Brilliance of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Overall, great trip! We enjoyed all the ports, learned a lot and saw everything we wanted to see on the trip. I never felt rushed. I would definitely recommend this ship and this itinerary.

We specifically picked this Med cruise on the Brilliance because we enjoyed the Radiance last year in Alaska. They're the same class an we love the design and the fact that so much of the public space has views of the shoreline and water. The onboarding in Barcelona was the fastest we've ever boarded a ship. It was efficient and quick. Our balcony room (9206) was clean and in good repair other than a loose lever for the sliding glass door to the balcony. Still worked, just loose. We did MyTime dining and experienced no problems. All of our reservations were made online prior to boarding. Our waiter, Christan and the Asst Waiter were friendly and efficient. Christian was soon making recommendations for my wife and I after the first 2 nights. He was usually right on with what we were thinking. We ate most breakfast in the Windjammer and there were plenty of choices to keep it interesting. Ordered room service once and didn't think it was worth the $8 service charge. We didn't attend all the shows but the one production show we did attend was probably one of the best we've ever seen on a cruise. It wasn't weird with a strange theme or costumes. Just great music, singers and dancers. We really liked the Fly Boys, a British quartet that took recent tunes and reworked them as jazz or swing music. The Tango dancers were also good The Schooner Bar was our normal pre-dinner drink spot and Aide and Vlad were two fun bartenders. The Irish female piano player was good, but we've enjoyed other Schooner Bar performers much more on other ships. We would sail the Brilliance again and love Royal Caribbean.

Our recent trip on Brilliance of the Seas was overall great. We have previously been on bigger ships but you have to remember that this ship is still massive! The ship overall is a little dated in places but considering its age was very good. The staff were great and could never do enough for you and there were plenty of activities such as scavenger hunts that we loved. We also did the Royal Mystery which was great yet extremely difficult. The food was exceptional and we especially enjoyed Giovanni's Table- try the risotto it is amazing. We tend to choose cruises based on ports of call and they were all great- Kotor and Venice were breathtaking! The shows could have been better so we didn't attend some nights especially as we have a 9 and 14 year old. The magic show was good as well as the finale show. We would have liked to have seen a Centrum aerial show too. The 9 year old loved the kids club and it was a smaller ship was able to make some good friends. The pools were nice but the kids pool needs updating however the kids liked the slide. We had an interior cabin on deck 7 and that was nice- we like the pull down beds for the kids rather than a sofa bed like on the newer ships. Overall, the cruise was great and we would recommend it to anyone.

If you get the opportunity take this wonderful cruise, do it.......... I'm so very glad I had the chance to experience these ports and I do plan on doing another Med cruise similar to this one.

Our first transatlantic/repositioning cruise and it was different from our cruises in the past. There are a lot of days at sea versus visiting land locations which we were not used to. Since we have been on several cruises we have been to a lot of art auctions, jewelry sales, and next cruise presentations so that left reading and gambling. We don't gamble so we did a lot of reading and really enjoyed some of the destination lectures by a professor on board. At Puerto Rico we selected a bus tour that ended at a mall. We thought it would be a local market but it was an upscale mall, the same one that is blocks from our home in Florida. Disappointing. The Azores was rainy so we could not see much of the lakes on the tour but Puerto del Gado is beautiful.  Our favorite stop was Malaga Spain where our guide took us on a tour of the city and then a walking wine and tapas tour, He was a wonderful guide with lots of information and stories that made it a tour to remember. Lastly we disembarked in Barcelona and spent a few days in a wonderful city, even with May day marches. The Royal Caribbean staff was wonderful as usual and, even with an older ship, it was very enjoyable.

The cruise was very good. There were only five kids on board, which was somewhat disappointing as I really like kids. There were a lot of elderly folks, so of course, it meant having to watch out for walkers and wheelchairs. There weren't too many of our ages on board, but I guess being retirees in our late 40s isn't the norm, either. ;) We got a lot of exercise due to my husband's anxiety issues. When people would start crowding into the elevator, he'd push his way out and take the stairs. I'm sure a lot of folks were confused by his need to get out when the elevators were getting full. I love that there were a lot of folks transiting back to Europe. We met folks from Germany and Switzerland, und ich hat mit Sie Deutsch sprechen. It was great how we were able to time zone change across the pond, thus waking up at our final destination without jet lag. Even though it's a relatively small ship, there are plenty of ways to occupy your time. If you can't find anything interesting, you can take a nap, take pictures, read, or watch the ocean waves. I loved being able to see nothing but water as far as the eye can see from my balcony stateroom and the excitement of seeing land as we came into various ports. Oh, and going under the Skyway Bridge from Tampa was amazing.

This was our first transatlantic cruise and we weren't really sure what to expect. It turned out to be the best I've taken so far. Though we ran into a few "waves" along the way, our overall experience was unforgettable. The staff was ALWAYS polite and courteous and the entertainment on the trip was top notch.  I can't speak highly enough of the house band...they were phenomenal!  We've already planned our trip for the crossing next year.  Can't wait!

Fantastic cruise! I highly recommend it! My only complaint is in our room 3135 we could hear son sort of banging on the other side if our wall late into the night. I think we may have been sharing a wall with a storage area or something.

Second time on this ship. Staff was great, shows were awesome, plenty of activities and places to just chill. Last year they did poolside movies at night, this time they did not, that was the only disappointment.

