Brilliance of the Seas review

[MuffyKismet]

Well , we had our first balcony room #9256 and it was beautiful and the balcony was long and large, I even hung a hammock on the balcony and that was amazing!!! The bathrooms in the stateroom was soooo tiny no room at all to move and the water pressure was terrible but no big deal. We did have a LONG walk to our room from the elevator but the balcony room was worth the walk.

 

I was so excited about the solarium area but was SOOO dissappointed, the fake foliage they have everywhere was very very faded and needs replacing badly, the area was very pretty but the 1 hot tub was very small and the pool was very pretty but ICE cold!!!! Suppose to be heated but it was NOT! The bar there was great Cleif the bartendar was great!!

 

The SPA was a huge dissapointment as well. We booked the Rasul room for my husband and I and nothing was working (the spa guide was horrible she gave horrible instructions and I had to wash off and dress and go out and tell them it was not working, she came in and turned on the steam shower (which did NOT steam just was getting barley warm and insisted it was now working), so we tried it ALL again only to have to rinse off AGAIN to get dressed to go out there to find her again to tell her NO it is NOT working there is NO steam and the hot plate is ICE cold that has a warning on it that it is suppose to be scolding hot. I said I just want a refund, she aske if I wanted to reschedule for the next day I said NO thank you it is not working and I am completely frustrated with how they handeled it!! The public shower areas in the Spa were also very small. Needless to say we did not partake in any other Spa treatments the rest of the cruise.

 

The dining room was very nice and the staff was very efficient, the first two nights I had to wait 1/2 way through the meal to get a glass of wine but on the 3rd day and following days it was brought to me quickly. The food was good, not great but good. The Izumi speciality restaurant was OK. The steakhouse was very good but there is a $20 upcharge for 3 of the the steak choices besides the $35 pp fee, which is absurd to me!! The ship lacked variety of food venue choices, Carnival definatley has them beat there!

 

It is GREAT that not everyonen 21 and over has to buy the drink package in the room . My DH does not drink liquor/beer/wine at all so if he had to buy it then I would not have . So that was a plus.

 

The Casino was disgusting, I don't smoke but normally smoke does not bother me either way but this Casion and anywhere near the Casino on that floor smelled disgusting, as soon as you got off the elevator it engulfed you, so needless to say we DID NOT use the Casino either! And normally we make a nice donation LOL.

 

The center main area was very pretty and they did utilize it well for special events and shows. The shows in the main theatre were small productions and poorly done but they did have a live band/orchestra which I miss on Carnival since they did away with them. The Quest game in the Colony club is something NOT to be missed, a LOT of fun for sure!!!

 

The very best part of the entire ship is the Colony club area and Schooner bar, those were the happening places to be on the ship every night, we did not discover this until the 3rd night, the ship is NOT easy to navigate everthing is very split up. Elevators were a nightmare to use and we waited on them most of the time! The ship is older and does need some up keep and upgrades but the staff was very nice and our balcony was a GREAT location and views! Would I book the Brilliance again, no but I did have a pleasant experience.

[Snowy81]

Thanks for this review.

Having a hammock on that balcony sounds brillant. Booked this cabin for our New England cruise and are really looking forward. So how did you fix the hammock ?

 

 

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[SLScouple]

I'm also curious about the hammock. Do you know the brand/size? How did you put it up?

 

Thanks for your review, we are booked on the Brilliance Jan 8.

[GTO-Girl]

This makes me a bit nervous since we are booked for the first time on the Brilliance in April....:eek: We know this is an older, smaller ship....and we are not to please so hopefully it will be okay.

 

We were lookig for a better alternative for a 5 day cruise rather the Carnival Fascination which only goes to the Bahamas.....

[Snowy81]

We have been on the brilliance this may and enjoyed our time. It's an older ship, but it is in a good condition.

 

 

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[racerxspeedy]

Thanks for the review - I have the same room as well next year. Post pics of your hammock set up if possible

[pennielz]

This makes me a bit nervous since we are booked for the first time on the Brilliance in April....:eek: We know this is an older, smaller ship....and we are not to please so hopefully it will be okay.

 

We were lookig for a better alternative for a 5 day cruise rather the Carnival Fascination which only goes to the Bahamas.....

 

We were on Brilliance in March and loved it, especially The Solarium! You can't let one person's opinion dissuade you. I'm sorry they didn't enjoy Brilliance but, we LOVE it!!!:D

[gracee]

This makes me a bit nervous since we are booked for the first time on the Brilliance in April....:eek: We know this is an older, smaller ship....and we are not to please so hopefully it will be okay.

