We went on Splendor in 2011, our first cruise. Fun to sail her again when we turned platinum & to be experienced cruisers now...yeah, there’s lines, things weren’t 100% perfect but our ship had nothing but folks trying their best. Anything that bugged, was addressed, ASAP. Not just because of platinum status, people didn’t even know, because we treated them with kindness & respect & we were given that back. Loved it. Loved our Captain & Lee our Cruise Director - our dining team, steward team, fun squad...
Embarkation
5 out of 5
FAST
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
As a vegetarian, went to the Maitre ‘D on day one, to see about my options....she said they’d let me know & mk accommodation for me, great! They let me see dining room menu the night before, so I could choose my menu & mk changes, if needed. Some soups were with a chicken or meat broth, they changed it up for me, it was wonderful service!!!! Ding room staff (DeDe, Agnes & Mamerto were ON it!!!!) appreciated DeDe’s help so much!!! But, wish that they’d offer more options. Had to skip MDR a couple times, nothing was avail for me - loved salad bar, but wish more options were meat free. Loved the Tandor Grill & the veggie pattie was okay at “Off the Grill” but was dry, needed the extra veggies & sauce I fixed with it.....loooooved Mongolian Grill & Dominick - he made me vegetarian sauce (because their black bean sauce has meat in it) used to love that!!!! This ship could use two Momgolian Wok’s one at each end of the ship, as the line was looooooong every day!!!! Did get a nice veggie Burrito from the Burrito Bar - created my own....loved the hard working people, the fruit guy carving up beautiful watermelons was so proud of his work! Great job!!!! Didn’t do steakhouse, not enough veggie options for $35-upcharge
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Adult pool, hot tub, Clue game, hid & found cruise ducks - so fun! Spa day for my hubs & I - awesome. Bingo...won some pull tabs $
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Great. Loved the three violinists, Hawaiian dup near the Casino but esp the band in the Atrium - could play anything!!! But, was so great with the little kids on formal night, wanted to be a part of things, so the lead gal singer had the three kids choose an instrument & they interacted with them...priceless!!!! 💕
Children's Programs
No kids along
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Hurt my ankle early on, Sandi our 6th floor steward & his asst Alek helped me by bringing an ice bag & then keeping our ice bucket full. Sandi noticed our sink draining slow, had maint come & fix it. Our AC was too warm for us, Sandi made sure maint was on it. He was attentive & perfect - asking about my duck hunting!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Always clean. I had to ask an eager buffet team member not to toss my tray as I went to get iced tea!!! So on it!!! Always smiling...dining room gal, missed her name, wiping down a hundred MDR menus I saw her & she smiled at me. A personal touch, I appreciated- hate a sticky menu!!! She was a doll! Working at a “mindless job” but was doing it with purpose & a smile - it touched me. A good reminder to be thankful.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Super clean but we noticed a bulb out & remote had a little delay which was quickly remedied. All else was ship shape!
We stayed over a night before the cruise & took the free tram into the city for dinner & enjoyed brunch on the Queen Mary before departing - - great coffee on the QM
We did an off Carnival tour (something we don’t often do) but with Robert’s Hawaii & went to the Ioa Valley & Tropical Plantation Tram Tour - had a quick lunch at the Old Mill Restaurant between bus/tram tour (in the bar, ordered easy & quick food) was soooo delicious! Farm to Fork cuisine - Beet salad for me, Mahi Mahi for my hubs! Perfect for a 45 min tram ride!!! No one else ate (poor things) we skipped shopping to do this-worth it!
Walked & then took a cab to Moana Surfrider Hotel to sit looking out over Waikiki Beach w/tasty food & cool drinks & relax! Then walked to a bit of shopping & cab back!
Three farms - excursion called Sense-Sational Kona by Canival, such fun at a Chocolate, Natural
soap & coffee farm (3 total) walked back from bus drop off to Splasher’s Grill for Ohno fish tacos (hubs) & med veggie wrap for me (we knew about this place from other travels, so knew it’d be good & it’s right near the pier in Kona & across from the ABC store...sooo soo good!
Went to the Carnival Taste of Mexico tour - made three or four dishes (we told them we don’t eat beef/chicken) they swapped ours with veg refried beans - awesome!!! Free margaritas, we did a little shopping while everyone else went for tequila shots - they had fun, we’d had enough 💕 Visited with Fernando downstairs in the Opal Mine shop instead...we’d learned of changes to Ensenada- years since we were there last! Great time, warm people & tasty food!
We did this cruise on December 2018, and like you I can’t say enough good things about Cruise Director Lee Mason and Captain LaFauce. The cruise was a bucket list thing for me and my wife. We were not disappointed in the least. Like the other poster said for my wife the four days at see was long (not for me nap time!), and the time changes can get daunting. We just went with the flow and enjoyed every minute.
We have done the Hawaii cruise twice on the splendor and loved it . The 4 days at sea before you arrive gets kind of boring , and the big time change from the east coast is rough , but a great time .
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