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Holiday Reviews > Cruise > Royal Caribbean Cruises > Brilliance of the Seas > Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Ship > Read Reviews
Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Ship Reviews
| Itinerary: |
Med & Adriaric |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Sep 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Co-Op Travel |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr J Cooke |
| Overall
Rating: |
6/10 |
| Comments: |
Price of a drink (Boddingtons under a pint Can) $6-50 plus compulsory 15% service charge.
Watch your drinks they will "clear them away" if you leave the table for a moment!
They will pour your wine liberally into your glass at the dinning table despite you politely informing them that you only have one glass with your meal.
$25-00 per person charge each occasion to dine in one of the other more "exclusive" dinning areas (15% Service charge?)
Fresh squeezed orange in the morning $3-95 plus compulsory 15% service charge.
Glass of Champagne at breakfast $6-95 plus compulsory 15% service charge.
Bottle`s of Champagne cost me $62-00 plus compulsory 15% service charge.
(What the "heck we`re on holiday" but the "Plus 15%" gets me!)
"Nominal charge" from Industrial Port in middle of nowhere $10 per person each way
(Repeatedly described by staff as "Complimentary")
Trips & their "Companion" designer shops ashore "pushed, pushed & Pushed"
$95-00 per person trip on coach (1 1/2 Hr jouney) to Rome could have been purchased for 9Euro return per person on the train that drops you off by the Collesium (Same location as the coach)
The Holiday information leaflets that you receive in your cabin give little or no travel information about finding your way around, the location maps do not always have the road names so are of no use, the "lady" giving the travel information talk knows nothing about the local transport locations because: Quote "we only arange Trips"
Tips for staff: Room attendent; $6-50 per person per day, Table Waiter;$6-50 per person per day, Assistant Table waiter; $3-50 per person per day and the Maitre`de
$0-75 per person per day.
The ships TV channel will "advise" you of the "Tips" persistantly in the final days of the cruise, Plus you "can give more than the advised!"
You are not advised of the "themed" nights before you leave home, so are un-likely to have packed for it, but they will advise you where you can purchase items that you may require for it.
No shower cap for the girls unless you ask for one, this ship may be 5 star afloat but without the small 5 Star extras you receive as standard at a hotel.
The room is not cleaned as good as on the smaller ships (500>600 Guests), i found ear plugs & a sock! in our state cabin. (We had a Deck 10 Double suite)
This ship is absolutely wonderful and if the penny pinching & hard sell don`t bother you the go for it! (We had 12nights for about £3400-00 for 2 adults)
BRING PLENTY OF MONEY YOU`RE GOING TO NEED IT! ENJOY
PS, DID YOU EVER PURCHASE A CAR AND THEN RECEIVE ENVELOPES FROM FORD MOTORS FOR TIPS FOR THE ENGINE FITTER, PAINT SPAYER ETC
NO ME NEITHER!
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| Itinerary: |
MEDITERRANEAN |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
DREMACH ENRIQUE ALMONTE-CHECO |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
This is an excellent choice when planning a cruise vacationing. But above all , if you're planning this trip should yourself consider about art and history and the beauty of every port from Barcelona to Kusadase, Greek islands etc.. Inside the ship yo wont regret this about an excellent treat most of it at the dinning rooms waiter and assistant waiters, remarkable and very enthusiast. If there is something that did not go as we expected was the entertainment; first night excellent acrobatics experience, a great show, but then the pool entertainer and staff was kind of bored ,when talking with others cruisemates get to the point that this was not their best and could get lot much better.
My respects to Captain Zinni , a excellent proffesional and a gentleman above all.
if some reader is trying to get a great choice for a cruise vacation, this it, a 12 night BRILLIANCE OF THE SEAS- EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN.
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| Itinerary: |
Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Ship |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jul 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Thomas Cook |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs C Lane-Cox |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
We recently went on a Cruise on Brilliance of The Seas, it was a great experience, great food, the staff were really helpful and friendly. The only downside was we had our 18 month old daughter with us and apart from a 45min play session on a morning, and that was it. She wasnt allowed in the pool because she wasnt potty trained even though we had swim nappys. Also we went into a playroom where we could borrow toys and my daughter started playing with some and they told me she wasnt allowed to because she was still in nappys.
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| Itinerary: |
Transatlantic |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Apr 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Mrs S J Connor-Brooks |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
This was our first cruise and our honeymoon. It was fantastic and we could hardly fault it at all. The food was great, the shows were great and the staff couldn't do enough to help. The ship was spotless and there were plenty of activities on board. The only thing we thought was a bit of a downside was that the excursions were quite expensive. We had a stop in Cobh for Cork and if we'd know earlier (not the night before from the ship newsletter) that the port was right next to the train station we would have done that instead of an expensive American orientated tour (we are British). Still I suppose we should have done a bit more research and we would have found this out!! We definately want to go on another cruise though as it was a great holiday.
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| Itinerary: |
Tampa, Key West, Cozumel |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jan 2008 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss L Brooker |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
First Class - accommodation, food, service and entertainment. Will definitely cruise again with this company and ship.
We stayed on the 3 deck in beautiful statement room which although had no window was beautifully furnished, quiet and comfortable.
Only negative: the excursions were too costly and we were able to do the same things by arranging them ourselves once we docked for half the cost!
