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Discover new experiences on every shore – and on every deck.
If you love next-level thrills, world-class dining and stellar entertainment, you’ll love a holiday getaway onboard Brilliance of the Seas®. This headliner levels up adventure with exciting destinations and favourite onboard activities. Reach new heights and take on the signature Rock Climbing Wall 12 metres above deck. Sip craft cocktails at a rotating bar with spectacular views. And catch non-stop entertainment that will make you sing along and laugh out loud.
TIME FOR A LATITUDE ADJUSTMENT
If you’re looking for one-of-a-kind ways to experience distinct cultures, savour exotic flavours and soak up views that’ll give even the most seasoned travellers wanderlust, this is the cruise ship for you. Brilliance of the Seas® offers year-round adventures for every kind of explorer.
The ship is older and smaller, so I didn't expect the ship to have the amenities and activities of a newer, larger ship. The ship was overall in good shape for the age. The ship was clean, but shows some signs of age. Our stateroom was clean and in working order. The food was good, but sometimes lacked taste. The crew was helpful, and courteous. Our excursions exceeded our expectations. I would not have a problem booking another cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. We returned to New Orleans on Saturday, the day before the Super Bowl thinking we would be stuck in traffic. However, the disembarkment was super smooth and we were able to leave New Orleans with ease. If you are going to cruise a ship that's older, smaller, leaving from a smaller port, don't set an unreasonable expectations. This my third cruise from New Orleans, all on three on older, smaller ships. I did my research, set a reasonable expectation and that made for a more pleasurable experience.
Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas review, sailing date 08Mar2025 for 1 week. Age 51, male, college teacher, 21 prior cruises on record Summary: An overall great traditional cruise, but dining options should be much better. Food quality is hit or miss. Restaurants close at night and while the ship is docked, leaving customers to fend for themselves. Pros: + Service was excellent throughout the cruise. These folks would bend over backwards for you! (if you asked, that is). + The ship is very easy to get around, with very pleasing decor. + The buffet was surprisingly impressive: peaceful, with a good assortment of good quality food choices. + Cabins have plenty of shelves & storage, a full make-up mirror, mini-fridge, and a relaxed light-wood classy atmosphere. + Spa & gym were both great, with great views of the ocean. Thermal suite pass is a good purchase to help relax throughout the cruise. + All music & entertainment throughout the ship was good quality, though sometimes too loud. Cons: - Royal Caribbean insists that you get the app, claiming it is MANDATORY. This is a lie! You don't really need a phone to have a good cruise. - Food options were limited and of mediocre quality. Meals were not available in the afternoons, during the night, or while the ship was docked. - Noisy youngsters were allowed to run amok, especially in adult restricted quiet zones. - Elevators doors closed fast, and were often hard to catch. - You have to go through some public spaces to get to other public spaces, and this can set you in the wrong mood for the particular activity you are headed to. The Details: Get the app, get the app, get the app!.... or not. On boarding day, the cruise director blared over the public address system every 15 minutes until departure that downloading the Royal Caribbean app to your smartphone was "Mandatory." She said it was for the purpose of watching the lifeboat safety drill. This was a lie! And, if you do need a certain kind of smart-phone to board, that's technology discrimination against customers. One should be able to leave their phone while on vacation in the sea. Further, this was a twisting of the regulations, using "the law" to push location tracking & ads onto customers, via their own smartphones, even after the cruise is over. Yes, it is mandatory that everyone on a cruise participate in a lifeboat safety drill. But it was not necessary to download the app. In my case, instead of downloading the app, I was allowed to watch the safety video on my cabin TV. Royal Caribbean likes to brag about their use of technology, but I did not see much of it on this cruise, and I don't like when it depends on the customer's own phone. Oddly enough, for the rest of the cruise, everyone seemed constantly glued to their phone screens, instead of walking about enjoying their vacation. Poor food, both quality and availability All restaurants on the ship close when the ship is in port. I hate this policy! This meant that customers returned hungry from their shore excursions mid-afternoon, and could not find any substantial food until dinner time. There were