Brilliance of the Seas vets: Will you return to Royal Caribbean?

[jbatzmaru]

Where was the Celebrity ship coming from? Was that coming from Greece as well, from what I gather, the problem wasn't the weather IN Naples, but moreso the seas on teh way from Greece to Naples.....

 

If the Celebrity ship came from somewhere else, say Barcelona, that would be like traffic on the southbound interstate making you three hjours late, but the northbound lane runs perfectly.

 

Sorry, but I don't know where the ship came from.

[TBSCruiser]

The Celebrity Century was coming from Civitavecchia (Rome) the day before so very close by.

[Jancruiser]

I'm really sorry about all the angst. We took what was probably this same cruise in June and our weather crisis was just the heat on the first half of the trip. We saw that coming and got around this by avoiding cities and seeing sights close to the coast and enjoyed the breeze, the destinations, the people, the food, the wine. As far as the Brilliance goes, we had absolutely no complaints. The service was above our expectations and the food was the best we have enountered on any of our 22 previous cruises, most of which have been on RCCL. I wouldn't chalk off the Brilliance when it sounds like the weather was the problem here. We NEVER let the cruise line do our air, prefer to make our own arrangements and we invariably find better rates/better routes. Even if the rates aren't better, the routes and timing usually are and that is worth a lot. We never fly in the day of a cruise anymore--not worth the stress of delays.

[smartin]

It would seem to me, when planning a cruise in this part of the world, it makes sense to book in the better weather months of May to late September. Before or after that you are taking a substantual weather risk otherwise. The intinerary of the BOS is tight and any delay seems to throw the whole schedule into disarray. We were on the 10/1/09 cruise and had perfect weather until the last day, when the portholes blew out. Seems like the weather has been an issue ever since then.

[uday23]

Why don't you just be glad the Captain had the common sense, professionalism, and integrity to not take you through the worst of the storm and sink the ship.

 

I bet your comments would be a little different if you joined the Med. swim club.

 

Be THANKFUL that the Captain was SAFE and CAUTIOUS and re-assure yourself he knew the consequences of his decisions.

 

I have never seen so many bickering babies!

[Jenagain]

Why don't you just be glad the Captain had the common sense, professionalism, and integrity to not take you through the worst of the storm and sink the ship.

 

I bet your comments would be a little different if you joined the Med. swim club.

 

Be THANKFUL that the Captain was SAFE and CAUTIOUS and re-assure yourself he knew the consequences of his decisions.

 

I have never seen so many bickering babies!

 

Yes - you are absolutely right....IF there was a major storm and there was any possibility of the ship being sunk - which with 12ft waves the chance was slim to none.

[I'mPacked!]

Yes - you are absolutely right....IF there was a major storm and there was any possibility of the ship being sunk - which with 12ft waves the chance was slim to none.

I was on the Brilliance of the Seas October 26-Nov. 6. The missed ports are a definate disappointment but the point the passengers are trying to make is that the ship was not seaworthy. The two prior cruises to ours had sustained damage that prevented us from sailing above 14 knots. Passengers had their port holes nailed shut and experienced mold from water damage in their cabins. If you pay for a 12 day mediterranean cruise that will visit 8 ports and you then end up on an 11 day cruise, visit 4 ports and spend 7 days at sea, would you not want a refund??? Everyone had handpicked this cruise because of the ports of call. We all had our own reasons to take this cruise. There were family reunions (of 30+) people on board that had saved and planned for years, there were several honeymoon couples, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. We were taking this cruise to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary and my surviving breast cancer and my end of treatment! I am not bitter...just disappointed and wanting compensation.:(

[Jenagain]

I was on the Brilliance of the Seas October 26-Nov. 6. The missed ports are a definate disappointment but the point the passengers are trying to make is that the ship was not seaworthy. The two prior cruises to ours had sustained damage that prevented us from sailing above 14 knots. Passengers had their port holes nailed shut and experienced mold from water damage in their cabins. If you pay for a 12 day mediterranean cruise that will visit 8 ports and you then end up on an 11 day cruise' date=' visit 4 ports and spend 7 days at sea, would you not want a refund??? Everyone had handpicked this cruise because of the ports of call. We all had our own reasons to take this cruise. There were family reunions (of 30+) people on board that had saved and planned for years, there were several honeymoon couples, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. We were taking this cruise to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary and my surviving breast cancer and my end of treatment! I am not bitter...just disappointed and wanting compensation.:([/quote']

 

I know as I was on the cruise too - but just to correct you the damage was sustained on the Oct 1st sailing, and the Oct 13th sailing group advises the ship was traveling over 20 knots - I never saw us going that fast, however I wasn't glued to the satt. feed either.

 

As for my response to uday23...I was being sarcastic. Only someone who has no idea what they are speaking about would think the ship had any chance of sinking.

[I'mPacked!]

