Lisa Lisa
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2011
DH, DD (13), and I returned from Barcelona on Saturday after a 12-night Mediterranean-Greek Isles sailing on RCCL's Brilliance of the Seas. We would have loved to sail the Med with DCL, but the price difference was just too big in this case: We were able to get a junior suite on Brilliance for about $4,000 less than the cost of an oceanview room on the August 1st sailing on the Magic. If we had decided to bite the bullet and go with DCL, we would have been very disappointed with the significant itinerary change, and I think we would have cancelled. This is most likely a one-time thing for us, and Greece was an absolute must. I thought I would share my thoughts about our experience for anyone who has contemplated sailing in Europe with a line other than DCL.
THE SHIP
The Brilliance was the second ship in the Radiance class and launched in 2002. She underwent a major refurbishment in 2013. She holds a max of 2,543 guests. The Radiance class ships are beloved among RCCL fans for all of their glass -- there are views of the ocean absolutely everywhere. We found the ship to be in great condition and, with just a couple of small exceptions, very clean. I would say that it is in at least as good a condition as the Magic. The ship seldom felt crowded except for when you would expect -- after the muster drill and occasionally at the Windjammer (RCCL's version of Cabanas).
OUR ROOM
We originally booked a Deluxe Balcony room (D1), but were able to snag a really cheap upgrade to a Junior Suite after PIF. I was super excited because the JSs are substantially bigger and have a larger balcony, a larger bathroom with tub/shower combo, and a walk-in closet. We LOVED our room. It was in a great location close to the Centrum, and we only had to go up one flight of stairs to get to the pool or to the Windjammer. We had a king-sized bed which was very comfortable. DD was on the sofa bed, which was larger than the one on DCL and which DD declared "pretty good." There was tons of storage -- we had empty cabinets. It was so nice to have all the extra space, and the walk-in closet doubled as a dressing room when needed. At no point did we feel cramped during the cruise. The only downside to the room is that it's located on deck 10 (along with all the other suites on this class of ship), which means you're either under the pool deck or the Windjammer. We were under the pool deck, and every morning at about 6:30 we heard deck chairs being put out and moved around. After the first night we started using a white noise app on my phone, and that helped. Sometimes I slept right through the noise and other times I woke up briefly and went right back to sleep. The benefits of the JS definitely outweighed this one flaw. On a positive note, we never heard our neighbors on either side, and there was no noise from the room itself. There were no popping or creaking noises like we've experienced on the Fantasy, although in fairness that was probably due in part to the fact that we were more forward and, except for the first night, the seas were extremely calm.
POOLS
As on DCL, the main pool area is on the small side, but I never saw the main pool anywhere near as crowded as the family pool on DCL. There were lots of deck chairs both on the pool deck and on the deck above, and we never really had a problem getting 2 lounge chairs together (we only needed 2 because DD decided that she was a "shade person" on this trip). There were chair hogs, just like on DCL, but that wasn't an issue for us since we didn't need to be on the pool deck or directly facing the sun at all times (those were the chairs in the most demand, of course). There was a kids' water play area with a slide and a very small pool. It was utilized, but I never saw it super crowded. There was also a Solarium, which has its own pool and hot tub and can be used by anyone 16+. It was a great alternative to the main pool area, especially after long port days when I wanted to swim but didn't want any more sun. We developed a routine by the second port day where I would go to the Solarium after reboarding the ship, DH would go to the main pool area, and DD would either find a chair in the shade or go to the room and read or listen to music.
FOOD/BEVERAGES
We ate breakfast at the Windjammer (WJ) most mornings. IMO both the quality and variety were a step below Cabanas, although I did think the coffee was a little better! One area where the WJ excelled was in the layout. The food area was more spread out, and I found it much easier to get to the food. The main items were repeated in 4 different places, so I almost never had to wait to get scrambled eggs, bacon, etc. They had two stations where you could get made-to-order eggs or omelets and I really liked their system. They gave you a number when you ordered, and you went back in about 5 minutes to pick up your eggs/omelet. We ate lunch in the WJ on several sea days. The variety was a bit better than at breakfast, but I found the fish offerings disappointing. The other options for breakfast and lunch were the MDR and the Park Cafe, which is located inside the Solarium. I had breakfast at Park Cafe once and lunch twice. They had breakfast sandwiches, fruit, and yogurt parfaits, among other things, at breakfast, and paninis, roast beef sandwiches, and a decent salad bar at lunch time. It was nice to have a quick, somewhat healthier alternative to the WJ.
