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Chose to travel on Royal Caribbean for the first time having heard how much better they were compared to Carnival which is the line we have used for many years. The plus side for them was on the following areas, embarkation, debarkation, buffet, shows. Getting in and out of the ship was the fastest we have ever experience, even with the VIP treatment at Carnival. They had real Broadway type shows with excellent performers two nights and a funny comedian on another. For the past few years Carnival shows have been amateur at best and done by the passengers the rest of the time. As soon as you board the ship you can tell the quality of construction and amenities all throughout. As usual as soon as we boarded we headed to the Lido deck to check their buffet area, of course since there were not too many passengers yet, there were plenty of empty areas to choose from to sit and enjoy lunch. Here we saw a big difference between them and Carnival, there were no one or two long food areas but several smaller "islands" for food service, with this system we never had to stand in line during the entire trip.Quite different with Carnival's loooong lines most of the time. The first night we chose to try the main restaurant, earlier we had talked with the maitre'd and requested a table for two or three couples since we enjoy talking to other passengers during dinning, he had a hard time matching the computer table numbers with the actual numbers on the tables nearby, he finally gave us a number for that evening. When we arrived that night we were escorted to the back of the restaurant to a table for 10. On top of that the other 8 people were an entire family, so needless to say, we hardly had a word with them since they were having a grand time. Service took forever, the food was not great and we left before dessert came. The other three nights we enjoyed the Windjammer with no problems. The major problems there were they had just a couple of tables for two so even if we had no trouble getting to the food, we had trouble getting a spot with no one on it. Carnival's pizza is not the best but ran circles around the one they were serving there, they also had ONE soft ice cream machine but on the plus side they provided many different toppings to put on it. We had an inside cabin which was clean and with sufficient storage for two people's "stuff" The bathroom did not have an outlet and as like Carnival's,they provided one bar of soap (gone are the days of a welcome basket there) Their mattresses NEED to be replaced, just like Canival's, you can tell there has been many overweight passengers sleeping on them. On the plus side, they DID have a refrigerator which was welcomed. Our steward (never knew his name) was hardly seen and never said a word or introduced himself unlike all the other stewards we ever had. On the Carnival ships there are always workers on the isles who always say something to you when you pass them by, on this ship you hardly passed any of them and when you did, they never said a word (actually one said "good morning" once) They were obviously recruited from a different part of the world. One BIG disappointment were their whirlpools/hot tubs, they had THREE small ones for 3 people each for a thousand passenger ship. Never got to use our bathing suits. Their "swimming" pools were no better We did enjoyed their small movie theater on deck 6 where they showed new releases. Their treadmills had no monitors so there was nothing to watch on them and the rest of the gym was unimpressive. All in all, it was a good voyage which we enjoyed, but will stick with Carnival. Read Less

Royal Caribbean Christmas cruise was my best - happiest Christmas ever. I truly mean this. Delicious foods, friendly staff, special family traveling with me, Christmas decorations, Christmas music, carols from singers, snow flakes falling and sunny warm weather made this all special. My room was nice with a very attentive room attendant. Royal Caribbean is my favorite cruise line and I will definitely spend another Christmas with Royal Caribbean. If I could I would spend every Christmas cruising. Boarding from Tampa port was easy, lots of parking and no hassle. The Christmas entertainment and shows were wonderful. So much to do and enjoy without having to do much, other than find out time then show up. Mexico was wonderful - sunny warm day for tours and beach. We did San Gervasio Ruin tour with Royal Caribbean Tours on luxury comfort, air condition bus, friendly knowledgeable tour guide, amazing ruins and many nice stops for photos. Read Less

PLEASE LET ME START OUT BY SAYING THAT THIS REVIEW NO WAY REFLECTS THE STAFF, as the staff was absolutely fantastic and VERY hard working (to work 7 1/2 months straight without seeing family and with no days off seems unfathomable to me). Positives - Our waiter Rajul, and his partner Jorge were fantastic, and I wish I had them with me on every vacation :-). Our steward Franklin was great as well. Negatives - The ship. I'm assuming this ship hasn't been updated since it was built in 2003, as the accommodations were absolutely grotesque. Let me preface by saying that the minute I walked into my room I wanted to cancel the vacation. I didn't sleep for 4 nights because of the lingering musty smell of the room, as well as the lingering smell of SEWAGE throughout ALL of the common areas. I seriously don't know how the poor employees work 7 1/2 months straight in such conditions. Let me also preface by saying I have been on 2 other cruises, a Disney cruise and Carnival. I know Disney is a step above, but after being on a Carnival Cruise YEARS ago, I thought Royal Caribbean was a step above. I guess not? Just to finish up the room. There was trash in a corner from the guests who had stayed in the room the cruise before us (probably only a few hours before), oh, and an old egg salad sandwich in the fridge. We kept smelling urine in our room, and notified our room cleaner, in which he cleaned very well (I saw the poor guy on his hands and knees scrubbing every bathroom around us). Skip 2 days later, we notice our toilet was leaking, so no wonder. Apparently was fixed on our 2nd to last day. The room still stunk no matter how hard cleaned. Again, not his fault, just a dingy old room that needs updating! Common Areas - My 3 1/2 year old son couldn't walk into a bathroom on the ship without holding his nose and saying 'it smells in here.' There were times he wouldn't even go to the BATHROOM! Crazy considering he's 3. There were times I would dread going to the bathroom as I knew I would be gagging throughout. Again, I would see employees cleaning these bathrooms, so I know it's a larger problem and this ship needs a major redoing (if you check out other reviews online of the Brilliance of the Seas.......Something I WISH I did before I booked this cruise.... everyone complains about this same odor). Disembark DAY - We were scheduled to disembark at 930. At around 730 my husband went to use the toilet in our room and it would not flush. We called maintenance in which they said they would send someone down. After waiting a half hour, we asked our steward Franklin, and found out a guest had flushed down an apple, clogging the toilets and shutting them off ONLY on floor 8. We then went up to Floor 11 for breakfast, and in hopes that the toilets were working, unfortunately they were not. For 2 hours, no working toilets, and my son had to pee in a cup. I can't imagine the stench when the people arriving to that decrepit ship smelled upon check-in ONLY a few hours later. Those poor souls. My husband, who had only been on a Disney cruise, won't step foot on another cruise after our lovely Brilliance of the Seas experience. My advice, Sink the ship with nobody on board, or do a complete gut and reno. Read Less

I haven't cruised in 20 years....even better than I remember. spectacular service! I must give credit to Amane, our waiter. His service was exceptional! Always remembered our names, learned very quickly our food preferences. He was full of smiles and laughter and a helpful tip with food selections. He made the excellent food even more enjoyable. Dinner was prompt, but not rushed. I simply can't say enough good things about him! We were part of a Zumba fitness group. The room for Zumba was wonderful, the sound system more than adequate. I am so pleased and can't wait to book again! the ship was the brillance, great small ship. Everything in great working order. We did a shore excursion for kayaking/snorkeling. Felt safe. Great price and value. Excellent choice!! Read Less