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

[clairentommy]

Hi lovelearnteach....I was on the same cruise and firstly apologise for not making the roll call. I forgot to print out the details and couldn't remember where/when it was as I left for ny on 16th dec.

 

I completely agree with your posts about the dining staff. We had cause to complain twice, once in black pearl and once in golden. I was not inspired by the breakfast/early brunch. Choices were rubbish, service was appalling and they served our table of 10 at different intervals and we waited over 20 mins for an orange juice/coffee

 

Our complaint about our dinner waiter was handled excellently by the maître d and we had no issues afterward.

 

What did annoy me to the extent of getting very annoyed was having to walk the length of the ship every dinner as they put all the ytd people in the black pearl when the gold pearl was right beside us!! Guest services told me a load of crap as an excuse.

 

Want enamoured by the layout of the splendor. It's not a patch on the miracle and while it's not put me off carnival it will make me think twice before saying they're my first choice.

 

I also felt a lot of the staff were tired and in need of a break. They weren't all as cheerful as on my first cruise, perhaps being away from their family over the holidays?....

 

The itinerary was nothing special but that wasn't why we booked. We also focused on the ny side of our holiday and used the cruise to chill out

 

The steakhouse is AWSOME I would gladly be a sales person for this. The best steak I've ever had.

 

I've loved reading your review, I can relate to a lot of the issues. Like you I am thinking of trying others to see what's on offer. I was really impressed with the Disney ship.

[geesherry]

Since Ken is through with the cruise portion, I'll pop back in with my thoughts.

 

We too, had some service issues, and some wonderful interactions as well.

 

Yes, they refunded our FTTF fee after guest services asked how we liked the product, and I answered we liked it, but one suitcase had come very late. Not complaining, nor expecting anything. That was a very positive interaction.

 

Then there was the infamous tea...... If anything, Ken understated haw awful the service was. We, too, tried brunch, and when my companion asked for the desert menu (after eating the worlds tiniest pork chop), the snotty reply- "it on the same menu" and the menu thrust at him. I can't convey the tone in which the waiter spoke, but we knew better than to order anything else at that time!

 

Guest services told us that the steakhouse was booked for the night of my BD, but had time the following 2 nights. Luckily, we didn't take that as gospel, for when the steakhouse was called directly, the total opposite was true! It was mostly empty while we were there. Fail-guest services. However the steakhouse , meal and service were totally awesome!

 

Our dining room staff was great at dinner, I don't understand the gross failure at other times.

 

I enjoyed the itinerary way more than I expected, having perfect weather helped a lot. The seas were much calmer than I had prepared myself for, we were very lucky!

 

Overall, I liked the cruise. On the other hand, I've LOVED all of my previous cruises. I would sail Carnival again, but not on a sailing likely to have many children.

 

A couple of people on our RC thought I might have been ill, because they didn't see me around. That was because I made an effort to avoid busy times in public spaces. My balcony saw us a lot!

 

Speaking of balconys, there was a lot of discussion regarding whether a balcony is needed on a winter sailing, our ext. aft was wonderful! I felt we were able to use it much earlier than a side balcony, due to it being protected from the wind.

 

I hope Ken doesn't mind me piggybacking on his thread- and I can't wait for the last few installments. How was THAT dinner?

Edited January 7, 2014 by geesherry
Typos

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I was going to chime in that we only had to of us for breakfast in the MDR. It was a port day so next to nobody was even at the dining room. It took so long to get anything, we almost left so we wouldn't miss our excursion. I also got up and poured my own coffee several times because the carafe was sitting there staring back at me and no one was there to bring it so I got up and poured it myself several times. Buffet? Sure. MDR, service yourself? And there were only two of. And being yacked at as the OP did for ordering omelets is ridiculous. But that one photo a few months back of the cruisers serving staff where the two servers are smiling but the one is giving double middle fingers 'birds' right in the photo to them pretty much says it all. And our MDR dinner service was even worse than breakfast and they all used monikers so how would I put their service review on the CCL survey?

