slk230red

Love the Brilliance....first sailed on her in 2006 and 2 times April 2014. The ship is in great condition. Currently have 4 future cruises booked on the Brilliance.

Tampa Marriott Waterside!

I agree....you can take the trolley over to Ybor city and have lunch or dinner at the historic Columbia restaurant.

Thanks for clearing that up. You showed up, grabbed an inside chair and then stayed all night - until after they closed.

 

Meanwhile, you whine & complain about the "old people" who showed up, grabbed an inside chair & stayed all night.

 

I guess it's different though, because YOU were staring at a basketball game on TV, while they (according to you) were "staring blankly into nowhere." :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Now this is just plain funny....thanks for the post!;)

We were on the Allure Dec 14 sailing too .....RCI should hire you, your pictures are amazing! You make the ship look new, the food look appetizing, and the ship not crowded.;)

Made it to Diamond Plus on our last cruise ...... What exciting benefits will I get to enjoy in February? I heard about BOGO on speciality restuarants but still not clear on how it all works.

Don't forget to select your bonus gift in the gift preferences section.;)

I received an email today from the concierge currently onboard the Oasis advising mo more beer and wine at lunch on any day.

Was it from Alan in the CL, or the concierge in the Suite Lounge?

Is the made-to-order breakfast and lunch still available?

Hi Bob,

On our Oasis Dec 6 sailing, the CL was open for lunch (12-2pm) on embarkation day and beer/wine was served along with snacks and assorted sandwiches. Breakfast was continental. No a la carte menus.

On the Allure Dec 14 sailing, the CL was not serving anything on embarkation day, but was open for evening drinks 5-8:30pm. Starting on the 2nd day they served cooked to order breakfast along with continental breakfast, and cooked to order lunch along with beer/wine and and a buffet.

No problem here, last Friday on the Allure, our stateroom attendant personally gave me a birthday card and a bottle of champagne on ice. Lowell took great care of us, and he really surprised me when we returned from having breakfast in the CL.

And yes, he received a WOW card and a WOW envelope!

Are the Coastal Kitchen and lounge open on embarkation day? Is there still a CL on Deck 11 for Diamond+?

Yes, there is still a CL on Deck 11 for Diamond+ until Wonderland takes it over. On the Dec. 6 sailing it was open on embarkation day from 12-2pm for beer and wine along with snacks including assorted sandwiches. Evening drinks from 5-8:30 and continental breakfast in the morning.

We went a couple of times, but preferred to use the 3 drinks on the seapass card at other bars.

Also, I was surprised that the Diamond lounge on deck 4 also served the same lunch items from 12-2pm except for the beer/wine.

The Allure Dec 14 sailing was a different experience.

Ahh you guys didnt say anything about senior and CA discounts...false hopes.

 

I am 30 years old and only Platnium, so full price for me!

You're lucky, I'd rather be 30 and Platinum than 64 and Diamond Plus!;)

Where you guys seeing this? When I look its $169 per person on Cat K or any other cat

I just checked and it's still there. Cat K is $59 and Cat L is $77, with C&A discount and senior discount.

The Cat K for $59 breakdown is:

$320 cruise fare minus $50 for senior discount, minus $320 for C&A discount, plus $100 NCCF's = $59.

I see $77 for 1/12/15 for Majesty.

I see $59 for a cat. K for 1/12/15 Majesty.:D

Made it to Diamond Plus on our last cruise ...... What exciting benefits will I get to enjoy in February? I heard about BOGO on speciality restuarants but still not clear on how it all works.

On our Oasis and Allure this month, the BOGO was on the first 2 nights. That way, I could use my discount and my wife could use hers.

Make your reservations, and when you request your check, the waiter will take your seapass card and the bill will be for one pp charge. On the second night, be sure to give the waiter the other seapass card to receive the BOGO.

By the way, the Maitre d' can swipe your card and print out your remaining discounts/coupons for each card...nice to see it all on one small paper.

Enjoy the D+ perks!

:mad:

We were on Oasis last week and were very disappointed that their specialty coffee machines in the Concierge Lounge and Diamond Lounge did not have a Decaf option. Instead they only had decaf in carafes and only in the morning. (We were on Oasis last year and the machines they had then did have a Decaf option.) DW can only drink decaf and loves cappuccino so she mentioned it to the concierge. He suggested adding the foamed milk from the machine to the decaf coffee from the carafe. It just wasn't the same. Hope they don't change the machines on all the ships, but they probably will. Just a warning to others who can only drink decaf. Don't expect specialty decaf in the special lounges!

