My Splendor Review - 6/12 - 6/18/16

[LizaMM]

Carnival Splendor 6/12/16 – 6/18/16

6 Days from Port of Miami

Itinerary: MIA * Sea * Ocho Rios * Grand Cayman * Cozumel * Sea * MIA

 

A little background…. My name is Liza and I am a cruise addict ;) I have sailed solo, as a single mom with young kids, with adult kids and with a boyfriend etc. over the years. Lately I have been cruising with my friend Gregg who is an even bigger cruise addict than I am. He is Platinum and about to turn Diamond on Carnival and has sailed with other lines as well. I am Platinum and don’t get to cruise as often as he does :rolleyes:

 

This was my first 6 day cruise and ….yes….it was too short for me! I have only sailed 7 & 8 day itineraries in the past and I much prefer 8 as I do feel like the extra day makes a huge difference for me. My last cruise was in January, an 8 day Southern on the Conquest.

 

My cruise partner and I selected this journey because we were both going to be in Florida for a baby shower which was on Sat 6/11. Gregg lives in GA and I live in CT. We figured that since we were both flying to FL we might as well add a cruise after the shower sooooo… 6/12 was the date we wanted to embark, and this 6 day sailing was the longest of the few that we had to select from.

 

I have not done a review for my past few cruises but decided to do one again because 1. There did not seem to be much recent info on the Splendor on CC before I left and 2. It helps with the PostCruise Depression! I have done several types of reviews in the past, most of the time with lots of details and photos. Sorry to say that this will not be in that format. I will review the ship, various dining venues etc and the few activities that we participated in for info purposes. I will say in advance that I do not have photos and I did not get off the ship on port days.

 

My goal is to include info and answers to questions I had about the Splendor or had read here before my sailing. Please feel free to ask questions as I trod along!! I will do this as quickly as possible but suspect it might take a couple of days due to ….life!

[LizaMM]

Embarkation Day 6/12/16

 

 

Gregg and I began the day very early in Tampa and drove to Miami.

 

Gregg had flown to Tampa from Atlanta on Thursday and I flew from NYC to Tampa on Friday. Activities with friends Friday & Saturday night and a baby shower Saturday afternoon all taking place in the Tampa area. Gregg had rented a car which we drove and returned in Miami. Car rental shuttled us to the port for no charge. Simple and easy.

 

We got to the terminal at around 11:00AM. We had put in a time for the Staggered Check-In but we knew this did not matter as we are Platinum and could go to check-in any time. Everything here went very smoothly as it always has for me in Miami.

 

When we got to the VIP lounge, just as we sat down, we told we could board :D So I’m guessing we were on the ship at around 11:30.

 

Went to cabin to drop off carry on and put on bathing suit. Cabin was ready as it was supposed to be. We had a gift from travel agent and platinum info with drink coupon etc. laid out on the bed. I did NOT see a card to select cabin service or robes which I had heard is happening on the Splendor.

 

We were in a Spa cabin so we had robes and slippers. We did see the cabin steward and we told him that we needed extra pillows, towels and would like cabin service 2x daily. This was not a problem. He did not make any statement about picking only one which I had read in some reviews. Cabin was serviced 2x daily for the whole cruise with no issues.

 

Then it was up to the Lido Deck to start the fun. I always have Fun Ship Special on embarkation day, snap a photo of me holding it which I text to family and friends and then I turn my phone off :)

 

I usually get a WiFi package and stay in touch with family and select friends via email. I did not do that this time and just opted to remain disconnected from it all.

[Banditswife]

looking forward to your opinions- we sail Splendor in Feb.

[LizaMM]

Cabin Thoughts

 

We had originally booked an interior on Deck 7. At some point Gregg got us upgraded to an interior Spa Cabin on deck 10. Neither of us had ever tried this so he thought it would be fun and different.

