Splendor - Just off the ship today - Jan 28, 2014 - Review

[paulypride]

Pauly, great review - my partner and I were on the Splendor in October and got an awesome TA rate. The crew were fantastic! Glad to see you enjoyed your trip! Great pictures!

 

 

Yea the rate was unreal, I had to check twice. I thought over all the crew on this ship was fantastic as well.

 

Where are you and your partner from?

 

Thanks!

 

Paul

[mgriffus]

Thanks for the review... My husband and I will be on the Splendor November 1st for the repositioning cruise.

[aarepsl]

You guys are awesome :-) .... I agree with you completely about how our society has changed. I cruise very frequently with my partner and over the past couple of years people don't seem to even notice two guys together.

[kmr444]

Thank you for sharing your review and pictures! Congratulations on your 2nd anniversary! It is -29 degrees here right now, your review transported me to a warmer place for a while! Thank you!!!

[paulypride]

you are most welcome. I hope you get on a ship soon to escape the chill of "Winterpeg"

[paulypride]

You guys are awesome :-) .... I agree with you completely about how our society has changed. I cruise very frequently with my partner and over the past couple of years people don't seem to even notice two guys together.

 

Thanks so much! We appreciate it...hopefully we can cross paths at some time!

[cathyoo]

Loved the review. Makes me excited for our July cruise. Did you notice if they had the bean bag toss? We enjoy trivia but we really loved the horse race (discontinued) and the bean bag toss.

[callolin]

Love your review. We will be cruising on Splendor in March. Our first time on this ship, So excited.

 

 

Going on the Splendor in November.

[dperki1]

Loved your review...Your food pics are awesome...can't wait to go on the Splendor as well. Thanks for posting.

[paulypride]

Loved the review. Makes me excited for our July cruise. Did you notice if they had the bean bag toss? We enjoy trivia but we really loved the horse race (discontinued) and the bean bag toss.

 

yes they had the bean bag toss.

[Crusin Karen]

Loved the review. Makes me excited for our July cruise. Did you notice if they had the bean bag toss? We enjoy trivia but we really loved the horse race (discontinued) and the bean bag toss.

 

yes they had the bean bag toss.

When we were on the Splendor in May the bean bag toss was held in the Atrium. ;)

[blueangel74]

Thank you for posting your review. Going on Splendor on 11/1 for the repositioning cruise from San Juan to Miami.

[debee1015]

I didn't know about the whole gays in Nassau thing until recently when a friend of mine asked how GLBT friendly the Bahamas was, as she wanted to go there to an all inclusive with her sister who's a lesbian. I told her to take a cruise. :D

 

Another reason for me not to get off the ship in Nassau as I have a lot of GLBT friends. :mad:

 

Glad you had a great cruise otherwise. Great review.

[~Jo~]

Great review! We were on the Splendor this past November and we just booked it again for October. Yes, you are right, dining time is always something I look forward too. Nothing wrong with Carnival... I have sailed many times on different ships and I couldn't tell you which one is my favorite. It's always a great time! For lunch, my favorite was also Tandoor, delicious!!! My favorite dessert is also Grand Marnier soufflé. Molten chocolate dessert is a close second. Can't wait to go back!! Our dining staff was the best...I'm wondering if there is a way to find out if they will be on the ship in October..and can we request to sit in their section??? I have to look into this.

Thanks for the review!

~Jo~

[Mione]

Great review. We will be sailing the Splendor in March for our first cruise and are very excited. I can't wait for the Harry Potter trivia as I am a diehard fan. Hopefully I can get my husband to participate in some of the activities as well. Glad you had a great time.

[disfan13]

Yea the rate was unreal, I had to check twice. I thought over all the crew on this ship was fantastic as well.

 

Where are you and your partner from?

 

Thanks!

 

Paul

 

I can still see Silvia at the Lobby Bar making me cocktails!! Ahhhh..

We are from Northern NJ.

