Med Cruise on the Brilliance~ June 7, 2016 ~ My Diary

[maxs mom]

Back to the cabin for more packing and resting. The sea got a little on the rough side this afternoon!

 

Visited again with Foster this evening on the way to the DL.

 

 

Michael was already getting their luggage out in the hallway!

 

 

 

We all met up in the DL tonight. It was good to visit here with each other one last time We said good-bye to Ricardo! He was so nice to us!

 

 

While there tonight we were treated with a double rainbow!

 

 

[maxs mom]

We went to the MDR for dinner again and were, again, seated in a totally different area. Should have gone to the WJ as my meal was not very good. I had the traditional last meal entrée of seafood mash. Sometimes that is very good and sometimes it is awful. It was somewhere in between tonight. They didn't even have regular Key Lime Pie on the menu......only the sugar free version. I don't know what it was about the dining room food for me this cruise, but it just wasn't very good to me. On our last two cruises on the Independence and the Oasis this spring......the food was excellent. I couldn't stop raving about it.

 

 

That was disappointing!

 

They asked if we were celebrating anything......and our 31st anniversary was in just a few days, so we said we were celebrating our anniversary. We began cruising with Royal Caribbean 31 years ago on our honeymoon, so it was only appropriate that they sing "Happy Versary" to us tonight!

 

 

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

After dinner, we felt the need to go ahead and get our luggage out in the hallway. Wahhhhh!!

 

 

We went to the casino one last time to do our Spin to Wins. This is the first time that neither of us won anything.......not even a keychain!!

 

On the way we noticed the Thriller dance was going on in the Centrum.

 

 

 

I found in my evening purse an envelope of a tip I forgot to give someone on our last cruise.......it had $20 in it.......so that's what I used to gamble with tonight. But it is all gone now!! Sorry, Dudley......I lost all your money!

'

We went to bed after that. We would have to get up mighty early the next morning.

[maxs mom]

Sunday ~ June 19, 2016 ~ Barcelona

 

I believe we docked in Barcelona very early. Anyway we got up at 5 AM and we were already docked! The WJ opened at 6 so we went there for breakfast. Oh the horror!!!! We're so spoiled when it comes to breakfast.....especially on this ship. Oh well......we managed!

 

 

 

Foster......bless his heart.....was ready to get things moving this morning. What a hard working guy. He was great!

 

 

After breakfast.....we got back to the cabin and finished our packing. As soon as we got to our departure lounge, they called our number. Michael and Andrea were already there. So was Teodora, the LA. She escorted us personally down to debark. That was nice!

 

 

 

We easily found our luggage and made our way to the taxis. We only had to wait a little bit for a big enough taxi for the 4 of us and our luggage.

 

 

[maxs mom]

Good bye, Brilliance!

 

 

Oh! There's the Harmony! Hey Raj!!!!

 

 

 

 

We had a nice ride to the airport.

 

 

We got to the airport before 8 and it was already busy. But thanks to Business Class......we did not have to stand in any lines!

Before long, we were all checked in at the airport and finding our way to the Business Class lounge. We had a while to wait before our flight, so we were glad to hang out there for a while!!

 

 

 

[maxs mom]

The Barcelona airport is very nice and huge!!!

 

Our flight did not leave until 2:40, so we had a nice long time in the BC lounge. It was very nice and we were quite comfortable there. Lots of snacks and alcohol!!

 

We relaxed there until time to head down to our gate. Good thing we left in plenty of time because it was a looooooong walk, plus we had to go through another security line where passports were checked again. That took a little time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to wait in this line to go through extra security.

 

[maxs mom]

We finally got to our gate, and just in time. They were beginning the boarding process.

 

 

We were able to walk right on and it was wonderful. Once again, we had the fabulous pods and again, it was very comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2016 by max'smom

[maxs mom]

It was a fabulous flight home. Great service. I really enjoyed it....I watched the old Cary Grant movie.....An Affair to Remember.....so appropriate since it started on a cruise and one of their stops was Villefranche!

 

I was a happy camper!

 

 

 

We arrived in Charlotte right on time. We had Global Entry, so going through customs, etc. was a breeze!!! We had to say good-bye to Andrea and Michael here as they were flying on to California from here. Hard to believe it was all over......we did so much planning and everything worked out so well......what an awesome trip!!! We hugged and said good-bye, then we managed to find the shuttle to the car park and we had a two hour drive home. It felt so good to sleep in our own bed again!!

 

It took well over a week before our body clocks got back to normal!!

 

Well.....I guess that's it!! Thanks for hanging in here and reading and making comments!! That keeps me going! I have made so many friends through cruise critic....even some I haven't met in person.....but hope to one day.

 

We are taking a summer break from cruising right now, but will be back at it in early September for John's birthday. Then all throughout the fall......finishing up on our favorite ship.....The Jewel in December when we will .......finally.......turn Pinnacle!

 

Great visiting with you all.

 

And as always......cheers to all our cruise buddies past and present. Hope to see you all out there on the ocean soon!!

 

Cheers!!

 

[dani negreanu]

Thanks, Jane, I've thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

I'm sitting here, smiling to myself ...

 

First, you post a picture where I see my favorite hotel in Venice.

 

Then, at Barcelona airport, an Israeli airplane (son is an El Al FA), so I'm biased...

 

Last, but not least, your fav ship is Jewel :) Just yesterday someone asked about Adventure or Jewel out of SJ... I've replied that this will be my 2nd time on Jewel and 3rd time on a Radiance class ship...

