grapau27 Posted May 10, 2018 #101 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Well we made it to Old Town and are sitting in front of the Nobel Museum, in the square at a quaint little cafe having a coffee. We once again have been blessed w amazing weather. Today’s forecast is Sunny & mid-60s all day. One can taxi of course to old town Stockholm or take a shuttle bus for $15pp, RT, from the ship port. We chose the shuttle bus and bought the tickets this morning at Guest Services. We are people watching while waiting on our guide. The coffee is delicious and our server has a good sense of humor. Life is good.Pleased you are having a great time as we did in Gamla Stan Stockholm old town.The Caribbean might be nice but European ports are fantastic and why almost all our cruises are in this area. Sent from my Kestrel using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginlyn Posted May 10, 2018 #102 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Well we made it to Old Town and are sitting in front of the Nobel Museum, in the square at a quaint little cafe having a coffee. We once again have been blessed w amazing weather. Today’s forecast is Sunny & mid-60s all day. One can taxi of course to old town Stockholm or take a shuttle bus for $15pp, RT, from the ship port. We chose the shuttle bus and bought the tickets this morning at Guest Services. We are people watching while waiting on our guide. The coffee is delicious and our server has a good sense of humor. Life is good. Thank you for continuing to give lots of good information. I’m making note of it all. Belated congratulations on your anniversary celebration cruise. When we do this cruise next year on Brillance, it will be for our 50th!!! DH robbed the cradle ;p:')!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime Cruizin Posted May 10, 2018 Author #103 Share Posted May 10, 2018 We use magnetic scrabble letters on our cabin door for fun. We spell out phrases etc. Today’s phrase was... Drop Skagen and Do Stockholm Twice. That’s our sentiment exactly. Stockholm was amazing. The only issue we has w Stockholm was the length of time. We couldn’t get off the ship until 8:30am and the sail away was at 4:30pm. Too little time and too much to see. We want to go back and most likely will one day. Our guide was good. She was very young & very inexperienced. She also spoke too softly, but she was very kind, spirited, & pleasant. We had a short tour in VESA which was disappointing. Our aft balcony was splendid for sail away though. The sun was beaming down. It was warm & comfortable. As the ship passed through the narrow channels, we could see the many houses w yards and people waving at us. Good times! The MDR served Fried Chicken tonight. It was good and also the first time we’ve seen this on the menu. For evening entertainment we went to the Love & Marriage Show. Which is always good. After five port days in a row, tomorrow is a well deserved Sea Say. Which means Chops for breakfast and Bloody Marys! Goodnight all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime Cruizin Posted May 10, 2018 Author #104 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Thank you for continuing to give lots of good information. I’m making note of it all. Belated congratulations on your anniversary celebration cruise. When we do this cruise next year on Brillance, it will be for our 50th!!! DH robbed the cradle ;p:')!! You’re going to love it! One of our best cruises yet! And Happy 50th to you and the cradle robber! 😉 I’m so glad you’re enjoying the blog and hope you get something out of it that’s useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime Cruizin Posted May 11, 2018 Author #105 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Today was a pretty needed restful day. We just completed visiting an intensive 4 ports in 5 days. It was definitely nice to sleep in a bit & rest up for the remaining portion of the cruise. Tomorrow we arrive in Rostock at 6:00am, and disembark at 6:30am. We have scheduled another long day as we travel to Berlin and back. We are once again booked w SPB Tours for a private tour once again w/ the same group minus two. We booked a private van for the trip to Berlin as well. It’s called the Classic Berlin with Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial. 6 hr drive RT plus 6 hr tour. We’ve been told not to expect the internet, Euros only in cash, no foreign currency and very little if any credit cards. In addition, we are to be prepared to pay .50 Euro for toilets. We have made dinner plans for 8:30 at Giovanni’s upon return. The weather report says Sunny & mid 70s! We’ll keep all posted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime Cruizin Posted May 13, 2018 Author #106 Share Posted May 13, 2018 We enjoyed another wonderful day yesterday as visited Berlin. The concentration camp is so heartbreaking and just makes me shake my head in wondering how an educated civilization could have allowed this to happen. It was touching. The tour itself was very good. But it was also I think a bit too much for one day considering the amount of driving needed. We actually returned 1 1/2 hrs early as the driver & guide was concerned. According to them, out of Berlin SPB Tours has never missed returning to the ship on time. Our guide was very well studied and read. He was able to quote dates in history like no tomorrow, as well as quote many different people of various times in history. Dinner at Giovanni’s was once again really enjoyable. Tonight we dine at Chops & today is our last port of call, Copenhagen. We’re hearing that Copenhagen is the prettiest port stop on the cruise. So we’re looking forward to it. Through Viator we have scheduled a 2 hr Segway Tour for 10:45am. We figured our feet and legs would be tired at this point of the cruise. Afterward, we’ll enjoy a nice lunch somewhere and just people watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted May 13, 2018 #107 Share Posted May 13, 2018 We enjoyed another wonderful day yesterday as visited Berlin. The concentration camp is so heartbreaking and just makes me shake my head in wondering how an educated civilization could have allowed this to happen. It was touching. The tour itself was very good. But it was also I think a bit too much for one day considering the amount of driving needed. We actually returned 1 1/2 hrs early as the driver & guide was concerned. According to them, out of Berlin SPB Tours has never missed returning to the ship on time. Our guide was very well studied and read. He was able to quote dates in history like no tomorrow, as well as quote many different people of various times in history. Dinner at Giovanni’s was once again really enjoyable. Tonight we dine at Chops & today is our last port of call, Copenhagen. We’re hearing that Copenhagen is the prettiest port stop on the cruise. So we’re looking forward to it. Through Viator we have scheduled a 2 hr Segway Tour for 10:45am. We figured our feet and legs would be tired at this point of the cruise. Afterward, we’ll enjoy a nice lunch somewhere and just people watch. The best place to eat and people watch is Nyhavn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveru621 Posted May 13, 2018 #108 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Did Chops 2 nights ago at 40% off. Very nice at that price for 4 couples. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blu Lenda Posted May 13, 2018 #109 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Happy belated anniversary! I know this cruise was very special! My question is about souvenirs. We are taking the same cruise and are trying to pack light, but want to bring home souvenirs for the grandchildren. Not trying to be personal, but what kind of souvenirs did you get and how much space are they taking up in your suitcase? Totally confused about this packing light and wondering if I need to bring an extra bag. Thanks so much for all your helpful information .Have looked forward everyday to reading your about your adventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime Cruizin Posted May 13, 2018 Author #110 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Happy belated anniversary! I know this cruise was very special! My question is about souvenirs. We are taking the same cruise and are trying to pack light, but want to bring home souvenirs for the grandchildren. Not trying to be personal, but what kind of souvenirs did you get and how much space are they taking up in your suitcase? Totally confused about this packing light and wondering if I need to bring an extra bag. Thanks so much for all your helpful information .Have looked forward everyday to reading your about your adventures. Good question! We always look for things that are flat. So T-Shirts generally work for us especially since we have only one grandchild and he’s three. But while in Helsinki, we found some finger puppets! We think he’ll enjoy those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime Cruizin Posted May 13, 2018 Author #111 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Today we Segwayed all throughout the old town/city center of Copenhagen. It was really really fun! And very EZ as well. We cover y’all the hi-lights as well. I recommend this one big time. We walked off the ship and down to the Segway Shop, a 10 min walk from our cabin. After two hours we returned to where we started, did a bit of shopping and then found a great cafe to just chill & relax. Good times! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodtime Cruizin Posted May 14, 2018 Author #112 Share Posted May 14, 2018 We’ve really enjoyed our cruise. It’s time to prepare and pack for the flight back to the states. We learned so much about the Baltic & Russian culture. And experienced so much as well. It’s been wonderful overall. From the Amsterdam Coffee Shops to the Mermaid in Copenhagen we’ve really had a great time. As far as the ship and/or RCL, the Brilliance has been a great ship. The crew has been wonderful. The service by all who serve us has been top notch. With regards to the loyalty program offered by RCL we earned the level of Diamond on this trip a few nights ago. We also enjoyed a Grand Suite for the first time which was very nice. The Concierge Lounge was a bonus for us and I took advantage of the services offered and to cocktails they served. We’ve also have been blessed to have shared this cruise w our life long friends and also met new friends. If you were on this sailing and we shared some time, Thank You for helping make our 40th very special. To all that are planning this type of cruise, I sincerely hope this blog was helpful and that you have a great cruise. We’re looking forward to our next cruise already! Feb 2019 Jewel of the Seas to the A,B,C 🌴 Islands. Peace out to all !✌🏻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunfun1433 Posted May 14, 2018 #113 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Thanks for the great live report. I am doing a similar cruise in 1 month so I truly appreciated it! Safe travels home Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvnewsengineer Posted May 15, 2018 #114 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Great information and review. It has made us even more excited for our upcoming cruise on the 28th. Safe travels home and I look forward to future reviews/reports from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blu Lenda Posted May 15, 2018 #115 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Thanks for a great review. We looked forward to each day reading about your adventures! Thanks for all your tips and suggestions, they were so helpful. Have a safe trip home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynne007 Posted May 17, 2018 #116 Share Posted May 17, 2018 It’s very difficult to post as the internet comes and goes on Royal’s Voom & surf plan. But thanks everyone for following. We’re on the ship and all is well! I’ll try posting a bit later Hi Are there any public irons to use or ironing areas on the brilliance? going Baltics 9.6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted May 17, 2018 #117 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Hi Are there any public irons to use or ironing areas on the brilliance? going Baltics 9.6 No irons for guest use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynne007 Posted May 17, 2018 #118 Share Posted May 17, 2018 No irons for guest use. Thought not but we asked someone from customer services rci the other day and they said there were !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted May 17, 2018 #119 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Thought not but we asked someone from customer services rci the other day and they said there were !! The phone people are known for giving incorrect info. I think they have one of those Magic 8-Balls to generate answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted May 17, 2018 #120 Share Posted May 17, 2018 No irons for guest use.P&O have a laundry room on each deck to wash clothes and an iron and board to press your clothes.I have never seen this on RC. Sent from my FIG-LX1 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynne007 Posted May 18, 2018 #121 Share Posted May 18, 2018 i know princess and msc did my husband is distraught ! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vol fan Posted May 18, 2018 #122 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Is there a Diamond Lounge in the Brilliance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted May 18, 2018 #123 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Is there a Diamond Lounge in the Brilliance? Yes, in the Viking Crown area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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