Just Off Brilliance Iceland/Norway -- Questions Welcome

[GuelphGal]

Yes the pools are heated. We were in them pretty much every day. They were definitely warmer than the air temperature (low 80s I believe). The hot tubs at the main pool are a big hit as well with the children.

 

The solarium does advertise that children are allowed in that pool during inclement weather, but I don't know what the definition of bad weather would be. Quite honestly, since it is a rather relaxing refuge for the adults, I wouldn't feel right letting my 7 year old go in that pool, bad weather or not. There are plenty of other activities for children to do for the short time that it might be bad weather.

[Kmcspoon]

Yes the pools are heated. We were in them pretty much every day. They were definitely warmer than the air temperature (low 80s I believe). The hot tubs at the main pool are a big hit as well with the children.

 

The solarium does advertise that children are allowed in that pool during inclement weather, but I don't know what the definition of bad weather would be. Quite honestly, since it is a rather relaxing refuge for the adults, I wouldn't feel right letting my 7 year old go in that pool, bad weather or not. There are plenty of other activities for children to do for the short time that it might be bad weather.

 

I actually agree with you. I wouldn't want to encroach on the adults refuge. Even if we were perfectly quiet and well-behaved, which I would expect, I would still feel as if we were intruding.

 

I did wonder if the pool was offered at certain times only for the kids if the weather was so cold or windy they were confined mainly indoors. My kids are used to finding a lot to do without a pool, and we have already set aside a pile of books, card games and such.

 

I remember on my Alaskan honeymoon cruise 18 years ago, we were the only non-retired people on our ship. My husband would swim in the outdoor pool, and there were actually ladies that would come to the edge of the pool and either scold him for trying to "catch his death" with a cold, or implore him to get out because they were worried for his health. It was heated, but the outside air temperature was in the 30's. He will swim in almost any weather, and my older boys are pretty much like their dad!

[WhoKnowsWhere]

This is actually a good question. For the most part, the seas were relatively calm, especially for the North Atlantic. IMO, no different than any "open ocean" cruise we've taken, including British Isles, Med, and even Caribbean. Maybe a BIT rougher than the Caribbean in good weather. About 1/3 of the time, you could feel some swells but nothing major.

 

One night, things were a bit rough in that we were rolling side to side. A few things on the shelves were sliding off and the drawers/closets wouldn't stay shut. We put everything breakable away and pushed stuff up against the closets to keep them closed. We don't get seasick so that wasn't an issue. After about 4 hours, things were more or less back to "normal."

 

Obviously, weather is unpredictable. If you're prone to seasickness, I would get a "bandaid" patch or other medication; some is also offered on board. I would also shoot for mid-summer when your chances of good weather/seas improve.

 

Bottom line: other than the one night, all was fine. Overall, the captain was very good about discussing sea state each day and I didn't hear complaints about folks finding it to be an issue.

 

Thanks for this, I've only been on one cruise so far, in the Western Med. We took Seabands and tablets and didn't need them. I have had very bad experiences in the English channel on seacat ferries in the past, but obviously cruise ships are a great improvement on these vessels.

 

I second your thoughts on Reykjavik and Bergen, having visited both in the past. I love Scandinavia.

[Brigbound]

Thank you ggo for this information and your willingness to answer questions.

DW and I have talked about this itinerary for a future cruise. I'm subscribing to this thread for future reference.

 

Thanks again, it's kind of you to do this.

 

Brig

[ggo85]

You're most welcome. I get so much good info from this site; it's good to be able to give back.

[betsyl]

Thank you for answering all my questions. Sounds like a wonderful cruise and we are seriously considering it for next summer. :D

[ggo85]

I don't think you'll be disappointed and it's easy to add days in London/England on either end.

 

I will say the ports aren't as "dramatic" as a Baltic cruise so for folks who haven't done one of those, you might want to do that first. However, these ports are more exotic and intimate and the cruise, IMHO, more "relaxing" b/c the ports aren't so intensive. It's also cheaper b/c you can do several ports on your own or with cheap/short tours.

 

Expect a good percentage of non-Americans. We found lots from the British Isles, Mexico, Eastern Europe . . . people from almost everywhere in the world although few from the Far East. Really neat!!

[anniegb]

This thread is so helpful! Thank you for being willing to answer questions.

 

We are on the Brilliance transatlantic this September. We are taking our family with kids 13, 12, 5. I was wondering if the outdoor pool is heated? I am taking it from you comments that it is not, but wanted to be sure.

