Disappointed in the Brilliance...

[vakamalua]

RT Barcelona in May on the Brilliance of the Seas was our first RCCL cruise. We booked it for the itinerary. The ship is lovely but we had some disappointments and issues, especially compared to our 15 cruises on other lines. Our experience:

 

--The food was OK and at times pretty bad; we had a young couple at our table who stopped coming to the dining room half way through the cruise because they thought the food was awful and would rather take their chances at the buffet. Any time it was offered, the prime rib was total fat and way undercooked, same when we ordered steaks. The food was consistently VERY salty. Desserts were bland--cakes dry and pies gummy (we mostly stuck to sorbets and ice cream). The simple starters seemed to be what they did best.

--The dining staff was wonderfully friendly and helpful but seemed apologetic about the food; their service was less sharp than I'm used to on cruises (e.g., multiple wine glasses always cluttered the table for each person through the whole meal even when we didn't order wine, had to ask for things like steak knives for meat, etc).

--We really missed having a grill on the open deck all afternoon with burgers and pizza. However, the SeaView cafe on the rear of Deck 12 is the ship's best-kept secret.

--Free beverages were hard to come by (we don't drink soda, and rarely alcohol)--we are used to self-service stations in several locations with ice, water, iced tea and juice all day. I was even refused ice water from a bar.

--Too much of the pool area allows smoking, as does the casino. They also allow cigar smoking on the balconies of non-smoking rooms which means, as non-smokers, you cannot sit out there or even leave your door open.

--There seemed to be an overall air of disorganization on the ship. There are only six elevators on the whole ship and one was broken the whole cruise--they are all very crowded all the time. We noticed that there were incorrect announcements at times (e.g., where the gangway was) and on a couple of mornings there were never any announcements that the ship was cleared and you could go ashore (stressful when a private tour guide is waiting for you). The Guest Relations desk staff was way undertrained and at times were totally confused about questions (For example, Corfu is on a different time zone but the ship tells you to stay on their time; so you have to be careful to note local time if you make arrangements with a tour company or look at clocks ashore. Unbelievably, no one at the ship's front desk could tell me whether Corfu was one hour earlier or later--they put me on hold twice 'til they found someone who knew!).

--There wasn't really a good place to relax that wasn't either part of a bar lounge or on deck in the sun with the music blaring. We camped out a bit at the outside back of the Windjammer in the wicker chairs but people were always coming and going with food and the dishes were rattling as the staff cleaned up.

 

We would have to LOVE an itinerary offered only by RCCL to sail with them again...

[hazeleyez3]

Thank you for the observations. We will probably be sailing her in the future since she has wonderful itineraries.

 

Out of curiousity, what other lines have you sailed on?

[TBSCruiser]

Just had friends on the Brilliance in May and it was their 50 something cruise and they said it was wonderful, one of their best. Sounds like you were on an off week.

 

I have been on her also and it was wonderful. Thinking of doing this itinerary in the fall.

 

What other lines have you been on?

[KuffMUp]

Having catered, one thing I have found is that people who want their beef well done will never eat a medium rare piece but if you like rare, you will settle for anything as long as it isn't overcooked. I once had a table mate who sent his prime rib back five times. The last time it was totally done inside and out but he said it still wasn't cooked enough. :confused: Since the majority of people eat their beef medium rare to medium, that is what they cook it to.

[vakamalua]

What other lines have you been on?

 

We've sailed Holland America, Princess, Cunard, Crystal, Disney, as well as river cruises.

 

By the way, the Brilliance is being repositioned in January indefinitely to Dubai for 7 day cruises.

[cruzzingranny]

Sorry to hear that you had some issues with the Brilliance. We have been on her twice and are looking forward to sailing on her again in November. We find that the Solarium is a wonderful place to relax, did you try it?

[Snackdaddy]

We were on the May 11, 2009 Brilliance OTS and had a wonderful time. True the elevator was still out of service and main courses in the dining room were a bit lackluster, but an additional appetizer or two or three made all the difference for me.

 

There were gangway notices tastefully posted in all of the elevators, so knowing where the gangway was located should not have been a problem unless you exclusively used the stairs.

 

I always check the Cruise Compass to find out when to set my watch either ahead or back.

 

At the end of the day, after 29 cruises, I would rate this cruise experience an A-.

