British Isles Brilliance of the Seas Review May 15 - 28/18

[JillK]

Jill K, thanks so much for your wonderful review! We will be on the Brillance this August for the Baltic leg, and I also have a couple of questions for you.

 

#1 - How cold was it in the dining room, theater, public areas? Our last Caribbean cruise felt a bit over-airconditioned. I had brought some cute sleeveless evening things for formal wear, dinner, etc. -- but no one could see them because I was freezing & had to wear either sweaters or jackets over them.

 

#2 - Mini fridge in the cabin: is it stocked & can you have the cabin steward remove those things so you can put your own items in the fridge?

 

#3 - Is the cabin steward able to provide extra hangers? I like to hang my clothes so the wrinkles will fall out, and 4 or 5 hangers is just not enough.

 

#4 - How was the ship's coffee? I am debating about buying a coffee card as I am a Nespresso drinker at home. For port days: does the Brilliance have free room service in the morning for coffee/continental breakfast -- or will I need to go to Windjammer for a quick breakfast? On my last cruise the room service coffee was pretty bad, but was much better at the main dining room.

 

#5 - Also for port days, is it possible to get a late lunch or snack in the Windjammer (or elsewhere) if you return to the ship around 3-4pm? Some ships it can be difficult to find food between lunch & dinner.

 

Thanks again for all the GREAT information you are providing for us.

 

---- Rene

 

Hi Rene!

 

I too always freeze in the evening when sailing in the Caribbean and as a result I did pack a formal black sweater that I could use in the evenings but I never needed it. The public spaces were quite comfortable in both a light sleeved blouse and my formal sleeveless dress.

 

We peeked in the mini-fridge only once and found it empty so stock away!

 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were more hangers than we could use in our cabin so were able to hang all our blouses, dress shirts, dresses and formal pants with some left over. We usually have to double up but did not have that issues in our cabin.

 

I did not like the coffee they served and found myself going without morning coffee on most days because of this. At home I always have decaf in the afternoon/evening but the decaf in both the windjammer and dining room wasn't very good. We had pre-purchased the coffee card and really enjoyed the Americano and cappuccinos here. If you really like a good coffee, then you should get the card. I did see the cards for room service that you hang off your cabin door but we never used this service and can't advise on whether it was free or with a charge. I hope someone else can answer this for you.

 

The Windjammer seemed to be open until 4:00 - 4:30 on port days and we often found ourselves eating lunch between 2:30 - 4:00 when we had an excursion booked, unless we ate on land. When the windjammer was closed between lunch and dinner and then late night, they had food available in the solarium at what they are calling the "Park Cafe." You could find sandwiches, fruit, salads, pizza and soup here every afternoon and night.

 

No doubt you will thoroughly enjoy the Baltic cruise - happy cruising!

[JillK]

Great review Jill!! Thanks so much for all the info. We are flying AC on the same flights so your experience is very valuable! Just a quick question, do you recall if the Brillance had a “balloon drop” as this could be a health concern for me? Thanks for all the info you are providing!!

 

 

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Even though we were cattle in economy for both legs, we found both flights to be very comfortable (I really like the Dreamliner - great plane). Our only regret was that we weren't able to get any sleep on the way there which made the transition more difficult than it could have been. Otherwise it was lovely. They do serve dinner around 10:00 pm and then on our flight only had 2 hours with the lights fully off. They were kind enough to turn the lights back on and ask us if we wanted to buy duty free around 2:00 am EDT.

 

I didn't mention in my review but our return flight was delayed by over an hour. We boarded on time but just sat in the plane at the gate for an extra hour. The captain did make an announcement about a repair that had been done and then we needed to wait for the cargo doors to be closed before we were able to taxi for takeoff. Otherwise, a smooth flight and by far the quickest debarkation, immigration and bag collection experience I have ever had at Pearson (half an hour from gate to parking shuttle).

 

I didn't see a balloon drop but we didn't spend a lot of time in the Centrum area. I recall seeing streamers and confetti one night though. Perhaps someone else could who has been aboard the Brilliance this season and spent more time in this area could chime in....

 

I hope you thoroughly enjoy your cruise!

[phabric]

I enjoyed your review as I had been to many of the same ports and tours.

 

It looks like you used Air Canada to Amsterdam. I plan on using Air Canada to Amsterdam for my river cruise. How did you find the flight? We plan on taking Premium Economy.

 

 

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[JillK]

I enjoyed your review as I had been to many of the same ports and tours.

 

It looks like you used Air Canada to Amsterdam. I plan on using Air Canada to Amsterdam for my river cruise. How did you find the flight? We plan on taking Premium Economy.

 

 

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We enjoyed our flights with Air Canada. Before booking, we were also pricing Air Transat as well as KLM. We found the flight times with Air Canada to be better and in the end decided to use points to help lower the overall cost.

