Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Splendor Cruise Review
Tom Ogg
TomOgg @ aol.com
Pre-Cruise
| The Ship
|
The Cruise
The
Cruise
The Long Beach Cruise
Terminal and Queen Mary
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009; Long
Beach, California; Casual Dress
We left our home in Valley Center and drove north on the 405
Freeway to the Long Beach Freeway. We followed the signs to
the Long Beach Cruise Terminal without incidence and was
pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to find the
terminal, park and check our luggage for the cruise. After
checking in using the repeat passenger's line, we made our
way onto the Splendor. My first impression when I entered
the ship was "WOW, pink, circles, lights." We checked out
our cabin and then the others for the family we were
traveling with and then got ready for the dreaded lifeboat
drill. We noticed at the lifeboat drill that the ship did
not seem to be full regardless of the fact that Carnival was
giving cabins away at rock bottom prices.
After dressing for dinner, we
all decided to meet in the Atrium Bar for a cocktail before
going in to dinner. The group playing in the Atrium was
quite loud, but we stayed and enjoyed our wine and the
entertainment before making our way into the Black Pearl
Restaurant and the first of our dinners there. Since this
was my first dinner on Carnival in over a decade, I was
anxious to see how it progressed. Joanie and I decided to
share a bottle of wine and ordered it. It was served
promptly and poured with equal dispatch. I was already
liking our waiter / wine steward. After ordering and some
conversation our appetizers were delivered to our table of
eight. I had ordered the shrimp cocktail and enjoyed it.
Next our salad came and I had ordered Caesar salad, which I
also enjoyed. Fresh Atlantic Salmon was on the menu and was
served to me. I took one bite and realized that it was not
as fresh as salmon needs to be to avoid a mushy texture
which I do not care for. I took a couple of small bites and
ended my affair with the salmon. I might mention that the
salmon was served with the skin still on it, which hintsthat
the cook knew that it might not be as fresh as it should
have been.
I drank some more wine and
enjoyed a cup of decaf for dessert. Everyone else was very
happy with their meal and I wrote the salmon off as simply a
bad choice. After dinner Joanie and I went to the Piano Bar
as we tend to enjoy them very much. The entertainer, Ron was
wonderful! He played music all night and captivated us with
his talent. We had a great time. The piano bar was virtually
empty with the exception of a few other couples, but that
did not last long.
The Mariner of the Seas
Docked in San Francisco
Monday, May 4th, 2009; San
Francisco, California; Casual Dress
We slept great in our cabin as the bedding is simply
wonderful. I got up early and made my way up to the Lido
Buffet and enjoyed a cup of coffee and the open ocean. We
were not to arrive in San Francisco until later in the
daytime, so I started exploring the ship. I went to the
Coffee bar and purchased a couple of specialty coffee drinks
for myself and Joanie and went back to the cabin.
Clearing the Golden Gate
Bridge
Working most of the morning, I
watched as we came under the Golden Gate Bridge seemingly
barely clearing the bottom of the bridge itself. We sailed
well into the bay and eventually found our pier and secured
the ship in port. We were all finishing lunch when we
started making plans to get off the ship. We had decided to
disembark once the ship was cleared by immigration and meet
in the Atrium Bar to wait for the announcement. The
announcement was made and the ship was cleared, so we
finished out drinks and made our way down to deck two. Holy
cow! The line to disembark was the length of the ship. I
immediately remembered the response that Bob Dickinson, then
President of Carnival Cruise Lines said when asked about the
dramatic increase in the number of passengers visiting
several ports and their ability to move / accommodate / and
process them.
"Look, people wait in line for
an hour or more to take a ride at Disneyland, what is the difference
here?."
Bob, got it.
We decided to go back up to
the Atrium Bar and wait it out. After 30-minutes we went
back down and were able to disembark after only a 5-minute
wait. Once off the ship, we started walking to wards the
Fisherman's Wharf, only the pier that we were at was several
pier from Pier 39, much less the wharf itself. The Splendor
had docked at a pier about a mile from the tourist area and
it required a long walk to get to it. Oh well, we thought.
