[6] On her sea trials in June 2002, a net got tangled in the ship's propeller and had to be removed by divers.

At around 2:15 AM, it was reported that in a cluster of ships rushing to enter the port of Alexandria, a freighter turned in front of Brilliance of the Seas, forcing the ship's captain, Erik Tengelsen, to slow below the 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) necessary to maintain her stabilisers' function.

Passengers reported that they were thrown out of beds; furniture and unsecured objects tossed and slid about their staterooms.

A reported 138 passengers needed medical treatment for their injuries, the most serious of which were two guests that sustained broken bones.

[9][10] A lawsuit brought by the husband of Barbara Davey, a Scottish woman who fell into a coma three days afterwards and later died, claimed that her death had been caused by head injuries sustained during the incident.