Royal Caribbean To Christen Brilliance of the Seas

Royal Caribbean International has added to its fleet Brilliance of the Seas, the cruise line's second Radiance-class ship, in a ceremony in Eemshaven, Netherlands. The ship has been financed through a long-term lease. The 2,100-guest ship was built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and successfully completed sea trials in the North Sea. Marilyn Ofer has been named godmother for Brilliance of the Seas and will bless the ship at the naming ceremony Saturday, July 13, in Harwich, England. The traditional event will take place at 6 p.m. in the ship's Pacifica Theater. The ship will embark from Harwich July 15 on a seven-night maiden voyage to the Norwegian fjords. That will be followed by a series of four 12-night cruises from Harwich to the British Isles, Norwegian fjords, and Scandinavia and Russia. Ofer, who lives with her family in her native London, currently serves on the executive committee of the British Friends of the Art Museums of Israel as well as the Holocaust Educational Trust. She was a founding member of the New York chapter of WIZO, Women's International Zionist Organization, which supports health and education initiatives in Israel. She is the wife of Eyal Ofer, chairman and CEO of Carlyle M.G. Limited and a member of Royal Caribbean's Board of Directors. The godmother has wide-ranging interests in Impressionist and modern art, ballet and history. She studied at Tel Aviv University of the Parsons School of Design in New York. Brilliance of the Seas and her 90,090-ton sister ship Radiance of the Seas are as large as any cruise ships ever constructed at Meyer Werft. The Radiance-class vessels have a sleek mega-yacht profile and an abundance of glass, nearly three acres of exterior glass with panoramic elevators facing the sea and almost 600 balcony staterooms. The ship features vibration-free, General Electric gas turbine engines, which represent the cruise industry's newest technology for protecting the environment.