Brilliance of the Seas carries fewer dining venues than Royal Caribbean’s newer mega-ships, and that is not a bad thing. There are no 20-restaurant food halls or themed dining spectacles here. What you get instead is a handful of well-run restaurants where the staff know your name by the second night. I found the dining on my Alaska sailing to be mid-level in quality but high in service. The food is not Michelin standard, but it is well cooked, portions are reasonable, and the dining room team went out of their way to accommodate my food exclusion without being asked twice.

How Dining Works on This Ship

Brilliance operates a split model. The Minstrel main dining room, Windjammer buffet, Park Cafe, and Rita’s Cantina (daytime) are included in your fare. Specialty restaurants - Chops Grille, Giovanni’s Table, Izumi, and Chef’s Table - carry a cover charge or a la carte pricing.

For the main dining room, you choose at booking between traditional fixed seating (6pm or 8:30pm nightly) and My Time Dining, which lets you pick a reservation time between 6pm and 9:30pm. My Time Dining offers more flexibility, but popular times fill up. Book early.

Reservations for specialty restaurants can be made through the Royal Caribbean app before sailing or at the restaurant desk on embarkation day. Pre-booking usually offers a small discount over onboard pricing. A dining package covering multiple specialty meals is available and can save money if you plan three or more paid dinners.

Dress code: the published policy says smart casual for the main dining room and Dress to Impress for one or two evenings per sailing. In reality, you will see a full range from blazers and cocktail dresses to polo shirts and khakis. No one is turned away for being underdressed unless you turn up in swimwear. The Windjammer and casual venues have no meaningful dress code.

Main Dining Room

The Minstrel spans Decks 4 and 5 at the aft of the ship, with a cascading waterfall as its centrepiece and seating for over 1,200 guests. It is open for breakfast, lunch (sea days only), and dinner.

The menu rotates nightly with themed evenings - Italian, Asian, Caribbean, French - plus a core of staple dishes available every night including steak and chicken. Popular starters include the chilled shrimp cocktail and crab-stuffed mushroom caps. The roasted lamb shanks and San Francisco cioppino are the strongest main courses. For dessert, the Key lime pie and berry cobbler are consistently good.

Quality is honest mid-range. You are not getting freshly caught fish prepared to a high standard. You are getting well-cooked proteins with reliable seasoning and decent variety. The strength of the Minstrel is not the food itself but the service. The dining room staff on Brilliance are exceptional. When I mentioned my food exclusion on the first night, the head waiter visited my table every evening afterwards with options tailored specifically to my allergies. That level of personal attention is increasingly rare on cruise ships and it defined my dining experience.

The practical tip: if you choose My Time Dining, arrive 15 to 20 minutes before your reservation. You will have a better chance of getting a window table, which on Alaska itineraries means watching glaciers or coastline while you eat. The upper level of the two-deck dining room tends to be quieter.

Specialty Restaurants

Giovanni’s Table

Located on Deck 6 port side, Giovanni’s Table serves rustic Italian fare at a cover charge of approximately GBP 40 ($50) per person. The menu leans toward hearty Tuscan dishes - braised meats, stews, handmade pasta, and risotto. The truffle mushroom risotto and seafood linguine are the standouts. The focaccia bread is baked fresh and arrives warm.

Giovanni’s is open for lunch and dinner. Lunch carries a lower cover charge of roughly GBP 20 ($25) per person and is an excellent way to try the restaurant without committing to a full dinner price. The atmosphere is warm and relaxed, with natural light from large windows making it one of the most pleasant rooms on the ship.

Is it worth it? Yes. Of all the specialty restaurants on Brilliance, Giovanni’s delivers the most consistent quality for the price. If you book one paid lunch, make it here.

Chops Grille

Royal Caribbean’s signature steakhouse sits on Deck 6 midship, with a cover charge of approximately GBP 55 ($70) per person for dinner. Lunch on sea days runs at roughly GBP 24 ($30). The menu centres on hand-cut steaks - petite filet, New York strip, ribeye, prime rib - plus grilled branzino and Maine lobster for non-beef eaters.

The steaks are good. Not the best steakhouse you have ever eaten in, but well above what the main dining room offers. The baked potatoes are enormous. The sides - mac and cheese, gruyere tater tots, roasted vegetables - are shareable and generous.

The catch: at GBP 55 per person, Chops is the most expensive standard specialty dinner on the ship. For a couple, that is GBP 110 ($140) for one meal, plus drinks. On a seven-night sailing where the main dining room is already included and genuinely decent, that is a significant outlay. I would book Chops once for a celebration or special night, but not repeatedly.

Izumi

The Asian restaurant on Deck 12 aft offers sushi, sashimi, ramen, and hot rock (ishiyaki) plates. Pricing is a la carte, or you can opt for a fixed-price menu at approximately GBP 32 ($40) per person covering one small plate, two large plates, and dessert.

