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Splendor

Gymbrat333

By Gymbrat333

"Excellent Cruise"

Overall Rating: Excellent

TRIP INFO

Sail Date:07/23/2016
Destination:Caribbean - Western
Departed From:Miami
# of Nights: 5-6 Nights
Cabin Type: Inside
Sailed As: Single Female

RATINGS

Food:Excellent
Itinerary:Excellent
Cabin:Excellent
Entertainment:Excellent
Overall Value:Excellent
Spa/Fitness: Excellent
Embarkation: Excellent
Debarkation: Excellent
Staff/Service: Excellent
Overall Rating: Excellent

COMPLETE REVIEW

I always sail out of Miami since I live 30 minutes away from the port. I always cruise with my mother and nephew, but they couldn't make it this time. I got to port at 11:00, and was on the ship at 11:30. This has been the earliest that I have ever boarded out of my 28 cruises. Embarkation was a breeze.

I booked an inside cabin since I was cruising by myself. When I cruise with my mother and nephew, we book a balcony.

As soon as I boarded the ship, I headed to my cabin, but it wasn't ready yet since it was 11:30 even though I had priority boarding. I headed to lido deck to have lunch. I went to the burrito bar, and had a whole wheat burrito with chicken and shrimp. It was so delicious.

After I ate lunch, I went to my cabin which was ready. I dropped off my carry on bag, and went to check out promenade deck and back to the lido deck. It was very cloudy so I didn't go to the pool like I usually do.

The muster drill took 30 minutes. It was the start to the perfect cruise. Everything went smooth on this cruise. The only inconvenience on this cruise was the long muster drill.

Since I went on this cruise by myself, I had assigned seating at 6:00. I went to see the Maitre D' about my seating arrangement, and was told that there were 3 other solos at my table, and a mother and daughter. (Out of my 28 cruises, I have sailed solo 4 times. As a solo, I had always eaten at the buffet for dinner). I'm so glad that I decided to eat in the main dining room because I had the best table mates. We always hung out after dinner and enjoyed the entertainment all over the ship(production shows, karaoke, comedy, etc) I like assigned dinner a lot more now. I had missed having the same waiters every night. Our waiters were amazing, and we were never at dinner more than an hour. On our last few cruises, there has been a super long wait for anytime dining any time that you go.

The cast of the Playlist productions on this ship is the best that I have seen. They're all amazing performers, singers, and dancers.

In Ocho Rios, I booked the River Tubing excursion through Carnival. I loved it!

In Grand Cayman, I booked the Dolphin Encounter and Turtle Farm excursion also through Carnival. I highly recommend it.

In Cozumel, I went paddle boarding. I had done this excursion before, and I loved it. This time, not so much because it was windy.

The Cruise Director, Chloe Loddo is one of Carnival's best. She's super funny, brilliant, and a true professional.

This ship is absolutely beautiful, and there are so many fun activities scheduled. All of the staff on the ship was amazing.

Debarkation was a breeze. I was off the ship at 7:30, and home by 8:00.

Go to cruise reviews Carnival Splendor

User Feedback

Recommended Comments

Shari2

So nice to hear about your cruises Gymbrat.  That was great that Carnival sat you with other solos.  They did that to me on my very first cruise.  I went with my mom and step-dad, so I was surprised when they wanted to seat me at a large table next to them.  The large table had a lot of single gals...I was young and single at the time.  At first I was a little upset, wondering why I couldn't sit with my parents, and their friends, but later on I saw why they did this...got to meet a lot of young people and we had fun going to the disco and many other things.  I did go into the ports with my parents...and still have fun with them also.  

Thanks for sharing

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Jason

Great review Olga, thanks for sharing.  I remember the Turtle Farm from many years ago, I wonder if it's pretty much the same or worthy of a repeat visit.

Silly question for the river tubing ... Is that freshwater or saltwater? 

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Jan115

Thanks for a great review. With Splendor scheduled for another refurb in 2019, the ship is really going to be great! 

I recently did a combined turtle farm and "Hell" tour with Captain Marvin. I don't know what the turtle farm looked like years ago, but here are some photos from December 2017.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FUQKWpVAEtf3kyKs1

I never had the desire to see Hell but had to go see what the fuss was all about. The most exciting thing about Hell was the Rooster in the photos. The turtle farm was nice, though, and I thought it was very clean and the turtles well cared for. I do wonder about the effect on the turtles with all the people handling them, but they do require you to wash your hands first, at least. There's an education center and gift shop on site for those who want to learn more about the raising and conservation of turtles. They've added a twisty waterslide to the lagoon portion, I guess in an attempt to make the place more attractive to tourists. 

Edited by sunluva7

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Gymbrat333
On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 10:50 PM, Shari2 said:

So nice to hear about your cruises Gymbrat.  That was great that Carnival sat you with other solos.  They did that to me on my very first cruise.  I went with my mom and step-dad, so I was surprised when they wanted to seat me at a large table next to them.  The large table had a lot of single gals...I was young and single at the time.  At first I was a little upset, wondering why I couldn't sit with my parents, and their friends, but later on I saw why they did this...got to meet a lot of young people and we had fun going to the disco and many other things.  I did go into the ports with my parents...and still have fun with them also.  

Thanks for sharing

Thank you so much, Shari!  How strange that you weren't seated with your parents, but so glad that you had a great time.  Three of us at the table were Elementary School Teachers, and another was a counselor at an Elementary School.

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Gymbrat333
16 hours ago, Jason said:

Great review Olga, thanks for sharing.  I remember the Turtle Farm from many years ago, I wonder if it's pretty much the same or worthy of a repeat visit.

Silly question for the river tubing ... Is that freshwater or saltwater? 

Thanks so much, Jason!  Visit the farm again.  I'm sure that it is pretty much the same.  The river tubing is saltwater.  I still have to write the review of my New Year's cruise, and post the pictures of all the reviews that I have written.

Edited by Gymbrat333

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Gymbrat333
4 hours ago, sunluva7 said:

Thanks for a great review. With Splendor scheduled for another refurb in 2019, the ship is really going to be great! 

I recently did a combined turtle farm and "Hell" tour with Captain Marvin. I don't know what the turtle farm looked like years ago, but here are some photos from December 2017.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FUQKWpVAEtf3kyKs1

I never had the desire to see Hell but had to go see what the fuss was all about. The most exciting thing about Hell was the Rooster in the photos. The turtle farm was nice, though, and I thought it was very clean and the turtles well cared for. I do wonder about the effect on the turtles with all the people handling them, but they do require you to wash your hands first, at least. There's an education center and gift shop on site for those who want to learn more about the raising and conservation of turtles. They've added a twisty waterslide to the lagoon portion, I guess in an attempt to make the place more attractive to tourists. 

Beautiful pictures!  Thanks for sharing!  I have sailed aboard the Splendor twice, and it is absolutely beautiful and so well maintained.  Imagine with the refurb.  I love going to Hell.  I always go, and was disappointed because I didn't make it this time.  I don't know why because there is hardly anything to see there, but I love it!

Edited by Gymbrat333

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Shari2

Olga, looks like you were seated with all the right people...lots to talk about.  So glad you enjoyed all of your cruises.  Jan...loved the pictures

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