no food options at night, from 9:00PM onward. There was a small pizza/snack stand in the Solarium that stayed open until 2:00AM, but that was it. Main Dining Room: Opening times of the main dining room were rather restrictive throughout the cruise. Unless using pre-assigned dinner seatings, wait lines for the main dining room were typically 30-45 minutes. Everyone complained about this. NCL handles it much better, with their Freestyle dining. The main dining room only had a handful of entree options on the menus; one was always vegetarian, and one was always Oriental Indian, leaving very limited choices. Food in the main dining room was hit or miss, overall dissappointing, and often bland. There were 3 food items I really liked: the chunky tomato soup, the creamy roasted butternut squash soup, and the Italian toasted lemon meringue tart dessert. Some foods were abysmal. As an example, the "Caribbean chicken" plate had an overall brown color; nothing looked appetizing. It seemed like generic cafeteria baked chicken with a quick blended spice sauce poured over it at the last minute, no marinade nor smokiness. The carrot cake was dry as cardboard, with just as much absent taste. That should be a sin! Windjammer Buffet: The buffet was surprisingly good. Overall, the quality and variety of the buffet foods was impressive, although nothing particular stood out. The buffet dining area was surprisingly quiet, as the serving area is kept separate from the cooking area, eliminating the kitchen clatter common to many buffets. I loved the tranquil nautical blue decor here, and the inspirational instumental synthesizer music played over the speakers, while watching the waves go by. This was the first time I truly enjoyed dining at a cruise buffet. Noise in the Solarium On this cruise, I was looking forward to the peaceful retreat of the adults-only indoor heated pool, called the Solarium on Royal Caribbean cruises. Signs were clearly posted at every entrance that this was an 18+ area. However, it being spring break season, this was not enforced, and the Solarium was full of loud, rowdy, running amok, even drunk teen-agers. It did not help that they were playing the pool deck party music also in the Solarium, instead of relaxing spa music, and the overhead glass canopy turned the pool area into a reverberating echo chamber. I avoided this place, and instead hung out in the spa thermal suite. Nice spa thermal suite The thermal suite was one of my favorites, and well priced at $110 for the whole week. This included: steam bath, humidity room, sauna, aromatherapy room, heated stone loungers, great relaxing music, and some great ocean views. The staff were also very welcoming. There's a secret staircase leading from the gym down to the thermal suite. Great Gym The gymnasium was also impressive: a good variety of fitness machines, with a group-led exercise floor in the middle, decent air conditioning, great views of the sea, and really upbeat music always playing to set the mood for a workout. I wound up working-out every day, and even lost a few pounds on this cruise! Easy to get around, nice decor My only complaint is: you have to go through a few public spaces to reach some other public spaces. For example, you must go through the relaxing Schooner Bar to get to the exciting Colony Club, which was the second largest concert venue on the ship. This led to a clash in moods along the way to events there. Also, to get to the Theater, you had to go through the Shops, Casino, and/or Pub. Good entertainment All the entertainment on the ship was amazing. There was the "Euphonic Jive" rock variety band, classical piano & viola duo, piano bar, Spanish guitar solo, a live Dixie-land jazz band, broadway-style shows in the main theater, and more. There was something for every mood. My only complaint is: The guitar folk singer in the pub had his amplifier too loud, so I avoided that area. I am convinced that the Euphonic Jive band can perform nearly every popular song style known to man! Check them out on YouTube for some examples. Good cabin & steward My cabin steward Ricardo was always pleasant and non-intrusive. He even left me a few surprise towel critters, such as a bat hanging from my cabin ceiling. My solo traveler cabin had all the comforts of a regular cruise cabin, just a smaller bed. There was plenty of closet & shelf space, and plenty of space under the bed to store luggage away. There was a full make-up mirror over the desk, and a mini-fridge in the cabinets next to the desk. The TV was nicely placed at the foot of the bed, so I could rest while watching. Light-colored wood all throughout made for a classy & relaxed atmosphere. Conclusion: This was a great cruise. Did I enjoy it? Yes, absolutely. However: Would I do it again? No, not until Royal Caribbean offers some substantially filling food choices at all hours day and night, like NCL does, as hunger can strike at any hour. I've had it happen while on vacation. Alas, that's a deal-breaker for me.
