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

[luckybecky]

On 7/11/2022 at 9:51 PM, reney313 said:

I was so thrilled to see a review for this itinerary.  We are going in September and I've been trying to get information on a few different things.  You definitely helped!  (One of them was whether the speed boat in Kotor was worth the time - and I think I'd have the same impression as you).  Great pictures and details. And I'm thrilled with seeing the cruise compass for the same itinerary.  I am happy you made it home, albeit it with a 2 day delay.  I am curious if insurance will cover any of the expenses.  I used insure my trip as well and chose the nationwide plan...

 

 

First of all, thanks everyone who has commented on  my review. I appreciate it. Have been busy the past couple of days and haven't been on the boards, so I apologize for the slow response.

 

Reney313, as for insure my trip, we have not yet filed a claim with them. Waiting to see first if United will cover any expenses, and they are being slow to respond. 

 

I mention this only to point out that if you have a delay like we did, you need to save documentation of everything. I saved receipts of all our expenses, but not documentation of the flight delays. And now I have nothing regarding that. Here is just some of what the Insure My Trip claim form requires:

 

• a copy of the complete trip itinerary including all transportation details and ticket information
• a copy of the complete altered itinerary issued by the travel supplier due to the delay, including reservation numbers
• documentation from the travel supplier indicating the reason and length of the delay
• documentation verifying any refunds, reimbursements... etc
• itemized receipts for additional expenses...

 

I literally do not have any of this except an email confirming our original ticket purchase. So if this ever happens to you, make sure to save everything, even if it's just a boarding pass. They never emailed me a copy of the rebooked ticket reservation with the new flight info. And since I can't get United to answer my queries about reimbursement, I suspect it may be equally difficult to get the other required info from them.

 

On 7/12/2022 at 4:33 AM, GONFERPAR said:

First of all, apologies for my english because is not my mother language.

 

Thank you very much for the review. We will do in September the second week (including Kotor and Argostoli) with the same hours on each port.

 

It is posible to get some complete cruise compass as Kotor o Athens? Because our idea is have lunch on board and after this disembarking and avoid queues and we want to know when starts Windjammer serving lunch. Apart from this, to get more information of the whole day.

 

Thank you very much in advance.

 

 

I'll be happy to post the rest of the Cruise Compass for Kotor and Athens. I'm about to go out but I'll try to get on here later this evening and get them scanned. It was such a wonderful trip. I know you'll have a great time in September and hopefully will have nice weather too. Athens was very, very hot when we were there.

[luckybecky]

@Gonferpar, here is the cruise compass for Athens and Kotor. And don't apologize for your English -- it's excellent, and certainly far better than my Spanish! ☺️

 

As for the Windjammer, there may have been slight differences in the opening times on some days, but it was pretty consistent most of the time. The posted schedule makes it seem that they will close for half an hour between breakfast and lunch, but we did not have this experience. We went at least twice for a late breakfast/early lunch. They did not close down completely but just started gradually transitioning from breakfast foods to lunch around 11am.

 

I hope you have an amazing time on your cruise!

 

Athens:

 

 

 

 

 

Kotor

 

 

 

 

[GONFERPAR]

5 hours ago, luckybecky said:

@Gonferpar, here is the cruise compass for Athens and Kotor. And don't apologize for your English -- it's excellent, and certainly far better than my Spanish! ☺️

 

As for the Windjammer, there may have been slight differences in the opening times on some days, but it was pretty consistent most of the time. The posted schedule makes it seem that they will close for half an hour between breakfast and lunch, but we did not have this experience. We went at least twice for a late breakfast/early lunch. They did not close down completely but just started gradually transitioning from breakfast foods to lunch around 11am.

 

I hope you have an amazing time on your cruise!

 

Athens:

 

 

 

 

 

Kotor

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much, LuckyBecky. This information help us a lot. 😃

 

As I see in both days Windjammer opens at 11:00 for lunch. Then, our idea will be have lunch first and, in the meanwhile, let other travelers disembark and avoid queues in tenders in Kotor and passengers in Athens. This way I think we can disembark calmly and make the visit directly.

 

Good to know the transition in the Windjammer.  👏😀 You never know....

 

We expect the weather will be fine, too. I think September is a good month for Adriatic and Greek zone and not as hot as July or August, for example.

 

Thank you again.

[RosieCanberra]

Oh wow! I'm a bit late to the party but thanks so much for all the detail luckybecky! Cruising Brilliance next year in the Mediterranean, looking forward to it. 

[cft8]

I really enjoyed your review. We haven't done the Med yet but your review definitely ads to the desire. It's neat that you got to see that abandoned town. I love stuff like that. Sorry to hear about your fall.

