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Royal Caribbean International

MV Brilliance of the Seas

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Reviewed by: Rich Turnwald
# previous cruises: 50 or more
Date of Trip: November 11, 2005
Itinerary: Transatlantic

The resort-style amenities and manageable size of this ship will appeal to all sorts of cruisers. The repositioning cruises are normally a very good bargain for those looking for a longer cruise, with lots of time at sea.

Lots of different public rooms for all tastes and moods on this ship, ranging from the vast, state-of-the-art show lounge to small, intimate bar areas. One of my favorite areas is the Colony Club, a small showroom aft, decorated in elegant woods and nicely upholstered fabrics on the chairs. Another favorite spot is the Viking Crown Lounge, which functions as the disco/nightclub high up in the ship; by day, this becomes a quiet reading lounge, where you can read, doze, or simply gaze through the floor-to-ceiling windows surrounding the lounge. This is a true observation lounge.

The outdoor areas and pools were well-utilized, since we had warm, sunny weather for the entire crossing.

I am easy to please when it comes to food, and I found every meal to be very good, regarding both quality and selection of menu items. One nice touch was every early evening in the Windjammer Cafe, a complimentary sushi bar was set up.

I was in cabin #3070, an outside cabin on Deck 3 midships, category H. Very comfortable and spacious enough for storage of nearly two weeks of clothing. The shower was compact, but not any smaller than on most ships. This room was in a quiet area, which is why I chose it.

The shows were all very good, although quite typical of the mass market ships. High energy productions honoring Broadway and Hollywood, as found elsewhere. Since we had more of an international passenger list on this cruise, there were also many other acts such as singers, jugglers, magicians, etc. which provided more visual imagery on stage.

There were the typical myriad of activities found on any cruise, both inside and on deck. One thing I found disappointing, however, was the lack of lecturers as found on many previous transatlantic crossings. Admittedly, those trips were on the likes of QE2 and QM2, but I found that this 8 days at sea from Lisbon to Miami were treated like just so many sea days in the Caribbean. The trip began in Barcelona, with stops at Alicante, Malaga, and Lisbon, followed by the actual crossing to Miami.

A more international make-up than found typically in the Caribbean, made for interesting conversations with passengers; this is the whole appeal to me in doing transatlantic crossings. The people I encountered were very friendly--on a repositioning cruise, everyone is sharing the same experience of being at sea for days on end, going to a common destination. There is not as much fragmentation as on a regular cruise, with everyone scattering by day to various shore side destinations.