Splendor Review July 12-20, 2013 – with pictures!

[disfan13]

We rented a clamshell on HMC because of the rain when we were there LOL. Even in the rain it's a gorgeous island!

[mrbigstuffwdytya]

What do you mean you can't get to the Black Pearl from the center elevators?

[sailorJo]

What do you mean you can't get to the Black Pearl from the center elevators?

 

The entrance to the Black Pearl is on the forward side right next to the lobby. If you take the center elevators to deck 3 you will find yourself between the back entrance to the Black Pearl (which is always closed) and the galley.

[mrbigstuffwdytya]

Darn! Booked a HC room right across from the center elevator because the CCL rep told me my 85yo Mom could just take that elevator and be right at the entrance to the Black Pearl.

[freddymale]

great review so far.

we sail on the splendor in sept..love all the pictures , really gets me in the cruise mood

[absolutely brilliant]

Darn! Booked a HC room right across from the center elevator because the CCL rep told me my 85yo Mom could just take that elevator and be right at the entrance to the Black Pearl.

 

We had an outside room forward on deck 2 #2271 right by the atrium lobby elevators. We would walk up 1 flight of stairs to the lobby bar & the entrance to the black pearl dining room. I'm not sure it that's the elevators you were talking about but they are very easy access to both the lobby bar & Black Pearl.

[mrbigstuffwdytya]

Josie, thank you sooo much for all the info, really helps. One more question: do you know if boarding lunch is only at the lido or is one of the dining rooms also open?

[dangerousdave]

Josie,

 

Are you aware of 3 guests missing the boat as it left Nassau on June 17th? We (Ecstasy) were docked next to you there and at 4PM we saw some of your ship's officers looking at what I guessed to be a guest manifest at the gang plank. At 4:10 the shipped sailed then at 4:45 we saw 3 "tourists" walk up to where the ship was and a few minutes later took a taxi away. Just wondering if a guest was aware of that and of course I'm curious if those 3 did miss the ship, how did they catch up with the ship?

Thanks

[sailorJo]

Darn! Booked a HC room right across from the center elevator because the CCL rep told me my 85yo Mom could just take that elevator and be right at the entrance to the Black Pearl.

 

I apologize for the confusion. There are actually 2 sets of mid-ship elevators. The CORRECT ones to take for the Black Pearl are the ones across from cabins 7341 and 7338, which are slightly toward the aft. If your cabin is in that region then you're okay. If you find yourselves in the region of the 7200,s, then you're too far forward. I used Deck Director on my iPad (thanks Cyberkat!) and it helped with getting around. It was when I didn't have my iPad with me that I got into trouble :D. Also, they have very handy little deck plans at the guest relations desk which are easy to carry around.

[sailorJo]

Josie, thank you sooo much for all the info, really helps. One more question: do you know if boarding lunch is only at the lido or is one of the dining rooms also open?

 

No, only in the Lido. The MDRs are closed on boarding day. I can't remember if the various other venues around the Lido were open. I know for a fact that the pizza was, because that's the first thing we tried.

[sailorJo]

Josie,

 

Are you aware of 3 guests missing the boat as it left Nassau on June 17th? We (Ecstasy) were docked next to you there and at 4PM we saw some of your ship's officers looking at what I guessed to be a guest manifest at the gang plank. At 4:10 the shipped sailed then at 4:45 we saw 3 "tourists" walk up to where the ship was and a few minutes later took a taxi away. Just wondering if a guest was aware of that and of course I'm curious if those 3 did miss the ship, how did they catch up with the ship?

Thanks

 

I remember they were calling out names over the speakers and in fact we left a little later than expected. I don't know if those people made it or not.

[sailorJo]

DangerousDave,

 

Here you are, right next to the Splendor! What ports did you visit aside from Nassau?

 

[sailorJo]

On to Nassau......

 

The stop in Nassau was somewhat of a disappointment as it rained pretty much all day and we couldn’t get to the beach. We had booked at the British Colonial Hilton for the day but we had to cancel as it was actually a little on the cool side. We did take some pictures of the lovely interior.

 

 

 

This was our first time in Nassau and we didn’t want to let the opportunity go to waste, so DH and I armed ourselves with disposable raincoats and strolled though the town.

