Trip Report/Review of Carnival Splendor

[oskarNZ]

Kia ora from New Zealand.

 

My family of 3 (2 adults and a 12 year old) just returned home from a New Years cruise on Carnival Splendor and I thought I’d write a bit of a report of our trip for those who are interested to learn more about the ship since it has only been cruising Downunder for about a month.

Word of warning for those who like reports that are straight to the point: I tend to waffle and write trip reports that can end up being quite long.

 

Our cruise was to the New Caledonian ports of Noumea, Isle of Pines, Lifou and Mare and we were fortunate to get to all 4 without issue.  
While we have spent time vacationing in the islands of the South Pacific (a small spot in Fiji called Navini Island is our absolute favourite), we’d never cruised to the islands before or been to New Caledonia. 
 

A Bit About Us

 

We are a family that love to explore the world and enjoy all styles of travel from road trips to cruises. A particular favourite travel experience is seeing animals in the wild and this includes snorkelling with all sorts of marine life. 
 

This was our 7th cruise, but our first on Carnival.  Our two most recent cruises have been with Celebrity, including a 14 night cruise on the Reflection around the Southern Caribbean that we were on this time a year ago.  As that cruise is still very current in my mind, I will no doubt find myself comparing Carnival and Celebrity a lot (acknowledging right now that in many ways the 2 lines are like chalk and cheese).

 

This review is here incase anyone is interested:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2624677-review-of-the-reflection-14-night-southern-caribbean/

 

We have also cruised Disney around the Caribbean, Costa around the Mediterranean, P&O on a short chartered NZ Rugby World Cup cruise and we have done a river cruise down the Yangtze.  
 

Despite what my username might imply, I am the Mum in this family.  I’m also the planner and as with all of our vacations, my husband and son are happy for me to do all the organising so they can just come along for the ride.  
 

Pre-cruise

 

We flew to Sydney on an uneventful flight with Air New Zealand and then caught an Uber to our hotel.  The last time we were in Sydney, we used the train, but for the three of us an Uber was cheaper and more convenient.  

Our hotel for two nights in Sydney was The Fullerton and we loved it.  I booked it months ago when it was The Westin and was planning to change over hands, so I got a good deal on it.  But even at a higher price, I would consider it again.  We loved the location, we loved the historical charm of the hotel and the fact that the Martin Place Xmas tree was right outside the entrance, and the rooms and breakfast buffet were great.  

During our two days in Sydney we covered quite a few miles on foot and spent time exploring and enjoying the great food Sydney has on offer (particularly the great Asian food offerings).  One place I can particularly recommend is the food court in Darling Square called ‘Maker’s Dozen’ where the options are great and the bubble tea is delicious.  
On the day of the cruise, we opted to Uber to the port to avoid the fuss of wheeling our suitcases around the crowds.  The shopping chaos that is Sydney after Xmas (particularly on Boxing Day) is a sight to behold.  
 

While we could smell a faint hint of smoke in the air during these two days, we were grateful for relatively clear days.  I appreciate that while we were fortunate to be enjoying this beautiful country, much of Australia was in crisis and this is something we were ever conscious of.  
There were parts of this cruise that we didn’t like, which I will mention throughout the report.  However, I feel the need to add a footnote that I am very much aware that my gripes are very much ‘first world issues’ and pale in comparison to what others are facing right now.  

 

To be continued

Bubble Tea

 

The Fullerton

 

A nice clear day for Sailaway 

Edited January 8, 2020 by oskarNZ

[possum52]

I enjoyed reading your review OskarNZ. I look forward to reading the next installment.

 

 

Leigh

[oskarNZ]

1 hour ago, possum52 said:

I enjoyed reading your review OskarNZ. I look forward to reading the next installment.

 

 

Leigh

Thanks Leigh.

 

I will try hard not to rabbit on too much 😆

[By The Bay]

After looking at your Reflection  review, I look forward to the rest of the Splendor review.

[cheznandy]

Thankyou for taking the time to review the Splendor. I was slack and didn't get around to posting anything on the repositioning from Singapore to Sydney, Xmas/New Year came around to fast!!

