Quick Review: Brilliance of the Seas, December 2018

My wife and I were not planning on another cruise this year, we already have one booked for the end of January 2019, but this one seemed to fall into our lap.  I normally take off from work the last week of the year, between Christmas and New Years, but this year I'm working on Christmas (yuck) so that was out of the question.  Instead, I decided to take off the week before and just relax.  After I scheduled my time off, my wife happened to be checking online and found a good deal on a nearby cruise that fit into our time constraints.  It was a 5 day on board Brilliance of the Seas from Tampa that would work perfectly since I only had 5 days off (my shift the week of Christmas actually started on the Saturday before Christmas).

We arrived at the Port of Tampa early on Saturday 12/15 since it's an easy drive from home and we were on board the ship by 11AM.  Even though this was a "short" 5 night cruise, we were both pretty excited about this one.  It was our first cruise on a "Radiance Class" ship and we decided to splurge a bit and booked a Junior Suite.  I have wanted to try a Radiance Class ship since they first came out but my wife was admittedly anxious about the decision since she really prefers ships that have the "Royal Promenade", which the Radiance ships do not.  Prior to this, the Radiance Class and Quantum Class were the only Royal Caribbean ships we have not been on.

Solarium

Main pool

I have to say, we were both very pleasantly surprised with Brilliance of the Seas and we thoroughly enjoyed our time on board.  The ship itself was in exceptional shape even though she is approaching 20 years old.  I'm not sure when her last refurb was but she did not show any signs of neglect or wear.  The only "broken" things we found were, unfortunately, the "self leveling" pool tables, which were not working.  Playing pool at sea was something I have wanted to try for a long time.  We still played a couple of game though while docked and had a great time.

Jr Suite 1094

As I mentioned, our cabin was a Junior Suite (#1094) and it was very very nice.  It was actually one of the nicest cabins we have ever had on any cruise.  Just like the rest of the ship, the cabin was in great shape and there were no issues, except one.....the noise.  The cabin was situated near the rear of the ship, under the outdoor area of the Windjammer (formerly Rita's Cantina) and every morning, bright and early, all we would hear above us was chairs and carts being dragged back and forth creating quite a racket.  Sleeping in, was pretty much impossible.  So, even though the cabin was great, I don't think we'd book in that exact location again.

Brilliance along side Liberty of the Seas in Cozumel

This 5 day cruise had 2 stops.  First in Grand Cayman, and then in Cozumel.  We like Grand Cayman, but we really don't like having to tender.  So, even though we had tentatively planned to go ashore, we did not.  The weather was not cooperating that day and the seas were a bit rough causing some tender delays so we just stayed on board and enjoyed the ship.  Weather would continue to be a factor the rest of the cruise and next day when we arrived in Cozumel to find windy, rainy and cold weather.  That lasted pretty much the entire day, very unusual for the Caribbean.  Again we stayed on board most of the day though I did sneak off to grab some pictures of the ship.  The bad weather continued the following day at sea which started out sort of sunny but very windy and choppy, then it got downright nasty in the evening with pouring rain and some crazy lightning.  Arriving back in Tampa on Thursday morning, we were again greeted with pouring rain and wind with very cool temperatures.  From what I understand, some itineraries were changed following that due to this crazy weather pattern in the Caribbean and Florida.

Nasty weather ahead

In the thick of it

As we have done on our last few cruises, we spent a lot of time in the Diamond Club and, once again, we met some wonderful people.  The staff in the Diamond Club was also amazing and took great care of us during the cruise.  We had such a good time there that we stopped going to the dining room for dinner on day 2 and instead just went to Windjammer in the evenings to get something to eat after the Diamond Club died down.  The food in the Windjammer was very good on this cruise and we actually enjoyed it more than the dining room.

Christmas decorations in the Centrum

Looking down in the Centrum

To sum it up, we had a great time, and we were really impressed with the ship.  There may not be as much to do as there is on the newer, larger ships like the Oasis Class, but it was still a great time.  The staff was fantastic and aside from the noise in the mornings, the cabin was great.  We would definitely cruise again on Brilliance if we get the chance.

Hits:

• Ship is in great shape
• Nice cabin (Jr Suite)
• Fantastic Staff
• Met some wonderful people

Misses:

• Weather (nothing you can do about that)
• Noise in mornings from Windjammer
• Broken pool tables

Brilliance of the Seas captain placed on leave

Royal Caribbean has announced that Captain Erik Tengelsen has been placed on leave following the incident that took place last week onboard Brilliance of the Seas when she encountered a strong storm in the Mediterranean resulting in damage and injuries.  The ship is now in the hands of Captain Henrik Sorensen, who was already scheduled to take over the ship in January.

