern most ports this time of year. It's all semantics.

[BattyL]

I think you were on the wrong cruise for you! They're not all the same.

 

Totally agree! My last cruise on the Splendor had me thinking we were done cruising. Overall, an awful experience for us. I would try another ship if I were you.

[blivid316]

Hello fellow cruisers!

Happy Cruising!

 

Carl

 

PS: My partner and I purchased the Cheers! program for drinks on day 2. It was well worth it, but your choices and quantities are limited. Also, you have to personally buy your own and cannot treat somebody else. See the website for more details. - CW :)

 

 

Carl- care to elaborate on the Cheers program? I understand it is 15 drinks a day (and I am ok with that) but how are the choices limited? I know you can get drinks that are $10 and under... are a lot of drinks more than the $10 you are allowed?

Edited November 24, 2013 by blivid316

[~Jo~]

I also was on this cruise, 8 family members traveling together. With three first timers in our group, I warned them that usually, out of NYC at this time of the year, we have rough seas. To my surprise, I found this sailing to be quite calm. It was windy but the sea were not rough as I was expecting.

We had a good trip. We ate in the dinning room every night and we had a fabulous team of waiters..very entertaining! We were always the last ones to leave the dining room. We had late seating.

In Florida, we went to Cocoa Beach.

In Nassau, walked around the shops then went to Atlantis to walk around.

In Freeport, we went to the beach at Grand Lucayan resort. $15.

The casino was good to us...we didn't lose any money, everyday play, came out on top.

We won at the first bingo game. Good start to the vacation.

We departed late from Freeport. Watched many official people waiting on the Pier, saw an ambulance then go. Then a white mini van came and a person was taken from the ship on a gurney with luggage and put in back of mini van. I don't know what happened. I thought we were waiting for late passengers.

I have done this itinerary, or the same islands many times. I've done fun excursions in Nassau in the last year. I often stay on board in Florida and I love Grand Lucayan resort in Freeport.

~Jo~

[JetJock_YHZ]

Hi blivid316,

 

Carnival has a printed drink menu card on every bar. With the Cheers! program, you get 15 drinks per day, per person, per cabin. All people staying your cabin have to sign up to get it.

 

One thing I found really strange was that if you order one of the "Front Page" drinks, like a "Cruiser", you get a double shot.

 

I went down on Day 6 and ordered a double Gin and Tonic, but they would not sell it to me. The bar tender poured the drink, and then poured it down the sink. I then ordered a "Cruiser", with the same amount of booze and was served. 'Sup widdat?

 

Typically a single G&T is $5.95. One of the featured drinks, like a "Cruiser" (double lists at $8.95). The funniest thing is that if you order a gin martini, it is VERY strong. HIC! ;)

 

Overall, it is a good deal, if you like to drink on a cruise... as they say, "The more you booze, the better you cruise!"

 

We saved a hundred+ bucks, versus buying the drinks without the plan.

 

Cheers!

 

Carl :)

Edited November 24, 2013 by JetJock_YHZ

[jimmybuffet21]

I also was on this cruise, 8 family members traveling together. With three first timers in our group, I warned them that usually, out of NYC at this time of the year, we have rough seas. To my surprise, I found this sailing to be quite calm. It was windy but the sea were not rough as I was expecting.

We had a good trip. We ate in the dinning room every night and we had a fabulous team of waiters..very entertaining! We were always the last ones to leave the dining room. We had late seating.

In Florida, we went to Cocoa Beach.

In Nassau, walked around the shops then went to Atlantis to walk around.

In Freeport, we went to the beach at Grand Lucayan resort. $15.

The casino was good to us...we didn't lose any money, everyday play, came out on top.

We won at the first bingo game. Good start to the vacation.

We departed late from Freeport. Watched many official people waiting on the Pier, saw an ambulance then go. Then a white mini van came and a person was taken from the ship on a gurney with luggage and put in back of mini van. I don't know what happened. I thought we were waiting for late passengers.

I have done this itinerary, or the same islands many times. I've done fun excursions in Nassau in the last year. I often stay on board in Florida and I love Grand Lucayan resort in Freeport.

~Jo~

 

I heard that an older passenger passed away while we were docked in Freeport. Some of my family members witnessed this same scene with the ambulance and gurney.

[blivid316]

Hi blivid316,

 

Carnival has a printed drink menu card on every bar. With the Cheers! program, you get 15 drinks per day, per person, per cabin. All people staying your cabin have to sign up to get it.

 

One thing I found really strange was that if you order one of the "Front Page" drinks, like a "Cruiser", you get a double shot.

