We sailed on this ship to celebrate my special birthday but the cruise was far from ideal, at best it was mediocre. The ship was dated, we had booked a junior suite and were informed by our agent that we had been upgraded to a grand suite 8014 which we accepted but on embarkation Royal Caribbean said they did not get a confirmation from the agent so they had given it to someone else, they were unhelpful and rude, so we didn't get the upgrade but their view was that as we hadn't paid for it that we shouldn't be unhappy about the situation so we decided to drop the issue and enjoy our cruise as our feelings did not count. Customer relation did say they would look into what went wrong and let us know but they never got in touch. my husband did follow it up with them. Our junior suite had a large crack in the bathroom sink, which they knew about and were waiting to have it done. The metal rack for toiletries over the bath was broken and the room smelt stale and musty, we had to leave the balcony door open all the time. I had paid full price for this cruise so I expected better as I have cruised before and know what to expect. On a positive note the room was a good size and housekeeping were helpful. As for the entertainment it was okay but not spectacular but then it appeared to be a budget ship. The entertainment in the Centrum was popular but due to lack of seating in a small ship I could never find anywhere to sit and with knee surgery I could not stand for long. The Karoke was very entertaining and some very talented guests. The food in the King and I dining room was not very good and always cold when it arrived and also very salty. I mentioned this to the waiter and he said the other people had also complained of these things. So ate in the windjammer restaurant and food here was reasonable and we could always find something nice to eat though it was difficult to find a table at busy times and the staff were always very pleasant and helpful. As for the Royal Caribbean ethos of sell sell sell and lack of care for their customers they will not be on my future sailings list. I have not sailed with them before and maybe I just picked a poor ship that has been sold and general apathy has set in as all the staff have been transferred to other ships after the sale. Read Less

Just returned from 7 night cruise departing Dubai and was very disappointed, this our 4th cruise with Royal Caribbean the last one about five years ago but oh! how standards have fallen, boarding at Dubai was straight forward with minimum waiting but that was the last of the good things, our cabin although small was OK but lacked some things that other cruise lines provide like a fridge, tea/coffee making facilities and bathroom toiletries. There has obviously been cuts in staff numbers and this was evident in the windjammer café as almost every time we visited we had to clear the table ourselves and find someone to wipe the table, whilst there was a good selection of food it was rather bland and on several occasions I had to ask for banana's and grapes which I would have thought would be basic items on any fruit bar. The entertainment was truly basic, one night we had a man and a woman hanging from a shiny metal square doing what was described as acrobatics for 40 minutes, on another night we had what was described as a comic magician but all I can say is he wasn't, the remaining night the shows were the put on by the resident theatre group, we saw one but passed on the others. The excursions were as usual very over priced and not value for money, we tried one at our first stop but after that we got off the ship at our other stops and arranged our own much cheaper and better value for money. The food in the dining room again was bland with the service slow and the waiters overall demeanour indicating they were not happy. Staff at the guest services desk gave the impression that guest were a nuisance preventing them from getting on with other more important work and the IT room was completely devoid of staff meaning no help was available for people like me who are elderly and not very computer literate. Overall this was a cruise to forget and is the worst of all the 20 or so we have been on to date Read Less

This is my third cruise on Royal and I have not been wowed until now. Every time I have travelled with Norweigian it has been an experience to remember and I have done their larger and smaller ships. The entertainment on board was mediocre. The shows consisted of a really bad magician and a pretty good juggler. I found that the bands lacked performance. The activities on the ship did not always happen and the staff sometimes did not even show up to coordinated the planned activities. The dinner service in the main dining room was extremely slow. The food was ok. The food choices in the windjammer were poor but the service there was always friendly and fast. I didn't find that there was very much to do on this ship, the ship is dated, the staff is tired and I found that the overall offerings and service on the ship were poor compared to what I am used to. The Dj onboard was horrible and seemed to be playing the same songs over and over and over. Be sure to look into whether or not you need a multiple entry visa with the type of passport that you have. This visa is quite expensive. The line ups for embarkation were long and I would have liked to have been informed before hand that they needed to keep my passport. Traveling 101 : Never give up your passport so I was quite nervous when I had to do that. They keep your passport for customs purposes until 2 days before disembarkation. Disembarkation was easy. They don't want you to walk off with your luggage on this ship but I did as I always do on other ships. Most ships encourage it but this one didn't. Don't go on this trip for the ship, go for the destinations which is what I did :) I enjoyed the ports of call, the culture and my excursions. The excursions were well organized and the tour operators were awesome. I would definitely recommend these destinations but keep in mind that if you are used to great service, amenities, activities & better offerings then you may be disappointed with this ship. If it will be your first cruise you'll be fine. Read Less