 

Both outbound and inbound flights were very comfortable. We were originally scheduled to be in a smaller plane but about 4 months before our outbound flight Air Canada switched to the Boeing Dreamliner with I find to be a very comfortable plane.

 

We flew economy and were comfortable. We were in the second row of regular economy, just behind the Premium Economy seats so we got a good look at that area. I'm sure you will be very comfortable there. They are larger seats and you are treated to a better level of service with more amenities (upgraded meal, hot towels, more attentive staff).

 

I believe that you are boarded before regular economy as well, but I can't say for sure. We generally are in no rush to cram ourselves into the plane, especially for such a lengthy flight as this one so we always hang around until near the end of boarding to get on (and in the case of our return flight, our boarding area number was never called so we were among the last few to board).

[phabric]

Thanks for the information.

[Hoopster95]

Hi! We also found the air to be pricey and the prices did go up as the date grew closer. In the end we used Aeroplan points but still had a $1100 tax bill. We saved 60% vs. paying full fare at the time we booked.

 

 

Jill, I just want to say thank you for answering my questions yesterday... you've been most helpful to everyone here.:D

This is what CC should be for... not the b.s. argumentative threads we seem to get everyday on this forum

 

Re Canadian flights for next year to those asking, AirTransat had a superb sale in January for all Europe flights.

From Vancouver return (1 stop Calgary there, non-stop return) on A330 was $1100 Canadian on their sale... not a typo... return.

In fact, I booked their business class (I plan to sleep) for $2100 return. Great sale! If I remember correctly from Toronto or Montreal flights were around $650-$700 return.... again in Canadian funds.

 

Re coffee... I have always found Windjammer, main dining, Sorrento's Cafe, etc regular coffee to be quite bad on many RCL sailings. The last brand I noted they were using was Lavazzia, an Italian grind, which is better when I use it at home so I think they just make it weak to save money... for those not in tune with RCL the past two years.... everything they do is all about saving money or charging more money for everything in order to make more money :mad:

Anyhow, I recommend any coffee connoisseurs get the coffee card or beverage package which includes specialty coffees so that you can get lattes/cappuccinos at Cafe Latitudes on deck 6 in the Centrum anytime you wish.

[JillK]

Jill: thanks for a great report. I read the first 3 reports but time is running short. We leave in 3 hours to fly to Amsterdam for the BOTS baltic and then BI) so I printed out to read while on our layover in Heathrow. But looked great and thank for posting.

 

 

 

You’ll owe us a review upon your return!

 

 

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[sokrfamily]

Great review, Jill! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us. My family and I are on the 6/21 sailing. My kids are older--16 and 20--but I am a little concerned now that there won't be anyone their ages on board! Hopefully since our cruise is a few weeks after yours schools will be out and there will be more families on board.

 

I am glad to hear that you thought your room location was good--our room is near where yours was but is a balcony room.

 

We booked many of the same ship excursions as you, so I am also glad to hear that you were pleased with them.

 

We were waffling about purchasing the BOGO specialty dinners for the first two nights, but after reading about your excellent meals I think we may have to do that now. :)

 

I was already very excited about our upcoming cruise and am every more excited after reading your review!!!:D

 

Our boys are 15 and 18 going on this cruise!

[JillK]

Great review, Jill! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us. My family and I are on the 6/21 sailing. My kids are older--16 and 20--but I am a little concerned now that there won't be anyone their ages on board! Hopefully since our cruise is a few weeks after yours schools will be out and there will be more families on board.

 

I am glad to hear that you thought your room location was good--our room is near where yours was but is a balcony room.

 

We booked many of the same ship excursions as you, so I am also glad to hear that you were pleased with them.

 

We were waffling about purchasing the BOGO specialty dinners for the first two nights, but after reading about your excellent meals I think we may have to do that now. :)

 

I was already very excited about our upcoming cruise and am every more excited after reading your review!!!:D

 

I'm sure your family will thoroughly enjoy this cruise, there certainly is lots to do and it is a very busy itinerary. You may find more younger people on a late June sail date than we had on ours as well so hopefully your children will find other passengers they can spend some time hanging out with.

 

If you like steak, I highly recommend Chops and the food at Giovanni's was also very good.

 

Wishing you great weather and smooth seas!

[JillK]

Re Canadian flights for next year to those asking, AirTransat had a superb sale in January for all Europe flights.

From Vancouver return (1 stop Calgary there, non-stop return) on A330 was $1100 Canadian on their sale... not a typo... return.

In fact, I booked their business class (I plan to sleep) for $2100 return. Great sale! If I remember correctly from Toronto or Montreal flights were around $650-$700 return.... again in Canadian funds.

 

WOW. You did really well on those flights!! I spent the same amount of people but gave up 90,000 aeroplan miles as well.

