My husband and I were on the May 26th sailing of the Splendour. A little about us - we are professionals in our early 30's - no kids yet - 2 prior cruses in the Caribbean on Celebrity. This was also our first time to Europe. With frequent flyer miles we arranged a free flight into Heathrow and stayed one night at the Paddington Hilton. What a wonderful town! Not nearly enough time. Then purchased tickets on British Airways to Barcelona where we stayed at the Barcelona Hilton for 2 nights. We spent one day catching up and the other day traveling around the city on the Bus Turistico. Went to all the sites and Las Ramblas. Ate at a couple of restaurants by the hotel in the financial district. Because we were out of the area of the main city, we missed out on some of the charm of Barcelona but with a couple of free rooms...

We boarded the Splendour about 11am on the 26th. We had every intention of checking in, dropping off luggage and going back into town but since we love cruises, we found ourselves by the pool bar and meeting friends from San Francisco. First impressions of the Splendour - nice, but no Celebrity Galaxy or Century. Not as clean or nicely maintained as the Celebrity ships. We quickly made friends with our pool staff bartenders - Lukas from South Africa (only second week at sea), Allan and Marcio. We met another couple and looked forward to the next week ahead! 

We were seated at the late seating - 9:15pm. We prefer the late dinner so when we get home from the day ashore we can relax or have a drink before rushing to dinner. One note, all the brochures and info stated 2 formal nights, 4 casual and 1 smart casual. There were actually 2 smart casual nights, not 1. Dinner was OK for the week. Again, hate to compare but not nearly up to the standards of Celebrity. We had to hail down the drink server and always ask for water instead of the ass't waiter just re-filling. This was the only disappointing part of our trip and because of it, we will probably not sail RCCL again. To give a glaring example, my husband ordered two appetizers on the final night of the cruise: risotto and soup. Only the risotto came. I'm sorry, but if you can't get the orders right ON TIP NIGHT, something is very wrong. 

Anyway, we spent most of the evening in the casinos and exploring and making friends. There is no craps table but we were more than happy with the slots, roulette, blackjack and Caribbean poker. We did purchase the RCCL 12 drinks for $39.99 card which was very easy and a good deal. Also, we found MANY Americans. We thought it would be mostly Europeans and were pleasantly surprised. The ship is considered an American ship and accepts USD in the casinos. You can cash in Euros for USD but you cannot exchange USD for Euros as they are not allowed to carry. All tipping was in Euros for the tours so be sure to get some at one of your ports or before embarking. The tours are all day and long and barely time to find a cash machine. 

Day 1 - Villefranche France. Having never been in Europe before, we wanted to make the best of the time we had each day and went on the ships tour. We did the afternoon Monte Carlo Casino tour. In the morning, we went into the town and enjoyed the few shops and walked around the town and had a drink on the pier. We then boarded the coach bus and our friends from San Francisco were there! The tour guide was excellent and first went to the Princes' palace and around Monaco. The Grand Prix was the day before so it was interesting to see all the grandstands and lights, cameras that were being taken down from the event. We made our way up, were given a tour of the area - the houses of Stephanie and Caroline, The 'White Church' where Princess Grace and Prince Rainier were married and where she is buried. The palace and the changing of the guards and some spectacular views. We then headed off to the casino. We were given about 30 minutes to try our luck. We played for a few minutes, ended up 'even stephen' and then had a drink with our friends from San Fran. No tuxedo James Bond characters there during the day but the guys really seemed to enjoy the Lamborghinis and sports cars outside of the casino! Other friends told us the tour to Cannes was fun - The Cannes film festival ended the day prior and they were looking for the stars, too! 

Day 2 - Livorno, Italy. We did the ships Historic Florence and Accademia Museum. We met the tour group about 7:30am (the first early day of many to come) and boarded a nice coach bus with about 48 others. We saw Ponte Vecchia, Church of Sante Croce, and the Accademia Museum which houses the original David by Michelangelo. Once again, our tour guide was just wonderful and we were pleasantly surprised with the 'lunch' that is included in the tour. For the next three days, we would be taken with our group to a lovely restaurant (usually with a fabulous view) and were served an excellent lunch! Water, mineral water, red and white wine were served with the 3 course meal - oh, and dessert and coffee! It was a great time to relax and meet other people on the ship. It was very hot and there were lines for Santa Croce but they moved quickly. We were returned to the ship just a few minutes before we had to leave. Got ready for dinner and then hit the disco, casino or wandered around the various clubs on the ship. I think we were lucky to get about 4 hours of sleep before the next long day! We also heard reviews about the visits to Pisa. We were told by relatives that with limited time, we should see Florence and skip a tour to the leaning tower. Apparently, many people that went to Florence and Pisa wished they had been told the same thing. They said they saw it and rushed out of there and would have rather spent the time in Florence. We did see it from a distance while on our way into Florence but to each their own. 

