Carnival Splendor Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,475 reviews

SPLENDOR 7/2315-7/27/15 CANADIAN CRUISE (SAINT JOHN, NB)

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Carnival Splendor
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wiskt
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jul 2015
Cabin: Balcony

I have been doing cruise reviews on Cruise Critic for a few years. This was my 16th Carnival Cruise and I have also cruised NCL & RCCL. I do enjoy Carnival, but I also feel each line offers different experiences and should be critiqued individually and separately. My overall experience is just that and I hope the cruise line and future passengers may benefit from my reviews. I tend to cover multiple captions and I hope that my experience is helpful to you.

This cruise was part vacation and partly a gift to a friend for 30 years of dedicated service to an organization I belong. I’ve taken this same cruise twice prior on different ships. Sailing the SPLENDOR for the first time was another reasoning to book this particular trip. I do enjoy the shorter 4 day trips and it was a good choice for my travel companion’s first cruise. The SPLENDOR is a nice ship and very easy to navigate. The overall layout is much of the same with some added bonuses.

ITINERARY: NY, Day at Sea, St John, Day at Sea, NY. NYC is very busy, fast paced and can be quite intimidating to a tourist driver coming I from a more relaxed location. I personally would suggest utilizing public transport if possible over driving in on your own. Since I live in PA I was able to take a bus directly from Allentown to the Manhattan cruise terminal. I have also taken the train & bus via Port Authority and either grabbed a taxi as well as walked the approx. 6 blocks to the cruise port. It is doable heading to the port, even with a small rolling suitcase. Going back is more uphill, which I suggest a taxi. There is one formal night making this a great quick getaway cruise.

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8F

CABIN: BALC 1073 Panorama Deck forward.... It was quiet and a nice location to elevators. There is a small FRIDGE stocked with soda and small travel liquor for purchase. I pre-purchased some bottled water and the room steward said I may set aside the soda to have use of the fridge. This is your typical stateroom; 2 beds with a sofa. The ship deck map has the room listed as a: 2-person occupancy. However, I see no reason why one could not easily make a KING BED for parents, and utilizing the sofa as a bed for a child? SAFE, 32" flat screen TV, room light switches at the bed, water and soda to purchase in the room. Two robes hanging in the closet. Conveniently located right off the LIDO 2nd floor made moving around the ship simple.

NOTE: THIS BALCONY is one of the OPEN TOP balconies without a roof.

Port Reviews

New York (Manhattan)

EMBARKATION: I am a Platinum cruiser and the VIFP check-in was extremely efficient. I arrived promptly at 12:30 via bus transport. It took me 20-30 minutes from curbside arrival through VIFP check in and I was on board. I was VERY impressed with this.

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NEW YORK CITY: Manhattan The cruise port is located just south of the Lincoln Tunnel and Hell’s Kitchen area. There are many thinks to do as far as sightseeing if you are staying overnight the day prior or extending your trip longer. I would suggest doing a google search and pick up a NYC-PASS which will provide access to several NYC attractions. The USS INTREPID is permanently docked in the next dock slip to the cruise lines. It also accommodated the British CONCORD and several US fighter planes to visit. The US Intrepid, Space & Air Museum complex also houses the USS ENTERPRISE space shuttle. If you are in for a full day prior, you may wish to visit the 911 memorial or get a bird’s eye view on one of the several observation decks around the city. (Empire State building, Statue of Liberty or the FREEDOM TOWER observation deck that recently opened in July 2015) NYC-PASS has several other sightseeing opportunities in and around the great city of New York City. I wish Carnival would offer some in port excursions which could also make choosing easier for a cruiser not aware of all the city offers.

Saint John (New Brunswick)

SAINT JOHN, NB: I have been to this port now three times. Each time I chose to do a self-walking tour of the cruise port area. It doesn’t offer a ton of adventurous things, but you can find interest in local history about Saint John and New Brunswick. I am going to take you along my day trip in which I spent roughly $50 and also got in some walking exercise. This trip, I headed up the street to the left where everything is located towards MARKET STREET. Two blocks up there is a pier where you will be able to see first-hand how drastic the tides differ by checking out the water marks on the walls. There normally is a very small outside flea market in which a few locals sell some hand crafted goods. On the corner is the QUEEN ST. - CITY MARKET ENTRANCE. If you are lucky you can catch the traditional ringing of the market street bell that signifies the opening and closing of each business day. The original boat slip market buildings were made totally of wood and were burned in the 1837 great fire which destroyed almost all of SAINT JOHN. The market is a combination of retail stores & restaurants that is today connected to tunnels & bridges to assist in navigating all the way up to KING STREET and the LOYALIST PARK.

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Inside MARKET STREET SQUARE is the NEW BRUNSWICK HISTORICAL MUSEUM. Don’t be intimidated by the small storefront sparse lobby. The Museum is fairly large once inside. Admission is $8.00 per person and is wheelchair accessible. There are three floors of history of NB exploring the ecological development of the land- Textile, Trade and Arts- deep history of whaling that the area holds and a further look at the people and how they lived. This is a nice self-tour option for the person that does not want to spend a lot of money or travel on a bus for an hour out to one of the more expensive cruise line excursions. Recommended for self-tour / low budget

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After the Museum tour I continued utilizing the tunnel and cross-bridge system upwards towards city hall. There is actually a very large aquatic swimming center where they hold races. A full length observation deck is just above the pool where you can catch some races for FREE. I was able to catch the youth relay races as I made my trip up towards King St Loyalist Park.

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At the top of the MARKET ST entrance is a small farmers market. You can pick up some local MAPLE hard candy or some fine arts & Crafts from a local vendor. Outside the entrance on the right is a recommended seafood restaurant called BILLY’s SEAFOOD. Inside are a few tables with some excellent seafood dishes for lunch. Prices vary from teens to $30’s. Their Seafood chowder & Lobster Rolls are highly recommended. After lunch you can walk across the street through KING’s LOYALIST MEMORIAL PARK where some of NB highly decorated faithful are recognized through monuments and statues. Some locals often walk the park wearing period attire explaining the loyalists’ stories are and why they are important to SAINT JOHN & NB. Admission: FREE

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Making your way back down Market Street you will find several shops. If time allows and you are one for architecture and photo opportunities, look up and make your way over towards one of the large church steeples that scatter the rooflines of SAINT JOHN. Many open their doors to walkthroughs and the insides are decorated with ornate and historic statues. Dotting the side streets you will also come across some local music stores and pubs. I have found places like those offers the most opportunity to talk with the locals who are very proud of their small town’s history and will direct you to off-beat little gems that the everyday city tours also may mention.

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When you return to the cruise ship port you will pass through a small local straw market where you will find many Canadian arts & crafts, sports and wearable souvenirs. These straw markets and flea markets are not as aggressive as those found in the Caribbean and have better quality items. Once back onboard, be sure to catch the last ½ hour before sail-away as a local bagpiper will stand playing on the pier as SAINT JOHN bids farewell to each ship.

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