The ship is older and smaller, so I didn't expect the ship to have the amenities and activities of a newer, larger ship. The ship was overall in good shape for the age. The ship was clean, but shows some signs of age. Our stateroom was clean and in working order. The food was good, but sometimes lacked taste. The crew was helpful, and courteous. Our excursions exceeded our expectations. I would not have a problem booking another cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. We returned to New Orleans on Saturday, the day before the Super Bowl thinking we would be stuck in traffic. However, the disembarkment was super smooth and we were able to leave New Orleans with ease. If you are going to cruise a ship that's older, smaller, leaving from a smaller port, don't set an unreasonable expectations. This my third cruise from New Orleans, all on three on older, smaller ships. I did my research, set a reasonable expectation and that made for a more pleasurable experience.
Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas review, sailing date 08Mar2025 for 1 week. Age 51, male, college teacher, 21 prior cruises on record Summary: An overall great traditional cruise, but dining options should be much better. Food quality is hit or miss. Restaurants close at night and while the ship is docked, leaving customers to fend for themselves. Pros: + Service was excellent throughout the cruise. These folks would bend over backwards for you! (if you asked, that is). + The ship is very easy to get around, with very pleasing decor. + The buffet was surprisingly impressive: peaceful, with a good assortment of good quality food choices. + Cabins have plenty of shelves & storage, a full make-up mirror, mini-fridge, and a relaxed light-wood classy atmosphere. + Spa & gym were both great, with great views of the ocean. Thermal suite pass is a good purchase to help relax throughout the cruise. + All music & entertainment throughout the ship was good quality, though sometimes too loud. Cons: - Royal Caribbean insists that you get the app, claiming it is MANDATORY. This is a lie! You don't really need a phone to have a good cruise. - Food options were limited and of mediocre quality. Meals were not available in the afternoons, during the night, or while the ship was docked. - Noisy youngsters were allowed to run amok, especially in adult restricted quiet zones. - Elevators doors closed fast, and were often hard to catch. - You have to go through some public spaces to get to other public spaces, and this can set you in the wrong mood for the particular activity you are headed to. The Details: Get the app, get the app, get the app!.... or not. On boarding day, the cruise director blared over the public address system every 15 minutes until departure that downloading the Royal Caribbean app to your smartphone was "Mandatory." She said it was for the purpose of watching the lifeboat safety drill. This was a lie! And, if you do need a certain kind of smart-phone to board, that's technology discrimination against customers. One should be able to leave their phone while on vacation in the sea. Further, this was a twisting of the regulations, using "the law" to push location tracking & ads onto customers, via their own smartphones, even after the cruise is over. Yes, it is mandatory that everyone on a cruise participate in a lifeboat safety drill. But it was not necessary to download the app. In my case, instead of downloading the app, I was allowed to watch the safety video on my cabin TV. Royal Caribbean likes to brag about their use of technology, but I did not see much of it on this cruise, and I don't like when it depends on the customer's own phone. Oddly enough, for the rest of the cruise, everyone seemed constantly glued to their phone screens, instead of walking about enjoying their vacation. Poor food, both quality and availability All restaurants on the ship close when the ship is in port. I hate this policy! This meant that customers returned hungry from their shore excursions mid-afternoon, and could not find any substantial food until dinner time. There were no food options at night, from 9:00PM onward. There was a small pizza/snack stand in the Solarium that stayed open until 2:00AM, but that was it. Main Dining Room: Opening times of the main dining room were rather restrictive throughout the cruise. Unless using pre-assigned dinner seatings, wait lines for the main dining room were typically 30-45 minutes. Everyone complained about this. NCL handles it much better, with their Freestyle dining. The main dining room only had a handful of entree options on the menus; one was always vegetarian, and one was always Oriental Indian, leaving very limited choices. Food in the main dining room