Quick Review of Splendor 4/26-5/4

[MsTabbyKats]

I went on this cruise with "average" expectations, but was pleasantly surprised!

 

1-Cabin: Lido inside (9294) was very close to everything and very quiet. I slept like a baby. Steward introduced himself and the room was kept clean. No problems here.

 

2-Casino: Of course I made a donation, but the machines played fair. They didn't just gobble the money. My loses were less than expected.

 

3-Food: We are buffet people. The buffet was OK. For dinner, the choices were limited, but nobody would starve. The desserts were better than any other Carnival cruise we were on.

 

4-Weather: Was beautiful and we could barely feel the ship moving.

 

5-Entertainment: The productions were good. The piano bar was good. One negative: I really don't know where Carnival gets some of those "lobby area" singers. The females completely lacked "audience awareness" and "stage presentation".

 

6. Embarkation was delayed due to a Coast Guard inspection. But disembarkation was the smoothest ever (as we watched the Breakaway sit in the river).

[Lisa0719]

Thanks for the quick review. I will be on her next Monday and can't wait.

[SASA13]

Thanks for the review. I can't wait to sail her in Sept.

[Andoria]

Funny that you thought the machines played fair. I gave them plenty of chances to play nice with me but the chemistry just wasn't there. I should have broken up with several of the machines but...TWO MORE FOR THE BONUS!!!

[092306]

Thanks for the review, glad you were pleasantly surprised. Always nice when that happens.

[Garycruz]

Thanks for the review! I'm sailing on Splendor in July and love to see positive reviews like yours. I'm going to be making a reservation online for the steakhouse but want to coordinate so I don't have to miss the production show which I look forward to. Do you by any chance remember what time the shows are? I would think there would be two, one for the early seating and one for the late.

 

Glad you had a good time and thanks again for the review.

[MsTabbyKats]

Thanks for the review! I'm sailing on Splendor in July and love to see positive reviews like yours. I'm going to be making a reservation online for the steakhouse but want to coordinate so I don't have to miss the production show which I look forward to. Do you by any chance remember what time the shows are? I would think there would be two, one for the early seating and one for the late.

 

Glad you had a good time and thanks again for the review.

 

Most of the time there were 2 shows, but the times varied. Usually the early one was 8ish...but once it was about 7 or 7:30.

[windsbud]

Glad you enjoyed her! My first Carnival cruise last August was on the Splendor. I think she gets picked on unfairly! I had a great time. My only real problem was with the buffet, Horrible, but everything else was fine.

[Monarch523]

Glad you enjoyed her! My first Carnival cruise last August was on the Splendor. I think she gets picked on unfairly! I had a great time. My only real problem was with the buffet, Horrible, but everything else was fine.

 

 

Why was the buffet horrible? Food selection? Taste? Going in a couple weeks and was just curious.

[Laurab23]

I was also on this cruise.3rd time on Splendor and I love her! Funny that you loved the piano bar,I thought Dana was horrible and didn't stay there very long. I really enjoyed Keith when we was playing in the lobby and first discovered him when he covered for Dana one night in the piano bar. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Laura

[Cyber Kat]

We sailed on the Splendor last June and loved the ship! We're booked on the Sept 1 sailing to Canada (St John & Halifax) I can't wait.

 

I know they have the Mongolian Wok, still, but do they still do the Burrito Bar? That was nice. And how about the rotisserie - is that still on the balcony above the main buffet area?

 

And does anyone have any pictures of the plates-pretending-to be tray things? We had real trays last June :( I hated those stupid platrays on my one and only RCI cruise.

[champagne123]

We sailed on the Splendor last June and loved the ship! We're booked on the Sept 1 sailing to Canada (St John & Halifax) I can't wait.

 

I know they have the Mongolian Wok, still, but do they still do the Burrito Bar? That was nice. And how about the rotisserie - is that still on the balcony above the main buffet area?

 

And does anyone have any pictures of the plates-pretending-to be tray things? We had real trays last June :( I hated those stupid platrays on my one and only RCI cruise.

 

My kids are on the Splendor at this very second. They just pulled into Grand Turk (their last stop). Yes, they still have the Burrito Bar and the Rotisserie....right above the buffet (which is the WORST buffet on the fleet). I honestly don't know why, with so many other and BETTER options, anyone would eat there. We were on her last year (and booked again for October).....Love the ship....

