Carnival Splendor

Carnival Splendor is a 113,000 tonne ship built by Fincantieri and delivered in 2008. She is a one off. Ordered for Costa Cruises and transferred to Carnival during construction, she belongs to the Concordia class, a design based on Carnival's Conquest class hull, and the only such ship Carnival operates. The design decision that shapes her sits above the pool deck. The upper decks were built around a two level Cloud 9 Spa of 21,000 square feet, the largest in the fleet, and a main pool under a sliding glass roof. On 8 November 2010, a catastrophic failure of the number five diesel generator started a fire in the aft engine room, on the second day of a Mexican Riviera sailing from Long Beach. She lost electrical power with about 4,500 people aboard. Nobody was hurt. She was towed into San Diego on 11 November, and after US Navy helicopters delivered rations the press called it the Spam cruise. She returned to service in March 2011. She has been based in Sydney since October 2022, and the published 2026 and 2027 programmes keep her there year round.
She does the casual outdoor part well. Lido Marketplace handles the buffet, with Guy's Burger Joint, BlueIguana Tequila Bar, RedFrog Rum Bar, Pizzeria del Capitano, the Carnival Deli, Seafood Shack and the 2024 addition Mad Sizzle on the same deck. Pinnacle Steakhouse is the paid alternative. Serenity is the adult retreat, WaterWorks and the Splash Park cover the slides, Camp Ocean the children, and the Carnival Seaside Theatre screens films by the pool.
Cruise Critic's editors rate her four out of five and describe a larger Carnival ship delivering ample activities, entertainment and good value. The same review calls the pink heavy decor close to tacky and says the cabins could use an upgrade. Member reviews report crowding in Lido Marketplace and visible wear. She is eighteen years old, and a refurbishment is scheduled in Singapore in 2027.
She suits families, first time cruisers and anyone booking on price out of Sydney. She does not suit travellers who want restrained interiors, quiet rooms or a smaller ship. Carnival prices below Royal Caribbean and the tone follows, louder and less formal, which is a fair trade rather than a fault.
Cabin choice matters more here than the fare. Deck 8 is almost entirely cabins and sits beneath deck 9, which carries the pool, Lido Marketplace and an outdoor stage. Expect noise early and late. Aft on deck 8, the extended balcony cabins sit below the adults only aft pool and Serenity, calmer at night but busy through the afternoon. Deck 9 has cabins forward, well away from the pools. Spa cabins do exist, sixty six of them. The forward balcony rooms on deck 11 sit alongside the spa, and deck 10 forward carries Cloud 9 interior, oceanview, balcony and suite categories. The spa and gymnasium occupy the forward part of deck 11, directly above those deck 10 rooms.
Read the deck plan before you book. It tells you more than the fare.