 

If the weather is bad, does the ship sometimes allow children under 16 into the Solarium?

 

Our kids are very able to entertain themselves without a pool, but I know getting some exercise helps on long sea days, and they are too young for the fitness center.

 

Thank you again!

 

On cold weather days, children are allowed in the solarium.

 

Annie

[anniegb]

Bergen -- (full day) We had been there before. Walked to the funicular and took it up. Great view/photo ops. Cost is minimal (~$5 each way). Walked down then walked around town. Decent shopping. Prices for sweaters is very high (~$400 apiece for the real deal).

 

Geiranger -- (full day) We had also been there before. There is NOT much to do on your own -- i.e., without some sort of organized tour. If you have not been there before, recommend doing either a ship's tour or organizing your own. You CAN book last minute tours on the pier; there is a place to do so right as you disembark the ship. There are a couple of souvenir shops right off the dock. We were able to dock at the new dock, vs tendering, which was great.

 

Keswick (Shetland Islands) -- (~5 hours) This port was somewhat of a disaster in terms of logistics. It's a tender port. For reasons that are somewhat unclear, it took FOREVER to get people off the ship. We were only there from 11:15 - 4:30 and most people didn't get off the ship until after 2. RUN, do not walk to get an early tender ticket; you'll thank me later. It's a nice little town that you can easily walk around in. There is a museum that I wish I'd had time to see which is a short walk from the pier. Lots of little shops that are NOT touristy. Pretty scenery. Don't know how hard it is to book a private tour but I would be wary because of the challenges of tendering and the short timeframe in port.

 

Faroes (forget name of port) -- (full day) Did a ship's tour to the Vestmanna Cliffs. It's a 90 minute bus ride each way. Then a 2-hr boat tour. At first, we weren't impressed. Then we went into/inside the cliffs. VERY impressive. I felt it was worth doing and the cost ($109 pp) was reasonable for the 5.5 hours. I think this would be a bit tough to do on your own but, who knows? There is NOTHING near the ship. There is a shuttle from the ship to the town about 1 Km away (but not walkable due to no room on the road) but there is very little in and around the town to do on your own other than a bit of shopping. IMO, this is a good port for a ship's tour.

 

Reykjavik -- You're here for 1.5 days. LOTS to see and do. This is a great port for doing tours on your own and I highly recommend it. PM me if you want details on the company we used. We had some special requests (I had formerly lived in Iceland) and so did a private tour (just us and the guide) for 10 hours. Truly exceptional!! Places to see are Gulfoss (waterfall), geyser, and Blue Lagoon. The "golden circle" is a full day tour but many impressive sights. Blue Lagoon is a milky bath that's essentially drainoff from a geothermal plant. It's WONDERFUL. You can spend an hour or a day!Most people do Golden Circle on day 1 and Blue Lagoon on Day 2. You can rent a car and many did -- but if you let someone else drive, you can enjoy the scenery. And there are some places you'll miss unless you know where they are.

 

The ship docks a good 45-minute walk from the town and there is nothing other than a small gift shop on the pier within easy walking distance It's an easy, flat walk along the water but it's a good hike. There is a shuttle to town -- takes about 10 minutes and costs $12 each way. Runs every 15 minutes. There's not much to see in town. There are a number of good shops selling mostly Icelandic sweaters and related souvenirs. You can do a lot of damage in terms of shopping in less than .5 miles and less than 2 hours. This is an option for day 2.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Some facts re the stuffed up job on Lerwick Tenders:

 

1. Compass stated that tender tickets would be issued from 1000 - they were issued from 0800.

2. Crew tendered ashore ahead of passengers.

3. Port charges refunded because of issues.

4. Port used as a training exercise for crew in tenders.

5. Ropes snapped during tendering.

 

Annie

[anniegb]

Yes the pools are heated. We were in them pretty much every day. They were definitely warmer than the air temperature (low 80s I believe). The hot tubs at the main pool are a big hit as well with the children.

 

The solarium does advertise that children are allowed in that pool during inclement weather, but I don't know what the definition of bad weather would be. Quite honestly, since it is a rather relaxing refuge for the adults, I wouldn't feel right letting my 7 year old go in that pool, bad weather or not. There are plenty of other activities for children to do for the short time that it might be bad weather.

 

I visited the solarium 8 days?? it is most definitely NOT an adult only area.