This was my first cruise and I loved it. Beautiful ship with easy access to outdoor decks from really anywhere in the ship . I also thought the food and drinks were tasty [though up in the theme park kind of prices]. It is a smaller ship so those sensitive to motion may feel a little green in the gills on the rougher sea days but not enough to ruin the trip. We were on the ship during the Steelers cruise so the main pool was almost inaccessible with the amount of people there but the solarium was nice and the bars and restaurants did a great job keeping up with it all. Would do this ship again though probably best to keep to shorter cruises for it as the entertainment seemed to steer more towards the 50 and above crowd [lot of 70s themed events and movies]

My favorite part of the cruise was all of the food. Everything from the windjammer to the food every night at dinner. One part the needs work is on board activities. My younger brother whom is 13 years old always had something fun and exciting to do. I am 18 years old and it seemed like I was bored most of the time. Anytime I wanted to watch a movie it was always full. I would recommend this cruise to anyone with younger children, but not anyone with teenagers. 

Sailing with carnival all the time this first time cruise with Royal was nice. Food was excellent very comparable with carnival. Entertainment seemed slightly lower compared to carnival. The interior room I stayed in was great. Bathrooms were definitely smaller especially the shower on this ship compared to carnival. Hallways to get to room were very small. Anybody passing by you would definitely have to turn shoulder. Had someone pushing a lady in a wheel chair in the hallway needless to say I had to backtrack back to room cause there was no way around her. Never had that issue even with the smaller carnival ships. Staff and waiters were extremely friendly more than carnival. Ship in very good condition and very clean. Boarding the ship and leaving the ship was extremely smooth. Better than carnival. Overall happy with cruise. Everything fairly comparable to carnival. Will probably stick with carnival since its usual much cheaper to cruise with them otherwise if money is not a issue with you then you can't go wrong with Royal

The process of getting on the ship was great. The ship was clean, the staff was friendly. Lots of things to do for teens. Loved dinners and the staff cleaning rooms.

There was really nothing to do for an 18 year old. No up to date music or dances or movies. Not much for that age group. We went for my daughters graduation. So she was bored. Also on cruise days there was no launch chairs or places to sit on the deck. My daughter cut her finger and no one would really help us and didn't act like they cared to much. But over all the trip was good. Thank you

This was my wife's and I first Cruise and we loved it the ship was great, now with that said the one thing we think they should change is the Casino, the reason is your allowed to smoke ! Now I know what someone's going to say what's wrong with that well nothing but it sucks when you want make your way into the schooner bar and the pub when it's thick with smoke ! I think that Royal Caribbean should re-think allowing customers to smoke in the casino . OK now back to the ship and,the crew the crew absolutely professional and awesome folks ! Everyone friendly always said hello always ask if you needed anything they truly we're there for you to make your experience awesome . We have already plans for our next cruise this time the Eastern Caribbean 🚢😎

I cruised from 3/20-3/25 (Grand Cayman and Cozumel). This was my first cruise and I was NOT disappointed . I had the absolute best time on my vacation thanks in large part to the friendly and hard-working crew on the Brilliance (especially my room steward, and pool bar and main dining staff). I thought the ship was beautiful, the shows were very entertaining and the food in the main dining room was delicious. My cabin was spacious; plenty of storage space. Get to the pool deck early if you want a chair. Had a great time on my excursions but just wish we had more time! The night life was kind of lacking but apparently the club doesn't get busy until 12 or 1a. For reference I'm single and 28 years old. I'd 100% cruise on the Brilliance again!

Honestly the days at port were the best days, gave you a chance to get off the boat and stretch your legs!!!  Ha ha....the Brilliance is a nice boat but small and has very little amenities, the staff is super nice but my 12 year old son did not have much to do...basketball for 5 days was not cutting it....wouldn't do Brilliance again with my kid.  Maybe adults enjoyed better...I didn't, I had one bored kid on my hands!!!!!  With the amount of money spent I could've had a luxurious vacation on land...oh well, it was my first cruise and I was not that impressed.

Awesome ship. Great onboard restaurants. Super easy out of Tampa. Been on the Brilliance three times and we are book again for October 2018. Welcoming staff.

The ship was definitely too small for us after being on the allure and oasis a few times Wanted to try leaving from Tampa since we live near but the drive across the state is definitely worth driving Very disappointed in windjammer Went to chops grill twice . Excellent food Giovanni's waste of money and time Voom was worthless kept getting knocked off and hard time getting on Had the alcohol package that's always good But limited soda choices Very loud at night our room 7110 was two doors from the main corridor loud at night partying Schooner bar was good 😊 will not do a small boat And we had a balcony room with obstructed view we learned

We liked the ship but it was really very small. We had a feeling we might feel that way, since we the Freedom class was the smallest we'd been on and we thought it was the perfect size. But it was only a 5 night cruise so we gave it a shot. My biggest piece of advice would be: DO NOT CRUISE ON SPRING BREAK. We made that mistake and there were tons of drunk, obnoxious college kids onboard. But back to the ship - the solarium was really nice and relaxing. We spent a lot of time there. The food was amazing, as per the usual with Royal Caribbean. The room was ok. We've always gotten balcony rooms but for this short cruise, we decided to do an ocean view. The room was really small so we definitely won't do an ocean view again. Probably my biggest complaint would be the layout. In previous ships, they had a promenade. They don't on this one so to get to the pub, we'd have to walk through the Casino (which says no smoking yet reeks of smoke). Other than those minor things, we liked the ship but we won't go on this class again because it was just too small. We'll be sticking with the Freedom class, which is our favorite.

The food and staff in the main dining room was outstanding!  The food and staff in the Windjammer was good but we definitely prefer the main dining room experience.