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Name: Phil Jung
Email: pjung@jcpenney.com
Age: 48
Occupation: project manager
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: RoyalCaribbean-Splendour
SailingDate: 1/24/98
Itinerary: 11 day grand caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 88
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 97
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 80
CabinSteward: 91
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 89
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 89
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 89
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 81
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 89
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 97
EmbarkDisembark: 97
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 91
Stabilization: 93
ShopsOnBoard: 86
SpaceRatio: 93
OverallCruiseValue: 93
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 16 Feb 1998
Time: 14:36:09
Remote Name: 146.235.23.1
Remote User:
Comments
Comments: My wife and I (47&48) have just returned from our 11 night circle of the
caribbean. This was a truly relaxing
vacation. We arranged our air travel ourselves and flew to Miami a day early. We wnated to
make sure that we wern't
snowed in. Except for having to drag our luggage around this was great. We stayed at the
Marriot on Biscayne Bay and
this is a great location. We wnet to Bayside for the evening. Very nice touch. Only $5.00
cab ride. Lots of resturants and
bars. Bands playing in a courtyard. We are not big shoppers, but the store were plentiful.
We had a great nights sleep in
Miami and headed to the ship at 11:30. Embarkation didn't officialy start until 1:00 but
our travel agent suggested we
arrive early, again draging our luggage for the last time. There were less than 20 people
waiting when we arrived. The
process was smooth and fast. We were onboard within 15 minutes. We were booked into a Cat.
D room - 7030. The room
has a balcony and we used this a lot. We dropped our carry ons in the room and had our
first drink in hand by 12:00. I
had ordered the Royal Occasions package and shortly after we arrived a bottle of champane
was delivered to the room.
We sat on the balcony and drank champane while we sailed away from Miami. I don't know if
we just beat the rush or not,
but embarkatation and activating the super charge were painless and quick. We had the
second seating for diner. Our
table location was excellent. Table 98. on the first floor center near the staircase, away
from the bus station. Near the
activities that wait staff put on each day. The food was better on this cruise than I
remembered. I thought there was a fair
selection. The fish dishes were generaly tasty and I had several steaks that were to
order. We ordered the Wine & Dine
package. This included a bottle of wine at diner each night from a special wine list.
There were only about 9 different
selections, but some were very tasty. This was the price performer for wine, although the
regular wine list was not
over-priced. Key West - the weather here was the worst of the cruise. Cloudy, drizzle and
65. We didn't plan to spend
much time in Key West, this was Superbowl Sunday and I wanted to get a front row seat to
watch the Packers destroy
Denver... Too bad for the Packers... Oh well we shoped a little and had a few beers. It
seems that Key West has a lot of
drinking establishments. Two days at sea. The water is pretty rough but it's still 80
degrees. They had little sea sick bags
on all the railings in all the stairs. You had to get on deck early to get a chair on the
pool deck in the sun, although a lot
of people went to lunch and freed up some chairs. Chairs were available on the top deck,
but it was real windy up there.
Curacao - picturesque town. Coming and going was a site to see from the balcony. Did I
mwntion that the balcony was
great... We would put on a bathrobe and stand out there to watch each days arrival. The
floating bridge was pretty cool.
Did I mention that we are not big shoppers.. We went on a snorkel tour that was excellent.
There was a sunken tugboat to
dive over and the marine life was great. Aruba- We went on the off road jeep tour.
Excellent. This tour pretty much circles
the island in 7 hours. We saw the lighthouse, the natural bridge, a cave, some unique
sites. The tour ended with
snorkeling at DePalm island. The tour was very much off road. Lots of bumps and dust. We
tried to find all of the bumps..
The snorkeling felt great after a day of eating dust. Another day a sea. More of the
same... Sunny, 85. There was a wine
tasting today that was a lot of fun. It was $5 but they waived that if you bought a bottle
of wine for diner or had the wine &
dine package. Most of the wines tasted were from the W&D package. Ocho Rios - Not much
to say about Jamaica. We
didn't care for it when we spent a week there several years ago and my opinion hasn't
changed. The island is one of the
most picturesque islands in the Caribbean. To bad the natives won't let you enjoy it. The
good news is that it's no
problem mon to find a lounge chair by the pool. Grand Cayman - RCI needs to re-evaluate
their itinerary so that they
come here on Sunday. There was litteraly nothing to do until our afternoon tour to
stingray city. The tour was great and a
once in a lifetime deal. Even my wife came in the water. Cozumel - Walked 3 miles from the
pier. My wife was not happy
when she found out the cab fare was only $4 on the way back. I thought we need a nice walk
since we didn't get much
execise. She wasn't ammused. Shopped a little. Ate and drant at Carlos and Charlies. This
is a fun place and should be a
must stop for all. At sea for the last time. Rough sea again, storms in Miami. We attended
another wine tasting. This one
cost $35 per person but they promised half glasses in real wine glasses. The wines were
great. the wine stewards are
quite knowlegable. We tasted Opus One and Chatau Laffite Rothchild among others.This was a
real highlight. Docked in
Miami - The storms are gone. We scheduled a tour to the Everglades. Our flight was not
until 3:30. This was interesting,
air boat, aligators and a ride back to the airport.(c+) Overall this was one of the most
relaxing vacations I have ever been
on. We were concerned that the itinerary was to long and that we would be on the AARP
boat. Believe me that 11 days is
NOT too long. As far as the senior citizens onboard, and there were a lot, we only saw
them st the pool. Our diner table
ranged from mid 20 to mid 50. The entertainment may have skewed older and I wasn't really
interested in most of what
they had to offer. The balcony was one of the best things we did when planning this trip.
Well worth the extra $$. This is
our second cruis on RCI. My wife thought she may want to try another cruise line, but I'm
of the opinion that if it ain't
broke don't fix it. In any event we will be back cruising again.
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