gramgill

Posts: 197
(11/2/04 16:03)
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Has anybody been on RCIs Splendour of the seas we have booked this for July doing the med. we have been on RCIs Explorer and the service was fantastic so i would hope this to be similar

rachelandfamily

Posts: 14
(14/2/04 15:33)
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went on splendour last year on a med mini cruise, what more can i say than fantastic, it was magical ! I've been on Sunbird and Carousel before and Splendour left them standing in the luxury stakes (very plush and shiny!!!) The food was out of this world and the service was second to none.
We did a lot of venturing ashore independently (worthwhile probably doing in Barcelona, Villefranche (monte carlo)).
i cannot recommend it enough in my opinion! ENJOY!
rachel.

gramgill

Posts: 198
(17/2/04 17:22)
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thank you for your reply, as i said we have only done 1 cruise and that was RCIs bigger ship the Explorer and the service was similar which is why we opted for RCI again. we are going out early to spend three days in Barcelona. What did you do in Rome and Florence if you were there.

teddytubby
New User...
Posts: 4
(22/2/04 23:03)
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We have booked 7day med cruise 24th july on the Splendour. When are you going?

We are first time cruisers celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.

Have read & watched everything available re cruise & I am confident that in RCI we have booked one of the best available.

Have you booked any of the many shore excursions which can now be viewed & booked at
http://www.royalcaribbean.com We have booked Eternal City,Rome & Pompei as we intend to spend lots of time on the ship relaxing.

Its now back to weightwatchers to lose some weight before buying tux.

* Link Activated - Sandi*

Edited by: Blue Eyes 2002 at: 23/2/04 12:50

gramgill

Posts: 201
(27/2/04 12:26)
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we miss you by a week we sail on the 17th July and as i said before we had our first cruise in Jan and cant wait for the next. RCIs service made that the best holiday we have ever taken. no havnt booked any excursions yet i have been trying to find out what we could do ourselves, we are thinking of taking the local train into Rome

rachelandfamily

Posts: 16
(27/2/04 23:27)
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In my opinion you are best pre booking your excursions in the Italian cities (due to the very long transfers involved) - we managed to fit in Florence and Pisa in one day that may be difficult travelling independently (even though Italian railways are excellent to use), I found using a guide helpful (provided in the excursion) in the busy cities as they knew just how to get you to the places of interest a lot quicker than I may have managed to get to independently - hence managing to see a lot that we wanted to see (Florence especially was so - so busy!!! in April!)
Hope this helps.
regards
Rachel.

teddytubby
Posts: 5
(28/2/04 0:48)
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Pity we miss you by 1 week. Enjoy yourselves & leave plenty of food & drink for us.

We were advised to be careful in Rome re pick pockets etc so we decided to take guided trip to Eternal City quite expensive at approx £102 each but you only live once & it actually falls on our silver wedding anniversary.

Did you purchase any drinks vouchers on board, I read that only some bars sold them & they were not very keen to advertise or sell them.

I am still a little confused regarding tipping, I know that everyone pays approx £10 per day for your own personal waiters & cabin staff, which can be paid before or at the end of your holiday but do you tip during the day to other staff such as waiters around the pool etc.

rachelandfamily

Posts: 17
(28/2/04 13:24)
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if this helps - tipping is done solely at the end of the cruise, on the last night your cabin steward will place a number of envelopes in your cabin labelled for the people who have looked after you during the cruise, when we were on board we gave the envelopes direct to the person (as i feel that the individuals may not see their tips if allocated - and you know that the person who has looked after you knows your appreciation!).

gramgill
Posts: 203
(28/2/04 14:47)
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RCI gives you the opportunity to pre pay your tips we done this at the time of booking last time and it worked well so we have done this again (scared in case we have no money left) we were wary that the tips may not get to our staff but were pleased that on the last night our waitor thanked us and that he had recieved it (we slipped him a bit extra as he was more than just a waitor he bent over backwards to help with every thing) if you havnt prepaid yes you will be given envolopes on the last night i cant remember the reccomended amount i think its about £7 per person per night total but you are reminded. As for the drink packages i think they have stopped except the soda card which we bought but i dont think it was worthwhile buying two i wont this time.
i am still undecided about trips we will certainly do something in Rome
I f you want another excellent web site click onto

messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic

scroll down and click on Royal carribean for the RCI forums (mostly americans and sometimes a bit ott) you can also go to roll calls and speak to whoever is going on the same cruise as yourself
enjoy

teddytubby
Posts: 6
(29/2/04 23:33)
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Thanks gramgill for info.

