Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Service at the bars and main dining restaurant were extremely slow possibly due to the large number of Spring breakers. We were not impressed with the food compared to other cruise lines. I'm not sure how Royal Caribbean received the #1 cruise rating.  Our vote is for Carnival!

The bar, the pool and the ship were taken over by rude, crude, obnoxious and drunk spring breakers! So much for a relaxing cruise! It was more like being at a frat party! Offering 15% off of a future cruise! We should have been refunded a partial or full refund! I can assure you if the executives from Royal Caribbean had been on this cruise, they would have jumped overboard or put a stop to the nonsense! Huge disappointment and huge failire Royal Caribbean!

Flights to Tampa were great, ship was great, activities great, excursions were great! Everything went as planned booking through AA and everything else I booked online with Royal Caribbean. Would do it again but would probably book a route with more port destinations and less sea/ship time. 

From the time we stepped onto the ship, the ever so unexpected experience began.  A multiple time client of RCCL and I never expected to see this.

We both started sneezing and continued to do so throughout the 5 days except for the 4 hours in Cozumel every time we walked into the cabin 8044.

The same breakfast and lunch buffet was provided daily with few new options, but like the evening dinner selections, ALL was too salty and food had to be returned.   The 3rd night, my wife ordered a Strip steak Med Rare and was served a 1/4 inch MED WELL  piece of sirloin with gristle and fat.  Sent it back and came back same cut and MEDIUM.   Meat in general was a grey color and so she never had dinner.  We made reservations for the Italian Specialty Restaurant and so we pre-selected items to have them made with less salt and gluten free.   They told us they would reconfirm if any issues.

We arrived to the dinner and no one knew we had pre-ordered so the waiter tried bring us menus, bread etc... the gluten free bread was a cake bread not a french bread or foccaccia.   They informed no crepes could be made gluten free and the appetizer my wife chose was not edible.  The crepes came out COLD and then the lamb chops were ordered MED RARE and came out like rubber balls MED WELL once again along with my chicken entree was a plastic frisbee.  We once again got up and NEVER had DINNER for the 2nd nite.   We went to MARY in the MINSTREL dining room and requested veggies and a cheese plate since no other options were open.    

I have just had 3 cardio procedures/surgeries 7 weeks ago and I am trying to relax and keep the stress low.   I was never so upset in my life and this all effected my health and well being.  I am still sick from the food and the poor ventilation our cabin had as well as my wife.  

We also had a clogged toilet 2 time not able to use our own bathroom and we had to request cleaning in the room which was also DIRTY.  Stained curtains, the mildew and carpet all less than 5 star.

We were taking a relaxing few days and also checking things out for a company incentive which I doubt we will be doing with RCCL until I can see improvements.  The high quality has been compromised for sure.

I want a refund for this entire disaster.   We also took 3 medications and lost out another 2 days of work on return.  We could not enjoy evening shows on the ship since the meds kept us with nausea and drowsiness.

There was nothing we enjoyed since the free days at see , the pool was overcrowded and we could not swim until the day in Cozumel.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Dr Nagy Farag MD 

Would have been so easy to make it a better experience.There is a terrible lack of communication for first time cruisers.There also should have been more group activities.

Keeping in mind you have a bridge to go under this was a exelent ship . Haveing cruised out of Tampa  quite a few times this was the best yet. Have sailed on carnival PARADISE this was much better .

good cruise but dining room very very crowded and the atrium seems to be the only place to get together, but again very very crowded and same problem around the pool.  Conclusion nice ship, beautiful jr suite, reliable staff  but too crowded everywhere

We reserved a balcony  for the purpose of having room service. The enjoyment of relaxing and having our own meals on our private balcony was something that we looked forward to. Our first meal we requested was breakfast. This was the most discussing breakfast we have ever experience in our life. The eggs where uneatable with the toast being hard enough to crack like a rock. Everything was cold and discussing. Later that evening we expected to have a late night snack as we have on other cruses but where astounded to find that all that was available was hot dogs and pizza . After eating a half cooked hot dog I was cabin redden the next day kissing the bathroom toilet bow. We also found that some of the employees acted as if they didn't want to be there and it was an effort to wait on us.

Great cruise great staff food and beverage was outstanding. Our room was kept very clean and our dinner table staff were top notch. Boarding & departing ship were very well organized.

Very good cruise. Ship does need to be refurbished. Would recommend this cruise for a short five day getaway. Food and entertainment was excellent and have no issues with onboard staff.

Our first trip on Royal Caribbean, beautiful , clean ship, great attentive staff, wonderful shows, the buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner was awesome.....Our cabin was large with a large oceanview window, Embarcation and debarcation was very organized with very clear instructions, would recommend highly.

Our cruise was Cancelled two days after we were to depart due to fog. RC promised updates and consistently missed their self broadcasted times for updates. We were told to stay away from the port AND at the same time told the ship would depart as soon as possible when ready whether we were in Tampa or not. As we lived 2 hours away we were torn between staying put or making our way to Tampa despite being told to stay away. We supposedly are getting refunded our cost and a 20 % coupon off future cruise. We had bought travel insurance which we didn't need since and are getting no refund for that even though NOONE needed insurance because all are getting cost refunds. Parking garage will not refund parking cost even though our car never parked. This our first cruise in over 25 years. Not sure we want to risk booking another.

