Rogueperson's **Live** Brilliance of the Seas 12/16/2021

[Rogueperson]

10 minutes ago, mafig said:

Could you please let us know how they are handling the new mask protocols.

 

Do you have to wear a mask in the solarium?  At bars between sips of drinks do you have to reapply your mask (I'm not kidding, this was posted that they might be doing this), in the dining room?  When can you remove your mask.  Do you have to put it back on between courses?

 

Shows?  Casino?   The casino was only for vaccinated, so you could go without a mask, now as I understand it, you must wear a mask in the casino.  

 

Thanks again, Rogueperson.

 

I did read that, but as of last night, there was no change in the protocol.  I will see if that changes.  I only read that yesterday though.

[TPCRUISER2]

Rogueperson's: Could you please see if you can find out how many passengers are the next sailing please? Thanks in advance! Can't wait!

[CruiseMelissa]

Do you happen to know if the MDR always has a secret Indian option?   We loved the curry options when we didn't like anything on the regular menu.

[jamon]

Thanks for you review...can't wait for more..........

[FionaMG]

16 hours ago, Rogueperson said:

The Windjammer has a lot of outdoor seating. There used to be something called Rita’s Cantina.  There’s a sign for it but nothing really there

 

Izumi’s is also out on the deck like the Arcade

 

That "Rita's Cantina" was one of the very first specialty restaurants and they used it as an overflow for the Windjammer when I was on Brilliance back in 2009.

 

And at that time, where Izumi is now used to be the Seaview Café. It was a bit like the Park Café on the Oasis class ships. We had some great paninis and salads there at lunchtime.

[Rogueperson]

6 hours ago, TPCRUISER2 said:

Rogueperson's: Could you please see if you can find out how many passengers are the next sailing please? Thanks in advance! Can't wait!

 I’ll try, but they don’t usually advertise future cruise numbers.  

[Rogueperson]

4 hours ago, CruiseMelissa said:

Do you happen to know if the MDR always has a secret Indian option?   We loved the curry options when we didn't like anything on the regular menu.

 I’ve seen it in the past, but i can ask.  I won’t be back in the MDR until tomorrow.  Chef’s table is tonight

[CruiseMelissa]

1 minute ago, Rogueperson said:

 I’ve seen it in the past, but i can ask.  I won’t be back in the MDR until tomorrow.  Chef’s table is tonight

Enjoy!  And definitely keep me posted if you find out!  Thanks so much for keeping us all in the loop, sailing her on 12/29 and so excited 😃

[Rogueperson]

Hello from Mahahual/Costa Maya.

Today’s adventure took form in the shape of Native Choice Mayan Cultural Experience.  It included a tour of Chachobban Archeological site and a visit to the Mayan Community of Chachobban.  This is an independent tour.

 

Here are some pictures from the ruins

 

 

 

 

this is how the ruins look before excavation

 

And here are some from the Community.  Its actually considered a fairly large

community of about a thousand.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is our excellent tour guide Joel.  Its pronounced Ho-el.

 

There was about 20 or so people on the ruin tour, but the better extension of the trip, the “Mayan experience”, there was just 5.

 

They taught us how to make tortillas.  I’m not very good.  And served us an amazing lunch shown here.

 

 

They say most of the spices and ingredients were local.  Like local from their own gardens and yards.

 

 

 

I highly recommend this unless you have food restrictions.  If you do, it might hamper your experience a little.  My wife’s allergies and restrictions would have pigeonholed her with just rice, vegetables and sauce.

[Rogueperson]

Tonight is Chef’s Table.  As I noted before, i will generally do this on every cruise with my wife, but my friends wanted to do it, so it didn’t take much convincing on my part.  I did it on Mariner because i wanted to treat my friend for hooking me up with such a great experience at Universal’s Halloween Haunted Nights.

 

Here’s the menu.  If its familiar, its because its the same menu.

 

 

 

Bread

 

Scallops Carpaccio and wine pairing

 

 

Smoked Tomato Soup and pairing.  I looked back on Mariner and there was more “stuff” in the soup this time around.  It was more chunky.

 

 

 

Lobster salad and wine pairing

 

 

Bronzino and pairing.  This was slightly different from Mariner because they added olives to it.  Unfortunately, I hate Olives.

 

 

Filet Mignon and pairing.  They overcooked this one but immediately replaced it with an excellent blue filet.

 

 

Salted Caramel Espresso Martini.  But this time, they varied with a demonstration of creating the cocktail. Hmm, I misses the photo of the cocktail.

 

 

 

“The World” This is also slightly different with the addition of rice crispy treat crumbles.

 

 

 

All in all, this was a wonderful dinner as usual.  Either they did not give me that much wine, or i did not drink that much, I actually remained fairly sober.  I really liked the venue here as you can see here, But it is next to the Colony Club…and bad Karaoke.  That detracted from the dinner slightly.  So far, I think the best venue i’ve been on is still Grandeur of the Seas, followed by Brilliance and then Anthem.

 

 

 

Course overview.

 

 

Despite having the same menu, each chef may add a little something to it ti make it their own.  The slight variation of the world and the bronzino attest to that.

 

Still, one of my favorite activities.

 

Tomorrow, I’m doing something I’ve never done.  This is the Sushi and Saki lunch pairing.

 

Stay tuned.

Edited December 19, 2021 by Rogueperson

[smplybcause]

What food are they offering late night? 

[Rogueperson]

I’m about to pass out.

This greeted me when i got back.

