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MDR atmosphere on Royal

Brisbane

hi all. 

This was a 10 day cruise from vancover to hawailli as she goes to the land of the aussie. a good mix of people and we all were looking forward to a cruise cruise to an amazing place. 

we arrived at the ship and were shocked at the state of the exterior of the ship, Rust, peeling paint around those once pretty blue window frames arouns the pool area. glass looked like it had not been cleaned in a year!! then we got on board while the old lady is is fading fast...but still size of ship one of my fav...i feel it time to move her on. inside need TLC....all over...i could not focus on just one area, its the whole ship...which is a shame. 

Food, WOW it was horriblle and i mean horrible. SHAME on RCI. cut backs, cold food, tasteless food in main dining room and buffet , while i did not miss a meal...which breakfast was prob the best if dont look at the last night baked potates there for breakfast, raw bacon, dinner was a whole another issue...hit or miss but it will be warm or cold.. . feel so sorry for the crew they are trying, but corporate better wake up, when CCL is better than RCI there is an issue and loyal ECI fans like us are taking notice and business else where.

It was ok, can see the cut backs and age of the ship effecting experinace 

We chose the ship because we had friends in Sitka and wanted to visit them and wanted to leave from Vancouver where we also looked forward to meeting old cruising friends. We were 4, Dad, son and two faughters, all Seniors but all Diamond on RCL. I was in a wheelchair for getting on and off and for longer on board ventures. We booked a 2 bedroom Grand Suite because it met our needs for separate beds and was in a great central location. Coming from Orlando the day before sailing was routine, flights full and spartan, hotel was just for a night.

Getting to and from Vancouver was the worst part of the vacation, but the cruise itself was, for the most part, great. Weather was normal for September, cloudy, rainy and 50s but we didn't suffer. The ship is older and smaller and has few of the cattchy features- no ice rink, aqua theater, or Royal Promenade, but still provided shows and lots of activities. We didn't make use of many activities, our cabin was too cozy.  

The ugly phase of the cruise began at embarkation which was chaotic and frustrating. We entered in the basement of a shopping center and were boarding with two other ships which was confusing for everyone including staff. It was really bad. Then when we got to our 2 bedroom grand suite we had a fight for our bed arrangement, so our early experience was not so good.

Disembarkation seemed confusing but really worked out well and we transfered by RCL buses to the airport which was easy and efficient.

We ate primarily in the dining room but also used Windjammer and room service. We had access to a Chops Grill special breakfast but couldn't quite make it on time. Meals were spotty, some really good but many not up to previous standards.Windjammer's variety was good and offered some really tasty dishes but got pretty crowded at lunch and breakfast.

We spent a good deal of time in the Concierge Lounge which was convenient and always quiet and seldom very busy. Service there was prompt and friendly and we appreciated the goodies at cocktail hour. 

The Bad phase of the cruisewas the weather. While it really didn't affect us greatly, it would have been nice to see some sunshine and not  so much rain.Dressing for excursions takes some planning and it is difficult to take the proper clothing on a day-long excursion. But rain is necessary to make Alaska thrive so we should not complain.

The Good phase of the trip were the ports. Sitka is beautiful, mountainous and forested. We visited a friend there who took us to where she worked, the Fortress of the Bears, a bear rescue mission wher 5 brown bears and two black bears  are there to see up close. 

Haines was a jumping off port for a Yukon train trip out of Skagway. Taking a ferry from Haines to Skagway got you to the  White Pass and Yukon Rail Route train into the Alaskan interior. It is a full day of ferry, Skagway and train trip that even in the rain was spectacular. On the way to Juneau we cruised the fjords and got a close up of Sawyer Glacier with the blue color dazzling in its depth. We were told we got up closer than the ship had been all season.

Juneau was for whale watching and we took a Viator 20 person Juneau Whale Watching Tour, 3 1/2 hour cruise that was awewsome. The two man crew knew just where to go and we saw whales galore, coming out of the water and everything.

Ketchican was where we split up, two for the kayaking-in-the-rain tour, only four people so it was great. Good gear, plenty of sights and sounds. Others took a wildlife tour that was very good but more about flora and fauna than birds and animals.

