Splendour of the Seas - just back! Do you have any questions?

I was originally going to write a review for my cruise, but I don't have the time yet! Maybe one day soon I will. Overall, I loved the cruise and especially the ports (the ports were the reason we took this cruise).

We did the 8 day sailing from Venice stopping in Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Kusadasi (Epheses), Santorini, and Corfu.

If you have any questions on the ship or these ports please let me know and I'll do my best to answer your questions!

I was originally going to write a review for my cruise, but I don't have the time yet! Maybe one day soon I will. Overall, I loved the cruise and especially the ports (the ports were the reason we took this cruise).

 

We did the 8 day sailing from Venice stopping in Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Kusadasi (Epheses), Santorini, and Corfu.

 

If you have any questions on the ship or these ports please let me know and I'll do my best to answer your questions!

Sailing on the Splendour out of Venice Sept 18th and am very excited and don't even know where to begin asking questions...We are arriving Thursday prior to our sailing so will have time in Venice....just made arrangements for a private all day tour in Epheses...but are pretty clueless overall. Any tips and advice would be wonderful. Going with my aunt (my age but my moms youngest sister - so we are sisters really) her son and daughter in law just boarded the ship this week - they are the lead singers for the next several months.....so we are on the ship to see them perform and the ports are really really a bonus!!!! We have not made any other tour arrangements....what was wonderful and what should we pass on....and what do we not even know enough to ask....have never cruised with RCCL before and pretty clueless.

Getting very excited!

How was the ship and the food? Was the tendering well organized?

Thanks,

Hi there. We were wondering why at the shows with the singers/dancers they said this was their last week on the ship as a new group was coming on the following week.

I'll try to give you a few tips that I can think of, but if you have specific questions let me know.

This ship is the oldest ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet! I thought it was in good shape but there were 2 things in the room I was not expecting. The showers have the shower curtains and not the doors - just a bigger pain for me at least as they are small to begin with! The other is that the safe's require a credit card to open/close by swipping it!! I was not expecting that as all other ships I have been on were a 4 digit #. I've heard (but never tried) that a gift card would work, and that way you don't have to carry your credit card around the ship.

I did not think there were as many day-time activities planned (especially on sea days) as other cruises (in the Caribbean) had. Not a big deal to me so it did not bother me. The night time entertainment seemed to be a lot of singers, etc. No comedians, etc. My guess is this is to accomodate many languages? The shows were packed though! So was the dining room at dinner. Many cruises lately (in the Caribbean) I found the shows and dining rooms more empty.

For some reason the ship was dead in the mornings. On both sea days you could still get a prime chair at the pool at 10am! I was in shock. The windjammer for breakfast early in the morning was dead too.

As for ports, I'm am sure you will love your tour in Ephesus! We did a half day tour through Ephesus Deluxe and had an excellent guide. They will take you to a carpet store, so if you do not want to spend ~1hr there, you need to let your tour provider know now. I found it interesting to hear how they make the carpets, etc but I know many complain about it.

In Santorini you will tender. They let ship tours get off first. I believe 7am (or 7:30? it will be in the compass you get nightly) in the atrium they hand out tender tickets. We got down there about 10 min prior to when they would hand out the tender tickets and there were about 30 people already in line. We did not have to wait long to get off the ship either so that was nice. I loved Santorini. You can easily do it your self if you like by taking the public bus (1.80 euro each ride) to Oia, walking around Fira, perhaps visiting a beach, etc. We did the donkey up and the cable car down!

Dubrovnik I really enjoyed but it was so hot. We did the ship shuttle for $5 US each way into town. Totally worth it. We then walked the walks (10 euros pp) and eventually took the cable car (it just opened this month) up to the top of a mountain. It had some great views. You must pay in local currenty (Kuna) though or credit card. It is equivalent to 10 euros though.

Corfu I would maybe do something else if I did the cruise over! Perhaps try to have a guide or do a ship excursion. We did the ship shuttle (again $5 US each way... although I heard from tablemates there is a local bus for 1.80 euros). We visited the old fort and then a local beach.

Oh, for sail away out of Venice, be sure you are up on the top deck! Excellent views of Venice.

Hope that helps some!

How was the ship and the food? Was the tendering well organized?

Thanks,

I am probably not the best person to ask about food as I am picky! With that said, I had no issues with any of the food in the dining room for dinner, windjammer for breakfast/lunch, or the pizza/burgers in the solarium. Being that this is a smaller ship, you don't have as many choices to choose from (no cafe promenade, no pay restaurants, etc). My only complaint would be the bacon in the windjammer for breakfast! Not cooked long enough.

We tendered in Santorini only. The process was well organized and painless. Get in line early (like 10 min prior to when they begin handing them out) for a tender ticket and you will be golden.

This ship is the oldest ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet!

