Cruise Review: Venice, Bari, Corfu, Athens, Mykonos, Dubrovnik - Splendour - Aug 2012

Hi Louise,

 

Lucky you! You'll love the beautiful Splendour! :)

 

I have to apologize ahead of time. I took some photos of the ship, but only of the dining room, the Schooner Bar, and the centrum. Also took several pics of our cabin. Oh, I also took photos of our tours on the Bridge and the Galley, and the Backstage Tour.

 

I found this link to a video of the "Splendour of the Seas Delivers the Wow - Revitalisations Provide More Innovation"

 

 

I think you'll find it interesting, and you'll see a lot of the inside of the beautiful Splendour.

 

Lita

Don't worry, any photos of the ship are greatly appreciated :D

Plus Mykonos is one of our ports of call so will look forward to seeing what you guys did there!

I've been looking on YouTube and there are quite a lot of videos of the Splendour :)

Louise

What wonderful pictures and narration! I can't wait to read more about your trip. Also a dream of mine to visit Venice (and Italy)...

Wonderful, wonderful review. Thank you.

Lovely review, cant wait for the rest!

thanks

Thank you for sharing :):)

A nice review and wonderful photos

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and photos! Your pictures are wonderful! We leave for Venice in 6 days and will be on the Splendour on the 29th so I am devouring every detail of your report!

Judie

Originally Posted by scottishwee35

hello

I still enjoyed to read your trip story.

you see that we are going to Venice next year for two days before our cruise which similar your...

We are deaf family apart from hearing son.

the reason I was reading your story and wonder where did you booked for Grand Canal Boat Tour and Gondola Ride and Serenade Tour ?

I see that the photos that you were sharing with another people for Gondola Ride and I wonder if that would be less expensive ? If we go 4 of us for Gondola - will it be expensive? or better share with anoher?

Scottishwee35

Hello :)

 

I am very happy to know that you and your family will get to visit beautiful Venice next year. I am sure you'll have a fabulous time!

 

We booked with Viator. We've used them when we did a tour of Germany's Romantic Road two years ago, and we were very pleased with the tours we'd taken.

 

Here is the link for their Venice Grand Canal Boat Tour

 

http://www.viator.com/tours/Venice/Venice-Grand-Canal-Boat-Tour/d522-2635VENCAN

 

Here is the link for their Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade

 

http://www.viator.com/tours/Venice/Venice-Gondola-Ride-and-Serenade/d522-2495TOUR4

 

From what I understand, the price quoted on their website is for a group of 5 or 6 sharing a gondola. I'm sorry but I don't know how much it would cost for your family alone to ride in a gondola. Maybe your son can call the customer service of this tour company. Their phone number is (888) 651-9785. Hope you get a clear answer from them.

 

 

I'm glad that you're enjoying my review, and thanks for writing in :)

 

Lita

Hello scottishwee35 :)

I'm sorry that I forgot to mention that on that Viator link I'd sent you, on the left side halfway down on the page, there's a blue box that says "Questions...

Click here". You can email them any questions about the gondola ride. Hope this helps.

This review is fantastic (and so are your pictures). I will be on the Splendour in November. What company did you use for your Grand Canal Boat Tour....I've been to Venice but that looks like fun.

 

Thanks

Dena

Dena, You will love the Splendour! Thanks for writing in :)

Hi...

 

Lita mentioned Viator in a previous post

 

http://www.viator.com/tours/Venice/V...522-2635VENCAN

 

 

http://www.viator.com/tours/Venice/V...d522-2495TOUR4

 

I'll be checking these out too!

Thank You for helping :)

Hi Lita

 

If you scroll to the top of the page there is a link to 'Thread tools'...choose 'subscribe' from the drop down list and then you can select whether you get an email everytime someone posts...HTH :)

Hi there,

Thank You. It is good to know how to do these shortcuts :)

Fantastic review and beautiful pictures.

Thank You for your kind comments :)

Loving your review and photos, which has inspired me to do a trip report for our Western Med. cruise the Liberty which we just returned from. Loved it so much that I am looking at a Spendour cruise next summer!

You'll love the Splendour, and I look forward to reading your review. My DH and I, with our friends did the Western Med. out of Barcelona 2 years ago, and it was fabulous! Thanks for writing in :)

Don't worry, any photos of the ship are greatly appreciated :D

Plus Mykonos is one of our ports of call so will look forward to seeing what you guys did there!

 

I've been looking on YouTube and there are quite a lot of videos of the Splendour :)

 

Louise

Hi Louise :)

This is Royal Caribbean’s Facebook link with plenty of pictures of the ship

It does not show pics of an Inside Cabin or the Royal Suite. I found this link though of a detailed video of an Inside Cabin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RsxQJIXT5A

What wonderful pictures and narration! I can't wait to read more about your trip. Also a dream of mine to visit Venice (and Italy)...

Thank You so much! I hope your dream will become a reality soon :)

Wonderful, wonderful review. Thank you.

