emilygrace

The 1st reason that you were called down was you locked/zip tied RCI out of your bag! I bet if you read some of the small lettering in the contract says you can't lock/zip tie the bags. Those pliers were there excuse. I am surprised that they didn't say squat on the scissors. Were the scissors mostly plastic or in plastic sleeve? You must not have been flying, because you can't zip tie/lock a bag. TSA will have a major hissy fit.

We use those zip lock ties all the time when flying and we've never gotten any complaints from the airlines or TSA. They have cut them off a couple of times to open the bag, but they've always left the obligatory note inside.

And yes, I do realize that a determined thief can just cut them off, but my reasoning is that because they are in a hurry, thieves will bypass luggage with any kind of lock or zip lock tie on it and go straight for the bag that has absolutely nothing on it.

Those lifeboat covers will only bother you if you are one of those people that have to be able to look straight down and see the ship cutting through the water. It will not diminish your view of the fabulous scenery in Alaska AT ALL. You have chosen a beautiful ship to see beautiful Alaska.

I think the OP is talking about July 2015 and I don think the port schedule is out yet for next year.

Your best bet is to check the Port of Vancouver website after the first of next year to see which pier your ship will be. If there are several ships in port that day, Royal Caribbean is usually at Ballantyne, not Canada Place, and not easily accessible by public transportation. You would have to take a taxi.

We stayed at the Hotel Port-Royal before our Brilliance cruise in 2012. Very nice hotel, lovely rooms (suites actually) and I felt that it was reasonably priced. It is a block and a half from the pier so we just walked to the ship the next morning. There are a lot of cafes and restaurants nearby.

We have done two cruises on Princess, a two night and a seven night. We are doing a four night in November. Will we be ruby level after the November cruise?

I have several cruises coming up, all on ships that will be new to me, but I can't believe how excited I am about my January cruise on Brilliance of the Seas. :D I have been admiring this class of ships here on CC for years, and I know it's a favorite of CC members.

 

What's your favorite area on a Radiance class ship? I think the solarium looks lovely. :)

I love the outdoor eating area at the back of the ship behind the Windjammer.

Wow Rick, just went to that site and apparently you can't get insurance through them if you live in California, as we do. Interesting.......

We were quick to book the Serenade 9/18/2015 Vancouver, B.C. to Los Angeles when it opened up! :)

It's the Jewel that will be here next year, and we are booked on that cruise. Really looking forward to this one since the Jewel is my all time favorite ship (well, sharing the #1 spot with the Solstice).

OK, I have read through this whole thread and no one has mentioned the self-leveling pool tables! As far as I know, no other ship in any fleet has these, only the Radiance class. Even if you are not a pool player it is fun to watch others play, especially if the seas are a little rough.

I have never sailed on Carnival but I have been on all 4 Radiance class ships and the Brilliance was the most recent. Even before the extensive refurb it was in excellent shape. One of my favorite features of this class of ship is the outdoor eating area at the buffet. It's all the way at the back, so you are not by the pool with all the noise and splashing. The other unique feature is the centrum, which is open from deck 4 to deck 12. And if you go in the Loyalty Ambassador's area on deck 12 you can look down through the glass all the way to deck 4. Makes for some interesting photos.

After having recently sailed on a Princess ship with the whole "you can't get there from here (without going up or down a deck first)" layout, I really appreciate Brilliance and her sister ships for the ease of finding everything and getting everywhere.

We booked the 9/18/15 Jewel coastal on March 31st and were given MTD, wait listed for early dining and charged the gratuities (to be paid with final payment). About a month later I looked at our reservation in "my cruises" and they had given us early seating but did not remove the gratuities. By this time some friends had also booked and had MTD so I just told my TA to put us back on MTD. Especially since they hadn't removed the prepaid gratuities.

We were on the Grand in March, had a mid-ship cabin on deck 8, and were dismayed to find there were no center stairs above deck 6 or 7 (can't remember which). We are stair people, partly to compensate for the different eating style on board, but mostly because it is oh so much faster than taking the elevators.

We are thinking about a short cruise on the Golden......are there center stairs going up to the top decks?

