Anybody Back From Transatlantic Splendour?

[Ruth Cruise]

Is anyone recently back from the transatlantic cruises on the Splendour or Brilliance of the Seas?

 

We are booked on the eastbound transatlantic cruise in April 2005 on the Splendour of the Seas (Tampa to Barcelona) and have lots of questions. Maybe, you can answer some of them or even write a short review...

 

How were the weather and the sea during the crossing? Could you use the pool and sunbathe? Which type of classes were offered by Academy at Sea?

 

How many formal, smart casual and casual evenings did you have? Who were your entertainers?

 

Did you have a good view of Gibraltar when leaving the Mediterranean Sea?

 

And lastly: how did the Splendour handle the waves and did she vibrate badly?

 

Thank you very much for sharing your cruise experiences!

 

Ruth

[Emdee]

Back from the Brilliance - the weather was nice some days and bad others. A bit of rain a couple of days and choppy seas a couple of days. Weather in Lisbon, Malaga and Alicante was wonderful - rain in Barcelona.

 

I didnt pay any attention to the Academy so cannot recall what they had.

 

We had Renato Pagliari and Craig Dahn on board both of whom I had seen before but nevertheless enjoyed.

 

There were three formals on a 11 night cruise. Cannot recall how many of the others but I guess the usual ratio . Diamond members had a brunch instead of the usual cocktail.

[Ruth Cruise]

Emdee,

 

glad you enjoyed your cruise and thank you very much for answering my questions! Now, I can start planning my evening wear.

 

Ruth

[mems]

Hi Ruth,

I saw your posting on our Splendour, transatlantic, Nov, 13 thru Nov 27th. We had a great trip.

The weather was much better then the trans we did on Brilliance in 2002. That was a more northern route with very rough seas and cold temps. Not much outdoor activity on that one.

It was in the upper 60's in Barcelona which was the coolest temps of our trip. As we dropped down to the Canary Islands it was much warmer. The seas were very calm, one day did have slight swells (if I remember correctly...about 8 feet) Hardly anything to cause discomfort. People were out at the pool sunbathing everyday. Nassau on Thanksgiving day was very warm.

Acadamey at Sea. Four days of one hour classes. We did "Drinks and Hospitality". Which increased in attendance as the days went by as news traveled about how much fun we were having. One day was Martinis, another wine, another beer and then shooters. The other academey we attended was "Stage Production" which was very interesting. It covered lighting, sound, costumes and backstage. They also had classes in Photography and another I can't remember.

Vibration...some....but no big deal.

Entertainment...some very good some so-so. No big names. The Cruise Director was irritating as he was always saying "Whoo Hooo" (in a high pitched voice) and trying to imitate Austin Powers catch phrases. We heard it was his first CD job and that he was going to another ship after we got to Tampa.

We had 3 formal nights 2 smart casual and the rest casual. If I remember correctly.

Passed the Rock of Gilbraltar while dark and it was well spotlighted and impressive.

Hope this helps. I'm relying on my memory as I did not bring any of the news letters back with me. I knew my bags were over the weight limit as you were allowed 70 lbs per bag on the international flight but only 50 lbs on the domestic flight. The agent let the 52 lb. bag pass but we had to pay $25 for the 58 lb. bag. on our flight from Tampa to Detroit.

We had a great time, made more enjoyable by the people we chatted with on CC. We met every afternoon at 5:30, in the Schooner bar. Who ever could make it was there... which helped to get to know everyone.

Have a great crossing......wish I were going too. mems

[Ruth Cruise]

Hi mems,

thanks a lot for your advice! Particularly for your hints regarding the (new) weight limit for bags. I am already looking forward to relaxing on 6 sea days in a row and taking some Academy at Sea classes.

Ruth

[mems]

Ruth, You are very welcome. The sea days are wonderful. Very, very relaxing. If you have any other questions ask on your "Roll Call" thread and I will try to check in there and answer. mems

[cherith]

We did the Transatlantic on the Splendour From Barcelona to Galveston in Oct/Nov of 2002.

the crossing was flat calm and not a cloud the entire time. We actually never got a drop of rain the entire trip (15 days)

On the tv monitor when giving the sea conditions it stated 'slight' for swell and it was gorgeous sunny weather and everyone was out tanning.

You really get into the 'ZEN' sailing when you have 5 days at sea.

When we found out that we were going to be going through the straight of Gibraltar at 11:00 PM I thought there was going to be a mutiny. EVERYone was sooooo disappointed, it was to be a highlight of the trip, and the lights on the rock of Gibraltar weren't even on, so no one knew when we were passing it if that was it or not. And many wanted to even just SEE the coast of Africa as we sailed by. . .but you couldn't (it really IS a dark continent)

VERY frustrating. When it was brought to the Captain he said it was the scheduling in Miami and he couldn't make the choice. I know for some it was the only trip like that in a lifetime and it was terribly disappointing.

Now. . .the ship. . . We had picked up a lot of new crew that trip and it showed. The service was only up to par by a few select staff, but some of the staff were nothing less than rude.

The food was also very substandard. There were a few other passengers who had previously booked the return Transatlantic on the same ship but near the end of the cruise decided to cancel.

When we were at the Houston airport we were eating at "Chili's" and everyone (other passengers waiting for flights) were joking around and saying that this was the best meal they'd had in 2 weeks.

It wasn't just us being fussy.

HAVING said that. . . it WAS 2 years ago. Hopefully things have changed. This is just my experience on that ship. I would do a Transatlantic again in a heartbeat (in fact I will be in May) but on the Radiance class ships only.