splendour

[beaumontbhoy]

what is this ship like . have been on explorer before and im worried it will not interest us. does it still do love and marriage game or quest?

[Clarea]

Love & Marriage and Quest are scheduled by the particular Cruise Director, so it's not possible to know for sure, but they have been on every one of our Royal cruises so far.

[blueblock]

Yes, they do Love & Marriage and Quest. Splendour is one of Royal's smaller ships, which I love because there's more glass and you can see the sea from most of the public spaces - but it doesn't have all the bells and whistles (no Royal Promenade, no skating rink). There are not as many bars and no dedicated nightclub/disco space). But they still do most of the same activities, and there's plenty going on. (That said, I've sailed Splendour only on port-intensive cruises in Europe, and I was there mostly for the ports. If you are cruising mostly to spend time on the ship, your experience may differ.)

[mjldvlks]

Our Splendour cruise was several years ago now -- well before the recent refurbishment. We sailed from Venice to Dubrovnik, Kusadasi, Santorini and Corfu. These itineraries tend to be port intensive, so somewhat fewer bells and whistles [mainly no Royal Promenade and no Flow Rider] is not that big of a deal. At the same time, I believe that a smaller ship is better for these ports because you don't bring as big a crowd to port with you [although there will likely be other ships calling the same days].

 

As I said, Splendour was our first RCI cruise. Although it was [and is still] along with its sister Legend, the smallest ship in the RCI fleet, I found it has the same "feel" as other RCI ships we have sailed, so you shouldn't feel too lost. While, as Clarea said, it's ultimately up to the cruise director, all RCI ships tend to have the standard functions like Quest, Love and Marriage, Trivia, etc. We truly enjoyed our Splendour cruise -- enough we continued to sail RCI and were Diamond within a little over 2 years [then slowed down a little and just now approaching D+]. Say that not to brag or anything like that but to emphasize how much we enjoyed Splendour and to encourage you to try her with an open mind. If you are sailing from Venice, you need to jump at that chance because (a) it is currently being restricted to smaller ships (b) may go away completely before too long, and © is the most impressive sail away I have yet experienced.

 

I have heard complaints that the refurbishment resulted in a more crowded ship. But I would encourage you to try Splendour -- I think you will feel right at home based on your experience on other RCI ships.

Edited August 1, 2014 by mjldvlks

[Host Jacquelyn]

We were just on Splendour earlier this year. They did schedule lots of activities such as Love and Marriage show, Quest, 70's night, etc. The ship is smaller than Explorer, and we felt it. There weren't as many venues or places to walk around, but really, how much do you need? There was always something to do. Our trip was also very port intensive, with only 1 sea day.