[Merion_Mom]

RT Barcelona in May on the Brilliance of the Seas was our first RCCL cruise. We booked it for the itinerary. The ship is lovely but we had some disappointments and issues, especially compared to our 15 cruises on other lines. Our experience:

 

--The food was OK and at times pretty bad; we had a young couple at our table who stopped coming to the dining room half way through the cruise because they thought the food was awful and would rather take their chances at the buffet. Any time it was offered, the prime rib was total fat and way undercooked, same when we ordered steaks. The food was consistently VERY salty. Desserts were bland--cakes dry and pies gummy (we mostly stuck to sorbets and ice cream). The simple starters seemed to be what they did best.

--The dining staff was wonderfully friendly and helpful but seemed apologetic about the food; their service was less sharp than I'm used to on cruises (e.g., multiple wine glasses always cluttered the table for each person through the whole meal even when we didn't order wine, had to ask for things like steak knives for meat, etc).

--We really missed having a grill on the open deck all afternoon with burgers and pizza. However, the SeaView cafe on the rear of Deck 12 is the ship's best-kept secret.

--Free beverages were hard to come by (we don't drink soda, and rarely alcohol)--we are used to self-service stations in several locations with ice, water, iced tea and juice all day. I was even refused ice water from a bar.

--Too much of the pool area allows smoking, as does the casino. They also allow cigar smoking on the balconies of non-smoking rooms which means, as non-smokers, you cannot sit out there or even leave your door open.

--There seemed to be an overall air of disorganization on the ship. There are only six elevators on the whole ship and one was broken the whole cruise--they are all very crowded all the time. We noticed that there were incorrect announcements at times (e.g., where the gangway was) and on a couple of mornings there were never any announcements that the ship was cleared and you could go ashore (stressful when a private tour guide is waiting for you). The Guest Relations desk staff was way undertrained and at times were totally confused about questions (For example, Corfu is on a different time zone but the ship tells you to stay on their time; so you have to be careful to note local time if you make arrangements with a tour company or look at clocks ashore. Unbelievably, no one at the ship's front desk could tell me whether Corfu was one hour earlier or later--they put me on hold twice 'til they found someone who knew!).

--There wasn't really a good place to relax that wasn't either part of a bar lounge or on deck in the sun with the music blaring. We camped out a bit at the outside back of the Windjammer in the wicker chairs but people were always coming and going with food and the dishes were rattling as the staff cleaned up.

 

We would have to LOVE an itinerary offered only by RCCL to sail with them again...

 

I am sorry that you were disappointed in the Brilliance, but glad that you enjoyed the itinerary.

 

A few observations:

 

I don't know why Royal Caribbean can't have more uniformly excellent dinners in the MDR. On most of my cruises, dinners have been very good, but some ships just don't seem to "get it together" and serve really good meals. I don't know why! (I hate fatty cuts of meat, too)

 

Whoever refused your request for ice water in a bar should be fired. Period.

I have never had such a request turned down. Quite the contrary. Even though they know that they will not get a standard 15% tip on it, each server has brought me ice water with a smile.

 

The pool deck is simply divided for smoking. One side, smoking, one side, non-smoking. That should satisfy everyone. You can just stick to one side and let the smokers have their side. This may be your own fault for not realizing this division.

 

I have never had a problem with smoke from another balcony. The air is moving!!!!!

 

Elevators: I have not sailed on Brilliance, only on Jewel and Serenade, but I can't believe that the elevators are not the same. There are six midships and three forward. I am sorry that one was out of order during your cruise, but I never had a problem on the Serenade or the Jewel.

 

Relaxation: there are lounge areas in the Centrum area on Decks 7, 8, 9 & 10. They are wonderful places to sit, read, relax, whatever. There is also a lovely Crown & Anchor lounge

 

Happy sails on all of your cruises!

 

:)

[Garyorient]

What other lines have you been on?

 

We've sailed Holland America, Princess, Cunard, Crystal, Disney, as well as river cruises.

 

By the way, the Brilliance is being repositioned in January indefinitely to Dubai for 7 day cruises.

 

Not indeinately I believe, simply Jan through April.

That is Dubai cruise season, not the whole year round.

[critterchick]

OP, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the Brilliance. I have to say that, of all our cruises, it's the Radiance class ships where the food in the dining room isn't up to par.

 

As for smoking, we had a cabin where the smoke from below collected and lingered even when the ship was moving. It wasn't constant, fortunately, but it was sometimes irritating.

