written by on 19/07/2008
Overall we had a very good cruise. Carnival lived up to their name of being a Fun Ship. Good food and entertainment with a friendly staff. My only major beef was the smoking, in the disco, casino and piano bar. Other than that I highly recommend this ship.
written by on 19/07/2008
Overall I would rate it 7 out of 10. My overall feeling was that Carnival is now catering to the family as the Kids Club seems to be very well staffed, with games etc. etc. The drinking age is 21 and over and coming from Canada where the drinking age is 19 - was a bit difficult for my 2 sons 20 and 19. Our waiter did say he would be fired if the boys had wine at dinner so obviously we did not have any wine. We checked at the front desk and they confirmed this is the case. The pink circle decoration is overdone. A lot of men do not like pink that much so I think it was a big risk to make a ship so pink. Overall the decoration seems to be a hodge podge of everything without achieving anything. Sorry!
We did take the Le Havre D Day tour and it was very well done and extremely well organized so a 9.5 out of 10 for it. Signing towels out on the deck is a real nuisance - however I guess if people are stealing them it is a necessity. The blankets at night were a wonderful touch - thank you.
written by lostinvegas on 13/07/2008
We had a very pleasant cruise form Dover to Amsterdam and back. Our only other cruise experience was with P&O on a 14 night journey around the med. I would say P&O and Carnival are a very similar standard. The staff were a little better on P&O and it was a little more up market but the atmosphere on Carnival is a little more lively. Avoid the art auctions at all cost. The splendour was a very smooth ride and its best feature is the Lido deck with retractable room. We spent most early evenings up their after dinner watching the film on the big screen. The casino is a good size but they play black jack from card shuffling machines which is disappointing if your a card counter. Drinks are expensive, I am not sure why as its supposed to be tax free but to me $5 + 15% mandatory gratuity is a lot for a bottle of Bud when they are less than $1 to buy wholesale. The tipping is confusing if your a Brit like me, its supposed to be included (or so I thought) but they still give you an envelope to leave tips at the end of the cruise confused? I was.
Food was great, lots of it all day and all night, the restaurants for dinner were particularly good. The ship layout takes a little getting used to but its okay. Smoking is permitted in some places like the casino so beware if your a non-smoker. The entertainment was the average caberat stuff, I did not watch much of it as I work in the music business so wanted a break from that sort of thing, but its looked good enough.
Parking at Dover is a nightmare, book well in advance and make sure your not at the hoverport as we were. As you disembark you have to get a coach, well imagine my surprise as 100's of pensioners fought there way to the front with elbows in your face as they got in the scrummage for the coaches. I thought at 29 I was too old for that sort of behaviour but some people more than twice my age were being very rude pushing and josseling, so we got a taxi instead.
All in all it was a positive experience and I have only highlighted the negative stuff so you know about it. Don't let it put you off as its all minor stuff really. The cabins are clean, the service is good and the ship is splendid.
written by on 05/06/2009
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.
written by paulinemott on 14/04/2009
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.
written by on 28/12/2008
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".
written by on 04/12/2008
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.
written by groovygang on 10/11/2008
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.
written by mouse62 on 02/11/2008
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.
written by on 14/09/2008
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.
written by ChrisBilsland on 18/08/2008
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.
written by netbar on 08/08/2008
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.
written by on 04/08/2008
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.
written by on 30/07/2008
Carnival needs to realise that what works in the US will not work in other parts of the world. If Carnival wants to provide US style cruising then by all means stay in the US were they are appreciated by a style of client that enjoys this type of cruising. But do not waste peoples time and money who come to the European Cruise Market for the class and culture that this wonderful Continent in renowned for. Carnival needs to reconsider their entry into the European Market as their crass US style cruising is not welcome in the far more sophisticated and professional European Market.
Written on: 09/08/2008
I agree with this review because... It is 100% how we felt. Plus the amount of smokers in certain bars prevented non-smokers from going in them, such as the piano bar. We kept getting told what a great night it was in there late on in the evening, but as an ex-smoker and a non smoker did not want to go because of all the smoke. This crusie was no where near as good as the two we had taken before with Carnival around the Caribbean. It was like sailing with a totally different company.
written by on 27/07/2008
Had a great time on board. Food and friendly staff made the holiday, but layout of the ship let it down.
written by james david bailey on 26/07/2008
Staff always had a smile and saying hello, ship was clean. A great holiday, staff and food made it for us, ship let it down.
written by haras32 on 14/07/2008
Overall the Carnival Splendor ship was great, we had a fab time and there was pleanty of choice for evening entertainment. The restaurants were fab too and the main restaurant (black or gold pearl) was great. At the end of the meal the waiters would get up and dance on the tables. Very entertaining.
Also try out the spa, $35 for a day pass. It was great and even though we went when we had a day at sea it wasn't as busy as we thought it would be.
Do you have a question about this product or company? Simply type it in the box below and one of our community will give you an answer
Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.
We will email you when the question is on the site
James David Bailey's Comment
Written on: 01/08/2008
I agree with this review because...I could not agree more, the food was fantastic and service, but the ship let it down.