Brilliance Of The Seas
Cruises
Departure Ports
Starting Price, Per Night*
Maximum Duration
| Spec |
Value |
|---|---|
| Age | 23 years (entered service 2002) |
| Class | Radiance class |
| Length | 293 metres (962 feet) |
| Beam | 32.2 metres (106 feet) |
| Tonnage | 90,090 gross tonnes |
| Capacity | 2,140 lower berth (2,543 maximum) |
| Crew | ~848 |
| Speed | 25 knots (design speed) |
| Itinerary | Rome + Barcelona (summer), Tampa (winter): Mediterranean, Western Caribbean |
Prefer to sail Royal Caribbean from Australia?
Brilliance of the Seas sails from Europe in summer and Florida in winter, so an Australian booking is a fly-cruise. For a no-fly Royal Caribbean cruise from Sydney or Brisbane, see:
What is the Brilliance of the Seas?
Brilliance of the Seas is a 90,090 gross tonne, 293-metre Radiance-class ship operated by Royal Caribbean International, one of the line’s smaller, more intimate ships rather than a feature-packed mega-ship. Built for the view, she carries more than three acres of floor-to-ceiling glass, with sea-facing glass elevators in her nine-deck Centrum atrium. She carries 2,140 guests at lower-berth capacity (2,543 maximum when every berth is filled), with around 848 crew on board. Her standout features include the nine-deck Centrum with its aerial shows, the 40-foot Rock Climbing Wall, and the Bombay Billiards Club’s self-levelling billiard tables that stay flat as the ship moves.
Built by Meyer Werft at Papenburg in Germany and entering service in 2002, Brilliance of the Seas was christened at Harwich in England as the first major cruise ship named in the United Kingdom. Her gas-turbine propulsion gives her a fast, notably smooth and quiet ride, and as a smaller, older ship she carries no FlowRider or waterslide. She is registered in the Bahamas and does not homeport in Australia: she sails the Mediterranean from Rome and Barcelona in summer and the Caribbean from Tampa in winter, so Australian guests fly to join her.
How many decks does the Brilliance of the Seas have?
Brilliance of the Seas has 13 decks, with cabins on 7 of them, so your stateroom sits on one of those. The remaining decks hold the public spaces: the nine-deck Centrum atrium with its sea-facing glass elevators, the two-deck Minstrel Dining Room, the Windjammer Café buffet, the three-deck Pacifica Theater, the glass-roofed adults-only Solarium, the Vitality Spa, and the top-deck pool with the 40-foot Rock Climbing Wall on the aft funnel.
What cabins does the Brilliance of the Seas have?
Brilliance of the Seas carries around 1,075 cabins across four core tiers. You can book:
- Interior cabins, in a standard layout, plus a rare single-occupancy Studio Interior, an unusual option on an older ship and a genuine solo-traveller cabin.
- Ocean View cabins, from the standard Oceanview with its round window up to the Ultra Spacious Ocean View that sleeps up to six.
- Balcony cabins, with a real private balcony, in standard and more spacious versions, the larger ones adding a sofa-bed sitting area.
- Suites, which follow Royal Caribbean’s older Royal Suite Class, tiered by size through its Sea Class and Sky Class levels rather than the Star Class and Royal Genie model on the line’s newest ships. They run from the Junior Suite up through the one and two-bedroom Grand Suites and the Owner’s Suite to the single Royal Suite at the top, at about 1,001 square feet, with a baby grand piano and a whirlpool tub. There is no loft suite on this class.
What does the Brilliance of the Seas itinerary look like?
Brilliance of the Seas runs a two-season rotation between Europe and the Americas, with longer repositioning voyages in between. You can choose:
- Mediterranean voyages of 7 to 12 nights in summer from Rome (Civitavecchia) or Barcelona, calling at ports such as Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Naples, Livorno for Florence and Pisa, and Ephesus.
- Western Caribbean voyages of 4 to 7 nights in winter from Tampa, Florida, calling at Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Key West and Roatan.
- Transatlantic repositioning voyages of 13 to 15 nights between the two seasons, calling at ports such as Funchal in Madeira, Malaga, Bermuda and Ponta Delgada in the Azores.
What are the top facilities on the Brilliance of the Seas?
Brilliance of the Seas has eight standout facilities:
- The nine-deck Centrum atrium, with its sea-facing glass elevators and aerial acrobatic shows.
- More than three acres of floor-to-ceiling glass across her public rooms.
- The 40-foot Rock Climbing Wall on the aft funnel.
- The Bombay Billiards Club, with two self-levelling billiard tables that stay flat as the ship moves.