We decided to try My Time Dining (MTD) so we could eat at a time that made sense for us. We made reservations ahead of time for 7 nights in the MDR, all at 7:45. The MDR takes up 2 decks on the Brilliance, and MTD is on the higher of the two. I also signed us up for a 5-night specialty dining package when a promotion was offered a few months before the cruise. Since we had 7 ports, I decided that we'd eat in the MDR on the port days and at specialty restaurants on the sea days. Our experience with MTD was mixed. It got off to a bit of a rough start, but starting on our third visit, we were placed at a table and with servers that we were happy with. We thought the food in the MDR was good to very good -- very comparable to the MDR on DCL. I found that I didn't really miss the different themed MDRs, although I think DD did. As for the specialty restaurants, we ate at Chops (steakhouse) twice, Giovanni's Table (Italian) twice, and Izumi (sushi/Japanese) once. We also visited Rita's Cantina one afternoon for some margaritas and nachos. We really enjoyed the specialty restaurants and I very much appreciated the fact that we could take DD. We felt that the food and service at both Chops and Giovanni's was on par with Palo. We didn't like Izumi quite as much, but we still enjoyed it and it was a nice break from the MDR. The only specialty restaurant we didn't visit was the Chef's Table, which we heard was amazing. One other item of note is that several specialty buffets were offered on the pool deck during the cruise: a pasta bar, BBQ, and paella that I'm aware of.
DCL wins hands down in the beverage category. As I'm pretty sure everyone here knows, soda is not included on RCCL. They offered several juices, regular water, at least one flavored water, and milk at the drink stations in the WJ and at the Park Cafe. At dinner, DD could choose from iced tea and lemonade for no charge. Anything else we were charged for ($2.95/night for her ginger ale). Not a huge deal, but we actually had to go through someone other than our assistant server, and the soda had to be paid for separately from any wine that DH and I ordered. Alcoholic drinks were a bit more expensive on RCCL, although we learned some tricks to save money. Probably the best deal onboard was the 2-for-1 margarita special offered in Rita's Cantina every evening from 5-8. They also had a drink of the day for $8.95, and you could order any drink of the day offered during the cruise for the same price. One nice thing about RCCL is that we had some loyalty perks pre-loaded onto our Seapass cards. For example, DH and I each had a "buy one glass of wine get one free" deal that we could use anywhere on the ship. There were also deals for shopping, photos, the spa, etc. The Brilliance has a coffee bar called Cafe Latte-tudes that was a little pricey, but good. They offered complimentary snacks as well, much like Cove Cafe.
ENTERTAINMENT
We didn't go to any of the shows during our sailing. Not one! There were a couple that sounded interesting, but we were generally too tired by 9PM to sit through a show. In fairness, DD has begun to lose interest in seeing the shows on DCL as well. One thing I loved is that there was live music all over the ship pretty much all the time. We especially loved hearing live music on the pool deck and in the Centrum. We went old school by playing ping pong and air hockey for a little while each night after dinner. The ship also has mini golf, basketball, a rock climbing wall, and an arcade. DD and DH climbed the rock wall once and really enjoyed it. There was a large screen at the pool, but it was really underutilized compared to the Funnel Vision on DCL. There was a Disney movie once on the first sea day and a Star Wars movie later in the cruise. Aside from that, the only thing I noticed on the screen was Euro soccer, which was actually kind of fun to watch. The movies in the cinema were all rated PG, PG-13, or R. Overall, the entertainment was geared more toward older kids and adults. In general, I would say that DCL offers a mostly G-rated experience in terms of entertainment, while RCCL offers a more PG to occasionally PG-13 experience.
ITINERARY
Love, love, loved our itinerary (round trip from Barcelona):
Cannes - took the train to Nice
La Spezia - used the train system to explore the Cinque Terre
Rome - private tour with RomeInLimo (excellent)
Sea Day
Sea Day
Athens - private tour with PK Travel (excellent)
Ephesus - private tour with Ephesus Private Tours (very good)
Santorini - private tour with Santorini Day Tours (excellent)
Sea Day
Valletta, Malta - hired a taxi for 3 hours and went to the Blue Grotto, then to Mdina, and finally to Valletta
Sea Day
MISCELLANEOUS
There were no do-it-yourself laundry rooms on the ship. We spent about $47 to have laundry done that probably amounted to one medium sized load.
Embarkation and disembarkation were both quick and painless. We had priority check-in since we were in a JS, and it was a breeze. We boarded at 1:10 and our room was ready.
We stayed at Hotel Jazz for one night before the cruise and one night after. Loved it and would definitely stay there again.
We did a tour with Barcelona Day Tours upon landing in Barcelona. It was a great way to see many of the prime sites efficiently and stay awake on arrival day!
DD did not utilize the teen club at all, which didn't surprise me since she didn't go to Edge the last time we sailed on DCL (last November). There seemed to be quite a few kids on the ship, and Adventure Ocean appeared to be well utilized.
I missed the Wave Phones from DCL.
