Natalia,
The Splendour is wonderful for the holidays. The ship is decorated beautifully with all sorts of different themed Christmas trees throughout the ship. The dining room is especially beautiful as there is a large tree in there and at night it's just beautiful. There is also a big tree on the stairway in the main atrium. I recommend getting a picture or two in front of the beautiful staircase and tree.
For your room, the doors on the balcony are hinged and very heavy, so be careful~
About the food, there is food served pool side next to one of the pools, (can't remember the name) but it's the pool next to the spa. They serve burgers, fries, hotdogs, and pizza 24/7. We especially liked the french fries there. And the hotdogs were good because they were the sausage (almost like bratwurst) kind and not little Oscar Mayers
) The pizza is best eaten fresh so it's worth it to wait a few minutes for a hot one to come out of the oven.
We ate at the Windjammer every morning and never had a complaint. There are many choices, and always the traditional breakfast foods like eggs, omelet station, french toast, etc. Just keep your eyes peeled for little tikes running around without parental supervision because they love to dip their fingers in the buffet food! Yuck! The dining room food was fabulous as well. I tried to order a new meat that I'd never had every night. One night duck, the next, rack of lamb etc. The portions are just right too. I even bought a Royal Caribbean cookbook and had the chef sign it at the midnight chocolate buffet!!!
The Windjammer for lunch is ok too. You will see that for lunch and dinner, they use alot of what was served the night before in the main dining room. I guess so that when they have lots of extra food, they put it to use the next day.
As for things to do, I know that they offer a galley tour (get there early though!!!!) but not sure if you need special arrangements for bridge tours. Also, there is a game room where you can check out board games or play cards etc. You can even take games to your room! There is also a library that has a daily newspaper (a very compressed version of the daily news). There are so many activities going on aboard the ship, it's hard to pick and choose. We are big lovers of BINGO! And, we have won twice on this ship. 1st time $500 and 2nd time $500. The few times I went to use the mini golf, they were full , and it was windy so I haven't quite figured out when a good time to go is. There is also a rock-climbing wall on the top deck. That is really cool, but does cost extra (I think). They also have culinary demonstrations (go early because lines form fast!) Napkin/towel folding classes, scavenger hunts which are hilarious, lots of contests, art auctions, there are too many to name. Needless to say, you won't be bored if you like to get out and participate. My husband sometimes tends to be a little anti-social, but even when he feels like going off and taking a nap on deck, I wander around and always find something to see or do.
The Top Hat Lounge and 42nd St. Theater are two seperate places. The Top Hat is used during the day for Bingo, and other games, fun stuff. The 42nd St. Theater is right by the dining room so it's easy to walk to see a show right after dinner in the King and I. They also show new release movies in the 42nd street theater sometimes during the day. That's also a nice way to get out of your room for a bit.
As far as bathrooms, I'm really picky about public bathrooms so I normally go back to the room, unless it's an emergency so I am not sure if there are any closer to the dining room. I do know that the ones I have used on the ship were clean and nice, and if they weren't, there's always someone close by to get them cleaned up!
I hope I have answered at least some of your questions! And I hope your cruise is as good as an experience as mine has been. I can't wait to be back on the Splendour in 2 weeks for our trip !
My best advice is to have patience, ignore rude and ignorant people (because there will always be some!) and don't sweat the small stuff.
)
p.s.
There is a laundry room on ship too! So bring quarters if you plan on needing to wash or iron something!
Molly
