Right then, this is how it looks.RCI is a large powerful American company, who target their cruises at what was/is "middle america" although their clients come from all four corners of the globe.The Ship:- Brilliance of the Seas is a BIG buzger. Fitted and furnished as a 5* (at least) hotel, and the Centrums have to be seen to be believed. The kinky bit, is that in the main elevators, the floor has a panel which shows the day of the week. This is changed every night.The organization required to run this ship, provide food,entertainment day and night, excursions etc is awesome, and RCI have to be congratulated for their abilities here.On board Staff:- Generally very friendly and helpful.Cabin:-(sorry-stateroom) Initially, on entering the "stateroom" we thought it rather small.But the very clever design of the vanity unit and wardrobes allowed us ample storage space, and the same could be said for the bathroom. Very well thought out and comfortable. My bed was not comfortable but wife said hers was excellent. Hospitality traybring your own coffee!!! Mini bar-You must be a British banker. The balcony also gave increased space although smaller than we are used to. Fantastic hi-tech telly where you can check your account, see details of excursions and entertainment.Hi-tech phone system for EMC's.etc. Our cabin (deck 9) was convenient for lift and near all facilities at front of ship. Minor cleanliness issue,but very good on the whole. Entertainment:- The wide variety of things to do, both day and night, means that virtually every taste is catered for no need to be bored.Dining:-We were supposed to dine in the Minstrel, but after the first couple of meals we decided to opt for the Windjammer Buffet. The Minstrel reminded me of the British GovtMenu was high on promise, but waiters couldn't deliver. The breakfast was diabolical for british clients.Meals in the windjammer were generally excellent. There was a wide array of food to cater for clients from the far east, italy, germany, usa and britain. The choice and quality of the food was reflected in the popularity of this restaurant Occasionally, some dishes were not as hot as they should have been , but on the other hand, eggs for breakfast were cooked fresh to order. Pity the staff did not know what "White Coffee" was. We sometimes did a light lunch at the Seaview cafe, which was also excellent.Now for the downside. Despite company policy, and complaints made, nothing was done to address the problem of "seat blocking" in the solarium or around the pool area. These areas prove to be most popular but are not large enough to cope with demand, especially when seats are left for long periods unused but with belongings on them.At time of booking, info suggests that smokers are catered for. Once on board, information says that the ship is designed principally for non smoking, and smokers are made to feel unwelcome. Indoors, there are only two noisy bars which have smoking areas, and outdoors the smoking areas are like wind tunnels, and queues for tables form at meal times. We spent considerably more in order to get a balcony cabin, but here too we were not allowed to empty ash tray inside cabin trash bin. To add insult to injury, we had to keep balcony door closed whilst smoking lest smoke should enter the cabin. Human Rights?????

We did three excursions. The canal, egypt and malta. The companies contracted to run these trips did RCI's image no favors. The itinerary for the canal and egypt trips was counter to what many clients wished and wasted time away from the main features. Their couriers were dreadful. The canal one gave a long and detailed history of Greece and a detailed visit to a museum where an elderly yank told her to "quit yapping" The girl on the blue grotto trip on malta kept repeating herself over and over to the point she had many of us bored out of our skulls.