Just got back from the Splendor in the Baltic's. It was a great cruise but the ship (in my humble opinion) leaves much to be desired compared to the Freedom last year. First of all they really missed the mark with the overall decor, I mean mid 50's early 60's pink and gray? it also appeared they shrunk everything down a bit to accommodate the installation of more staterooms. The food.....well not the best offerings we've seen on Carnival, even some of the usual dishes we're ...... well inedible, for instance, the most anticipated meal of the cruise the lobster tails were so salty almost as if they soaked them in brine before cooking. It wasn't just our table everyone on the ship complained.
On the good side, the NY strip steaks were well above average. If you are fat conscious the "flat iron steak" was lean tender and delicious. Over all the menus seemed a bit more boring than usual. The energy level seemed a bit flat on this cruise (Baltic's). Even Jon seemed a bit off his game. This may all be due to the fact that the average age on this particular cruise was more senior (the "well above" 60 crowd).
Let me establish that in no way do I think this cruise was not worth it, it certainly was. On the plus side the Las Vegas style shows were fabulous, singers, dancers all were tops, Service was terrific. There was definitely a greater effort on the part of the service personnel to connect and they were very successful. That kind of attention really seems to absorb and diffuse any of the minor negatives. The ports were spectacular! Overall the cruise was a bargain and given the state of the economy, Carnival provides a great bang for the buck. Knowing what I know now would I recommend it? You bet I would.
Lars
