Baltic Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas

Let me start off by saying that I am not a cruiser. Some people absolutely love cruising - in fact, most people on this Baltic cruise were huge fans of this mode of travel, including my mother who absolutely adores it. Despite the different itineraries and the different brands, cruising just is not my first choice when it comes to travel.

Now that that's out of the way, I will say that I had a pleasant enough time on my Baltic Cruise in early June of 2018. We had a number of ports of call, all of which were new to both my mother and I. Our embarkation and disembarkation were from the same city - Amsterdam, a place where I had a really enjoyable time both with my husband and all by myself. Those times, though, are for a different post.

Throughout my blog, I've discussed several of the ports of call, going into their highlights and things to see and do at each place. Because I have not yet (as of December 2019 as I write this) travelled back to any of these cities, my experiences on the cruise remain my only entrée into each. Though I do not claim that my short adventures are enough to do the cities any justice (one of my main issues with cruising in general), I was able to see and do some interesting and fun things that those with a shortage of time, whether it be because of your budget, a jam packed itinerary, or because you are also cruising, I hope that these postings can give you a quick glimpse into some of the fun things available in each location.

But how was the cruising experience in general? How was the room, food, and overall itinerary? We'll explore that here in this post.

The Cruise Ship: Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas

Brilliance of the Seas, left, docked in Tallinn, Estonia.

You will have to forgive me - by the time I started this cruise, I had been traveling for quite some time and was not as interested in taking pictures of the boat as I was the scenery. Therefore, my pictures of the cruise ship are not the most exciting (when they exist), or simply were never taken in the first place. As I look back at the pictures for this posting, I'm a little bummed I didn't think to walk around and do some formal picture taking on any of the days at sea, but alas! Nearly two months of travel will wipe away any desire of documenting everything.

This was my first experience using Royal Caribbean, having sailed with Princess Cruises and Regent Seven Seas in the past. Because Ben and I do not choose to go on cruises ourselves, our cruise line choices have always been in the hands of others. Each line has its own pros and cons - I will say that those I met on the Royal ship were very fond of Royal cruises. The brand does a great job of establishing loyalty, more so than the two previous cruises I've taken. My mom is an especially big fan of theirs, and has earned elite status as a frequent return guest. To her, one of the perks of cruising with Royal is her familiarity with the restaurants, the activities, the shopping, casino, bars...she's a mini expert at this whole thing. In fact, I might even give her a guest blog position so she can wax lyrical about her affinity for the company.

I've heard that there are people who book cruises specifically for the boat. This is so far out of my realm of understanding how to travel, so I will just have to assume that it works for them, and the more people traveling, the better! However, this would never occur to me - UNLESS! I had gotten to know crew members and wanted to experience their service again. Otherwise, cruising is a means to seeing new destinations - the ship is secondary to me.

The Brilliance of the Seas was a nice enough ship - a little dated, but not too worn out. Built in 1998, it houses 2,600 passengers, plus the requisite crew members to take care of all of us travelers. Compared to my experience on Regent Seven Seas, it was much more crowded, but it never felt cramped. The only places that felt like there were too many people was at the buffet as you were elbowing your way to a table...and really, that's about it. Every now and then, though, the elevator situation would become a waiting game, but for those who don't mind climbing some steps, the stairs await. Otherwise, it never really felt like you were being overwhelmed by a mob. But - you should keep in mind that I spent my free time reading, doing work for the magazine, or just relaxing in my stateroom. Finding seats in the interior pool area might have been a different story (my mom would know).

Our Stateroom

My mom and I opted for a balcony stateroom, which was located on the 8th floor towards the aft of the ship (that's the back for all you landlubbers out there). Since I suffer from motion sickness, I prefer to have my rooms towards the most stable part of the ship. (I also wear a prescribed motion sickness patch which is literally THE GREATEST INVENTION EVER). We were in stateroom #8658.

When we first entered our room, we were caught off guard by the fact that we were given a king bed when we had requested the beds to be separated. Luckily, we caught up with our room steward and she fixed the mistake quickly. There was also the mystery of the missing suitcase, but that's a story for a later time.

Pretty typical for all cruise ships that I've used, the rooms are not massive (Regent Seven Seas have been the largest so far, and this room was about equal to our room on Princess). For me, this is one of the added benefits to having a balcony - more room to spread out . It's nice to have a desk area, as well as a couch, though we hardly used ours (truth be told, it was more of a catch all than actual thing to sit on). My mom spent most of her time around the ship, and that left me with the whole room to myself if I came back to work, relax, or upload pictures.