[paulypride]

I didn't know about the whole gays in Nassau thing until recently when a friend of mine asked how GLBT friendly the Bahamas was, as she wanted to go there to an all inclusive with her sister who's a lesbian. I told her to take a cruise. :D

 

Another reason for me not to get off the ship in Nassau as I have a lot of GLBT friends. :mad:

 

Glad you had a great cruise otherwise. Great review.

 

Its horrid for LGBT People in Jamaica. I wont even book a cruise with it on the itinerary. I dont want my money going to a government that looks the other way or worse at hate crimes. Port fees go to the Gov't there.

[paulypride]

I can still see Silvia at the Lobby Bar making me cocktails!! Ahhhh..

We are from Northern NJ.

 

 

Henry was at the lobby bar most of the week and one day when my husband went to the mens room, he asked "picture" I said sure and I went to take his pic. He said no I want to take one of you, your a cute guy. I was shocked. I wasnt shocked that I am cute (I am lol) but that he said it. I smiled, gave him my camera and he ended up taking one of my favorite pics of me from the cruise!

[paulypride]

Overall Splendor Review

Ship- Overall I enjoyed the Splendor, but still I think overall its #2 of the 4 Carnival Ships I have cruised on. I still prefer the Miracle because of the Spirit Class layout. The Fascination I liked because it’s my first and then the Glory (I didn’t care for the décor at all). Some people complain about the Splendor’s Pink Pink Pink all over, but honestly it grew on me and after the first day, I hardly noticed it at all as an issue. The Casino was nice and I loved the big card motif, but as I said earlier the smoking was overwhelming and there was very inadequate ventilation. The Golden Pearl Dining Room was nice and I found it to still be in very good condition. The Robusto Bar was much underused and while a nice looking room, some of the trivia could have been done in there instead of the casino or lobby. Minor things that I noticed, and should be taken care of more quickly – a lot of lights were out in the lobby and more in the Spectacular Theatre. The Lido Buffet was always clean and tables cleared quickly and efficiently. The Splendor is now almost 6 years old and overall doesn’t show it at all. She is holding up well, but I am ready for a new ship in NYC. One high ranking crew member told me that he heard that there is a good chance the Legend may end up in NYC seasonally next year after its Australian trips. That would make me especially happy as the Legend is a Spirit Class ship. But honestly I would be ok if they dry docked a fantasy class ship and gave it all the bells and whistles and we shared her with Norfolk, as we used to do with the Glory.

 

Food – The presentation of the food was always great. It was flavorful and always spiced correctly. My only issue was that almost nothing was served HOT. It was never cold, but sometimes you want to get a piping hot meal, warm or semi-hot is ok and expected on a buffet, but served food should be hot. The only meal I can recall being hot was the chicken pot pie and the creamed spinach. Even in the steakhouse the sides were warm. The steak was hot mostly because we order well done and the steak was still sizzling. Before we got on the ship we heard that there was no Rotisserie on the Splendor, but there indeed was. It was on deck 10 above the lido and Tandoor was in the back by the Liner Bar opposite from the Deli. My husband loved the Pizza, I ordered once and the crew member gave me a pizza that was not what it looked like on the menu, I inquired why, he threw me a bit of an attitude, so I walked away and didn’t come back all week. Tandoor is my favorite and while I know that it’s not on every ship, it is the one food venue that I will miss. The desserts on the buffet while look pretty a lot of time come off as very rubbery on frostings and crème and I stopped eating them after day 2. The served desserts in the MDR were always great.

Chickens at the Rotisserie

Oysters Rockefeller

 

Crew – In all of my trips, I have met some really great crew on CCL and better then the crew on Royal hands down, there was a few stand outs on this trip, but there were a few who I would have let off on the next wave if I could have. Our dining room service team of Iwayan, Dusko and Anggara were fantastic, as was Mr. V the Maitre D’ in the Golden Pearl. Our Steakhouse servers Julia and Vanessa took service to the next level. Oliver from the Pixels photography staff was awesome; he was professional and always acknowledged me and my husband when he saw us. He obviously knows the value of making all guests feel comfortable. Two members of the Bar Staff that I would like to recognize is Iputu who came around in the dining room selling after dinner shots. Friendly, nice and had a nice heavy pour. Can’t ask for more, he was also in the Punchliner at night. We really liked him! Also I mentioned her earlier in the review, Suthasini at El Mojito was great with the Martini tasting as well as being the bartender on for the LGBT gatherings. She was so friendly and nice and boy could she make a good martini! Eugene and Kelly at Guest Services were quick, helpful and always had a smile on their face. They are good at their jobs and I applaud them!