Sadly, our flights arranged by RCL, home were changed so that our expensive upgrades put us on the outdated 737s, not the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, so our money was wasted. We were extremely disappointed in our flights and will not use RCL's air service again.

In spite of bad beginning, nasty weather, poor flights, it was a treat to see Alaska in several settings in an older but pleasant ship, catered to by RCL's service oriented staff.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

My daughter and i enjoy cruising together and decided to do a royal caribbean cruise up to alaska.  she saw the cruise at a good price last january, and some family decided later,  that they wanted to join us, but price went up very steeply so they did not come.  i am diamond level and daughter is ruby level. I get quite a few perks.  a room up on deck 13 only diamond member can get in, 4 hours a day.  in that room at all times a latte and capuchino and great regular coffee were available to me.  food was always there but i did not eat there as i would go back to my room and go with my daughter to the beautiful dining room. We always went to the one in the back of the ship as it was the classiest.  the one in the middle of the ship was blah!  food was always the same variety of each dining room so only the decor was different.  we had a early dining of 5:30 so we made sure lunch was always around noon.

I am sort of taken back on what people especially younger people are wearing now adays.  some dressed like it looked like they were ready to scrub their ovens out.  i am not saying you need to be dressed to the hilt but if you are going into a 5* dining room why would you not try to look a little decent.  we are the ones that have to look at them!

Anyway we had a great cruise even though weather was the pits.  beautiful and sunny leaving vancouver and the day returned to vancouver.   it is too bad as the nicest part of the whole trip is the inside passage coming down between vancouver island and the mainland of british colombia.  no use taking the passage outside to the west of vancouver island.  no scenery there, as they usually are too far away.  where as, the inside passage you had gorgeous scenery.

All in all, it was a great trip. Great shows  on board every night!!

Beautiful ship 

We choose this line because it goes through the Tracy Arm Fjords.  I have to say after 36 cruises this is the most disappointing - the boat was dated and our room was not clean.  We had to complain to the front desk and get them to clean again and still they missed cleaning the drawers and mirrors.  The food was horrible in the dining room and buffet and only one of the specialty restaurants was good.  In the morning they would come to your table and offer stale donuts, croissants etc.   We spoke with the chef who seemed to be uncaring blamed it on recipes received from Head Office.  There are very limited food selections after 9pm only pizza which is not very good.  The wine selection is limited and every time I wanted certain wine I was always told they were out.  Will never cruise on this ship!

Very Disappointing

We chose this cruise over a year ago because of the amazing deal.  We were initially booked on Enchantment but RCCL moved that ship and substituted Brilliance of the Seas which we were thrilled with!  Our trip began at the Port of Vancouver and I suggest to just pack your patience and breathe when you are boarding there.  If you have ever been to the Port of Miami you will know what to do, lol.  We had an early boarding time of 10:30 which was amazing.  We were extremely tired though from our trek across the country so we found a lounge chair in the Solarium and just waited and rested and had a few drinks.  Our rooms opened right around 1:00 and we quickly went to inspect.  We booked an interior room midship on deck 7.  We were very impressed with the size of the room as we hadn't booked an interior for many years.  The room was well-appointed and had a good-sized couch for extra seating.  If this ship ever gets updated I hope they get rid of the shower curtain and put in the door instead.  Also, the mattresses are so old and flat that most nights I couldn't sleep so it would be nice to get a little more comfortable sleeping arrangements.   Our room steward stopped by to introduce himself and let us know that he would only be coming once a day.  He also gave up his card so that we could call and ask for him if we needed anything at all.  We love this class of ship and hope that RCCL updates these older ships because we really prefer to cruise on them.  I will have to say that the service was wonderful from everyone.  They really went over and above to take care of our needs (which really isn't that much).  The drinks were good. We did not get the drink package because we are Diamond members and have some free vouchers daily and stopped before boarding to get a couple of bottles of wine.  We did spend some money on drinks but nowhere near the cost of the drink package.  Now, let's talk about the food.  The Windjammer was very disappointing.  The food was exactly the same every day.  Nothing special.  We used to love it but it just wasn't good.  I do have to say though that the coffee was excellent.  We have had some really bad coffee on previous cruises.  I mentioned it to the officer in charge of the Windjammer and he said that they have a new supplier.  We ate in the dining room a few times and the food was just ok.  Nothing to write home about.  The service was impeccable though.  They treated us like Kings and Queens!  We ate at Chops one night and Giovannis another night.  The food was really good and the service was excellent but the cost is getting too high.  All in all the cruise was great and the service was wonderful.

