Brilliance Greek B2B Trip Report ~ Menus~Cruise Compass~Photos

[luckybecky]

We didn’t stay long.

 

I think we had a lazy afternoon, maybe took a nap.

 

Dinner:

 

 

Seafood cake

 

 

French onion soup

 

 

Arugula and radicchio salad

 

 

Steak and mushroom pie

 

 

Grilled pork chop

 

 

Royal chocolate cake

 

 

Mississippi mud pie

 

[luckybecky]

Later, we went to the production show which was excellent, worth seeing a second time. Very fun, high energy show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, we spent a little time in the casino. Having mixed results on this cruise. We aren’t high rollers. We gamble a little most every night but only small amounts.

 

The casino is absolutely dead this week, very noticeably slower than last week. Very few players. Paul likes to play three card poker occasionally, but doesn't like to play alone. He only once saw anyone playing and hurried to join them -- they were just cashing out. 

 

Also I'll note that roulette seemed one of the more popular games. They have two tables: a single zero wheel and a double zero. Guess which one was always closed? Yep, we never saw the single zero wheel playing at any time the entire two weeks.

[luckybecky]

Friday, June 25

 

One of our best days of the cruise! Today we docked in the town of Argostoli, on the island of Kefalonia, Greece. The town was absolutely charming. Flowering plants everywhere, and without the massive crowds.

 

We had arranged a private tour. A driver was waiting at the dock for us, holding a sign with our name on it. He led us to his nearby car. We began with a drive through the town where he pointed out some local landmarks. Then we began a tour of the island. This is one of the largest Greek islands with much to see. It is mountainous; we had very scenic views as we drove along the narrow roads ringing the island.

 

We did a tour called "ALL DAY private tour - Kefalonia" by Athinais Tours.

 

 

 

After a bit of a drive with many scenic views, we stopped at a beach and had a short swim. It was beautiful and the water was so clear and refreshing. Not a crowded spot.

 

 

 

 

We drove a bit further, stopping to admire the view, and arrived at a terrific beach club. A waitress led us to a couple of shaded beach chairs, which were free to use.

 

 

Edited July 8, 2022 by luckybecky

[luckybecky]

We ordered some paninis and wine, and had a wonderful swim.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2022 by luckybecky

[luckybecky]

We were here for about an hour and a half. Our guide gave us the option to stay longer, or leave sooner if we wanted to see some caves. In hindsight I wish we had stayed at the beach longer. I thought we would be swimming in the caves, but this was not the case.

 

The first cave had a bit of a line, then we got into a boat for a very short ride in the cave. It was beautiful. It was like the cenotes we have seen in Mexico. I dipped a hand in the water; it felt much too cold for swimming, and that wasn’t an option anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second cave was very large and almost deserted. We spent several minutes looking around. Both caves involved a descent and a bit of a challenging climb back up, the second more so than the first. They could be an issue if you have mobility problems. Of course this was a private tour, so you can choose which activities to do, or not. 

 

 

 

[luckybecky]

Finally, we went to a deserted town that had been inhabited for hundreds of years, but abandoned after a devastating earthquake in 1953. We were the only ones there. It is off the beaten track and not something most tourists would see, I gather.

 

 

 

[luckybecky]

Back on board at 5pm, we got cleaned up and went to dinner.

 

 

 

Vidalia onion tart -- very good

 

 

Insalata caprese

 

 

tenderloin

 

 

Lobster

 

 

After Paul finished his lobster tail, the waiter asked if he would like another. Well, sure! The waiter brought it quickly, just the lobster without the sides.

 

Baked alaska

 

 

Molten chocolate cake

 

 

This was our second elegant night. Many people dressed up, but also many that were somewhat more casual. Not wearing shorts, but men in polo shirts and slacks.

 

The German couple seated at the table net to us whom we enjoyed chatting with every night, it was her birthday. They brought her an amazing chocolate cake and sang happy birthday, and the couple shared the cake with us. It was delicious.

 

[luckybecky]

Next we went to the Jersey Boys tribute show with a group called the East Coast Boys. 

