I'm on her now. While I agree with you on the gaudy interiors just being too much, I have otherwise found it to be a great ship. One of the huge pluses to me was the amount of deck space - a huge issue with other ships. I've never found it hard to find a quiet place to sit in a deck chair or pod and just listen to a podcast while watching the sea go by. I also never had a problem finding a table to sit and eat in busy times (not the case on other ships I've been on). The staff have been amazing, the entertainment has been surprisingly good and while the food in the MDR has been hit and miss (some very good days, some very ordinary days) the always delicious deli, Indian, guys burgers, and the pizza are there as backups. I've been on other lines where the MDR wasn't any better but didn't have all the other alternative options (except ones you had to pay for). My oceanview room is spacious and airy, and the air-con is working well (unlike the Spirit, my last Carnival cruise which was a sweatbox at night). The tender process at the islands was very well handled, i never had to wait more than ten minutes to go or come back. Overall I wouldn't hesitate to come on another cruise on the Splendor, especially at the prices which honestly are pretty crazy for what you get.
Catering comments are spot on, one got the feeling on a recent Melbourne Cup cruise that the "Chefs" working the roast carvery were having wages deducted for every slice they served. The quality of carving was also suspect, some slices looked like they were cut with a blunt axe while others appeared to have been sliced with a razor blade. Perhaps they were protecting their knife edges as they were slicing down on to an aluminium pizza tray rather than a decent timber or polyethlyne cutting board. Dining room wine was ordered by the POS number, very stylish and then served in a cocktail glass?? because "we have run out" of wine glasses, but expect a delivery tomorrow, may have been plausible if "tomorrow" hadn't been an "at sea" day. We received the same excuse when there was no bacon on the breakfast buffet and were pointed in the direction of the roasted ham slices which in another life I am sure were door stops or Ice Hockey pucks. I kept watch all day waiting for the rescue ship carrying wine glasses and Bacon but alas it never arrived The Catering Manager must have received a deal on Apple juice concentrate because that was all that was available in the Lido buffet apart from a sporadic offering of Orange juice. Carnival is now added to P&O on our "you get what you pay for" list , so never again.
5:26 Jeez Jed , I like to know where you pulled $400 bucks pp for a 8 night cruise from ? In the next 12 months there is nothing under $742 AUD pp Are you out of touch with the pricing ? Are you talking AUD or USD pricing ? Cheers Rod
Hi Rod thanks for the comment. I can confirm the total price was $786 AUD for twin share for this particular 8 night Pacific Cruise. So it was actually under $400 PP which is such fantastic value! Perhaps you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for a good deal in the future. Warm Wishes Jed. :)
The decor and Vegas casino type look was the sole reason why we chose to try carnival for the first time in April 2025 for a nine night cruise to the pacific Islands :) i hope it Wont be too overpowering when we get onboard. It will be our longest cruise we have done and our very first international holiday. So im hoping it is everything that im dreaming it will be :)
Graat Video. I personally love Carnival Cruising. Many trips on Carnival Sprit. However, I really appreciate you pointing out the negatives of the Carnival Splendour . What I really appreciated about your video was that you also offered solutions to the downsides. Well done.
My first cruise was on Splendor when it sailed out of Long Beach. Never had an issue with it. What is sad is seeing all the rust stains on the bottom of the life boats and the paint job of the ship needing some serious attention.