 

The Spa Cabins are decorated differently than other cabins on the ship. The hallway area has slight differences as well. Although décor does not make or break a cruise for me, I did think it was a nice touch.

 

Robes and slippers are provided. The robes are different than the Carnival robes in other cabins. They are a softer, more plush fabric and longer. I did not use the slippers.

 

In the bathroom is an assortment of hair and body care which are branded by Elemis, the spa company on board. Supplied were 2 each of body wash, body lotion, shampoo, conditioner and bar soap. I do not know if you can request more if you run out as this was more than enough and I brought some home.

 

Perk of the spa cabin is that you have access to some private areas of the spa. There was an info session for Spa Cabins on embarkation day that we had an invitation to in our cabin. We did not go. We went at some point on the first sea day and they were more than happy to explain how it works and give a tour.

 

I believe they told us the area was available from 6AM to 10PM daily.

I very much enjoyed the spa! The private area has Thalasso pool and a sauna circuit with 4 different types of sauna/relaxation areas and 2 large rain showers in between. There were only a few people there when we went. Very relaxing!! I would definitely consider this again.

[LizaMM]

looking forward to your opinions- we sail Splendor in Feb.

 

I had a wonderful cruise. I really enjoyed this ship's layout. I will get to why in a little more detail later in the review but feel free to ask any questions in the meantime!

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for your review of Splendor! I am going on a 6 day in September, almost the same itin, just MOBay instead of Ocho Rios. So, enjoying your review, and looking forward to reading more. Thanks:)

[LizaMM]

Thanks for your review of Splendor! I am going on a 6 day in September, almost the same itin, just MOBay instead of Ocho Rios. So, enjoying your review, and looking forward to reading more. Thanks:)

 

Glad you are enjoying! I will add some thoughts about the MDR and then I have to take a break.....

 

 

 

MDR - Dinner

 

We dined in the MDR every night. We often have dinner one night in the Steakhouse but we did not do that this cruise.

 

We always select Late Seating. We both prefer a large table and the opportunity to meet new people.

 

We were assigned table 347 in the Golden Pearl (Aft) Dining Room. When we arrived the first night we were brought to one of the tiny tables for 2 in the aft area which seem to me like they were added as an afterthought to squeeze in tables for 2 in what should be a walking aisle. :eek: Needless to say we were both extremely disappointed!

 

A couple of times Gregg and I have been seated at a table for 2 and requested to be moved to a larger table and that has worked out nicely. However; there were also times when we were assigned a nice large table and no tablemates ever showed up! So we know this is the luck of the draw as far as tablemates BUT the location of this table was horrible. …..So we decided to order , enjoy dinner and asked to see the Maitre D. He was happy to move our location but said that there were no open seats at any large tables as most of them were filled with families. ……which was true…..I have NEVER seen so many kids at a late seating before!... anyway, he told us that he could switch us to another location upstairs overlooking the lower level. We thanked him and moved to our new location on night 2.

 

As I said, this sailing was filled with families and the late seating had many kids at tables all over…..including right next to us…..Round table for 8 with 2 very young children. One looked to be about 4 and the other one probably 18 months. And he cried….and yelled….and cried….and threw stuff on the floor….and cried….Most nights it was not awful but one night we came pretty close to walking out in the middle of dinner. Now, I get it….I have 4 kids of my own who are now grown; however, I would never have stayed in a restaurant with crying, upset kids. If that happened during a family night out one adult would leave with said child. Just not fair for others to be subjected to it AND not fair to the poor child who is obviously uncomfortable and unhappy…..just my experience and my opinion ;) There are so many options to alleviate this on a cruise. Oh well.

 

I still felt that our table was small and kind of stuck in; however, we were next to plexiglass overlooking the lower level which helped to not feel cramped.

 

We had a fabulous waitstaff. Our order was always correct, served timely and enjoyable. Mind you, when I say served timely please know that Gregg and I enjoy a long dining experience in the MDR. We do not want to feel rushed and don’t really expect to leave the MDR until at least 9:30, usually closer to 10 PM.

