We've fallen in love with cruising and both agreed that another Mediterranean cruise was a perfect way to celebrate. Partly because this would allow us to visit Germany and Paris beforehand. The pre-cruise travel was extraordinary but not the point of this review so I'll move on.

We took the overnight (sleep) train from Paris to Venice. It arrived just after 9:00 a.m. We saw the ship as we came across the bay into the station. Getting to it was not as easy. The easiest way would probably be to take a water taxi to the cruise ship terminal but we are strong bodied and cheap, so we walked across the bridge to the people mover (one euro). While the people mover took us closer to the ship, we still had a ten to fifteen minute walk (with our luggage) to get to the cruise ship terminal. However, once in the terminal (after 10:00), RCI moved us through very quickly and efficiently.

Once on-board we enjoyed the buffet and toured the ship. We had never been on the Splendour before. Our favorite ship is the Radiance size and the Splendour felt small to us. In several places it felt congested and crowded, specifically in the Windjammer and several areas around the Centrum. The food on the ship was good, although often uninspired. The variety of dishes offered was fair to good but not as broad as we have found on other ships. The had a theme in the Windjammer quite often; I especially enjoyed Indian night. The gym was very small but the steam and sauna were one of the best maintained I've ever experienced. The entertainment was overall very poor, pathetic magicians. The two worthy guest entertainers I will need to add later (I hope I can edit this). Read more