Alaska was beautiful

We wanted to sail to Alaska with family living near Vancouver, so we chose the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Sea cruise from Vancouver to Sitka, Juneau, Skagway and Haines. The itinerary was fine, but RC’s processes and crew downsizing caused some real problems. The first issue was the process for departure from Vancouver. The embarkation process was a nightmare, with numerous personnel providing poor information and instructions to arriving passengers. Passengers were required to take a circuitous route through the facility, including an elevator ride (two elevators for all passengers) to drop off checked bags. RC’s new Wi-Fi check-in was terrible, with several Wi-Fi outages rendering the tablets of RC personnel useless. There was also poor coordination between security, customs, and RC personnel. Once on the ship, things went a little better. The ship’s staff was professional, but under manned. Tables in the Windjammer buffet were not bussed quickly. It was apparent that there were not enough crew assigned to this task, RC attempted to alleviate the situation by making announcements for passengers to hurry their dining and get out fast. The food in the buffet was “meh” and dominated throughout the cruise by Indian cuisine. Eggs in the Windjammer, whether hard-boiled, fried, poached, or scrambled, had a strange green tinge and the yolks were very thin and watery. Cabin service was great, as was the service at formal dining in the Minstrel dining room. The food in the Minstrel, however, fared no better than that in the buffet. What should have been a highlight, lobster tail, was a rubbery affair, still firmly attached to the tail exoskeleton, rather than being removed, cooked, and replaced. The result was diners having to fight with the rubbery mass to remove it from the tail…and it wasn’t worth the fight. Our family attended on show featuring the ship’s singers and dancers. The entertainers were talented, but the choice of songs was a head-scratcher with songs ranging from the 30s to the 80s many of which contained lyrics and themes inappropriate for younger cruisers. My 9 year-old turned to me with one word for the performance…”cringe”, and I couldn’t agree more. The ship’s comedian never rose above the level of fart jokes. He claimed to have been “in the business” for 25 years. A slow, sad death on RC ship’s is probably the fitting end to a career of his caliber.  We bought one excursion through RC (sled dogs and gold panning in Skagway) which was pretty entertaining for the entire family. We contracted our own cab to the Mendenhall glacier in Juneau, which was also a great experience. The cruise held great promise, but RC’s cost-cutting ventures ruin a great deal of the day-to-day cruise experience. If RC intends to cut service back to the level of that on Carnival, we will sail with the latter at significantly lower fares.

RC Cost-cutting is a joy killer

The food was terrible. Rotten fruit on the buffet daily. Dining room food was subpar: flavorless, overcooked, mass-produced garbage. Windjammer was marginally better. Even the pizza was bad. Cutting off food service from 3pm-6pm was awful. Nothing to eat after 10pm. Awful. 

Ship spaces are old and tired. Cabins have only two plugs, no usb chargers. No plugs near the bed. No extra bedding was a big oversight on the Alaska cruise. Staff was not impressive. Housekeeper left no towel animals, expected us to schedule our day to her convenience. So frustrating. I will be taking a long break from Royal Caribbean. Ample storage but the drapes don’t close and the room never darkens sufficiently. Downstairs from the pool it is very loud. 

Alaska. Now that was an amazing place. The ports of call were fantastic. We went whale watching in Sitka and Juneau, wandered Ketchikan and would happily return.

Terrible 

We recently sailed on the Brilliance of the Seas to Alaska and it was the perfect size for the journey.  There were so many Windows everywhere that no matter where you go you won't miss any of the amazing views.  

The ship is older though and in serious need of a refresh.  Our cabin had a cracked sink and a large tear in the curtain.  All of the furniture was warn out and the bed was uncomfortable.  We were in cabin on the smaller size for the two of us.  There was ample space for hanging your clothes and cubbies as well.