 

This was only the second cruise with American Table/Feast for the Splendor and the first 6 day sailing. Gregg and I have been on a few cruises with American Table/Feast and we were actually more familiar with the menu than the wait staff. I have no problem with these menus and found something I liked every night.

 

There is one night which was the weakest menu for our tastes – which also turned out to be the night the kids at the table next to us cried, yelled and tossed stuff the most – and we wished we had made steakhouse reservations. You can order – for a charge – some steakhouse items in the MDR each night.

 

 

[Clarea]

Following.:)

[Florings]

Nice start. Looking forward to more!

[riclop]

Enjoying your review, we love the Splendor.

[Zeta3]

Thanks for doing a review! We are in he Splendor in Sept. I am looking forward to American Table

[LizaMM]

Other food venues :

 

Seaday Brunch

We enjoyed this on both sea days. We look forward to the brunch and have had brunch in the MDR since its inception. I am not ready for a meal early and tend to sleep in on a cruise so a nice breakfast meal at lunch time works very well for me. ;)

 

Funny thing…..first sea day when we walked in we requested a large table with others…..we were brought to one of those tiny tables for 2 aft, right next to the one we asked to be moved from dinner…..we had a laugh and asked to be seated elsewhere, preferably at a large table with others. This was accommodated without a problem…..second sea day we arrived for brunch and asked to be seated at a large table with others and added specifically NOT one of the tables for 2 in the back…..we were brought to the same table for 2…..we looked at each other and just joked that were doomed in the MDR…lol….we once again asked to be seated elsewhere and of course we were.

 

I was glad that we sat at large table with other Pax during the brunch. We met some really nice and interesting people and this is one of the things that makes cruising special for me and different from other vacation options.

 

Lido Deck Selections

By the mid pool is a grill and pizza. They did not 2.0 this ship during drydock so this is old-style grill and not Guys Burgers and the bars are not changed over to Blue Iguana or Red Frog theme. I did not eat from the grill as I spent my days at the Aft pool. I had pizza one late night/early morning.

 

In the main area of the Lido restaurant is the buffet which changes daily on a theme – which I never selected from but looked to have nice options.

 

The Mongolian Wok is in the middle here and is one of my favorites. Since we stay on the ship when in port we ate here 2 days with no lines at all which is nice. It takes too long for me on a Sea Day. Mongolian Wok was as good as always!

 

A Burrito station is available as well. I did not try that this cruise. It looked similar to the Blue Iguana burrito's on the 2.0 ships.

 

Upstairs is the Rotisserie. I went up and looked at it one day but didn’t get anything. Looked good but I chose Mongolian.

 

Also in buffet area are the ice cream/frozen yogurt machines. One station on each side. These are the only ice cream machines on the whole deck and couple of times I saw long lines for ice cream.

 

Aft pool area is where you will find the deli and tandoori. I ate both the deli and tandoor on the days I did not have Mongolian wok. In my opinion the tandoori is fabulous! I love Indian food and the tandoori on Carnival has always been extremely good.

 

I found the deli to have a nice selection and I did like that it was by the aft pool instead of pizza being there.

 

Café on the Promenade Deck has some luscious looking dessert selections! I did not try any this time but I did get a couple of cappuccinos throughout the cruise.

[LizaMM]

Cheers:

 

I have purchased Cheers since its inauguration with my first time being on the Breeze in 2013.

 

This was the first time we were able to purchase it online in advance additionally, the program recently upgraded. I loved the advancements to the program! Well done Carnival!!

 

Because we purchased in advance it was about 50 per day +15% gratuity. I know that it is a little more if you purchase on the ship but can’t recall how much at the moment. I always felt like it was a worthwhile purchase for me, as does Gregg, but we got a lot more out of it this time!

