Hurricane Matthew and Carnival Splendor, just back from a great cruise!

[funinthesun1964]

I had morning and evening service with all the perks mentioned along with ice refilled twice a day. I like the same kind of service you do, and I was not disappointed.

 

 

Well that's good.

 

We are not in a suite though, we are deck 2 aft, one of those cabins all the way in the back. We like the aft cabins on deck 2, as we look out at the sea.

 

I see that you mentioned the steakhouse was not that great, we are planning on going this cruise. I like the lobster ravioli, but DH likes one of the steaks. I hope our service and food will be good. IMHO the dining room food and service both have gone downhill in recent years. Of course service can vary depending on your waiters. We've had good and bad.

[mgonagl]

Day 10, sea day

 

Sea days are usually for quick breakfasts with a sprint to the serenity deck to get a decent chair. This, however has been an odd cruise. We did go to the lido for breakfast, but once out on deck we had our choice of areas. No seat saving was in sight and everything was available. After going to the shows, anytime dining, etc., I am convinced that the ship that was supposed to be full upon embarkation had a lot of cancellations due to the hurricane. Nothing is ever full and getting the seat you want has not ever been a problem all week.

 

It was another beautiful, sunny and very hot day. We managed 4 hours at the pool, until noon when it was just too hot to even be refreshed by the pool. Mexican was the buffet theme and nothing was good so I came up for wings, veggies and rest. It was the last formal night so we dressed in the finest we brought and enjoyed our dinner.

 

The evening show was a tribute to the 80's and it was good. The young man who sang the lead in most of the songs was outstanding. The lead girl was still just as bad as the last show we saw. The second lead was much better and should have the lead job. Honestly, I don't know what they were thinking when casting her.

 

Off to the cabin after the show to find the score for the Indians/Blue Jays game because they blocked TBS from the ship. I didn't understand that, but we read and scoured the tv looking for updates the rest of the night. And rested...... this has been the most relaxing cruise ever!

 

Three things,

 

They should have the playoffs in the sports bar, we would have preferred to watch with other fans and have a few cocktails.

 

Not everyone is a Marvel Superhero movie fan. A little variety would have been nice.

 

Growing old and cruising. There comes a time when you do become old, and you realize how amazing cruising can be!

[mgonagl]

Well that's good.

 

We are not in a suite though, we are deck 2 aft, one of those cabins all the way in the back. We like the aft cabins on deck 2, as we look out at the sea.

 

I see that you mentioned the steakhouse was not that great, we are planning on going this cruise. I like the lobster ravioli, but DH likes one of the steaks. I hope our service and food will be good. IMHO the dining room food and service both have gone downhill in recent years. Of course service can vary depending on your waiters. We've had good and bad.

 

We have had good and bad too, and the Splendor dining room was consistently excellent. A few misses were the stuffed muchrooms and the Wellington, but everything else was really good. It was the Steakhouse that we found the quality lower then usual.

[mgonagl]

Day 10, last day

 

Breakfast on the lido and then another gorgeous day of sun and fun on the serenity deck. Loads of chair saving this morning, odd for this cruise. But we stayed out as long as we could, from 8am to noon. I got a shower and decided I wouldn't sleep the day away, preferring to play in the trivia games instead. I enjoyed trivial pursuit! Didn't win because I was playing by actual rules rather then their rules which meant I was behind when I wasn't but I was ok with that. I played by myself, and lost by one pie. Then I lost the music trivia by 3 points, again, by myself. I don't need the prizes, just the satisfaction of doing well.

 

We had the Platinum and diamond party tonight and it was really, really nice. If you aren't platnuim yet, I urge you to get there. It's a lovely party with excellent drinks, top notch hors doeuvres and quite frankly, I love the movie on all the ships! They changed it so they run through them quickly and I would urge them to change 2 things. 1. Show each ship, one at a time so we can applaud each ship we have sailed. It's just fun. 2. Do it from 4:30 to 5:30 rather then 5 to 6. We had anytime dining which begins at 5:45 and we had to leave early to get our table and tip our excellent staff a little extra. Considering all dining options and how they are used would have saved me the embarrassment of leaving early. I would have loved to hear about all the personal information the department heads were willing to share, but I had to leave!

 

We tipped out waiters extra, as they were amazing all week, including our bar waitress. When they cut back, we had trouble getting a drink in the dining room in the past but we made our needs known and we were well taken care of al week!

 

We used our free drink tickets in the sports bar as Ohio State had an evening game, and enjoyed it immensely! We came to the cabin to complete our packing, get the luggage out and finish watching the game.

 

As we near the end of the cruise, we have finally hit thunderstorms and will be rocked to sleep by the waves, to enjoy dreams of one of the best cruises out of 15! Looking forward to next year on the Vista!

[mgonagl]

Final thoughts on this amazing vacation:

 

While the ship itself is in excellent shape, the apholstry (sic) in the lido restaurant is badly in need of repair. It's frayed terribly and the cushions need stuffing so bad that when I sat in a booth, I felt like a 5 year old at the grown up table. Even the chairs sink in the middle.

 

One of my favorite Lido deck buffet indulgences is their potato salad. Until the last day, however, it was watery, as if it had been frozen. I finally enjoyed it, but make less and serve it right rather then freezing extras. I would have eaten it all week.

 

We were so blessed with absolutely perfect, sunny weather the whole week. Many thanks to the captain for avoiding the storms. I have the tan of the girl from Ipanema. The food insured I don't have her body!

 

Chloe was our cruise director, and she was really wonderful. She did an excellent job keeping things moving along.

