Great Service on an Old Ship

Item: Brilliance of the Seas
Rating: 3.2
Author: MattMiz

Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

MattMiz

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 29

Overall rating:

3.2 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Greece & Croatia (Venice Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 07, 2022

Ship: Brilliance of the Seas

Cabin number: 9552

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

The one-word summary I will give for this cruise is, "disappointing."

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Very well organized and went extremely quick

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The food was good in all of the dining locations; however, after trying all of the dining experiences, I was hoping there would be menu changes in the specialty restaurants.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

I was disappointed with the singles activities. There was no guidance from the crew as it was "self guiding." Adventure of the Seas had singles activities guided by staff every night of the cruise. I expected the same on this ship.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

I was asked to leave the reading section as I was doing work for a children's activity to take place. There was no communication before that.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Always top-notch on Royal Caribbean Cruises

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Being that the ship is 20 years old, the decor was very dated, the carpeting was worn - especially on the stairs, and way too many sounds coming from the ship itself. The staff, however, did a very good job in spite of the condition of the ship.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

The size was satisfactory. The bed was not comfortable because it was 2 twin beds pushed together and where the 2 beds met were raised metal bars that made it impossible to sleep in the center of the bed. I'm 6'2" tall and I had to essentially use the bed like a twin bed. It was a very bad experience. My bathroom smelled like urine - even after my cabin attendant went through an re-cleaned. The shower was extremely small and had a shower curtain where most other ships have shower doors. The shower "wand" did not go high enough for me, so I had to squat down to wash my face and hair. The sink was cracked, paint was chipping off the door, and they had stick-on air fresheners on the door that didn't appear to have been changed in a long time. Also, when the person next to me flushed their toilet, my water became scalding hot. The balcony was a decent size but the rusted metal that was along the balcony was showing through the paint that tried to cover it. Also, there was a constant smell of sewer while the ship was docked and/or not moving.