 

For future reference (if you find that itinerary you love) you can ask your waitstaff not to put all of the glassware on the table. In an effort to appear sophisticated, they've put round wine glasses out for the red wine. They aren't as good as the standard ones they use for white, even with reds in them. Our AW on Mariner, in one of his few bright moves, realized after the first night that we weren't going to use them and we never saw them again.

 

I've noticed on RCI and Azamara (sister company) that they often will not immediately announce that the ship has cleared. The reason is that they want to get their own excursions off first. So it's a good idea just to wander down and check for yourself.

 

I agree with Carol. If somebody refused to serve me ice water I'd be finding the bar manager in a hurry.

[sailor moon]

We board 6/15! What did you do in the ports?

[BarbaraM]

I had a similar experience in the dining room on my cruise, which was several years ago -- probably the worst wait staff and food of all the cruises I've taken. But,, I took the cruise for the ports -- and after 12 days, my waistline was thankful the food wasn't that great after all!

 

Btw, there is a difference among the ships, although I can't figure out why. The Voyager, for example had the best food and wait staff that I've had in quite a while. The Adventure, on the other hand had beef that I would never order again. Go figure. I think you might find the food better on those leaving from US mainland ports (just a theory).

[boatboat]

 

The pool deck is simply divided for smoking. One side, smoking, one side, non-smoking. That should satisfy everyone. You can just stick to one side and let the smokers have their side. This may be your own fault for not realizing this division.

 

I have never had a problem with smoke from another balcony. The air is moving!!!!!

 

 

 

:)

 

Seems a little harsh with the smoke. Even in a moving car with the AC on and windows closed, if someone is smoking in a car ahead of me, it smells.

 

The moving air on the ship goes from front to back, if one is behind the 'moving' air too bad. Fortunately ships are starting to ban smoking in rooms and the balconies for safety reasons.

[dougp26364]

It seems that, almost every time we sail, we over-hear at least on conversation about someone else's cruise experience that is exactly the oposite of ours. The one that really sticks out in our mind was our last Alaskan cruise. While in port in Victoria we overheard a lady who's story of her cruise was so horrific we were very glad we were not on her ship. Then she ended her story with how she was going to suit RCI for the entire cost of her trip because the service was so bad and we had missed so much time in port. Amazing to us since that was the ship we were on and none of her story rang true as to our own personal experience. The time missed in port amounted to a couple of hours in Victoria and that was due to mother nature. The port was fogged in. Hardly RCI's fault. It did rain in Skagway but, imagine that, rain in Alaska.

 

The point is, everyone is going to have a totally different experience while on the same ship. Personally, we had a great 12 night cruise on Brilliance a few years back and the Radiance Class ship is my favorite to sail. But, even the same ship can have issues from sailing to sailing.

 

Right now, one of the great things about cruising is the diversity of offering out there and, they're all not to far apart in pricing. So what doesn't work for one family might be perfect for another. If one cruise line doesn't meet your expectations, there's always several more waiting to fill your needs. It's all a matter of personal preference as to what line fits anyones needs the best.

[Merion_Mom]

Seems a little harsh with the smoke. Even in a moving car with the AC on and windows closed, if someone is smoking in a car ahead of me, it smells.

 

 

Now that's one sensitive nose!!!!!!!

[East Bay Skiers]

So sorry your cruise did not live up to your expectations!

 

My sister and brother in law had a very similar experience, perhaps even worse, sailing out of Barcelona in early May. This was also their first time sailing with Royal Caribbean. Two other couples at their table had sailed with Royal several times before and couldn't believe how terrible the food was, and how different every thing was, according to them. I felt soooo bad because I had always spoken so highly of Royal Caribbean and recomended it.

 

We have always had wonderful cruises on Royal Caribbean and no complains. My sister was willing to give Royal another try but her husband said absolutely not. Now , after thinking it over, he says he is willing to give Royal Caribbean a second chance if we join them next year. There is a Med. itineraly we all love. But now after reading your post about the Brilliance, I'm hesitant myself.

[GEORGET]

I am sorry you did not enjoy the Brilliance it is our favourite ship.

 

I agree though that the cut backs were noticable in February compared to the Christmas cruise.

 

I hope the choice of food in the MDR has not dropped to the level of the IOS last month.

if it has, this will be the final straw and this Diamond member will be returning to other lines.

 

We are travelling on the 9th of july and will report on any further downturn.

