I can't say this was my best cruise. However I did enjoy myself. I found the demographic of people taking 4 day over the weekend ( and almost on a holiday) not to be for me. But that is not the fault of the cruise, that is my learning curve being relatively new to cruising and still experimenting with likes and dislikes. I liked my oceanview room and having a balcony on this trip with the bad weather would have been useless anyway. It was a cruise so I was happy. Eventhough I am not prone to seasickness, the constant rocking did keep my stomach just a tad bit off the whole trip, but not enough to slow me down. The Brilliance was a beautiful ship with Fantastic views everywhere! I would love to go on her again in better weather and for a longer period of time to get a true feel for her.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
I had the Key so I was on board a few minutes after 10:30. Moved thru checkpoints really fast.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
I did not try the buffet, honestly after walking thru and seeing people using thier hands to pick up food and sick people in there coughing and sneezing, I avoided it. I went to Giovanni's. The Grilled prawns were excellent as was the Tiramisu. However the risotto was undercooked and overpowered with truffle oil. A couple days later, the risotto in the MDR was excellent. As for the MDR it is like any MDR, some good some not so good but I never had a bad meal.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We had bad weather for pretty much the whole trip. If it wasn't raining or cold the seas were so choppy, I dont think there was much going on in the way of outdoor activites, which is not the fault of RCCL. they had the standard trivia and bingo, as well as some cucake decorating and sushi making classes. The cruise Director was very low key as far as being out and visible, but alot of that may have been due to bad weather and not much happening on the pool deck.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Here is where I had one of my biggest disappointments. The stage shows COULD have been good but I will never know as thier sound system was way too loud. I was not the only person who felt this way. It felt like the system was set up for a theater twice the size of the Pacifica. The Trio with a pianist and two violinists were excellent. The Centrum area always had good musical talent.
Children's Programs
No kids
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff, with one exception, was amazing. My waiters were delightful in the main dining room. Oscar has the moves when they do thier dancing in the dining rooms. They were friendly and attentive. My room steward Iputu was very pleasant and met my one request for an extra blanket quickly. The guy working at the coffee bar could get a little snappy at times.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship is a bit older but very well maintained. It has a feel in some parts of the ship ( from the schooner bar on back) like you have stepped back in time, beautiful rich dark woods that are kept highly polished.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The room was clean and well maintained. My cabin steward and really all the ones on Deck 3 were pleasant and friendly. The only complaint I had about the room is the bed. The mattress was hard as a rock.
All I did was walk around this trip and had my Cheeseburger in Paradise. I was glad I had opted not to take an excursion as the weather started out cloudy and ended up rainy as the day progressed. I had fun tho :)
Glad you made the best of it in spite of the weather issues. We have found that Bonine during the day and Dramamine at night help with any motion sickness issues. As you mentioned, the shorter cruises and times when school are out are not always the best options if you want a quiet, more relaxing cruise.
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