 

Look forward to your experience and thoughts, especially now that Splendor has settled in😉

[oskarNZ]

A Quick Summary

 

For those who don’t have the time to read a whole report, but are interested in a quick review, in summary we liked Carnival.

I would cruise with them again, but as with all cruises we pick, it would need to be the right price, right dates and right itinerary.   
I did not like Carnival enough to become loyal to it, which could be said for all cruise companies we have sailed with so far. 
We thought some aspects, such as entertainment and service, were very good and others, such as muster and some organisational systems, were terrible.  The food and ship itself varied and as such can be summed up with the word ‘fine’.  

Passenger Demographic

 

I’d let myself become put off Carnival in the past after reading far too many reports from people who’d hated the line.  Basically the implication from avid fans of other lines was that Carnival attracts ‘lower class’ cruisers who are just after a booze cruise.
 
However, given that I put us in a middle class, middle age, demographic that happens to prefer casual dinner attire and enjoys a good 80’s cover band, then perhaps Carnival would suit us well? 
Despite loving a lot about Celebrity, my main criticism is that the ships are sleepy and entertainment is a bit lacklustre.  I wanted to try a company known for being a bit more lively.  
 

As it turns out, I didn’t see an overly drunk person once the whole cruise.  The demographic ranged from young groups in their 20s, to families, to older couples.  Everyone was represented.

 

There were, like every cruise I’ve been on, people who were rudely hogging chairs and seats in the bars and theatre (once I saw one woman trying to hold about a dozen chairs in the lobby on her own) and there was the occasional unruly group of kids who pushed every button in the elevator or ran loudly down the hallways.  But in general, the majority of passengers were polite and friendly.  
I would guess that about 90% of passengers were Australian.  
 

We always arrived early for any events we were really keen on and as such, we rarely had issues getting a good seat in the bars, theatre and lobby.  We aren’t pool loungers, so never really had to worry about seats around the pool.  But had we wanted a good seat on a sunny sea afternoon, we probably would have struggled to find one.  
 

Embarkation and Muster

 

If you don’t like reading the negative stuff, it’s perhaps best to skip this section.  It’s where my biggest gripes lie.  
We prebooked ‘Faster to the Fun’ (FTTF) for this cruise and I think because of this, our experience was much better than it could have been.  It didn’t look like many families did pay for this perk which surprised me as I thought it was really worthwhile, especially for the priority tenders (more about them later).  
 

Anyway, we arrived at the port early (approx 10:30) as we wanted to be amongst the first to board.  I wanted to book National Park passes in Jinek Bay and was aware that with only 200 passes per day allocated, on a ship of 3000+, these would go fast.
 
About 11am they started letting people into the cruise terminal.  Staff didn’t seem to be talking to each other and messages were mixed (one minute we were being told by a staff member that FTTF couldn’t enter yet and literally a minute later another staff member told us we should have entered ages ago).  That was pretty much the theme of the day. It felt like systems were messy and nothing was well aligned.

It took us longer to get through Customs then expected due to some sort of glitch with our exit forms, which unfortunately meant we lost a bit of our FTTF head start.  But as soon as I got onboard, I motored it to the shore excursions desk where I was about 6th in line.  
I can’t complain as within 10 minutes the line went all the way back to the theatre and was very slow moving.

 

Why oh why oh why does Carnival Australia not let you book excursions online before the cruise??? It is insane that a massive, slow moving line is what they want people’s first impression of their cruiseline to be, especially when simple online systems would help avoid this.  
I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that the total of my 3 excursions was about $100 more than I was expecting.  I’d bought print outs of the cost online only to be told that online prices were just a guide and varied from cruise to cruise depending on the time of year.  Hmmmm.... perhaps this is why they don’t let you prebook?  Either way, it feels misleading as it stops you from making a fair comparison with independent companies.  
 

After getting my excursions locked in, I then wanted to lock in a few different onboard experiences such as the Mad Hatters Tea Party and the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast and also check with the dining room that we had a table for 3.  Would you believe that I had to go to three different places to sort these 3 dining experiences.  Again, systems didn’t seem well aligned.  
 

