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Brilliance or Adventure


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DH and I are looking for a mini get away end of Dec (right before Christmas holidays).  In "recent" years, we've been on Allure and Symphony, Independence and Mariner.  Symphony is my favorite.  Mariner is DH's favorite.

We currently booked a 4 night on Brilliance as we've never done the Radiance class.  

Looking at another option...a 6 night on Adventure for similar cost.

We're in our 40s, like shows, music, activities in cruise compass and relaxing (but we're not the types to sit by pool all day). It's different criteria when we bring our kids, but for just us don't care about waterslides, rock wall, flowrider (although fun to watch).

  1. Comparing ship to ship....what do others prefer?
  2. Comparing the two cruises....what would you select? 

Obviously our dilemmas....Adventure is longer for similar price (proAdventure), but we've been on similar ship (con-Adventure).  Also means missing more work on 6 day (con-Adventure).  Shows look more modern and more of them on Adventure (pro-Adventure).  More venus on Adventure (pro-Adventure).  Brilliance seem to get rave reviews for the views (con-Adventure).

Help....

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Well, let me express my thoughts in this one too. Love Adventure! Been on her 3 times and booked again for April, 2020. Like all ships, there are pros and cons, but I think if I had to make the decision you’re debating, it would be a thumbs up for Adventure. Just my opinion!

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20 minutes ago, Poleman88 said:

Well, let me express my thoughts in this one too. Love Adventure! Been on her 3 times and booked again for April, 2020. Like all ships, there are pros and cons, but I think if I had to make the decision you’re debating, it would be a thumbs up for Adventure. Just my opinion!

Thank you.  You must like her if been on 3 times.

18 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

+1 for Adventure too. Even if it was just Hubby and I. Reasons? Ice shows, Promenade, few more restaurants, possibly better VOOM.

We don't get internet and not sure if we'll stick with MDR on this one, but overall sounds like Adventure is preferred (so far).

I notice from your signature that you have Brilliance booked.  From what I remember you love the big ships so was surprised to see it in your booking.

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6 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

Thank you.  You must like her if been on 3 times.

We don't get internet and not sure if we'll stick with MDR on this one, but overall sounds like Adventure is preferred (so far).

I notice from your signature that you have Brilliance booked.  From what I remember you love the big ships so was surprised to see it in your booking.

I didn’t book Brilliance for the ship. I booked it for the people and the itinerary. No way I would sail Brilliance otherwise ?

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1 hour ago, WannaCruise said:

DH and I are looking for a mini get away end of Dec (right before Christmas holidays).  In "recent" years, we've been on Allure and Symphony, Independence and Mariner.  Symphony is my favorite.  Mariner is DH's favorite.

We currently booked a 4 night on Brilliance as we've never done the Radiance class.  

Looking at another option...a 6 night on Adventure for similar cost.

We're in our 40s, like shows, music, activities in cruise compass and relaxing (but we're not the types to sit by pool all day). It's different criteria when we bring our kids, but for just us don't care about waterslides, rock wall, flowrider (although fun to watch).

  1. Comparing ship to ship....what do others prefer?
  2. Comparing the two cruises....what would you select? 

Obviously our dilemmas....Adventure is longer for similar price (proAdventure), but we've been on similar ship (con-Adventure).  Also means missing more work on 6 day (con-Adventure).  Shows look more modern and more of them on Adventure (pro-Adventure).  More venus on Adventure (pro-Adventure).  Brilliance seem to get rave reviews for the views (con-Adventure).

Help....

I would say Adventure for the reason being that you get two additional days for similar price.  More vacation time!  That's just my $0.02 though.  I will be on my first RC cruise next month and it will be on Adventure. 

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Thank you.  Appreciate the We've booked both refundable and will see.  The extra 2 days are nice (although that's 2 more days away from our kids), and from what we see, flights are more reasonable to Fort Lauderdale compared with Tampa.

Curious...not that I"m complaining but anyone know why Adventure is so much cheaper?  i.e. Brilliance (and even Mariner) for a 4 day are around same price as 6 day on Adventure.

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43 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I didn’t book Brilliance for the ship. I booked it for the people and the itinerary. No way I would sail Brilliance otherwise ?

Got it.  I have to admit that I was surprised to see Brilliance in your signature so all makes sense.

Have heard it has wonderful views though, and compass activities seem like usual Royal fun offerings.

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6 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

Got it.  I have to admit that I was surprised to see Brilliance in your signature so all makes sense.

Have heard it has wonderful views though, and compass activities seem like usual Royal fun offerings.

I have sailed Brilliance before. It was a long time ago in 2005 when she was considered a new and larger ship. Lol. But again, that was mainly for the itinerary as well. ?

