Just off Brilliance of the Seas - first cruise after dry dock

[tocanada]

I have also submitted this as a review but thought some might like to read this now.

This was my 15th cruise with Royal Caribbean and my 6th time on Brilliance of the Seas. I was on the transatlantic crossing on April 14th, 2008 and took this cruise as I was interested to see what changes had been made to the ship while in Dry Dock in Hamburg.

Initially, I was a little disappointed as there did not appear to be much change but as I walked around the ship, I saw quite a few improvements. I had the same cabin (1104). There was new carpeting, a new chair and perhaps best of all a new toilet flushing button which worked significantly better than the previous one. The television set, three seat couch, balcony furniture etc was unchanged.

Around the ship, I noticed new carpeting in the dining room, the theatre has new big screens on each side of the stage, and there is some new furniture. In the Concierge lounge, the wood floor has been replaced (same design as before) but everything else looks the same.

The big change is that the ship looks a lot cleaner and fresher. All the carpeting and furnishings have either been replaced or cleaned.

The main reason for the dry dock was to install a new diesel engine that will be used while the ship is in port. I heard that it is currently not working.

As for the cruise, it was a wonderful four days. The sail away from Hamburg down the Elbe river was fantastic. We had a day at sea followed by a day in Oslo, another day at sea and then to Southampton.

I arrived at the ship at about 11.20 and check-in commenced about 11.40. It was very quick and we were able to go straight to our cabins. My luggage was in my cabin before 2.00pm ( a record – good German efficiency!).

Most of the officers were the same as the transatlantic crossing but the captain is now Hakan Lindegren. Bill Brunkhorst was back as cruise director and did a great job. Of the 1,800 passengers, 1,600 were German so Bill had Katja Hermann translate on stage. I was very impressed with Bill whose attempts at German seemed to get better each day!

Ingrid Ruiz De Castilla was in the Concierge lounge and was just excellent and a real credit to RCL. I hope she stays in that job.

Pablo was the Loyalty ambassador and did his usual excellent job.

I was thrilled to see Grace back in the Centrum. It was so nice to hear her beautiful voice again. As one crew member told me – “The Brilliance, the Med and Grace in the Centrum – what could be better!” I totally agree.

On Cruise Critic, there was mention of new laundry discount coupons but we still had Version 8, which includes the Casino Credit coupons of $12 for $10 (a better deal!)

Portofinos was closed for the cruise. Initially, I heard that there was a problem in the galley but then I heard that they did not have enough staff. There were no production shows as the singers and dancers were to join the ship in Southampton.

We docked at Southampton about 7.30am and I walked off the ship with my luggage and then walked to the railway station (about a 10 minute walk). All very quick and efficient.

Brilliance was my first RCL cruise and it will probably always be my favourite ship. What stands out for me about Brilliance is their exceptional crew. They are all so friendly and helpful and it was great to be back onboard again.

andrew

[lv2cruisgrl]

Thanks for the info, we were on Brilliance when she took her last Panama Canal trip, it was wonderful. The staff and Chef on that ship was the best. We were wondering what they did as updates because we had heard one thing they were adding was some mechanical equipment in the engine room. Thanks again....

[heatherb1958]

Hi Andrew glad you enjoyed your 4 nighter. We will be on her for 21 nights in Jan.

Did you bump into Robert again? Our waiter we both had on your first cruise.

See you in September :) .

[tocanada]

Hi Andrew glad you enjoyed your 4 nighter. We will be on her for 21 nights in Jan.

Did you bump into Robert again? Our waiter we both had on your first cruise.

See you in September :) .

 

Hi Heather,

No, Robert left the ship in Southampton for a vacation in Rumania. He is a great guy and I was sorry not to see him again this time.

andrew

[little britain]

Review – Brilliance of the Seas – repo from Hamburg to Southampton.

May 15 2008

We flew from LHR from the much maligned new T5 – but must admit we were most impressed. Less than 10 minutes from the automated check-in through security. Nicely laid out, very modern and bright, good range of shops and eateries. It is only a short fight to Hamburg. We caught a cab into town for €27 to meet with a friend for lunch. From the restaurant we walked to the port which is in the middle of a major urban renewal area (that means a building site). We arrived around 1.30. boarding did not officially start till 2p but there was a long line out of the one building. No signs anywhere that indicated separate lines for suite guests and/or Platinum and Diamond guests. We queue-jumped to the front, asked, and were shown to a check-in agent within a few minutes.

We had treated ourselves to the famous JS #1100 at the aft for this short trip. Two C&A points and a large balcony! This room certainly lives up to the fame that precedes it. It is wonderful! Tucked away round the corner at the end of deck 10, it is in a quiet location. There is the largest walk-in wardrobe I have seen – there is space for a single bed in there and then still space so it could certainly be used as a changing area.