 

Tanya Scott, the Piano Bar pianist was amazing – a breath of fresh air – bubbly, happy, great voice and quite pretty as well.

 

Now in regards to some staff where I saw room for improvement. I will not mention names, but I will say positions and descriptors.

 

The British Gentleman who works at the Shore Excursion Desk should not be customer facing in any capacity. I am sure there is a job in the engine room for him. My husband and I signed up for the Behind the Fun tour within two hours of getting on board on Monday. On Thursday, he made the Legends Show. When he got the paperwork we quickly noticed a conflict. The tour was 3.75 hours long, starting at 8:45am and the mandatory costume fitting and dress rehearsal was at 11:50am – not good, but no one’s fault. So we went to the Shore Excursion desk and told them of the conflict. Sure enough the lady who I was speaking to said that they cannot refund the tickets. I explained again this is no one’s fault, how during the auditions they never mentioned the time nor did they say anything about a rehearsal on the morning of the last sea day to raise eyebrows for us. So I asked for the Shore Excursion Manager, while waiting for the manager, this guy leaves his customer, gets involved, says at least three or four times, “you’re not getting refunded, you made the purchase” – I have never had someone on a carnival cruise act so rudely in his tone and body language as well. I was like why are you getting involved and why don’t you continue with YOUR customer. Long story short, we did get it refunded, but only after having to argue some and after they realized I paid with On Board Credit, so the money was staying within CCL. I hated the fact that they had to stress how they were making an exception and how it was a huge favor. I said no, It’s now Saturday and tomorrow night your show would have been incomplete, so you’re doing your entertainment staff the favor, not me.

 

The Spa Manager also a British Gentleman spoke to what seemed to be a trainee on the Spa team with such disdain and superiority in front of me, my husband about 3 other guests. I was shocked and if it was any place else I would have asked to speak to his superior because you could just see in this employees face how embarrassed and put down she felt. Knowing that they live and work together, I chose not to say it, but hope that it was an isolated incident and if not, the team in the Spa reports him.

 

Our Cabin Steward was ok at best….saw him once the first day for 10 seconds and for the rest of the week I had to write notes and leave them as he was never to be found. The one request I did have was to have ice always in the bucket morning, afternoon, evening – by 3pm each day we had no ice. This is my make or break extra tip item and I was ready to leave a little something extra since I asked for extra, he didn’t so he only got the standard paid gratuity.

 

Itinerary – I know leaving out of NYC makes for limited itinerary choices, but there has to be something better than Nassau and Freeport all of the time. I would be thrilled with a day in Fort Lauderdale or Miami instead of Port Canaveral as well. CCL really needs to look at these when coming back seasonally in 2015. I am so sick of Nassau.

 

Entertainment – The entertainment team was for the most part good. I have to say that Fluffy, Mitch and Ross were hands down some of the most personable and engaging entertainment team members I have experienced on a ship. Although the best I ever encountered was on Royal (Erky, who is now the Asst Cruise Director on Explorer of the Seas) these guys were right up there. Antoinette the Karaoke Host would be a reason we would choose a specific ship as we enjoy her personality and encouraging demeanor so much. The whole team pitched in when Mitch got a little sick in the middle of the cruise and was out of commission for a few days. They did great. I mentioned Banks earlier in this review and while he was new, he definitely has the desire and the personality to make it big in this industry. I do hope he works out the kinks in his presentation. Donkey the Asst Cruise Director was ok; he came off a bit full of himself at times and not very approachable. I think Fluffy and Ross should be considered for promotion if they desire.

