Carnival Splendor Review

Not my favorite Carnival Ship

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Carnival Splendor
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barbzeee
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
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Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2016
Cabin: Balcony

This was our 7th cruise on Carnival but our first on the Splendor. Prior to our cruise, I read that this was not your typical Carnival ship and that was very true. It was originally commissioned as a Costa vessel but changed to Carnival prior to completion. I understood from previous reviews that the decor can best be described as Pepto Bismol Pink but this was a gross understatement. The best description of the decor is hideous, gauche and tasteless, at least in the main public areas. The biggest difference was noticed in the Pinnacles Steakhouse where the decor was tasteful and refined and one wonders why this wasn't carried out throughout. Embarkation was smooth and we got to our room at 12:30 pm. The room wasn't ready but we were permitted to stow our carry-on luggage in the room then go off to explore the ship. Please continue reading below for details of the disappointments in servicing our room below under “Cabin Review”.

I must say I’m not a fan of the new “American Feast” experience where there are no tablecloths on the tables. We had rough weather the first and last night out and the condensation from our water glasses made the beverageware and wine bottles shimmy across the table constantly, clanging into each other and occasionally landing on the floor. Worse yet, I don’t like placing my used fork and knife on the naked tabletop which was not always clean. It is wiped down but running your fingers over the tabletop revealed areas where crud could be scraped off with your fingernails. And we’re placing our forks on that crud! Yuk! The food choices were standard fare for Carnival, nothing to rave about but adequate.

We’ve been loyal to Carnival because we’re big fans of their Punchliner Comedy Club and the availability each evening of general audience and mature audience comedy shows. But not on the Splendor! Comedians are hit and miss sometimes with some being funnier than others. Having 2 comedians on board meant that we always had a show to see. But there were 2 nights where there were no shows and some nights only one comedian performed and he repeated his show from the previous night!

Cabin Review

Balcony

Cabin 8E

Our balcony stateroom was average for the industry in size and amenities but our experience was not. We traveled with family members and instead of having adjoining staterooms, we opted for adjoining balconies instead which worked out wonderfully! We had a double wide balcony as shared space, access to each other’s rooms but retained our privacy. That will be our preferred cabin configuration from now on! We dropped off our carry-on luggage immediately after boarding and went off to explore the ship. When we returned hours later, we found that our room was not at all clean or properly serviced. There was no hand soap for the bathroom sink (only shower gel and shampoo in the shower) and only one half roll of toilet paper, with no spare. The previous occupant left his beard trimmer and a used razor on one of the glass shelves in the bathroom and they were not discarded by the steward while cleaning our room. Our cabin category included a refrigerator but there was none, we requested a sharps box for insulin syringes which was absent, as returning guests we were entitled to free bottled water which was forgotten, there was trash left in the closet (hanging tags from clothing) and plastic shrink wrap on the floor next to the bed. We were told that several room refrigerators on-board were broken and they would not be able to provide one for us and the next day we were given a large Coleman cooler filled with ice. While it served its purpose, it was large and took up valuable cabin real estate. The cabin steward asked us on embarkation day if we preferred to have our room made up in the morning (8:30 - 10:00) or evening (6:30 - 8:00) and as late sleepers, we chose the evening. Our cruise began on Sunday and on Monday evening when we returned to change for the first formal night, we realized that our cabin had not been serviced since before we left the dock and we had no clean towels at all. I visited Guest Services and was told that our steward should have offered us morning, evening or BOTH morning and evening to service our room, which he neglected to do. I explained that we were very disappointed with the ship and the service at that point which is when everything changed for us. We immediately had fresh towels delivered and while we were at dinner, a cleaning crew of 3 people thoroughly cleaned our room from top to bottom, even washing the walls. I found this out because I had to return to the cabin to retrieve forgotten medication. From this time on our cabin was impeccably clean and properly serviced daily. Kudo’s to management for doing everything they could to rectify the situation.

Port Reviews

Miami

Miami is overcrowded, has too much traffic ad parking issues. Not my favorite debarkation port.

Roatan

We opted to walk to the beach at Mahogany Bay. Nothing special. Next time I'll stay on board in the pool.

Belize City

We took the tender to Belize City had had a drink at a local bar. My drink came with some "local flavor": a short, curly black hair floating on top.

Cozumel

We stayed on board and enjoyed the peaceful solitude at the adult's only pool.

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