So...what's wrong with Splendor?

[Andoria]

Sailed on her back in April and it was one of the best cruises ever. Food (especially Indian and pizza) was great, service was wonderful and the decor is pink.

[cruisinbabs]

I had a great time. I hope you do too! :D

[WindsorFred]

Been a few years but we had a great time on her. Great ship and crew and would not hesitate to sail her again if she ever ports out of FLA, NO or TX. Also been on the Freedom twice now with a third in February, another of our favorite ships.

[TwoMisfits]

Since you asked what's wrong with it, here's some feedback...

 

1. Lido buffet - the juice, the coffee, the main food line, the chocolate buffet - it's all mediocre or worse. Reviews where people ate/drank most of their food from any of these just won't be good. Now, pizza and deli are great (Indian and Rotisserie are fine), so there is good food to be had around Lido...but it's not from the buffet...

2. Daily activities are limited and are not guaranteed to run - on cruises where more activities are randomly canceled, completely full, etc, more people will have reviews where they just don't like the activities...

3. The crew is not universally good - there are definitely bad eggs. If you run into them, you'll be annoyed/unhappy, etc and that will reflect in the review. And they are spaced out among all the different sections, so you could have amazing service b/c you run into the right people or awful service b/c you run into the wrong ones. An example (I could cite many from my cruise, but this was my 1st of the cruise) - I was lied to by an employee on the pool deck staff. When asked why the spray park gate wasn't open 2 hours after it was supposed to be (and it was running full blast with water), the 1st employee put me off, then passed me off to another employee who told me it wouldn't be open that day b/c of muster. When I asked why since the schedule itself said it would be, I got no answer and asked her to call a manager. When she dithered and evaded for a few minutes and I insisted she call the manager (since my kids were in bathing suits up the stairs waiting by the gate), the manager told her that he forgot and he'd open it right away. If I had taken the 1st answer, my kids would have been miserable all afternoon, since I'd promised the spray park when I saw it on the schedule. Instead, I pushed through the laziness/lying and got the true answer - it was forgotten since the ship had few kids. But that interaction is a negative mark on the whole crew. I had many negative marks...now I also had many good ones...but the problem is, I shouldn't have an even number of good and bad...a good crew will always have a rare bad experience, not a common one. So, when I compare to my Glory cruise (and my 2 on other lines), where bad service was the rare occurrence, Splendor suffers...

[sgttami]

Since you asked what's wrong with it, here's some feedback...

 

1. Lido buffet - the juice, the coffee, the main food line, the chocolate buffet - it's all mediocre or worse. Reviews where people ate/drank most of their food from any of these just won't be good. Now, pizza and deli are great (Indian and Rotisserie are fine), so there is good food to be had around Lido...but it's not from the buffet...

2. Daily activities are limited and are not guaranteed to run - on cruises where more activities are randomly canceled, completely full, etc, more people will have reviews where they just don't like the activities...

3. The crew is not universally good - there are definitely bad eggs. If you run into them, you'll be annoyed/unhappy, etc and that will reflect in the review. And they are spaced out among all the different sections, so you could have amazing service b/c you run into the right people or awful service b/c you run into the wrong ones. An example (I could cite many from my cruise, but this was my 1st of the cruise) - I was lied to by an employee on the pool deck staff. When asked why the spray park gate wasn't open 2 hours after it was supposed to be (and it was running full blast with water), the 1st employee put me off, then passed me off to another employee who told me it wouldn't be open that day b/c of muster. When I asked why since the schedule itself said it would be, I got no answer and asked her to call a manager. When she dithered and evaded for a few minutes and I insisted she call the manager (since my kids were in bathing suits up the stairs waiting by the gate), the manager told her that he forgot and he'd open it right away. If I had taken the 1st answer, my kids would have been miserable all afternoon, since I'd promised the spray park when I saw it on the schedule. Instead, I pushed through the laziness/lying and got the true answer - it was forgotten since the ship had few kids. But that interaction is a negative mark on the whole crew. I had many negative marks...now I also had many good ones...but the problem is, I shouldn't have an even number of good and bad...a good crew will always have a rare bad experience, not a common one. So, when I compare to my Glory cruise (and my 2 on other lines), where bad service was the rare occurrence, Splendor suffers...

