djhsolara Posted February 11, 2014 #1 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I begin by saying that I’m writing this as somewhat of a comparison between our recent experiences on Carnival Splendor compared to a normal experience for us on Holland America Line (which is our “go-to” cruise line). I’m not looking for criticism because I’m not a Carnival cheerleader and I’m not a HAL cheerleader…I’m just stating facts that we observed, mixed in with a few of my personal opinions. EMBARKATION I’ll just say that embarkation in NYC runs circles around any other embarkation that we’ve experienced. From the time that we got out of the taxi it was about 10 minutes or less until we checked our luggage, were checked in and were sitting in the lounge waiting to board the ship. Extremely smooth experience. SHIP When I heard that the ship was basically decorated in pink, I was expecting Pepto everywhere, but that was not the case. We found the ship to be in very good repair and found it to generally be very nice in appearance. I have to say that the Farcus Carnival ships all basically look the same to me with a little change up in the theme…but isn’t that every ship of a particular line? I’m not sure how they do it. I think they come up with a palate of about 100 different patterns/colors and say that this is the palate for this particular lounge/room. For instance, the Gold Pearl Dining Room has gold pearls EVERYWHERE…the chandeliers, around all the lights, around all the windows, the whole way around the overhang of the balcony…not to mention the gold pearls in the shells that are on the ceiling that look like fried eggs. They are also in the carpet…but the chairs are somewhat of a strange thing…they match or go with nothing. I just think they over-do it to the extreme…to me it is sensory overload in almost every public space. We much prefer the simple beauty of the HAL ships…understated elegance. Something that we did notice, however, was that on HAL most of the furniture in the public lounges/dining rooms is covered in some sort of leather (or faux leather) while on Carnival mostly everything is covered in fabric. FOOD IMHO, the food on this Carnival sailing was far inferior to HAL. This is not how we remembered it from our two past Carnival sailings. On our past Carnival sailings we remember liking the food very much, but it was just “meh” this time (We even did the Chef’s Table and were not nearly as impressed with it as we were when we did it on the Pride). Other than the Filet Mignon that was available at the Seaday Brunch in the dining room, I couldn’t get a good piece of beef at all…steak, prime rib, chateaubriand…they were all bad and I had to get replacement dinners (and I’ve never done that before on any cruiseline). I never tried the everyday Flat Iron steak because I was too scared since none of the other beef was good. The soups and salads were good and the desserts were okay. The Seaday Brunch had some of the best food in the dining room. You can’t go wrong with Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon…or the Steak and Eggs with the Filet Mignon as the steak…or Froot Loop crusted French Toast. The brunch concept there is great. Food in the Lido was at best “so-so”. The Mongolian Wok is a nice idea but there are usually such long lines and there is nothing in that Lido (other than the pizza) that I considered good enough that I wanted to stand in line for it. There were two good things in the Lido: the Rotisserie and the Pizza. The Rotisserie is upstairs and had a few salads, baked potatoes, Mac & Cheese (the same stuff you could get at the Seaday Brunch) and rotisserie chicken pieces/parts…and it was all good and it was much less crowded up there. The pizza (which was located outside of the Lido restaurant by the midship pool) was wonderful. Individual hand-stretched pizzas that were cooked to perfection…the only problem was that there were never enough pizzas. There was almost always a line there and many evenings there was only one person working and he wouldn’t serve up any of the pizzas until he had like 4 or 5 of them out of the oven to serve rather than serving as they came out. It just didn’t seem like an efficient operation to us, but the pizza was so good that we still waited for it. HAL could take a lesson from Carnival on this one…and specifically Splendor. We don’t remember pizza like this at all on our other Carnival sailings. Two other food items outside of the dining rooms that we enjoyed were 1) The Taste (I believe that is what it was called). It is at what I believe was previously a Sushi bar. On sea day evenings prior to dinner they provided tastings of bits of food from different Carnival food venues (not specifically those on Splendor). These tastes were very good. The other thing was 2) the desserts that were available at the coffee bar by the casino. The Carrot Cake there was “to die for”…many layers and just heaven. We got a few other desserts there as well that were very delicious. The alcoholic coffee beverages were also very good there and a very good deal for price. DINING EXPERIENCE 1) We had what was probably the worse dining team that we’ve experienced on any cruise. It seemed that often they were very disorganized…one person would take our order but then another would come to take our order. It just didn’t seem like they were communicating with one another. Many evenings they would bring out an extra plate of something and just sit it on our table and say “Here, try this”. One other thing that we noticed was that not once did we see the Maitre d’ going through the dining room asking how everything was going. We have never seen this before…every cruise (Carnival and non-Carnival) we’ve been on the Maitre d’ has gone through the dining room stopping at every table to ask how things were going. Finally, after a few nights we talked to the Maitre d’ about the sloppy service…and we