Let me start by saying this was our first Carnival cruise. I've previously sailed with Disney, Royal, and NCL. I'd heard mixed things about Carnival but the price was right so we decided to go for it. It was a mixed bag.

Embarkation was easy with the exception of Carnival announcing priority boarding. This was meant for Platinum and Diamond level guests but since FTTF (which we had) passes also say priority boarding, there was some confusion. Carnival may want to clarify the announcement next time but no biggie. We were on the ship by 11:30, bags were in our room, and cabin was looking good. Except for the balcony. We had an aft wrap and had read that there would be some soot from the funnel. Not a big deal but the balcony wasn't cleaned prior to our arrival. We called the steward, Manuel, in and he said he did the best he could. We simply wet a towel with water and wiped down the floor & railing ourselves and it came off no problem. So...ok Manuel. Other than that he was great.

The ship itself is nice and the pink really isn't a big deal like it's made out to be. You won't notice it after a few days. It was spotless and we always saw crew cleaning various areas of the ship. The casino was smoky which is to be expected. What I didn't expect was that they also allowed smoking in Red's nightclub. I've never come across that on another ship. Usually it's limited to the casino and outdoor areas. Again, not a big deal, but surprising. The ship also felt very closed in. My last cruise experience was on the Breakaway so compared to all the open deck space on that ship, there was very little on the Splendor in comparison. Read more