And just like in every cruise ship I've ever sailed on, the bathroom is small but functional. Having the sitting area in the main room is perfect for getting ready without feeling cramped.

Overall, the room was fine. A little dated, and not the nicest room I've ever stayed in, but good enough considering we really didn't spend too much time in it. And if we did, we spent that time on the balcony, which to me is always worth the extra splurge.

Dining

One of my main joys of traveling is the food. This is one of the reasons why cruising isn't particularly appealing to me - I want to eat what the locals eat, not eat American food in an exotic location. I get the appeal of a cruise ship and the dining situation - I really do. And I know I've said a lot here that might turn you off cruising in general, but my comments are not to put down those who do enjoy these things, only to highlight why they are not my cup of tea.

All of that being said, the food on the Brilliance of the Seas was better than I had anticipated. The service, especially our main waiter, was exceptional, and much better than I thought we'd receive. Everyone worked their butts off - I have the upmost respect for everyone working in the dining areas of the ship (and in fact all of the areas, but especially the dining). The food at the buffet was tasty, though the experience was something that we only had the patience for for a day or two - otherwise, it was just too crowded and chaotic when looking for a seat. However, the food there provided lots of options for someone like me who was over American-ish dishes - they featured Indian dishes, Italian, and all sorts of options that would work for any number of palettes.

The main dining room was the place we ate dinner at each night, as well as the occasional breakfast and/or lunch, depending on the day's sailing schedule. For me, dinners were the highlight of a day at sea, or even on land (we always set sail before you could eat dinner at each port - a huge point of contention for me!). As we gave up on the buffet, the lunches and breakfasts in the restaurant were slower, but more enjoyable. You would dine with guests from around the globe and talk story about your travels. My living in Hawaii is always a great way to make friends, and we had no problem making chit chat with a number of people. As you'd see them throughout the cruise, it would be nice to connect with them and see how everything was going. I enjoyed this a lot.

Dinner was something completely different - my mother and I dined together at our own table, something I much preferred versus sharing a communal table. We had a set dinner time, even though it was called "any time dining." Royal gives you two options - one for "any time" and one that is more set - an earlier or a later option. We knew we didn't want to do those set ones, but we didn't realize (or at least I didn't) that even if we didn't pick a set time, we were still given a set time. The "any time" just happened to mean not those two set times, so you could pick 5:30 or 6:15 or 7:30, you just had to pick it everyday. However, this was a blessing in disguise - we picked a later time, based on what we assumed would be giving ourselves enough time in port, a quick shower and change, and then something to do in the evening. Because we were so far north during the summer, dinners that would end around 9:30 were still brightly lit. The other advantage to eating so late (our set time was around 7:30 - 8:00pm) was that we hit the tail end of our waitstaff's busy evening. That meant that by dessert, you could get some really good conversations with the staff, learning tips and tricks about each port of call, as well as just learning about life on board the ship and all the peccadillos that happen below deck. This was a real highlight for me on a ship where I was one of very few guests in my age range.

We became friendly with our main waiter, whose name and picture I will leave out because I have not asked to share this information, and he not only hustled each and every night (plus morning and lunch services), but did so with an ease and grace that endeared him to you. He was professional without being stuffy, colloquial without being too casual. He was happy to see you - or at least he made you feel that way, and made sure everything you asked for turned out just right. If he knew a dish wasn't going to be too good that evening, he tried to steer you clear of it. If he thought a dish was too spicy, he would recommend others, even if you told him that you liked spicy and in fact were craving it. He even offered to put in another order just in case the food was too spicy, and kept checking to make sure it wasn't too spicy (spoiler alert - it wasn't too spicy, but it was nice to know that my needs as a diner would be taken care of). We knew we could always look forward to a recommendation, and he would do it in a way that was unique to himself - as you watched other waiters in the same vicinity, it was clear how unique our own waiter was. We both really enjoyed his service.

At the end of the cruise, you are given the option to leave an extra tip. Royal charges you money each day that they consider a gratuity, but it is shared amongst everyone on board. This a great idea, and I love the equality of it all. I'm also American, and I know that life on board a cruise ship, while somewhat glamorous in the sense of being able to travel the world while getting paid, is also hard work for little pay. Our waiter got the bulk of my tip, and I wrote him a letter in thanks for his hard work. On the morning of our Disembarkation, we ran into him at breakfast, and he sat down with us. He said he was very touched, that he almost cried at the letter, and would let me know if he was ever in Hawaii. I know how special it feels to receive a note from my students when they feel I've done a good job, that I wanted to make sure that the staff who I thought did exceptional work knew it. Be kind to your staff - even if you can't afford an extra tip, a kind note will likely go a long way.