Word of warning! If you find yourselves in the same situation buy CLEAR colorless raincoats (they sell them in many of the local stores). DH had a yellow one and it stained all his clothing yellow.

 

All around Nassau there were yellow and blue banners and flags as they had just celebrated the 40th anniversary of their independence.

 

 

 

 

The Welcome Center just off the ship.

 

 

 

There were five ships docked in Nassau that day, 2 Carnival, 2 Norwegian and 1 RCI.

At least I managed to finally see the Atlantis, even if from afar.

 

 

 

 

And, of course, what happens just as we sail out again? The sun comes out in all its glory!

 

 

 

 

 

This is how crowded the aft pool got at sailaway. People had been deprived of the sun all day and were determined to soak it up while it lasted.

 

[mrbigstuffwdytya]

Thanks for the elevator update. We're in cabin #6354 so it should be perfect!

[madibeme]

On to Nassau......

 

The stop in Nassau was somewhat of a disappointment as it rained pretty much all day and we couldn’t get to the beach. We had booked at the British Colonial Hilton for the day but we had to cancel as it was actually a little on the cool side. We did take some pictures of the lovely interior.

 

 

 

Did you still get charged? I was afraid of getting charged based on the confirmation so we went anyway the week before.

[sailorJo]

Did you still get charged? I was afraid of getting charged based on the confirmation so we went anyway the week before.

 

No, we only lost the $24 deposit. I was afraid to be charged too, that's why we took a walk there first thing and we were told we wouldn't be charged due to bad weather.

[disfan13]

Looking forward to more - and more pics! ;)

[maurinsky2]

I'll be on this ship next year, so I'm enjoying reading about it now!

[KillaFee]

We're sailing on the Splendor Nov. 25th so I'm enjoying your review! Thanks so much for the input and pics!

 

Was the aft pool always so crazy? We're hoping to spend most of our time there. Also, did you happen to spend any time near the Serenity area? Were people actually spending time near the bar there? In most of the photos I've seen, it looks rather deserted.

 

Laura

[sailorJo]

We're sailing on the Splendor Nov. 25th so I'm enjoying your review! Thanks so much for the input and pics!

 

Was the aft pool always so crazy? We're hoping to spend most of our time there. Also, did you happen to spend any time near the Serenity area? Were people actually spending time near the bar there? In most of the photos I've seen, it looks rather deserted.

 

Laura

 

Yes, the aft pool was always crowded, with the only difference that there were no children. There are lots of chairs if you go up one or two decks, but even there you have to go early.

We did spend a good amount of time in the Serenity area and there is a bar there - I don't recall which side it's on (Serenity is on both sides) and it's very quiet and peaceful.

[sailorJo]

I forgot to mention that one of the few shows we attended was the Jerome Dabney Motown classics. He was great and we loved the way he interacted with the audience and got everyone singing. I don’t know if he’s a regular on the Splendor or whether it was a one time deal.

 

I would have liked to have gone to Quest but it was at 10:45 pm and for some reason I couldn't keep my eyes open that night. That's always been a favorite of mine.

 

We met some very nice people on the ship and loved sitting and listening to music with them. (Hi Tina, Nancy and Chris, if you happen to read this. It was a pleasure to get to know you!)

 

At some point DH, who usually carried my camera, forgot it in one of the lounges. Several minutes later when I realized I didn’t have it anymore I panicked. I thought I had lost it AND the pictures forever. I was more devastated about losing the pictures than for the camera itself. But a kind, honest soul had found it and taken it to the guest relations desk. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, whoever you are!

 

Remember the Smiths? I forgot to say that we found their pre-purchased excursion tickets sitting on the bed the day before GT. Of course we handed them in at the guest relations desk (I had no desire to go either parasailing in Nassau or scuba diving in Grand Turk or on a kayaking adventure in HMC) and that’s when we found out they hadn’t canceled because of a sudden illness. They’d simply been upgraded to a higher category cabin. Duh-uh! And here I was feeling so sorry for them and getting heartburn eating their chocolate chip cookies – which I’d taken to be divine retribution for having appropriated myself of someone else’s birthday treat! Who knows what extravagant delights had awaited them in their master suite or whatever luxury accommodations they’d been upgraded to.