The bed room area was approx 14’x16’. Bed with rounded edges, the new blue bed throws and cushions, a blue sofa, red easy chair and foot stool, red and blue curtains, carpet and dresser chair. There is a large amount of storage – 6 drawers, and 3 small cupboard areas in the dresser. The balcony is large as expected, with 2 loungers, 2 chairs and a table. We did not feel we were overlooked from people in the Windjammer at all. We also heard no noise from above either.

Sailaway from Hamburg was great. This is the only RCI cruise leaving this city this season, so we had the fireboat escorting us down the Elbe. The Canal goes on for hours, people lining the bank waving in the afternoon sunshine. There is a small jetty after an hour – this had a band playing and they made an announcement from the jetty wishing us a good journey. Brilliance tooted in return.

This was our first time on a Radiance class ship. It has become our favourite class already. Just the right size, beautifully laid out, a nice atrium, and great selection of bars all with lots of windows and views of the passing ocean. The layout of the Colony Club at the aft of deck 6 was our favourite place to sit and watch the waves.

I had called C&A in England 5 times before we left to try and get reservations at Chops confirmed; we went to check and they had no record of us. We booked for the 2nd night and because it was so good we booked again for the last night. Chops was not full on either occasion – I think this was due to the demographic on board (more on this later!). We also booked Portofinos but on the first day we got a call saying they had an electrical fault in the galley so it was cancelled. I had a quick look at the menu and it was the ‘old’ one with the seafood skewer on it. On the last night we got a tray in our room as an apology for this inconvenience – a cheese plate and a plate of strawberrys and other small cakes.

We had pre-booked MyTime dining for the remaining nights. As we walked round the dining room taking pictures there was a constant stream of people signing up for this. On the 2 occasions we ate in the dining room we arrived around 8.15 and were seated immediately – table for 2 by the window. Food came promptly and was hot and very good. We are huge fans of MyTime and wish RCI well with it. It certainly seemed to be working on this cruise. The menus had changed slightly – an introduction of an Indian dish to the entrees, and the removal of the separate salad course. Menus are now presented in a hard brown cover and look a lot classier than before.

The ship was not full – 1800 passengers of which 1600 were Germans. Announcements were made in both languages with German often the first! So it was not really like any other RCI cruise we have been on! There was a traditional German band playing in the Atrium, and the food in the Windjammer was certainly more Germanic (lots of sausages!).

On the first day we ate breakfast in the dining room. Again it was the ‘old’ menu that still featured Eggs Benedict. We eat in the dining room to avoid the scrum of the buffet but for some reason there was also a buffet set up in the dining room. The waiters seemed to be confused as to how to seat a table for 8...perhaps they had forgotten what to do in their 2-weeks of dry dock. This is the only area where I felt the staff were not on the ball. We ate future breakfasts in the Windjammer. DH discovered a small area that featured English bacon and black pudding so he was happy.

We had a day at sea after leaving Hamburg. The Germans as a race are famed for their reserving of places by the pool – and true to form there was a towel on each seat well before breakfast had even started! We did get seats in the Solarium area in the afternoon on each sea-day. There were children in the Solarium and despite several signs requesting that you did not reserve chairs the staff did not remove the towels (or the children!)

We arrived in Oslo on their National Day. Thousands of flag waving locals in national dress. There was a long parade of school children and marching bands through the streets up past the Royal Palace where the Royal Family were on the balcony. It was very cold with rain. It was also very expensive – one beer cost 66NOK which is £6.60/$13!! The sailaway was very scenic down a long inlet with small islands.

Entertainment on board was low key. There were no traditional RCI shows. There was the tribute act Abbacadabra which I saw a few weeks before on Independence. Everyone knows the songs of Abba and everyone was soon up dancing. A good act to have when there are language barriers. The act on the final night was a Charlie Chaplin impersonator – go figure.

One more day at sea, where we went to two of the trivia quizzes – came 2nd on both occasions – but the surname of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz will now never be forgotten!

We had a very small roll call, we met up on the first night, a very nice crowd; and it soon became a habit to meet up for a drink each evening.

We docked in Southampton on Monday morning. Everyone had cleared passport formalities on board on the sea days so it was very simple to just walk off and jump into our waiting cab.

In summary, an excellent cruise on a beautiful ship. The staff were great, service was good, MyTime seemed to work well, we loved Chops, we adored #1100 and we hope to be booking another cruise on her soon.

[Host Karen]

Thanks for the updates. We board her in nine days for our fourth sailing on her and we're looking forward to it.

 

One question for little britian: My understanding is that pre-cruise reservations for Brilliance are not available before the June 10th sailing. Why did you contact C&A to get an advanced reservation? Just curious.

