We booked a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Splendor as a economical winter getaway. It turned out to be a colossal waste of money, and an exercise in frustration and disappointment. We love cruising and usually cruise on Princess, our favorite. I had misgivings about going with Carnival after a 4 day disaster about 10 years ago, but my optimism convinced me that perhaps it had improved. I was wrong.
Embarkation in Long Beach was actually great. Although lines were long, they moved swiftly and we were on board much quicker than I would have imagined. However, the process was overseen by loud, barking women who acted like holdovers from concentration camp staff. Jaws set, voices more like growls; they shouted out orders and scolded passengers who were flowing into the wrong lines. A surly female explained to one first time cruiser that VIFP meant Very Important FUN Person. Somehow, this was not convincing. Once on the ship, we knew we were in trouble. The ship was nowhere near full, but the walkways were already crowded and noisy, and travelers were forced to walk single file around pillars and chairs to reach their destination, which for most, was the Lido buffet. Being hungry, we, like sheep, followed the masses to the madness of the buffet. Finding a table was difficult, and servers made no effort to assist. many talbes were dirty, but the wait staff were not making any haste to clean them. When we finally found a clean table, we sank into the filthy upholstered seats and ate what we could of the bland, boring fare. The high point was the lemonade, so you can sort of see where this was going, can''t you?
I used to love the color pink. since being on the Splendor, I am almost sickened by it now. the ship is awash with pink leather furnishings, pink dots on the elevator doors, pink carpets, pink trim on doorways, pink flourescent signage. Not even a lovely pink, but more of a fleshy, raw pink.