WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 Lunch at Chops at noon. More from there, later Jax and JohnK6404 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 The lunch at Chops was, without any doubt, the worst Chops meal I’ve ever had. Everything was cold. It was really bad. Hard to explain, too, as we were 2 of 6 people in the whole place Next stop, Grand Suite 1552 to unpack. That horrible meal took 1 1/4 hours ! ellcee, DublinFC, JohnK6404 and 7 others 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 Oops. Almost forgot this for Sweety. It was cold, too...but that was a-ok ! Sorry, I took a bite before remembering to take a pic ! ellcee, The Cruise Junkie, Guy Gadwa and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 OMG. That is insanely long for a cold meal. I love Chops, could it be that maybe The Key serving the Chops menu in the MDR caused the issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 LMAO, what would a cruise be for you without a slice of Red Velvet cake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 39 minutes ago, Pima1988 said: OMG. That is insanely long for a cold meal. I love Chops, could it be that maybe The Key serving the Chops menu in the MDR caused the issue? This is the only explanation I can come up with. Nothing else makes any sense. My guess is the food is all being prepare in the MDR and brought up to Chops (bass ackwards, to be sure). CarlaB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 40 minutes ago, Pima1988 said: LMAO, what would a cruise be for you without a slice of Red Velvet cake? At least they still have RVC on a Brilliance ! On Liberty it is no mas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 9 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: This is the only explanation I can come up with. Nothing else makes any sense. My guess is the food is all being prepare in the MDR and brought up to Chops (bass ackwards, to be sure). DW and I went to Chops for lunch on a sea day, it took 2.5 hours and the food was not good, we had unlimited so it was free, the server was doing everything he could but the kitchen failed miserably. Have fun BTW. WAAAYTOOO and JLMoran 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 So we got to the room about 1:30. First time in a full suite on a rad class (that’s how long it’s been since we were on one !). A bit narrow but the everything on a rad class is narrow. One thing, the closets are big ! I think there’s more room in those big closets than there is in the Owners Suites closets on the bigger ships. SpeedNoodles, Jax, The Cruise Junkie and 9 others 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 minute ago, tiny260 said: DW and I went to Chops for lunch on a sea day, it took 2.5 hours and the food was not good, we had unlimited so it was free, the server was doing everything he could but the kitchen failed miserably. Have fun BTW. Thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Oops. Almost forgot this for Sweety. It was cold, too...but that was a-ok ! Sorry, I took a bite before remembering to take a pic ! Sitting at my desk looking at all the students who are working on their on-line class, wishing I had a piece. Looks yummy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 Following Raye!! Can't wait to hear all about your wonderful trip! I actually booked Oasis, Feb 2022 (a long way to go!) Grand Panoramic Suite, not sure which one you're in (might have missed it! Been a bit distracted lately!), but if you can send pics. Have a FABULOUS two weeks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 hour ago, Boston Babe said: Following Raye!! Can't wait to hear all about your wonderful trip! I actually booked Oasis, Feb 2022 (a long way to go!) Grand Panoramic Suite, not sure which one you're in (might have missed it! Been a bit distracted lately!), but if you can send pics. Have a FABULOUS two weeks!! Hey, Lorraine ! Thanks for the kind thoughts We are in the GPS ! I am so excited to see this suite. I am looking forward to the great room without all of the stairs. The balcony looks very small but we are aware and ok with that. Hoping you and Jack are doing well ellcee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 At the muster drill. Dan took our cards and had them scanned while I saved us 2 seats looking out over the Centrum. DDaley, JLMoran, twangster and 10 others 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDaley Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said: As someone who spends a tonnn of time on the balcony I would be so sad with this cabin placement for a GS. Hello sir! Please enjoy me sitting out here in my bathing suit for hours each day. hahaha Hope you guys have a great cruise (followed by another)! Your picture inclusion is going great so far!