I know as I was on the cruise too - but just to correct you the damage was sustained on the Oct 1st sailing, and the Oct 13th sailing group advises the ship was traveling over 20 knots - I never saw us going that fast, however I wasn't glued to the satt. feed either.

 

As for my response to uday23...I was being sarcastic. Only someone who has no idea what they are speaking about would think the ship had any chance of sinking.

 

The problem on our cruise was that the damages were not fully repaired. They were trying to repair port holes on the third deck on the cruise prior to ours. On our cruise portholes were still boarded up and as we were getting of the ship on Nov. 6th, there were a crew sauldering portholes at that time. Obviously the ship had not been repaired as it should have before disembarking on another cruise with over 2,000 passengers expecting the cruise that we had all planned and paid for.

[BMT]

Can you imagine the outcry and hardship if they cancelled the cruise to do the repairs?

 

Many passengers enjoyed the cruise notwithstanding the damage to a few portholes - we were on a recent cruise where a great deal of work was taking place - some made a big deal out of it - wanting a free cruise etc. We had a good time - it wasn't perfect, but life often isn't.

 

Unfortunately, ships are at the mercy of weather - if you can't accept the problems which come with that, you should stick to land-based vacations.

 

There are often 'odours' on cruise ships - we had three very bad days in our cabin bathroom on the Maiden Voyage of the Equinox. One of those things - no coupon, no demands, just requests for it to be attended to. Eventually, it was.

[Jenagain]

Can you imagine the outcry and hardship if they cancelled the cruise to do the repairs?

 

Many passengers enjoyed the cruise notwithstanding the damage to a few portholes - we were on a recent cruise where a great deal of work was taking place - some made a big deal out of it - wanting a free cruise etc. We had a good time - it wasn't perfect, but life often isn't.

 

Unfortunately, ships are at the mercy of weather - if you can't accept the problems which come with that, you should stick to land-based vacations.

 

There are often 'odours' on cruise ships - we had three very bad days in our cabin bathroom on the Maiden Voyage of the Equinox. One of those things - no coupon, no demands, just requests for it to be attended to. Eventually, it was.

 

Actually, after living it, I wish they had canceled it - and I'm pretty sure a lot of those on board who were on "the worst cruise I've ever seen" according to the CD would probably agree. Missing 4 of 8 ports, and spending 7 days on a ship instead of 3 is pretty disappointing.

 

Also, I haven't seen a single person on that specific cruise post that they enjoyed it. Many have said they made the best of it, which is what I did. Did I enjoy parts of it, of course - but overall, no, it was not an enjoyable cruise at all.

[BMT]

Was on the Voyager recently - a cruise dubbed The Cruise from Hell, by some passengers. We enjoyed it overall. Even the CD admitted it wasn't as it should be............:rolleyes:

 

Off the Indie a couple of weeks ago - horrific weather conditions - poor weather even in the ports. But we had a good time overall. Made some good friends - the most important part for us.

 

B2B on the Brilliance over Christmas and New Year. Hoping for third time lucky:D:D

 

I can imagine that you were disappointed - but I suggest that you do some research in future before cruising, as bad weather is not unusual in the Med in the autumn and winter. As for cancelling the cruise - just imagine the fury of those who had flown in from the US and finding no cruise, because a few portholes had blown out. I am sure that if she were not seaworthy, she would not have sailed. The weather was terrible - but there is nothing anyone can do about that.

[TBSCruiser]

The problem on our cruise was that the damages were not fully repaired. They were trying to repair port holes on the third deck on the cruise prior to ours. On our cruise portholes were still boarded up and as we were getting of the ship on Nov. 6th' date=' there were a crew sauldering portholes at that time. Obviously the ship had not been repaired as it should have before disembarking on another cruise with over 2,000 passengers expecting the cruise that we had all planned and paid for.[/quote']

 

 

I was on the Oct 13th sailing we were going 20-22+ knots when the conditions allowed so there was nothing that was keeping you from doing so...except the weather. The only windows we saw boarded were some that were blacked out as some crew do who sleep during the day so what are you referring to?

[subteach45]

We were on the cruise October 25-Nov6 We were delayed on boarding one day because the cruise prior to ours got back late. We missed our first 2 ports (Cannes & Florence) Then because of weather missed 2 more ports( Santorini & Naples). We were not compensated in the right way or even enough. I had planned this cruise because of the ports of call and was extremely disappointed. This was supposed to be my trip of a lifetime after having gone through a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. They compensate us with a certificate to use on another cruise. Big deal now we have to give them more money for another cruise. I would not recommend them for a cruise.

[cpj]

Someone from Royal Carribean needs to step up and make this right. I think that all cruise lines need to learn about how to handle situations like this. With these new monster ships coming out there going to need more customers and better comunication skills when they have problems or there not going to make it. Already they have lowered prices on cruises and they even will go lower when they do not fill the monster ships. This is turn will lead to less service and already poor food will even get worse. Just my opinion.