 

It was such a pleasure to be able to order bottles of water while out on the lido deck or in a bar. I also enjoy the coffee beverages at the café and in the dining room so having water and Café drinks included is a really nice upgrade for me. Furthermore, I drank better wine at dinner without the $10/drink cap :D

[NCTribeFan]

Looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the ports.

 

I booked this itinerary for 10/30 as a Premier sailing. I booked it mostly because of the itinerary. I just took Carnival #25 (27th total cruise) and haven't been to Jamaica or Grand Cayman since cruise #2 (RCI). Since I just did 13 nights on the Vista Inaugural, and then booked the 13-night Pride repo for the beginning of the year, and hadn't planned on booking anything else, I'll be OK with "just" 6 nights. And I can pack just a carry-on, which will be a nice change!

 

I've been on Splendor twice (1st time 1-way from San Juan to Miami, 8 nights in an interior; 2nd time 7 nights to Bermuda from Norfolk last fall in a spa balcony).

 

Not a huge fan of the ship but I don't sail for the ship. I know exactly what you mean about the tables in the MDR. But it's like that on all the ships as far as I can tell. The 2-tops stuck right in the middle of huge tables so you feel like you're sitting in the middle of a highway!

 

I'm solo and have late seating. Haven't decided whether to request a large table or sit alone. The thing about dining alone is you can usually get in and out quickly. And I have no problem dining solo. But it is also nice to meet new people and, hopefully, have some interesting dining conversations.

 

Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts and keep them coming!

[LizaMM]

Following.:)

 

Nice start. Looking forward to more!

 

Glad you are enjoying....more to come soon

[LizaMM]

Enjoying your review, we love the Splendor.

 

 

I really loved this ship! Its funny because for some reason I stayed away from the Splendor and chose other ships over it in the past. I think because I now spend my time at the aft pool rather than the mid pool it really worked for me. I don't think I would have enjoyed the mid lido deck area that much which is what kept me away from the Splendor previously

 

 

 

Thanks for doing a review! We are in he Splendor in Sept. I am looking forward to American Table

 

I am happy with American Table/Feast.....wish I was going in September!

[LizaMM]

Looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the ports.

 

I booked this itinerary for 10/30 as a Premier sailing. I booked it mostly because of the itinerary. I just took Carnival #25 (27th total cruise) and haven't been to Jamaica or Grand Cayman since cruise #2 (RCI). Since I just did 13 nights on the Vista Inaugural, and then booked the 13-night Pride repo for the beginning of the year, and hadn't planned on booking anything else, I'll be OK with "just" 6 nights. And I can pack just a carry-on, which will be a nice change!

 

I've been on Splendor twice (1st time 1-way from San Juan to Miami, 8 nights in an interior; 2nd time 7 nights to Bermuda from Norfolk last fall in a spa balcony).

 

Not a huge fan of the ship but I don't sail for the ship. I know exactly what you mean about the tables in the MDR. But it's like that on all the ships as far as I can tell. The 2-tops stuck right in the middle of huge tables so you feel like you're sitting in the middle of a highway!

 

I'm solo and have late seating. Haven't decided whether to request a large table or sit alone. The thing about dining alone is you can usually get in and out quickly. And I have no problem dining solo. But it is also nice to meet new people and, hopefully, have some interesting dining conversations.

 

Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts and keep them coming!

 

I enjoyed your review of the Vista!!! I was reading all the Vista review before I left even though I did not post to all.

 

I don't particularly sail for the "ship" but mostly for the "cruise" these days.

 

I did not get off the ship at all. I have been to all these ports recently and much preferred to hang out on the quiet ship!

 

I like to sail solo as well :)

[LizaMM]

Entertainment

 

I only have sparse info here. Gregg and I did not go to the shows, games or organized events.

 

Casino Bar – hung out here for a bit each night before/after dinner. There was always music which I thought was pretty good. A couple of times a soloist and also a Caribbean themed duo.

