Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Met my overall cruise requirements. Quality of food needs to improve and must change the show

This was a great trip! With a two and seven year old I would not say relaxing but lots of fun. The crew were all absolutely amazing! I can’t say enough good things about them. My only complaint is I wish it was longer!!

Our first and 5th cruise were on the brilliance. The ship though small compared to others is large enough to have everything you could possibly need and for the large part is organized well and easy to find everything. The only negatives I can point out are that on deck 6 the casino takes up the majority so if you have kids it makes getting to things in that deck a little more difficult. Also the smoking areas on the deck seem to be all over the place so with my daughter I had to keep to one side.

Had a great time. Adult pool and hot tubs were over crowded with children. overall we had a wonderful time.

The ship is an older smaller ship but it was comfortable. It does show some wear and tear. The beds were comfy. We had an excellent room steward and great waiters. I have no complaints about the ship and service. Now the weather this week was another thing but it is what it is. Only wish I could have enjoyed the outside a little better. I also took a bit of a bad spill in Mexico my face decided to eat some concrete. Crew was great to help me get back on and into room. My room steward checked in me several times to make sure I was ok. It was easy on and easy off So no major complaints.

Five day cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Two of our favorite ports. Our first time sailing out of Tampa. We parked at the parking doctor lot just down from the ships. This was a good choice. We found Tampa to be an easy port to use and the embarkation process very painless. The weather for the first couple days was great but it rained at Cozumel and on the way back. Still, it was a fine trip. We had booked a junior suite on deck ten. Since deck 11 is the pool deck and windjammer deck, don't be surprised to hear some noise up there. We were in 1582 under the windjammer and it was not uncommon to hear carts rolling overhead.

Wonderful family cruise for the price. Ship is smaller, but has everything we love about RC. Kids had a great time. Negatives: don’t get sick (bring meds), don’t get RC airport shuttle (Lyft is faster/cheaper), can get cramped at activities so get to them early

Overall was a great getaway cruise and we enjoyed it. Would sail this ship again or one of her sisters anytime.

Short, sweet, and relaxing cruise. Great way to spend a weekend.

VERY ROUGH CRUISE. Royal can not control the weather though, lol. I enjoyed every bit of the ship though!

Love this ship and it's a great weekend getaway from Tampa! The ship is clean and comfortable and easy to get around. The cabins are nicely appointed and plenty of storage - good use of space. We love this ship and have been on it several times and have 2 future cruises booked on it as well. On the 4-night weekend sailings, there are two at seas days which are as relaxing or active as you want them to be and lots of onboard activities. There are also several quiet areas as well. The kids' areas are in the back of the ship, so you really don't see/hear the kids unless you are near their area. Royal does a great job on this ship of creating spaces for the kids to utilize and not interfere with adults. My only complaint about this ship and all Royal ships is the casino allows smoking. While there is a small part of the casino that is non-smoking, you have to walk through the smoking area to get to it (defeats the purpose) and frankly the smoke doesn't know it has a boundary and is hard to get away from even in the non-smoking part. Also, to get from the Schooner Bar or aft part of the ship to the front (theatre or pub) you have to go through the smoke filled casino. All casinos on ships should be non-smoking (IMHO)...Celebrity has done this very effectively. If you are flying into Tampa for this cruise, it's easy to get from the airport to the cruise terminal using the cruise line transfer, taxi or Uber/Lyft. If you are driving to the port, parking is directly across from the ship in a large parking garage.

Great cruise! Food, activities, and others were great.

Very good ship , good restaurants , nice staff , the ship is old and small but is updated , definitely can take a vacation on this Ship again !! Staff is very friendly !! Fia 4 days Cruise was great !!

Got off Brilliance today. I want to love this ship but because of the really bad smell of cigarette smoke that circulates throughout the halls and centrum I am only giving a 3 star. Seriously, it’s bad! If you have allergies and cigarette smoke bothers you. Don’t cruise on Brilliance! Other than that, it was a cute ship. Smaller but she has her charm. Food was good, not as good as other Royal Ships. Room attendants were not great. They did their job, but forget ever seeing them or having that relationship with them because I never saw mine. My friends on the other side of the ship also never saw theirs. This is something that needs work! We had some requests. They were fulfilled, eventually after asking again. Shows were ok. The best one, and honestly should be on bigger ships was the Band Rookie. They were amazing. We actually sat behind one of the band members Parents during the show. That was great watching them watch their son. The interaction was fantastic. Dinner was just ok. The wait stuff was good, but not engaging enough with us. I felt like they were just by the book and was not trying to relate to us or get to know us really at all. Breakfast was horrible. I’d rather do breakfast in the Windjammer. Pools were super crowded, expected on a smaller ship. My friend and I were lucky to snatch two on the top deck away from the pool. Get up early and reserve one or you’ll not get one poolside. I had an amazing time on the cruise with friends. I can’t say that I would cruise again on Brilliance, mainly because of the lack of circulation and the horrible smell of cig smoke throughout. For this. 3 stars for me.

We had a blast and enjoyed ourselves but aren’t sure cruising will be our thing.

This was our first Holiday Cruise over New Years Eve and the ship staff put on a great evening of parties and props. Even by missing Grand Cayman we had a wonderful time. Very good weather and relaxing time. Our kids were all 11 and had fun but we think for future family cruises we will stick with Freedom or Voyager Class for them as they get older. Brilliance is a great ship for couples looking to relax on a beautiful ship. Tampa was a very easy and quick terminal as well. 4 out of 5 stars due to missing Grand Cayman.

Not my favorite missed the excursion I was looking forward the most pool to small crowded

It was a good trip. Glad we went. Next time I would skip the ferry ride to mainland and book the Rhapsody that goes there directly. Or I would just do an excursion in Cozumel. Avoid the 45 min ferry ride if possible.

First Christmas Cruise and will probably book another trip in the future.

Never again! First day was ruined by moldy mildew smell in our cabin. Soaking wet floor in front of our bed. They brought in a huge blower (loud) to dry the carpet for about an hour. Then sprayed so much deodorizer in the room gave me a headache so had to take a migraine pill and sleep for a few hours. Husband was on the phone back and forth trying to get our online order delivered. 2 hours later delivered wrong. Husband had to get back on the phone to get the rest of it which didn't come until the second day.2 of the 4 days were horrible. This is my 9th cruise (1st with Royal Carribean) will never ever go on another Royal cruise again. I don't want to take the chance. Spent 1500.00 on a cruise that was supposed to go to Mexico but got changed to Freeport Bahamas. I was in Freeport last month on another ship and only spent 400.00 that was including the cabin, gratuities for two people and parking at the port. Totally got screwed over from the beginning. Alex our Steward was the best! He was on point the whole trip!