RC Brillance of the Seas..what to bring?

[EvaBella]

Hi everyone! this will be my first cruise ever. Grand cayman-Cozumel

out of Tampa, FL.

 

I've been scouring the boards for tips and tricks on what to bring

(such as First Aid Kit, Medicines, Sunscreen) and I've got quite a list so far.

 

I'm wondering if there are any helpful hints specific to the Brilliance?

 

Any ideas are greatly appreciated :)

[Clarea]

Try the self-leveling pool tables. Only 4 Royal ships have them.

[EvaBella]

I must confess..I had to look that up. I thought you were kidding :p

But - they DO exist!!

 

Can I bring cases of bottled water on board?

Also, the Sea pass..best place to keep it, when I've no pockets?

(I've heard a lanyard..but not sure)

 

Thank you :)

[TQ82]

It will be our first time on RC brilliance too!! Same ports also!! We sail feb 10th!!! First time cruisers as well!! I've heard about people bringing boxes of wine, out of the box, on board?!!! What does everyone think of that?!

[vanvleckeren]

Brilliance is an absolutely beautiful ship. You should love it. It has so many beautiful views of the ocean from various parts of the ship through copious windows. Assuming it has the same cruise director as when I took it (June 2012) and a similar staff, it should also have excellent entertainment. The entertainment on Brilliance when I took it was the best I've ever experienced on a cruise.

 

I took it up to Norway, and our sea days were the days going through the North Sea. It was very cold, windy and rough, so we had little opportunity to use the outdoor facilities on the deck. But it has a nice miniature golf course, other sports courts, and RC's signature rock climbing wall. There's also a great sandwich/Panini café in the front of the upper deck.

 

Have a great time. You should love it.

[jb008]

Not specific to brilliance, but having just gotten off jewel ots, I wish we'd packed some refillable water bottles.

 

I like having cold water in the room, and ice was OK (generally ended up pouring off the melt whenever I wanted a cold water) but wished I'd remembered to pack a refillable bottle or two to have (free) chilled water in the fridge on standby. I also would have happily packed a 16 oz nalgene at the ports versus buying disposable water bottles - less bottles into landfills and easier on the wallet.

 

Although we didn't do it this past cruise, we often will pack some packets of sugar free beverages (e.g., flavored ice tea and lemonades) that we'd mix in a bottle and leave in the fridge. I found it most refreshing to enjoy a chilled fruity sugar free crystal light on the rocks after a day in port. We mixed these in bottled water bottles, but pour drinks into glasses so we could reuse the bottle for the duration of the trip.

 

I also wish I'd thought to pack a casual belt that matched my dress shoes.

[cb at sea]

There is nothing on a cruise that you need, that you wouldn't need on ANY vacation in the same climate.

 

There is nothing Brilliance specific that you will need....pack as you would for any ship/vacation.

[DarthGrady]

Park Cafe in the Solarium serves breakfast and lunch, and it is a very nice place to have a casual meal. In the mornings they have egg mcmuffins, breakfast burritos, bagels and more. For lunch they have excellent roast beef sandwiches, pizza, cold sandwiches and a salad bar.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[jb008]

Here's another non-specific couple of tips specific to laundry.

 

I packed a bottle of homemade wrinkle releaser and the stuff worked great on my khakis! I bought a 3 oz spray bottle at Target, added ~1/2 oz cheapo fabric softener, ~1/2 oz rubbing alcohol, filled bottle with water from tap once on board. Shake, lightly mist clothing, and hang to dry.

 

If you want to do laundry in your sink, buy a laundry bar and make small shavings of said bar using a veggie peeler and pack just a reasonable number of shavings in a ziplock bag. When you want to wash clothes, drop one of the shavings in sink to make your wash water. Alternatively, you can use a small amount of shampoo (or the shower gel that's stuck on the wall). Gently wring dry, or better roll into a towel to reduce wrinkles in the wet clothing and to get most of the water out. Then hang to dry (I found hanging them from the towel bars above the toilet to be one of the best places to dry items) - if you plan to do a lot of laundry by hand, packing a small fan can be very helpful to dry clothes over night.