We had a great visit. Our focus was on getting some
sourdough bread, shrimp and crab and enjoy it San Francisco
style. After Fisherman's Wharf, we visited Pier 39 for a
shopping stop. Sue purchased a bunch of stuff and we all had
fun walking around. That is when I saw that the Mariner of
the Seas was docked right next to Pier 39 and took the above
picture. We had a great time. While it was a long walk back
to the ship, we had really had fun in San Francisco.
Back on board we met for
cocktails once again in the Atrium Bar and again found it
loud and crowded. We decided to strike out for a new place
to meet prior to dinner. When we entered the restaurant, our
waitor had our bottles of wine waiting for us and poured a
glass upon our sitting down. While there wasn't too many
things great about this cruise, this was one of them. Royal
Caribbean could take a lesson on this one. Fresh fish was on
the menu for the evening, so I ordered that along with my
shrimp cocktail and Caesar salad. I couldn't eat the fish (I
can't remember if it was Tilapia or Halibut) as it was so
over cooked it was dry and chewy.
Please understand that I am
not a picky eater. Nor am I critical about the food that I
dine on. I appreciate just about any attempt to cook food
and enjoy it for what it is. It is just that even I have
basic requirements from fish. It has to be fresh, it has to
be cooked properly and it has to be digestible. So far, the
fish I was served on the Splendor was none of these.
Back to the piano bar for
another (albeit more crowded) evening of wonderful
entertainment with Ron.
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009; Day
at Sea; "Cruise Elegant" Dress
This was a pretty standard day with the exception of a hot
tub session. I climbed into the hot tub and there was a bald
guy with tattoos up the wazoo and another guy and his wife.
The guy had a few tats and some body piercings and the wife
looked relatively normal. The conversation ran the gamut
from being arrested in Mexico, for DUIs and other
infractions to the pros and cons of being in jail in Phoenix
where the bald guy was. I can honestly say that in hundreds
of cruises and thousands of hot tub sessions that I never
had any discussions like this one. Another guy got into the
tub with his wife and jumped right into the discussion with
his own personal experiences. It was interesting, but left
me wondering about the passenger load overall.
I also learned that "Cruise
Elegant" was Carnival's way of telling their guests to put
on a clean pair of jeans. I normally take my tux on cruises,
but somehow knew that I didn't need it on this one so I took
a suit instead. I felt completely out of place in a suit and
tie, but was completely thankful that I did not bring my
tux, as I would have felt like a complete weirdo.
About the Evening's Dinner
- Please do not Purchase and Serve Short Lobsters
After the Captain's cocktail reception we all went to
dinner at our assigned table. As usual, our wine was waiting
for us and we sat down to enjoy the "Cruise Elegant"
atmosphere. I ordered lobster and shrimp and shrimp cocktail
and a Caesar salad. When my main entree was served there
were two small lobster tails. When I say small, I mean they
were too small to be legal lobster in the United States.
Lobster are not capable of
reproducing until they reach a certain length and if they
are harvested before laying eggs to continue their
population, the lobster fishery is depleted. This is no
secret to any one. In fact, lobster conservation is being
practiced world wide to protect the fishery. Here is a
description of the issue:
"Conservation is currently
practiced through the safeguarding of lobsters less than 3¼"
carapace length. Any lobster that has a smaller carapace
length of 3¼" must be returned unharmed to the sea. These
lobsters are known as "shorts" or "sub-legals". Egg-bearing
females are also protected, and if caught, must be placed
back in the sea.
Lobster traps have escape vents to allow sub-legal size
lobsters to exit the trap while it is still on the bottom
(they can come in, eat, then leave). Not all "shorts"
leave, however, and so the lobsterman must throw them back
when they pull their trap onto the boat. Lobster traps must
also have biodegradable escape panels which will create a
large opening and neutralize the fishing potential of a lost
trap. With the escape panel open, a lost trap or pot
actually becomes a habitat providing shelter without
entrapment."