After that we headed to our room since FTTF gives you early access to your cabin.  Despite multiple staff telling us we were out of bounds, they were fine once we explained why we were there.  
 

Our Sea Passes, like our boarding passes, didn’t have any mention of FTTF on them and we felt a bit fraudulent having to explain to multiple staff throughout the day that we had in fact paid for it.  While everyone believed us, it did annoy me to see that other passengers had it clearly mentioned on their passes.  I’d called a few months earlier to question the lack of it on our boarding passes and had been told that this is the common process (not the case).  Anyway, it was sorted quickly with a visit to guest services later in the day and it is worth mentioning that another benefit of FTTF  is that you get to use the priority line at guest services.  The length of the standard line during the first two days of our cruise was horrendous and I was pleased I never had to stand in that line.  
 

After getting all our bookings sorted we had some lunch and explored the ship.  It wasn’t long before it was time for muster drill and I can say without doubt that it was the worst muster I’ve done on a cruise.  We were lined up and packed tightly onto the hot deck like cattle.  
Due to literally being crushed in a dense crowd some years ago, I get quite anxious having people surrounding me closely on all sides and I was feeling quite panicked.  
We arrived on time and were then made to wait a really long time while they hunted down what felt like every single passenger. When you’re feeling anxious, every minute felt like 10 and making people wait like that for latecomers was unfair.  Punish them, not us. 
 

Anyway, if you’re still reading, the good news is that things mostly got better from this moment.  Once muster was over, the fun began. 
 

To be continued.  
 

 

Most Xmas decorations were taken down pretty early in the cruise.

Pink everywhere

The refurbished pool deck

Muster over.  Time for a sailaway drink.  I do love sailing out of Sydney.

Edited January 8, 2020 by oskarNZ

[oskarNZ]

1 hour ago, By The Bay said:

After looking at your Reflection  review, I look forward to the rest of the Splendor review.

Thanks By the Bay 😊

[oskarNZ]

1 hour ago, cheznandy said:

Thankyou for taking the time to review the Splendor. I was slack and didn't get around to posting anything on the repositioning from Singapore to Sydney, Xmas/New Year came around to fast!!

 

Look forward to your experience and thoughts, especially now that Splendor has settled in😉

I wish I could say all technical issues are ironed out, but the ship still has a few things to work on.

But overall, it’s adjusting to the Aussie market well.  

[cheznandy]

The muster was a disaster for us too, exactly as you describe but there was no staff showing "how to put on the life vest" it was only when it was over that they noticed there was no one in our section!!

For us it was the worst, unorganised, sardine packed muster ever.

 

 

[sherri3802]

Thank you for posting. I had just been about to start a new thread to ask a question but see that you have answered it.

Two of my daughters plus their families are going on this cruise in late March to the Sth Pacific and one daughter told me that they can't book excursions online. 

I have been on a small number of cruises (P &O and Princess) and to be honest, I thought she had to have it wrong as we were always able to book excursions online ages before we went.

In fact, I think Carnival have online booking in US plus the facility for someone to pay for an excursion for a gift. Such a shame that doesn't apply here.

They are going to some of the same places you went to, I think. Between them they have 4 children, ages will range from almost 3 to 5, plus the 4 adults. Do you have any advice re enjoyable excursions that might be suitable? I was thinking of gifting a glass bottom boat experience.

This FTTF you pre booked. Does the booking have to be done when booking the cabins or can it be done anytime? What queues does it apply to eg does it apply to the excursion line queue? Just to get on the tenders first though would be a bonus!

 

 

[MicCanberra]

Cheers for the report/review.

[oskarNZ]

41 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

The muster was a disaster for us too, exactly as you describe but there was no staff showing "how to put on the life vest" it was only when it was over that they noticed there was no one in our section!!

For us it was the worst, unorganised, sardine packed muster ever.

 

 

Interesting and disappointing.  There are so many more pleasant ways to run muster on ships nowadays (including in comfortable spaces like the restaurants) that it’s disappointing that Carnival are doing it in such a disorganised way.

 

We had an elderly out-spoken gentleman on our cruise who was yelling quite aggressively at staff about how it’s the worst muster he’s ever attended.  While I agreed with all he was saying, his approach wasn’t exactly helping the situation.  

