We'd had a fab cruise on Eastern Med with Celebrity Silhouette in 2014 so jumped at the opportunity of repeating some of those fab ports with Royal Caribbean's Splendour in late Nov 2015, before it sailed off to Dubai for winter. We got a great cruise-only deal and arranged our own flights and transfers which ran smoothly.

Maritima cruise port was a little unorganised compared to our last visit but it didn't take too long to get onboard and our cabin was ready - so we dropped off our carry-on and headed to the Windjammer for lunch. We knew not to expect Silhouette's modern elegance or facilities, as Splendour is over 20 years old and smaller, and were pleased with the 2011 refurb of public areas. Our cabin however, looked dated and tired (though clean and spacious - being a large ocenview aft deck 3), as if the refurb didn't include them.

Also, Royal Caribbean's website was not accurate with cabin photos or details as cabins did not have iPads and interactive services. For any queries one had to phone Guest Relations or queue in person which was disappointing as queues were always long -obv as you couldn't even check your account using the TV in your cabin. Read more