We just got back from an amazing adventure aboard the Splendour of the Seas. We left Palm Beach on June 25th and flew first to Atlanta and on to Venice. we arrived on the 26th around 11. Got our luggage and a water taxi and arrived at the Hilton Molino very quickly and efficiently. Our rooms were ready, so we showered off and changed and took the shuttle over to Zatere. From there we totally immersed ourselves in Venice! Over 6 hours and tons of pictures later, we made our way back to catch the shuttle back over to the hotel. another shower and change and off to dinner we went! The next morning it was a bit rainy so we decided to take a water taxi to the ship. had a nice breakfast and caught the water taxi. embarkation was painless and we were on board by 12:30. We wandered around for awhile first (not very hungry yet) and then our rooms were ready at 1 on the nose. Checked out our aft balcony (6124) and loved it immediately (will always want an aft balcony!). Met back up with our traveling companions (JS-8th floor) and went to the windjammer. the buffet was good about what you would expect for embarkation. the fish was incredible! after lunch we made our way to our friends room for sail away. when people say it is one not to be missed they aren't kidding! it was magnificent especially since the sun decided to come out and shine!about the ship:the ship was nice enough. we were hardly on it to be honest. the shows that we saw were okay and the food was good. we had some minor hiccups, but RCCL did their best to fix them. one being our tables were not together with our travelmates. it took two times, but we got a great table and had lots of fun with our table mates from Norway! nice service in the dining room and the food was pretty good. again that is so subjective we will leave it at that. our friends had a js right across from some maintenance going on (solarium jacuzzi's were out for 3 days). it was a bit noisy for them and they actually had to lodge a complaint. again, RCCL followed up with them until it was resolved to everyone's liking. ports of call:SPLIT, CROATIA:we took the excursion from RCCL to KRKKA national park (only 1 of 2 excursions we took from the ship). It was well worth the cost. we drove about an hour away. this worked out perfectly as it was rainy when we arrived in Split. by the time we reached the park, it was sunny. our guide was terrific and left us to explore as we wanted. we took our time and hiked through the foot paths and made our way to the bottom of the water fall. we even dipped our feet in at the bottom. we boarded the bus back just as it started to drizzle again. It rained the whole way back but our good fortune held again as it stopped in time for us to explore the area nearest to the port. we really enjoyed walking around and had some Croatian beer to make the day complete!CORFU: we rented a car here in advance. we walked over to the budget office and they promptly brought a car around. map in hand, we set out for Paleokastritsa (we wanted a beach day). coming from south florida, the beach is not as nice as we are used to, but the water more than makes up for it. we stayed just over an hour or so and then drove up to see the spectacular views from the monastery. from there we drove over to the other side of the island and went to Glyfada beach. if anyone wants a beautiful beach and relaxation-this is the place. we could only stay about an hour here as well, but it was worth every second we spent there! the drive back to town was a little hairy. roads are very narrow and crowded! thankfully my dh is an amazing driver and I can navigate well (we make a good team). we returned the car easily enough and then walked back towards the port. as per our tradition, we stopped and got some Mythos beer to enjoy the Greek culture.ATHENS:we were adventurous here and I am really glad we were. we walked from the port to the train station. we bought round trip tickets to the Acropolis and back for 1E each way. we met a very nice lady from NY originally but lives in Greece now. she told us to get off at an earlier stop (I think it was Theolis or something similar) and walk up to the Acropolis. she said it was more scenic and she was right! we bought our tickets to get in and wandered all around. we went to the roman agora, the museum and several other places that the tour groups didn't go to. so for less than 30E a couple, we thoroughly enjoyed the Acropolis. after we were done sightseeing, we took in the Plaka shopping area. we found a cute little cafe and had gyros, greek salad, Alpha beer and complimentary ouzo shots (although it took more than a shot to finish them). then we headed back to the metro station and arrived safely back in Piraeus and re boarded the ship.Mykonos: we took the ship's tour to Delos. it was a very educational and enjoyable tour. we hiked up the mountain to see the overlook. well worth all those stairs and huffing and puffing. after the tour, they dropped us back in town and we walked around. we found yet another cafe to have some gyros. somehow they taste better in Greece. we walked all around Mykonos and took in the windmills etc. the shuttle is provided back to the ship if you were on the tour. other wise it was a 10 dollar charge. Katakalon/Olympia: we pre booked a taxi to take us to Olympia. our drive, Nick, was great. he even gave us wine made out of his own grapes from his yard! we had lots of time to explore Olympia and then the two museums. then we walked around the town for about an hour buying frappes and baklava. Nick took us back to Katakalon and dropped us off in town so we could walk around. we did a lot of shopping here. some pretty good deals and it was our last port. we found a great place to eat on the way back to the ship. the lady that owns it was from New Orleans originally. here we had ouzo, mousaka and grape leaves. it was all very tasty and not too expensive! we made our way back to the ship just as they were closing up the gangway! this was our first time in all our cruises that we were almost always one of the last ones to board. it was just that nice everywhere we went!Venice: after a nice day at sea, we were back in Venice. we had a nice breakfast and then disembarked again rather painlessly. we got our luggage and made our way to the line for the free shuttle to the piazelle roma. from there we were able to walk to our hotel (Al Sole-very nice hotel). one of our rooms was availabe even at 9:30 in the morning! so we dropped all the bags in there and went off to explore some more. it was very hot this day. we came back around 3 to check into the other room and shower off. then we were back at it again. all in all, we walked for about 8 hours this day! had some yummy gelatto, italian beer and then a lovely dinner close to our hotel. we spent the night had a nice breakfast provided and then walked back to the piazelle roma and boarded the bus to the airport. we did much better with transportation costs after our cruise!It was an amazing adventure to say the least. it was our first time anywhere in Europe, but hardly our first time cruising. the ship was the perfect size for our purposes, but I could understand where people with kids might think there wasn't enough to do. we made our own fun everywhere we went. I am looking forward to planning the next adventure! I am happy to answer any questions that I can. I have almost 700 pictures, but would be happy to post a couple if there is something specific anyone wants to see. Patti