JZ1018

Does Brilliance still have the small glass floor at the top of the centrum that you can stand on?

No. There is equipment for an aerial show, but it was not working for our cruise. The Centrum is open straight up to the 11th floor.

The second night we had dinner at Giovanni's. It was extremely good. Our waiter was Sydney, who also sold us the dining plan. He was very good. We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Everyone came and sang to us at dessert. It was a really nice dinner.

Our second port was La Spezia. In the morning, my wife and I took the train into Pisa to see the tower and other landmarks there. It was awesome and pretty easy to do. I booked the train tickets ahead of time so we had reserved seats. Have to be careful on the train because I almost got pick pocketed while getting on to return to La Spezia. There was a group of 3 girls, about 13 or 14 years old. The first pushed in line between me and my wife while the other 2 got behind me. The one in front was walking very slow. I caught one of the ones behind me trying to reach into my fanny pack. I had nothing important in there. I slapped her hand away. The one in front then moved back behind me with her friends and decided they now had to move quickly. They passed me once I got to my seat and bumped into another guy on the train. I yelled for him to watch his wallet.

After Pisa, we made it back to the port and met our bus for the Tuscan Wine Tasting, which was an RCL tour. It was pretty nice. The bus ride was very scenic, but long.

That night we ate in the MDR and finally met our table mates. Our waiter was Ivy and our assistant was Xie (pronounced see-ya according to her). Both were very attentive to our needs and took care of any issues we had. It was not an issue to order multiple appetizers, main courses, or desserts. The food was very good, but under seasoned. I always had to add salt and pepper.

Breakfast in the Windjammer was good. There were plenty of options for all tastes. But, just like any buffet, get your food when it is fresh and not sitting around for a while. The same goes for lunch and dinner.

Our third port was Civitaveccia (sp). We used Rome in Limo for our excursion. The tour was actually arranged by someone from the Navigator who was in port the same time as us. It was not a problem to have multiple pick ups though. The tour seemed very rushed, but in order to see as much as we did, we had to be rushed. You could spend several months in Rome and still not see everything. Our driver was awesome. Its tough to list everything we saw, but it was quite a lot. Much more than the RCL tours. Before we went to the Vatican, we stopped for lunch at this little local restaurant. We were treated like family. The food was delicious. It was a very good choice to let our driver pick this place. We were back at our ship in plenty of time. It was a great tour.

We stayed in Hotel Catalonia Avinyo for one night after our cruise at 111 Euro for the night. It was very nice and I think very near where you want to be

We stayed here last Monday night after our cruise and before we flew out. The hotel was very nice. We had a room with a king size bed. Our room was definitely large enough, but I did see one other room with 2 single beds that was quite small. The hotel is very near Las Rambles and there are several restaurants close by. We had dinner at Restaurant "My Way". It was recommended by the hotel, which gave us a card, so we got a free glass of champagne. The bed was very comfortable. The shower was hot and strong, but the door only covered half of the opening. The serve breakfast, but we did not have it since we needed to get to the airport for our flight. Hotel had a small pool and hot tub that I did not check out, but my wife said it was nice.

Curious if you saw any drink cards for sale.

I did not notice any drink cards, but I was not looking for them either. My wife and I had the premium package for the entire cruise.

Just got home yesterday from BOTS Med. cruise. Overall, the cruise was fantastic. But like all things, there were things that were good, great, not so good, and just bad.

First, we showed up at the port at 11:15. We were told boarding was between 11:30 and 3:30. However, they took our luggage, and we got in the line for security right away. After security, we got in line. Since we were C&A gold level, we got in the C&A line. No one ahead of us. In the regular line, there we only about 3 or 4 parties waiting at the time. RC was geared up with plenty of people waiting to check us in. We received Sea Pass card and headed for the ship. We were on board sitting in the Solarium with drinks in hand by 11:45. 30 minutes from luggage drop off to sipping drinks. Not too shabby I would say.

Rooms were supposed to be ready at 1:30. At 1:30 we went to out room and it was ready. Not big, but there was plenty of space for storage. Balcony was very nice. We were on the start of the hump, so it was bigger than normal, but not as big as being on the hump. On deck 7, in my opinion, all the balconies are obstructed since you cannot see straight down into the water below.

We signed up for the late seating at dinner since on the post schedule on the web site, the early seating would be before the ship left port most nights. The late seating was advertised at 8:00 PM. On the first night, they announced that dinner would be at 8:45 to accommodate all guest, which was fine. However, for the next 11 nights, the late seating was at 9:00 PM. That was a little late for us. We never went to change it. We were told we could have. But the reason it was pushed back from 8:00 was because the early dinner was also pushed back and hour to accommodate the port schedule. Guest Services told us that dinner for European ports are generally later due to the later port times. I wish they would have advertised this. This was not a real big deal. It just caused us to eat in the Windjammer on the couple of nights that we made early plans with some friends we met on board. Our friends hand My Time Dining. They said that worked out very well for them.