 

 

Piano Bar – we went here almost every night. Roddy is the current PainoMan. I thought he was good and he had a large selection of songs to choose from. He was personable and friendly with people. It just was never crowded in here at all…..I mean it was almost empty sometimes. You could always walk in and find a couple of seats around the piano. The crowd on this particular sailing was just not a late night/Piano Bar/party type of crowd. But we had fun with a few other “die-hard regulars” and Roddy throughout the cruise, stayed there most nights we went until he closed.

 

 

Comedy Club – this was a disappointment. There were less shows on this sailing then I have ever experienced.

 

I don’t have all the FunTimes but if memory serves…… there were only 3 nights of comedy. But what really surprised me/disappointed was the # of shows on the nights they were held.

 

I never go to the early/family friendly shows so I’m not certain about those times but every other sailing I have been on offered 3 adult shows per night : 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 with the 11:30 being a repeat of the 9:30 and the comedians swapping time slots each night.

 

On this cruise there was not an 11:30 show. 9:30 and 10:30 only. Due to this we only made one comedy show at the beginning of the week.

At 9:30 we were in MDR so we would never make that one. The line was so long for the 10:30 show when we got out of dinner we just did not bother…..I don’t particularly like to wait in long lines while on vacay and it wasn’t like there wasn’t something else to find to do!....However, over the years I had gotten used to seeing 1-2 comedy shows (sometimes 10:30 & always 11:30) and then off to the piano bar as my usual routine, but made a change this time.

 

I am not sure if this is new fleetwide or if it was this particular ship or sailing. There were only the same 2 comedians for the whole cruise which also may have had something to do with this. Not sure. I had not read anything about it on CC before I sailed and have not read any posts since my return as I type this.

[annbuono]

Question, do you remember what nights were the Formal nights on this 6 day itinerary? Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Tracey/Thom]

We were on the Splendor in May, and loved it! Enjoying your review!

[LizaMM]

Question, do you remember what nights were the Formal nights on this 6 day itinerary? Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

On our itinerary it was the first day at sea and then after we left Grand Cayman

[LizaMM]

Ship

 

For my first few years of cruising I used to spend my sea days on the lido deck and by the mid pool where all the action was, port days would be spent doing various excursions.

 

As my cruising style and needs changed I switched to Serenity Deck or Aft pool area and gradually to spending port days on the ship relaxing.

My previous favorite class of ship is the Conquest Class……but I absolutely loved the layout of this ship! It my favorite now :) Here’s why:

 

(My opinion anyway ;))

 

Pros of the Conquest Class – great layout for evening on the Promenade Deck; Adult only aft pool & hot tubs; ship is perfect size for me

 

Pros of the Spirit Class – fabulous Serenity Deck aft with pool and hot tubs with open deck (not closed off like on the Conquest Class which has enclosed area with seating and windows aft), Lido dining with fabulous waterline views. I don’t like the rest of the layout however.

 

Pros of the Breeze – Beautiful aft pool deck which is open air as well; however not adult only. Serenity Deck had hot tubs only and far from other lido options. Lots of other pros/bells/whistles but they don’t make or break a cruise for me and the size is big. I will surely sail the Breeze again and hope to do a longer cruise on the Vista.

 

Why I love the Splendor – Aft pool area is the wonderful open air deck that I enjoy AND the pool and hot tubs are adult only. There were about 1000 kids on this sailing but you never saw them on the aft deck at all. I believe that this may have been because there were no ice cream machines and no pizza or grill the kids did not flock to the aft pool deck area and stayed by the mid pool with the big screen, pizza, burgers etc.

 

Please don’t think I hate kids…..I don’t….I love them when I am with them. I am a single mom and successfully raised 4 children, spending years and years volunteering in the schools, sports, etc….Its just that when I go on vacay for adult relaxation time I do try to avoid the children.

 

…..That said….the promenade layout is the same as Conquest Class which I like.

