We booked this cruise for it's ports, sailing dates, past experience with RC and cost. We were not disappointed but I do have a few thoughts to share. Our past RC cruise was on it's twin the Serenade in 2006. This was a 7 day Western Caribbean with one sea day and we loved everything about it. I think I just tired a bit of the Brilliance after 13 nights with 4 sea days.

The Brilliance is in overall nice condition after her recent dry dock. The added outside movie screen was not a big hit because it was never that warm (think Alaska cruising). The staff was fantastic in every venue. The shows were a mix, some great, some so-so but we were disappointed they only had one "Broadway" type show in 13 nights. The on ship activities (which we enjoy) did get old near the end and you would think RC could spring for more than a pen as a prize (every time).

We have always done (late) seated dining and opted for the "My Time" dining this cruise. It is not called "Anytime Dining" for a reason. Unless you want to wait or chance eating at 9:00, you need to make a reservation for 6:30 or 8:00 (the only 2 reservation times). We made reservations for every evening a month before we departed, guessing whether or not we thought we'd like to eat early or late which worked out ok. I'd recommend going to the dining room the first day and picking out a table you like. They can assign you to that table for the rest of your reservations if it's available. Because we didn't pick a table and often came 15 min late for our 6:30 reservation we ended up by the kitchen more than once. The food ranged from ok to excellent in the dining room. I think the food was better in 2006 (and they gave you lobster then). We almost never ate in the Windjammer which was a free-for-all most of the time. We usually ate breakfast in the dining room and lunch was either on the excursion or at the Park Cafe. Read more