We have cruised Carnival 4 times previously, and chose them this time because it seemed to be the best ship for us for the Mexican Riviera itinerary. The Splendor is Carnival's second newest ship, and it is quite beautiful, although in the typical Carnival outlandish way. Actually, the atrium was a little over the top, but the other public rooms were decorated in a classy, upscale way. The most outstanding thing that we noticed was that this was the cleanest ship we've ever sailed on. It truly was immaculate, and even the most discerning traveler would agree with that. Carnival has not cut back in that area at all, nor have they cut back in the quality of the food. Again, it was marvelous. The cut-backs are in the variety of choices, but not in the quality. Another thing we noticed was that there were fewer cocktail waiters/waitresses, but we liked not being asking every 2 seconds whether we wanted a drink or not. The staff was certainly adequate. Our cabin steward was excellent, and we had only praise for him. Our dining room waiter could not have been better; his service was outstanding. The two production shows were well done and very entertaining, and the 3rd big show, the Legends Show, was a real treat. During the week, karaoke participants tried out for roles as Aretha, Garth Brooks, Elton John, etc., and on the last night they performed with the Carnival singers and dancers, in full costume. It was really great. The 2 comedians were good, too. One major complaint was the piano bar singer, Steve, who really was terrible. He yells instead of sings, and just isn't a happy guy. He was sick the last 3 nights, so there was no piano bar at all. I understand that Carnival is trying to make a much-needed change there. Our other complaint was the amount of times that the disco, and the other lounges were being used for private groups. Often before our late seating dinner, we couldn't find anywhere to go (except the small lobby bar) for a drink, as everything was closed to the public. That was very aggravating. Also, there were not a lot of activities during the day....just bingo, some trivia, and one wine tasting and one dance class. It was really lacking. We enjoyed our cruise immensely, mainly because the ports were super, and the ship was clean with good food, but I can't say that we had lots of fun. There just wasn't enough to do.