Michigan Mom

I was on Brilliance for Jan 2-8 to the Bahamas. This was only a week after the increased masks & testing protocols were announced, plus all the news about COVID outbreaks on Royal. I heard from staff that the ship was at 40% capacity. Someone else said there were 250 last minute cancellations and 100 no-shows. Honestly, it was wonderful to have plenty of space on the ship. We rarely waited for anything except elevators. My teenage sons were cruising for the first time. They loved doing trivia games, listening to live music, and hanging in the shops. If it was more crowded, they wouldn't have had so much freedom and independence. Finally, we got to know our staff better than we would have on a crowded ship. Brilliance just returned to service in November. All the staff were glad to be back at work after 18 months off. Sail on!

We're on the Jan 3 Brilliance cruise, too. In the RCL app, we've done pre-cruise check in. One of the items is selecting your arrival time. For us the options were 1:00, 1:30, and 2:00. Maybe you can move your check-in a little later. We're arriving in Tampa the day before the cruise just to be safe. Midwest flights in the winter are very unpredictable.

Agree We're flying to Tampa at 7:15 am on Jan 2 and boarding on Jan 3 at 1:30 (Brilliance). I plan to test on Jan 1 so we know we're cleared before leaving home. After an unsuccessful search for a local testing site that will be open on New Year's Day, I ordered RCL's at home kits. We're completely vaccinated and boostered, but I know several people who got breakthrough COVID. Three family members will be at home between Christmas and New Year's, but 1 works in retail and 1 in a restaurant. They're the ones I worry about getting exposed before we leave.