The cruise line has pointed out that Captain Tengelsen has not been fired but instead was placed on leave to participate in the investigation and review of the incident by the Bahamian authorities.  Royal Caribbean further noted that he will return to service and assume the position of Captain once again aboard a Royal Caribbean ship after the investigation is completed.

Brilliance of the Seas update

I came across some more info on the foul weather incident that occurred onboard Brilliance of the Seas on Sunday resulting in damage and injuries. Looks like more injuries than previously reported and some more serious than just bumps and bruises.  Royal Caribbean has done a good thing by reimbursing all the passengers for the cost of the cruise and adding onboard credits for the remainder of the trip.

This is from Royal Caribbean's President and CEO Adam Goldstein's blog:

"It was a traumatic weekend for our guests and crew onboard Royal Caribbean International’s Brilliance of the Seas. A storm of great intensity affected a considerable portion of the Eastern Mediterranean, with serious impact on land and at sea. Based on numerous conversations with Bill Wright, our SVP Marine Operations, prior to his leaving for Malta to meet the ship on Tuesday afternoon, as well as with Lisa Bauer, our SVP Hotel Operations, the following is our update as of Monday night Miami time.

During Brilliance of the Seas’ approach to Alexandria, Egypt, early Sunday morning, eight days into the sailing, the ship experienced extreme wind and sea conditions, including heavy seas and 70 knot winds, nearly double what had been forecasted. The combination of the wind and sea conditions resulted in some episodes of significant listing within the span of a few minutes. While the ship is built to withstand such extremely rare occurrences, the experience was nevertheless frightening for those onboard.

Approximately 60 guest injuries were reported, the most serious of which were two guests with fractures. The medical facility onboard is fully operational and our medical team is diligently caring for guests.

The severe ship movement caused damage to some public areas and a loss of electricity in some staterooms. Aesthetic damages to the ship’s interior have caused the closure of three public venues for the remainder of the sailing: the beauty salon, video arcade and disco. There has been no impact to the ship’s operating systems or engines and the ship continues to be fully seaworthy.

Because of the inclement weather, Brilliance of the Seas was unable to call in Alexandria, and instead proceeded to the next port of call, Valetta, Malta, where it is arriving Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m. local time. The ship will conclude its sailing in Barcelona, Spain on Friday, as scheduled. Subsequent cruises will sail as scheduled and the ship will not require a dry dock, as repairs are underway.

As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank guests onboard Brilliance of the Seas for their understanding during this difficult situation, Royal Caribbean International has provided guests with an onboard credit, as well as a full refund of their cruise fare paid for the sailing.

I want to send my thanks to the crew of Brilliance for the tireless efforts during all of this. They have gone without sleep in order to provide the best cruise possible for our guests during times of less than positive circumstances.

Royal Caribbean understands that this has been a frightening experience for our guests and crew, and our officers and crew onboard Brilliance of the Seas will make every effort to ensure that the remainder of the cruise is as enjoyable as possible.

Brilliance of the Seas is sailing on a 12-night itinerary that departed Barcelona, Spain with scheduled port calls in Sicily (Palermo), Italy; Athens (Piraeus) and Rhodes, Greece; Alexandria, Egypt and Valetta, Malta.

On behalf of my colleagues at Royal Caribbean International, I sincerely apologize that our guests onboard Brilliance of the Seas suffered such a direct impact from the storm.

We would also like to share this video of Captain Wright expressing our concern and further discussing details of what happened from an experienced marine operations perspective: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5u3kiM2DlQ."

Damage and injuries onboard Brilliance of the Seas

According to reports, several passengers were injured and extensive damage occurred onboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas Sunday as she encountered bad weather on her way to Alexandria, Egypt.  Heavy winds and rain caused the ship to list seriously enough to cause damage to many public areas and causing minor injuries to about 30 passengers.

Reports from passengers onboard indicate that they were prohibited from going up on the outside decks due to the 60+mph winds and everything that wasn't nailed down was flying around.  Tables and chairs were upended, gym equipment was mangled, broken glass everywhere, computers in the internet cafe crashed to the floor, the Windjammer Cafe in shambles, and the grand piano in the Centrum slid across the floor into a wall.  Cleanup was ongoing but several public areas that had been closed due to damage such as the Windjammer, the Casino and many of the bars were back up and running today.  Credit was given to the crew for their efforts to keep everyone safe and get the cleanup done as quickly as possible.

Royal Caribbean's spokesperson stated that the injuries to the passengers were minor, consisting of mostly cuts, scrapes, and bruises.  The damage has not had any impact on the ship's ability to sail and future voyages should not be affected.