The Carnival Splendor has been given a makeover and spruced up a bit so as to operate out of Australia.
A paint job and some new furniture cannot alter the fact that it has some really hideous decor. Attempts have been made to disguise some of it. The corridors and cabins are okay but the main areas where the designers (who must have been on drugs) were really let loose would require ripping the ship apart to get rid of the endless black tiles, pink dots and and other decor monstrosities. The Black Pearl dining room is insane. A Carnival devotee at our table suggested that Carnival ships are aimed at the younger generation, kids and families and fun, thus they are funky in their design. Well they missed the boat on so many levels. The ship is majority over 70s and I doubt the kids care about the decor and hideous is not funky.
The ship decks seem to have been laid out by the same people who do sister company Princess ships. Corridors to nowhere, nothing obvious, no flow, cramped, claustrophobic. It takes the whole voyage to hunt down many of the strange little bars and nooks.
After Bali experience decided not to go. Good decision. Those that went suffered usual mess with tenders. 2 hour walk through scrub in blazing sun to finally see two Dragons who were asleep and looked like a couple of logs. Cost $A180pp. for 2 hours ashore.
Ship docked so experience getting off the ship and walking around Darwin was excellent.
Went ashore on ferry so day ashore walking around was fine