 

The food, with a few small exceptions was delicious. We didn't have a bad meal, and the only time I needed room service was Mexican day. I didn't care for it, but it's just me.

 

I want my blue iguana burrito! It was missed. DH missed Guys burgers!

 

Every crew member I encountered was great. The ladies room cleaners especially. All the restrooms were sparkling at all times. Bravo to them!

 

For those of you about to board, I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did. It really was the best ever!

[easyboy]

Great review. Thanks.

[Mikew0805]

I was on the same sailing. They use your boarding pass, and scan that as you board. Same information on it as would be on your sail & sign card.

[Mikew0805]

Final thoughts on this amazing vacation:

 

While the ship itself is in excellent shape, the apholstry (sic) in the lido restaurant is badly in need of repair. It's frayed terribly and the cushions need stuffing so bad that when I sat in a booth, I felt like a 5 year old at the grown up table. Even the chairs sink in the middle.

 

One of my favorite Lido deck buffet indulgences is their potato salad. Until the last day, however, it was watery, as if it had been frozen. I finally enjoyed it, but make less and serve it right rather then freezing extras. I would have eaten it all week.

 

We were so blessed with absolutely perfect, sunny weather the whole week. Many thanks to the captain for avoiding the storms. I have the tan of the girl from Ipanema. The food insured I don't have her body!

 

Chloe was our cruise director, and she was really wonderful. She did an excellent job keeping things moving along.

 

The food, with a few small exceptions was delicious. We didn't have a bad meal, and the only time I needed room service was Mexican day. I didn't care for it, but it's just me.

 

I want my blue iguana burrito! It was missed. DH missed Guys burgers!

 

Every crew member I encountered was great. The ladies room cleaners especially. All the restrooms were sparkling at all times. Bravo to them!

 

For those of you about to board, I hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did. It really was the best ever!

 

It's unfortunate that one can have a completely different experience, in many areas. Oh well.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Mikew0805

[NCTribeFan]

As I continue to point out, every person on the ship has a different experience. It all depends on what you do, when you do it, who you encounter, your expectations, etc. You can have a totally different experience than the people in the cabin next to you. Doesn't mean anyone is not being honest or objective when they share their thoughts.

 

Even if 100 people came back and wrote reviews of the same sailing (and we usually don't even get one review), it's still such a small sample size as to be meaningless!

 

I love reading reviews and I always write one when I return. I certainly don't expect anyone to make any of their cruising decisions based on my comments, though. I very much appreciate people sharing their thoughts here as I know it takes a lot of effort to write even a short review, so thank you!

 

Splendor isn't my favorite ship, but I don't sail for the ship. I didn't find either the Steakhouse or the MDR food to be great on my two sailings, but they weren't terrible either. I don't care about decor, or shows. I sail to get to ports.

 

Was just reading about the new S&S card procedure in a different thread. Interesting. People seem to be concerned that someone could take their card and return later to enter their cabin. But if they go to their cabin and the card isn't there, they'd have to go straight to the service desk and the original card would be cancelled, yes?

 

Do wonder about the non-priority people who want to be on board before noon but can't get to their cabin until 1:30. They need to start drinking right away! Isn't that way everyone wants to be first on the ship? :p

[JOANN226]

Thanks for the great review, I will be on the ship on Saturday, I will post my review when I get back. I checked the weather looks like rain in all our ports. That's why they made umbrellas.

 

Joann

[NCTribeFan]

I just take those $1 plastic ponchos because they're light and disposable. I've found, though, that in the islands, it rarely rains for long. I've gotten caught in showers and soaked only for the sun to come out a few minutes later and I was dry shortly after. I don't even look at the weather forecast for the Bahamas/Caribbean these days.

 

Take care of her for us and have fun! You'll be posting your review while I'm on the ship but I'll look for it when I return.

[cruiseondude]

great review -- thanks

[sweenbean21]

How do you order a drink in the interim of arriving onboard and the cabins being opened?

[ScoobySue2]

How do you order a drink in the interim of arriving onboard and the cabins being opened?

 

I was thinking the same thing...... Hmm.....

[pusywillow]

How do you order a drink in the interim of arriving onboard and the cabins being opened?

 

You can use your boarding pass to order a drink.

[Mikew0805]

As I continue to point out, every person on the ship has a different experience. It all depends on what you do, when you do it, who you encounter, your expectations, etc. You can have a totally different experience than the people in the cabin next to you. Doesn't mean anyone is not being honest or objective when they share their thoughts.

 

Even if 100 people came back and wrote reviews of the same sailing (and we usually don't even get one review), it's still such a small sample size as to be meaningless!

 

I love reading reviews and I always write one when I return. I certainly don't expect anyone to make any of their cruising decisions based on my comments, though. I very much appreciate people sharing their thoughts here as I know it takes a lot of effort to write even a short review, so thank you!

 

Splendor isn't my favorite ship, but I don't sail for the ship. I didn't find either the Steakhouse or the MDR food to be great on my two sailings, but they weren't terrible either. I don't care about decor, or shows. I sail to get to ports.

 

Was just reading about the new S&S card procedure in a different thread. Interesting. People seem to be concerned that someone could take their card and return later to enter their cabin. But if they go to their cabin and the card isn't there, they'd have to go straight to the service desk and the original card would be cancelled, yes?

 

Do wonder about the non-priority people who want to be on board before noon but can't get to their cabin until 1:30. They need to start drinking right away! Isn't that way everyone wants to be first on the ship? :p

 

Now that I have dealt with Carnival I can post a fair review with outcome. I will do so soon.