Brilliance of the Seas Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,565 reviews

Pretender, not Contender to Excellence

Review for the Baltic Sea Cruise on Brilliance of the Seas
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critic333
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Jul 2019
Cabin: Spacious Ocean View Balcony

My wife and I were celebrating our 25 years of marriage with the third of three RCCL cruises within the last nine months. We had spotted this itinerary of 12 nights in the British Isles and Ireland, and thought how nice it would be to visit Scotland, in particular. We had not cruised on Brilliance before, but had done trips on sister ships, Jewel and Serenade.

Boarding/check-in in Amsterdam was probably one of the easiest we have ever done in 40 cruises. The problem was the gauntlet of sales crew between the dock and the ship, pushing everything from drink packages, restaurant specials, facials, massages etc. I t was like getting off of the ship in Barbados. That was not impressive.

The stateroom was ready as advertised at 1:00 p.m. As soon as we walked in, the smell of the sewer system in the toilet/washroom was ridiculous. The cabin attendant came, washed and sprayed again, but had to call a plumber. Eventually the smell subsided until later in the cruise and it came back again. Again, the stateroom attendant had to take the same actions as on day one. Also we were told that our cabin was noticeably warmer in the middle of the night when we said how uncomfortable it was, because the line has instituted a rotating policy which raises the temperature to save energy. On one occasion we had to leave the door open to get some sleep. We were not amused or impressed.

Cabin Review

Spacious Ocean View Balcony

Cabin 1B

Large balcony but completely covered. Suitable for a cooler itinerary.

Clean thanks to Howard, but plumbing/sewage problems need to be addressed.

Right next to Atrium/Centrum All Centrum activities are audible. Noise goes until 11:30 p.m.

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