Carnival Splendor Review
Rating by category
Additional details
I maintained the Roll Call list for the Cruise Critic forum and noticed that MANY of our fellow cruisers were travelling solo, since Carnival had chosen to forgo the single supplement fee. I had been planning to travel solo, until the Sunday before the Tuesday cruise, when my dancing companion decided that she wanted to come!
This cruise was my first experience with FTTF (Faster to the Fun) option. From the moment I entered the doors at Pier 90 until I set foot inside my balcony cabin, only 28 minutes had elapsed! I was very impressed...and pleased! And one of the checked suitcases actually followed us to our cabin! Something wasn't tagged right on my larger checked bag, so I didn't receive it until after the Muster drill. That was mildly annoying, but I was just happy to be on-board, enjoying the lunch buffet and meeting some of the Cruise Critic friends who had been actively posting. I had organized a sail-away gathering and was host for ALL the Karaoke events onboard.
The sailaway was attended by a dozen or so fellow CC members and it was a great start to the cruise. The New York weather was overcast, but a bearable 45 degrees. The temps dropped that night as we sailed into a winter blizzard which covered the aft deck with snow. Someone had built a crude three-ball snowman, which was fun to see!
Cabin Review
The room steward for cabin 6441 (balcony 8B) Juan, met all my expectations for great service and I tipped him often for all the extras I requested, like removing all the "bar" ingredients from the fridge so I could use it for waters and juices and milk. He earned extra by keeping my ice buckets full, to chill the wine, and for the mixed drinks that I would make. He greeted us by name, everytime we met in the hallway, or asked for an additional service.The cabin temperature setting was easy to maintain and did not fluctuate much, making it quite even and comfortable.There was an early issue with the shower draining slowly, but was addressed immediately and the issue was gone for the remainder of the cruise.Nice variety of towel animals, and the cabin was cleaned very quickly and thoroughly every day.I usually choose a mid-ship cabin for minimal movement, but there were only occasional moments when the aft movement was more than usual. And the seas were particularly rough during the passing snow-storm. I still prefer mid-ship for the convenience of getting from the aft to forward deck activities, with frequent cabin stops.