There are other dining options, higher end ones, where you can purchase tickets that you exchange for meals on preselected dates. These vouchers allow you to eat fine dining meals for relatively cheap prices - everything is included (except for drinks and extra tip), with a few surcharges here and there. Overall, though, these vouchers offered really great deals for options that range from a steakhouse, upscale Italian, and sushi. We opted for 3 vouchers, and we used them twice at the steakhouse, and once at the Italian restaurant. I will say that the Italian restaurant has one of the best tiramisu desserts I've ever eaten - do yourself a favor and ORDER THAT DESSERT. :)

Embarkation in Amsterdam

The arrival experience was easy enough (though, I will mention something that I did not know in advance, and led to one of my suitcases going MIA). My mother and I were staying at the Apollo Hotel Amsterdam, a little outside the city center of Amsterdam, and took a 10-15 minute taxi ride to the port. The port is also not quite in the city center, but pretty close. From the top floor of the ship, you could see the city central, including Centraal Station.

Our taxi dropped us off in front, and we dragged our bags inside the terminal. There, we were greeted by staff who helped corral us into lines where we would then hand in our luggage. This is where one bag of mine took a wayward journey, as I had been collecting wine throughout my earlier trip through Europe. I did not realize that there was a limit to how much wine you could have in your stateroom - after all, I was not planning on drinking any of it on the ship, as Ben and I tend to hoard our wines back in Hawaii. Therefore, when one of my bags did not show up at the room later on, my mom casually mentioned that it could be because of the wine. Sure enough, at this juncture, my wine and I were becoming separated for the duration of the trip. Should you find yourself in a similar situation, either store your wine somewhere safe before the cruise, or prepare for the ship to hold on to it and deliver it back to your stateroom before disembarkation.

After dropping off our bags, we were next herded towards the formal check in process. This is where you get your onboard passes, which serve as your formal ticket to board, pay for things, open your room door, etc. You'll need this pass with you just about at all times, so you'll want to find a place to keep it nice and safe. If you're my mom, you'll have a special shiny lanyard you'll wear around your neck (and you won't be the only one who does this either). And also, if you're my mom, you will get to have an expedited check in process due to her elite status on Royal.

Once check in is completed, you can head on board, but you won't have access to your stateroom right away. You can enjoy lunch in the buffet and check out the ship in all its grandeur. We waited about an hour before we could finally get into our stateroom, and then shortly afterwards, we prepared to sail away.

Before departure, we looked from our room's balcony out at the port and could see all the loading and unloading of goods before we set out to sea. After we got settled, located my missing suitcase, and grabbed lunch, we headed up to the top floor to watch as we set sail.

Our adventure exploring a completely unfamiliar part of the world was about to begin. And we were ready.

The Itinerary

Where you travel on a cruise ship is, for me, the number one priority. As I mentioned above, all the other factors of a cruise ship don't mean as much to me if the itinerary isn't the highlight. The best part of a Baltic cruise is that each city you visit is charming, interesting, and well worth your time. Different cruise operators have itineraries that deviate from this one; besides missing Stockholm dude to high winds, we enjoyed each port. Be sure to pick an itinerary that meets your needs and expectations - this one suited us just fine.

Day 1 (May 28th): Embark from Amsterdam

Day 2 (May 29th): At sea

Day 3 (May 30th): Skagen, Denmark

Day 4 (May 31st): At sea

Day 5 (June 1st): Tallinn, Estonia

Day 6 (June 2nd): St. Petersburg, Russia Part One; Part Two

Day 7 (June 3rd): St. Petersburg, Russia

Day 8 (June 4th): Helsinki, Finland

Day 9 (June 5th): Scheduled: Stockholm, Sweden; Actual - At sea

Day 10 (June 6th): Scheduled: At sea; Actual - Copenhagen, Denmark

Day 11 (June 7th): Copenhagen, Denmark

Day 12 (June 8th): At sea

Day 13 (June 9th): Disembarkation in Amsterdam - Fly back to USA

After all was said and done, the experience was an enjoyable one. Was it my preferred method of traveling? I'm still not converted to cruising as a primary method of travel, but for this area of the world, cruising seemed to work. If nothing else, I now have a brief encounter with a few new cities, helping me be better prepared for when I revisit them sometime in the future.

Until then, I'll see you out there!

This trip was part of a larger trip to Europe. To see the itineraries for the first two legs, check them out below.

Japan

Japan

Twenty Minutes in

Burma