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

[I'm from Oz]

Lita

Since I first read this review of yours, it looks like we will now be visiting Dubrovnik next year. Not on a cruise, on a land tour. However, is this restaurant actually in Dubrovnik? We will be staying for 3 nights and will need to find places for lunch and dinner. Though I'm wondering if it would be a bit over our budget.

Hope all is well with you haven't seen you on our PC thread recently.:)

Valerie

[mchn1]

Hi Lita! Thanks for this amazing review. We're going to be on the Splendour next month :)

 

I just wanted to ask a couple of questions. I noticed your room was 8012 which is on the left side of the ship. We've previously heard that you should be on the right side of the ship to see the sailaway of Venice. Is this true?

 

Also, would you happen to have some pictures of the Concierge Lounge? Did they offer a breakfast menu like on the larger ships?

 

Thanks so much!

[Gordo]

What an absolutely delightful review. We loved all the information you shared and your incredible photos.

 

We are planning a similar cruise out of Venice and greatly appreciate reading about your experiences.

[hummy0605]

Hi Lita! Thanks for this amazing review. We're going to be on the Splendour next month :)

 

I just wanted to ask a couple of questions. I noticed your room was 8012 which is on the left side of the ship. We've previously heard that you should be on the right side of the ship to see the sailaway of Venice. Is this true?

 

Also, would you happen to have some pictures of the Concierge Lounge? Did they offer a breakfast menu like on the larger ships?

 

Thanks so much!

 

Lita's cabin was on the correct side of the ship for sailaway out of Venice - we were lucky enough to be invited for sailaway drinks and thats how we spent our first couple of hours meeting up and getting to know one another. If you check out Lita's photos leaving Venice they are from her balcony :)

[Sinppu]

Thanks so much for a very nice review!! You obviously had loads of fun :)

[mchn1]

Lita's cabin was on the correct side of the ship for sailaway out of Venice - we were lucky enough to be invited for sailaway drinks and thats how we spent our first couple of hours meeting up and getting to know one another. If you check out Lita's photos leaving Venice they are from her balcony :)

 

Thank you! :)

[LitaArn]

Hello,

 

I would like to apologize for leaving my review just sort of “hanging” in there with no final conclusion in sight. I was about to finish my review but then life became quite hectic; it was a very good kind of “busy” though :)

 

We had our Canadian Thanksgiving celebrations on Oct 7th and there was much for me to do to prepare for the homecoming of our oldest daughter Eileen studying in British Columbia (a 4-1/2 hour flight away), and our youngest Emily studying in Ottawa (a 4 hour drive from us). It was most wonderful being a complete family again even for a short while...

 

Our family, together with my siblings and their families, celebrated Thanksgiving with a potluck lunch and dinner. Emily and Eileen were very happy being with their aunts, uncles, and first cousins again! Seeing them interact with their cousins were priceless! My siblings and I raised our children like they’re brothers and sisters to each other. Watching them over the years, they were truly like brothers and sisters! What a huge blessing for my siblings and I to know that they will be there for each other during the best and worst times of their lives...

 

Both beloved daughters are now back to their schools and I’m missing them so much. On the other hand, I am also very happy for them that they are enjoying school and life in general while on their quest to attaining their educational fulfillment...

Edited October 19, 2012 by LitaArn

[LitaArn]

Now, back to finalizing my review.

 

After our goodbyes to our wonderful dinner staff, the 7 of us went to the Schooner Bar

 

 

Anselmo, the excellent singer at the Schooner Bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was time to say goodbye to our newfound lifelong friends... THANK YOU again Christine, Neil, Elyssa, and Chloe! You’ve made this cruise one of our best holidays ever! Love and Hugs to you all, and see you sometime soon...

 

 

Our Families with Anselmo

 

Edited October 19, 2012 by LitaArn

[LitaArn]

Because of a friend’s Sept 1st wedding that we were invited to, our flight out of Venice was a Lufthansa flight at 10:20 am, to arrive in Toronto at 4pm the same day (we gain a day flying back to North America). We informed the bride and the groom beforehand that we will not be able to make it to the church, and the dinner afterwards, but maybe if there were no flight delays and we’re not too tired after the flight home, we would like to attend their later festivities to personally congratulate them on their special day.

 

I’ve read here on Cruise Critic that it is advisable to pre-arrange your taxi to Marco Polo Venice airport when leaving the ship that early. I’ve done some research before leaving home and saw that it would be around 50 euros for the 3 of us and our suitcases, but I didn’t follow it through and didn’t at least bookmark the page :mad:! With my poor memory, I completely forgot all about pre-arranging our taxi to Venice Airport until when we were already on the 2nd day of our cruise on the Splendour!

 

Because of the very, very, very slow internet on the ship, I couldn’t do research on Venice taxi companies. I asked our dependable Concierge Diego to help us secure a taxi to pick us up at 7am on debarkation day.