 

It was a rather negative review in general. I wouldn't let one persons perspective taint your adventure. Look up some of the previous reviews on the Brilliance. Most are quite happy! We are cruising in January on the Brilliance and so looking forward to it!

[GTO-Girl]

We were on Brilliance in March and loved it, especially The Solarium! You can't let one person's opinion dissuade you. I'm sorry they didn't enjoy Brilliance but, we LOVE it!!!:D

 

This makes me feel so much better! Having been on these boards for awhile now I should remember that two people on the same cruise can have two entirely different perspectives.

 

There was a very extensive review done by Darthgrady that I saved because of all the great pictures he posted. I will just keep looking at those......LOL

 

Have a great cruise everybody!!

Edited December 21, 2014 by GTO-Girl

[71Corvette]

This is one of several critical reviews of Brilliance lately which is making me a bit nervous.

 

I've heard comments about the food and service both ways - good and bad. However, most everyone is giving critical reviews of nearly all of the entertainment on board. Pretty discouraging. Hopefully they get things straightened out in the next few months, we're due to sail in late February. Plus we convinced our friends, who have never cruised before, to go with us.

 

We were really looking forward to our first cruise on a Radiance Class ship but maybe we'll have to adjust our expectations downward a bit.

[MuffyKismet]

Thanks for the review - I have the same room as well next year. Post pics of your hammock set up if possible

 

here is the pic of the hammock

[twills63]

We got off the Brilliance a week ago. It was our first cruise so I have nothing to compare it to, but we loved it! Our cabin attendant (Dewa) and waiters in the dining room (Joe Marie and Sabri) were excellent. Ship was very clean which is important to me. We don't drink much alcohol (maybe one glass of wine with dinner) or use the casino. My brother and sister in law went with us and we just had a great time relaxing and unwinding. You do sometimes have to wait on the elevators, but if you use the inside ones there's usually less of a wait. My husband had to use them because of a back problem, but the rest of us often just used the stairs because we wanted the exercise. We were in room 9016 with a balcony.

[MuffyKismet]

My husband brought some L hooks and I ordered the hammock on line. The view was awesome and leaving the sliding glass door open all night was awesome!! Very pretty when you go under the skyway bridge at night!!!

 

Another thing I thought was odd is that had you enter the ship over by a hall way that leads to where they display some artwrok and not in the main center of the ship , which normally "wows" everyone as the board. It was not a terrible experience by any means, it was just OK . This was cruise # 34 for my DH and I we have sailed on Royal before as well but certainly this one is one we would not re book again. BUT the staff was great and ANY cruise is a good cruise!!!!

[MuffyKismet]

This makes me a bit nervous since we are booked for the first time on the Brilliance in April....:eek: We know this is an older, smaller ship....and we are not to please so hopefully it will be okay.

 

It was a rather negative review in general. I wouldn't let one persons perspective taint your adventure. Look up some of the previous reviews on the Brilliance. Most are quite happy! We are cruising in January on the Brilliance and so looking forward to it!

 

It wasn't meant to be negative just honest. We enjoyed ourselves and loved having the large aft balcony room but no we would not book on the Brilliance again, that is all. The staff was very nice and it was a clean ship other then the casino being over the top with smoke smell that went right into the hall ways on both sides of it (overwhelmingly so). And like I said there is no such thing as a "bad cruise" ! We love cruising and I just wanted to give my honest opinion of this ship, I really loved the Colony room and the Schooner's bar area the most (very nice). Besides everyone has to experience it for themselves, everyone has different opinions about ships and cruise lines. Enjoy everyone!

[DrMrsMonarch]

I just got off this ship Saturday and the ship was fine. I had been on the sister ship the Jewel two years ago and RC has made a lot of good changes in the refurb.

Just to reply to some of the complaints to stop the worrying-

 

The elevators around the ship are busy during certain times but it was never a problem for me. If you are near the theater after a show ends it will be a wait for an elevator.

 

The entertainment was great. The theater dancing and singing is always going to be cheesy. They would be in a touring company if they could, but these performers are cruise ship caliber. The best entertainment is found around the ship in the Centrum and lounges. Pedro Espadido performed in the Schooner Bar almost every night and his classical guitar playing was amazing. His version of Bohemian Rhapsody still impressed the bartenders and they hear him play it several times a week.