 

Regarding smoking as a non smoker who always has a balcony i have NEVER been bothered with the smell of smoke. Leave the smokers alone as RCCL cannot afford to lose any more customers. There are plenty of areas for nonsmokers and even non smoking cruise lines.

[RosieRoo]

Wow, as I always say two people can be on the same cruise and have totally different experiences. We sailed on this same sailing and had a great time. I will admit the food in the MDR was not the best we ever had but it was fine. Service we received everywhere in the ship including the MDR and the pursers desk was excellent. Can't say we ever waited more than a few minutes for an elevator. We are non smokers and were surprised to see that there were three differnet evenings that were smoke free in the casino. I am sorry that the OP had such a terrible experience on her first RCCL cruise. This was our 21st, 10th with RCCL and one of our best.

[digital_curator]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise. I haven't been on this ship but it's sister Serenade is one of my favourites.

 

I do agree that smoke can be a problem, especially in the casino. On our last 2 cruises the casino was smoke-free on formal nights, something we especially appreciated when wearing our good clothes;). Did they do the same on your cruise?

 

It is weird that food quality can change so much from ship to ship when the menus are pretty much the same throughout the line. We generally have found the food to be good to excellent but have noticed that quality can vary from sailing to sailing.

 

I could not agree with you more about the free drinks. I love the ice tea and wish it could be made availalbe in the PR cafe on the larger ships- it can be a real pain to go up to the WJ when eating on deck 5.

 

Hopefully if you try RCI again, you will have a better experience! We have sailed with them 4 times and just booked our 5th today. We like them so much we are almost afraid to try another line.

 

Out of curiosity, which is your favourite line?

[coxswain]

Having just returned from the Brilliance a few weeks i have to say its sounds like a different ship i was on.

 

We had MTD - and eat there twice food and service was good. We had 2 meals there food outstanding service 1st class - Buffet food ( on all our other cruises we haven't eaten there ) was very good !!

 

Yes one lift was broken.

 

Staff onboard were very helpful and friendly

 

Smoking i didn't really have a problem apart from the odd smoker in the casino ( non-smoker here lol )

 

 

Leaving and boarding the ship in ports - relaxed - in some ports when the tour buses arrived with lots of passengers staff were on hand to offer water/lemonade as they waited to get onboard again ( nice touch )

 

Couple of minor faults - Thermal suite that we paid $150 for was dirty on more than one visit - which i pointed out to them !!

 

Litter on some of the open decks ( not a huge ammount )

 

Paint on our balcony coming off ( again not a big problem )

 

 

 

Overall i'd say our cruise was at least a 8.5 out off 10 and we look forward to cruising on her in October.

 

 

 

jj.......

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Having just returned from the Brilliance a few weeks i have to say its sounds like a different ship i was on.

 

We had MTD - and eat there twice food and service was good. We had 2 meals there food outstanding service 1st class - Buffet food ( on all our other cruises we haven't eaten there ) was very good !!

 

Yes one lift was broken.

 

Staff onboard were very helpful and friendly

 

Smoking i didn't really have a problem apart from the odd smoker in the casino ( non-smoker here lol )

 

 

Leaving and boarding the ship in ports - relaxed - in some ports when the tour buses arrived with lots of passengers staff were on hand to offer water/lemonade as they waited to get onboard again ( nice touch )

 

Couple of minor faults - Thermal suite that we paid $150 for was dirty on more than one visit - which i pointed out to them !!

 

Litter on some of the open decks ( not a huge ammount )

 

Paint on our balcony coming off ( again not a big problem )

 

 

 

Overall i'd say our cruise was at least a 8.5 out off 10 and we look forward to cruising on her in October.

 

 

 

jj.......

 

 

 

Sounds good enough for me.;)

[rool]

Re smoke on the balcony. I was on Brilliance 30/3 in hump cabin 8102 which is the first cabin aft of the elevators.

 

Neither my wife or I are smokers but wouldn't say we have ever been so opposed to it that we would avoid bars etc. I was also convinced before we travelled that the airflow of the ship would carry the smoke away from our balcony, however, for some reason the cigar smoke from the cabin next door seemed to stick around our balcony and make it very unpleasant for us to use it at the same time as our neighbours. We couldn't leave the doors open either. It may be that the hump cabin balcony is long and tunnel like but I'm just guessing.

