Brilliance of the Seas Review
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This was our 23rd cruise and 10th with RCI. The last time we sailed with RCI was back in 2006, so we were glad to be back. RCI is our second favorite cruise line next to Celebrity.
This wonderful vacation started with a flight out of New York, JFK into Barcelona, Spain for a two night stay at the H10 Itaca. This was a nice cozy hotel with a satisfactory breakfast buffet and dinner menu. The hotel was just a couple of blocks away from public transportation. We purchased a two day bus pass with "Barcelona Bus Turistic" to tour the city. It is the double-decker bus with the "big eye" on the side. We got to see quite a bit of the city. One word of caution, the hotel staff told us the bus stopped running at 9:00pm but it actually stopped at 7:00pm. We learned that the hard way. We saw some very fascinating sites during our tour and would've loved to have seen more of Barcelona but time didn't permit. Overall, it is a beautiful city and I guarantee we'll be back to see more of it.
Day 1: We boarded the ship at noon on Veteran's Day, 11 Nov 10. The embarkation process was very smooth and relatively quick. We purchased a case of sodas at the port store to take onboard so we wouldn't have to pay the high prices for the ship sodas. Our room was ready when we boarded, so we dropped off our carry-on luggage and headed up to the Windjammer for lunch. After lunch we unpacked, went to the muster, then later to dinner.
Cabin Review
Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony
Superior Ocean View, Cat D1, Deck 10, Rm #1590: The room was very nice with plenty of storage space. Jessica our cabin steward stopped by to introduce herself. We've been on a few cruises where we didn't see the steward until two days into the cruise. Jessica was on top of her game and did a wonderful job! She kept the room clean throughout the cruise. On our way to breakfast one morning I told her our toilet seat broke and by the time we returned it was fixed. There was a lot of ceiling noise in our room because we were directly below the Windjammer kitchen. The staff worked all through the night however, the noise wasn't a showstopper and didn't bother us at all. We still got more than enough rest and relaxation (R&R).