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 38 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: We are in the GPS ! I am so excited to see this suite. WOW!!! Now I'm REALLY Excited!! We are hanging in there Raye!! Thank you for asking. I can't wait to follow along with you and Dan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 On 11/25/2019 at 3:56 PM, DDaley said: As someone who spends a tonnn of time on the balcony I would be so sad with this cabin placement for a GS. Hello sir! Please enjoy me sitting out here in my bathing suit for hours each day. hahaha Hope you guys have a great cruise (followed by another)! Your picture inclusion is going great so far!! I hear ya. He seems kinda like a curmudgeon already. I’m not overly thrilled with the fact that we only have 1 lounger but I do understand that the Rad class is just waaay narrower than the other ship classes. Making do... DDaley, SpeedNoodles and JLMoran 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 For those who might care ( I certainly don’t) : Master of the ship is Ole-Johan Gronhaug Hotel Director - Sanjay Kumar Chief Engineer - Tommy Johansen Cruise Director - Rob McNally The Cruise Junkie, IRMO12HD, Guy Gadwa and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 Interesting phenomenon. My cell phone seems to be working with Voom fine but my iPad sucks. The iPad will not connect to the blog site or update my emails. Dan is using his iPad (exact same device) without issue. So for now, I have disconnected my iPad and navigating solely with my cell phone. This makes blogging even more difficult for me b/c I hate typing on this tiny little keyboard. WTF ? Guy Gadwa, ellcee, Jax and 3 others 1 1 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 Going back to the awful Chops meal... I wonder if this is why Oasis has stopped serving lunch on embarkation day. If they are using all of their resources in the MDR for the Key and the food is actually being cooked down there they may have had some similar issues and figured it was just best to do one thing well (the Key lunch) instead Of doing 2 things half-assed The Cruise Junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 Izumi for dinner. Izumi is in a very odd location on Brilliance. All the way aft outside past the pool deck and the Adventure Ocean spaces. Finally found it. Just passed beneath the Sunshine bridge. Casino will be opening soon. The blog will come to a screeching halt then ! Guy Gadwa, Lovetocruise2002, DDaley and 10 others 4 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 I got the spicy tuna roll with soy wrapper. Delicious. Dan got some kind of tuna thing and the DX platter. They were so good. Much better than lunch was ! ellcee, Pookie, twangster and 9 others 10 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heffy2 Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Great pictures! I'm so hungry now, lol WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 19 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: I got the spicy tuna roll with soy wrapper. Delicious. Dan got some kind of tuna thing and the DX platter. They were so good. Much better than lunch was ! Right down my ally! Looks wonderful! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 So, back from the casino. Very early night for us but we are both beat. Slept very little on that horrid bed at the Marriott. I lost a whopping $25 but Dan won $230 so we’re up, overall. Yippee ! Tomorrow is Key West. It’s been a number of years since we have been to KW. No plans. We will just ramble. Night night Guy Gadwa, ellcee, IRMO12HD and 8 others 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRMO12HD Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 @WAAAYTOOO Have a fantastic time! We'll be boarding Brilliance the day you disembark -- thanks for doing this blog, as I hope to do one as well for our cruise (which is a full ship charter, but I think to the same ports you're visiting, but in reverse order). Just out of curiosity, when you use your phone for the pictures, do you have to resize them or does the forum format do that for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DublinFC Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: I got the spicy tuna roll with soy wrapper. Delicious. Dan got some kind of tuna thing and the DX platter. They were so good. Much better than lunch was ! looks.sooooo.good. I just told my wife that she, our daughter, and my mother-in-law might be having dinner without me one of the nights we are on our sailing. I love sushi, they do not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 10 hours ago, IRMO12HD said: @WAAAYTOOO Have a fantastic time! We'll be boarding Brilliance the day you disembark -- thanks for doing this blog, as I hope to do one as well for our cruise (which is a full ship charter, but I think to the same ports you're visiting, but in reverse order). Just out of curiosity, when you use your phone for the pictures, do you have to resize them or does the forum format do that for you? Thank you ! Charter. That should be fun I am such a photo rookie that I would have no idea how to resize a picture even if I wanted to ! I know that when I text a pic I am able to choose the size (I always choose “small”) but I never resize the ones I take with my camera and post. I’m sure they are bigger than they need to be but I don’t know how to make them smaller IRMO12HD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Went to breakfast at Chops this morning and while it was better than lunch yesterday, we still had some downright cold food. The potato wedges (not that great even when they’re hot) were stone gold. Almost refrigerator cold. The orange juice was, no doubt, from a concentrate. We were never offered any sweet rolls even though they were sitting on a table 4 feet from us. Maybe we were supposed to help ourselves. We did not leave hungry. “It’ll make a turd”, one of Happy Dan’s favorite euphemisms. The service was also surprisingly sluggish which made no sense as we were 2 of 4 happy souls dining