Splendor-Last of summer review

[bluetool lady]

This is my first review ever. I just wanted to pay forward all the help and reviews that I have enjoyed and found so useful on CC. I’m afraid this won’t be as clever and entertaining as many of the reviews I have enjoyed from all of you, but here goes.

First time on Splendor for myself (72) and DH (73), although we did this itinerary a few years ago, when the Pride was on the west coast. We live about a half an hour away from the port of Long Beach, so love the convenience of practically just hopping on the ship. Believe me though, we have done our share of flying across country and even to Europe to board ships for other wonderful cruises.

Arrived at the port around 1:15 and even though the line was large and wound around Disneyland style, embarking went extremely smooth. We were on board within half an hour and even though we were told cabins wouldn’t be ready until 2:00, we were able to get in immediately by stepping over some yellow tape that guarded our deck (ssh, don’t tell anyone). We were on the Verandah deck, #8204, a balcony stateroom all the way forward.

We are regular balcony cruisers and this was the most private balcony we have ever had. Loved the ship, cabin and the roomy and private balcony. We spend a lot of time out there because we are not pool or beach people. We enjoy the casino, the shows, participating or just watching the games and activities on board and of course the eating (who doesn’t?) Thanks to the Players Club, we were welcomed with a large fruit and bottle of wine basket, a free photo coupon and 2 large gift wrapped bottles of water.

We were celebrating our 52nd anniversary, so the first night, we had reservations at the Pinnacle Steak House. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a disappointment for us, even though I had read many rave reviews on here, I guess it just wasn’t a good night for us. DH’s steak was so tough and full of gristle, he couldn’t eat it and I’m afraid my lobster was also on the chewy side. (not near as good as I had in the MDR the following night. He did return it once, only to get another of the same. They finally offered him another choice, but by this time he said he was tired of eating. On a high note however, we did receive the free bottle of wine for first night diners, as I had read about here and the appetizers were wonderful. (more to come)

[bluetool lady]

Now let me preface this with, we had a wonderful cruise and am totally looking forward to our next cruise, but our MDR service and the crew in general was probably the worst we had ever experienced. They seemed to be over tired and overworked. Also, our cabin steward was very good and always had a smile for us when we saw him. On the other hand our MDR main server, never spoke to us. He did nod when we tried to speak to him as he was rushing back and forth. The service was extremely slow every night and when he did slow down, he would just stand at his station, reading papers. His assistants were a little better, but they were just all so busy and rushed. No, I didn’t report it to the maitre’d because one, I didn’t want to get him in trouble, most of the time he seemed so rushed, but he was efficient and second, we had a great table that I didn’t want to give up. Experienced this also with many of the rest of the crew, without going into detail, I’d like to just say I think Carnival is trying to spread them too thin and the result is showing in the service and friendliness of the crew that they have become famous for. As for our MDR server, I do know he was extreme, by speaking to other passengers who even though they thought their servers were rushed, they were still friendly. I finally said to DH, maybe he doesn’t speak english, to which he answered, impossible. However, through the past few cruises I have noticed the deterioration of the service. BF just came back from Celebrity to Alaska and she couldn’t quit talking about the service they had. It was their first cruise and I was so glad they weren’t on this one for their first. (last to follow)

[riclop]

This is my first review ever. I just wanted to pay forward all the help and reviews that I have enjoyed and found so useful on CC. I’m afraid this won’t be as clever and entertaining as many of the reviews I have enjoyed from all of you, but here goes.

First time on Splendor for myself (72) and DH (73), although we did this itinerary a few years ago, when the Pride was on the west coast. We live about a half an hour away from the port of Long Beach, so love the convenience of practically just hopping on the ship. Believe me though, we have done our share of flying across country and even to Europe to board ships for other wonderful cruises.

Arrived at the port around 1:15 and even though the line was large and wound around Disneyland style, embarking went extremely smooth. We were on board within half an hour and even though we were told cabins wouldn’t be ready until 2:00, we were able to get in immediately by stepping over some yellow tape that guarded our deck (ssh, don’t tell anyone). We were on the Verandah deck, #8204, a balcony stateroom all the way forward.

