The good the bad and the ugly from my adventures on the Carnival Splendor

[lovelearnteach]

Well I had words with another crew member tonight after dinner :o. We decide to go to the theater to see "Vroom", as we are told it's a don't miss show on CCL. We decide to sit in the gallery this time. They make an announcement that no flash photography and video recorder's are allowed during the show. So I turn my flash off on my camera and start to take a few pix.

 

 

That's when I get swooped on, this guy comes out of nowhere and starts to act as if I'm committing the crime of the century. He's making a scene and people are staring at us now, it was ridiculous. We exchange not kind words, and basically I'm told that if I "keep it up" I'll be asked to leave. Don't bother I've yet to see anything in this show worth all this, so we leave.

 

I saw other people taking pic after pic with flashes off, why was I singled out is a mystery to me. Besides there was nothing in that show that precious, please CCL should be paying me to take pix of that sad show! I've seen far better, so what the big hairy deal was is, well let's just say, questionable.

 

We had an awesome day despite the not so good ending. Ship happens, "that's entertainment" in my best singing voice :eek::D;):).

 

[lovelearnteach]

Dec. 26th, 2013

 

Today is our last day of the cruise, sniff, sniff. Wanna know what's gonna cheer us up, 2 glorious days in NYC after the cruise, YAY :D:p:)!

 

Nature is feeling blue too as it's a cloudy, sprinkley day. I've been really good this cruise keeping up with packing dirty clothes, so packing was a breeze. We go to brunch in the MDR for the last time, and for some reason I got another coupon for a free drink, Terry didn't, so I used it for a peach billini, which was very good.

[lovelearnteach]

The only 2 things I really want to do is a name that tune-rock & roll trivia at 2:00p.m. and I want to go see the Vogue Performing Arts at 4:00p.m. The rest of the day is a wing it kinda day.

 

We stopped by to check out the promenade bowling and thought we might want to play, but there was a ton of people. Because there were so many you got one roll to get a strike to move on to round 2. We moved on as the line for round 1 was long and not moving fast.

 

We then headed for the photo gallery to check out our pix from last night, oy vey, the crowds of people. We found our pix and I liked mine by myself and would have got it but the lines were crazy. I thought I'll come back later, unfortunately later never came as I forgot about them until it was way to late :(.

 

So it was about lunch time and we moseyed on up to the buffet for lunch. It seemed to be Spanish themed, and was quite good. Got me a chocolate/vanilla swirl cone after, mmmmmm so yummy I want one of those machines in my kitchen please :eek::D.

 

I went to the trivia by myself, Terry wanted to go back to the cabin and rest for a bit, until the show at 4p.m. I got 31 out of of 40 all by myself, I didn't win but I was dern proud o' myself :rolleyes::D.

 

[lovelearnteach]

I then decide to give afternoon tea another try, just to see if maybe the 1st one I went to was a fluke. Well no it doesn't seem it was a fluke, but rather the norm, yikes :eek::(! I don't see how a person who's job is a server can serve only half a table and leave and go to another table, it's crazy, right?

 

C'est la vie I guess, it seems CCL or at least the Splendor needs to work on some issues. Just my personal opinion, but I think Splendor staff are overworked and overstressed. Believe you me I don't for one minute forget just how hard their job is. I've seen on every cruise I've been on, ridiculous people making ridiculous demands. I don't know how some can keep a smile on their face, I know I couldn't, as I can barely stop myself from saying something and it really is not even my business. I could go on all day about the joys of working with the public :eek::D!

 

At least I got a darn cucumber sandwich this time, and it was good :rolleyes::D.

 

Edited January 5, 2014 by lovelearnteach

[meatball_nyc]

Liked your review so far! Been following it since the start.

Loved all the food pix :)

 

Thanks for posting!!

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

~robin and brian~

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[lovelearnteach]

After the fiasco CCL calls afternoon tea :eek::rolleyes::p:D, I head back to the cabin to get Terry and head to the theater for the dance troupe. Now this was dancing, these girls schooled the CCL dancers on what a tight professional routine should look like. I don't know how long this group was playing on the Splendor or with CCL, but if you see them in the Fun Times go see them. They are the Vogue Performing Arts, it's a group of 10-18 year old girls who travel with this dance troupe performing in various venues. I'm so glad CCL hired them at least for our sailing, anyway :).

