Royal Caribbean Cruises, Splendour of the Seas, South America

We have been on many cruises and were really looking forward to this one because of the itininary around South America. It really was going to be the 'trip of a lifetime' The ports themselves did not disappoint and the ship itself has been very well maintained considering it is one of the older ships in the fleet. As this was the first time Royal Caribbean had sailed around South America, I expected a little more information to be available re the ports of call and a little bit more made of actually cruising 'around the Cape'. Apart from a short commentary to say that we had arrived - no-more was made of the occasion. (On a previous cruise, we were given a certificate for crossing the Atlantic, but on a momentus occasion like cruising around Cape Horn - Nothing!) Unfortunately, that is were the good points end. The food, particularly in the restaurant was, at best, average and on occasion, poor. Steaks were returned to the kitchen because they were too tough to eat, temperature of the food was not hot enough, service was slow etc. Food in the Windjammer was better but it was frequently overcrowded in there and people were often wandering around looking for somewhere to sit. Entertainment was average with the quizzes being most popular resulting in the bar where they held being very crowded and walking around difficult. Staff did their best, but the outbreak of the Norovirus on the 3rd day did nothing to help peoples frustrations. The library, gym, internet, sauna and even the casino were closed for 4 days with no other entertainment arranged. A lot more staff were sent to the Windjammer to serve food and even drinks were handed to you, which meant further queues and delays when obtaining food. All in all, not the best cruise I have been on but this was possibly as a result of circumstances, i.e Norovirus, untrained Brazilian staff, poor communication from personel etc rather than a problem with the actual ship which as I said at the beginning of this piece on first impressions was very good.