 

Diego ordered thru emails with http://www.medov.it a minivan because there were 3 of us and our 3 large suitcases and 2 carry ons (will not fit all in a regular taxi). The cost was 112 euros cash :eek:

 

I was fully aware that 112 euros for a minivan to the airport was very expensive (going rate is 50 euros, hence, the “hard 62 euro-lesson learned”) but we didn’t really have much choice. The availability of a taxi at the port at 7am was highly questionable (the morning of debarkation, there were only a couple of taxis waiting and they looked like pre-reserved, unlike on our last Mediterranean cruise which ended in Barcelona, there were so many taxis waiting at 7 am). I’ve also read several Cruise Critic posts that Marco Polo Venice Airport is one of the most disorganized, slowest airports in the world, so we needed to leave the port area no later than 7:30 am to make our flight.

 

We wanted our last morning in Venice to be stress-free, so we just had to accept paying a high premium for this taxi company. I figured it would cost us a lot more IF we had missed our 10:20 am flight.

 

By the way, this website was one of the websites I was looking at for airport transfers from Venice cruise port but forgot to bookmark it and I couldn’t find it later until now. The cost from the cruise terminal to Venice Marco Polo airport for 3 pax with 3 large suitcases and 2 mediums is 50 euros http://www.airport-transfers-direct.com/venice-transfers/taxi-from-venice-cruise-terminal-to-venice-marco-polo-airport.html

 

I haven’t done any research on the dependability of this taxi company, so please do so if you’re considering using this company in the future.

 

Now back to my dealings with Diego re our airport transfer. When Diego received the confirmation for the mini van, I paid him the 112 E cash. I thanked him so much for his help and also gave him gratuities for his efforts in securing us this taxi (his exchanging of emails with the airport txfr company on a very, very slow internet ship connection must have really tried his patience!). He issued me a receipt for my payment and a copy of the emails exchanged between him and the company specifying the total cost charged.

 

The morning of leaving the ship, the minivan driver was there just inside the disembarkation area at 7 am holding a sign with our name on it. Our driver spoke little English but he was an excellent and safe driver. Being Saturday morning, the traffic was light and within 20 minutes, we reached Venice Marco Polo airport.

 

VENICE AIRPORT

 

I’ve read here on Cruise Critic that the Venice Marco Polo airport is a Zoo, but our experience was the opposite! Very easy check in and security check (maybe because we were there before 7:30 am, I would not know how it would be, say around 10 am when it would be the busiest). Our driver, parked by the curb of the departure area, took 2 of our largest suitcases (we took the rest), and escorted us right to the Lufthansa check in area (seemed like a 10 second walk from his minivan to the check in terminal, so easy and convenient!!!). What a great service! We gave him his tip as an appreciation for his great service and he was thankful for our gratuities.

 

 

FRANKFURT AIRPORT

 

Our connecting flight from Frankfurt to Toronto was delayed for a couple of hours (at this point in time, we were sure that we will not make it our friends’ wedding festivities because of this flight delay). Lufthansa’s cabin crew staff started their strike that day.

 

One nice surprise we had at Frankfurt airport though was seeing acquaintances of ours waiting for the same Lufthansa flight we’re taking. They (a husband and wife) just finished a European land tour. We had a good time catching up and showing recent pics of families.

 

Our Frankfurt-Toronto flight was enjoyable (slept quite a bit on this flight). About Lufthansa - we got off the plane feeling that the staff was very grateful for our business. They were always smiling and very attentive! When I asked for a cup of caffeine-free herbal tea, the flight attendant apologized because “it will take some time to prepare”. I was very surprised to receive my tea in less than 2 minutes; I was expecting to wait for 5 minutes at least! Really great service!

 

TORONTO Airport

 

After landing home in Toronto, there were more delays at the airport collecting our bags, but we got them all. At this point in time, we were so tired and knew that we couldn't have attended the late wedding festivities of our friends. We then walked to the airport multi-level parking garage to get to our car.

 

When we got to the floor level where we parked our car, a lady approached us for help in finding her car. She doesn’t remember what level and section she parked her car at, she forgot to write it down (there must be at least 5,000 cars parked in that multi-level garage!). I felt sorry for her that I asked Arn, who is a frequent flyer, help her or at least find someone in that huge parking garage to help her. She was very, very appreciative of our offer of help. I told her that we just hope that when it is our turn to need help (I was especially thinking of our daughters), that we hope others will do the same. In less than an hour, Arn was able to help that lady; he is truly amazing!. I think I’m married to “Superman” :D

 

HOME, SWEET HOME

 

With the delays we’ve encountered in Frankfurt and Toronto airport, we arrived at our home, sweet home, at around 8 pm. Our pooch Mia was so very happy to see us, and so were my sisters too! Mia’s wound was almost healed and she never shows any limping at all, thank goodness!

 

We went to bed that night very exhausted but with the most thankful feelings of having experienced another wonderful, amazing, holidays ever :):):)

Edited October 19, 2012 by LitaArn

[LitaArn]

Cruise Critic member louhun88 (Louise) wrote that there were very few photos of the beautiful, newly refurbished Splendour of the Seas posted here on CC, and I do agree with her.

