First Ever Cruise was Great!
Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 10, 2018
Ship: Brilliance of the Seas
Cabin number: 7642
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Overall our first cruise was great! Drink of the day $8, drink package drinkers are limited to $12/drink or less, it's easy to stay under that amount. Embarkation was simple @ 10:30am, quickly aboard. Disembarkation at ports & final was simple too, we did self-assist with our luggage & will likely let the crew take it off the next time. Smoking areas were convenient for us. The pool smoking area upsets non-smokers because it's on the same side as the towel counter. I understand the complaint. The casino does have non-smoking section but you can only get to it through the smoking area which can get overwhelming, even for smokers. Fans circulating the air would help. Pool deck chairs were mostly easy to come by, no hog issues. The pool games & belly flop competition were great! The Solarium pool/hot tub was nice although we didn't use it. We were surprised at how early an adults only area closed at night, including the accompanying bar. However the Park Cafe is also in this area & was open late. The raved about Roast Beef Sandwiches at lunch were ok but not great. For us the bread was too tough. I liked the typical mustard, horseradish, or gravy options for toppings. You could order it on a plate with or without gravy, no bread. Park Cafe also had good pizza by the slice for a late night snack. The main dining room was great for 4 of 5 dinners, we ate the buffet on 5th night, also great. Breakfast in the MDR was slow & unimpressive, so after the first day we went to Windjammer buffet the rest of the trip in the mornings. There was an area right outside the WJ accessible 24hrs/day for just coffee or water by the glass. We didn't visit the Latte-tudes coffee bar for high end coffees. We enjoyed all of the clubs, each having there own uniqueness. Some of the lounge acts should be replaced. One was really impressive with her electric guitar & a microphone; the game shows, karaoke, and bingo were fun. For Pacifica Theater shows, the cruise compass (daily planner) was vague & we missed a couple shows we wanted to see because we didn't know specifics ahead of time. Ports: Key West & Cozumel; The Key West Pub Crawl excursion purchased through RCI was well worth the $30 each, it included a t-shirt each & 5 cocktails or beers (1 each at each bar stop), along with some local history & humor by our guide Nancy. Give your try at blowing in the Conch Shell! We had about 3-4 hours to explore on our own after the tour. Sea days were full of activities & we had no problem relaxing or staying occupied. In Cozumel, my wife swam with Dolphins which I purchased directly from Dolphinaris. I'd probably purchase through RCI if there was a next time just so we get everything we paid for. She got the whole dolphin experience & I paid to observe, but the photo package turned out to be 1 printed photo & 8 emailed to us. Maybe I misunderstood when I purchased it. Transportation, Snorkel, & lockers are extra if booking outside of RCI. The cab ride was quick 5-10 minutes one-way for 2 people @ $8. The included bar drinks were okay but the employees weren't forthcoming about how to find the included meal. We just left & went to Carlos & Charlie's Beach Club. No cover charge to enter, however we knew we planned to eat & drink there. They're a very friendly restaurant & bar staff with some sublet vendors hocking their wares as you eat, unless you ask them to stop until you're done eating. Not extremely bothersome. Great food, great service, domestic beers & a couple imports, great tequila..be sure to get the squirt bottle experience, ask for it, fun! There is a decent beachfront with umbrella loungers & tables with other sublets who charge for jet-ski or parasailing & a message area too. It's a $17 cab ride back to pier for 2 people. More free tequila on the way to the ship from a few of the shops at the port, even when we told them we weren't buying anything. On the Sea day back to Tampa the ship had an undisclosed engine problem but within 30 minutes they had us back underway with a backup engine & a had a second spare engine if they would've needed it. They did not. The Seas were mostly calm, the air was warm & we'll cruise RCI again someday, this ship or another perhaps.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Windjammer (buffet) is a better breakfast option than Main Dining Room
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Disembarkation
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