Carnival Splendor Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Love meeting people. The only problem was always had get up early in the morning. Because by the hot tub. people were holding sets for family and friends.

This was my first cruise and the most horrible experience of my life.  I wish I could be writing about all kinds of wonderful days and enjoyable times while on the "Splendor", but I don't think I'll ever take another cruise because of this trip.  I found the  passengers to be out of control, young children being totally disruptive, babies being allowed to defecate in the pools as well as soiled diapers being left lying around. Young teens were in areas that were designated off limits to them where they were loud, rude and inconsiderate.

This was my first cruise. Carnival was great and the staff aboard ship were friendly and helpful. The piano bar was my favorite spot   after talking to one of the musicians  there  one evening  we happened to cross paths again a few nights later and he remembered my name

ship was nice, crew was great, shows were great. my overall experience was good, the only problem we had was with the food, not very good. If you think you are going on this ship and are going to get high quality food you will disappointed .  

Carnival goes above and beyond to treat their guests well.  Comedy club is hilarious.  Steak house is delicious.  We got to know our table-mates over the course of the cruise because you eat with the same people every night - we made friendships that have lasted beyond the perimeters of the boat.  The only thing that is difficult is the sea-sickness at the beginning,  but that was to be expected if you have motion sickness easily.  Overall, excellent time!

This is our 2nd Carnival cruise and, overall, it was another wonderful experience.  The crew is helpful, patient, personable and, in many cases, very entertaining.  There is, however, room for improvement with the debarkation process at ports of call.

dis-embartation at islands and end of trip is horrible.  totally disorganize.

ship is clean, staff is friendly, bed mattress felt old and not as comfortable as previous cruise ships.  Food is average.

Is it time to cruise again yet?  Sailed on the Splendor out of NYC on 6/29.  Itinerary included Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay (AKA the most beautiful place on earth,) and Nassau, Bahamas.  This was my second time on the Splendor, fourth time cruising with the CD, Malcolm, and 8th Carnival cruise.  

Embarkation in NY is always a breeze; since we had a suite we were"VIP'", but to be honest if you get there earlier you can get right onto the boat within minutes of leaving your car.

Our room was ready upon embarkation, and the fun began as we stepped onto the ship! 

Carnival has the most friendly staff across the board!  You really feel "home" on a Carnival ship!  The food was great, always a lot of options.  The activities were varied--you could do three hours of trivia if you wanted, or you could chill out wherever you wanted.  One of my favorite things about a cruise: it truly is a customizable vacation: you can do as much or as little as you want.  Everyone will have a different experience. 

I have left from NYC for all of the Carnival cruises I have been on, so I have seen all of the ports that are offered.  Since it was our fifth time at Grand Turk, we chose to stay on the ship and enjoy.  Definitely take a tour if you go; it is a nice island to see with interesting things to learn about.  The beach is very rocky there. 

Half Moon Cay is one of my favorite ports; to know that somewhere that beautiful actually exists makes me sad that I'm not there now!  Get a cabana--best way to go!  Have been there three times and all three times I wanted to stay longer (says the girl who usually hides from the sun and is not generally a beach person!)  It is "paradise."  Crystal clear waters, sand as soft as clouds--an all around dream.  

Nassau, Bahamas: Our third time there, we chose to do a new excursion: the Adventure Quest.  It was a family style Survivor meets Amazing Race..it is highly recommended and was a lot of fun!  

Life onboard is pretty sweet.  Malcolm Burn, our CD, is a truly amazing person.  There is this overall positive feeling while on the ship--he makes you want to get involved in your vacation.  

The bottom line: 8 of my 9 cruises have been with Carnival.  I tried something different last year-- WHAT A MISTAKE.  Stick with Carnival, it's the best! 

First time on a Carnival cruise lines and overall had a really good experience.  Carnival staff in the restaurants, chamber maid and Grand Turks and Half Moon island where the highlights of the cruise.  Nassau was a disappointment and the restrooms (stateroom and public areas) had a distinct smell of urine where the disappointments for my family.

The stateroom was very clean, and the room service was good for the most part. However, when the room attendant was vacuuming, he accidentally vacuumed one of our shirts into the vacuum cleaner but did not inform us. 

The waiters and waitresses at the Gold Pearl dining room were very polite and were pretty quick with taking orders and bringing out the meals. However, the service attendants at the lunch buffet were too slow in cleaning up after people who were done eating, resulting in a lack of tables for people who were just beginning to eat.

There were a lot of options for aquatic recreation, but the pools were not heated, so it was too cold to use them, especially since the climate in the Northeast is rather chilly.

Everything went well except for last full day of cruise there was a storm with a lot of wind which means waves so it was quite a rocky ride. Food was great. There was a roof over the movie and pool area so if it was rainy, you could still enjoy the deck. Everyone was very pleasant and friendly who we dealt with on the ship

Overall pleasantly surprised. Other than the TVs being very small, and some features closed, plus a very hefty price to go online... The rest, especially the crew were very nice. It was relaxing.