- The glass-roofed adults-only Solarium, with its pool and whirlpools.
- The three-deck Pacifica Theater for Broadway-style production shows.
- The main pool deck, with the Adventure Beach kids’ pool and three whirlpools.
- The nine-hole mini-golf course and the golf simulators.
What is the onboard experience of the Brilliance of the Seas?
Brilliance of the Seas‘s onboard experience covers six areas:
- Dining
- Bars and lounges
- Entertainment
- Activities and pools
- Wellness and fitness
- Kids and teens programming
Dining centres on the two-deck Minstrel Dining Room, the main restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with set seating or flexible My Time Dining. Casual included options are the Windjammer Café buffet and Park Café in the Solarium, for salads, sandwiches and paninis. Specialty (extra-charge) venues are the Chops Grille steakhouse, Izumi for Japanese sushi and izakaya, Giovanni’s Table for casual Tuscan Italian, and the multi-course Chef’s Table. Café Latte-tudes serves specialty coffees and sweets, and Ben & Jerry’s scoops ice cream, both for a fee.
Bars and lounges number around 16, most clustered around the nine-deck Centrum atrium. The Lobby Bar anchors the Centrum, with the Champagne Bar a few decks up, the R Bar for classic cocktails, and Vintages for wine. The Bombay Billiards Club, with its self-levelling billiard tables, sits alongside the Calcutta Card Club and the Jakarta Lounge. The Colony Club hosts music, dancing, comedy and cabaret, Singapore Sling’s is the piano and jazz lounge, the Sky Bar overlooks the Solarium for sundowners, and the Pool Bar serves the main pool, with a bar on the Casino Royale floor.
Entertainment centres on the three-deck Pacifica Theater, which stages Broadway-style production shows, comedy and game shows, and on the Centrum, the nine-deck atrium that doubles as a venue for aerial acrobatic performances, live music and parties, a Radiance-class signature. The Colony Club carries cabaret, dance events and game nights, and Casino Royale runs the gaming floor.
Activities and pools lead with the 40-foot Rock Climbing Wall on the aft funnel. The pool deck has the main pool, the Adventure Beach kids’ pool with its small slide, and three whirlpools, while the glass-roofed adults-only Solarium adds a quieter pool and its own whirlpools. Active options include a sports court for basketball, a nine-hole mini-golf course, golf simulators, a jogging track, and the self-levelling billiard tables in the Bombay Billiards Club. There is no FlowRider or waterslide on this class.
Wellness and fitness centre on the Vitality Spa & Fitness Centre, with a full menu of massages, facials and body wraps plus a thermal suite and a salon, and a fitness centre carrying cardio and weights with paid group classes. The glass-roofed adults-only Solarium, with its pool and whirlpools shielded from the wind, is the quieter relaxation zone.
Kids and teens programming runs through Adventure Ocean, split into Aquanauts (ages 3 to 5), Explorers (6 to 8) and Voyagers (9 to 11), with a dedicated teen lounge, teen disco and video arcade for ages 12 to 17. The Adventure Beach kids’ pool and its small slide on the pool deck round out the family offering.
Who is the Brilliance of the Seas best for?
Brilliance of the Seas is a strong fit for you in four scenarios:
- You’re a couple or an experienced cruiser who wants a smaller, calmer, view-forward ship, drawn to the glass-walled Centrum, the adults-only Solarium and the smooth, quiet gas-turbine ride rather than mega-ship thrills.
- You’re a Mediterranean cruiser who wants a port-intensive Greek Isles or Adriatic summer from Rome or Barcelona.
- You’re a Caribbean cruiser who wants a winter sailing from Tampa in Florida.
- You’re a multi-generational family happy with the age-banded Adventure Ocean clubs and the Adventure Beach pool rather than a FlowRider or a waterslide.
Brilliance of the Seas is a smaller, older ship, so she’s less suited to you if you’re chasing the newest thrills, such as the North Star observation capsule, the Bionic Bar, an AquaDome or a waterslide complex, none of which she carries. She also does not sail from Australia: she is a Europe and Caribbean fly-cruise ship, so Australian guests fly to join her rather than departing from a home port.
Where does the Brilliance of the Seas dock?
Brilliance of the Seas works from two sets of home ports depending on the season.
- For her summer Mediterranean voyages she sails from Rome, at Civitavecchia, and from Barcelona.
- For her winter Caribbean season she sails from Tampa in Florida, and her transatlantic repositioning voyages run between the two.
Pier assignments can vary by voyage, so check your booking for the exact terminal. She does not sail from Australia, so Australian guests fly to Europe or the United States to join her.
