My opinion on Splendor and Carnival in general

[tidygirl]

Just off an 8 day cruise on the Splendor and some of my thoughts after being away from Carnival for quite some time.

Check in was chaotic they do staggered check in but there were so many people waiting out in the heat with no fans etc I felt bad for the older people. Wasn't impressed with the check in.

I was prepared for the pink ship it was fine maybe a little gaudy but many ships are that way.

Thing we were disappointed with

Buffet at night- very limited choices (need to check out Royal Caribbean ) We don't do the main dining room

Cleaning- they did clean our room only 1 time a day. They asked my husband his preference which he chose evening. That was fine with us long as my room was clean (and it was)

 

Comedy club- 4 nights of comedy 2 family shows per night the last 2 nights they did repeats of the family show. Now sorry but its pretty sad if a comedian can't come up with only 2 different clean shows for a cruise.

Nightly shows -1 or 2 nights nothing in the theater the rest was the dancers every night. They were good but I wish the cruise lines (not just Carnival ) would go back to variety shows. I say bring on some of the good American Got Talent Acts!

Disembarkment- we were #14 and we're supposed to get off the ship between 9 and 9:30 We weren't allowed to leave till 10:30 thankfully we had a late flight or I may have been panicking.

I cruise for the destinations not just for the ship so would I go with Carnival again ? Yes if another line didn't cruise to that port.we still had a good vacation , but this was some of my observations.

[Rh2458]

Cleaning- they did clean our room only 1 time a day. They asked my husband his preference which he chose evening. That was fine with us long as my room was clean (and it was)

 

Disembarkment- we were #14 and we're supposed to get off the ship between 9 and 9:30 We weren't allowed to leave till 10:30 thankfully we had a late flight or I may have been panicking.

I cruise for the destinations not just for the ship so would I go with Carnival again ? Yes if another line didn't cruise to that port.we still had a good vacation , but this was some of my observations.

Do you have any suggestions for Carnival to get the word out better that they are actually enforcing the staggered check in times so people don't arrive early and then have to wait out in the heat? If people actually arrived when they were supposed to, or later they wouldn't be waiting out there.

Also, as far as your room cleaned only once a day, had he asked for it twice? That is an option, all you have to do is ask.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Rh2458

[tidygirl]

I don't know how they can get the word out, but I figured I would post this. We were to board between 12 and 12:30 the way our flight and rental car worked out we arrived at 11:15 and they seemed to be a stickler on time, so if a person thinks that they will show up early and maybe get on, you better be prepared I doubt it will happen.

The room Cleaning I had read that they were down to 1 time a day and just wanted to verify that was true also. I did read on another post that the person had requested 2 times a day and they did do that.

For me 1 time a day is sufficient as I don't clean my bathroom at home everyday!

One other thing that I heard some young adults complaining about was the night club was boring and they had come on Carnival as its the party boat!

Now once again we don't party or go to the night clubs so this did not influence my cruise experience at all.

I still hated coming home and getting back to our busy life!

Edited June 29, 2016 by tidygirl

[Rosefloater]

I agree with the rest of your assessment for the most part. If you want poor buffets try Princess. They were the worst and RCCL the best in my limited experience.

 

I love how every one's perception of food differs. We like Princess' buffet much better than Carnival's. Their salad bar offers less items, but there is more of a main selection and more veggies. When we sail Princess, we might eat 1 or 2 nights in the dining room and the rest of the time at the buffet.

 

OP - When the Splendor was out here in Long Beach, one time we didn't start to disembark until after 11. It wasn't due to CBP, but the gangway from the port to the ship couldn't/wouldn't attach - and we were self debarking.:eek:

[cruiser12]

I had not been on Carnival for the longest time - cruised but not on Carnival - Splendor was here in New York thought we would give it a try - so glad I did -

So organized at the terminal very impressed - easy, and fast, entertainment, food and crew were amazing - (cruised a few more times) found Carnival Sunshine in New York excellent ( June21-25 2016 ) - looking for another Carnival cruise ! Yes ! if I was already set for this Saturday - I would be back on Sunshine - looking for cruise 44 -

[golfb4cruzing]

Boarding and debarking really have nothing to do with the cruise line and everything to do with immigration and that sort of thing.

 

I agree with the rest of your assessment for the most part. If you want poor buffets try Princess. They were the worst and RCCL the best in my limited experience.

 

I say Princess buffets have a better quality but maybe not selection. Smaller area, which is better managed. Carnival has these long buffet lines and I walk past most of it. The only plus to Carnival is their desserts. Hands down over Princess.

[NCTribeFan]

I'll be on Splendor for the 3rd time at the end of October. Not wild about the ship, but I don't sail for the ship.

 

I don't eat dinner from the buffet. Once when I had late seating, I thought I'd stop in the buffet when it first opened to try a few bites of items that were supposed to be the same as what was on the men for MDR that evening. Trust me, they aren't close to being the same. Convinced me to continue not eating at the buffet. Even a poor meal in the MDR is better than the buffet.

 

I don't even eat lunch from the buffet. Only buffet area on Splendor I'll eat from is the burrito bar (which I think is every bit as good as Blue Iguana on the 2.0 ships).