Our first port was Cannes, France. Tendering off was very quick and easy, although since we were on our own, we left a little later. We walked around old Cannes a bit (Le Suquet) and then went out to the Isle St. Marguerite. I wanted to see the fort out there. It was pretty cool. Many of the passengers went to Nice. But luckily, we were all back on board the ship by the time the Jihadi who drove the truck went on his rampage. What a horrible thing to have happen.

I will post more tomorrow. If you have specific questions, please let me know.

Our port was changed from Kusedasi to Chania in Crete. Looking on line at excursions and stuff, I don't see that there is much to do there other than a 5 hour round trip bus ride to Heraklion. Does anyone have any ideas? We are stopping there in 3 days.

Just boarded Brilliance of the Seas in Barcelona. Arrive at the terminal at about 11:15 AM and was sitting in the Solarium having a Bloody Mary by 11:45 AM. Boarding was quick and easy. I will try to post some reviews along the way, but this is my once in a lifetime vacation, so things might have to wait. For boarding, we are just gold level and stood in the regular lines. It was quick and easy.

I am not a lawyer and all my legal expertise comes from watching The People's Court and Judge Judy, but save all your emails and correspondence from her. Especially if you have something in writing that says your niece can go. Send her an email stating that you need the travel letter signed now. If she refuses, or does not sign, that would work in your favor. If your niece does not go, send a certified letter stating your expenses for your niece and a date when you expect payment. If you don't get payment, file in small claims. Otherwise, enjoy the cruise and maybe bring your niece something special back from one of the ports for her good work at school.

Were you able to get some small denominations? If I get euros from a ATM at the airport I'm assuming they will be €20s. Need smaller bills for tips and bus.

I got about 1500 Euro total. It came in an assortment of 100, 50, 20, 10, and 5. No coins. I have enough 20, 10, and 5 to get to the hotel where I should be able to change some of the 100.

I just got some from AAA. Their rates were the best I have found. Ordered today, guaranteed by Friday.

We are staying there one night post cruise on July 25. If I remember, I will post a review.

I think it is more like 4 drinks is the break even point. The first thing you have to do is subtract the automatic 18% gratuity that is added to each drink. For my cruise, that brings the total to about $39 per day. 3 glasses of wine and a bottle of water and its at the cost. You can also grab a couple of bottles of water before you disembark on port days to take with you.

Does anyone have any experience with a company called Ephesus Tours at http://www.************.biz? I accessed them through the Kusadasi Guide web site (kusadasi dot net). I am thinking of booking a private tour with them.

Thanks

I am curious about this too since we a on the July 13th cruise on the Brilliance out of Barcelona. Do you think a car service would be cheaper than a cab? For us its just me and my wife.

The Rick Steve's guide to Med. cruising is a great resource for planning excursions. I have been referencing it to plan some of our excursions on our July 13 sailing on the Brilliance.

Hi,

I noticed that in April/May of this year, there is about a 4 or 5 day break for the Brilliance after is TA repositioning cruise to Barcelona. Is there a bunch of stuff that needs to be done in order to get ready for the Med. season? Or is it possible that they could be installing Voom internet prior to the Med. season starting? Do all ships have a break after they do a TA or repos.?

My wife and I are sailing on the Brilliance in July. Do they change the crews when the ship goes to the Mediterranean? I am glad to hear the crew is really friendly, just wondering if they will be the same come July.

But $20 is like 2 drinks ;) :D

We will be in Cannes for Bastille Day this July 14. Other than the fireworks at night, does anyone know of any other activities that go on this day any where in this region? We don't mind taking the train or bus to get somewhere else.

Don't panic! and remember your towel

Hi,

Currently booked on the Brilliance for July 13. We recently upgraded to a balcony room for a little extra. Now with the new "sale" I noticed that they are giving free gratuities and there is an OBC of $324 for our same room. If you take these off the new price, it is cheaper than what we are currently paying. Here is the question though, In playing around with booking, If you check the box for pre-paid gratuities that says "Free BOGO" it adds $310 to the total price. I figured there would be a credit in the total pricing, but it is no where to be seen. Are the "Free gratuities" really free?

Have you checked out the Euro ports section on this forum? They have many examples of non-RCL excursions that can be a lot cheaper and cover more things. Also, they can give you ideas on what to do on your own. Trip Advisor does many reviews of excursions on there web site that might give you some ideas too. Do some research. It can be a lot of fun and in the end, save you some money and be more rewarding.

If you do the math, the buy on get one half off is only a 25% total discount off a 2 person package. Not as good as 30% off each person. I don't know if actual prices before discounts went up, but this new deal is not as good overall.

JP, just wondering if you are still scheduled to stop in Kusadasi/Ephesus. I have read on these boards that some companies are canceling Turkish ports. We stop in Kusadasi in July. I can't wait. I hope we still go.