 

They were very good, but a highlight of the show was a wardrobe malfunction when one of the guys struggled for several minutes to don a jacket. There was something wrong with his sleeve and he couldn’t get his arm through. Finally he gave up and went through his moves appearing to have a missing hand. Everyone in the audience and even his fellow singers were laughing.

 

 

 

[luckybecky]

Saturday June 25

 

Our last day on board was a sea day. We were very tired from going strong day after day. I think we slept almost 11 hours.

 

Once we finally got up we went for a 3 mile run on the treadmill, returned to our cabin for a shower and then the buffet for lunch.

 

After lunch we watched the belly flop contest for a little while. It was funny but looked like it was going to go on for quite awhile, so we moved on.

 

 

We wandered through the shops once more but they really didn’t have much to offer and we aren’t big into shopping anyway.

 

I checked our online account and saw two strange charges for $16?? each in the Windjammer Marketplace. We had not purchased a single thing onboard so I wasn’t sure what this was. Went to stand in the Guest Services line. Now we all know GS is going to be busy on the last day of a cruise. It seems to me that this would be a time for “all hands on deck,” but that was not the case. There were only a couple of people working and I was in line for more than half an hour.

 

Finally it was my turn. The lady said we had purchased two glasses of wine at a cost of $27 each. At lunch. In the buffet. Because we had the drink package, it credited us $13 per glass, leaving us owing $14 each plus 18% gratuity.

 

Now we had made very extensive use of the drink package and had many glasses of wine but none of them cost $27 each. If we were going to splurge on expensive wine it certainly would not have been at the buffet. And we were never presented with a check to sign or we would have questioned the charge on the spot.

 

The GS lady said she would have to call the bar manager to remove the charge. We checked our account later and it had been removed.

 

They had an English tea in the Colony Club with the orchestra playing big band music. We enjoyed the little tea sandwiches, scones, and tarts. Several officers and the cruise director were there. We also packed in the afternoon. Sorry, I took very few photos today. 

[luckybecky]

Sorry my dinner menu photo is blurry.

 

 

We had the Asian style pork tacos and roasted tomato soup

 

 

 

 

salmon tartar, cheese plate (too much for one person, I thought it was enough to share) -- the grapes were *huge* so the portion size of the cheeses isn't as small as it might appear in the photo

 

 

 

roasted rack of lamb, and I had the grilled chicken breast from the children’s menu, which I requested with extra veggies. It was a very sufficient portion for an adult.

 

 

 

For dessert I had the fruit plate and Paul had cherries jubilee.

 

 

 

 

After supper we went to the parade of flags in the Centrum. It was fun to watch. Then to the casino for one last try. We didn’t do too badly this trip. We won a little and lost a little. Probably came out a little less than even overall.

 

[luckybecky]

Sunday June 26 Debarkation day

 

We never tag our luggage, we just carry it off ourselves. If you tag it for them to carry off, you have to put it out before 11pm the night before.

 

We set our alarm for 7am. We were already fully packed and had set out clothes for today so it took only a few minutes to dress and get ready for breakfast. The windjammer was busy of course but not a problem to get everything we wanted and find a place to sit.

 

We returned to our cabin to retrieve our things and got off the ship by 8am. We simply scanned our cards and walked off. There was no passport control or customs process. We proceeded to the bus for the 20 minute transfer to Ravenna. We had pre-purchased this. There was no ticket or anything, and no one checking to be sure we had paid for the transfer. I’m sure that some people may have not realized this was not a free service and may have just gotten on the bus without paying.

 

In Ravenna we took the train back to Bologna.

 

We had decided we didn’t want the pressure of having to rush off to make a flight so we stayed one last night in Bologna at Hotel Cavour (we recommend it, good location, good breakfast) and had one last meal of authentic Italian food.

 

We tried a most unusual appetizer: cheese gelato! Imagine ice cream that tastes like blue cheese. 🤔

 

 

 

 

 

You might be thinking that our trip is almost over. We thought so too. 

