*Live* Brilliance of the Seas Western Caribbean Jan7th-Jan12th!

[manders175]

Here are some photos from around the ship.

 

The 1st is the outdoor pool area. As you can see it also includes the pool bar and right above it is the sky bar.

 

Next is the solarium which contains the indoor pool, as well as the Park Cafe. The cafe is the only place you can get sandwiches and snacks til 2:30am. 

 

Lastly is the Pacifica Theatre which is found on decks 5 and 6. We attended the Welcome Aboard show which featured comedian Billy Garan. He was pretty funny!!

 

Tomorrow is an at sea day so I will be sure to get more pics from around the ship and share them with you all!! 

[BIBPhotography]

2 hours ago, manders175 said:

We sailed away at approx 4pm. We reached the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at 6:15pm so just over 2 hours. We have gone under the bridge before so we were not outside to watch, but dont miss it if you never have been!

 

Here is a pic from when we went under the bridge in 2015. 

 

 

I cant wait!  We will be sailing on Brilliance March 23 and it will be our first time on this ship!  We've only got one other cruise to compare it to and that was Freedom of the Seas this past June.  So looking forward to your review, we've already booked the same excursions as you.

Once again, thanks for letting us tag along!

Oh yea, I can't wait to sail under the bridge, LOL!

[kelbell]

Did they open the roof above the solarium pool at all?

[SailorJeff66]

Kelbel, I don't think the solarium roof on Brilliance is retractable. It is a beautiful peaceful place though. And the Park cafe in there is a great place for a quick bite.

[Clarea]

11 minutes ago, SailorJeff66 said:

Kelbel, I don't think the solarium roof on Brilliance is retractable. It is a beautiful peaceful place though. And the Park cafe in there is a great place for a quick bite.

 

Yes, the Solarium roof on Brilliance and all other Radiance class ships is retractable.    It just does not happen all that often.

[manders175]

2 hours ago, kelbell said:

Did they open the roof above the solarium pool at all?

The solarium roof is not currently open on Brilliance but does have the ability to be. 

[manders175]

On 1/4/2019 at 1:12 AM, CatLadyFemme said:

Excited to see this. We'll be on the Brillance in March (first time on that ship) and cannot wait.

 

If you can a chance, would you let us know if there is a specific GF section in the WJ? Some ships have it, some don't. I know I can always go track down and chef and have them pull stuff from the main kitchen,  but it was so nice to be able to pop in and grab a GF roll or dessert when in a hurry. Also excited to hear about what menus the MDR uses.

 

Thank you so much! Enjoy!!

There are definitely spots designated for gluten free as well as signs telling you what is gluten free as well. 

[manders175]

Here is Day 1 Cruise Compass that I forgot to post yesterday! 

[manders175]

Day 2 Compass. Tonight is formal night!

[Cobbie48]

Small world, my cousin and her friend are sailing with you.  If you happen to meet Sue and Peggie say hi from Karen.  I’m sure they will be playing Trivia and attending the shows.

 

continue to enjoy 🛳🛳🛳

[ZoeyVictoria]

4 minutes ago, Cobbie48 said:

Small world, my cousin and her friend are sailing with you.  If you happen to meet Sue and Peggie say hi from Karen.  I’m sure they will be playing Trivia and attending the shows.

 

continue to enjoy 🛳🛳🛳

 

I just told Alexa to play “Peggy Sue” by Buddy Holly, lol.  The lyrics will be running through my mind the rest of the day 😂

[BlueJai]

Thank you for sharing! We are going on the Brilliance later this month, first time for us and we are really enjoying your pictures information. Definitely following along! I hope you had a great day today. Can't wait for some warm weather.

 

Thanks again.

[Lovetotraveltami]

This is wonderful!  How does my time dining work?  Do you have two options to eat?  Do you have to make a reservation?  There are 6 in our party.  I definitely want to view going under the bridge.  It looks like they two times for any shows.

 

Also, how is the live music on the ship?

 

[CatLadyFemme]

8 hours ago, manders175 said:

There are definitely spots designated for gluten free as well as signs telling you what is gluten free as well. 

This is super helpful and makes me even more excited for our trip. Thank you!

[barb in ga]

Thanks for the photos. DH has celiac and must eat gluten free. It's so much easier now than when we first started cruising.

Every ship seems to be different in how they present the GF items, so it's good to see that Brilliance offers a list. DH will be glad to see it, although he always seeks out the Windjammer manager and MDR maitre'd to learn about the choices on the ship we're on.

Have a great rest of the cruise.

Barb

 

[SailorJeff66]

6 hours ago, Lovetotraveltami said:

This is wonderful!  How does my time dining work?  Do you have two options to eat?  Do you have to make a reservation?  There are 6 in our party.  I definitely want to view going under the bridge.  It looks like they two times for any shows.

 

Also, how is the live music on the ship?

With my time dining you can either just show up and be seated when a table is available, or call and make a reservation. 

Most shows did have an early and later showing. The comedy show early show was family friendly and the late was adult rated.

Live music was pretty good for the most part, the headline acts were great.

Edited January 9, 2019 by SailorJeff66
Forgot to put response

[Lovetotraveltami]

10 hours ago, SailorJeff66 said:

With my time dining you can either just show up and be seated when a table is available, or call and make a reservation. 

Most shows did have an early and later showing. The comedy show early show was family friendly and the late was adult rated.

Live music was pretty good for the most part, the headline acts were great.

Thank you very much!

 

[kelbell]

Absolutely loving all the info and pictures, keep up the

good work.  I love all the windjammer pics we never eat 

in the main dining room.  Thank you.

[manders175]

Today was Grand Cayman day! We did Stingray City and then Calico Jack's Beach Break. 

 

This was an awesome excursion! We had to meet at the Pacifica Theatre at 7:10am, they escorted us to the tender spot on Deck 2, then we took the tender to the port. We went by bus about 20 minutes to the boat that took us to the sandbar of Stingray City. It is about 30 minutes once on that boat to the sandbar. 

Once there there, the guides are awesome. They bring a few stingrays over and give everyone the chance to get up close with them. You are allowed to take your own pictures and they will take pics of you as well. 8 pictures are around $40. 

[manders175]

You stay with the Stingrays for about an hour and then have the 30 min boat ride back to shore. I should also include there is a bathroom on the boat and they have water, lemonade, and fruit punch for free as well. 

Once back to shore you have a 10 min bus ride to Calico Jack's. There is food for purchase and you can enjoy the beach as well. There are a few tables with local wares for purchase too. The stop here was an hour and 30 minutes. 

After that you are bussed back to port to shop a little or take the tender back to the ship. 

[manders175]

Dinner tonight was Caesar Salad, Lasagna, and the warm chocolate cookie/vanilla ice cream. My husband had the escargot, NY strip steak, and apple pie a la mode. Everything was great. 

[manders175]

Here is the Cruise Compass for Day 3, Grand Cayman. 

[manders175]

Day 4 we are in Cozumel. There are 7 ships in port today!! Since our arrival was not til 10am, we had to go to port Punta Langosta. Very congested and not easy to navigate. Definitely not our favorite Cozumel port.

 

We took a taxi to Mr Sanchos for the day. For 2 people it was a 15-20 min ride for $18.

 

Mr Sanchos was great! There are 2 different pools and beach access for the all inclusive price. It also includes alcohol and either the buffet or menu food options. (Or both!)

 

[manders175]

Here are more pictures from around Mr Sanchos! 

[SailorJeff66]

Much better weather than on my December 15 sailing! We were going to do Sanchos, but it was rainy and windy..👍