told him that if he were going through the dining room checking on his diners we wouldn’t have had to have this conversation with him. Funny thing was, the next two nights the Maitre d’ came to our table to talk to us, but he didn’t stop at any other table to check on anyone else…so this was just something to shut us up and try to make it right with us. 2) Many people are upset about the upcoming changes to the Carnival menus and dining rooms…tablecloths going away other than on elegant nights, etc. Here is my take on it (and I’m sure it is going to tick off many Carnival cruisers)…first of all I think that Carnival is changing to the desires that their clientele shows in their dining rooms. It is not “fine dining” on Carnival Splendor...it is tan tablecloths and napkins (as opposed to white), regular dinnerware and glassware (as opposed to china and stemware), stainless steel flatware (as opposed to silver)…not a proprietary piece of anything on the table (unlike HAL who has HAL china and silver flatware). Regarding changing to the desires that their clientele show…when you dress for dinner like you’re going to Denny’s or a backyard BBQ, why would you expect to be served according to fine dining establishments? I realize that the Carnival ships are the “Fun Ships” and there isn’t a specific dress code, but on HAL (and on every cruise we do) we dress for dinner…we don’t dress up every night, but at least a shirt and long pants. When you’re wearing shorts, t-shirts, baseball hats and flip-flops to dinner what do you expect? Why shouldn’t they take the tablecloths away? They aren’t lessening the experience; they are equating it to what their customer’s are showing they want. I must say, however, that generally people looked very nice on the elegant nights…with the exception of the t-shirt with the tie printed on it and the people in uniform (these were not military) that did not remove their hats at the table. SPA We were in a Spa Balcony…the perks of this stateroom included upgraded toiletries (little bottles of the Elemis shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion and a bar of soap), towels, linens, beach towels and robes as well as unlimited access to the Thalassotherapy Pool and various thermal rooms (two steam rooms, heated lounger room and heated bench room). There was a circular stairway (and elevator that wasn’t working) in our area that took us directly up to the spa. It could have been used by anyone, but was specifically in the spa stateroom area and made it feel like a private stairway just for the spa rooms. We did not pay that much more for a spa balcony (just a bit more than we would have paid for the unlimited Thalasso Pool/Thermal Suite pass), so this was a no-brainer for us. One nice thing about the Thalasso Pool/Thermal Suite on Splendor is that those getting spa treatments do NOT get access to this area as part of their treatment since people pay specifically to use this area (we asked about this). This whole spa room concept as well as the access to the T-pool/Thermal Suite is something that HAL should incorporate. A spa room on HAL is nothing other than upgraded décor, a useless water feature, a yoga mat and a few bottles of water (along with perhaps a few “discounts” on spa services)…not really any good spa features are included…and the staircase connecting the T-pool to the spa room floor on Eurodam has been closed and from what I’ve been told is going to be removed (if it hasn’t already been removed). Additionally, the staff at the desk in the Spa was very friendly and professional. When there was an issue for two days with T-pool, rather than just passing it off as an issue, the Spa Manager provided us with scrubs to use in the special shower areas. When we’ve had issues at the Spa on HAL, it is like jumping through hoops to get anything done…and they still don’t want to do it or seem to want to take responsibility for it. HANDWASHING/CODE We found it interesting that there was a general lack of “required” hand sanitizing on Splendor. On HAL, we are used to being met by a crew member at the doors to the Lido and the MDR basically squirting hand sanitizer onto everyone’s hands (I don’t think anyone gets through without sanitizing their hands). This was not so on Splendor and I rarely saw others using the hand sanitizer station prior to entering the dining room. On the same level, everyone serves themselves in the buffet, etc for the entire cruise unlike on HAL, where you are served for the first so many hours (sorry, I don’t remember how long, but I’m thinking 48 hours). I don’t know if it has to do with the general demographics on Carnival vs HAL (mostly younger vs mostly older)…are younger people less susceptible to noro? ENTERTAINMENT We enjoyed that there was almost always some sort of live entertainment available all over the ship in the evenings. Whether it was the show in the main showroom or singers in the lobby atrium or by the casino or the comedy club…there was always something for everyone. Speaking of the comedy club…we went for a show twice and enjoyed them. I know they were adult shows, but I still have a hard time believing that the corporate moguls at Carnival approve the script of “This is an adult show and if you don’t like it then get the f*** out”. I’m not a prude and am not easily offended, but this was bordering offensive to me. As I said, it really doesn’t matter to me, but I find it hard to believe that this is a script that is approved by their corporate. In the main showroom, there were a few decent shows but the main male and female singer just didn’t seem to “gel” together. I don’t know if they were just recently put together, but there didn’t seem to be any performance chemistry between them (and I’ve seen this in other’s reviews as well, so it isn’t just me). Additionally, there was a Latin themed show and it honestly was far from Latin. OVERALL We went into this cruise with an “it is what it is” attitude. It was a very inexpensive vacation for us and we didn’t have high expectations. I say this because the first time we cruised Carnival we left saying “We could go back here” and based on that experience, the second time we cruised Carnival we cruised with every intention of making a future cruise deposit for the Breeze or Dream (I’m not sure which one it was at the time), but did not enjoy the experience as much and never made that deposit…in fact we left that cruise saying “How soon can we get back on Holland America?”