Edited January 5, 2014 by lovelearnteach

[lovelearnteach]

On our princess cruise we found that full day tours of Istanbul and Athens were better priced than private tour ops. Princess included food admission and a few other extras that private ops did not. Plus I paid by credit card which eliminated carrying about 1500 extra cash euro for my family of 6

 

Also princess got us into the topkapi on a Tuesday when it is closed to the public

 

I like private tours and use them but the price and itinerary of the 2 princess tours were incredible bargains so no fool am I We took them. Approx 30 pax per tour and we were not treated like cattle.

Ya just never know, thanx for sharing :).

[lovelearnteach]

Thank you for the link! Oh, that chocolate extravaganza....I have to take a handful of Advil before I go! Definitely worth it! CCL used to have this at midnight, then years ago they switched it to last day lunch dessert which is so much better IMO. Anxious to read the rest!

Your so welcome :).

 

Ours was the 2nd to last day of the cruise, maybe because of the holiday. Yes I agree the afternoon is a much better time to have it.

 

Thank-you :).

[yank268]

Just curious..Where did they hold the muster drill since its cold out?

 

Also, Did you have any rough/ rocky seas?

 

We sail her next month.

 

Thanks

 

My cruise on Splendor ended yesterday. I was in muster group A which was held on the outside deck forward in the cold. There was a lot of wind. Everyone was told to dress warmly.

 

Cruise was 8 days, the last part of sea day 1 and all of sea day 2 were rocky. On the return bags were put out on day 7 and 8 as the ship had lots of movement.

 

Not to hijack this review Splendor is really very understaffed for a holiday cruise.

[lovelearnteach]

Liked your review so far! Been following it since the start.

Loved all the food pix :)

 

Thanks for posting!!

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

~robin and brian~

Norwegian Breakaway 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Thank-you :)!

 

Many happy cruises to you :)!

[lovelearnteach]

My cruise on Splendor ended yesterday. I was in muster group A which was held on the outside deck forward in the cold. There was a lot of wind. Everyone was told to dress warmly.

 

Cruise was 8 days, the last part of sea day 1 and all of sea day 2 were rocky. On the return bags were put out on day 7 and 8 as the ship had lots of movement.

 

Not to hijack this review Splendor is really very understaffed for a holiday cruise.

It really is just dependent upon the weather at the time your sailing :).

 

I agree except not just for a holiday, anytime, I think they are really understaffed, which really puts tremendous stress on the staff and crew. That then trickles down to us the paying customer. CCL needs to go on "Undercover Boss", big time :eek::p;):D:)

[lovelearnteach]

After the show we went back to the cabin to get everything ready to leave tomorrow and relax before our last dinner in the Gold Pearl Dinning Room on board the Carnival Splendor, being served by Nenad and his team :(.

 

I ran down to the taste bar and got the "taste" tonight. It was a Mini Grilled Ham and Cheese, very yummy and Tomato Bisque, also very yummy.

 

I also got some pix of the absolutely gorgeous sunset from the back of the ship.

Edited January 5, 2014 by lovelearnteach

[lovelearnteach]

Well the 4 of us have an excellent last meal together. To start I got the New England Crab Cake, very tasty. I also got a shrimp cocktail, which was good. For an entree I got the Tender Roasted Prime Rib of American Beef Au Jus, which is very good. For dessert I got the Grand Marnier Souffle, which I didn't care for. I also got the Cappuccino Pie, which was awesome!

[brooklynfc]

I just read your first paragraph, but respect your opinion.

 

However, in my own opinion, if I experienced a product that was "so-so" and wasn't a complete disaster I would think about taking another stab at it. I mean the Splendor is one ship and one type of ship in Carnival's fleet. You might find the smaller ships better or maybe you might find the newer less "farcus" ships better. Seeing how Princess and Carnival are owned by the same people.

 

But I agree, the products are different and you should sail what you like.

[lovelearnteach]

We don't come back to a friend per say, but a sweet gesture from our cabin stewardess :)?

 

We had a really lovely last day on board the Splendor. Over all we have really enjoyed our time on board, with a few hiccups here and there. The incident in the theater was so silly, if he had just approached me kindly from the get go, I would not have gotten defensive and exacerbated the situation. At the end of it when we were walking out he then started to try to back pedal and apologize, which in the moment was too little too late. I just wanted him to stop talking to me and leave me alone at that point and I told him so.

 

It was nothing earth shattering but just kinda added up in my book, so in the end there are quite a few adds in the book, if ya know what I mean ;).

 

We enjoyed the cruise, but in the end ultimately feel CCL is just not the right line for us. I'm not saying we'll never sail CCL, it's just highly unlikely.

 

The Carnival Splendor is a fine ship and would be a great ship with a few cosmetic changes, in my humble opinion :). As long as my taste buds are happy then I can make the rest happy, and my taste buds were happy the whole cruise. I thought the quality of food was very consistently good.

