Fresh off of Brilliance of the Seas 23-27 Jan

[SaintTaris]

Our Crew consisted of 25 guys ranging in age from mid 30's to mid 40’s some married, and some single. We came from Atlanta, Philadelphia, the DC Metro area and Tampa. Our group consisted of family members, friends, coworkers, college and military buddies. Some are also former college football and NFL players.

 

Thursday, embarkation was smooth and easy. We all showed up at the cruise terminal between 11 and 1130. The hotel we stayed in the night prior arranged a shuttle to the terminal and to the airport via Veterans Limousine. The fare was $15. The majority of us had purchased the Premium Drink Package and boy was I glad that did so. When we climbed aboard, we went straight to the Windjammer and enjoyed lunch along with a Corona or 2. I really enjoyed the Chicken Sliders.

 

After lunch, we made our way to the Skybar to enjoy a few drinks and mingle with a few fellow cruisers. We spent the majority of the afternoon between the Skybar and the Poolbar until our staterooms were ready. After spending a little time in our staterooms, we all met at the RBar, my favorite place on the entire ship. The RBar had my favorite Bourbon, Basil Hayden. For those not familiar, Basil Hayden is small batch bourbon that costs ~ $45 - $50 a bottle. I was thrilled to learn it was included in the premium drink package. After several bourbons, one of the guys and I made our way to the Schooner Bar. The bar was busy but not at full capacity as there were several empty seats at the bar. We took a seat and shortly after the bartender announced he would only be able to serve those seated at the bar because the muster drill would start in 20 mins. I was ok with this because I was in that number. Suddenly a guy walked up to the service bar and flashed $20 along with his roomcard and ordered 5 margaritas. It took the bartender 20 mins to complete this guy’s drink order and the guy attempted to place all 5 margaritas on his room card which contained a drink package. When the bartender brought it to his attention, he just winked at him and said come on, you know I’ll be here every day buying drinks from you or something to that effect. The bartender placed the $20 in his tip jar and gave the guy his 5 margaritas then turned to us who were seated at the bar and said, I’m sorry I will not be able to serve you because the muster drill is about to begin.

 

I was LIVID. I stood and told the bartender he was wrong for not serving us in favor of his buddy with the $20 bill. He turned his back on me and commenced cleaning up the bar. I yelled at him hey, don’t turn your back on me and I followed him to the other side of the bar. I told him he owed everyone seated at the bar an apology for not serving them even though they were there first. He turned to me and asked me what would I like to drink. I told him it’s not about what I want, there were other people at the bar that deserved service and you ignored us for a $20 bill and that was bull****. He asked me again what I wanted as the crowd thinned and everyone headed for the muster drill. He followed me and again apologized then poured me a bourbon. This is totally out of my character to yell at people but I was so upset that he ignored us in favor of a $20 bill. There was a very nice older couple I sat next to who said they had been waiting on a drink for quite some time. The look of dissapointment in their eyes sent me over the edge.

 

After the muster drill, we went back up to the 11th deck to take part in what I suppose was a sail away party. We then made our way back to the RBar and enjoyed the live music and watching the hand and swing dancers. We remained at the RBar until our bags were delivered. We then freshened up and had dinner at 8:30. After dinner it was more RBar followed by ending the night at the Viking Crown Lounge.

 

Random Observations: This is our second cruise as a group. Last year 16 of us cruised Carnival and noticed Carnival had more of a party atmosphere and Royal Caribbean has a much older clientele. Instead of Ball Room and hand dancing, Carnival would have a live DJ or a band and there would be more line dancing and top 40 music. Not saying one is better just an observation.

Brilliance of the Seas is a BEAUTIFUL ship. The art in the stairwells, the glass and views of the ocean, the colors, what a beauty she is.

 

Some of the younger and single guys were really disappointed by the lack of female cruisers in their age group. I knew from day 1 some of them would not have a good time.

 

Pictures will be uploaded later this afternoon.

Edited January 31, 2014 by SaintTaris

[moposh]

1. Did you get the bartender's name and complain to a supervisor?

 

2. From what I have observed, Carnival does has more of a party atmosphere. I've only cruised on RC, but have noticed RC has a lot of older and mobility impaired individuals sailing with them.

