Talking with the Captain of Brilliance of the Seas; Seaview Cafe Review

Captain Sorensen of Brilliance of the Seas

The objective of Beyondships.com is to give you a feel for the ships. Accordingly, I try to provide information about the ships in a number of ways including photographs, copies of daily programs, menus, items distributed onboard as well as my own writing. Another perspective I like to give you is that of the officers who actually operate the ships. They are the ones who are in charge of delivering the cruise experience to you so I think it is valuable to know what they are aiming to deliver.

As discussed in this blog last week, Brilliance of the Seas is a special ship. Thus, I wanted to get her officers' perspective about what makes her special. Accordingly, I spoke with Captain Henirk Loft Sorensen and Hotel Director Erik Speckenbrink about what makes Brilliance special. They emphasized the international atmosphere on board that gives it a more cosmopolitan feel than most ships. They also used words such as elegant, personal, and high quality. In addition, Captain Sorensen confirmed what I had heard from several other captains, Brilliance is a wonderful ship to drive. My interview with Captain Sorensen and Hotel Director Speckenbrink is at http://www.beyondships2.com/brilliance-of-the-seas-captain-interview.html

Another way of giving you a feel for the ships is through articles about the food on the ship. Dining is an important part of the cruise experience and so I like to do interviews with chefs and restaurant managers and to do restaurant reviews where possible.

Normally, I do not like to do a review of a restaurant that is going to be replaced with another venue in a future refit of the ship. However, I enjoyed the Seaview Cafe on Brilliance so much that I thought I would go ahead and write a review anyway. After all, the Seaview on Brilliance will be in operation for a few more months and the one on Jewel of the Seas should keep going even longer.

In April 2013, Brilliance is scheduled to have a major revitalization. This is part of a program where Royal Caribbean is bringing some of the more popular features that were developed for Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas to the rest of the fleet. The details of what will be done to Brilliance have not been announced but when her sister ship Radiance of the Seas went through a similar revitalization, the Seaview Cafe was replaced with another venue.

The Seaview is a casual venue in an out of the way location on the back of the ship. You can eat outside or in the charming little clubhouse. But what makes this venue so nice is that you have a world of choice in designing your meal. You select the combination of ingredients that you want on your pizza, pasta dish or panini and they make it for you fresh.

My review of the Seaview Cafe with photos is at http://www.beyondships2.com/brilliance-of-the-seas-seaview-cafe.html