 

I didn't use any of the spa services. And I agree that the Solarium fake plants looked a little faded and the solarium itself was chilly. But I like swimming in cold water so that wasn't an issue.

 

I have never been in a non smokey casino but this one seemed less smokey then others. But this is a totally personal preference.

 

The food was ok. RC is trying to push the pay options. Windjammer will always have hits and misses. We ate at Giovanni's one night and that was good, except it was quite empty but interesting to see the staff work when high ranking officers came in for dinner.

 

Unfortunately if Tampa doesn't do something about size restrictions of ships due to the skyway, it will be older, smaller ships from here on out. But I like it because I can leave my house and be on board in an hour.

 

Any cruise is what you make of it so if you go in with a worried attitude you will start seeing the bad things right away. Get a drink, have a seat by the pool, and enjoy.

[Podie]

This makes me a bit nervous since we are booked for the first time on the Brilliance in April....:eek: We know this is an older, smaller ship....and we are not to please so hopefully it will be okay.

 

We were lookig for a better alternative for a 5 day cruise rather the Carnival Fascination which only goes to the Bahamas.....

 

There are a few problems, but I liked my Nov. 22 Brilliance cruise so much I'm doing it again next month:)

[Podie]

This makes me a bit nervous since we are booked for the first time on the Brilliance in April....:eek: We know this is an older, smaller ship....and we are not to please so hopefully it will be okay.

 

We were lookig for a better alternative for a 5 day cruise rather the Carnival Fascination which only goes to the Bahamas.....

 

There are a few problems, but I liked my Nov. 22 Brilliance cruise so much I'm doing it again next month:)

[GTO-Girl]

As you can see from my signature we have sailed on all size ships.....from the biggest on down.

 

We are not hard to please so we manage to have a good times everywhere we go.

 

Not to say some cruises were not as good as others....but we always leave each ship with more wonderful memories!

 

Happy sailing everyone!!!

[roswellcruiser]

I sailed on the Brilliance in October and will again in January. I really enjoy the Radiance class ships (previously sailed on the Jewel). These ships are truly classic ships. I love all of the sea views. I enjoy the specialty restaurants and the live music. Also Vintages, which has a great selection of Italian wines.

[eyeglassbrad]

We just got home from the Dec 20th sailing. I will never again sail on this boat again. The bathroom is tiny and has the shower curtains that stick to you when showering. I cant understand why after the refurbish they wouldn't replace the bedding after 13 cruses on royal and celebrity these beds were the worst ever. The food in windjammer was short on choices and the food in general had no real taste. I agree with the other post about the casino very small and smoky. the headline entertainment was very good but the service was lacking.

[saltycat]

This makes me a bit nervous since we are booked for the first time on the Brilliance in April....:eek: We know this is an older, smaller ship....and we are not to please so hopefully it will be okay.

 

We were lookig for a better alternative for a 5 day cruise rather the Carnival Fascination which only goes to the Bahamas.....

 

 

We were on the Brilliance Dec 11-15th, we had also sailed her in 2005

LOVE the Brilliance! She is beautiful, and the crew was outstanding!

We have sailed all the RC size ships from Vision class to Oasis class and the

Brilliance is one of our favorite. Enjoy your cruise

[Susie51]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I'm so sorry about your spa day. Hopefully your next cruise will be more suited to your preferences.

[carsaw]

We were on the Brilliance Dec 11-15th, we had also sailed her in 2005

LOVE the Brilliance! She is beautiful, and the crew was outstanding!

We have sailed all the RC size ships from Vision class to Oasis class and the

Brilliance is one of our favorite. Enjoy your cruise

 

This is good to hear since we are on the Brilliance in January. I was a little worried since we usually cruise on the larger newer ships but I think we will enjoy it. Really looking forward to trying the Radiance class. :)

[SuiteCruising]

I just got off the Brilliance on the 20th. It was my second Royal cruise and I was really quite happy with the experience.

 

I'll have to agree about the elevators. They were the slowest of any of my previous cruises.

 

MDR food was quite good and our servers were wonderful. We had My Time dining and never waited for a table. In fact, we asked for and got the same table everynight.

 

Casino smoke aside, IMHO it was the least smokey casino I've experienced in many a cruise.

 

Like belly buttons, everyone has opinions, but overall I'll probably do the 5 day on this ship next year.

[DDnRD]

We did Brilliance 2/14 again 10/14 Boston to Tampa and will be cruising again 2/2015. Never a problem, staff was great, food was good, Spa was just so so, but all in all it's a great ship.