bluegirlum

Was Mo the Activity Manager or just another member of the entertainment team?

I think Mo is the Activity Manager (at least he was on our cruise in March). He was really good.

Last time I was there (2 years ago), it was obvious that Festival Place was the place with wifi because when you walked in, you saw all the cruise staff on the left side skyping/facetiming. The connection was slow because so many people were using it, but it worked. I tried going toward the middle of Festival Place (in front of the band) and got spotty service.

I don't know what your plans are, but there may be Wifi at Senor Frogs. They had it at the one in Cozumel---you just had to ask and they set it up for you. I realize that's not all that helpful, but maybe someone who's been there can weigh in.

Googling "free wifi hotspots nassau" yields some good results too.

Agree. For this cruise, it was never crowded (in my opinion) and we could always find chairs. This could be different on a cruise going north though. :)

Definitely!

We are thinking of the Brillance or Grandeur for a Canada/New England cruise in October. We have always cruised to the Caribbean and love, love, love our pool time. So my concern with a cruise heading north in October is the fact that it will be too chilly for the outdoor pool. I think these two ships have a retractable roof over the one pool area- can you tell me about this area and is it a nice pool area? Thank you!

Brilliance does have a Solarium with a roof. The decor is somewhat dated, but the pool and hot tub are great and probably is exactly what you're looking for. If you do a search in some of the reviews people have posted pictures. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/royal-caribbean/brilliance

Wow, I just read one of the reviews from the link. Thanks so much. From what you said and the one review sounds like a hoot. Thanks again.

 

Jeff

You're welcome. Let us know if you have specific questions. It is a lot of fun! :)

Has anyone had any issues/problems using pool noodles onboard? Was thinking of watching one of the movies while using the noodle for floating. We're going on the Q. TIA

I don't know how big that pool is on the Q, but yeah, unfortunately it is too small for it. But hey, why not give it a shot? I don't think there are any rules against it.

Great review! I will be on the brilliance 4/6/15 whats your opinion on late or early dining! And can we change it if we dont like it. We chose 8:30

 

 

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I think that depends on what you like to do after dinner. On our cruise, there were some pretty serious karaoke singers, and they would get to the Colony Club (I think that's where it was) an hour early (during whatever game was going on) to sign up for it since only a certain amount of people could sing/they didn't want to stay up too late. So if you're a hard-core karaoker, I would go to the early dinner. :) Otherwise I think you'll be fine. The later seating on our cruise was definitely a younger crowd.

Have a great time!

I would also read some of the reviews here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/royal-caribbean/brilliance

There are a few people who have recently been on the ship and a few have posted pictures and reviews. I think there are some good overviews.

Brilliance is a great ship. I sailed on her 4 weeks ago. Embarkation is really easy. There is a cool aerial show in the Centrum around 5 on the first day--try to stand on a lower deck to make the most of it. (It's also during the time you're sailing away, so that's kind of a bummer, but it's a pretty cool 6 minute show).

There are a bunch of fun bars, and there is plenty to do on sea days and at night. I think you'll really enjoy it!

Was just on Brilliance a few weeks ago and I think she is so much better than Enchantment. Granted, I went on Enchantment a long time ago, but I remember being underwhelmed by it. Brilliance is so much fun and a great size. I normally prefer Majesty or Liberty, but I would go on Brilliance again in a heartbeat.

ETA: No idea on the movies, sorry.

As others said, it's about 2 hours. For those of us who had the early dinner seating, it was a real bummer because we didn't get to see it. :(

Thank you for your review!!

 

We tried to sail her on Feb 23rd but it was cancelled due to fog, so now will be sailing her for the first time on the 11th and cannot wait!

 

I think I am going to love this class of ship!!!

I'm so glad you're finally getting to go. I know how disappointing that how disaster was for you! Have a great time! :)

OP, thanks for your review and glad you had a good trip. I sailed on her on Feb. 28th, and we had a blast. i had been on Brilliance a long time ago and thought it was fine, but we really thought it was great. I have always said it's either Liberty or Majesty for me, but I'd definitely go on Brilliance again.

I would post on the Trip Advisor and CC Cozumel forums too. You never know...

Good luck!

We went to Papito's a few weeks ago. We did the 5 hour snorkel package. They asked us when we got there if we wanted to stay longer. All of us agreed that we'd like to stay an extra hour, so we did. They just charged us all an extra $10. Super easy and so worth it. They'll definitely work with you.