BTW, I also agree with @jhatle01 about the extra 2 days being another advantage.

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9 hours ago, jhatle01 said:

I would say Adventure for the reason being that you get two additional days for similar price.  More vacation time!  That's just my $0.02 though.  I will be on my first RC cruise next month and it will be on Adventure. 

Thanks.   We've done 4 days before and so know what to expect and if you know beforehand on the length, you come off feeling like you've done what you wanted to.  But the 2 extra days is great,  Have a great cruise!

41 minutes ago, Sweety said:

I will be on Adventure in July. I have been on Brilliance. Both are great ship with awesome crews. I will be booking another Adventure cruise in two weeks. I always go with the ship with more days with everything else equal.

Glad to hear you have enjoyed both.  Are they very different?  Which ship do you prefer?  Sounds like you're quite happy with Adventure. ?

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I just came off Adventure last week.  While not my favorite ship, we still had a great trip.  We've also sailed Brilliance in the past.  I prefer the promenade over the Centrum.  The ice show was pretty good and the entertainment was typical cruise ship entertainment.   With the price being equal, I'd go with Adventure for the longer cruise.

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I've sailed three of the Radiance class (including Brilliance) and four of the Voyager class (including Adventure).

Voyager class is a sweet spot for me and my favorite at the moment.  Not so large but notably different over the previous generations of ships.     

Even if you don't use all of the activities such as the flowrider or water slides, their presence draws the younger crowds and gives them something to do so they aren't roaming the ship bored.  The sports deck is like a neighborhood on Oasis class in that it draws the crowd that wants those things to that area of the ship and away from other areas.  

I'm a big fan of the ice shows so that's plus in my books.  Viking Crown Lounge another favorite spot.  At night there might be a silent disco in the Viking Crown while there is a pub singer while a show is going on in the theater while there is trivia in the Star Lounge and something else in the Schooner bar.  More areas to explore and variety.  There are activities on Radiance class without question, just not as much to choose from at any given moment.

Radiance class is great for itineraries like Alaska, Norway, Europe, etc.  They are geared for colder weather with an enclosed Solarium. 

In the Caribbean I prefer Voyager class.   

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3 hours ago, melski94 said:

I just came off Adventure last week.  While not my favorite ship, we still had a great trip.  We've also sailed Brilliance in the past.  I prefer the promenade over the Centrum.  The ice show was pretty good and the entertainment was typical cruise ship entertainment.   With the price being equal, I'd go with Adventure for the longer cruise.

Promenade over Centrum seems to be a big different. And good point, no ice rink on Brilliance

Jaymac Radio, thanks for the great photos!

 

3 hours ago, twangster said:

I've sailed three of the Radiance class (including Brilliance) and four of the Voyager class (including Adventure).

Voyager class is a sweet spot for me and my favorite at the moment.  Not so large but notably different over the previous generations of ships.     

Even if you don't use all of the activities such as the flowrider or water slides, their presence draws the younger crowds and gives them something to do so they aren't roaming the ship bored.  The sports deck is like a neighborhood on Oasis class in that it draws the crowd that wants those things to that area of the ship and away from other areas.  

I'm a big fan of the ice shows so that's plus in my books.  Viking Crown Lounge another favorite spot.  At night there might be a silent disco in the Viking Crown while there is a pub singer while a show is going on in the theater while there is trivia in the Star Lounge and something else in the Schooner bar.  More areas to explore and variety.  There are activities on Radiance class without question, just not as much to choose from at any given moment.

Radiance class is great for itineraries like Alaska, Norway, Europe, etc.  They are geared for colder weather with an enclosed Solarium. 

In the Caribbean I prefer Voyager class.   

Thank you!  This is a great summary. Sounds like there are more options for activities and things going on on Adventure vs Brilliance.

Good point about crowds, etc...for activities.  Guessing not a lot of kids on Brilliance (it's not a ship we'd consider with our kids)

And yeah, its a 4 day cruise with a stop in Cozumel.

Btw...Adventure has a stop in Grand Cayman, which from what I remember, has beautiful beaches.

 

Sounds like overall, the consensus is Adventure.

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We've sailed on both in the last 12 months and would do them both again in a heartbeat.  We book for itinerary first, and ship second.  We've sailed each class at least once (except for Vision which we'll be on next month) so we're at the point of choosing based on where the ship is taking us.  Since you've cruised a lot, do either itinerary take you somewhere you haven't been before?

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12 minutes ago, KathyC said:

We've sailed on both in the last 12 months and would do them both again in a heartbeat.  We book for itinerary first, and ship second.  We've sailed each class at least once (except for Vision which we'll be on next month) so we're at the point of choosing based on where the ship is taking us.  Since you've cruised a lot, do either itinerary take you somewhere you haven't been before?

