The Splendor is a beautiful ship with a trained staff dedicated to providing excellent customer service. Our time on the ship in our cabin and in the public spaces and restaurants was very enjoyable. The itinerary changed significantly from when we booked the cruise and less desirable ports were substituted. The tours we selected were highly variable in quality, from tour guides who struggled with the basics of English to articulate guides with a passion and expertise in their subject matter.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Walked right on and went to our cabin.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The main dining room Compass Rose and specialty restaurants provided excellent food and service. It helped that the ship was half full and most of the staff was on board. Some supply issues in stocking wines and no crab legs.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Only one speaker with three presentations for the entire cruise. The ship missed a huge opportunity by not having an expert on Baltic history to address the current situation in Ukraine, which was on the minds of people everywhere we visited.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The ship's orchestra and singers/dancers provided high quality entertainment. The magician was not to our taste. Fifteen minutes into his show and still no magic tricks.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All the ship personnel were friendly and expressed a desire to make our trip enjoyable. They succeeded. The sommeliers are willing to make suggested wine pairings with food, but you have to ask. Otherwise, the offering is the featured red or white wine for the evening.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The Splendor is sparkling new. The finishes are luxurious and well crafted. It's simply beautiful to see and to live in that environment, even if for a brief time.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We upgraded our cabin before the trip and enjoyed the larger space. The bath tub was a real luxury after walking miles each day. The balcony furniture is an upgrade from our experience on other Regent ships, and the mattress in our cabin was luxurious. The extra space in the upgraded cabin made room service meals more enjoyable.
Ship tip
This new ship is worth exploring from stem to stern early on to make sure you don't miss anything. If you've got extra ship credits, wait toward the end to buy things when some items go on sale.
Stockholm is a gorgeous city. Our exploration tour included the town hall, royal palace, old town walk, and Vasa Museum. It was a rerun for us but an enjoyable one.
After St. Petersburg was dropped from the itinerary, Kotka was substituted as an overnight stay. A half day would have been sufficient for this location, although skipping it entirely in favor of Helsinki would have been better. Actual portion of one Kotka guide's presentation from our city tour: On the left is a building. It is new. It is under construction. I think it's related to the port.
Talinn is a charming city that is meant to be taken at a slow pace to enjoy the medieval architecture. I enjoyed my bike ride through a national park, and my wife had a pleasant time making chocolate. We met up in the old town to enjoy the narrow streets and cute shops, catching the provided bus shuttle back to the ship.
Another second or third run destination. Riga would have been preferable. The redeeming part of our visit was a charming, energetic, and enthusiastic tour guide making his debut as a guide. He was articulate in describing his love of where he lived, his country, its culture, and the challenges Latvia faces because of the war in Ukraine.
Copenhagen is a great city, although the tours did not take full advantage of it. The first day we paid extra for a small group tour. What a laugh. Our small group was combined with two others for a canal ride where we had limited visibility because of the large group and couldn't hear the commentary because of the engine noise. Then, our bus didn't show up so we were combined again with another group. The offered tours did not take full advantage of the attractions in the city. We put together our own tour the second day with a visit to the excellent Glyptotek Museum and Copenhagen Museum, followed by a stroll down Kongensgade to explore its many little shops.
This is another destination that deserved an overnight stay instead of a curtailed visit. We were supposed to have a full day into the evening in port. Days before arriving, the ship announced some maintenance was being done on the city's locks, which would require the ship to leave by 3:30 pm. This cut the planned tours short and no more evening canal cruise. Then, the ship arrived 1 hour late into port. We had only 5 hours in this magnificent city.
We'd heard Bruges was spectacular, and it was. Fairy tale kind of spectacular. This is what a small group tour should be. Twelve in our group matched with a knowledgeable guide who led us through the medieval town with interesting explanation about its history, and allowed us over two hours of free time. A shuttle bus from the ship to the town would have been appreciated here to allow more time to explore.
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