"Splendour of the Seas" July 25th - August 1st was great!

[6Travel]

The "Splendour of the Seas" with Royal Caribbean trip through the Eastern Mediterranean was fantastic from July 25th - August 1st. Here are the details:

 

**SIDE TRIP TO START EVERYTHING OFF

The day before the cruise (July 24th), we took the train to Verona and spent a wonderful day in the city. With the Verona card, you pay 10 Euros and get yourself into lots of churches, museums, and the famous Arena. A MUST-DO in Verona is to eat dinner at Il Cenacolo. You do not get a menu. Simply sit down and watch the each course be fed to you - with the chef working his magic in the middle of the dining room on a wood stove. Truly unique experience filled with amazing food. Budget 50 Euro a person for a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience. ENJOY.

 

NIGHT BEFORE IN VENICE

Have dinner on Giudecca Island at Trattoria Ai Cacciatori (3 bridges down from the Hilton). Phone number is 39-041-528-5849. Food is great. You're on the water and the service is well done! Tell Max we said, "Hi!" Everything was sooo good that we returned here the night we arrived back from the cruise and had an equally good dining experience. By the way, very reasonably priced (around 25 Euro each - including drinks and desserts).

 

1) Embarkation: Because we had a Junior Suite (upgraded us), going through the embarkation process was fast and included some champagne with desserts. My wife especially enjoyed the champagne. Within minutes, we were on board.

 

2) The Junior Suite was perfect for us. Nice big balcony for great views. Clean room with large bathroom. PERFECT. We already were planning on having all 13 of our group in our room for DRINK HOUR every night and this room was going to have the room to do it. We have wine in our room the hour before dinner each night and then everyone goes to dinner together. Our stateroom attendant met us and discovered we'd like to have our ice container full each afternoon for our DRINK HOUR -- it was always full for us. Great job, Dusko.

 

3) DINING ROOM: Our first night, we were at 2 tables separated by a workstation. When we asked to switch with a table nearby of the same size (of which no one was sitting at), the Head Waiter made it sound impossible. After going to the management, the switch was made and they kept our FANTASTIC waiters with us. Gabriel and Sunyl always had our preferences waiting for us AND partook in our group's high energy goofiness and sense of humor (we like to have fun on a cruise). With 13 people, some are going to like the meals - some will not. Gabriel did a nice job of getting people new dishes so they ended up with a meal they liked. Personally, I thought the food was great.

 

{SIDE NOTE} the Head Waiter was one of the only poor experiences we had on board. Her attitude was very negative - as if we were an inconvenience to her.

 

4) ENTERTAINMENT. The best entertainment on the cruise was the a Motown Review band who was FANTASTIC. Everyone loved them, including a couple in our group who insisted they were not into that music and would only stop by for the beginning (they stayed to the end). The Entertainment Director on the cruise was perfect for the part. He made all the activities he ran both FUN and energetic. The other main stage shows were nice -- nothing to WOW you. Our group did not care about the shows and so it didn't matter to us.

 

5) PORTS and EXCURSIONS

 

**A) Split, Croatia. Everyone told us to do this port on our own and so we did. 4 of us got off the boat early and walked around town when almost no one was open yet. Neat way to see a city. The Palace got busier and busier as the day went on. Definitely pay to tour the cellars of the Palace (the basement and original foundation of the Palace). The money is well worth it. If not for this portion of the day, Split would not have been that memorable. If you physically can, WALK UP the bell tower. Great pictures of Split and the entire region. Even though we enjoyed the town, a guided tour may have made this port even more memorable. A couple of people in our group went on the ship excursions and really enjoyed them in Split (unlike other stops I'll explain later).

 

**B) Corfu, Greece. Treat yourself to a great day by hiring Spiros at http://www.corfutaxitours.com . Spiros arranged 4 cars for the 13 of us and each driver was LOVED by the people in his car. For 40 Euros per hour for each car, this is a steal. You will see locations and picture taking spots no bus can get to. You will sample wine and olive oil at a little shop no bus can stop at. You will constantly be educated and entertained by passionate drivers that no cruise line guide can match. All 13 people in our group said this day was the HIGHLIGHT of the cruise because of Spiros and his drivers!! You will not find a better private taxi, car, or driver in Corfu, Greece than Spiros and his team. As a tour guide, each of them taught us all about their wonderful island.

 

**C) Athens, Greece (you dock in Piraeus, Greece). This is a stop where things got interesting. While 5 of us did Athens on our own (took the train to and from the Acropolis), the other 8 people did ship guided excursions into Athens. 7 of those 8 people HATED the experience they had with their guides on the buses provided by RCL. Please know HATED is a strong word and all of them kept using it. Those 7 people were on 3 DIFFERENT buses. Which means out of 4 buses, 3 had very bad experiences (not a good ratio). One of the tours called itself the PANORAMIC tour, yet they never had any point to get a PANORAMIC view (it was quick drive-bys and not close enough to get a feel).

