Those Returning from Brilliance NE today - please tell all!

[Beach4me]

We traveled with a friend who uses a walker. He was able to take it on the tender and use it on shore.

 

GREAT news! Thanks so much. This will make my mom's day! (And mine too:) )

[reallyitsmema]

GREAT news! Thanks so much. This will make my mom's day! (And mine too:) )

The tenders are the ship lifeboats that she will have to step down into. There will be someone to hold her hand on either side as she gets in and out but it is a good sized step.

 

Not sure what you have planned for Bar Harbor but you get off the tender at the base of a hill and most all shops are up the hill. Many of the little stores have multiple stairs to get into them.

 

There is a pretty park right right near the tender dock but is also uphill.

 

Here is a link to a webcam. Check it out tomorrow in the light of day and you will see the hill I mean.

 

http://www.maineharbors.com/camindex.htm

 

Bar Harbor is beautiful. Hopefully, you will have gorgeous weather while you are there.

[Beach4me]

The tenders are the ship lifeboats that she will have to step down into. There will be someone to hold her hand on either side as she gets in and out but it is a good sized step.

 

Not sure what you have planned for Bar Harbor but you get off the tender at the base of a hill and most all shops are up the hill. Many of the little stores have multiple stairs to get into them.

 

There is a pretty park right right near the tender dock but is also uphill.

 

Here is a link to a webcam. Check it out tomorrow in the light of day and you will see the hill I mean.

 

http://www.maineharbors.com/camindex.htm

 

Bar Harbor is beautiful. Hopefully, you will have gorgeous weather while you are there.

 

Thanks for this info! I will definitely look at the webcam tomorrow.

 

I think we will be using cabs to get to places where we can walk. In this case, maybe to the top of the hill and walk back down. (?)

 

Mom is able to do steps - unless they are very steep or tall. We'll try the tender but if it's too big of a step for her, we'll just stay on the ship and enjoy a day there.

 

She uses the walker to help her keep from getting so tired. She is a cancer survivor (who is 2 1/2 years cancer-free!) and is still working to fully regain her stamina after surgery/chemo/radiation, etc. The extra support and confidence her new walker has given her has made a world of difference! Wish we'd have thought of it earlier.

 

Thanks for your info - and for your wishes for good weather. :)

[Beach4me]

Just had a thought...if Mom can't get off the ship in Bar Harbor, will they let me bring lobster rolls back onto the ship?

 

If so, I'll catch a tender and bring back lunch for the family!

[reallyitsmema]

We went on that cruise, the same week that you are sailing, in 2010. My DH was in shorts the whole week since we had such nice weather. Granted, we are from just outside Boston so we are used to the weather.

 

I meant to give you this link too.

 

http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/special/lobster-cam.html

 

There are a ton of Halifax cams to look at. The lobster pot cam had a lobster in it the other day. You should be able to see the ships docked on the Pier 21 cam later this week. When we went, there were 3 ships in port so we didn't dock at Pier 21. We docked at a shipyard nearby and were bused to Pier 21. Was only just around the corner but was a secured area so you weren't allowed to walk there.

[reallyitsmema]

Just had a thought...if Mom can't get off the ship in Bar Harbor, will they let me bring lobster rolls back onto the ship?

 

If so, I'll catch a tender and bring back lunch for the family!

Not sure if you will be allowed to bring food back. Usually you can't, but rules could be different since you are in a US port.

 

There is a restaurant right at the dock, so if she can make it onto the tender, you could just eat right there and not worry about the hill or taxis.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

If you were in a suite, was there access to a specialty restaurant for breakfast every day? Did they do omelets, pancakes, etc?

 

Were there still chocolate covered strawberries in the CL?

 

Thanks!

 

Brilliance does not have a Specialty Restaurant for Suite guests for breakfast. There is an seating area in the front left of the Windjammer for those with a "gold card". It's nothing special and you get your own food. Full suite guests can have dining room meals in their suite and will have daily menus in their cabin.

 

I didn't see any chocolate covered strawberries in the CL but that doesn't mean there weren't any.....just not any when I looked.

 

We ate at West Street Café http://weststreetcafe.com/

It's on the main street up from the tender and turn right. When you get off the tender there is a slight incline to the main street. We found pricing here to be lower than at Stewman's.....which is on the harbor.

