Virgin Voyages’ Fourth Ship Is Finally Coming

Virgin Voyages’ fourth ship, Brilliant Lady, will finally hit the high seas in September 2025, more than a year and a half after it was supposed to launch. The ship will debut in New York City, before heading out on a North American tour with sailings of up to 14 nights that head to Bermuda, Canada, through the Panama Canal, Mexico, and to Alaska, and out of ports that include New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

“Virgin Voyages started as a simple idea for me and has blossomed into the world’s top cruise line with a full fleet of ships,” said Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group. “This ship is going to be brilliant in every possible way, and that includes the incredible new places we can travel to.”

Virgin Voyages’ CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu added, “Virgin fans have been asking for yeas if we’d consider sailing from places like New York, Los Angeles, or Alaska, so it’s wonderful to give our Sailors and First Mates what they wanted: fresh itineraries spanning North America from five to 14 nights in length with new experiences…”

While the ship will be mostly familiar to anyone who has cruised on the line’s current three ships, it will have an adapted frame so that it can sail through the Panama Canal and navigate Alaska’s waterways.

Brilliant Lady’s inaugural journey will be Sept. 5, 2025 from New York City. The ship will sail five voyages from NYC to either Bermuda or New England/Canada, before repositioning to Miami for 17 voyages to the Caribbean, including special sailings to the ABC Islands. Following this, Brilliant Lady will sail a 16-night cruise in March 2026 transiting the Panama Canal and onto Los Angeles. From Los Angeles, the ship will sail four journeys (commencing April 17, 2026), before repositioning to Seattle for a season of Alaska sailings from May 2026 to September 2026.

Guests previously scheduled to sail on Brilliant Lady before it was delayed will be given priority access to book a cruise on Brilliant Lady.