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Splendour Of The Seas


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Doesn't anyone have good things to report on the Splendour? or is it that this ship is too small, too old, and food is terrible ... don't even hope for mildly amusing entertainment, etc. I'm reading reviews and there's too many people reporting too many objectionable issues. The CL is reported to be not up to standards (as found on the SERENADE, etc.) - staff and crew are reported to be less than up-to-par -- perhaps it's the itinerary of recent reviews? or is it really adviseable to cancel anything under deposit? I do appreciate that any experience is what you make of it; just don't want 10 nts to be my worse nightmare:eek: When is this ship due to drydock?

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Cruised her on a western 6 night out of Galveston and it was one of the best cruises I've ever been on. Great staff, very friendly. Condition of the ship at the time was on par with the rest of the fleet. Any other specific questions?

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When were you last on the Splendour? all the posts I find make the ship sound horrible - we don't object to ships on the smaller size, but we don't want to be sick from poor food service - neither do we want to be smelling offensive odors (as some have reported). Entertainment is what it is....

So, how long ago did you have a nice sail on her?

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It's been quite a while since we were on the Splendour, 2005. Our quickie review is the food was excellent (fabulous waiter), and at that time the ship was in good condition. The only negative for us was our extremely noisy cabin.

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I was on the Splendour about a year ago and was also worried about the reviews. I enjoyed it. Yes it was smaller than a Mariner or Navigator, but sometime that was nice since you didn't have to walk so far or wait for an elevator. While I did miss the Royal Promanade, it was great to have a pizza place in the solarium so you didn't have to go get an afternoon snack and bring it back to the pool - it was right there. The spa was nice. I always like the food. In 5 crusies there has only been one night that I didn't see something on the menu that tempted me.

 

We were in a Jr Suite and had no problem with smells. It was a little smaller than some, but back of the ship, nice and private.

 

Remember Reviews are ONE person's opinion and it depends on what their expectations were and if they were met. Sometimes they are written out of buyers remorse or hoping to "get back" at the company. GO ENJOY your cruise. Enjoy the excursions and each day!!!

 

Darrell Duncan

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You really have to take these reviews with a grain of salt! If you're in business, you know that a happy customer will tell one person, but an unhappy one will tell EVERYONE!!!! It's the same with cruises! Any little thing that goes wrong will be posted and magnified!!!!

You'll have a great trip--don't worry!

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sorry to hear that. when she was in Galveston, her crew was the best - I know, I know, that's blasphemy to Rhapsody, but we received amazing personal attention that made our trips on her wonderful. I guess that crew dispersed with the itin changes. Oh well if you go with low expectations you might be pleasantly surprised! ;)

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I am so sorry to be reading everyone's comments. I have been on the Splendour twice out of Galveston and had good cruises both times - one of them with the best cabin attendant and waiter we've ever had. The second cruise did involve a late arrival into Galveston because of a medical emergency. There was a bit of a period in the early morning where info was not available, but it was quickly rectified. The CD even rallied to get a morning full of activities and a Cruise Compass for Day 4 1/2. There was free phone and internet to ease making alternate arrangements. Perhaps, the fact that we came into Galveston - a more familiar location - and the fact that many passengers were Texans who drove to Galveston made this whole thing a bit easier.

 

P.S. Patti, it looks as though we will be cruising together on the Jewel in 2009. We are returning to New England - my spouse was born in Connecticut - in honor of his 60th birthday. Wish we were doing a TA to Boston as well, but I am very happy with our cruise and the days we will spend visiting old favorite places prior to and after the cruise. I lived in Boston for three years, so this will be fun for me as well.

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I am so sorry to be reading everyone's comments. I have been on the Splendour twice out of Galveston and had good cruises both times - one of them with the best cabin attendant and waiter we've ever had. The second cruise did involve a late arrival into Galveston because of a medical emergency. There was a bit of a period in the early morning where info was not available, but it was quickly rectified. The CD even rallied to get a morning full of activities and a Cruise Compass for Day 4 1/2. There was free phone and internet to ease making alternate arrangements. Perhaps, the fact that we came into Galveston - a more familiar location - and the fact that many passengers were Texans who drove to Galveston made this whole thing a bit easier.

 

P.S. Patti, it looks as though we will be cruising together on the Jewel in 2009. We are returning to New England - my spouse was born in Connecticut - in honor of his 60th birthday. Wish we were doing a TA to Boston as well, but I am very happy with our cruise and the days we will spend visiting old favorite places prior to and after the cruise. I lived in Boston for three years, so this will be fun for me as well.

Will look forward to meeting you. I don't think anyone will start a roll call since there is no M&M on cruises that are 6 days or less.

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We`re taking our 3rd trip in 3 years on Splendour. We enjoy it very much, the food was very good, excellent service (the best waiter ever!) aft balcony cabin very nice and well looked after by the cabin staff. Entertainment mixed, some good some bad ... as with all the other cruises we´ve done. Trivia is good fun, although in the med they don`t do a "quest". We enjoy the smaller size of the ship and the personal feel. Love sailing out of Venice!

