Island Princess VS. Brilliance OTS

[cruzinj]

Hi, I'm new to the boards! I was just wondering how these two ships compare. I'm thinking of cruising the panama canal. I've cruised both lines, and prefered princess. I also prefer a cozy ship, with a lot of choices- I know princess is better for that, but I've heard great things about the Brilliance. I don't know which one to choose, so maybe someone can help me out!:o

 

Thanks,:)

 

Cruzinj

[Coral]

I have cruised both of the sister ships (Coral and Radiance) and I can tell you the ships are very much alike. I would base my decision on the better price, times in port and which line you prefer. I personally prefer Princess but if there was a $1000 difference, I would go RCCL.

[ahracer]

I don't think the Island does canal cruises anymore that she spends her time in Hawaii and Alaska. Her sister ship Coral is doing the Panama Canal cruises.

 

Does the Brilliance actually go into the canal or just stop in Colon?

 

Scott

[cruzinj]

Thanks, Great photos!:) looks like a beautiful ship! Do you have any of the radiance?

[cruzinj]

The island doesn't do the canal? maybe I got it confused with the coral, they are sister ships. hmmmmm.... I know I read somewhere about the Island P. doing the canal. I'm in the EARLY, EARLY phases of planning the cruise.. I'm just thinking of these ships. I've heard great things about them!

[Coral]

Thanks, Great photos!:) looks like a beautiful ship! Do you have any of the radiance?

Here are some of the Radiance - there are 2 albums at the top:

 

radiance

 

These are not as organized.

 

Last year the Coral and Island both did the Canal and Alaska. They later moved the Island Princess to do Hawaii and Alaska.

[cruzinj]

They both look like beautiful ships! I think the coral looks more beautiful. I love the street lamps, and murals..looks really nice:o

[rienreiter]

I have only been on two cruises. Happens that I cruised on the Island Princess and the Brilliance of the Seas. I cruised on the Island Princess last year from Seward to Vancouver (Alaska) and I cruised this past September to the Mediterranean and Greek Islands on the Brilliance of the Seas.

 

For starters, the Island holds 1970 passengers at double capacity while the Brilliance holds 2600 passengers. So, the Brilliance is larger. Although, both are so brilliantly layed out that you never encounter large crowds.

 

I enjoyed sailing on both ships but both are different on their decor. I found both of them to be elegant and classy yet maintaining different personalities. The Island has a 4 story atrium while the Brilliance has a 8 story atrium (quite impressive). The casino is larger in the Brilliance.

 

The only thing that I would say that sets them apart (for my taste and in my opinion) is that I found the cuisine on the Island (Princess) to be consistently top notch while I found the cuisine on the Brilliance (RCI) to be just OK.

 

I hope that this helps you in one way or another. You would no doubt enjoy either one of these fine vessels. If you should have any other questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

 

Regards.

[cruzinj]

thanks for the comments:) . Which ship did you like better? Which did you find more beautiful?

[Coral]

Here are the specs from RCCL on the Brillance:

brilliance

Passenger Capacity - 2501

Tonnage - 90,090

 

Island Princess from Princess' website:

Island Princess

 

Passenger Capacity - 1970

Tonnage - 92,000

 

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The Island Princess is actually larger ;)

 

The ships are about the same size with RCCL having more passengers. I sailed both the Radiance and Coral in Alaska and I found the Radiance far more crowded but the weather was not good for our cruise and I assumed the interior areas were crowded because people were not on deck.

[cruzinj]

thank you coral, the island is a little bigger with less passengers!

[isujim]

I sailed the Brilliance this April to the Panama Canal and the Coral was in the lane next to us. I haven't been on the Coral but the Brilliance is a great ship and our favorite to date. It really didn't seem there were 2600 passengers on board because the ship is so well laid out and designed. I agree with the previous poster on cuisine.........it is far better on Princess in our experience, but I think you can't go wrong on the Brilliance either. If you have any specific questions on the Brilliance I'll be happy to try and answer them.

[cruzinj]

Is the Brilliance very similar to the vision-class vessels? I would think the stand out areas would be the centrum, dining room, solarium, and colony club- besides those areas, is the brilliance just like any other RCCL ship?

 

Thanks for helping me out;) I really appreciate all these posts:)

[isujim]

The Brilliance is similar but in my opinion more elegant and better designed than the Vision class ships. The Vision class ships don't have the Colony Club. The Brilliance also has a concierge club if you are a diamond member or book a suite.

 

The Windjammer is better designed with various "stations" for your food instead of one long serving line on the Vision class ships. The solarium and dining rooms are very much the same. The atrium is 8 stories and very elegant. Because this ship is more comparmentalized with ample public spaces including seating in the public spaces, you don't realize there are 2600 people on board.

 

Hope this helps

[cruzinj]

yeah, I've heard the layout of the windjammer is excellent on the brilliance. I just heard the food wasn't as good. I kind-of prefer the smaller atriums, and smaller spaces. I found a few RCCL ships to feel almost uncomfortable. I'm sure the brilliance is very comfortable. The decor on the vision-class ships didn't really appeal to me. I'm sure I'll like whatever ship I pick, as long as I'm on a cruise..I'm happy. I just like some ships more than others. :)

[cruzinj]

I'd just like to bump this up. But, I really do appreciate the kind help, and response I'm getting. As I said, I'm new to these boards and I felt like I received a warm welcome:)

[cruzinj]

I think I might go with the coral:o

[cruisejag]

I have been on Coral, Island, and Brilliance. I think the main difference is in approach. To achieve the "small ship feeling" Princess tends to divide large spaces. The Brilliance is easily more dramatic, Coral more intimate. Examples - On the Brilliance the dining room is a large two story room while the Coral has two single story dining rooms. The gym is divided into two rooms on the Coral, one large one on Brilliance. Same with the buffet--one large one on Brilliance, two smaller ones on Coral. I personally like the larger spaces--they seem less crowded to me. Others may like the smaller spaces...

[mek]

Thanks for the information on the Brilliance. I have her booked for next June -Greek Isles - wondferful itinerary, which is the primary reason I selected this one.