 

Stewman's http://www.stewmanslobsterpound.com/

 

Oli's Trolley stops not too far from where you arrive by tender and offers 1 and 2 hour tour to Acadia Park and the top of Cadillac Mtn.

 

http://www.olistrolley.com/

 

You don't have to go up the hills of Bar Harbor to get to any of these but do have to go up an inclined path.

 

Whatever you do.....enjoy and have fun. :)

[Beach4me]

Brilliance does not have a Specialty Restaurant for Suite guests for breakfast. There is an seating area in the front left of the Windjammer for those with a "gold card".

 

Huh! I thought I'd read that post-drydock, they were offering breakfast in one of the restaurants. Bummer!

 

I've read good things about West Street Cafe. Your comments on it sealed the deal for me. Thanks!

 

Thanks for all the great info...and for the wishes for a fun time. I greatly appreciate your input. :)

[Tatka]

I wrote it on our Roll Call, but repeat it hear (short version)

 

What we liked

 

- Ship is beautiful... "Sea-view" elevators are great! Atrium is stunning.

- Service was impeccable everywhere. It was "old" Celebrity-like.

- Food was good-to-great especially if you like seafood. Escargots were available every day too. We did not attend any specialty restaurants, so cannot comment on them.

- Pool areas both solarium and open deck were nice and I believe outside pool was slightly heated, although weather was nice, so maybe they were heated naturally.

 

Our only complaint:

 

- Entertainment. It was weak. We usually enjoy production shows, but almost left them. 2 female dancers?! :) Live music was nice, but didn't match our previous experiences with RCI and other lines.

 

Ports:

 

We are from New England (MA) and have been to Acadia (Bar Harbor) and Portland before, so we just enjoyed walking around. In Acadia they improved (added?) walk along the ocean and added "museum on the streets" with photos and stories. If you've never visited Acadia - Mount Caddilac, Thunder Whole etc - you should.

 

In Halifax we walked around the city, up to the fort and near the ocean. Beautiful area even in cloudy weather. After lunch we did Peggy's Cove and Fairview lawn cemetery (Titanic) ship excursion. It was very nice. Guide told us 10000 interesting stories, and of course Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove is stunning!

 

In Saint John we rented a full size car (Chrysler 300) from AVIS and went to Hopewell Rocks http://www.thehopewellrocks.ca/ (must see!!!) via Fundy National Park. On the way back after a few short photo stops visited St Martins Caves, another must see!

 

Overall this cruise was very enjoyable.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Debinnova]

This was our first time on Radiance class (last cruise was Oasis) and I think I prefer Brilliance of the Seas! Beautiful dark wood and alot of glass - you actually are reminded that you are on the water, which is great.

 

Room service - we only tried once and it was a disaster. Stone cold breakfast and it was the last time we tried.

 

The production shows were weak, I agree with the previous poster. The sets seemed tired or non existent. The comedian was good. The centrum shows (aerial) were interesting but short and almost impossible to see since many would camp out in the few chairs around each floor an hour or more in advance. Very frustrating as the popular shows in the centrum were impossible to see, even from other floors due to crowding. Other times, there were lower key muscians playing and centrum was a great place to sit and listen to music.

 

The service for the most part was good. We had a waiter a couple of times, Virgil, in Giovanni's and he was great. We gave him our "wow" card and a bottle of wine that we hadn't opened by our last night.

 

The dining room food was good - not great. Chops was great. Giovanni's not quite as good (food wise) as Chops, but still very good. The Windjammer was okay, but I sometimes was surprised at the choices. Sometimes great choices - sometimes hard to find an entree (out of four or five offered) that I liked. I enjoyed the hot dogs in the Windjammer! The Windjammer never seemed crowded (except for embarkation) and even though we had a suite so had a special section for suite guests, a few times we just ate in the main area, since it wasn't crowded.

 

Park Cafe was a disappointment at night. Between about 8:30 pm and 12:30 am, it is only choice if you are hungry (well besides room service). We went there three or four different nights late (after Casino) and it was the same... leftover egg salad sandwiches (why do they put lettuce on them? lettuce tastes horrid by end of the day!), beef "pate" which was like a ground beef in a large pastry shell (but no condiments to go with it? very strange), and pizza (salmon pizza on the last night... ugh) and hot dogs but NO onions, etc. The cookies were like hockey pucks.

