BRILLIANCE (British Isles) June 19-July 2,2018 REVIEW w/lots of photos

[Hoopster95]

This itinerary was not on my bucket list before I started reading your review! It is now! Wonderful pictures and excellent review!

 

Thx for the kind words cruisnot.... be patient with me, I have some incredible places and experiences to share when I get to the various ports of call :)

 

My flight will be connecting through Amsterdam - now I'm wishing I would've spend a couple days there before heading to Rome!

 

Hey fellow solo traveler and reviewer! Thx for following along.

In my humble and sincere opinion, for me ... I take Rome 9 times out of 10. Note, I'm a biased Italian :cool: (I need an Italian emoticon :p). I will say that Amsterdam is much more laid back than the hustle and bustle of Rome for sure. So visiting Amsterdam is off my must see list, however if I'm ever there again for a pre or post cruise stay, I'm heeading out of town into various outer cities for a couple of days, looks beautiful.

 

Have a great TA and I'll look forward to seeing your review or live report

[KansCocoa]

In my humble and sincere opinion, for me ... I take Rome 9 times out of 10. Note, I'm a biased Italian :cool: (I need an Italian emoticon :p). I will say that Amsterdam is much more laid back than the hustle and bustle of Rome for sure.

 

Yes, your Italian is coming out, for sure!

 

Now me, I’m a laid-back Midwesterner, so Amsterdam has now become #1 on our most favorite cities in the world.

 

We loved the food, the ambiance, the culture, the casualness, the friendliness, the things to see & do - and we felt very, very safe no matter where we went. We also loved the fact that we could pretty much walk anywhere & everywhere in Amsterdam - and once we got our bearings, it was easy to navigate. Hubby said he would go back to Amsterdam in a heartbeat to spend more time - our four days there (2 pre-cruise, and 2 days post-cruise) was not NEAR enough to see & do everything! :)

 

Keep the review coming, Claudio - I’m reliving my cruise through you!

 

I travel this weekend to Florida, and once I get set up, I will start my own review of this amazing cruise. :)

[Hoopster95]

and we felt very, very safe no matter where we went. We also loved the fact that we could pretty much walk anywhere & everywhere in Amsterdam - and once we got our bearings, it was easy to navigate.

 

100% valid points that I didn't touch on, especially the "safe" comment.

 

Yes, can't wait for your review! It'll be great for everyone to see how different our perspectives are... especially with regard to ports as we both did different things/tours. :)

[Hoopster95]

Interior GTY (6V category) - assigned 4561 (2V)

I'm all about not being scared to try something different, and I like the fact that I've sailed from interiors to JS's, from deck 2 up to deck 10, forward and aft and midship... Once deciding to pull the trigger on this cruise I was given a totally awesome group rate through my TA for a 6V interior GTY. In tracking cabins,there were a bunch on deck 4 and 3 left over so I figured I'd be placed there, and I was.

 

I've stayed on deck 3 on Serenade in an OV just off the Centrum elevators...awesome location! I am not at all a fan of forward cabins on Radiance Class ships as everything I want to be close to is around the Centrum elevator, plus I love seeing the Centrum at all times coming from/going to the cabin. Prior to my assignment, I noted many of the remaining cabins were creeping forward towards the front elevators which I didn't like... so be it, was not at all going to worry about a weak cabin location being so grateful having saved over $500 off the base price with the group rate. I booked this cruise before final payment about 90 days before sailing (I never saw a cheaper price, even after final payment... the group rate was #1 yet again). One morning, about 60 days before sailing, I checked my dashboard and I had an assignment....4561

 

 

You know what... I liked it! I bet many reading this think I'm nuts wanting this cabin being the first cabin off of the Centrum for noise and whathaveyou,however this was one of the remaining cabins left closer to the Centrum and not by the theatre so I was good with this.... I did not call in to bother to change to another location. If anything, I can now compare this deck 4 vs.Centrum for location and noise like I have just done upstairs on decks 7-9 (4 different cabins, both balcony and interior) on my previous Radiance Class sailings. I'll talk about it more during nightly events and so forth as I did go to bed early a couple ofevenings with the music still playing.... for those who think that the Centrum balcony cabins are loud DO NOT BOOK THIS CABIN... yes, I'm yelling at you so you can hear lol! Much noisier here than any of the upper deck Centrum balcony and interiors I've stayed in and reported on.