 

As well as tomorrow’s cruise compass also, the last one.  😔

 

 

 

 

 

I think i figure out why my scans stopped being in color

[Rogueperson]

1 hour ago, smplybcause said:

What food are they offering late night? 

Your options are very limited.

 

You can pay for room service.  

 

Or you can check out Park Cafe, which appears to be the only good option between 9:00 and 1:30am.

 

This is what is there tonight.

 

 

 

Grandeur at least had nachos.  I had thought that Brilliance would too.  I would be wrong.    

 

Between 1:30am and 6:00am, there is just room service.  6:00, Cafe lattitudes ope. with coffee and some snacks.  7:00 is when windjammer opens for real food.  This is the first real flaw i have found with the Radiance Class.

Edited December 19, 2021 by Rogueperson

[wallyj]

On 12/17/2021 at 3:46 PM, Rogueperson said:

 

I found out some interesting info.  Diamond vouchers reset at midnight.  Can anyone chime in on what happens after midnight on your last day?

 

Hi @Rogueperson, just off the Navigator, drink vouchers reset at midnight, so your ‘last’ morning on the ship if you did not order any drinks after midnight, you have all new ‘vouchers’ to use that morning till they close out the sailing. If you are doing a B2B, I suggest grabbing some canned drinks to store in your cabin or to take with you if you are disembarking. 

[smplybcause]

Pretty much only ate pizza late night on Mariner in Sept so glad there's at least that available. Though ending at 130 it might have to switch to a mid night snack instead of the end of night it was. 

[death_star]

Also adding for the chef's table we were served by the first female waiter anywhere in the fleet. She is sommelier level I certified and did a tremendous presentation of our wine pairings.  

Isabella is from Italy.

We also had a female chef from Jamaica named Tracian who really did a great job with the dishes and presenting. 

 

At the end of our meal we were greeted by the fleet manager of restaurant operations who let us know how special this all female lineup was and the first in the fleet. 

 

For the first course I had told them ahead of time that I do not eat scallops. They made me a great beef carpaccio instead. 

 

I will say I really enjoyed the experience even though I drink very little. Even just tasting the wines did add to each course. If you like good food, go for it even if you don't like some things on the menu. Be sure to tell them in advance and they will make you something to your preferences. 

[death_star]

So my family did not join me on this cruise but will join me in February for a Freedom family cruise. I have kids that will be both in the royal babies and tots as well as the aquanauts. I thought I'd use some quiet time this morning to check out the kid's areas on board

 

A lot have been asking about the current rules. Here are what they were for this sailing in the Adventure Ocean welcome guide.

 

Looks like mask wearing and reduced capacity for all levels. 

 

Peeking into the combined adventure ocean voyagers area I do see the circles folks have been talking about. 

 

 

They are only in part of the area however.

I also did go look at the kids' water play area and there are things for potty trained on up. Nothing for anyone in diapers though. 

 

 

 

 

[Rogueperson]

39 minutes ago, death_star said:

So my family did not join me on this cruise but will join me in February for a Freedom family cruise. I have kids that will be both in the royal babies and tots as well as the aquanauts. I thought I'd use some quiet time this morning to check out the kid's areas on board

 

A lot have been asking about the current rules. Here are what they were for this sailing in the Adventure Ocean welcome guide.

 

Looks like mask wearing and reduced capacity for all levels. 

 

Peeking into the combined adventure ocean voyagers area I do see the circles folks have been talking about. 

 

 

They are only in part of the area however.

I also did go look at the kids' water play area and there are things for potty trained on up. Nothing for anyone in diapers though. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for adding this stuff.  I don’t have smal kids so the kids stuff escaped my notice.

[lazydayz]

Thanks for all the info and for sharing your cruise with us.  My 12 year old granddaughter and I are booked for January.  I gave her the choice of all specialty dining or the Chefs Table.  She is leaning toward the latter so I will have her review the menu and your photos.  Thanks again and enjoy your sea day.   

[Rogueperson]

Well Good Morning from somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

This is the last day of this cruise.  As I said earlier, we have the sushi and saki lunch event at noon.  That will be exciting.

 

Also, I think I’ve perfected the coffee experiment.  Packing.  I need 2 filters/day.  The perfect measure is 1 1/2 scoop (that came with the aeropress 2 tablespoons per i believe)

 

to fit the cups here.  Fill water to top of aeropress, stir and plunge.  It should fill to top.

 

Also, ask for an extra coffee cup to dispose of grounds.  

 

This is far superior to the the french press setup.  Pros, french press makes more coffee.  Con, water on cruise may not be hot enough to steep properly and disposing grounds is messier.

 

And thats how you get awesome coffee on a cruise.

[death_star]

Captain says 1028 passengers and 852 crew on this sailing. 

 

Also said will be full for Christmas cruise.

Edited December 19, 2021 by death_star

[Rogueperson]

One thing about 50% passenger load.  Seats everywhere.  On a normal cruise, I would never just come up to the solarium (did i mention, this is my favorite solarium on this class?) and easily grab a seat by the window midmorning.

 

 

I mean, look at the choices.

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by Rogueperson

[mafig]

Did you have to wear your mask in the Solarium?

[jaredkira]

Thank you for your information on the Brillance.  We are going the end of January

[Rogueperson]

2 hours ago, mafig said:

Did you have to wear your mask in the Solarium?

Technically since it’s indoor, yes.  No if you’re swimming.  I have not seen it enforced, but at the same time, i do wear my mask indoors so i’m not a target for enforcement.