Splendor Review May 20-28

[daledoe]

I just got off the Splendor a few days ago and figured I would do a quick review.

 

First off I believe a cruise is as fun as you want to make it.

Back ground information. I booked this cruise after I was comped this from the casino from the previous cruise I took over Christmas with my family on the Sunshine out of New Orleans. I (25) booked an interior room with my brother (26) and later added his girlfriend (30) and one of our friends who this was his first cruise (26).

 

The ship is nice and I believe well decorated. A lot of people on reviews complained that it was too pink, I however thought it was beautiful, especially the artwork on the walls in the stairwells. The ship has a retractable roof that can be utilized on windy or rainy days. I believe it was used only once or twice. We got really lucky and had nice weather the whole time, unlike the Christmas cruise. The main purpose of our cruise was to party and have a good time. We all bought the Cheers package, which was nice because we didn't have to worry about racking up a huge bill on our sail n sign cards, and we hit our limits everyday except for the last. Those Long Islands and Sex on The Beach went down like water. We also drank quite a few "Classic cocktails" because we would get a 5 dollar match play from the casino.

 

Embarkation was a breeze, our flight got into Laguardia from Akron at 8:35, so we had some time to kill. By the time we got our bags and a taxi it was a little after 9. I thought traffic was bad getting to the ship, it took about 50 minutes. However the driver said it was fairly good. We got to the Ship and there were still some stragglers getting off, so we dropped off our luggage and decided to walk over to Times Square. From the Pier it is only about a 15 or 20 minute walk. My Brother had never been before, so I wanted to show him around a little. I wish we had a little more time to show him Central Park, Wall Street, and China Town. We ate a quick lunch at a small deli near the Ed Sullivan Theatre and then headed back to the ship.

 

Once on board, we started to drink and got some more food. I ate a burrito and Mongolian Wok. They were delicious. I thought the burrito bar on Splendor was better than Sunshine, I just wish it had Guys Burger Joint like the Sunshine did. As far as food, we didn't eat the buffet too often, other than lunch. We ate dinner every night in the Main Dinning Room. We ate Brunch and Breakfast a few times as well in MDR. We didn't try the Steakhouse, however I talked to a few people that said it was really good. I want to try it out next time. The Dining room staff was excellent. We were in and out within an 1 hour and 15 mins on most nights. This was a big impovement from the Sunshine, it took forever every night to get our food and always had empty drink glasses. The menu was pretty much the same as Sunshine and tasted similar. It was all good non the less. I want to give a shout out to our servers Nadeena (head waitress), Samuel, and Crispin. They were quick and friendly. Also a shout out to our bar server Mustafa. He always took good care of us and a fun guy to talk to.

We weren't in our room, other than to Shower, ****, and Sleep. However, my only complaint about it was that it was a little too warm. I woke up sweating most mornings, but it was nothing to complain about. Our TV, wasn't working the first 2 or 3 days until I told our Room Steward Lary, and he was quick to call and get it fixed. He did a good job for us and was nice. Although I will say our Cabin Steward from Sunshine was more outgoing and a lot more sociable.

The crew on the Sunshine was very good, aside from the Casino staff. I always enjoy talking to the workers from different countries and making friends with them for the week. I met a few that were really cool and I miss. The Pizza man at night Anak, was on the Sunshine and on the first night of getting pizza before bed, I almost **** my pant becuase he was making the pizza on Splendor. I asked if he remembered me and he did. He said he was going to ask the same thing. We talked every night. A server that I talked to every day was Daniela from Bulgeria. Not only was she sexy, but she was very smart. We talked everyday, in fact I think she might have got in trouble by her supervisor because she would talk to us for so long. Another guy I talked to every night was Dimo, he worked as a server in the MDR and cleaned and refilled machines on Lido deck at night. This guy is hilarious, we would talk about girls, and share funny stories everynight. He too was a bright individual and a pleasure to get to know. We also wanted to give a shout out to the bar staff throughout the ship for being very friendly, especially Milan who worked on the Lido bar by one of the pools. Banks, who was part of the entertainment staff was another guy we would talk to. He did a lot of the sports, trivia, and did DJ from time to time.

 

We spent a lot of time at the Casino. I liked the layout of this casino better than the Sunshine, although it only had 1 poker table. I wish they had live dealers for poker though, I HATE PokerPro!!! As far as casino staff, I didn't think they were very friendly. I only like two dealers Lili and Ziti. The pit bosses sucked. Like I said before, I got this cruise comped from my previouse cruise (Sunshine) I was in the casino playing for hours every day and I didn't even get a free drink card. The last cruise I had it by the third night. I tipped EVERYTIME I got a blackjack too. It took forever for them to log me into their system when I would buy in. Luckily I won about 1K, or I would have had a really bad taste in my mouth about it. Complete 180 from the Casnio Staff of the Sunshine. Also, the times I tried to get a drink, the bar servers in the casino were slow to come around. I tipped them too. Carnival could probably hire a few more staff. It isn't fair to them or the guests.

