Susan Bauer
Sailing Date:
May 26th, 2010
Age: 40
Occupation: Engineer
Number of Cruises: 4
My husband and I were on the May 26th
sailing of the Splendour. A little about us
- we are professionals in our early 30's -
no kids yet - 2 prior cruses in the
Caribbean on Celebrity. This was also our
first time to Europe. With frequent flyer
miles we arranged a free flight into Venice.
We boarded the Splendour about 11am on
the 26th. We had every intention of checking
in, dropping off luggage and going back into
town but since we love cruises, we found
ourselves by the pool bar and meeting
friends from San Francisco. First
impressions of the Splendour - nice, but no
Celebrity Galaxy or Century. Not as clean or
nicely maintained as the Celebrity ships. We
quickly made friends with our pool staff
bartenders - Lukas from South Africa, Allan
and Marcio. We met another couple and looked
forward to the next week ahead!
We were seated at the late seating - 9:15pm.
We prefer the late dinner so when we get
home from the day ashore we can relax or
have a drink before rushing to dinner. One
note, all the brochures and info stated 2
formal nights, 4 casual and 1 smart casual.
There were actually 2 smart casual nights,
not 1. Dinner was OK for the week. Again,
hate to compare but not nearly up to the
standards of Celebrity. We had to hail down
the drink server and always ask for water
instead of the ass't waiter just re-filling.
This was the only disappointing part of our
trip and because of it, we will probably not
sail RCCL again. To give a glaring example,
my husband ordered two appetizers on the
final night of the cruise: risotto and soup.
Only the risotto came. I'm sorry, but if you
can't get the orders right ON TIP NIGHT,
something is very wrong.
Anyway, we spent most of the evening in the
casinos and exploring and making friends.
There is no craps table but we were more
than happy with the slots, roulette,
blackjack and Caribbean poker. We did
purchase the RCCL 12 drinks for $39.99 card
which was very easy and a good deal. Also,
we found MANY Americans. We thought it would
be mostly Europeans and were pleasantly
surprised. The ship is considered an
American ship and accepts USD in the
casinos. You can cash in Euros for USD but
you cannot exchange USD for Euros as they
are not allowed to carry. All tipping was in
Euros for the tours so be sure to get some
at one of your ports or before embarking.
The tours are all day and long and barely
time to find a cash machine.
Day 1 - Dubrovnik - Beautiful Port.
Very hot. A tip, the steps around the wall
were quite slippery, and very steep for the
unfit to negotiate. Watch out for queue at
entrance to walled city as this can become
congested.
Day 2 - At Sea - where do I start? We
went to bingo (and picked up a $150
jackpot!)..Then I entered and WON first
place the slots tournament (another $150 and
T-Shirt, oh and a trophy) .My husband
entered the blackjack tournament and made it
the final round and didn't end up on top but
did win another T-Shirt. Then went to the
Art Auction and finally sat by the pool
having drinks (I am Swedish and very fair so
the sun is not my friend - need to have
other activities to keep me from burning).
We packed and went to our final dinner with
our wonderful table and then headed off for
'farewell' drinks with friends from the
week. I believe about2am we
were winning more money at the casino as
they were getting ready to 'close'. Most of
the ship was asleep but you have to make the
most of it while away!
Day 3 - Mykonos - Loved the cobbled
streets with the blossoms overhanging
buildings which were all beautifully
maintained.
Day 4 - Kusadasi - before starting
the cruise we booked a tour from a local
company called Trans Balkan Tours. we can't
say enough great things about them and the
tours they provided. guide was waiting for
us at the port, ready to begin our day. i
requested that we try to avoid the ship's
buses, and they did everything possible to
make sure this occurred! it was a pleasure
to enjoy the same places that the ship
offered at our own pace, staying as long or
as short as we wanted for a fraction of the
cost! the fact that we were "alone" made it
much more personalized. Our guide was very
knowledgeable and friendly. we will most
definitely use them on future cruises and
from comments made from our group, i can
assure you they will also!
Day 5 - Santorini - because this
route arrives here on Monday, the ruins at
Akrotiri are closed. the only tour available
takes you to the picturesque town of ia (or
oia in some books). visit the town on your
own --- don't bother with the tour. this is
one of the two big regrets of our cruise.
this tour took us to the highest point of
the island, the profitis illas mountain,
where you can see both sides of the island,
Day 6 - Corfu - Waterpark experience
awesome if you are young at heart. We did
this on our own as cruise company cancelled
due to lack of numbers.
Day 7 - At sea - we needed this time
off at this point. we were just about
"ruin-ed out" and needed a break. we took
the tour of the galley that the chef offered
and had massages in the beauty salon. the
dinner that night included beef tenderloin
and lamb chops --- both were excellent and
we celebrated over a bottle of champagne our
last evening on board with two other couples
we had become fast friends with.
Day 8 - Headed home from the ship. We
decided to get transfers from the ship to
the airport at the last minute through our
travel agent - what a GREAT decision! I am
amazed at the organization and speed at
which we were taken off the ship and onto
the waiting coach buses. So worth the
$19/per person cost. We checked out bags at
Venice and since we were connecting in
Heathrow, they actually checked our bags
through to Newark! This was British Airways
and we were then getting on a Virgin flight.
Apparently, that is standard now to avoid
having to re-claim your bags in London and
then re-check. Saved so much time since we
had to get from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3.
Our flight from London was delayed an hour
but they upgraded us to Business Class for
no good reason so no problem with that!
All in all, the trip was beyond our
expectations! We made some wonderful friends
and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Unfortunately, having cruised in Celebrity a
few times, we are spoiled and RCCL did not
even come close to the service and cuisine
that Celebrity provided. We are very, very
'low maintenance' people but in the future,
will spend the extra couple of bucks and
sail on Celebrity. We heard too many
complaints from other people about the
dining room so it was no just 'us'. Our
stateroom attendant was EXCELLENT! The bar
and casino staff were wonderful and really
made this an adventure we will never
forget!