PSCruiser, all the category E cabins have a loveseat, not a sofa. The sofas are in the D cabins (and above, I'm sure). The D cabins are slightly larger, so they have the sofa.

Just FYI, you won't be able to see land as you are cruising and when docked you never know which side of the ship will be facing land.

We had 9576 on the Brilliance two years ago for our Canadian provinces cruise and it was an excellent location. So handy to stairs/elevators and a wonderful balcony. AND we had a flat screen TV, which our friends 3 cabins down from us did not have. Of course, now they probably all have flat screens.

Not exactly the same situation as you, but last year a group of us did an Alaskan cruise on the Solstice. Among the group were two couples who had never cruised before. One of the couples were close friends that we had been trying to get to cruise with us for years. The other couple were friends of someone in the group.

Toward the end of the cruise I ran into the couple that were not close friends and I asked how they were liking it and would they book another cruise. Definitely not!!! The wife hated shipboard life and felt they were being ripped off with all the add ons. I kept my mouth shut, but in my eyes all the add ons are choices (except for the daily service fee). No one is saying you HAVE to have 3 drinks every night, or buy the ATT package, etc. So they will definitely not be cruising again.

The other couple has already gone on their second cruise and is probably researching their third! In spite of her getting very seasick the first night they went on to have a great time and she has learned to take preventative measures before the ship even leaves port the first day. And these were the people that were like your BF, they had no desire to cruise. As we didn't, 12 years and 23 cruises ago!

We've sailed on Brilliance and all of her sister ships AND on Princess, X, NCL, HAL, etc. Balcony cabins on all the cruise lines. I think Royal Caribbean (with HAL a close second) has the roomiest and best laid out cabins. LOTS of storage space in the vanity (even behind the angled side mirrors) and the sofa across from it, which gives you a little open area when you first walk into the cabin. I am one of those who likes the bed near the balcony. Category E's have a love seat and D's have a full sofa.

I agree that NCL has the worst (smallest) and the sofa (like 2 planks of foam) is almost unusable.

They probably were calling for O negative because it is the universal donor type and can be given to anyone. I have O neg. and I was very popular at the local blood bank.

You could also try clearing your cookies or cache to see if this is why you keep getting the same page that says GTY. That has happened to me when I look up prices and I keep getting the same ones and I know (thanks to CC) that there has been a price drop.

We're on the Grand and scheduled to stop in SB on the 20th. So far it looks like we're still going to make it. I hope this doesn't change.

Ginny, since 7594 is on the starboard side there is a curved wall separating it from the Centrum, so the noise will be muffled by that wall.

I was going to say that September/October are the nicest months, weather-wise, on the Pacific coast, but I see you are from AZ, so you probably would consider it cool!

Since our county no longer provides bags (free.....you can purchase a bag) in any store that sells food (not just grocery stores, but Target and Walmart too) I do collect any freebie bags I can. Then if they get icky I can just toss them. Glad to hear I'll be getting one on my Grand cruise in 2 weeks.

Another avid reader here. I tried reading a book on my iPad and the only reason I got all the way through it is because it was one of my favorite authors (and main character). I prefer to hold a book in my hand and turn the pages.

I'm sad that they are downsizing the library areas on the ship....that was always one of my first stops when we boarded and I've found some great books in the exchange corner. Plus I would go there every morning to get the daily sudoku and trivia quiz. Where are these puzzles found now if there is no actual library?

One of the best features of Cunard ships is the library. The one on the QM2 was huge (as was everything else on that ship).

Unless your E1 is on the hump with one of the bigger balconies I would go for the larger D1 cabin.

We did a Northeast cruise 2 years ago, round trip out of Quebec City. When we started on Oct. 1st the leaves were just starting to turn. By the time we got back to QC on the 11th everything was in full color.

And FYI, we did go to PEI and nothing was shut down for the season yet.

Celebrity would keep the $450? I would think based on this change that THEY caused this would be refundable?

I agree. I know that UK passengers lose their deposit if they cancel, but in this case YOU are not canceling.....they cancelled on you and it seems to me you SHOULD get your deposit back. I would check into this before making a decision.