Splendor Comparison?

[wynkys]

How does the Splendor compare re facilities to other older ships in the fleet?

I recently completed a short four-night cruise on her out of Sydney.

I have been cruising for over fifty years and have experienced many different cruiselines,

some of which are no longer in existence, but I never previously had the urge to try Carnival.

As a result of reading this board I decided to give them a go and am not sorry I did so.

It was local school holidays and the ship was full and I boarded with admittedly low

expectations.

I liked the layout of the ship and its facilities and although I had one of the cheapest cabins,

it was more than satisfactory, particularly in comparison with recent experience with RCCL.

Overall, a good product and one I intend enjoying again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tidecat]

Splendor is very similar to the Sunshine (formerly Destiny) class and Conquest class. Sunshine is a little different because instead of an aft pool it has a larger water park, and a unique Serenity area (which was not copied on Radiance and Sunrise). Splendor is a little larger than the Conquest and Sunrise class ships, that will mainly be reflected in Splendor's spa area, which is still one of the best in the Carnival fleet.

[jsglow]

Splendor is the ONLY Concordia Class ship in the fleet as she was originally designed for Costa but ownership was switched to Carnival during her construction. She's a nice ship despite what many would consider an 'over the top' Farcus design. She's comparable in amenities to the Conquest Class ships which formed the backbone of Carnival's fleet in the 2000's and 2010's. If you enjoyed cruising on her, you'll feel right at home on any of the older ships and will likely really appreciate any of the newer ships you choose to sail on. Welcome to Carnival.

[Eli_6]

I liked the Splendor's lay out (similar to Pride, Legend, etc.) and thought it was in good shape for its age. (Albeit, it is a little younger than those other ships.)  We never felt crowded and had an awesome cruise on her.  The only thing I didn't like was the pepto-pink circle decor. 

 

I think Pride, Legend and all in that similar class present a very similar product.  The newer Carnival ships, however, IMO feel busier and like there are more people on them.  And there are because they are bigger.

Edited July 26, 2023 by Eli_6

[mkcurran]

I miss the spa on the Splendor. It's probably a good thing she moved away from the west coast. Otherwise I'd be taking a lot more cruises, just for that spa.

[jsglow]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

I liked the Splendor's lay out (similar to Pride, Legend, etc.) and thought it was in good shape for its age. (Albeit, it is a little younger than those other ships.)  We never felt crowded and had an awesome cruise on her.  The only thing I didn't like was the pepto-pink circle decor. 

 

I think Pride, Legend and all in that similar class present a very similar product.  The newer Carnival ships, however, IMO feel busier and like there are more people on them.  And there are because they are bigger.

It's been about 15 years since we were on Splendor. I'm remembering not particularly liking the decor and recall the Pepto-pink circles. But decor is never really an issue for us. What I'm not remembering is a particular similarity to the Spirit Class other than the central convertible roof.  I guess I need to look at her deck plan again. I'm a huge Spirit Class fan so that would be good.  We'll be on Splendor 'down under' in a little over a year. 

[Eli_6]

29 minutes ago, jsglow said:

It's been about 15 years since we were on Splendor. I'm remembering not particularly liking the decor and recall the Pepto-pink circles. But decor is never really an issue for us. What I'm not remembering is a particular similarity to the Spirit Class other than the central convertible roof.  I guess I need to look at her deck plan again. I'm a huge Spirit Class fan so that would be good.  We'll be on Splendor 'down under' in a little over a year. 

I went back and looked at the lay outs and you are correct. The Splendor is more like the Dream, Breeze, Magic, etc. in terms of lay out.  But I do recall it having a retractable roof.  Maybe that is what I was thinking of.  (Also, both have that green water slide that the bottom drops out of.)   Or maybe they just seemed similar to me because I have only been on three of the ships with Farkas (sp?) design.  (Most of the other ships I have been on are post-Farkas.)  

 

However, I did feel like they were similarly uncrowded.  Albeit, it may have been because I was cruising on the Splendor just at a time that was less crowded.   I also really liked that she had numerous hot tubs.  I feel like on Pride there is a lack of hot tubs...really only 1 that the kids can get in.  This has only been an issue because both times we were on her it was cold enough that no one really wanted to be in the pool for longer than a few minutes because the water was so cold. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Eli_6

[EdmundXXIII]

I've been on the Splendor twice. She's a GREAT ship!

 

Overall, Splendor is VERY similar to the Conquest-class ships of the fleet, but slightly larger. The two main differences are Splendor has a much larger Spa, with the thermal suites & thalassotherapy pool, as well as the sliding dome cover for the mid-ship pool. Otherwise, you'll find similar amenities & venues on the rest of the Conquest-class, as well as essentially the same layout.

 

As far as other older ships:

 

Fantasy class is much smaller, with fewer amenities and venues. But also nice in that they feel less crowded than the bigger, newer ships.

 

Spirit class is about halfway between Fantasy & Conquest as far as size. Doesn't have every feature of the newer, larger ships, but they're really great, classic cruise ships.

 

Dream class & newer will feature all the amenities you had on Splendor, plus more. But IMO, their newer ships pack too many people in compared to the public space. I think Splendor landed in a real sweet spot of ship design as far as size, what's offered on board, and how many people they cram in.

[thenexus2k]

I enjoyed splendor. Reminded me a lot of the Glory.

[carol louise]

I’ve sailed on the Splendor a couple times and liked it, particularly the layout around the midship pool, with that middle deck where you can sit in chairs looking down from a ringside seat to the fun and games around the large midship pool on a sea day without baking in the sun on the deck above. 
 

Otherwise, I’d say it is quite similar to the Conquest class (Freedom, Liberty, Glory), in terms of size, layout, and decor (festive!).

[carol louise]

P.S, Valor is another Conquest class ship, as is Conquest, of course.

[wynkys]

Thank you all for your comments.

[Saint Greg]

Splendor is a cross between conquest class and dream class. It’s mostly like a conquest class ship but then it has that nice big comedy club in the back that’s exactly like the dream class. It also has one of the nicest red frog pubs. The downside is it was mostly used for karaoke when I was there.
 

A unique feature is the serenity area. Instead of being high up on a forward deck it’s in the aft pool area. They have a barrier back there and one side of the bar is regular and the other side of the bar is serenity. But that gives the serenity area a pool along with two hot tubs. What would normally be the serenity bar is still there on deck 12 forward it’s just callled the topside bar.

 

It has a retractable roof over lido. With that comes a smaller, lower big screen that fits under the roof and is on the opposite side of most carnival ships. On deck 10 there are hot tubs that are under the roof. 
 

I liked splendor better than the older carnival ships. If I were ranking them I would have it 6th-7th. That’s behind the 5 newest ships and somewhere around Breeze. 
 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Saint Greg