Dubai: Brilliance of the Seas' aptly named Casino Royale is no shrinking violet, although it does boast an ornate floral motif amid ostentatious appointments of polished brass fittings, crystal chandeliers, stained glass portraits and a central goddess sculpture.
The rich surroundings play host to more than 190 slot machines, video gaming machines and roughly a dozen craps, blackjack and poker tables, which have proved popular when the liner has cruised the Mediterranean from her twin port of Barcelona, Spain, staff said.
"The Casino Royale is popular among our guests; some evenings it's packed," said a liner employee, noting that "most of our guests come for the slot machines".
A quick casino tour by XPRESS reveals the casino's slot machines were built by IGT of Nevada and use on-board computers and random number generating technology.
Daily dice
Popular slot favourites Double Diamond, Wheel of Fortune and Red White and Blue operate daily, save Mondays when the casino is closed. According to a promotional video at the casino entrance, Royal Caribbean offers first night "gaming lessons" for new guests who can learn how to compete against machine or other players. Casino Royal offers player tournaments for Black Jack, Texas Hold'em and slots.
There is a $50 (Dh184) minimum to play at the tables.
The same video shows one casino player named Morris clutching two banded stacks of cash for his win of $20,000 (Dh73,460) - his picture was taken under the casino section dubbed "Nouveau Riche".
The video also promises visitors the possibility of winning $20,000 (Dh73,460) for only a $1 (Dh3.67) wager playing Caribbean Stud Poker.
Brilliance of the Seas facts
90,090 gross tonnes,
962 feet long, 106 feet wide,
28 feet draft, 25 knots cruising speed, 12 passenger decks,
9 passenger elevators, 3 bow thrusters,
smokeless gas turbines,
2,112 guests (double occupancy)
848 crew