For Carnival Cruise Lines and
the Splendor to purchase and serve short lobsters is an
affront to everyone. Please do not tell me they were
Langostino (crayfish, squat lobster or prawns) as I know the
difference
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009;
Victoria, Canada; Casual Dress
It was morning as usual until we arrived at Victoria's
cruise terminal. The Splendor arrived shortly before the
Mariner, who docked right next to the Splendor. For some
unknown reason, the Mariner was disembarking people much
sooner than the Splendor. Once again, there were long lines
to disembark the ship that were caused by just having two
crew members processing passengers off the ship. I fail to
understand why Carnival does it this way. The Mariner of the
Seas has at least 4 stations open all day, which makes
disembarking a breeze. I am surprised that the Splendor does
not have people selling items to the passengers waiting to
get off the ship.
I had decided to go my own way
as I wanted to take some shots for a Victoria, Canada for ePortReviews.com and managed to make my way towards town. I
met up with the balance of our group at the Empress Hotel
and found that they had actually just arrived in Victoria
after waiting in lines to disembark and then waiting in line
to get a taxi. I had easily walked several miles and taken
dozens of photos. We had fun walking the shopping streets in
Victoria and eventually, I decided to continue my quest for
more pictures. I walked past the government buildings, past
the inner harbor and out to Fisherman's Wharf. It was
raining very hard so I ducked into one of the cafes and
enjoyed a cup of coffee while letting the rain subside.
Victoria is such a wonderful port and just walking around it
is the best way to spend the day in my opinion.
We had made reservations for
the Pinnacle Steak House Restaurant and were back on board
in plenty of time to get dress for dinner. We met for a
cocktail before heading to the Pinnacle Steak House for
dinner. Upon arrival we were greeted by a very gracious
Maitre d' and escorted to our table. We were sat at a
wonderful ocean view table and greeted by our waitress. At
this point the wine steward arrived at our table and
presented the wine list. Understand that Joanie and I
completely enjoy wine with dinner and get pleasure from it
every evening. We like a variety of wines, but have
different tastes. I like chardonnay while Joanie likes sauvignon blanc.
For this reason, we generally will order our own separate bottles.
Sue and Phil also like wine, but enjoy red wines more.
The Pinnacle offered several
wines by the glass, so we decided to simply order wine by
the glass rather than bottles of wine. This seemed to meet
everyone's needs and the variety was complex enough to
satisfy everyone's tastes. When we shared our decision with
the wine steward, you would of thought that we had decided
to commit an obscene act of some sort. He argued that
everyone ordered wine by the bottle and that we should do so
because it would end up being less expensive in the long
run. In spite of our desire to order by the glass, he almost
demanded that we order by the bottle. When I pointed out
that I had been enjoying Kendal Jackson Reserve Chardonnay
in the main restaurant and that it was not offered on the
Pinnacle wine list, he told me that all of the chardonnays
on the list were good. This guy was unreal. I am not sure
that I have ever seen such a desperate act to sell bottles
of wine in my life.
I ordered a glass of Pouilly-Fuisse
and he almost demanded that I purchase a bottle of it. I
refused to do so and was getting a little irritated by the
blatant attempt to "super size" our wine order. He then
became somewhat indignant and left to fetch our wine. To be
honest, his attitude ruined the Pinnacle dining experience
for me. I suspect that this is when I also made a decision
about Carnival Cruise Lines. We worked our way through
dinner refusing to be affected by the slow service and had a
wonderful conversation and experience. I have already shared the second
glass of wine episode and the state of my entree, but let's
move on to dessert. I never eat dessert, but everyone else
ordered the Pinnacle specialty dessert. When it came, it was
3 separate desserts loaded with chocolate and other treats.
I would estimate that altogether, they would be a minimum of
2,500 calories. Are they kidding?
