Honeymooners deciding on best ship: Splendour of the Seas vs Norwegian Jade

[jackmitch26]

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon sailing through Greece on either the Splendour of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) or Norwegian Jade (NCL). We are in our late 20's, love adventure and excitement, are foodies and are looking to celebrate the start of our marriage on an unforgettable voyage. Both ships travel pretty much the same route (7 days through the Greek Isles, departing from Venice), however we are having a challenge deciding which is best for us. Splendour is smaller, but hits another port - Croatia. Jade has more dining options and an extra sea day, with more onboard. Is one better for a younger crowd? Is one better for adventure seekers? Is one better for honeymooners? Food? Shows? Excursions? Advice and thoughts are most appreciated!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

What a wonderful way to spend your honeymoon.

JMO -- I would go with RCI and have the extra port. How often are you going to get back to those ports?

[Starry Eyes]

I tend to pick Med cruises based on itinerary, so Splendor would win there...Croatia is beautiful.
If you are happy to spring for specialty restaurant fees, Jade is the better option for "foodies"...multiple places to dine, the best for an extra charge (remember, it keeps out the nonfoodies and the frugal). Royal Caribbean recent introduced new menus (an improvement in my opinion) and is gradually rolling them out on various ships...if the cruise is fairly soon, you may want to do a search on the royal Caribbean board to see if the new or old menus will be in effect when you sail.

NCL is more casual...that could be a plus or a minus, depending on your style. I think the ports will keep you busy, but for shipboard activities, Jade proabably has more options for the young and active. It might.draw a more of the younger crowd. Splendor is one of Royal Caribbean's older ships...she was in decent shape when we sailed her a couple years ago, but she lacks all the bells and whistles of the newer ships in RCI's lineup.

NCL's excursions might be a little pricier than other company's (check the websites if it matters), but the same sort of thing will be offered on both I suspect. You may prefer to book private excursions anyway (smaller groups, customized); you can join with others on the roll call to get the group size desired.

I think NCL's entertainment tends to be a little better on average. I think RCI's service tends to be a little better on average.

I have not clarified the issue, have I? it is a trade off. I am fond of both lines. I'm older than you and would go RCI so I could go to Croatia again. If you think you can make it back to the med another time (catch Croatia then if you can), go with NCL...enjoy the restaurant choices, the ship and each other on that extra sea day.

[jeph]

I sailed on Splendour last spring. If this is that same itinerary, the Croatian port is Dubrovnik, which is absolutely stunning-- not to be missed, and fantastically romantic to boot. Just the views you get from walking around the wall that surrounds the old city are unforgettable, and it's as much of a paradise for photographers as Venice.

Which reminds me-- whatever ship you choose, don't shortchange Venice and the Veneto!

[Starry Eyes]

Originally Posted by jeph

I sailed on Splendour last spring. If this is that same itinerary, the Croatian port is Dubrovnik, which is absolutely stunning-- not to be missed, and fantastically romantic to boot. Just the views you get from walking around the wall that surrounds the old city are unforgettable, and it's as much of a paradise for photographers as Venice.

Which reminds me-- whatever ship you choose, don't shortchange Venice and the Veneto!

Dubrovnik is wonderful. Every other week is Split, I believe...also lovely and friendly. We did a B2B on Splendour...for me, that was the ideal choice if time and budget allow...one airfare, many wonderful ports.

[blonde1981]

We chose Splendor for our honeymoon a few years ago. We really enjoyed the small ship and the variety of ports. I agree Croatia is not to be missed.

[blonde1981]

Originally Posted by jackmitch26

Is one better for a younger crowd? Haven't been on Norweign before but I found the RCI ship to have a wide variety of people. We were on the ship in mid-July and the disco was filled every night. Is one better for adventure seekers? RCI has a rock climbing wall but otherwise I think they are about the same with Gyms, pools, etc Is one better for honeymooners? Again not sure about Norweign but RCI did have a Honeymoon reception as well as activities for newly weds on board (various daily games/activities). Food? No issues with RCI while we were on the ship. Opt for My Time Dining and ask for a table for 2 for a romance factor. Shows? Interesting enough. Broadway-esque, magic, spent most of the time in aforementioned disco though. Excursions? I think most of the ships use the same tour companies so they are probably very similar. Advice and thoughts are most appreciated!

I guess I could elaborate LOL. See above

[jackmitch26]

WOW! The advice and time you all provided is very much appreciated! I think it seems that everyone is more in favor for the Splendour of the Seas! Thank you again and if you have more information or advice on specific excursions throughout Croatia and Greece please send my way!

Thank you,
JackMitch26

[euro cruiser]

For information on ports in Greece post here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594

For information on Croatia post here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=234

[lamchops]

We are in our late 20's, love adventure and excitement, are foodies and are looking to celebrate the start of our marriage on an unforgettable voyage.
My kid's are also in your age group and I believe they would prefer a western med cruise over an eastern med cruise itinerary.

Both ships travel pretty much the same route (7 days through the Greek Isles, departing from Venice), however we are having a challenge deciding which is best for us. Splendour is smaller, but hits another port - Croatia. Jade has more dining options and an extra sea day, with more onboard.
If all things are equal, I would choose the extra port. I treat the ship as a floating hotel.

Is one better for a younger crowd? Is one better for adventure seekers?
The one with the better itinerary and more ports of call.

Is one better for honeymooners? Food? Shows? Excursions? Advice and thoughts are most appreciated!
Most major cruise line's food, shows, and activities are very similiar but I have found the staff friendlier on NCL than the others. I'm positive my kid's would enjoy the atmosphere and casualness of the NCL ships.

[momofmeg]

I am not sure how long you are in port but our Med cruise had 12 hours ports for the most part-being older we did not do much in the evening on ship except go to dinner and we did not do that every night-had room service and ate in the buffet a couple of times.

If I was you I would pick the extra port-and if you love great food-eat in port. All these ports have great restaurants and if you go to the port of call forums you will get a lot of great suggestions.

As far as the crusielines. I like RCI only slightly better than NCL-although it would depend on the ship somewhat as to which is better. I have not been on either of those ships but I can say RCI ships age better as a rule. NCL ships show their age sooner for the most part. Of course I do believe the Jade is considerably younger than the SOS-so that may not be true of those 2 ships. Perhaps you should see if you can dig up reviews of each ship from this past season.