Welcome friends to our next Royal Caribbean cruise, as we take you with us on a 4-night Western Caribbean sailing on the fabulous, lovely, and always fun Brilliance of the Seas!
Our cruise day began back at home. We live about an hour from Port of Tampa, which means we opted to sleep at our home the night before and just drive to the port the morning of the cruise. Ah, the perks of living in Florida!
Believe it or not, it was a bit chilly this morning in Florida (“chilly” means below 70 degrees), so we wore jeans, long sleeves and even a jacket. Cannot recall the last time we got on a cruise from Florida in that type of clothing.
My parents are watching our kids while my wife and I cruise, and on top of it all, they offered to drive us to the cruise port. My wife and I packed our luggage into the car and we were on the road by 9am.
The drive was uneventful and traffic-free, with us arriving at Terminal 6 at 10am.
This was the first time we sailed from Terminal 6 in Port of Tampa. It is smaller than the other terminal, and looks more like a warehouse, but functional. It also had absolutely no lines, and we went from curb to security to check-in to waiting area in about 10 minutes.
Being that we are Diamond members in Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society, we had a special area to wait to board. Boarding began at 10:45am, and we were on Brilliance very quickly.
The Windjammer did not open until 11:30am, so we sought refuge from the cooler temperatures in the Solarium. The Solarium is fully enclosed, and it was definitely warm enough to swim.
The Windjammer opened right on time, and we enjoyed a great embarkation day lunch. There was even Honey Stung Chicken!
We enjoyed our lunch in the outdoor seating, which is at the rear and sides of the Windjammer. Brilliance and her Radiance Class sister ships offer outdoor Windjammer seating, and it is a great option.
We decided to take a tour of the spa while we waited for the staterooms to open up. The spa is larger than you might think on Brilliance, and it has lots of choices, including a thermal spa choice.
Our stateroom opened up promptly at 1pm, and we took the opportunity to drop out stuff off.
We are staying in a balcony stateroom, about three or four cabins from the aft. It is stateroom 8160.
We have stayed in plenty of balcony rooms over the years, and this room is very much like the typical Royal Caribbean balcony. Plenty of room for the two of us, a nice couch to sit on during the day, and private balcony.
We did some exploring onboard and checked out the Diamond Lounge, up on deck 13. It has a self-service coffee machine that will be my BFF for the next few days.
Brilliance of the Seas has a Park Cafe in the Solarium. It offers snacks, sandwiches and salads, as well as the world-famous Kummelweck roast beef sandwich. It is wonderful!
Our muster drill was on deck 5 outside, but it went by quite quickly. Before we knew it, it was time for sailaway!
We opted to enjoy sail away from the helipad at the front of the ship. The helipad offers great views all around, and is not very crowded since many are not aware that it is an option.
The weather warmed up enough to make for a picture perfect day. Just warm enough to enjoy being outside, but not too hot or sweaty.
Sailing from Tampa, it takes a few hours to get to to the Gulf of Mexico, so there is a bit of time in the channel.
We got ready for dinner and then headed up to the Diamond Lounge for drinks. Since we have no drink package, we opted to take advantage of our Diamond complimentary drinks.
The Diamond Lounge is on deck 13, and offers hors d'oeuvres and complimentary drinks from 5 – 8:30. We arrived around 5:30 and it was busy, but as people started to leave for dinner, we were able to get a seat.
As the evening progressed, we first got a look at a beautiful sunset and then sailed underneath the Sunshine Skyway bridge.
We went to trivia at the Schooner Bar for some pre-dinner entertainment. We did not win, but had a great time trying our best.
There was also some fantastic pre-dinner music at the Schooner Bar this evening.
Dinner this evening was at Izumi on deck 12. I was pleasantly surprised to see Izumi on Brilliance of the Seas had the “new menu”, which meant I got to try a few new menu items.
Izumi was wonderful, and I really enjoyed our meal. I went for sushi while my wife opted for the hot rock.
Tomorrow, is our first sea day and that means time at the pool!
Stray Observations
- The fridge in our room had this note about the use of the fridge/mini-bar.
- The Deluxe Beverage Package on Brilliance is $63 per person, per day. If I had purchased it prior to the cruise, it was $50 per person, per day. Pre-pay if you decide to get the unlimited alcohol package!
- Does it warrant mention it is a great feeling being on a Royal Caribbean cruise?