Just a nitpick... it's not the oldest ship. Majesty and Monarch are both older. But, it IS the smallest ship in the fleet. :D:D

Hi Cruiseequalsful!!!! Clever name....

Yes the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers on your cruise are now off the ship and a new cast is on this week! We are very excited to visit with them and enjoy these very talented kids in Sept. Oh to be young and talented and be able to travel the world...they spent 10 months last yr in the South Pacific, Alaska and Austrailia and New Zealand so they have really seen alot and may not take another contract after this year sooooo that is why it was time to join them on the ship! (this is their 4th contract I think)

We are hoping that by the middle of Sept the heat will have backed down and be a bit more comfortable. Good to know about the safes, never seen that before. We are in a Junior Suite but sure it is the same all over the ship, and ohhh the icky shower curtain - oh well we are just going to have to live with it.

What did you do in Santorini?? or maybe you said and I have just lost it! We plan on bringing Euros from home, how much of other currencies would you think we should bring....and among the ships tours is there any that you had heard were not to miss? Or something that should be a private tour for sure other than Ephusus...

Hi, we are boarding on the 21/8/10 for 7 nights, really looking forward to it as its our 25th wedding anniversary.

We were looking at ordering a beverage package, probably the bottled water package.

Is there drinking water on the ship or is it advisable to purchase the water package?

Hi, we are boarding on the 21/8/10 for 7 nights, really looking forward to it as its our 25th wedding anniversary.

 

We were looking at ordering a beverage package, probably the bottled water package.

 

Is there drinking water on the ship or is it advisable to purchase the water package?

Hi Firstcruise!!

Be sure and come back on and post when you get back!!!! We will be very interested in your comments....take pictures. Are you flying into Venice early?

and have you made any arrangements for tours.

Guess it is hotter than ---- right now, so take a hat, and lots of sunscreen.

Congrats on 25 yrs....we just hit 36 (how did that happen?) and DH is staying home with the dog for this trip...Just the girls!

Do I have any questions? Yes, just one. Why isn't the Splendour of the Seas still doing the 4 and 5 days cruises year-round from Galveston. :mad:

I sure miss this ship.

Thanks for that nana541, we will be flying into Venice at 10:40 and boarding at 12:00. We have a water taxi transfers from airport to ship, so not much time going, but coming home the ship will dock around 6:45 and flight home booked for 16:45, so time to spend around Venice. Can't wait. What your aunt's son and daughter in law's name, we'll look out for them.

Not booked any tours yet, still wading through the list plus asking questions on here what others do

Cruiseequalsfun - who was your captain. I maintain the Current Captain thread and I never get a review from the ships over in Europe to keep up with them.

Thanks for that nana541, we will be flying into Venice at 10:40 and boarding at 12:00. We have a water taxi transfers from airport to ship, so not much time going, but coming home the ship will dock around 6:45 and flight home booked for 16:45, so time to spend around Venice. Can't wait. What your aunt's son and daughter in law's name, we'll look out for them.

 

Not booked any tours yet, still wading through the list plus asking questions on here what others do

Hi again Firstcruise!

So did you pre-arrange the water taxi....too bad you have come so far and can't spend at least a couple days in Venice....Look for Ev Hollens she is lead singer/dancer (as opposed to just lead singer) very very talented and beautiful young lady...Her birthday today and I am thinking they are just leaving Corfu.

Her handsome and talented hubby has some business in the states and won't board the ship for a while (won't be there when you sail) but will be on when we get there....someone is filling in for him until he catches back up with the ship.

As for what to do in ports....go to the Ports Section and hit Europe and then take a look at Greece and Turkey.....will give you all kinds of ideas as to what you should be doing or not doing....

Be sure and let us know how everything went when you get home....

We did a similar Splendour cruise out of Venice -- it was one of the best Med cruises we've ever taken and much of it is due to the ship. Splendour may be a bit older and have fewer of the whizbang bells-and-whistles that her bigger sisters have, but for a port intensive Med cruise it is the perfect balance of activity to relaxation you need. And the crew can't be beat!

Any European cruise is a different cruise than the Caribbean cruises. Most of the pax are on the trip more for the ports than the on-board activities.

I agree with OP that Corfu requires more advance work than most ports. If you just get off and take the shuttle into the city center, you'll be disappointed. Do some leg work and find either an excursion that suits your tastes or book a private tour of some sort.

We tend to cruise the Med in early spring or very late in the fall to avoid the high temps and crushing crowds. It has worked well for us. But if you are considering a Med cruise, I'd second the OPs opinions and strongly recommend Splendour.

Look for Ev Hollens she is lead singer/dancer (as opposed to just lead singer) very very talented and beautiful young lady...

