Disappointed in the Brilliance...

[time4me2fly]

I was on the same cruise as the OP, along with 15 other people. We all had a wonderful time. This was my 5th sailing with RCI.

 

I agree that the main dining room food was not that great. I've had better food on other RCI sailings. I never thought the food was too salty.

 

I enjoyed all the desserts that I ordered.

 

If you ask the wait staff to remove the wine glasses, I'm sure they would. Each place must be set with a glass for red wine, white wine and water.

 

The Windjammer always had free water, ice tea, lemonade, juice and coffee.

 

I hate the smell of smoke, but didn't think it was a problem.

The casino was smoke free on all 3 formal nights 5:30 to close.

All cruise lines have their designated smoking areas.

 

There are 9 elevators on the Brilliance. The centrum has 6 and the bow has 3. Yes, one of the elevators was down. It needs new cables. This is a job that can not be done while passengers are on the ship.

 

Sorry, the OP missed the Corfu time.

On the compass (top right corner, shaded area) is printed:

Don't Change Your Watch Today!

Corfu is one hour ahead of ship's time, but you must be back at the ship no later than 6:30pm ship's time.

 

The gangway is printed on the compass and also announced. My group never had a problem locating the deck for departure.

 

I felt there were plenty of good places to relax.

 

Sorry, the OP didn't enjoy the Brilliance. Many people who have sailed on the Brilliance have enjoyed the ship.

 

Everyone has their own opinions...the only way to know if you are going to like a ship is to sail on it yourself.

[HMSDingy]

I understand it and have stated it myself, that 2 passengers on the same ship will have different opinions, but in this case the OP's descriptions seem to at times completely contradict what fellow passengers time4me2fly, Inacstan and coxswain are stating.:confused:

[critterchick]

I understand it and have stated it myself, that 2 passengers on the same ship will have different opinions, but in this case the OP's descriptions seem to at times completely contradict what fellow passengers time4me2fly, Inacstan and coxswain are stating.:confused:

 

Two passengers on the same ship will also have different EXPERIENCES. For example, Merion Mom and I both sailed on Mariner in April and had tables next to each other with different waitstaffs. I don't know how their food was, but as far as the service goes, they were finished with dessert while we were still having our entrees (and our waiter was retrieving the orders he'd forgotten). So our reviews in that regard would be different, but that doesn't mean that either of us is lying.

[MrPete]

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!

 

We've had good food, bad food (as well as a bad wait staff, who never got the orders right ANY night at our table of 8), and then good food again on three different sailings on the same ship! It was SO bad, we walked out 3 of the 5 nights!

[sidari]

We will be on the Brilliance on Monday the 15th, having previously sailed on the Ruby Princess we are under no illusions as what to expect of the Brilliance! we always travel with an open mind and are looking forward to our First cruise with RCI.

 

Trouble with some people is they go on holiday expecting the Earth and when it doesnt turn up they complain about anything and everything despite the fact that their holiday was probably quite good.

 

On the Ruby one day we were in the elevator and couldnt help but overhear two old dears who were both Amearican complaining that they didnt get to sit at the table they requested ! did they get fed? Yes ... so what is the problem? i know its not just people from the USA that complain on holiday either. But there are people out there in the big wide world who will complain for the sake of complaining!

 

for anyone needing to know the time in Corfu they are 2 hours ahead of UK time and 1 hour ahead of spanish time ie ships time.

[cctn]

I've had nothing but the best experience on the Brilliance - it's my favorite radiance class ship - we have met the best people (fellow passengers and staff) ... I wish it was back in the Caribbean so we can sail on her more often. Corkey

[RosieRoo]

I understand it and have stated it myself, that 2 passengers on the same ship will have different opinions, but in this case the OP's descriptions seem to at times completely contradict what fellow passengers time4me2fly, Inacstan and coxswain are stating.:confused:

 

 

Don't forget about me! I also posted on this thread. I was on the same ship and didn't experience any of the same things as the OP. We had a fabulous time and wouldn't hesitate to sail the same ship tomorrow. Then again for me a bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work :).

