Hooray ! Splendour is Going

[ShawninFL]

I couldn't agree more. I love the small and midsize ships. The Behemoth of the Seas are just not my kind of ship.

 

I'm with you here. Royal's direction with "behmoths" has pushed us away from the line. We much prefer the smaller ships. Athough we still sail on Royal we tend to start our cruise search with Celebrity now.....still keep it in the family.

[jayblue]

i like all the ships.

 

I like variety.

 

I like options.

 

👏👏👏

[jayblue]

Heh!! You wouldn't have the megaships if not for those "pesky" smaller ships.

 

At one time, Majesty WAS a megaship.

[MADflyer]

It was announced today that the then former Splendour of the Seas, the Thomson Discovery, will be seasonally home ported in Barbados and will have a series of 'unique' sailings without any full sea days.

 

This will follow the summer MED season out of Palma and sailings will be offered from November 2016.

 

The ship will call on daily ports including, Bridgetown, Barbados; Fort de France, Martinique; Roseau, Dominica; Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe; Castries, St Lucia; Kingstown, St Vincent and St George’s, Grenada.

 

They plan to offer free 'all inclusive' upgrades when they start marketing these new sailings.

 

The arrival of the ship to the Thomson fleet appears to be very highly anticipated and will continue to be a good option for those with a preference for this class of ship.

Edited October 22, 2015 by MADflyer

[peteukmcr]

It was reported that Splendour has suffered a fire in the engine room today and is missing the final port of call and returning slowly to Venice.

[MADflyer]

It was reported that Splendour has suffered a fire in the engine room today and is missing the final port of call and returning slowly to Venice.

 

It is good that she is scheduled for a full mechanical and design dry dock after she is turned over to Royal Caribbean Limited's subsidiary TUI Cruises in April.

 

Splendour was due for dry dock as she last had a major overhaul in 2011 at Cadiz.

 

After she is leased to Thomson, the first sailing is not until June of 2016.

 

She is currently sailing at just over 12 knots and will reach Venice 4 hours earlier than planned due to the missed port. The ship was actually up to 15 knots again sailing toward the final port after the incident, when it appears the decision was made to not call and then the ship slowed due to the early arrival at Venice.

Edited October 22, 2015 by MADflyer

[Debde]

 

We're getting rid of the pesky little ships, one by one :) :)

 

Seems Empress is returning to Royal so they may go, but come back sometimes!!!:cool:

[MADflyer]

Seems Empress is returning to Royal so they may go, but come back sometimes!!!:cool:

 

That was an amusing twist. It may turn out that Empress returns to RCL with Azamara or with a new venture to Cuba, but she could join RCI in a role similar to Majesty.

[bay guy]

Just returned from 2 weeks on Splendour. She may not have all of the glitz and glamour of the big new ships but she is still beautiful and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

We've been on Allure twice and really liked her. However, going on the "smaller" Splendour once again allowed us to experience a crew that had the ability to get to know the passengers and interact with them on a more personal level than is possible when you have 5000 passengers.

[bradpole]

1. OLD news.

 

2. Many like the smaller ships.

 

Same here, LOVE the vision class, sad to see any go!

[TinkBellaMom]

Just returned from 2 weeks on Splendour. She may not have all of the glitz and glamour of the big new ships but she is still beautiful and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

We've been on Allure twice and really liked her. However, going on the "smaller" Splendour once again allowed us to experience a crew that had the ability to get to know the passengers and interact with them on a more personal level than is possible when you have 5000 passengers.

 

We too just returned from a dream vacation to Italy, which included a cruise on the Splendour. We too have been on one of the "big girls". We loved the intimate nature of the smaller ship. The staff was very present and just awesome. Now that she will be gone we are very sad that another trip on her is not a reality. We will still have wonderful memories.

[Dingle12]

I've just returend two days ago from the Thomson spirit, I'm not 100% but I think the splendour was in turkey with us can anyone confirm that? She was massive compared to the spirit.

[tahqa]

I've just returend two days ago from the Thomson spirit, I'm not 100% but I think the splendour was in turkey with us can anyone confirm that? She was massive compared to the spirit.

 

Splendour was in port at Kusadasi on the 11th and Rhapsody was there on the 12th. They're both Vision class ships but Splendour is from the first pair build and is smaller than Rhapsody (Rhapsody is the sister ship of Vision and they were the last pair built).

 

It looks like for both of those ships that Kusadasi was their only stop in Turkey.

[impatientlywaiting]

I wish they'd trade off a few of the Oasis and Quantum class ships instead.

 

Couldn't agree more! Have no desire to even step foot on those bigger ships. We don't need all the crap that comes on those ships including all the extra passengers.

[impatientlywaiting]

I'm with you here. Royal's direction with "behmoths" has pushed us away from the line. We much prefer the smaller ships. Athough we still sail on Royal we tend to start our cruise search with Celebrity now.....still keep it in the family.

 

As soon as our last cruising buddy makes Diamond, we'll be trying Celebrity. We've heard great things about them!

[Ocean Boy]

Couldn't agree more! Have no desire to even step foot on those bigger ships. We don't need all the crap that comes on those ships including all the extra passengers.

