Splendor Review Christmas-NewYear

Hi..!

We returned Jan.2 off the “Splendor of the Seas” and we are coming back here, to the Boards, to “give back” to the GREAT posters who had helped us make our cruise a grande experience. Overall a 10 for service, food , execution

O.K. ….

1) embark at Tampa was the fastest ever. Arrived at noon dropped off bags. Parked car at the garage across from the ship. Walk thru the “ boarding procedure” and we are … IN OUR CABIN : 12:37pm. The luggage already there !!!

2) Ship is @ ten years old …. very well maintained. Everything was clean and fresh and shows well.

3) The food was “wonderful, excellent, nice presentation, good quality, plentiful portion with many options to chose from with a very good wine list. . The Bakery items were out-standing!!!! Fresh eggs at the casual dinner -(someone said here that that was not the case …but on days we had to tender for shore excursions, and thus .. went to the “Windjammer” .. one could get eggs anyways one would want. Excellent!! Again nice, courteous servers.

4) The balcony cabin on seven, that we had, was very nice. Best floor to be on in our opinion. Away from the noise above the 8th floor (and the odor of the pool grill coming down to them on 8) and The balcony makes a special place for private time outs. Everyone we spoke with was pleased with the condition and make up of their cabins.

5) The service ….. BEST of our 3 experiences !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We give out small $ 2.00 tips right off the bat, first day. This might be the reason … but we noticed that everyone was getting very high levels of attention. Some people were at little angry about the cloudy weather and seemed to take their frustrations out on the crew. ---We missed Grande Cay .. Too windy and rough for the tenders to operate with safety.

6) Three formal nights --- majority was “formal” for the first, going down to half for the second and a third for the last ( which was New Years’ eve in Key West--surprise her--cause we got to stay over till 9 am the next day--Jan.1.…and we loved that cause we lived in K.W. for 26 yrs and this gave us ample time to re-connect with all the old and favorite places. Although we left, being glad we had sold in late 90s. Great place to ‘tourist visit” , but to live, .. Maybe not.)

7) Jamaica. The Canopy Tour IS THE BEST OF ALL TIME. I’m 60 and I say again …BEST OF ALL TIME. Not affected by past storms --AT ALL.

8) Belize. We did the cave tube. Lots of fun and somewhat interesting. Went with Extreme in a group of only seven. That was much nicer than the 35 plus on the “boats” tour.

9) Cozamel. Went too mainland for the Tulum ruins tour .. With added Ex-Ha water park.

The ruins was very beautiful but unbelievable crowds. Hundreds if not thousands. Very nice but that was a bummer. The Water Park is GREAT IF YOU ARE OR HAVE KIDS!! Otherwise, it is a great waste of time. Just another water park like any here in the U.S. And super crowded to beat.

10) Key West. A Great … used to be .. Special.. Town and experience. Now it is so popular and tourist filled … tee shops and booze joints and motor bike and traffic traffic, traffic. The architecture and plants are still the attraction …. Plus if you like getting drunk and rowdy … hi-ho it is the place to go.

11) Entertainment was amateurish and poorly put together… The lighting and tech was Horrid. But the people were trying. They are talented but stuck with old, crony material and a tech staff that was just not with it. -- The individual performers around the ship. (cocktail singer and her group and the classic piano --THEY WERE GREAT! …but too little of them, in our

opinion.

12) Spas and pools were in grand shape and loads of fun.

13) Internet Room was good ... .50 cents/minute. Library, card rooms very comfortable . Lots of "quite spaces" here.

14) Casino was very smoke filled despite the 1/2 smoke free rule.

Same with the bars. The "Viking Lounge is a great view. HINT: Tell the wait person to "MAKE SURE" the barkeep rinses the shaker before making YOUR martini. The exoctic flavors drinks that were made before reap hell on an otherwise "good" mart".

15)Debarked in 1/2 hour.

This was a smooth, well run ship. (It is prone to vibration--but nothing to complain about).

Hope this helps.. (and the best advise--GET A CLEAR PLASTIC HANGING SHOE BAG--hand it from the top - on the inside of your bath-door and you'll love the super extra convenient storage, that is out of everyone's way and yet ...so handy).

We just love it and can't wait to get out there and .... Seamo

Thanks for taking time to post. Glad to hear you had a great time. RCI must be doing something right.... Will be doing the SOS next month.

Happy cruising....

Thanks so much for taking the time to post. We sail on the Splendour on January 29th for our first cruise ever. Can you be nervous and excited at the same time?LOL

Hi , again,

We are indebted to these boards ,, cause we have gotten so much great info here .... feel we should "Do Right" and give a tad of what we experienced, and maybe it might help someone enjoy it all a bit better....

