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LIVE - "Back on Brilliance, baby!" Brilliance of the Seas February 14-18, 2019


Matt

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All these beautiful pictures make me wish our Brilliance cruise wasn’t so far away. 293 days and counting. Paradise Beach looks gorgeous and so relaxing. The day our cruise stops in Cozumel it looks like we will be one of 8 ships in port, so I’m a bit nervous about crowds making the day less enjoyable. We are planning on purchasing the DX drink package so the idea of just staying on the ship and enjoying a quiet day on board is our current plan. Beautiful beaches just might lure us off if the day ends up looking beautiful weather wize. You don’t need to make reservations ahead for Paradise beach, correct?

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On 2/15/2019 at 4:00 PM, Matt said:

I spotted popcorn for sale at pool bar. $2 per bag. Popcorn for sale onboard has been something I’ve seen here and there over the years.  

On Freedom last month, we saw popcorn for the first time ever on a cruise. They mainly had it in the theater for shows. Even though it's crazy to pay that much, my husband loves popcorn so we bought it a few times. Who cares? We're on vacation! ? 

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2 hours ago, Firefly said:

All these beautiful pictures make me wish our Brilliance cruise wasn’t so far away. 293 days and counting. Paradise Beach looks gorgeous and so relaxing. The day our cruise stops in Cozumel it looks like we will be one of 8 ships in port, so I’m a bit nervous about crowds making the day less enjoyable. We are planning on purchasing the DX drink package so the idea of just staying on the ship and enjoying a quiet day on board is our current plan. Beautiful beaches just might lure us off if the day ends up looking beautiful weather wize. You don’t need to make reservations ahead for Paradise beach, correct?

I would agree the more ships in port, the more likely Paradise Beach could be crowded. Nice thing is you could scope it out before committing to it.  

No reservations needed. 

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35 minutes ago, lauraodonnell86 said:

On Freedom last month, we saw popcorn for the first time ever on a cruise. They mainly had it in the theater for shows. Even though it's crazy to pay that much, my husband loves popcorn so we bought it a few times. Who cares? We're on vacation! ? 

At first I balked at the idea of paying for it, but the more I thought about it, the more I would have gotten it.  The $2 cost is so insignificant and like your husband thought, YOLO!

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Good morning from day 4 on Brilliance of the Seas! Above all other days, I hate to lose out on time onboard when it’s your last day so I forced myself to get up and going. The good news is it was all worth getting up for the amazing start to our day.  

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I ventured to the Windjammer for breakfast this morning, for one reason and one reason only: the outdoor seating!

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The radiance class ships offer outdoor Windjammer seating and it is a must do!

I also noticed sign for alternative milk options, which pops up here as a question occasionally. 

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I also noticed this dress code sign at entrance to Windjammer.  Intriguing, but highly doubtful it’s renotely enforced. 

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11 minutes ago, yzfmik said:

@Matt thanks for all the great pics and info!  Enjoy your last day onboard!  This makes me really consider Brilliance and since Tampa is so close, that makes it seem like a great choice!

I can’t say enough good things about being able to enjoy a weekend getaway cruise just to mix things up and be a good buffer between true vacations.  Really helps in the notion of “getting away from it all” for a bit.  

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13 hours ago, Matt said:

Paradise Beach, yes they do serve food. Fairly extensive menu.  A copy of the menu is here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/25/excursion-focus-paradise-beach-cozumel

Oops............I didn't realize my comment auto corrected.  I was asking about the PUB on the ship, not public.   Does the pub serve pub style food?  Thank you!

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49 minutes ago, Matt said:

I can’t say enough good things about being able to enjoy a weekend getaway cruise just to mix things up and be a good buffer between true vacations.  Really helps in the notion of “getting away from it all” for a bit.  

One more very good reason why I want to move to Florida! :27_sunglasses:

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21 minutes ago, Matt said:

Ohhh. Nope, no food at pub

The only time I've seen food in the pub is during Super Bowl.  They had tables set up of hot dogs, burgers, etc.  But I would like to see finger foods added to the pubs across the fleet.  People have no problem paying at Playmakers!  

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15 minutes ago, Jedi Jason said:

I think @Matt‘s live blog has convinced me to seriously look into this cruise as an option for a short getaway for just the wife and I. Living in Orlando makes this an attractive alternative to the Bahamas weekend cruise or any other short vacation. 

You gotta try it. Find a sailing that’s reasonably priced and go for it.  If you book more than 9 months in advance, prices are usually very low.

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31 minutes ago, Matt said:

It’s time for Who wants to feel like a millionaire!

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Hate to say it but this event was pretty bad. It was quite cheesy, extremely low production value. Don’t get me wrong, it was basically a fun trivia exercise but compared to other events, it was quite underwhelming.   

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Sadly friends, this live blog must come to an end. Not because I want to end it, but because I am being forced to vacate this ship. 

Thanks for reading and following along. I have to admit I really enjoyed this format of live blogging, and I’d love to do it again. It’s certainly a lot simpler approach compared to my other live blogs. 

Thanks again and hope you enjoyed it.  So long, and thanks for all the fish. 

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2 hours ago, Matt said:

I have to admit I really enjoyed this format of live blogging, and I’d love to do it again. It’s certainly a lot simpler approach compared to my other live blogs. 

Was wondering how you felt about this format. I do agree it allows much better interactive experience.

Did a great job and I do look forward to more of these casual live blogs.

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3 hours ago, Matt said:

I have to admit I really enjoyed this format of live blogging, and I’d love to do it again. It’s certainly a lot simpler approach compared to my other live blogs. 

I find that it is way easier to update throughout the day rather than sit down at the end of day and re-think of all that has happened.  Great job on your first "message boards" live blog!  Thanks for taking us along ?  I don't feel bad for you though, your dry dock is less than 30 days lol.

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On 2/17/2019 at 8:52 AM, Matt said:

I would agree the more ships in port, the more likely Paradise Beach could be crowded. Nice thing is you could scope it out before committing to it.  

No reservations needed. 

The more I thought about 25,000+ cruisers in port on the same day,  I realized I just needed to bite the bullet and book all inclusive. Just booked Nachi Cocom and now we can rest easy knowing we have a place to sit and won’t be over crowded. We also have Maya Chan booked two day earlier for the same cruise, so it will be fun to enjoy and compare the resorts. Thanks again for all the great information you share on the blog & boards , it makes cruise planning so much easier. 

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21 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I find that it is way easier to update throughout the day rather than sit down at the end of day and re-think of all that has happened. 

Totally agree.  Less of that feeling of "oh gosh, I have to recall everything we did up until now."

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23 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I find that it is way easier to update throughout the day rather than sit down at the end of day and re-think of all that has happened.

 

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Totally agree.  Less of that feeling of "oh gosh, I have to recall everything we did up until now."

Only problem is this format really opens you up to PWI... Trust me I've had a hair trigger and really had some deep thoughts of posts. Luckily just a smidge of sanity still existed before I hit "Submit Reply".

Then again the "P" portion doesn't apply to just message boards, rather any real time form of communication...

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On ‎2‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 4:52 PM, Matt said:

New dart board in the pub. It got replaced shortly after we sailed in September. 

This is a happy surprise! My buddies and I are going on a cruise in April and we play league darts so I have a hunch we will be there often.  Do they have decent bar darts there or should we pack our own?

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