was hit or miss, overall dissappointing, and often bland. There were 3 food items I really liked: the chunky tomato soup, the creamy roasted butternut squash soup, and the Italian toasted lemon meringue tart dessert. Some foods were abysmal. As an example, the "Caribbean chicken" plate had an overall brown color; nothing looked appetizing. It seemed like generic cafeteria baked chicken with a quick blended spice sauce poured over it at the last minute, no marinade nor smokiness. The carrot cake was dry as cardboard, with just as much absent taste. That should be a sin! Windjammer Buffet: The buffet was surprisingly good. Overall, the quality and variety of the buffet foods was impressive, although nothing particular stood out. The buffet dining area was surprisingly quiet, as the serving area is kept separate from the cooking area, eliminating the kitchen clatter common to many buffets. I loved the tranquil nautical blue decor here, and the inspirational instumental synthesizer music played over the speakers, while watching the waves go by. This was the first time I truly enjoyed dining at a cruise buffet. Noise in the Solarium On this cruise, I was looking forward to the peaceful retreat of the adults-only indoor heated pool, called the Solarium on Royal Caribbean cruises. Signs were clearly posted at every entrance that this was an 18+ area. However, it being spring break season, this was not enforced, and the Solarium was full of loud, rowdy, running amok, even drunk teen-agers. It did not help that they were playing the pool deck party music also in the Solarium, instead of relaxing spa music, and the overhead glass canopy turned the pool area into a reverberating echo chamber. I avoided this place, and instead hung out in the spa thermal suite. Nice spa thermal suite The thermal suite was one of my favorites, and well priced at $110 for the whole week. This included: steam bath, humidity room, sauna, aromatherapy room, heated stone loungers, great relaxing music, and some great ocean views. The staff were also very welcoming. There's a secret staircase leading from the gym down to the thermal suite. Great Gym The gymnasium was also impressive: a good variety of fitness machines, with a group-led exercise floor in the middle, decent air conditioning, great views of the sea, and really upbeat music always playing to set the mood for a workout. I wound up working-out every day, and even lost a few pounds on this cruise! Easy to get around, nice decor My only complaint is: you have to go through a few public spaces to reach some other public spaces. For example, you must go through the relaxing Schooner Bar to get to the exciting Colony Club, which was the second largest concert venue on the ship. This led to a clash in moods along the way to events there. Also, to get to the Theater, you had to go through the Shops, Casino, and/or Pub. Good entertainment All the entertainment on the ship was amazing. There was the "Euphonic Jive" rock variety band, classical piano & viola duo, piano bar, Spanish guitar solo, a live Dixie-land jazz band, broadway-style shows in the main theater, and more. There was something for every mood. My only complaint is: The guitar folk singer in the pub had his amplifier too loud, so I avoided that area. I am convinced that the Euphonic Jive band can perform nearly every popular song style known to man! Check them out on YouTube for some examples. Good cabin & steward My cabin steward Ricardo was always pleasant and non-intrusive. He even left me a few surprise towel critters, such as a bat hanging from my cabin ceiling. My solo traveler cabin had all the comforts of a regular cruise cabin, just a smaller bed. There was plenty of closet & shelf space, and plenty of space under the bed to store luggage away. There was a full make-up mirror over the desk, and a mini-fridge in the cabinets next to the desk. The TV was nicely placed at the foot of the bed, so I could rest while watching. Light-colored wood all throughout made for a classy & relaxed atmosphere. Conclusion: This was a great cruise. Did I enjoy it? Yes, absolutely. However: Would I do it again? No, not until Royal Caribbean offers some substantially filling food choices at all hours day and night, like NCL does, as hunger can strike at any hour. I've had it happen while on vacation. Alas, that's a deal-breaker for me.
AWARD-WINNING & AWE-INSPIRING ACCOMMODATION
Redefining the cruising experience one room at a time. Our staterooms are an alluring escape from the non-stop action that our cruise ships are known for. From our spectacular views to our deluxe amenities, a stay with us is like nothing else at sea.
DESIGNED TO MATCH YOUR COMFORT NEEDS
We’ve thought of the details, so you don’t have to.