I'm normally a Royal cruiser and reached Diamond Plus with them. I just done Carnival Spirit and Carnival Glory in the last few weeks in the US. The Layout of the Splendor is just like the Glory. Used to use the secret passageway on Deck 4 to get to the upper level of the rear dining room. To me, Carnival offers better value considering it's all in AUD onboard in Oz and prices are cheaper. Yes, I get 5 free drinks a day on Royal, but I don't use them all. Some great deals to be had on Carnival and also visiting ships this summer. Food was hit and miss on Spirit but was actually very good on Glory so varies from ship to ship. I did find the wait staff more outgoing as well on Carnival. Maybe it was for tips 😛
I think the interior is honestly pretty nice looking, although the food may not be up to standard in the buffet and main dining room the rest of it seems alright
I like the quirky designs. The ship has since updated its carpet and some other bits and pieces but I agree Splendor is my least fav ship as well. The layout is just weird
Im close to Brisbane but specially spending a fortune to fly family to Sydney because I wanted to avoid Luminosa. No water slides. Big 👎👎👎 No Indian restaurant 👎👎👎 No laundry facility 😢
@@goodshipcruising Deeply disagree. I prefer Splendor over Luminosa. I had a look on Luminosa Deck plan, and Luminosa is curvy hallways, whereas Splendor is just straight hallways all throughout the ship
@goodshipcruising we like Royal Caribbean and loved the Celebrity ship we just sailed on. Have a Virgin Voyages cruise book for 2024 and also fancy a Princess cruise. We have a few Vlogs on our channel which is relatively new.
All fair commentary of the ship i would say, but, i find the quirks of the ship interesting, i often wonder with the food in the buffet myself if its dependent upon what part of the crew cycle the ship they are in, i.e. if they have just had a rotation, people returning from two months vacation, refreshed, bright, enthusiastic etc, vs, mid contract, starting to be more tired, etc etc
One thing I also dislike about this tub is on the lido deck. If you want to walk forward from the Lido Marketplace past the pool and to your room, you are funneled in between Red Frog and Blue Iguana and there's no cover. This isn't a problem when the weather's fine, but when it's raning there's no cover when you need to walk into the entrance forward of the midship pool. That means if you're taking food from the Marketplace, it'll get wet. I found this out in Port Vila where it bucketed down and I was getting breakfast for my partner. Also, due to the galley cutting the stern off, everyone congregates in the small Golden Atrium outside the Gold Pearl Restaurant where people need to wait to be seated. Good luck getting an elevator there before and after dinner. It's a zoo there at meal times. It's a crappy layout and Spirit and Legend are superior ships.
I disagree the ship is not that hard to navigate you go up to deck four or five and you can go back and forth through the whole ship also if you go two more decks up to the decks for the room start same thing you go back and forth to the ship and hit every stairwell or elevator you are just trying to navigate on the same level as the restaurants which you cannot do that on a lot of ships from even other Cruise Lines
Thank you for leaving a comment. In my opinion it would make more sense to have a better layout on the decks with the public spaces instead of having to move around the ship where the cabins are located.
Unfortunately there's four or five ships in front of Splendor that would get completely revamped I believe Carnival should be doing this to their ships they should be doing two shifts a year it only takes a month or two to completely revamp and dry dock
john heald recons Aussies love the splendor its always full , we loved cruising on carnival before covid and before they sent the splendor , its boring , hard to navigate foods crap , the violinists drove me crazy , we hate the splendor so much
@@goodshipcruisingwhy ? I had nothing but a great time , stop nit picking, it’s not 100% perfect and neither are a lot things You must be fun at parties
You get what you pay for. Splendour is more than acceptable for the money you pay to get on. If the presenter is offended then pull your wallet out and get on the Icon, Oasis or Edge.
I'm on her now. While I agree with you on the gaudy interiors just being too much, I have otherwise found it to be a great ship. One of the huge pluses to me was the amount of deck space - a huge issue with other ships. I've never found it hard to find a quiet place to sit in a deck chair or pod and just listen to a podcast while watching the sea go by. I also never had a problem finding a table to sit and eat in busy times (not the case on other ships I've been on). The staff have been amazing, the entertainment has been surprisingly good and while the food in the MDR has been hit and miss (some very good days, some very ordinary days) the always delicious deli, Indian, guys burgers, and the pizza are there as backups. I've been on other lines where the MDR wasn't any better but didn't have all the other alternative options (except ones you had to pay for). My oceanview room is spacious and airy, and the air-con is working well (unlike the Spirit, my last Carnival cruise which was a sweatbox at night). The tender process at the islands was very well handled, i never had to wait more than ten minutes to go or come back. Overall I wouldn't hesitate to come on another cruise on the Splendor, especially at the prices which honestly are pretty crazy for what you get.
