Carnival Splendor Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Overall the cruise was good.  The ship is old and smelled of sewage.  They had air fresheners and fans blowing in the hallways.  Every floor had they same decorations so when you got off they elevator it looked like you didn't go to another floor.  The layout was a bit different, you couldn't get to the things on the rest of the floor where they restaurants were.  You would have to go up or down 2 floors, walk to the other end of the ship and then go up or down 2 floors to the same floor you were on.  

Favorite part was all the entertainment, and the excellent work of Marc Q and the Fun Squad. Second favorite was the food offered. Excellent choices, great Indian Tandoor. Least favorite unfortunately were the shows. Or actually, the shows were amazing productions, the stages were fantastic. But the singers were way below par. None of them could sing. Really horrible singing unfortunately. They worked hard and did their best, but they just did not have the voices to carry a good show.

Debarking off the ship was not organized. The itemized bills that are given to the guests should be a little more in detail. My sister's camera was left on the table at breakfast and waiter was questioned by security or guest services and he made up a story saying that he asked if that was my sister's camera and that I said yes and IF HE DID I WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE CAMERA WITH ME AND GIVEN TO MY SISTER !

That right there left me with a bad taste in my mouth, that a waiter would do such a thing. That camera had memories from when the snorkeling, that she can't get back with her niece and nephew and other family photos. The camera can be replaced but not the memories. We learned our lessons  $400.00 later. Have all our belongings tied around our neck . I am a handicapped person and was the first person to get up from the table because it takes me awhile to get from the table and my family waits for me ,to see if I need help. So the waiter to make a story like that is wrong and sad. So that is my experience on the Carnival. 

My husband had a tragic car accident a week before our wedding last year so we had to reschedule our get away. This was both of our 1st cruise and my first time out of the country. We both had a blast traveling to the four different places. We loved most of the food especially pizza pirate on the ship that's opened around the clock. Most of the staff was wonderful and very accommodating. We enjoyed the music trivia, the shows, playing bingo, the arcade, pool movies, whirlpools, professional massages at the spa and the love and marriage game show. We had a lot of good drinks but the Sunburst was our favorite. We went snorkeling at turtle cove which we loved but the champagne cruise was not worth it on the castaway in St.Thomas. I enjoyed holding the parrots in Puerto Rico. Dominican Republic we had a great tour and the beach was beautiful as well. Grand Turk was fun but you cant really have a beach day with all the rocks but Margaretaville with the pool lagoon was perfect. Overall, we had a great day and everything was clean except for the balcony that we paid for. My recommendation is to get a high level because the lower you are, you can feel all the turbulence. We were on the 6th floor and for the most past it worked out great! We did not like the comedy shows and the process boarding the ship because we choose 1pm and they didn't even take us at our time slot were the only down falls.

The stops are great. The Buffett is less than good. I had the breakfast only once and the lunch only once. That's was all I could stand. Went to the situation downstairs afterwards. The sit down dinners were good. The drink package was not worth it. The drinks were weak. Couldn't get a double cause of the  rules involved with the package. Way too many kids onboard. The kids took over all the pools and the were running around all over the ship. The chocolate lava cake that they boasted about was overcooked the 3 nights that I tried it.

Great service from the whole team. Very helpful and always very  pleasant. Great group of people. Great job Carnival. Just a little idea people who prebooked  with boarding passes should have a another entry where  they can be double checked and be on their way.  All the passengers were in the same line making the wait very long.

We were given the 8.15 dinning on a table for 10, however some days we were all alone on the big table.  It was my birthday, and on that day I was very disappointed to be sitting alone with my husband on a big table, no other guests came to dine at that time, I know the waiters wanted sing happy birthday but we decided to leave before the dessert.  I think the crew can make it very special for passangers who are celebrating birthdays, anniversaries.  The restaurant director was extremely nice and his staff were the same, just the arrangement of the sitting in the dinning room was not to our satisfaction.  

Overall the cruise was a lot of fun.  It may be a bit too long with 3 kids.  I loved the movies at night under the stars and the comedy clubs.  I expected more entertainment shows than I was aware of.  The food was good and the staff were upbeat and helpful.

Carnival did a great job of making sure we were happy. VERY clean boat!! Never saw any trash and people were always cleaning. Very impressed with the service provided. We had a few issues with a drain and TV and it was fixed immediately.

