Just Back from Brilliance April 16th Transatlantic

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

Makes me want to make a final payment and print my Set Sail Pass!! :D

 

LL

 

You are so right LL, makes me want to book a TA right now!

 

Sheila, great job. I feel the whole TA experience through your postings. Guess I'll get have my own experience next April even though it won't be on Brilliance. Everything seemed to work itself out and everyone (well, almost) had a wonderful time.

 

It's postings like this they will entice those that have never done a TA, to book one.

 

Oh you guys. Cut it out, you're making me all weepy with your nice comments:)

[cruisenfever]

Oh you guys. Cut it out, you're making me all weepy with your nice comments:)

It's all about posting factual information........what you actually experienced, not what you had hoped to experience.

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

I'm glad you decided to bring up the TA's because I don't see threads on them very often. I've been considering taking one for some time now with my fiance for a late honeymoon either next Spring or Fall. I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind:

 

In your experience, do you think that TA's end up costing less than a regular 12 day European cruise, or does the cost of an open-jaw air fare make it about the same?

 

I'm 25 and my fiance is 30. We can get along with anybody....we're very easygoing and tend to make lots of friends regardless of age, but do you think there will be anyone our age on a TA?

 

Was the Vortex Disco ever packed or was it dead most nights? I wouldn't mind hanging out in the Schooner Bar all week but I DO like going to the night club every now and then :D

 

Thanks for your help!

Laura

 

Laura, I feel that the cost of most of the spring repo's that I checked were a steal. We got several price drops after we booked, and felt that we got EXCELLENT value for money. As far as the air fare goes. My DH shopped the internet and found an excellent fair back from Spain. Granted it was several connecting flights and long but worth it for the fare.

There were some younger folks on board but the majority were probably 50+. I don't know what went on in the Vortex sorry. but the piano bar was packed every night.

[Fran Harp]

Makes me want to make a final payment and print my Set Sail Pass!! :D

 

LL

 

LL, this is ii Email me at franota at rogers dot com

 

I can hardly wait for the December cruise of Brilliance......I'm going to savour every moment, write "Live from Brilliance" daily reports, get close to Captain Lindegren (sorry, Captain Petter, only this once....truly) - and the Cutie Captains Fan Club Singers, along with the Pink Boas, will be out in full array. I promise to detail every good thing in the Windjammer, every great meal in the dining room, the comfy beds, the staff and crew who work so that we can have a vacation - I am taking Christmas gifts for Captain, Staff Captain, room staff and waiters, CD - whoever.

 

Chaplain Fran in Toronto

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

To any Newbies who started cruising in the Caribbean and are ready to move into another area, the Transatlantic repositioning cruises are a great way to try cruising in another realm. We cruised the Caribbean extensively and still will, but we wanted to experience something else. These cruises are usually relatively inexpensive and give you the feeling of cruises of yesteryear when ships were used as TA transport and crossing the Atlantic was an adventure. The consecutive sea days are wonderful and the ports are so interesting. One must consider that traveling eastward means you lose an hour on 6 nights so that you are on European time when you arrive but going to bed at midnight and changing the clocks to 1am doesn't hurt too badly. The plus to traveling back to the U.S. A. is that you will gain an hour each time they change the clocks. ( More time to party, or sleep!!!) Many of the ships reposition in every area of the RCI itineraries so do some research and "Get Out There"

[2ladies]

Hi Carol - we had the best time on the Jewel ta didn't we?

 

We are on the Brilliance April ta next year - how about joining us again?

 

Unfortunately, especially on ta's, we are at the mercy of the weather and all the many other things which can go wrong on a ship. All part of the adventure - otherwise you might as well go to an all-inclusive on land!! This seems to escape many passengers.

 

No-one has ever given me a logical answer as to why the spring ta's to the UK are scheduled via Bermuda, but the autumn (fall) itineraries go over the pond from the Canaries - usually, a much warmer route as its further south. Anyone know? Last year on the Jewel, we did make Bermuda, but there were a couple of 'bumpy' days after that. Same as scheduling Falmouth - it is notoriously bad for tendering and yet RCCL/Celebrity persist in using it.

[German Wunderkind]

I'm 25 and my fiance is 30. We can get along with anybody....we're very easygoing and tend to make lots of friends regardless of age, but do you think there will be anyone our age on a TA?

Was the Vortex Disco ever packed or was it dead most nights? I wouldn't mind hanging out in the Schooner Bar all week but I DO like going to the night club every now and then :D

Laura

Hi Laura

 

Being 34 and having done more than half a dozen TAs on RCL (more than 20 overall) I must admit that Vortex is (compared to the disco on Voyager Class in the Caribbean) dead most of the nights.

