Ship Tour: Carnival Splendor

Well, I finally decided it was time to check out a Carnival Cruise ship and see if the rumors of them hold true. Since I am a pretty loyal Royal Caribbean and Princess cruiser, but I do sell Carnival, I needed to know more about Carnival. I was able to tour Carnival Splendor while she was in port one fine Sunday afternoon in Long Beach. And, yes, this was the ship that had caught fire and stranded an entire ship of people at sea for a couple of days, but the damage is all repaired now and the ship is sailing just fine.

The ship tour was for travel agents was supposed to star at 11:30am but we were not allowed on the ship until nearly 1pm due to customs clearing debarking passengers. I was told by other travel agents who have done Carnival ship tours in the past that this seems to be a frequent problem with Carnival tours in Long Beach. While my feet and back might have been aching after standing around for over 2 hours in moderately high heels, I feel awful for the passengers waiting to embark, standing in the hot sun with luggage and small children and elderly parents. Even a wedding party was delayed for hours trying to get board the ship and have their ceremony and reception so those not sailing could leave before sail away.

Anyway, we finally made it on the ship a little before 1pm and had about 45 minutes to tour the ship before we were to gather for a luncheon in the main dining room. During this time I was able to view about half the public areas and most of the categories of cabins. One rumor seemed to hold true - cabins are a bit larger than standard cabins on Royal Caribbean or Princess. However, I noticed that the decor and materials used in the cabins were very, ummm, how do I say this nicely, cheap. Fabrics for chairs and headboards were that icky vinyl naugahide type stuff and the bedding did not seem as inviting as other cruise lines, and the faux walnut cabinets just looked like plastic. And the colors and patterns seemed awfully outdated for a ship that has been sailing only since 2008. The only cabins that seemed to have any sort of decent decor were the more expensive suites with granite counter tops, dual sinks in the bathroom, twice the closet size, etc. But not everyone can afford these, so they get stuck with the lesser, unappealing decor, which I think is a shame when other cruise lines can make their least expensive cabin feel just as luxurious as a suite.

And while we are on the topic of decor, I was not impressed with the overall decor of this ship. I'd like to sum it up in two words - Pink Zebra! No, I am not kidding, many public areas seemed to have a sort of pinkish zebra print on the walls that I found quite gaudy. I found most everything inside the ship was of a pink hue and not well done. I've heard Carnival ships have a reputation for garish decor and know I know why. In my opinion they tried for a feel of art deco but it was not executed well. Hallways between staterooms seemed awfully busy with terrible murals of art deco people that I found somewhat scary to look at. The other public rooms I checked out, shopping areas, bars, dance clubs, etc. seemed to carry the gaudy pink theme throughout. If you've been to the Madonna Inn you understand that pink and gaudy can be done in a manner that is not awful but rather amusing. Unfortunately this was not the case with the decor on this ship, it was just plain awful. I'd like to say the decor might be where strip club meets 70's disco.

On a bright note, I found every single ship crew person I came across to be extremely friendly and helpful. They work very hard to keep everyone happy and safe and I commend them on that. Also, the luncheon we were served was amazing! The quality of the food was very good and fresh and tasty. Presentation of the food was also very good. From what heard from other travel agents was that their food had come a long way. We had a starter of stuffed mushrooms but since I do not like mushrooms I did not try them but others said they were excellent. Next up was a Caesar salad that was wonderful in presentation and taste, then for the main course I had Giant Prawns and they were delicious. Finally we had a medley of strawberry items for dessert, a strawberry shortcake, strawberry sorbet, and a strawberry jelly thing. It was all excellent.

My intention was to view a few last public areas like the pool deck but after lunch, we were to be escorted off the ship since sail away was approaching. It's too bad it took so long to get on the ship and we lost precious time in viewing the entire ship, but I made the best of and was glad to see cabins first, since clients want to know about cabins. Debarking the ship was no easy task as we wound our way backwards through lines of passengers the Carnival personnel were trying to board. The backlog of passengers were those who had been waiting for hours to get on and the lines were out of control with tired and frustrated people. I honesty have never ever experienced a ship boarding so out of control and mishandled. It did not make for a good impression on someone trying to sell Carnival cruise lines. However, since Carnival is the only year-round cruise line on the west coast, we don't have much choice if we don't want to have to fly to another port.

Final word, if you are looking for a cruise and not expecting a 4* or 5* experience, you will have a great time once you get past the decor. This is a good option if you do not want to fly to another port, but be careful the time of year you cruise since prices nearly double in summer and triple over holidays. Having the monopoly year round gives Carnival the reins. Would I cruise on this ship? Sure, but the price would have to be right and I *would* expect to see jeans, shorts, and flip flops in the dining room on formal night.