THE BOTTOM LINE
We had a fantastic experience overall and would definitely sail RCCL again. I do think this class of ship is probably a better fit for families with older kids, but I would recommend it to anyone for such a port-intensive itinerary. This was the trip of a lifetime for us, and we have no regrets about our choice to sail with RCCL. I'd be happy to answer questions, but I may not get to them until this evening.
THE SHIP
The Brilliance was the second ship in the Radiance class and launched in 2002. She underwent a major refurbishment in 2013. She holds a max of 2,543 guests. The Radiance class ships are beloved among RCCL fans for all of their glass -- there are views of the ocean absolutely everywhere. We found the ship to be in great condition and, with just a couple of small exceptions, very clean. I would say that it is in at least as good a condition as the Magic. The ship seldom felt crowded except for when you would expect -- after the muster drill and occasionally at the Windjammer (RCCL's version of Cabanas).
OUR ROOM
We originally booked a Deluxe Balcony room (D1), but were able to snag a really cheap upgrade to a Junior Suite after PIF. I was super excited because the JSs are substantially bigger and have a larger balcony, a larger bathroom with tub/shower combo, and a walk-in closet. We LOVED our room. It was in a great location close to the Centrum, and we only had to go up one flight of stairs to get to the pool or to the Windjammer. We had a king-sized bed which was very comfortable. DD was on the sofa bed, which was larger than the one on DCL and which DD declared "pretty good." There was tons of storage -- we had empty cabinets. It was so nice to have all the extra space, and the walk-in closet doubled as a dressing room when needed. At no point did we feel cramped during the cruise. The only downside to the room is that it's located on deck 10 (along with all the other suites on this class of ship), which means you're either under the pool deck or the Windjammer. We were under the pool deck, and every morning at about 6:30 we heard deck chairs being put out and moved around. After the first night we started using a white noise app on my phone, and that helped. Sometimes I slept right through the noise and other times I woke up briefly and went right back to sleep. The benefits of the JS definitely outweighed this one flaw. On a positive note, we never heard our neighbors on either side, and there was no noise from the room itself. There were no popping or creaking noises like we've experienced on the Fantasy, although in fairness that was probably due in part to the fact that we were more forward and, except for the first night, the seas were extremely calm.
POOLS
As on DCL, the main pool area is on the small side, but I never saw the main pool anywhere near as crowded as the family pool on DCL. There were lots of deck chairs both on the pool deck and on the deck above, and we never really had a problem getting 2 lounge chairs together (we only needed 2 because DD decided that she was a "shade person" on this trip). There were chair hogs, just like on DCL, but that wasn't an issue for us since we didn't need to be on the pool deck or directly facing the sun at all times (those were the chairs in the most demand, of course). There was a kids' water play area with a slide and a very small pool. It was utilized, but I never saw it super crowded. There was also a Solarium, which has its own pool and hot tub and can be used by anyone 16+. It was a great alternative to the main pool area, especially after long port days when I wanted to swim but didn't want any more sun. We developed a routine by the second port day where I would go to the Solarium after reboarding the ship, DH would go to the main pool area, and DD would either find a chair in the shade or go to the room and read or listen to music.
FOOD/BEVERAGES
We ate breakfast at the Windjammer (WJ) most mornings. IMO both the quality and variety were a step below Cabanas, although I did think the coffee was a little better! One area where the WJ excelled was in the layout. The food area was more spread out, and I found it much easier to get to the food. The main items were repeated in 4 different places, so I almost never had to wait to get scrambled eggs, bacon, etc. They had two stations where you could get made-to-order eggs or omelets and I really liked their system. They gave you a number when you ordered, and you went back in about 5 minutes to pick up your eggs/omelet. We ate lunch in the WJ on several sea days. The variety was a bit better than at breakfast, but I found the fish offerings disappointing. The other options for breakfast and lunch were the MDR and the Park Cafe, which is located inside the Solarium. I had breakfast at Park Cafe once and lunch twice. They had breakfast sandwiches, fruit, and yogurt parfaits, among other things, at breakfast, and paninis, roast beef sandwiches, and a decent salad bar at lunch time. It was nice to have a quick, somewhat healthier alternative to the WJ.