 

I think a lot of people sail with families, etc. so if your friends wanted to meet girls, maybe go on a singles cruise. I guess if one were expecting The Love Boat, one would be disappointed.

 

Hope you had a good trip!

Edited January 31, 2014 by moposh

[amster65]

Sounds like to me you could have just stayed home and got blasted in your living room. Much cheaper, but then you would not have had a bartender to yell at....

[PH8]

Was the bartender a skinny grey haired guy??Proably the same who was telling everyone that everyone in the cabin HAD to buy the beverage package...........I told the other bartender and he said the first guy was just tired and just wasn't alert..........sounds like the same guy.

[PuterMonkey]

Thanks for the review. That sucks about what happened with the bartender.

 

As a younger person myself I can see why the younger guys may have been disappointed. I don't look at that class of ship as the place to go if you want a more exciting vacation - that's what the newer and bigger ships are for. I think the smaller ones would be fine if your main goal were more relaxing but that's not what a lot of young people (especially singles) want from their trip.

[tazza_0712]

and I fart in your general direction..................:D

 

 

Haha!! Brilliant.

 

The bartender should've known better. Good on you for saying something.

[SaintTaris]

Haha!! Brilliant.

 

The bartender should've known better. Good on you for saying something.

 

 

I sat next to a friendly and adorable elderly couple who stated they had waited for a while and did not get service. The look of disappointment on their faces, that's what sent me over the top.

[DreamingBig1]

I was looking at the schedules for the Brilliance in January, and noticed a void in the sailing following yours. I googled it. Oh boy! LOL Any chatter about that?

[DreamingBig1]

Coincidence?

 

Throw me a bone here buddy, I don't know where you're going with this. LOL:D

 

Obviously the crew wasn't talking about it.

 

Just google Brilliance of the Seas January 27, 2014. You will see for yourself.

 

Let's just say, that a couple of your buddy's chose the wrong date. :)

[SaintTaris]

Obviously the crew wasn't talking about it.

 

Just google Brilliance of the Seas January 27, 2014. You will see for yourself.

 

Let's just say, that a couple of your buddy's chose the wrong date. :)

 

 

:DIt took me a while to figure that one out. A few of the guys, me included were asked if we were sailing on the next cruise. By the 3rd day, we figured out the 27 Jan sailing was an alternative lifestyle cruise. My wife of 19 years would kill me.

Edited January 31, 2014 by SaintTaris

[DreamingBig1]

:DIt took me a while to figure that one out. A few of the guys, me included were asked if we were sailing on the next cruise. By the 3rd day, we figured out it was an alternative lifestyle cruise. My wife of 19 years would kill me.

 

You think? LOL

[Desertbelle]

Frankly, I would have said something BEFORE the bartender made that guys Margaritas and if he ignored me I would have found an officer and reported him.

 

With very few exceptions we are always treated so well when cruising, makes us keep coming back!

[SaintTaris]

Day 1, Embarkation

 

You guessed it, I'm the good looking guy in the green shirt.:D

 

 

We made our way to the duty free shop and took advantage of the great prices

 

 

 

 

That's about it for day 1.

[SaintTaris]

Day 2 started with breakfast in the Windjammer, followed by a visit to the spa. I chose a day pass for $23. I got my robe and headed for the shower, steam room, sauna, shower and the heated tiled lounge chairs. What a great way to sweat out yesterday's toxins and refresh the body.

 

I did a light dumbbell workout, light for me the heaviest dumbbells they have are 85lbs:D

 

Friday night was also what we called Suit and Tie night. (named after Justin Timberlake and JayZ song)

 

The plan was for everyone to wear black suits and express yourselves through your shirt and tie choices. As you can see, some of us did not get the message.

 

 

 

Yes that is a self tie bowtie LOL

 

 

 

At the end of dinner, we asked the head waiter if we could use the stairway to take a group pic. He said it was ok since we had the 8:30 seating and everyone had departed the dining room.

 

 

I apologize for the sunglasses. I asked them to remove them but......

Edited January 31, 2014 by SaintTaris

[SaintTaris]

I almost forgot about the Aerial Show.