 

In Portland, Maine, Becky's Diner is a great breakfast spot. You can catch a local bus that is a hop on and off that goes around Portland and it is only $5.00 - great deal and there are some great shopping areas and beautiful buildings, etc. The harbour there was the most beautiful of all I felt. Lots of power boats and sail boats out on a sunny day... sigh.....

 

We had a driver for a few hours in Halifax who drove us around and showed us the town and then drove us to Peggy's Cove which is very quaint and gorgeous.

 

In Saint John, New Brunswick, we did a horse drawn 45 minute tour around the town and then had a fab lobster lunch at Grannan's in Market Square (an inside mall area). The City Market is great - has alot of food, local products, souveniers and even some crafts, etc.

 

Bar Harbor, you can grab a bus (some paid $5.00 in the little State Park information building and some just got on and paid nothing?) and it is a hop on and off and goes all through Acadia National Park, which is gorgeous. You just walk a block into the town to the small "village green" to find the buses. We had a great lunch at Testa's (right on Main Street). Anna was our server and just made our day!

 

Hope this helps. There were alot of areas on the ship that were not crowded. I recommend to walk through and check out from one end to the other. You will find your favorite spots.

 

Debbie

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[negc]

Huh! I thought I'd read that post-drydock, they were offering breakfast in one of the restaurants. Bummer!

 

I've read good things about West Street Cafe. Your comments on it sealed the deal for me. Thanks!

 

Thanks for all the great info...and for the wishes for a fun time. I greatly appreciate your input. :)

 

That may have been in the Park Cafe which replaced the Solarium Cafe when the ship was renovated, but it has breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal, fruit etc, not the types of breakfast foods (eggs, pancakes, etc) you will find in Windjammer or the MDR.

[sunluva7]

We also were on this cruise--loved the ports and the ship. This was our first time on a Radiance class ship, and we really enjoyed it. I really love the solarium, and spent some time there, as well as the thermal spa. Lots of places to have some quiet time during the day, as well as enjoy live music, shows, etc in the evenings. They really make good use of the Centrum for live music and 3 aerial shows during the week. Steve is still the cruise director and was very fun and energetic. We found the service throughout the ship to be very friendly.

 

We did private tours in Bar Harbor and Halifax, and took RCL tours (Best of Portland and Kennebunkport, and St John/St Martin) in the other ports. They were well organized, and we got to see the sites quite well.

 

We ate dinner 4 nights in the dining room, 1 night in the Windjammer, 1 night in Izumi, and 1 night in Giovanni's table (that was our favorite). I thought the food was well-prepared in the MDR, but some of the selections were just not my personal taste. But, I never went hungry and the wait staff was awesome. One night, I requested an appetizer as an entree, and our waiter added some sides to make it a lovely meal. Windjammer and Park Cafe were fine for breakfast and lunch.

 

Someone asked about Giovanni's--the service was lovely and everything we tried was excellent. I had scallop and DH had carpaccio (sp??) as appetizers; they also brought us a plate of some prosciutto. Pasta--gnocchi with lamb sauce. Entrees: Grilled prawns and veal. Dessert: tiramisu (don't miss this) and a cherry flan/parfait (can't remember what it was called).

 

We had lobster for lunch in both Portland (Clam Shack) and Bar Harbor.

 

Weather was fantastic--I was willing to forego some of the fall color for the warmer temps and dry weather.

 

This was our first cruise on RCL in a while--past few cruises have been on Celebrity. I was very pleased at the level of service and thought it was comparable to Celebrity in that respect. We will not hesitate to book another RCL cruise if the itinerary is right for us.

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

 

We have reservations at Izumi next week on Brilliance. Can you tell me a little more about your experience with the service, the food, atmosphere, etc.?

[Karma5]

Was on this cruise in Sept. Food in the main dining room was the worst I've ever had on a ship. The Windjammer food was good and very friendly staff there . Also Chops and Giovanni's were good. We only ate in the main dining room a few times . The staff there were not as friendly as other ships I've been on.

The Head Waiter was indifferent........

I hope it changes because I have other cruises booked for this ship..........

[6timer]

We are in St John - day 5, 2nd port. Brilliance is amazing! Looking forward to arial show in Centrum tonight. We love the MDR food and staff. Park Cafe is our favorite for lunch as they assemble your salad with better ingredients (shrimp and feta cheese) than we found in WJ. Also the roast beef sandwiches and paninis are great. More later. In the Library at Market Square (walking distance + free wifi) then going to a museum here ($6 entrance fee). More later!

