Transatlantic on the Splendour info needed

[cod]

Hi all,

Just a few cabin questions. I have read about some vibration problems on this ship and was wondering what those of you who have cruised on her thought.

We would love a balcony but it may not be in our budget. If we do go on a ground-beef diet and scrounge up enough, does the old mid-ship rule apply or is forward or aft better? It would be D1 (unless I win the lottery) so the choices would be deck 7 or aft on 6.

 

I guess my second choice would be an inside J for the cabin space and the fact that we've never made much use of a window when we've had one. Your opinion of J would be appreciated too!

 

Thanks!

[DeepWaterMariner]

Are you considering booking on the 11/12/05 transatlantic on the Splendour? We are booked on this cruise. There is a thread for this cruise on the meet and mingle section of this board. You're most welcome to joint the conversations on that thread.

 

This will be our fourth time on the Splendour. I've never noticed a vibration problem. Our cabins have always been midships or slightly forward of midships on decks 7 and 2. For transatlantic we prefer midships on a low deck to minimize motion. We'll be midships on deck 3 for this crossing. Any ship may have some vibration in far aft cabins or far forward and aft cabins during docking where the bow and stern thrusters are used.

 

I wouldn't pay for a balcony on a transatlantic cruise in November. You won't get that much use out of it. Temperatures will be a bit too cool for a balcony for most of the trip. Even the Gulf of Mexico can be a little chilly if a front is passing through the area.

[cod]

Thanks for your advice. I never thought about it being too cool to get much use out of the balcony..I was just thinking about having a good view going, leaving and being in port(s). (I'd probably be on the wrong side and see more water! Ha)

 

No, we are looking REALLY far ahead..the Oct '06 crossing. Venice to Galveston. We'd like to go back to Venice (the last time was '64) and the Adriatic ports look interesting and are all places we, or at least I, have never been to.

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise and that you will write a review about it when you get back!

[DeepWaterMariner]

Cruising back from Venice should make for a terrific trip. The Grand Princess will also be doing a crossing next fall...Barcelona to Galveston with several Med ports before actually beginning the crossing. Venice is hard to top but it's another option for you to consider.

[pandvsmith]

We were on the Splendour last November for the transatlantic cruise. We really enjoyed the balcony. The days were cool in Spain but not too cool to enjoy the balcony. As we headed on down to the Canary Islands and across the Atlantic we couldn't have asked for better weather. We were in the Bahamas on Thanksgiving and it was in the 80's. Some transatlantic cruises that take a northern route I have heard that you may not want a balcony. The aft balcony was on Deck 7 and was very spacious. We are booked for next October on a transatlantic from Southampton, England to Tampa and again we have booked an aft. This time in a junior suite. I say go for it and enjoy! The Splendour was a beautiful ship with a very friendly crew.

[SA Traveler]

We did a transatlantic on the Splendour in Nov 2003 and have another booked Oct 2006 Venice to Galveston. We booked a GS because we will have FIL with us but would have definitely booked a balcony for the two of us. We really enjpyed our balcony in 2003. Can't imagine 18 days without a balcony but guess we're spoiled!

[glgolfer]

We were on the Splendour with SATraveler (and at the same table for dinner).We had a JS and would not have enjoyed the voyage as much without a balcony. The weather was mostly very good and the temp was warm except for a couple days.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Hi Paul WN and SA Traveler. I thought those ID's looked familiar. We were also on the Splendour transatlantic in the fall of 2003. Wasn't that a great trip even though our itinerary was an adventure? I guess it depends on how tolerant you are of marginal temperatures in how useful you find a balcony on a late fall crossing. Certainly an aft balcony, out of the wind, would be pretty good in most conditions, but we have only really used our balconies in the Caribbean. We had a balcony on a December cruise on the Rhapsody out of Galveston and it was even too chilly for us for most of that cruise. You pay your money and take your chances on weather no matter when you cruise, but the chances of having marginal or poor conditions to use a balcony are going to be higher on a late fall Atlantic crossing.

[cod]

Hi again! Regarding Princess. Yes, I thought about the Grand but would like to leave from Italy..if possible. My husband is from there originally (many years ago) and we will visit with his family before sailing home. Then there is the Golden Princess which sails from Rome to New Orleans which is only an hour or so from home and would be very convenient. But Princess is a little over our budget, especially a balcony! Other options are MSC and Costa. Both sail from where we'll be staying pre-cruise (Genoa) but end in Florida which isn't good for us but doesn't rule them out completely.

 

The Splendour itinerary is what has us leaning in that direction. An aft balcony sounds like a good idea but I bet they will be gone soon, if not already. And I probably shouldn't hold out for a sale and hope to get one. If I book now and see the price reduced down the road and haven't made our final payment, would I get the lower price?

 

Thanks again. And your good words about the Splendour have helped clinch our resolve!

[DeepWaterMariner]

The answer to your question about getting future price reductions applied to your booking before final payment is yes. At least RCI allows that currently. The price dropped on our currently booked crossing on the Splendour and we were able to get the new price from RCI, a savings of about $500. BTW, I don't know what your C&A status is but there are discounts available on balconies if you are a certain C&A level.

 

I understand your desire to sail from Italy. The Splendour is an excellent choice.

[harrodsfan]

:) We were on the Splendour this summer and could not agree more with the comments about the friendly staff...just wonderful. Did hear from one of the staff who did the transatlantic over to Europe that it was a bit rough...

You will love Venice..great sights and shopping...watch out for pickpockets though...