Splendor Review….quick one

[Gpilon]

We were on Splendor, Miami to Lisbon March 28 and it was our second time cruising on this terrific ship. I plan on making this as thorough a review as possible, but also an abbreviated one.

 

Pre night cruise hotel. As our flights from Savannah to Atlanta (then on to Miami) got so delayed we could not fly into Miami the day before embarkation….can’t comment on the Intercontinental, but am pretty sure it was quite a bit better than the AKA Brickell we were put up at on last March’s Splendor cruise.

 

Embarkation - Regent met us at the airport embarkation day as we flew in from Atlanta that morning. For the most part, stress free and easy. Not so easy was the security company at the pier who seemed very “lost”. No fault of Regent.

 

Suite - We were able to get into our Grand Suite, 1012, at noon and it was ready to welcome us. Beautiful suite and our butler and cabin attendants were sensational the entire cruise.

 

Itinerary - We wanted to do a TA and knew we could have some rough seas. After our Bermuda port of call, the Azores was cancelled very early by the captain due to weather and he took the ship on a more Southern sailing. Seas were fairly rough the entire cruise. Again, no fault of Regent but we would not do another ocean crossing knowing what could be “possible conditions”.  Suffice to say money spent pre cruise on motion sickness items was well spent.

 

Restaurants - We ate at Prime 7 5 nights and all were terrific. Great food, service and connoisseur wine list was quite good, and we found it to be “reasonable”. Pacific Rim…..very mediocre with nice food but service was very rushed. An Asian restaurant has only one Saki available?? I am a hot Sake drinker so this was a major disappointment (cruise last March on Splendor….zero Saki..??) Chartreuse - not being fish eaters and although french from Montreal originally, we do not like heavy sauces with butter. Just the smell while walking towards the restaurant we found off putting. That is on us and we did not dine there once. Sette Mari….Very good food and service and we ate there 2 nights. Hard to screw up pasta but their’s was quite good. We very much enjoy the ambiance of this place and we’re lucky to get tables by the windows both nights. Compass Rose…..beautiful space and great service. Food was quite good for dinners and the 2 breakfasts we had there. Pool buffet……love the peel and eat shrimp and burgers quite good. Very good pizzas. Room service…..unfortunately, I came down with a pretty good cold so we decided to have room service 2 nights. Our butler did a terrific job of getting food to us promptly, but even with that, food was mostly “cool” and average, at best. La Veranda….good but no “wow” factor. 

 

Bars - a real hit here. Pool bar staff were so nice and accommodating as were bar staff in Meridian and Splendor lounges. Terrific cocktail choices and Observation Lounge was a pre-dinner hit. We found all venues had excellent music and the CD, Jude, was a gem and very engaged with all passengers.

 

Staff - extremely friendly and helpful anywhere on the ship.

 

Post cruise - We decided to spend a couple extra days in Lisbon and our TA suggested staying at Bairro Alto Hotel. Superb and would highly recommend it. Lisbon is one of our favorite cities and exploring it again was terrific.

 

We love the Regent brand and are now looking at Grandeur cruises. 

[Ladys Mom]

So glad you enjoyed your time on  the Splendor, even if the weather was not so cooperative.  Saki seems to be hit or miss.  When we were last on the Splendor in the Fall, 2021, they had an entire saki menu so we could try different brands.  Since then, it has been harder to find.  When we are on the inaugural Grandeur we hope for more saki to choose from.

[SkystheLimit]

Thank you for the review.  We are scheduled to sail next week on the Splendor.  Definitely looking forward to it and will keep your review in mind when making selections.

 

[WLVTRVLR]

Thank you for the update on your Splendor trip.  We are booked on this ship for a transatlantic next year.  I have been looking at your same suite on the Grandeur for a different trip.  Were you ever disturbed by pool deck noise from above?

 

Thank you 

[Gpilon]

3 hours ago, WLVTRVLR said:

Thank you for the update on your Splendor trip.  We are booked on this ship for a transatlantic next year.  I have been looking at your same suite on the Grandeur for a different trip.  Were you ever disturbed by pool deck noise from above?

 

Thank you 

We were not bothered in the least. Weather was cool so very little traffic/action around the pool in the early mornings. Suite was sensational. 