 

Here’s another photo taken from the mini golf area just above Serenity. Seeing this photo reminded me that the Serenity bar is on the starboard side (right side).

 

 

 

Debarkation:

We had self-assist and were among the first to disembark. The process was fast and orderly, the best I’ve ever witnessed. We had to wait for the Carnival shuttle van to fill up before it left, about a 45 minutes wait which I’d have gladly done on board, rather than in a stuffy van. Needless to say, this is the last time I choose the parking/shuttle combination. It might work for someone but not if you really want to get the most out of your time on board on the first and last days.

 

All too soon we had to leave this:

 

 

 

….. to return to this. Not a bad homecoming, though, right? :)

 

 

 

Final comments and considerations:

This was the rowdiest crowd of people I have ever encountered. Kids were running everywhere constantly and as I mentioned before, someone was amusing himself knocking on cabin doors at 2:30 in the morning. We were on Empress deck 7 and it's supposed to be one of the quietest decks on the ship but there was often running and loud voices in the corridors until very late at night.

I also heard a passenger complaining that he’d seen youngsters throwing jelly beans from their balcony onto the lifeboats and when he reprimanded them they threw a fistful of jelly beans at him! We have taken all our cruises during school vacation and we’ve never experienced this problem. I guess it’s hit or miss.

 

Formal nights are not as formal as in the past and it’s a shame that the tradition is dying out. We like to get all decked out for the occasion. The professional photography setups every night are a nice way for people to take more shots and choose the best pictures to take home, rather than standing in those long lines on formal nights only. But at $22 a pic, most of them get discarded. Boy, what a waste of paper and toner!

 

The hallway carpeting needs refurbishing, which was stained and run down but I thought the rest of the areas were ship-shape (pun not intended).

 

Carnival could definitely improve in the buffet choices and entertainment areas, the two things that would have made my experience on the Splendor almost perfect. The small stuff I can live with. I’m happy even standing by the railing and looking out to sea – what a feeling!

 

Other minor complaints:

- Whatever happened to the menus displayed outside the main dining rooms? I always get a kick out of going to check out the dinner choices during the day and I missed this.

- They really go overboard with karaoke (there I go again with the puns!). It was often held 2-3 times a day and as good as some of the participants were there’s only so much I can take. I practically overdosed on it and stopped going to these events after the first 3 or 4 days. Same can be said about the trivia, which I love, BTW, so I like that they did a lot of it, but they could give out better prizes than a “24-karat plastique” ship-on-a-stick, lol! I’ve seen them give out t-shirts and other goodies on other ships.

 

That said, we enjoyed the cruise and don’t regret a minute of it. I hope I didn’t sound too negative. I just wanted to point out what I consider Carnival’s weaker areas. Please bear in mind that this is my own personal view. Other people may not share the same opinion. In my research I read a lot of negative reviews and I took them with a grain of salt. What I don't like are the ones that are written with a tone of horror or disgust. After all, we don’t all like the same things and what’s undesirable to one may be acceptable to another.

Would I sail Carnival again? Perhaps, but not on the Splendor. Once was enough. But that’s just me. We don’t cruise very often so I like to make new experiences and try new itineraries.

 

I hope you enjoyed my review (more like a photo-commentary, if truth be told). If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them.

 

Happy sailing, everyone!

[MrFunInTheSun]

Great review and pictures! Thanks for sharing your cruise adventures with us!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[disfan13]

Thanks Josie!

[dangerousdave]

DangerousDave,

 

Here you are, right next to the Splendor! What ports did you visit aside from Nassau?

Thanks for this photo which gives us different perspective on our trip. For a few minutes, I thought you might have a shot of me under that first green roofed building but after looking at my photos, I had on a white shirt that day. None of the white shirts appear to be me. We visited Freeport before Nassau, Little Stirrup Cay then day at sea. So I guess you don't know anything about 3 people missing the ship? Anyway, thanks for that picture and here are a few of your ship at port and leaving port that day.

[SweetpeaOne]

Nice review. Great pictures. Thanks for sharing.