 

So, what I’ve done is compile a set of photos from my review, from Christine’s wonderful review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1707795 , and also from RCI’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...9601396&type=3

 

 

 

 

CENTRUM

 

 

 

CENTRUM

 

 

 

 

CENTRUM

 

 

 

 

AERIAL SHOW at the CENTRUM

 

 

 

 

AERIAL SHOW at the CENTRUM

 

Edited October 20, 2012 by LitaArn

[LitaArn]

MORE AERIAL SHOWS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VICKI and the HOLDING COMPANY BAND at the CENTRUM

 

Edited October 20, 2012 by LitaArn

[LitaArn]

"THE KING and I" MAIN DINING ROOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARK CAFE

 

 

 

 

BOARDWALK DOG HOUSE

 

 

 

 

LATTE-TUDES

 

[LitaArn]

CHEF's TABLE ------- (Specialty Dining)

 

 

 

 

CHOPS GRILLE ------- (Specialty Dining)

 

 

 

 

IZUMI ------- (Specialty Dining)

 

 

 

 

IZUMI

 

[LitaArn]

VIKING CROWN LOUNGE

 

 

 

 

VIKING CROWN LOUNGE

 

 

 

 

SCHOONER BAR

 

 

 

 

R BAR

 

[LitaArn]

42nd STREET THEATRE

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOP HAT LOUNGE

 

 

 

 

CONCIERGE LOUNGE - When facing the Top Hat Lounge, the Concierge Lounge is on the right and the Diamond Lounge is on the left

 

 

 

 

THE EXCELLENT CONCIERGE, DIEGO

 

 

 

 

ROBERTA, THE LOVELY BAR SERVER AT THE CONCIERGE LOUNGE

 

 

 

 

DIAMOND LOUNGE

 

[LitaArn]

CENTRUM SHOPS

 

 

 

 

WAYFINDER

 

 

 

 

NURSERY

 

 

 

 

BRITTO GALLERY

 

[LitaArn]

OUTDOOR MOVIE SCREEN

 

 

 

 

POOL DECK

 

 

 

 

POOL DECK

 

 

 

 

SOLARIUM

 

 

 

 

SPA RECEPTION

 

 

 

 

SPLENDOUR of the GREENS - an 18 hole miniature golf course

 

[LitaArn]

INTERIOR CABIN

 

 

 

 

INTERIOR CABIN

 

 

 

 

BALCONY CABIN

 

 

 

 

JUNIOR SUITE

 

 

 

 

GRAND SUITE

 

 

 

 

GRAND SUITE BALCONY

 

Edited October 20, 2012 by LitaArn

[LitaArn]

GRAND SUITE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LitaArn]

OWNER'S SUITE

 

 

 

 

BATHROOM - OWNER'S SUITE

 

 

 

 

ROYAL SUITE

 

 

 

 

BATHROOM - ROYAL SUITE

 

[LitaArn]

Wow...fantastic pictures and review! Keep it coming!

 

My apologies for just thanking you now for writing in. I've missed thanking you when you posted :o

 

Happy Sailing :)

[LitaArn]

Great review, I really enjoyed all the photos. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us.

 

I'm glad to hear that you had fun reading my review and appreciated my photos. Wow! Your cruise history is most fascinating! Several of the places you've visited are on my bucket list :)

 

I had a quick look at your Webshots photos (I've bookmarked it so I can fully enjoy them later). Your photos are stunning, breathtaking, all the superlatives here!

 

Our family did a land tour of Hawaii for 3 weeks in 2000. We first toured Oahu then island hopped. We had the most amazing times exploring Oahu, Maui, The Big Island, and Kauai. Your Hawaii photos brought back many of those fabulous moments!

 

Re The Sapphire Princess parked at Honolulu --- Wow! The ship looked like something from a sci-fi movie :D Truly amazing!

 

Thanks for writing in :)

Edited October 20, 2012 by LitaArn

[LitaArn]

Thanks for the compasses (there good quality and definately readable), i really appreciate you posting them. I like to be able to get and idea of whats going on and timings, there's certainly plenty of different entertainment!

 

Louise

 

You're welcome :) I'm glad that they came out OK!

[LitaArn]

Just stopping by to say tks for your posting, I have been following along and have enjoyed your review and also that from the UK family you hooked up with on CC and now seem to be family friends foerever. It was interseting to follow both your reviews capturing each of your aspects on cruising.

 

We have cruised the Splendour before the refurb, where is the Park cafe? that is new a new eatery onboard.

BTW: Great job posting the Compass, so many folks ask for this on these boards and it is the 1st time I have seen it for a full itinerary...

 

 

Thank You so much for writing in. Your kind comments are very much appreciated :)

Edited October 20, 2012 by LitaArn

[LitaArn]

What a fabulous review. Your great pictures allowed me to re-live some great memories in those places I've been and dream of going to the others.

 

Thank You for writing in. Glad that you've enjoyed my review :)

 

I see from your signature that you've also been to Prague; it is one of our most favourite cities ever!

 

There are so many fascinating places that I dream of visiting that you've already been to like the Baltics, Australia... Oh well, patience is a virtue :D

Edited October 20, 2012 by LitaArn