Thursday, May 7th, 2009;
Seattle, Washington; Casual Dress
We arrived in Seattle right on schedule and after the ship
was cleared, we intended to get off for the express purpose
of enjoying seafood lunch at our favorite restaurant. Joanie and I had found this
wonderful restaurant a couple of years earlier and
considered it exceptionsal, so we had a focus. We
stood in line to make sure that we could disembark as
quickly as possible. The restaurant was only a few blocks
from the Seattle Cruise Terminal, so we could easily make it
by lunch time. Since we had been in Victoria, Canada, we
also had to clear immigration when we disembarked. Once we
were off the ship, we entered the cruise terminal, however I
did not recognize it at all. We stood in line, presented our
immigration forms and passports and were allowed into the
main part of the terminal.
Another Line in the Seattle
Terminal
We were greeted by a huge mass
of people waiting for something. As it turned out, Carnival
chose not to port at the cruise ship terminal in Seattle,
but at the industrial terminal that was located a few miles
away. I suspect that it is much less expensive to dock
there. The above picture was taken after we had waited in
line about
20-minutes and had moved about 10 feet. After about another 30-minutes we understood that we had to take a shuttle through
the industrial complex to get to the front of the harbor and
that was what everyone was waiting for. By the time we got
near the doors to the motor coaches, we overheard a Carnival
representative say that if you wanted to get a taxi, go to
the taxi line on the other side of the bus. Grrrrrrr. I have
to admit I almost lost it here.
Hey Carnival! Why not have the
Carnival guy stand where people actually get in line to tell
them their options instead of at the end of the line?
Being with family, I didn't
let my feelings be known, but I had had it with Carnival's
complete disregard for their passengers. We left the shuttle
line and then walked to the taxi line. After another 15-minutes we were on our way to Pike's Market. The taxi fare
was only $12.00 to get there. I wonder how much Carnival
saved by docking at pier 91 instead of at the pier in
downtown Seattle? We walked around Pike's Market for a while, but it
was too late to trek to our favorite restaurant, so we decided to
dine at Lowell's Restaurant in Pike's Market. We ordered our food and then
climbed up to the third deck to enjoy the view. Here is what
we saw.
The Mariner of the Seas
Docked in Downtown Seattle
There sitting right right where the
Splendor should have been was the Mariner of the Seas. No
lines to disembark, no lines to get out of the terminal, not
taxi queue, no $12 taxi fare to get to Pike's Market and no
hours wasted waiting in line.
WHY IN THE WORLD DID I
AGREE TO CRUISE ON CARNIVAL????
We made our way back to the
ship (another $12 taxi fare) and continued our day. By now,
I was sick and tired of the Carnival experience and all I
wanted to do is get off this ship and go home.
Friday, May 8th, 2009; Day
at Sea; "Cruise Elegant" Dress
Another fun day at sea. Art auction, Fun Store Sales, Spa
treatment discounts, photos, oh so much fun. We cancelled
our reservation at Pinnacles and dined in our regular
restaurant. I wanted to wear my shorts and a tee shirt with
my suit jacket to dinner to see if someone would even
notice, but Joanie wouldn't let me.
Saturday, May 9th, 2009;
Fun Day at Sea; Casual Dress
GET ME OFF OF THIS SHIP!!!!
Sunday, May 10th, 2009;
Long Beach, California
We elected to carry our own luggage off the ship so that we
could disembark early and fast. We waited in line on the
ship to be processed off, only this time there was only one
person doing it. Of course, the Long Beach cruise terminal
only has one slow elevator and the line was forever to get
down to customs. I piled the bags on top of each other and
took the escalator down to expedite our departure.
The happiest moment of the
entire cruise was looking at the Carnival Splendor fade away
in my rear view mirror.
Post Cruise
I should also mention that
Joanie made the mistake of giving Carnival her e-mail
address when filling out the information requested for a
boarding card. She is getting daily e-mails from Carnival
about this special and that. She got fed up after a few days
and tried to unsubscribe. All she got was a questionnaire from
Carnival demanding to know why she wanted to unsubscribe and
could someone from Carnival call her?
Has Carnival outlived its time
and lost touch with reality?
Pre-Cruise
| The Ship
|
The Cruise |
