Carnival Splendor out of dry dock offering another unique sailing

[jimbo5544]

Another really unique cruising opportunity, would love to hear from those that will be on the ship.

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/08/carnival-splendor-resumes-service-after-drydock/

[BlerkOne]

I might wonder what the new dining options are, but it really doesn't matter because I have no intention of flying to Australia to try them.

[CDaze71]

They've changed the Deli menu and dropped off the Meatball subs and the Frankfurter Hot Dogs. Disappointed. Plus there's lots of up charging now. As they're absorbing P&O I can see them charging for more food. 

[Haoie]

I also read that Masala Tiger has been moved, in its place is a new ala carte BBQ place. 

[ninjacat123]

Another awesome cruise that I can’t take… because I’ll be on my Bermuda cruise!! Australia is on the list👍😁

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Another awesome cruise that I can’t take… because I’ll be on my Bermuda cruise!! Australia is on the list👍😁

It is right around the corner from Bermuda….well, around the corner and another continent and the largest ocean on the planet, but not that far.🤔  On our list also, getting there keeps bumping it down that list.

[ninjacat123]

15 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

It is right around the corner from Bermuda….well, around the corner and another continent and the largest ocean on the planet, but not that far.🤔  On our list also, getting there keeps bumping it down that list.

That’s what trips us up as well. 🤑

[jimbo5544]

On 8/24/2024 at 1:51 PM, BlerkOne said:

I might wonder what the new dining options are, but it really doesn't matter because I have no intention of flying to Australia to try them.

That is a long way to go to try a menu option. 😏

Edited August 26 by jimbo5544

[jimbo5544]

On 8/25/2024 at 12:58 AM, CDaze71 said:

They've changed the Deli menu and dropped off the Meatball subs and the Frankfurter Hot Dogs. Disappointed. Plus there's lots of up charging now. As they're absorbing P&O I can see them charging for more food. 

All cruise lines up charge now, being shut down for 19 months will do that.  Carnival Corp owns both P&O Australia and CCL.  IF there is a cost to the acquisition, it is on the books only and would certainly be off set by the revenue generation.  This transaction was purely for two reasons.  Demand is way higher in CCL land and there was absolutely no way Carnival would relinquish the title of the most ships at sea.  If the only way to pay for it was food upsells, they would be in deep do do.  That said, the financial shows they still have a ton of debt due to covid, but have already written off a tremendous amount in a short period of time.  Just my HO.

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

  That said, the financial shows they still have a ton of debt due to covid, but have already written off a tremendous amount in a short period of time.  Just my HO.

They didn't write off the debt.  They paid it off.  Big difference. 

 

 

Edited August 26 by staceyglow

[jimbo5544]

18 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

They didn't write off the debt.  They paid it off.  Big difference. 

 

 

Fair point.  Stand corrected on my terminology

[jimbo5544]

Kind of a followup to this ship, more info.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/refurb-design-interiors/australia-ship-carnival-splendor-gets-new-livery-southern-cross

[clairebearinaus]

On 8/26/2024 at 8:28 AM, Haoie said:

I also read that Masala Tiger has been moved, in its place is a new ala carte BBQ place. 

I hope they have just relocated Masala Tiger and not removed it altogether, in my opinion it's the only good complimentary food on that ship.

[Prometheus1]

On 8/26/2024 at 7:19 PM, clairebearinaus said:

I hope they have just relocated Masala Tiger and not removed it altogether, in my opinion it's the only good complimentary food on that ship.

Brand new dining options are sure to be popular, including Mad Sizzle that has been added on Deck 9, Lido Deck, on the aft starboard side. The quick-serve venue offers a selection of richly flavorful kebabs, satays, and spit-roasted meats.

Masala Tiger has been relocated to a new, larger location on Deck 10, Panorama Deck. There, guests will find the already-popular lunch menu as well as a new a la carte dinner menu.

 

 

Got this info from another site- Loved Masala tiger when I sailed Splendor (was just called tandoori then), such a shame they removed it from other ships!

Edited August 30 by Prometheus1
addendum

[john91498]

One of my favorite ships. Hope there's not too many changes. 