[rrraydon]

Thanks for the review. :)

[Garycruz]

We sailed on the Splendor last June and loved the ship! We're booked on the Sept 1 sailing to Canada (St John & Halifax) I can't wait.

 

I know they have the Mongolian Wok, still, but do they still do the Burrito Bar? That was nice. And how about the rotisserie - is that still on the balcony above the main buffet area?

 

And does anyone have any pictures of the plates-pretending-to be tray things? We had real trays last June :( I hated those stupid platrays on my one and only RCI cruise.

 

I just read your review. And a great review it was. So detailed and and with such great pictures. I will be sailing on Splendor in July in the same exact cabin. This will be my first wrap balcony and I can't wait to experience it.

 

I did read somewhere on another thread that the Splendor is still using trays and not the plates. I believe they said that only the ships with the 2.0 upgrades have the plates.

 

I noticed that you seem to be a sushi lover like me. I was wondering how the sushi is as I would normally think it might not be that good as it would might be difficult to keep fresh on a cruise. But since you seemed to stop by there pretty often, I assume it must have been pretty tasty. I don't recall you commenting on the taste. Was it good? If so, I will probably be sampling it just about every day. :)

 

Thanks again for the great review.

[Lisa0719]

I just read your review. And a great review it was. So detailed and and with such great pictures. I will be sailing on Splendor in July in the same exact cabin. This will be my first wrap balcony and I can't wait to experience it.

 

I did read somewhere on another thread that the Splendor is still using trays and not the plates. I believe they said that only the ships with the 2.0 upgrades have the plates.

 

I noticed that you seem to be a sushi lover like me. I was wondering how the sushi is as I would normally think it might not be that good as it would might be difficult to keep fresh on a cruise. But since you seemed to stop by there pretty often, I assume it must have been pretty tasty. I don't recall you commenting on the taste. Was it good? If so, I will probably be sampling it just about every day. :)

 

Thanks again for the great review.

 

The Splendor doesn't have sushi anymore. Sometime last year they went to the "Taste Bar"

[lifeisgoodPat]

Thanks for the review! We are sailing Splendor on September 27th this year. Can't wait. I really liked the taste bar on the Carnival ships that I have sailed.

[Crusin Karen]

We first sailed the Splendor in May, 2013 and then again this past February and in that time they did away with the trays and switched to the "big plates." :(:( We are going again on Monday and I assume they still have the big plates and have not switched back to the trays! :rolleyes: Funny, we ALWAYS eat at the buffet for breakfast and lunch. MDR is for dinner, but have never eaten any other meal there and we have absolutely no complaints with the buffet. I always found tons of things I liked. All my favorites at breakfast, and for lunch I usually started at the hot buffet, then went to the grill, then got my turkey wrap from the deli. Couple of times I went up to Rotisserie too! :eek: Oh, and the pizza...LOVE the new garlic pizza...I am getting hungry. Can't wait for Monday! OP, thanks for sharing your experience with us!

[Garycruz]

The Splendor doesn't have sushi anymore. Sometime last year they went to the "Taste Bar"

 

Thanks for the info. That's a little disappointing to me as I love my sushi. But then again maybe the sushi on the ship wasn't that good anyway. At least that's what I will keep telling myself. :)

 

I hope the Taste Bar is good.

[Garycruz]

We first sailed the Splendor in May, 2013 and then again this past February and in that time they did away with the trays and switched to the "big plates." :(:( We are going again on Monday and I assume they still have the big plates and have not switched back to the trays! :rolleyes: Funny, we ALWAYS eat at the buffet for breakfast and lunch. MDR is for dinner, but have never eaten any other meal there and we have absolutely no complaints with the buffet. I always found tons of things I liked. All my favorites at breakfast, and for lunch I usually started at the hot buffet, then went to the grill, then got my turkey wrap from the deli. Couple of times I went up to Rotisserie too! :eek: Oh, and the pizza...LOVE the new garlic pizza...I am getting hungry. Can't wait for Monday! OP, thanks for sharing your experience with us!

 

I guess I either misunderstood what was said on the other thread or the info was incorrect, but either way that's too bad because I plan on bringing food back to my balcony. I'm really looking forward to taking full advantage of the wrap balcony. :)

 

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the food in the buffet. I've read some not very glowing reviews of it. I'm not sure if the complaints were referring to the Carnival buffets in general or to the Splendor buffet specifically.

 

You're so lucky that your cruise is so close. Mine is still a couple of months away and I don't know if I can hold out that long. :)

 

Enjoy!

