Splendour Of The Seas Greek Isle

[ladyeights]

I would greatly appreciate any information you might be able to share regarding the ship or this particular cruise. (Venice and Greek Isles-6 day cruise-July, 2009)

 

This would be our first Royal Caribbean cruise. 12 previous on Princess and 3 on Celebrity (just ret'd from Solstice).

 

How does this ship compare to Princess and Celebrity. I am concerned because it is an older ship. Thanks!

[mjldvlks]

We did the 7 day Venice, Dubrovnik, Kusadesi, Santorini, Corfu, Venice cruise in 2007. Had a fantastic time.

 

Splendour is older and certainly smaller than the Voyager, Freedom or even Brilliance classes, although I chuckle a little at calling a 70,000 ton vessel small. We found it well maintained and staffed by an excellent crew. Our deck 7 balcony on Splendour was great -- bigger than the JS we had on Monarch.

 

I personally think the smaller ships are better for port intensive itineraries, particularly with smaller ports involved. At places you have to tender, I suspect the smaller size helps get people on and off faster, not to mention fewer people in port [depending on what other ships are there that day]. We also had the best dining room service we have had on Splendour.

 

Unless you find surfing, fast food burgers, and shopping malls indispenible to your Mediterranean experience, I would not hesitate at all because of the ship. Not knocking those things, we are looking forward to the TA on Independence in April, but if the itinerary, dates and price fit, go for it.

 

By the way -- port side for the Venice sail away. Can't beat it.

[peck]

We done this cruise in oct 08. Great cruise, great ports of call. The sail away from Venice must be one of the best.

The ship is ageing but still offers a fun packed cruise afterall does it matter if the varnish is a little worn.

[Bella36]

We are doing this cruise in May. Our ports are Venice, Split, Athens, Mykonos, Corfu and Katakolon. We have a 2 night stay in Venice before embarking Splendour of the Seas. I am very familiar with the Med ports, but the ship will be completely new to us.

 

As I have never cruised with RCI before, having been on 3 P&O cruises, and 1 with Thomson to the Caribbean, I am wondering how different an American ship, and Splendour in particular, will be? I know she is amongst the smaller and older ships of the RCI fleet, but I am wondering will she compare well to the lovely P&O ships we have been on?

 

Also, what are the times for 1st and 2nd sitting dinner and are there several shows a night to coincide with dining times? Do we get the tips taken from our onboard account, or can we opt out and give our servers the tips personally? I prefer to do this.

As our flight home isn't until 6pm, would we be allowed to stay onboard until the afternoon on our departure day?

Thanks in advance for any advice - we are really looking forward to our first cruise with RCI!

[peck]

Having cruise both on Splendour and Oceana my impression is that Splendour is a better ship. The cabins are larger and more comfortble. The entertainment is more fun, but the quizzes were better on Oceana. The food is comparable but maybe Splendour just shades it. The drinks on Splendour are gonna be more expensive but you are going to have to live with that.

Take some decent coffee & tea with you and a very low powered kettle if you can, but a jar a of Nescafe will not go amiss as the coffee is not to my taste, but to outweigh that they have ice cream m/cs by the pool which is a plus.

Dont miss the crew doing their version of the YMCA in the nightclub it is a real hoot and if you like dancing pratice your John Travolta routines.

We got off the ship early and left our luggage in a left luggage store in the Pizzala Roma and then had a day in Venice afterwards.

 

Hope this helps

Peck

[mjldvlks]

Bella,

 

I cannot compare Splendour to ships of the other lines, but I will try to answer some of your other questions. The sitting times may vary, but plan on the first sitting at 5:30 or 6 and the second at 8:30 or 9. Primarily to accommodate our traveling companions, we chose the first sitting. If you have heavy excursions planned, the first sitting might create schedule problems, but it was not an issue for us. I believe they had multiple shows every night, and I can say that we never had a problem getting to the show from the first sitting. The shows were very good. We saw the Elton John tribute, a couple of production shows, a magic show, and an Argentine dance group. They tend to avoid comedy on European cruises to avoid language difficulties with the more diverse passenger make up. RCI gives you the option to have tips prepaid or to pay in cash. You will get envelopes for your various attendants the second last night. If you pre-pay, you will get vouchers at the same time so that you can give the envelope with the voucher to the attendant. We normally prepay, but if truly pleased (which is the rule) we give a bit more than the recommended amount. You can have the prepaid tips adjusted up or down at the pursers desk. We usually just put cash in with the voucher if we want to up the tip. We have never adjusted down.

