Splendour of the Seas 7 night Greek Isles, October 19th - 26th Review

[peteukmcr]

Thanks for your review, as I will be boarding Splendour on Saturday for the first time you have answered a lot of questions :)

You're welcome. I hope the weather is as good as it was for us. Splendour missed several ports over the past couple of weeks apparently, even docking in Katakolon was cancelled for some.

[scotsman]

You're welcome. I hope the weather is as good as it was for us. Splendour missed several ports over the past couple of weeks apparently, even docking in Katakolon was cancelled for some.

 

Think we will be missing Piraeus 6th Nov. as there is a Strike planned for that day.

[peteukmcr]

Pete, great review. This iTin is on our bucket list Can you tell me what a"crystal block" is? Thanks!

 

Here you go, not the best photo

 

 

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[Jason12]

A great and fair review as always Pete,

We sail on her in two weeks and dock in Turkey so hopeful will not get the extra tax charge? Plus great news on the solarium for us as we like it covered all the time..

 

Jason

 

 

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[peteukmcr]

A great and fair review as always Pete,

We sail on her in two weeks and dock in Turkey so hopeful will not get the extra tax charge? Plus great news on the solarium for us as we like it covered all the time..

 

Jason

 

 

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Hi Jason, no with you visiting Turkey you won't get charged the Italian tax. I believe RCI are changing a lot of Splendour's itineraries in 2014 so that they visit at least 1 non-EU port.

 

A lot of people obviously liked the Solarium closed, it's just me who needs some fresh air at times. It's a great place to eat your food from the Park Cafe as there are tables and chairs all around the Solarium if you don't want a sunbed.

Edited October 27, 2013 by peteukmcr

[needhols]

I really enjoyed reading your post. We leave this Sat on the same ship and itinery. It will be our first cruise. You have helped me get a good picture of what we can expect. I hope out weather is as good as yours. Thank you

[Sinppu]

Thanks Pete,

we are going on the Splendour next September but to Ephesus instead of Corfu.

Your review was very illuminating :cool:

[scotsman]

A great and fair review as always Pete,

We sail on her in two weeks and dock in Turkey so hopeful will not get the extra tax charge? Plus great news on the solarium for us as we like it covered all the time..

 

Jason

 

 

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See you on board :)

Edited October 27, 2013 by scotsman

[scotsman]

I really enjoyed reading your post. We leave this Sat on the same ship and itinery. It will be our first cruise. You have helped me get a good picture of what we can expect. I hope out weather is as good as yours. Thank you

 

See you as well :D

[peteukmcr]

I really enjoyed reading your post. We leave this Sat on the same ship and itinery. It will be our first cruise. You have helped me get a good picture of what we can expect. I hope out weather is as good as yours. Thank you

I'm sure you'll have a great time as you're doing the same itinerary as we did and so I thought I'd give you some more photos from the ports

 

Dubrovnik

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[peteukmcr]

Corfu

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[peteukmcr]

Santorini

 

 

 

 

 

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[peteukmcr]

Athens

 

 

 

 

 

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[peteukmcr]

Some more of the ship

 

Viking crown

 

 

Looking down the Centrum

 

 

 

 

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[peteukmcr]

Solarium

 

 

Mini golf

 

 

 

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[peteukmcr]

Main pool area, deck 9 and Viking Crown, deck 11

 

 

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Edited October 27, 2013 by peteukmcr

[peteukmcr]

42nd Street Theatre

 

 

Schooner Bar

 

 

 

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[maggieq]

Thanks for your feedback. A crystal block, is a glass block with the etching of a ship on it which you are given when you amass 140 cruise points and is of the ship on which you attain these points. You also receive one for every additional 70 points, so at 210, 280 etc.

 

 

Thanks! We are 200+ points and have never heard or been asked about it. Do you have to inquire about it or should you be automatically advised?

[nolesrule]

I really miss Santorini after seeing the photos. My wife and I spent 5 nights there as part of a trip we took for our 10th anniversary.

[adamdiane]

Thanks for your excellent review Pete - we are cruising on Splendour for the first time next July (like you we haven't cruised on a ship as small as this one yet - although we have booked Majesty next year too!).

We will be stopping in Kotor, Montenegro so hopefully won't have to pay the 22% Italian sales tax! :)

Adam

[peteukmcr]

Thanks! We are 200+ points and have never heard or been asked about it. Do you have to inquire about it or should you be automatically advised?

I have heard of instances where it hasn't been automatically provided so I went to see the Loyalty Ambassador as I knew we would reach 140 points during this sailing. Not sure if you can get one retrospectively if you have more than 210 points as they should be given to show the ship you attained that level.

