PREFACE: "We" were a group of 5 adults ranging in ages from 34 - 80. I had cruised before, but this was to be a first cruise for my mom, dad, grandma and cousin (Madelene). We sailed 7 days round trip from Tampa on the Splendour of the Seas, departing December 11, 2004. We visited Key West, Florida; Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico. My previous cruise experience has only been with Princess (PCL from here on), so I can not help but make comparisons to that line. Both RCI and PCL have certain areas in which one is better than the other, in my opinion. In light of that, and due to a few complications, this review is pretty lengthy.

DAY 1: Embarkation: We arrived at Terminal 3 around 11:45 a.m. on Saturday morning. Dad drove us to the curb, we unloaded our luggage and he took the car to the parking garage across the street. I believe he walked back instead of waiting for the shuttle (I had read there was one, but I never saw it). There were more people already there before us than I had expected, several were already waiting when we walked in. We were directed to the "check-in" area, found the appropriate line and proceeded to the counter after only waiting for a few minutes. The check in process was quick and easy, we received our Sign and Sail cards and a little slip of paper with the letter "G" on it. We were then directed to the sitting area to wait for our letter to be called. We had a few cookies, a cup of lemonade (water also available) and chatted while waiting for the boarding to begin. I suggest arriving early if you would rather sit in the chairs than stand in line waiting because those lines really began to grow at this point. An announcement was made informing us that we would begin boarding as soon as the ship had been cleared. I'm not sure if there was a hold up or if this was the "norm," but we sat for about an hour before boarding began around 1:15 p.m. Everyone was in a good mood and excited to get our cruise started! When our letter was called, we found the line a bit lengthy but it moved along. Boarding photos were taken, which we purchased later. I've definitely seen better boarding photos and props, this was a bit sub-standard in my opinion. We walked up a covered, zigzag gang plank, and into the ship on deck 4. The Centrum was decorated with a large Christmas tree on the staircase, garland, bulbs and poinsettias, very pretty. I noticed right away the absence of those familiar Caribbean sounds... no music welcomed us aboard, not even Christmas music. I felt a little disappointment as those Calypso melodies are one of my favorite things about cruising. But there were plenty of friendly faces to greet and direct us. We took an elevator up to deck 8 to check out our cabins. Upon exiting the elevator, I noticed that both hallways (port and starboard side) were carpeted exactly the same - unlike PCL where one side is red, the other blue... very helpful when you step off that elevator and can't recall which way is forward or aft.

Our Staterooms: We booked 2 adjoining Junior Suite cabins, 8060 and 8062 on the port side of the ship. Our accommodations were exactly as expected, thanks to the RCI snapshots and the 360 degree photo. There was plenty of storage for the 3 of us in one cabin. There was only one plug, on the vanity. NO plug in the bathroom. Why cant they make those shower curtains just 2 inches longer so that the water stays in the tub? Not much storage in the bathroom, only one long shelf under the counter/sink. Good thing I bought a set of those hanging closet organizers from Lillian Vernon, those came in handy! Our couch looked brand new, the beds sagged in the middle a bit but mom said they were fine for sleeping. I found the pull-out sofa to be pretty comfortable. It was actually better than any sofa bed I have slept on due to it not having all those darn metal bars for support. Instead, it had wide wooden slats for support. The cushion wasn't very thick, but it was adequate. I slept all week on it with no complaints. We were pleased to find the balconies larger than anticipated, which provided us with 3 basic upright chairs and one lounger. The glass under the balcony railing was pretty dirty, but I suppose that is due to the salty sea spray. Most of our luggage was already in our cabin upon our arrival with the exception of my large bag (which did not show up until after 8 p.m.). We found 2 large bottles of water and six various sodas on the vanity, these are not complimentary. There was a refrigerator under the TV, adequate for the soda I brought and a few other items that we stashed in there throughout the week. We attempted to locate our cabin steward to introduce ourselves and to make a few requests -- one being that Gram and Madelene's beds were pushed together. They were obviously two "mature" ladies, why would they want their beds together? Someone wasn't paying attention. We were not able to locate our cabin steward, so after dropping off our carry-ons we headed up to the Windjammer for lunch. The food was plentiful and delicious. I was very impressed with the buffet. I had read conflicting opinions about this. Lots of hot items, fruit, salad fixings, etc. Servers came around offering iced tea, water, lemonade, etc. They will even run to get you something from the buffet line, should you request it. I found the service in the Windjammer to be considerably better than that of PCL's buffet. Read more