Just off the Splendor....YUCK!

[sjn911]

Have been to NYC 4 times now..at ages summer before 6th grade, 14 with Girl Scouts, 32..(perfect) and 53..last may I won a ticket to see Enrique Iglesias in a private concert and made it a week!! The last minute nature of this trip made moderate accomodations and flight very high...it was 3000 dollars out for the free ticket and one week ... 2 well planned solo week cruises!! Since I have learned of lovely ways to do Manhattan with nicer smarter and more in advance hotel/ apt. planning.

 

Paris, London, Nyc, Rome..these places you can never finish, each time you have only wet your appetite..but I feel same about a family cabin and Hawaii..if you love history, museums, the arts, antiques, shopping, different city neighborhoods..etc..and just being around different groups of people..

 

I feel the same about smaller cities..too..Seattle, San Fran, Honolulu...these things are wonderful when you live in land of one movie theater that only gets teenage blockbuster to last longer than a week..LOL.

 

I was still in considerable grief over loss of my mother and it will take another year I see to be better adjusted..but even under that state..my funky hotel had a courtyard quiet room in midtown and i had a blast fitting in with people moving to and from events and taking a cab a few times people were orderly after concerts and plays and doing a little more looking and walking and really rested a lot too..so easy to get delivered takeout there,..I mean WOW and I had a fridge and microwave and took coffee, oatmeal and a big mug...

 

I did fall once and nobody helped..heal in boot hit a hi sidewalk place..but that can happen anywhere..if you get into the NYC groove..most are very nice..and you really do attract kindness if you are..I LOVE NYC!! But maybe not for cruising much from in winter..unless going across the pond..what a way to get there..what a dream!!

 

I do not think op was being a snob..just recognizing a level of sad we have gotten too and certainly majority on Carnival are not that and being around those that have or desire to be budget conscious and careful with what you can spend does not dictate finding an uncivil person majority..but as a society we are where we are..we have to attract change hot harp about it...be the family there enjoying the dress up...

 

Happy travels all..God bless NYC..they come here to see our parks and are usually very nice about receiving our help...Sarah

Edited December 4, 2013 by sjn911

[rob6465]

No flames, but, I wanna make sure I've got it straight:

 

You thought the ship was ugly.

People in the lido had no manners.

You didn't like the music out by the aft pool.

You didn't like that people wore pajamas and/or robes.

You didn't like the itinerary.

 

But...

 

The food in the MDR was great.

Your room steward was great.

Your room was great.

Self-assist was wonderful.

The comedy act was entertaining.

Daniella, the hostess at the Black Pearl was wonderful.

Yurgita from the Martini Bar was great.

You liked the gym.

Keith, the solo guitarist was wonderful.

You liked the warm chocolate melting cake.

You thought Serenity was ok.

You got a "heck of a deal."

 

You're right, that had to suck (flames are one thing....sarcasm is another).

 

lol

[Dave_&_Lisa]

One question for the original poster, and I apologize if this was already asked. You state that the itinerary was lousy. Did you not know the itinerary when you booked the trip?

[45014]

We took the Conquest out of NOLA a couple of years ago and can honestly say that it was our least favorite ship and least favorite cruise. That being said, a vacation is what you make it. If you can have a good time in a 4 x 4 room with your cruise mate for a week then why was being on this ship so hard? You said that you get what you pay for and you got a great deal. You also said that your expectations weren't high to begin with. If your expectations are low then your experience will prove to follow along with your expectations. My cruise on the Conquest was not my favorite but that doesn't deter me from desiring to take another cruise. Every cruise line is different and every ship is different. That is how and why we have so many choices. I am glad you at least stated the things you liked about the cruise but most of the things that you didn't like we're belong anyone's control and no fault of anyone in particular. I have personally never been to a ship buffet that wasn't crowded. That is why the MDR is open. Thank you for the review. Perhaps you should book a vacation on a remote island somewhere away from people that might irritate you.

 

i am thinking the same thing.

