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The crew onboard was attentive, efficient, and friendly, with many wearing bright red T shirts saying ASK ME.
The ship itself? It is the stretched Density class where there are constant crowds, and poor flow from bow to stern with the galley midships on a public room deck as the obstruction. Getting around this ship is a fight, and at one point walked cabin decks to get from bow to stern. It is worse than the older ones such as Victory and Destiny due to the added passenger decks, and the worst of any modern passenger ship, even QE2. Costa Concordia is the architectural twin, I am surprised there were not more fatalities. Connection to the sea is perfunctory as best, and one is focused on cash extraction.
Décor on ship: 1990’s Vegas. The look is now passé, even in Vegas which is now an entertainment architecture lab. No wonder Joe Farcus is out of the picture. Like Vegas, it is wow, the first time, fun the second and, tiresome the third time, and would not be able to stand it for 7 days. The materials and finishes are a grade down from the earlier Carnival ships. Unlike the Carnival Victory, the finishes looked and felt cheap. Victory had teak decks, Splendor, painted steel.
Passengers onboard? It is the Jersey Shore set, and a ship as crowded as Penn Station which we could compare to after disembarking.
If sailing Carnival, It would only be the Vista/Spirit class such as the Miracle, and Pride. Carnival Cruise Lines and their ships make a lot of happy passengers, but the “Coney Island Special” format is simply not for me. Photos to come.
[ 07-31-2013: Message edited by: desirod7 ]
Thanks for the mini-review. After my last experience on Carnival, I swore I'd never sail with them again; but, alas, I'll be sailing on an 8nt on the SPLENDOR on November 1st.
We chose this for a number of reasons. First, my wife and I are going with my brother and his wife. They've never even seen a ship, let alone taken a cruise. They've never been to NYC, or out of the country for that matter.
He also refuses to fly, so we are renting a car one way, taking the cruise, staying in NY, and then taking Amtrak back to Cincinnati (this is on my wife's bucket list).
While I'm not keen on going on the SPLENDOR, I love sailing from NYC – especially from mid-town. And since I love days at sea, the fact there are 4 is an added bonus. As far as the decor, well, I'll just have to live with the visual carnage. Since it'll all be new to them, my brother and his wife will probably like it.
My wife and I are getting a balcony (a first for her), so she and I will have sanctuary from how noisy a Carnival ship can be, but will still be able to enjoy the ocean.
Your comments give me hope. The last time on Carnival (on the ELATION) the food was marginal and the service was subpar. I'm actually looking forward to the trip, but mainly because of how fun it will be to see my brother and his wife do something they never thought they would be able to do.
-Russ
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