 

Nice dinners are a big part of cruising. Some of our best servers were on CCL but I think most of them (from 2007, 2011) have moved on to other lines. Because yikes, the service is just so unfriendly now. To the guests and even fighting with each other in front of everyone. You can tell they hate us and their life aboard the seas. I felt bad the whole time. But I was just really hoping for some coffee or waters...

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

[lovelearnteach]

Okay this is an experiment to see if someone told me right on how to post better pix :).

[lovelearnteach]

Yay it worked, it kinda sucks I figured it out in the end :o. If there is any specific pic anyone wants just ask and I'll repost. I promise to get to the rest of my review soon :).

 

[karinvt]

That is so much better!'

[debandbruce]

Hey Ken, Bruce and I just tried Carnival in September. We did the Liberty out of Miami. We had a good time and would do Carnival again as the pricing was great. We found friendly staff and fellow passengers. We had fantastic weather and we enjoyed our ports of call.

 

We just hated the buffet and the fact that it closed so early in the day. There didn't seem a reason for it as on other lines they will leave open part while they make the change over. My biggest beef was the lack of chairs in the shade by the pool, I didn't really enjoy the pool deck this time. Thankfully I swam a lot when we were in port.

 

We have just booked the Royal Princess and looking forward to trying out this new ship. I think you and Terry are like Bruce and I. We love Celebrity and the kind of experience we get but know that when we try a new line there will be some changes. When we sail Carnival again we will be prepared for it better. You have always enjoyed your Princess cruises, the line probably is more to your cruise style as Celebrity is to us.

 

Princess has made a few changes with the Royal so we shall see for ourselves. I will give you a report in April when we get home. Thanks for writing your review. I was just looking at pictures from our Emerald cruise today!

[lovelearnteach]

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.

I agree about being understaffed, but to get the amazing price we did you got expect cuts somewhere I suppose.

 

Thank-you :)!

[lovelearnteach]

Hi lovelearnteach....I was on the same cruise and firstly apologise for not making the roll call. I forgot to print out the details and couldn't remember where/when it was as I left for ny on 16th dec.

 

I completely agree with your posts about the dining staff. We had cause to complain twice, once in black pearl and once in golden. I was not inspired by the breakfast/early brunch. Choices were rubbish, service was appalling and they served our table of 10 at different intervals and we waited over 20 mins for an orange juice/coffee

 

Our complaint about our dinner waiter was handled excellently by the maître d and we had no issues afterward.

 

What did annoy me to the extent of getting very annoyed was having to walk the length of the ship every dinner as they put all the ytd people in the black pearl when the gold pearl was right beside us!! Guest services told me a load of crap as an excuse.

 

Want enamoured by the layout of the splendor. It's not a patch on the miracle and while it's not put me off carnival it will make me think twice before saying they're my first choice.

 

I also felt a lot of the staff were tired and in need of a break. They weren't all as cheerful as on my first cruise, perhaps being away from their family over the holidays?....

 

The itinerary was nothing special but that wasn't why we booked. We also focused on the ny side of our holiday and used the cruise to chill out

 

The steakhouse is AWSOME I would gladly be a sales person for this. The best steak I've ever had.

 

I've loved reading your review, I can relate to a lot of the issues. Like you I am thinking of trying others to see what's on offer. I was really impressed with the Disney ship.

Hi clairentommy, I missed the first meet myself too.

 

Yes I felt that vibe too that they were overworked and overstressed, perhaps the holiday had some play in it, but it's not the sole reason.

 

I agree the steak house was wonderful and at those prices they should be, and they were. It was worth the extra money as the food and service was stellar!

 

Thank-you, maybe we'll meet on another cruise some day, happy cruising :).

[lovelearnteach]

Since Ken is through with the cruise portion, I'll pop back in with my thoughts.

 

We too, had some service issues, and some wonderful interactions as well.

 

Yes, they refunded our FTTF fee after guest services asked how we liked the product, and I answered we liked it, but one suitcase had come very late. Not complaining, nor expecting anything. That was a very positive interaction.

 

Then there was the infamous tea...... If anything, Ken understated haw awful the service was. We, too, tried brunch, and when my companion asked for the desert menu (after eating the worlds tiniest pork chop), the snotty reply- "it on the same menu" and the menu thrust at him. I can't convey the tone in which the waiter spoke, but we knew better than to order anything else at that time!