I have been cruising for over 20 years and my cruise with RCI is without doubt the worst I have ever been on. First the good points: the ship was clean and the staff very friendly and accommodating. The bad points: I booked flights and transfers through RCI. On arrival in Dubai the RCI staff were disorganised & we were passed from one member of staff to another. Finally we were put on a coach to a hotel for breakfast. At about10.30 am we were taken to the ship where we had to wait until gone 13.00 to get into our cabins, which was understandable, but we couldn't get any form of refreshments until that time either. On the return, we had to leave our cabins at 08.30 & we were taken straight to the airport. I had a 6 hour wait in the airport, other guests had longer. The cabins were clean & the steward was very good. I had an outside cabin & there was no fridge, drink making facilities or toiletries. There was a good choice of food and it was of a reasonable quality except there was no where to eat after about 11 pm. In the self service restaurant you had to eat off plastic! The Christmas dinner was nothing special although they did give us a 3 inch candy stick! Entertainment was generally poor and the internet useless. Customer service after the cruise has been useless. A lot of apologise but no action - offered a voucher for 150 towards a future cruise, as if I'd cruise with them again! Read Less

This statement is based on comparisons with numerous other cruises we have enjoyed with several cruise companies including two with Royal Caribbean (although they were about ten years ago). Our latest cruises have been with P and O, Thompson and Azamara, all of which we would travel with again. In November four of us traveled to Venice to join the cruise ship Splendour of the Seas for another cruise, this time from Venice to Dubia via the Suez Canal. All started well, getting on the ship was simple and well managed and we were quickly settling in on board. In view of the high bar prices we decided to purchase a drinks package which served us well and I think we got our monies worth out of it. Our first disappointment came when we entered our cabin and found that we had no Tea and Coffee making facilities and no fridge. The room itself was well appointed and cared for and our cabin steward was excellent throughout the cruise. On entering the washroom in our cabin we were surprised to find that the dispensers for shower gel etc. were empty and they remained so for the cruise. We dined on the first sitting on a table for ten guests and quite frankly the service was poor. Not only did we not get any wine/bar service for the first two nights, the food service to the table was slow and the food arrived luke warm. A discussion with the person supervising our waiter at the end of night two did not seem to fix any of the problems, so part way through the third evenings service I found another supervisor and asked him to send the Maître D to our table. He never arrived. At the conclusion of our meal we went and found the Maître D who said he had been told we wanted to speak to us but he had not come over and had passed the issue onto his supervisor. The following night’s service improved but it was never brilliant. It would have helped if our waiter could have remembered which meal went to which guest. Whilst on with the meals, the menus started to repeat early in week two which is another issue we have not had on other cruises. Also on our previous cruises the evening meal has usually consisted a starter course, soup, main course, sweet, cheese and biscuits and coffee. This was a starter, main course and sweet with coffee. If you wanted cheese and biscuits it came as a choice on the sweet menu, but did not give you a choice of cheeses or biscuits. The internet packages on board were unbelievably expensive with no option to simply pay for the minutes you use, the daily packages varied from 40 usd a day down to 20 usd depending on how many days you were purchasing. When compared to our last cruise when our internet bill for the whole of the fourteen days was less than £20.00. Disembarkation arrangements became a nightmare. Firstly we filled in the departure cards and handed them in as requested. Our travelling companions had luggage labels delivered to their room stating they were leaving the night before they were scheduled to leave, we got no labels at all. Jointly we went to find out what was happening and was met by a curt and unhelpful clerk who said the labels were wrong, we shouldn’t get any labels at all as we were leaving independently and we had to carry our own bags. Later we received a letter in our cabin contradicting this and stating we were all leaving the ship the night before our departure date. We returned to the desk and were advised by a more helpful young woman that the system had a glitch and she would sort the problems, we were to do nothing. The following day we returned to the desk to find out what was happening and were told the problems had been caused by us filling in the departure cards wrongly with the incorrect details on them. Then they went back to the glitch causation. A fifth trip to the desk finally got us some baggage labels and we had a plan to leave the ship. On every other cruise we have disembarked the ship and traveled in transport provided by the cruise company to the airport. On this trip we could access this option if we paid extra for it, it would cost the four of us almost 80usd. We settled for a taxi costing us less than £2.50 each. We will not be going back with Royal Caribbean again. Read Less

Food was subpar in the main dining room, average in the windjammer cafe. However the Windjammer cafe seating area was slow at removing dirty dishes and actually wiping down tables. We had 8:30 seating in the main dining room, the food was not what we expected. Cold or bland was the normal for the dining room, 4 out of 6 nights the Creme Brule was not even torched on the top. The last night we were served for the Seafood Medley, previously frozen fish and scallops battered/deep fried. The wait staff was prompt, courteous and apologetic and gave us the we need a 10 rating to keep our job speach. Our table was never visited by anyone higher in authority except the last night looking for gratuities, they should all be replaced. The casino was very small, staff was friendly as usual with cruise lines. The entertainment was horific, they tried to do acrobatic shows in the Centrum but they were either out of sync or scared of heights, instead of a Balet/dance group when doing routines. Read Less

