Splendor 2/26/17-3/5/17 - the 50% off sailing review

[pe4all]

Just a disclaimer - all written here is my perspective - other's may have had different experiences!

This was my 21st CCL cruise (149 sea days) and 3rd Feb. on Splendor. I sailed with special needs dd28 - also her 21st CCL cruise, so we are Platinum, and pretty experienced in cruising. I will be breaking this review down into sections to make it easier for readers.

 

Precruise: We always fly in a day early. Stayed at Holiday Inn POM. Had some problems getting

our room, but once we did all was fine. Left Sunday morning for port at 10:00 - got there at

at 10:15.

 

Embarkation: This was the quickest we have been checked in. After dropping our luggage, we

went into terminal, presented our passports, which were scanned, went through security, and

into a large (freezing cold) room with many others who were in suites, Platinum, or FTTF. At

11:30ish we boarded. No more putting cards into machine with slots to be read - now they

use hand-held scanners. Much faster! Went to Guest Services to put some cash on card

then to cabin to drop off backpacks. Cabin cards were waiting in mailbox.

 

Cabin: 7410 - balcony. Clean, cool, no problems all week. Steward came that evening to

introduce himself (Tam) and assistant. (Ni) Cabin was well-maintained. Interesting things -

no amenities whatsoever except one bar of soap on sink. No robes in closet. (we never use

them anyway.) Our 2 liters of water (platinum) were delivered later that evening, but the 12

pack of water was in cabin waiting. He cleaned the cabin 2x a day, never asking us if we

wanted a.m. OR p.m. My feeling is they ask only new cruisers this question.

 

Dining: We are not foodies. We were in Golden Pearl table 440 early dining. This was probably

the one complaint we had on the cruise. Our head waiter was fantastic - but once we sat

down (always promptly at 6) and they took our order, we did not get our appys until 6:45 each

evening. All the other tables around our section had their food much faster. I did not

complain, as the waiter was so nice, (and he was training his assistant) but to see other

tables on dessert, and we still hadn't gotten our appetizer was frustrating, as we are "fast"

eaters and like to get out of the dining room asap. Food was - well, CCL food. We had

lunch and breakfast in the buffet. Liked the BBQ upstairs - pulled pork was great, but

bumped into 2 people the last day that both think they got food poisening from it. We were

fine! At in Steakhouse the last night (comped from casino) - great food.

 

Entertainment: Standard CCL entertainment. The Dr. Suess birthday party was a lot of fun -

many kids and people walking around with blue or red lips/tongues from the treats.

Comedians got "stuck" on the ship when we couldn't port in St. Thomas. Piano bar was

nothing special. Great guitar player/singer in adult section aft. Didn't spend any time

at main pool - too noisy for us! There was a caribbean (2 guys) band playing music at times.

Trivia, contests, etc. Dive-in movies were decent: Sully, Suicide Squad, etc. Great popcorn!

 

Casino: This was a Premier Casino cruise, which we were invited on. Many drawings, some

tournaments just for Premier guests. Casino was soooo smokey - we could hardly breathe.

Smoke permeated deck 5. Nice gifts/treats - beach bag, slippers, yummies, etc. Casino

was jammed, and slots pretty much open 24 hours.

 

Service: Crew was great. Always smiling and going out of the way to help.

 

Itinerary: As I am sure you all know by now, we missed 2 ports due to engine problem. We did

get to GT and SJ. Have been to them many times. Just walked the beach a bit in GT, and

shopped a bit in SJ.

 

Platinum Perks: Used laundry 2x. Gave steward $5 each time, and got laundry back by the

same evening. Plat gift was a nightlight. Plat party was okay. Many drinks (can order any

drink you want and they will bring it) Sushi and a few other munchies. Some contests.

Intro to main ship staff.

 

Problems: Engine trouble. Missed 2 ports. People were crazed. Yelling, cursing at Captain.

Felt bad for the couples who were supposed to be married in St. Thomas. (one had their

family members fly in to meet them there for the wedding!) 50% off this cruise fare, 50%

off a future cruise, $100 obc, free internet, free cabin phone calls, free bingo card, free wine

at dinner one night. Ship vibrated terribly last 2 nights/days. We had no complaints about

the initail 25% they gave, and were happier with 50%!

 

Debarkation: Lined up at 9:10, and was at MIA and through security by 10:15 for our 1 p.m.

flight.

 

All in all, we had a great cruise. Weather was fantastic, except for a few hours Saturday a.m.-

very windy, cloudy. Sun broke through later. Looking to see what ship to book next to use our

50% off! If anyone has any questions, will try to answer them.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for the report.

What was the other port you missed?

Sorry to hear about the wedding couple, that had to be so disappointing.

[pe4all]

Thanks for the report.

What was the other port you missed?

Sorry to hear about the wedding couple, that had to be so disappointing.

We missed Amber Cove also.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[bwellen]

I just found out yesterday that our neighbors were on this cruise also.

 

Overall they seemed very happy with the cruise. They were bummed to miss the ports but enjoyed their sea days.

 

They also thought they were very fairly compensated for the troubles.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Banditswife]

great review thanks. I have a question concerning laundry... On Thursday ( should have been St Thomas) I asked our steward about sending laundry out & was told there was no laundry service available. We also checked in the self service launderette on Friday (Amber Cove) & found it closed. So my question is... was laundry service available to Platinum guests after the engine trouble started? We are only Gold. I thought they might have been conserving energy/water/ whatever due to engine issues, & had no problem doing without laundry service. But am curious if Platinum guests still received laundry services.

[stargate fan]

great review thanks. I have a question concerning laundry... On Thursday ( should have been St Thomas) I asked our steward about sending laundry out & was told there was no laundry service available. We also checked in the self service launderette on Friday (Amber Cove) & found it closed. So my question is... was laundry service available to Platinum guests after the engine trouble started? We are only Gold. I thought they might have been conserving energy/water/ whatever due to engine issues, & had no problem doing without laundry service. But am curious if Platinum guests still received laundry services.

 

 

We are Platinum and did receive laundry service on the days that we should have ported in St. Thomas and Amber Cove, as well as the last sea day.

The launderette room on deck 9 was locked the day the port engine failed so my husband could not iron his shirt for the second Elegant Night. Not a biggie for us but I did feel for people who counted on washing laundry during the cruise.

[pe4all]

great review thanks. I have a question concerning laundry... On Thursday ( should have been St Thomas) I asked our steward about sending laundry out & was told there was no laundry service available. We also checked in the self service launderette on Friday (Amber Cove) & found it closed. So my question is... was laundry service available to Platinum guests after the engine trouble started? We are only Gold. I thought they might have been conserving energy/water/ whatever due to engine issues, & had no problem doing without laundry service. But am curious if Platinum guests still received laundry services.

We had laundry done 2x. One bag was done while we were in Grand Turk, (put it in for cleaning and got it back the same day and the other was done on Saturday. Put it in Saturday morning and got it back Saturday evening. Maybe the $5 bill we gave the steward with each bag helped???

[pe4all]

Forgot to mention-

The maitre'd actually sent someone away from the dining room on Elegent Night to change. The man was wearing a tank top and cargo shorts. I was happy to see someone "guarding" the dining room door like that!

[Bobbkat]

I found the dining room service very slow. At breakfast I had to ask several times just to get all of our drinks. At dinner it was very, very slow between courses and they never really checked on us to see if we needed anything. This was my fourth cruise with Carnival, and I was very underwhelmed with the dining rooms based on my previous experiences.

 

I found the embarkation very, very slow. Lots and lots of standing in long lines, longer than I have experienced in the past. Overall I think it took a little over an hour to embark. I will say however, that I usually board later and avoid the lines. We had an 11:30 time, so I'm sure we were trying to board at prime time.

 

The no robes thing was new. I was a little annoyed, because I was going to pack one but then took it out of my bag. Not that big of a deal though. I never met our room steward, so I have no comment on him. My husband met him once and requested that our room be cleaned mid morning.

 

Overall, I was feeling a little disappointed in the ship before the engine failure. This was my first time on Splendor, and I just think that for me the ship just really wasn't to my taste. That with the combo of the food service left me with an overall feeling of 'meh'.

 

That being said, overall I had a good time. It wasn't what I expected or signed up for, certainly, and by the end everyone in my group was getting a little sick of sea days, but I feel we were compensated adequately to make up for it. There are worse problems then being stuck on a cruise boat. My five year old was starting to lose it by Saturday though, so I was happy to get off the boat Sunday morning.

[pe4all]

I always said I loved sea days - but by the end I too was kind of tired of them. Now I know I can never do a TA cruise!

[Banditswife]

We also have said we "love sea days," but with 3 in a row, 2 of which were unexpected, we were ready to disembark on Sunday. I think we were just not prepared for the extra sea days, especially with our family cruising with us. We ended up spending more money in the casino than we had planned to spend.

 

Laundry- so it seems it was available to Platinum guests, but not the rest of us. Hmmmm, or maybe our cabin steward just didn't want to deal with it. I was quite disappointed with our cabin & the service we received there. A great cabin steward can make a cruise so much better.

 

I did post my own review of this cruise, but will mention here that our dining staff was superb, but service was very slow. I think they just had too many tables to be responsible for.

[cruzmax]

Thanks for taking time to do a review of your Splendor cruise. We are booked on the one that departs on 3/26.

[pozbaird]

My wife and I are booked on the Splendor, out of Miami in six days time (from time of posting this). 12th March. We received an e-mail from Carnival informing us of the engine troubles on the Splendor, and that we would receive further info as and when they had it.

 

We subsequently learned that the March 5th cruise set sail out of Miami with a greatly amended itinery, with the destination being Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas, with the option given of a full refund, or to undertake the amended cruise with 50% discount, 50% discount on a future booking, and onboard credit. At the time of typing this, we can see on cruisemapper and the Nassau terminal webcam that the Splendor made it to Nassau, albeit slowly, and engineers are looking at the issue.

 

I phoned Carnival, who said that as things stand, our upcoming March 12 cruise is still slated to visit the advertised ports of call - Amber Cove, St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. It appears to be a fluid situation though, if the problems cannot be fixed during the current truncated Bahamas cruise, we too could be looking at being offered a full refund, or a discounted amended cruise.

 

We would simply like some clarity - as soon as possible. We have visited Nassau and Freeport before, and have no real desire to re-visit, even at a discount. Certainly, we do not want to be heading there on a ship that would be on its THIRD cruise in a row suffering with a 'serious technical issue'. We simply do not want to take a chance heading out on a compromised Splendor that could easily blow a gasket again - while at sea. We'd be on it wondering if we'd reach Nassau, never mind anything else. If offered - we'd grab the chance to completely cancel. However, we are commited to flying out on Friday 10th to Miami, with a two-night stay in a hotel booked. We also have a hotel booked for one night on the day the cruise arrives back to Miami, and flights home booked for Monday 20th.

 

We really need Carnival to be quick and clear about the current problems being suffered by the Splendor and to make a quick decision about the upcoming March 12 cruise. If the whole thing is cancelled, we are looking to fill in the 'gap' that a cancelled cruise would leave by getting up to Orlando and staying in Universal Studios, or maybe to hire a car and drive through the Keys to Key West.... keeping all our Miami flights and hotels intact.

 

I just have this nagging feeling we will be told between now and Friday 'everything is still as scheduled', then we fly out, get to Miami and once we reach US soil, they then tell us the ship needs some real work done that means it cannot set sail. Just a bad feeling I have. I just wish they'd cancel the March 12 cruise right now, to give the 3,000 people due to travel in currently uncertain circumstances a chance to fix something else up in advance.

 

Of course, maybe my nagging feeling of impending gloom and doom will prove to be unfounded, they'll get the issues fixed during the current stop in Nassau, and everything will be back to normal for the remainder of this current truncated schedule cruise.... and, from a selfish POV, for our cruise on March 12.

 

Watch this space! Fingers X.

[Alaskan Joe]

I'm wondering if this issue will be fixed by 8/25/2018, for our 14 day Alaskan cruise:confused:.

[pe4all]

One of the officers onboard told me that a part was ordered and coming in from Italy. He also mentioned that if they didn't get it in by Nassau, they usually do dry docks in Freeport anyway, and might be more prepared to do it there. Again, this was out of the horse's mouth. So hopefully this issue will be resolved shortly.

[nol4am]

We also were on this cruise. As platinum we look forward to laundry service but we were told no laundry service Wednesday or Thursday. I went to guest services and was told they needed the water to cool the engine. Friday, our steward took ours n returned that night.

 

We were disappointed with what happened and do feel compensated for what happened. I like sea days but this was too much at one time for me.

 

Now, a member of our group who is a travel agent did some inquiring and said that the Splendor actually had 6 engines and 4 were down before we left. And then the fifth one went out on us leaving only one. I don't know if this is factual but if it is shame on carnival for continuing to sail under this condition.

 

I do want to say the staff was amazing handling the people's anger and attacks. The crew really made every effort to keep us positive and were very helpful. I think carnival did a great job with customer service on this

[nol4am]

We also were on this cruise. As platinum we look

Forward to laundry service but we were told no laundry service Wednesday or Thursday. I went to guest services and was told they needed the water to cool the engine. Friday, our steward took ours n returned that night.

 

We were disappointed with what happened and do feel compensated for what happened. I like sea days but this was too much at one time for me.

 

Now, a member of our group who is a travel agent did some inquiring and said that the Splendor actually had 6 engines and 4 were down before we left. And then the fifth one went out on us leaving only one. I don't know if this is factual but if it is shame on carnival for continuing to sail under this condition.

 

I do want to say the staff was amazing handling the people's anger and attacks. The crew really made every effort to keep us positive and were very helpful. I think carnival did a great job with customer service on this 👍

[nol4am]

double

[poz222]

We also were on this cruise. As platinum we look

Forward to laundry service but we were told no laundry service Wednesday or Thursday. I went to guest services and was told they needed the water to cool the engine. Friday, our steward took ours n returned that night.

 

We were disappointed with what happened and do feel compensated for what happened. I like sea days but this was too much at one time for me.

 

Now, a member of our group who is a travel agent did some inquiring and said that the Splendor actually had 6 engines and 4 were down before we left. And then the fifth one went out on us leaving only one. I don't know if this is factual but if it is shame on carnival for continuing to sail under this condition.

 

I do want to say the staff was amazing handling the people's anger and attacks. The crew really made every effort to keep us positive and were very helpful. I think carnival did a great job with customer service on this

 

 

That is total Misinformation from your travel,agent friend... sorry... they had a propulsion Issue not an main engine issue and there is no way they can even run the entire hotel and one prop with one engine!! They would not sail in that condition putting everyone at risk and additionally the USCG would never let them leave port if the ship is considered unsafe. The officers onboard are acutely aware they have thousands of lives onboard and would not purposely take such risks.... they are very serious about safety and engineering onboard....

Edited March 7, 2017 by poz222
Added

[poz222]

My wife and I are booked on the Splendor, out of Miami in six days time (from time of posting this). 12th March. We received an e-mail from Carnival informing us of the engine troubles on the Splendor, and that we would receive further info as and when they had it.

 

We subsequently learned that the March 5th cruise set sail out of Miami with a greatly amended itinery, with the destination being Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas, with the option given of a full refund, or to undertake the amended cruise with 50% discount, 50% discount on a future booking, and onboard credit. At the time of typing this, we can see on cruisemapper and the Nassau terminal webcam that the Splendor made it to Nassau, albeit slowly, and engineers are looking at the issue.

 

I phoned Carnival, who said that as things stand, our upcoming March 12 cruise is still slated to visit the advertised ports of call - Amber Cove, St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. It appears to be a fluid situation though, if the problems cannot be fixed during the current truncated Bahamas cruise, we too could be looking at being offered a full refund, or a discounted amended cruise.

 

We would simply like some clarity - as soon as possible. We have visited Nassau and Freeport before, and have no real desire to re-visit, even at a discount. Certainly, we do not want to be heading there on a ship that would be on its THIRD cruise in a row suffering with a 'serious technical issue'. We simply do not want to take a chance heading out on a compromised Splendor that could easily blow a gasket again - while at sea. We'd be on it wondering if we'd reach Nassau, never mind anything else. If offered - we'd grab the chance to completely cancel. However, we are commited to flying out on Friday 10th to Miami, with a two-night stay in a hotel booked. We also have a hotel booked for one night on the day the cruise arrives back to Miami, and flights home booked for Monday 20th.

 

We really need Carnival to be quick and clear about the current problems being suffered by the Splendor and to make a quick decision about the upcoming March 12 cruise. If the whole thing is cancelled, we are looking to fill in the 'gap' that a cancelled cruise would leave by getting up to Orlando and staying in Universal Studios, or maybe to hire a car and drive through the Keys to Key West.... keeping all our Miami flights and hotels intact.

 

I just have this nagging feeling we will be told between now and Friday 'everything is still as scheduled', then we fly out, get to Miami and once we reach US soil, they then tell us the ship needs some real work done that means it cannot set sail. Just a bad feeling I have. I just wish they'd cancel the March 12 cruise right now, to give the 3,000 people due to travel in currently uncertain circumstances a chance to fix something else up in advance.

 

Of course, maybe my nagging feeling of impending gloom and doom will prove to be unfounded, they'll get the issues fixed during the current stop in Nassau, and everything will be back to normal for the remainder of this current truncated schedule cruise.... and, from a selfish POV, for our cruise on March 12.

 

Watch this space! Fingers X.