Catering comments are spot on, one got the feeling on a recent Melbourne Cup cruise that the "Chefs" working the roast carvery were having wages deducted for every slice they served. The quality of carving was also suspect, some slices looked like they were cut with a blunt axe while others appeared to have been sliced with a razor blade. Perhaps they were protecting their knife edges as they were slicing down on to an aluminium pizza tray rather than a decent timber or polyethlyne cutting board.
Dining room wine was ordered by the POS number, very stylish and then served in a cocktail glass?? because "we have run out" of wine glasses, but expect a delivery tomorrow, may have been plausible if "tomorrow" hadn't been an "at sea" day. We received the same excuse when there was no bacon on the breakfast buffet and were pointed in the direction of the roasted ham slices which in another life I am sure were door stops or Ice Hockey pucks. I kept watch all day waiting for the rescue ship carrying wine glasses and Bacon but alas it never arrived
The Catering Manager must have received a deal on Apple juice concentrate because that was all that was available in the Lido buffet apart from a sporadic offering of Orange juice.
Carnival is now added to P&O on our "you get what you pay for" list , so never again.
5:26 Jeez Jed , I like to know where you pulled $400 bucks pp for a 8 night cruise from ? In the next 12 months there is nothing under $742 AUD pp
Are you out of touch with the pricing ? Are you talking AUD or USD pricing ?
Cheers Rod
Hi Rod thanks for the comment. I can confirm the total price was $786 AUD for twin share for this particular 8 night Pacific Cruise. So it was actually under $400 PP which is such fantastic value! Perhaps you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for a good deal in the future. Warm Wishes Jed. :)
The decor and Vegas casino type look was the sole reason why we chose to try carnival for the first time in April 2025 for a nine night cruise to the pacific Islands :) i hope it Wont be too overpowering when we get onboard. It will be our longest cruise we have done and our very first international holiday. So im hoping it is everything that im dreaming it will be :)
Graat Video. I personally love Carnival Cruising. Many trips on Carnival Sprit. However, I really appreciate you pointing out the negatives of the Carnival Splendour . What I really appreciated about your video was that you also offered solutions to the downsides. Well done.
I appreciate the feedback! Thank you for commenting. Jed :-)
My first cruise was on Splendor when it sailed out of Long Beach. Never had an issue with it. What is sad is seeing all the rust stains on the bottom of the life boats and the paint job of the ship needing some serious attention.
I'm normally a Royal cruiser and reached Diamond Plus with them. I just done Carnival Spirit and Carnival Glory in the last few weeks in the US. The Layout of the Splendor is just like the Glory. Used to use the secret passageway on Deck 4 to get to the upper level of the rear dining room. To me, Carnival offers better value considering it's all in AUD onboard in Oz and prices are cheaper. Yes, I get 5 free drinks a day on Royal, but I don't use them all. Some great deals to be had on Carnival and also visiting ships this summer.
Food was hit and miss on Spirit but was actually very good on Glory so varies from ship to ship. I did find the wait staff more outgoing as well on Carnival. Maybe it was for tips 😛
Great video again!!! Which did your prefer, the Splendor or Pacific Adventure?
I would say Pacific Adventure 😄
I think the interior is honestly pretty nice looking, although the food may not be up to standard in the buffet and main dining room the rest of it seems alright
Hey Jed! We met you on Carnival Jubilee!! Cool to see you!
Hey Leo! It was so fun to meet you. Thanks for letting me tag along :)
I like the quirky designs. The ship has since updated its carpet and some other bits and pieces but I agree Splendor is my least fav ship as well. The layout is just weird
Great review Jed, I was avoiding the luminosa but you may have changed my mind !