 

I had a similar experience with Royal's medical on a Bermuda cruise - I slipped off a curb and unfortunately bumped in to a moped that had just been parked and so scraped and slightly burned my calf on its muffler. I went to medical and while they weren't as dismissive with me, I was surprised that they didn't have large bandages available, just bandaids that weren't really helpful for my injury, like your experience. Now I include some large bandages in with the other first aid stuff I pack.

[c-leg5]

Thank you very much for a very interesting review.
 

We have an upcoming cruise to Mykonos. - do you have the details of the tour company  you used?  

[luckybecky]

32 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Thank you very much for a very interesting review.
 

We have an upcoming cruise to Mykonos. - do you have the details of the tour company  you used?  

 

We did Sightseeing With A Mykonian by Matthaios (Matt) Kousathanas, booked on a popular trip advising website. It was great! We started with a young associate of Matt, who was a little inexperienced and shy. He showed us around the main town. Then Matt picked us up and drove us around the island to the monastery and beach. He was great and we really enjoyed the homemade snacks and drinks he provided.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Kudos to you for your positive outlook in the face of stress and pain, and thank you for sharing your awesome celebratory vacation! 

[Preziosa]

When did you turn back the clock......

[CruiseDad-NYC]

Hi, luckybecky - I really want to thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed, well-written review.  I think it might be one of the best I have ever read on Cruisecritic!  The helpful information and photographs were all really great.

 

I took a similar cruise with my family back in the summer of 2019 (a 10 night cruise on the Celebrity Constellation from Venice to Dubrovnik, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Athens, and Katakolon).  I would like to go back!  I am sorry you got hurt - I remembered from our cruise that I had never seen more people injured on a trip (e.g., tripping on bumpy cobblestones to a woman who broke her ankle after a man stepped on it in the crowds of Santorini). People were also passing out because of the extreme heat in Rome and Greece when we were there and one of our memories is how we spent more on water than we did on wine on that trip.

 

When you and your husband hire a driver to take you around for the day (like you did in Kefalonia), how much does that cost roughly? My wife and I have thought about doing something similar but haven't yet and are curious.

 

Thanks again.  My wife and I are thinking of doing a similar cruise again during the summer of 2024 and I will come back to this very terrific review again.

 

 

[luckybecky]

On 8/1/2022 at 4:34 PM, CruiseDad-NYC said:

.....

 

When you and your husband hire a driver to take you around for the day (like you did in Kefalonia), how much does that cost roughly? My wife and I have thought about doing something similar but haven't yet and are curious.

 

Thanks again.  My wife and I are thinking of doing a similar cruise again during the summer of 2024 and I will come back to this very terrific review again.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your kind comments! I really appreciate it. 

 

The driver in Kefalonia cost $306 for a full day. (We booked many months in advance, price may have increased by now -- we all know how inflation is so bad!) Private driver with a very comfortable air conditioned vehicle. Outstanding value. We had hoped to find a couple here on CC to share the day with us and bring the cost even lower, but truly for the service we received it was an outstanding value. We did give our driver/guide an additional tip, and lunch, plus admission to the caves were additional. But not a ton more, it was a very worthwhile day.

[Belgian fry]

Thanks for your review. I'll be boarding Brilliance on 30 October and staying in Bologna beforehand, so that part was or particular interest to me.

 

I have to say I love your attitude in the face of all your travel woes!

[divepal]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:09 PM, luckybecky said:

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. 

 

On 7/8/2022 at 6:09 PM, luckybecky said:

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. 

What a wonderful review.  Do you recall if 8am was the earliest departure time in Ravenna?  Which time did you choose for your train ticket to Bologna?

[fla33023]

What a great couple and a great review. I love all of the happy selfies! This is my dream cruise for just my husband and I when our 7th grader heads off to college! Greece is just breathtaking. I'm so sorry about your fall. Thank goodness it was just that. I'm going to start reading your NCL Spirit Norway review next because I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Thank you for all the work! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

[luckybecky]

On 8/10/2022 at 12:30 PM, divepal said:

 

What a wonderful review.  Do you recall if 8am was the earliest departure time in Ravenna?  Which time did you choose for your train ticket to Bologna?

 

The train runs approximately every hour. I'm not sure what time is the first train, but 8am might be the earliest you could comfortably get there. You have to allow time to get off the ship, wait for the shuttle, and then a 20-30 minute drive to Ravenna from the port.

 

You don't select a time for the train. You just show up and buy a ticket -- it was only about 8 or 9 euro I think. Then you can just get on the next train going your way. You buy the ticket at the tabbachi in the train station. You must validate it, which time stamps it, and I believe it is good for four hours after being stamped. If you have questions about validating it, let me know, I'll try to explain.