The food in the main dining room is good but is hit or miss.  I often found some things over cooked and often by the time we got our food it wasn't hot enough.  The new menu is ok and I was always able to find something to eat each night even with dietary restrictions.  One thing that wasn't good is the new policy that no changes can be made to a dish.  I understand why they did it, but with someone who has food allergies it makes it very difficult.

The food in the Windjammer was pretty much the exact same thing every day.  Mass produced food that is overcooked and lacked proper seasoning.  Most often the food wasn't hot enough.

The entertainment was only so so.  There were no big stage productions like they have on the larger ships.  They have some singing and dancing shows, a comedian, a juggler.  The cruise direcector John did a Neil Diamond tribute as well.

The cruise direcector came out for the shows and events but the rest of the time you rarely ever saw him.  His wife Katrina is the activity manager and she was very good.

One thing that we didn't like was that the kids ran wild everywhere on the ship with very little parental supervision.  They took over areas that were supposed to be adult only areas like bars and the Solarium pool.

Good Size Ship For Alaska

A complete review of 7n Alaska on Brilliance of the Seas.

We had 3 staterooms and 8 people total for a 7 N cruise from Vancouver. The trip itself was great, but the cruise experience was sub par. 

The Ship

Let’s be honest: The last time this ship was refurbished was a decade ago. It’s clean(ish) but in desperate need of an overhaul. There are only 4 outlets in a stateroom and 2 of those are US and the other 2 are Euro. With all the charging needs people have today it’s silly to think that’s adequate. The furniture, carpet, draperies, and other soft goods are all also showing their age.  The drawers no longer glide open and the bathroom fixtures, lights etc are all showing their age. 

The Food

It’s ok at best and at time inedible. The buffet was often cold the presentation was messy and it was overcrowded. The main dining room suffered from food left to languish under a heat lamp until ordered so it was often over cooked, dry or just unappetizing. The steakhouse (we ate there on our second to last night) was good, but incredibly heavy and not somewhere we could have eaten more than once. 

The Crew

Where do I start? I’ve been on over 10 cruises and I’ve never seen a less engaged or more unhelpful crew than on this cruise. Here are a few highlights:

-On our day in Sitka our excursion was cancelled and we were told 10 minutes after we were scheduled to leave. We were offered a chance to rebook but the shore excursion person didn’t have a list of available options and so we were left to scroll through the app to find what was available. There’s no way that they didn’t have more notice. They dropped the ball and then left it to us to sort out. The excursion we took was fine but not what we would have picked if we had more than 90 seconds to figure something out. 

-On our day in Skagway the tour coordinator was told to walk slowly because the group was so large.  Instead he raced from the room and lost most of the group leaving us to figure out where the gangway was (absolutely no signage) and where we needed to meet on the dock. We had two elderly members of our party who almost missed the excursion. 

-On the day before departure I tried to confirm wheel chairs to avoid being left behind again and was told that our group would need to split up and there was no way to ensure we would all end up on the same transfer. 

-Our dinner server complained to part of our party that the rest of us had missed a few nights (we preferred eating in port) and said we shouldn’t have selected a dining time in advance and we were making it hard on him. It was awkward for all involved. 

We had a great itinerary and great excursions (once we got to them). Overall I don’t think I would ever sail with Royal Caribbean again. We’ve done 10+ cruises with Disney and they are just better. The ships are better maintained, the food is better, the service is better and the attention to detail is better. I know they are often more expensive and I think this is honestly a case of you get what you pay for. Royal Caribbean is trying to sell a premium experience but they are delivering something far short of that.

Mostly a miss 

I had a good trip on Brilliance of the Seas! I chose it because i had future cruise credits but also as i've been on an alaskan cruise before and wanted to go on different ports. This cruise went to hubbard, tracy arm and sitka which i haven't been too before. It was good we went to 2 glaciers as hubbard was foggy and rainy. However, tracy arm was great as we got into 1/2 a mile of it. I liked my room - it was very quiet. I gave 4 stars because of the food which was between okay and good. However definitely go to the specialty restaurants Chops and Giovanni's at lunch. Its cheaper than dinner and good food. The juggler was the best show but overall shows were good. It annoyed me they had a smoking section on the promenade deck. I went in the hot tub in solarium once and it is a nice area. Sushi making was a lot of fun and i would recommend it!

A nice trip

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