Brilliance of the Seas is a beautiful ship. It’s not the newest ship in the Fleet, but I found everything to be in working order and in great condition. An example: I’ve read reviews of cruisers complaining about the condition of deck chairs. After our cruise we stayed at a very popular and highly rated timeshare; pool chairs were in much worse condition than anything I saw on Brilliance.

Royal does a fantastic job, in my opinion, of keeping the ship in shape. You always see workers painting, varnishing, cleaning. I don’t think most cruisers know what salt water can do to a ship. Years ago I spent a summer in Alaska working in canneries that were actually abandoned ships from World War II. When we weren’t busy canning seafood we were busy scraping and painting; salt does a lot of damage. Think about that when you see a small spot of rust somewhere on board.

Life on board for this short four day cruise was pleasant, a relaxing time. Entertainment was good. Royal’s singers, dancers and choreography have greatly improved over the years. Headliners included a juggler and a ventriloquist; that might not sound like much, but the ventriloquist in particular had performed for several presidents. Read more