westendkathy

This forum was great when I posted my slightly frantic "I was not expecting to go on a cruise this week--AACK! How do I do this??" post. So, cruise review is in order.

This was "Brilliance of the Seas" RCL, Tampa-Key West-Cozumel-Tampa.

I got a call a few days before the sail date...a company that does some behind the scenes work needed extra hands with experience, so all I had to do was get to Tampa (easier said than done) and my friend and I would be taking our first ever cruises. A few tips from CC, some home arrangements, and off I went.

I had two delays on my flight due to inauguration activity at LGA but got to Tampa about 1:00 the day of. Now I see why they suggest coming a day ahead. No problem, though. I took a cab to my friend's hotel near the port, collected her and one other, and headed to the terminal. It was confusing but in an orderly fashion...I handed my checked bag to a porter (I should have done my tote, too. That got heavy and awkward). We bought the Ultimate Drink package, got our cups, showed our documents, got our sea passes. We went back and forth on internet packages but ended up with the 4 device with streaming package--probably more than we needed. I'd scale down next time.

We got in our room by 3 or so. I was afraid it'd be tiny but there was an amazing number of cubbies and cabinets. I was unpacked in no time. The balcony (deck 10 forward) was perfect--two chairs and a table and the view! Soon after we got in we let our steward know we wanted twin beds and that worked out fine. The shower with curtain looked smaller than it felt. Neither of us are tiny but it worked. Good water pressure and temperature.

I found the beds to be very comfortable. Two decently sized pillows, medium firmness, good mattress, bedding seemed to be good quality, there were extra blankets if needed.

If you get a balcony room, you get to "enjoy" the next door cabin's party antics unless you've got good earplugs. That got old but fortunately we got enough walking in so we tuned out pretty fast.

Most of our free time was spent in the Solarium--great bar, excellent roast beef (the prepared sandwiches weren't so hot but the made to order roast beef ones were good). Interesting sensation to be in the pool while the ship was rocking and creating surf in the pool!

We used two different seasickness OTC meds (Zenstrip for me) and sea bands. The ship did have quite a bit of movement at times but we were almost free of any queasiness.

We ate in the MDR every night. We looked at the different dining experiences and maybe next time, but we were wanting to keep things simple. It was pretty good...I loved being able to have a couple of appetizers and salad if that's all I felt like. Their steak (with no upcharge) was flavorful but tough, the side dishes were pretty basic and the soups were usually thinner than I expected. Since there were no set times there was usually a line to get in and service was a bit uneven. OTOH, when we needed special arrangements to feed guests at an event, they were great about getting a full dinner to us when and where we needed it.

Breakfasts were ample and varied. It was best on the first day (eggs were creamy and scattered with chives, etc.) and got a little more basic each day. Never *bad* although the last breakfast was trying to use up the meats, etc. from the night before). They had a good selection of leaner choices each day, which was nice.

Drinks were tasty and there were specials daily. The pours were very generous. I wish there had been more cocktail menus around--I made some boring choices from not having a long list of options. We settled on some favorites and between those and diet coke, sparkling water, etc. we got our money's worth from the drink package.

Best towel animals ever, usually embellished with my roomie's sunglasses.

Key West went smoothly, lots of trolleys to take people to one of two destinations with tour offerings. I wanted to go to Schooner Wharf bar, an easy walk from where we were let off. That led to a nice lunch of seafood and mellow live music. We stopped at a Key Lime store, ate some pie, headed back to the ship in another fleet of trolleys.

KW was a short stop so the rest of the day we spent by the pool, reading and getting some work done.

Note: one swimsuit and one cover-up (plus two sarongs) were all I really needed in that department.

Cozumel was interesting. We got off at the dock, did some shopping, took care of some event stuff, then poked through the flea market nearest the port. Very sketchy area but the shopkeepers were great and I found a good deal on a woven hammock and some gifts. The sun was ferocious but the spray sun screen did the trick, even though I really thought I was burning. I wish we'd been able to eat something in Cozumel but it was a busier day than we expected.

Walking around the deck with a drink and just watching the lights and water was so nice. I had forgotten, though, what it's like when a lot of people are smokers so a few areas we were in were kind of intense...these were designated smoking areas, though, so I knew that going in. With all the regulations now you forget how it is when you're surrounded by smoke. Yay for outside areas.

I loved the elevators looking out at the ocean. I really loved that wherever you were, there was almost always a view to the great wide open seas.

After the working part of the event was over (for us) it was mostly pool time with a book, or a deck chair pointed out to sea. My friend and I both need a lot of non-social time after a rush of interaction with others and this was very do-able on "Brilliance."

Suggestions of taking a light wrap were spot-on...it did get windy and chilly at night.

The formal evening was very mixed. I felt fine in a nice black dress and scarf. There was everything from full on evening wear to shorts with "stylish" rips, plus various costumes. The food was, again, good. I ordered less adventurously as it was crowded, hot, and the PA offer of complementary sea-sickness pills due to rough water told me to not order the heaviest things on the menu.

Disembarking went fine--we opted to keep our suitcases with us so we wouldn't have to pack up everything the night before. Getting off, we turned down the help of a porter in the terminal...bad move. The lines were very long to get through customs and immigration and I wish we'd taken the porters up on their offer. We got an Uber to the airport--easy-peasy and $25 for three people.

I really had never thought a cruise would be a good "fit" with me, but it was so much nicer than I expected, and so much easier to have a good time. Being out on the ocean like that is so different from lying on a beach somewhere, and just as easy.

So yeah...looking for deals for the next one :-)

The tips here were wonderful! I had a great time and am a convert--already looking to book another one, with my husband this time.

This was Brilliance of the Seas, Tampa-Key West-Cozumel-Tampa. I really liked this size ship, and the crew were great. I did overpack but I think I would have a better idea of what I needed next time.

Thanks again--it was great :-)

Thanks--this is so helpful! I guess I need to read up on MTD but it sounds like something we'd pick anyway. And I'm feeling better about clothing choices I packed :-)

The text thing is a must, unfortunately. Even if it doesn't get used we need to offer availability.

Off to stick some ziploc bags into the luggage!

So...I wasn't planning to go on a cruise this week but I was asked to help a friend who booked talent for an RCL cruise, and here I am. I've been boning up on Cruise Critic and every other resource I can find. Questions that have come up: We haven't done anything online. At all. Other parties have done all the payment, paperwork, etc. So we'll be showing up the day of the cruise, with passports and hopefully, some registration numbers, etc.

We both wanted the adult beverage package. How bad is it that we won't be able to request or pay for it until we are on board?

Same for dinner reservations, etc. We can't do anything until we get on board. Big problem, little problem, no problem?

How chilly does it get in the evening, if you're going from a common area to the cabin areas? This is a Caribbean cruise. Light jackets? Shawl? Sleeveless?

Is there a best way to communicate with others in our group? We all will have pay as you go international plans from our cell companies, and we'll all buy the internet package.

Any other pitfalls for signing up at the last minute? Like, "forget any spa time" etc?

I'm excited and hoping I'll bring enough positive experiences back to my family so they'll consider cruising, but logistics mean not being able to do a lot of the tips I've read here.

If you found out today that you could go on a cruise three days from now, what would you do to make things as smooth as possible, given that timeframe?