Many thanks to all the info on this site. We returned on Monday from a great cruise on the Brilliance of the Sea out of Dubai. We loved the cruise. The food was better than expected- especially liked the large shrimp cocktail, lobster bisque and goat cheese tarts at dinner. We followed a tip and went to the helipad for each sail away- great views and not many people there.Our ship steward, waiters and everyone on the ship were very friendly and did a great job.
We never felt unsafe in the ports or during passage in the Straits of Hormuz.We did not see any military action in the Straits- the only unusual site was seeing small speed boats flying flags from Iran cruising up to the ship and waving. The spa had told another passenger to expect the boats- she said they often race each other and like to go close to the ship. We saw live goats in one boat- they were headed over to Oman to sell their goods.
Here is a summary of what we did in each port:
room 7068- disappointed that our balcony cabin had a partially obscured view due to the life boats below the balcony. The room had a divider curtain so the living room area could be closed off from the sleeping area which worked well when one of us wanted to watch tv while other slept.