Wrap-up

This wrap-up will attempt to hit all the highlights of the entire trip, including the extra day in Tampa to begin and a day in Clearwater Beach on the last day. Some of what I will say will have been in earlier posts, but not everybody reads those and I have been told in the past that some people just want the wrap-up. So here goes.

We arrived one day early and stayed in a Comfort Suites a few miles from the airport. If we do this again, we will definitely stay in Clearwater Beach instead. It is well worth the twenty minute drive. Beautiful hotels, white sand beaches, and more Italian restaurants than in Italy. Go to Coffee Culture, for sure.

Embarkation onto the ship: As usual, Royal Caribbean had it down to an art. We boarded at 10:30, supposedly a special time for Diamond members and above and anybody on deck ten. Very short lines and helpful agents. Also, we had rented a car from Thrifty and they provided a shuttle from the airport to the ship at no cost. Same thing for Dollar and probably most of the other car rental companies. Once on the ship, the Windjammer was open. Rooms were ready at 1 PM and our baggage arrived almost immediately…a first.

Muster drill: As always, no need to take your lifejacket. We were outside this time instead of one of the bars or lounges.

Sail away: Be on the right side of the ship (is that port or starboard?) if you want the best view of Tampa while leaving. Or go to the pool and dance.

SeaPass Card: Don’t go anywhere without it. Anywhere. It is your life while onboard and you can’t get off the boat for an excursion without it. You can’t get back on without it. Don’t lose your SeaPass Card.

Food: For the first time ever, we did not use one of the specialty restaurants on this trip. But I can tell you from other trips that our favorite is always Chops. Giovanni’s Table and Izumi (sushi) were also available. We’ve only done Giovanni’s Table before and it was good, not great. The Park Café is good for light snacks but is part of the Solarium, as opposed to on the Boardwalk on the bigger ships. We did My Time dining in the main dining room. Unfortunately, our waiter did not meet Royal Caribbean’s standards. If you’ve done Royal Caribbean before, you’ll recognize all the menus. They have not added much. Most main dishes are good, not great. The escargots is great. Almost all soups are great. You want to know what the best food was that we had all week? Lobster? Nope. It was the ribs in Windjammer one day at lunch.  Don’t miss them. Fill your plate, then go back and get another plate.

Diamond Lounge: Brilliance has added a Diamond Lounge, which was great for drinks and appetizers from about 5 to 8 PM. No, we didn’t stay the whole time but we went almost every night. It was busy, also.

Entertainment: You’re asking the wrong guy. I only did the Horizon Motown show and it was good. I didn’t see the comedian or any of the production shows. Actually, the last show was cancelled because of the rough seas. I was devastated. *sarcasm* The Cruise Director (Clo from Ireland) was good. We’ve had her before.

Kids Program: My kid’s 35. I’m sure they do a good job and who wouldn’t want their kid in a program all day on a cruise???

WiFi: Expensive and sporadically weak. We always do it anyway. Buy a package and save a little. Check your coupon book for discounts.

Casino: We are casino users and this one was not good. They appear to have taken all the older machines and deposited them on the Brilliance. That’s fine if they paid. These didn’t. However, as I might have posted earlier, I had one lucky spin on a dollar machine an won $360 or somewhere around there. Other than that one spin, I got nothing. My wife did OK at roulette. It’s just that the penny machines are not at all modern.

Debarkation: Maybe the quickest ever. We had luggage tags number two and got out around 8:15 AM. Bags were easily found and we breezed through customs. The Thrifty shuttle was waiting for us. I’d complain about something but I can’t.

Well, I can’t think of much else. Write a comment or email me if you have specific questions. We’ll be doing another one next year. We want to try to get to Aruba again in the summer. Maybe some of you will be on that one, too.

Here are a couple photos from my cell phone from during the week.

Tampa as we were pulling out the first day.

Horizon

Clearwater Beach

 

Thanks for reading.

John

Day 5 - At Sea

Sea day today. No ports.

It’s never good when the captain makes an announcement on a cruise ship. He told us late yesterday of a ‘cold front’ that would cause ten foot waves. On all of our cruises, we’ve never had ten foot waves. All night long we heard balcony chairs and tables sliding back and forth. You couldn’t sleep too close to the edge of the bed or you might not stay on. Walking to breakfast you just had to always be close to an object to grab. We don’t get seasick, but it was empty in Windjammer, so I think a lot of people are in trouble.

I need to try to requalify for the slot tournament semi-finals at 2 PM. That will be the excitement of the day for me.