 

One other thing that may be useful, the cocktail hours on Splendour were the longest I've known, 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm (I've only known up to 8:30 pm on other ships).

[dave1013]

I appreciate Pete's thorough review, esp. the pictures. I was on the Oct. 19th sailing of the Splendour with my wife, and also my cousin and her husband. My cousin and I celebrated our 60th birthdays while on the cruise.

 

This is my first post on this board.

 

Loved the staff, enjoyed the ship - but was disappointed with the food. Small portions, bland and uninspired in general. As Pete said, it's a subjective call. I was unhappy with this aspect of the cruise.

 

My wife made advance preparations to have my birthday and my cousin's birthday recognized at dinner two separate nights. This never happened, and the ship's staff took no accountability for the oversight. My wife and my cousin's husband visited the Guest Services counter twice to complain and try to get this turned around, to no avail. This was a poor showing as far as I am concerned.

 

I expect we will cruise again, but likely not with RCI. First impressions are lasting, and this one was not good.

[peteukmcr]

I appreciate Pete's thorough review, esp. the pictures. I was on the Oct. 19th sailing of the Splendour with my wife, and also my cousin and her husband. My cousin and I celebrated our 60th birthdays while on the cruise.

 

This is my first post on this board.

 

Loved the staff, enjoyed the ship - but was disappointed with the food. Small portions, bland and uninspired in general. As Pete said, it's a subjective call. I was unhappy with this aspect of the cruise.

 

My wife made advance preparations to have my birthday and my cousin's birthday recognized at dinner two separate nights. This never happened, and the ship's staff took no accountability for the oversight. My wife and my cousin's husband visited the Guest Services counter twice to complain and try to get this turned around, to no avail. This was a poor showing as far as I am concerned.

 

I expect we will cruise again, but likely not with RCI. First impressions are lasting, and this one was not good.

Sorry to hear that you had problems with your birthday celebrations, especially as arrangements were made in advance. Guest Services should have made amends, especially if it was things that were paid for.

 

I also celebrated my birthday onboard and was dining in Chops Grille that particular evening. RCI knew it was my birthday as it was on the cruise reservation (not Chops) and the lady showing us to our table mentioned it and asked if I would mind the staff singing happy birthday, I said no, as long as they didn't mention my age! Anyway, by the time our meal was over, there was nobody in the restaurant and no staff left to sing! A little let down, but nothing as major as yours.

 

I would say that was an example of the 'hit and miss' service onboard Splendour. For many of the staff it is their first ship, so there maybe training issues, so I'd say please do not give up on RCI, they have some great staff out there.

Edited October 27, 2013 by peteukmcr

[Loyal2RCCL]

A few things I remembered.

 

Although the CRT TVs in the cabins have been replaced with flat screens, they are not interactive, so it isn't possible to check your Sea Pass account online, nor book shore excursions or order room service.

 

To check your account you need to visit Guest Services and request a print out, or go to the Shore Excursions deck to book tours.

 

Room service breakfast can be ordered using the cards provided (and is prompt and served with a smile even at 6:30 am) and I assume other room service orders can be made by telephone.

 

Although advertised (as a gentleman from Germany advised me in Corfu and was one of the reasons he booked the cruise as it was heavily advertised as a facility in Germany - he thought ours we were using in a cafe were from the ship) iPads are only available in category JS cabins and up. These can be used for ordering room service apparently and possibly for checking your account.

 

The 2 panoramic elevators in the centrum are the only ones to go to the Viking Crown (deck 11) but are often out of action when aerial activity is taking place in the Centrum, so you need to take the regular elevators to deck 9 and take the stairs of the next 2 decks.

 

Several days a BBQ was available on the pool deck as an alternative to the other dining venues for lunch and was very good on the day we tried it and popular.

 

Fellow cruisers - a complete range of age and nationalities, although I reckon in general a little older age group.

 

Suggested Dress code - 2 formal nights (which in my observation was fairly well observed), smart casual (again quite well observed), casual (70's) and a black & white theme.

 

I was on the cruise prior to yours. We had a JS and there was an iPad that we could use to access our onboard account, order room service, shore excursions etc.

[Loyal2RCCL]

A great and fair review as always Pete,

We sail on her in two weeks and dock in Turkey so hopeful will not get the extra tax charge? Plus great news on the solarium for us as we like it covered all the time..

 

Jason

 

 

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I was on the Oct. 12-19th sailing that went to Turkey and we did not incur any additional VAT taxes because Turkey is not (yet) in the EU.