 

It was booked by the Teens club in the evening on occasion.

 

Annie

[Missus Makkem]

The OP has a lot of very useful information in his/her posting but please be aware that Liverpool and Liverpool street station are 2 very different places.

One is the other side of the country and the other a London underground station with a mainline station attached to it, that will take you to the ship.Liverpool will take you miles away.

[luvseaair]

So glad that I found this thread, thanks OP for posting. We are sailing on the Brilliance to the Baltics on 19/8 with our 14 year old son, sounds like we will all have a great time. Like the idea of the teen club booking the solarium for an evening as it shows they must have a good variety of activities.Son is a strapping 6 foot rugby player, he is keen to use the gym with my DH, will he be able to? Are there a good selection of onboard movies, looking forward to catching at least one of these. :)

 

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[anniegb]

So glad that I found this thread, thanks OP for posting. We are sailing on the Brilliance to the Baltics on 19/8 with our 14 year old son, sounds like we will all have a great time. Like the idea of the teen club booking the solarium for an evening as it shows they must have a good variety of activities.Son is a strapping 6 foot rugby player, he is keen to use the gym with my DH, will he be able to? Are there a good selection of onboard movies, looking forward to catching at least one of these. :)

 

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The most recent movie was Lincoln. They also screened Notting Hill, Soul Surfer, Singing in the Rain - sorry I cannot remember the rest.

 

Annie

[negc]

On cold weather days, children are allowed in the solarium.

 

Annie

 

Cold weather or rainy weather days, but only for a limited number of hours (perhaps two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon) and accompanied by an adult. It has always seemed to be a reasonable allowance to my mind, and in our experience, families who made use of the solarium during those hours were very good about observing the time restrictions. The solarium, in our experience, has rarely been very busy in the evening so reserving it one evening for the teens again doesn't seem much of an imposition.

BTW, the mexican restaurant is Rita's (not Rick's) Cantina.;)

[anniegb]

Cold weather or rainy weather days, but only for a limited number of hours (perhaps two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon) and accompanied by an adult. It has always seemed to be a reasonable allowance to my mind, and in our experience, families who made use of the solarium during those hours were very good about observing the time restrictions. The solarium, in our experience, has rarely been very busy in the evening so reserving it one evening for the teens again doesn't seem much of an imposition.

BTW, the mexican restaurant is Rita's (not Rick's) Cantina.;)

 

Except when they flooded the area around the Park Café ?? I also saw many toddlers in the solarium after 1800 - maybe I was unlucky??

 

My only issue is that they advertise it as an adult only solarium when it is clearly not - that to say the least is a misrepresentation.

 

The children and teens on board apart from that incident were without exception far better behaved and more polite than many an adult.

 

Annie

[negc]

Except when they flooded the area around the Park Café ?? I also saw many toddlers in the solarium after 1800 - maybe I was unlucky??

 

My only issue is that they advertise it as an adult only solarium when it is clearly not - that to say the least is a misrepresentation.

 

Annie

 

Perhaps you were, as I never experienced a similar situation, the many times we have sailed on BR's sister ship, JW. I'd also be interested to know what was done to cause the area around the Park Cafe to be flooded. The pool crew or security personnel should have been contacted if there were toddlers in the pool after 6 pm. If you consider the four out of twenty four hours that families are allowed into the solarium pool, and then only when weather conditions make the outdoor pool unusable, to be a misrepresentation, I guess you are correct, but most printed material I have seen includes information regarding the weather conditions and the limited hours when non-adults are allowed access.

[ggo85]

The OP has a lot of very useful information in his/her posting but please be aware that Liverpool and Liverpool street station are 2 very different places.

One is the other side of the country and the other a London underground station with a mainline station attached to it, that will take you to the ship.Liverpool will take you miles away.

 

Fair point and correct. I did mean the Liverpool subway station. My apologies for any confusion.:o

[ggo85]

Some facts re the stuffed up job on Lerwick Tenders:

 

1. Compass stated that tender tickets would be issued from 1000 - they were issued from 0800.

2. Crew tendered ashore ahead of passengers.

3. Port charges refunded because of issues.

4. Port used as a training exercise for crew in tenders.

5. Ropes snapped during tendering.

 

Agree! To add to this . . . the sea state was low (i.e., it wasn't rough) and the weather was very good (i.e., no wind or rain).

 

There were problems with the guys driving the tenders. Ours kept running into a fishing boat moored along the left side of the pier even though the docking area was on the right side. It took literally 15 minutes to dock when it should have taken about 2. Later in the day, officers drove the tenders.

