I reviewed what others have said regarding their experiences on the Carnival Splendor, and concur with a lot of the comments, both positive and negative. I will attempt to leave any emotion out of my review and give you the facts from my perspective.

Background information: There were a total of 5 in our group that cruised together, all for the first time. There were 4 adults, and a 14 year old on the trip. We basically chose the Carnival Splendor because of three reasons: the dates of sailing landed on March break of the 14 year old; New York cruise Port is only 11 hour drive from our home; the cost of the cruise appeared as a bargain.

Embarkation: The embarkation process went rather smoothly at the cruise terminal. Once we were on the boat, we were directed by staff just inside the door to take the elevator to the Lido deck where there was a buffet in progress. That sounded rather good considering it was just after lunch time, so we went up to the Lido and ate…. Hmmm… what now? We had no idea what to do after we ate. Keep in mind we are first time cruisers and have never been on a ship before. I guess Carnival expects all cruisers to know what to do, where to go, etc. We were lost to our own vices of wandering around the ship. I am surprised they do not have an orientation for first time cruisers, or if they do, we were totally unaware of it. I would say we spent the entirety of that first day walking around trying to get our bearings, find our cabin, and looking lost. Read more