 

Guest services told us that the steakhouse was booked for the night of my BD, but had time the following 2 nights. Luckily, we didn't take that as gospel, for when the steakhouse was called directly, the total opposite was true! It was mostly empty while we were there. Fail-guest services. However the steakhouse , meal and service were totally awesome!

 

Our dining room staff was great at dinner, I don't understand the gross failure at other times.

 

I enjoyed the itinerary way more than I expected, having perfect weather helped a lot. The seas were much calmer than I had prepared myself for, we were very lucky!

 

Overall, I liked the cruise. On the other hand, I've LOVED all of my previous cruises. I would sail Carnival again, but not on a sailing likely to have many children.

 

A couple of people on our RC thought I might have been ill, because they didn't see me around. That was because I made an effort to avoid busy times in public spaces. My balcony saw us a lot!

 

Speaking of balconys, there was a lot of discussion regarding whether a balcony is needed on a winter sailing, our ext. aft was wonderful! I felt we were able to use it much earlier than a side balcony, due to it being protected from the wind.

 

I hope Ken doesn't mind me piggybacking on his thread- and I can't wait for the last few installments. How was THAT dinner?

Yes we were blessed with near perfect weather, that did contribute to the liking of each port. I still say I was pleasantly surprised by the itinerary.

 

Piggyback away my friend, your comments are always welcome :).

 

Colicchio and Sons was awesome, a really special experience! Although I forgot my camera and had to take crappy pix with my phone :(:).

 

Thank-you for sharing, it's kewl to get a few different perspectives on the same sailing :).

[lovelearnteach]

I was going to chime in that we only had to of us for breakfast in the MDR. It was a port day so next to nobody was even at the dining room. It took so long to get anything, we almost left so we wouldn't miss our excursion. I also got up and poured my own coffee several times because the carafe was sitting there staring back at me and no one was there to bring it so I got up and poured it myself several times. Buffet? Sure. MDR, service yourself? And there were only two of. And being yacked at as the OP did for ordering omelets is ridiculous. But that one photo a few months back of the cruisers serving staff where the two servers are smiling but the one is giving double middle fingers 'birds' right in the photo to them pretty much says it all. And our MDR dinner service was even worse than breakfast and they all used monikers so how would I put their service review on the CCL survey?

 

Nice dinners are a big part of cruising. Some of our best servers were on CCL but I think most of them (from 2007, 2011) have moved on to other lines. Because yikes, the service is just so unfriendly now. To the guests and even fighting with each other in front of everyone. You can tell they hate us and their life aboard the seas. I felt bad the whole time. But I was just really hoping for some coffee or waters...

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Forums mobile app

No one is perfect I guess ;):).

[lovelearnteach]

That is so much better!'

I know, right :confused::rolleyes:;):D?

 

Thank-you :).

[lovelearnteach]

Hey Ken, Bruce and I just tried Carnival in September. We did the Liberty out of Miami. We had a good time and would do Carnival again as the pricing was great. We found friendly staff and fellow passengers. We had fantastic weather and we enjoyed our ports of call.

 

We just hated the buffet and the fact that it closed so early in the day. There didn't seem a reason for it as on other lines they will leave open part while they make the change over. My biggest beef was the lack of chairs in the shade by the pool, I didn't really enjoy the pool deck this time. Thankfully I swam a lot when we were in port.

 

We have just booked the Royal Princess and looking forward to trying out this new ship. I think you and Terry are like Bruce and I. We love Celebrity and the kind of experience we get but know that when we try a new line there will be some changes. When we sail Carnival again we will be prepared for it better. You have always enjoyed your Princess cruises, the line probably is more to your cruise style as Celebrity is to us.

 

Princess has made a few changes with the Royal so we shall see for ourselves. I will give you a report in April when we get home. Thanks for writing your review. I was just looking at pictures from our Emerald cruise today!

 

Debbie, oh I've been so bad about keeping up with you and Bruce and the boys :o. How is everyone?

