Live: Brilliance of the Seas: Alaska: August 11-18

[CruiseIreland]

Hi all. Boarded Brilliance of the Seas today in Vancouver, bound for Alaska and back.

ports of call: Sitka, Juneau and Icy Strait Point.

 

We are a pair of 60 somethings from Ireland. We first booked this cruise as it was at a very reasonable price, then we added a Canadian Rockies road trip which meant that the budget exploded! We had a wonderful drive from Calgary to Vancouver over 11 days, arriving on the 10th. In Vancouver, we stayed one night at the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel, really excellent.  👌 

 

We had purchased the Key, in sale, mainly for the internet, plus priority boarding and the lunch at Giovanni's Table, albeit with the menu based on Chop's Grill. The email from RC concerning the Key suggested arriving between 11 and 1130. As the hotel is so close to Canada Place, we walked our 4 cases around the block quite easily. No sign of 'Ket Priority' but after we dropped our luggage with the porters ( no hint of tips), we were directed to the 'Suites and Pinnacle' lines for check in which was quick as we had checked in online. We were about 25 minutes queuing for US CBP, and quickly through.

On the ship and straight to our muster point which was, happily, at Giovanni's Table. We'd  done the muster online so very fast. 

 

In to lunch, menu attached and the filet mignon was excellent. 

[Classic_Greg]

Thanks, looking forward to your posts!

[Havin'fun]

Following along!

 

[CruiseIreland]

Day 1 cont'd.

After lunch, we made our way to our balcony stateroom on deck 7, starboard. Let me start by acknowledging that Brilliance is over 20 years old. The carpets in the corridor seem quite fresh and the stateroom is generally good, plenty of storage but only 4 plug sockets, all at the dressing table side of the room. The real letdown is the bathroom. The sink is very badly cracked and the tap puts out hot or warm water no matter which way you turn it. There's also a faint whiff in the bathroom. The bed is very comfortable despite the mattress being somewhat worn. Some of the metal areas on the balcony are quite rusty and the railing is in dire need of varnish. Apart from all that, we're quite comfortable. 

 

[CruiseIreland]

Day 1, cont'd part 2.

After we squared away the luggage, we headed around the ship for an explore and  somehow, found ourselves at the Sky Bar, overlooking the pool deck. As we were still in Vancouver, it was quite hot, so a few cocktails seemed appropriate. We stayed there until after sailaway which began 10 minutes early at 4.50pm. 

 

We cleaned up and headed for My Time Dining at 8.30pm. Only waited a few minutes and we were ked to a table for 2 at the window in the Minstrel, deck 4. We had starters of crab cake, artichoke and spinach dip, followed by Aromatic Chicken Saag. All excellent but the chicken was among the best curried dishes I've had on a ship.

 

It tastes way better than it looks. 

 

Entertainment was quiet on the first night so we enjoyed some excellent piano music in the Schooner Bar and finished the evening in the King and Country pub listening to Nathan, an excellent guitarist and singer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gottagoacruzn]

Hi, sure looks good, was on the Brilliance in May, an had a great time.

[perfect match]

Sounds like my virtual Alaska cruise is off to a good start! I’ll be following.  

[loeytalldog]

Following along! Thanks for doing this!

[CruiseIreland]

Day 2, At sea.

We woke early and headed to the Minstrel MDR, deck 5, for breakfast. It would close at 10am on a sea day. Short wait for a window table and a pleasant breakfast. Service was leisurely, so some hot items had cooled a bit by the time they were served. We had the fruit plate, Granola Parfait (with blueberries but, sadly, no blueberries were harmed in the making of this dish), scrambled eggs w toast and Express Breakfast(everything really). Pics and menu below...

Menu Day 2, MDR breakfast. Day 3's would be different. 

 

 

We spent some time exploring the ship. As it was cold and windy, everyone was inside. We took refuge in the annex to the Windjammer, comfy seats, coffee flasks, with a sea view. Unfortunately, the peace was shattered by very noisy fellow passengers who were early on the cocktails. 🤷‍♂️. Some pics of around the ship...

 

 

Solarium

 

 

Self titled, good spot in Nice weather 

Pool deck

Pickle ball or Paddle ball? Answers below..

Crazy Golf

Pool slide, closed off yesterday 

Hmm, no chance.

In the afternoon, we read on our balcony until it was a respectable time to order cocktails. 

 

Later, we would head to the main show and dinner at Izumi. Stay tuned..

 

Apologies for any errars or tipos!

Edited August 13 by CruiseIreland

[CruiseIreland]

Day 2. Evening at Sea.

