Brillance of Seas--Just off 4/25

[going2alaska]

Hi all,

Just wanted to say thank you to those who helped answer some of my questions about my cruise on BOS from Tampa. Thought I'd share some of my impressions of BOS.

 

We where a group of 8 cruising together to celebrate my moms 80th Birthday. Our ages ranged from late 40's to 82. It was my 4th cruise, but, first time on Royal Caribbean (the previous cruises happen to be all on Celebrity).

 

Tampa Port:

Arrived at about 11am along with parents...and parked at a parking lot across the street (so close, could easily walk if had to). Half the price of cruise terminal. No issues, the lot guy was friendly and punctual (for arrival too).

Didn't find the port employees overly friendly...just 'rushing' and barking orders to us--kind of hard to get my parents to move quickly---but, we all managed to get thru the first part. Basically, thru within 15 minutes or so.

 

Walking onto BOS:

So many people...it felt crowded and rushed....basically just walk into a 'hall' area and not too sure where to go. We had planned to meet at WindJammers with the rest of group. Bad idea...so crowded...couldn't find table. Windjammer was crowed and hot. The food stations where messy with food on counters and the crew seemed 'tired'...not many 'smiles'. Went to use woman's rest room by windjammers and it was messy and not serviced--no TP in stall. Our group was hungry and cranky! Not a good start of the cruise. After a bit we managed to find a large enough table and got our food (by then the crowds where thinning). I guess my first impressions of BOS where not great.

 

 

Rooms:

We had ocean view....our room attendant was efficient. Others had Jr. Suite, and balcony. All rooms where fine. Everyone seemed happy with their rooms.

 

MDR:

Our first night we went to MDR & had a fabulous meal! I think the food on RCI was better then Celebrity. The rolls are to die for! We had a wonderful waiter & assistant. After the first night, we did breakfast, lunch and dinner in MDR (most days). Totally impressed on the quality of food on this ship. Went to a special brunch later in the week and everyone raved about how good it was.

 

Windjammer:

The WindJammer redeemed its self after first day. It was never "messy" after that first lunch and the employees where always friendly and helpful--probably just overwhelmed on embarkation. We would sometimes meet as a group late afternoon on the side that had couches/tables--it was pretty quiet by late afternoon.

 

Coffee: I love my coffee!! I am somewhat of a coffee snob. Thought I'd have to buy the speciality coffee all week (which I have to do on Celebrity Ships). Was pleasantly surprised at how good the regular coffee was (on the strong side--which i like). Ended up just drinking ships coffee all week.

 

 

Chefs Table:

HUGE hit for our group...decided to do this on Mom's birthday. So glad we did...very memorable!! Again, loved the chef and wine stewart running it...did an excellent job.

 

Pool area on Sea Day:

Ugh...my only real complaint. Never any chairs and super crowded pools (both). There are a few "hideaway" spots on ship to get away from the crowds, but, not near drinks/food. :)

 

Park Cafe:

My dads favorite breakfast place. Quiet early in morning. We sometimes could get snacks through out day.

 

Centrum:

Lots of nights listening to live music....loved the Temperature Band....so good! Having our room on the 4th Deck...enjoyed being able to see what was happening in Centrum & stop and listen for a bit. Great fun with the 70's party.

 

Ship Size:

On board with a group...I thought the ship size was perfect...not too big. It is a beautiful ship--well kept and so pretty at night (esp. in Centrum). My parents room was pretty close to the elevators, so, it didn't require them to do a ton of walking (which I was worried about with my moms limited mobility).

 

Shows:

Sadly, we didn't get to a show until the last night...and it was excellent!! Was disappointed we didn't get to any earlier in the week.

 

Debarkation:

From boat to side walk waiting for parking attendant...maybe 10 minutes?

 

Port of Calls:

Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Had activities booked on both islands and enjoyed everything we did. 2 very packed days...but, really enjoyable. Would return on same itinerary.

