Brilliance of the Sea

[esms5]

Thinking of booking the 13 night cruise from Boston to Tampa. Does anyone have any balcony room suggestions? What are peoples opinion on the renovations?

 

 

Thanks,

Mary Ann

[cruizers]

Thinking of booking the 13 night cruise from Boston to Tampa. Does anyone have any balcony room suggestions? What are peoples opinion on the renovations?

 

 

Thanks,

Mary Ann

 

Our favorites are the cabins that have the larger balcony and are located mid-ship. For example, 9076/9078 and corresponding cabins on other floors or the Starboard side of the ship. We were on Brilliance in October and loved it.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Caren

[Langley Cruisers]

I can tell you this itinerary is FABULOUS. We did it last year on Jewel (her sister ship) and absolutely loved it. Very relaxing, a bit older demographic because of the length of the cruise, very few kids. We had a balcony cabin on Deck 9, 9216 and this was perfect for us because it was only 2 decks up to the Windjammer, and very convenient overall and no obstructions. We try to avoid a hallway with cabins on both sides due to noise and this filled the bill (the cabins you see on the deck plans are accessible from the other hallway).

 

We were blessed enough to be able to make this a back-to-back and tacked on a 4 night cruise from Tampa when we arrived there, so we had 18 glorious days at sea in all. We figured we would do this since we didn't have to fly anywhere to embark. It doesn't always work out that way so we took advantage of it! It was amazing. :)

 

We haven't sailed Brilliance since her refurb but there are dozens of reviews on the board from those who have.

[jmf123]

If you would be interested in the aft location (fantail, very back of ship), check to see if stateroom 9256 is available. We had the JS right above it and the balconies are large, the views incredible and the location is quiet. They are coveted staterooms and book up quickly. :)

[H2Oregon]

Our favorites are the cabins that have the larger balcony and are located mid-ship. For example, 9076/9078 and corresponding cabins on other floors or the Starboard side of the ship. We were on Brilliance in October and loved it.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Caren

 

The cabins on the hump with larger balconies are nice, BUT watch out for the ones that are right at the opening to the Centrum. We had one of these on the first cruise after Brilliance was refurbished and the noise level from the Centrum was terrible. We could hear every note played and it usually didn't end until midnight. Talked to people that were just a few cabins away from the opening and it was not a problem.

[esms5]

Thanks everyone. We are all booked it will be our longest cruise! So excited! There were not a lot of balcony choices left we ended up with category E2 room 7160 if anyone thinks that is a bad location we can try again.

 

Mary Ann

[Macwoman]

I am booked on this cruise as well. Be sure to find the roll call for the ship as there is a CC member who is keeping track of all of us and our rooms. I have done the 9 day on the explorer and it was soo relaxing...even though we were sailing ahead of a Hurricane. We live in CT so this is a perfect cruise and I really wanted to see these ports!!!

 

Barbara

[jmf123]

Thanks everyone. We are all booked it will be our longest cruise! So excited! There were not a lot of balcony choices left we ended up with category E2 room 7160 if anyone thinks that is a bad location we can try again.

 

Mary Ann

 

Personally, I would stay away from booking a Deck 7 balcony on a Radiance class ship. Many of the views unfortunately are obstructed by the lifeboat covers. And in your case, I believe you will find the overhang of the Colony Club obstructing the view, as well as the balcony dividers not going all the way across.

Please have a look at the photo on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1113995&highlight=7160&page=2. Scroll down to post # 32. (Your 7160 is on the direct opposite side of the ship as 7660 that is mentioned). I recommend keep trying for a balcony available on a higher deck. The Brilliance is lovely, however, the lifeboat covers and short dividers are issues for some.

[esms5]

Hmmm divider doesn't bother us that much but that overhang could be an issue! Is it as unattractive and distracting in person as in pictures ?

