Cruise 2009

Trip Report - Brilliance of the Seas - Oct. 30, 2009

Our first cruise is complete and what a great adventure it has been. I think the best way to begin this report is to thank all the wonderful people who were responsible for making the cruise unforgettable. Never have I made so many new friends in such a short period of time. There are way too many to mention but you know who you are.

With so much planning it is no surprise that all of my flights, transfers, and hotels reservations went smoothly. SAS was great, British Air not very good due to being late because of refueling problems and not having a crew meet us for exiting the plane, Sheraton Heathrow Hotel not so great, it was hot, noisy, and just old, 1st4cruising did a good job as my travel agent but I will not use them again because financial transactions are not easy when using a company that only accepts pounds sterling. The ship was great and we would use it again.

I will mention a couple of pre-booked enhancements here and then not mention them again. First I book twp wine and food pairings, one in Chops and one in Portofino's. I would not recommend these enhancements. The food in Chops was very good and the wine was excellent, though not plentiful and the service was very good but I would prefer spending the money elsewhere, IMO. Portofino's, on the other hand was disappointing on all fronts. The cost at Chops was about $150 for 2 and Portofino's about about $100. This money would have be better spent elsewhere (my wife would do Chops again because of the romantic setting). The third enhancement was the 12 bottle, Diamond wine and dine package. As you know the wine is terribly overpriced onboard, but it is the only game in town. There were 4 wines we really enjoyed. Codorniu Classico Brut, Organic Chardonnay from Washington (a nice surprise thanks to Shelley), Caliterra Sav. Blanc from Chile, and the Rosemount Estate Shiraz from Australia (a favorite of our table-mates Shirl and Mio). We were very glad we had pre-booked the package. I will say that I was surprised by the fact that everyone I spoke with, who brought various bottles of alcohol onto the ship, did so without incident. We had two bottles of wine in our back pack when we returned from our Cyprus wine tour. When the bag was x-rayed, the ships inspector asked if it was olive oil and gave me a wink. I said yes and there were no questions asked. You are welcome to draw your own conclusions. Stay tuned for more on our cruise in my next report.

The check-in procedure went smoothly with the SetSail on-line pass. We went directly to our room, then to the Minstrel to check our seating. We were given a nice table for 10 portside by a window. No need to ask for a change. We checked out 2 books at the library. Our muster station was inside in the Schooner Bar, no life vest required. Very nice prime rib for dinner that night. We went back to the room, unpacked, showered and passed out. The first day was overwhelming.
Most of our meals were in the main dining room and we were pleased with breakfast, lunch and dinner there. We also ate in the Windjammer, and Seaview and were happy with everything we ate there also.

We had a meet and mingle on day 2 and I would guess there where 80 or so there from the Cruise Critic website. Maria won a free entry in a blackjack tournament, which I played for her, I played well but did not really understand the betting technique and therefore lasted only 3 of the 4 rounds. It was fun and I tried to bribe the dealer but he would accept the bribe. Oh well! We were at sea on the second day and it was formal night. Black suite, white shirt, and tie for me. I had to buy a tie and belt, forgot to pack them, and while paying a salesman came up with a $160 piece of crystal and offered it to us for $10. He said he could not find the box. Needless to say we felt very lucky and bought it. A very nice souvenir and great story. Tried our luck on the "floating" pool table, but could not get even one ball in a pocket. Great fun. We tried all the pool tournaments but never won anything. Shelley (a friend from CC) was a great pool player and won several tournaments. Lisa is also a great player. One of our new friends and I had a conversation on-line about the short leash my wife said she would put me on for the cruise. When we met at the M & M, she gave my wife a black whip to use on me when I was bad and needless to say I was good most of the time, although I had a few red marks during the cruise. Formal night was fun, but not what it used to be. The food was good but I cannot remember what was served. The Elton John tribute was very good and lots of fun. We enjoyed all the shows we saw. Once again we were fried by the time 10:30 came around and slept soundly.

The room on the bubble on deck 9 was great. We had room for 2 lounges, 2 chairs, and a table and spent many afternoons relaxing there. Many nights were too cold to sit out. I will mention here that our neighbors smoked, which we disliked. I would like to see RCI restrict balcony smoking to one side of the ship. More to come. Lee

We were going to take a walk around Malta, our first port, today but we were enjoying the ship so much we decided to stay on board and enjoy the solarium. This is truly a great place to hang out on a cool day and the hot tub is a great place to make new friends. Tried my hand at pool again and put up a better fight but could not make the finals. We had a gathering of friends in our cabin for a wine tasting. I chose 3 wines from my wine package on the first night, and took 2 of them back to the room. One of our new friends brought a very nice wine from California and her banjo. We ate, drank, sang, and laughed for a couple of hours. A big thanks to Shelley and Jane for providing so many memorable moments on this cruise. Lisa's stories had us in stitches. We will never forget you. To be honest, things become a bit of a blur at this point. I can remember the events, but the dates may be wrong. Once again we went to the after dinner show. I think this one was Izzy. She is a soprano, very popular in Great Britain who put on a very nice show. Our meals were great today and I thank Lars for turning me on to the Seaview. Great lunch's in a very nice setting. I find I am eating lots of fish and desserts. In case I did not mention it the service was very good. I never ate the steak but found out on the last day that it was very good in the main dining room. We spent day 4 at sea. The most memorable part of this day was the men's sexy legs competition, which I am proud to say I won. Not only did this make me very popular it also earned me a spot on the Cruise in Review video. Very cool. There were over 2100 people on board from over 45 countries and on sea days things were crowded.