Mark you have to give Luminosa a try! I definitely prefer her over Splendor. Much better layout and easier to get around. :-)
Im close to Brisbane but specially spending a fortune to fly family to Sydney because I wanted to avoid Luminosa. No water slides. Big 👎👎👎
No Indian restaurant 👎👎👎
No laundry facility 😢
@@goodshipcruising Deeply disagree. I prefer Splendor over Luminosa. I had a look on Luminosa Deck plan, and Luminosa is curvy hallways, whereas Splendor is just straight hallways all throughout the ship
@@MillseyYT Have you been on Luminosa ?
@@goodshipcruising No I haven't, I live closer to Sydney where the Splendor docks, than wherever the Luminosa docks at in Aus
Great video. I am not sold on Carnival cruises just yet. 👍
What's your cruiseline of choice at the moment?
@goodshipcruising we like Royal Caribbean and loved the Celebrity ship we just sailed on. Have a Virgin Voyages cruise book for 2024 and also fancy a Princess cruise. We have a few Vlogs on our channel which is relatively new.
All fair commentary of the ship i would say, but, i find the quirks of the ship interesting, i often wonder with the food in the buffet myself if its dependent upon what part of the crew cycle the ship they are in, i.e. if they have just had a rotation, people returning from two months vacation, refreshed, bright, enthusiastic etc, vs, mid contract, starting to be more tired, etc etc
One thing I also dislike about this tub is on the lido deck. If you want to walk forward from the Lido Marketplace past the pool and to your room, you are funneled in between Red Frog and Blue Iguana and there's no cover. This isn't a problem when the weather's fine, but when it's raning there's no cover when you need to walk into the entrance forward of the midship pool. That means if you're taking food from the Marketplace, it'll get wet. I found this out in Port Vila where it bucketed down and I was getting breakfast for my partner.
Also, due to the galley cutting the stern off, everyone congregates in the small Golden Atrium outside the Gold Pearl Restaurant where people need to wait to be seated. Good luck getting an elevator there before and after dinner. It's a zoo there at meal times.
It's a crappy layout and Spirit and Legend are superior ships.
Great review!
Glad you enjoyed it, Jed
I disagree the ship is not that hard to navigate you go up to deck four or five and you can go back and forth through the whole ship also if you go two more decks up to the decks for the room start same thing you go back and forth to the ship and hit every stairwell or elevator you are just trying to navigate on the same level as the restaurants which you cannot do that on a lot of ships from even other Cruise Lines
Thank you for leaving a comment. In my opinion it would make more sense to have a better layout on the decks with the public spaces instead of having to move around the ship where the cabins are located.
Unfortunately there's four or five ships in front of Splendor that would get completely revamped I believe Carnival should be doing this to their ships they should be doing two shifts a year it only takes a month or two to completely revamp and dry dock
I was on the Splendor when she was out of long beach. I had a VERY good time, but the pink donut interior colors are uuuuuuugly.
I agree with you!
john heald recons Aussies love the splendor its always full , we loved cruising on carnival before covid and before they sent the splendor , its boring , hard to navigate foods crap , the violinists drove me crazy , we hate the splendor so much
I have noticed that us Aussies seem to be very defensive of the Splendor. But I agree with your points. She needs some TLC! :)
You've never been on some of the older fantasy class ships they're even way more goddess than this this ship is torn down compared to that
Boo hoo what a sooky la la , the carnival splendor is fantastic
What a strange comment to make Steve!
@@goodshipcruisingwhy ? I had nothing but a great time , stop nit picking, it’s not 100% perfect and neither are a lot things
You must be fun at parties
@@steveaslan3733 Why watch a review about a product and then complain about the fact it was reviewed. 😂😂 Hilarious!
Yikes! Wouldn't want to go on this ship with Trypophobia
You get what you pay for. Splendour is more than acceptable for the money you pay to get on. If the presenter is offended then pull your wallet out and get on the Icon, Oasis or Edge.