The sushi is fresh and well-prepared. The shrimp firecracker spring roll is the signature starter and worth ordering. The ramen bowls are large and satisfying. Hot rock plates, where you cook protein on a heated stone at your table, are fun but not something I would pay for twice.

Izumi is quieter than the other specialty restaurants and feels more intimate. It is a good option for solo travellers who want a calm dining environment without the formality of Chops.

Chef’s Table

The most exclusive dining experience on Brilliance. A five-course menu prepared and presented by a senior chef, with wine pairings selected by the sommelier. Seating is limited to 14 to 16 guests per evening, and the price is approximately GBP 70 ($85) per person.

You begin with a pre-dinner drink, move through courses including scallop carpaccio, roasted branzino, and filet mignon, and finish with a Valrhona chocolate dessert. An autographed cookbook is included. The experience runs three to three and a half hours.

Chef’s Table books out early on popular sailings. Reserve before you board. The food quality is a clear step above everything else on the ship, and the intimate format makes it feel like a private dinner party rather than a restaurant meal.

Casual and Buffet Dining

The Windjammer on Deck 11 aft is the ship’s buffet, open for breakfast from 6am, lunch from 11:45am, and dinner from 6:30pm. Quality is exactly what you would expect from a cruise buffet: decent at breakfast, variable at lunch, and basic at dinner. The themed dinner stations rotate between Asian, Indian, Italian, and American dishes. The curries are a hit with passengers. The desserts change daily.

The practical tip: head to the aft section of the Windjammer for seating. It is less crowded and has direct views over the wake. On Alaska sailings, having coffee at the Windjammer with the coastline slipping past the windows was one of the highlights of the trip.

Park Cafe on Deck 11 midship is the unsung option. Open for breakfast and lunch, it serves made-to-order paninis, sandwiches, soups, and salads at no charge. The Kummelweck roast beef sandwich is a Royal Caribbean tradition and worth trying. Late at night, Park Cafe reopens from 10pm to 2am serving pizza and light snacks.

Rita’s Cantina, located near the Windjammer, serves Mexican fare - quesadillas, tortilla soup, jalapeno poppers - at no charge during the day. Evenings carry a small GBP 2.50 ($3) cover charge and feature live guitar music and dancing in an adults-only setting.

Brilliance does not have Johnny Rockets, Sorrento’s Pizza, or Cafe Promenade. The casual options are more limited than on newer Royal Caribbean ships. Park Cafe and the Windjammer carry the weight.

Room Service

Available 24 hours at a delivery charge of GBP 6.50 ($7.95) per order including gratuity. Grand Suite guests and above receive complimentary room service. The menu covers burgers, chicken wings, grilled salmon, Philly cheesesteaks, and breakfast items including cooked eggs and pastries.

Quality is acceptable for breakfast. The continental options - pastries, fruit, coffee - arrive promptly and are a pleasant way to start a sea day without fighting the Windjammer queue. For lunch and dinner, room service is functional but not exciting. The food travels from the galley and arrives lukewarm on occasion.

Junior Suite guests also receive complimentary room service, which is one of the underappreciated perks of that cabin category.

The One Dinner to Book

If you book one specialty dinner on Brilliance of the Seas, make it Chef’s Table. At GBP 70 ($85) per person, it is not cheap, but it is the only dining experience on the ship that rises above mid-range cruise ship food into genuinely memorable territory. The five courses, wine pairings, and intimate setting with a dozen other guests create something you cannot replicate in the main dining room or at Chops.

Book it for a sea day evening when you have no port schedule to rush back from. The experience runs long, and you want to enjoy it without watching the clock. Reserve before boarding - it fills up within days of sailing on most itineraries.

Dietary Needs and Allergies

Royal Caribbean handles dietary requirements well on Brilliance, and my personal experience confirmed it. When I mentioned my food exclusion on the first evening, the head waiter took note and visited my table every night afterwards with dishes specifically chosen to respect my allergies. I did not have to ask again after that first conversation.

For the main dining room, vegetarian and vegan options appear on every menu with at least two starters, one soup, two mains, and desserts marked clearly. Gluten-free and dairy-free options are available on request. Notify Royal Caribbean of your requirements at least 60 days before sailing through your booking for the best preparation.

Kosher meals are available with advance notice - Royal Caribbean sources pre-packaged kosher meals that are heated onboard. Halal options are more limited and should be discussed with the cruise line directly before booking.

In the Windjammer, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian dishes are labelled at the buffet stations. The labelling is generally reliable but not always comprehensive. If you have a serious allergy, stick to the main dining room where the waiter can communicate directly with the kitchen.

The practical tip: on embarkation day, visit the main dining room and ask to speak to the head waiter about your dietary needs. This one conversation sets the tone for the entire sailing.