Sell me on Brilliance of the Seas...any reason to pick RCI over Holland

[djefferis]

Looking for a cruise this January out of Tampa, and it looks like our choices are down to Brilliance of the Seas or Holland America. Having done Holland most recently - I'm leaning that way, but wife insist on going back to RCI which we haven't done in 5 years.

 

This will also be a first cruise for my parents (65 yo) and one of whom is slightly mobility limited (would be tough to tender off ship...won't be walking much in ports). Both are small ships, both I am sure will have enough activities to keep us busy. Just trying to find a reason to do RCL over Holland - any better dining options on the Brilliance (MDR would be comparable I feel...even though food is subjective, I feel most of the gourmet touches on HAL are lost on us - we typically do MDR nightly and possibly a night or 2 in a specialty steak house).

 

Entertainment on RCI consist of ? Production shows, lounge acts or ?? - Last RC ship we were on had the Beatles tribute act THE RAIN...anything like that these days. We typically skip the production dance numbers in favor of smaller lounge acts. HAL was good about having smaller lounges with activities at night aside from the theater shows...Does RCL offer anything similar?

 

Anything else you can offer to sway my opinion towards RCI.

 

 

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[Dharma517]

While I have not sailed on HAL, my understanding is that it draws a more mature crowd. I think sailed HAL if you are in your 40's would be a bit boring for you. If you pick RCCL both you and your parents will be happy! JMO.

[kborth]

Looking for a cruise this January out of Tampa, and it looks like our choices are down to Brilliance of the Seas or Holland America. Having done Holland most recently - I'm leaning that way, but wife insist on going back to RCI which we haven't done in 5 years.

 

This will also be a first cruise for my parents (65 yo) and one of whom is slightly mobility limited (would be tough to tender off ship...won't be walking much in ports). Both are small ships, both I am sure will have enough activities to keep us busy. Just trying to find a reason to do RCL over Holland - any better dining options on the Brilliance (MDR would be comparable I feel...even though food is subjective, I feel most of the gourmet touches on HAL are lost on us - we typically do MDR nightly and possibly a night or 2 in a specialty steak house).

 

Entertainment on RCI consist of ? Production shows, lounge acts or ?? - Last RC ship we were on had the Beatles tribute act THE RAIN...anything like that these days. We typically skip the production dance numbers in favor of smaller lounge acts. HAL was good about having smaller lounges with activities at night aside from the theater shows...Does RCL offer anything similar?

 

Anything else you can offer to sway my opinion towards RCI.

 

 

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Hi Inhaven't sailed on Brilliance for afew years but sailed on HAL last year and my thoughts are that while we loved the food, cabin, and service on HAL we found their ships a bit too quiet in the evenings. loved the Brilliance mainly because of the entertainment and the ship itself was gorgeous.I would sail on her again in a heartbeat .

[djefferis]

HAL skews to us a bit older...but not Princess we close at 9:00p nightly old. On our last Princess cruise there was virtually no activity in the casino or bars (aside from a few people trying to get their money's worth out of the all you can drink package). I would say our last HAL cruise was age 21-85 with a median age of 50...Princess felt closer to 72. I'm imagining RCI out of Tampa is going to be closer to a median age of 40-45....younger, but cruising the 3rd week in January out of Tampa we'd still be dealing with more snowbirds and retirees and less young adults/couples with school age children.

 

It would be nice to have options -and not just one main event each evening which you can partake in/or make your own activity on board. In a way Princess felt like this to us (aside from the nightly show...MUTS was a wash due to temps in the 50s...granted that's not likely a problem in the Caribbean in January) - we also did NCL out of Miami (once, never again...dining was great and that's about all I can say positive for them).

 

We aren't a family that has to spend every minute together...and will likely spend more time relaxing than doing something active...but at the same time there's only so much laying around and reading I can do in a week...trivia, a nice lounge act or something breaks up the time. What RCI offer on these smaller ships.

 

 

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[The Sunset Glow]

I'm not sure where you stand on smoking but the two lines have slightly different policies on this. I believe they both do not allow smoking in any inside area except the casinos but HAL allows smoking on private verandahs/balconies whereas RCI does not. This may sway you one way or the other.

[cb at sea]

RCI's entertainment On Radiance Class ships will be the larger shows....sometimes, there's a piano lounge singer....no "small" venues, tho. BTW, neither ship is "small"!!! You will have a great time on either line.

Edited June 5, 2014 by cb at sea

[ttnc4me]

HAL skews to us a bit older...but not Princess we close at 9:00p nightly old. On our last Princess cruise there was virtually no activity in the casino or bars (aside from a few people trying to get their money's worth out of the all you can drink package). I would say our last HAL cruise was age 21-85 with a median age of 50...Princess felt closer to 72. I'm imagining RCI out of Tampa is going to be closer to a median age of 40-45....younger, but cruising the 3rd week in January out of Tampa we'd still be dealing with more snowbirds and retirees and less young adults/couples with school age children.

Our Princess Alaska wasn't old...definitely depends on itinerary/time of year.

That said, RCI would still lean younger compared to HAL.

OP, is there a significant price difference?

[cruiseapril]

We have been on RCI and on HAL.

 

A big plus for the Brilliance is the Solarium.

 

A plus for HAL is the larger staterooms.

 

We find plenty of activities on both lines, but find RCI has more variety.

[Justmekaren918]

I loved Brilliance, and it was my first time back in decades!

