Our Brilliance of the Seas was "below average", at best. On the plus side, the crew and entertainment were very good. The two alternative restaurants, Chops & Portofino were excellent in all respects. (there is an extra charge.That's about it!

Regarding cabin selection, don't accept any cabins in the back quarter of the ship.Since there is no access to other decks in the stern area, you will have to walk more than the length of a football field to get to mid-ship to find stairs & elevators.

Management has apparently made the decision to cut expenses in just about every way possible. We were part of a group of 30, and almost without exception, members of the group were , overall, "negative" on this cruise experience. We've traveled on RCCL before and enjoyed ourselves completely, but , at least on the Brilliance, things are now different. A few examples. Small things, but these add up. There are no trays in the caffeteria-style restaurant. While, no doubt, the cruise line saves some dollars on food, passengers must now make several trips back and forth to their seats because only two hands are available, rather than a tray. Shampoo and conditioner are not placed in the cabins. A day into the cruise, we found out that shampoo is available, but you have to ask for it. The library contains only about 300 books for 2400 passengers on an eleven day cruise. There is no longer a special Tea in the afternoon and the usual desert bar contained only "pound cake, scones, and cookies,together with whole apples, pears and bananas.  Excursions were expensive, but this is no different from most other ships. (Note: you can save about 50% by negotiation you own deal on the pier with independent contractors) Read more