On the TV weather channel, it says winds right now are at 40 mph. And it’s only 75 degrees. That sucks.

I’ll add more later in the day.

Well, I didn’t qualify for the slot tournament so I’m officially out of things to do. It’s too windy and cloudy to sit out on the deck.

Tomorrow we are back in Tampa. Our flight is at 6 PM and we get off the ship at 8 AM so we’ll rent a car and go to Clearwater Beach. Happy Thanksgiving to everybody.

Once I’m home and can get on free WiFi I’ll submit a final, wrap-up posting to this blog. If you have specific questions, post a comment or email me directly at cycler48@yahoo.com

Thanks for following along, everybody!

Here’s the compass:

 

 

Day 4: Cozumel

Today is Cozumel. There are six ships in port so it should be interesting when we get off the ship in an hour or so. We watched us pull in and dock from the Diamond Club. It’s in the front of the ship and gives a great view.

I was asked to explain where the restaurants are. Always remember this on Royal Caribbean ships: food is in the back of the ship and entertainment is near the front. So, Windjammer, main dining room, Schooner Bar and specialty restaurants are in the back half of the ship. However, on this ship the Park Café is part of the Solarium, which is more mid-ship.

I was asked about a cigar smoking area. You can smoke in the Cigar Lounge, if the ship has one (and I have no clue on this ship). Otherwise, there is a cigar smoking area designated. Ask at the customer service desk.

Last night was 70s night. Always the same. The singers and dancers did a 70s and 80s music show and in the Centrum was the usual 70s music and, of course, a visit from The Village People. Something they’ve added in the Centrum is an aerial show.

We’ve seen pictures of the snow back home. You have our sympathy. It’s 85 here today and clear. It feels like it’s about…85.

I’ll finish after the excursion.

OK. Back from the excursion and it was excellent. We did the Fury Catamaran, Snorkel, and Beach. We’ve done the Fury Catamarans before and they do the best job. We left the pier just after Noon and took a short ride to snorkel. Then a long ride to the beach. See the pictures for what it all looked like. We were back a little after four.

Tonight is lobster for dinner. Yum.

I forget if I mentioned it yet but if you are at Diamond level or higher with Royal Caribbean, you can go to the Diamond Club from 5-8 every night for free drinks and snacks. In the morning they have cappuccino, macchiato, and other good coffee variations. Plus pastries and meats and cheeses.

Here are the pictures:

Wait! Just as I was getting the pictures ready, a loud, nasty thunderstorm went over with torrential rain and bad, bad lightning. So, for all the people back home who have been sticking pins in voodoo dolls, it worked.  I’ll check on the TV weather channel, but I think it probably brought the temperature down to, oh, 78.

Now pictures:

A couple of compasses.

The Liberty of the Seas was docked next to us today.

 Looking toward the back of the ships and along the pier.

 

Cozumel

One of my favorite excursions: America's Cup Yacht Raching

Four of the six ships at the port. The second one from the left is the Carnival Triumph. We were lucky enough to see it on a day it wasn't on fire. The Brilliance is the last one on the right.

Snorkeling

At the beach during the excursion.

At the beach during the excursion.

At the beach during the excursion.

At the beach during the excursion.

Dancing on the catamaran on the way back.

Day 3 - Grand Cayman

First of all, about last night’s show. I’m not a big fan of the shows on cruise ships but this one was good. The group was called Horizon and they did all Motown music, and a few things from the fifties…like Little Richard. They were excellent. I would recommend going.

Today was a first for us. This is my fourteenth cruise and my wife’s eighteenth and we had an excursion cancelled AFTER we got to the pier. At first, it was moved from early morning to late morning. Then it was cancelled. We weren’t too disappointed. It was a duck boat and snorkeling. Their excuse was rough seas…it is very windy…but I think the fact there were only about ten people there might have been the reason. We are the only ship here. But a Disney ship was arriving (see the pictures).

We don’t have the greatest wait staff at dinner but the meals have been very good. Always a fish option, a meat option, usually a pasta, always a vegetarian choice. My favorite ‘starter’…the escargots…is available every night now. Yes!

I’ve been asked about the cabin. Were in 1046, a balcony cabin. It’s not a bump out so the balcony is normal size. Two chairs and a table. But there’s a shower curtain instead of a door and I think that results in less elbow bruises.

It’s 85 but windy so it feels like 83. 

Almost time to eat.

Here are the pictures:

Di thinks this is more fun than working. I think she's right.

Brilliance and one of the tenders on the way to shore.