[cctn]

Don't forget about me! I also posted on this thread. I was on the same ship and didn't experience any of the same things as the OP. We had a fabulous time and wouldn't hesitate to sail the same ship tomorrow. Then again for me a bad day on a cruise is better than a good day at work :).

 

 

I like your attitude!! Corkey

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

There is a control on the dashboard of most modern cars that allows you to recirculate the air conditioning or to draw in fresh air from outside. That option is good on long trips, so that you are not always breathing the same air.

 

However, if you choose that option, you will also get the smell of diesel fuel from some trucks, other outside smells and cigarette smoke from neighboring cars IF their windows are open. I don't recall ever having smelled cigarette smoke from a neighboring car with closed windows.

 

We have at various times smelled cigarette smoke from other balconies even when the ship is moving. Also I find the casino always has a smokey odor even on non-smoking nights because the smoke is so deeply ingrained in the carpet, walls and other surfaces. The best time in the casino is when it is closed. Then the smoke smell is least noticeable.

 

But what we do is just avoid the smokey areas of the ship and seek out the "cleaner air." I don't know of any major cruiseline that has totally smoke-free ships.

 

As for the food in the MDR, what I defintely noticed on Enchantment this week was that portions are notcieably smaller, especially desserts and appetizers. But that is a GOOD thing in my opinion. I don't mind banquet-style food. What I detest is slow, indifferent and inept service.

[marci22]

I like your attitude!! Corkey

 

Corkey your diamond signature is very large for some reason and it causes your entire post to scroll off the page. I don't know if it just happens to me? Just letting you know.

[suntanshipshape]

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...

 

This sounds very much like the Mariner April 26 '09 I was on. Beef dishes were bad. Broken elevator, and long wait time. Service desk is of little use unless you talk to the right person.

[Aubiecruiser]

Two different couples, on the same cruise can come away with totally different experiences. There are just too many variables involved.

Personally, my DW and I have been on four different cruises on the Brilliance, the first three cruises were all 11 day with the last a 12 day Med cruise.

2003 - Circle the Caribbean Cruise

Could not have been better, food and service were way above our expectations and had a great time even with weather being a factor and us missing one port (Ocho Rios) and having to double back to Grand Caymen.

2004 - Ultimate Caribbean Cruise

We boarded with high expectations based on our cruise the previous year. Still a great ship and itinerary but the food and service in the MDR were like night and day. Did not go through a night where we didn't have at least one problem with the food, waiters and Head waiter were very defensive and at times rude. Cabin steward was also a problem, cabin rarely, if ever cleaned before mid afternoon , always had to hunt for someone to get us ice, etc.

2006 - Panama Canal Partial Transit

Back to fantastic in every way. Food and service was back to what it was on our first Brilliance cruise, waiter and asst. waiter were incredible and we saw our head waiter every night, including the night we dined in Chops. He came by to make sure we were being taken care of. Steward was incredible, in fact we joked that we thought he lived in the closet because every time we left the cabin, for even 20 minutes, we came back and had fresh ice and a clean cabin.

2008 - Med/Venice Cruise

Even better than in 2006. The second night I strayed from our waiter's suggestion for dinner and was not pleased with the fish, he smiled, took it back and brought me what he had originally suggested. From then on, I stuck with what he said and had no complaints. This cruise our little group of 8 also had signed up for My Time Dining and it was great. Only waited for about 5 minutes one night while they finished fixing up our table. We made our reservations for the following night when we left the dining room and had the same table and waiters.

All in all, we're very pleased with the Brilliance and the staff and crew. This ship also, has the highest number of returning guests, compared to all the other ships in the fleet.

Aubie

[marci22]

2008 - Med/Venice Cruise

Even better than in 2006. The second night I strayed from our waiter's suggestion for dinner and was not pleased with the fish, he smiled, took it back and brought me what he had originally suggested. From then on, I stuck with what he said and had no complaints.

