So, we just got back from our cruise with a preschooler and an infant, and thought I'd pass along some pros/cons/tips for the Brilliance of the Seas, 12 Night British Isles Cruise. I wish I knew then what I knew now, so hopefully this helps anyone interested.
Booking
I chose to book with AAA and there really wasn’t anything good about that experience. I would definitely go straight to ...
We combined this cruise with return visit to Rome making a nice extra break in early summer.
Civitavecchia port let us down as there were not enough shuttle buses to Jewel for independent travellers. In the late morning queues were huge and we waited two hours. Once on board we felt welcome. We had paid for The Key and the delay meant we missed a special lunch in Chops but they willingly ...
Chose this cruise due to its unique ports of call and its timing with school holidays . We are aa family of 5 and booked two cabins one balcony and one internal cabin opposite each other. Ship appeared modern and well maintained, as its a smaller boat only additional activities offered are put put golf and rock climbing .
Boarding was poor , we purchased the Key program which was meant to give ...
This was my husbands first cruise and my 3rd. He was a reluctant cruiser so we choose this Greece-Croatia Mediterranean cruise as it had many port stops and was only 7 nights. Turns out he loved it.
We chose a balcony cabin which gave us many opportunities to view the beautiful ports as we came and left. Breakfast became a must on our balcony as we soon found we did not enjoy Windjammers ...
We wanted to see the Hermitage again so decided on this cruise as a good way to do that. It also allowed us to see most of the northern European capitals. Overall it was a great cruise with no major complaints so do not read too much into the minor problems we encountered. First the good news. We thought the food was very good in the main dining room even if some of the choices were less than ...
Chosen as a quick get away for half term with our young children. Embarkation was not the usual standard RCI provide at the pier. We were travelling in a suite and got moved from suite line to regular line and ended up waiting an age. The ships makeover has done her good. The activities for the children were brilliant and they loved exploring. Even though there were over 1000 children onboard it ...
Booked this cruise as had a money off certificate from the last RCI cruise.
Embarkation took 10 minutes, we must have lucked out and arrived at the perfect time (1pm)
Overall really enjoyed the cruise. Ship was clean with lovely decor. Stateroom was a good size (Balcony room) and the attendant did his thing every day very well.
Dining. Food in the MDR was OK but nothing special, buffet ...
This is one of my favorite parts of the world and traveling into the fjords was a treat. The bright days and white nights near the summer solstice is a great time to see the scenery.
RCL has done this for a long time and with a lot of ships. Most things they have right, but some improvement is still possible. One example is the sail in to Geiranger, our first stop. The ride in is simply ...
Overall we had a great vacation. The ship appeared to be in great shape and had a wonderful crew that was very friendly and attentive. Food was a hit and miss on certain days in the main dining room, however the windjammer was a pleasant surprise. We didn't go to all the shows, but made sure to see the magician multiple times. He performed a lot of older tricks, but his stage presence was ...
My friend chose the cruise, and I joined her when her cabin mate cancelled. The crew seemed happy even though they work really, really hard. Our servers were attentive, friendly and very focused on making us happy with our food. Chris, our cabin steward brought me distilled water and an extension cord for my CPAP machine, and tried everything possible to help me make it work, since it was ...