[mz Miami]

WOW 20 cruises..in 20 years. Brava !!!...I board my 63rd Monday, starting Sept, of 2006..combined with others previously..(20 years of Euro travel work prevailed).....I have over 450 days at sea on probably 20 vessels. Total of 81 cruzes. I still continue to cruze, and have 5 more booked,

 

Other than a fire....(Kudos to Carnival for both)..I have experienced, flooded cabin, power loss, cool lost, (2 weeks ago) H1N1wash down,

....broken windows....flooded shower.missed ports, exchanged ports, windy seas, extended days at sea, freezing cold, rain, thunder storms, lightening,hurricanes, cancelled entertainment, personal illness, missing bag, rude people, loud children, outrageous wardrobes..the list goes on......I was NOT the only passenger that "suffered"..all of these maladies....and I lived through all of it to cruze again

 

NOW..Sweety Pie.........what WAS your major complaint ?

 

Amen!!! 100% .. life is so short yet people complain about the most frivolous things ..

[NYcruzzer]

Yes, I've been to the ports before multiple times. We happened to hit a cold snap this week. Again, the bad weather wasn't the culprit, but some sunshine would have been splendid. :D

 

Laura

 

Based on your 27+ cruises at the age of 32 I will assume that most of those trips were with your family. Back then you didn't have to pay or have a choice in where you went on vacation. Now that you are older perhaps you should stick to land vacations to exotic destinations off the beaten path. Leave cruising to common folk like me..

Edited December 5, 2013 by NYcruzzer

[Ocean Dancer]

We lived on the Splendor for 7 weeks, so I can understand many of OP'S experiences. After all, this IS Cruise Critic.

[muffinbaby]

First, no flamed intended. I agree that one can outgrow or outdo a particular vacation type. I pefer to do land vacations and cruise as a extra treat. Being Caribbean, I do not like to cruise to the Caribbean, but it worked out my next cruise on Royal Princess will be to the Eastern Caribbean and my last on Carnival Magic was to Western caribbean. I will make the most of the ports. You picked the itinerary, as I did mine, so should be no complaints.

 

Reading you review I find it extremely judgemental, with words like 'YUCK', 'GROSS', 'Really'? so not what I consider good manners. As for the wearing of robes, it happens. I was at the Grand Hyatt Regency in Febraury and walked through the lobby to the spa in my robe. It's fabric and I was covered and thought better then wearing something that was loose and hanging. On a sailing on RCCL, I saw a huge family took a portarit in their robes, which I thought was cute and different. I get asked if it's formal night very often because I always wear a gown. I usually smile and reply, looking cruisefabulous! I see your nose so far up in the air, I am scared that if a few drops of water you could drown, because of words like yuck, geeze, who does that, yo sh%^$$t, Bugh, remarks. How much people eat and how they dress is really none of our business. Yes, I am fascinated by someone eating a pound of bacon compared to my half a pound.

 

MY QUESTION - For future vacations and to be 'proper' and not appear to be low class, I should take the robe over my arm, not wear it to the spa?

 

JMOP, your negatives are more of a judgement and indictment of PEOPLE, in all walks of life, than a vacation, you most likely should not have taken.

 

Agreed. I was started to feel bad for the bath robe people myself.

[CruiseAwesome]

I have no doubt I'll get flamed for this, but after 8 days of wanting nothing more than to hop on a helicopter and magically land in my front yard, I feel that I'm able to speak on the subject. :p Please feel free to ask specific questions!! I'll be happy to expand on anything.

 

Bugh. That basically sums up our vacation.

 

First let me give you some background info on us. We're both 32 from CT. We love to travel. I'm a seasoned cruiser. I've cruised with Royal Caribbean 23 times, 2 Carnival, 2 Celebrity, and a variety of 1-2 night cruises back in the 1990's. I've done various island vacations in condo rentals in St. Martin, all inclusives in Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican. We travel a minimum of 2X a year for week long vacations, and at least 4-5 weekend vacations around the country, so I'm relatively familiar with what to expect depending on the class of hotel / resort / ship you're staying at/in. It's 100% fair to say that you tend to get what you pay for. I WILL say that we got this cruise FOR A HECK OF A DEAL, so it's all relative, and when it comes down to it, I think we got exactly what we paid for.