 

I ended up really enjoying the itinerary more than I thought I would for sure! We enjoyed our time in each port very much, all of them fine ports for their own reasons :).

[lovelearnteach]

Dec. 27th, 2013

 

Well here it is debarkation day, we're set to arrive in NYC at 7:00a.m.

 

We have one of the last numbers that will be called so about 8:30a.m. we head up to the buffet and eat a leisurely breakfast until our number is called. Apparently this is another fttfp thing we did not get. We should have been one of the 1st to get off, but were one of the last. We didn't want to get off early as our hotel charged a fee to hold our bags before 9:00a.m. After 9:00a.m. it was free, so we were in no hurry to get off. We wanted to get to exploring New York, but not at an extra fee :D.

 

So here's my sad face we have to leave the cruise ship, and here's my happy face we have 2 more days of vacation in NYC :(:)!

Edited January 5, 2014 by lovelearnteach

[lovelearnteach]

So if your strictly interested in only the cruise part of my account here is where you are going to want to end it, thank-you for coming with me to this point I truly appreciate it, and I sincerely hope it was helpful to you in some way :).

 

Please feel free to now vote in the poll if you wish and/or haven't already. Remember you can vote for as many choices as apply ;):).

 

For those that want to hear and see about our last 2 days in NYC please stay tuned :).

[karinvt]

Actually FTTF allows you to choose your debarktion zone. You can get off early or late with it. We really like it. When I got zone 1 I just brought it to the service desk and they saw the FTTF and ask which zone I would prefer and gave me a late one.

[karinvt]

What time did you say you got to port? We leave Sunday and I want to be there early. I am hoping by 10:30

[Chelleum]

I enjoy reading your cruise report. I will be on the Splendor in 10mos., we will be doing the itinerary that's leaving from San Juan instead of NY. The repositioning cruise. I've never sailed any other cruise line except Carnival for now Carnival fits my budget. I do in the future want to try NCL and RCCL. I can't wait to read about your stay in NYC (my hometown) post cruise.

[lovelearnteach]

I just read your first paragraph, but respect your opinion.

 

However, in my own opinion, if I experienced a product that was "so-so" and wasn't a complete disaster I would think about taking another stab at it. I mean the Splendor is one ship and one type of ship in Carnival's fleet. You might find the smaller ships better or maybe you might find the newer less "farcus" ships better. Seeing how Princess and Carnival are owned by the same people.

 

But I agree, the products are different and you should sail what you like.

Valid point, and I have said since never say never :). We love Princess and also want to try several lines, so it's just highly unlikely we'll sail CCL again.

 

Thank-you :).

[lovelearnteach]

Actually FTTF allows you to choose your debarktion zone. You can get off early or late with it. We really like it. When I got zone 1 I just brought it to the service desk and they saw the FTTF and ask which zone I would prefer and gave me a late one.

Well either way we got off when we wanted so maybe it did work :).

Edited January 6, 2014 by lovelearnteach

[lovelearnteach]

What time did you say you got to port? We leave Sunday and I want to be there early. I am hoping by 10:30

We left our hotel, near Times Square, at about 10:00a.m. we were all checked-in and sitting in the v.i.p. section by 10:30a.m.

[lovelearnteach]

I enjoy reading your cruise report. I will be on the Splendor in 10mos., we will be doing the itinerary that's leaving from San Juan instead of NY. The repositioning cruise. I've never sailed any other cruise line except Carnival for now Carnival fits my budget. I do in the future want to try NCL and RCCL. I can't wait to read about your stay in NYC (my hometown) post cruise.

Thank-you :).

[papadave]

Thanks for the review. I was on the December 11th sailing, immediately before yours, and reading what you wrote gave me a chance to relive what was a good cruise overall, with a few glitches.

 

Yes, they need to work out some issues with service in the dining room during brunch and tea -- I think that is mostly due to understaffing. Perhaps they also need to do a little more observation and training.

 

The maître 'd in the dining room is a big part of the problem. He did not notice obvious things. For example, there was a table for 10 which dwindled down to a table for 1 -- how does that happen? Who wants to sit alone at a table for 10? I was at that table the first night and insisted on moving -- a request which was accommodated -- but it appears that he never went over to check on the few people who remained at the table. On the first night, four people were seated at the beginning of the meal, three others came 40 minutes later. This threw off service and conversation was very awkward.

 

That much said, the food was very good for a cruise ship. More food was good than bad. I really should sit down and write a review myself. Thanks again for yours.