Just back from the Brilliance of the Seas--Review

[JordanF]

We just returned from a four night cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. Our cruise included the Christmas holiday, and was sold out. When we arrived at the cruise terminal around 11:30 am, we breezed through and were on board before noon. Quickest embarkation that I can remember.

 

The ship was in great shape, and the staff was excellent. We had MTD, and a reservation for each night at 7:15. We had the same waiters every night and they took excellent care of us, including that three out of four of us are vegetarians. Our room steward took excellent care of us and our room.

 

We attended two adult comedy shows. One was very funny, and the other was OK. There was a good band in the centrum most nights, and a decent crown in the nightclub up top as well. Room service breakfast on our balcony on two mornings was delightful.

 

Our one stop was Cozumel, where we spent a nice day at Paradise Beach.

 

Since we were staying in town after the cruise, we were some of the last off the ship, which was around 9 am. We easily ordered an Uber for the ride to our hotel.

This was a short cruise for us, so we made the most of our time, which is to say that we did very little: we relaxed, ate, and partied a bit. We had a great time for a very reasonable price.

[Clarea]

Do you recall the name of the band in the centrum? We were on the cruise before yours, and enjoyed an excellent band named Kronos.

[JordanF]

Yes--it was Kronos. Glad you liked them too!

[Garavar]

Did the Pool Tables work?

[Clarea]

Did the Pool Tables work?

They didn't on the 12/19-12/24 cruise.

[JordanF]

We played pool on two evenings. They did not seem that well maintained--only one functional cue stick, and the gyro did not always seem to be working. One of the two tables always had a sign saying it was out of order, and I am not sure the other one worked either. We noticed only one set of balls as well. Since we are really bad at pool, it did not make a huge difference.

[Krickett]

Thanks for posting good to hear some positive reviews about her.

 

we are boarding in 56 days; its our first time on a small ship and we are bring new cruisers with us, so hoping for a positive experience for them.

 

Did you see anything about reduced pricing on the alcohol packages or drink cards?

 

Thank you in advance:D

[JordanF]

We did not notice anything to do with the drink packages, but then we probably would not have noticed anyway. Our total bar tab for four people for four days was $140, which is less than $9 per day per person. So we are not good candidates for the packages.

 

As for it being a "smaller" ship--our most recent prior cruise was on a Voyager class ship, and this ship had most, but not all of the amenities. They are just smaller, and on the up side, quicker to get to.

 

As for the reviews of this ship, which have seemed largely negative--This was not my experience. I found it to be on par with the typical RCCL experience, which is typically excellent. I realize that I am not paying premium prices, and set my expectations accordingly. As such, my expectations are almost always exceeded by RCCL. I can't/won't comment on the negative reviews because I was not there to experience what they did in order to evaluate, but our family's experience was very positive. I will add that my one criticism when I completed the survey after the cruise is that I wish they did not allow smoking in the casino, since the whole casino smells like an ashtray.

 

The workers typically work 10 hours per day, 7 days per week. When I took the Behind the Scenes Tour last year, we had a chance to ask about life on the ship. One thing they made clear is that nice customers result in nice employees. Considering what they have to put up with from time to time, I am constantly impressed with how well these employees do their jobs.

[molly361]

Thanks for the review- we will be sailing on the BR next month

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

How were the beds? And if they were together were they actually strapped together or just slid together and housekeeping hoped they would stay together with tight sheeting?

 

If it's the sheeting thing, I might as well change my request to separated and just deal with sleeping in a twin bed rather than waking up with half my body in between the beds like I did on Radiance this past summer - even when they supposedly triple sheeted the beds together.

[Beachin2]

How were the beds? And if they were together were they actually strapped together or just slid together and housekeeping hoped they would stay together with tight sheeting?

 

If it's the sheeting thing, I might as well change my request to separated and just deal with sleeping in a twin bed rather than waking up with half my body in between the beds like I did on Radiance this past summer - even when they supposedly triple sheeted the beds together.

 

If you are that hard on a bed, bring along some twine and tie the legs of the two beds together.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

If you are that hard on a bed, bring along some twine and tie the legs of the two beds together.

 

I am not "hard on a bed". If I even sat on a bed they slid apart. My previous experiences on ships as an adult have been on Disney where it's an actual queen sized bed - AMAZING - and on HAL where they DO strap them together and have the "bridge" between them to disguise the gap. The Radiance this summer was the first and only time I've ever heard of anyone putting the beds together and hoping that tight sheeting will hold them.

[Beachin2]

Over 300 cruise nights on Royal ships (that all have the bed put together) and never had a problem like that.

