Ship: Carnival Splendor | Sail Date: 07/02/08 | Destination: Europe

We were privileged to sail on the inaugural voyage of the Splendor going from Genoa to Dover. First of all, the ship is a gem. The decor is absolutely stunning and the service is exceptional. The shows were great and the food was wonderful. Everything was a distinct pleasure, that is until we had to get off the ship. The night before our arrival in Dover, our cruise director tells us how we will disembark. We elected the self service mode, being that we would handle our own luggage and be able to disembark "at any time we liked". Since we had a bus scheduled from Dover to London at 11:30, we planned a sleep in and a leisurely breakfast. OOPS, change of plans. At 7:30AM, we are now told that we have to be off the ship by 8:30. So much for the sleep in and we are now in panic mode to get off the ship. In addition, someone failed to tell the port of Dover that the ship was full and maybe they should have some taxis around. Our driver told us that the cabbies were told that the ship was coming in empty. Obviously, this led to total chaos at the taxi line and left a sour taste on an otherwise fantastic cruise.