 

So it's safe to say we'll never cruise w/Carnival again, and I'll tell you why. We might just not cruise at all again after this, since we realized we prefer the calmness, beauty, simplicity, and overall relaxation that an island vacation offers, as opposed the the bonkers ship that we just got off of. It's just not our cup of tea. The aggressive, pushy, pajama clad passengers on this ship just aren't our style. That combined with the crummy itinerary, crummy weather, freakish lido deck which felt like a mix between someones living room and a wonky indoor pool from the twilight zone....just NO.

 

That being said.....we made the best of it because we have fun together and can enjoy ourselves in a 4x4 room for a week if need be. Soooo let me elaborate on a few things.

 

Things we DID like:

-The food in the dining room was fantastic. We ate there every single day for brunch or breakfast and dinner.

-Our steward, Made (pronounced Made-E) was awesome.

-Our room was great! We simply had an outside, but it was a shockingly great size and decorated very nicely. Everything was right where it should be. The beds were pretty cozy as well.

-Embarkation and debarkation were great! Self assist debarkation was WO:NDERFUL. We were able to leave that thing ASAP!! We were OFF the ship by 8:30am and were out and in our car by 9am. Yipppeeee! Bbye Splendor!

-The adult comedy was very entertaining.

-Daniella, the hostess at the Black Pearl at night and Gold Pearl for brunch was wonderful!! She was so cheerful and prompt and always greeted us by name.

-Yurgita from the Martini Bar (El Mojito) was great! She makes an amazing extra dirty goose martini.

-The Gym was nice. We all got kicked out one day because the seas were so high, but I did enjoy the layout and the equipment was great.

-Kieth, the solo guitarist. His sense of humor and wit were wonderful. His condescending jokes and hatred for the cruise ship itself were spot on. He basically said exactly what we were thinking.

-The warm chocolate melting cake.

-The Serenity deck was ok. But why on earth the mini golf is directly above it is beyond me. There are constantly little children running around with swinging golf clubs on the Serenity deck. Not very serene....

-......YUP.....that's all we can come up with.

 

Things we DIDN'T like

-Everything else. :p

-The Lido deck. It needs to just be bulldozed and re-done. I'm not saying that I don't like the layout of the ship.....it takes like a 20 minutes to figure it out. I'm saying that I just don't like THE SHIP. It's so dark and cold feeling. I get it. I've been on a Carnival ship so I know what to expect and I know all about Joe Farcus style. I do have to say that the lime green grout with black tile ALL OVER was a nice touch. :eek:

-The Lido buffet is just crazy. Thousands of people with NO MANNERS just walking around in a confused stouper, piling plates full of bacon and then waiting in line for 5 burritos, pizza, the deli....really? How much food can you eat?! It's so poorly laid out. I've never experienced such mayhem in a buffet before. Gross. They need to dispense Xanax at the door or something because the whole area is just an anxiety attack waiting to happen.

-The music on the aft deck was just bizarre. I have no idea what was coming out of those speakers. Again, I suddenly found myself in the twilight zone.

-The passengers. Why do people think it's ok to walk around in their pajamas whilst on a cruise ship? Oh and if not pajamas, bath robes! I'm sorry, I've always thought that being on a cruise was something special. It's just disrespectful to treat the ship like it's your own stinking living room. I don't want to see what you wear to bed, ok? One night, while walking through the Splendido, a guy flags down my husband and says "yo sh$&*t!!! Is it FORMAL night or something?!". Mind you my husband was wearing a dress shirt tucked into pants and I was wearing a maxi dress. No, it's not formal night. We just like to look nice. Geeze. A memo really needs to go out clarifying that there is no pajama night. It just makes the whole atmosphere seem so low class.

-The Promenade was freezing and smelled like cigarettes. I tried to avoid this area, but most things are off of the Promenade, so it was difficult to avoid.