We headed to the first of our 3 speciality dining venues, Izumi, for dinner. Izumi is situated at the aft of the ship, deck 12, with no interior access to the ship. It was drizzling slightly but we braved the rain. We were among only about 6 people in the restaurant, apart from staff. The theme in Izumi is very much Japanese/Chinese, lots of noodles  sushi and sashimi. We opted for starters of Wan Ton soup and Gyozas. 5 dumplings in the Gyozas and 4 or 5 wan tons in the soup. Both excellent. Mains were Chicken Teriyaki with rice and Truffled Creamy Lobster Tempura Roll, looked liked sushi. Also, we both had Miso Ramen Soup. Fantastic. Dessert was Sesame Balls filled with Red Bean Paste, just so so. Overall, an excellent dinner, so much so that we changed our 3rd night dining from Giovanni's Table to Izumi - yes, they can do that!! Pics here;

Wan Ton Soup(Shrimp & chicken)

Gyozas (pork)

Chicken Teriyaki 

Truffled Creamy Lobster Tempura Roll

Miso Ramen Soup

Sesame Balls(doughy) one had been assaulted before photo was taken 🙄

Sunset from deck 12

 

Before dinner, we made our way to the Pacifica Theatre  Deck 6, where we used the Key to access the reserved seating at the very last row. The show was mixed, good vocals, interpretations of modern classics with some boogy woogy stuff and some good Latin songs. Very talented crew. Pic.

View from the prime, Key, seats

Good production values

 

We ended the evening in the King and Country pub, entertained by the excellent Nathan Goodlet, terrific guitarist and singer. 

 

Coming up; Day 3, Sitka.

 

Edited August 15 by CruiseIreland

[CruiseIreland]

Day 3: Sitka.

We arrived into Sitka, as planned  at about noon. The weather was overcast but the sun was trying to break through. Sitka was the only port where we had booked a ship tour, mainly because I didn't fancy the scrum trying to get on the free shuttle and I couldn't book the Alaska Raptor Center independently. The tickets for the tour were in our stateroom when we boarded in Vancouver. We assembled in the theatre at 12.30, there were many different tours going and we were number 21. We were marched out to the dock where we were directed to the tour operator's window at the terminal building and told to wait inside until our bus bay was indicated. We waited about 10 minutes and were directed onto our tour bus  driven and guided by Randy,  a Puerto Rican native. Randy provided a running commentary on Sitka and its history while driving the 15 minutes or so to the Raptor Center. On arrival, we were greeted by a staff member and directed into a gallery overlooking a large covered space for Bald Eagles, who were recuperating, to fly about. The glass is one-way so they don't get used to humans as these eagles may be released at some stage in the future. 

Covered flying and nesting area

Resident outside. He can't fly and is not tethered.

Golden Eagle

 

This is Raine, who fell off her perch as we were photographing her. She seemed embarrassed.

 

There is a walking trail leading off from the center and several guests walked down to where the salmon were gathered and trying to get upstream. Bear caution is advised here and, recently, they had to close the area due to mother and cubs in the area.

 

There is supposed to be a 'show' every hour on the hour but, to our disappointment, no show happened at 2pm. 

 

We got back on the bus and arrived at a theatre/cirque space for the Cultural Discovery part. This comprised a narrated slide show on the history of Sitka interspersed with vignettes of modern dance. It sounds corny but it was really good (and I HATE modern dance). The only thing it lacked, in my view, was input or presentation by Tlingit locals but, apparently, there are such presentations available locally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The show highlighted the relationship between the Tlingit natives and, firstly, the Russians, which led to conflict and bloodshed, the sale of Alaska to the USA and the subsequent development of the area.

Randy brought us all over Sitka and pointed out the main areas of interest. Overall, a very good tour.

Views from the old sea base and airfield looking back at Sitka.

 

Up next: MDR on Day 3

Edited August 16 by CruiseIreland

[CruiseIreland]

Day 3 MDR:

We were seated again at table 619, with Reynaldo and Atma. To our surprise, there were several Asian dishes on the menu. We went for; Starters- Tom Yum soup, very spicy and delicious 

Tom Yum Soup - spicy and delicious 

Next up, Mains of Shrimp Pad Thai and Teriyaki Chicken 

Shrimp Pad Thai 

Teriyaki Chicken- I asked for spicy so they popped a chili on it- it was hot!

 

After dinner, we caught the beginning of a show by Mark Preston, in the Pacifica Theatre. No reserved seating but we got good seats in the top tier, the place was only half full for the second show. We'd never heard of Mark Preston but he was a member of the Lettermen, a very popular group back in the day, numerous hits and 3 Grammy nominations. He reminded me of Howard Keel, he was a slick performer but too cheesy for our tastes so we bailed out after 15 minutes. We took refuge in the King and Country pub with the excellent Nathan Goodlet. 

