Brilliance of the Seas Review
Medium size ship in good condition, not too crowded. Great shows and great ports
Rating by category
Additional details
I booked the Brilliance cruise mainly for the ports and everyone one of them was amazing: Barcelona-Cannes-LaSpezia (Pisa/Florence)- Rome- Athens-Mykonos- Santorini- Malta-Barcelona.
I've been on the new Anthem ship and it was super crowded all of the time. There were crazy lines for everything. Brilliance is a smaller and older ship and less crowded fewer lines more seats at the buffet which make the whole cruising experience much more pleasant. Civilized clientele. Clientele 50% Europeans(mostly British), 40% Americans and Canadians. 10% from other continents. Some young kids but not too many for August. Mostly couples and young families ages 30s-60s. Amazing shows I especially love the Tango show and my tweens loved the acrobats and magic shows. I would totally do this cruise again.
Port Excursions:
Cabin Review
Large Ocean View Stateroom
Deck 3 middle cabin. The cabin was clean and comfortable. The large window made the room alot more comfortable.
Port Reviews
Cannes
Cannes -you don't need any tours. Walk around the old town for scenic views and bring a towel to hangout on the beach with the locals (there will be topless locals).
La Spezia (Cinque Terre)
LaSpezia -Florence is too far away. But you can easily catch train from LaSpezia Central train station to Pisa (Pisa S. Rossore station is the closest. Train schedule check trenitalia.com/tcom-en). About 5€ each way. Trip takes about an hour each way. Trains to Cinque Terre is also an option.
Rome (Civitavecchia)
Rome- due to the distance from port and size of Rome booking a tour is recommended. I did a tour with Shorebee. Great prices and the guide was fantastic. Picked up and drop off by the port.
Athens (Piraeus)
Athens- there are lots of hop-on hop-off buses waiting by port parking to take you to town. I did a tour with Piraeus Express Bus. The guide was great. Be very careful of the slippery marble roads and steps at the Acropolis!
Mykonos
Mykonos - easily do on your own. Walk the charming streets to the windmills and then take the local bus at Fibrika bus station which make stops at several beaches (Ornos/Agios Giannis) that are only about 20 minutes away. 2€. mykonosbus.com
Santorini
Santorini- if you are going to visit the picture perfect Oia (a must!), best tip is after you get off the tender there is a company right there (aegeantraveller.gr) that sells boat tickets 15€ and take you to Oia which also include bus transportation back to Fira. (This way you don't have to wait for the small cable to go up to Fira and then have to take a taxi (25-30€ one-way) or bus to Oia).
Barcelona
I stayed in Barcelona for a good week before the cruise and got in a great deal of sight seeing. Do not miss.. Sagrada Familia; La Paderer (Casa Mila); Magic Fountain of Monjuic (free); Parc Guell; Music Palace; Montserrat mountains (day trip). If you have more time, visit Casa Battlo; Palau Guell; Barcelonetta beach front; Gothic quarter/Barcelona Catherdral; CosmosCaixa science museum is free for under 18 and just 4 euro for adults but kind of hard to get to. Of cause prioritize time for the amazing food and drinks this fantastic city has to offer.