I've cruised a lot in the Caribbean on many lines, including Windjammer (which, sadly, is no longer). I'd never made it to Grand Turk or the ABC islands so we booked the Splendor out of Miami. 1. Embarkation: a lot of people milling around outside in the sun until their time slots were called to enter the cruise terminal. Once inside it was crowded and it took another hour before our zone was called. Prefer Port Canaveral which is better organized with friendlier staff. 2. Staff - pretty average. We've cruised with better and worse. Cruise Director Chloe added little to the experience. 3. Main Dining - a mixed bag. Lobster was good as was the vegetarian Indian dinner. Salads and soups were average. Desert was below average most nights. First cruise I've been on without either a Baked Alaska or Cherries Jubilee night. Some at our table complained the steaks were over done. 4. Lido deck buffet. Horrible. The Burrito bar and Tandor place were good, the bulk of the rest was just bad. 5. Shows - above average first Carnival as we had some talented performers on board. About average when compared to other cruise lines. Several shows were below part - the love and marriage show, the hypnotist they got when the magician could not get to the ship on time. 6. Comedy Club - above average, 3 of 4 comics were very good. One guy from Tennessee did not impress, though others found him funny. He spent too much time laughing at his own jokes and during one show decided it was fair game to bash Donald Trump while praising Obama. Ok, whatever - that's not comedy. 7. Decor and aesthetics - the Splendor is a bit odd with garish pink polka dots and the black and gold pearl restaurants with their DNA-like lights. 8. Itinerary - not as good as we'd hoped. Grand Turk they dump you out near a beach which is okay but nothing special. Better option is to grab a cab to a better beach or spend on a shore excursion. Dominican Republic La Romana. Horrible - nothing to do near the port and the island is on the dangerous side. Shore excursion is best option, but in our case it rained all day so we never made it beyond the duty free store (our trip to Catalina Island was cancelled). Curacao is a pretty island and we did a tour/beach excursion. Beach was too crowded with Carnival guests. Aruba was best port with a good tour plus Eagle Beach. 9. Serenity Spa 21+ was a disappointment. Valor has a nice pool which is free. Splendor has a couple "mineral spas" which cost $ and does not have a 21+ pool.

The general feeling is that as Carnival ships get bigger and hold more people, overall quality is in decline.