We are regular balcony cruisers and this was the most private balcony we have ever had. Loved the ship, cabin and the roomy and private balcony. We spend a lot of time out there because we are not pool or beach people. We enjoy the casino, the shows, participating or just watching the games and activities on board and of course the eating (who doesn’t?) Thanks to the Players Club, we were welcomed with a large fruit and bottle of wine basket, a free photo coupon and 2 large gift wrapped bottles of water.

We were celebrating our 52nd anniversary, so the first night, we had reservations at the Pinnacle Steak House. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a disappointment for us, even though I had read many rave reviews on here, I guess it just wasn’t a good night for us. DH’s steak was so tough and full of gristle, he couldn’t eat it and I’m afraid my lobster was also on the chewy side. (not near as good as I had in the MDR the following night. He did return it once, only to get another of the same. They finally offered him another choice, but by this time he said he was tired of eating. On a high note however, we did receive the free bottle of wine for first night diners, as I had read about here and the appetizers were wonderful. (more to come)

Yes we agree the steakhouse on the Splendor is not as good as other carnival ships like the Spirit, we have gone the last 3 times and its the same, so we will not go on our 10/02 sailing.

[bluetool lady]

Yes we agree the steakhouse on the Splendor is not as good as other carnival ships like the Spirit, we have gone the last 3 times and its the same, so we will not go on our 10/02 sailing.

 

Sorry to hear that, I was hoping it was just an off night.

[bluetool lady]

Now to the highlights…Absolutely loved the shows. Favorite was Vroom. Enjoyed the nightly waiters song and dance. Punchliner Comedy Club was fun and new to us. Summer Breeze was wonderful. Monique (sp) would come and talk to us between sets, or wave as we were walking by, as she did with many of the passengers. We had also read about them here in CC. Hope you all get to see them. We took the dance lessons, disco and line dancing which were really fun. Again, one instructor seemed very tired and had a "let’s just get through this" attitude. We all still had fun with each other. Enjoyed the "foo foo" drinks, expensive but good. But what the hay, we are on a cruise! Found a friendly slot machine that always seemed to be waiting for me when I went to the casino and was able to cash out plus $20 after seven days of playing. Woo-hoo!

As you all know by now, there are only two ports now on this itinery, 2 days in Cabos and 1 day in Puerto Vallarta. Wish it was the other way around. We swam with the Dolphins in Cabos, which was awesome, although I wished the actual swim was longer and then took an ATV ride in Puerto Vallarta, through Unique ATV’s. I would highly recommend them. We had a nice rain in Puerto Vallarta the day we were there which turned out to be a blessing, because the little bit of sun we got when we first started out was super, super hot. Riding in the soft rain was so refreshing.

Also stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant as part of the tour and experienced tequilla tasting for the first time. Luckily, I was riding, not driving as that was quite an experience! (but fun)

 

Sorry, this turned out to be so long. A week long of pure heaven is hard to condense. We were on the last group to disembark, but we were in no hurry as there were no planes to catch or connections to make. We had one last MDR great breakfast and then found a place to sit and wait. Once called, we were off and heading home in a half hour. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer and lucky you who are still looking forward to your cruise.

[Hank_harts]

I was on the Splendor in August and I too thought the MDR service was bad. Really slow service and absolutely no time to visit or even smile. I have been on 5 cruises and this was by far was the worse service I have recieved, and I am really not a demanding type of person.

[okwriter]

Congrats on your luck in the casino! :)

And oh, isn't that last great breakfast in the MDR bittersweet? I mean, it's super nice to relax and enjoy but---well, just knowing they are about to kick you off kinda stinks! LOL!

Glad you mentioned the shows, too. I keep promising to go to more of those on future cruises!

[bluetool lady]

I was on the Splendor in August and I too thought the MDR service was bad. Really slow service and absolutely no time to visit or even smile. I have been on 5 cruises and this was by far was the worse service I have recieved, and I am really not a demanding type of person.

 

Sure hope this isn't a sign of things to come. I did mention it on my after the cruise questionaire. Maybe if others do too, they'll work on that. I really don't want to complain about the servers themselves because I think are being overworked. I mean I had a difficult time just getting coffee and then refills. I kept feeling as if I needed to trip someone as they were

rushing by, to get their attention.:)