 

There is no limit to the number of tickets sold, so the train does not sell out as far as I know. There were no assigned seats. You just get on and grab whatever seat you can. As  mentioned, it was very crowded and we had to stand for the approximately one hour trip when we went from Bologna to Ravenna. We were able to get seats, but not together, on the return trip. 

 

This is a very detailed website about how to purchase tickets and ride the train. https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm It was helpful for us. 

 

I'm glad y'all have found my review and thought it was helpful. I enjoy writing the reviews and am happy to hear that they are useful. 🙂

[Zebby90210]

On 7/8/2022 at 7:09 PM, luckybecky said:

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.

Wonderful review!  Thanks....now I'm late for my chores!  🙂  Where did you find the transfer from the port to Ravenna?  I don't see it as an option in my cruise planner.  Will be on Brilliance out of Ravenna in 4 weeks.

[Preziosa]

We Will also soon Be on Brilliance, the 11. Th of September.

Is it possible to by wine by bottles in the Cruise terminal for taken with us aboard.

[jessica_traveler]

We are considering a back to back cruise on the Brilliance next year.  We have never done a back to back cruise before.  Did you feel that the dining and entertainment choices were varied enough for that length of time?

 

[Lasvegas9]

Thanks for your review of your cruise it was very informative,I’m doing a B2B in late October leaving from Ravanna and was wondering how you pre booked the RCL transfer shuttle  from Ravanna train station to the port as I’m also staying the night before thank you in advance 

 

[Jax129]

On 7/7/2022 at 2:16 PM, luckybecky said:

Hello Cruisers!

 

We recently completed a back to back cruise from Italy to mostly Greek Islands ports. I’ve got a very detailed trip report for you with Cruise Compass for each day, menus and food porn and more.

 

This was our third try for this cruise. In November 2019, my husband turned 60 and for his birthday present, our daughter reserved a Greek cruise scheduled for a few months later. Well, we all know what happened next. We tried to reschedule in 2021, but that didn't work out either. Now it finally happened!

 

Last August, we were able to book a cruise for June 2022, so this gave us almost a year for planning. We originally were going to do just the 7 day cruise, but in looking at the itineraries, we noticed that the cruise the following week went to different ports (only one port, Mykonos, was repeated) and we figured if we were spending the money and time to get to Italy, we might as well make the most of it. So we booked the B2B, using a big box travel agency.

 

I think we got a really good price on our deck 7 balcony cabin. Over the next 10 months, I checked the price many times and never saw it lower than what we paid, and by springtime it was hundreds of dollars higher per person for each leg of the B2B.

 

However, the big box TA that we used does not participate in the royal up program, so we were not eligible for that. I was a little jealous in the weeks before embarkation to see roll call and FB members talking about having their bids accepted, several commenting that their bids had been "weak," and some even upgraded to suites. But it's ok, we chose a balcony cabin that we would be happy with,

even without an upgrade.

 

We were not able to get the same cabin for both legs of the cruise. I checked cabin availability several times and called our TA a few times but was never able to get it done. We would just have to move a few doors down the hall on turnaround day.

Thanks! We were supposed to do Greek Isles in 2020 for my husband's 60th, then moved it to 2021 & then had to cancel.. I'm glad you got to go, we are hoping 2024 will be our year!

[Thesandman12]

On 8/14/2022 at 2:01 AM, luckybecky said:

 

The train runs approximately every hour. I'm not sure what time is the first train, but 8am might be the earliest you could comfortably get there. You have to allow time to get off the ship, wait for the shuttle, and then a 20-30 minute drive to Ravenna from the port.

 

You don't select a time for the train. You just show up and buy a ticket -- it was only about 8 or 9 euro I think. Then you can just get on the next train going your way. You buy the ticket at the tabbachi in the train station. You must validate it, which time stamps it, and I believe it is good for four hours after being stamped. If you have questions about validating it, let me know, I'll try to explain.

 

There is no limit to the number of tickets sold, so the train does not sell out as far as I know. There were no assigned seats. You just get on and grab whatever seat you can. As  mentioned, it was very crowded and we had to stand for the approximately one hour trip when we went from Bologna to Ravenna. We were able to get seats, but not together, on the return trip. 

 

This is a very detailed website about how to purchase tickets and ride the train. https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm It was helpful for us. 

 

I'm glad y'all have found my review and thought it was helpful. I enjoy writing the reviews and am happy to hear that they are useful. 🙂

You did not happen to get the concierge name did you.