Brilliance Questions??

[pj-atsea]

I haven't sailed on RCCL for many years and I have a question or two about the Brilliance.. Firstly, if anyone has sailed her recently, what kind of shape is she in? I saw that she hadn't been refurbished since 2005 and was wondering if she was getting shabby. Secondly, I was considering a Mediterranean cruise( Round trip Barcelona) and wondered if anyone had any thing negative to say about this cruise on the Briliance Thanks. We are trying to choose between that cruise and one on The Jewel of the Seas going to Northern Europe. pj

[JackieJ]

We did the Med in Sept/Oct 2008. Not one negative, we loved every minute!

[Ashland]

I haven't sailed on RCCL for many years and I have a question or two about the Brilliance.. Firstly, if anyone has sailed her recently, what kind of shape is she in? I saw that she hadn't been refurbished since 2005 and was wondering if she was getting shabby. Secondly, I was considering a Mediterranean cruise( Round trip Barcelona) and wondered if anyone had any thing negative to say about this cruise on the Briliance Thanks. We are trying to choose between that cruise and one on The Jewel of the Seas going to Northern Europe. pj

JOS Northern Europe...nothing more to say....:D

[cb at sea]

RCI really takes care of their ships---I doubt it's "shabby"!

[pj-atsea]

Didn't mean to imply that they don't take care of their ships but sometimes after five years since a refurbishment, a ship can show some wear and tear. The info I got may be wrong and they may have had some refurbishment done recently. Just wanted some input about the ship so we can make a decision.

I like the itinerary they have, for both of the cruises I am considering. pj

[Loyal2RCCL]

The Brilliance was drydocked in 2008-- we sailed her shortly after in June '08 and the ship was in excellent shape.

[Sue L]

I took the rt Barcelona in October and the cruise was wonderful and the ship still beautiful (was on it 2 years ago for Panama) it is one of our favorites. The weather in ports was mostly wonderful but if I were to do it again I would go latest first sailing in Oct instead of the middle as we hit horrible storms at sea.

 

 

Any specifics please ask away.

[tennis837]

We sailed her on a 11 day repositioning from San Diego to Alaska and back to Vancouver in May '09 and the ship is in beautiful shape and one of our favorites. You won't be disappointed. We are thinking of doing the repositioning to Tampa when she leaves the west coast this fall.

[mauimary]

We have done 3 cruises on the BOS and she is a beautiful ship. We too did the Med. in Mid Oct 2008 (Venice). We left from Barcelona and will be on this ship once again Oct 2010 and will be going to Greece and Turkey this time. Our weather was great in 2008 so we are hoping for a repeat this Oct.

[coxswain]

Sailed on her in Oct - wear and tear but still in good ship and shes our favourte ship.

 

 

 

 

 

jj.....

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Fantastic ship, and the Med cruise is amazing, we went end of June and the weather was just perfect the whole time and Sea was very calm. :)

[pj-atsea]

The Brilliance was drydocked in 2008-- we sailed her shortly after in June '08 and the ship was in excellent shape.

 

Thanks, That is the information I was looking for. pj

[pj-atsea]

Thanks for your replies. I was hoping for positive responses since , out of the two cruises I am considering, that seems to be the itinerary I like best. Thanks again. I may have more questions later once I book the cruise. pj

[BMT]

Just off the Brilliance on the Christmas cruise and we had a lovely time as usual.

 

She is in good shape of course. But there were many dissatisfied guests this time for various reasons. May be resting on her laurels and staff becoming uppity. Happens.:D

 

One thing which absolutely infuriated me. The weather was poor until we reached Alexandria. We stay on board at Alexandria and were on B2B, so went there twice. When we went to have lunch on the aft deck for the first cruise, only the starboard inside/outside was open to us. The portside, aft deck and upper deck at Seaview cafe was closed for a staff barbecue!!

 

Then on the Christmas cruise, late breakfast and lunch all the metal doors to the aft were closed, although many guests stayed on board. When I protested, they unwillingly opened the starboard inside/outside for passenger use. Many guests were angry. It was annoying that on each cruise, only three or four tables on the aft deck were being used by staff - it was mostly empty.

 

The excuse given was that the Staff Restaurant has to be closed for deep-cleaning, otherwise we would all be ill.:confused: Since this has never happened on a previous cruise, I am mystified. Anyone care to enlighten me?

 

I have never experienced passenger dining areas being closed for staff use during the day.

