jeffreys1

• Brilliance is underway inbound to Tampa.  Still at least a couple hours till docking.

Next sailing is a full charter but Not Harley Davidson.  It is a music cruise, Cruise to the Edge.

http://cruisetotheedge.com

Brilliance is currently (9AM) anchored in the gulf outside Tampa Bay due to fog.  Embarking passengers advised of a several hour delay in boarding and not to come to terminal which will not be open until the ship arrives.

Since my preference is for the O Class ships, this $100MM does nothing for me. Since the itineraries for the larger ships are in the same areas every year I've done them and have had to look elsewhere for Japan, China, Vietnam etc.

I will be sailing on the Brilliance December 2018. I can’t believe how many calls I’ve made to Royal Caribbean and they are adamant that the Brilliance and Radiance class of ships all have the freestyle Coca-Cola soda machines. I explained in detail how I cannot find evidence that they do and I’m reading online that as of May travelers have said the online that the Brilliance does not have the freestyle machine. Even had someone from Royal Caribbean tell me that the Brilliance is in with Liberty and Independence class of ships. Obviously they have hired people who don’t have all the facts. So has anyone sailed on Brilliance in the last few months that can verify if it has the freestyle machine? Want to know before I purchase the beverage package in advance.

In February 2018, there were no freestyle machine on board.

I strongly prefer the 2 larger ships to the 4 smaller ones. It seems that every summer Marina and Riviera are in northern and southern Europe. In the winter they do the Caribbean, some South America and a few Polynesian ports. Same thing every year.

I would like to see one of them doing trips to Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong etc. even if it were only every couple of years.

Am I the only one who would book these trips?

You definitely need your passport to leave the ship in St Pete. We were intensely questioned about a recent visit to Istanbul by the officer who checked ours. It was a few months after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter plane that crossed into Turkish airspace leading to rough relations between the 2 countries.

We were in 12014 for 14 days and booked it again for another 19 days and it was great both times. No noise from the culinary center next door or from above.

Depending which side of the ship the safe door is facing, just ring the bridge and ask the Captain to turn sharply to port or starboard and the door will open with the motion of the ship.

Just send an email to specialservices@oceaniacruises.com including your booking number along with your fridge and liquor preferences and they will add them to your file and confirm by reply email. I have done this and found everything as I requested.

It is on Deck 5

I never thought I would see Guy Savoy and Di Fara Pizza mentioned in the same thread, especially on a cruising forum. These are two of my favorite places in the world.

The changeover from Century was June 1. Has anybody who been on board since then noticed any changes in the casino as a result of the switch?

I've never played the slots but at the table games you use casino chips which can be bought for cash or charged to your account. They charge 5% if you charge it to your account so I would not suggest that method.

I'd be happy if the specialties changed the menus every 6 months or even once a year. That should not be a burden.

Between 1-5 AM I'm usually wishing I was back sitting on my Oceania Suite balcony with a drink and waiting for my room service order to arrive. :)

First, Congrats to FDR. I wonder if this was the plan all along and contributed to the decision to sell Oceania to NCL.

Here we are, two months after the deal closed and it's starting to look like Oceania took over NCL! :D

14 days on Riviera in July and it was never offered so don't plan on it. If it happens, it's a nice extra.

The list was accurate for our July cruise on Riviera

It makes sense since you will not be using the beverage package much that night with all the wine in La Reserve.

14 nights on Riviera in July. No menus ever came with currents but menus were delivered by the butler every morning and put in a cabinet as noted above, without being specially requested by us.

Cunard is no longer registered in Britain. Starting in 2011 they were reregistered in Bermuda. This is as a result of an EU law called the 2010 Equality Act which says that ships registered in Britain are required to pay all staff from European Union countries wages equal to those of British citizens.

For more details see this story.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/8838472/Cunard-to-register-ships-in-Bermuda.html

It was part of the Cannes Fireworks Festival.

Welcome to Oceania.

Here is a link to what is included in the Prestige Select package

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/beveragepackages/

Are backgammon and chess available on board Riviera or do we need to bring our own?