[little britain]

One question for little britian: My understanding is that pre-cruise reservations for Brilliance are not available before the June 10th sailing. Why did you contact C&A to get an advanced reservation? Just curious.

Because I had been told as Platinum you can make one advance reservation....or not as it turns out!

[Host Karen]

Yes, that info was incorrect. The person may have been thinking about Celebrity, which allows Captain's Club members one advance reservation. Thanks for the reply!

 

Karen

[tocanada]

In my review, I forgot to mention Angela. She was in the extra Concierge lounge during the transatlantic crossing and was working the bars for this cruise. Just a wonderful person and always fun to talk to.

andrew

[little britain]

Yes, that info was incorrect. The person may have been thinking about Celebrity, which allows Captain's Club members one advance reservation. Thanks for the reply!

 

Karen

Hi Karen - well it seems that C&A UK are also confused because someone from there called me back and left me a msg asking me to call them to confirm what time I wanted the reservation for..!!

[Oppgaard]

Hi Andrew! We were with you on the TA from Miami to Southampton. You are correct in saying Angela in the annexed CL was great. She was one of the best on our cruise.

 

Jerry and Beurt

[Cruise Cat]

Thanks for the updates. We board her in nine days for our fourth sailing on her and we're looking forward to it.

 

One question for little britian: My understanding is that pre-cruise reservations for Brilliance are not available before the June 10th sailing. Why did you contact C&A to get an advanced reservation? Just curious.

 

 

Karen,

In their FAQs, they now state:

 

Food & Beverage

 

Q: Can Specialty Restaurants reservations be made by phone?

A: Yes, you can call 1-800-398-9819 in the U.S. or Canada.

 

 

Doesn't state the restriction on the dates like the online registration does. Give them a call, it can't hurt to try.

 

Customer Support-FAQs-Food and Beverage

[JackSki]

Nice to see you are still active with RCCL and sailing on your favorite ship, the Brilliance. I have been doing a lot of cruises also – was on the Navigator in April when we had stabilizer problems & missed 2 of the 4 ports on the transatlantic. I finally made it to the D+ level.

In September I will be doing another transatlantic on the Jewel ending in my hometown, Boston. From the CC list I see that your friend, Gunnar Wall from Germany is also doing this cruise. On January 4th, 2009 I am doing a South America cruise on the Radiance which goes around Cape Horn. What do you have for upcoming cruises?

 

Jack Cochrane

[tocanada]

Nice to see you are still active with RCCL and sailing on your favorite ship, the Brilliance. I have been doing a lot of cruises also – was on the Navigator in April when we had stabilizer problems & missed 2 of the 4 ports on the transatlantic. I finally made it to the D+ level.

In September I will be doing another transatlantic on the Jewel ending in my hometown, Boston. From the CC list I see that your friend, Gunnar Wall from Germany is also doing this cruise. On January 4th, 2009 I am doing a South America cruise on the Radiance which goes around Cape Horn. What do you have for upcoming cruises?

 

Jack Cochrane

 

Hi Jack

Good to hear from you. I am also now D+.

I will also be on the Jewel transatlantic but on 2nd Sept 2009. This Sept, I will be doing an Alaskan cruise.

Below is a list of my upcoming cruises. Hope to see you on one of them.

andrew

[windjamming]

Andrew, thank you so much for that wonderful review. Like lovrccl, we were on the Brilliance's last Panama Canal cruise before the TA and thoroughly loved the ship. Angela in the overflow CL is a treasure.

 

Can you let us know if the dreaded shower curtain has finally been replaced by doors?

[PaulS]

We were on the last Panama Canal cruise before the transatlantic and loved talking with Angela in the satellite Concierge Lounge. It was much more enjoyable up there than in the regular Concierge Lounge. Angela is really an asset to the cruise line and would make a great concierge herself.

[JackSki]

Andrew, I thought I was doing too many cruises but you are really bad! Looks like you have 7 in 2008 & 8 in 2009.

I now see why I was unable to get an aft cabin on the September 2009 Jewel TA, people like you stole them. I had to settle for a mid-hump on Deck 9. I did Alaska last July on the Radiance. Bring warm cloths.

 

Jack

[JackSki]

Andrew,

 

I wanted to send you an email to let you know about this sale but I do not have your email address. If you go to my ‘public profile’ you will see my email address. If you send me a simple message I will then have your address.

 

You can see what is available at the following URL:

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/RCI_Sales_Event/rci_sales_event.pdf

 

I am holding a reservation on the Jewel for June 27th. The single supplement for a D1 is only 125%. I have never seen one that low. I am told that the SCANDINAVIA and RUSSIA cruise is one of the best RCL has to offer.