We decided to try My Time Dining (MTD) so we could eat at a time that made sense for us. We made reservations ahead of time for 7 nights in the MDR, all at 7:45. The MDR takes up 2 decks on the Brilliance, and MTD is on the higher of the two. I also signed us up for a 5-night specialty dining package when a promotion was offered a few months before the cruise. Since we had 7 ports, I decided that we'd eat in the MDR on the port days and at specialty restaurants on the sea days. Our experience with MTD was mixed. It got off to a bit of a rough start, but starting on our third visit, we were placed at a table and with servers that we were happy with. We thought the food in the MDR was good to very good -- very comparable to the MDR on DCL. I found that I didn't really miss the different themed MDRs, although I think DD did. As for the specialty restaurants, we ate at Chops (steakhouse) twice, Giovanni's Table (Italian) twice, and Izumi (sushi/Japanese) once. We also visited Rita's Cantina one afternoon for some margaritas and nachos. We really enjoyed the specialty restaurants and I very much appreciated the fact that we could take DD. We felt that the food and service at both Chops and Giovanni's was on par with Palo. We didn't like Izumi quite as much, but we still enjoyed it and it was a nice break from the MDR. The only specialty restaurant we didn't visit was the Chef's Table, which we heard was amazing. One other item of note is that several specialty buffets were offered on the pool deck during the cruise: a pasta bar, BBQ, and paella that I'm aware of.
DCL wins hands down in the beverage category. As I'm pretty sure everyone here knows, soda is not included on RCCL. They offered several juices, regular water, at least one flavored water, and milk at the drink stations in the WJ and at the Park Cafe. At dinner, DD could choose from iced tea and lemonade for no charge. Anything else we were charged for ($2.95/night for her ginger ale). Not a huge deal, but we actually had to go through someone other than our assistant server, and the soda had to be paid for separately from any wine that DH and I ordered. Alcoholic drinks were a bit more expensive on RCCL, although we learned some tricks to save money. Probably the best deal onboard was the 2-for-1 margarita special offered in Rita's Cantina every evening from 5-8. They also had a drink of the day for $8.95, and you could order any drink of the day offered during the cruise for the same price. One nice thing about RCCL is that we had some loyalty perks pre-loaded onto our Seapass cards. For example, DH and I each had a "buy one glass of wine get one free" deal that we could use anywhere on the ship. There were also deals for shopping, photos, the spa, etc. The Brilliance has a coffee bar called Cafe Latte-tudes that was a little pricey, but good. They offered complimentary snacks as well, much like Cove Cafe.
ENTERTAINMENT
We didn't go to any of the shows during our sailing. Not one! There were a couple that sounded interesting, but we were generally too tired by 9PM to sit through a show. In fairness, DD has begun to lose interest in seeing the shows on DCL as well. One thing I loved is that there was live music all over the ship pretty much all the time. We especially loved hearing live music on the pool deck and in the Centrum. We went old school by playing ping pong and air hockey for a little while each night after dinner. The ship also has mini golf, basketball, a rock climbing wall, and an arcade. DD and DH climbed the rock wall once and really enjoyed it. There was a large screen at the pool, but it was really underutilized compared to the Funnel Vision on DCL. There was a Disney movie once on the first sea day and a Star Wars movie later in the cruise. Aside from that, the only thing I noticed on the screen was Euro soccer, which was actually kind of fun to watch. The movies in the cinema were all rated PG, PG-13, or R. Overall, the entertainment was geared more toward older kids and adults. In general, I would say that DCL offers a mostly G-rated experience in terms of entertainment, while RCCL offers a more PG to occasionally PG-13 experience.
ITINERARY
Love, love, loved our itinerary (round trip from Barcelona):
Cannes - took the train to Nice
La Spezia - used the train system to explore the Cinque Terre
Rome - private tour with RomeInLimo (excellent)
Sea Day
Sea Day
Athens - private tour with PK Travel (excellent)
Ephesus - private tour with Ephesus Private Tours (very good)
Santorini - private tour with Santorini Day Tours (excellent)
Sea Day
Valletta, Malta - hired a taxi for 3 hours and went to the Blue Grotto, then to Mdina, and finally to Valletta
Sea Day
MISCELLANEOUS
There were no do-it-yourself laundry rooms on the ship. We spent about $47 to have laundry done that probably amounted to one medium sized load.
Embarkation and disembarkation were both quick and painless. We had priority check-in since we were in a JS, and it was a breeze. We boarded at 1:10 and our room was ready.
We stayed at Hotel Jazz for one night before the cruise and one night after. Loved it and would definitely stay there again.
We did a tour with Barcelona Day Tours upon landing in Barcelona. It was a great way to see many of the prime sites efficiently and stay awake on arrival day!
DD did not utilize the teen club at all, which didn't surprise me since she didn't go to Edge the last time we sailed on DCL (last November). There seemed to be quite a few kids on the ship, and Adventure Ocean appeared to be well utilized.
I missed the Wave Phones from DCL.
THE BOTTOM LINE
We had a fantastic experience overall and would definitely sail RCCL again. I do think this class of ship is probably a better fit for families with older kids, but I would recommend it to anyone for such a port-intensive itinerary. This was the trip of a lifetime for us, and we have no regrets about our choice to sail with RCCL. I'd be happy to answer questions, but I may not get to them until this evening.
Last edited:
