To Russia with Love

[grapau27]

Well we made it to Old Town and are sitting in front of the Nobel Museum, in the square at a quaint little cafe having a coffee. We once again have been blessed w amazing weather. Today’s forecast is Sunny & mid-60s all day. One can taxi of course to old town Stockholm or take a shuttle bus for $15pp, RT, from the ship port. We chose the shuttle bus and bought the tickets this morning at Guest Services. We are people watching while waiting on our guide. The coffee is delicious and our server has a good sense of humor. Life is good.

Pleased you are having a great time as we did in Gamla Stan Stockholm old town.

The Caribbean might be nice but European ports are fantastic and why almost all our cruises are in this area.

 

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[Ginlyn]

Well we made it to Old Town and are sitting in front of the Nobel Museum, in the square at a quaint little cafe having a coffee. We once again have been blessed w amazing weather. Today’s forecast is Sunny & mid-60s all day. One can taxi of course to old town Stockholm or take a shuttle bus for $15pp, RT, from the ship port. We chose the shuttle bus and bought the tickets this morning at Guest Services. We are people watching while waiting on our guide. The coffee is delicious and our server has a good sense of humor. Life is good.

 

Thank you for continuing to give lots of good information. I’m making note of it all. Belated congratulations on your anniversary celebration cruise. When we do this cruise next year on Brillance, it will be for our 50th!!! DH robbed the cradle ;p:')!!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

We use magnetic scrabble letters on our cabin door for fun. We spell out phrases etc. Today’s phrase was...

Drop Skagen and Do Stockholm Twice.

That’s our sentiment exactly. Stockholm was amazing. The only issue we has w Stockholm was the length of time. We couldn’t get off the ship until 8:30am and the sail away was at 4:30pm. Too little time and too much to see. We want to go back and most likely will one day.

 

Our guide was good. She was very young & very inexperienced. She also spoke too softly, but she was very kind, spirited, & pleasant. We had a short tour in VESA which was disappointing.

 

Our aft balcony was splendid for sail away though. The sun was beaming down. It was warm & comfortable. As the ship passed through the narrow channels, we could see the many houses w yards and people waving at us. Good times!

 

The MDR served Fried Chicken tonight. It was good and also the first time we’ve seen this on the menu.

 

For evening entertainment we went to the Love & Marriage Show. Which is always good. After five port days in a row, tomorrow is a well deserved Sea Say. Which means Chops for breakfast and Bloody Marys!

 

Goodnight all!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Thank you for continuing to give lots of good information. I’m making note of it all. Belated congratulations on your anniversary celebration cruise. When we do this cruise next year on Brillance, it will be for our 50th!!! DH robbed the cradle ;p:')!!

 

You’re going to love it! One of our best cruises yet! And Happy 50th to you and the cradle robber! 😉

 

I’m so glad you’re enjoying the blog and hope you get something out of it that’s useful!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Today was a pretty needed restful day. We just completed visiting an intensive 4 ports in 5 days. It was definitely nice to sleep in a bit & rest up for the remaining portion of the cruise.

 

Tomorrow we arrive in Rostock at 6:00am, and disembark at 6:30am. We have scheduled another long day as we travel to Berlin and back. We are once again booked w SPB Tours for a private tour once again w/ the same group minus two. We booked a private van for the trip to Berlin as well. It’s called the Classic Berlin with Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial.

6 hr drive RT plus 6 hr tour.

We’ve been told not to expect the internet, Euros only in cash, no foreign currency and very little if any credit cards. In addition, we are to be prepared to pay .50 Euro for toilets.

 

We have made dinner plans for 8:30 at Giovanni’s upon return. The weather report says Sunny & mid 70s!

We’ll keep all posted!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

We enjoyed another wonderful day yesterday as visited Berlin. The concentration camp is so heartbreaking and just makes me shake my head in wondering how an educated civilization could have allowed this to happen. It was touching. The tour itself was very good. But it was also I think a bit too much for one day considering the amount of driving needed. We actually returned 1 1/2 hrs early as the driver & guide was concerned. According to them, out of Berlin SPB Tours has never missed returning to the ship on time. Our guide was very well studied and read. He was able to quote dates in history like no tomorrow, as well as quote many different people of various times in history.

 

Dinner at Giovanni’s was once again really enjoyable. Tonight we dine at Chops & today is our last port of call, Copenhagen. We’re hearing that Copenhagen is the prettiest port stop on the cruise. So we’re looking forward to it. Through Viator we have scheduled a 2 hr Segway Tour for 10:45am. We figured our feet and legs would be tired at this point of the cruise. Afterward, we’ll enjoy a nice lunch somewhere and just people watch.

[grapau27]

We enjoyed another wonderful day yesterday as visited Berlin. The concentration camp is so heartbreaking and just makes me shake my head in wondering how an educated civilization could have allowed this to happen. It was touching. The tour itself was very good. But it was also I think a bit too much for one day considering the amount of driving needed. We actually returned 1 1/2 hrs early as the driver & guide was concerned. According to them, out of Berlin SPB Tours has never missed returning to the ship on time. Our guide was very well studied and read. He was able to quote dates in history like no tomorrow, as well as quote many different people of various times in history.