READY FOR YOUR STAY
All the creature comforts you’d expect to have during your holiday.
A JOURNEY FOR YOUR TASTEBUDS
Add a stop in Asia to your itinerary with freshly rolled sushi and made-to-order Far East flavours at Izumi Japanese Cuisine. Or tuck into New American delicacies like prime hand cut steaks and tender Maine lobster at Chops Grille℠.
Enrichment programs, or ‘Explorer Academy’ classes cover a wide range of topics, from wine tasting to casino tuition, including:
ADVENTURE SPOTTED AHEAD
When you’re not busy strolling through European capitals or basking in the sunshine on a secluded beach in the Caribbean, keep the adventure going strong with endless thrills onboard. Score some deck-defying views while scaling the rock-climbing wall or show off your putting prowess in a round of mini-golf. And make sure to bring your A-game if you venture into the arcade.
DAYS IN THE SUN, NIGHTS FILLED WITH FUN
There are lots of sun-drenched activities to enjoy onboard during the day. Just make sure to save some energy for later, because the thrills continue long after nightfall.
SOAK UP THE SUN
Set your sights on the horizon as you kick back in a warm and bubbly whirlpool. Unwind and take in the views from behind a crystal canopy while enjoying your favourite day-time drink in the Solarium. Or make a splash to the sounds of live music on the pool deck.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE NIGHT OUT
There’s no curfew on adventure onboard Brilliance of the Seas. When the sun sets, hit the R Bar for a classic cocktail, or swirl and sip your way to rosé-coloured happiness at Vintages. And don’t miss the amazing shows onboard, like the Broadway-inspired production Now and Forever, and the sultry dance showcase, Tango Buenos Aires.
ALL ABOUT THE VIEWS
No matter what sailing you choose on Brilliance of the Seas, every destination you visit is a show-stopper. Fortunately, the ship offers endless opportunities to scope out the scenery and appreciate the sights – whether you’re rocking out 12 metres above deck on the rock-climbing wall or hanging out in one of the Solarium’s serene whirlpools.
SIPS BETWEEN SIGHTS
Classic cocktails crafted by a pro in the retro-inspired R Bar. Reds, whites and rosés from around the world at Vintages. A perfectly-poured pint at the King & Country Pub. On this ship, you’ll never run of places to say, 'Bottom’s up' as you sail to each incredible destination.
ADVENTURE SPOTTED AHEAD
When you’re not busy strolling through European capitals or basking in the sunshine on a secluded beach in the Caribbean, keep the adventure going strong with endless thrills onboard. Score some deck-defying views while scaling the rock-climbing wall or show off your putting prowess in a round of mini-golf. And make sure to bring your A-game if you venture into the arcade.
MINI GOLF
Hit the links on the high seas! Refine your mini-golf game on a green that overlooks a sea of blue. Included in your fare, no reservation required
DAYS IN THE SUN NIGHTS FILLED WITH FUN
There are tons of sun-drenched activities to enjoy onboard during the day. Just make sure to save some energy for later, because the thrills continue long after nightfall.
SOAK UP THE SUN
Set your sights on the horizon as you kick back in a warm and bubbly whirlpool. Unwind and take in the views from behind a crystal canopy while enjoying your favourite day-time drink in the Solarium. Or make a splash to the sounds of live music on the pool deck.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE NIGHT OUT
There’s no curfew on adventure onboard Brilliance of the Seas. When the sun sets, hit the R Bar for a classic cocktail, or swirl and sip your way to rosé-coloured happiness at Vintages. And don’t miss the amazing shows onboard, like the Broadway-inspired production Now and Forever, and the sultry dance showcase, Tango Buenos Aires.
BEST CRUISE ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS & TEENS
Loads of laughter and unforgettable experiences go hand-in-hand when cruising with your kids. Royal Caribbean’s games, events and cruise activities for kids are going on all over the ship throughout the day and into the evening hours, making family time a great time. And thanks to our award-winning Adventure Ocean® youth programme, children love their cruise holiday just as much as their parents.
