This is our third Carnival cruise. It is very good value for the money, no question. But Splendor needs some repairs. We paid for a Spa Balcony on deck 10. Cabin was quite nice but average in every way. Nothing special. The special is supposed to be the access to the Spa. As advertised with private elevator and thermal rooms and pool. The elevator is there but didn't work for the entire cruise. Neither did the spa pool. Carnival did credit your onboard account IF you asked them. The ship is big, too big for the facilities. Pools were crowded, hot tubs jammed. Worse they were not always open which added to the difficulty. There are more photographers on board than guest or so it seemed. They were everywhere. They even told folks to vacate seats in the lounges so they could set up shop.

Carnival's biggest enemy is itself. They do things their way and really do not pay too much attention to the details. Food in the early sitting in the Black Pearl was consistently refrigerator cold for the first two nights. Several folks at our table either returned food or just gave up. When we complained to the Food Service Director, we became the evenings entertainment. Service staff would joke abut the temperature of the food. It did get corrected but the question became: why was that a joke? Why was the issue not taken seriously?

Would I take a Carnival cruise again? Depends, if I have the family with us, maybe yes, because you can't beat the price. BUT, if I want class and comfort, the answer would be probably not! Read more