-The ports of call were crummy and the weather was horrible, but I realize that's beyond the ships control, so I'm not going to fault them for that. It just didn't help the situation. The seas were crazy because of 60 MPH wind gusts, so the decks were all closed off to passengers. Again, it's obviously for our safety, and beyond their control, but having been stuck inside from Monday night until Thursday morning just made us a little stir crazy.

 

In closing, I think this experience made us realize what we like and DO NOT like in a vacation. I think I've just grown out of cruises. I hate to be negative, and I'm usually the first one to point out "what someone might have done wrong to have a bad time" when I read reviews, but this was HONESTLY the worst cruise (out of....28 or something?). I didn't have high expectations, and we pretty much got exactly what we expected. I just thought MAYBE we'd like it a bit more that we expected. The highlight was the food and service. But that's pretty much where it ends.

 

Please feel free to ask questions or flame away, teehee!

 

Laura

 

At least you were able to give fair explanation for your thoughts and as much as I love cruising those things would make me a bit crazy.

[DiamondBill102]

Not reading the whole thread as I really not interested but I do have to point out one thing...23 cruises with Royal, 3 with Carnival and NOW you think you don't like cruising for vacations?

[Big_G]

Not reading the whole thread as I really not interested but I do have to point out one thing...23 cruises with Royal, 3 with Carnival and NOW you think you don't like cruising for vacations?

 

Maybe if you had read the whole thread you wouldn't need to ask that question. Then again was that a real question?

[Blk_Amish]

Not reading the whole thread as I really not interested but I do have to point out one thing...23 cruises with Royal, 3 with Carnival and NOW you think you don't like cruising for vacations?

 

Yep, it's called been there, done that. Maybe too many undesirable changes, soon no tablecloths . Maybe it's a good time to enjoy the world differently. That part I can understand, not the over the top reaction to robe rebels and gluttony: really, yuck, blah :):D

 

Half that amount of cruises and 20 years later, I see the writing on the wall. I can deal with robe rebels, not naked tables.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

Edited December 11, 2013 by Blk_Amish

[Kimkei]

I have no doubt I'll get flamed for this, but after 8 days of wanting nothing more than to hop on a helicopter and magically land in my front yard, I feel that I'm able to speak on the subject. :p Please feel free to ask specific questions!! I'll be happy to expand on anything.

 

Bugh. That basically sums up our vacation.

 

First let me give you some background info on us. We're both 32 from CT. We love to travel. I'm a seasoned cruiser. I've cruised with Royal Caribbean 23 times, 2 Carnival, 2 Celebrity, and a variety of 1-2 night cruises back in the 1990's. I've done various island vacations in condo rentals in St. Martin, all inclusives in Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican. We travel a minimum of 2X a year for week long vacations, and at least 4-5 weekend vacations around the country, so I'm relatively familiar with what to expect depending on the class of hotel / resort / ship you're staying at/in. It's 100% fair to say that you tend to get what you pay for. I WILL say that we got this cruise FOR A HECK OF A DEAL, so it's all relative, and when it comes down to it, I think we got exactly what we paid for.

 

So it's safe to say we'll never cruise w/Carnival again, and I'll tell you why. We might just not cruise at all again after this, since we realized we prefer the calmness, beauty, simplicity, and overall relaxation that an island vacation offers, as opposed the the bonkers ship that we just got off of. It's just not our cup of tea. The aggressive, pushy, pajama clad passengers on this ship just aren't our style. That combined with the crummy itinerary, crummy weather, freakish lido deck which felt like a mix between someones living room and a wonky indoor pool from the twilight zone....just NO.

 

That being said.....we made the best of it because we have fun together and can enjoy ourselves in a 4x4 room for a week if need be. Soooo let me elaborate on a few things.

 

Things we DID like:

-The food in the dining room was fantastic. We ate there every single day for brunch or breakfast and dinner.

-Our steward, Made (pronounced Made-E) was awesome.

-Our room was great! We simply had an outside, but it was a shockingly great size and decorated very nicely. Everything was right where it should be. The beds were pretty cozy as well.