 

Other:

 

Serenity Deck – I walked up here the first day to check it out. I was surprised to find a lot of available chairs. Serenity Deck is on both sides but you need to walk inside to get across. You cannot walk all the way around the Serenity area outside as the Spa is blocking this access. There was a bar on one side. There were no hot tubs. Since I like to spend time sitting in hot tub or pool I did not wind up spending any time in this area.

 

Cleanliness:

Very well done. Ship was always being maintained throughout the cruise.

 

 

Yes.....there are the pink donuts all over the place and the Golden Pearl MDR looks like it has fried eggs on the ceiling but these things do not bother me.

 

[CARNIVALCRUISE3]

I'm loving your review! I will be on the Splendor in 24 days!

[LizaMM]

We were on the Splendor in May, and loved it! Enjoying your review!

 

 

Ahhh yes, I recognize your screen name as either reading your review or at least comments!

 

 

I'm loving your review! I will be on the Splendor in 24 days!

 

 

My review is pretty broad....if you have any specific questions feel free....I may or not be able to help ;)

[LizaMM]

Weather:

 

Not the best weather but it did not bother me personally. Rained a couple of days pretty heavily and for a long time. I think in Ocho and Grand Cayman and I think Cozumel was a partly cloudy day as well. May have rained a bit then too. We sat out much of the rain storms in the hot tub on the aft lido deck with a small group of people and had fun.

 

Sea Days

 

Can you say crowded? First Sea Day we were able to spend some time lounging and chatting with people in the pool. Last/second sea day I think you needed a shoe horn to get anywhere out on the lido deck…..we went to the spa and enjoyed the amenities there instead.

 

Deck and pool areas tend to clear out quite a bit in the later afternoon as people with early dinners head to the cabin to get ready so we were able to enjoy the lido deck then.

 

 

 

Port days

 

We did not get off the ship. I have come to absolutely love port days…..the ship has very few people. We enjoyed no lines for anything, choice of deck chair and easy to pick hot tub or pools. There are always a few others who stay on board and we really get to chat and meet different people as well as those who return early from shore excursions. I love being on a ship and the cruise experience and I find that my "Lido Deck" or "Serenity Deck" (depending on the ship) Excursion on a port day is wonderfully relaxing and refreshing!

 

 

Disembarking:

 

Ugh….I hate this day!

 

We really wanted to stay on the ship for the next 8 day sailing! At one point mid-week Gregg called Guest Services and asked if there was availability but was told it was a full sailing….probably a good thing because I would have been extremely tempted to stay and although I have plenty of vacation time at work I don’t think my boss would have been happy if I grabbed an unexpected additional week off :rolleyes:

 

We have done self-assist in the past but have gone back to putting our luggage out the night before. Up early for breakfast in the MDR. They were making announcements but we don’t really pay attention to what they are calling because Platinum goes right to the front of the line whenever you get there once they have started the process.

 

After the MDR we stopped at the café for a cappuccino to go and headed down to deck 3. Just as we got there they announced that they were halting disembarking due to a back up in customs. Platinum guests were brought to wait in the mid ship MDR and they had water, juice coffee etc. which I thought was a nice touch.

 

I was very pleased that they halted for a while because I had a terrible experience at FLL in January after the Conquest with horrible long lines for customs that took a couple of hours with people pushing, trying to cut in line ridiculousness.

 

Probably about 15 to 20 minutes later they started to disembark pax again. They came and got Platinum guests before allowing the people waiting all around the lounges to line up.

 

Found our luggage and had a short 5 minute line for our turn with customs. We had pre-booked transfers from the MIA port to FLL , which is where we both happened to have Delta flights back to our respective destinations (Gregg to Atlanta, me to NYC) about 15 minutes apart. I use SAS and have always been very happy with their service. A van was there, we loaded up and began the journey home.

 

TSA was quick and easy. I got through the whole thing in under 15 minutes.

 

We sat in the Delta terminal waiting for flights discussing when the next cruise will be :D