Interestingly, you can't get Sudafed...I got a cold on my cruise a few weeks ago and I was hoping to get some in Cozumel. I could've stocked up on every other drug in the world, but no Sudafed!!!! I don't recall seeing any signs about needing prescriptions.

I have cruised by myself quite a bit and I would feel safe doing an excursion in Cozumel.

Have you joined your cruise's roll call? I did that on my last solo cruise (I'm 40 also) and this wonderful couple "adopted" me (actually, the entire roll call did) and I joined them on an excursion in Cozumel.

BF and I were in Cozumel a few weeks ago and went to Papito's beach club. It was wonderful. I would feel totally safe going back there if I were traveling by myself.

I've only been to Costa Maya of the other ones. You can walk around there--there is a beach right there and shops. It was built just for cruise ships.

From everything I've read about the other two ports, you will not want to walk around by yourself. I would book an excursion through the ship for those two ports. Again, I would suggest joining your roll call and see if there are people doing what you're interested in---otherwise, I would book a ship sponsored excursion.

Have fun!

We were in Cozumel a few weeks ago and went to Papito's for the day. It was wonderful--we snorkeled and then it seemed like we were on our own private beach. They could probably help you with people there to take pictures, etc.

Whatever you do, congrats!!! Lucky girl! :)

Thank you for sharing.

This gives me a perspective of what to look at.

 

The only thing is, Enchantment leaves out of Port Canaveral and Majesty is leaving out of Miami. Aren't I correct that it's easier to get to the airport from Port of Miami?

 

Thanks.

Danny

Yes. Another reason to pick Majesty. :) Just a quick 20 minute taxi ride and you're there.

We went to Papito's beach club a few weeks ago and it was wonderful!

We were on Brilliance the first week of March and there were surprisingly a lot of college Spring Breakers. It was a 5 night cruise. I would say that the kids had a very good time. :) Yes, they did take over the pool deck and the pool and the karaoke and the bars, but they were very respectful for the most part and were very nice kids. There were a lot of adults that were just as drunk, if not drunker and more out of control, than the spring breakers. I didn't have any problem with them at all; in fact, they probably added to the fun (we're still talking about some of them :D ).

I too was on a recent Brilliance cruise and it may have been the same one. I know exactly what you're talking about regarding formal night attire. There were many people in shorts in MDR on casual night and they were more covered up than some of the women on formal night.

Yes, we were on the same cruise. As you probably found out, many of the people on the cruise were on college spring break. The girls dressed for college/sorority formal, not "people over age 25" formal. I felt very old! I think times have changed and people's ideas of what's appropriate to wear out is different.

I would say Majesty--no brainer. As you can see from my signature, I've been on her a few times. :)

Enchantment is my least favorite of the ships I've been on. I just didn't love it. Nothing stuck out to me as memorable.

Yes, Majesty is old, but the atmosphere is great. The service is fantastic. It's just a fun ship to be on. I hope to go on her one last time before she retires. If I never go on Enchantment again, I'll be fine.

That said, I'm sure you'll have a great time either way. I think people just have their preferences for different reasons.

I wouldn't do it (I was brought up to "dress for dinner") but if people want to wear shorts, who cares? There were a lot of people in shorts in the MDR on my recent Brilliance cruise. I was surprised, but it didn't bother me at all. Didn't change the way the food tasted or anything. Frankly, some of the things I saw on formal night were way more offensive than the shorts I saw. I think there should be requirements about how much of your body has to be covered!!

Agree with the others. Cash. They don't have rooms for all the small "gifts" they get. Many are sending their money back home to their families. Giving them money is the best thank you you can give. They will not like anything else.

My wife is seriously concerned about out T/A in May. We disembark in Bacelona. I agree it can happen anywhere. I was in NY on 9/11. But at least here, in most of the states I can defend and protect myself.

This was ISIS. They are trained assassins. Even if every tourist on those buses had handguns, the result probably would've been the same.

Big European cities are extremely well guarded. You should feel as safe going to Barcelona as you would anywhere else.

I wonder if this is a port where people do excursions on their own. I was just in Cozumel, for example, and did a non-ship excursion. I wonder what happens with those passengers when something like this happens. What an awful situation. Thoughts and prayers with all of those involved.