Carnival Splendor Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,476 reviews

SPLENDID - INDEED!

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on Carnival Splendor
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R&B CRUISIN
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Nov 2008

This was my fourth cruise (second on Carnival) and the first for my friend. We booked within a month of sail date and were very pleased with the price. We chose Carnival Splendor for several reasons: new ship, proximity of departure port, which made it perfect for a quick getaway, and the excellent value. We chose the four night itinerary because, this being my friend's first cruise, we felt it would give her a good indication of the overall cruise experience without being stuck at sea for a week if she did not enjoy it. We are 40's professionals, fairly well traveled looking for a quick getaway for some rest and relaxation. We booked the 4 night Bahamas cruise departing Ft. Lauderdale on 17 November and calling at Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk.

EMBARKATION/INITIAL IMPRESSION We took the short flight over to Ft. Lauderdale on Monday morning from Nassau, Bahamas and took the short 15-minute ride to Port Everglades via taxi, arriving at about 12:30. The fare, including tip, was less than $20. In my opinion this option is quicker and less stressful than using the Carnival transfers and having to wait at the airport for a bus to fill up with passengers. Pulling up to the terminal and seeing this huge ship up close definitely increased the level of excitement and anticipation. We handed our bags over to the porters, along with the mandatory tip, and joined the lineup of passengers, which stretched outside of the terminal. The line moved very, very quickly through the security checks and then up the stairs to the numerous check-in counters. The actual check-in process took less than 5 minutes as we had completed all of the steps on-line. We received our sign and sail cards and were on our way up the gangway to begin our vacation. Total time from taxi to entering the ship's lobby was about 30 minutes.

I had read many Cruise-Critic reviews on-line and many of them went on about the pink dEcor of this ship so we were anticipating this and were not at all shocked or put off by the scheme. My friend, budding artist that she is, thought the dEcor was quite nice. I thought it was a bit loud but not outrageous. The lobby area was extremely crowded when we entered and we quickly made our way to the elevators and headed up to our cabin. However that was the only time during the entire cruise that we actually felt crowded. We had booked a balcony cabin on Verandah deck number 8358. Our room steward had not quite finished cleaning the room so we left our carry - on bags there and went to check on our dining room table and up to Lido deck to get some lunch. The cabin was ready when we returned and we relaxed on our balcony for a while, unpacked and then explored the ship some more. The mandatory lifeboat drill was at 4 p.m. and, save for a handful of latecomers, all passengers assembled at their assigned stations on time, which allowed the process to be completed very quickly. By this time Splendor was underway and we returned to our balcony for the sailaway from Ft. Lauderdale.

Cabin Review

Cabin Bal

Excellent closet space, closet has shelves, cabin very spacious with many storage areas; nice flat screen TV; bed is amazingly comfortable with very nice linens; bathroom is spacious with lots of shelves, very spacious shower although curtain can be a pain in the - ; good water pressure and temperature;Cabin was on Verandah deck, below Lido deck but not directly under dining areas so was very quiet;balcony has 2 chairs and small table and is very nice to have;

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