This was a family cruise with seasoned cruisers from 35 to 72. We had 4 cabins from an interior (tiny) to balcony (nice), and the nicest were the Panorama rooms (huge). Having priority boarding we literally walked right on the ship. Debarkation was equally as fast due to the fact that since you don't leave the EU there is no customs coming back. That being said other than the ports that was the highlight of the cruise. The reason for my title is that the entire ship seemed deserted. We always stick to the smaller ships to avoid the crowds, but this was ridiculous. The cruise was sold out several weeks in advance but unless half the guests missed the ship they must have stayed in their cabins. There was never anybody on deck. No real deck parties. The most people that attended trivia was about 20. Bingo wasn't much better with maybe 40-50 for the biggest jackpot. The casino was even worse. The Blackjack tournament was cancelled due to only 3 entrants and the slot tournament only had 11 entrants. On past cruises the preliminary rounds take hours because so many people play. On the second night of the cruise at midnight there was only 5 total people in the entire casino. It didn't get much better. The shows were mediocre at best. It was the last cruise for the singers and dancers and they seemed tired. The new Cirque type shows were being practiced everyday in the Atrium. I understand they need to practice if the Atrium is supposed to be the focal point of the ship, why is it blocked off all day long for practices? No comedians and only 1 fly in entertainer magician act. Skipped it, as these shows are always boring. The worst part of this cruise was the food. After eating at Chop's the first night, which was fabulous, the rest of the food was horrible. The main dining room food was so bad and salt laden the head chef came to our table 2 nights in a row to apologize and try to make something better. This didn't happen either due to the fact that when you have low grade ingredients there is only so much you can do with it. Izumi was hit or miss with the Sushi and Hot rock Filet being very good, while the rice and dumplings were terrible. The buffet got worse throughout the week as they recycled meat and vegetables into other dishes. The burger bar which was present at every meal was awful, stale buns and what tasted like soy burgers. The moral of the crew was terrible. Most were from Eastern Europe and were stone faced and had no personality what so ever. Casino dealers were seriously lacking in skill and needed to be retrained if in fact they were ever taught how the games were run. The exception was our room steward who was great and our server Leonard who overcame his brashness to be a great server. The low of this cruise was that the ship had an engine fire on the 6th day forcing us to miss our last port of Argostoli. According to other passengers on deck 1 and 2 the fire was so bad that the bottom 2 decks were sent to muster and waited on lifeboats as a precaution. Being on higher decks we were not even woken up and notified of the potential danger. There were no announcements to prepare and we only learned of the danger after the fact. This was totally unacceptable. Imagine going to breakfast and seeing a life raft in the pool, that was our reality. The ports were phenomenal. Athens is something to be seen. The one thing we learned is to not listen to the Royal Caribbean salespeople. There is plenty of transportation in all the ports, and the 12EU bus to get to Corfu town is a joke. Take a cab its cheaper and you will be much happier. Also, if you have a large group, we booked a 5hr private tour in Athens for 8 people. We had a private minibus for only 35EU a person. Much better than the 90EU Royal was charging to be jammed on a 60 or 80 passenger bus. To sum it all up Royal Caribbean is at the bottom rung of cruises. This was our 4th and probably last cruise with them. From the demeanor of the crew to the nonchalant attitude of their passengers safety. Another thing, the sanitizer people need to go. They stand outside every dining area and try to force you to use sanitizer. These alcohol based sanitizers do nothing to kill most diseases including Norovirus. These people will follow you and try to force it on you. I am not a child and know how to properly wash my hands. Read Less

This ship is old and so much of the public space is inadequate for 2000 passengers. Food is good but the bars, lounges and other public spaces just can't cope. The entertainment is poor and very amateurish. We saw a string quartet "comedy" show that was almost identical to a primary school workshop I saw. Same jokes. The magician night was something you'd expect in a church hall and the singers/dancers etc were all like 6th formers on a bad night. The films were shown on the on deck outside "big screen". As the evenings were freezing less than 20 people each night braved the weather. I would liked to have seen several of the movies but I didn't want to freeze. BUT the worst part of the week was on the Thursday when we were due to arrive in Argostoli. A fire started in the engine room. Response was confused and confusing. Lower decks were eventually sent to muster stations but crew were not organised about the "incident". Captain decided this wan't an "emergency" so not all decks were evacuated. Contary info given to passengers and we spent 2 hours shivering at station. Room and corridors stunk of smoke, we believe 17 crew members were injured but Captain still failed to give us full or frank information. Subsquently we lost our final port of call and spent 2 days at sea with little extra in terms of activities. Eventually we received a sort of apology letter, which offered little info and only $300 compensation per stateroom. Many fellow passengers said they would never cruise with RC again. Disembarkation was well handled though. Read Less