 

Re coffee... I have always found Windjammer, main dining, Sorrento's Cafe, etc regular coffee to be quite bad on many RCL sailings. The last brand I noted they were using was Lavazzia, an Italian grind, which is better when I use it at home so I think they just make it weak to save money... for those not in tune with RCL the past two years.... everything they do is all about saving money or charging more money for everything in order to make more money :mad:

Anyhow, I recommend any coffee connoisseurs get the coffee card or beverage package which includes specialty coffees so that you can get lattes/cappuccinos at Cafe Latitudes on deck 6 in the Centrum anytime you wish.

 

Agreed that if you like having good coffee you need to get the card. My hubby only occasionally drinks coffee so it's no big deal to him. At home I'm a two cups in the morning and one decaf after dinner kind of a girl.

 

I found the coffee in the Windjammer to be so bad that I just stopped drinking coffee in the morning. If we had time to grab one before our tour met I would get one at Cafe Latitudes but most days there was a line-up and I had to go see the world un-caffeinated. I somehow managed to survive.

 

The card is well worth the money if coffee is important to you. Beware that one "punch" is one shot of espresso. One day I had to wait a significant amount of time while a lady argued with the barista that she had gotten a double shot for one punch and should be given the same again. She was so indignant that they were going to charge her two punches. I clearly recall reading somewhere on the website when I bought it that it was one punch for one shot and I couldn't figure out why she wasn't just happy that she had gotten an extra the day before. It takes all kinds, I guess!

[tugtraveller]

Jill K -- thank you so much for taking the time to answer all my questions. It is greatly appreciated, especially since I was caught off guard on our Caribbean cruise with the over-airconditioning in the MDR.

 

Hoopster95--- thank you, as well. What a great resource our fellow cruisers are here on Cruise Critic. Thank you all!

[j2ink]

Thanks for the great review. We are booked on the same cruise on June 21. Did you have two or three formal nights? Do you recall which days they were?

[JillK]

Thanks for the great review. We are booked on the same cruise on June 21. Did you have two or three formal nights? Do you recall which days they were?

 

Hi! I'm sure that you are counting down the days until you leave for your upcoming trip. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did mine.

 

We had two formal nights. They were on day 2 and day 11, both of which were sea days.

 

Hope this helps and happy cruising.

[itsanita]

JillK thanks so much for your review....it was great. We are on a similar cruise in August and it was good to get your input. I have only one question. Do you remember the name of the pub you enjoyed in the Temple Bar area?

[phabric]

We enjoyed our flights with Air Canada. Before booking, we were also pricing Air Transat as well as KLM. We found the flight times with Air Canada to be better and in the end decided to use points to help lower the overall cost.

 

Both outbound and inbound flights were very comfortable. We were originally scheduled to be in a smaller plane but about 4 months before our outbound flight Air Canada switched to the Boeing Dreamliner with I find to be a very comfortable plane.

 

We flew economy and were comfortable. We were in the second row of regular economy, just behind the Premium Economy seats so we got a good look at that area. I'm sure you will be very comfortable there. They are larger seats and you are treated to a better level of service with more amenities (upgraded meal, hot towels, more attentive staff).

 

I believe that you are boarded before regular economy as well, but I can't say for sure. We generally are in no rush to cram ourselves into the plane, especially for such a lengthy flight as this one so we always hang around until near the end of boarding to get on (and in the case of our return flight, our boarding area number was never called so we were among the last few to board).

 

I am curious with Air Canada about their meals, if I should eat something before the flight.

 

Did you get a dinner and a breakfast going?

 

Did get a lunch coming back?

[yuvraj]

Thank you for the review. I did the British Isles cruise with another cruise line and your review brought back fond memories.

 

I would recommend the British Isles cruise to everyone. It really is good.

[JillK]

JillK thanks so much for your review....it was great. We are on a similar cruise in August and it was good to get your input. I have only one question. Do you remember the name of the pub you enjoyed in the Temple Bar area?

 

Unfortunately I don't recall and I sent all our receipts to be recycled last week after I had verified and paid them.

 

We did walk in the area for a bit - there are so many options it was a little overwhelming.

 

My hubby asked a bouncer at one of the pubs where he could find the best fish and chips... we were directed to a side street and went to check them out. Turns out it was more of a fast food type of a place and we were really wanting a sit down pub experience so we popped into the pub immediately to the right of the fish and chips place.

 

I'm sure you will have no problem finding some good food and cold beer in the area though.

[JillK]

I am curious with Air Canada about their meals, if I should eat something before the flight.

 

Did you get a dinner and a breakfast going?

 

Did get a lunch coming back?

 

Hi there!

 

We were also unsure of what the meal would be like. I had never flown internationally before and had never had an in-flight meal. We also were hungry well ahead of boarding the flight since it left at 9:00 pm.

