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Chose for two ports of Cozumel and Costa Maya. This was the smallest boat in their fleet, and while uncrowded, was terrible in the rough seas we encountered 3 of the 5 days. Missed the port of Costa Maya due to swells of the sea and unable to dock. Cozumel was a lot fun and best day of the trip. Food at dinner in main dining was very good, Windjammer has many selections but basically same stuff each day. CONS: Was given wrong info for prepaid shuttle and we sat in the airport concourse for 2 and 1/2 hrs waiting for a ride. Actual pickup was about a 100 yds further down the baggage area. Even after calling RC twice during that time all they did was say to wait--a ride is coming. Secondly, a photographer yelled at myself and 2 kids for trying to take a photo by his life bouy prop. He wasn't there so we were just trying to take a photo. He yelled to stop, raising his voice, and said it was his property--he worked for the ship. Lastly, guest relations would not give any goodwill accommodation after the boat couldn't dock in Costa Maya. Asked for 1 free day of wifi...NO. Asked for one free drink....NO. No concern for guests, Read Less

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Cruising to Key West and Cozumel, a real blast! We really enjoyed our cruise on the Empress of the Seas! It is the smallest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet, but it is big on service! All staff we encountered were very knowledgeable and happy to assist. Every need and want were provided quickly and efficiently. Our cabin steward was the best we've had in our 10+ cruises on Royal Caribbean! He was always present, smiling and talking to us about our day! He also kept the cabin clean, with fresh towels, and towel animals! The wait staff in the Starlight Dining Room were also top notch. They were pleased to bring out seconds, when requested. If there were seconds requested, you know the food was excellent! Loved the special entertainers on board this cruise. They were comedians, singers and impersonators! All were amazingly talented! Try it, you will be happy you did! Read Less

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First time on a cruise. We had a great time. Food service was great. The cabin service was super. We get our room serviced at least twice a day. We were alway greeted with smiling faces and everyone was willing to help. At the Windjammer I asked for some saltine crackers and the guy got me 20. Now that's service. The food service personal also told us if didn't see anything we want "that's really not possible, But!" we can ask and they will try to make the food the way we wanted. Overall experience great and the level of service is phenomenal compared to the "Wally World" style of service we get daily. Only complaint I have is the internet connection was very slow. I send a email about my experience and got a nice reply and a refund. So, you took care of me. I appreciate the customer service. I surely will go on another cruise with Royal Caribbean again soon. Read Less

Not a family friendly ship. There were NO activities for kids or teens. Pool was closed most of one day. Ice Cream machine was always broken. Breakfast foods were always stale, over cooked and reheated several times. Nothing was ever fresh. Bar line was ridiculous and this was the only way to get a coke. Food was absolutely terrible. The only saving grace they had, was the service in the dining room was excellent. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to change our opinion. Fitness center treadmills were broken. We were told the ship was refurbished and this was why we could never see pictures of the ship. I can assure you, this ship did not have the appearance of a refurbished ship. Many of the employees were very rude. Our room was seldom cleaned. I have been on a small ship before and had an excellent experience. This small ship was not equipped or trained to provide a pleasant experience. If you can back out of going on this ship, I recommend you do it now. Read Less

I chose Royal Caribbean because they offer a lot of activities on their ships. This time we took The Oasis of the Seas out of Ft Lauderdale. Boarding the ship was quick and efficient. I preordered by wi-fi and was given the access code with my key room. *If you are interested in Wi-Fi, preorder it. The cruise line gave a 30%-40% discount. The ship is huge, it holds 6,000 passengers. Normally when we cruise we are in an outside balcony room. This time we decided to take the inside balcony over Central Park. At first, I was starting to have buyer remorse. I was afraid it was going to be noise and I was going to miss watching the ship go into port and watching "the runners". Ended up I didn't miss it. It is a little noise during the day but I was not in the room so it didn't matter but it was really nice at night. It was quiet with light music playing and their were street lights on, so if you wanted to sit out at night and read a book or just relax it was great. Meals were outstanding. I couldn't understand why the Windjammer closed at 9 PM but their are plenty of other places to garb snacks. If you wanted to go to the Windjammer buffet there were lines but they moved quickly and the staff assisted you in finding a table. Loved the Boardwalk and Centeral Park. Shows were outstanding, saw a water show, comedy show, ice skating show and my favorite "Cats". It was amazing. It was the whole play from Broadway. Actually I saw it twice and during intermission they allow you to take a picture with one of the Cats. Service was amazing. They work really hard to make sure everything on the ship flows smoothly. There are always people around to ask a question to. Customer Service is always packed with passengers but they have one or two staff member's walking to line to help if you need a quick answer. Ports, we went to Haiti, Jamaica and Cozumel. I didn't get off the ship in Jamaica. The only thing I care about with the excursions is being brought to a beach. Living in NY I don't get to go into calm water. I would definitely take the cruise again. I am taking a cruise on the Anthem of the Seas in September. Read Less

