Splendour of the seas July 24th 2004. We're Back

[teddytubby]

Hiya everyone from your July 24th cruiser Ted, unfortunately back after our best ever holiday, honest!! It was worth waiting for, but its over so soon. It was our first cruise but after reading these boards for so long I felt like an expert cruiser, the information you pick up on the boards is so important to the enjoyment of the cruise.

Anyway, I've written a review hope it covers most things, if not please do not hesitate to post questions which I'll try to answer. :-

 

We arrived at ship at about 1.30PM and there were hundreds of people at pier but there were approx 20 desk staff so we were only in queue for less than 10 mins.

We checked in giving our credit card details for payment as they would not let us put credit on shipcard at that point. I put credit on shipcard next day at pursers desk with Travellers cheques. All transactions can be tracked by asking for progress report at Bursers desk.

Our dinner seating was 9.30, which was too late for us so we changed it to 7.30 with the Maitre D at the pier.

Cases delivered to cabin about 2hours after embarkation

We had our meeting at 5.00pm in the Schooner Bar with our friends we had met & spoken with on the Meet & Mingle boards. We then changed our dinner time again so we could sit together on the same table which was no problem on early sitting as late sittings were well overbooked, so that turned out well for all of us.

The ship itself looks magnificent from the aeroplane approaching Barcelona airport, but when we got close at pier you could see it was getting on a little bit from the outside, but don’t worry when you get inside it is sparkling from top to bottom, every time you turn a corner there is a member of staff cleaning, polishing, painting or cleaning carpets.

I read some posts before I left about unhelpful & miserable staff, what a load of rubbish, everyone is smiling, happy & wanting to tend to your every need at all times.

Muster drill starts at 5.15, when everyone has to go back to their cabins and arrive at their designated station with their lifejackets on by 5.30. Drill goes on a little but I suppose safety is so important.

Our balcony cabin 7070 was on port side at mid ships, near to stairs & lifts, great position, no noise or anything. Inside, it is not enormous but adequate with fairly small balcony but who cares you only sleep in it. There is plenty of hanging space and we managed to get our suitcases under bed, if you can’t, cabin attendant will take away to storage. The cabin is cleaned twice daily and is always gleaming with nice extras such as chocolates on pillars and folded towel animals on the turned down beds, worth taking photos.

Meals :- We ate in King & I dining room on lower floor close to window every night and the food & service was excellent. If there is anything you don’t like after you’ve tasted it, just tell the waiter & he’ll change it, don’t be shy!!

At other times we ate in Windjammer where the choice & quality was first class.

Every night there were snacks in bars with a gala midnight buffet on Thursday in King & I dining room with ice sculptures etc. Take your camera

Drinks on ship were a little expensive but just as I expected, usually had a few cocktails of the day at just over 3 dollars each, well worth it.

Entertainment could have been better but OK, there’s always lots going on day & night.

Spa is nice but very expensive, couple of friends had facials & they said they were great.

Excursions :- We only went on 2 ship organised tours (Vatican & Pompeii). They were well organised & we had very knowledgeable guides.

The ship is anchored about 1000metres from shore at Villefranche so we tendered to shore. We were going to catch train to Nice but station was like a cattle market, hot & crowded with no staff about to help with tickets etc so we changed our minds and just had a walk around town & had a cup of tea before tendering back to ship.

When docked there are courtesy coaches which take you into main cities for a few dollars. Be careful in Rome&Naples with pickpockets. Just keep your eyes open & if there any gypsies etc. put your hand over your money which shows you know that they are about and they do not rob by force so don't panic, just be alert. In Vatican tour, guards are very hot on shoulders been completely covered. There was a woman on our tour who had a laced wrap which was not acceptable and she was not allowed into Sistine Chapel which should not be missed. Also the Pope is away on vacation so there is no service on Wed as usual (may be back for your cruise)

During the day there were usually plenty of sunbeds on the pool deck with great weather every day. On the sea day on Friday, it becomes very crowded and so either get there early or take your chances.

There are a few shops on board such as clothing, jewellery, perfume etc Ok but not fantastic.

On formal nights most men wore smart suits or tuxi's and the women wore beautiful cocktail dresses, great nights. On the smart casual night the men mainly wore dress shirts and trousers not many ties or jackets about!! Other nights, whatever you wanted.

Disembarkation starts early at just after 7.00Am & goes on until 8.30 depending on flight times at airport if booked through RCI.

The coach drops everyone off at Terminal A and there is a 10-15 min walk with cases to Terminal B, which is poor organisation by RCI but then again they’ve had all your money by then. I cannot understand why they don’t drop off Term A passengers & then travel on to Term B its not rocket science.

Overall we had a fantastic holiday and I would go on same cruise again and I couldn’t recommend it more highly & hope everyone going on cruise will have a great time.

Art auctions were fun and I learnt loads about different artists and you get the chance to win valuable paintings in raffle at end of auction. The Auctioneer Gordon left the ship on Sat so hopefully new one will be as good.

 

Well I'll have to keep reading boards but just as an onlooker, either that or I'll have to start looking for next years cruise!!!

 

Have a fantastic time & don't be shy to ask me anything, I'll try to answer all questions......................Ted

[Icky]

Hi Ted!

 

Thanks for the review. We are going on this cruise November 6 and have a cabin 1 deck up from 7070. Did you feel much movement? I asked Iz the same question as I'm very prone to motion sickness. My sea bands usually take care of it but I'm still curious. Also, were you able to get off the ship right at 7:00 a.m.? I'm mostly interested in getting off early for the Florence and Rome days.

 

Thanks again!

 

P.S. What can we expect for weather in early November? I'm mostly concerned about formal nights. I've bought most of my formal wear for our Caribbean cruises. How many formal nights were there and which nights? I have 2nd seating. I've heard many reports of 2nd seating being as late as 10:15???? Can you tell me how the dinner seating worked on your cruise? I'm tempted to change to main seating.

[scarborough]

Thanks so much for the review, especially about cabin 7070. We are booked in that cabin for the 01/02/05 cruise out of Tampa. I was concerned about being so close to the elevators because of noise but now I feel better.

[gdidde]

Thanks for the review

 

We are on the Sept. 4 Sailing - Looking for others to share private tours

 

What time did the ship tours return you to the ship?

 

Which Pompeii ship excursion did you take?

 

Could you please enlighten us more on the dining times and if you were rushed to get to early dining times and how the dining times related to the entertainment

 

Did you have any seafood? Lobster - Crablegs - Oysters?????

 

All of our comments and experiences welcome

[Cruisin' Patty]

Thanks for taking the time to review your cruise. I love reading them.

[garycarla]

There are some good prices for late Oct and early Nov cruises. Thinking about going. Tried to email a few posters here, but no emails available. Please contact me if you can or post more information. Time of year, weather, should be go for balcony, etc.

 

cruisegary @ krkms. com

[pandvsmith]

Have a great bunch going on the Transatlantic on the Splendour. Barcelona, Alicante, Malaga, Tennerife, Nassau and Tampa on November 13th. Check out our Roll Call & come join us.

[vssy]

There are some good prices for late Oct and early Nov cruises. Thinking about going. Tried to email a few posters here, but no emails available. Please contact me if you can or post more information. Time of year, weather, should be go for balcony, etc.

 

cruisegary @ krkms. com

We will be cruising October 9 if you are interested in that date. I have some private tours booked. Info on the tours is at my roll call!

[boatladyuk]

Hiya not long now. My friend and I are on this cruise we will have to meet up.

I have not cruised with RCL before but have been several times with NCL but after our last cruise we wont be going again so I am lookin g forward to trying RCL

Lesley