We docked in Alexandria for 2 days and the ship looked like something out of a horror movie. There were times we thought we were the only two people on the ship. We spent the morning in the solarium and watched a film in the theater. I wish they had a popcorn machine in the theater. It is just not the same without it. When we got back to the room I ruptured a disk in my lower back and could only get out of bed by sliding on my stomach until my knees reached the floor then I used a chair to climb to a standing position. I was able to move around the room by sliding the chair like a walker. We went to the doctor and he gave me a shot to reduce the swelling and enough pain killers to kill a horse. I am told I was a lot of fun for the next 48 hours but I really don't remember much. There was a wonderful show on the evening of day 6. A dance production featuring the tango. The lead male dancer dislocated a big toe halfway through and although he finished the performance he would not be able to dance in the boggie woggie production a few nights later. The show was hot. I would like to take a moment here to thank Cheryl, Mio, and Danny, our tablemates. We laughed every night at the funny stories, shared our travel adventures and just had a wonderful time. You will remain in our memories forever.

By day 7 I was back on my feet and ready for Cyprus. We only had 5 hours but planned to make the best of it. Shelly, Jane, Geri and her husband Ryan, and Maria and I had hired Linda of Cyprus Chauffeur to drive us to Lambouri winery. I had contacted another winery, Ayios Mamas but they were not open on Sunday. They were kind enough to leave a bottle of their wine at the Venus bottle shop near the port so we stopped there first. The owner of the bottle shop was waiting for us and he also gave us a bottle of Raki to take with us. The Cypriots are so friendly. The wine tasting and tour at Lambouri was wonderful. The owner and the wine maker opened the winery just for us and took us on a tour of the beautiful facility. We then tasted about 15 different wines, some of which were, IMO. world class. We then drove to the wine museum where we tasted 3 more wines and learned the history of wine making on Cyprus. Everyone we came in contact with treated us like family. Thanks to all of you. We will return to Cyprus soon for an extended visit.

After a wonderful morning in Cyprus we returned to the ship and got ready for our first wine and food experience in Chops. Although I would not do this again because of the cost, we enjoyed the experience. The table for 2 was a nice change from the table in the main dining room. The wines were very good, but we had to beg for more when our glasses were empty. The food was very good. We had steak and it was the only one we had on the entire cruise. The chef came to the table to discuss some of the dishes served and all in all it was a very romantic evening. The following day we docked in Rhodes. We walked to the old town, and had a beer, then back to the ship which was empty. We really enjoyed the peace and quiet. By this time I was off my pain medicine and back to my "normal" self.
On Tuesday the 8th we had hired George - The taxi driver - to chauffeur Carol, Linda, Maria, and me around Athens. We started at the New Acropolis Museum. Good value for 1 euro. Next we headed for Brettos distillery for wine tasting. After tasting 12 different wines they insisted we try the ozzo and raki. We could not refuse. We were drunk by noon and then it was off for a traditional Greek feast. George is a great driver and took us to his favorite restaurant. We ate until we could burst and after over an hour paid the bill of 11 euros each we left for the changing of the guards. George took us to the back side of the government building and we got some great pictures with the guard. Back in the cab we headed for one of the highest points in Athens. As the sun began to set we could look down on the Acropolis which was breath taking. On our way back to the ship we stopped at "The Poet Sandal Maker of Athens" where I purchased a pair of leather sandals. Thanks to George for his service and to Carol and Linda who once again were the perfect companions.

Upon arrival back at the ship from our tour of Athens we prepared for a wine and food pairing in Portofino's. Our tablemates were very nice and as always we shared many interesting stories. The rest of the experience had a lot to be desired. The food was ok, the wine not very good and the waiter had very bad breath. As I said before I would skip the wine and food pairings on my next trip and spend the money elsewhere.

Our next scheduled port call was Palermo, but we had to cancel due to rough seas. It seems that there is the need for a special pilot to board the ship to navigate the Strait of Messina. The seas were so rough that he was unable to board the ship. We sail around the south of Sicily and headed home. Three days at sea is a long time but there were lots of things to do and Maria and I took a couple of piano lessons,lots of fun. Although we never seemed to be playing the same thing the results were often pleasant and always interesting. I will not go into detail about these 3 nights and 4 days except to say that we had fun. We waited to do our shopping on the last 2 days and saved lots of money on gifts thanks to the tips from those who had cruise experience. The day of departure was surprisingly painless.

I have a few final thoughts. First I must thank everyone on the internet for the great information you provided. It was all very helpful and made for a nearly flawless trip. I want to compliment RCI for providing such a wonderful vacation for such good value. The staff earned high marks for the wonderful service they provided. Their jobs are not easy. The entertainment was also very good and the ports of call were great. Although I don't know when, I do know we will be sailing again.

Here is a poem that exemplifies the "it's a small world" phenomenon, experienced by anyone who has taken a cruise.

A ship sets it's sails
On an ocean so vast.
It's passengers hail
From North, South, East and West

A new face appears
Sharing stories of life
She's a friend of 25 years
Of my very own ex-wife.

It's a small world. This woman has been a friend and workmate of Shirley, the mother of my children, for 25 years. Go figure.