Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Brilliance Transatlantic April 16, 2007

wingsrcl

By wingsrcl,
in LGBTQIA+ Cruisers

Recommended Posts

SPARKY123

SPARKY123

Posted
Posted

My partner and I booked last week on the April 16th Transatlantic. It's our 1st Transatlantic Cruise and we are both looking forward to it. The plan as of now is to spend 1 night prior in the Ft. Lauderdale area and then spend 1 night in Barcelona before heading back to Houston. Looking foward to meeting everyone!

 

donald

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ephraim

Ephraim

Posted
Posted

We went to Spain last year on vacation in April (for Semana Santa) and it was fantastic. In Barcelona you must go and see Segrada Familia (Holy Family) which is the cathedral that is still being built. Nothing can explain the genius of Gaudi better than actually seeing it.

 

We found it easier sometimes to read the signs in Catalan as it resembles French more than Castillian does. Find a hotel that it close to the metro. The hotel we were checked into was horrid and very far from the metro. It made it extremely difficult for travel, especially on Sunday where buses are more limited.

 

Anyone interested in seeing if we can make a dinner table? We have late seating. We are a couple of chubby bears in our early 40s who have been together so long it's sometimes hard to seperate us..... 17 years :eek:

 

It's out first time on RCI.... any hints? So far we are already worrying about having to tip the old fashioned way and not knowing who we will end up at the table with. So far we are 50/50 on set dining... a horrible experience with Carnival and a wonderful experience with Princess. Also, this is the first time that we have a balcony... we usually take inside cabins, but the price was so nice on this one, we decided to go for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wingsrcl

wingsrcl

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It's always nice to meet people who share some of the same interests! We have several months to chat about this cruise. We've done the Brilliance transatlantic before and we love the ship and the crew.

 

We are from Boston. * Sparky, you will love the transatlantic, it's the most relaxing experience. 7 days of bliss. We are doing the same thing, one night in Ft. Lauderdale and one or two in Barcelona. Montreal boys, you will love the cruise. We find Royal Caribbean very comparable to Princess, each with it's own style. As for Carnival, you won't be seeing us on a "fun cruise".

 

This will be our third transatlantic, one on Royal Caribbean and one on Celebrity. Happy Thanksgiving !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ephraim

Ephraim

Posted
Posted

Yves wants to know if you have to pay for your espresso after dinner (like on Princess) or not (like on NCL).

 

We are going to grab a flight on Vueling to Paris, probably the day after the cruise and then catch a charter out of Paris back to Montreal on Saturday. The charter on Sunday is about $167 dollars more. Saturday night just isn't that important :D.

 

If you have never been to Spain... I hope you like eating late. Dinnertime in Spain is usually around 10PM :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rienreiter

rienreiter

Posted
Posted
Yves wants to know if you have to pay for your espresso after dinner (like on Princess) or not (like on NCL).

 

Ephraim:

 

If Yves really enjoys a good espresso, my suggestion is that he go to the coffee bar on deck 5 by the atrium (I think it's called Seattle's Best Coffee or something like that). They have freshly brewed espressos there. The ones in the dining room have a tendency to be watered down. My partner never orders it in the dining room for this reason.

 

As far as the cost, I am not sure on RCI. Up until a couple of years ago, Princess did not charge for espresso at the dinner table. They changed that policy I think back in 2004 or 2005. However, even after Princess changed their policy, my partner has not paid for one single espresso at the dinner table. I don't know if it's the waiter or what but he has never been charged for one. On Princess he has only paid for it when he goes to the Patisserie.

 

Regards,

Juan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rienreiter

rienreiter

Posted
Posted

Hi Ruy!

 

How great to hear from you. Believe it or not, I am considering doing the westbound Brillie TA in Dec. 2007. But I have not made up my mind yet. I have local friends who will be on it and I really want to go with them and they are really trying hard to convince me to go. They are really great people that I met on my first TA in Nov. 2005 on the Brillie also right after I first got laid off from work. But like I said, sometimes work gets in the way so I do not really know yet what I'll end up doing. For sure I am doing a Caribbean cruise on the new "Liberty of the Seas" in July. My partner and I and other friends are planning a TA on the QM2 from Southampton to New York in October.

 

I have managed to return to my old employer with ALL benefits reinstated. That means that I have 6 weeks of vacation. Plenty of time for a few cruises per year.

