Carnival Cruise, Carnival Splendor Northern Europe Cruise

A fun ship the Carnival Splendo was not.Decor was a bit strange but O.K.Only rarely did we see the captain unlike other ships we have been on.

Food generally good but repetitive, but to be expected on a long cruise 32 days.Service good, cabins clean.

Check in on 31 January 2009 for the Brazil/Carribean cruise was diabolical. Carnival were not prepared for such a large contingency of passengers, why not? They knew we were coming!!! We queued for 2.5 hours before eventually arriving at baggage x-ray machines (only 2 for 2,500 passengers), only to be sent out of the Terminal because of some security alert (we never did find out what). Another 4.5 hours later, after standing waiting in another Terminal across the road, we boarded ship, with no explanation or apology from Carnival. In fact, it was as if it had never happened.

Carnival does not seem to care about its passengers once they have paid up.

Service from the staff is excellent but that should be expected shouldn't it, they sell the cruises on this being a fact.

I agree with the previous comments that by automatically adding a 15% gratuity to every purchase it leaves little incentive for staff to "go the extra mile" and lead us to cancel the up front gratuity - something we have never done before. It may also be that this is the typical American cruise experience - it is our first time in the US as well as first time with Carnival so it may just be that European expectations are vastly different from those of our American cousins. Suffice to say that the experience is enough to put me off both Carnival and cruising from the US. It is a great shame as the ship could be fantastic (despite some OTT interior design) and the destinations were superb but the attitude of the staff and almost total lack of service resulted in a very unpleasant experience (we had 3 "fun days" at sea which were anything but) and would advise anyone thinking of Carnival and/or US cruising to read as many reviews as possible to make sure it is right for you because it is a very different experience - much more "holiday camp" than "hotel at sea".

Going ashore was a slow process of mustering, queueing and waiting. That's to be expected when only one gangway was in use. We were fortunate that tenders were not being used. The Captain was conspicuous by his absence as were the ships officers.The food was probably the best entertainment on the ship. Each day a gastronomic magical mystery tour. The Carnival Splendor is a lovely ship although we had to ask what all the coloured balls were meant to represent.

Glitzy ship unfortunately seemed to have lost its Fun appeal maybe this will be found again in the Carribean. Should have ensured they had more entertainment and all facilities were available for families with children, Overall typical Carnival not formal. Certainly not be put off of cruising with them and I have cruised with most of the big Cruise Lines. (You get what you pay for and no more) Gratuities should not be added automatically this would improve service.

Overall we had a wonderful experience. The cabin was nice and well taken care of. Towel animals were cute, although some were unrecognizable. We would sail with Carnival again.

This is supposed to be Carnivals flagship, my advice if you English stay well clear of them. You pay your gratuities when you depart port and you pay a surcharge on all your drinks! We were very disappointed in this cruise and will not use Carnival again. There is also a really annoying cruise director who is always on your tv in your cabin, as for the lido self service its like wacky races so shambolic its not true and if you leave the ship, it will take you an hour to get back on! When you go ashore you will pay for your shuttle bus as well.

Although we have been on quite a few cruises we have never actually travelled twice with the same line. Odd I know but at least we're not biased to any one company which is a fault we often find with fellow passengers.

We like the American approach to vacations and thoroughly enjoyed our Baltic cruise and the Carnival ship. We would have liked more formal evenings but thats not the style of this particular line. This is probably the best ship for families (both young and old) because there is so much space and such an easy going style.

Good points, ports of call, food in Golden Pearl restaurant, room stewardess and waitresses in the restaurant. Bad points, Entertainment during the day, rudeness of some staff, cruise director. The ship seem to be lacking something. Not as enjoyable as the two previous cruises we have had with Carnival.

Cruising in europe is different from that in america. The european market and it's demands should make carnival deliver more class and style. The northen europe itinary was top class but the end result was far from what I would expect for the price... I think they should learn from royal carribean.