 

 

 

 

 

[Desertbelle]

That is a mighty fine looking group of men....sorry I missed that! :D

[SaintTaris]

That is a mighty fine looking group of men....sorry I missed that! :D

 

 

Me too:D

 

Some of they guys were disappointed but I had a great time. My goals for this cruise were to hang out with my friends, meet a few new friends, have a few drinks and a few laughs and relax. I accomplished every one of those goals.

[SaintTaris]

After dancing the night away at The Viking Crown Lounge, I woke up a little fuzzy and we were pulling into Cozumel.

 

 

 

 

We disembarked after a filling breakfast in the windjammer and worked on our Cozumel Gameplan.

 

 

 

[SaintTaris]

Ohh look, the Liberty OTS

 

We successfully negotiated the rental of 12 scooters. We paid $38 total for each rental. We could've done better with convertibles, but thought how cool would it be to have 12 of you buddies ripping through, I mean riding scooters through Cozumel

 

 

 

 

 

After a few hours of riding, we rode into town and had lunch. I don't remember the name of the restaurant but the food was good and the beer was cold. The waiter arrived at our table with a bottle of something or the other and began pouring shots down our throats. I declined but a few of the guys got in on the act.

 

 

[SaintTaris]

Wow I have a lot of grey hair!

 

 

 

We had so much fun, the table next to us decided to join in.

 

 

 

 

After a filling lunch, we bought a few souvenirs then turned the bikes in at 4:00 PM. We did a bit more shopping at the port them boarded the ship.

 

I will post more later.

[Desertbelle]

Me too:D

 

Some of they guys were disappointed but I had a great time. My goals for this cruise were to hang out with my friends, meet a few new friends, have a few drinks and a few laughs and relax. I accomplished every one of those goals.

Cruising isn't for everyone. I know people who have cruised and afterwards thought "meh", but for me it's a perfect vacation. Relaxing and letting other people take care of me for a change and waking up in a different country is just too awesome!!

 

I am glad you had a great time. We will be spending a month on the Brilliance in May, I am so ready I wish I could go tomorrow!!

[SaintTaris]

Cruising isn't for everyone. I know people who have cruised and afterwards thought "meh", but for me it's a perfect vacation. Relaxing and letting other people take care of me for a change and waking up in a different country is just too awesome!!

 

I am glad you had a great time. We will be spending a month on the Brilliance in May, I am so ready I wish I could go tomorrow!!

 

Lucky you. Brilliance is a beautiful ship and the staff is great, with exception of the one bartender. Daniel and Andrei, The Bartenders at the RBar are very professional and did an awesome job. I tipped them well.

[SaintTaris]

We experienced a beautiful sunset and calm seas leaving Cozumel

 

 

 

 

Final day at sea.

 

 

 

Final thoughts:

 

The drink package was a great buy. Four and five night cruises are perfect for the drink package. I don't think I would purchase the premium drink package for a 7 night cruise. I don't think I could recover and drink a lot over 7 days.

 

I did see people sharing their drink package. The bartenders are so busy I don't know how they could possibly keep up.

 

If you enjoy a certain call brand, you should find it at the RBar in the Centrum.

My drink of choice is small batch bourbon and the RBar offered several options.

The bartenders at the RBar were my favorite. They didn't over pour or under pour, they were just right. Very professional.

 

I don't think I will cruise with 25 guys again. It's too difficult to try to please that many people.

 

After cruising Disney, Carnival, and a Royal Caribbean, Disney is my favorite followed by Royal Caribbean.

[Essexlass2]

We successfully negotiated the rental of 12 scooters. We paid $38 total for each rental. We could've done better with convertibles, but thought how cool would it be to have 12 of you buddies ripping through, I mean riding scooters through Cozumel

 

 

Oh purleez, you guys on scooters :confused: - I would have thought Harleys at least! :D

[SaintTaris]

Oh purleez, you guys on scooters :confused: - I would have thought Harleys at least! :D

 

Only a few of us have Motorcycle licenses. :D I did sees nice SoftTail Classic I wanted to rent. :D. Besides, scooters are more manly.