[SumCruisin]

We are on this sailing right now, it is a great itinerary. Spent three days in Singapore before pre-trip. Had an amazing meal at Jaan and got over the jet lag before getting on board. 
 

This is only my second Carnival cruise so I can only compare experiences to the Spirit, which we sailed on a repositioning through the Panama Canal. (I have done Princess cruises though).
 

Greats: 

The food on this ship (Splendor) is way better than it was on the Spirit. It tastes more well-seasoned, the ingredients don’t feel as repetitive. We alternate between lido deck and dining room for breakfast, now more heavy on the dining room because lido gets very crowded in the morning with people eating and then playing cards at their table instead of moving to a different area so others can sit (even with signage on the tables to move along after eating). There are cappuccino machines on lido as well (free).  
 

The dining room brunch has a really nice salmon power bowl breakfast, and smoked salmon is always available at breakfast. Also a really nice yogurt parfait. 
 

Guy’s Burgers taste the same. 🙂 The food, again in MDM has been very good. A couple vegetarian options, a fish, a couple theme nights. Alfredo pasta one night, have seen lots of Indonesian/Thai/Indian dishes. 

 

Not-so-great, just random things:
 

The sandwich deli lines are always crazy long so I haven’t tried it this trip. Main Dining room the first night was a shared table with a guest who talked nonstop at us while chewing with his open mouth so we moved to the later dining do we could have a private booth. I hate shared tables and most of the dining room is shared. 
 

Alchemy Bar does not carry Cointreau, just triple sec or grand marnier. They were the only bar that carried it on Spirit so I haven’t checked others on Splendor. 
 

I did go to the salon the first day and it was a disaster, piles everywhere with loud counting, employees arguing, and it was the worst pedicure I’ve ever had. Not worth $30 let alone $70. I did not complain about the quality of the pedicure but I told the front desk it was chaos and I would come back the next day for the haircut. They should not have been open until they were all set up. The lady who did the cut was fantastic. 
 

Also great: the Wi-Fi speed has been exceptional. Which causes a not-so-great: what is with people FaceTiming friends or families while they are eating meals in public and having it on speaker? No one else wants to hear that. What is the correct thing to do? The staff just ignores it. Another woman in the salon had her friend on speaker and talked non-stop for 40 minutes on speaker. Does everyone just ignore it? It is crazy to me. This is not limited to a small age band either. 
 

I haven’t engaged in any of the entertainment beyond donating my allotment into the casino. They have four video poker machines and they get snatched up quickly with people hovering waiting to play. They really need more.  Also, I know it’s a smaller ship but there are only two (!) laundry rooms on the ship, and one of the washers was out of service. I’ve never used ship laundry services because I’m neurotic about my clothes but I’m tempted. Haha You now swipe your room card directly on the machine ($3.50 a load) rather than using tokens. We do bring laundry soap sheets so don’t buy soap on board. 
 

The staff are so kind and welcoming, really great people and the best part of the ship. Our steward is from Bali and he told us what we should go see when we got to port and it was much appreciated.

 

Sorry this was so long. I did cut it down. 

[Keata]

@SumCruisin Thank you for these details - we sail from Sydney on her in November.  Can you tell me where the laundry rooms are?

Thanks!

[groundloop]

7 hours ago, Keata said:

@SumCruisin Thank you for these details - we sail from Sydney on her in November.  Can you tell me where the laundry rooms are?

Thanks!

 

You can find most answers about specific ship features here:  https://help.goccl.com/

 

Here's the page that contains information about location of the launderettes on Splendor:

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/list/st/3/kw/splendor/page/1

 

 

 

[Keata]

1 hour ago, groundloop said:

 

You can find most answers about specific ship features here:  https://help.goccl.com/

 

Here's the page that contains information about location of the launderettes on Splendor:

https://help.goccl.com/app/answers/list/st/3/kw/splendor/page/1

 

 

 

Yes that says 3 floors with laundry and SumCruisin is on board now saying that has changed to 2 after the drydock - hence the question.

[SumCruisin]

Ironing room on 1, 6, 8. 

Launderette on 2 midship, 7 midship. The one on 7 has three washers, I’ll check 2 when I’m back on board. In Darwin today!