Great to hear such positive things on both.  I think we'd have to pick a different departure port to find a different itinerary?  The funny thing is, when we first searched, we saw Adventure and priced it out, and stared talking about it.  Then afterwards it was like "oh yeah, where is it going?"  So for us, the ship is #1 and itinerary an after thought.  Someday though, it would be nice to try a Mediterranean cruise.    Also, the 4 day only has 1 stop since it's so short.  The Adventure has 3 stops which and nicely spaced out.  

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Thanks for all the feedback.  We have both booked but most likely going with Adventure (will cancel the other once we book flights).  In once sense, it's our chance to try Brilliance as it's just DH and I, but 6 days vs 4 days for same price is hard to give up.  Will keep it in the bucket list to give it a try sometime.  

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1 hour ago, WannaCruise said:

Thanks for all the feedback.  We have both booked but most likely going with Adventure (will cancel the other once we book flights).  In once sense, it's our chance to try Brilliance as it's just DH and I, but 6 days vs 4 days for same price is hard to give up.  Will keep it in the bucket list to give it a try sometime.  

Ok, here's a solution for you. Go on Adventure this time, and then go on Brilliance for the Royal Caribbean Group Cruise in Oct 2020!  https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/event/royalcaribbeanblogcom-cruise-aboard-brilliance-of-the-seas

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We were on Adventure last week, our third time sailing on her in total although the previous ones were in 2006 and 2008, long time ago....some of our first ever cruises.   Great ship, easy to get around, large, and much cheaper than Oasis class.    Have never been on a Radiance class ship so I can't compare.  Next year we are preliminarily booked on Rhapsody which is fine, been on Majesty and Enchantment many times in the past.    Just depends on if you are interested in the itinerary or ship honestly.....we always have a great time on all of them, they all have their own charm.

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One point not bought out yet is that for the same price, the 2 extra days on Adventure will net 2 more loyalty points for climbing the loyalty program ladder if that is of any interest to you.  Wife & I were on a sister ship to Brilliance, Jewel, 11/2017, and on Adventure 12/2018.  Liked both for what they were, Jewel being a ship where the itinerary is more the draw, and Adventure being a little more where the ship is the draw.  I'd go with Adventure from what I've gleaned your interests are.  We did a sailing catamaran excursion while in Grand Cayman, 25 people max. that went out to a reef and interacted with stingrays in the wild, not penned in.  They were at a reef where the water was just a little over waist deep.  Fantastic time & highly recommend it.  We left as large group, 'party' type boats were coming into the reef.  With the small group size of our boat, don't think we'd have anywhere near as much fun with the stingrays as they tend to shy away from disturbances.  When we were there, there was another larger group close by, and the stingrays stayed more around us.  Also, our excursion included snorkeling in a little deeper area of the reef, which we also enjoyed.

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3 hours ago, klc317 said:

We were on Adventure last week, our third time sailing on her in total although the previous ones were in 2006 and 2008, long time ago....some of our first ever cruises.   Great ship, easy to get around, large, and much cheaper than Oasis class.    Have never been on a Radiance class ship so I can't compare.  Next year we are preliminarily booked on Rhapsody which is fine, been on Majesty and Enchantment many times in the past.    Just depends on if you are interested in the itinerary or ship honestly.....we always have a great time on all of them, they all have their own charm.

 

 

Such a sweet photo of your daughter!  How does Adventure rate compared with Majesty and Enchantment?  We looked at Majesty as it had a 5 day with our dates but that one seemed too small for us (although I've read very good reviews).  For us, the ship is more important than the itinerary.  

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48 minutes ago, Salt Water Buckeye said:

One point not bought out yet is that for the same price, the 2 extra days on Adventure will net 2 more loyalty points for climbing the loyalty program ladder if that is of any interest to you.  Wife & I were on a sister ship to Brilliance, Jewel, 11/2017, and on Adventure 12/2018.  Liked both for what they were, Jewel being a ship where the itinerary is more the draw, and Adventure being a little more where the ship is the draw.  I'd go with Adventure from what I've gleaned your interests are.  We did a sailing catamaran excursion while in Grand Cayman, 25 people max. that went out to a reef and interacted with stingrays in the wild, not penned in.  They were at a reef where the water was just a little over waist deep.  Fantastic time & highly recommend it.  We left as large group, 'party' type boats were coming into the reef.  With the small group size of our boat, don't think we'd have anywhere near as much fun with the stingrays as they tend to shy away from disturbances.  When we were there, there was another larger group close by, and the stingrays stayed more around us.  Also, our excursion included snorkeling in a little deeper area of the reef, which we also enjoyed.

