Aubiecruiser

The Brilliance is our favorite ship by far. Sailed on her 4 times and hope to do it again someday. Don't know if Rusti is still bartending at the Champagne bar but if he is, please tell him the "Turtle Folks" send their regards.

:DAubie

Having cruised 4 times on the Brilliance it was very disheartening when we saw the news reports about our favorite ship. Not to bug you, but do you recall if

a couple of bartenders (you mentioned you spent a bit of time in them) named Rusty and Eric were still on the ship. On our last Brilliance cruise back in Sept/Oct. 2008 Rusty was still in the Champagne Bar (where he always had been) and Eric had just come back after vacation and was a floater, working in different bars until his permenant position opened up for the following cruise.

It was really great to see those guys and we were surprised that both of them still knew us by names from previous cruises. Rusty even remembered our favorite drinks!

Aubie

I totally disagree. If you leave when the children arrive then the cruise line would not have the right to charge you. You bought an advertised product - an adult dinner. RCI did not provide that product. Period. They are the ones not keeping their end of the deal.....

I totally agree with T.W. on this one. The OP just got lucky but still had every right to get their money back, well behaved children or not.

Aubie

I highly recommend Francesco Marrapese. http://www.francescomarrapese.com/

He was our guide in Naples and went to Sorrento, Postiano, Amalfi, and Ravello. He will take you anywhere you want to go and was very professional. This private excursion was the highlight of our 12 day Med cruise last year.

Aubie

I just checked the RCI website and cabin 9508 is available. Its forward, same price and not a hump but at least it's not overlooking the canopy.

I would not switch from your hump cabin. Besides, all balconies on the sides of the ship are above the canopy. The canopy does not magically disappear when you look down from deck 8, 9 or 10. :D

Aubie

I just stayed in 9092 on Serenade (sister ship). The balcony was large enough for two loungers and two chairs, plus a small table. This was a D1, but your balcony should be similar, maybe a bit smaller. Also, note that you're right above the canopy above the life boats so you won't be able to look directly down into the water.

I want to add that even though there is the canopy over the lifeboats, it really didn't obscure the view. You'll have the whole ocean out there to look at and the balcony size outweighs any slight inconvenience. (Just wanted to clear that up from the previous post)

Aubie

We had that cabin on our 2006 Panama Canal cruise. Great cabin!

Our favorite cabins on the ship are the deck 9 aft cabins (have had both 9256 and 9258) on previous cruises on this ship also but for convenience and balcony size you really can't beat it. When I first booked that cabin I had a concern about possible noise from the centrum and elevators but that was not an issue. I think you'll enjoy it and it is one of the best Cat. E1 cabins you can get.

Aubie

Hi folks, we don't have much cruising experience so I'd welcome any and all comments.

Brilliance of the Seas, cabin 9660, is one the 4 balcony cabins at the aft end. Any feedback - good or bad - since we still can change it.

 

thanks

Hi there, remember me from the roll call? :D As you may have thought, we're aft lovers. We have had cabin 9256 corner aft on the Brilliance for our 2004 cruise. We moved next door to 9258 for our Med cruise this year. We loved the cabin and huge balcony.

No problem with noise since the outside seating area for the Windjammer is up two decks. The only drawback is the long walk to midship where the elevators are but we found that to be no big problem. There is a "secret" stairway marked crew only right next to cabin 9256 that leads down to the walkway on deck 6 and also up to the Windjammer. I used a a few times to bring down snacks in the evening. The doors are sort of heavy, but it sure saved a long walk. Cabin 9660 was the cabin my BIL and his wife booked but had to cancel. You wouldn't happen to be a pilot would you? Just wondering.

Aubie