Brilliance of the seas review, march 5th-9th 2015 cozumel, mexico

[manders175]

After making it under the bridge we decided to head to the Minstrel for dinner. At this point it was about 7pm. There was a Welcome Aboard Show in the Pacifica Theatre that we didn't make. Dinner when you are sharing tables can easily take up to 2 hours. We wound up going back to the Pacifica for the Late Night Adult Comedy at the Pacifica. Unfortunately my pics didn't come out for some reason. But when they say Adult, they mean it. I would not recommend bringing children. :)

 

I had so much fun at dinner I completely forgot to take pics of the food or the menus, but I promise I do have menus and food pics for the other 3 nights. I also have all the Cruise Compasses for the trip as well.

[manders175]

Day 2 had has hanging out at the pool for a good portion of the day. There is a place by the pool on Deck 11 to get pool towels so no need to bring any from your room. Chairs fill up fast too so get there as soon as you can.

 

We ate breakfast in the Windjammer in our favorite spot again. Lovely views.

 

They had a $10 dollar blow out sale at the shops of the Centrum around noon so we went there to see what they had. I actually bought a purse for Formal Night which was also day 2.

 

At 1:30 by the pool they had Line Dancing lessons, but they only dances they did a few songs that everyone new the dances too for the most part so they were just having lots of fun up there. (Think the Electric Slide and Cupid Shuffle).

 

After our morning and afternoon at the pool we decided to get a quick nap before dinner.

 

 

[FirstTeacher]

I'm thoroughly enjoying your posts. We traveling on the Brilliance in April with my daughter and her family. There'll be 7 of us sharing adjoining JS. We can't wait! You're giving us some great photos to preview the cruise with my grandchildren. Thanks!

[manders175]

We headed to the Centrum for Formal Night. There are many photographers everywhere ready to take your pictures for you to purchase from the photo shop.

 

We were seated in the Minstrel Dining Room for dinner and the food was very good tonight, and the deserts were AMAZING!! My starters were the Lobster Bisque soup and the Shrimp cocktail. Main course was the Roasted Duck (was my favorite of the entire trip!). Dinner was the Double Strawberry Cheesecake. My desert the first night was the Chocolate Sensation. Luckily my bf ordered that this night so I have a pic of that too.

 

 

 

 

 

[manders175]

After dinner, we headed back to the Centrum where the band Coco Loco Trio was playing and people were dancing away. The Centrum was getting pretty full as the Captain's toast was tonight too. The Captain was actually out in the Centrum where you could have your pictures taken with him too. In the second picture you can see a sign that says Vintages. That is on Deck 6 is a small wine bar that is there for enjoyment as well.

 

 

[manders175]

The Captain's Toast began with a short show by the Brilliance Production Cast. In the picture with the big tall chute, there was a girl that came down from the suspension in the ceiling from Deck 13 and was lowered down to Deck 4. The show was actually a little strange for me because the cast was all dressed up in these outfits singing Madonna's "Vogue". Afterwards one of the dancers introduced the Captain which is the bottom picture.

 

 

 

 

[manders175]

The Captain, Ole-Johan Gronhaug (from Norway) came out and welcomed everyone on board. He was trying to make a few jokes from time to time but he has a very heavy accent that is hard to understand at times so he sometimes had to repeat them. Ha!

 

He also introduced some of the other senior officers on the ship.

 

Lastly, they handed out the champagne (it's free!) and he gave his toast for the cruise. Afterwards the cruise director, Rob McNally came out and reminded everyone of the show later on in the Pacifica.

 

 

[manders175]

After the toast we headed back to the Pacifica for the Headliner Showtime. This is a group of 4 guys who did a show called "Motown Live" which was a tribute to Motown. These guys were amazing. They actually also have a show going in Vegas right now. Their group name is Spectrum. They had the Brilliance band playing with them and they did not disappoint either. I did get a pic with one of the guys after the show. They were so nice and it really was a great show. I'll post the pic of me and him but will spare you any more pics of me. :D

 

On a side note, I did pick up a piece of hardware after the show when my bf proposed to me!! We came back from the trip engaged!!

 

 

Edited March 11, 2015 by manders175
misspelling

[IrishLassie]

Loving your review & CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement, so exciting! Looking forward to more. Love all the pictures & now I'd like to try BOS since we only live about 30 min. from Tampa! :D

[manders175]

Loving your review & CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement, so exciting! Looking forward to more. Love all the pictures & now I'd like to try BOS since we only live about 30 min. from Tampa! :D

 

Thank you!! This was our first cruise and we loved it!!

[manders175]

Day 3 was Cozumel day!! We noticed as we were getting closer to port that we were following another ship in which turned out to be Liberty of the Seas. We were at the International Pier. The Carnival Magic was also there at the Puerta Maya pier.