Our ship was out at sea when we arrived at port on boarding day.  Fog was preventing the ship from returning to port.  The 2500+ passengers that had arrived that day to board a ship were simply left out in the cold:  no lodging arrangements, no meal consideration, and if your baggage was already checked in at the terminal, you had no clothes to change into.

Sailing was delayed several times over the following 24 hours, and then eventually cancelled altogether.  Again, no consideration given for the fact that thousands of people had arrived in Tampa to board a ship and have lodging and meals covered, we were told that we were on our own, and that we would get a refund in 4-6 WEEKS.  Ship did return to port, and the reasonable thing to do would have been to allow stranded passengers to at least stay on the ship while it was in port, as there were suddenly no hotel rooms available in Tampa (due to the 2500 stranded passengers, as well as the 2500 people on the ship that had all missed their airplanes home).

RC responded by offering 25% off a future booking, which is unacceptable.  They offer 25% off to just about anyone at any time, that is a standard discount.  I made multiple phone calls and complained to various people about it, but I was repeatedly told that RC was not going to make any further consideration on the matter.

I also own and operate a business, and I would never leave my customers standing "on the dock" with no money, no lodging, no meals, while offering a 25% off coupon for the next ride they want to book.  Completely unacceptable, and though I have cruised with RC in the past, I never will give them my money again.  You can't treat your customers in this manner and expect them to come back to you, wallets open.

Cruise never happened.  We understand it was circumstances beyond 

royal Caribbean control, however,  it entailed many extra expenses and still no confirmation of how our refund would be handled other than we were to receive a full refund.  The complete amount of the charges to my account amounted to almost $3,000.00 and so far my account has been credited with $461.00   which doesn't even cover the price of one person and I paid for 5.  

Not only disappointed about the cruise not sailing but even more discouraged about how the matter is being handled.

Mary L McGinley

*** Edited 3/26/15 by Community Manager to Remove Personal Information ***

The food on the cruise was mediocre, the buffet was average with a poor selection. The dining room was better. The gym needs a serious upgrade of the equipment, most of it was dated. The ports, Key West and Cozumel, aren't the greatest either. But the staff was wonderful

This cruise was supposed to start out as a nice vacation for the family.  First of all the ship balconies were dirty and glass not cleaned.  Boat is a little on the old side looking.  My room key did not work for 4 days before they decided to re key the lock.  They keep telling me the same story we are trying to take care of it but, yet they failed to say can we offer you a free coke, drink or candy bar, while they did. When we landed in Cozumel my Id after being keyed the 4th time set off the whole ship and I had to stand away while someone came.  How embarrassing after I have spend 1 hr or so every day on my cruise at the Guest Relations desk.  I have never experienced customer service as I experience on this ship - Brilliance of the Seas. There people are not empowered with anything that makes them do the right thing for the customer, at one point after being so frustrated I told them they really do need to go on a Disney Cruise and learn how to please your customers.  The food was not excellent - same things kind of moved around every night except 2.  They nickel and dime you death with kids.

Kids could not get cokes unless pass bought and then they had to go to bar most of the time.  We had an Dolphin Excursion and the dolphins attacked my granddaughter so the rest of that days was ruined.  My daughter in law at the same location stepped on wire coming up from boards.  This went thru her shoe and she had to go back to ship for shot .  Overall this trip was not up to our expectations.  We had a total of 4 rooms on this ship, but, we will not travel on Brillance again.

We have sailed with you often and I would say that the staff on this ship was by far the friendliest most helpful and professional to date. Well done 

I was very pleased with the overall cruise experience.  Despite a rough start and a change in the itinerary (we couldn't go to Grand Caymans because of bad weather; we went to Costa Maya instead), the trip was enjoyable.  The food was excellent and service was outstanding!  Our room was clean and comfortable.  As expected, the average age of the passengers is at least 68+, but our group of 50 year olds still had a great time.  My only complaint is that we didn't receive the $75 onboard credit we signed up for when we purchased the cruise.  I'm still waiting for a response as to why we didn't.

The shows were first class.  I was pleased the band and dancers could entertain us night after night with shows that were fun and entertaining.  

The food and servers were great.  Very pleased with the smiles and good service.

Enjoyed the workout room, putt putt golf and track around the top deck.  The ship was well laid out and had plenty of deck chairs for all to enjoy.  Some were sick with the rough seas but that is part of being on the ocean.

Our cabin attendant was always available if needed and helped me with an extension cord I needed for my C-Pap machine.  Well Done Royal Caribbean!  This is why I have chosen RC on my last two cruises.

We enjoy the food entertainment,and service had a wonderful time, we are now planning another cruise, thanks to all the staff. We went on the Mayan Ruin Talum express and had a great time ,guides were very informative. The Room with the balcony was just the right amount of room.