-Embarkation and debarkation were great! Self assist debarkation was WO:NDERFUL. We were able to leave that thing ASAP!! We were OFF the ship by 8:30am and were out and in our car by 9am. Yipppeeee! Bbye Splendor!

-The adult comedy was very entertaining.

-Daniella, the hostess at the Black Pearl at night and Gold Pearl for brunch was wonderful!! She was so cheerful and prompt and always greeted us by name.

-Yurgita from the Martini Bar (El Mojito) was great! She makes an amazing extra dirty goose martini.

-The Gym was nice. We all got kicked out one day because the seas were so high, but I did enjoy the layout and the equipment was great.

-Kieth, the solo guitarist. His sense of humor and wit were wonderful. His condescending jokes and hatred for the cruise ship itself were spot on. He basically said exactly what we were thinking.

-The warm chocolate melting cake.

-The Serenity deck was ok. But why on earth the mini golf is directly above it is beyond me. There are constantly little children running around with swinging golf clubs on the Serenity deck. Not very serene....

-......YUP.....that's all we can come up with.

 

Things we DIDN'T like

-Everything else. :p

-The Lido deck. It needs to just be bulldozed and re-done. I'm not saying that I don't like the layout of the ship.....it takes like a 20 minutes to figure it out. I'm saying that I just don't like THE SHIP. It's so dark and cold feeling. I get it. I've been on a Carnival ship so I know what to expect and I know all about Joe Farcus style. I do have to say that the lime green grout with black tile ALL OVER was a nice touch. :eek:

-The Lido buffet is just crazy. Thousands of people with NO MANNERS just walking around in a confused stouper, piling plates full of bacon and then waiting in line for 5 burritos, pizza, the deli....really? How much food can you eat?! It's so poorly laid out. I've never experienced such mayhem in a buffet before. Gross. They need to dispense Xanax at the door or something because the whole area is just an anxiety attack waiting to happen.

-The music on the aft deck was just bizarre. I have no idea what was coming out of those speakers. Again, I suddenly found myself in the twilight zone.

-The passengers. Why do people think it's ok to walk around in their pajamas whilst on a cruise ship? Oh and if not pajamas, bath robes! I'm sorry, I've always thought that being on a cruise was something special. It's just disrespectful to treat the ship like it's your own stinking living room. I don't want to see what you wear to bed, ok? One night, while walking through the Splendido, a guy flags down my husband and says "yo sh$&*t!!! Is it FORMAL night or something?!". Mind you my husband was wearing a dress shirt tucked into pants and I was wearing a maxi dress. No, it's not formal night. We just like to look nice. Geeze. A memo really needs to go out clarifying that there is no pajama night. It just makes the whole atmosphere seem so low class.

-The Promenade was freezing and smelled like cigarettes. I tried to avoid this area, but most things are off of the Promenade, so it was difficult to avoid.

-The ports of call were crummy and the weather was horrible, but I realize that's beyond the ships control, so I'm not going to fault them for that. It just didn't help the situation. The seas were crazy because of 60 MPH wind gusts, so the decks were all closed off to passengers. Again, it's obviously for our safety, and beyond their control, but having been stuck inside from Monday night until Thursday morning just made us a little stir crazy.

 

In closing, I think this experience made us realize what we like and DO NOT like in a vacation. I think I've just grown out of cruises. I hate to be negative, and I'm usually the first one to point out "what someone might have done wrong to have a bad time" when I read reviews, but this was HONESTLY the worst cruise (out of....28 or something?). I didn't have high expectations, and we pretty much got exactly what we expected. I just thought MAYBE we'd like it a bit more that we expected. The highlight was the food and service. But that's pretty much where it ends.

 

Please feel free to ask questions or flame away, teehee!

 

Laura

 

 

We have always LOVED Carnival....but think we may have been on the same sailing as this poster. (Thanksgiving week).

 

Must admit to being surprised by the lack of activities in the evening (in fact, we planned to stay on Board in Port Canaveral and were surprised as the amount of activities schedules for a DAY in Port....??)