The ship itself is in great nick considering it is being sold next year. The food was of good quality. The entertainment was OK, nothing great. However I marked this cruise down due to the extremely poor service we received . Firstly we are Crown and Anchor Diamond members and RC provide a Diamond lounge on board along with a concierge who is there to assist you . The first day we were there we asked the concierge which side of the ship we should be on to see the best of Venice when the ship departed. He told us the ship didn't pass by Venice but went straight out to sea. This was totally wrong and as a result we missed seeing Venice from the deck. When we visited the Diamond lounge that evening he flatly denied what he said at first. Then he relented and said it was his first day on board and he didn't know if the ship passed Venice or not. That is totally unacceptable behaviour from someone in his position. If he didn't know, why didn't he say that ? However what happened next was unbelievable. I was having a drink with my family and he came over and asked me to go to his desk with him. I won't go into details as to what he said and did next but suffice it to say that he insulted and embarrassed me right there in front of my family . So much so that we left and didn't go back to the Diamond lounge for the rest of the cruise. Secondly, Royal Caribbean allow you to bring a bottle of wine on board for consumption in your stateroom. Perhaps they should tell that to their bar staff . The third day of our cruise was our anniversary. I went to the bar to get two wine glasses to take back to the room. The barman refused to give me any. I told him it was for the bottle in my room. He then barked very loudly that we were not allowed alcohol in our stateroom. Again, quite embarrassing. If RC allow you to bring this on board, can I suggest they leave a couple of glasses in the room too. Either that or educate your crew better as to your policies. As I said earlier the food is OK but to wait an hour for your starter to arrive in the Main Dining Room is not acceptable. Our worst night was a two and a half hour sitting. Not good enough RC. Finally, one which seems to be repeating itself on each of my RC cruises is the incorrect charges appearing on my account which I then have to go to guest services to correct. When I am on holiday , I really don't want to spend time standing in a queue only for the guest services representative to go on the defensive each time I point out their error. I had to go to get incorrect charges removed four times on this 7 day trip. That is not on. I have given up asking them why this keeps happening. As I said it seems to be the norm now on a RC cruise. I can only suggest other passengers regularly check their account. Read Less

My third day aboard now of the Splendour of the Seas, time for some remarks to share. - The internet is slow slow slow.. One day, due to "bad weather" said the guest relations, it even didn't work at all. I bought the unlimited package, currently at USD 30 a day for 2 devices, and wonder now how or if I will be refunded for the time it didn't work, that will surely be a tricky one on checkout.. Anyway, even when it works, it is unbearably slow, and, by the way, Whatsapp calls are blocked by the server of the ship, just that you know.. - Cleanliness: on a ageing ship as this one, the crew should be especially vigilant to make the old ship at least look shiny and clean. On the contrary, dirt lying around in the corridors is no unusual sight, bad odors come and ago unexplained, as if the crew is aware the ship will be written of anyway anytime soon.. - Atmosphere and service: while there are some exceptions, some crew are very nice, it does look as if Royal Caribbean has relocated all their best elements to the bigger and newer ships. Service in the main dining room is mediocre, and ambiance fits that level. For example, the pianist in the main dining room plays for 45 min with a long face and then promptly leaves in the middle of the dinner. - Cabin: we have 3 junior suites. Don't expect any special service for the junior suites. I slept late today, until 12, and that means there will be no more make up service of my cabin before 5:30pm...! The cabin itself is nicely laid out, the balcony is spacy. Bathroom is basically the same as in any other room. For those who have cruised on the newer ships, don't expect the same, this ship is older, the cabins do show their age. Also, the motor on this smaller ship vibrates the whole ship, making it harder to sleep for some persons. - Casino: I'm a casino player, so here is some info on the casino. The casino is small, this has the disadvantage that, for a non-smoker as myself, the smell of smoke is more present than in the casino's on the larger vessels. Almost all of the dealers are Romanian. - Ports: On the bright side, this cruise stops at very nice ports and many great sights are in reach. Also, the departure from Venice is amazing. - Activities: same as on most Royal Caribbean cruises, only that activities for teens and kids are rather limited due to the small size of the ship. In general, this is a ship that has no captain looking after it. Staff is unhelpful, or maybe untrained, some are basically rude, speaking to customers without using "please" or "sorry". On a ageing ship, the age should be made up by excellent service, unfortunately RC has not lived up to this. Read Less