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Cruise So Nice, We Did It Twice! (our first back 2 back cruises) - Brilliance of the Seas!

Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Review

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 15
Helpful Votes: 185

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Brilliance of the Seas

5 Night Western Caribbean (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 27, 2023

Ship: Brilliance of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 1582

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

So nice, we had to cruise twice B2B and wished it was three. Our new favorite ship, we found it on our 8th (& 9th) cruise in less than a year.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Between cruises on a back to back, they take you off the ship to headcount you, then you get right back on. Took maybe 10 minutes. Then you get a special B2B Lunch and early access to your rooms. We changed rooms due to a Royal Up bid win to junior suite. Had to pack up, but they moved our luggage into new room for us. Easy peasy.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Outstanding in all respects, 9 straight days of cruising and never tired of quality and variety of delicious food available to every passenger.

Cafe Latte-Tudes

5 out of 5

Our favorite! Included in Deluxe or Refreshment drinking packages. Also, the pre paid coffee cards are worth it when u do not get the drinks packages. The Soda Cup thing and a coffee card can get you through any cruise and save you $, especially if you are traveling with kids or with the whole family. If it is just you two though, and a lil romance is expected or even advisable given your age and health, then by all means, splurge for the drinking package and let the good times roll. They have Kahlua and Baileys and Jameson handy to make your favorite latte turn green with Irishness! P.S. Irish coffee flavored kisses are the best!

Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

Excellent food, menus, variety, choices, service, comfort, quiet, and charm.Ignore the night's theme and pick 2 apps, 2 entrees and 3 desserts if you want!Life is for the living!Note: You will want set time dining if you can get it. My Time or Any Time Dining is a suckers bet and can result in long waits and being shoehorned into huge tables filled with strangers. I will never let that happen to me again. I want my table number on my Sea Pass next to my dinner time! Leave the "no time" dining to the non-planning masses and young people who cannot be bothered to plan ahead. Life is not for waiting in lines!

Izumi Sushi & Hot Rocks

5 out of 5

This is the best deal on specialty dining on the ship! Excellent sushi and poke bowls and tempura!

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Sip.Tour.Brunch. Onboard Activity was exactly as advertised, excellent mimosas, spectacular brunch, and an executive chef tour of the MDR Galley. You will be relieved to know that the cruise line's commitment to cleanliness, quality, freshness, and avoidance of the possibility of food-born illness is impressive. I feel far better about cruise dining after this tour and informative overview of how they feeds thousands of guests and crew in such limited quarters.

Casino Royale

5 out of 5

This is by far the managed casino at sea!I had a lovely time! I was treated fairly. I won several hand pays over $1,200+, including on over $4k! Great service, great bar, great hosts, and a whole lotta fun!

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Centrum

5 out of 5

The Finish That Lyric contest was the bomb!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Wonderful officers, crew, and staff aboard the Brilliance. Special shout out to Cruise Director and Activities Director for making this cruise so much fun!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Perfect!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Always clean, well maintained and great cabin steward service. Daily maid service has replaced twice daily but is just fine.

Ship tip

Expect this ship to be Best in (Radiance) Class, in all respects, because it totally IS‼️

Thumbs up

Ports of call

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5
George Town Grand Cayman is a "must do an excursion" type of port. You do not want to wander unsupervised. Excursion: Land & Sea (pro tip: A land & sea excursion in any port is both a first time there good idea and an excellent fallback plan any time you cannot decide on another. You have a good chance of enjoying one or the other, at least half of the excursion is likely to be good) In this case, we liked both, the glass sided boat in the port bay was actually better than snorkeling in it, and the road to Hell (always paved with good intentions) was fun too. Land part also included city tour and a nice beach break. I drank a fresh coconut for 7 bucks and highly recommend it!
Thumbs Up

Tampa, Florida

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Some lengthy lines but nothing beyond what cruising always is. Always expect to be unceremoniously dumped into an airplane hangar looking build full of disorganized luggage and confused cranky ex-cruisers. This is what debarkation is, folks. Spare me your whiny review if you were just gonna wing it hope to catch a cab or order an uber like the 1,500 others 1st timers were. 💯 Have an escape plan and a ride out or you will have a bad day. Debarkation Day must be well thought out, carefully planned, and methodically executed. Planner people = kicking the crap out of non-planner people for decades!
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