 

I guess I didn't find anything wrong with Splendor since:

1. I've never eaten in the Lido on any cruise

2. I don't usually look for activities

3. I haven't used the spray park. I will say that most of the crew I've met have been great but there were a few I came accross that needed further training!

 

I see you liked the Glory. I'll be sailing on her in March.

[NCTribeFan]

Well, someone on every sailing of every ship probably has some negatives they can point out. That doesn't mean there's something inherently "bad" about the ship or the crew or the food or the entertainment as a whole.

 

Every sailing is different. Every passenger has a different "experience" than every other passenger. Every passenger has different expectations than their neighbors.

 

I did a B2B on Fantasy and was mildly surprised that the two sailings were as different as they were (including a rather big difference in the food quality, which tells me that it was simply a case of what they received, not the chef or the preparation).

 

One person's perception is a rather small sample size and I'm not going to give it too much weight. I like to read reviews and tend to throw out the outliers, whether over-the-top praise or claims that it was a horrible experience.

 

I'm just glad people are willing to share their thoughts and I get to fill some of my pre-cruise time reading reviews and looking at photos.

[TwoMisfits]

Glory got me to be a Carnival fan (I'd cruised Disney and Royal prior) and I only looked at Carnival when I booked my 4th. Splendor put me back in the "I can look around for best itinerary, date, and price on any line" mode. Splendor was a good cruise, but not a great one...and not one I don't think I can find on any line.

 

I personally rank my cruises as...

 

1. Carnival Glory (2011)

2. Disney Magic (2002)

3. Carnival Splendor (2014)

4. RCCL Grandeur of the Seas (2008) - this one suffers b/c an engine broke and we were delayed 12 hours into our home port...and we got nothing for the inconvenience, nor was there much entertainment for anyone on that last day (and let's not discuss the nightmare of debarkation)...still not sure I'll ever book RCCL again after that one...

[DONDON55]

We have sailed twice recently on the Splendor. Dec 3013 to the Bahamas and Sept 2014 to NE/Canada.

We are looking at a B2B this summer on the Splendor with a 4 day to Saint John NB Canada and then the 8 day Eastern Carribean.

Since hubby won't fly, we are limited to the NY departures.

Food was good, entertainment good, activities were way too many to do them all so you do the one you really what to do. OR you can do nothing ! It's your choice.

Bar service on the Lido, exceptional, we had a great Bar Waiter (Darius) who served us the first day at the Lido buffet (we were his first sale of the cruise) and he found us no matter where we were on the ship. Those of you going in the next few days please say hello to him from Donna and Gary

We chose the anytime dining (Black Pearl) and found that if you really like the waitstaff you have you can request them the next night. If thier tables are full they will give you a beeper and you can have a drink in the Atrium Lobby Bar while waiting. We love the anytime dining.

Hostesses in the Black Pearl were great (Aristina) adorable, say hello to her from us. Astini was our head waitress, she was fabulous.

The Sea Day brunch is wonderful.....you can sleep late and still have sit down service in the Gold Pearl. Afternoon Tea was nice too......lots of goodies to choose from. Don't miss the Rotisserie........great rotisserie chicken and ooey gooey mac n cheese on deck 10 above the Lido buffet, kinda hidden, never crowded.

As far as the decor, all cruise ships are tacky. If you eat and drink enough you won't notice LOL.

 

Your cruise is what you make of it. If you go into it reading all negative posts you will expect negative experiences and have a negative experience.

 

Go with the flow and have a great time.:cool::cool::cool: