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

[sailor05]

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!

 

 

They should do this EVERY night! The buffet is the place for these people.

It's a shame that the couple missed their wedding but in all honesty a cruise is the last form of transportation that one should plan such a major event around. Too many things including mechanical trouble and weather can create a disaster. Thanks for review! Glad you still enjoyed your discounted cruise!

[easyboy]

Thank you for the review.

[pozbaird]

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!

 

 

Your location is South Florida. My location is just outside Glasgow, Scotland. I agree my original post was a bit conflicted, but we booked this trip a long time ago and we have booked our cat into the cattery, our car into the airport car park at Glasgow for two weeks, flights down to London, flights from London to Miami, two nights in a downtown Miami hotel - then the cruise part - back to Miami for an overnight stay on a South Beach hotel, then fly back Miami - London - Glasgow. As regular British Airways customers, on the flight from London to Miami, we have managed to use our frequent flyer miles to get business class upgrades. So, we have invested a lot of time and this is an expensive trip for us.

 

I appreciate Carnival, like any cruise line or indeed airline, can suffer technical issues. Having suffered technical issues I wanted clarity and a quick decision from Carnival - which I received. I received a second e-mail from them (as some people mentioned above), which says they think they can fix the ship to allow it to follow its advertised itenery on March 12, but have given us the opportunity to cancel with full refund, and to claim any lost airfare costs.

 

Weighing up all our options, we have decided it would be a hassle to cancel the cattery, car park, domestic and international flights, two different Miami hotels - and lose the business class flights we were looking forward to, so we are going to cancel the cruise, and my wife is currently sitting on her iPad looking into return flights from Miami to Las Vegas mirroring the Sunday to Sunday timescale of the March 12 cruise. We will keep all our Miami arrangements but just go to Vegas instead of going on the cruise.

 

Part of me thinks 'just go on the cruise - it'll be fine'. There's still a doubt though. So, given the opportunity of a full refund, we're taking it. There's a lot of considerations... between now and March 12 maybe they won't fix it and we passed up the chance to cancel. Maybe thousands of people booked on the cruise cancel, and it sails out with half capacity and little atmosphere on board... who knows? We don't, and given the possibility that Carnival really don't know either (otherwise why even offer refunds and refunded airfare if they were 100% confident it will be fixed), then we're just cancelling.

 

Better go - need to get Wynn in Las Vegas booked ASAP...

[The Badger]

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!!!

 

Well that is good news! We are on the 2nd April sailing and were a little concerned

[qzyksw]

Your location is South Florida. My location is just outside Glasgow, Scotland. I agree my original post was a bit conflicted, but we booked this trip a long time ago and we have booked our cat into the cattery, our car into the airport car park at Glasgow for two weeks, flights down to London, flights from London to Miami, two nights in a downtown Miami hotel - then the cruise part - back to Miami for an overnight stay on a South Beach hotel, then fly back Miami - London - Glasgow. As regular British Airways customers, on the flight from London to Miami, we have managed to use our frequent flyer miles to get business class upgrades. So, we have invested a lot of time and this is an expensive trip for us.

 

I appreciate Carnival, like any cruise line or indeed airline, can suffer technical issues. Having suffered technical issues I wanted clarity and a quick decision from Carnival - which I received. I received a second e-mail from them (as some people mentioned above), which says they think they can fix the ship to allow it to follow its advertised itenery on March 12, but have given us the opportunity to cancel with full refund, and to claim any lost airfare costs.

 

Weighing up all our options, we have decided it would be a hassle to cancel the cattery, car park, domestic and international flights, two different Miami hotels - and lose the business class flights we were looking forward to, so we are going to cancel the cruise, and my wife is currently sitting on her iPad looking into return flights from Miami to Las Vegas mirroring the Sunday to Sunday timescale of the March 12 cruise. We will keep all our Miami arrangements but just go to Vegas instead of going on the cruise.

 

Part of me thinks 'just go on the cruise - it'll be fine'. There's still a doubt though. So, given the opportunity of a full refund, we're taking it. There's a lot of considerations... between now and March 12 maybe they won't fix it and we passed up the chance to cancel. Maybe thousands of people booked on the cruise cancel, and it sails out with half capacity and little atmosphere on board... who knows? We don't, and given the possibility that Carnival really don't know either (otherwise why even offer refunds and refunded airfare if they were 100% confident it will be fixed), then we're just cancelling.

 

Better go - need to get Wynn in Las Vegas booked ASAP...

 

 

 

WOW Scotland. I thought I had it rough trying to get things straight to get to Miami from Ohio. I am glad you can get a refund and make sure your vacation is what it should be--Enjoyable.

 

Someday I might get to Scotland!

[pe4all]

It's a shame that the couple missed their wedding but in all honesty a cruise is the last form of transportation that one should plan such a major event around. Too many things including mechanical trouble and weather can create a disaster.!

I agree that if you are planning a "destination" wedding you should fly (a few days early) to your destination. I saw 2 women walking around the ship in wedding gowns after we missed the ports. Hopefully they will look back on their weddings as a great adventure and a great story to tell - once the shock wears off.

[pe4all]

I am surprised at the laundry issues some people had. Our steward never said a word - just took the laundry. In fact, he knocked on our door Friday night and asked if we had any more laundry for him to take.

 

Other things I remember now: no ice supplied in cabin. Guess you have to ask for it. (we don't use it anyway)

 

We had the bottomless bubbles card, cause I only drink caffeine-free diet coke. Sometimes the bartenders swipped the card, sometimes they didn't. If you use the card in a U.S. port (Miami, San Juan, and I am sure St. Thomas) you get charged tax on the soda. (.18 in Miami, .28 in San Juan)

 

American Table- loved the rolls with cranberries in them. They were served 2x during the cruise.

Didn't bother me not having tablecloths. They now offer salmon, chicken breast, flat-iron steak and pork chops from the everyday menu. Fried chicken is off it since I cruised with CCL last Feb.

Had the pork chops 2x - they were very good.

 

They had a t-shirt sale on Lido the last sea day. (2 for $20) You would think they were giving them away for free, the way people were lined up 3-4 deep and grabbing a them.

 

Fitness Center - I was there every morning a little before six. At least 5 treadmills were not working for the whole cruise. Some would start, and then a window would pop-up on the screen saying something like "no one detected on belt - workout stopping" after 3 minutes or so. Very frustrating for those running/jogging, and then the machine just stopped on them! (I walk at 4.0, and it happened to me on 3 different machines) I clean the treadmill before AND after I use it - it amazes me to see the people who just walk away from a machine without wipping it down after sweating all over it.

 

Serenity Area was nice.

 

Slide was fun, and not crowded all cruise - even on our 4 sea days. Basketball court was locked a few times when we went to shoot around- couldn't figure out why. Wasn't windy, wasn't early. Basketballs were kept on the court - didn't have to go down to Lido and present card to get a bb.

 

Lounge Hogs - this was the first CCL cruise I have been on where lounges were available on the decks above the Lido pool all the time. Yes, the main Lido pool had chair hogs, as did the aft Adult area (I was out reading from 7 a.m. on, and there were towels holding lounges there already, with no one on them until 10 a.m.) but if you walked the ship you could always find sunny or shady spots to sit without searching too hard.

 

The dive-in movies were quite popular and crowded. Good spots to sit and still have a great view was the deck right above Lido, where the "hidden" whirlpools are.

 

Buffet - besides the bacon police, there were servers serving eggs benedict everyday - no more getting it yourself. They also cut and served all cakes at the dessert station. At the BBQ area, all food was behind glass. You just told them what you wanted. One server served the sides, then gave the plate to another server who did the beef, pork, chicken and mac and cheese. That server then handed you plate plate. Line was large at times, and moved pretty quickly. Last sea day was chocolate buffet. Standard offerings as on all CCL ships. (chocolate fountain, puddings, cookies, cakes, ice cream, etc.)

 

I am sure more things I forgot will pop into my head....

Edited March 7, 2017 by pe4all

[cruzmax]

Your location is South Florida. My location is just outside Glasgow, Scotland. I agree my original post was a bit conflicted, but we booked this trip a long time ago and we have booked our cat into the cattery, our car into the airport car park at Glasgow for two weeks, flights down to London, flights from London to Miami, two nights in a downtown Miami hotel - then the cruise part - back to Miami for an overnight stay on a South Beach hotel, then fly back Miami - London - Glasgow. As regular British Airways customers, on the flight from London to Miami, we have managed to use our frequent flyer miles to get business class upgrades. So, we have invested a lot of time and this is an expensive trip for us.

 

I appreciate Carnival, like any cruise line or indeed airline, can suffer technical issues. Having suffered technical issues I wanted clarity and a quick decision from Carnival - which I received. I received a second e-mail from them (as some people mentioned above), which says they think they can fix the ship to allow it to follow its advertised itenery on March 12, but have given us the opportunity to cancel with full refund, and to claim any lost airfare costs.

 

Weighing up all our options, we have decided it would be a hassle to cancel the cattery, car park, domestic and international flights, two different Miami hotels - and lose the business class flights we were looking forward to, so we are going to cancel the cruise, and my wife is currently sitting on her iPad looking into return flights from Miami to Las Vegas mirroring the Sunday to Sunday timescale of the March 12 cruise. We will keep all our Miami arrangements but just go to Vegas instead of going on the cruise.

 

Part of me thinks 'just go on the cruise - it'll be fine'. There's still a doubt though. So, given the opportunity of a full refund, we're taking it. There's a lot of considerations... between now and March 12 maybe they won't fix it and we passed up the chance to cancel. Maybe thousands of people booked on the cruise cancel, and it sails out with half capacity and little atmosphere on board... who knows? We don't, and given the possibility that Carnival really don't know either (otherwise why even offer refunds and refunded airfare if they were 100% confident it will be fixed), then we're just cancelling.

 

Better go - need to get Wynn in Las Vegas booked ASAP...

I totally understand your concern; we reside in Kentucky (planning and travel expenses involved). Not anywhere near the planning, etc. you have, but we are still concerned and are considering changing our cruise.

Hope you get the Wyn in Vegas, and have a fantastic time!

[pozbaird]

I totally understand your concern; we reside in Kentucky (planning and travel expenses involved). Not anywhere near the planning, etc. you have, but we are still concerned and are considering changing our cruise.

Hope you get the Wyn in Vegas, and have a fantastic time!

 

 

Update: we didn't book Las Vegas! We contacted British Airways to try and change our flight home from Miami to Vegas instead - it would have cost way too much money to do it. We sat down today and pondered if we really wanted to travel from Scotland all the way to Miami, then after a day, go back to Miami airport to face a five hour flight to Vegas, then after a week in Vegas, fly back to Miami for one day before flying from Miami - London...

 

Nah, too much like hard work. So, we'll roll the dice and take our chances on Sunday by going on the cruise. As things stand, it is supposed to be the original itinery, who knows though!? Things can change and maybe we will be offered an amended truncated cruise to Nassau and Freeport instead? We are not that keen to go back there, but it isn't the end of the world, we will get our heads around it and enjoy a few cocktails and some sunshine - with a discount and future discount to sweeten things.

 

We are not complainers by nature, we will work something out should things change between now and Sunday... a few ice cold Sam Adams' will fix anything!

 

We've been coming to the USA on holiday every year for twenty years now, although we only discovered cruising a couple of years ago. Fingers crossed things get fixed on the Splendor and no unforseen issues happen between today and Sunday.

[JaniceB]

The tee shirt sale frenzy always amazes me!

[tandemcruzr]

We are not complainers by nature, we will work something out should things change between now and Sunday... a few ice cold Sam Adams' will fix anything!

 

We've been coming to the USA on holiday every year for twenty years now, although we only discovered cruising a couple of years ago. Fingers crossed things get fixed on the Splendor and no unforeseen issues happen between today and Sunday.

 

Glad you are going to give it a go. Hope everything runs smoothly. :)

[pozbaird]

Glad you are going to give it a go. Hope everything runs smoothly. :)

 

Thanks. Been looking forward to this holiday for a while, but these things are outwith our control, so we'll fly over on Friday, check our e-mails at the hotel in Miami and take it from there.

 

Even if the entire cruise gets cancelled and we're in Miami, we can fix up something while there. The only worry we have is if the ship gets sent out on Sunday, and the 'technical issue' arises again.

