Brilliance of the Seas Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,565 reviews

Scandinavia and Russia

Review for the Baltic Sea Cruise on Brilliance of the Seas
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CTFireChief
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jun 2015
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

My first cruise on Brilliance and one of only a handful on RCCL. To begin our Scandinavian cruise I parked at Park Plus at JFK for $228 for 14 days. Not bad for NYC, but I later learned that they have Groupons as well! We then flew on Icelandair from JFK to Heathrow. Icelandair is definitely a “no frills” airline. I’m used to inflight meals and sometimes free drinks on transatlantic flights; not so with Icelandair (but I knew this before purchasing.) It was a safe comfortable flight at the right price. We stayed one night at the Heathrow Holiday Inn Express T5, and ventured into the South Bank of London for a few hours after checking in. Unfortunately there is not a tube stop nearby & we had to take the bus back to Heathrow. Certainly not a major deal, but it all takes a little time. We had a nice lunch at a pub near Waterloo station called the Hole in the Wall and then we did a nice scenic/narrated cruise on the Thames.

I was traveling with a group of 19 experienced travelers, including my 3 adult children and my travel agent (who set up several tours in advance.) The ships departure from Harwich was flawless, including a very easy check in. The ship appeared to be in great shape after the obligatory self-guided walk thru after boarding. This ship is laid out well and everything was very easy to find during the 12 night cruise. Interactive maps throughout the ship as well.

Dining was without any problems. We did the My Time dining and Danzalo, the maître d’ I believe, was helpful in accommodating our time request for each evening which we set up shortly after embarkation. I say “I believe” because each of their name badges in Minstrel only said “Restaurant” not their position. The Windjammer buffet was always very good with adequate variety. My only criticism there would be the endless use of antimicrobial gels upon entering the Windjammer and the inadequate seating for the amount of people onboard –yet we survived! As always nowadays, they were frequently promoting their 4 specialty restaurants, but the Minstrel Dining Room was terrific so there was no need to try that option. One surprising thing that several noticed was the menu choices on the final night were not nearly as good as the other nights where it was most often difficult to make a selection amongst the great options. I would think that would certainly hold true on the final night especially, but not so here.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin E1

Cabin size was fine. It was myself & my 3 adult children. 2 beds, open sofa, & pull down bunk over the beds. There really was plenty of space for 4 people, but you just have to pick up after yourself constantly and it works fine. Our cabin steward Rannell was terrific & well handled a room of 4.

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