First time on the Radiance class of ship and a smaller ship in a few years. We had sailed on both Oasis class ships and all three Freedom class ships and on Navigator of the Seas prior. Brilliance of the Seas had some nice upgrades by the addition of a Park Cafe (complimentary) and Rita's, Isumi and Giovanni's (reasonable additional fees). We dined in Giovanni's the first night and the food and service were outstanding. We had experienced the Park Cafe on Oasis and Allure. We enjoyed breakfast and lunch and/or snacks in the Park Cafe almost every day. On this ship, the Windjammer has an outside seating area in the back, as well as a semi-open seating area. Rita's is located at the very back of the ship and is also a great place for a drink or snack or to catch the Windjammer overflow. We had lunch at Izumi on the last sea day. The ramen soup was delicious and is enough for two. We also shared a sushi role and dumplings.

It was easy to find our way around the ship. The public areas were well laid out and spacious. We visited the Colony Club at the back of the ship on Deck 6, the Schooner Bar also on Deck 6 and the Pub which had a large selection of beer. Near the Colony Club, there are two pool tables (never saw that on a cruise before). There is a good sized indoor Cinema as well as a big outdoor movie screen on board. They showed Monday and Sunday football on the big screen and a few different movies in the cinema twice a day.

Our Cruise Director, Clo O'Connor, was wonderful. She was always out and about and greeting us as we came on board and back from shore. Read more