 

This was our first cruise and we found the food ok but wasn't wow'd by it at all. Everything else was superb and we really enjoyed the cruise but have chosen Celebrity for our next one as the smoking policy there probably suits us more and reviews suggest the food to be a little better.

[zywnywld]

Is it possible some dinning room staff has too many tables to work causing bad service. Try giving up smoking on a cruise, substitute eating, exercising and relaxing. In the MDR give your bad food back as often as it takes until you get satisfied, you shouldn't be forced to the buffet. COMPLAIN TO CUSTOMER SERVICE LAST. DEAL DIRECTLY WITH WHO IS NOT PERFORMING WELL. YOU MAY GET PEOPLE WHO TRY TO JUST GET BY WITH WHAT THEY'RE DOING.

[lnacstan]

We were on the same cruise as the OP, but had a totally different experience:

 

-- We thought the food was good and sometimes very good. Our server did give recommendations of what was and wasn't best, and we often went with that. We both ordered prime rib, and it was cooked the way we requested. We didn't notice the food being salty, and we found LOTS of good desserts. We did look at the MDR menu before choosing where to eat each day, and had 3 dinners at the specialty restaurants and one or two at the Seaview. The specialty restaurants were excellent. We did the My Time Dining, so maybe it was easier for them to correctly cook meat when they weren't doing half the ship at once?

-- I agree the dining staff was wonderful, although I didn't notice them being apologetic for food. We did order wine, and my recollection is they took away the extra glasses - although I can't say I would have noticed if they didn't.

-- There were burgers some days, although only once on the pool deck.

-- I asked for ice water from many different bars on the ship, and always quickly got it.

-- I didn't notice smoking by the pool, and I hate smoke and we spent a lot of time by the pool. We did usually sit on the upper deck to get the breeze, so maybe that was better for smoke. We did sometimes smell smoke in our cabin if our balcony door was open and someone else was smoking on theirs. We just closed the door until they were done.

-- Yes, one elevator was out of order, but I think there are at least 9 elevators - 6 midship and 3 forward. There were times when the elevators got crowded (like when everyone is getting back on the ship), so we just took the stairs.

-- The Guest Relations staff was very helpful to us. We had to get on board without our luggage, and they helped us work it out with the airline to get our bags on board. They called the airline multiple times a day and made all arrangements.

-- We found shady spots on deck to sit when we wanted to still be outside but not in the sun. We also sat on the deck by the SeaView. There seemed to be a lot of seating areas around the Centrum on the different floors.

 

I admit though that we don't have a lot of cruising experience, and given the price we paid we weren't expecting the Four Seasons.

 

I'm sorry the OP was disappointed, but I know all of the people we met on board really enjoyed the trip. I did talk to one older couple who was complaining that they would never sail with RCI again (they were frustrated about the tendering delay in Dubrovnik, which I agree was annoying), but interestingly a couple days later they were in line behind us to reserve their next RCI cruise.

[HMSDingy]

It seems that, almost every time we sail, we over-hear at least on conversation about someone else's cruise experience that is exactly the oposite of ours. The one that really sticks out in our mind was our last Alaskan cruise. While in port in Victoria we overheard a lady who's story of her cruise was so horrific we were very glad we were not on her ship. Then she ended her story with how she was going to suit RCI for the entire cost of her trip because the service was so bad and we had missed so much time in port. Amazing to us since that was the ship we were on and none of her story rang true as to our own personal experience. The time missed in port amounted to a couple of hours in Victoria and that was due to mother nature. The port was fogged in. Hardly RCI's fault. It did rain in Skagway but, imagine that, rain in Alaska.

 

The point is, everyone is going to have a totally different experience while on the same ship. Personally, we had a great 12 night cruise on Brilliance a few years back and the Radiance Class ship is my favorite to sail. But, even the same ship can have issues from sailing to sailing.

 

Right now, one of the great things about cruising is the diversity of offering out there and, they're all not to far apart in pricing. So what doesn't work for one family might be perfect for another. If one cruise line doesn't meet your expectations, there's always several more waiting to fill your needs. It's all a matter of personal preference as to what line fits anyones needs the best.

 

I could not agree with you more. Although this will be our second cruise with RCI but first onboard the Brilliance, I intend to travel with an open mind. To date, we have sailed 5 times on 2 different lines (Princess & RCI) and can honestly say we have not had one bad cruise out of the 5. We too have heard fellow passengers complain where we found the opposite.