[DGF]

Just off the Brilliance on the Christmas cruise and we had a lovely time as usual.

 

She is in good shape of course. But there were many dissatisfied guests this time for various reasons. May be resting on her laurels and staff becoming uppity. Happens.:D

 

One thing which absolutely infuriated me. The weather was poor until we reached Alexandria. We stay on board at Alexandria and were on B2B, so went there twice. When we went to have lunch on the aft deck for the first cruise, only the starboard inside/outside was open to us. The portside, aft deck and upper deck at Seaview cafe was closed for a staff barbecue!!

 

Then on the Christmas cruise, late breakfast and lunch all the metal doors to the aft were closed, although many guests stayed on board. When I protested, they unwillingly opened the starboard inside/outside for passenger use. Many guests were angry. It was annoying that on each cruise, only three or four tables on the aft deck were being used by staff - it was mostly empty.

 

The excuse given was that the Staff Restaurant has to be closed for deep-cleaning, otherwise we would all be ill.:confused: Since this has never happened on a previous cruise, I am mystified. Anyone care to enlighten me?

 

I have never experienced passenger dining areas being closed for staff use during the day.

 

Troublesome to say the least

 

How was the food quality and selection?

[leftyrn]

We did this cruise B2B in Sept/Oct 2007. It was the most memorable of all the cruises we have ever taken. Total cruise days in the Mediterranean was 24 days and I would love to do it again. It was a perfect itinerary for both cruises.

 

We also cruised on the Brilliance to Panama in 2005.

 

We love the bartender in the Hollywood Oddessey Angela. I never thought the ship was in bad condition. Great service.

[BMT]

Troublesome to say the least

 

How was the food quality and selection?

 

The food was as usual - we have no problem finding something on the menus. The New Year meal was nothing to shout about - just a normal menu foodwise. But for foodies, there is either Chops or Portofino. The Brilliance is our favourite ship normally and we had a marvellous time on the first leg - great bunch of people in the Concierge Lounge. The second leg.........we hardly used the CL - others muttered about the situation, but as D+ we just avoided the issues and went to Angela's occasionally. We don't drink, so we use the CL more during the day.

 

I did read that on the following cruise, there was a staff 'appreciation' party that went on until 2.00 am in the Theatre and disturbed those guests in the cabins above and that the Guest Relations just shrugged off the complaints. I would have been furious at being kept awake until 2.00 am.

 

I am being an old fogey, but in the good ol' days of cruising NOTHING would be done that might impinge on the comfort of guests, unless in emergency situations.

[compman9]

In answer to the OP's question; yes, I do think it looks shabby. I got off in Dubai a couple of weeks ago after the 14 day from Barcelona and a quick run down of my opinion - just my opinion, by the way...

 

Theatre: The shabbiest I have seen by a mile. It looked like a village hall compared to the others I have seen. The chairs are very worn and tired and the stage area is very well trodden.

 

Windjammer: Considering the age, I thought this was very good. A few scuffs here and there, but I thought it was fine.

 

Room & Balcony: I thought the room was fine, perhaps surprisingly so considering the age. I found the bed comfortable personally, but I could appreciate that some might not. It had dents and crevices as any well worn bed would. The balcony was poor. Varnish falling off the rail, the two chairs were patched up and the paint was peeling from the overhang. The bathroom was fine as well - a couple of broken rails in the mirror cupboard, but that's all.

 

Casino: This was similar to the theatre. A bit of a dingy hole to be honest. The lighting didn't help and all the chairs were very well worn.

 

Schooner, Champagne bar, Colony Club: All very well kept in my view. A few chairs in the Colony could do with replacing, but I thought these areas were very well maintained and in good condition.

 

Lobby: Nothing shabby here, a bit dull, but that's just my view. It was in very good condition.

 

Pool: Also well kept. You can see it's a bit old, but apart from the Brilliance sign (very worn out, oddly. You would think this would be replaced immediately), all the chairs were fine and everything looked okay to me.

 

Solarium: Absolutely great. Could be from a brand new ship.

 

Gym: Also absolutely fine. Only one broken machine and everything looked good to me.

 

Seaview Cafe: I think this must be new. It was in excellent shape. The outside seats were really uncomfortable though, but they certainly weren't shabby.

 

I think that's about it; I didn't see the kid's areas. Although the basketball court and golf looked okay.

