This was our 8th cruise (6 with RCI, 2 with Celebrity) and 2nd time on the Brilliance. The embarkation at Harwich was easy and quick and our luggage was waiting for us outside our cabins straight after lunch. We had a fair idea what to expect service and food wise and we weren't disappointed Except the only negative being with the breakfast in the Windjammer. We were on my time dining and had no problem getting a table with our favourite waiters Dino and Miroslav as long as we went down around 7.15. We ate lunch mostly in the main dining room and the quality and choice was fine.

Thankfully we had the inclusive drinks package as the drinks are unbelievably expensive but unfortunately it didn't include premium coffee!! The ports of call were great. Particularly loved Copenhagen and Stockholm. We didn't do any ships tours but used SPB in Copenhagen and St Petersburg (both excellent) and the rest, except Skagen, we used the Hop on Hop off buses ( you get a discount if you keep your tickets and use the same bus on the next stop). The onboard entertainment isn't really to my taste but did like a group called Zoot. In Skagen we hired bikes straight in front of the ship for $10 each and because it is such a small place it is an ideal and easy way to get around. Also I forgot to mention that most of the stops accepted Euros or dollars so we hadn't needed all the different currencies we had taken. All in all we had a great, but very tiring holiday but do think that maybe it's time to try another cruise line.