 

And here it is.... the basic RCL interior on Radiance Class ships

 

I believe this is still the original molded plastic sink/counter &backsplash, so there's nothing new that's visual in this cabin from the drydock I don't think

 

Oh the HUMANITY!!!!..... the dreaded shower curtain! Don't think I had to dealwith one of these for almost 5 years now

 

"Welcome aboard. Thank you for spending over 300 nights with us. As a token of our appreciation, and because you payed double what everyone else payed because you are solo, here's a few cookies and 4 bottles of water.... Oh,by the way, your D+ $8 wine benefit has been removed".... unfortunately that's how I felt anyways. I've come to feel that rather than insulting me any further with 10cent cookies as a "welcome and appreciation" I can get anytime/anywhere on the ship, it'd be best that RCL doesn't provide anything at all unless they up their game to make it worthwhile and meaningful. Give me one bottle of water every night so I have it ready to go ashore in the morning for example... that's thoughtful and meaningful.

 

All this cheapness has done is create this memory for me of walking into my cabin and re-enforcing my feelings that RCL are continuing to penny pinch everything at all costs. RCL... perhaps take those 10's of thousands of dollars weekly on all of your ships for all of these "gifts", remove these bad feelings, and turn them into fabulous "appreciative" feelings for your customers by buying better quality food for the MDR and Windjammer so they can speak of how great their food experiences are on board.

 

 

Oh, almost forgot... LMaxwell, this one's for you:

My air filter was perfectly clean lol!!!! Maybe someone was tracking our CC posts from your thread a few months back.... no joke, I ran my finger over both returns and zero dust on either, even bent down floor level to look at one of them. I can just see it now as they were checking my CC profile for my next sailings.... "Yikes, we're only giving Hoopster a couple of cookies and no free wine... there's no bloody way we're comping him a future cruise credit too!!!!!"

[Hoopster95]

Besides the Cruise Compass, there were several documents waiting for me on my desk for me to go over.

The most important to take note was the mandatory immigration inspection... we all had to hand in our passports on the first sea day tomorrow for all ports in Scotland, Dublin and Wales. The passport would be returned on the sea day between Wales and Guernsey.

 

For those of you interested, the up to date D+ benefits

 

Although I've done these tours before, I nonetheless elected to do all the tours offered since I'm on my own and this wasn't a beach/pool deck type of cruise where I'd be busy on sea days

 

Note Abe Hughes is the CD on this cruise... great CD. A little more muted on this cruise as not as entertainment oriented or busy like Harmony or other classes. However I saw him daily and said hello as he passed down on deck 4 by the Guest Services as that's where he worked (his office perhaps?) I believe. Also I understand that the very best CD ever, Mike Stankowski (my spelling is for sure wrong here) just got on board as this was Abe's final cruise on Brilliance. I cannot wait to hear if Mike is as great as ever from fellow cruises. Those of you getting on brilliance the next few weeks please... hope he still has his A game!

 

Many M&M's were disappearing the last few months, having 100's registered and then the next day showing as zero. OUrs was the same, in fact disappeared twice. Thankfully fellow CC'er Steve Ramm was b2b on the previous Baltic sailing and ensured with the LA that we would have the M&M with invites sent to everyone. So all went smoothly here.

 

My fave DL concierge Mario Reyes was on board. I did not know he was there until I boarded and met him up there this evening. He immediately recognized me. Very cool! We had a quick chat about Serenade where he is heading back to shortly. I did not get any of his normal "Hello all you beautiful people" morning messages this sailing as he's stopped doing that... too busy. Amit (never met him before) was the CL and a great guy as well, so I pretty much spent all my evening time in the DL and grabbing morning coffee in the DL as well to chat with Mario.

[Hoopster95]

Ship tour.... check

lunch... check

luggage unpacked ... check

muster ... check

 

We were basically ready to go as the gangway was being pulled away

 

I headed up to the Sailaway Bar to see if my other fellow CC'ers were hanging around as planned. Pre-cruise Kanscocoa set up a sailaway Meet&Greet for those who wished to show up. However I had my doubts as the weather was starting to turn much colder over the past hour'ish, and there were ominous clouds.Sure enough, nobody is up at the SkyBar

 

Back-up plan was to meet up in the DL or VCL. The problem is I don't think anyone expected to be amongst 300+ Diamonds in the VCL! Try to find someone you don't know that you've only met online or seen a couple of photos on a review within a standing room only VCL... yep, a little difficult. I quickly tried to find anyone wearing Mardi Gras beads as a CC indicator of who they were, but I didn't see anyone. Brilliance was starting to pull away, so I quickly ran down pone flight of stairs to check out sailaway and take a few photos of downtown Amsterdam & Centraal as we pulled away. At the same time, the skies opened to a downpour so many of us ran for cover under the VCL overhang or inside

 

ouPWqONYCsM

 

 

I headed back up to the VCL Diamond overflow, had a nice chat with Mario, and was able to come across a couple of CC'ers in sitting with a few people. We enjoyed sailaway until I had to head for dinner at 6:30.