[Penton]

We have just done the first cruise out of Dubai on Brilliance and think she is in good shape - certainly wouldn't consider her shabby. Having cruised on 11 of the RCI ships she is one of my favourites, I really like the Radiance class.

[canucks4]

We've done three cruises on Brilliance and it is a lovely ship. We had issues with service, staff, missings ports, etc. on our Med cruise Oct.25-Nov.6 (poor weather and issues with decision-making) so I recommend an earlier cruise to catch better weather. As far as the ship's appearance, she is lovely, but I think we took a hit on experienced staffing (over 25% of the staff was yanked and put on the Oasis) and as a result, it showed. Daily, long line-ups at the Customer Service desk - good clue.

[beachnative]

We were with a group of 12 friends on the Jewel in the Baltic in 2007 and the Brilliance round trip from Barcelona in 2009 and ALL of us considered both cruises and ships to be perfect. If there were not other itineraries calling our names we would repeat both in a heartbeat.

[SORIANO]

We were on the Brilliance on December 12th and all I can say is that the ship is in really good shape, is a wonderful ship but the food is the problem. It was very greasy and there was almost the same food every day, such a bad quality, actually my mom got very sick due to the food and also my dad and me had some stomach problems.

[DGF]

We were on the Brilliance on December 12th and all I can say is that the ship is in really good shape, is a wonderful ship but the food is the problem. It was very greasy and there was almost the same food every day, such a bad quality, actually my mom got very sick due to the food and also my dad and me had some stomach problems.

 

Thanks for the heads up

 

As you will note from our signature we are booked on RCI (Brilliance) for 21 days in Jan 2011.

 

We do not expect gourmet quality food as we experienced from time to time on Cunard, Crystal and Oceania; but there is no excuse for anything less than good food

 

DEAN

[DGF]

We were with a group of 12 friends on the Jewel in the Baltic in 2007 and the Brilliance round trip from Barcelona in 2009 and ALL of us considered both cruises and ships to be perfect. If there were not other itineraries calling our names we would repeat both in a heartbeat.

 

When convenient, please advise as to the quality and selection of the food. You will note the recent post where they encountered a major problem in Dec 09 with the food

 

Thanks

 

DEAN

[heatherb1958]

Just off the Brilliance on the Christmas cruise and we had a lovely time as usual.

 

She is in good shape of course. But there were many dissatisfied guests this time for various reasons. May be resting on her laurels and staff becoming uppity. Happens.:D

 

One thing which absolutely infuriated me. The weather was poor until we reached Alexandria. We stay on board at Alexandria and were on B2B, so went there twice. When we went to have lunch on the aft deck for the first cruise, only the starboard inside/outside was open to us. The portside, aft deck and upper deck at Seaview cafe was closed for a staff barbecue!!

 

Then on the Christmas cruise, late breakfast and lunch all the metal doors to the aft were closed, although many guests stayed on board. When I protested, they unwillingly opened the starboard inside/outside for passenger use. Many guests were angry. It was annoying that on each cruise, only three or four tables on the aft deck were being used by staff - it was mostly empty.

 

The excuse given was that the Staff Restaurant has to be closed for deep-cleaning, otherwise we would all be ill.:confused: Since this has never happened on a previous cruise, I am mystified. Anyone care to enlighten me?

 

I have never experienced passenger dining areas being closed for staff use during the day.

 

We have sailed on Brilliance 7 times and have just done the repositioning from Barcelona to Dubai.

 

The management do a lot of activities/parties for the crew on this ship to boost moral. On a day when most of the guests are expected to be on tours they are going to take advantage of a quieter ship.

 

Like yourselves we stayed onboard while we were in Alexandria and Safaga, one lunchtime there was a BBQ for the crew at the aft where the seaview cafe is .That was the only area closed off and it was only for a short while. It was a sunny day and most guests onboard were lying by the pool anyway . I can understand your frustration but I am also for any reasonable steps the management take to keep a happy crew:) .

 

A lot of new crew joined for our sailing so it was an opportunity for them to make friendships and enjoy a little sunshine .What you will not know is that was the only food option for the crew at that time so if you were a vegetarian , tough ! We laughed and joked with our bar servers in the Diamond event about their 'special event' that's when they told us the BBQ was their only food option as the crew mess was closed.

 

We love the Brilliance , the crew onboard and have never been dissatisfied with any of our sailings on her and won't hesitate to go back on her again.