 

I loved the open glass concept and taking the bank of elevators down to dinner you felt you were going to the ocean to eat. She is just beautiful throughout.

 

She has a cyric style show in the centrum. They had a thriller dance and 70's night. She has 2 places to show movies. She has so much going on at night you have to pick and choose. She also had several theaters. She is one amazing ship I am sure I will sail her again. Highly recommend you sail her at least once. I loved my 7040 cabin at a cheaper cat. with a big balcony. You could have 4 chairs on it and it comes with a regular size table outside, so order room service or grab your own food at WJ and take in the sunset.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

I'm looking forward to sailing on HAL because of their killer itineraries. Especially their grand & world voyages.

 

Otherwise, Brilliance of the Seas is a great ship. Good transition from Carnival to HAL. ;-)

[Aquahound]

RCI's entertainment On Radiance Class ships will be the larger shows....sometimes, there's a piano lounge singer....no "small" venues, tho. BTW, neither ship is "small"!!! You will have a great time on either line.

 

Huh? It's tough to read between all your "...!, but are you saying there are no small venues on Brilliance? The small lounge acts on Brilliance are found in the Schooner Bar and the Colony Club, not to mention the Centrum entertainment and Viking Crown Lounge. That's what the op is getting at.

 

And yes, HAL sails a small ship out of Tampa. Ryndam is only 55,000 GT.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Aquahound

[Priusprof]

I think I sense a RCCL troll!

[Priusprof]

Looking for a cruise this January out of Tampa, and it looks like our choices are down to Brilliance of the Seas or Holland America. Having done Holland most recently - I'm leaning that way, but wife insist on going back to RCI which we haven't done in 5 years.

 

This will also be a first cruise for my parents (65 yo) and one of whom is slightly mobility limited (would be tough to tender off ship...won't be walking much in ports). Both are small ships, both I am sure will have enough activities to keep us busy. Just trying to find a reason to do RCL over Holland - any better dining options on the Brilliance (MDR would be comparable I feel...even though food is subjective, I feel most of the gourmet touches on HAL are lost on us - we typically do MDR nightly and possibly a night or 2 in a specialty steak house).

 

Entertainment on RCI consist of ? Production shows, lounge acts or ?? - Last RC ship we were on had the Beatles tribute act THE RAIN...anything like that these days. We typically skip the production dance numbers in favor of smaller lounge acts. HAL was good about having smaller lounges with activities at night aside from the theater shows...Does RCL offer anything similar?

 

Anything else you can offer to sway my opinion towards RCI.

 

 

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I've sailed Brilliance 4 times and you can't go wrong sailing on her. I just spent 2 weeks on her and everything was great.I have another cruise planned on Brilliance for next year.Ryndam is a 20 year old smaller ship. 55,000 tons vs 91000 tons.It doesn't have the balcony type design that all of the newer ships have. Our experience with the smaller ships is that the variety of activities is limited. If you want the small ship experience then sail HAL. Ryndam only carries 1200 where Brilliance carries 2400. Brilliance sails 4 & 5 day itineraries while Ryndam sails 7 day cruises and I've seen 21 day trips too. If you want a 7 night on RCCL from Tampa sail on Vision of the Seas. It comes to Tampa in mid November and stays until April. It does 7 night cruises.

[Priusprof]

Here are some pictures that I took on Brilliance back in December 2013.

 

 

 

[ccletzgo]

Brilliance, Radiance, Jewel. The most beautiful ships at sea. IMHO.:D

[Priusprof]

 

 

 

[Priusprof]

 

 

 

 

The ship has tons of activities and 3 specialty restaurants.

[CRUIS4ME]

Sailed on Brilliance three times - once before the renovation - and a B2B last summer when we spent 26 days on board. The ship is very very nice! We usually do MDR and find something to our liking as menus are versatile. We did spring for a couple specialty nights and loved the Italian restaurant and did Chef's Table one night which was a three hour amazing experience. Entertainment venues are the usual at sea things - productions, comedy, maybe a comedian magician, singer, dancers...etc. The smaller venues include piano bar, trivia games, a pub with interesting games and activities. The new gathering place in the center which can be viewed from most upper floors always has music, entertainment, dancing...and a couple special aerial shows. Be advised if you choose My Time Dining - make reservations on line as soon as they open if you want to have dinners before 8pm. Otherwise, the main seating early or late is traditional preset times. The crew and atmosphere established by the Captain was top-notch. We would definitely pick the Brilliance again!

Edited June 6, 2014 by CRUIS4ME

[OCruisers]

Re: Any reason to pick RCCL over HAL.

 

If you want more daytime activities and late night entertainment, you'll be lots better with RCCL.

LuLu

[sippican]

Brilliance, Radiance, Jewel. The most beautiful ships at sea. IMHO.:D

 

and ..... Serenade of the Seas, all are Radiance Class ships. We love them too.

[taco88]

We've done HAL several times in the past, and recently did a cruise on Brilliance, our first on RCI. We found Brilliance to be very HAL-like. Take HAL, add a rock climbing wall and you have something much like Brilliance. That's oversimplified, of course, but that was the impression. Which is to say, if you enjoy HAL you'll enjoy this ship. Brilliance does make very good use of the Centrum area. Each night they have a decent band and there are lot of places to sit and listen on one of multiple floors.

Edited November 24, 2014 by ideastoday