Semi-Live from Brilliance of the Seas: Jan 22-26

[bluegirlum]

At Senor Frogs in Cozumel. Hot a couple minutes before boarding, so won't have time to upload much bugs other than this one.

 

Great cruise so far. Ship is awesome... Really lives up to name Brilliance...

 

How far was this from the pier? Does it have free wifi?

[leinhto]

Nice!

 

I'm pretty sure this has been confirmed numerous times, but I'm hoping things have changed in the last week. :) Can you confirm that there is no Coke Freestyle machine on board?

 

Sorry no Coke Freestyle machines sighted.

[leinhto]

Loving your review so far & look forward to more! :D Looking forward to more pictures as we may try BOS at some point, easy for us as we're only about 40 min. from the port! Have fun & if you have a picture of your cabin, would like to see that too. :)

Some more pics of cabin as requested.

 

 

 

[leinhto]

How far was this from the pier? Does it have free wifi?

Senor Frogs is right at the RCI pier past the shops on the left(north).

[leinhto]

Ok we are back in Tampa still on the ship. Going to WJ for breakfast then heading off.

 

Our cruise was incredible. Last I left off we were coming up to Skyway bridge. It was windy and cool, even cold could be said. Not as much people out for the crossing as I would expect. Our entire group was out though. Caught some nice shots of the sunset.

 

 

 

 

 

That was the last shot I got before crossing. I did not get a shot right under as my camera crashed because I had the flashlight on helping a friend get a good shot. He owes me one...[emoji12]

[leinhto]

I thought this was a neat area on Deck 11 lavatories outside WJ. They have an art maze.

 

 

 

[leinhto]

Since we had late seating, 8:30pm, for dinner we headed to the welcome aboard show...at the urging of our group. My wife forego these normally. The theater was nice.

 

 

 

[leinhto]

The new Centrum decor is really nice. The changing light effects is a nice touch. Unfortunately, there was no aerial show, although we noticed the chandelier was removed on Day 3, but still no show.

 

 

 

 

 

[leinhto]

Dinner was really good in MDR first night. The highlight was the Smoked Fish Rilette. Glad I got two as they were out the remainder of trip. I had the escargot every night too. That's a must for me any cruise. Menu is posted too.

 

 

 

 

[leinhto]

I forget how the Centrum shops are no Royal Promenade. Saved me a pretty penny with the wife...lol

 

 

 

[leinhto]

Day 2 - Sea Day: Not a great start to the day. Policy at MDR for breakfast is you can only get seats for those who are present. I was alone needing 4. Hostess wouldn't budge although there was ample seating and only 30min left for breakfast. Ended up going to WJ for breakfast. Found a really nice spot in the back. It ended up being our favorite hangout and lunch spot. The open air seating in the back of WJ. This feature should be on all ships.

 

 

 

[leinhto]

To get to the back of WJ on port side you have to walk through Rita's Cantina. It looks good, but saw very little activity there during whole cruise. Saw it open only once. Mostly used as seating for folks coming out WJ.

 

 

 

 

[leinhto]

After breakfast we walked around a little bit and found his area open. So that's where the top tier get by their tan. Awesome forward view.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2015 by leinhto

[leinhto]

This was a shocker. What happened to the Viking Crown Lounge. First it is called Starquest!!! Part of it was sequestered off for the Diamond Lounge!! Really tacky partition. At 6'3" I could look right over. That was completely unexpected. I snapped a pic over the wall. Didn't look impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[leinhto]

Sushi making demonstration in the Centrum. The decor in the Centrum never ceases to amaze.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2015 by leinhto

[leinhto]

We took in a movie for the first time on a cruise. We made a good choice it was hilarious. Took some pics on the way. was surprised Centrum shops were closed at 1pm.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2015 by leinhto

[leinhto]

The Captain's Toast in the Centrum was a nice fancy show. Got to warn you though, the smoke from the Casino permeates floors 5 to 7 around the Centrum. My wife is highly sensitive to this so catching the show was a bit of a challenge finding a smoke free spot. We ended going up to 9 and had to stand looking over balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[leinhto]

Off to dinner. Didn't remember to take pics of of menu. But. This dish was good.

 

 

There is this cool touch screen display that shows the menu for all restaurants.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2015 by leinhto

[leinhto]

More pics of MDR and touch screen.

 

 

 

 

[leinhto]

After dinner we went to the Colony Club to sit and watch karaoke. It was fun until this rowdy bunch came in with a male stripper. They threw the mic down when they were done which upset the activities manager who was hosting. Aside that there were some pretty good singers amongst the guest.

 

 

[leinhto]

After karaoke we went to the promenade deck for some fresh air and a pre-bedtime walk. Elevator day panel hadn't been changed yet although it was past midnight.

 

 

[leinhto]

We came in to Cozumel to some rainy weather, which thankfully cleared up. Carnival Triumph was also in port from Texas.

 

 

 

 

We also had breakfast on the balcony that morning. We had a self guided tour of Cozumel which was great. I may post the Cozumel pics on the port forum. I do highly recommend Coconuts bar and grill. The food there was excellent. Be mindful of the decor it is sleezy. We met the owners there too.

 

 

We came back just in time to get a few minutes of free WiFi at Senor Frogs (pic) posted earlier. Had I known that WiFi was available for free I would have scheduled more time to connect and post.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2015 by leinhto

[leinhto]

After a late dinner we watched the 70's dance party from our perch above the Centrum. We noticed the chandelier was gone, so was expecting the aerial show that never was.

 

 

 

 

[leinhto]

We had reserved one of the conference rooms Sunday morning. It was ready and supplied with danishes tea and coffee, which we weren't expecting. I was happy there was a sea view although it was through the promenade deck.

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2015 by leinhto

[LuCruise]

Thanks for all the wonderful pictures. Beautiful ship and looks like you're having a great time.