Carnival Splendor: A Splendid Home Away From Home

While Carnival Splendor is about as different as my house as it could possibly be—think of magical surroundings in a fantasy world—there is one place on board that is as comfortable as home sweet home. Of course I mean the accommodations.

Carnival Cruise Lines has always prided themselves on spacious cabins and Carnival Splendor’s are no exception. One thing I noticed immediately upon arrival was how much larger my standard balcony cabin appeared than those I've occupied in the past. Although Carnival Splendor is a new ship class, the staterooms are very similar in layout and décor to Conquest-class vessels. After a few minutes it dawned on me that the desktop-to-ceiling storage unit has been eliminated on Carnival Splendor. Instead, the desk/vanity has been “stretched” in length to include additional under-counter storage and the television is a flat screen that’s mounted on the wall. On one hand, the wall location is ideal for watching from the bed or sofa, but not so much when seated at the vanity. On the other hand, who really watches television from that spot anyway? There’s a magnifying mirror in the bathroom for applying make-up (or shaving if you happen to be a guy), and that frees up vanity/desk space for other things… like using a laptop to type my blog.

Unlike the recent trend for cabins with few drawers, Carnival Splendor’s standard balcony cabins have three nice deep ones built into the vanity/desk, where you’ll also find a mini-bar-fridge, a personal safe and more storage behind cabinet doors, and open book shelves. An additional drawer contains a built-in hairdryer and small amount of space for things like hairbrushes and combs. In addition to a closet with shelves for storing more folded clothing, two more closets have generous hanging space. There are two huge drawers in the base of the sofa and even some additional small storage cubbies in the two nightstands.

Best of all, the lighting throughout isn’t merely adequate—it’s superb. Ceiling lighting across the front of the closet even enables me to find what I’m looking for without a flashlight. I loved my Carnival Splendor “home” and was sad to bid my Carnival Comfort Bed goodbye this morning. It’s been a lovely, albeit too short, cruise.