Ship: Splendour of the Seas 6/25/05-7/2/05 Ports of Call: Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Villefranche (Nice), France; Livorno (Florence), Italy; Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy; Naples, Italy; Barcelona, Spain We highly enjoyed this cruise! Knowing that this was a mid-market cruise, we did not want to have high expectations. Our main focus was to enjoy the ports, and overall, we were pleasantly surprised.

EMBARKATION

Embarkation was a breeze. There was no one in line, except those that wanted to change their dining options. We were able to change to a two-person table with no problem. Thankfully we decided to pack lightly, only carryon luggage. It proved to be a smart move, as we heard of numerous guests having their luggage lost by the airline, and not making it in time of departure. Some were still waiting for it at the third port! Additionally, with just our carryons we were able to go directly to our cabins and change to pool attire, instead of waiting for the porter. CABIN Arriving at our cabin, it was what we expected: small. That was OK. The window was big, and we kept the curtains open for most of the cruise. We met our room steward, who was nice and friendly. He was able to deliver 2 feather pillows in short order, and for those that know me, high thread count and feather pillows make me a happy woman! The sheets' thread count was not as high as I would have liked, but at least it was not LOW. It was not to the level of uncomfortable sleep. Again, I have pleasantly surprised. Read more