Hi Everyone,

As you've probably guessed, I'm back home now and will be posting the last part of the cruise for those that have been following along. The cyber cabin connection was VERY slow and some times wouldn't connect at all so I finally gave up in posting the final few days of the cruise.

June 30th- Split, Croatia

For this port there wasn't any pre-booked group shore excursion and instead everyone went ashore on their own.
We did have to tender here and it wasn't much of a hassle at all. We opted to sleep in a little (8am) and head into town
at our leisure. We walked around the ruins of the old Palace and within the walled city. It was so hot and humid that we didnt' stay long before heading back to the ships swimming pools! Split is a very large city and extremely clean. Some in the group went to a local beach and weren't impressed. Given the choice I would prefer to visit Dubrovnik over Split as I feel there was more to see/experience in Dubrovnik but overall this was a fine day.


July 1st-- Sea Day.

Finally another relaxing day at sea with perfect weather and few chair hogs.

July 2nd-- Valletta, Malta

Another port to explore on our own as I didn't arrange any group excursions here. Malta was hot, humid and a whole lot of nothing. We took the HOHO bus which made a complete circle around the island with the intention of getting on and off in the various small towns etc-- the only thing is the HOHO bus never stopped.. the driver just drove right on through each town and tourist area, and drove so slow I could have walked faster. Basically it was 4 hrs of my life I'll never get back!

Back in Valletta, we walked into the city and had lunch and then headed back to the ship. Not our favorite port of this itinerary, but far better than Corfu which we had on this itinerary 2 yrs ago.

July 3rd-- Sea Day

Final day at sea and last night of the cruise-- lots happening today around the ship and poolside- Packing is never fun!

July 4th-- Barcelona

We docked around 5am and the began calling off Express departure at 630am-- we did this option and were in taxi's and at the airport within 20 mins.

The group's flight from BCN on American was 6 hrs late due to a mechanical problem and they missed their connection in NY so they were overnighted at JFK and flown home the following morning. My flights back to Los Angeles on BA were on-time but the food and service was horrible..

Overall comments--

Brilliance is shinny and almost new after the April drydock
Service was excellent
Food in Windjammer and Main Dining Room was HORRIBLE!! Some nights I didn't eat dinner and went to bed hungry.
Chops/Portofino was Excellent
Seaview Cafe was Excellent
Entertainment was ok-- missed a lot of shows due to time in ports

I'll be posting a full, detailed review with pictures as soon as I get everything sorted out-- I took over 2000 pics and need to do some editing first.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email or post here... thanks

Thanks Bob, will be looking forward to photos. Glad you are back

Really enjoyed the live reports Bob!