[Hoopster95]

Chops

 

I was to meet Kanscoca and DH this evening at Chops for 6:30pm as I had asked on the roll call if any CC'ers or tour participants would like to get together for a specialty dinner on night 1 and/or 2... only Sherri offered up, and they were totally fine with me joining them. Thank you Sherri & Mike :D

 

My plan for this cruise going in was to not eat at the MDR whatsoever as there have bene many posts here on CC praising the WJ recently over the MDR... I will touch on this as I go through the review as I did have dinner at WJ often. However I really wanted to hit the Specialty Venues, but not as a solo diner. And I didn't want to chance the WJ for 12 nights either so Sherri & Mike saved me here, and we hit it off right away becoming pals for the the next 12 days on board.

 

This turned out to be the 2nd or 3rd best meal of the cruise for me... I started with the lobster bisque & crab cakes, both standard faves of mine. I had the 9oz filet (medium) with the various sides (mac&cheese, asparagus, shrooms, etc). My steak was perfect.

 

mmmmmm.... warm, chocolate cake

 

Happy belated birthday Sherri! That's Ciprian there standing beside Sherri, great waiter. Might be the senior waiter as well as he served (was assigned?) the Captain on a 6 top the 2nd night we dined at Chops.

 

This was a super nice evening. We missed the only "all Aboard" show offered to all guests, but we didn't care. We got to enjoy sailaway from Amsterdam through the countryside. We also witnessed Brilliance in the locks as we watched during dinner. I would've have loved to spend 15-20 minutes watching some of this process from the helipad or at least outside, however there was no way I was going to be rude and skip the rest of dinner! It was a quick process as the depth is not high for these new locks.

https://www.portofamsterdam.com/en/port-amsterdam/new-large-sea-lock

 

Near the end of the meal we were close to leaving land, and we noted a bunch of "specs" floating all around in the distance. After gawking and trying to figure them out, they seemed to be kites flyers. However, as we got closer, they were all kite surfers. Amazing scene... how do they not tangle up with each other?

 

SLgqM4WeMBs

 

 

As most 1st nights on board, this ended up being an early night as few fellow cruisers stayed up late. I too headed to bed early as I wanted to have an energetic day tomorrow, get up for the gym and enjoy my first sea day without touring.

[Hoopster95]

Cruise Compass - Day 1

 

 

 

 

[little britain]

Confused! Why didn't you get the D+ wine?

 

ps: I have sent you FB msg

LBx

[maxs mom]

Hey! Doing a great job!!! Can’t wait for you to get to the ports. I have a question for you. How strenuous of a walk was the Red Light tour? My husband is a diabetic and has a hard time walking for very far. I just wonder if that would be too much for him. He is also very slow!!!

[heatherb1958]

Enjoying reading your review and seeing your photos.

We recently did an MSC Cruise with 3 of your ports . I am interested to see what you did in them.

 

We have sailed Brilliance many times since 2003 and also after each of her previous drydocks, the last cruise was out of Tampa in Jan 2016. From your photos the only thing I can see that is different from our last sailing is the dining room furniture/ decor and the up to date Next Cruise office. They had already added extra cabins in the last drydock.

[Hoopster95]

Confused! Why didn't you get the D+ wine?

 

ps: I have sent you FB msg

LBx

 

Hey lb... (or is it lg? ;)) I don't know why I didn't get the wine. There's been no official statement from RCL if this benefit has been eliminated. However plenty of chatter here on CC in this current thread about this:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2653201&highlight=Just+off+Brilliance

I didn't care to be perfectly honest.... I was getting an extra glass of wine from the DL or WJ bar during dinner anyways so a full bottle was going to do me no good. The two good bottles I brought on board weren't for myself, I shared at dinner with Sherri & Mike.

[Hoopster95]

Hey! Doing a great job!!! Can’t wait for you to get to the ports. I have a question for you. How strenuous of a walk was the Red Light tour? My husband is a diabetic and has a hard time walking for very far. I just wonder if that would be too much for him. He is also very slow!!!