 

We went to a few shows. Vroom was really good. Although I think they said we were their last cruise on that ship. They could sing and dance! I'd hate to say how much the costumes cost too! It would definitely rival a broadway show. We also saw a Hypnotist. He picked people from the crowd, it was pretty funny. We saw quite a few comedy shows. They were pretty funny, espcially the little Puerto Rican guy, sorry I forgot his name, but he was on the first and second night. My only complaint is that I think they should put the comdey shows in the theater, especially if there isn't a show going on that night or time slot. There were many times it was standing room only or people were turned away because it was at capacity.

The Red Carpet lounge (disco/club) was pretty fun, the DJ played good music and would play a song if you had one that you wanted to request. Although, I will say I liked the Sunshine's club better, it had better light effects.

 

The biggest dissappointment was the Piano Bar. I think the guys name was Dana, but he sucked! Didn't stop to take requests, played behind back up music, and had a terrible voice. Big difference from the piano bar on the sunshine.

Disembarkation was pretty easy. We were off and out of customs within 20-30 mins.

Overall, it was a good time had by all. We met a lot of fun, interesting people and had tons of laughs. As long as the food and service is good, you can't really complain about a cruise and they both met or excelled our expectations. It is definitely better than being at home and at work.

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask or drop me a message.

Edited May 31, 2014 by daledoe

[Lisa0719]

Nice review. I was on the week before you. It's a local port for me so I tend to cruise out of NYC a lot.

[SMSACE6]

Thanks for your review. Splendor sounds like a ship that I would like. And I happen to like pink too:) Seriously, I would like to sail on this ship some day. Sounds like you had a great cruise.

[cruisinbabs]

glad you had a good time! i was on the same sailing as lisa and we all had a blast.. glad you got lucky with good weather the whole way through. we had a rough day at nassau.. cloudy and VERRRRRY WINDY with 6 ships in port that day. my hubs spent a lot of time in the casino at the craps table and did pretty good throughout the week so momma was a happy camper!:D

[092306]

Thanks for the review and glad it was a fun time. It's amazing how the staff remembers passengers from past cruises given all the people they encounter. How did your friend who has never cruised before like it? We're going on the Splendor again and have friends going that never cruised before so I was curious if he was wowed or not.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review, we love the Splendor also.

[daledoe]

glad you had a good time! i was on the same sailing as lisa and we all had a blast.. glad you got lucky with good weather the whole way through. we had a rough day at nassau.. cloudy and VERRRRRY WINDY with 6 ships in port that day. my hubs spent a lot of time in the casino at the craps table and did pretty good throughout the week so momma was a happy camper!:D

 

Not to rub it in, but it was in the 80's everyday other than the last day at sea. Beautiful weather!!!! We were also the only ship in every port, which was nice becuase it wasn't crowded at all!

[daledoe]

Thanks for the review and glad it was a fun time. It's amazing how the staff remembers passengers from past cruises given all the people they encounter. How did your friend who has never cruised before like it? We're going on the Splendor again and have friends going that never cruised before so I was curious if he was wowed or not.

 

He had a good time. On the ride home from the airport he said he thought it was better than what he expected. He was really impressed with the food and the value for the money.

[092306]

Good to hear, thanks!

[Crusin Karen]

We were also on the cruise before yours, getting off as you got on. We also sailed Splendor in Feb and last May. By day 3 of our Feb. cruise, DH had the drinks on us card, but those waiters in the casino...just like you said. It was like they KNEW you were getting a free drink so they just looked right thru you. On THIS cruise he had the drinks on us card from the lst day. And we had the same problem again. But then we found a good waiter, should have written down his name. We tipped him $2/drink and he was pretty good to us. But that woman...you know who I am talking about? Short, black hair always in a pony tail? This was our THIRD cruise with her and she was a total BI&*@ :mad: She came to us ONCE on this cruise. DH was on the slots right next to the bar, he gave her $2 and we saw her get more orders, fill the orders, hand them out to EVERYONE ELSE even tho we were practically RIGHT NEXT to where she picked up her drinks and then gave us ours last on tray AFTER taking a bunch more orders. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the cruise and thanks for sharing.

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed your review.

 

Keith

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[daledoe]

I forgot to mention the Cruise Director Malcolm. I thought he did a good job. He didn't try to impress people with tacky jokes like some CD's, he was friendly, and professional. I also appreciate that he wasn't on the microphone making annoying announcements all the time.