Day 3 - ROME!!! WOW - that's all we could say. We did the Imperial Rome tour. Excellent tour guide and wonderful lunch from a scenic restaurant overlooking Rome. Thought the restaurants couldn't get any better (just wait until tomorrow). From the Roman Forum to the Colosseum, then to Vatican City where the Pope had delivered his Wednesday morning blessing that day. The weather was still beautiful and met more new friends at lunch. We decided to skip dinner and headed off to the Windjammer Café for a casual dinner and then a nigh  back at the Casinos and meeting up with friends around the ship. 

 Day 4 - Our favorite day - Naples, Italy. Friends had recommended our excursion - they said the Amalfi drive was a MUST and so we did the Amalfi Drive and Pompeii trip. Once again - met at 7:30 after breakfast and we were off! If you are afraid of heights, this is not the tour for you (or at least stay on the left side of the coach bus!!). We passed Mt. Vesuvius and Pompeii on our way to the Amalfi coast. We enjoyed a few hour ride along the coast and made a couple stops to shop and check out stands with lemons as large as your head! We stopped twice and had excellent shopping for about 40 minutes. Lunch was served in a restaurant that is built into one of the cliffs! There was a wedding coming to the restaurant as we were leaving and a darling ceramic shop across the street where you could get handmade ceramic platter and decorative pieces for about 10-15 Euros. They were a bargain!!! It was fascinating to see how all these homes and resorts were built into cliffs and all the lemons and olives that are grown there. After lunch we headed back toward Pompeii and had a tour there. Since time is limited, they took us to some of the 'major' sites at Pompeii - temples, store/homes, red light district, restaurants. We picked up a book and saw all the rest there--can't wait to go back. Friends went on the Pompeii, Sorrento & Capri tour and said it was excellent. The Capri hydrofoil tour was really outstanding according to a couple of people we talked to. Another couple did their own tour and hired a cap driver once they got there. They had an excellent lunch and was a bargain! (they also recall discovering some GREAT wine there as well!). Again, being un-impressed with the dining room service, we opted for casual night once we finally woke up from LONG naps. Another night out on the ship after dinner - we saw the newlywed game which was hilarious. They definitely picked the perfect three couples for the show. We also went to the toga party up by the pool to visit our favorite pool bar staff. 

Day 5 - Malta. During the day, there was the infamous belly flop contest which was a riot. We then went to the art auction and squeezed in Bingo. We had booked the afternoon tour of Medina but at the last minute, decided to visit the city on our own. My husband works with a woman from Malta and she prepared a package of information and we decided walking would be better than a bus this day! The only obstacle we faced in Malta is the ship is only in port for a few hours in the afternoon - when most shops are closed for an afternoon 'siesta'. Get to the banks early to exchange any euros for the Maltese currency. It is VERY expensive due to the poor exchange rate against their dollar. We went into a few museums and a few shops and picked up a unique brass door knocker in one of the 'brass' shops. I saw something similar here in the states this week and was over $130 - we paid about $50. We met up with another couple from a tour earlier in the week and all sat at an outside café for an hour having a drink and talking. It is a large outside café and we saw some of our casino dealers there so must be popular with the cruise staff. We walked back to the ship and were ready to set sail. We did attend the last formal night dinner and had pictures taken. That night found us back with our friends at the casino and disco. 

Day 6 - At Sea - where do I start? We went to bingo (and picked up a $150 jackpot!)..Then I entered and WON first place the slots tournament (another $150 and T-Shirt, oh and a trophy) .My husband entered the blackjack tournament and made it the final round and didn't end up on top but did win another T-Shirt. Then went to the Art Auction and finally sat by the pool having drinks (I am Swedish and very fair so the sun is not my friend - need to have other activities to keep me from burning). We packed and went to our final dinner with our wonderful table and then headed off for 'farewell' drinks with friends from the week. I believe about 2am we were winning more money at the casino as they were getting ready to 'close'. Most of the ship was asleep but you have to make the most of it while away! 

Day 7 - Headed home from the ship. We decided to get transfers from the ship to the airport at the last minute through our travel agent - what a GREAT decision! I am amazed at the organization and speed at which we were taken off the ship and onto the waiting coach buses. So worth the $19/per person cost. We checked out bags at Barcelona and since we were connecting in Heathrow, they actually checked our bags through to Newark! This was British Airways and we were then getting on a Virgin flight. Apparently, that is standard now to avoid having to re-claim your bags in London and then re-check. Saved so much time since we had to get from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3. Our flight from London was delayed an hour but they upgraded us to Business Class for no good reason so no problem with that!