We were on the Oasis 12/6 and I noticed the decaf beans in the container on top of the coffee machine in the CL, but no decaf button/light. When I asked a server, he stated that the light was not working. If you looked at an angle, you could see the round decaf circle to push for decaf coffee.

I don't drink decaf, but I overheard a woman complaining to her husband and I remember the option was there before.

My guess is that one result of all of this will be fewer bookings from D+ on Oasis. I was willing to pay a premium for the benefit of a great CL with hot meals (and drinks) for breakfast and lunch and a wonderful view of the boardwalk and Aqua Theatre. Once we sail on Oasis in October and see CATS, that will probably be it for us on this ship.

That's how I felt, so we went on the Oasis 12/6/14 and the Allure 12/14/14 sailings. I wanted to experience and compare the Diamond Plus experience on an Oasis class ship before the benefits disappear. The Cats performance was great!

When we boarded the Oasis, the CL was open for lunch serving light snacks, beer and wine from 12-2pm. From 5-8:30pm the CL was open for drinks andhourduerves.

We usually went to Vintages for evening drinks for the atmosphere, great bar staff, and meeting some interesting people to talk to. Most bars were available for drink vouchers except the Martini/Champagne bar.

When we boarded the Allure, the CL was not serving lunch or drinks on the first day, but was open as usual for the evening cocktail hours. On the second day, the CL served continental breakfast as well as cooked to order breakfast. From 12-2pm, light snacks, beer and wine, and cooked to order lunch was served.

We usually went to Vintages and the Martini/Champagne bar for evening drinks. And yes, unlike the Oasis, the Martini bar on the Allure accepted the drink vouchers. We always added a tip for each drink served on our bill and appreciated the great service we received. Our server LU, took great care of us in the Martini bar.

We enjoy Giovanni's more than Chops. We just don't find Chops worth the price anymore.

I agree, we just got off of the Allure yesterday and we ate at Giovanni's the first night and last night of the cruise. Saturday night was a birthday surprise from my wife.

We have been to Chops but was disappointed both times.

3 more days until we board the Oasis and 11 more days until we board the Allure. ;)

So, Quantum only has 1 lounge? The one Aft is it or is there also a DL as well? Sorry, can't remember what I read about lounges on the QU reviews.

 

Seems Oasis Class will only have one Diamond L. for all and no CL anymore for D+/PC.

PC & Suites have the new Suite L. then.......

The Quantum has a Diamond Club on deck 4 and a Concierge Club on deck 12 aft. I checked them both out when we were touring the ship. The Concierge Club has great ocean views and Mario was at his desk to greet us.

This happened a couple of months ago and is happening again.

 

I am looking at the Brilliance 4 nights on 1/21/16. When I first pull it up on the RCL website it has balconies starting at $307

 

Then when you go into the next section where you pick which balcony category the price jumps to $337 as the lowest.

 

Is anyone else seeing the different prices? The $337 is the BOGOHO price.

 

Very frustrating:rolleyes:

Prices have been fluctuating lately.

Anyway, we booked the Brilliance for 1/21/16 and 1/25/16.

Tried the Quantum, now it's on to the Oasis and Allure in 14 days.

Around 2 hours. We pulled away at 4pm and this picture was taken on the Brilliance at 6:16pm on 3/1/14.

No..Blu offers a different menu!

Right, different menu, top notch service, and it will spoil you.

Thank you all very much for the opinions and information so far. It's very helpful. I've always heard celeb was an older crowd but I figured since it Alaska it would be slightly older across both lines anyways.

I would go with Celebrity, they have some fantastic deals right now....like the one you're talking about. If you book Aqua Class, having breakfast and dinner at Blu is a plus.

Old people cruise on Celebrity, their parents cruise on Holland.;)

Speaking of passports, ours were expiring April of 2015 and our extra pages were getting full so we sent them off for renewal so we would be ready for upcoming trips. I mailed both of them together on October 17th, and we received our new ones on Nov. 1st.

Pretty fast turnaround for regular service.

We are sailing on the Brilliance in March. We have never sailed out of Tampa. We usually sail from Pt. Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale. Can someone tell me where to park for the port. We have been to the aquarium a few times and have parked in the parking garage across the street. Is this the same parking garage that we need to park at?? Thanks in advance

Yes, it's the same parking garage, but you enter on the north end for long term parking and pay in advance. They will give you a plastic token to exit the parking garage when you return from the cruise.