Brilliance of the Seas Reviews
NYE cruise on the Brilliance OTS
We sailed on the Brilliance 12/28 for a New Year Eve cruise and really enjoyed it. It is a smaller ship in Royal Caribbean's fleet but it didn't seem like it. It had great amenities and entertainment onboard and all were easy to get to since the ship was not massive. We took the stairs most of the time.
We stayed in a balcony on deck 10, just below the adult swimming pool and right near the FWD elevator. I was nervous that it would be noisy but to my surprise, it was not. I could hear water noises above us from the pool in our bathroom but it was faint and nothing to complain about. Traffic from the elevator was quite too.
I enjoyed the layout of the casino. It has a nice selection of slot machines and the tables were nice and spread out, not too crowded when sitting at them. The only thing I did not like about the casino was the smoke. I do not mind cigarette smoke at all but it was VERY bad on the first few days. They are aware of the problem and they have air purifiers at the end of several groups of slots to clear the air. There is a small non-smoking section that was not as bad. The casino host Gabriella was amazing and attended to us when we had questions. The staff at the casino bar was great too! The cruise was packed since it was a holiday and they were quick to take and fulfill drink orders.
Great 5-day cruise out of Tampa!
Comment
Good but not wonderful
The ship is well laid out and it is easy to get to any the venues.
The casino is on the small size and has limited variety of slots - no new ones. The casino drink service while playing was sporadic.
As for food, the main dining room service was good but the food was mediocre - same for the buffet.
Comment
New Years 2022
The ship, staff and food was fantastic. Casino had alot of old slot machines it would be nice to see these updated. Played mostly on Buffalo and won 980 which was a nice win. I have only previously sailed on Carneval loved the RoyalCarribean experience. There was a few down falls, no where to get food or coffee before 6am except for room service and the casino closed before 1 am most nights. The ship was very COVID aware and made our trip very safe. Thanks so much Elizabeth from urcomped hope to see you soon. My husband loved the roulette.
Comment
Food and Casino
The food at the buffet was absolutely fantastic. Every day a different theme and so many choices, I loved it. Wasn't able to get into MDR for dinner, however enjoyed the windjamner each evening. The casino was pretty much empty until last couple evenings. Very crowded on one side, wasn't even space to walk through between the chairs and machines. Drink service was non existing, played for 6 hours with no offer of a beverage. Over the 7 days of playing, was asked twice by the bar service. Even though I had my urcomp email for the free drinks, I was told not entitled, but would do for 24 hours while she checked it out. Not sure what Royal calls open late as we were shooed out of the casino around 130 am for shut down.
That experience didn't dampen my fun, I earned my Ocean view certificate and can't wait to see my new urcomp offers and get booking again.
Thanks Tyler for making this happen!
Comment
Friendly crew and beautiful ship (but read about concern at end of review)
We were in a front facing oceanview room on deck seven. We had a great captain's view from this spacious cabin; however, I could feel the motion more than I liked in that particular part of the ship, so be aware of this if you decide to book--I will steer clear in the future. Also, just FYI, you have to close the curtains after dark because light from the cabin affects the view from the bridge above.
Casino was nice--all crew members (management, dealers, bar servers) were extremely friendly and I had a very good time in the casino. I won $100 in fake chips from a hot seat promo, and I hit a straighflush in three card ($21 bet--$1 for dealer) on the second day which made me even for the first two days. :) I lost a bit the last three days, but, well, its a casino, so...
We took advantage of the cinema onboard and watched a couple of movies we had not seen before. It is small (maybe 60-75 seats), but we were always able to get a seat.
There is only one concern that I want to let everyone to know about: On three different occasions we had charges appear on our sail and sign that were unauthorized; the last one was for four towels--but we had only checked out a total of two the entire cruise (and had returned same day). I have sailed on fifty-odd cruises (Carnival and RCL) and this was the first time I felt these phantom charges were actually placed maliciously rather than accidentally. I spoke with someone at RCL once we got back, but I did not think they really cared. Basically, I was told that they didn't understand what the problem was since I caught and had the charges removed while I was aboard. I also told Mallory (Greatest URComped hostess EVER) and she said she would pass the info up the ladder so they can monitor the situation with URComped guests. Anyway, I hope I am wrong, and I did not take any stars from my review just in case I am. I really like this ship and I am actually booked to sail again in March. I just want to bring this up in case others have had a similar experience; and to make everyone aware that they need to check their charges (I mean, who is really going to notice $150 when your bill is over $3000 unless you are looking for incorrect charges).
Comment
Great Cruise! Plenty of room in the casino...