Just found their blog http://peterandevynne.blogspot.com/

Thanks for advise on ports section, I'll check it out

Just a nitpick... it's not the oldest ship. Majesty and Monarch are both older. But, it IS the smallest ship in the fleet. :D:D

Oops, thanks for catching that!

What did you do in Santorini??

We did not do a ship excursion. We tendered then took the donkey's to the top (~25 min, 5 euros) and I enjoyed it. We walked (quickly) through the town to the bus station and took the local bus to Oia (1.80 euros). We walked around, shopped, etc for about 1.5 hours then took the local bus from Oia -> Fira -> Kamari (changed buses, each were 1.80 euros). We then took a trip up to Ancient Thira (right where the bus drops you off there is an agency you can book the van through for 10 euros round trip), visited the ruins for ~1 hour (2 euro entry fee), then walked to Kamari Beach (but did not swim), walked around the town there a bit, then took the bus (again 1.80 euros) back to Fira. Walked around Fira for ~1.5 hrs or so, then took the cable car (4 euros) back down and tendered to the ship. We were gone from about 7:30am to 4pm. We had looked online at the bus schedule and somehow our timings clicked perfectly! We never had to wait more then 3-4 min for a bus or the van, etc. We did wait about 15 min to tender back. No line for the cable car either (although some that tried to go back at like 1:30-2pm had huge, huge lines as 2 other ships were leaving at 3pm). Hope that helps some!

We plan on bringing Euros from home, how much of other currencies would you think we should bring....

We only brought Euros, except US money to pay the tour guide in Ephesus. Everywhere we went in Turkey accepted Euros. Likewise, euros is the currency in Greece/Venice, etc. In Dubrovnik if you are in the old city or walking the walls everywhere we were took euros (maybe not the best exchange rate, but for small purchases, it did not matter); however you should ask before you buy. Like 100 meters outside the old city, a shop would not take euros (I was trying to buy a water!). Neither did the cable car, but we just charged it to the credit card.

and among the ships tours is there any that you had heard were not to miss? Or something that should be a private tour for sure other than Ephusus...

In corfu, tablemates enjoyed a tour of the coast, I think it was on a boat(??), etc. I don't really know much about it or what the name of it was. I really can't talk to much about the ship tours as I never even read about them!

Please let me know if you have other questions!

 

We were looking at ordering a beverage package, probably the bottled water package.

 

Is there drinking water on the ship or is it advisable to purchase the water package?

I do not know if there was a bottle water package; they were certainly havig it for sale right as you exited the ship though. I don't recall it being advertised? For the ship, we primarily got water from the windjammer without issue. In ports we found that the water was pretty cheap (like .6 - 1.5 euros a .5L bottle in many stores. I would also fill up my water bottles out of the sink in the room and it was fine for me, but I'm not picky about water!

Happy 25th anniversary!

Do I have any questions? Yes, just one. Why isn't the Splendour of the Seas still doing the 4 and 5 days cruises year-round from Galveston. :mad:

I sure miss this ship.

Sorry about that! Look at next year, there are a TON of ships in Europe!

Cruiseequalsfun - who was your captain. I maintain the Current Captain thread and I never get a review from the ships over in Europe to keep up with them.

I have it at home and will post it to this thread late tonight or tomorrow!

I do not know if there was a bottle water package; they were certainly havig it for sale right as you exited the ship though. I don't recall it being advertised? For the ship, we primarily got water from the windjammer without issue. In ports we found that the water was pretty cheap (like .6 - 1.5 euros a .5L bottle in many stores. I would also fill up my water bottles out of the sink in the room and it was fine for me, but I'm not picky about water!

 

Happy 25th anniversary!

That good info because the price of the water package

8 bottles $28.45

12 -------$40.30

16--------$50.55

24--------$71.10

All plus 15% gratuity

So very expensive

Cruiseequalsfun - who was your captain. I maintain the Current Captain thread and I never get a review from the ships over in Europe to keep up with them.

Hi. The captain is Captain Tommy Nyseter. Hope that helps!

Just found their blog http://peterandevynne.blogspot.com/

 

Thanks for advise on ports section, I'll check it out

Yep you found them !!! You can also find hundreds more on Youtube of Pete, Ev, and the group Peter founded at the U of O - On the Rocks (acapella group)

We are very proud of them and follow all their successes online and where ever their talent takes them....

Will need to take a better look at Corfu and Santorini, of course we are assuming that by the time we board the ship the kids will know all the great not to miss sites in each port.

ps Ev also founded a group and can be seen on Youtube DIVCI (U of O also acapella)! Talented young people!

Hi. The captain is Captain Tommy Nyseter. Hope that helps!

Ty...that helps me confirm my thread is mostly correct

We'll have a look on youtube, but from what we've seen so far on the blog, it looks good. Shame Peter cant be there on our cruise but i'm sure they'll have a good stand-in.