 

The Royal is on our bucket list, the Chumley group sailed it last year, we didn't go. They are doing an Alaskan cruise this year on Celebrity, we're thinking about it.

 

Yes that was annoying although I believe Princess does the same thing.

 

Happy cruising, I can't wait to hear about the Royal :)!

[lovelearnteach]

Well debarkation is realitivly painless, there was a little confusion as somehow 3 lines had formed and there were only supposed to be 2.

 

We walked right up to the taxi pick-up area and got right in a taxi and was off to the hotel. We went through Central Park on our way.

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

So we dropped our luggage off at the hotel as they wanted a extra $100 fee for early check-in, no thank-you we'll wait. We could leave our luggage for free so we did and set off to explore.

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

We were staying in the Upper East side, we eventually made our way to Central park.

 

 

 

[F27TW]

Not sure if youre still in town. but check out LIPS on East 56th ST!

its a Drag Queen Restaurant .. the queens serve you AND do shows while u eat .. its a BLAST !!!!!

Foods good too ... dinner and Sunday brunch .. we love it there!!

[lovelearnteach]

 

 

We were starting to get hungry and wanted to try a slice of NYC Pizza. Terry had been whining I have been picking all the restaurants, so I said fine you pick a pizza place. Here is where he picked and ultimately bitched about and said I rushed him to pick a place. The pizza was awesome, I told Terry we are in NYC so it's NYC pizza just Italian style.

 

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

Terry's reaction to his "pick" :D.

I got the Alla Norcina which was freakin awesome!

 

Terry got the Pancetta, it was really good.

Edited January 8, 2014 by lovelearnteach

[F27TW]

Terry's reaction to his "pick" :D.

 

 

 

LOL! great pic .. he's PISSED!! :p

[lovelearnteach]

After lunch it was more exploring as we made our way back to our hotel to check-in. We finally landed at Gracie Cafe and I got hot chocolate and a strawberry shake and Terry got a piece of apple pie. We had about an hour to kill until we could check-in so we slowly drank and ate our desserts. We were tired at this point and needed a respite.

 

 

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

So after much agonizing I had finally decided to give the Gracie Inn Hotel and Bed and Breakfast a try. The price was right and I was told by a NYC friend that it was in a really safe neighborhood. We liked the hotel which was an apartment building turned into a hotel. The owner let me use his personal laptop for our whole stay, which was above and beyond. Not the greatest location as it was a hike to get to anything including the subway. I liked the location of our other hotel better, although it's a totally different vibe.

 

 

 

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

 

 

Nothing fancy, but clean, safe, and comfortable!

[sanmarcosman]

"We went through Central Park on our way."

 

Through the park, Bitterman!

- Dudley Moore

"Arthur"

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

So we settle in and rest up I do think we went to a Walgreens or some such place and got a few things. We had 7:30p.m. dinner reservations at Colicchio and Sons.

 

I can't even believe I forgot my camera, so I had to take pix with my dinosaur phone. I apologize for the quality of pix, but we had an absolutely fabulous time, and enjoyed every minute of it. As soon as I said my name they told me Happy Birthday. When they gave me my menu it said Happy Birthday Ken on it. We went for the 4-course dinner for $95pp.

 

They started us off with Canapes, very good.

 

Then we both got the Anjou Pear with Mangalista Ham, Crosnes & Red Watercress, excellent.

 

I then got the Spice-Roasted Lobster with Sea Urchin & Bok Choy, OMG out of this world good!

 

I then had Braised Beef Short Ribs with Brussels Sprouts & Kale, the ribs just melted in your mouth they were so tender, very good.

 

For dessert they gave us Maple Chestnut Cake with Pomegranate Seeds, White Chocolate & Cream-Cycle Ice Cream, a little bit disappointing. It was supposed to come with eggnog ice cream, but I saw the cream-cycle ice cream on another menu and asked to substitute and they did. They also brought me another piece of cake with a candle and Happy Birthday written in chocolate on the plate.

 

The service was impeccable, we never wanted for a thing, prompt without being intrusive. Each and every course was explained to us as they served it. We loved it and are so glad we did it, it was pricey, but we enjoyed the experience and the food was awesome.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2014 by lovelearnteach