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Royal Caribbean International

MV Splendour of the Seas

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Reviewed by: Carolyn Hinkle
# previous cruises: 3
Date of Trip: August 29, 1998
Itinerary: Baltic, Black Sea, Russia

This was the best cruise we've taken. The itinerary was wonderful. In the reviews below I make several references to Princess--our only other experience. We had great experiences on Regal and Crown, but there were some minor annoyances. That's the same on Splendour of the Seas. It had some pluses that we didn't experience on the Princess ships and vice versa. The shops are not stocked with the same calibre merchandise as was on our Princess cruises. The clothing was blah and not much was left. There were a LOT of t-shirts.

The Russian souvenirs were overpriced. The street vendors had better bargains. We think our "watercolors" are copies. We didn't pay much for them, so I guess we got what we paid for. This ship has a very organized procedure for disembarkation. Our luggage was in the hall by 10:00p.m. in special plastic bags. We didn't have to see it again until we reached Atlanta. This procedure applied only to Delta #19 and slew of BA flights.

Didn't get to use the miniature golf. The covered pool area was quite beautiful! The prices in the salon are outrageous. The library and game room are especially lovely areas.

Although we usually request late seating, through a strange turn of events, we all got switched to early. As it turned out, this seating was better, since we often had to get up so early in the morning to make our shore excursions. We were assigned table #29, upstairs in the middle, just over the piano. We all liked it very much, especially when we discovered that #29 and its opposite on the other side of the room were the tables favored by the staff captain.

We enjoyed the food. Our waiter, Voltaire, was quite solicitous. On two different evenings, the Staff Captain ate with us. He was most charming! We were treated to wine, liquors and photographs. The food was good for the most part. We didn't like the layout in the top deck buffet area. There were several different levels with little, easy to miss steps. Everything seemed to converge at the beverage bars. I never quite knew which way to go in order to get out. We never did get to the midnight buffet or to high tea. The pizza, burgers and hot dog stand was not especially good. Why can't the cruise lines work a deal with COKE and serve at least those beverages free. It's ridiculous to have to pay for soft drinks!!!

Breakfast was fine--a lot of fresh fruits, pastries, etc. but the presentation of eggs is little unimaginative. What about breakfast casseroles for instance?!

Our cabin 3110 on Deck 3 was adequate. The steward stored our largest piece of luggage, however, everything else fit under the bed. We had enough drawer space and hanging room. Shampoo and soap are provided but no hair dryer. We used the electrical outlets for that and for my travel iron. Some people were afraid that the voltage was not properly configured for USA products, but I had no problem at all. It is unfortunate that, unlike Princess, RCI doesn't provide irons, ironing boards, washers and dryers. Although it was not listed in the brochures, our room did have a safe.

We loved the shows, especially the pianist, Maureen McGovern, the pickpocket demonstration, and the comedian and his wife. The dancers were good. The cruise director seemed a little forced, but he had a great singing voice as did the ship's hostess. The pianist (all of a sudden I can't remember his name) was particularly animated. He presented 2 afternoon shows as well as on the evening extravaganzas. He was quite happy to sign his tapes and CD's after each performance and to pose for pictures. The talent show was not bad. One woman specially had a terrific voice however none was terrible.

Ports of Call included Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Copenhagen. We took this cruise because of the itinerary and weren't disappointed. Our group went ashore in every port, always booking a shore excursion. Although we usually avoid tours, we booked shore excursion because of the the short time span in each port. We wanted to see as much as possible. Generally, we were pleased. St. Petersburg was the highlight; we took the all- day St. Petersburg tour, the ballet, the Hermitage and Peterhoff excursions. Lunch was served on the all day St. Petersburg tour. It was quite lovely, considering the size of the group and the speed necessitated by the tour. We were also served champagne at the ballet. The seats were hard but it was a great evening. We were tired, but it was worth it. The Tallinn tour was only so so. Maybe could have done it ourselves there.

During days at sea our group participated in a variety of amusements. We "bought" a race horse--ours came in dead last but it was fun. There were several very good lectures, and the men enjoyed some of the tournaments. On the last day we played Bingo because the pot was $8400. One afternoon at sea, we did the wine tasting. That was fun. I think it cost $5.00.

Because there were so many people on board, I have mixed reactions to the passengers. Our dinner companions, Judy and Roger from Akron were delightful. We all would be happy to join them on another cruise. There were some who didn't seem gracious, vivacious etc. It's to be expected. Lest I seem too uncomplimentary, there were many lovely people!