 

My evening entertainment is usually just making donations to the casino, so I rarely see comedy or production shows. ;)

 

Will experience staggered check-in for the first time. I'm Platinum, so it won't really affect me, thankfully. But it will be interesting to see the crowds and whether people have learned that Carnival is actually enforcing the times.

 

We need to realize that the people here on CC are a small minority of cruisers. People who aren't here and haven't read about staggered check-in probably don't think those times they've selected are "real" and continue to show up early, thinking they'll be able to board quickly.

 

So, yes, Carnival needs to make it very clear on the boarding pass that people should not show up before their designated time.

[Cruisesfun65]

For the longest time people have been ignoring e-mails by Carnival to check in later. Everyone just shows up at 10 - 11 a.m.

 

Now, with the staggered check-in, it CLEARLY states on your boarding pass what time you're expected at the terminal. Do people respect this? Mostly not.

Then you can't complain that you had to stand outside in the heat.

If you show up within your check-in window, you can walk up straight to the entrance and they will let you in.

[riffatsea]

I agree that at night the Royal buffets are better than the ones on Carnival ships BUT not sure why you wouldn't eat any dinners in the MDR???

You don't have to dress up and the food has decent choices.

[Florings]

Thanks for your thoughts on Splendor. Sailing on her in October and looking forward to it.

 

I find the Carnival buffets somewhat like a Morrison's - good and plentiful food, but not "dining", just eating. Still, I never go hungry on a cruise - I want to try everything!

[JaniceB]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your cruise.

[OceansOfTravels]

I'm sorry to hear that your experience was rather mediocre, I have come to love the Splendor. I always save the money and purchase FTTF, I find it so convenient to not only skip the lines, but to have my room ready before 1 as well.

 

I will agree with you in terms of dinner buffets, Carnival doesn't put much out. However, the same things are offered in the MDR. I never really attend the comedy shows, so I can't speak for that.

 

I also cruise for the ports, and Carnival does have some unique itineraries. I hope you enjoy your next vacation :)

[tidygirl]

We don't eat at the main dining room as we prefer to eat and run not sit for an hour and a half or 2. We tried it once in 10 years and it was not to our liking it seemed to take forever.but that's just the way my family is feels

[Tracey/Thom]

For the longest time people have been ignoring e-mails by Carnival to check in later. Everyone just shows up at 10 - 11 a.m.

 

Now, with the staggered check-in, it CLEARLY states on your boarding pass what time you're expected at the terminal. Do people respect this? Mostly not.

Then you can't complain that you had to stand outside in the heat.

If you show up within your check-in window, you can walk up straight to the entrance and they will let you in.

I agree, we arrived five minutes before our scheduled check in time and walked right in. Felt sorry for the long lines of people standing outside in the heat (although Carnival did provide big containers of cold water and lemonade). When we did online check in, I think it did clearly state that we shouldn't arrive earlier.

[shays797]

First cruise ever was on the Splendor..loved it!! Although many people complained about the "color". Honestly..who gives a @$c! about the color. It was an amazing ship and we had the best experience on it. We've taken two others since and by far Splendor is my favorite!! Can't wait to sail again on this amazing ship again in over 700 days!! Lol!

[NCTribeFan]

Since this 6-month-old thread has been revived, let me just point out that the staggered check-in was no big deal (sailed 10/30).

 

Again, I'm platinum, so when I arrived at the pier (QLS shuttle from FLL), I was dropped off, had my docs checked, and sent immediately inside because I was arriving right at the end of my check-in window.

 

There was light rain, and I imagine the people who were being sent to the other line (who had shown up earlier than their scheduled time) weren't terribly happy.

 

Now, once inside, it was a total mess, but that has nothing to do with staggered check-in. I wrote a short review and posted about it there.

 

Food was actually a bit better than last year to Bermuda. Not a fan of the selections from the American Table menu, but that's totally subjective. I'm not a dessert eater, but I sure miss Bitter and Blanc. :(

[AdGuyMG]

Comedy club- 4 nights of comedy 2 family shows per night the last 2 nights they did repeats of the family show. Now sorry but its pretty sad if a comedian can't come up with only 2 different clean shows for a cruise.

 

The comedian's performance is a professional Act who's material is practiced and timed and memorized, honed and practiced again. They're not just some guy with a good sense of humor making it up as they go along.

 

The repeats are for the benefit of those in the audience seeing the comedian for the 1st time. Chances are pretty good that if any Headliner comedian was performing for 3 nights at your local, land based Comedy Club (that you were paying a cover charge for) and you went all 3 nights, you would be seeing the same routine.

Edited December 13, 2016 by AdGuyMG

[riclop]

First cruise ever was on the Splendor..loved it!! Although many people complained about the "color". Honestly..who gives a @$c! about the color. It was an amazing ship and we had the best experience on it. We've taken two others since and by far Splendor is my favorite!! Can't wait to sail again on this amazing ship again in over 700 days!! Lol!

 

Same here, it was the first and favorite Carnival ship.

[ApoJacks]

I think that the Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal is a mess in general. We were on the Dream in New Orleans last month, and from car to ship was less than 45 minutes.

[ApoJacks]

I also should qualify that statement by saying we were on RCI out of Fort Lauderdale on our honeymoon and it was 2 hours from car to ship.