[oskarNZ]

11 minutes ago, sherri3802 said:

Thank you for posting. I had just been about to start a new thread to ask a question but see that you have answered it.

Two of my daughters plus their families are going on this cruise in late March to the Sth Pacific and one daughter told me that they can't book excursions online. 

I have been on a small number of cruises (P &O and Princess) and to be honest, I thought she had to have it wrong as we were always able to book excursions online ages before we went.

In fact, I think Carnival have online booking in US plus the facility for someone to pay for an excursion for a gift. Such a shame that doesn't apply here.

They are going to some of the same places you went to, I think. Between them they have 4 children, ages will range from almost 3 to 5, plus the 4 adults. Do you have any advice re enjoyable excursions that might be suitable? I was thinking of gifting a glass bottom boat experience.

This FTTF you pre booked. Does the booking have to be done when booking the cabins or can it be done anytime? What queues does it apply to eg does it apply to the excursion line queue? Just to get on the tenders first though would be a bonus!

 

 

She is unfortunately correct.  It shocked me too that you couldn’t prebook any excursions through Carnival Australia.  Hopefully that changes soon.

 

FTTF can be booked at anytime until it’s sold out.  I think in the USA it books out quite quickly, but I think it’s less well known in the Australian market as it didn’t seem many on our cruise had booked it.

 

Details of what it includes are here:

https://www.carnival.com.au/fun-shops/faster-to-the-fun.aspx

 

I will detail excursions in an upcoming post, but for a quick summary we booked:

 

- A Catamaran snorkelling tour in Noumea which Was great but probably isn’t suitable for kids that young.

- In Isle of Pines we booked nothing and would do the same again.  The beach is free and an absolute highlight.  
- In Lifou we booked the Jinek Bay snorkel.  There isn’t a huge amount of selection on the Island and I didn’t see anything else there that I would have rather done.

- In Mare we booked the bus to the beach which I think the majority of the ship also booked as there isn’t a lot else on offer at Mare.  It was a nice beach.  

 

 

[oskarNZ]

23 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Cheers for the report/review.

You’re welcome 😊

[By The Bay]

I did their crazy muster in Singapore, on a hot day (as they always are in Singapore). Luckily we were on the shady side of the ship. I was glad we weren't on the sunny side.

[cheznandy]

25 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

I did their crazy muster in Singapore, on a hot day (as they always are in Singapore). Luckily we were on the shady side of the ship. I was glad we weren't on the sunny side.

Were you on the repositioning as well?

[By The Bay]

25 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Were you on the repositioning as well?

Last year on Spirit.

[oskarNZ]

Decor, Wifi and Cabin

 

Anyone who’s done at least 10 minutes research into the Splendor will know that it’s called the ‘Pink Ship’ and pink it is.  
Prior to the cruise, I was quite worried that I would find the decor an eyesore and was therefore disappointed to hear that the pink wasn’t toned down during the big refurb.  (It seems not a whole lot was done during the refurb... but that’s another story).  
However, perhaps my low expectations were a good thing as I ended up finding the decor quite charming in a kitschy kind of way.  I think it represented the intended vibe of the ship.  
 

My husband, however thought it was garish and mentioned multiple times how much more he preferred the clean, modern lines of Celebrity.  I too preferred the decor of Celebrity Reflection and, even more so, the old school elegance of the Disney Fantasy, but I also don’t think Carnival’s intention is for their aesthetic to be comparable with others.  It’s meant to be fun and whimsical and I would argue that it is.  
 

The ship was showing it’s age.  While it was always immaculately clean, there was the occasional technical issue (eg broken elevators, blocked toilets, problematic air-conditioning) which were mostly fixed very quickly, but were still noticed.  My husband is an engineer and notices things that I wouldn’t, such as poor welds and crude fixes, and he pointed such things out regularly.  None of these issues worried me, but they did irk him a bit. 
 

Our cabin was an outside/window cabin on the second floor and it was perfectly functional.  Again, it was a bit dated, but it was a decent size, it had heaps of storage, a nice big window and the bed was comfortable.  There was a faint sewerage smell in the bathroom and outside in the hall that hung around the whole cruise, but we couldn’t smell it in the main part of the cabin which was good.  
 