 

Dinner at Giovanni’s was once again really enjoyable. Tonight we dine at Chops & today is our last port of call, Copenhagen. We’re hearing that Copenhagen is the prettiest port stop on the cruise. So we’re looking forward to it. Through Viator we have scheduled a 2 hr Segway Tour for 10:45am. We figured our feet and legs would be tired at this point of the cruise. Afterward, we’ll enjoy a nice lunch somewhere and just people watch.

The best place to eat and people watch is Nyhavn.

[steveru621]

Did Chops 2 nights ago at 40% off. Very nice at that price for 4 couples.

 

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[Blu Lenda]

Happy belated anniversary! I know this cruise was very special! My question is about souvenirs. We are taking the same cruise and are trying to pack light, but want to bring home souvenirs for the grandchildren. Not trying to be personal, but what kind of souvenirs did you get and how much space are they taking up in your suitcase? Totally confused about this packing light and wondering if I need to bring an extra bag. Thanks so much for all your helpful information .Have looked forward everyday to reading your about your adventures.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Happy belated anniversary! I know this cruise was very special! My question is about souvenirs. We are taking the same cruise and are trying to pack light, but want to bring home souvenirs for the grandchildren. Not trying to be personal, but what kind of souvenirs did you get and how much space are they taking up in your suitcase? Totally confused about this packing light and wondering if I need to bring an extra bag. Thanks so much for all your helpful information .Have looked forward everyday to reading your about your adventures.

 

Good question!

 

We always look for things that are flat. So T-Shirts generally work for us especially since we have only one grandchild and he’s three. But while in Helsinki, we found some finger puppets! We think he’ll enjoy those.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

Today we Segwayed all throughout the old town/city center of Copenhagen. It was really really fun! And very EZ as well. We cover y’all the hi-lights as well. I recommend this one big time. We walked off the ship and down to the Segway Shop, a 10 min walk from our cabin. After two hours we returned to where we started, did a bit of shopping and then found a great cafe to just chill & relax.

Good times!

[Goodtime Cruizin]

We’ve really enjoyed our cruise. It’s time to prepare and pack for the flight back to the states. We learned so much about the Baltic & Russian culture. And experienced so much as well. It’s been wonderful overall. From the Amsterdam Coffee Shops to the Mermaid in Copenhagen we’ve really had a great time.

 

As far as the ship and/or RCL, the Brilliance has been a great ship. The crew has been wonderful. The service by all who serve us has been top notch. With regards to the loyalty program offered by RCL we earned the level of Diamond on this trip a few nights ago. We also enjoyed a Grand Suite for the first time which was very nice. The Concierge Lounge was a bonus for us and I took advantage of the services offered and to cocktails they served.

 

We’ve also have been blessed to have shared this cruise w our life long friends and also met new friends. If you were on this sailing and we shared some time, Thank You for helping make our 40th very special.

 

To all that are planning this type of cruise, I sincerely hope this blog was helpful and that you have a great cruise.

 

We’re looking forward to our next cruise already! Feb 2019 Jewel of the Seas to the A,B,C 🌴 Islands.

 

Peace out to all !✌🏻

[sunfun1433]

Thanks for the great live report. I am doing a similar cruise in 1 month so I truly appreciated it! Safe travels home

Kim

[tvnewsengineer]

Great information and review. It has made us even more excited for our upcoming cruise on the 28th. Safe travels home and I look forward to future reviews/reports from you.

[Blu Lenda]

Thanks for a great review. We looked forward to each day reading about your adventures!

Thanks for all your tips and suggestions, they were so helpful. Have a safe trip home.

[lynne007]

It’s very difficult to post as the internet comes and goes on Royal’s Voom & surf plan. But thanks everyone for following. We’re on the ship and all is well! I’ll try posting a bit later

 

Hi Are there any public irons to use or ironing areas on the brilliance? going Baltics 9.6

[Clarea]

Hi Are there any public irons to use or ironing areas on the brilliance? going Baltics 9.6

No irons for guest use.

[lynne007]

No irons for guest use.

 

 

Thought not but we asked someone from customer services rci the other day and they said there were !!

[Clarea]

Thought not but we asked someone from customer services rci the other day and they said there were !!

The phone people are known for giving incorrect info. I think they have one of those Magic 8-Balls to generate answers.

[grapau27]

No irons for guest use.

P&O have a laundry room on each deck to wash clothes and an iron and board to press your clothes.

I have never seen this on RC.

 

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[lynne007]

i know princess and msc did my husband is distraught ! lol

[Vol fan]

Is there a Diamond Lounge in the Brilliance?

[Clarea]

Is there a Diamond Lounge in the Brilliance?

Yes, in the Viking Crown area.