 

Oh, is that what it is?:rolleyes:

[Big_G]

Couldn't agree more! Have no desire to even step foot on those bigger ships. We don't need all the crap that comes on those ships including all the extra passengers.

 

...and you know anything about these ships how? :rolleyes: Oh right, you read it on the interwebs. :D

Edited November 14, 2015 by Big_G

[WaveSplasher]

This is a little far fetched but eventually most of the small and old ships will have to leave the RCL fleet. When that happens, only the big ships will be left standing aka RCL new generation of ships.

 

But i guess RCL aint that dumb. They know the advantage of the smaller ships and what they can do as oppose to the Big ships. So when the time comes, RCL will build some smaller ships similar to the Vision Class and we can all rejoice at the brand new small ships. In the future perhaps.

[TinkBellaMom]

Just returned from 2 weeks on Splendour. She may not have all of the glitz and glamour of the big new ships but she is still beautiful and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

We've been on Allure twice and really liked her. However, going on the "smaller" Splendour once again allowed us to experience a crew that had the ability to get to know the passengers and interact with them on a more personal level than is possible when you have 5000 passengers.

Couldn't agree more. We sailed on her in Sept. as a part of a 2 week stay in Italy. We have been on the Oasis several times and enjoyed her. However, we loved the Splendour for her crew and the ports of call. The ship is beautiful and the crew was very attentive, and they knew us by name and the wine we had at dinner. We will miss her.

[aus30]

Couldn't agree more. We sailed on her in Sept. as a part of a 2 week stay in Italy. We have been on the Oasis several times and enjoyed her. However, we loved the Splendour for her crew and the ports of call. The ship is beautiful and the crew was very attentive, and they knew us by name and the wine we had at dinner. We will miss her.

 

How was embarkation in Venice? We are on the repositioning on the 28th.

Thank you!

[brown848]

Hi Aus 30 we have just returned from a fly cruise out of Venice we were taken from airport very efficiently cases taken from us as we left coach, proceeded upstairs and ushered to the check in line ,waited not 30 seconds for the check in desks to become free ,checked in and given a number 11 they were calling number 8/9 we were called approx 15 minutes later to board and was straight on ship and eating lunch by the pool all within say 30 minutes of arriving at port

Very very efficient ,the best of all cruises we have taken in the last three years and this one was number ten, so go have a great time very gel now.

Going on splendour next October under thomsons cruises after she's sold to them from next April so can't wait to see the changes when she's dry docked for two months before sailing in June with them.

Enjoy we loved the ship staff and service.

[Proseknitic]

How was embarkation in Venice? We are on the repositioning on the 28th.

Thank you!

Just embarked on the 14th. Arrived in Vence the day before the cruise. Waked to my hotel. Walked to the ship. Signage isn't great but the ship itself is pretty obvious. There also is a vapareto stop less than 100 meters from the terminal. The airport bus to the main plaza costs 6€ and follow it with the People mover.

 

Look for the Royal Signs. Check in for me wnt smoothly and, arriving @ 1100 I was on the ship less than 30 minutes later. Relaxed in the CL till cabins were opened.

 

Will be really sorry to see her leave the fleet. The ship is comfortable and the crew most excellent

 

-Holly

On till Dubai. Sitting outside in the sun in Corfu

[poncho1973]

Couldn't agree more! Have no desire to even step foot on those bigger ships. We don't need all the crap that comes on those ships including all the extra passengers.

 

I'm always so confused by these type of posts.

 

You KNOW you hate something you've never tried???? If you reply, try not to go the route of "I know I don't like AIDS and I don't need to try that" or "I know I don't like prison and I don't need to try that" or "I know I don't like dying and I don't need to try that" because this isn't on that level.

 

This is a pleasure cruise, not a punishment or disease.

 

I've sailed on Oasis and I will admit there were things that I liked and things I disliked. It was an amazing ship, it really was, but there were a lot of people. However, there were many times on the ship where you never noticed that, at all! There were other times when it was all you noticed.

 

I personally think that way about most of the ships I've been on. There are pros/cons to all of them.

 

That said, it was still a cruise vacation and I had an excellent time!

[poncho1973]

This is a little far fetched but eventually most of the small and old ships will have to leave the RCL fleet. When that happens, only the big ships will be left standing aka RCL new generation of ships.

 

But i guess RCL aint that dumb. They know the advantage of the smaller ships and what they can do as oppose to the Big ships. So when the time comes, RCL will build some smaller ships similar to the Vision Class and we can all rejoice at the brand new small ships. In the future perhaps.

 

Or sometimes they go away for 8 years and magically reappear like a ghost in the fog!!!

 

Empress of the Seas

[NancyIL]

i

roll on 2016 when Splendour moves to Thomson cruises ownership ! :)

 

We're getting rid of the pesky little ships, one by one :) :)

I happen to love those "pesky little ships"!

I knew there was a reason I had such high regard for you.

 

By the way, Splendour was our first RCI cruise -- the one that set the hook, so to speak -- and I will always have a soft spot for her.

 

Splendour was my first RCI ship in April 2005, and I was also "hooked" on Royal Caribbean.

 

I prefer the Vision and Radiance-class ships over the Voyager-class - which are the largest RCI ships I've been on so far. I'll be on an Oasis group cruise in Dec. 2016, but I don't expect to make a habit of cruising on the giant ships.