Aubie

 

I usually follow the waiter's suggestions unless I have had something different and know I like it. They see what people send back, and they are usually right.

[Moondawgie]

The point is, everyone is going to have a totally different experience while on the same ship.

 

This is the truest thing I've read on these boards. Sometimes it astounds me how you can read one review and everything was sub par and then read another the same cruise and it was fantastic!

 

I believe the company you are with has a lot to do with it. People have always made my vacation wonderful ... whether they be old friends or new. The rest of the trip just can't be ruined no matter what (and I've had a few mishaps);). Food certainly cannot affect my good time!

 

It's what makes the world go around I suppose. Some people are easily annoyed and bothered by things.

[hcat]

We had one of our best cruises on Brilliance (except for too many children--we goofed & it was Easter week)--food & service onmnay ships seem to change in cycles & even diff cruisers on sailing have diff experiences & reactions...

 

They handled smoking quite well on board --at night DH went up to he Hollywood Odyessy for cigars--they have huge air filters--by the next day it is cleaned out!

 

Wonder why it is going to Dubai--bet it costs alot to fly there from most places...That's one less Radiance class ship for us to consider

[Gracie115]

On the smoking on the balcony issue....I am a non smoker too and I really am able to withstand some cigarrette smoke, it's not that it makes me sick or that I'm allergic to it or anything but I'm not fond of it. On our last Mariner cruise the people to left of us smoked cigarettes and the people on the right, actually I think 2 cabins up smoked cigars.....and, you bet we could smell it...especially the cigar smoke.....and yes when moving it wasn't as bad, we only smelled the cigar then..but still smelled it and it was NASTY!! It DID impact the amount of time we spent on the balcony. I saw a post earlier today where somebody said the cabin next to them were smokers and were nice enough to ask their neighbors if it bothered them and even though they were told no they still didn't smoke on the balcony as long as they knew a neighbor was on theirs. Now THAT'S kindness and consideration that's above and beyond....if we were all just a bit more considerate of our fellow passengers we could probably all have more enjoyable cruises!!!

[HMSDingy]

Two passengers on the same ship will also have different EXPERIENCES. For example, Merion Mom and I both sailed on Mariner in April and had tables next to each other with different waitstaffs. I don't know how their food was, but as far as the service goes, they were finished with dessert while we were still having our entrees (and our waiter was retrieving the orders he'd forgotten). So our reviews in that regard would be different, but that doesn't mean that either of us is lying.

 

 

True but there are inconsistencies in the OP's review that merit scrutiny. Like the number of elevators onboard or not finding a quiet place (uh...solarium....). Fellow passengers also pointed out notices in the compass although the OP seemed to have missed these as well. I really don't think the OP or other reviewers have intentions of lying outright. Its just their own perceptions of what to expect. I also agree with Moondawgie's post.

[Already Packed]

True but there are inconsistencies in the OP's review that merit scrutiny. Like the number of elevators onboard or not finding a quiet place (uh...solarium....). Fellow passengers also pointed out notices in the compass although the OP seemed to have missed these as well. I really don't think the OP or other reviewers have intentions of lying outright. Its just their own perceptions of what to expect. I also agree with Moondawgie's post.

 

You are missing the OP's point!!! it's irrelevant how many elevators there are or what the Compass says--the point is that one elevator was BROKEN THE WHOLE TIME & THE FRONT DESK STAFF DIDN't KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF THE TIME CHANGE.

 

And, IMO uh...solarium...on the Brilliance is either too hot & muggy or too cold & over-air conditioned and ALWAYS reeking of heavy chlorine smell.

 

You can disagree but everyone's opinion should be respected--that's what these boards are for: OPINIONS.