 

The ticket process was very inefficient for the later tenders. We were supposed to start tendering at 11:15. As of 1:00, only 5 of 34 tender numbers had been called. Many people simply gave up and decided not to go ashore. So, by the time our tender (21) was called at 2:05, it left only about 1/2 full. What they should have done was call 21 and 22 and continued to fill the tender with #22 ticket holders until it was full and so on. This wasn't done.

 

The most discouraging thing was that the ship's announcements suggested the problems were due to weather and seas. My DH and I have driven ships; we know bad weather, bad currents, bad tides, etc. Trust me, this was not the case on this day in this port. The seas were incredibly calm -- no issues boarding the tender (have boarded tenders in the past where they bobbed up and down like corkscrews) or any problems on the ride over (have ridden when the seas were so choppy half the people wanted to vomit).

 

They also announced that the delay was due to the tender ride taking 15 minutes. No, the trip took 5 minutes (from time tender left ship to time it docked). The extra 10 minutes was the tender drivers being unable to dock the tenders. The lack of candor was a bit disappointing, if somewhat understandable.

 

IMO, the problems were: too little time in port to tender such a large ship; poor ticket/tender management; and poor seamanship skills.

 

The good news is that, b/c the port was small, most people were able to experience most of what they wanted to do and the situation, while far from ideal, did not IMO mar the cruise.

[luvseaair]

The most recent movie was Lincoln. They also screened Notting Hill, Soul Surfer, Singing in the Rain - sorry I cannot remember the rest.

 

Annie

 

Thankyou Annie, something for everyone there.

 

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[star cruiser 1]

So glad that I found this thread, thanks OP for posting. We are sailing on the Brilliance to the Baltics on 19/8 with our 14 year old son, sounds like we will all have a great time. Like the idea of the teen club booking the solarium for an evening as it shows they must have a good variety of activities.Son is a strapping 6 foot rugby player, he is keen to use the gym with my DH, will he be able to? Are there a good selection of onboard movies, looking forward to catching at least one of these. :)

 

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Hi we are also on the 19/8 sailing to the Baltics, I am with my 13 year old son who also plays rugby let's hope they will meet up in the teen club.We are really

looking forward to the cruise not long now.

[GaryfmCol]

You're most welcome. I get so much good info from this site; it's good to be able to give back.

 

 

Even for us...we're on the August 31st, T/A from Harwich.

We have some of the ports you visited.

There is some very good information here for the Faroe Islands and, Rekyjavik Iceland...

 

Nice postings for the ship too.

 

Good job. :)

 

Gary

[luvseaair]

Hi we are also on the 19/8 sailing to the Baltics, I am with my 13 year old son who also plays rugby let's hope they will meet up in the teen club.We are really

looking forward to the cruise not long now.

 

That would be good. Am beginning to think we won't see much of him apart from meal times & tours, lol. We've never been on a cruise before but on researching it seems to cover everything. I'm also looking forward to the sea days as we have quite a few ports one after the other so will ned to recharge batteries on those days. Can't wait :)

 

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[star cruiser 1]

That would be good. Am beginning to think we won't see much of him apart from meal times & tours, lol. We've never been on a cruise before but on researching it seems to cover everything. I'm also looking forward to the sea days as we have quite a few ports one after the other so will ned to recharge batteries on those days. Can't wait :)

 

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No you won't see much of your son once he has made friends, he will have a great time in the teen club, their is so much to do he will never be bored. This will be our tenth cruise forth time on the Brilliance, I never get bored of cruiseing I am sure you will be converted and want to do it again and again. If you need any info ask away. Not long now.

[ggo85]

The port days aren't too intensive, other than Reykjavik Day 1. Of course it depends on what you do in each. But the itinerary is not nearly as exhausting as the Baltic cruise -- but just as nice and interesting in its own way!

[elainemasey]

We sailed the Baltic 2 years ago with my then 14 yr old son on the Jewel. I would suggest he go to he teen club that 1st night. He met a lot of kids that night that were all there to make friends as well. He still hears from a couple on Facebook.

 

We also arranged our own meet and great with our new cruise critic friends that also had children the same age ( although everyone was welcome). We just picked a lounge and met after life boat drill. The boys took off real fast together to explore the ship and my husband and I made some fiends before the "ships" meet and greet which was very boring.

 

 

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