We first flew to Milan for a couple of days. Then took a ~2 hour train to Venice, seeing the landscape on the way. It was beautiful and very interesting. You need to book seats in advance through Euro Rail.Spent a day and a half in Venice prior to boarding in case there was a rail strike or some other disaster. Did not want to miss the ship. On return, we spent a few more days in Venice and loved it. Stayed at the Best Western Olimpia Hotel which we highly recommend for both location, price, hotel staff, and amenities (very large free continental breakfast--they even packed a "to go" breakfast on the last morning since we were leaving very early). It is very close to Plaza Roma. Free shuttle bus to the ship. Major water bus stop. We bought passes both times for the water bus (price based on how many hours you wish). Jump on/jump off any time to go anywhere. The canals at night are particularly beautiful. Just riding around was fun. We bought our first pass at the train station and took the water bus 1 stop to Plaza Roma. Saved lugging our luggage up and down the stairs over the canals to get to the hotel. Highly recommended. Even though luggage has wheels, it is not easy to bump up and bump down. You could always tell the guests arriving who had not taken the water bus and walked! They were hot, sweaty, and bedraggled. Every single group said "never again" and went off to get their pass.There is also a bus from Plaza Roma to the airport which leaves on a good schedule. We took it at 4:40 a.m. since we had an early flight. Very easy and only cost 3 euros each when purchased. We had been quoted 5 euros earlier and thought that was a bargain compared to a taxi or other means of transportation.Splendour of the Seas is a nice ship. We had the 2 bedroom 2 bath family cabin with balcony. It is going into dry dock this fall for a retrofit. As we understand, they are cutting the ship in the middle, adding more space (not sure if it is just cabins or what), and redoing everything. Although the ship was full, there was plenty of public space to move around.The only tour we booked in advance was Athens (see port review) as we felt the other ports were rather small and we wanted to be flexible. Some of our group hired taxis to see specific things, got on a short ship tour last minute, or just walked (and walked!) around. Each port was different which made it nice. Weather was perfect. No rain. Sometimes in the afternoon, it was warm. We cannot imagine doing this in the heat of summer. May is the perfect time!