[reallyitsmema]

You are missing the OP's point!!! it's irrelevant how many elevators there are or what the Compass says--the point is that one elevator was BROKEN THE WHOLE TIME & THE FRONT DESK STAFF DIDN't KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF THE TIME CHANGE.

 

And, IMO uh...solarium...on the Brilliance is either too hot & muggy or too cold & over-air conditioned and ALWAYS reeking of heavy chlorine smell.

 

You can disagree but everyone's opinion should be respected--that's what these boards are for: OPINIONS.

Chlorine smell with a salt water pool?????

[HMSDingy]

You are missing the OP's point!!! it's irrelevant how many elevators there are or what the Compass says--the point is that one elevator was BROKEN THE WHOLE TIME & THE FRONT DESK STAFF DIDN't KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF THE TIME CHANGE.

 

And, IMO uh...solarium...on the Brilliance is either too hot & muggy or too cold & over-air conditioned and ALWAYS reeking of heavy chlorine smell.

 

You can disagree but everyone's opinion should be respected--that's what these boards are for: OPINIONS.

 

Point taken but no need to yell at me. Caps = yelling:eek:

[uktraveller]

 

Wonder why it is going to Dubai--bet it costs alot to fly there from most places...That's one less Radiance class ship for us to consider

Brilliance is still sailing the Med Venice and Med Greek Isles itineraries from Barcelona ....she is only based in Dubai from January to early April.

We'll be sailing from Barcelona in August 2010.:)

[tally10]

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...

 

We sailed on the Brilliance Dec. 2, 2007 transatlantic. We are Diamond with RCI. We did not like the Brilliance as far as food and service as compared with other RCI ships. The food was awful. The headwaiter in Chops said they did have a problem with the food quality and were trying to improve it and that changes were coming. Chops was fine. We were in an annex off of the main dining room behind a pole by the door and the wait staff was awful, attitude-wise. They acted as if they were doing you a favor. The room steward was barely adequate. This was the only subpar RCI experience we have ever had, comparing it to all of our other cruises on RCI. Obviously, we continue to cruise RCI, just not the Brilliance.

[wack001]

I am sailing the Brilliance in Sept, violated my own blog tips for cruising but I had no choice. As far as food in the MDR, I will say that RCI has the worst food of any line I have been on, sorry this will cause a stir but it does not match the other lines( Carnival, Celebrity, NCL, Holland, Cunard). RCI does own Celebrity which I thought has the BEST food of any line I sailed.

As a non smoker I think smoking should be very limited and rules enforced, however, the last half dozen cruises I have not noticed that much smoking, maybe it is due that the Brilliance is doing a European run.

Hope my experience will be great, no such thing as a bad cruise.

As for repositioning to Dubai, I wonder about the target clientele, been to Dubai nice place just wrote about me on the blog.

 

 

http://www.cruisinbob.com

[caribbeanboy]

We sailed on the Brilliance Dec. 2, 2007 transatlantic. We are Diamond with RCI. We did not like the Brilliance as far as food and service as compared with other RCI ships. The food was awful. The headwaiter in Chops said they did have a problem with the food quality and were trying to improve it and that changes were coming. Chops was fine. We were in an annex off of the main dining room behind a pole by the door and the wait staff was awful, attitude-wise. They acted as if they were doing you a favor. The room steward was barely adequate. This was the only subpar RCI experience we have ever had, comparing it to all of our other cruises on RCI. Obviously, we continue to cruise RCI, just not the Brilliance.

 

We know that the crew the backbone and soul is of a ship and if you have a good crew you basically have a good ship. With that said the crew rotates every 6-7 months, so in theory none of your TA crew in 2007 is still on board the Brilliance..

[steph7021]

I traveled on this same sailing. I will say that the dining room food was not my favorite of my 3 cruises. The buffet was really good most of the time. Service was excellent and we found guest services to go above and beyond! Having said all that---I think this cruise is all about the itinerary! That is what made our vacation. We barely had time to see all the ship, much less have too many opinions about the ship! I have posted my review for those that are interested.