Yes...we do collect and count points. ?  And either the 4 day or 6 day brings up a level one cruise sooner. Sounds like we made the correct choice as Adventure looks pretty good.  But I can still see us trying Brilliance (or other similar) ship sometimes.  It seems like you need to try it either as a short cruise (as we were looking at) or with a great itinerary where you can split your time between ship and ports.

Thanks for the Grand Cayman suggestion.  Sounds like a perfect excursion. I do need to research that one as it's been awhile since one of our cruises has stopped there.

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On 3/30/2019 at 6:44 PM, WannaCruise said:

Such a sweet photo of your daughter!  How does Adventure rate compared with Majesty and Enchantment?  We looked at Majesty as it had a 5 day with our dates but that one seemed too small for us (although I've read very good reviews).  For us, the ship is more important than the itinerary.  

I noticed you said you had been on Mariner and Independence before, if so you will be quite familiar with how Adventure is laid out....not exactly but similar flow.

Majesty is small and older but plenty fun, looks nice and well kept..  We are pretty used to it.  When we were raising small children over the past 7 years we could only get away for a few days at a time so we took 4-5 night itineraries which involved lots of Majesty and Enchantment sailings.   That was before they put Mariner on the shorter Bahamas runs.  Enchantment has a similar design and feel to Majesty to me but its a bit longer and has a solarium adults only pool area unlike Majesty.   Ive never been disappointed in any of them.   I am 41 and my wife is 37 now so we probably have similar interests and expectations as you would but no matter what size ship we end find ourselves on we still have a great time  In fact we are going back to a smaller ship next year (Rhapsody) because it was the only ship that is going to a specific port we want to go to (Roatan) in a time frame that we need and the price was right.    

We have yet to try an Oasis or Quantum class ship.....would like to but the cost goes up significantly and a Freedom or Voyager class ship like Adventure is plenty big for us and the price is more affordable.

One thing I've noticed about the smaller ships is they seem more "intimate".  I guess what I mean is if you make friends with someone at your dinner table or at the blackjack table for instance you seem to see them around the ship more often.   On the larger ships you don't seem to come across the same people unless you try to.

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22 hours ago, klc317 said:

I noticed you said you had been on Mariner and Independence before, if so you will be quite familiar with how Adventure is laid out....not exactly but similar flow.

Majesty is small and older but plenty fun, looks nice and well kept..  We are pretty used to it.  When we were raising small children over the past 7 years we could only get away for a few days at a time so we took 4-5 night itineraries which involved lots of Majesty and Enchantment sailings.   That was before they put Mariner on the shorter Bahamas runs.  Enchantment has a similar design and feel to Majesty to me but its a bit longer and has a solarium adults only pool area unlike Majesty.   Ive never been disappointed in any of them.   I am 41 and my wife is 37 now so we probably have similar interests and expectations as you would but no matter what size ship we end find ourselves on we still have a great time  In fact we are going back to a smaller ship next year (Rhapsody) because it was the only ship that is going to a specific port we want to go to (Roatan) in a time frame that we need and the price was right.    

We have yet to try an Oasis or Quantum class ship.....would like to but the cost goes up significantly and a Freedom or Voyager class ship like Adventure is plenty big for us and the price is more affordable.

One thing I've noticed about the smaller ships is they seem more "intimate".  I guess what I mean is if you make friends with someone at your dinner table or at the blackjack table for instance you seem to see them around the ship more often.   On the larger ships you don't seem to come across the same people unless you try to.

Thanks for the feedback.  Yes, we've been on Mariner and Independence, and I  know that Adventure is same class as Mariner.

We did eye Majesty too, for a 5 day get away we can go for a comparable cost but in a JS (which is only way to get a balcony).  It definitely seems like a more basic ship with bare bones but it's still a cruise and can't see any cruise being bad .

Enjoy Rhapsody.  We just got back from Symphony which went to Roatan.  Great port!  

Oasis class is my favorite, but you have to not mind the bigger ships.

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5 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

Thanks for the feedback.  Yes, we've been on Mariner and Independence, and I  know that Adventure is same class as Mariner.

We did eye Majesty too, for a 5 day get away we can go for a comparable cost but in a JS (which is only way to get a balcony).  It definitely seems like a more basic ship with bare bones but it's still a cruise and can't see any cruise being bad .

Enjoy Rhapsody.  We just got back from Symphony which went to Roatan.  Great port!  

Oasis class is my favorite, but you have to not mind the bigger ships.

We will try one of the Oasis class ships in the next few years....hopefully!

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