. It was only because of the great deal that we received that we booked this cruise (not to mention the fact that we just took the train and spent the day prior to sailing in NYC shopping and seeing a show). In the end, even though there are some things that we didn’t specifically enjoy, there were many things that we did enjoy and we said that given the right opportunity we would definitely cruise on this ship again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tucho Posted February 11, 2014 #2 Share Posted February 11, 2014 HANDWASHING/CODE We found it interesting that there was a general lack of “required” hand sanitizing on Splendor. On HAL, we are used to being met by a crew member at the doors to the Lido and the MDR basically squirting hand sanitizer onto everyone’s hands (I don’t think anyone gets through without sanitizing their hands). This was not so on Splendor and I rarely saw others using the hand sanitizer station prior to entering the dining room. On the same level, everyone serves themselves in the buffet, etc for the entire cruise unlike on HAL, where you are served for the first so many hours (sorry, I don’t remember how long, but I’m thinking 48 hours). I don’t know if it has to do with the general demographics on Carnival vs HAL (mostly younger vs mostly older)…are younger people less susceptible to noro? Most old folk don't think they need to wash their hands!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhsolara Posted February 11, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted February 11, 2014 HANDWASHING/CODE We found it interesting that there was a general lack of “required” hand sanitizing on Splendor. On HAL, we are used to being met by a crew member at the doors to the Lido and the MDR basically squirting hand sanitizer onto everyone’s hands (I don’t think anyone gets through without sanitizing their hands). This was not so on Splendor and I rarely saw others using the hand sanitizer station prior to entering the dining room. On the same level, everyone serves themselves in the buffet, etc for the entire cruise unlike on HAL, where you are served for the first so many hours (sorry, I don’t remember how long, but I’m thinking 48 hours). I don’t know if it has to do with the general demographics on Carnival vs HAL (mostly younger vs mostly older)…are younger people less susceptible to noro? Most old folk don't think they need to wash their hands!! Well apparently most young folk don't either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieN Posted February 11, 2014 #4 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hand sanitizers do not effect the Noro virus. I wish Carnival would serve the buffet the first two days like HAL does. Did you try the Tandoor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuddrules Posted February 11, 2014 #5 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Most old folk don't think they need to wash their hands!! I'm neither young nor old and I don't think I need to wash my hands. I can't get sick if I tried. I'm make absolutely no effort to avoid anyone that is sick or any surface, and still, I never get sick. Thanks for the review OP. Generally speaking, Carnival isn't for the older population. HAL is better for what you're looking for in a cruise. Edited February 11, 2014 by fuddrules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhsolara Posted February 11, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Generally speaking, Carnival isn't for the older population. HAL is better for what you're looking for in a cruise. I know that HAL is what I'm looking for, but I don't recall stating my age anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzinbabe06 Posted February 11, 2014 #7 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Thank you for taking the time to post your review. It seems you're looking for a more upscale cruise. I've never been on HAL, but each cruise line caters to their clientele. My husband wants to try Celebrity. I'm scared I won't have fun on their line. Carnival is for the everyday working class person who wants to go on vacation and have fun. (Line dancing, love The Wobble.; late night deck pool parties, booty bouncing, DJs playing rap music). All fun for an affordable price. And as we all know, everyone has their own expectations as regards to their own level of fun. Hope you enjoy your next cruise. Edited February 11, 2014 by Cruzinbabe06 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhsolara Posted February 11, 2014 Author #8 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hand sanitizers do not effect the Noro virus. I wish Carnival would serve the buffet the first two days like HAL does. Did you try the Tandoor? We did try it. The food was good, but that is not generally a type of food that I enjoy (the spices used, etc)...so I'm not the best judge on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuddrules Posted February 11, 2014 #9 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) I know that HAL is what I'm looking for, but I don't recall stating my age anywhere. I do recall, you didn't. Except it's kinda somewhere. Edited February 11, 2014 by fuddrules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Tapi Posted February 11, 2014 #10 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) We had a very enjoyable time on our first Holland America cruise last summer. It truly ranks as one of the best cruises I've taken. I do agree with several of the observations you made. BUT, I had a HUGE issue with food handling and cleanliness when we sailed on the Westerdam. 