The onboard laundrette got busier as the week went on, but we still managed to squeeze in a couple of laundry runs.  Due to the pay machines not working, both the washers and dryers were running for free which was a bit of a bonus.  
 

Our room steward was friendly and kept our cabin really clean.  He asked at the start of the cruise whether we wanted a morning or evening clean which took me a bit by surprise as I am used to cabins being cleaned at both times on cruises.  
However, given that once is more than enough for us, it wasn’t an issue.  We opted for the evening clean as it’s so nice to return from dinner to a clean cabin, a printed schedule for the next day and a towel animal.  
Plus (and this might just be a complete misconception) but our room steward seemed much more happy and energetic than past stewards who have had to rush through 2+ cleans per room per day.  Our room steward on the Celebrity Reflection always looked downright exhausted and overworked which always made me feel guilty about him cleaning our room.  
 

Lastly, the onboard wifi only worked well in our cabin.  It occasionally worked in the dining room, but pretty much nowhere else on the ship.  That was okay as it was in our cabin that we liked to browse the internet.  But had we paid extra for the $9 per person onboard messaging service (that is attached to the otherwise free Carnival Hub app) I would have asked for my money back.  Only being able to use it when your whole family are in the same room (ie your cabin) renders this function useless.  The app was otherwise quite good.

I had paid for both my husband and I to get the middle-priced wifi package that allows for more than just social media sites, but doesn’t allow you to watch videos of any description or stream music.  That is exactly what I got, but for some reason my husband could still access video sites such as You Tube.  I wondered if perhaps they had upgraded his package for free since the wifi around the ship wasn’t working that well.  
 

Pink lobby

There were hundreds of murals similar to this along the cabin hallways.  I liked them.

No turndown chocolates, but we loved our daily towel animal

Edited January 9, 2020 by oskarNZ

[By The Bay]

5 hours ago, By The Bay said:

Last year on Spirit.

Opps. 2018. No longer last year.🙂

[oskarNZ]

I just realised that I forgot to mention the layout of the ship in the section above.  If you read online reviews, you will see that it is a bit of a contentious issue.  
Putting the galley in the middle of decks 3 and 4 demonstrates a design plan that wasn’t well thought through.  It takes a few days to adjust to this, but once you do, it is not really an issue.

We were told on the first night to remember the Dolly Parton song ‘9 to 5’ as decks 5 and 9 are both good decks for traversing the ship.  This was good advice as it was helpful.

 

Entertainment

 

I really liked the entertainment on the Splendor and it was one of the highlights for me of cruising Carnival.  I am an active relaxer who likes to do activities that keep my brain active.  I therefore enjoyed all the trivia and games that were happening around the ship during sea days.  I was disappointed there wasn’t more arts and crafts (especially since I have read that the Spirit has a dedicated space for this), but the daily entertainment was still better than what I have encountered on any other cruise, including Disney.  
The evening stage shows were not as good as Disney’s (which is to be expected given that Disney has made its money through the entertainment industry) but the shows were much better than what we have experienced on Celebrity.  I particularly loved the 80s show and the Rock show which both really appealed to my nostalgic music tastes.  
 

There were plenty of onboard musicians and they were all really good.  I particularly liked the guy in the Piano Bar who did awesome Elton John and Beatles tribute shows.  Get there early if you want a seat near the piano - it’s particularly worth it for his Elton John show.  The only downside is that Piano Bar REALLY needs air-con.  
 

The comedy club was something I hadn’t experienced on a cruise before and I really enjoyed it.  There were 4 comedians on our cruise and they all did a couple of PG shows and a couple of R18 shows.  We got to 3 of the PG shows and they were great.  I think it takes a real talent to make a joke funny to adults without the need for sexual references or cuss words.

 

We also attended a few of the R18 shows and while I really disliked the one that relied on the F word in every sentence to try and make it funny, there was one comedian who made up his routine on the spot by heckling the audience and he was hilarious.  I loved it, as did my husband, who I think found the comedy club the entertainment highlight of the cruise.  
 