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We were on Splendour in late November. At that time it was clean, pretty and well-maintained. I can't believe it would go severely down hill in only 6 months!

 

Our waiter and steward were great, and the food was very good, but they've had two changes of crew members (and possibly chefs) since then, with the South America season, so I can't speak to those issues.

 

The Concierge Lounge was small but adequate, and the room itself (former card room) was attractive. Some days they had breakfast in there and some days they didn't - a bit hit or miss.

 

Splendour was our first RCCL ship (we got to use the CL because of many cruises with Celebrity) and we thought she was lovely. We enjoyed the cruise and the ship very much.

 

Lisa

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Hi, We just arrived in Italy yesterday and going on this cruise May 10. My parents (in their 80s), husband and I plus my aunt who lives here are staying in the Royal Family Suite. Right now we are stayin with my aunt and cousin and when we return we will be staying with them another week.

Once we return to my cousins I will let you know what I thought. Look for a response here by May 18th.

This is my fourth cruise. First 2 on Carnival and last one on RCCL. This will be my parents 7th cruise, first on RCCL. My husband and I are not super picky. We are go with the flow type of people. If we want to go have gourmet food we would pick a cruise for it :-) We are going on it to have a good time and spend some good quality time with each other. We are not the type to let most things bother us. So when I get back I will give you my honest opinion about it. I have not told the others about the reviews as I do not want to color anyones experience.

I do know that right before I went on my other cruises it seemed that I see a ton of message slamming the cruise I was going on to the point that I would be nervous going and each time we ended up enjoying ourselves immensely. Our other cruises were on much bigger ships and so I already know that I can not expect the same amount of activities as before.

I do agree with the one poster that people have a tendency to tell everyone when they are not happy but not as many when they are. Also, some people will let one problem taint there whole trip. I will report back.

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We're on the Splendour in November, Venice to Lisbon. For a not so popular ship, there certainly aren't any price drops yet! :p

 

I take the reviews with a grain of salt and hope we won't have any issues. I'm mostly worried about getting seasick on a smaller ship. I've been on the Mariner and the Radiance, so I know it's going to be smaller with less activities. But this cruise is about the ports for me, I wish their weren't 4 cruising days. Now bring on the price drop!

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Just returned from Splendor Venice cruise, cruise report to follow, soon I hope.

Regarding the ship: Ship was good. Comfortable. Shows were ok. We thought the food was lacking and some of the services. Of course there is plenty of food and offerings were adequate. But no lobster,etc.

Lack of food trays in Windjammer was hard (multiple trips for drinks, salad,etc.

The ports were outstanding.

 

In brief I would grade ship as B, Ports A+, serice B (cabing steward A+). Food B.

 

Overall grade B+/A-

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Will look forward to meeting you. I don't think anyone will start a roll call since there is no M&M on cruises that are 6 days or less.

 

I may start one eventually. To me, the roll calls aren't about the parties, they are about having others to share my pre-cruise excitment with. Anyway, I've only been on two roll calls where we've actually had enough people for a Meet & Mingle and so most of the time, we've had to arrange to meet each other independently.

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I am staying "subscribed" to this thread hoping some of y'all will be posting your post-cruise reviews. I'm hopeful for a good xperience, sailing 11/22, and I do read high comments for sail aways from Venice (especially when good weather is present). As for pricing, we got a D1 w/air for a price I couldn't beat anywhere - paying for two (yes, all the txs, fees, surcharges, and insurance included) for what I've seen pricing quoted for only one. Jumped right on the "deal" and even this with a $225 OBC. Our Roll Call is painfully quiet, so it would seem this ship can't be sold out...if u r interested, keep watching for prices falling....

The more recent reviews regarding negatives with staff, crew, food, entertainment, and even one comment about unpleasant odors is what causes me concern. Until I actually checked, I didn't realize the Splendour is smaller than the Sovereign...IF the Splendour is on par with the Sovereign, we'll be fine; however, why no Johnny Rockets? :confused:

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We did not enjoy the Splendour as others have. The ship itself was beautiful! The crew and dining left a lot to be desired.

 

That was out of Galveston in Dec 2006, hopefully much had changed. I hope you have a great cruise.

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We sailed on her out of Venice last year. Ship was great, very clean, good condition. We found the restaurant food just OK - a bit bland and samey - not nearly as good as our previous cruise on Carnival - but from reading these boards that seems to be the case across the fleet. We thought the Windjammer food was very good - better than the Carnival buffets. Our waiter (Mehmet from Turkey) was excellent (quite understated but very professional), assistant good and our drinks waiter (Jose) superb. Bar service was great and entertainment (what we saw) really good. Our room steward wasn't too good, every time we needed something we had to ask several times and he just seemed to do the bare minimum.

 

Unless it's gone downhill dramatically I don't think you'll be too disappointed.

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My wife and I were on Splendour out of Venice last year. We cruised the Med from Venice to Turkey and back. The crew was great, the food was excellent, I personally spoke with head chef (who was from Austria), and the entertainment was wonderful. We have been on larger and smaller ships and Splendour was just right for our trip. No complaints. I wrote a review last year, don't know if it is still somewhere on the ship review post

 

cheers,

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