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Royal Caribbean International

MV Brilliance of the Seas

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Al Andersen
# previous cruises: 4
Date of Trip: February 24, 2003
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

Magnificent ship, wonderful service, good itinerary, OK food.

Beautiful lounges and public areas especially the Schooner Bar and Colony Club area. The Centrum seems to have been lifted from a Hyatt Regency Hotel, it's spectacular.

The only disappointment we had with the cruise was with the menu in the main (Minstrel) dining room. On past cruises with Celebrity and HAL there was fish such as Snapper or Grouper featured. Not so here. There was a piece of Cod a couple of nights and Salmon was always available.

The Filet Mignon offered on the first formal night was rather stringy and rather tasteless. My steak arrived very well done while my wife's steak was med. rare. Both were ordered med. I realize that this was not a "steak house" but this was the poorest steaks we have had on ships.

The lobster served on the last formal night was tasty but had to be the smallest portions ever. Our waiter was good at bringing seconds though.

Soups and salads were good for the most part as were desserts. Actually the low-cal/fat free desserts were very good.

Overall the food in the main dining room was not in the same league as Celebrity.

On the other hand, the food in the WINDJAMMER buffet restaurant was very good for breakfast with made to order omelettes etc and at lunch with a carvery featuring roast beef, turkey, ham etc.

The SeaView Cafe made a very decent cheese burger and onion rings. My wife tells me that their milkshake was great.

We had an inside cabin that was the same size as an outside. The cabin itself was a decent size with a 2 seater couch, but the bathroom was the smallest that we have encountered. The shower was especially tiny. Compared to HAL and Celebrity, RCCL was really stingy with their amenities providing only soap and shampoo.

This was the quietest cabin we have ever had with almost no noise from the hall or adjoining cabins.

The 3 shows performed by the ships singers and dancers were inferior to others that we have seen. While the performers tried hard to present a entertaining show, the overall productions never seemed to click. On the other hand, the independent entertainers brought onboard were very good especially The Osmonds and The Diamonds.

Like all new cruise ships, Brilliance had none stop activities. The cruise staff were as energetic as most. One of the most entertaining events was the scavenger hunt held in the Colony club one evening...what a hoot!

We had quite a mixture of ages but mainly 50's/60's with a sprinkle of pre-schoolers and quite elderly. It was interesting to see how many handicapped people were on board. The ship is fully wheelchair accessible.