Carnival Splendor Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Our 7 day cruise aboard the Carnival Splendour was overall Splentastic! We had a couple of criticisms but I would give the cruise a 4 out of 5 stars. I travelled with my hubby in our cabin and our daughter, son in law and 2 grandchildren age 7 and 6 in a cabin next door. I'm breaking up the review into the following categories - Embarkation - Cabin - Food - Service - The Ship - Amenities - Debarkation
EMBARKATION
Embarkation was rough, however I'm not sure how embarkation of a boat this size could be any better at this port. Long Beach's facility is in desperate need of an upgrade, so 3,400 folks getting off while 3,400 folks are trying to get on will cause a problem if you don't have the space to put everyone! Carnival's solution to the problem is zone boarding. We got to the port about 11:30 in the morning and we were assigned to zone 10. That was of course after waiting in line to check in. We were on board with a drink of the day in hand by 2:00 pm and our cabin was ready when we got on board. Not as bad as I have heard others say but still not perfect. Carnival did call us the day before and told us in a pre-recorded message not to arrive before 3:00. I don't know if it is better to wait or not though as my cabin was on the port side of the ship and the lines at 3:00 were way worse than ours at 11:30.
Cabin Review
Cloud 9 Spa Balcony
CABIN
Our Cabin was balcony spa cabin 1103. The cabin itself was very spacious. It had the usual bed that we configured into a King and it had a couch as well as a mini fridge, safe, 3 closets and a bathroom. There are 4 drawers in the dressing table as well as 2 large drawers under the couch to use. Our large suitcases fit nicely under the bed. The room is decorated in an oriental theme. We did have a balcony which was the perfect size for 2 people. Our daughter was right next door so we were able to open the divider between the two balconies so that was nice. The television had an interactive spot where you could view the dining menus, your ship and sail account, and so on and we thought that was fantastic! The spa cabins give you unlimited use of some of their spa amenities to include the Thallasotherapy pool, 2 saunas and a relaxing room with heated chairs. You also got spa products in the cabin as well as free comfy slippers and a robe that was a little more upgraded than the usual cabin robes. The location of the cabin was excellent. Deck 11 is the top of the ship and the placement of the cabin is to the front of the boat. We were steps away from the pool but far enough away that the noise level was not bothersome. The cabin was right off the elevator which was convenient. Lido deck where the buffet and the main pool and huge television is located was just 2 decks below. Overall the cabin was very nice and I felt the location was ideal. I will say you will notice the swaying a little more here since you are at the top, but that didn't bother us at all. Our cabin stewards were fantastic and very very nice!