Debbie's 2/21/06 RCCL Splendour of the Seas Cruise 2/21/2006 5:07:07 AM Link | | Add comment ....... we had a wonderful family cruise. -- The itinerary was modified to stop at Playa del Carmen instead of Cozumel. I believe that this was the first time this winter that the Splendour of the Seas' itinerary was adjusted. The only explanation I received was "due to congestion in Cozumel". Everyone's pre-booked shore excursions from Cozumel were canceled and refunded. Passengers had to re-book an excursion offered from Playa. This didn't bother me since I wanted to go to Tulum so anchoring in Playa made it more convenient. -- As for the weather, it was a cold, windy sail away from Galveston. It was also cold on Tuesday when we were at sea. Most passengers flocked to the Solarium pool. In Playa, the high temp was probably in the low 80's, not much humidity, clear blue skies, but somewhat windy. It was perfect for walking through the ruins at Tulum. Weather in Costa Maya was even warmer, overcast, and the humidity returned. We wore shorts starting in Playa and even on Friday, the "at sea" day for our return. Friday's at sea day was warm and sunny so passengers could get their vacation sunburns prior to returning home. -- We only had one semi-rough evening at sea; just larger rollers than we previously experienced. Other than that night, it was very smooth sailing. -- Dave and I went to Tulum while in Playa del Carmen and Chacchoben while in Costa Maya. We thought Tulum was very impressive. I really recommend it. It is breathtaking being perched above the beautiful water. Chacchoben was ..very different from Tulum since it is in a jungle-like setting. The arthritis in my hip and knee did not allow me to walk up the steps to see some of the temples in Chacchoben (steps were the original stone so they were high with no handrail). So, if one of your future clients is concerned with that type of walking, Chacchoben may be a little too "rustic" for them. However, except for that portion of the Chacchoben tour, I was able to walk around and enjoy it.
-- It is hard to say what I liked the best. Besides time with the family, Tulum will probably be the most memorable.
-- I was impressed by the multi-cultural crew.
This crew had a good mix of those countries plus eastern Europe. For example, our head waiter was from India, our waiter from Romania, and assistant waiter from Slovakia. All of the crew that we encountered were very friendly and courteous.
-- About the only complaint I had was that some of the events weren't included on the daily activities newsletter. For example, for Friday's lunch, there was a barbecue by the pool. They had wonderful ribs. The only way we knew about it was that we saw them setting up for it in the morning. Something you can share with future travelers is using the room service Breakfast Menu door hangars to order coffee. We did that and had a pot of coffee delivered to our room at 7:30am every morning while we were at sea and it only cost us a tip to the crew member. What a bargain versus going up to Deck 9 to get 2 cups of coffee that might spill (or get cold) on the way back to Deck 3 . using the computers on board to check email, weather, or print boarding passes was only 50 cents a minute so I thought that was reasonable. Thank you for the Royal Caribbean fanny packs. .....the decorations were terrific! I think RC did a great job making the room festive. Thank you again for all of your help booking the cruise and answering my emails. Debbie | 
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