[luckybecky]

Monday June 27

 

We arrived at the airport three hours early. Our flight was delayed and we took off 1.5 hours late. We had a one hour flight to Munich, where we missed our connection by mere minutes. (The flight was still on the ground but they had closed it for boarding).

 

This leg of our flight was with Lufthansa. We were directed to their customer service counter to rebook. I counted over 100 people in line when we arrived there at 4:30pm and three agents working. The line moved at a glacial pace.

 

Around 5:30pm they began making announcements that the service center would close at 11:30. It was becoming clear that they would not be able to service the entire line by that time. They also announced that they were no longer booking hotels, but there would be a “sleeping center” available at the airport. They brought out a large cart loaded with blankets, and another cart with water and Kit Kat candy bars. There was no offer of any meal vouchers or anything else.

 

I got on my phone and was able to book a hotel near the airport for around $250. I used my laptop to go online with the large travel booking site where I had made our plane reservations. I had to do an

online chat with an agent. He kept insisting that our flight had not been delayed. I told him over and over again that it HAD. We got absolutely nowhere and I became increasingly frustrated with this. Meanwhile, I called United airlines (Lufthansa was their partner) and was on hold for nearly an hour while continuing to argue online with the trip booking website. All this time my husband was still in line for customer service with dozens of people still in line in front of him.

 

Finally, a United rep came on the line and was able to rebook us. We had two choices: fly to Newark on Tuesday and then home on Wednesday, or do the entire journey on Wednesday. If we weren’t going to get home until Wednesday either way, we decided we might as well spend the extra time in Munich.

 

Our luggage was nowhere to be found. The people at lost and found said it was at the Munich airport and would be held until we flew home on Wednesday. I was dubious. Thank goodness I had my trusty carryon with a couple of changes of clothes and toiletries.

 

We took a cab (25 euro for an approx 8 minute ride) to our hotel, arriving at 8pm. We arranged to spend a second night there at a cost of an additional 299 euro. We had left our hotel in Bologna at 10am. All we had accomplished in that time was a 1 hour flight. We had an overpriced mediocre meal at the hotel and retired to our room.

 

[luckybecky]

Tuesday June 28

 

Determined to make the best of it, we explored Munich the next day.

 

The airport is far from the city center and a taxi would be very expensive. Hotel staff told us how to get downtown by taking a bus to the train station, and then a train to the city center. It wasn’t too difficult.

 

We arrived on the train directly in the middle of Marienplatz, the heart of Munich. We did a self guided walking tour using the app GPS My City. It was a lovely day with the high temperature only in the low 70s so we didn’t mind walking. We saw several of the most important city sights and had a delicious authentic German meal for lunch.

 

New City Hall

 

 

The Viktualienmarkt

 

 

View from the tower of City Hall 

 

 

 

Lunch was roast pork, sausages, potato dumpling, and of course a beer

 

[luckybecky]

Hofbrauhaus, a brewery/tavern dating back to 1589

 

 

 

Feldernhalle, an army monument, with a 1660s church in the background

 

 

Hofgarten, an Italian Renaissance style garden dating from the 17th century

 

 

After several hours of walking, we decided to head back to our hotel around 5pm. Rather than paying for their expensive restaurant again, we bought some sandwiches and wine to take back with us and eat in our room. This hotel was nothing fancy, but it was very expensive. When trying to book something yesterday I just grabbed one of the first ones that came up near the airport, that appeared to be midpriced, less than the almost $500 Marriott but more than the $100-150 “budget” hotels.

[luckybecky]

Wednesday June 29

 

A taxi back to the airport was 28 euro, where we had a small breakfast. Thank goodness our flight took off without a hitch!! We inquired about our missing suitcase and they said they “hoped” it would be on this flight. Make sure you save your luggage claim tag! They scanned the tag to track the luggage and we hoped for the best. I was really, really glad I had my carryon with me for our two nights in Munich.

 

All in, our delay in Munich cost almost $1000 – for hotel, taxis and meals, plus train and bus tickets. We hope that much of this will be reimbursed by the airline and/or our trip insurance.

 

Incredibly, our checked bag made it to Newark with us!! Hooray!