 

Mary Ann

[jmf123]

We had a balcony on the Serenade (7112 or 7114 assigned to us via a gty booking) with the lifeboat cover. Given a choice, I wouldn't care to book that again, but hey- we were on a cruise in a balcony! Post #10 on this thread will give you an above-view photo in the area where I believe 7160 would be. Yours is opposite on the ship. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1878092&highlight=7160.

[esms5]

Will definitely call TA in morning. I believe she said there were a few forward balconies on deck 9 and perhaps a couple on 8. Any other ones I should avoid? Thanks for the help!

[esms5]

Help...very limited choices in our price range. We currently have 7160 can change to 8020 which is very forward and has smaller balcony. Any thoughts?

[esms5]

I meant 8028 or 9004 are available.

[mo&fran]

We were on this cruise this year, had stateroom 7662. Balconey was larger than many others, but it was set back from the side of the ship, so you could not look directly down since there was a structure there that was covering the lifeboat area. There are no inside cabins in this area of the ship. This is a deluxe ocean view, which is slightly smaller the a superior ocean view and has a love seat instead of a couch.

Repositioning cruises typically have very few children and lots of high level Crown and Anchor members, and this cruise was no exception.

As a result, the Viking Crown and Colony Club was taken over for happy hour every night.

[esms5]

Did you mind not being able to look down or did you find it distracting ? We typically spend a lot of time on the balcony so larger has it's appeal but lack if view doesn't...

[cb at sea]

You can see the lifeboat covers from EVERY side balcony, no matter which deck. It's just on deck 7, they're closer! Your eyes will automatically go outward to the view! If deck 7 is all that's avail., no worries. The higher you go, the less you pay attention to the lifeboats.....

[CruisinNole]

Hmmm divider doesn't bother us that much but that overhang could be an issue! Is it as unattractive and distracting in person as in pictures ?

 

Mary Ann

It is unattractive in person as well as pictures. We just returned from a cruise on the Brilliance in cabin 7574 with a "view" of the overhang. (We knew what we were getting because we had a cabin on deck 7 on the Jewel a few years ago before we were aware of the overhang.) Since this was a charter cruise and pretty expensive, we went with an E3 knowing that the view would be lousy but we just didn't want to pay any more for the cruise. We made a pact that we would never book a cabin on Deck 7 again. We're on the Brilliance again for Christmas in a cabin on Deck 9. If you can afford to move up a deck or 2, I'd definitely do it.

[esms5]

Thanks for the advice! Other than the view issues did you find the room and the ship in good condition?

[mo&fran]

The ship was just fine. It had just been refurbished, so there were no issues that we had, other occasional issues with the toilets not flushing. They were quick to get fixed.

Pervasive WIFI was also nice, but the internet was the slowest that we have experienced in a long time. Also sometimes unreliable, you would be doing something and when you go to logoff, sometimes you could not connect to the logoff page, and would burn up your connect time waiting for it to respond again. In most cases, guest services would give us a credit to make up for it.

[Langley Cruisers]

We currently have 7160 can change to 8020 which is very forward and has smaller balcony. Any thoughts?

 

Remember, you probably won't be on your balcony for the first few days (obviously, this is weather-dependant) . We did this itinerary last year as I said, and left during a storm and it took almost 3 days before it warmed up and people came out to the pool area. :)

[esms5]

Officially changed to 8134 mid ship balcony for a total price increase of only $20! So looking forward to such a long cruise!!!!!

[Langley Cruisers]

AWESOME! Have a great time!!

[jmf123]

Officially changed to 8134 mid ship balcony for a total price increase of only $20! So looking forward to such a long cruise!!!!!

 

Great news! I believe that you will be happier with 8134, being on a higher deck and the convenience of midship. Enjoy the Brilliance, I love the Radiance class- and your cruise looks fantastic! :)

[CruisinNole]

Thanks for the advice! Other than the view issues did you find the room and the ship in good condition?

We thought the ship was in great condition. They did a very nice refurbishment job. Nothing done to the cabins that I could tell but they're in OK shape.