 

Found the unending PUSH to purchase Spa treatments or products from the Spa to be a slight annoyance. We entered the Sail Day raffle for FREE spa servicies, etc. Hubby received a call that he had won a FREE haircut. Further inquiry revealed that the FREE haircut would be only with the purchase of another package at the cost of $99. (he simply said "no thank you) We did pay a nominal fee for 20 yo daughter to attend a specific exercise class (no complaints) HOWEVER, the staff repeatedly tried to pressure her into the purchase of a costly three month detox regime. After repeatedly explaining she was not interested....she further mentioned that her sign and sail card was under her parents account and she would not be making the purchase. The Staff THEN asked her to return with Parents. Long story short....they stopped asking..!

 

On previous Carnival cruises, especially when our kids were younger...we were well aware of the rules related to youngsters in the Hot Tubs. Apparently, these rules are no longer in effect. One specific evening, we walked the ship and visited EVERY hot tub with this hopes of enjoying one for a short time. Each was crowded.....with young kids splashing and playing games in the tubs. (granted, most of the pools were closed due to weather conditions......but, really...??? Did the rule change, or was it simply not enforced..??

 

We experienced some of the same observations as the Poster and were overall disappointed with the Splendor. However, our family of four had a GREAT time together....took all the "changes" in stride.....were sad to see our vacation end...and WILL sail with Carnival again....perhaps not during a holiday week.... :-)

[navyvet8395]

I have no doubt I'll get flamed for this, but after 8 days of wanting nothing more than to hop on a helicopter and magically land in my front yard, I feel that I'm able to speak on the subject. :p Please feel free to ask specific questions!! I'll be happy to expand on anything.

 

Bugh. That basically sums up our vacation.

 

First let me give you some background info on us. We're both 32 from CT. We love to travel. I'm a seasoned cruiser. I've cruised with Royal Caribbean 23 times, 2 Carnival, 2 Celebrity, and a variety of 1-2 night cruises back in the 1990's. I've done various island vacations in condo rentals in St. Martin, all inclusives in Mexico, Jamaica, and the Dominican. We travel a minimum of 2X a year for week long vacations, and at least 4-5 weekend vacations around the country, so I'm relatively familiar with what to expect depending on the class of hotel / resort / ship you're staying at/in. It's 100% fair to say that you tend to get what you pay for. I WILL say that we got this cruise FOR A HECK OF A DEAL, so it's all relative, and when it comes down to it, I think we got exactly what we paid for.

 

So it's safe to say we'll never cruise w/Carnival again, and I'll tell you why. We might just not cruise at all again after this, since we realized we prefer the calmness, beauty, simplicity, and overall relaxation that an island vacation offers, as opposed the the bonkers ship that we just got off of. It's just not our cup of tea. The aggressive, pushy, pajama clad passengers on this ship just aren't our style. That combined with the crummy itinerary, crummy weather, freakish lido deck which felt like a mix between someones living room and a wonky indoor pool from the twilight zone....just NO.

 

That being said.....we made the best of it because we have fun together and can enjoy ourselves in a 4x4 room for a week if need be. Soooo let me elaborate on a few things.

 

Things we DID like:

-The food in the dining room was fantastic. We ate there every single day for brunch or breakfast and dinner.

-Our steward, Made (pronounced Made-E) was awesome.

-Our room was great! We simply had an outside, but it was a shockingly great size and decorated very nicely. Everything was right where it should be. The beds were pretty cozy as well.

-Embarkation and debarkation were great! Self assist debarkation was WO:NDERFUL. We were able to leave that thing ASAP!! We were OFF the ship by 8:30am and were out and in our car by 9am. Yipppeeee! Bbye Splendor!

-The adult comedy was very entertaining.

-Daniella, the hostess at the Black Pearl at night and Gold Pearl for brunch was wonderful!! She was so cheerful and prompt and always greeted us by name.

-Yurgita from the Martini Bar (El Mojito) was great! She makes an amazing extra dirty goose martini.

-The Gym was nice. We all got kicked out one day because the seas were so high, but I did enjoy the layout and the equipment was great.

