Trying to decide between Brilliance and Emerald Princess

[cadburysmom]

Hi experienced Med cruisers,

 

Has anyone here been lucky enough to cruise both ships in the Mediterranean? I'm trying to decide between the Brilliance of the Seas and Emerald Princess for my 14 yr old son and I next summer. I'm a Platinum member with Princess so am leaning towards the Emerald Princess but have read so many rave reviews about Brilliance.

 

The similar ports on both cruises sound great but I like that Princess offers Venice. It offers less sea days so I'm wondering if it's too port intensive. The Brilliance cruise we're considering is roundtrip from Barcelona stopping at Monaco-Florence-Rome-Mykonos-Santorini-Kusadasi-Athens-Naples but offers more at sea days which might make for a more restful cruise.

 

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated!!

[SelectSys]

I went on the Brilliance of the Seas on almost the exact same itinerary as you listed with our family a few of years ago. The kids were 9 and 11 at the time. It remains our all time favorite cruise. The sea days were great on our trip and the ship has enough kids and activities during the summer to keep everyone happy. We did the Navigator of the Seas (again as a family) this summer on the med and while it was nice, the Brilliance - at least from my perspective - is a nicer ship. Note that the Brilliance also has a cruise that visits Venice.

 

I can't help you with Princess as we have been fairly loyal to Royal Caribbean. I do like the Princess itineraries and will probably try them out one of these days.

[Beth & Rob]

We do Brilliance in October and have an overnight in Venice. Although I would've loved to do more of the one you are considering since I've been to most of Italy before (30 years tho)

 

I think either would be wonderful for your teen........to be able to start seeing parts of the world at this age.......it almost doesn't matter where, this will open a love for history.

[Fblack]

I have been on the Radiance twice and Star and Sapphire Princess. For me, and for kids, I'll take the Brilliance. Much more for kids to do on the Brilliance. Plus I found that the Emerald has some higher fares since it is a newer ship.

 

I too am a Platinum member on Princess as well as on RCCL and Elite on Celebrity. The best perk on Princess is the reduced Internet. That is not enough reason to stay with Princess.

 

BTW.. I am booked on the Radiance AND the Brilliance for future cruises.

[threeofus]

We sailed the jewel last year which is the same class as the brilliance. Beautiful ship. - lots of glass. Nice size as well. I will tell you that the Jewel is one of my favorite ships. Not too big...not too small.

 

I must admit though....that I wish we had the personal choice dining on our 2008 RCL Legend Cruise. The traditional dining on RCL is a drawback for sure especially on a med. cruise where you will be out and about most of the day.

 

People will say that there are long waits for seating with Personal Choice - but we did the 11 night Panama Canal on Princess and it was fine. You just have to call in the morning and reserve your time. By looking at your itinerary you will have an idea of when you would like to have dinner. You're not locked into a 6:30 or 8:30 or whatever.....

 

So look at the whole picture and then make your decision and don't look back...I am sure you will have a wonderful time whatever your choose.

[Nanatravel]

If the itineraries & time in port are similar then you may wish to use other factors to make a decision. Brillance is RT while Emerald is One-way including overnight in Venice. Brillance has a traditional dining plan, where as Emerald has Personal Choice. I found the PC dining to be perfect for us on our Emerald Med cruise. We never waited more than 5 minutes in line (7 PM to 8:30PM) as long as we were flexible and agreed to sit with others. We also never went to a specility restaurant on Princess. W eenjoyed the 24hr. buffet, too on Princecc. The MUTS on Princess might be a great relaxation time for both of you, while the climbing wall may interest your son.

 

No matter what ship you choose, have a great vacation. I highly recommend private tours to get the most out of each day at port at the best price.

 

Bon Voyage

[cadburysmom]

I went on the Brilliance of the Seas on almost the exact same itinerary as you listed with our family a few of years ago. The kids were 9 and 11 at the time. It remains our all time favorite cruise. The sea days were great on our trip and the ship has enough kids and activities during the summer to keep everyone happy. We did the Navigator of the Seas (again as a family) this summer on the med and while it was nice, the Brilliance - at least from my perspective - is a nicer ship. Note that the Brilliance also has a cruise that visits Venice.

 

I can't help you with Princess as we have been fairly loyal to Royal Caribbean. I do like the Princess itineraries and will probably try them out one of these days.

 

Select,

 

TWO med cruises...WOW! Glad you had a good time and thanks for your input abut Brilliance. :)

[cadburysmom]

We do Brilliance in October and have an overnight in Venice. Although I would've loved to do more of the one you are considering since I've been to most of Italy before (30 years tho)

 

I think either would be wonderful for your teen........to be able to start seeing parts of the world at this age.......it almost doesn't matter where, this will open a love for history.