 

 

So I reading Your post it seems you are afraid that they will cancel, that they won't cancel and you will be scared to sail on the ship, that they will sail and do an abbreviated itinerary finally hoping they just cancel,the cruise? So I am a bit confused.

 

My 2 cents is that they honestly do not know if the ship will have the part, (which was shipped from Italy) installed and ready to go by Sunday.... I am certain they are working round the clock but as of now I don't think they really know.... it will probably be a down to the wire decision as engineering fixes do not always go as scheduled... they don't know it's fixed until it is fixed (and the fix is approved by class and USCG).

 

so being on the safe side, I would say there is a good possibility that the cruise on March 12 will also be adjusted (there is also the possibility it is fixed they don't know yet) so you should probably start to think about if YOU are willing to sail on the ship if it has a different schedule or if you will sail knowing they are working on one of the prop systems... the USCG would not let the ship,sail if it were unsafe, that you can be sure of... and it would be near to impossible that they will outright cancel the cruise since the ship IS operational just slower.... so it would be up to you whether you choose sail.... or make other plans. Hope you find a way to enjoy your vacation regardless... should be great weather down here next week!

Edited March 7, 2017 by poz222
changed wording

[sixb0nes]

My wife and I are booked on the Splendor, out of Miami in six days time (from time of posting this). 12th March. We received an e-mail from Carnival informing us of the engine troubles on the Splendor, and that we would receive further info as and when they had it.

 

We subsequently learned that the March 5th cruise set sail out of Miami with a greatly amended itinery, with the destination being Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas, with the option given of a full refund, or to undertake the amended cruise with 50% discount, 50% discount on a future booking, and onboard credit. At the time of typing this, we can see on cruisemapper and the Nassau terminal webcam that the Splendor made it to Nassau, albeit slowly, and engineers are looking at the issue.

 

I phoned Carnival, who said that as things stand, our upcoming March 12 cruise is still slated to visit the advertised ports of call - Amber Cove, St Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk. It appears to be a fluid situation though, if the problems cannot be fixed during the current truncated Bahamas cruise, we too could be looking at being offered a full refund, or a discounted amended cruise.

 

We would simply like some clarity - as soon as possible. We have visited Nassau and Freeport before, and have no real desire to re-visit, even at a discount. Certainly, we do not want to be heading there on a ship that would be on its THIRD cruise in a row suffering with a 'serious technical issue'. We simply do not want to take a chance heading out on a compromised Splendor that could easily blow a gasket again - while at sea. We'd be on it wondering if we'd reach Nassau, never mind anything else. If offered - we'd grab the chance to completely cancel. However, we are commited to flying out on Friday 10th to Miami, with a two-night stay in a hotel booked. We also have a hotel booked for one night on the day the cruise arrives back to Miami, and flights home booked for Monday 20th.

 

We really need Carnival to be quick and clear about the current problems being suffered by the Splendor and to make a quick decision about the upcoming March 12 cruise. If the whole thing is cancelled, we are looking to fill in the 'gap' that a cancelled cruise would leave by getting up to Orlando and staying in Universal Studios, or maybe to hire a car and drive through the Keys to Key West.... keeping all our Miami flights and hotels intact.

 

I just have this nagging feeling we will be told between now and Friday 'everything is still as scheduled', then we fly out, get to Miami and once we reach US soil, they then tell us the ship needs some real work done that means it cannot set sail. Just a bad feeling I have. I just wish they'd cancel the March 12 cruise right now, to give the 3,000 people due to travel in currently uncertain circumstances a chance to fix something else up in advance.

 

Of course, maybe my nagging feeling of impending gloom and doom will prove to be unfounded, they'll get the issues fixed during the current stop in Nassau, and everything will be back to normal for the remainder of this current truncated schedule cruise.... and, from a selfish POV, for our cruise on March 12.

 

Watch this space! Fingers X.

 

 

We are on the same cruise and are not sure what we will do if the ports are different. Nassau/Freeport is just not that enticing and we are bouncing around different options/possibilities - Disney for one. Maybe book a backup plan just in case. And yes waiting and not knowing is the worse part. Carnival is supposed to send an email today so anxiously waiting for some news.

[katf1sh]

i just received an email from carnival at 8:15 pm tonight the part will be installed and our itinerary for march 12th should go unchanged!!!

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[poz222]

Tonight while docked in Nassau the splendor did a carnival LIVE comedy show with Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) as the headliner... tomorrow they have the band Higher Ground (a popular band in South Florida). So it seems they are at least trying to do some special things since the cruise was changed....