 

I have taken a look at the itinerary on this one and I've already done most of the ports so it doesn't appeal to me that much. But sometimes who you travel with can be more important than the itinerary and the Brillie really is a very beautiful ship. I've already been on it 3 times. I was actually supposed to have been on the last TA that just arrived yesterday but didn't make it because I started working again.

 

Have you heard from Francois? He was in Miami two weeks ago after he returned from the Century TA from Barcelona he spent the night in Miami and we drove down to see him and met for dinner.

 

Please say hello to Dennis for me. Through Francois I heard that his father passed away.

 

Looks like this cruise is turning out to have a lot of family which should be a lot of fun. You guys always know how to attract a fun group.

 

Regards, Juan

 

PS Are your friends that are coming with you from Boston? Was it someone on the Connie TA last April?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wingsrcl

wingsrcl

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We are glad it all worked out well with your job, after so many years there you deserve it. Our friends who are going with us are from Florida. We also have some other friends going, but they aren't "family". We have to keep that table balanced !!! We can only hope it will be as "jolly" as when you were with us on the Constellation.

 

Francois came to vist us last week! He is doing good, and we saw the pictures of Century Transatlantic, and your visit.

 

As for the itinerary, we've been to Barcelona so many times, and I used to live in Portugal. We've done so much traveling with our careers, we don't care where the ship stops anymore! We are just happy to be on a ship.

 

Take care and keep in touch. R&D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rienreiter

rienreiter

Posted
Posted

Hi Ruy:

 

Well you never know what can happen. As I think I stated before, sometimes work gets in the way of play. I really want to do the Dec. westbound TA but that month may be difficult for me because of year end requirements where being away from the office for 2 weeks is just not possible. So I just may end up hopping onto this cruise instead. You just never know!

 

Regards, Juan

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
russg140

russg140

Posted
Posted

We just returned from the Brilliance TA Barcelona to Miami! We had a wonderful time - totally lucked out on the weather. Funchal was a disappointment, but Lisbon was fantastic. Check out www.insidelisbon.com - they offer great walking tours of the town. At Malaga we hired a car to take us to Ronda - a beautiful old town about 1 hour outside of Malaga (200 Euros). Definitely head to Nice when in Villefranche. Barcelona was nice - loved the Sagra Familia. Any questions, let me know.

Russ

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wingsrcl

wingsrcl

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We have a different itinerary... We don't visit Funchal or Villefrance. We call at Ponta Delgada, Lisbon, Cadiz, Malaga, Valencia and Barcelona. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Lisbon. It still remains somewhat "provincial" in comparison with other European capitals. I'm sorry you were dissapointed with Funchal, I spent a week there and really enjoyed it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rienreiter

rienreiter

Posted
Posted
I think what ruined Funchal's experience for Russ was the weather. I've heard that it rained miserably that day.

 

Please disregard this comment. I just realized that I got my cruises totally confused. Just had two friends who returned from a TA where both stopped in Funchal. One of them it rained miserably so I heard. It was not the Brilliance as they did have good weather.

 

Regards, Juan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ephraim

Ephraim

Posted
Posted

We were on the NCL Spirit in October. We were the only "Gays in the village". (A little Britain reference.) We showed up, to the "Friends of Dorothy" meeting and it was unhosted, so no one was sure who was there for the meeting and who wasn't. By the second day, we were the only ones showing up to the meetings. We met three staff members (two from the entertainment staff and one in management) at the bar, but that's it. And they weren't really there for the meeting, they just walked by.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
wingsrcl

wingsrcl

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well, now that Christmas is over, we decided we can't wait until April for the excitement, so we booked Celebrity Century, January 22nd, 5 night Miami - At Sea - Key West - Grand Cayman - At Sea - Miami. Prices are unbelievable for inside cabins... $299. for first person and half off for second person. We are still looking forward to the Transatlantic in April! I'm going to miss a balcony, but I can leave without it for five days!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
kwokpot

kwokpot

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone! This is Anthony. My partner & I will be on this cruise. This is our 2nd transactlantic; our 1st was in '05 on Princess, and we had a BLAST, MAINLY due to meeting a VERY nice group of GLBT cruisers. We were able to bond with another couple, and did port excursions, and even toured together in London post-cruise. Hope to have another fun experience.

 

We haven't cruised since the end of '05, due to having relocated from NYC to Philadelphia last yr.

 

We are taking a short Carribbean cruise on NCL the end of this month,; it will be our 1st real vacation in a yr!

 

Looking forward to meeting everyone, sharing meals, dancing in the disco, and hoping to share some good times and port tours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...