Funny how we had come across this cruise. This was a post retirement cruise originally booked on a 22 day Holland American TA which cruised through the Mediterranean and ended in Rome. Back in August we were advised that the Oosterdam's repositioning itinerary was switched to an Alaskan location and they offered to switch our booking with our discounted fare intact to a different ship. What we couldn't agree on what was the difference in accommodations from a private balcony aboard the Oosterdam to a Lanai (Balcony on shared deck) on the Westerdam. As it was we were left scrambling to find a new cruise with a different cruise line.

Royal Caribbean most nearly duplicated the lost itinerary and it was only a couple of months prior to sailing as we started exploring airfares that my wife expressed an interest in a TA. It hit me then that the Brilliance was repositioning to Barcelona and was the same ship that we had been booked for the trip to the Med on.

My wife admitted that she was concerned about the length of the TA and the number of sea days but after awhile she really grew to enjoy them and their relaxed atmosphere. Our longest voyages prior had all been 7 day trips. Sometimes it made getting off on excursion days debatable... (But make certain you get off the ship at least). Read more