My son didn’t attend the Circle C kids club at any stage as he is quite a shy boy and wasn’t keen.  However, he did love the water slides and went on these multiple times on his own.  Plus he was just happy to hang out with us at the quizzes etc and read his books.  

There was always a break during meals where the wait staff broke into song and dance.  I liked this, it was a bit of fun, and I liked how many customers dressed up for dinner to match the theme of the evening (80’s, Island night and Mexican Night).  If I was to cruise Carnival again, I would be a bit more prepared this time with some dress up clothes.  As Lee, the cruise director, kept saying,  “Fun is what you make it” and the people getting into the theme of each evening were certainly having fun.  
 

 

The restaurant dressed up for 80s night.

Tina Turner singalong at dinner

80s Stage Show

The slides.  The green one was too scary for me.

The piano guy was awesome

Towel animals took over the pool deck on the last port day.

Edited January 9, 2020 by oskarNZ

[Hunter69]

On 1/9/2020 at 1:57 PM, By The Bay said:

Last year on Spirit.

i had that bad side. on that day.. Then we didn't sail for another 3 or 4 hours. Still loading. Great cruise though..

[mahdnc]

@oskarNZ,

 

Hi. I stumbled across your review and I'm enjoying it. We have booked Celebrity Solstice for a round trip cruise to New Caledonia and Vanuatu out of Sydney on Jan 2021.  So your trip report is an interesting read. 

 

Thank you again for your advice for our NZ cruise that we took last month. While on board I met a couple that was on a roll call that was still mulling over whether to sign up for the Dunedin to Milford Sound overland tour. I told them how you thought it was really worthwhile, and I don't know if it convinced them, but they bought the tour and they said they loved it afterward. 

 

It was nice to meet you on Reflection a year ago. It was such a nice cruise. Our very first cruise was with Carnival and it got my wife and I hooked on cruising. I'll be interested in seeing your comparison between the two cruise lines. And I'll be interested in reading about your ports. 

 

David

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by mahdnc

[oskarNZ]

23 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

@oskarNZ,

 

Hi. I stumbled across your review and I'm enjoying it. We have booked Celebrity Solstice for a round trip cruise to New Caledonia and Vanuatu out of Sydney on Jan 2021.  So your trip report is an interesting read. 

 

Thank you again for your advice for our NZ cruise that we took last month. While on board I met a couple that was on a roll call that was still mulling over whether to sign up for the Dunedin to Milford Sound overland tour. I told them how you thought it was really worthwhile, and I don't know if it convinced them, but they bought the tour and they said they loved it afterward. 

 

It was nice to meet you on Reflection a year ago. It was such a nice cruise. Our very first cruise was with Carnival and it got my wife and I hooked on cruising. I'll be interested in seeing your comparison between the two cruise lines. And I'll be interested in reading about your ports. 

 

David

 

Hi David,

 

Great to hear from you.  I agree it was really nice to meet you last year on the Reflection.  Can you believe that a whole year has passed?  I get Facebook memories reminding me of that cruise daily at present with today’s memory of Curacao.  Tomorrow will be Bonaire which I think was my favourite port of the whole cruise, so I’ll enjoy that reminder.

 

Your post has reminded me that I need to surge on with this review.  I’ve been a bit distracted the last week starting to plan the next vacation and to be honest I wasn’t sure anyone was overly interested in this review 🤣 so I took a bit of a break.  But I will carry on.  What ports are you visiting on your cruise as if any overlap with the ones we did (Noumea, Lifou, Isle of Pines, Mare) I’ll start with those?

 

Phew.  I’m so happy that the people you spoke to enjoyed their overland trip.  I know how expensive those excursions are, but it’s also a great way to see our beautiful mountain/lake districts if your time in NZ is limited to the length of the cruise.  I might be a bit biased though since it’s the area I live and love. 😂

I really need to go and read your review so I can remind myself of what excursions and activities you and your family picked.  I hope you enjoyed them all.  

 

[mahdnc]

We work be visiting 6 ports. Your four ports plus Mystery Island and Vila, Vanuatu. 

[mahdnc]

Nice pictures, by the way.