Prefer to sail Royal Caribbean from Australia?
Brilliance of the Seas sails only from Europe and the United States, so an Australian booking is always a fly-cruise. Royal Caribbean’s Australian-homeported ships are all larger and more modern than this intimate Radiance-class ship, so none matches her glass-and-views feel, but if boarding closer to home matters most, three fleetmates sail from Australian homeports:
- Anthem of the Seas is the big-ship upgrade, a newer Quantum-class ship that homeports in Sydney and Brisbane in the Australian summer. Her signature features, the North Star observation pod and the RipCord by iFLY indoor skydiving simulator, are a generation beyond the Radiance-class feature set on Brilliance of the Seas. See Anthem of the Seas cruises.
- Ovation of the Seas is the other Quantum-class Australian regular, with a similar newer-generation feature set to Anthem of the Seas on Sydney and Brisbane summer rotations. See Ovation of the Seas cruises.
- Voyager of the Seas is the closest in traditional feel, an older Voyager-class fleetmate that sails Australian summers from Sydney and Brisbane and carries the Royal Promenade and the Studio B ice rink, though she is a larger, livelier ship than Brilliance of the Seas. See Voyager of the Seas cruises.
Brilliance of the Seas FAQs
How old is the Brilliance of the Seas?
Brilliance of the Seas entered service in July 2002 as the second of Royal Caribbean’s four Radiance-class ships, which makes her around 23 years old in 2026, turning 24 in July. She was built by Meyer Werft at Papenburg in Germany, was christened at Harwich in England as the first major cruise ship named in the United Kingdom, and had a 2013 amplification with later refits, most recently a drydock in May 2025.
How many passengers can the Brilliance of the Seas carry?
Brilliance of the Seas carries 2,140 guests at lower-berth capacity (standard double occupancy) and up to 2,543 passengers when every upper berth and sofa bed is filled. With around 848 crew, that is roughly 3,000 people on board at standard occupancy.
How long is the Brilliance of the Seas?
Brilliance of the Seas measures 293 metres (962 feet) in overall length, with a beam of 32.2 metres (106 feet). At 90,090 gross tonnes she is one of Royal Caribbean’s smaller ships, with a roomy passenger-space ratio of about 42 to 1 that makes her feel open and uncrowded.
What are the noisy rooms to avoid on the Brilliance of the Seas?
Two cabin positions on the Brilliance of the Seas are worth avoiding if you’re a light sleeper, based on researched architectural patterns for the Brilliance of the Seas that transfer across the Radiance-class hull (her sisters Radiance of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas and Jewel of the Seas):
- Cabins on Deck 10, directly below the pool deck, which pick up pool-deck noise from above, including deck chairs being scraped across the deck early in the morning.
- Cabins above or below the three-deck Pacifica Theater, notably much of Deck 7 above the theatre and bars and the forward cabins on Deck 3 below it, which catch evening production-show and daytime rehearsal noise.
Call Cruise Guru on 13 13 03, use Contact Us, or submit a Request a Call Back form, and a consultant can advise on specific deck and cabin numbers within the category you are considering.
Does the Brilliance of the Seas have a water slide?
No, Brilliance of the Seas doesn’t have a waterslide. As a smaller, older Radiance-class ship she has the class-standard pool deck rather than a slide complex, and her only slide is the small one at the Adventure Beach kids’ pool. Her headline active features are different: the 40-foot Rock Climbing Wall on the aft funnel, a nine-hole mini-golf course, and golf simulators. For a Royal Caribbean ship with a full waterslide complex, the line’s Oasis-class ships carry The Perfect Storm waterslides.
Who christened the Brilliance of the Seas?
Brilliance of the Seas was christened at Harwich in England on 13 July 2002 by Marilyn Ofer. She was the first major cruise ship to be named in the United Kingdom.
Can Australian cruisers book the Brilliance of the Seas?
Yes, Australian cruisers can book the Brilliance of the Seas, but you’ll need to fly to join her, either in the Mediterranean for her summer season from Rome or Barcelona or in Florida for her winter Caribbean season from Tampa. She does not sail from Australia, New Zealand or the South Pacific, so for a no-fly Royal Caribbean sailing from Sydney or Brisbane, the section above on Anthem of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, and Voyager of the Seas is the better starting point.
Indicative cruise-only fares for Australian guests on a 7-night basis start from around A$1,588 per person for an interior or ocean view cabin and from around A$1,847 for a balcony, which works out to around A$109 per person per day at the entry level, though these are volatile snapshots, so check the live fares on this page for current pricing on your chosen sailing.