 

Congrats on achieving Pinnacle :):)

[TLC535]

It has been a fabulous "ride along" Jane :D

 

Thanks for sharing some much info. & wonderful photos - even more excited for our turn in May !

[stowapple]

Hi all,

So sorry we didn't meet all of you. We fell asleep on a lounge chair after

boarding as we couldn't book a non stop from Boston and we were ex-

hausted. We were in the DL almost every night. Maybe we shall meet

on another cruise. We are cruising on the Eclipse on Jan. 22-Feb 5 to the

Caribbean.

Thanks for sharing your photos and have a nice summer.

Jim and Nancy Murphy

Stow, MA.

[Yorkvillain]

Thank you Jane. Amazing review.

[maxs mom]

Thanks, everyone. It is so fun to relive the trip as I do these diaries! There were several cruises we went on recently that I wasn't able to review. and we had such good experiences on all of those! Looking forward to our cruises toward the end of the year!!

[BonTexasNY]

Please don't change a thing with your future diaries. Reading this one was such a joy. Looking forward to your Pinnacle cruise in Dec., and those that come before it. Smooth sails to both of you.

[PhilNDebbieAtSea]

Just a fabulous review!!! Thank you so much for sharing!! The pictures were great!! Always love your reviews. Quick question - you said you got a great price on Business Class seats, just wondering if you have any tips on how to get a good price or good time to buy? I have been tracking to buy for our Med cruise in 2017 but the prices are so high. Just wondering if they ever come down.... [emoji1] Thanks and enjoy your summer!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[maxs mom]

Just a fabulous review!!! Thank you so much for sharing!! The pictures were great!! Always love your reviews. Quick question - you said you got a great price on Business Class seats, just wondering if you have any tips on how to get a good price or good time to buy? I have been tracking to buy for our Med cruise in 2017 but the prices are so high. Just wondering if they ever come down.... [emoji1] Thanks and enjoy your summer!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Well.....I feel like we got the good price that we did by booking as soon as we knew we were going to book the cruise which was over a year out. We had heard that Icelandic Air had great prices, but when we checked American/British Air......we found the prices just as low as Icelandic so we jumped on it. So glad we did. That made the trip so much more enjoyable!

[Clarea]

Another excellent review Jane.:)

[iluvit!]

Wonderful review, felt like I was traveling along with you! Great photos, too. What kind of camera did you use?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[LA Law]

Well.....I feel like we got the good price that we did by booking as soon as we knew we were going to book the cruise which was over a year out. We had heard that Icelandic Air had great prices' date=' but when we checked American/British Air......we found the prices just as low as Icelandic so we jumped on it. So glad we did. That made the trip so much more enjoyable![/size']

 

 

 

We actually jumped on the business class seats the week they came out! As I recall, we had a choice of seats because none of the others had been taken yet. Also, as an aside, we found direct flights from Charlotte to Barcelona. Since Charlotte and Raleigh are close to Jane and John, we flew in several days earlier. Michael and I used miles for first class tickets to Raleigh and first class tickets home from Charlotte to LAX. There was a secret(which I am sharing here...) look carefully at domestic flight awards. It was 25,000 miles to fly first class and 30,000 miles to fly economy. YES, those numbers are correct. This has happened in the past as well.

[LA Law]

Jane: Thank you again for your wonderfully thorough review! You are a great friend and travel companion.We can't wait to do a land vacation together again in a few weeks.

 

Nobody does it better... We can attest!!

Sending many hugs,

Andrea

[maxs mom]

Another excellent review Jane.:)

 

Thanks, Bob!! Good to "see" you! Hope our paths will cross again soon!

[maxs mom]

Wonderful review, felt like I was traveling along with you! Great photos, too. What kind of camera did you use?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

 

Hey......The one I use most of the time is a Sony Nex R that I got a couple of years ago after running through many, many point and shoots. This has by far, been the best camera for me. It acts like an SLR and has interchangeable lenses. John uses an old Nikkon D 60. It's an SLR and takes great pictures, but he didn't use it much on this trip.

 

Ha! If you've read some of my reviews.....I've tried to lose this camera several times!!

 

Thanks for asking.

[maxs mom]

Jane: Thank you again for your wonderfully thorough review! You are a great friend and travel companion.We can't wait to do a land vacation together again in a few weeks.

 

Nobody does it better... We can attest!!

Sending many hugs,

Andrea

 

Awwwww......thanks, sweet friend! Have a great birthday today!!! See you again soon! Yay!!!

[Champagne Cruiser]

Thanks so much for another great review.

[Namelocg]

Hi Jane,

I just read your entire review. It was terrific. Just FYI on the outrageous prices in the gift shop for meds. I was on the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska with my daughter in May. As we were leaving Skagway she started complaining about a tooth ache. She took some Tylenol and went to bed. The next morning it was worse so I headed down to medical to see if I could get something stronger than the tylenol. The nurse told me that I couldn't get anything stronger unless my daughter saw the doctor. I didn't want to spend over $100 to see the Dr knowing that we would be in Canada in just a few hours and I would be able to buy codeine over the counter. And now to the point of this saga. In the medical office they had a wall filled with different kinds of meds in little envelopes. For acetaminophen and ibuprofen (which the nurse told me to alternate every 4 hours), it was $1.50 for 20 tablets. So instead of paying the exorbitant prices in the gift shop I paid a total of $3.00 at medical. I don't know if it's the same on Royal but it is definitely worth the trip down to medical to find out. They also helped arrange an emergency visit to the dentist when we disembarked in Seattle. There is nothing as much fun as ending a great cruise by having a tooth pulled!!