 

Beth & Rob,

 

Thanks for your comment about taking my teen. Just the other day someone told me I was crazy to even consider it but he loves history and I can't think of a better (and safer) way for the two of us to travel. Besides, before long, he'll be too busy thinking about girls and won't want to cruise with his boring ol' mom. ;)

 

Thanks again and have a GREAT cruise in October!

[cadburysmom]

I have been on the Radiance twice and Star and Sapphire Princess. For me, and for kids, I'll take the Brilliance. Much more for kids to do on the Brilliance. Plus I found that the Emerald has some higher fares since it is a newer ship.

 

I too am a Platinum member on Princess as well as on RCCL and Elite on Celebrity. The best perk on Princess is the reduced Internet. That is not enough reason to stay with Princess.

 

BTW.. I am booked on the Radiance AND the Brilliance for future cruises.

 

Fblack,

 

Good point about Princess perks. And so nice to get a point of view from someone who's traveled both(or similar) ships. :)

 

Thanks!

[cadburysmom]

We sailed the jewel last year which is the same class as the brilliance. Beautiful ship. - lots of glass. Nice size as well. I will tell you that the Jewel is one of my favorite ships. Not too big...not too small.

 

I must admit though....that I wish we had the personal choice dining on our 2008 RCL Legend Cruise. The traditional dining on RCL is a drawback for sure especially on a med. cruise where you will be out and about most of the day.

 

People will say that there are long waits for seating with Personal Choice - but we did the 11 night Panama Canal on Princess and it was fine. You just have to call in the morning and reserve your time. By looking at your itinerary you will have an idea of when you would like to have dinner. You're not locked into a 6:30 or 8:30 or whatever.....

 

So look at the whole picture and then make your decision and don't look back...I am sure you will have a wonderful time whatever your choose.

 

Threeofus,

 

Mealtimes...another great point I hadn't considered. And wow, I'd love to do a Panama Canal cruise. Glad you enjoyed it.

 

THANKS! :)

[cadburysmom]

If the itineraries & time in port are similar then you may wish to use other factors to make a decision. Brillance is RT while Emerald is One-way including overnight in Venice. Brillance has a traditional dining plan, where as Emerald has Personal Choice. I found the PC dining to be perfect for us on our Emerald Med cruise. We never waited more than 5 minutes in line (7 PM to 8:30PM) as long as we were flexible and agreed to sit with others. We also never went to a specility restaurant on Princess. W eenjoyed the 24hr. buffet, too on Princecc. The MUTS on Princess might be a great relaxation time for both of you, while the climbing wall may interest your son.

 

No matter what ship you choose, have a great vacation. I highly recommend private tours to get the most out of each day at port at the best price.

 

Bon Voyage

 

Nanatravel,

 

Another good point.

 

Wow....now you're making me want to do Princess. My son has never sailed them with me, only Disney.

 

I really enjoyed MUTS as well as the 24 hr buffet on the Caribbean and Crown Princess. Even had my son drooling over the fact some nights they let the teens play PS2 games on the MUTS screen at midnight, while music videos and movies played by day.

 

Mmmmmmmm....tough choice.

 

Thanks! :)

[vacationhappy]

We regularly cruise Princess and RCCL - I vote Princess for the Med - first, we LOVED MUTS after a long day in port. My kids (young teens) loved it. Second, anytime dining was great after a long day. We never had problems with long wait times and it was nice to relax during sail away. Sail away from each port on Princess is a treat. There is a guide on the speaker system that would point out sites that can only be seen from the water - for example, the rock formations at the mouth of the harbor in Mykonos - in addition, when you are in Italy, Italian opera is played over the loud speaker for a short time during sail away.

 

And third, we really liked the self-serve laundry on the longer cruises. It was great just to throw the bathing suits in the wash after a day at the beach...

[kestrel]

We cruised on Grand Princess with 3 kids (14, 12 and 9) a couple years ago. We picked Grand Princess because of the itinerary. The cruise was from Rome to Venice. We stayed in Rome for a couple days before the cruise. After the cruise, we stayed one more day in Venice, and then rented a car to drive to Florence before returning back to Rome. This gave us enough time to see Rome, Florence and Venice. It also allowed us to visit only Pisa when the cruise stopped in Livorno.

 

As other posters have already mentioned, Med cruise is port intensive, and itinerary is more important than the ship itself. Venice is my daughter's favorite port. I think it's because Venice is very different from other ports.

 

If you are too exhausted during the cruise, you can always "create your own sea days" by skipping or spending only half day touring some not-so-interesting ports. :)