 

On the other hand, we had a fun filled day in Athens. As was recommended to us, take the train for 1 Euro each way. Get off at the Thesion Train Stop and then walk directly up to the Acropolis. When you get out at the stop, look straight ahead and start walking into a park (lots of ruins in here). While the Acropolis and the surrounding area is neat, it is also dirty and thus a bit of a disappointment (graffiti on some of the sites) - as if they don't care enough to take care of this great treasure. A MUST-DO is the Acropolis Museum -- WOW FACTOR!!

 

Take the train back. The train is a 20 minute walk from the ship each way and so give yourself 1 hour to get to Athens and 1 hour to return. Train system is easy to use.

 

**D) Mykonos was interesting. We all had planned to take the Ancient Delos Tour through the ship. Due to strong winds, the island's government shut down all trips to Delos for the day. SO 4 of us ended up walking all over the island before finally catching a public bus to a local beach. After hanging out at the local beach at Platis Giolis (only 100 yards apart are 2 beaches), we took a boat ride to Paradise Beach for 5 or 7 Euros each. This was a nice, quick boat ride (great way to see the coastline). You need sandals because at Paradise Beach we ran into broken glass in a couple of different locations just off the beach (near the bar and stores).

 

Mykonos is a party island geared at the young. The energy here was obvious.

 

{SIDE NOTE} Every beach we visited was 10% topless and we were not in search of topless or nude beaches. Still had probably 1 in 10 women were topless. For some people, this matters. For others, it does not.

 

**E) Katakalon, Greece (where you stop to visit Olympia, Greece) was probably the 2nd favorite stop for our group. Once again, we hired private taxi drivers to guide us around Olympia and the entire region. AND once again, the drivers made the day! George at http://www.taxikatakolon.gr took care of everything for the 12 of us (one of our group stayed back because they were not feeling well). George so loves his area that he will take you to his home (if you ask and time permits). We had 3 cars (4 people in each car). George spoke very good English and one of his other drivers spoke FANTASTIC English (constantly teaching everyone). While the 3rd driver did not speak much English, he was very kind and helpful. With 2 of them speaking fluent English and doing a fantastic job of guiding us everywhere, no one minded the 3rd driver not being as fluent.

 

George did an AMAZING JOB handling everything for us and insuring we had a fantastic experience in Olympia and the surrounding area. All 12 people in our group were VERY impressed with George and his drivers. They taught us all about the area and took us to unique local places. Lunch was at a restaurant where you don't find any tourists or typically "tourist food for Greece" (no Mousaka or Gyros on the menu). We ate the food Greeks eat on a daily basis and it was delicious!

 

At Olympia, George noticed someone in our group was struggling with the heat and all the walking - so George waited with a car to drive that person from the ruins of Olympia up to the Museum itself. That gesture alone went a LONG way with everyone in our group - something you could never get with a bus excursion from a ship.

 

At the winery, 2 in our group could not go down the stairs into the cellar and so George setup them up in a comfortable spot and took care of them. You know the quality of a professional by who he surrounds himself with.

 

George is flexible and adapts to changes in plans. As he says, "This is your trip. We do what you want to do." When you plan your day in Katakalon, start with GEORGE!! He will fill your day with great memories of a lifetime!!

 

4) LEAVING THE BOAT. Very smooth process. Keep in mind "Lavender" luggage tags look a lot like "Purple" tags (the Purple is darker).

 

As you can see, we had a positive experience that will leave us a lifetime of memories with Royal Caribbean's "Splendour of the Seas" ship taking us from Venice to Split to Corfu to Athens to Mykonos to Olympia and back to Venice, Italy.

[PhillyCruiser]

Thanks for a great review! I am booked on Splendour for next June, same itinerary.

 

I've been on two previous Mediterranean cruises, so I know what a crazy whirlwind it can be.

In the past, I haven't had much energy for the evening entertainment after traipsing around port all day. It's pretty much dinner and then to bed.

 

Did you have any time to use the pool on board? Was there a lot of overcrowding, chair-hogs, etc.? Just wondering...

 

Joan

[6Travel]

The Solarium pool never seemed overcrowded (only for 18 and older). While it is indoors, the ceiling is all glass (like a massive sunroof). The main pool was busy. You could easily get sit with your feet in it and no craziness around you. Getting a chair to layout in is doable by going on the main pool deck or one deck up near the running track (my wife found this more easily).

 

Have a GREAT trip!

[dawnmarie386]

Thanks so much for the time you took to review your cruise, 6travel! It sounds like you had a fantastic time. I am booked on the same itinerary in April, 2010, and am really looking forward to it!

 

Can you tell me a bit more about your lovely dining experience in Verona? What types of dishes were you served? It sounds so wonderful!

[6Travel]

Each course was different the from the one before. Can't remember the specifics. Absolutely remember the meal grilled over a wood fire right from of you. From grilled vegetables to fruit to potatoes done in a way not seen done before to the main dish of meats to a wonderful dessert.