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| Itinerary: |
Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Ship |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Jun 2007 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Miss NEL Nicole |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
Two weeks ago I took a 12 day Mediterranean cruise. Overall I thought the cruise was amazing.
The ship was beautiful and the ports of call were great. There were eight of us travelling together and we had four junior suites. They were very roomy and we enjoyed spending time inside of the cabin. However I did have a few complaints. First were the excursions, we did enjoy most of them but they were quite expensive. Some excursions were necessary for ports of call such as Florence or Rome, because the ship was docked one and half to two hours away. So in order to find transportation would have been very difficult and expensive.
When we were at Venice we did the gondolier ride with royal Caribbean and it was awful. They put four to six people on each boat when it is customary for two to go together and they gave you a bottle of champagne (I think this was their technique to keep the customers from complaining). It cost $118 per person and when my boyfriend and I went to Venice the next day (we had a night in Venice) we took another gondolier ride for $120 for the both of us and the ride was twice as long. The gondoliers were very easy to locate, they are at the main market square, so there was no need to book it through the ship.
The other thing that I found to be quite annoying was the new curfew for teens under 18. I was travelling with my boyfriend who is 20, his parents, grandmother, 20 year old cousin, and 16 year old cousin and sister. I felt like his 16 year old sister and cousin had nothing to do on this cruise. The curfew was at 1 am so the kids couldn’t even hang out very late.
The disco is 18 years and older and a lot of the events in the Colony club were for 18 an older. The only place they really could go at night was the teen disco which they did not enjoy. I personally thought it was ridiculous to put a curfew on 17 year olds. I can understand under 16 but under 18 was too much, the older teens already don’t have much to do on board.
Since my boyfriend and I were between the ages of 18 and 21 we were able to drink with the parent waiver. Even though my parents were not travelling with us, his mom signed my waiver as well as his cousins and we never got questioned. However they waiver system was disorganised they had a list and we were not on it so it took a trip to guest relations to get everything straightened out. I overall really did enjoy the trip it was a lot of fun.
The ship was great, nicely decorated; the food was good, as well as the entertainment. However I don’t know if this was the greatest cruise for kids that are 16 or 17. There were a fair amount of older teens who looked quite bored on ship. I would highly recommend this cruise for anyone else
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| Itinerary: |
Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Ship |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Sep 2006 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr D Brook |
| Overall
Rating: |
10/10 |
| Comments: |
Having just completed my first cruise on Brilliance of the seas from Barcelona with Royal Caribbean I’ve just booked my second next July in northern Europe on Jewel of the Seas, I found nothing to complain about, the food was excellent both in the windjammer which is buffet style, sea view which does pasta etc and in the Mistral restaurant on an evening, the service we received both in the restaurant and cabin was exceptional, if I was to find any fault it would be excursion prices, try the excursions on your own if you feel confident enough rather than pre booked e.g. Rome 198$ per person, Rome on your own 16 euros return on train from outside the port, quicker than the tour bus as well, just be back in time as the ship left 6 people behind as we were only 6 feet from dock side when they appeared we still did not wait for them. Overall a fantastic cruise. Dave and Andréa brook 46 & 43
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| Itinerary: |
3Night Mediterranean Cruise from Ba |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2005 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Not Specified |
| Submitted
By: |
Mr M Dell |
| Overall
Rating: |
8/10 |
| Comments: |
My first ever cruise was on the 138000t RCCL Explorer of the Seas and it was excellent, but the Brilliance is a better ship. Not as big (90000t) but more imaginatively designed and laid out. When anchored out at sea, the view of the ship from the shore is simply jaw-dropping.
I've only given it an 8 rating for the following reasons:
The food is not 10/10, it's good but not the best, and the Windjammer restaurant at breakfast and lunch is usually mobbed. The Seaview Cafe, however, does some great pasta dishes.
There were a few signs of wear and tear and some of the service was a bit amateur, not much but still not worthy of 10/10.
Overall it is a fantastic experience on the ship and if this ship will be your first cruise you will be utterly amazed. If it was a hotel it would be at least five-star!
The itinerary on this cruise was Ajaccio in Corsica and Palma de Mallorca, both fantastic stops and this is something I found on the first cruise, all the stops are top quality, with plenty of excursions if you want.
The cabin was a Superior Ocean View with Balcony (Cat D1) on Deck 10, with plenty of room and a great balcony. The inside cabins are a bit smaller (and a bit of a tomb when you are sleeping), but with so much things to do on board, you won't be spending much time there, so who cares?!!?
One of the best moments was as we anchored at Corsica at dawn, sitting on the balcony and watching as we slowed down, and suddenly seeing fishing and tourist boats racing out to get a close up view of this great white floating palace.
When anchored out at sea, the view of the ship from the shore is simply jaw-dropping.
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| Itinerary: |
Not Specified |
| Date of
Holiday: |
Aug 2005 |
| Tour
Operator: |
Booked Independently |
| Submitted
By: |
Ms K Woo |
| Overall
Rating: |
9/10 |
| Comments: |
We boarded the brilliance of the sea in Barcelona for a 3 night cruise to Corsica in France and Palma in Majorca. It was a huge ship with over 2500 passengers, but didn’t feel crowded at all. Food was excellent and staff were all very friendly and helpful.
There was an excellent free children’s club which provided hours of entertainment for my children.
Stateroom was rather small but very well furnished.
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Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Ship Reviews
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