 

Overall Impressions:

We had a fabulous cruise, even though the start was a bit rocky. We all agreed that we would do it again. 5 nights was just perfect with a group.

 

BOS is due to go to Europe on May 4th.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions.

[bethc1952]

Thanks for the review! I'll be boarding BOS for the TA next Monday. It will be my first time on that class of ship, and I'm really looking forward to it. We've cruised enough that we know that breakfast at the hotel and then a mid to late afternoon snack at the Windjammer is a better idea than trying to eat there as soon as we board :eek:!

 

Beth

[breeze123]

Glad you had a good cruise even if it was a rocky start. Trying to meet up in the WJ first thing is always hard. EVERYONE goes there first. We ended up settling in by Cafe Lattitudes for a bit on our sailing. We let the crowds die down before we headed up to eat. I did hear another passenger (male) complaining about a similar situation in the men's restroom. I think on boarding day they just can't keep up!

[FirstTeacher]

We were on that cruise too, and I have just a few comments to add. (I posted a full review in the ship review section.) We had a group of 7 sharing 2 connecting junior suites.

Hi all,

Just wanted to say thank you to those who helped answer some of my questions about my cruise on BOS from Tampa. Thought I'd share some of my impressions of BOS.

 

We where a group of 8 cruising together to celebrate my moms 80th Birthday. Our ages ranged from late 40's to 82. It was my 4th cruise, but, first time on Royal Caribbean (the previous cruises happen to be all on Celebrity).

 

Tampa Port:

Arrived at about 11am along with parents...and parked at a parking lot across the street (so close, could easily walk if had to). Half the price of cruise terminal. No issues, the lot guy was friendly and punctual (for arrival too).

Didn't find the port employees overly friendly...just 'rushing' and barking orders to us--kind of hard to get my parents to move quickly---but, we all managed to get thru the first part. Basically, thru within 15 minutes or so.

 

Walking onto BOS:

So many people...it felt crowded and rushed....basically just walk into a 'hall' area and not too sure where to go. We had planned to meet at WindJammers with the rest of group. Bad idea...so crowded...couldn't find table. Windjammer was crowed and hot. The food stations where messy with food on counters and the crew seemed 'tired'...not many 'smiles'. Went to use woman's rest room by windjammers and it was messy and not serviced--no TP in stall. Our group was hungry and cranky! Not a good start of the cruise. After a bit we managed to find a large enough table and got our food (by then the crowds where thinning). I guess my first impressions of BOS where not great.

 

 

Rooms:

We had ocean view....our room attendant was efficient. Others had Jr. Suite, and balcony. All rooms where fine. Everyone seemed happy with their rooms. We LOVED the junior suites! So much storage and general space.

 

MDR:

Our first night we went to MDR & had a fabulous meal! I think the food on RCI was better then Celebrity. The rolls are to die for! We had a wonderful waiter & assistant. After the first night, we did breakfast, lunch and dinner in MDR (most days). Totally impressed on the quality of food on this ship. Went to a special brunch later in the week and everyone raved about how good it was. We ate in the MDR every night and enjoyed the service and the food.

 

Windjammer:

The WindJammer redeemed its self after first day. It was never "messy" after that first lunch and the employees where always friendly and helpful--probably just overwhelmed on embarkation. We would sometimes meet as a group late afternoon on the side that had couches/tables--it was pretty quiet by late afternoon. We never had any trouble finding a table for 7. I especially liked the outdoor seating that's available on the Brilliance.

 

Coffee: I love my coffee!! I am somewhat of a coffee snob. Thought I'd have to buy the speciality coffee all week (which I have to do on Celebrity Ships). Was pleasantly surprised at how good the regular coffee was (on the strong side--which i like). Ended up just drinking ships coffee all week.

 

 

Chefs Table:

HUGE hit for our group...decided to do this on Mom's birthday. So glad we did...very memorable!! Again, loved the chef and wine stewart running it...did an excellent job.