[JordanF]

Our beds stayed together, and seemed to be stuck together.

[kccrzr]

Glad to see your review - thanks for taking the time to post.

[landlockedinco]

Thank you for your review. We just booked for a five night sailing on Brilliance of the Seas on 11/28. I have been perusing the reviews, and they are very discouraging. We just sailed on Allure last month and last year Independence. I am looking forward to trying the Radiance class and enjoy all that RCI offers in a cruise experience. Allure was 7 nights, IOS was 6 nights, and Brilliance will be 5 nights. Do you think 5 nights is still enjoyable if you have to fly in for it? The pricing is attractive, and I think Cozumel and Grand Cayman will be great ports.

 

We wanted to book 6 p.m. dining, but it is full, and they would not even put us on a wait list. How is it full almost a year out? I know we can make reservations with MTD, but we did not like the delays with MTD on our Allure sailing this past December. Does the MDR run smoothly on Brilliance?

 

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

Renata

[Clarea]

... Do you think 5 nights is still enjoyable if you have to fly in for it? The pricing is attractive, and I think Cozumel and Grand Cayman will be great ports....

I'd certainly like a longer cruise, but we've done 5-day cruises if the alternative is to not cruise at all and the airfare is not that bad.

[landlockedinco]

I'd certainly like a longer cruise, but we've done 5-day cruises if the alternative is to not cruise at all and the airfare is not that bad.

 

Thank you, Bob! So were you very happy with your recent Brilliance of the Seas sailing?

[Clarea]

Thank you, Bob! So were you very happy with your recent Brilliance of the Seas sailing?

It was an excellent cruise. Service was outstanding, and the ship was in great shape. We plan to do 14 days on BR later this year.

[Firefighterhoop]

Thank you for your review. We just booked for a five night sailing on Brilliance of the Seas on 11/28. I have been perusing the reviews, and they are very discouraging. We just sailed on Allure last month and last year Independence. I am looking forward to trying the Radiance class and enjoy all that RCI offers in a cruise experience. Allure was 7 nights, IOS was 6 nights, and Brilliance will be 5 nights. Do you think 5 nights is still enjoyable if you have to fly in for it? The pricing is attractive, and I think Cozumel and Grand Cayman will be great ports.

 

We wanted to book 6 p.m. dining, but it is full, and they would not even put us on a wait list. How is it full almost a year out? I know we can make reservations with MTD, but we did not like the delays with MTD on our Allure sailing this past December. Does the MDR run smoothly on Brilliance?

 

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

Renata

 

I do this a few times a year when my rotation at work gives me a 6 or 7 day scheduled stretch off. Not enough to get a full week cruise in without taking vacation, but if there is a deal I would much rather spend the time off on a ship so the 4 and 5 day cruises work well if the days match up. I prefer longer cruises 8-12 nights, so sometimes the shorter cruises seem to go very quickly.

 

Also, seeing that you have been on some rather large ships - the Radiance Class will seem small to you. They are very nice ships, in fact one of my favorite classes of ships, but just prepare yourself and be mindful that they may not have all the amenities you are used to on the larger ships. A lot of people who write negative reviews about smaller or older ships have only gone on the bigger ships and are surprised when the smaller and or older ship doesn't have the things that the large new ones do.

 

As far as dining goes I have seen it several times where traditional is full over a year out. Usually I would tell you to Put yourself on a waitlist for your preferred dining but it sounds like someone is telling you no, which is very strange. This far out, I would be very surprised if you didn't get what you want. I would check back often on the dining issue as people are always booking and cancelling.

Edited January 3, 2016 by Firefighterhoop

[landlockedinco]

Thanks Bob and Firefighterhoop for the reassurance! The Brilliance looks like it will be a beautiful ship, and we are looking forward to what I think will be a more "intimate" cruise experience with lots of fabulous ocean views. I will check back with Royal regarding the early dining as per your suggestion.

[united4life]

Does anyone know the wifi package cost per day on Brilliance of the Seas?

[JordanF]

We usually prefer longer cruises as well and were wondering how we would like four days. As my review indicates, we enjoyed it totally. We joked that we were "urgently relaxing. ' For example, we were in the hot tub between the muster drill and dinner the first day. In any event, we took it for what it was and were delighted.

[Clarea]

Does anyone know the wifi package cost per day on Brilliance of the Seas?

It was $20 per day for one device last month.

[JordanF]

As to the wifi, I seem to recall $20 per day. They sell it for the whole cruise only, but offered the last two days halfway through for $40 total.