 

I went down on Day 6 and ordered a double Gin and Tonic, but they would not sell it to me. The bar tender poured the drink, and then poured it down the sink. I then ordered a "Cruiser", with the same amount of booze and was served. 'Sup widdat?

 

Typically a single G&T is $5.95. One of the featured drinks, like a "Cruiser" (double lists at $8.95). The funniest thing is that if you order a gin martini, it is VERY strong. HIC! ;)

 

Overall, it is a good deal, if you like to drink on a cruise... as they say, "The more you booze, the better you cruise!"

 

We saved a hundred+ bucks, versus buying the drinks without the plan.

 

Cheers!

 

Carl :)

 

 

LOL Thanks Carl! Sounds good to me! Sadly, I like to drink a bit too much. And I have the belly to prove it! My gf and I are irish so nuff said!

[Laurab23]

I heard that an older passenger passed away while we were docked in Freeport. Some of my family members witnessed this same scene with the ambulance and gurney.

 

It was just so strange with first the ambulance showing up and driving away and then the white van taking the person on the stretcher.My husband watched with binoculars and said he could see an I.V. hooked up to the person.

 

Laura

[Lisa0719]

I also was on this cruise, 8 family members traveling together. With three first timers in our group, I warned them that usually, out of NYC at this time of the year, we have rough seas. To my surprise, I found this sailing to be quite calm. It was windy but the sea were not rough as I was expecting.

We had a good trip. We ate in the dinning room every night and we had a fabulous team of waiters..very entertaining! We were always the last ones to leave the dining room. We had late seating.

In Florida, we went to Cocoa Beach.

In Nassau, walked around the shops then went to Atlantis to walk around.

In Freeport, we went to the beach at Grand Lucayan resort. $15.

The casino was good to us...we didn't lose any money, everyday play, came out on top.

We won at the first bingo game. Good start to the vacation.

We departed late from Freeport. Watched many official people waiting on the Pier, saw an ambulance then go. Then a white mini van came and a person was taken from the ship on a gurney with luggage and put in back of mini van. I don't know what happened. I thought we were waiting for late passengers.

I have done this itinerary, or the same islands many times. I've done fun excursions in Nassau in the last year. I often stay on board in Florida and I love Grand Lucayan resort in Freeport.

~Jo~

 

I too was on this sailing . . . We were originally waiting for passengers but they also had a sick crew member that required immediate medical attention. Carnival had arranged for crew member to be air lifted to Fort Lauderdale. The original ambulance would not take the patient to the airlift that was waiting. They would only go to the hospital. So Carnival called a mini-van taxi to take to the airport to be airlifted to FLL. I checked later and the crew member was stablized and doing well.

 

I totally respect the OP posting and opinion. We have been on over 30+ cruises with many out of NYC at difference times of year and know what to expect.

[Ilovesailaway]

I wonder if being a lower priced cruise out of NYC equals a higher chance of rudeness. I can certainly see how this is possible. Although, others who were on the cruise didn't mention that same observation.

[bridgetjonesni]

I wonder if being a lower priced cruise out of NYC equals a higher chance of rudeness. I can certainly see how this is possible. Although, others who were on the cruise didn't mention that same observation.

 

Because ones wealth directly correlates with ones manners? Not in my experience.

[Ilovesailaway]

Because ones wealth directly correlates with ones manners? Not in my experience.

 

On second thought, I agree with you and realize that my comment was a little narrow minded.

[cruisinbabs]

Very sorry you had a bad experience for your first cruise. To each their own I guess. I am opposite to where I like the different ports and seeing multiple places over a week..:D

 

I about spit out my coffee on my work computer reading about the people on their balcony... i mean if you are going to do that at least be quiet about it...ya know?? jeez..

 

I am getting ready to book this cruise for the May 12th sailing. I have a good time no matter what but I think it is what you make of it. Hubs and I will be without our little one and will just be me and him.. cruise is just a bonus..

[Laurab23]

I too was on this sailing . . . We were originally waiting for passengers but they also had a sick crew member that required immediate medical attention. Carnival had arranged for crew member to be air lifted to Fort Lauderdale. The original ambulance would not take the patient to the airlift that was waiting. They would only go to the hospital. So Carnival called a mini-van taxi to take to the airport to be airlifted to FLL. I checked later and the crew member was stablized and doing well.

 

I totally respect the OP posting and opinion. We have been on over 30+ cruises with many out of NYC at difference times of year and know what to expect.

 

How were you able to find this out?It is nice to know what happened and glad the crew member was doing well.What part of the crew was he/she from?

 

Laura