 

Time will tell! Looking forward to these business class flights to get the holiday going. That's our frequent flyer BA miles put to good use at last!

[stargate fan]

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.

 

That is so weird. We sent laundry out Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with no issues.

 

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.

 

I loved the extra sea days. They were so relaxing. We didn't have to plan anything. We didn't care about missing St. Thomas because of the ridiculously short time there. We'll just have to plan another cruise to visit Amber Cove.

 

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.

 

Unless this came from the captain or a senior officer, I would not believe it.

 

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 ��

 

Considering that most of the crew missed a day off, the service was stellar.

 

Carnival was more than generous in the compensation. According to the cruise contract we all sign, Carnival did not need to give us anything.

 

We had a great cruise. The seven of us are already planning our next cruise for next February.

[pe4all]

We had a great cruise. The seven of us are already planning our next cruise for next February.

Same here. May not be on Splendor, though, as we have been on her 3 Febs. in a row.

[cruzmax]

Thanks. Been looking forward to this holiday for a while, but these things are outwith our control, so we'll fly over on Friday, check our e-mails at the hotel in Miami and take it from there.

 

Even if the entire cruise gets cancelled and we're in Miami, we can fix up something while there. The only worry we have is if the ship gets sent out on Sunday, and the 'technical issue' arises again.

 

Time will tell! Looking forward to these business class flights to get the holiday going. That's our frequent flyer BA miles put to good use at last!

 

Hope all goes well; we have two weeks until our Splendor cruise. Hopefully we will all have a great cruise!

[LizaMM]

Thank you for your review!

Mmmmm....I love those roll with the cranberries as well!!

I just booked the Splendor for 5/27....I sailed her June 2016 and LOVED the aft pool area......very much appreciate your review of the ship and changed itinerary.

[poz222]

Splendor spending another night in Nassau tonight... tugs scheduled for 5 AM tomorrow....

[cruzmax]

Splendor spending another night in Nassau tonight... tugs scheduled for 5 AM tomorrow....

Can you explain why tugs are scheduled? Thanks for any info.

[poz222]

Because one prop is not working... until it is operational (this is for any ship experiencing any issues with propulsion) the ship will use tugs to go in/out of ports as a safety measure... I have since found out it was the high winds they decided to leave tomorrow morning...

[cruzmax]

Because one prop is not working... until it is operational (this is for any ship experiencing any issues with propulsion) the ship will use tugs to go in/out of ports as a safety measure... I have since found out it was the high winds they decided to leave tomorrow morning...

Thanks so much for the info!

We are booked for the 3/26 cruise - hoping that the Splendor is repaired soon and everyone can enjoy their cruises.

I do believe Carnival will do their best to get the ship repaired.

[poz222]

I'm sure they are working their butts off to get it fixed!

[pe4all]

Thank you for your review!

Mmmmm....I love those roll with the cranberries as well!!

I just booked the Splendor for 5/27....I sailed her June 2016 and LOVED the aft pool area......very much appreciate your review of the ship and changed itinerary.

You are so welcome. I would not hesitate to sail on Splendor again. We also loved the aft pool area and spent almost all our time there.

[LizaMM]

You are so welcome. I would not hesitate to sail on Splendor again. We also loved the aft pool area and spent almost all our time there.

Yes! I booked an aft area cabin on Deck 7 for 5/27 because the aft pool area was where I spent most of my time and do like to pop back and forth to the cabin for bathroom and re-sunscreen etc. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[pe4all]

Yes! I booked an aft area cabin on Deck 7 for 5/27 because the aft pool area was where I spent most of my time and do like to pop back and forth to the cabin for bathroom and re-sunscreen etc. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

We were in 7410, and loved the location. Very quiet, very little foot traffic. Also loved being 2 decks from deck 5 action.

[LizaMM]

We were in 7410, and loved the location. Very quiet, very little foot traffic. Also loved being 2 decks from deck 5 action.

 

I have selected an Inside Cabin right near the one you had. Last time on the Splendor I had a Spa Cabin. I very much enjoyed the Spa amenities that came with the cabin but other than when I went to the Spa, I did not find the location to be the best for me. I suspect I will like this location more!