Brilliance of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We are avid RCL cruisers. The Brilliance is a very nice ship and a good size. We picked this cruise for the itinerary, not necessarily the ship itself. We visited Villefranche, Rome, Florence, Venice, Amalfi, Zadar, and Kotor. The ports were all wonderful and very nice, we enjoyed them all. Waters were very calm.
Onto the cruise experience. We enjoyed the variety of entertainment, as always. Food was pretty good, but maybe not up to par with other cruises we have done on RCL. Not to complain or anything, cruise food is always wonderful!! But they were testing out some new items and some were hits and some were misses. It could have also been the European demographics as well. We ate in the dining room every night (one night in Giovani's, delicious) and breakfast in the Windjammer.
We had a junior suite which was luxurious and spacious!! Only problem was we were located on deck 10 under the pool and smoking area.. so all those getting up early to smoke cigs woke us up with screeching chairs at 6 am. Our own fault for not looking at the deck plans better.
Cabin Review
Junior Suite
Right under the pool deck/smoking area. If you want to be woken up at 6 am everyday, then book this room!!! If not, find another spot on the ship to get some good rest. Cabin was specious and luxurious, but location was a flop.
Port Reviews
Kotor
Coming into port is absolutely breathtaking scenery. This is a quaint little town with lots of great shopping, half of our group walked to the top of the mountain. We shopped and enjoyed that. LOTS of people trying to offer excursions and trips, the worst of our cruise. We spent 2 hours on our own and back to the ship. The scenery is what makes this port 4 stars.
Venice
Very easy to do on your own- an amazing port with tons of canal. You must walk to get the full experience. Take the People Mover located right outside the port (its like 1 euro) and moves you right into the central bus station/train station. you can walk from anywhere from here.
Salerno
A beautiful coastal port. some went to Capri (beautiful), we did a private excursion through Viator to Amalfi, Positano, and Sorrento. RCL didnt offer anything like this and it was much cheaper to do the private excursion.
Rome (Civitavecchia)
Took a private transfer into Rome. The excurions are crazy expensive, train will take 2 hours each way with walking, waiting, and transferring. The small town has a couple restaurants but would recommend going into Rome.
Florence (Livorno)
took a private excursion to pisa and florence- highly recommend. Nothing much in the industrial port.
Villefranche
walked around and enjoyed the seaside town. A nice beach that you can walk from the tender dock. No need to go to nice or cannes,this is a nice little town on its own.
Barcelona
Embarkation port, but enjoyed spending the day. A wonderful city