[ Cruise Reviews ]  [ Port Reviews ] [ Cruise Chat ]  [ Cruise Links ]  [ News ]

Royal Caribbean International
Splendour of the Seas Cruise Review
5-Night Western Caribbean

Scott Wuest
Age: 38
Occupation: Registered Nurse/Firefighter/EMT
Number of Cruises: 1
Sailing Date: April 10th, 2006

This was our first cruise and we pretty quickly booked a second one. We did this for a spring break trip. The date may not be exact.

The sea days were great.

The boarding was quick and efficient. We boarded at about 3:00pm for a 5:00pm departure after walking around Galveston for a couple of hours. Our room was clean and the room attendant met us in the hallway, took the time to greet us, and learned the children’s names and remembered them for the remainder of the cruise. The towel animals were fantastic and it took us quite a while to find the monkey. We all had a blast with the towel animals.

We had an outside stateroom and it was nice to be able to see outside. We have not stayed in an inside cabin, but we can’t go without a window (our next cruise will be a balcony room, to hear the ocean).

The seas were rough on the first couple of nights and on the second morning our 6 year old became sea sick at breakfast, but quickly recovered and participated in the Adventure Ocean activities for the rest of the day and had no further problems.

It was really neat leaving Galveston and entering the Gulf of Mexico and seeing the other ships and the oil drilling rigs.

Dinners were great in the King and I. We found ourselves ordering several of the entrees and trying a little of each one. There was no such thing as a small portion. The same held true for desserts.

We could not have been happier with the wait staff. All three members were out of this world. Our 6 year old complained on the first night that there were no green crayons. On the second night there were 5, although the children ate with the Adventure Ocean group that night. The wait staff remembered our names and made sure to address us by name. They took care of our every want. They had our drinks down by the second day and had them waiting. If one member of the wait staff was busy one of the others would take care of us.

The staff sang to the dining room on 2 occasions. Our table being in the middle of the dining room gave us a great seat, but the first time it happened our waitress announced it and we thought they were singing to us because we had ordered all the desserts that night. There was also an occasion when the younger children dressed as pirates and paraded through the dining room.

The one day we had lunch in the King and I we were treated very well and our head waiter was part of the lunch staff. He remembered us in all the dining rooms and greeted us each time.

The other lunches and breakfast were generally in the Windjammer and were very good. On several occasions we would try little bits at the Windjammer in addition to our regular meals. We did have lunch on our day in Cozumel and had a pretty good lunch at Carlos and Charlie's and at one of the restaurants near the pool in Costa Maya.

The outdoor pools were fun, but it was strange to be in a pool with salt water. The kids loved it and due to the rough seas the pools became wave pools. The pools were occasionally cool, but the hot tubs were nice. The fitness center was well equipped and provided nice views while working out. The walking track was short, but it was generally open and provided great early morning walks at sunrise. There were occasions when the track became clogged later in the day with sunbathers as the weather was fantastic for our entire trip. We did not have any rain and aside from the wind it was great.

There were generally plenty of seats around the pool for sunbathing and reading.

Towels were an issue at times. There were times when the towel people made you feel like you were signing away your life, but there were also many times when the towel bins by the pools were unattended.

We were a little late for excursions in Cozumel (pay close attention to the times). So we just walked around Cozumel and had a good time (put several miles on our shoes that day). We thought it was going to rain so we grabbed a taxi (which was fine).

In Costa Maya we did a snorkeling adventure and it was a positive experience (questionably worth the price). They took you to the spot on a nice comfortable bus and the tour through the countryside was very interesting and informative.

We were on the level of the Seattle’s Best Coffee and the service there was on an even par with the dining room staff. The attendant learned our names and preferences quickly.

We saw a couple of the shows and they were fun.

We spent $20 in the casino and enjoyed it.

Overall it was a fantastic experience and we would recommend it for any one who wants a great trip. Our tips were well worth what they charge, but we found it annoying to have them automatically added to everything.