Royal Caribbean, Brilliance of the Seas Review

Overall Rating

The entertainment on this ship was the highlight for me. There seemed to be something for everyone. I travelled with my husband, 14 yr old son and 11 yr old daughter. None of us ever got bored. Abe the Cruise Director was brilliant. The cruise was over Christmas and New Year and we sang carols in the Centrum on Christmas Eve which was lovely.
The gym was another plus. It was well used, but plenty of machines so you didn't have to hang around waiting for machines to become free.

Embarkation and disembarkation were a huge nightmare. We had checked in on line, but this didn't seem to save any time. It must have taken 2 hours before we eventually got on board. Just when you thought you were there, there was another queue to get in. In all there was 3 lots of queuing to go through! Although we arrived at the check in queue at 2pm our suitcases didn't arrive in our stateroom until 9.30pm!! At one point my husband was in the crew quarters trying to locate our cases and the Royal Caribbean staff were playing with a paper ball!! Disembarkation was just as bad. Can't remember how long we were stood in line trying to get through immigration, but probably nearly 2 hours. At most ports of call the queue to get back on the boat was also horrendous. Grand Cayman was the worst where we were stood in the hot sun for around an hour waiting for tenders to take us back onto the boat.
There were no shower hats in the staterooms. Luckily I'd brought my own. Maybe the maid would have found one if I had asked.
We had booked 2nd sitting for dinner and were placed on a table with a load of Greek people who all knew each other and who were old enough to be our childrens grandparents. It seemed no thought had been given about who to seat us with. The one lady we spoke to was very pleasant, but we really didn't have anything in common with her. Took an hour of queuing to try to change tables (lots of people wanted to change) but were told we would have to be 1st sitting if we changed. Reluctantly accepted.

We did enjoy the cruise. I'd read lots of comments about the food - Main restaurant was generally good although the choice was limited sometimes (the cold soups sounded horrible but were lovely). Portofinos - very good. Windjammers for breakfast was good, lunch perfectly acceptable, but then we don't tend to want too much at lunchtime (cookies lovely!), dinner not so good.
On another website someone asked how far the ship went into the Panama Canal, a question I couldn't seem to find the answer to before we went. It went through one set of locks and stopped at Lake Gatan, a huge manmade lake in the middle of the canal. We went on a tour so I don't know how long in stayed here before turning round, but I would recommend a tour otherwise the only bit you see is Cristobel Pier, which is a huge disappointment (a large warehouse with lots of local crafts). My husband did venture into Colon, the nearest town, but much of it was unsafe and a policeman told him to go back to the ship!
All in all we had a lovely holiday. I wish Royal Caribbean would sort out embarkation and disembarkation.