On our 7-Day Splendor Cruise was on the best ever because of the our outstanding wait staff in the dinning room lead by Barnabe.  There were a total of 17 people who went on a family cruise.  We had the 6 p.m. dinning session.  Over the 7 evenings, we celebrated four different birthdays on separate nights. Barnabe and his team of waiters did an outstanding job of making sure everyone had the correct menu items and was always ready to accommodate any requests we had to make each dinner session memorable.  Not to mention, Barnabe was also an outstanding dancer as well.  We all enjoyed the service that was provided.  Also, Simone, our room steward was excellent as well, making sure our room was always neat and decorating our room for my wife's birthday, which occurred while we were on the cruise.  Please thank these two Splendor cruise members for a 'job well done.'  We really enjoyed the experience and look forward to cruising again with Carnival in the future.

Alain & Melba

The food outside the dining room sucked! Our closets reeked of cigarette smoke and transferred onto all our clothes! Yuck! We're non-smokers! We bought the Cloud 9 Spa Package and both of us got a terrible upper respiratory infection from one of the steam rooms, where there was a ceiling panel hanging loose! Perfect place for bacteria to grow! We're still suffering from this infection and it hurts to breath! The best part of our cruise was our Cabin Attendant I Putu. He made our trip nicer than it was! We heard rumors that Carnival was selling the ship to China after our cruise! The ship is in poor condition. I am disabled and slipped on the black tile they have that seems to absorb oils but no other tIle did this! We won't be doing a Carnival Cruise again! 

The food and desserts were excellent!  All of the staff were always so friendly and helpful!  There was always something to do!  I even just enjoyed relaxing in the Cabin!!  The ship is beautiful and clean!!

Overall the cruise was good.  Issues I encountered.

1.  The refrigerator had items in it from the previous guest

2.  We did not receive bottled water until the 3rd day

3.  Food was good but never was warm.  Did not bother me but my wife likes her meals warm.

4.  Staff was very pleasant and willing to help.

5.  Entertainment was good.

6.  The bottomless beverage service is a ripoff.  Bottle water should be included.  During the cruise non alcoholic comsumers usually drive water to stay hydrated.

6.  Two days post cruise my wife and I are both suffering with respiratory problems.  The doctor said was have colds.  Exposure probably took place on the cruise.  Four days post cruise, wife is still ill, but I am starting to feel better.

On the positive, the ports were fantastic. I especially enjoyed St. Thomas and San Juan. However, our room was not kept clean. On the first night of the cruise, our bathroom flooded when the shower failed to drain properly. In addition, our cabin was not cleaned well. Our room steward told us that Carnival now gives passengers the choice of what time of day they would like their room cleaned, morning, evening or both. There were 2 days ours easnt cleaned at all.

I feel that the main dinning room should be the Gold pearl where you can see out the rear of the ship and not closed in. I feel this should trade places with the Black pearl dining. While meals are being served the early dinner should have the stage entertainment start at 8:15 pm and the late dining entertainment should be at 6:00 pm not 10:15pm. Also the Lido eating areas in the am I found the food was cold especially the scrambled eggs. One other point our room was 9271 on the lido deck and the music down at the bar was so loud between 9.00pm and midnight that with the cabin door closed you could hear the music and singing  and also with the pool music. I and my wife are some what hard of hearing and it was so loud you couldn't sleep. The rest of the entertainment was good.  Oh one other thing it would be nice if the public bathrooms where marked better maybe with larger signs.