2 family members fell ill to food poisoning, and it was bad. After being sick, we became hyper vigilant about everything we ate and how food was being handled. That's when we noticed several practices by crew members that were just plain gross. I did report the incident and filled out the survey indicating what had occurred. Feel free to click on my Westerdam review (link in my signature) for more detailed information about what happened. Even with that experience, we still had a very enjoyable time and would consider a Holland America cruise again for the RIGHT itinerary, but not for the actual product. Although they offer a more traditional, sedated, and upscale experience that many would consider superior, I'm simply not their target audience right now (raising a young, highly energetic family, looking for larger, modern, and more innovative ships). Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app Edited February 11, 2014 by Tapi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ready2cruzagain Posted February 11, 2014 #11 Share Posted February 11, 2014 OP...thanks for your review. I have not tried Holland America but would like to try it someday. I must say though in your reference to the hand sanitizer issue, if I was on HA and they made me use hand sanitizer I would refuse. Hand sanitizer does nothing for norovirus and has actually been proven to be harmful. It not only kills bad germs but kills the good germs that you need. Also, many hand sanitizers contain a toxin called triclosan which is damaging in many ways. I use to use hand sanitizer all the time and could not figure out why when I would get even the smallest of paper cuts on my hands they would not heal. The reason for this is that the hand sanitizer had killed the good germs needed to heal the wounds. The best defense is hand washing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG_Steve Posted February 11, 2014 #12 Share Posted February 11, 2014 OP The best defense is hand washing. Yes, but so many slobs don't wash after using the restroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG_Steve Posted February 11, 2014 #13 Share Posted February 11, 2014 FWIW, I feel the same way about some of the things the OP said. I keep ending up on CCL anyway, because they always seem to have the itinerary that fits my wants, my budget, and/or my time constraints best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tantra1 Posted February 11, 2014 #14 Share Posted February 11, 2014 What an exellent and well phrased review. We have not cruised HAL but may give it a try in the future. However, we have cruised with both Carnival and Celebrity and could say the same things in a comparison in almost every instance. This has not always been the case until the last few years. As you stated, "It is what it is". When the interest is an inexpensive cruise then you go with the knowledge that you will be getting a cruise experience complete with sub-par dining experience, some of the entertainment styles, and the Honey Boo Boo attitudes by a few of the passengers as is evidenced by some of the confrontational posts on this forum. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acosmo Posted February 11, 2014 #15 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thank you very much for posting your honest and, IMO, balanced comparison of HAL and Carnival Splendor. Your general observations of Carnvial and the demographic they're drawing is exactly what we've seen. On the other hand, we've never had a bad cruise on Carnival. I still like the casual atmosphere during the day, and feel that they've maintained a good standard of cleanliness throughout the ship. When that starts to slip we're gone for good. As you said, "it is what it is." Would you mind sharing your room number on the Spa Deck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsmac3 Posted February 11, 2014 #16 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I am thinking your observations about the upcoming changes to the MDR are on target. During our January 4th cruise on the Legend, we discussed the changes with one of the ship's officers and he used the term "casual dining" when describing the end state of the Carnival dining experience. Carnival is replacing the traditional deserts many cruisers are fond of with four varieties of "pies". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2bthereagain Posted February 11, 2014 #17 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Thanks for your review/comparison. It's always nice to hear a different viewpoint as well as insight into another line. I may try HAL one day down the road. This thread brought to mind the time I was sitting in the hot tub on a Royal Caribbean cruise and this lady kept telling me how much better HAL was than RCI. Which is fine, but I remember thinking 1) Lady, why are you telling me this over and over 2) Why didn't you book HAL instead of RCI if you feel this way and 3) Am I going to have to get out of this wonderful hot tub or is she finally going to stop talking about HAL. Let's just say she was passionate in her opinion of HAL. Edited February 11, 2014 by 2bthereagain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhsolara Posted February 12, 2014 Author #18 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks for your review/comparison. It's always nice to hear a different viewpoint as well as insight into another line. I may try HAL one day down the road. This thread brought to mind the time I was sitting in the hot tub on a Royal Caribbean cruise and this lady kept telling me how much better HAL was than RCI. Which is fine, but I remember thinking 1) Lady, why are you telling me this over and over 2) Why didn't you book HAL instead of RCI if you feel this way and 3) Am I going to have to get out of this wonderful hot tub or is she finally going to stop talking about HAL. Let's just say she was passionate in her opinion of HAL. I know that many people are loyal to "their" cruiseline, but HAL regulars seem to be very passionate about "their" line. Check out the HAL boards sometime and you'll see what I mean (and the HAL boards are nothing as bad as they used to be). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhsolara Posted February 12, 2014 Author #19 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I do recall, you didn't. Except it's kinda somewhere. We're in our early 40s, so not "old" by any means. Anyhow, it's all state of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhsolara Posted February 12, 2014 Author #20 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Would you mind sharing your room number on the Spa Deck? We were in 1053. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acosmo Posted February 12, 2014 #21 Share Posted February 12, 2014 We were in 1053. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almost Packed Posted February 12, 2014 #22 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) "2) Many people are upset about the upcoming changes to the Carnival menus and dining rooms…tablecloths going away other than on elegant nights, etc. Here is my take on it (and I’m sure it is going to tick off many Carnival cruisers)…first of all I think that Carnival is changing to the desires that their clientele shows in their dining rooms. It is not “fine dining” on Carnival Splendor...it is tan tablecloths and napkins (as opposed to white), regular dinnerware and glassware (as opposed to china and stemware), stainless steel flatware (as opposed to silver)…not a proprietary piece of anything on the table (unlike HAL who has HAL china and silver flatware). Regarding changing to the desires that their clientele show…when you dress for dinner like you’re going to Denny’s or a backyard BBQ, why would you expect to be served according to fine dining establishments? I realize that the Carnival ships are the “Fun Ships” and there isn’t a specific dress code, but on HAL (and on every cruise we do) we dress for dinner…we don’t dress up every night, but at least a shirt and long pants. When you’re wearing shorts, t-shirts, baseball hats and flip-flops to dinner what do you expect? Why shouldn’t they take the tablecloths away? They aren’t lessening the experience; they are equating it to what their customer’s are showing they want. I must say, however, that generally people looked very nice on the elegant nights…with the exception of the t-shirt with the tie printed on it and the people in uniform (these were not military) that did not remove their hats at the table." This is perfectly stated. I do agree with what you have stated regarding dining. My family and I still dress up for dinner, and on elegant nights, well, we dress elegantly lol. Regarding the hand sanitizing..honestly, I'm an adult. I do not need people telling me I need to wash my hand or squirting sanitizer in my hands. We always wash up before eating meals. So just because someone doesn't stand there and squirt gel in your hands, it doesn't mean your hands are not clean. We've never cruised another line. We enjoy carnival. I know you can have idiots on any line at anytime, the price you pay for your cruise doesn't not protect you from that nor does it guaranty you a great vacation. For now, Carnival works for us. I like to say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". So we'll cruise with Carnival until we're ready to move on up with the older crowd I suppose. Who knows, maybe I'll want to stay spunky and young forever and stay where the "fun" is and friends in low places lol. Thanks for taking the time to write your review/comparison. Edited February 12, 2014 by Almost Packed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkay1211 Posted February 12, 2014 #23 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thank you for a nice review comparing the two. We have sailed twice on Carnival and going on Legend in May. We did our first HAL cruise this past December when they offered a 4 day from Fort Lauderdale. I thought Carnival had more options of entertainment/activities in the evening, but we REALLY enjoyed our HAL cruise and would cruise HAL again in a heartbeat. Carnival is more convenient as we are closer to their ports, but we will definitely do HAL again. The service was wonderful, the rooms were nice, I enjoyed being able to attend Mass daily if I wanted. My husband and I are 40ish and we loved the variety on HAL (60's band in one lounge, classical piano/violin in one lounge, dance club in one area, piano bar). We both agree that there was things we liked/didn't like as much on both lines. But, we are not picky and truly believe that a cruise is what you make of it, so we have fun no matter what! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gertiesmom Posted February 13, 2014 #24 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I am on my first HAL cruise this summer. Thanks for the comparison! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCalicoCat Posted February 13, 2014 #25 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I've sailed on both Carnival & HAL (& Even RCCL). I find food/dining to be very subjective. I don't eat beef or shell fish so an references to the tenderness/size, etc. don't matter to me. But for the food types that I do eat, I found the 3 lines to be more alike than different. I don't SPA so... In then end, I choose based on itinerary... It sounds like the OP cruises more for the amenities & probably should choose thusly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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