-Kieth, the solo guitarist. His sense of humor and wit were wonderful. His condescending jokes and hatred for the cruise ship itself were spot on. He basically said exactly what we were thinking.

-The warm chocolate melting cake.

-The Serenity deck was ok. But why on earth the mini golf is directly above it is beyond me. There are constantly little children running around with swinging golf clubs on the Serenity deck. Not very serene....

-......YUP.....that's all we can come up with.

 

Things we DIDN'T like

-Everything else. :p

-The Lido deck. It needs to just be bulldozed and re-done. I'm not saying that I don't like the layout of the ship.....it takes like a 20 minutes to figure it out. I'm saying that I just don't like THE SHIP. It's so dark and cold feeling. I get it. I've been on a Carnival ship so I know what to expect and I know all about Joe Farcus style. I do have to say that the lime green grout with black tile ALL OVER was a nice touch. :eek:

-The Lido buffet is just crazy. Thousands of people with NO MANNERS just walking around in a confused stouper, piling plates full of bacon and then waiting in line for 5 burritos, pizza, the deli....really? How much food can you eat?! It's so poorly laid out. I've never experienced such mayhem in a buffet before. Gross. They need to dispense Xanax at the door or something because the whole area is just an anxiety attack waiting to happen.

-The music on the aft deck was just bizarre. I have no idea what was coming out of those speakers. Again, I suddenly found myself in the twilight zone.

-The passengers. Why do people think it's ok to walk around in their pajamas whilst on a cruise ship? Oh and if not pajamas, bath robes! I'm sorry, I've always thought that being on a cruise was something special. It's just disrespectful to treat the ship like it's your own stinking living room. I don't want to see what you wear to bed, ok? One night, while walking through the Splendido, a guy flags down my husband and says "yo sh$&*t!!! Is it FORMAL night or something?!". Mind you my husband was wearing a dress shirt tucked into pants and I was wearing a maxi dress. No, it's not formal night. We just like to look nice. Geeze. A memo really needs to go out clarifying that there is no pajama night. It just makes the whole atmosphere seem so low class.

-The Promenade was freezing and smelled like cigarettes. I tried to avoid this area, but most things are off of the Promenade, so it was difficult to avoid.

-The ports of call were crummy and the weather was horrible, but I realize that's beyond the ships control, so I'm not going to fault them for that. It just didn't help the situation. The seas were crazy because of 60 MPH wind gusts, so the decks were all closed off to passengers. Again, it's obviously for our safety, and beyond their control, but having been stuck inside from Monday night until Thursday morning just made us a little stir crazy.

 

In closing, I think this experience made us realize what we like and DO NOT like in a vacation. I think I've just grown out of cruises. I hate to be negative, and I'm usually the first one to point out "what someone might have done wrong to have a bad time" when I read reviews, but this was HONESTLY the worst cruise (out of....28 or something?). I didn't have high expectations, and we pretty much got exactly what we expected. I just thought MAYBE we'd like it a bit more that we expected. The highlight was the food and service. But that's pretty much where it ends.

 

Please feel free to ask questions or flame away, teehee!

 

Laura

I agree. Yes Ive been on 11 Carnival cruises and #12 will be in couple days on the dream. Reason I still stay is im now VIP with Carnival and yes, the line attracts a "lower class" of people, kinda like the POW (people of wallmart site). Due to the price. Expecially on the shorter cruises. Im not one of those, I also dress decent for "formal" night, etc and wear a collar shirt in the MDR the rest of the time.

I do like RC better due to there decor and ship layout. Thought the IOS was awesome.

[lucybug]

Those lower priced short cruises are a whole other group of people we stay away. Sometimes jumping on a cruise is cheaper for them than life on land! They never have manners. Icky!

[Katemusical]

You know, I think it's funny how alike you and your hubby are to me and mine. We are about the same age group. When we were younger, we would never have cared about the environment or people wearing pajamas. As you get older, your taste in life changes (for the most part). We loved our cruise last year on the Pride of America through Hawaii. Everyone was polite (for the most part)and dressed nicely, the crew was wonderful, the ship was clean, the food was good... Pretty much we wanted to live on the ship forever.