 

Hmmm... I can't answer your question except to give you more insite on our tour itself and then you & dh can decide. While the walk isn't strenuous, you are on your feet without many places to sit for the entire two hours. You stand alot. You are in crowds so walking from one point to another is relatively brisk & through several alleyways (including the thinnest alleyway in Amsterdam, single file squeezing through a couple of walls) so if you're at the back of the pack could be easy to get left behind. You end up at the farthest points away from The Dam neighborhood so depending on where your hotel is, a tram or taxi will likely be necessary for you. My gut tells me the specific tour I did would not be good for your dh unfortunately.

 

When looking for options on-line, I noted a couple of 1.5 hour tours instead of 2 hours. This may help you decide better, as well maybe emailing the tour company? I'm guessing they mnay get asked this a lot and they can cater more to a slower pace.

Here's one: https://www.getyourguide.com/amsterdam-l36/15-hour-walking-tour-through-the-red-light-district-t143433/

 

:)

[Hoopster95]

Enjoying reading your review and seeing your photos.

We recently did an MSC Cruise with 3 of your ports . I am interested to see what you did in them.

 

Coming soon in the days ahead!!

 

Thx for the update re the Brilliance renos... yes, the MDR did look brand new (especially the seats/furniture) now that you mention it.

Perhaps only carpet was updated in my cabin, honestly couldn't tell.... and most likely why my air filters had zero dust in them as they were all replaced during the recent drydock.

[Hoopster95]

Day 2 - at sea

 

We had moved our clocks back overnight, and thus gaining time, by an hour as we sailed Northwest from Amsterdam towards Scotland.

 

 

Even though I headed for bed early the night before, I still "slept in" more than normal... I find I get amazingly deep sleeps in interior cabins. Bedding and pillows were great... I wasn't cognizant of whether they were new/updated or not from the drydock, however I suspect they were.

 

Today's sea day I had nothing plan other than the morning's M&M and attending the port lecture. I ended up joining in the poker tournament as I mentioned in the prior posts where I was busted, and I hit the gym a couple of times, once into the steam room & sauna, so sparse picture taking today. Simply a really nice and easy sea day.

 

You'll see in the compass many of the same events and things as on Caribbean sailings (trivias, bingo, art auction), however a very small focus on the pool deck which makes sense... this surely isn't supposed to be a pool deck cruise. So I'll be making this day's review super short and zooming through in only a couple of posts. Here's the Compass for those of you on future sailings

 

 

 

 

[delee78]

Hey Hoopster! Can't wait to read all about this one!!!! Following along...

 

Was it a hard transition back?

[Hoopster95]

Besides a 20min stair master session, I tried a lap around the track this morning, however it was just too breezy/cool. In case I forget I'll mention now that in later workouts I was able to jog no problem, and many fellow cruisers wished to enjoy the amazing weather we received this cruise and there were a ton of walkers later in the morning/day so much so that I know Mike, a very avid runner, had to give up on his running regimen. This was later in the morning after my workout from the DL... note the fellow walkers out there all wrapped up and protected from the elements.

 

 

The M&M was well attended (the most I've been involved with in several cruises) in the Colony Club with the Activity Manager, Enzo, running the show. There were a few good random prizes handed out, and better yet, once the intros and prizes were done, it was encouraged to actually mingle with each other. The mic was handed one by one around the room to everyone to introduce themselves, where they're from, and their CC screen name. It was here I met and collected monies from everyone on the tours I had set up. This M&M was nicely done.

 

 

When the M&M was dispersing, I ran back to dump all the collected monies into my safe and I hurried to the Pacifica Theatre as I was late for the lecture. The lecturist, Sondra Ettlinger, had already started her Scotland session as those were our first 3 ports. Unbeknownst to anyone, Sondra and/or her dh, had posted/offered a couple of private small tours on the roll call. I offered to join in on a couple of them as a solo. During the process she indicated she was the lecturist... I couldn't have been more pleased figuring she may have a connection with some interesting plans and guides. After her lecture I introduced myself and we were good to go for the tours I booked with her.

 

Note the slide here in her presentation.... any guesses where this is? And no, we're not heading to Athens! lol

 

The odd time here and there on this review I'll add an art picture. I thought the art in the main staircase landings on this ship were more interesting than on Jewel or Radiance. If you're into the art and sculptures on the larger ships and you end up here on Brilliance, take a look around and see if you agree.