[6timer]

It's later - didn't realize I'd repeated myself in previous post :). We enjoyed the immigration museum at Pier 21 in Hallifax. Volunteer researcher there found records of my husband's Italian grandfather's immigration and printed all records for only $30. Here in St John there is much within walking distance of the ship. We watched the reversing tides from the WindJammer during breakfast! Library in town has free wifi and the New Brunswick Museum ($6) was good. Walked uphill a few blocks from there for an excellent $10 bento box lunch special at a sushi restaurant (Ta Ke is the name). Beautiful day! So far we've had one formal night and the only smart casual. Tonight is casual and tomorrow night formal and we are told lobster will be served then in MDR. My favorite meal so far in MDR has been braised lamb shank. All seafood is excellent especially the corvina. Can't wait to get back on board and rest up for next two port days!

[xxoocruiser]

 

Any answer about Luggage Valet?

 

 

RCCL's website clearly lists what ports participate in the Luggage Valet Program. Boston is NOT on of those ports .

 

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqSubjectName=Luggage+%26+Luggage+Tags&faqId=2826&faqSubjectId=348&faqType=faq

[xxoocruiser]

Was on this cruise in Sept. Food in the main dining room was the worst I've ever had on a ship. The Windjammer food was good and very friendly staff there . Also Chops and Giovanni's were good. We only ate in the main dining room a few times . The staff there were not as friendly as other ships I've been on.

The Head Waiter was indifferent........

I hope it changes because I have other cruises booked for this ship..........

 

Was on the Sept 29,2013 sailing. Found the MDR staff to be very friendly. Though some MDR menu items did not interest me, what I did select was very good.

 

Everything is subjective !

[xxoocruiser]

Arcadia really was the only thing that was impacted by the Government Shutdown.

 

The only thing updated in the cabins that I could tell was the new flat screen TV's. Overall the ship was very nice.

 

The Centrum is very nice. However when the aerial shows perform it's very crowded. You really have to claim a space by the one of the railing at last 45- 60 minutes before the show.

 

The woman performing in the Schooner bar is fabulous!

 

I don't usually spend much time thinking about the cruise director and generally can't remember their name. However this cruise the CD did make several appearances at functions that the group I was traveling with held and didn't find him to be all that great. His name was Steve don't remember last night. The Activities Director - Thomas who just transferred from the Navigator IMHO would have been a better choice for cruise director.

 

This cruise was the first time I went to a Specialty Restaurant - Izumi and it was very good. A tip - if you like sushi than go to the Sushi Demonstration in the Centrum. After the demo you're invited to sample what was prepared. Most people did not participate. Having been at Izumi the night before the sushi chef remembered me and told me to take as much as I wanted as it would only be thrown out. I basically ate lunch. What I ate probably would have cost $30 or more in the restaurant.

 

Throughout the day the musical entertainment in the Centrum "R" bar was generally very good.

 

There were several parties held in the Centrum such as 70's night. It gets really crowded so if you are not attending the party suggest you use the forward elevators at that time.

 

The Park Café in the Solarium was my overall favorite. Never was crowded and in my opinion was the best kept secret of the ship.

 

Rita's Cantina is only open in the evening. Personally never saw anyone in there so don't think this will last. Been to Rita's on the Allure and found it not to be worth the extra $. I liken it much to Chilli's on land.

 

Didn't use the computers or Wi-Fi so can't comment other than to say there were several times during the cruise that the computers were down.

[Tatka]

Couple of photos from our cruise on 09/22/13

 

Mini-show in the atrium

 

 

Cruise director

 

 

Another aerial mini-performance

 

[Tatka]

Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, Halifax, NS

 

 

 

Sea walk in Halifax, NS

 

 

Halifax from Fort area

 

Edited October 11, 2013 by Tatka

[Tatka]

Hopewell Rocks "near" Saint John, NB

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a bit long drive, but well worth it!

And we were lucky to get there during low tide.

[Tatka]

And on the way back Sea Caves of St Martins

 

 

 

[Tatka]

Romantic Bar Harbor

 

 

 

[Tatka]

Portland through huge Brilliance's windows

 

 

 

Brilliance in Portland.

 

[Tatka]

We LOVED Solarium pool

 

 

But weather was generous to let us swim and suntan in main pool :)