From :    jrussell@velocitus.net (Joan Russell)
Subject :    Review
Date :    Tue, 31 Dec 2002 03:19:57 -0500
 
This was our first cruise with RCCL, and we were impressed. We had previously cruised with Celebrity Lines, and once with Carnival Lines. This time we chose "Splendour of the Seas" for a 10-day Caribbean cruise out of Galveston.

First things first -- the BOARDING EXPERIENCE was 'a piece of cake'. We arrived at the dock a little past noon and literally walked right onboard! DEPARTURE at the end of the cruise was another story. It was the slowest and most confusing we had ever experienced. There were folks lined up in the hallways waiting to go thru all the check-out lines prior to disembarking. Surely this could have been handled differently.

THE SHIP -- The SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS is truly a beautiful ship. The Centrum area is breathtaking with its spiral staircase going up a full 3 decks. Since our cruise was just prior to Christmas, there were beautifully decorated trees everywhere. SHOPPING onboard was lots of fun with a wide variety of shops. Of course there was always the daily "Sidewalk Sale" going on. There were numerous lounges, an Internet access room with with plenty of computers, a well-stocked library, and lots of other places to explore while the ship was at sea. The open atrium in the center of the ship was breathtaking. There were two swimming pools -- one pool and four hot tubs were located inside a glass-covered Solarium with a retractable ceiling.

CABIN -- Our cabin was on Deck 6 -- very near the Photo Gallery -- a very good, central location. The cabin was very spacious, very nicely decorated, and our Cabin Attendant(Dixon) did an 'excellent' at keeping it spotless.

FOOD -- After cruising with Celebrity Lines, it's hard to give anyone else an excellent rating. They are just THE BEST in regard to their dining experience.  However, I would rate the food on the SPLENDOUR as "very good." The service at our table in the dining room was not the best, but I don't think our waiter was totally at fault. I suspect we were just at the end of the food service list. The Buffet was very good -- except breakfast was a bit boring. The same choices every day get a bit boring.

ENTERTAINMENT -- Entertainment onboard was OUTSTANDING! We had a dance group that was simply superb in every way. We were also privileged to have Marty Allen and his wife, Karen _________ on stage one night. What a great performance that was. Current run movies were also shown, and there never seemed to be a lull in the entertainment area.

PORTS -- We stopped at Montego Bay, Jamaica -- Georgetown, Grand Cayman -- Cozumel,Mexico -- Roatan, Honduras -- and Belize City, Belize. All were very good stops with the exception of Belize City. This was not a SAFE port, and we were encouraged to take an excursion to get away from the port area. The same suggestion was made regarding Honduras. My husband and I took several excursions -- Cave Tubing in Belize -- Catch the Wave Adventure in Cozumel -- Stingray City Snorkeling in Grand Cayman -- and Mountain Valley Rafting in Montego Bay. Our favorite (hands down) was snorkeling with the stingrays. This is A MUST. The Mountain Valley Rafting was a relaxing, pleasant float down a slow moving river. Cave Tubing was an interesting experience, but the walk down to the water was fairly treacherous since there had been a heavy rainfall the previous day. The trail was very very slick. The "Catch the Wave Adventure" was a bust. We barely left the dock area, and just stayed a few yards from shore near a rather unkempt area where there was a lot of construction going on. I would NOT recommend this tour -- and it was fairly expensive. We did NOT travel on a 'luxury vessel' as advertised -- but rather something more like a small passenger ferry.

ATMOSPHERE -- There was a pretty good mix of ages on this cruise -- very different from Celebrity cruises which tend to cater to an older group.  All of the ship staff that we dealt with were very pleasant and we had no bad experiences in this area.

That's about it. I didn't intend to write such a lengthy report, but the words just kept coming. If anyone has any questions about the ship or the cruise, ask them quickly. We will be leaving shortly and will not be back home until the first of March. If you're not in a rush you can write to me then. Joan

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