 

 

Lunch, a little basketball with a few other kids up in the Sports Court, a short nap, poker, another short(er) gym session with sauna/steam room all done, and it was evening time already. Tonight was formal night, and as with all the Euro cruises I've been on the dress code was more adhered to. Coming out of my room, the Brilliance Orchestra was set up in the Centrum playing the classics on a pre-dinner set (they would also be there for the Captain's reception later on).

 

 

I was heading up to the CL & DL to see who I can meet up with from the M&M. Every Radiance Class ship has a different theme of sculptures once you get up to deck 13 on the elevators... Brilliance has a couple guys fishing off the edge. Anyone remember what the other 3 ships have? (hint: think animals)

 

The CL was not well attended actually, but the DL and overflow into the VCL was standing room only. I found several fellow CC'ers to hang out with until dinner time and met a couple of others as well not on CC. The hors d'ouvres were very typical to any other sailing such as sausage rolls/spring rolls/etc.... along with various canapes. Nothing new here... and I certainly wasn;t going to divulge at this point with likely a feast at Giovanni's coming up at 6:30!

[Hoopster95]

Was it a hard transition back?

 

Hey hey!!!!!!!! How the heck are you and Patrick?!? It's awesome you found me here. :D

delee sailed with me on Oceania this past March, hehe.

 

Transition was no problem at all and I still love Royal. My expectations were in check and I had a great time. No doubt at all the two experiences are like transitioning from a $100,000 Mercedes back down to a $25,000 Ford. I've always found service on the smaller ships a little more hands on and you get to know the staff a bit better as they see you more often. Service here was great overall... in comparison service on Marina was utterly impeccable everywhere from the coffee servers right up to the butlers ... 11 out of 10 everywhere as you know... text book for what service should be for all cruise lines/hotels. I now know RCL never has been 11 out of 10, they're just not in that class. Expectations.... a key. "You get what you pay for"... another cliche that is key in this conversation in my humble and sincere opinion.

 

And other than Chef's Table, again as you know food on Marina also 11 out of 10.. here it averaged out at 7 out of 10. Had Penelope sailed with me we would've had the dining package for the whole cruise for unlimited specialty here on Brilliance. I still remember specifics nightly of where/what I dined on Marina... ie. our Porthouse night!!!! WOW. On Brilliance, 6 months from now my only discussion over the entire 12 nights will be how Chef's Table stepped up their game to match Oceania's food & wine pairing experience.

 

For any of you who wish to see how Oceania compares to Royal, here's my Oceania Marina review from this past March... it's geared in many areas as a comparison to Royal

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2616029

[delee78]

 

For any of you who wish to see how Oceania compares to Royal, here's my Oceania Marina review from this past March... it's geared in many areas as a comparison to Royal

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2616029

 

I am going to be so jealous when you get the review of the ports...I know this just by looking at the preview photos and seeing all of those blue skies!!!

 

My first ever cruise was on the Brilliance around the Med. I am sitting in my living room right now and I can look up at my mantle and see a photo of my mom and I at Giovanni's. I loved that ship!

 

Definitely different strengths between the two lines, but I would go back to RCL in a second. I remember a much more vibrant, active, fun crowd. We had the best group of folks at our table on the dining room. We were like a family by the end of the voyage.

 

But, you are right....the FOOD on Oceania. I still have dreams about the grill line items in the Terrace :D!!!

[Hoopster95]

This evening I once again met up with Middle Aged Drama Queen & her dh, this time at Giovanni's for family style dining. I will say now that both yesterday and this evening the venue got quite full, so I suspect the dining packages and day 1+2 BOGOs are working well to fill up the venues. This was not the case later in the cruise as there were nightly discounts offered (more n this as we progress).

 

This dinner did not start out well... I ordered the grilled Octopus as a starter. It was the very first starter/entree ever that I returned. I couldn't believe that it was actually served to be perfectly honest, and it was very obvious that the chefs did not taste/try this dish before serving. Shoe leather.... if you think I am exaggerating that I chewed probably about 50 times and finally decided to spit it out, think again. Thankfully, the waiter did see me struggling almost immediately and asked me how things were without having to call him over, so props for noticing. I asked him to bring the caprese salad instead which he recommended.... meh

 

 

I could've grabbed a few tomoatos up at Windjammer on a plate and made it look better than this for a photo and many of you may not have known this difference. Thank goodness the rest of the meal took a step up from here. Mike & Sherri ordered the Bolognese and Carbonara with gluten free pasta which was really good. The mushroom risotto was my usual fave here and did not disappoint