 

I am sure they will want you to leave by mid morning. They most likely have another cruise leaving the same day and have to prepare the ship. However, I assume you are ending in Venice. I know you have 2 days there pre-cruise, but there should still be plenty to see. As I recall, our flight from Venice was not until 7 p.m. or so. We found a "left luggage" place at [i believe] the Piazzale Roma, checked our bags and spent the day touring. Went to some museums we missed on our pre-cruise visit.

 

One suggestion, if you have never cruised from Venice before, find a spot on the port side for sail away. If you are in the cruise port, the ship will probably be nose in so that the starboard side is to the city. For sail away, however, the ship will back out and turn, then sail down the Canale San Marco so that the main island will be on the port side. You will sail by the city and right by St Mark's square. By far the best sail away I have experienced. If the weather is iffy [we cruised in November], the Viking Crown Lounge is not a bad place. On Splendour, there is an outside deck just aft of the VCL that you can step out on to get pictures so you won't have to shoot through the windows.

 

Great cruise. And as I have said before, we loved the ship. It is smaller, but to me, that is an advantage on this itinerary. We did not notice the age of the ship. It is well maintained. Our cabin was great and the crew was great. Enjoy your trip.

[ladyeights]

Thank you for your responses. I have been to Venice before and there is nothing like the view sailing in. We were on the Grand Princess, and being new at that time, everything was perfect. That is why I am a little concerned about the Splendour because of the age. We have been on refurburshed ships and they are just never the same. It's amazing that they just keep building these Billion $$ ships...and they always seem to be fully booked.

 

How does the food compare to Princess and Celebrity? I wonder if RCCI now has instituted the same smoking policies as Celebrity.

 

Still looking for "great deal" before making a final decision.

[SEASPORT]

Our family did this cruise last year. The Splendour is an old ship and the wear and tear is noticeable. However the ports were fantastic and the staff treated us well.

[Bella36]

Thanks very much for all the advice everyone.:)

 

As I am a newbie to RCI I am reading the boards everyday, but there doesn't seem to be that many postings about Splendour of the Seas - not sure why? Please has anyone a link to some pics?

 

I am presuming that the menus are the same fleet wide? The food sounds lovely - just hope it tastes as good as it sounds!:D

[superdave57]

If you don't mind, could you give any pointers or suggestions. We are taking the Splendour out of Venice in July of this year. Never have I been there and would be interested in anything that people have learned from these cruises. We are going to Venice and Split, Croatia and Athens. Thanks in advance... Dave in Houston

[mickfoxland]

Thanks very much for all the advice everyone.:)

 

As I am a newbie to RCI I am reading the boards everyday, but there doesn't seem to be that many postings about Splendour of the Seas - not sure why? Please has anyone a link to some pics?

 

I am presuming that the menus are the same fleet wide? The food sounds lovely - just hope it tastes as good as it sounds!:D

http://community.webshots.com/user/mcahirst

the splendour of the seas pics are from may 2008, the cruise is good

the sail away from venice was that amazing we got up at 5am to watch again as we came back in. it was better

the ship is knocking on a bit but the quality is still there

crew are great

shouldn't bother with the kettle etc. i can never understand the english obsession with this, it's like a throwback to a 70's boarding house in skegness the drinks on board are far superior.

mick

[beachnative]

We sailed the Greek Isles from Venice last summer on the Splendour. The crew was fantastic and the ship served the best main dining room food of any of the 14 cruises we've taken.

 

My only complaint to RCCL would be about the lack of signs at the pick-up point in P. Roma. After exiting the vaparetto, the bus to take you to the ship loads at the far left corner of the huge bus lot. This will not be an issue if you take a water taxi from your hotel or auto taxi from the airport.

[Floflegs]

We did a B2B on Splendour last June. We found everything excellent and the staff wonderful.

Bella, I see you are from Cardiff. You can prepay your gratuities in advance with your cruise cost if you don't want to add it to your OBC.

Dave, Split and Dubrovnik are very doable yourself. In Split you are right on the seafront. In Dubrovnik there is a bus to take you to the old town. Don't miss walking the walls but do it early as it can get very hot in summer.

[CarolS19]

Our first 2 cruises were on Splendour and they were fabulous. Although we have since been on newer and bigger ships we think fondly of Splendour and would definately cruise on it again. The Greek Islands are amazing you will have a great time