Just back from the Splendour of the Seas

[Imani68]

I'll do a more thorough review after I get some sleep but I had an EXCELLENT cruise on the Splendour despite its age and poor reviews that I read on these boards prior to our sailing! I would not hesitate to hop right back on this ship. :D

[JennJ99738]

I can't wait to here some good news about the ship! Sleep fast!

[KerriKelly]

I too just returned from the Splendour cruise and my husband and I had a great time with no problems. We picked this cruise because of the itinerary and not the ship. While it is an older ship and does not have some of the amenities of the newer ship, I have no complaints. Staff was very accomodating, food was very good (maybe I don't have as sophisticated pallet as some) and overall a good value for the money.

I did notice an odor on the lower decks - a little moldy - but that's the only negative thing I can say about our experience.

 

We took several tours in port and if anyone is interested in more information, I'd be happy to share our experiences.

[margbem]

We are booked on Splendour in September and were getting worried because of all the bad comments. It's nice to hear someone has enjoyed their cruise on her. A detailed review of food, ports, entertainment etc would be brilliant!!:)

[seakat76]

Thank you! We leave on 7/19 cruise and are also anxiously watching reviews.

[SEASPORT]

We have been so worried about sailing Splendour after reading reviews. Our final payment is due June 1st, so I would appreciate any info. Thanks!!

[Linda74]

We were on her first Med. cruise this season (april 26 to may 3). No problems with the ship Don't worry. She is in fine shape. and you will have a wonderful time.

[dvg1027]

We just got back a 2 weeks ago. If you look on roll call for May 10 you will find a short review. In a nutshell, was it a perfect cruise no, but would I go again, absolutely.

[beachnative]

KerriKelly, please tell us about your shore excursions.

 

We (2) will be sailing on the Splendour in four weeks and have not yet decided on shore excursions. Your (and other) opinions will be appreciated.

[Imani68]

Here is my quick take on this cruise:

 

We sailed round trip from Venice on May 17th. We were a group of 5 ranging in age from mid 30s to early 40s. This cruise was a 40th birthday gift from my husband chosen based on itinerary and not ship. Three additional friends joined us on this trip.

 

Embarkation: We took a water taxi from our hotel at noon and were on the ship by 12:30-ish. Walking to the ship from the water taxi/water bus drop off point was no problem but I can see how it my pose challenges for some people given their age and/or physical limitations. The embarkation process was the smoothest that I have encountered to date.

 

Cabin: Our cabin was an oceanview on deck six (6050) not far from the photo gallery but we were able to avoid the temptation to buy pictures every time we walked by. There were no residual noise problems from that high traffic area. We were very pleased with our room. Our room attendant Gustavo was a little slow but efficient and kept our room in great shape.

 

Dining: We ate in the Windjammer for all of our breakfast meals either because of early morning port times or because we kept sleeping in and getting up to late for meals in the dining room. I stuck with made to order omelets and a few other items each morning but was impressed with the selection given the international make-up of the passengers. The paninis and french fries in the Solarium hit the spot every time. My husband thought the meals in the dining room were better than the ones we had eaten on other cruise lines. I, on the other hand, thought they were on par but definitely not better. Definitely edible and definitely better than any Denny’s or Applebee’s that I have ever eaten at. I am a huge fan of haute cuisine and never expect that level of food on cruises so I am never disappointed. Our head waiter Alejandra (sp?) and her assistant Carla were on top of their game and we never had to ask for anything a second time.

 

Ports: Like I said earlier, my husband chose this cruise based on its itinerary. We did Athens and Mykonos on our own and did ship excursions in all other ports. We were happy with all of our choices. The ports were fabulous! Split was definitely in the early stages of developing its identity as a tourist destination but was a very interesting port. I would love to go back there and spend a few more days exploring it further. We had very knowledgeable guides on all of the excursions.

 

Final thoughts: Like most things, cruise reviews are subjective so don’t let a string of negative reviews ruin your vacation before it even begins. The Splendour is about 12 years old and rumor has it that RCI will be retiring it in a couple of years. She is handling her age well and the captain and crew seemed to work very hard to maintain her. While I prefer the newer, larger ships, this was one of the best cruise vacations I’ve ever had.

 

Let me know if I can answer any questions! :D

[vacationdreamer2]

Imani68 - was the oceanview worth it or would you have been just as happy in an interior room? That is my last decision before I book this trip for August 23rd sailing...

[beachnative]

Imani68: Thanks for posting the review.

 

Did you hear any feedback from those who took the 7 hour "Hidden Villages of Kerkkyra by 4WD Vehicle" in Corfu. We are considering that one.

 

Please tell us more about Split. On our Baltic cruise last year we found Tallin, Estonia to be a wonderful stop and hope Split is similar.

[Imani68]

beachnative: I did not run across anyone that did the 4WD excursion last week but a lot of the excursions sold out so be sure to grab it if you are interested in doing it. Split was fascinating in that it was still relatively unspoiled by tourism. I hadn't really given Croatia much thought in recent years and now I'm intrigued enough to learn more. I remember reading some negative things here on the boards about Split being a useless port and I found it to be completely the opposite.

 

vacationdreamer2: We had a balcony on our last cruise but elected to go w/ an Oceanview on this cruise because of how port-intensive this one was and we wanted to save money somewhere. My husband did not like the idea of having no sunlight in the cabin so that why we did not do an inside. My friends were in the inside cabin across the hall from us and had no complaints.

[AF-1]

My wife and I sailed Splendour last May 07 and have nothing but wonderful comments. I posted a review under the member review thread. We picked the splendour not because of the ship but because of the itinerary. We did Venice-Dubrovnik-Ephasus-Santorini-Corfu-Venice. If you have any questions you can email me or read my review.

 

Cheers