My Royal Caribbean Cruise Highlights - Splendour of the Seas

We arrived at the port of Venice well ahead of the Ship's departure to its planned ports of call at Dubrovnik, Croatia, Kusadasi in Turkey, Santorini and Corfu in Greece and back to Venice. Yes, the cruise ship is called "Splendour of the Seas".

                                                                 In all its splendour!


                                                              The front of the ship

                                
                                                         The solarium                                                                     


Our bags had been systematically tagged with our
 given rooms and we were given a "credit card like card" called "sea pass" which is a form of identification in the ship and you must have them at embarkation and disembarkation otherwise you would not be allowed in and out of the ship. The card is also used for you to purchased items not covered by the cost of your cruise. Everything has been pre-signed so you just use your pass at any of the on-board outlets.

Choose your drinks... red/white wine, sweet lime juice or plain water.

We located our room referred to as stateroom and after a short rest went up the uppermost  deck to see the city of Venice ( Venezia to Italians) as the ship set sail at exactly 5pm. Later we had a ship emergency exercise where we had been told to locate our life-jackets and assemble for instructions. Everybody was briefed on their emergency routes and not to use the lifts. Yes, the ship has 11 levels. The room decks are from 1 to 9 and we were at deck 6, the  same level as the purser's desk and the photo gallery. The 5-star hotel standard public toilets are located at certain decks.

                                                            One of the public rest rooms

There is also the gym, SPA and laundry services. Duty -free shops are also available at deck 5. There are no tea-making facilities in our rooms but you can order room service for breakfast.

                                                       The Windjammer- all day dining
                                                       

The dining restaurant, the King and I,  is at deck 4 and 5. We were assigned a dinner table throughout the cruise and we were in the second sitting at 9pm and so our predinner show was at 7.15pm for an hour. The first sitting is at 7pm so you can imagine how hard the dining attendants had to work to ensure smooth dinner for the two large groups. We had two formal dinners where we have to dressed up, the men in tuxedo/suits and ladies in glamorous evening gowns.  Of course if you do not want to have dinner served for you, you can always go to the self-service restaurant called the Windjammer at deck 9. It is where the recreation areas are like the pool and the solarium. All areas are banned for smoking except certain designated ones.

The shows are held at Top's Hat which is  a 500-seat theatre and there is also a casino at deck 4.  The casino is full of flickering machines, blackjacks etc, anyway we kept away from it as we didn't want to feel depressed at the end of our lovely cruise as you never win in such a place!

The nightclub is at deck 11 which is accessible by a special lift from deck 9. All the services areas are in the central area of the ship called the "centrum". So you have a 24-hr online centre looking like a chic cybercafe on deck 8. But the rate for internet excess is excessive at 0.65 USD per minute and they do have special time-package. That was the reason I refused to do my blogging on the ship! It was only used to access my emails and browse Malaysian  news.                                                                                   One of the evening shows that we went to

                                    One of the twenty computers in the 24-hr online room

On the ship you can eat anything and any amount you like. You will not go hungry unless you fail to follow the timetable. The food spread at Windjammer is generous, they keep on replenishing around the clock during the period. You need to be early for breakfast as most people prefer to have them early at the self-service restaurant  especially on the days the ship docks at the port of call.

The whole activities on board are well-organized and the staff really make you feel at home.There were also talks and seminars on health, beauty and creativity. Our room attendant called Naira is a black lady from Panama. She was very helpful but not intrusive. Our waiter Katia is a white Brazilian with a wonderful sense of humor and our assistant waiter Pedro is an Indian from Goa ( once a Portuguese colony thus his name). We became quite friendly with them not to mention Alex , another Brazilian who made my costume jewellery pieces. In fact the ship employ staff from many nations including from  Asian countries like Indonesia and the Philippines.

One of the lounges

Every evening before retiring our room attendant would give us the bulletin complete with relevant information for the daily ship schedules and activities. So we knew exactly what to do and expect each day.

There is music most of  the time with live performers. All kind from evergreen to sambas and you could see people dancing and enjoying themselves.On the night before we arrived in Corfu Greece, the staff donned a Grecian attire and Greek musicians were on board to play their music accompanied by Greek dancing.

We had two days at sea, meaning there was no ports of call and we simply relax on the ship. We took this time to wake up early and witness the spectacular sun rise from the horizon from the top deck. It was a wonderful experience with the blue seas around you and you would be lucky to see jumping fish. You can go around the ship for five times to make up the one kilometre walk. Quite a number of people did their morning exercise on the ship.

                                                                 Mediterranean Sunrise

Top deck

According to my husband this Mediterranean cruise was less hectic than the last one he was on as practically there was a daily port of call to rush to and excursions to follow. Days at sea is a better way of really enjoying the cruise. Less rush and more relaxation and for those who enjoy family activities there were several daily games and competition with prizes for winners.

                                                                    Serene morning cruising view

There were many cruise ships berthing at Venice, Splendour of the Seas, the ship we took is one of the the ships of the Royal Caribbean International. I saw others with names such as the Norwegian Gem, Costa Victoria and MSC. The region has a well-established cruise ship business and an organized tourist industry.


Splendour of the Seas is like a massive floating 5-star hotel that is an experience in itself. The public PA system and the intercom in your room ensure efficient communication. On our last afternoon we had a session with the captain and his crew who answered just about any question about the ship such as how they get fresh water for use in the ship, sea water desalination and sewage disposal.

                                                    The welcoming ceremony at the centrum

The captain was gracious enough to have his photo taken on formal night  with some lucky guests, I was one of them much to the envy of my friends ;), the photo is for my eyes only! It was indeed a short 7-day cruise. All good things must end and all that we have now are our photos and our beautiful memories.

                                Our dashing captain coming up the stairs after a welcoming speech

Next time I would really like to go on a cruise around the world....... Hmmmm