Virgin Voyages teased “something brilliant is coming” on May 1, 2024 at noon and they delivered.
In a video announcement, Virgin Voyages highlighted some details of its newest ship, Brilliant Lady, and announced she will debut from four corners of the United States of America in September 2025. Designed with brilliant and multi-length itineraries in mind, her inaugural voyages will take place from New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and Seattle. Additionally, Brilliant Lady will be the first ship in the Virgin Voyages fleet to traverse the Panama Canal and explore Alaska.
Brilliant Lady will debut from New York City on September 5, 2025, and sail a 5-night MerMaiden voyage to Bermuda’s Kings Wharf. She will offer 5- to 13- night voyages to Bermuda and Canada before sailing to Miami, Florida for her winter season. New York City will be on sale May 8, 2024.
Brilliant Lady will debut in Miami with an 8-day MerMaiden voyage embarking on October 17, 2025 to Tortola and the cruise line’s exclusive beach club in Bimini. She will then sail seventeen 7- to 12-night voyages in the Caribbean–featuring the new ports of Kralendijk, Bonaire and Jamaica’s Ocho Rios–before sailing to Los Angeles on March 21, 2026. Miami goes on sale May 23, 2024.
Brilliant Lady’s repositioning cruise to Los Angeles will include a first-ever for Virgin Voyages 16-night sailing through the Panama Canal with ports of call in Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala. Panama Canal goes on sale May 8, 2024.
She will sail her 5-night MerMaiden voyage from Los Angeles on April 7, 2026 on the cruise line’s first ever West Coast voyage. She will sail 5-, 7- and 8-night voyages from Los Angeles to Santa Barabara, Catalina Island, Cabo San Luca, Puerto Vallarta and more during April and May before sailing to Seattle for a summer season in Alaska–another first for Virgin Voyages. Los Angeles goes on sale May 8, 2024.
Brilliant Lady will sail in the Alaska region from May to September 2026. Her MerMaiden voyage and itineraries in the Pacific Northwest are still in development and are expected to be announced by late 2025. While waiting, Sailors can purchase an “Alaska Front(ier) of the Line Pass” that secures a place in line ahead for these voyages. The pass is available beginning May 8, 2024 and starts at $500 for Sea Terraces.
In the video, Chief Brand Officer Nathan Rosenberg hinted that Virgin Voyages might not be done building when he said, “With Brilliant Lady, our fleet is complete–for now.” He then asked, “Who’s next?” The announcement finished with Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson saying, “Can’t wait to see you on board, it’s gonna be brilliant.”