Day 1 - Embarkation on the Brilliance of the Seas Hi, blog friends! The day I’ve been waiting for is finally here -- boarding the Brilliance of the Seas! The weather is unpleasant today, but, then again, I could be sitting at my desk at work, so I can't complain too much.
I arrived at the terminal around 10:30 a.m. and noticed almost no one was here. In fact, there were still guests getting off from the last sailing. I went through security and checked in within five minutes. The boarding process started around 10:45 a.m. and I was right on board.
My first impression of the ship was: WOW, this ship looks great with all the latest upgrades. The champagne lounge has been turned into vintages. They also added King & Country Pub along with the new and favorite R-Bar. I noticed the Schooner Bar was extremely large, and probably the largest I’ve seen in the fleet, so I'm pretty excited to head there this evening.
Now that I’ve explored Brilliance of the Seas there is only one thing to do -- have lunch at the Windjammer. The lunch was very fresh and the selection was great for everyone. I even noticed they had veggie sausage balls and gluten-free bread, so there is literally something for everyone on board.
After lunch I headed off to explore my cabin (E2, Deck 7, forward). The room features a flat-screen TV, new carpet and a large balcony. I’ve never seen a balcony so large! Now I understand why everyone likes the Radiance Class ships so much.
One of my favorite things about blogging about my cruise experience is to share with you all, the readers, where I am when I’m actually writing the post. So I’m currently in the new pub which is right outside the casino on Deck 6, forward. I’ve noticed a lot of people walking by, but not actually coming in, so we'll see how the turnout is this evening. The decor in the pub is exactly like the Oasis Class ships, which offers a very vintage look with a wide selection of beers from all over the world.
I hope you all are enjoying my live blogging so far, and if you have any special requests please let me know in the comments below.
- Michael Poole
