Live from the Brilliance Feb 25, 2017

[maureencruiser]

Since I was already in the casino, it would have been rude not to have played some video poker. :')

 

 

Talk about rude! A curse on you, casino! I was one card away from winning $250.

 

And, again. :mad:

 

 

 

Casino! :mad:

 

Yes, I know it's a flush, but, the difference between $5 and $250 is just crushing.

 

I can't really complain, though. I sat down with $20. I got up as high as $32 then kept playing until I got back down to $28. That's when I decided to cash out.

 

I cashed in my coupon for 3 free spins at the slot machine then went looking for Rhonda. She had never played a slot machine before , so, I wanted her to see how they s̶t̶o̶l̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶m̶o̶n̶e̶y̶ worked.

[maureencruiser]

Somehow, instead of looking for Rhonda, I ended up at the World's sexiest Man contest. :')

 

 

The Activity Director, Flavio, was looking pretty buff.

 

 

Luckily, The World's Sexiest Man, 2016 just happened to be there to show the contestants how to work the judges.

 

 

Sure, he was only four feet tall, but, he was cute. Look at the ladies behind him, clearly they are loving his performance.

 

One of the contestants, doing his thang. He ultimately won, I think.

 

 

For some reason, this guy thought it was sexy to pour beer on the judges' faces? One lady almost choked to death when the beer went up her nose.

 

 

While all this was going on, Rhonda showed up and we decided to hang around for the Belly Flop competition.

[maureencruiser]

A good sized crowd had gathered, it was a beautiful day.

 

 

Our cruise director was Jerome. I loved the shirt he was wearing.

 

 

 

The Belly Flop contestants getting their instructions. Hmmm, why do I think the guy in the blue shorts might be a ringer?

 

 

Here he is, marching to make his historic dive, the crowd quivers in anticipation (and fear).

 

 

And, the result.

 

 

Look at the crowd! Mouths agape! Jaws dropped in astonishment! Truly, it doesn't get any better than this! History has been made!! ;p

[maureencruiser]

The judges all gave him a five, the highest score.

 

 

Some even gave him a ten!

 

 

Am I the only one who thinks the guy towards the middle looks like Billy Bob Thornton?

 

After his victory, all the contestants jumped in at once.

 

 

The World's Sexiest Man 2016 blocked my shot a little, but, that's okay. He's cute from behind, as well. :evilsmile::evilsmile::evilsmile:

[maureencruiser]

After that excitement, we moseyed around the ship, using up our coupons. Rhonda had 1 free spin at the slot machine, so we teamed up for our 4 spins.

 

Surprisingly, we didn't win. :')

 

I got my one free picture at the photo gallery, a nice one of Rhonda at dinner on Formal Night.

 

The photo guy informed me that I was supposed to only get a picture of myself, not someone else, but, he'd let me get it this time. :mad:

 

I c̶u̶r̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶o̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶e̶y̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ thanked him for his kindness and his informative lecture. :'):')

 

We spent some time packing then headed out for cocktail hour and dinner.

 

Rhonda had the Spinach Dip.

 

 

It must have been good, she kept stealing other people's chips, so she could eat more of it.

 

This would be a good time to mention we had a table of 6, and everyone was fabulous.

 

One couple was from North Carolina and the other St Albans, VT. Now, I have family in Alburg, so, if you know Vermont, you know how close that is. It was like having dinner with family.

[maureencruiser]

I had the Ceviche.

 

 

It was great!

 

I had some kind of mango soup with coconut shreds, yummy.

 

 

Rhonda had the pork chop, it was very good.

 

 

I meanwhile, had turned into Rhonda and had the steak again, I loved the sauce it came with.

 

 

For dessert, I had the Chocolate Lava cake. I was hoping it would be like Carnival's Warm Chocolate Melting Cake, it was similar, but, not as good. I loved the fact that it had stars on it, though.

 

[sg1phileshipper]

Somehow, instead of looking for Rhonda, I ended up at the World's sexiest Man contest. :')

 

 

.

 

 

That weather forecast is way too funny. Brilliance is in the stars for next year, so I wonder if I'll be able to walk by without laughing. [emoji23]

 

 

Cindy

[sg1phileshipper]

I would love to run into you on a ship. You must be a lot of fun to be around. And the video poker machine was incredibly rude to you. That is so inexcusable! [emoji34][emoji35]

 

 

Cindy

[maureencruiser]

After dinner, we trundled around the ship, finished packing, etc. The Quest was that night, it was a hoot, like always. We were sitting kind of behind Jerome, off to the side of the stage, so, we saw a lot more ladies' bottoms than we would ever care to see. :')

 

Finally, we called it a night and returned to find this guy hanging around our cabin.

 

 

People say the saddest sight on the cruise is the suitcases out in the hallway on the last night. I submit that THIS is the saddest sight, the next morning, all traces of current guests gone and just laundry bags full of dirty sheets out in the hall. :loudcry:

 

 

So, that is my not quite live review.

 

Sorry for the delay.

 

My final thoughts are people on here say the Brilliance is a happy ship and I do agree with that. This was one of the nicest crews (cruise?) I've ever sailed with.

 

I had a great cruise, I always do. The food has slipped a little, but, that's okay, I'm on a cruise, I'm not going to starve to death.

 

I like the smaller ships, but, I just prefer the bigger ones. I'm really looking forward to my birthday cruise (belated) on the Harmony.

