Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas to Offer iPads

Royal Caribbean's 

Splendour of the Seas 

to Offer iPads

Photo provided by Royal Caribbean International

Here's a nice little touch: As of mid-February 2012, Royal Caribbean's 69,000-ton, 1,804-passenger Splendour of the Seas will become the first cruise ship to offer Apple iPad media tablets in all of her staterooms.

The iPads can be used in-stateroom or carted around the ship, providing information and internet access via the vessel's pervasive WiFi. Guests can access the daily Cruise Compass of events and activities, check their personal daily itineraries for shore excursion times etc., monitor their onboard account, order room service, view restaurant menus, access the internet, and watch movies.

iPads will be added to all of Splendour's Vision-class sister ships as each undergoes a dry dock and revitalization over the next two years. Splendour herself is currently nearing the end of a five-week upgrade at the Navantia shipyard in Cadiz, Spain, where she's getting a slew of new features, including:

• Five new restaurants similar to those aboard fleetmates Oasis and Allure of the Seas (Chops Grille, Izumi, the Boardwalk Dog House, the Chef’s Table, and the Park Café)
• A nursery for kids 6 months to 3 years
• A new Diamond Lounge for Royal's top repeat guests
• A Concierge Lounge for suite guests
• Pervasive WiFi throughout the ship
• An outdoor movie screen on the pool deck
• Interactive signage in public areas
• 124 new balconies on existing cabins
• New flatscreen cabin TVs

When the ship returns to service this Friday, November 25, she'll sail a transatlantic voyage from Lisbon, Portugal, to her seasonal homeport of Sao Paulo (Santos), Brazil, from which she'll sail a variety of South American itineraries.