Splendor Review 4/10-4/18 (with pics)!

[disneyfan68]

We sailed on the Splendor from NYC on 4/10. My family is my husband, my son (14.5) and daughter (12). I will just list a few of my thoughts and then do a pic review of the cruise.

 

Sailing out of NYC in mid April is dicey. We had 4 sea days on this cruise (2 going and 2 coming back). Of the 4 days, only 1 did we actually go outside on the decks. It was either too cold, too windy or raining. We did manage to go up on deck our first sea day. It was sunny but cool. I may reconsider sailing from NYC for this reason alone. It did save us the flight cost, but not sure the savings was worth it. There is only so much you can find to do onboard. Plus the seas were so rough, the Lido pool was drained most of the time or else it was flooding the entire deck! Not the fault of Carnival or the ship, just the time of year.

 

 

 

Ports: Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau

We loved all of the ports with HMC being our favorite. HMC definitely lived up to everything we had heard. It has been windy prior to our arrival and I was concerned we wouldn't be able to tender but had no issue. I could stay on HMC a week. Interesting fact is only a few actually live there to maintain it for Carnival. Those who are employed as staff or lifeguards live on a neighboring island. It takes them 1.5 hours by boat each way to get to work. Now that's some commute! We did a cabana in Grand Turk and HMC and did a day pass to the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau. We had not been to any of these islands before. Nassau you could just enjoy shopping and eating which is what we will do next time. The cabana was really helpful in HMC as we had gotten sun the previous day. Even with the cabana and block, still all got burned. Needed full shade in Nassau the next day!

 

Dining: Gold Pearl Late Seating

We dined every night in the Gold Pearl with exception of one night at the Pinnacle Steakhouse. Our head waiter Rueben was good and got better as the week went on. My daughter has a peanut allergy and he provided us the next day's menu each night so she could choose her meal and check with chef to make sure it was safe. He never gave her a menu day of because he had her selections. Food in main dining room was generally very good. I only didn't like the vegetarian lasagna. Panko crusted jumbo shrimp were very good and of course the warm chocolate melting cake. I think my son had this almost every night. He also loved the vegetable spring rolls which he chose as he appetizer every night (sometimes a double order). The entertainment in the dining room was also a lot of fun! We had a 4 person high top so did not share our table with other guests.

 

Pinnacle Steakhouse was worth every penny! We all dined there and all got the filet mignon with lobster tail. It was amazing. I was too full to even order dessert. It was hard to order steak from the MDR after that experience.

 

Entertainment

The production shows were OK. We thought they were much better on Freedom of the Seas. We saw 2 production shows and some comedians. Saw 2 family shows for comedy and 1 adult comedy show.

 

Cabins - Deck 6 Upper Forward

We had a balcony and inside cabin across the hall from each other. I was impressed with the size of the inside cabin for my kids. It was very cozy it there and they loved having their own space. Our balcony cabin was very nice and the bedding comfortable. The bathroom and storage was the same in both.

 

 

Although the shower appeared small, it worked just fine and there was plenty of shelving in the bathroom. We had room for everything. The shower only had one little shelf that fit 2 bottles so my shampoo and conditioner remained on the floor of shower. I see others bring a hanging net basket. This would have been helpful. We were happy with both cabins. Next time I would chose a mid deck cabin due to the rough seas. Being forward made the rough seas seem much worse. I knew this going in, but it was all that was available across from each other.

 

Circle C

As usual, my kids had no interest in Circle C. They did the Scavenger Hunt once and met a few kids but really don't like it. It seems some kids group up quickly and they just don't. I noticed some kids leaving dinner to rush to Circle C and mine just didn't like it. They were happy just hanging in their room at night watching TV and ordering room service. I wish they would like it just to give them something to do but I don't force it on them.

 

Karyn

[disneyfan68]

Here are a few pics of the inside of the ship. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Main Lido Pool in the early morning before the chair hogs came out. My DH got annoyed because the same guy came out each morning by himself and grabbed 8 chairs and no one came to join him until at least 11:00am and almost never actually sat in the chairs. This just bugged him like crazy!

 

 

Liner Pool (Aft)

 

 

 

Twister Slide

 

 

Top Deck

 

 

Spectacular Theater

 

[disneyfan68]

Atrium looking down from Deck 5

 

 

Seaside Theater

 

 

Intrepid

 

 

 

Lido Pool with Roof Closed

 

[disneyfan68]

Our first port stop was Grand Turk. After 2.5 days on the ship with cold weather, we were very happy to be at an island. Our plans for the day were a cabana at Margaritaville and Flowrider for the kids. From the suggestion of Jammin (sp) we chose Cabana # 9 which was close to the Flowrider. We were off the ship early and it was a beautiful day but not too warm until the afternoon.

 

On our cruise we had Jimmy and the Parrots. They are a Jimmy Buffet cover band and were very good. The ship had 100 fans on board as well. They were playing the ship and at Margaritaville. I actually sang a song with them on board not realizing they were an actual band. Very cool.

 

 

 

Cabana # 9

 

 

 

Flowrider

 

 

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View from Cabana to Pool

 

 

Landsharks! (Bucket of 6 for $30)

 

 

Splendor from Shore

 

 

 

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Long lines to get back on board (with some very drunk passengers)

 

[disneyfan68]

Half Moon Cay was absolutely gorgeous! Words and pictures cannot truly capture its beauty. It was a hot and sunny day. We had priority tendering due to FTTF and the fact we booked a cabana. We arrived El Morocco at 8:45am and were on the island by 9:15am. At the suggestion of Jammin (thanks), we selected Cabana # 8 and were not disappointed.