Then this past summer we went on the Bahamas Celebration to get to Freeport. Holy cow!!! Total opposite crowd, ship was old and dirty, beds were lumpy, smoky, and we couldnt wait to get off of it.

 

I am very hopeful and excited for my cruise next week. I have read great things about the Valor and its ports.

So I really trully hope that your hubby will not give up cruising. It was just that trip.

[DKane]

-"The Lido buffet is just crazy. Thousands of people with NO MANNERS just walking around in a confused stouper, piling plates full of bacon and then waiting in line for 5 burritos, pizza, the deli....really? How much food can you eat?! It's so poorly laid out. I've never experienced such mayhem in a buffet before. Gross. They need to dispense Xanax at the door or something because the whole area is just an anxiety attack waiting to happen."

 

You have perfected the art of exaggeration in this post:) LOL

[dadroy]

I won't flame you for your review but I will point out that the crummy itinerary you knew about before you sailed. If you didn't like it, you should not have booked it. I no longer do the 3 day cruises to Ensenada Mexico cause it is a boring port.

 

The other part is the crummy weather. No one controls the weather. I don' think you can blame Carnival for that. I read on this board about people booking during hurricane season then being upset ports are canceled due to a hurricane. It would be like complaining Denver is a crummy city because i went there in December and it was cold and snowing the entire time.

[repo-cruiser]

1) You were leaving from NY , what did you expect as far as other passengers.

 

2)Why do you care what other people eat? It's their bodies and they can choose what they want to eat or how much. It's not like your going to get "second hand Fat" from them eating 10 pieces of bacon. I will never understand why it bothers you or others, what someone else eats or wears as long as it's not illegal or hurting someone.

 

If you eat like a bird, or get ill from watching what others eat, I suggest stay away from buffets.;)

[NYcruzzer]

1) You were leaving from NY , what did you expect as far as other passengers.

 

As opposed to ships departing from Miami, NOLA, San Juan or any other city they sail from ?

[MsTabbyKats]

1) You were leaving from NY , what did you expect as far as other passengers.

 

2)Why do you care what other people eat? It's their bodies and they can choose what they want to eat or how much. It's not like your going to get "second hand Fat" from them eating 10 pieces of bacon. I will never understand why it bothers you or others, what someone else eats or wears as long as it's not illegal or hurting someone.

 

If you eat like a bird, or get ill from watching what others eat, I suggest stay away from buffets.;)

 

The only problem is that ships leaving from NYC....have very few NYC residents.

 

I haven't seen many (actually none) NYC residents wandering about in their pjs.

 

But, even if I did....who cares?

[MsTabbyKats]

Those lower priced short cruises are a whole other group of people we stay away. Sometimes jumping on a cruise is cheaper for them than life on land! They never have manners. Icky!

 

Jumping on a cruise is way cheaper for me than my life on land. For starters....my rent alone is $3000/month. That's $100 for just that...which is more than most people pay for a day at sea. Then I have to eat, pay utilities, transportation, entertainment, insurance, tax..........

[Big_G]

The only problem is that ships leaving from NYC....have very few NYC residents.

 

 

Not sure how you would know that.

[lucybug]

Surprised you can afford a vacation having to pay $3000 a month for rent.

[Ocean Dancer]

Surprised you can afford a vacation having to pay $3000 a month for rent.

 

What one pays for rent or their car, what the bill is for dinner, what is given to family members for the holidays is really none of anyone's business. Many people earn large salaries and many people don't. Our son's mortgage is in that ballpark and he works three jobs to have and do what he wants. I personally would downsize, but that is me.

 

Her point was cruising for her can be cheaper than staying home. We "lived" on the Splendor for seven weeks. We did a South American Repo cruise from LA around the Horn to NYC. We turned our heat down to the lowest setting, we did not have to buy groceries, put gas in the car, use water or much electric. We did not have to cook, clean or pay for any entertainment. All that savings went into tips and excursions.

 

Good for you Ms TabbyKats!