[2SailingNomads]

Was on with you and agree the service was great most times.,  Around the pool was especially good.  Food was very good in all restaurants but avoid the squid in Chartreuse unless you like old car tires, that was terrible.  Included wines were decent - especially if you went to the complimentary offering session to see what else is available and then ask when elsewhere from a specific restaurant that you might have enjoyed their wine -  (a wine in Chartreuse was nowhere else unless you asked for it I enjoyed).  I don't go on a cruise for the entertainment but the few shows we did go to were very good and enjoyed Gino and the 5 piece band with the horns.  Prime 7 and Pacific Rim were our favorite "specialty" restaurants but never had a bad meal on the ship.  Loved the ship and the crew. 

[Gpilon]

On 4/14/2023 at 1:50 PM, Gpilon said:

We were on Splendor, Miami to Lisbon March 28 and it was our second time cruising on this terrific ship. I plan on making this as thorough a review as possible, but also an abbreviated one.

 

Pre night cruise hotel. As our flights from Savannah to Atlanta (then on to Miami) got so delayed we could not fly into Miami the day before embarkation….can’t comment on the Intercontinental, but am pretty sure it was quite a bit better than the AKA Brickell we were put up at on last March’s Splendor cruise.

 

Embarkation - Regent met us at the airport embarkation day as we flew in from Atlanta that morning. For the most part, stress free and easy. Not so easy was the security company at the pier who seemed very “lost”. No fault of Regent.

 

Suite - We were able to get into our Grand Suite, 1012, at noon and it was ready to welcome us. Beautiful suite and our butler and cabin attendants were sensational the entire cruise.

 

Itinerary - We wanted to do a TA and knew we could have some rough seas. After our Bermuda port of call, the Azores was cancelled very early by the captain due to weather and he took the ship on a more Southern sailing. Seas were fairly rough the entire cruise. Again, no fault of Regent but we would not do another ocean crossing knowing what could be “possible conditions”.  Suffice to say money spent pre cruise on motion sickness items was well spent.

 

Restaurants - We ate at Prime 7 5 nights and all were terrific. Great food, service and connoisseur wine list was quite good, and we found it to be “reasonable”. Pacific Rim…..very mediocre with nice food but service was very rushed. An Asian restaurant has only one Saki available?? I am a hot Sake drinker so this was a major disappointment (cruise last March on Splendor….zero Saki..??) Chartreuse - not being fish eaters and although french from Montreal originally, we do not like heavy sauces with butter. Just the smell while walking towards the restaurant we found off putting. That is on us and we did not dine there once. Sette Mari….Very good food and service and we ate there 2 nights. Hard to screw up pasta but their’s was quite good. We very much enjoy the ambiance of this place and we’re lucky to get tables by the windows both nights. Compass Rose…..beautiful space and great service. Food was quite good for dinners and the 2 breakfasts we had there. Pool buffet……love the peel and eat shrimp and burgers quite good. Very good pizzas. Room service…..unfortunately, I came down with a pretty good cold so we decided to have room service 2 nights. Our butler did a terrific job of getting food to us promptly, but even with that, food was mostly “cool” and average, at best. La Veranda….good but no “wow” factor. 

 

Bars - a real hit here. Pool bar staff were so nice and accommodating as were bar staff in Meridian and Splendor lounges. Terrific cocktail choices and Observation Lounge was a pre-dinner hit. We found all venues had excellent music and the CD, Jude, was a gem and very engaged with all passengers.

 

Staff - extremely friendly and helpful anywhere on the ship.

 

Post cruise - We decided to spend a couple extra days in Lisbon and our TA suggested staying at Bairro Alto Hotel. Superb and would highly recommend it. Lisbon is one of our favorite cities and exploring it again was terrific.

 

We love the Regent brand and are now looking at Grandeur cruises. 

An addendum here, and an important one. Splendor did an excellent job of broadcasting and displaying the 30 minute chair reserving provision, and ultimately enforced same. A huge difference from our Splendor cruise in March 2022. 

[BuckGood]

We have done Many southern crossings and have Never had bad weather or rough seas, I guess we have been just lucky! We board the Splendor on Friday for 18 nights and can’t Wait! 😎