Here are some of our 1 st timer tips:

1) Check your table # at the booth set up at embarkation. If it is not the size you want -- ask for a change --- OR/and /then --- go on board and take a walk to the dining area .... find your table and decide yea/or/nay ... go back out and ask for the one you think will serve your tastes. .. late seating is already dark .. so don't worry about the "window view". It is all open seating for breakfast and lunch so you will get PLENTY of "view Time". We LOVE the dining room! The Windjammer is also great --- the views at the outside tables are grande .... but there is nothing like table cloths and first class service to make you feel ...oh so wonderful ... to have decide that this is what you are doing .... and a "different menu to please you!!

,...and check out the server bars as that is where the most "noise and action" is taking place. ** On our cruise the stafff was so gentle and respectful it did not matter where you were seated ... did not meet one unhappy sailor.

2)Get the attitude that this is a grande experience -- shared with a lot of other diverse folks. Be patient, be kind, be happy to be where you are. Go easy , man all is cooll!!

3) Check these boards for info on your stops and what is offered ( be aware that the "services" are posting too!! .. as tho they are "us". HYPE!!! But all the info will help make a good decision.

4) My (our) personal tip is to TIP .. right off the bat, on the first day .!! Not much .. We use $2 bills . . . we go out of our way to find something "extra" we may want .. and when delivered ... we give that tip .... IT WORKS WONDERS... Just a few dollars will tell the service folks that YOU CARE about THEM... and the word gets around and next thing you are feeling ...REALLY SPECIAL ... cause , well your getting extra atention... Yeah baby !

5) Try to call the service people -- by their names -- it helps -- we all like being recognized as people..

6) read these boards for tips like :l ist of things to bring .. cloths pins, tape, clear plastic shoe bag top hang over bath door and thus give you 24 great storage spaces.

[ EEeyoouhow!!! ] I've got company coming, so I have to leave, - LIKE RIGHT -- now- --- hope this will help.

Have a great time .... boy oh boy would we love to be with ya to ..................... Seamo

Thanks for your informative review! We're booked on the Splendour in February and I for one am a bit nervous!

Can you offer any info on balcony cabin #7000? Glad to hear you found the 7th deck to be to your liking. Never having cruised, we don't know what to expect (other than words of wisdom and comfort from posters on this board).

We're so looking forward to this trip, only 4 more full weeks of work! The countdown has begun!

Thanks!

icemom

Thanks for the wonderful and detailed review! I wish I had read it before going to the store this morning, I would have gotten a clear plastic shoe bag. Oh well.......

Thanks so much for the positive review of Splendour. For a while, it seemed that many of the reviews were negative. It sounds like the shoe holder is a great idea. I'll have to make sure to get to the dollar store.

We sail in 4 weeks from today! I can't wait to relax in the warm sunshine while sipping a drink with an umbrella in it! Ahhhhhhh :)

Yeah, we read some of the negatives about Splendor on these boards too ... and it did make us a little worried and full of ????.

Sometimes, we think that people can have one bad or unpleasant experience put them into a "all is terrible" mood. It feeds upon it's very own negativity.

Don't believe them. The ship is not new but it is very well kept and maintained. The room staff were excellent as was the case with every single crew member we had anything to do with. There was one waiter, who was a little "sharp" at taking orders for breakfast on the day after we were unable to tender into Grande Cay. -- These folks all lost their day off or extended time for r+r and then had to serve people who were on "anger binges" cause they missed a port. We "joked" with him that we , ourselves , would not mind pushing a couple of these "complainers" over-board. Suddenly he was all warm and fuzzy ... I think , just happy to see and hear that some folks "understand" that they are just PEOPLE too .... his girl was waiting in Grande Cay, it turns out, flew in to meet him there for a Christmas "surprise" ... no wonder he ( too) was feeling a little strain.

--- Best TIP --- be kind!

All the out-side rooms with balconeys on seven are the same. We were 7014 ... if you are 7000 .. then .. you are the very first cabin on the port side (left ). Ships tend to move more at the forward ends and the stern in heavy Seas. A cabin located more towards the middle (midships) will experience the "smoothest" ride . [Think of a teeter/toter were the middle goes nowhere as the ends swings up and down. ** Apositive about being first or last is very little traffic ... coming by you in the hallway .. plus no neighbor on one side and ditto for the balconey. (so only, one set of eyeballs to worry about as you go about getting that "ALL OVER" tan. tee-hee!!

And if the weather is calm ... well everything to the better.

The Plastic shoe bags are in K-Mart - Martha Steward bath section section @ $ 4.00. Tough with slots/pockets , we think 24 or so.

Be sure to try out the Spa Pool (over 16 rule) When the fountain is "on" or the water pusher ... just loads of salt water fun..

Enjoy ... glad to hear this may be of help ....We sure wishh we were going again so we could ........Seamo

My husband and I will be on our very first cruise,...on Splendor 2-9 Apr 2005. We've been trying to do our "homework" and get as much info from this site. We'll be on the 7th deck as well (7034). Yes, we're excited, anxious and ecstatic about cruising. Thanks again for the informative post.