George Town, Grand Cayman

A glass bottom boat. At least their excursion actually happened.  :-(

The Disney Fantasy just pulling in.

Our room. I remember when we used to cruise without having to fill the entire table with electronic stuff.

The room from the opposite direction.

Day 2 - At Sea

No excursions today. We were at sea so that meant starting on our sunburn and eating. Mostly eating. It was partly cloudy so even though it was 85 out, the cloud chill factor made it feel like 84.

I took some pictures of the ship. I’ll add more later during the week. Also, since so many of you have asked about the compass and I can’t scan them until we get home, I took pictures of the ones I have so far. I’ll include them every day. Click on the picture to enlarge it and then you can zoom in on most computers.

They had the OSU game on tv here. We saw the snowstorm. HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa.

Sorry.

Good news tonight. I won $375 in the casino. It ends up a dollar machine pays about 100 times more than a penny machine. Who knew.

Here are the pictures:

Not exactly Titanic, but looking out from the very front of the ship.

The huge movie/TV screen at the main pool.

The kids pool area.

The Solarium.

The Solarium.

Looking down from about the 10th deck to the Centrum.

Entering the Schooner Bar.

 The Centrum from the deck above it.

 

Compasses from here on down. Click on the photo to enlarge it and zoom.

Day 1 - Leaving Tampa

And we’re off. Here’s a timeline of how our day went (for those of you doing this cruise later) and also a summary of key items from the Compass.

We boarded at 10:30, which was supposed to be set aside for Diamond and above members of the loyalty program and anybody on deck 10. My wife and I are Diamond members…who also happened to be on deck 10.

The Windjammer Café was open. Our room was available at 1 PM and luggage arrived at 1:15, the earliest ever for us.

Muster drill was at 3:15 and we pulled out of Tampa at 4:45.

Dinner was casual. I’m writing this before we ate so I’ll have more on that later. We’re doing My Time dining all week in the main dining room, with a couple of trips to the specialty restaurants mixed in.

The show is comedian Robbie Printz. Only one show at 7:45.

The cruise director is Clodagh O’Connor from Ireland. My mother will be pleased to hear that.

If you have specific things from the Compass you’d like to know, post a comment and I’ll try to get to it. If not during the trip, then when we get home.

Here are the pics (I’m not a pro photographer, as you’ll quickly find out):

Pool deck sail-away party.

Pool during sail-away.

Only in Florida can you have a manatee-themed oil tank with the shadow of a cruise ship moving across it.

Leaving Tampa behind...for now.

 

 

Tomorrow is at sea so I'll have lots of photos of the ship. Plus the beginning of the food reviews.

Almost time to board!

We're in Tampa, getting ready to head to the airport and return the rental car. We came in one day early and stayed at a Comfort Suites. There were some traveling high school bands staying here so we had breakfast at Starbucks.

I'll be taking pictures starting this afternoon from on board the Brilliance. Weather right now is sunny and warm, versus the rainy and cold back home. Gotta love it.

If you want more info on the hotel (ten minutes from airport), let me know.

Pre-Thanksgiving cruise has been booked!

Here we go again. We just scheduled a cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas for November 23 through November 28 (Thanksgiving Day) out of Tampa.

We've never used the Port of Tampa so this should be fun. We've been in the city before, but not at the beginning of a cruise.

As you can see, the stops are Grand Cayman and Cozumel with two days at sea, one each at the start and end of the cruise.

 

We were on the Brilliance for our first Mediterranean cruise and loved it. And that was BEFORE it was in drydock. Now it has:

 

Specialty restaurant Chops Grille steakhouse

Café Latté-tudes, a specialty coffee house

NEW

Complimentary Park Café

NEW

Chef's Table intimate dining experience

NEW

Giovanni's Table Italian restaurant

NEW

Izumi Asian-fusion cuisine, featuring a la carte sushi selections

NEW

Rita's Cantina for Mexican fare favorites

 

 

The at-sea days should turn into an eating fest! We're looking at excursions now and will decide on those eventually. Don't be surprised if snorkeling is involved. That's about as 'wild' as us old people get anymore.

 

We might get to Tampa one day early. I'll post that information when it's confirmed. I know some of you like hotel information, cab fares, shuttles, etc.

Final Wrap-up of Caribbean Cruise 2013

You can thank me for inadvertently learning something about getting off the ship without your seapass card. I accidentally packed it the night before and they took the luggage so when I woke up on the last day, I had no seapass card. All you need to know is your room number and name. I had my drivers license but I'm not sure they needed it.