at the time. I know I sound like a bitcher, which I’m actually not.. but I will admit that as I get older, my tolerance for poor service has taken a nose dive. I will be in the “You kids get off my lawn !” Club very soon. Happy Dan is already a founding member. I overheard the only other customers in the place, discussing with our waiter, the fact that the breakfast serving staff in Chops are not dedicated Chops servers, but rather staff from Izumi, Giovannis and Chops that rotate to cover this special breakfast. I guess that makes sense. It also may explain the spotty service but it still sucks twangster, SpeedNoodles, Jax and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Well, I successfully posted the above to the wrong thread. Twice. I hope I fixed it but if I didn’t, my apologies to Ashley and IRMO12HD Ugh JohnK6404, RWDW1204, SpeedNoodles and 6 others 2 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 After breakfast, we did a wee walkabout. Now, wee is all of the walkabout you will ever get from me....I’m not a wanderer. If it doesn’t happen to be in the path between where I am and either a food venue or the casino, I’m likely to miss it. But here goes. I am not a wine drinker so I rarely venture into a Vintages, but I will say....the Vintages on Brilliance is beautiful, IMO. Rather than the dark and deserted space that it is in most ships, it is light (there are even windows ). The lighting is very unusual. I found it a delightful space. Not delightful enough to go buy some wine that I don’t want, but lounge-worthy, for sure. The poker table is outside of the casino on a side trail leading out of the casino. I remember this very long and narrow configuration from my last Rad class sailing. No idea if they had a cash game going last night Frankly, we weren’t there long enough to really inquire Jax, JLMoran, WannaCruise and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Another delightful space, directly across from the poker table, is the King and Country pub. THIS is the good ol’ dark and dingy pub venue we’re all familiar with....but it’s surprisingly large for this class of ship Since they were closed, I snuck in behind the bar to see what was on tap. Nothing interesting. Just Heineken heffy2, SpeedNoodles, JLMoran and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 And finally, the single thing about this class of ship that is truly unique...the Cinema ! I am so glad that Royal has not gotten rid of this feature on the Rad class ships. I fear for its future, but for now, IT LIVES ! It appears to show 1 film every 3 hours beginning at 10AM until 10PM. Kind of a nice option if you stay on the ship on port days (as I almost always do). I will check to see if the film changes daily. I feel sure it does SpeedNoodles, Pookie, IRMO12HD and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 We are now pulling in to Key West. It really has been a long time since we visited KY and I feel certain that I refused to get off last time so it’s really been a LONG time since I was out and about on KW. I have agreed to debark on this trip so I must keep my word. No plans...just a walkabout. Maybe we’ll ride the HOHO trolley (I think there’s such a thing). Perfect weather. 76 and sunny. Yippee !! Jax, heffy2, JLMoran and 7 others 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 For reason which I cannot explain, my iPad is again working now that we’re in port again. I know there is some super cyber reason that the internet when in port is different from the internet when you’re at sea, so my simplistic mind will simply accept that when on the ocean internet I will only be able to comm by cell phone. I am really HAPPY to be back on my iPad though ! Pecking along on the iphone is for people with better vision and skinnier fingers than me. So....thank goodness I listened to the voice message that Eliana left last night. If we go to the Concierge Club between 11:00 and 12:30 (it is currently 11:31) we will get a super-secret escort off the ship to some kind of trolley to take us to town. I am ALL about shuttle service, so we WILL be leaving shortly for the Concierge Club ! Guy Gadwa, Jax, SpeedNoodles and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenbeecruises Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 We have been on the Brilliance 3 times because Tampa is so close. It reminded me when I first sailed on the Explorer. Small but mighty. Have a fantastic trip!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimension Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 I am going on Brilliance in a couple of weeks so I am definitely following along for it will be my first time on her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heffy2 Posted November 26, 2019 Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 Have a great day in Key West! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 1 hour ago, Queenbeecruises said: We have been on the Brilliance 3 times because Tampa is so close. It reminded me when I first sailed on the Explorer. Small but mighty. Have a fantastic trip!!! Thank you ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted November 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2019 55 minutes ago, heffy2 said: Have a great day in Key West! Thank you. It was an interesting day heffy2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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