Mark Preston on stage

Nathan Goodlet saved the entertainment on this cruise

 

Next up: Day 4, Juneau

[CruiseIreland]

Better pic of Mark Preston...

[CruiseIreland]

Correction:

Mark Preston appeared on night 4, not 3. On night 3  we went to the adult comedy show with Angelo Tsarouchas. It was ok, he did about 30 minutes.

[Classic_Greg]

👍

[CruiseIreland]

As we disembarked, today, and I've fallen behind with this report, I'm going to summarise under various categories; Ship, MDR food, Speciality dining and Crew. 

Ship - As I stated earlier, Brilliance is showing her years, in the stateroom at least. The furniture is chipped and worn, the bed is a bit dead but still comfortable. The bathroom sink, in our room, was badly cracked and the cold water almost always ran warm. There was also a whiff in the bathroom, years of inaccurate aiming, I suspect! However, the carpets seem fresh and the public areas are in good condition and very clean.

MDR food - I think I pointed out, earlier, that the MDR food was excellent and, in the remaining few nights, it continued to impress. Our dinners these past few nights are set out here:

MDR on Day 5: Italian night,

Caesar salad

Arancini

Chicken breast

Lamb kofta with roti and poppadom

Lavish Italian Chocolate Cake( a bit dry)

Not exactly all Italian choices but good.

Day 7 MDR:

Mediterranean Tapas Medley - Hummus, Pita, Tsatziki and Greek Salad. Very good.

Seafood Cake. Good.

Chicken Chettinad. Basically curry. Very good, if not really spicy.

Overall, we felt that the MDR food was excellent and kind of overshadowed our 3 night speciality dining package.

Speciality Dining 

As mentioned earlier, we were blown away by Izumi and booked to return again on night 6, sacrificing Giovanni's Table as the menu did not excite the boss who, usually, loves Italian food. 

Chops Grill.

I love my steak and was very impressed by the Chop's Grill Filet Mignon served at the Key Lunch on embarkation day. Menu and choices here;

 

Lump Jumbo Crab Cake(both had this)

Goats Cheese Tartlet 

Lobster Bisque 

Grilled Branzino (a bit dry)

9 oz Filet (excellent)

Sides of Truffle Fries and Baked Potato

We passed on dessert. Excellent meal overall. Chop's is worth the visit. Incidentally, they discounted the Speciality Restaurants 50% on nights 1 and 6.

Izumi

We were excited to return to Izumi. This time, the waiter explained that Miso soup is included in the 'prix fixe'(dining package) without counting as a choice of Small Plates. The deal is 1 Small Plate and 2 large plates plus a dessert. Honestly, it's too much food and, in future, we would go to Izumi and pay a la carte for what food we could eat. Our choices on this night;

Miso Soup - honestly didn't like it much

Firecrest Shrimp Spring Rolls (very good)

Wan Ton Soup(pork), very good

Beef with Udon Noodles- excellent!

Spider Crab Rolls - good

Chef's Recommended Sashimi - boss felt it was a bit stale or dry.

Chocolate Lava Cake - quite dry.

 

For some reason, Izumi didn't ring our bells the second night. Maybe our choices were wrong or we should have gone earlier? Another thing, we like a post dinner Sambuca, often in lieu of a dessert. No problem on 1st night but on 2nd night  the waiter said they didn't have a bar so didn't have Sambuca! 🤷‍♂️

 

Next post...Crew.

[CruiseIreland]

Ok, let's wrap this up! I kept the crew til last for no particular reason except that, each day, they continued to impress. We found that, without exception, crew greeted us with a friendly smile or greeting and not in an obsequious way, it's just the way they are. It seems unfair to single out individuals but we were, of course, exposed to certain staff more than others. So, I will list those I can remember who delivered exceptional service:

Our stateroom attendant, Rolly, who tidied up after us every day.

Our MDR crew, Reynaldo, Atma and Ida.

Speciality Dining staff were excellent. 

Bar staff: Utama, in Vintages Wine Bar, who patiently amended the cocktail recipes to my prescription, 

Alexander, in the King and Country pub, whose memory and recall would be well placed on The Chase or other quiz shows.

Rabi and Russell in the Pool and Sky Bar.

Other staff were also exceptional but I failed to get their names.

 

Royal's staff,once again, made up for the failings of the company, such as the condition of parts of the ship.

 

Up next: Ports of Call

Edited August 21 by CruiseIreland

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey glad you had a great time, I to also had a great time. Mark Preston was great.