Thank You very much for your kind comments :)

Lovely review, cant wait for the rest!

 

thanks

Thank You for writing in :)

Thank you for sharing :):)

 

A nice review and wonderful photos

Thank You for writing in :)

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and photos! Your pictures are wonderful! We leave for Venice in 6 days and will be on the Splendour on the 29th so I am devouring every detail of your report!

 

Judie

Hi Judie,

Thank You for your kind comments. Oh how wonderful you're going to see fabulous Venice and sail on the beautiful Splendour soon!

I will try my best to finish my review before you leave for your cruise :)

Hello,

We've been out of town for several days and was not able to post more on my review :( . Please accept my sincere apologies.

Lita

You are quite welcome. Oh I do believe in dreams. If you would have asked me 1 year ago if I would ever go on a cruise my answer would have been NEVER lol. Look at me now ;)

In 6 days our dream of visiting Venice will come true...thanks for whetting my appetite even more! Looking forward to reading more and viewing more photos...lovely family memories for you and your daughter!

MURANO, about 1.5 km north of Venice, is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian lagoon. It is famous world-wide for its glass making.

We didn’t have much time on this island because we were only allowed 50 minutes to explore and shop (it was the first time for Emily to visit this island and the 2nd time for Arn and I). The glass demonstration was quite interesting, but ate up most of our free time. We did get Murano souvenirs like wine cork puller for our oldest daughter (it is quite lovely; wish I had bought a couple more), Emily chose a beautiful ring, and a clock for Arn and I.

On our way to Murano

Holland America ship sailing out of the Venetian lagoon

Approaching Murano

Murano dock

Glass-making demonstration

The just-finished glass vase, multi-coloured and lovely, on the table

In 6 days our dream of visiting Venice will come true...thanks for whetting my appetite even more! Looking forward to reading more and viewing more photos...lovely family memories for you and your daughter!

I am so happy for you, visiting beautiful Venice soon :)

Yes, my husband, our youngest daughter Emily, and I had the most wonderful time spending lovely, precious time together...

Thank You for writing in :)

TORCELLO in the 10th century, had a population of at least 10,000 and was much more powerful than Venice. From 12th century onwards, its lagoon gradually became a swamp and Torcello’s prosperity ended. Navigation in the dead lagoon was impossible and the growing swamps seriously aggravated the malaria situation. The population eventually abandoned the island and left for Murano, Burano or Venice. It now has a population of around 20 people.

Emily at Ponte de Diavolo

Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta on the left, and the Church of Santa Fosca on the right

BURANO is another island in the Venetian lagoon. It is known for its lacework and small, brightly-painted houses, popular with artists. The colours of the houses follow a specific system. If someone wishes to paint their home, one must send a request to the government, who will respond by making notice of the certain colours permitted for that lot.

We had more time to explore and shop here. I am quite happy with the lovely Christmas table runners and lace shawls I ended up buying...

WOW, really enjoying your review. Great photos!! Thanks for posting....brings back lots of great memories of our Med cruise last year. Looking forward to seeing more!! Thanks for taking the time to do this!! I know they are time consuming!

We had dinner that night (our last night in Venice) at Da Mamo Restaurant http://www.damamo.it/eng/ ranked # 11 out of 881 restaurants in Venice.

It was the best meal we’ve had in Venice! We feel that the 95 euros bill (broken down below) was reasonable considering that there were 3 of us, and we ordered a full bottle of their house wine (Arn and Emily said that it was good). Their food was very delicious, and the service excellent! We tipped our waiter, and it was very much appreciated.

Breakdown of prices as follows:

Bottle of House Wine - 16 euros Peach juice - 3 Mineral water 2.50

Scallops - 15

Spaghetti with scampi and light chili pepper - 16

Pizza vegetarian - 10

Fried scampi, calamari, fish, and veggies 18 e

Charlotte - a trifle, dessert sponge cake layered with whipped cream and fruit - 7

tax 10.50

“Abbuoni” (meaning Discount) less - 3

TOTAL 95 e

From what I’ve read on Trip advisor, it is recommended to reserve ahead of time (I’ve done it thru email the night before and I got the last spot available). When we were there, we saw many people were unfortunately turned away. We arrived there at 7:15 pm, right when they opened, and left after 9:30.

On our way to Da Mamo

WOW, really enjoying your review. Great photos!! Thanks for posting....brings back lots of great memories of our Med cruise last year. Looking forward to seeing more!! Thanks for taking the time to do this!! I know they are time consuming!

Thank You for your kind comments :)

I like the quote on your signature: "The Best things in Life aren't things!!"

So very true...

Just quickly clicked on your Hawaii cruise review. WOW! What a great start! I bookmarked it so I can read on it later. Our family of 4 did a 3 week land tour of Hawaii in 2000. Loved, loved it! Reading your Hawaii review will surely bring back many of those great memories. I am looking forward to reading all of your reviews soon...

Thanks again :)

Emily and her full glass of wine :)

Waiting for dinner

Scallops in garlic-butter sauce