[BattyL]

Why was the buffet horrible? Food selection? Taste? Going in a couple weeks and was just curious.

 

After the first day we ate in the MDR every time. The food in the buffet was warm, greasy and not very good. Didn't care for the rotisserie either. Read all the great reviews about it, and was extremely disappointed. We ate there right after boarding and was surprised the food wasn't fresh or hot. That was around 12:15, and there was only 1 other couple there. Really never did see too many people eating there. :rolleyes: the Splendor is not my favorite ship.

[Crusin Karen]

After the first day we ate in the MDR every time. The food in the buffet was warm, greasy and not very good. Didn't care for the rotisserie either. Read all the great reviews about it, and was extremely disappointed. We ate there right after boarding and was surprised the food wasn't fresh or hot. That was around 12:15, and there was only 1 other couple there. Really never did see too many people eating there. :rolleyes: the Splendor is not my favorite ship.

No, there were never many people there. (Rotisserie) It is the set up of the ship. Kind of hard to find it. I remember the lst time we sailed her it took me about 1/2 hour to find it! When I did, I was like DUHHHH. It was here all the time, but Splendor lay out is a bit confusing, esp. for me because we usually sail the Spirit class ships. So 2nd time we went on her in Feb. I decided to go to the Rotisserie and guess what? Got lost again!!! :confused::rolleyes: I LIKE the Splendor, but don't LOVE it. We are going again on Monday and I am super excited, but I really love the spirit class and would LOVE to sail on a newer ship like the Breeze. But we had 2 very good cruises on Splendor and I'm sure #3 is going to be great also~we live 20 minutes from the port of NY, so that is where we cruise from, so we have to sail on whatever ship is there. OP, sorry the buffet was not to your liking. I am determined to do the sea day brunch in the MDR this cruise. We just never did it and want to see what eating there before dinner time is like! ;) Hope you at least liked the chocolate extravaganza buffet!!! Oh, man, oh, man....:eek:

[Jamman54]

I just read your review. And a great review it was. So detailed and and with such great pictures. I will be sailing on Splendor in July in the same exact cabin. This will be my first wrap balcony and I can't wait to experience it.

 

I did read somewhere on another thread that the Splendor is still using trays and not the plates. I believe they said that only the ships with the 2.0 upgrades have the plates.

 

 

 

In regards to the ships that use the big plates instead of trays. We have sailed on several ships that only had the big plates, so what we did was save the trays that you get when ordering room service, and use them at the buffet. It was a little bit of a hassle, and we got some looks, but we were happy!! :D

[Crusin Karen]

In regards to the ships that use the big plates instead of trays. We have sailed on several ships that only had the big plates, so what we did was save the trays that you get when ordering room service, and use them at the buffet. It was a little bit of a hassle, and we got some looks, but we were happy!! :D[/quote

Jamman, I was thinking of doing just this thing! Matter of fact, I was thinking of bringing my own tray!!! Esp. on this cruise because we have always booked a cabin on deck 8 and I could "run up and down the stairs" to Lido to bring down refreshments. And this cruise we will be on deck 2! :confused: Did anyone give you a hard time about having a tray?? Sometimes I just cannot figure out who makes these crazy decisions. :(

[Garycruz]

In regards to the ships that use the big plates instead of trays. We have sailed on several ships that only had the big plates, so what we did was save the trays that you get when ordering room service, and use them at the buffet. It was a little bit of a hassle, and we got some looks, but we were happy!! :D

 

That is a very good idea and one I certainly do plan on putting to use. One more good reason to like room service. :)

 

Once again I thank you for your help.

[Jamman54]

In regards to the ships that use the big plates instead of trays. We have sailed on several ships that only had the big plates, so what we did was save the trays that you get when ordering room service, and use them at the buffet. It was a little bit of a hassle, and we got some looks, but we were happy!! :D[/quote

Jamman, I was thinking of doing just this thing! Matter of fact, I was thinking of bringing my own tray!!! Esp. on this cruise because we have always booked a cabin on deck 8 and I could "run up and down the stairs" to Lido to bring down refreshments. And this cruise we will be on deck 2! :confused: Did anyone give you a hard time about having a tray?? Sometimes I just cannot figure out who makes these crazy decisions. :(

 

Karry, nobody gave us a hard time about the trays, it was more of hey, where did you get those trays? :)

 

Wish we were going with you. Three months Is such a long time to wait!!

 

Have a GREAT cruise!!!

Edited May 10, 2014 by Jamman54