The trip overall offered rest, relaxation and fun.  The food was fair and while some portions of the meal were good-excellent, the other components of the meal were only fair at best.  The biggest issue that I had was the cleanliness of the ship.  Upon entry to the stateroom, the bathroom had debit in the sink.  There was also hair in the shower and the shower curtain had black mold on the bottom of the edge.  The cabin steward did work diligently and did a great job during the cruise to maintain the room during our cruise.  The common eating areas surrounding the pool and buffet always had tables with dirty dishes piled high on them.  I regularly needed to move soiled dishes to another table with soiled dishes to have a place to sit.  The tables had food/syrups stuck to them.  The cloth cushions on the seating were heavily soiled and/or stained.  Overall, the presentation of cleanliness was not evidenced.  The ship did have some hand sanitizing stations throughout though there was clearly not enough and they were located in areas that were not always prominent.  I did not see staff regularly using the hand sanitizing stations.  Additionally, I did not see any evidence of passengers being encouraged to utilize hand sanitizer or any other infection control measure.  

Thank you,

Carla 

My mom and I were so excited to go on a cruise! Neither of us have ever been on one, and after my grandfather died, my mom felt like it was time to do something different and exciting. 

As my mother is an observant Jew, I researched which cruise line would be able to accommodate kosher food. I was thrilled to find that Carnival did. I made special arrangements with my travel agent to make sure she would be fed food that would be acceptable to her religious dietary restrictions. 

At dinner the first night the waiter said he did not have our reservation and that there was nothing he could do. After I explained to him that my mother would not be able to eat the regular food he said we should talk to the Maitra D. After waiting on a line that seemed forever, I was told that she should just try to eat the regular food, since it was too late to heat up the kosher meal for dinner, and that they would make an order for the next day. I explained to him that my mother is religious and she would not be able to eat the food. He finally said OK, and that we should wait by the table until the food gets there. About a half hour later, her meal arrives, freezer burned, and honestly inedible. The rest of the table was shocked to see how gross it looked. She asked for some plain steamed vegetables and hoped the next day would be better. The next morning at brunch we asked for Kosher. Again we were told that there was no order and it would take too long to heat up. We insisted and when the meal came there was a piece of mold the size of a nickel (I have a picture I am glad to send over, if you would like!). Again, my mom had vegetables and at this point she was starving and asked for a plain baked potato. We decided to give it one more try at dinner, and again, it was totally inedible! The rest of the cruise she was forced to bend her religious beliefs (as not to starve, and have steamed veggies, baked potatoes, and salad)! This was especially a problem since my mom is a diabetic and she needs to be able to eat normally and a balanced diet to keep her sugar in check. 

When we went to Guest Services we were told a report would be written up and that the Maitra D would come and check up on us - no one did. The waiter was rude about our special requests, and there was no follow up. Unfortunately, when asked by our Jewish friends who keep kosher if Carnival is a real option for people who keep kosher - we will have to say NO! We are not sure we will cruise again, after the bad experience with the food, which is a shame since we enjoyed the rest of the cruise a lot. 

Everything is ok. The dinner table arangment we were not happy about. And the entertainment . There could have been more to do . There was not enough to do on the ship when we were at sea. The food was good .the staff was great .

Couldn't ask for a nicer way to spend my 60th birthday.  My husband is disabled and they accommodated him very nicely.  My  12 year old grandson enjoyed the times of circle c he always wanted to be there. it was 8 days of nothing but smiles for me

This was our 2nd time in this room. That's how much we loved it.  Splendor can be a little tricky to find the dinning room as the galley splits the halls. Service was great, crew was great, entertainment was great.  I'm not too crazy about this Serenity as it has no pool or hot tub. 

The food was good, the shows were good, no need to book excursions, plenty of activities included. The only thing was you have to get up early and grab a chair if you want to swim or tan because if you dont they will be occupied.

I enjoyed my trip on the Splendor.   All of the staff members on the Splendor go out their way to ensure that you are having a great time.  Special mention to the Cruise director, Malcolm Burns who is genuinely delightful, caring, and extremely entertaining. You will have a wonderful time on the ship.  The DJ was fabulous and kept people in the Nightclub partying all night. There were so many exciting things to do on each island visited.  However, there are a few things that needs to be improved.  

1. Laundry - the robes, sheets, pillows, and towels still had very smelly (musky) odor even though they have been washed.  

2.  Debarkation at the end of the cruise - Long wait if you are not carrying your luggage off the ship with you.   In fairness, I know this may not be under their control since they need to unload all of the baggage that could not be carried off, but wish it was a way to make it a little faster.

3.  Dining option.   This comment is for all of the Carnival ships.  I am not happy that the determination on whether to have a separate table is the decision of the Maitre'd.  I had requested a separate dining table/booth for my group at the time of booking, then I should expect to receive one, not wait until the next day of sailing to find out if my request have been honored.  I should have the preference for seating confirmed at the time of booking.

This cruise was about what I expected for Carnival.  Too large a ship for my tastes.  All of the music played on the ship was at full volume; very annoying.  I enjoy a martini before dinner with some soft dinner or classical music.  Ours was loud and annoying.  Believe Carnival had not provided sufficient wait staff.  They did a pretty good job taking your order and serving your food;  once that was done they were busy taking care of other tables and if you needed additional bread, drinks it was very hard to get their attention.  The food was generally average; although I did have a great prime rib and lobster tail.

In general Carnival was catering to a young crowd interested in partying.