We had a 5+ hour layover, and then found ourselves in the worst airline seats we have ever had on our rebooked flight to San Antonio – the very last row, next to the lavatory, in the smallest seats I have ever seen. It was a miserable flight after a long day, but – we made it home!!

 

So that's been a lot of posts and photos. If you are still here, thanks for following along in our journey. I hope you've found some useful information. I'll be back in a bit with a few final thoughts about our overall impressions of Royal Caribbean.

[vjmatty]

Thank you for this thread, we’re on this same Brilliance itinerary in October 2023 and looking forward to it even more now.  

[luckybecky]

Overall impressions of our trip: we had an amazing time, in spite of a few mishaps and misadventures. We know that sometimes things don’t work out perfectly and we try to take it in stride (such as our flight delays or my fall). As I said early on, the traveling is the worst part of travel!! – especially right now as we have all heard about the problems the airlines are having with staffing, flight delays and cancellations. My best advice is to do what we did, build a couple of extra days into your trip at the beginning and end to give time for these unexpected surprises.

 

As for Royal Caribbean, it was a terrific experience overall. The food was excellent, both the specialty restaurants and the dining room. I don’t think I’ll ever do unlimited specialty dining again – it was just too much. We felt like we should use it every night to get our money’s worth, but it was such heavy food and so much of it. Of course you don’t have to eat every bite, but it is easier when you have lighter food in smaller portions. We loved Giovanni’s the best. Chops and Izumi were also good.

 

The crew were amazing. In particular our room steward Chris was so helpful and friendly, and Michael the bartender (casino the first week, R Bar the second week) was great!

 

I wasn’t quite as impressed with the shows. Several of them were excellent, but there were one or two nights where there was no show at all. And they don’t have a comedy club which is one of our favorite things to do on Carnival. But there was live music all the time, all over the ship, which we loved.

 

So I guess all in all, it is just a wash for me if I had to choose between Carnival, Royal, and NCL. We have had excellent experiences on all of them, and each has things they do well. Our favorite cruise line so far is Celebrity but we certainly haven’t written off any of the others. I can’t wait to try one of RC’s Oasis class ships!

 

Please let me know what you think of the review, and let me know if you have any questions. Thanks again for following along!

 

[jcg]

Bravo!  Great review!

[Sunshine3601]

Excellent review with great photos.   Thank you for sharing🤩

Happy to hear your fall didn't impact the rest of your trip. 

[John&LaLa]

Be careful about being to positive here. Some folks don't appreciate it.

 

Glad you had a good cruise

[Kathscof]

Oooo and you got to enjoy Munich too!?!? Amazing!  And I see you went many places I went on Mike’s Bike Tours!  (I remember that one portico place that was just around the corner from the alley and up the street from what our guide called “Gene Hackman Platz” for that amusing reason haha) 

 

and United....oof.....I have not flown them since they tried to strand me in Naples, then Munich, and then DC in one trip, making an 18 hour trip turn into 39 hours in 2007.....at least when United tried to shortchange me, Lufthansa came through with nice help! 

 

Glad and you had a great time!

 

if you love the acropolis for the ruins, I would say you need to visit Paestum in Campania Italy, they have the most well preserved Greek temples outside of the Acropolis......and a much more relaxing atmosphere 🙂

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

Thank you so much for your review.  It was a pleasure to follow along.  I love your positive attitude, patience and flexibility where you made the best of each situation.   

 

And thank you for spacing your photos.  😁

[sgmn]

8 hours ago, luckybecky said:

We ordered some paninis and wine, and had a wonderful swim.

 

 

 

 

 

That beach looks wonderful. 

[sgmn]

Wonderful review  I really enjoyed reading it and great photos. 

Makes me want to go on a Royal Caribbean ship , I haven't been on one since 2019 and I miss her 

 

Sorry to read about both the fall and the disastrous return journey home but you have the right attitude to make the best of things. I hope your insurance pays up. 

 

Thanks again 

[dani negreanu]

Thank you for a very enjoyable review.

 

I was riveted.

 

I wish I had your positive attitude to take things in the stride 😕