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help! Info on Brilliance please, new to RCL

LibraLass41

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LibraLass41

LibraLass41

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I first started cruising last year on P & O ARCADIA - the child free new ship, and have since had a weekender on AURORA, with another ARCADIA cruise 14n to Med in 8 weeks time and a VENTURA weekender booked for 08,!!! so you see i am addicted now.:D

 

Want to do a Venice cruise in 14n or less, and all Southampton cruises to Venice are 16/17n which is no good as can only get 2 weeks off at work.:mad:

 

Now looking at RCL/Brilliance from Barcelona on 22nd June 08, please tell me more about the ship/food/cabins and amount of children there will be in June (term time). I must admit we did like the child free aspect, - we are only in 45/55 age range, but have just finished parenting and enjoy relaxing now.

Advice please appreciated. What is Deck 8 like, balcony midships cabin, and can I arrange a hotel night before the cruise as well.

Thanks,

Sue

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Sue L

Sue L

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We were just on the Brilliance a couple of weeks ago and it was WONDERFUL. The food, service, and entertainment were also wonderful. The schools in the states get off for summer break anywhere from mid May or so to the end of June (northeast) so it is hard to tell in that respect. There was quite a few kids on our cruise even though it was 11 days but there weren't a bother at all. Most of time I didn't realize they were around. The kid's program keeps them very well occupied.

 

We had a D1 aft cabin with a huge balcony (10x14),and a ton of storage and room for the two of us. All the bedding on the Brilliance was just replaced last month and it was so comfy!!! Any other specific questions just ask!!

 

Click on the link in my signature for pictures of the ship.

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Sue L

Sue L

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Were you in The Med on Brilliance?

Are there many Brits on her in Med, what % were americans?

 

Thanks for info so far

 

Sue

 

No we did the Panama Canal. Our friends though did the Med on the Brilliance last year and LOVED it. I actually called them for you about the demographics and for their sailing at least she said it was probably 60/40 Europeans to Americans. They went in the last weeks of August, so many US schools are starting back then. She did say there was still quite a few kids but it is a very port intensive cruise so you are off the ship more than on.

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cb at sea

cb at sea

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Brilliance is a beauty. The food is decent, but NOT 4-5 star, so don't expect "gormet" fare! There will be kids (there always are--when do these kids get an education????) but you won't be unduly bothered by them. Aside from the main pool, (and elevators!) you will hardly see them! There is the adult-only Solarium (the downside being that the retractable roof is seldom, if ever, opened--no tan!) which is a relaxing enviroment for reading, swimming, etc....

We were on her on the next to last cruise before a crew change--the entertainment was ok--(the bands seemed weary) the guest performers rocked, but the production show and particularly, the pool band, weren't that great.

I think you would enjoy this ship.

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wakelover

wakelover

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We sailed Brilliance on the Med Venice cruise....fantastic. We did the itinery which included Capri etc. Fantastic ship....try and get a "hump" cabin....9076 or 9078 or their equivalents on various decks - basically a larger balcony for the same price!!!

 

The ship is BEAUTIFUL.....and what you missed on the Arcadia atrium (ahem....lets not discuss that!!!)...you will make up for on Brilliance

 

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1121179065048089317QxmmWl

 

Go to webshots.com if you need convincing and search for Brilliance, Radiance or Jewel of the Seas...they are all sister ships.

 

We loved her and cant wait to be on the Radiance January 2008!

 

Hope that helps....:D x

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ndlamrow

ndlamrow

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Sue:

My sister-in-law and I did the Mediterranean on the Brilliance in 04. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long. It was a 12-night out of Barcelona. You will love the ship. Not a lot of activity in the evening as it was a hugely port intensive cruise. We were up and off the ship by 7:30 or 8:00 every morning and back about 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening. We loved the ports -- Villefrance, Florence, Naples, Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu and Rome.

 

The ship is just large enough to keep your interest, beautiful in its decor and small enough that you don't feel you're lost at every turn. We loved it. I am anxiously awaiting another opportunity -- perhaps '08 or '09 to do something similar.

 

There were children, but honestly more teenagers than small children. We went the last week of July and the first week of August. Don't know if that had anything to do with the passenger make-up or not. Anyway, it really wasn't an issue. We "hooked" up with a number of folks on cruise critic prior to the trip, booked our excursions through local groups and had an amazing adventure. I'd go back in a minute.

 

By the way, we stayed at Le Meridien in Barcelona two nights pre-cruise. It's right on Las Rambles, we could walk the area in total comfort. This was our first European adventure though, so we were a bit cautious being two girls literally "without a clue" about international travel.

 

 

Nancy

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uktraveller

uktraveller

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We did our very first cruise on Serenade ( same as Brilliance ) last month and had such a fantastic time we just booked a Med cruise out of Barcelona in Aug 2008 on Brilliance. Can't wait that long but no choice!

 

Deck 8 and 9 cabins are good because they are sandwiched between decks of just cabins - we were on Deck 10 before and did get noise from above. We booked a D1 because they are a little bigger than the other balcony cabins.

 

If you are arranging airfare, transfers etc as a package you can easily add hotel stays pre or post-cruise. We were going to book direct with RCI , fly Easyjet and book our own pre-cruise hotel, but got such a good deal with a TA that we booked the whole package through them!

 

Don't worry about the nationality thing. On our caribbean cruise , out of 2100 passengers, there were 1800 Americans, 200 Canadians, several others and only 94 Brits !!!! Plus crew members from 50 nations! We loved every minute! :) :) :)

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Fran Harp

Fran Harp

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Now looking at RCL/Brilliance from Barcelona on 22nd June 08, please tell me more about the ship/food/cabins and amount of children there will be in June (term time). I must admit we did like the child free aspect, - we are only in 45/55 age range, but have just finished parenting and enjoy relaxing now. Advice please appreciated. What is Deck 8 like, balcony midships cabin, and can I arrange a hotel night before the cruise as well.

Thanks,

Sue

 

Hi, Sue. Well, kudos for looking at my favourite RCCL ship :D By June of 2008 Brilliance will be stationed permanently in Barcelona - so I can't say what that will mean about children aboard - I presume that's summer vacation for European schools. We are over 60 and haven't had kids around for years. However, in April just following Easter (holiday time for some of us) there were a few kids on the ship but not that many, and I have to say I never noticed them. During the day I'm presuming they were in the Adventure Ocean programme. There were some young people who were celebrating birthdays on board, but we didn't even notice that either. I found the ship large enough that there were lots of places where you could go - like the solarium (no kids in there), or just down on the aft end sitting in the sun.

 

The cabins on Deck 8 are pretty much like those on Deck 9, I'd say. They have a reasonable size balcony, big enough for two chairs and a small table and room to move. There is more than enough storage space for everything, nice TV, and now the new bedding is in as well. Midships is handy because you are near the library and the elevators and stairs.

 

We enjoyed the food in both dining room and Windjammer cafe, and certainly ate enough of it. The ship is really quite beautiful, lots of glass and open spaces. Late nights we sat in the centrum listening to music or dancing, or else in the Schooner Bar singing around the piano.

 

Wave to the bridge crew from your balcony.

 

 

Fran in Toronto

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Fran Harp

Fran Harp

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Taking Med cruise on May 19. Can any of you recommend a good place to meet on the Brilliance? There several of us CC's that want to meet (prior to M&M). Maybe a nice quiet lounge (bar). Thanks in advance.

Barb

 

Hug Captain Sundet for me :D He's a cute Norwegian with a big bright smile...

 

Fran in Toronto

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