This was my 5th cruise, but first with Carnival. We sailed from Miami, on the Carnival Splendor to the Western Caribbean on November 1st. I had read the reviews prior to going, so thought i had some idea what to expect. I knew that because of the price, this might be a bit less than what I had experienced prior and generally that was the case.

I found the ship to be more or less as advertised, with a decor that looked like it was designed by several people at the same time, all with different ideas. And yes, there is a lot of pink, but to be honest, it didn't offend me. I'm not a design expert. I found the cabin itself to be the largest balcony cabin that I have experienced. The bathroom and shower were very adequate and the room itself was slightly larger, with a couch and flat screen TV. I know that most people don't cruise to watch TV, but I was impressed by the amount of stations that were available. The balcony was also very adequate, although with the hot humid weather, didn't spend a lot of time out there.

Most of the prior reviews pointed out the the staff was super friendly and welcoming. I found the staff to be no different than any ship that I've been on. We didn't meet our room attendant until the 3rd day. I didn't care, he got his job done. My first impression of the cruise director was that I wasn't going to like him, but he won me over during the cruise. He was very energetic and kept things entertaining. It seemed that the staff that interacted with the guests consisted of 4 people, but all were great. Kudos to all four. Read more