 

We decided to get dinner at the airport before clearing security and as a result, when the meal was served around 10:00 pm we only picked at it since we were unsure of when we would be eating again. There was a choice of chicken or pasta, with a roll, a coleslaw and a dessert. They also offer the usual sodas and juices as well as complimentary beer and wine if you're so inclined.

 

The chicken dish was better than I was expecting.

 

We did not get served breakfast but did get a cold snack around an hour and a half before landing (can't recall what that was but I did eat it- obviously not memorable).

 

They also came around one more time with full beverage service and then once with water.

 

On our return flight, we were served lunch, choice of chicken or pasta with the same sides as our previous flight. We were served a hot snack (vegetarian or chicken hand pie) about 2 hours before landing. They offered three full beverage services, I assume one more than our outbound flight because this was daytime and everyone was awake.

 

All in all, both flights were very comfortable and we were happy with the service. Enjoy!

[phabric]

Thanks for the Air Canada information. I was on Air Transat flight to Paris because we left after 10pm there was no meal if we had known we would have had something at the airport.

[lovesthebeach2]

Thanks for all the info. We are on the June 21 sailing and I have one question. Since Amsterdam is one hour different than the UK ports, did the ship change time? I’ll admit to being one of those who gets confused if ship time and port time are not the same.

 

Thanks!

 

Yes the ship changed time.....BUT when we got back to Amsterdam the clock on the TV didn’t change, I checked it when I got up.... luckily I had a wake up call. I kept my watch on US East coast time because my phone kept changing times, especially when we left Dover, it changed twice before we came back to Amsterdam.

[cruiztime]

Thanks again Jill for the wonderful review and for the information others have added! We sail in July on the Brilliance and I am wondering if we need to have pound currency available for use in Scotland and England? I believe Ireland uses the euro? I don’t like using my credit card for small purchases nor do I like to use foreign ATMs. I am able to get a slightly preferred rate for foreign currency before I leave Canada, so I just need to know what currency to purchase to take along. Also Jill, you mentioned you pre-purchased The Dublin Pass, would you recommend doing this? We are just about duplicating your travels! Maybe you should come on the trip again in July and be our tour guide. We live just outside Toronto, so we could pick you up on our way to Pearson!!

 

 

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[JillK]

Thanks again Jill for the wonderful review and for the information others have added! We sail in July on the Brilliance and I am wondering if we need to have pound currency available for use in Scotland and England? I believe Ireland uses the euro? I don’t like using my credit card for small purchases nor do I like to use foreign ATMs. I am able to get a slightly preferred rate for foreign currency before I leave Canada, so I just need to know what currency to purchase to take along. Also Jill, you mentioned you pre-purchased The Dublin Pass, would you recommend doing this? We are just about duplicating your travels! Maybe you should come on the trip again in July and be our tour guide. We live just outside Toronto, so we could pick you up on our way to Pearson!!

 

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Thanks for the offer... doubt I can talk my parents into taking our kids for another two weeks, otherwise I would love to go again! :D

 

And yes you absolutely need pounds. You will need it for the majority of your stops... all Scotland, Guernsey, Holyhead and Dover. Ireland is indeed in Euros. I was so focused on figuring out how many euros I needed for the pre-cruise days in Amsterdam and our overnight in Dublin that I completely forgot to order the pounds. We ended up using credit for our purchases but a little bit of cash would have been great for smaller purchases like refreshments and change for the public toilets (a few places you will need to coins for the loo).

 

I did a lot of research with Dublin. Since we didn't have a "be back on board" time for day 1, I really wanted to build our own day of sightseeing without using a ship excursion. When I factored in the individual cost of the things we really wanted to see, the Dublin Pass worked out best for us.

 

You will need to (realistically) plan your day, see what is covered by the pass and then price it all out to determine what makes the most financial sense. The pass was easy to use and we had no issues with it at any of the locations we visited so based on that alone, I would recommend it. https://www.dublinpass.com/

 

We only did the one day pass as we had already purchased the Smithwick's Small Group tour to Kilkenny for the second day but you could always buy a multi-day pass if you plan on staying in Dublin proper as it might be the most cost-effective way to see the major sites. The only thing not included that we would wanted to was was the Book of Kells at Trinity College. I guess I'll just have to plan another trip to knock that one off the list.

 

Best wishes for beautiful weather and a fabulous cruise. Please do report back and let us all know how you enjoyed it! Happy sailing.

[kalliekae]

Great review! We would like to do this cruise next year so I really appreciate your in-depth review.

[cruisequeen4ever]

In Guernsey, were the seas rough? I read the Royal Princess didn’t go that day due to rough seas.

 

 

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[squadron]

Thanks for the Air Canada information. I was on Air Transat flight to Paris because we left after 10pm there was no meal if we had known we would have had something at the airport.

 

I flew West Jet - Torono to Dublin - NO FOOD.