 

I met some really nice people on this cruise, both staff and guests, not to mention Diego at the tequila store, who let me have way too many samples. :')

 

I love Royal Caribbean's product, but, unless they return to a more solo friendly pricing structure, I won't be sailing on them as much. I should make Diamond Plus on my Harmony cruise and I was excited that I would be eligible for the reduced solo price of 150% instead of 200% until I read that doesn't kick in until you reach 340 points, basically twice as many points as all the other benefits of Diamond Plus . In other words, you have to be halfway to Pinnacle to redeem your Diamond Plus benefit. :confused:

 

But, I'm thankful for the benefits I do get, free drinks, one photo (of me!), etc.

 

So, Bravo to Royal Caribbean on another great cruise! See you in September!

 

Any questions?

[PhoenixCruiser]

Maureen, I love your reviews!! Thanks for the smiles and a good read.

[Yorkvillain]

Hilarious stuff as always Maureen. Well done.

[A&L_Ont]

We all had to walk by this dog and be sniffed for drugs.

 

 

Wait, what? You're sniffing for drugs as we ENTER Mexico? Ummm, okay.

 

Believe it or not, they are actually looking for unpackaged fruit and food.

 

 

Andrew! How many days till the Harmony? Please tell me their wifi is better than Brilliance's. If not, the whole dueling reviews concept might go down the drain.

 

The Villain is live right now on Navigator and I will be live next week on Harmony so if you need help with your post cruise depression we are here for you. Wifi is waaaaaay better on Harmony as well. Seven days right now you will see me waving good by to all you suckers on land.

 

As always Maureen, a great review.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Cel_cruise]

Thanks for the great -even though it wasn't live - review Maureen! It had me laughing plenty!

 

 

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[Oppalopa]

Maureen, I love your reviews!! Thanks for the smiles and a good read.

I loved the Brilliance it was my first cruise,loved Key West.

[Coralc]

Another great and hysterically funny review Maureen! It is always a pleasure to read about your travel experiences. :D

 

BTW. That was an agricultural detector dog in Cozumel. They are trained to find fruits, vegetables and plants. So nothing to worry about unless you are carrying, oranges, apples or green leafy substances resembling marijuana.

 

The Mexico detector dogs and handlers are trained in Maryland along with our US agriculture dogs. :)

[vavasmom]

Thank you. We leave for Tampa in the morning and board on Monday for 5 nights.

 

We saw multiple people caught by the agriculture dog when we were in Cozumel last December. I would not want to have been them

 

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[maureencruiser]

That weather forecast is way too funny. Brilliance is in the stars for next year, so I wonder if I'll be able to walk by without laughing. [emoji23]

 

 

Cindy, I see you're doing Freedom solo, I've done that twice! Please get the escargot and let me know how it is. My last Freedom cruise, 2015, it was so good, I got it every night.

 

I would love to run into you on a ship. You must be a lot of fun to be around. And the video poker machine was incredibly rude to you. That is so inexcusable! [emoji34][emoji35]

 

I know, right? Just rude! :mad::mad:

 

Cindy

[maureencruiser]

Maureen, I love your reviews!! Thanks for the smiles and a good read.

 

Smiles, but, no laughs? Sigh, if I can make just 2 people laugh... :'):')

 

Hilarious stuff as always Maureen. Well done.

 

Howdy, brother! I see you're posting live from the Navigator. Will I ever get off Cruise Critic this weekend? At some point, I have to do laundry and grocery shop. :')

[maureencruiser]

Believe it or not, they are actually looking for unpackaged fruit and food.

 

The Villain is live right now on Navigator and I will be live next week on Harmony so if you need help with your post cruise depression we are here for you. Wifi is waaaaaay better on Harmony as well. Seven days right now you will see me waving good by to all you suckers on land.

As always Maureen, a great review.

 

Well, that actually makes more sense! As 2 pharmacy technicians, Rhonda and I were both a little nervous about the dog. Who knows what we might have traces of on our shoes? (That's our story and we're sticking with it. :evilsmile::evilsmile:)

 

 

Well, well, everybody is cruising now. If we'd coordinated it a little better, we could have all three went now instead of waiting till September. :cool::cool:

[maureencruiser]

Thanks for the great -even though it wasn't live - review Maureen! It had me laughing plenty!

 

Finally, success!! Someone laughed!! :')

 

I loved the Brilliance it was my first cruise,loved Key West.

 

Great ship, beautiful!

[maureencruiser]

Another great and hysterically funny review Maureen! It is always a pleasure to read about your travel experiences. :D

 

BTW. That was an agricultural detector dog in Cozumel. They are trained to find fruits, vegetables and plants. So nothing to worry about unless you are carrying, oranges, apples or green leafy substances resembling marijuana.

 

The Mexico detector dogs and handlers are trained in Maryland along with our US agriculture dogs. :)

 

How come evrybody knows this except me? Or, is that my guilty conscience talking? :')

 

Thank you. We leave for Tampa in the morning and board on Monday for 5 nights.

 

We saw multiple people caught by the agriculture dog when we were in Cozumel last December. I would not want to have been them

 

Have a great cruise! Why, what do they do if caught? I would assume they just confiscate the fruit? :')

[Vikstar]

What a great review, you had me laughing out loud so many times. Fantastic photos too!

[cynt]

EXCELLENT REVIEW as always!

 

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[karadsheh]

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[easyboy]

Great review! Nice ship. We'll be on her May 13.