 

Jack

[sanbmet]

In my review, I forgot to mention Angela. She was in the extra Concierge lounge during the transatlantic crossing and was working the bars for this cruise. Just a wonderful person and always fun to talk to.

andrew

 

Hi Andrew,

 

Interesting review....I guess there are different types of drydocks and this wasn't the time for Brilliance to get a complete over haul. It does sound like she got a bit of a facelift though!

 

I'm happy to hear that Angela is still doing her wonderful job! She is a delight!

[tocanada]

Andrew, thank you so much for that wonderful review.

Can you let us know if the dreaded shower curtain has finally been replaced by doors?

 

Alas, the clinging shower curtains are still there!

andrew

[Brad1185]

Whats this about removal of the salad course? Is it still offered and can you still order the old way appit, soup, salad, etc.

[windjamming]

Whats this about removal of the salad course? Is it still offered and can you still order the old way appit, soup, salad, etc.

 

On my most recent Brilliance cruise (PC right before TA), the salad was not always listed as a separate course, but, yes, you can always order it "the old way". Most nights I got an appetizer as well as a salad.

[windjamming]

Alas, the clinging shower curtains are still there!

andrew

 

Gak!!

[Hayden40]

Andrew,

 

I wanted to send you an email to let you know about this sale but I do not have your email address. If you go to my ‘public profile’ you will see my email address. If you send me a simple message I will then have your address.

 

You can see what is available at the following URL:

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/RCI_Sales_Event/rci_sales_event.pdf

 

I am holding a reservation on the Jewel for June 27th. The single supplement for a D1 is only 125%. I have never seen one that low. I am told that the SCANDINAVIA and RUSSIA cruise is one of the best RCL has to offer.

 

Jack

 

 

Thank you for this URL. I am looking at the Jewel for this cruise, although, for next May or June. If you see this come up for sale, I would be interested. I am checking in weekly with RCI, however. Thanks again.

[ddean52]

I have also submitted this as a review but thought some might like to read this now.

This was my 15th cruise with Royal Caribbean and my 6th time on Brilliance of the Seas. I was on the transatlantic crossing on April 14th, 2008 and took this cruise as I was interested to see what changes had been made to the ship while in Dry Dock in Hamburg.

Initially, I was a little disappointed as there did not appear to be much change but as I walked around the ship, I saw quite a few improvements. I had the same cabin (1104). There was new carpeting, a new chair and perhaps best of all a new toilet flushing button which worked significantly better than the previous one. The television set, three seat couch, balcony furniture etc was unchanged.

Around the ship, I noticed new carpeting in the dining room, the theatre has new big screens on each side of the stage, and there is some new furniture. In the Concierge lounge, the wood floor has been replaced (same design as before) but everything else looks the same.

The big change is that the ship looks a lot cleaner and fresher. All the carpeting and furnishings have either been replaced or cleaned.

The main reason for the dry dock was to install a new diesel engine that will be used while the ship is in port. I heard that it is currently not working.

As for the cruise, it was a wonderful four days. The sail away from Hamburg down the Elbe river was fantastic. We had a day at sea followed by a day in Oslo, another day at sea and then to Southampton.

I arrived at the ship at about 11.20 and check-in commenced about 11.40. It was very quick and we were able to go straight to our cabins. My luggage was in my cabin before 2.00pm ( a record – good German efficiency!).

Most of the officers were the same as the transatlantic crossing but the captain is now Hakan Lindegren. Bill Brunkhorst was back as cruise director and did a great job. Of the 1,800 passengers, 1,600 were German so Bill had Katja Hermann translate on stage. I was very impressed with Bill whose attempts at German seemed to get better each day!

Ingrid Ruiz De Castilla was in the Concierge lounge and was just excellent and a real credit to RCL. I hope she stays in that job.

Pablo was the Loyalty ambassador and did his usual excellent job.

I was thrilled to see Grace back in the Centrum. It was so nice to hear her beautiful voice again. As one crew member told me – “The Brilliance, the Med and Grace in the Centrum – what could be better!” I totally agree.

On Cruise Critic, there was mention of new laundry discount coupons but we still had Version 8, which includes the Casino Credit coupons of $12 for $10 (a better deal!)

Portofinos was closed for the cruise. Initially, I heard that there was a problem in the galley but then I heard that they did not have enough staff. There were no production shows as the singers and dancers were to join the ship in Southampton.

We docked at Southampton about 7.30am and I walked off the ship with my luggage and then walked to the railway station (about a 10 minute walk). All very quick and efficient.

Brilliance was my first RCL cruise and it will probably always be my favourite ship. What stands out for me about Brilliance is their exceptional crew. They are all so friendly and helpful and it was great to be back onboard again.

andrew

andrew, we have sailed Brilliance 3 times and have loved every minute on her! She is a special ship!!