 

Pool area on Sea Day:

Ugh...my only real complaint. Never any chairs and super crowded pools (both). There are a few "hideaway" spots on ship to get away from the crowds, but, not near drinks/food. :)

 

Park Cafe:

My dads favorite breakfast place. Quiet early in morning. We sometimes could get snacks through out day. I finally had the chance to try the famous Park Cafe roast beef sandwiches- yum!

 

Centrum:

Lots of nights listening to live music....loved the Temperature Band....so good! Having our room on the 4th Deck...enjoyed being able to see what was happening in Centrum & stop and listen for a bit. Great fun with the 70's party.

 

Ship Size:

On board with a group...I thought the ship size was perfect...not too big. It is a beautiful ship--well kept and so pretty at night (esp. in Centrum). My parents room was pretty close to the elevators, so, it didn't require them to do a ton of walking (which I was worried about with my moms limited mobility). The Brilliance is a beautiful ship. It's really elegant and comfortable.

 

Shows:

Sadly, we didn't get to a show until the last night...and it was excellent!! Was disappointed we didn't get to any earlier in the week. We saw all the production shows and enjoyed them all. The comedian was really funny, the singers and the band were excellent, but I found the dancers just average.

 

Debarkation:

From boat to side walk waiting for parking attendant...maybe 10 minutes?

 

Port of Calls:

Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Had activities booked on both islands and enjoyed everything we did. 2 very packed days...but, really enjoyable. Would return on same itinerary.

 

Overall Impressions:

We had a fabulous cruise, even though the start was a bit rocky. We all agreed that we would do it again. 5 nights was just perfect with a group.

 

BOS is due to go to Europe on May 4th.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions.

[going2alaska]

Thanks for the review! I'll be boarding BOS for the TA next Monday. It will be my first time on that class of ship, and I'm really looking forward to it. We've cruised enough that we know that breakfast at the hotel and then a mid to late afternoon snack at the Windjammer is a better idea than trying to eat there as soon as we board :eek:!

 

Beth

 

I should of known better, since we have cruised before. I think the problem was that we where trying to find a table for eight. If it was just the two of us, it probably would not have been a problem. On previous cruises we usually eat at a smaller venue. However, the idea of eating something later is a good idea...you can explore the ship while everyone else is eating! :)

[going2alaska]

We were on that cruise too, and I have just a few comments to add. (I posted a full review in the ship review section.) We had a group of 7 sharing 2 connecting junior suites.

 

FirstTeacher...I'll have to check out your review! I didn't know they had a review section!

 

Yes, the junior suite was huge! A walk in closet...wow! And the balcony was huge too! I stopped in there a few times and enjoyed the balcony :)

[Hoopster95]

Pool area on Sea Day:

Ugh...my only real complaint. Never any chairs and super crowded pools (both). There are a few "hideaway" spots on ship to get away from the crowds, but, not near drinks/food. :)

 

Thank you for your review.. especially from a RCI first timer in comparison to X. Yes, Radiance Class ships have in my opinion the worst pool decks of all RCI ships for sea days for the number of passengers. If you liked everything else about RCI, I hope you'll consider a future cruise on one of the larger ships (ie. Navigator/Freedom/Liberty/Oasis/Allure) also sailing out of Florida... your jaw will drop when you first enter these ships :D

[going2alaska]

Thank you for your review.. especially from a RCI first timer in comparison to X. Yes, Radiance Class ships have in my opinion the worst pool decks of all RCI ships for sea days for the number of passengers. If you liked everything else about RCI, I hope you'll consider a future cruise on one of the larger ships (ie. Navigator/Freedom/Liberty/Oasis/Allure) also sailing out of Florida... your jaw will drop when you first enter these ships :D

 

I would cruise RCI again...like I said above, I'd do BOS again too. But, because of the size of the ship...5 nights is a good amount. Not enough going on for a longer cruise. Yes, maybe one day I can try one of RCI larger ships! :)

 

I still like Celebrity a lot too--never have been disappointed in any of my X cruises.