Where In The World Are John and Di?: 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.