Royal Caribbean really did us good. First time cruisers, older couple (50) looking for a simple way of life. Brilliance of the Seas didn't disappoint. The staff were spot on with taking care of us. Their kindness and professionalism was impeccable. Alaska speaks for itself. The mountains. The ocean. The glaciers. All elegant and majestic. Let's not forget about the passengers. The people on board with us were pretty awesome. I think everyone had one goal in mind...enjoy this vacation. And I hope everyone took with them a little something from it. We appreciated the well-mannered kids, thoughtful adults, and laid back vibe that surrounded us for 7 nights. This is stuff dreams are made of. We are blessed indeed.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Our check in time was 10:30am but we arrived around 10:15am to the port. It was total chaos. No one knew where to wait, there was no VIP line (The Key), minimal port staff trying to direct passengers. I can't blame this on Royal Caribbean but not sure who's at fault. There were THREE cruise ships embarking that day and everyone was frustrated. We ended up going down 2 flights of stairs to drop off our luggage with the porters (lucky we had already printed off our luggage tags) then went up a flight of stairs to go through customs. It just wasn't organized. Took over an hour to get onboard.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
I was going to mark this as 4 stars due to the buffet but the MDR made up for it. The buffet was exactly what we expected ... buffet food. Our problem: no seating. We only went for a couple meals and found you need to find your seats first then take turns going to get food. It wasn't worth the hassle for mediocre food. I found the selection to be good though and the free ice cream in the evening was nice. Pro tip: Double check the operation hours of businesses on board. They are open at certain times (things are not open 24hrs). The MDR was amazing. Day 1 we went straight to the MDR and set up reservation times etc. We got an awesome window table for 2 at 6:30pm (we usually got in around 6:15pm). Having the same wait staff spoiled us. The guys knew our names and favorite drinks by night 3. Granted, selections were limited based on the theme night but we enjoyed everything we ordered. Night 2 we spent at Giovanni's and it was delicious! The MDR for us was relaxed, causal wear and consistently excellent food and service. We had almost all our meals there. Oh, I can't forget to give a shout out to the staff at Cafe-latte-tudes! I miss my morning coffees (sometimes afternoon coffees) from there!
Main Dining Room
5 out of 5
It was a nice, laid back place. The food was consistently good. Our wait staff knew our drink orders and made excellent suggestions for food items. Portions were small but it was encouraged to get a couple items to taste a little of everything!
Giovanni's Table
5 out of 5
The meal was perfect! Perfect table next to a window, fast service and excellent food. Well worth the money.
We're an older couple so there wasn't anything we were interested in doing. This is a smaller class ship so I'm sure for some this ship would be "boring." There were 2 pools (the outside one was usually closed due to weather) but they both seemed small. Four hot tubs (2 outside/2 inside) that usually had 2-6 people in them. Due to the weather being cold, rainy and foggy, not many people were outside. There was also a rock climbing wall, mini golf, shuffle board and other stuff (I think).
Entertainment
There wasn't any shows we saw that interested us. We were Key members that supposedly had VIP seating but we never went to find out. However, there was an excellent piano player that was in the Schooner Bar. We'd go every night to hear him play! That music, the views, bourbon.. magical. We did enjoy the trivia too.
Children's Programs
We didn't travel with kids. However, kids on board were supervised and acted appropriately for the situation!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
We can't complain. Our room attendant, Pandi, kept our room spotless. We felt the daily service was perfect. He made sure the laundry service for us went smoothly and I always had a fresh bucket of ice in the room! Not to mention the occasional towel animal he'd make. It was the small things that mattered. 99% of the staff were kind, helpful, friendly and wanted to make sure your time on board was frustration free. We felt they went above and beyond to keep us happy. It worked. :)
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Yes, it's an older ship. Yes, you can tell here and there. But it was clean and well maintained. We had no maintenance issues. The a/c worked great and no toilets overflowed. LOL There were designated smoking areas that passengers abided by (thank you). Occasionally we'd smell smoke but mainly it was when we passed close to a smoking area (ie walking through the casino). Fun fact: the elevator buttons can control up to 7 elevators so be on the lookout for an open door because it might not be the 3 elevators in front of you. hahaha
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Again, can't complain. The room size was what we expected on a ship. It was cozy, king size bed with balcony that seated 2. Limited outlets that were across the room (so I had to survive with charging my phone out of arm's reach LOL). We were surprised at the closet space!
Ship tip
Expect smaller, more laid back crowds with this class of ship. We were at about 85% capacity so around 2200 passengers. There's limited entertainment (compared to talks about the bigger ships) so don't expect ice skating rinks and aqua shows.
Vancouver is just beautiful. Lovely people, great food and a rich history to explore. We flew in the day before to give us time to venture out (it's our first time in Canada). We went on a Lost Souls of Gastown walking tour and it was fabulous. We found some small coffee/bakery shops to enjoy and the hotel we stayed at before boarding (Days Inn) was about a 5-7min walk to the port.
Unfortunately, it rained in Sitka so sightseeing was limited. We did a shore excursion to Fin Island for lunch followed by whale watching tour. We got to see orcas! The food was exceptional and the staff on the excursion was kind and professional. After the boat ride, we went back to the ship because of the rainy cold weather. Would have really liked to see more but at least I was there!
Yep, we could live here. Like I could picture our lives here. The weather was perfect, absolutely gorgeous. Our seaplane ride of the glaciers was mesmerizing and brief (even though it was 40min). We had dinner on a whale watching vessel later in the day. I mean you can't go wrong eating chowder and seeing sea lions sunbathing on a buoy or view whales pass by you in the sunset. This was not Kansas.
We enjoyed our train excursion. We took a bus up to the Yukon suspension bridge then took the train back to town. The traffic slowed us down so it cut into our time visiting the bridge. The train ride was nice. We got to hear history of the area while hanging out in an old time railcar. What was really nice: it wasn't crowded so my husband and I could sit in separate seats to take in the spectacular views. The town felt more like a bunch of small shops. And since we weren't interested in doing shopping we headed back to the ship.
The town looked small and we were there for about 4 hours so we chose to stay on the ship and enjoy a drink from the Schooner Bar. We did hear other passengers say it was a nice place to visit.
Come on, it's 5 stars because it's mountains and glaciers everywhere. This is the whole reason we got a balcony room. Because there were still tons of ice, the ship didn't go as far as it usually does but hey, listen to your captain! Even with that in mind, the sights will last a lifetime. I am humbled to be present in nature.
Yes, yes, yes!!! We got off the elevator with luggage in hand. We had The Key access but our time was 8:15am and we were about 30 minutes early. We asked where our line was and they said "The Key? Follow that group." We were off the ship and through customs in 15 minutes, folks! To us, The Key was worth the expense to jump the line.
Thank you for your detailed information regarding your trip to Alaska. My wife and I are traveling here in September ( first timers) , and appreciate any feedback and information.
The Days Inn is about a 35 minute drive from the airport. We took an Uber and it cost about $40 including tax and tip. The hotel was really nice. Great location downtown for walking around and they had our room ready a couple hours early. (They will hold your luggage if the room isn’t ready. )
Thanks for posting! We will be on the Brilliance next Sunday. We had already booked the same Days Inn in Vancouver and I’m glad to know that the walking distance isn’t too far from the cruise terminal. May I ask - if you flew to Vancouver Airport, how did you get from the airport to the Days Inn? We’ve been on Alaska cruises twice before, but the last one was on the Quantum about a year ago, and it’s a much bigger ship. Having sailed on the Radiance about a month ago, I think we’ll enjoy both the smaller size and the huge picture windows of the Brilliance.
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