Super fast boarding, the pier was not that busy. We walked right in at 1030am, without any kind of priority boarding, and were eating in the windjammer buffet by 11am. Our comped balcony was ready 30 minutes early at 1pm. I played slots 15% and blackjack 85%. Played a lot the first night, until they closed the casino around 3am. Shows were good; comedy only happened 1 night; used to seeing it every night on carnival. Very clean ship. I played around 30k, only lost about 1k overall at the end. Mostly played 50-100 a hand at BJ. Received a $500 voucher in my room on the last day for a future cruise to be booked with in 30 days and cruising within the year.
Comment
Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas
This is an older, smaller ship...but is maintained very well. Rooms were clean and spacious, although the bathroom was smaller than Carnival’s and Holland’s. We enjoyed having a couch in our room versus the plastic ones on carnival. Dining was great. Their free continental room service offered less than carnival, and they missed items that we ordered, but no big deal. Main dining was awesome- I think better than Holland—- although Holland’s buffet is the best. Staff was courteous and welcoming except for casino cage— the 2 guys there always acted like we were bothering them. Never met casino host. Casino was small and very Smokey... many games, like wheel of fortune had features that didn’t work... and there were only 3 of them, so hard to get, too
Comment
Great staff and Great Food
This cruise was fun and not too crowded with kids even though it was spring break. I was with a group of gamblers so we spent a lot of time in the casino. The casino was a bit smokey in the front area but luckily there is a non-smoking area. The bar staff, wait staff and casino personnel were very friendly. I also enjoyed the music. Unfortunately, I didn't win a jackpot but several people did!
The food was good in the Windjammer, Fine dining and other areas on the ship.
Our cabin steward was very attentive and always greeted us with a hello and a smile.
Comment
Amazing 1st time cruiser
The ship was amazing, the room was very spacious and extremely well maintained. The food and staff were great and all worked hard and all seemed to truly love what they did. Kaia our casino host was amazing and Jorge the room attendant was great and went above and beyond to make our stay very comfortable.
Comment
Nice smaller ship with AMAZING staff!
We just got off of the Brilliance of the Seas and had an amazing time on the Brian Christopher Rudies Cruise! The casino is a nice size but needs a better ventilation system for the smoky casino. It has a fantastic mix of older and newer games. The staff in the casino are amazing! Casino Host Kaia came up to me on day two and introduced herself and made a point to talk to me every time she saw me in the casino. The food on board was good overall. We really enjoyed the MDR for formal night and the Cafe Latteetudes (spelling) multiple times per day.
If you are looking for a fun game in the casino, I highly recommend Betty the Yeti. It is close to the cashier and in the same aisle as two of the mighty cash games and two of the wonder 4 jackpot games. Betty the Yeti was HOT every time I played it. Hit multiple bonuses over the five days and several really nice line hits.
Comment
Awesome trip
This is a must vacation to try. The ship is very clean, they work very hard to maintain a well run clean ship. Everyone was very friendly. The cabins are awesome, even the inside cabins. The casino was bigger than I expected and I witnessed several hand pays. I myself hit a small jackpot. The dinning service was great. Overall the food was great. I definitely will be back.
Comment
Great experience!
Loved the staff, food, and entertainment in the centrum area! Our shore excursions on the semi-sub and to the Mayan Chichen Itza ruins were really fun and went smoothly. Best of all, our room was spacious, cool and comfortable!
2 Comments
Comment
4 Day Cozumel from Tampa RCL
EMBARKATION
Embarkation was smooth and very quick as I have found previously in Tampa.
At check in, the agent questioned my citizenship.
I am a Canadian citizen carrying a Canadian passport. But, he insisted that I had some standing in the U.S. and needed that documentation. I assured him i did not. I found this very odd.
SHIP LAYOUT/DÉCOR
Ship was compact and very quick to navigate with many elevators which were always a short wait.
The décor was quite elaborate and eye-catching with the towering main atrium and plentiful seating areas. A great ship for socializing.
STATEROOM
The stateroom was large with an oversized window. This room could have well been a balcony if the window was a sliding door.
The room was more than adequate for storage and layout.
The smell of disinfectant in the bathroom was apparent and all the towels smelled very clean.
The air conditioning didnt seem like it was functioning properly as no matter how high I turned it, the room was the same temperature. At times, it was slightly too warm.
The door handle of the entry door stuck and was difficult to turn.
There were areas in the room where more attention could have been paid to dusting.