 

We got off the ship at Deck 2. They scan your SeaPass card when you leave so they can be sure to scan you back in when you return. That way they can keep track of if they are missing anybody. Also once you get outside they scan your card for however many towels you take. Just make sure you bring them back with you because I believe they charge you $25 a towel if you don't.

 

Once you get closer to the shops you are kind of herded through the gates like cattle, but once through you are free to go wherever you excursion takes you. There's a short walk to the taxi stand or you can look for the people holding signs for your excursion if they are meeting you at the shopping plaza.

 

 

 

 

 

[GTO-Girl]

Loving this review!!!!!

 

We will be boarding on April 11th!!!! :D

[danv3]

Thanks for your review. We're sailing on Brilliance on April 6!

 

Also, congratulations on your engagement!

[NorthCarolinaBelle]

Congratulations on your engagement! I am going on Brilliance with my bff April 25th, and I'm loving your review and all the pictures! Can't wait to read and see more!

[manders175]

We picked Chankanaab Park for our excursion. We took a taxi cab from port, which was about a 10 minute drive and the fare was $12. We swam with the dolphins at 10am, which I will post a review of on the Cozumel boards.

 

The Park itself is pretty big!! Besides the Dolphin/Manatee swim there is a beach where you can swim, snorkel, or kayak. There are rentals available for that. You can visit Mayan ruins, as well as visit the Crocodile Park. A Zip line is over head, and there is also a free Sea Lion show. Here are a few pics from the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[manders175]

Loving this review!!!!!

 

We will be boarding on April 11th!!!! :D

 

Hey there!! I think we chatted on the same thread for the cruiser stuck on the Buckeye cruise. I'm sorry your cruise was cancelled due to fog but glad you get to try again next month!!

[manders175]

After a long day at the park it was time to head back to the ship. We did go to a few of the stores and bought some t-shirts. There are a lot of stores at this little shopping plaza but a lot of them carry the same things. We thought about stopping in at senior frogs but I think most of the spring breakers had wound up there so it was a little too rowdy...lol.

 

As we were standing on the ship waiting to leave of course there were last minute people running back to the ship after the time we were supposed to be back. Of course they all got a huge round of applause from both our ship and the Liberty OTS as they ran back to the boat.

 

We were the first boat to leave and as we watched the Liberty as we pulled away it was amazing to see how much bigger that ship is from ours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[manders175]

After we left port it was time to get ready for dinner. We again went to the Minstrel dining room and decided on just a table for 2 tonight. It was later in the evening and we didn't want to spend 2 hours in the dining room. We were beat.

 

I do apologize for the blurry menu, for some reason it wouldn't focus. I decided to try the caprese salad and garlic soup for my starters. Both were very good. I had the chicken marsala and the fiancé got the pork shoulder. For desert he had the bread and butter pudding. I had the strawberries romanoff. As usual I loved all the food and the desserts were so good!!

 

 

 

 

[manders175]

And the desserts....

 

 

 

[catwoman6226]

We were on the Brilliance over New Year's for a 5 day and loved it. Your review and pictures are bringing back very fond memories, so thank you, and congratulations on your engagement!

[manders175]

We were on the Brilliance over New Year's for a 5 day and loved it. Your review and pictures are bringing back very fond memories, so thank you, and congratulations on your engagement!

 

Thank you very much catwoman! I'm already missing being on the boat and trying to figure out when I can go back!! :)

[manders175]

By the time we had finished dinner, we had already missed the Aquatronica show in the Centrum, however, I had heard they weren't able to do the suspended acrobatics due to the ship rocking so bad. We were so tired at this point we took a quick stroll around the boat and went to bed. We did not go to the headliner show in the Pacifica as it was a comedy juggling and stunt show, didn't really peak our interest.

 

We also skipped out on the 70's show. We actually completely forgot it was happening and are very sorry we missed it. Maybe next time!!

[manders175]

Day 4 was our last sea day. I attempted to go out to deck 12 and catch the sunrise. It was so windy I had to move down a deck and got what I could of the sunrise. It was pretty cloudy this morning so wasn't as good as it could have been. I also found the ping pong tables, that were on the other side of the windjammer entrance.

 

 

 

[manders175]

We got breakfast in the Windjammer and decided to hang out at the pool for the morning. We got pretty burnt in Cozumel yesterday so we took it easy today. We went back to the room, showered, then grabbed lunch at the Park Café which is in the Solarium. We tried the famed Roast Beef Sandwiches, which I forgot to take a photo of. My fiancé said he wasn't impressed but I thought they were pretty good.

 

After lunch, we headed to the top of the back of the boat to check out some of the things we hadn't seen yet. I apologize no pics of the nursery or the kids arcade but we did visit the Rock Wall, walked past the kiddie pool and slide, tried the mini golf. If you notice, some of the pics were taken on the day we got on the ship but didn't fit in the story til now. :)

 

 

 

 

[manders175]

While we were checking out those areas we came across Izumi, the last specialty restaurant. Then we walked back down towards the pool. We decided to go down to 11 and check out the gym as well.