My wife and I embarked on a 4 day cruise out of Tampa on Brilliance of the seas to celebrate her birthday. I have been on two other cruises (with Princess) but had never tried Royal Carribean. I was sadly disappointed with not only what was on the ship but what was not on the ship. We noticed a very unpleasant odor coming from our bathroom and the balcony area. So bad that we couldn't even have our slider open without it coming into the cabin.Thinking it might go away we arose on day two to find the odor was overbearing. I spoke to guest services and they sent a "plumber" to the cabin. He proceeded to pour a bucket of soapy water down a drain on our balcony and deemed the problem fixed. Two hours later the smell had not been fixed. Again spoke to guest services and asked for another cabin. They did give us another cabin but when asked what they would do to compensate us for the problem we were promised a letter entitling us to 15% off our next trip. Needless to say the letter never arrived. The food while plentiful was not particularly tasty. At one dinner I had a lamb shank that if I closed my eyes could have passed for beef pot roast. At the specialty restauraunt (Chops) which is a $35 per person extra charge we were served instant potatoes. Really....Your going to charge me $70 per couple then give me instant potatoes? Isn't there a better way to save a buck? The steak was ok...not aged beef. No thats extra if you want that. The food in the dining room was all right but you can tell some cost cutting has been done. Again instant potato was used. The italian restaurant was very good I might say. What this boat does not have....Food for families around the pool area. Nowhere could you find (like other ships I've been on) burgers, dogs and fries cooked to order and available to eat in the sun next to the pool. No ice cream shop. No specialty pizza. Good luck finding anything other than room service after 11pm for eats. I mentioned my displeasure with the man who runs all food onboard the ship and he pretty much brushed my comments aside without even an apology. The entertainment was all right. Nothing to write home about. Sorry Royal Carribean you failed this test. We shall not be back. Read Less

The Royal Caribbean staff was awesome during our extended time at sea, due to FOG!! We were very pleased with the extras that were provided by your staff to accommodate us during the extra night and day on board!! Our room steward, Frankie, was great as well as our two dining room servers, Rama and Jorge (sp?)! They both did an excellent job at our table in the Dining Room!! This is the only cruise lines I've ever sailed on, but, from what I've heard from others, you do it RIGHT!! I know I've always been impressed with this cruise lines!! Thank you, again, and I'm looking forward to next year's BUCKEYE CRUISE FOR CANCER!! Read Less

I don't even know where to start, but ill start with the food, which was horrible in the Windjammer. It was pretty repeated food each day. The main dining room food was ok. The Chops Grill was pretty good. There is nothing to do on the ship most days. Most of us were bored out of our minds. There was an extreme much older crowd on this ship as well. If you are 55 and under, chances are you will find this ship boring. Expected things like the newlywed game, NOPE, not happening. There was no midnight buffet. A very small menu for room service and the food ordered was not good. The food in the Solarium shuts down at 2AM. On the last day of the cruise, most people were in the night club till past 2AM, drinking etc. When it closed or when we decided to leave, there was absolutely no food available, not even room service. Called Guest Services and was told that we had to wait until atleast 6AM for breakfast, before getting off the ship. There is a large TV on deck, but a screensaver was on for most of the cruise, except for the NFL Playoff games. Went to the pub to watch a game, and they didnt even setup any food, such has buffalo wings, or even peanuts or chips. Walked down to the Solarium to get a few bags of chips for my friends and I, and got screamed at by the food attendant for requesting 6 tiny bags of chips. Some of the staff like that guy and most of the bartenders were pretty rude. There was only 1 bar attendant that was good and very personable, and I wished I got his name. Just know he is from Jamaica and mostly was on the pool bar. Oh heres the kicker, I never saw anyone clean the handrails on this ship, not once! Also we had a couple of days of high winds 50 MPH plus and rough sea. Debris was blowing all around and even into the pool. It took over 2 hours before we even saw 1 pool attendant come by to clean up. There was a lack of bar waiter service on the pool deck and theatre most of the time. Also we wanted to watch a movie in the theatre, and the selections was slim and they didnt even serve popcorn or any items like most other cruise ships. Save your money and AVOID the Brilliance of the Seas. After 10 cruises and most of them on Royal, im beginning to rethink my plans and Stay with Disney and Princess. Doubt ill be back on a Royal Caribbean Ship in the near future. I feel that they are catering their efforts to their new and bigger ships and forgetting about giving attention to their smaller ships. Read Less

We decided to cruise on RCCL because we were traveling with young family members and we thought they would enjoy the Brilliance of the Seas. We had a good time because we were together, but we won't cruise with RCCL again. The ship was very noisy with no quiet spots anywhere. The food was mediocre at best and usually worse than that. The only indication of the Christmas season was the decorations, no music, shows or anything else to suit the season. We did enjoy the production shows although a nod to the season would have been nice. So it's back to Princess for us. Bar service was slow. Read Less