 

My fave entree at Giovanni's is the Osso Bucco, so I stayed with it... and it too thankfully did not disappoint as the meat falls off the bone

 

So you think I was hungry? Uhm... YA! Go to Giovanni's with an appetite lol

 

And leave room for desert! So here we had another disappointment... the cannoli was not good at all, dry and the filling tasteless. One bite and done, first time I've left a desert on the table un-eaten. The tiramisu on the other hand was stellar, seems to always be at Giovanni's. I peel away a little of the cream and marscopone to check out the soaked finger cookie at the bottom to ensure they really do soak it in Grand Marinier... yep, delicious here! This is the real McCoy

 

Another super nice evening with Mike & Sherri... more to come

[Hoopster95]

We had a fun night tonight! With plenty of time after dinner, I headed down to the Pacifica Theatre to catch the Beatlemaniacs.

If you have never seen them before, and perhaps you feel they are just yet another cover band... these guys were the best I've ever seen.... perhaps the crowd agreed from the reaction close to the end. They were superb and I'm not the biggest Beatles fan either... I'd go see them again. I loved how they changed they're attire as they progressed through the ages from their early years, to Sgt. Peppers, to Let It Be. Dancing and deserved standing O at the end

 

 

 

 

Tonight I had a choice of "Who Wants to Feel like a Millionaire" game Show in the Colony Club or the Silent Party in the centrum.... Silent Party won this hands down. I walked back to the Colony Club just before 10pm and it was very sparse... heading back into the centrum the dance floor was already packed with the first song and more headphones were being handed out.... many cruisers lined decks 5 and 6 to watch.

 

For those of you who've never seen this, it's a total blast! No music is playing allowed so no one up on decks 5 or 6 know what you;re listening to. However we have a choice of two different songs on the headset to flip back and forth to... of course they're both very different so half the floor is dancing one way (ie. YMCA) and the other is doing something else (ie. Macarena). Hilarious! The funnest part is yo take your headset off slightly while dancing... funny as heck! Everyone is singing along to the song and so off key, lol!!! Of course when Sweet Caroline comes on Don't Stop Believing it's a 100 person karaoke party sat that point.

 

What a ball!... except for Mike here playing it all cool like he's the man.... yep. letting Sherri and I act stupid while he's all James Bond like in his tux over there.

 

But I know better... well well well, looky here who lets it all hang out when he thinks nobody's looking lol....

BUSTED!!

 

 

Haha... what a fun time. I recommend to everyone to give this a shot, and not just watch from the sidelines. After this it was bedtime as I had Edinburgh all planned out in the morning and I wanted to be on one of the first tenders.

[RedSails1968]

I was surprised to see that on Day 1, in the Compass for Windjammer lunch, it stated no short pants or tank tops permitted. Do they really expect people to wear long pants to embark?

[maxs mom]

Hmmm... I can't answer your question except to give you more insite on our tour itself and then you & dh can decide. While the walk isn't strenuous, you are on your feet without many places to sit for the entire two hours. You stand alot. You are in crowds so walking from one point to another is relatively brisk & through several alleyways (including the thinnest alleyway in Amsterdam, single file squeezing through a couple of walls) so if you're at the back of the pack could be easy to get left behind. You end up at the farthest points away from The Dam neighborhood so depending on where your hotel is, a tram or taxi will likely be necessary for you. My gut tells me the specific tour I did would not be good for your dh unfortunately.

 

When looking for options on-line, I noted a couple of 1.5 hour tours instead of 2 hours. This may help you decide better, as well maybe emailing the tour company? I'm guessing they mnay get asked this a lot and they can cater more to a slower pace.

Here's one: https://www.getyourguide.com/amsterdam-l36/15-hour-walking-tour-through-the-red-light-district-t143433/

 

:)

Thanks for that great answer. Not sure if we will do this or not. We’ll have to think about it. We will be so busy during the day, that getting to this might be hard.

[Hoopster95]

I was surprised to see that on Day 1, in the Compass for Windjammer lunch, it stated no short pants or tank tops permitted. Do they really expect people to wear long pants to embark?

 

Ah.... never noticed that! It's under the MDR as well. I think it's just a general disclaimer for Royal... they rarely enforce attire unless it's very bad.

[Hoopster95]

Thanks for that great answer. Not sure if we will do this or not. We’ll have to think about it. We will be so busy during the day, that getting to this might be hard.

 

You're welcome Jane & have a great sailing! :D