 

[CruiseIreland]

Ports of Call:

Sitka - I've already outlined, above, our experience in Sitka. We booked a Royal excursion for 2 reasons, 1. Couldn't book Alaska Raptor Center independently, and, 2. I feared that the free shuttle into Sitka would be jammed. The shuttle seemed to be uncrowded but, as an excursion, we got off early. Sitka town is not walkable from the cruise port. The port has a nice, new building with a couple of outlets and refreshments. 

Juneau- Based on a recommendation in a review on CC, we booked a whale watching trip with Jayleen's Alaska. We were collected at the port by Captain Steve and collected 4 more from the Sapphire Princess next door. Steve provided lots of information about Juneau on the 20 minute drive to Auke Bay, where their boat is moored. The boat is a twin outboard, 26 footer and very fast. Steve took us up the bay about 12-15 miles and we saw lots of whales and calves. Plenty of whale tails. The boat ride is fast and bumpy so you need to be prepared for that.

 Boat is fast

Seller Sea lions on a buoy

Mendenhall Glacier from the boat. We saw 4 other glaciers also.

 Stick with it for the whale tail.

Overall, it was a great excursion. Steve was very personable and knows his whales. I would highly recommend Jayleen's Alaska for a whale watching trip. 

 

Icy Strait Point - we booked a bear watching trip with Wild Bear Safari. Brilliance was docked at the Adventure Dock, right beside the shops and museum. If you had docked at the further away dock, there's a gondola to take you the short distance to the Adventure Center or it's a short walk. We were collected at the Excursion Hub, this is behind the shops and well signposted. We met our guide, Luke Meyer, who owns Wild Bear Safari. He's an interesting character and, again, very personable. He really knows his bears and brought us straight out to a bridge over a salmon stream where we watched a mama bear enjoying her lunch of salmon and, well, salmon. He took us to more places and we saw more bears. He even extended our excursion, at no extra cost, to get more bear and some beautiful scenery. 

Adventure Cruise Dock

Not a real Orca

Not sure how old this totem is

Signs

Beautiful day at ISP

Our first bear

 Lunchtime 

Real, old totem in Hoonah(Icy Strait)

 

The tour with Luke was excellent and I would highly recommend Wild Bear Safaris.

 

We love Icy Strait Point. The whales were in the bay and, as Brilliance was leaving that evening, we had a wonderful display of whales on the starboard side, whake tails and flipper splashing. Unforgettable!!

 

Next: Tracy Arm Fjord 

Edited August 22 by CruiseIreland

[CruiseIreland]

On the sea day after the ports, we were scheduled for Tracy Arm Fjord. I suppose we had not informed ourselves sufficiently of the time frame but we were lying in bed at about 8am when we heard the 'bing bong' on the PA in the hall but couldn't make out what was being said. This happened about 5 minutes apart. On the 3rd announcement, we looked out through the balcony door and saw the ice floes passing by. Scrambled into warmer clothes, grabbed phones and stepped out to see the South Sawyer Glacier appearing on our starboard. We didn't get very close, possibly because of the abundance of chunks of ice. The ship pivoted 180° and we headed past the mouth of the channel leading to the other glacier but couldn't actually see the face of the glacier. We were soon on our way back out to open water. A few pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, Tracy Arm Fjord was a little underwhelming but beautiful, nonetheless. 

 

Our remaining cruising day was beautifully sunny and the sun was on our balcony. It was actually very hot, which surprised us. The next day, our last full day, was cooler.

 

In summary, we thought the cruise was fantastic, probably our best yet. The weather was amazing and so much of our wet/cold weather gear went unused. 

 

Alaska was stunning and we had the ideal weather to enjoy it. 

 

The crew of Brilliance were outstanding and very friendly. The food was excellent. Entertainment was so so except for Nathan who played and sang in the King and Country pub every night but one. His Johnny Cash Tribute hour was the best attended of the week.

 

We never felt movement of the ship and didn't even know we had docked any of the days.

 

Brilliance is a bit old and dated but a fine ship, especially for the Alaska ports.

 

Thanks for following along. Ken 👍 

Edited August 24 by CruiseIreland

[loug1601]

Nice review and very informative. Thanks Ken!

[Tin can]

Great review, thanks for that and very useful for us on Serenade next year.

[Oakman58]

Thanks for doing this review and including all the photos.  We'll be on the Brilliance in November as we celebrate our 50th anniversary.  An older ship for an older couple.  🙂

Edited August 28 by Oakman58

[CruiseIreland]

20 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

Thanks for doing this review and including all the photos.  We'll be on the Brilliance in November as we celebrate our 50th anniversary.  An older ship for an older couple.  🙂

You will love the crew. They're genuinely friendly. We celebrated our 38th on this trip. Congratulations on the Golden Anniversary! 👏👏