The site you advised is quite good & have already contacted fellow cruisers from New York & Scotland who are on the same cruise & at same time as ourselves.

gramgill
Posts: 205
(2/3/04 18:08)
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great i am still waiting for a reply to my roll call on my dates.
yes good site i'm hooked you should sign up for the CC party so as you can meet the people that your chatting to

lilkal
New User...
Posts: 9
(11/3/04 23:06)
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We are booked on this cruise for the 17th as well. We are flying out on the 15th to have a couple of days in Barcelona before hand. Not travelled RCI before so looking forward to it as the reviews are great. Where are you staying in Barcelona before hand.

gramgill
Posts: 210
(12/3/04 18:12)
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we are flying out on the 14th from Aberdeen via Amsterdam and staying at the Expro hotel (we booked it ourselves) its about 25 min walk or 5 min metro ride to Ramblas its very close to the Sants station the main station so we are planning to take the train from the airport and walk from the sants satation. We had our first ever cruise in January (for my 40th) with Royal Carribean on there bigger ship the Explorer it was a dream holiday and planning to go back on it in March 05 for my wifes 40th.
So what about you have you done many cruises before and have you pre booked any trips or have you been to these ports before. Where are you flying from and where are you staying in Barcelona

lilkal
New User...
Posts: 10
(14/3/04 14:39)
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We are flying on the 15th from Gatwick and staying at the Grand Marina, which is at the bottom of the Ramblas and walking distance to the ship which is what drew us to this hotel. Have you been to Barcelona before. We are taking our 15 year old daughter and her friend with us. We have done a few cruises with P&O to the Caribbean and this year we are going with Airtours on the Sunbird over Easter. I really want to go on RCI Voyager but my husband enjoys being able to get off the ship each day and said that this ship on a 9 day cruise would be a sea for about 4 so I have persuaded him to go on Splendour in the hope that I can then get him to go on Voyager. I am really looking forward to Splendor as the RCI ships when you are next to them look fantastic and what with the facilities on board the girls should really enjoy it. We have not booked any excusions yet but I think we will do the coach trip into Rome and then do Rome by ourselves. We have been here a couple of times and it is my favourite City. We thought of going in by train but am slightly worried in case you are delayed getting back the ship will not wait but if you are on their transport in and out of the City I understand they will or it is their liability to get you back to the ship if it has to sail. Not sure yet what else to do. Have you booked anything yet.
We got hooked cruises about 5 years ago and have been on an Easter cruise ever since. Where did you cruise for your 40th and where are you planning to go for your wifes.

gramgill
Posts: 211
(15/3/04 11:40)
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yes we have been to Barcelona but just day trips from Costa Brava. we too are planning to Rome on our own we have taken advice from these boards (see the rome thread) and planning to take the train only about 6 Euros each unlimited travel, big difference to the organised trips, but not spending the whole day there, just see the main sites etc, if we are running late we will get a taxi back. the other ports, still undecided probably just wander around and take it as it comes. We went on the Explorer sailing from Miami to the Western Carribean for my 40th and hoping to go back on the Explorer but do the Eastern carribean for my wifes, we are hoping to book onboard the splendour, we get onboard credit, the prices are higher but we ask them to hold it in there central office and search for the best quotes from travel agents back home they then pick up the order, thats what we done for this one, from the explorer, what are you planning to do in Barcelona, we were hoping to take a open top city tour and relax by the pool or beach the rest of the time

lilkal
New User...
Posts: 11
(15/3/04 17:50)
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Not really got anything planned as such in Barcelona. Have to go to Neu Camp as my son went their in December, bought back a shot glass with his name on and I have broken it so this is a must visit. Open top tour sounds interesting. Also would like to go on the cable car, visit the fort and watch the fountains by night otherwise just chill out by the pool at the hotel. We booked this cruise through "vacationstogo.com" (not the co.uk version) and then our flights separately. You may get a good deal with them we found this the cheapest at the time of looking. Friends of ours have done this when going to Carribean but have not tried it independently ourselves yet.Maybe we could meet up for a drink once on board. Some friends went to Med last year and they visited Florence and Pisa I will ask them how easy it was to get to these places without using RCI. I know with Rome it is easy as the transport system is excellent and is easy to follow. You will need Termini B for the colloseum and when you come out of the station it is there directly in front of you. Also good station for Forum, Trevi Fountain and the big white building which I cannot think of the name of at present. Vatican and St Peter's Basilica (the Basilica is fantastic) are on the otherside of the City about a 40 mins walking from Colloseum but can be reached easy with the buses. If you have 3 hours then the Basilica is well worth a visit. We were a little disappointed with the Vatican as it was so packed you could only look up at the ceilings and if you stopped to look at the tapistries on the walls your had people bumping into you. the earlier you get there the better if you want to go and it closes at 1:00pm on Sunday and does not open again until the Tuesday not sure what day we are there as I know the itinerary has changed to the version shown in RCI brochure. We are no longer going to Malta which was a bit disappointing but to Marsaille instead. Will let you know if I hear of any other good excursions along the way.