Brilliance of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean's four Radiance class ships, very similar in atmosphere and amenities to its sisters, Jewel of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas.

Brilliance has a very attractive casino featuring 11 gaming tables (five eight-deck blackjack tables, one single-deck blackjack table, two Caribbean stud poker, two roulette and one craps table). A three-card poker table was scheduled to debut in late November. The Brilliance casino also has has 193 slots.

Most of the table games have a $5 minimum and $200 maximum. The $5 minimum, unfortunately, encourages cruisers with no gambling knowledge to try their luck, leaving more experienced blackjack players frequently frustrated by their erratic play.

Midway through the trip, the casino opened a blackjack table with a $10 minimum and $300 maximum which did little to weed out inexpert players. Finally, the casino agreed to raise the minimum on that table to $15 (still with a $300 maximum), and that produced a somewhat more consistent level of play.

The dealers on the whole were competent and friendly, and casino management seemed committed to seeing that players of all levels had a good time while at the tables. Casino management was particularly attentive to members of the Royal Caribbean Players Club on the cruise.

Overall, this is a pleasant casino that tries to accommodate VIP players. And let it also be said that the Brilliance (and presumably the other Radiance-class ships) has a far more intimate feel than the larger Royal Caribbean vessels. These are the nicest ships to cruise on in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

But if you are a VIP player who is more interested in a good nightly high-stakes game than in the overall cruise ambience, you might want to strongly consider sailing on the larger Voyager class ships with their larger, more active casinos.

--The Savvy Cruiser