going down hill

Item: Brilliance of the Seas
Rating: 2
Author: LisaH13

Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

LisaH13

Contributor Level: Third Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 6

Helpful Votes: 215

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 25, 2017

Ship: Brilliance of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9260

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

The ship was well kept. The food was awful in the buffet and main dining room. They ran out of chocolate chip cookies on day 2 of the 5 day cruise. 2 cookies no one knew what they were. The cookies were crisp not soft and moist. the burgers were over cooked. The turkey and chicken stringy. In the past the food that was in the main dining room would be served in the buffet no longer the case. You could no longer board the boat and go to the main dining room you had to go to the buffet where finding a seat was extremely difficult. Room service menu has very few selections and they now charge after 10 pm which is ridiculous. No more music or band playing in the pool area. they played the same video on the big screen over the pool. The bar tenders were great. The drinks were plenty strong. The entertainment was good. The blackjack table is now $20 which is ridiculous that they don't offer a $6 dollar or even a $10 table or hour to play. Bingo is expensive 3 games for $45. The staff is friendly and the steward in charge of making sure people wash their hands prior to entering the buffet did a FANTASTIC job and was great with the difficult people who tried to avoid using the hand sanitizer at the door. They only do animal towels every other day. For my husband and I had the food been better and had they even put in piped in Caribbean or any type of music by the pool it would have been a much better cruise.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

not as many selections as there had been in the past, burgers over cooked, cookies crisp not soft, ran out of chocolate cookies on day 2, 2 cookies no one seemed to know what they were, Could not go to the main dining room for lunch upon boarding had to go to the buffet.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

we played miniature golf. We played the overpriced bingo 1 day. We watched the belly flop contest which was great especially the replay of the flop on the big screen above the pool.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

The comedian was great. The juggler was good. The band they flew in was excellent.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The upper class cruise attendants never cleared a table but pointed and directed lower level attendants to clear tables.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Old ship, well kept, main theater should be updated the drink glasses don't fit in the drink holders which are outdated

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Very clean, adequate space for 2, large suitcase did not fit in the closet and hated the shower which was extremely tiny. Deck was big and spent a great deal of time there. Bed was comfortable. Bed is low to the ground wish it was a bit higher.