Only during 70's night and some other theme nights the more elderly crowd on the crossings will move up to Deck 13.

Especially on eastbound crossings where you loose time most people are in bed quite early.

On my recent crossing there were only 30 or 40 people in the room most nights. And even the Schooner Bar (with a not so good piano player) was deserted most nights.

Last year on Brilliance we had a great piano player there and the room was packed until 1am every night.

 

Regarding other cruisers of "our" age:

Very few will fit in our age group and mostly the entertainment will not be your favorite. Majority rules and that's why they will bring out guys doing songs from the Platters, Temptations, classical music (Italian Tenor) etc.

But I still had fun on every crossing. Just talk to all these very nice & widely traveled fellow passengers and enjoy the relaxing days at sea.

 

G.W.

[debut]

Will be sailing on the Brilliance in Oct. Have sailed Royal Caribbean 3 times but it has been a few years. Does the Windjammer still have sit down dinners with menus and waiters? We sailed Legend, Visions and Splendor and had a great time on them all, can't wait till Oct. Thanks for everyone's info. Debbie

[cruisenfever]

Will be sailing on the Brilliance in Oct. Have sailed Royal Caribbean 3 times but it has been a few years. Does the Windjammer still have sit down dinners with menus and waiters? We sailed Legend, Visions and Splendor and had a great time on them all, can't wait till Oct. Thanks for everyone's info. Debbie

In the evening in the Windjammer it is buffet style.....not sit down. In fact the only time I saw sit down was on Legend......so it is possible that only Vision class ships do this.

[crazy 4 cruising]

IMHO Spring would be better only because the Northern European in November tend to be cold and foggy. Lived in Britain and Nov was always "Pea-souper" month.

 

Sheila, we are doing a TA from England to Boston in Sept 08, are we in for icky weather? should we change it around US to England? I've been to London and loved it and since my great great grandpa was Scotch-Irish (Woodfin was his name), I have always wanted to go to Scotland and Ireland and at least on this TA I can get to Ireland.

 

good job on the thread;)

[Welshlady]

We live in the Uk and Sept. can be very nice and warm. We've also visited Boston during the first week of October and had really hot weather so i would have thought September seems to be a nice time to cruise across the Atlantic. It can be rough at any time I suppose, but should be warmer then than in April. We're just having really cold weather, wet and very, very windy! I wouldn't want to be in the sea west of the Uk right now!!

[crazy 4 cruising]

You are so right LL, makes me want to book a TA right now!

 

Sheila, great job. I feel the whole TA experience through your postings. Guess I'll get have my own experience next April even though it won't be on Brilliance. Everything seemed to work itself out and everyone (well, almost) had a wonderful time.

 

It's postings like this they will entice those that have never done a TA, to book one.

 

 

come on along PAtti. I sure hope we like it as we h ave 2 booked :eek: . sucha bargain for the price

[sanbmet]

Brenda....we did the Jewel T\A last Sept from England to Boston and loved it. The weather was cool and we had rain in Cherbourg and drizzle in Plymouth, but Cork and Dublin were great. Coming across, the Capt chose to do a diversionary course to miss the remnants of a storm that just wouldn't go away so he kept us in smoother seas. Newfoundland was cool and crisp and a wonderful port stop....ships don't go there very often so the town really does a special welcome when one arrives. Halifax - with Peggy's Cove was stunning....bright sunshine and gorgeous views. We had one extremely foggy day and the ship's foghorn was sounding every few minutes...it really gave us a moment to be thankful for the newer technology that the early sailors didn't have and which I suspect the smaller fishing vessels in the area don't have! We even saw some pilot whales off the starboard side on one afternoon!

 

We almost booked the same cruise for '08 but there are several others that caught our attention at the same time!

[crazy 4 cruising]

Brenda....we did the Jewel T\A last Sept from England to Boston and loved it. The weather was cool and we had rain in Cherbourg and drizzle in Plymouth, but Cork and Dublin were great. Coming across, the Capt chose to do a diversionary course to miss the remnants of a storm that just wouldn't go away so he kept us in smoother seas. Newfoundland was cool and crisp and a wonderful port stop....ships don't go there very often so the town really does a special welcome when one arrives. Halifax - with Peggy's Cove was stunning....bright sunshine and gorgeous views. We had one extremely foggy day and the ship's foghorn was sounding every few minutes...it really gave us a moment to be thankful for the newer technology that the early sailors didn't have and which I suspect the smaller fishing vessels in the area don't have! We even saw some pilot whales off the starboard side on one afternoon!

