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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Karen Franklin
Email: karen@a-c-eng.com
Age: 43
Occupation: Office Manager
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Splendour
SailingDate: July 16, 2000
Itinerary: Scandinavian Cruise
Cabin: 8060 C
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService: 98
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 99
FoodMidnightBuffets: 98
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety: 89
FoodVariety: 98
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 89
GoodForHoneymoon: 99
CasinoStaff: 99
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 99
LoungeService: 99
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 99
BeautySalonStaff: 80
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 99
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 98
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 99
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 99
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 99
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 01 Aug 2000
Time: 16:27:16
Remote Name: adsl-208-191-242-3.dsl.ltrkar.swbell.net
Remote User:
Comments
My family of nine took this cruise and we were all very pleased. We have all ages in our family so I
feel like we were a good test for the cruise experience. We loved it!!
We had a C cabin and it was spacious with a balcony. The two twin beds went together to make a
queen size bed and the couch folded out into a bed for my daughter. The twin beds were comfy, the
fold out was, well...it was a fold out...sturdy, but not too comfy.
My daughter (6 years old) really enjoyed the Ocean Adventure (kids club) area and the people
working with the kids were fabulous. My sister's children are a little older (11 year old girl and 13 year
old boy) and they were also pleased. There is a seperate room for the teen agers with big screen
TV, dance floor, etc. that was really nice. My only complaint about the kids room is that the times it
was open did not coordinate well with shore excursions. (For instance in St. Petersburg my daughter
was tired of shore excursions and would have liked to have stayed in the kids club, but the hours that
it was open was later than the excursions started and it closed earlier than the excursions ended.)
The food was great at all times. We enjoyed being able to get room service late at night when we did
not want to go to the cafe for the midnight buffet. The dining room service and food was as good as
we expected, our waiters Amal and Peter were great.
The one thing I really noticed and was impressed with was how ALL the staff treated our daughter. I
had been concerned that this was going to be geared to older people without much regard to the
yougest. I had no reason to be concerned. All the staff would stop and talk to Emma, waiters that
were not at our table would come over and make animals out of the napkins for her, cabin stewards
would stop her as she was walking down the hall and ask her how her cruise was going. It was
obvious that RCCL has trained their staff well in doing the little things to make everyone comfortable
and happy. After all, if my daughter is happy then I am happy...
The boat was beautiful and well maintained. The carpet was being replaced in some areas while we
were aboard, but it was done in such a way as to minimize passenger inconvenience. The Internet
lounge was great, allowing me to check my emails from the office, however this did get pricey at $.50
per minute.
The entertainment in the lounges was good overall, some excellent, some not worth the time.
Some of our shore excursions were excellent, some were not. I know that depends a lot on the guide
in each city and on the passengers attitude to start out with, and the days I didn't like the excursions
were the days I was too tired to really be doing anything anyway. Try not to overbook yourself and
pay attention to the guide book as to which ones are strenous or not. We all paid real close attention
to one man (a heart patient) when we were sure he was not going to make it up all the steps we had
to go up, but he didn't keel over on us.
All in all I would reccommend this ship and itinerary to anyone of any age. We throughly enjoyed
ourselves and would consider another cruise with RCCL.
Name: Rod Hoots
Email: rhoots@starpower.net
Age: 71
Occupation: Retired
NumberOfCruises: 33
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Splendour
SailingDate: 28 July 2000
Itinerary: British Isles, France, Norway, Netherlands
Cabin: 8544C
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 98
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff: 95
EntertainmentLounges: 98
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon: 95
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 19 Aug 2000
Time: 19:57:15
Remote Name: cache-1.lnh.md.webcache.rcn.net
Remote User:
Comments
This was the 10th cruise on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCLL) for my wife and me. The big
attraction for us on this cruise was the fabulous itinerary. We flew to London on our own, were met
by the RCCL rep and almost immediately left on the 2 1/2 hour bus ride to the ship - very well
done. Boarding at Harwich was very efficient but impersonal - the gangway was connected to a
very unattractive utility deck, instead of the beautiful atrium, and no one escorted us to our
stateroom. Throughout the voyage, the gangway was connected to decks lower that what the
gangway was designed for, creating a situation where the steps were stretched out almost flat -
difficult to walk on and very dangerous.
Our cabin, Category C, was spacious and comfortable but
the carpet and furniture were quite shabby. There were some minor shortcomings - there were no
'live' movies - there was not a clergyman on board (in our case a priest) - snacks were not served
with drinks in the bars unless you asked. Again, this may sound snobbish but we did not appreciate
having crew members drinking in the same bar with the passengers - this will eventually lead to
unpleasant incidents. The Cruise Director, Bob, and his staff were the best - Bob was involved in
everything and his enthusiasm and sense of humor spread to the rest. All of the activities that we
participated in were well run and fun.
The entertainment was the best we've seen on a cruise for
quite a while - oldies but goodies types such as the Lenny Welch. There were plenty of
opportunities for dancing, with excellent combos in the lounges. The food and food service was
also above average with the food well prepared and with a good. Room service was excellent,
particularly the breakfast service. The ship's head chef is Austrian and the dining room food is
generally continental style. Our only complaint was inattentive service by the staff in the
Windjammer casual dining room - some training and better supervision needed there. As
mentioned above, the itinerary was our main reason for booking this cruise and we were not
disappointed. A big attraction, that we had not seen on a cruise before, was on-board currency
exchange service in each port, including both buy and sell - very helpful. Based on our experience
and comments of fellow passengers, the tours were excellent.
We took "The Beaches of
Normandy" tour in Le Havre, France and it was excellent - highly recommend for all ages. Didn't
take a tour in Plymouth, England but friends recommended the 'on-off' busses in town. The
'Blarney Castle and City Sightseeing' tour in Cork, Ireland was good but the castle area was so
crowded we never got to the stone - recommend an Irish countryside tour instead. Took the 'Dublin
Highlights' tour - OK but we wished we had gone on our own. One of our favorites was the 'Scenic
Views of Scottish Lochs' tour at Greenock - beautiful countryside and charming, friendly people.
Didn't take a tour in Bergen, Norway but the city center was a an interesting place to walk around.
Didn't take a tour in Geiranger, Norway because they were all sold out, but enjoyed walking around
the village. The 'Stalheim Valley and Tvinde Wat' tour in Flam, Norway was another favorite - the
Norwegian fjords are awesome, a unique kind of beauty. In Amsterdam, we left the ship on our own
and took a cab to the Ann Frank House.
Arriving about 15 minutes before the opening time of 9
AM, we only waited about 20 minutes to get in. It was a moving experience - you have to do it to
appreciate it. Check out the web site at www.annefrank.nl. We took the post-cruise package at the
Grosvenor House Hotel in London and were not impressed - for the money we could have done
better booking on our own. We had seen the major sites in London before but greatly enjoyed, for
the first time, a cruise on the Thames. Despite all the traffic on the web about problems getting
from the city to Heathrow airport, we took a cab and found it to be quick (30 minutes), efficient, and
reasonable.
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