 

 

 

 

The cabana was in the middle of everything. Right near the restrooms and not too far from the lunch. Our cabana was pretty pink. The best thing about it was the floating mats which we used a lot. It was great to get out of the sun but it kept creeping up to the point we pulled our loungers almost inside to get out of the sun. We all got sunburn at HMC even with sunblock.

 

The BBQ lunch was very crowded but was nice to have on the island. Sorry but I took no food pics. I got a burger, fruit and couscous. It was good. Also had desserts and the basic drinks like lemonade and iced tea.

 

Cabana # 9

 

 

 

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Splendor Tendered

 

 

 

 

 

 

[disneyfan68]

After the rain shower, came a beautiful double rainbow!

 

 

 

 

 

[disneyfan68]

For Nassau, I booked at day pass at the British Colonial Hilton. For those of you who know Nassau, the Hilton is walking distance from the cruise terminal. It is right behind Senior Frogs. The day pass was $60 for adults and $30 for children under 12. Adults received a $40 voucher for food/drink and children $20 so it was a great deal. We ate at the pool grill. The servers were very friendly and helpful and we had a great day. We all had too much sun from HMC so shade was the order of the day. We arrived the Hilton around 10:15am and the pool area was quiet. I guess many go to Atlantis. We talked to a couple staying there and they said the pool was the busiest they had seen it and it only had around 10 people in (most from cruise).

 

There were 5 ships in port - Carnival Splendor, Sensation and Victory, Disney Magic and RCCL Majesty of the Seas.

 

Hilton is taller hotel behind Senor Frogs

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[disneyfan68]

That's about it. Feel free to ask any questions about anything. We had a great time, but would have liked 1 less sea day and 1 more port which is difficult from NYC. The 3 ports we visited we really liked and would consider Nassau as a vacation in the future.

 

The ship was very nice and is good condition. The service was good most of the time. It was very crowded due to spring break and lots of kids just running around. Also lots of young kids and teens in hot tubs at night with no parents in sight. Lido pool area is a little too small for number of passengers and the pools crowd quickly. As others have said, Splendor needs a better Serenity area. They really don't have one.

 

Looking forward to our next cruise!

 

Karyn

[Jamman54]

GREAT review!!! Glad you enjoyed "our" cabanas at GT & HMC!! :D We will be back in GT in August.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Jamman54

[disneyfan68]

GREAT review so far!!! Glad you enjoyed "our" cabanas at GT & HMC!! :D We will be back in GT in August. Looking forward to the rest of the review!!

 

Thanks Jamman! Your review really helped in my planning. I chose the cabanas you recommended and they worked out great!

 

We also took your suggestion of taking the last tender back in HMC. We too rode with the crew. It started pouring as passengers were lined up and we had seats at the bar and stayed dry :D Last tender was scheduled for 4:15pm but we didn't leave the island until 4:50pm. Loved HMC!

 

Karyn

[Jamman54]

Thanks Jamman! Your review really helped in my planning. I chose the cabanas you recommended and they worked out great!

 

We also took your suggestion of taking the last tender back in HMC. We too rode with the crew. It started pouring as passengers were lined up and we had seats at the bar and stayed dry :D Last tender was scheduled for 4:15pm but we didn't leave the island until 4:50pm. Loved HMC!

 

Karyn

 

Isn't it fun waiting for the tender? :D:D:D

Glad you had a great time, but sorry the sea days weren't as nice as ours.

When's your next cruise?

[disneyfan68]

Isn't it fun waiting for the tender? :D:D:D

Glad you had a great time, but sorry the sea days weren't as nice as ours.

When's your next cruise?

 

Nothing planned yet :(

[mia10010]

Hi Disneyland. Thanks for the great review with pics. I have two questions. Is the jimmy Buffett parrot band full time on splendor, or we're they just on that sailing. Also, do you know how deep the pool was at the colonial hilton, or basically, is there a section 3 or 4 feet for those who are "swimming challenged:o"

[disneyfan68]

Hi Disneyland. Thanks for the great review with pics. I have two questions. Is the jimmy Buffett parrot band full time on splendor, or we're they just on that sailing. Also, do you know how deep the pool was at the colonial hilton, or basically, is there a section 3 or 4 feet for those who are "swimming challenged:o"

 

Hi Mia!

 

Jimmy and the Parrots are a professional cover band. It seems from their website they arranged a fan cruise so over 100 fans were on board. They arranged to play at Margaritaville and also on board one day. They were listed in the Fun Times as not a Carnival entertainment. They also played randomly on board and on the islands (unscheduled). They were really good!

 

The pool at the Hilton was 3 to 8 feet so you should be fine :D

 

Karyn

[cruisinbabs]

love the review.. :-) thank you for taking the time to post one. great pictures and it looks like you had a blast even though you had some rough seas and not so great sea days.

 

sailing on her in a few weeks and can't wait!!!

[disneyfan68]

love the review.. :-) thank you for taking the time to post one. great pictures and it looks like you had a blast even though you had some rough seas and not so great sea days.

 

sailing on her in a few weeks and can't wait!!!

 

Thanks! Have fun!!!

[HLR]

Curious...What is with the Mega Line to get back on the ship [as seen in two pictures] in Grand Turk? I've never seen lines like that to get back "on"....

 

HLR

[Brown815]

Thanks for your review. Sorry your sea days weren't so great, but it's awesome that you enjoyed the ports. My DH and I are doing this itinerary on the Splendor in August, and very much looking forward to our first time at HMC.

[wmowan8485]

Thanks for you review.. I'm spending 16 days on the splendor starting this coming Saturday 4/26. Your review is just getting me that much more excited. :)