I had very high expectations of fun prior to coming on this cruse. I just knew that I was going to have the best time, but oh how I was wrong. Even prior to going on the cruise, when booking, I was promised the "lowest fare" from carnival. Yet, when I called , who ended up calling carnival on three way to get the approved price that I was offered, gave me the cheaper price, and I booked through them, with Carnival on 3 way. I was promised onboard credits from carnival and , that I did not receive. When I got onboard and realized this, I waited in line, on three different days, for nearly an hour each time, only to not receive the onboard credit. Carnival had me check myemail for the documentation that I was to receive it, and when I purchased the internet to do so, and showed them the documentation, I was told by carnival that they couldn't help me, and I needed to contact , while on my cruise, to get them to contact carnival, to try to get the credit. I tried using carnivals phones to call 3xs, and the phones either didn't work, or kept disconnecting my call after 30minute hold times. Carnival states that gratuities are mandatory, however, of the 7 days that I spent onboard, my toilet in my stateroom was not cleaned once, and started to develop a black ring around the inside. We had 4 guests in our stateroom, nor was our room "cleaned" aside from our personal belongings being tossed around, the trash emptied, and beds made. I purchased two cabins, for 7 guests, and over the course of my cruise, two people in my party were bit by something, one of those people broke out on their upper body, along with one other party from our cabin, and a total of 5 people in my party got sick (stuffy nose, sore throat, vomiting) we were told we'd have to pay $125 per person to see a doctor while onboard. Be prepared to spend about half hour in the food lines, although the food does taste decent. One of the few highlights I had was in the steakhouse onboard. It is an additional $35, but well worth it. DO NOT bank on winning anything in the so called "raffles" that they have in port. One lady in diamond international told me that for the all day raffle, my son came the closest to guessing the karat size, and this was 15min prior to the time to get back on the ship. She stated that the announcement would come between 2pm-7pm that day. It never came. So I called guest services, and they stated that if you won anything, they'd hold a special meeting, via invitation only, on the last sea day to announce the winners. Mind you, that for this particular raffle, it was not a random draw, to win, you had to come closest to the karat weight. No one went in the store after my family, we were the last ones there before boarding the ship for takeoff. On the last sea day, no announcements, no invite, so I found the people onboard who heads that activity, the guys name was brendon, and he and his assistant gave me two separate times when I asked when the raffles were, and when I questioned the two separate times and if they even really had a raffle, or if it were a ploy to get people to buy jewelry while in port, in efforts for carnival to make money off the contracts that they have with these vendors, Brendon said to me very rudely " as he made a motion with his hands to push me away" go away and do whatever it is that you're going to do. I asked him if he had a manager, and he said no. Finally, while onboard, carnival had a meeting to tell everyone about shore excursions, during this meeting, they clearly stated that we may purchase excursions by the locals out in town, and if we find their excursion cheaper, they would refund you 110%. Well, in Puerto Rico, I took a taxi to a local location that offered horseback riding, tours, zip lining, atv rides, etc. After a $70 cab ride, I was almost sold a ticket to horseback riding for one hour, and zip lining, until I told them I came from the ship. At that time, I was told that carnival informed them not to allow anyone who did not purchase the excursion onboard, to partake in the activities. I got their names, Jim was the owner, and gave me his card. When I brought this to the attention of carnival, they did absolutely nothing, and did not honor what they had said. Which I'm sure was recorded by the many cameras that they have onboard. To say the least I had the worst experience Ive ever had on any cruise ship, and this was not my first cruise. I am prior military and would never recommend this trip to any of my friends, family, thousands of facebook followers, co workers, or fellow wingman. The best time that I had, was when I did my own thing, off the ship, while in port with my family.

Everything was great. The staff was very friendly. Love the fact that our waiters were dancing. Steffan from Romania is a great guy and very professional.George and Liberato from the Phillipines were our best waiters we ever had.

This was my first Carnival experience and I was really excited to go but was quickly disappointed. The rooms are outdated but ok but our balcony doors was smeared ,residue all over banister. My husband wiped the chairs and banister down so we could look over and sit on balcony. The restaurant food we were assigned to "The Black Pearl" food selection was good but the buffet was very limited and food ok. The burgers and pizza that was available was really good. I really was upset with the "unlimited Drink package" we paid for in advance actually has 15 drink minimum daily...really really disappointed. My husband and I work over 40+ hours a week and on our anniversary trip and to be told we are limited to drinks a day was a slap in the face. We are over 40 years old and di not display any type of disruptive behavior to be told during our 3rd day hat we are limited to a15 drinks or could not receive an extra shot or wait another 5-10 minutes to order another or different drink. Our hostess was great and the ports visited was awesome. I am not sure if we will go on Carnival cruise line again if so it will be on the brand new ship Vista or Horizon. But from the looks of it I will stay with Royal,Disney or try Norweigan. 

Our cruise was a lot of fun. The staff on the ship worked very hard. Our room attendant Eve was great! She brought us extra towels and robes. Our head waiter Mr. G was wonderful. Everyone in the dinning room worked hard and we saw them working day and night. Food in the dining room was very good. We had a balcony room which we loved but the divider outside between the cabins shook quite a bit. We also had a broken light on our balcony which was not a big deal. But when we went into one of the ports we were told they would be doing work to our balcony. I thought they would be fixing the problem with the door and light. Neither were fixed. We were also not impressed with the room service food. On our last Carnival cruise the coffee and food was excellent and there were several choices. On this cruise it was limited and the coffee tasted burnt. We were also not happy that the steam room was an additional charge (over $250 for the both of us). On our last ship we really enjoyed the steam room on our days at sea. The spa did not even offer a one day pass. I would like to see more consistency from ship to ship. Overall we had a great time and will return on Carnival. 

A few hiccups in the beginning, overall was a great experience and the crew was fantastic, so friendly and remembering our names was incredible for the amount of people that were on the ship.  One thing to see about is that you need more directionals.  A lot of us being on the first cruise and not knowing where to go, signs make a big difference.  People would need to keep asking the land crew and they were not sure either.  People would also keep on getting in the preferred seating and the land crew would have to keep getting them out and a lot of people were not sure where to sit before getting on.  So it would be wise to get more signs for people to be directed.