My friend Joe Palko is currently onboard the Carnival Splendor sailing through the Western Caribbean on a 7-day cruise that departed from Miami on May 15, 2016. Over the course of the week, the ship will visit Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown in the Cayman Islands, and Cozumel, Mexico.
The Carnival Splendor joined the Carnival fleet in July 2008 and at one point held the title of “largest ship” for the line. She is the one and only in the Splendor-class, which just happens to be a modified version of the Concordia-class ships to which the ill-fated Costa Concordia belonged to.
Splendor carries 3,000 passengers, 1,150 crew, and has 13 decks. Both the ship’s spa and children’s area are the largest of any Carnival ship to date.
She may be in sunny Miami now, but the Splendor will be making the journey to China to begin serving the fast-growing Chinese cruise market beginning in 2018.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “why does this ship name sound so familiar?” you’re not alone. One of the most infamous cruise ship moments happened on the Splendor. In November 2010, an engine room fire left the ship floundering at sea. Powerless, the ship had no air conditioning, no working toilets, and plenty of unhappy passengers. The news at the time showed people camping out on the decks and balconies, helicopters airlifting food and supplies, and the infamous red biohazard bags that were distributed to passengers to use as “poop bags.”
The ship eventually made it back to port a few days later, assisted by tug boats. Upon its return, it went under repairs and a much-needed deep cleaning!
The first thing Joe asked me when he boarded the ship was how old she was. For Carnival, the Splendor is a fairly new ship! His question arose based on the interior design which he says in some areas feels dated, while in others it feels more like “today.” Carnival ships have a very unique feel to them inside and that can be credited to Joe Farcus, who was the man behind the neon, busy, Vegas-looking design that was a signature of the Carnival line. The Farcus design era ended with the launch of Carnival Breeze in 2012 and new ships have a more toned-down, modern interior design.
Joe (Palko, not Farcus) has been gracious enough to share his thoughts on the cruise so far as well as some pictures of the food and public areas onboard. I’ll continue to update this post with more information as he sends it, so be sure to check back frequently for more updates as I get them! I also will twist his arm a bit to do a full review upon his return so, as they say… stay tuned for that!
Let’s start off with some stateroom pictures. Joe is staying in stateroom 7282, an Ocean Suite.
“Went to Ocho Rios Jamaica. Jamaican people are what I would call “friendly aggressive.” So aggressive but at least they are nice.”
Joe shares his thoughts on the food served in the Black Pearl (main dining room) on the Carnival Splendor:
“Had the alligator bites for an appetizer and was quite amazed at how small the portion was. The lobster was delicious, just small. Linguini Carbonara appetizer was really good and so was the prime rib.”
Here are some photos of the desserts in the Black Pearl dining room on the Carnival Splendor, including the famous Warm Chocolate Melting Cake:
As far as entertainment is concerned, Joe hit up the Punchliner Comedy Club and said, “while the club itself is nice, the comedian was just OK.” Another show he got to see is 88 Keys, where he called the talent “amazing” and the choreography and props “very decent.”
For those wondering about Internet connectivity onboard, Joe purchased the “Social” package which is $5 a day or $25 for the cruise. It allows you to access Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and top airline websites. It does not include access to other websites or apps. He said the speed so far has been 6mb up and 6mb down. Here are the current Internet packages available:
Personal Day-By-Day Carnival Splendor Cruise Review:
Photo Tour of the Carnival Splendor:
No vacation would be complete without a ton of photos, right? For this particular cruise, I took a bunch of photos of the ship’s interior, pool areas, the stateroom itself, and more. Photos can be found in the Carnival Splendor Photo Tour so be sure to check it out.