Carnival Splendor Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,475 reviews

Going Down Fast!

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Carnival Splendor
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TorontoFireFighter
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Sep 2015

My wife (Cunard-1, Carnival-3 cruises) and I (Cunard-1, Carnival-2 cruises) are 44 and 47 and we sailed without the kids for our 10th anniversary celebration. We drove to New York from the Toronto, Canada area and found cheap ($10 a day) parking at Journal Square (Park'n'Save) in New Jersey which is a dramatic savings from the $35/day that Carnival offers next door. It was a reasonable 60 minute train, subway and walk commute back to the ship while my lovely wife guarded the luggage in the terminal. Hotel the night previous at the Best Western Fort Lee, NJ was also excellent value and close to Manhattan.

On Embarkation the loading staff were great except for the badly bent crutch my wife needed to use for the week that we found in our cabin when all the rest of luggage arrived. Surprisingly, or not, the Guest Services staff and then Manager refused to take responsibility for the damage. Thankfully the crutch was not needed as much as we thought since we used the wheelchair we also brought for my wife's badly cut foot that occurred two weeks earlier in a beach swimming mishap. Almost cancelled the trip but not a bad way to convalesce for a week :) Back to Splendor!

PINK alert! Wow, from pink doughnuts on every door and pink dots on every table I saw enough pink to last me for the rest of my life. As well the "sunny side up eggs" all over the Golden Pearl dining room ceiling to the bright orange crown molding and pleather couch in our Riviera Deck (1) ocean view cabin was quite a lot to take in and odd at the same time. The engine noise on Deck 1 from cabins 1275 to 1350 (1/3 from the rear) was loud to walk over...don't want to imagine what it would be like to sleep over! In 1407 it was noticeable and at certain speeds the resonant frequency of the ship was a bone shaking cacophony! However, I noticed the Captain knew what those frequencies were and didn't let the ship cruise at those speeds for very long. Otherwise our ocean view cabin in "steerage" wasn't too bad, clean, with plenty of storage for two.

Cabin Review

Nice clean, well organized cabin and washroom on the first deck with a large ocean view. The mattress was comfortable. ONLY ONE ELECTRICAL OUTLET!!!

Port Reviews

New York (Manhattan)

Try Journal Square Park'n'Save across the river in Jersey. Cheapest! with Path Train station two minute walk away that takes you under the river to 1 World Trade Centre. then transfer to Subway E train to 50th street with a ten minute walk to the Pier. Find cheapest hotel from Booking.com in New Jersey as well. Quick to Manhattan.

Took a drive through Times Square on a sunday night...what a trippy experience.

Portland (Maine)

My wife loved KnitWits, the yarn store. Guitar Grave guys were helpful. Nice little town.

Saint John (New Brunswick)

Steep hills for a wheelchair, holy Mackinaw! Callahan's pub is the real deal. Great local pub that won't care what rating I give it. Old pool table with a ball missing...asked the bar maid for another ball and she asked which one was missing (obviously happens often lol, she gave us a "1" ball with #7 written in black marker on it and that was the missing ball!!!) About 50 Canadian and American Navy ball caps over the bar. Impressive collection. A ton of historical baseball, football and boxing photos, some signed. Duct tape in several places on the carpet seams exactly where Duct tape should be on the carpet of a local old bar. Great deal on a pitcher of draught. I loved it. 5/5. props to Saint John Ale House for telling us about where to find a pool table by going to Callahan's

Halifax

Beautiful, stunning. Needed more than one hour!

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