 

We almost booked the same cruise for '08 but there are several others that caught our attention at the same time!

 

Thanks for the info. we are so used to the Caribbean and staying in our bathing suits all day, we've laughed that we will have to take more clothes!!!

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

Sheila, we are doing a TA from England to Boston in Sept 08, are we in for icky weather? should we change it around US to England? I've been to London and loved it and since my great great grandpa was Scotch-Irish (Woodfin was his name), I have always wanted to go to Scotland and Ireland and at least on this TA I can get to Ireland.

 

good job on the thread;)

 

Hi Brenda, I'm sure it will be luck of the draw but Sept is much better in that neck of the woods than Nov. I've seen some lovely days in Sept.

[crazy 4 cruising]

Hi Brenda, I'm sure it will be luck of the draw but Sept is much better in that neck of the woods than Nov. I've seen some lovely days in Sept.

 

thanks Sheila. I sure hope for great weather for us.

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

I was so glad to see the positive thread about Marilyn Stone.(I invite you all to go over and read it.) We were priviledged to sail with them on the Brilliance cruise. Marilyn is the reason we reached the Azores 18 hours early. Roger is a true gentleman and we enjoyed talking to him. It's so good of him to share how well he was treated by RCI. I goes a long way to dilute some of the negative posts about Brilliance and RCI in general. I personally heard Roger's daily reports on how Marilyn was doing and how well they were being treated.

[gr8memories]

I thought I'd start this thread to discuss how wonderful this cruise really was, and I had several requests to do so. Contrary to some posts, I had a wonderful time. Soooo!!! What do you want to know?

Did you happen to use the currency exchange desk on Brilliance? I was wondering what the exchange rate for dollars to euros is onboard the ship. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Sue

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

Did you happen to use the currency exchange desk on Brilliance? I was wondering what the exchange rate for dollars to euros is onboard the ship. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Sue

 

Sue, Although I don't recall the exact exchange rate. ( I will ask my DH later) I do recall that it was favorable and very convenient. We looked into buying Euros in the USA before we left and the rate was less but the handling fee and other charges made it more. To us, being able to just walk up to the desk and get what we needed for each port day was the most convenient method.

[sanbmet]

I did do currency exchange. I believe it was something like 1.43 US to 1 Euro, but the rate was changing right after that...I think a bit higher.

[CAC104]

LL, this is ii Email me at franota at rogers dot com

 

I can hardly wait for the December cruise of Brilliance......I'm going to savour every moment, write "Live from Brilliance" daily reports, get close to Captain Lindegren (sorry, Captain Petter, only this once....truly) - and the Cutie Captains Fan Club Singers, along with the Pink Boas, will be out in full array. .

 

Chaplain Fran in Toronto

 

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND OUT.....WHAT IS THE PINK BOA SOCIETY?

 

This was mentioned on another post, and I just can't find an answer as to what it means.

[crazy 4 cruising]

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND OUT.....WHAT IS THE PINK BOA SOCIETY?

 

This was mentioned on another post, and I just can't find an answer as to what it means.

 

from what I have been told, there was a group--I think on CC--that were planning the inaugral Freedom sail and they were a roll call for a long time. anyway someone hit on the idea to wear pink boas so they would know who everyone was and there were LOTS of pink boas on that sail. My understanding is that the crew even asked what was the deal.

[truffles2]

I'm sorry we missed this cruise (doing the Panama Canal on Radiance instead) as we took the Brilliance over in 2006 and were on her again in the Med in the fall of 2006 and have the TA booked for 2008. Brilliance is one of my favorite ships. Great crew and overall experience!

[Fran Harp]

I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIND OUT.....WHAT IS THE PINK BOA SOCIETY?

 

This was mentioned on another post, and I just can't find an answer as to what it means.

 

Feel free to email me at franota at rogers dot com

 

(unless Emmy gets here first, of course, she's the original Pink Boa).

 

There will be a Pink Boa group inaugurated on the Brilliance this coming December ......

 

Fran in Toronto

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

I did do currency exchange. I believe it was something like 1.43 US to 1 Euro, but the rate was changing right after that...I think a bit higher.

 

I think you're right Sandy, Bob agrees. Even if it went up a bit, it's still the most convenient IMHO. Thanks for your info to the poster, hope you two are doing well, don't breathe in too much of that smoke down there. Sheila