 

Eli the cruise director was almost non-existent if he wasn’t on a stage or letting us know about the amazing acupuncture or insane tanzanite sale on his way too many announcements. I understand that a CD has many duties administratively but the three other CCL CDs I have cruised with were out and about talking and greeting people – Trevor Block (Fascination), Josh Wietzman (Glory) and Cory Rodgers (Miracle). Eli didn’t seem to try in my opinion. He wasn’t supposed to even be the CD on this trip, Malcolm Burns the permanent Splendor CD got sick at the end of his vacation and was extended by 1 week. Friends who have cruised with Malcolm say we missed one of the best.

 

The Stage Shows need some improvement – The Welcome Aboard show needs the biggest revamp. It’s the same thing time in and time out. We skipped it this time and will on any future cruises unless we are with someone who’s a first time CCL cruiser or we hear that it has changed. The Fiesta Latina needs actual Latina/Latino singers to make it seem even remotely authentic. Vrooom was the best of the ones we went to, again CCL needs to make sure it’s putting the right singer on the right ship depending on the show. The fact that the Love & Marriage Show is considered a nighttime show is a joke. As a gay man, I have no interest in this show as it never reflects me and my husband. I understand why CCL would be hesitant to put a same gender couple on stage since it might not be received widely, but to use this as an evening program for the whole ship is an easy way out. It needs to be changed.

 

Finally Ankush, the table magician was alot of fun and we thoroughly enjoyed him, we wish he would have come around a 2nd or 3rd time!

 

Overall

We had a very good time and once again we are pleased with the product Carnival puts out and it fits both our expectations and comes in under budget. That being said, chances are next year we will be on NCL or Royal in January since there will be no NYC ship available and we don't want to travel due to too many chances of snow and the like. We are going on one Princess Cruise later this year as well as two other CCL trips planned on the Sunshine or Fantasy in April and Elation in August.

[DavyJoneses]

Thanks for the review. We are looking at the Splendor for an upcoming trip.

[Andoria]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review!

 

I'm looking forward to trying the Tandoor most of all.

[Giantfan13]

Pauly

 

Thanks once again for the excellent report, both good and bad. We are sailing next Thursday and just can't wait to get out of this mess. I see from your location, you are in Staten Island. I'm on Long Island, another 10 inches of snow today, more tomorrow night and possibly more over the weekend.

Just get us on that ship, I don't care where she goes, as long as it is somewhere warm.

We are not very critical cruisers. We also got a terrific military rate, and for what we paid for an 8 day cruise out of our home town of NY, I'll have a good time even if it rains every day (God forbid).

 

One question, is your partner a permanent part of the Legends show, or was that something that they did on a one time basis?

 

We have some great friends who live on Todt Hill, anywhere near you?

 

Anyway, thanks again for the great review.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[paulypride]

Pauly

 

Thanks once again for the excellent report, both good and bad. We are sailing next Thursday and just can't wait to get out of this mess. I see from your location, you are in Staten Island. I'm on Long Island, another 10 inches of snow today, more tomorrow night and possibly more over the weekend.

Just get us on that ship, I don't care where she goes, as long as it is somewhere warm.

We are not very critical cruisers. We also got a terrific military rate, and for what we paid for an 8 day cruise out of our home town of NY, I'll have a good time even if it rains every day (God forbid).

 

One question, is your partner a permanent part of the Legends show, or was that something that they did on a one time basis?

 

We have some great friends who live on Todt Hill, anywhere near you?

 

Anyway, thanks again for the great review.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

I agree anytime on a ship is better then a day at home! snow, rain, sleet! My husband is not permanent, its auditioned each week and some weeks the process works great, some weeks its well a miss :P

 

I grew up on Long Island, born in Plainview, raised out in suffolk county.

 

P

[Giantfan13]

Neighbors:D:D:D:D

 

 

cheers

 

Len

[Dina7]

Loved your review & photos! We sailed on The Splendor last August & are sailing again in June. We had Malcolm Burns as our CD in August & I know a lot of people like him, but we did not. Honestly we found him to be a bit boring, not funny, & we did not see him out & about during the cruise.

 

You mentioned Cory Rodgers, who I see is going to be our CD on The Splendor in June. You said he was out more on the ship. How was he as a CD?

 

Thanks!

Dina