STATEROOM ATTENDANT
Our attendant was friendly, but, didn't have many encounters with him. He did apologize for breaking the handle of my roller bag and suggested I see guest services if there was anything they would do for me. I was in no mood for the hassle and decided to bear with for the struggle to get it home.
Despite not servicing our stateroom (at our request because we like to be in and out of the room throughout the day), he asked we give him a good review and handed us tip envelopes. Keep in mind this was after breaking the handle of my suitcase.
ROOM SERVICE
The first night we filled out the room service door hanger and left it on the door handle. I have special dietary needs and require eating at specific times. We felt room service was the best route to take as the buffet was not open when I would need to eat. We waited for 15 minutes past the time we asked for delivery (6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.) and it was never delivered. I used some of my back up stores to get me through until the buffet did open. We didnt bother using room service again.
DINING
We opted to do most of our dining in the buffet as we thought it would be more convenient. Aware of its fragmented hours, we planned around those times.
The initial wide selection of menu items dwindled as the cruise went on. Everyday, it seemed like there were fewer items to pick from.
Each morning, before the buffet opened, it was a struggle to find a coffee that was hot. We are early risers and found the lack of decent coffee pre-buffet opening unbelievable.
A few times I noticed some incidents which I would consider health violations. Three instances:
1) A crew member at the beverage station handling ice cubes and putting them in glasses with no gloves.
2) Serving cooked meats which were not kept at high enough temperature and not removing them promptly.
3) Improperly labelled drinks and food items as sugar-free.
STAFF
The entire crew were friendly and tried to be helpful.
CHEFS TABLE
The Chef's table is one of the few things I would recommend everyone try. The food was excellently prepared and presented.
OVERALL SHIP CLEANLINESS
There were many times more attention could have been paid to removing dirty glasses and cleaning. It speaks more of the guests than it does of the crew.
CASINO
The casino was overly smokey and very dirty at times. It was way too crowded and congested.
There were enough machines I was interested in playing... some very new ones, in fact.
No casino host approached us, nor was there any message from the casino in our stateroom. We found this strange as we booked through a casino host.
The biggest disappointment was the casino was not open at times when we like to play. As I said, we are early risers and prefer to play between. 4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. then have breakfast and play some more until more activities begin on board. The casino did not open until 8 a.m., so we spent very little time in it.
SUMMARY
Overall, we are disappointed with what RCL had to offer us. I do know people for whom RCL is a good fit. Unfortunately, it isn't us. It misses the mark on too many things from dining times, to food quality, and what the casino is like.
Comment
Mixed feelings!!!!!
Likes:
The ship is beautiful. No matter where you are you can see the ocean. Yes, glass is everywhere. Meals in the MDR were great each night and our waiter was amazing. We had an inside cabin and it was great. Oddly, didnt see our stateroom steward the whole 5 days, until the we were getting ready to disembark and he was asking for a tip.
Dislikes:
Omg the common areas are so tight.. you can barely get through or move around. Now I've been on the Empress of the Seas, the smallest in the fleet and had more space than on the BOS. Have to literally walk side ways down the halls.
the place I wanted to hang out in the Casino..... was so cramped, so smokey, and smelled like sewage on the side side they consider no smoking. It was very hard to find a slot to play. Table action was out the picture this cruise. No space and if were able to sit down, you got hit in the back or the head every few seconds by people trying to pass by.
Good note:
They did have two great bartenders in the casino, who took care of care of us, even if the saw us passing by. Be careful, the others arent good at all... a lot of returned drinks.
Entertainment/Activities:
Shows each night were great...
Daily activities were far and in between. So have a plan if you a taking a break from the casino.
The pizza and oatmeal raisin cookies are to die for..
Comment
Brilliance of the Seas--Very Nice!!!
This ship is just the right size. The ship deck plans are well organized and the ship is beautifully decorated. There are plenty of small, furnished public spaces where you can sit and read a book or play some cards. The cabin we were assigned to had plenty of closet/storage space, a small balcony, and a large inside space that could be divided into sleeping/living areas by a curtain (this was nice when one of us was asleep while the other ordered room-service or was watching TV). The casino had adequate slots and table games and there was a decent section of the casino that had non-smoking slots, which I appreciated.
Comment
Excellent Ship and URComped Host
We loved the ship...had a Jr. Suite. Very comfortable room. Casino was fun, not to generous but fun....Stephanie and Roman (spelling) were wonderful and fun to be around. Food was better than most lines. Entertainment was excellent. Highly recommend this ship and of course URComped!
Comment
Soooo Relaxing!!
We always have a great time, and enjoy the casino royale. Had some really good hits on the slots, to help with the fun.
Comment