Getting off the ship was a breeze but we were in the first group. There were no lines on the ship and we found our luggage easily. The longest line was at customs and it was only a few minutes. A $24 cab ride got us to the airport by 8:30. Our plane was late arriving in San Juan and we had to get new reservations in Charlotte to make our connection. We got home around 10 PM. Long day.

OK. Here are the answers to all of your questions:

Q: I am curious how leaving the hotel @11 worked out for you. Would you suggest that time to others?
A: We left the San Juan hotel at 10:30 AM the day we first got on the ship. We arrived at 10:45 and waited in line until 11:05 when they began to let people on the ship. We are Diamond members and got through quickly. We were literally the first people in the Windjammer. We roamed the halls without a single soul in sight other than crew. I HIGHLY recommend getting on at 11:00 AM.
Q: What port was it (Pan Am? Old San Juan?)? If Pan Am, did you find a store in the pier after going through security? Were you able to purchase bottled water/soda/wine there?
A: Pan Am port. Royal Caribbean uses Pan Am when San Juan is the start/end of a cruise. They use Old San Juan when San Juan is just a stop during a cruise. People were selling bottled water on the pier.

Miscellaneous iPhone pics from the week:

 

America's Cup Yacht Racing excursion on St. Maarten

 

Centrum area of Jewel of the Seas

 

Captain James signing shirts for the Make A Wish walk.

 

 

I want to thank all of you from Qatar (yes, we had a reader in Qatar) to Australia to the US for joining in on our trip. It was fun to give you as much info and pictures as time and money allowed. Royal Caribbean is the best! We will never sail with anyone else.

 



Friday: At Sea

Since we did not stop at any ports today there isn’t much to write about. I signed up for the slot tournament at 1 PM and we also wanted to do the Make A Wish Foundation charity walk around the deck in the afternoon. I did not win the slot tournament, as usual, but we did do the walk and got our t-shirts signed by the officers of the ship.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned the snacks they serve from 3-5 PM in the Windjammer café. Get the bread pudding.

As far as the staff goes, if you do the My Time dining on deck 5 (Tides dining room) be sure to ask for Sixto and Jaime’s section. If you are Crown and Anchor members and get into the Hollywood bar for the free drinks from 5-8 PM, say hi to Mariya from the Ukraine. Our cruise director was Dennis and he was good, if not necessarily the funniest one we’ve had. I don’t know the Starbucks lady but she was great all week.

The TV channels were a pleasant surprise this week. We are used to seeing the same taped shows over and over all week. But they have satellite on this ship and we were watching live shows, including CNN and two ESPN channels.

I took some pictures on my cell phone today so I can’t post them until I get home. We arrive in San Juan tomorrow morning and we fly home from there. Sunday I should have time to do a wrap-up posting of some type where I can address your questions.

Yesterday, the blog had more than 500 pageviews. Thanks.

Day 5: Barbados

It’s Thursday so that must mean Barbados. This is as far south as we go but it was the coolest day. No humidity and in the mid 80’s. Nice breeze. We did the Tiami Sail, Snorkel with Turtles, and Beach excursion. We did this a few years ago and it is still great. Tiami is probably the best tour operators in the Caribbean. We saw plenty of turtles and you can touch their shells because when they come up for air they swim right past you. Barbados beer is not as good as St. Lucia beer, but now I’m nit picking.

We ate at Chops last night. We both had the petite (7 ounce) filet mignon (medium) and it was excellent. Chops is $30 per person and worth it. You can get a 10 ounce filet mignon and t-bone and other meat as well as seafood. Portofino’s, at $20 per person, is better in our opinion, but I think they were full when we tried to book it. Do either one for a nice break from the main dining room.

We’ve been to two special events in the evenings already for being Diamond Club members of Royal Caribbean. It’s worth staying with one cruise line if they are good and building those points. Lots of in-room perks and parties. The parties have free drinks and you meet the captain and officers.

We head north tomorrow and are at sea all day. No stops so I’m not sure what pictures I’ll have for you. I’ll try my best.

Here are today’s:

 

 

Your blogger and bloggette. Go Bucs! Of interest to my family only, we met two couples from Hartville yesterday.

 

 

Di on today's catamaran.

 

 

Barbados. Flatter than most islands.

 

 

On the way to snorkeling.

 

 

Snorkeling with turtles.

 

 

Another catamaran near ours.

 

 

Snorkeling with turtles.

 

 

 

 

 

These were all pictures of the beach where we swam.

 

 

There were at least a dozen coconuts in this tree. Look in the center.