While Virgin Voyages had a slow start to the beginning of its life, the innovative cruise line is certainly making up for lost time.
Virgin was set to sail its first ship — Scarlet Lady — in March 2020, right as the pandemic took hold. That first trip would end up being delayed for more than a year and a half, finally debuting a few months ago in October 2021.
Work was still ongoing behind the scenes, however, as the ball was rolling on the rest of the new cruise line’s fleet. Virgin Voyage’s second ship, Valiant Lady, has already joined the fleet. It’s third, Resilient Lady, is slated to join in August.
In other words, the cruise line is going from zero ships sailing to three ships cruising in under a calendar year. But it isn’t stopping there. Virgin Voyages is working on its fourth ship already and just offered a peek at the new name: Brilliant Lady.
“Like her three sisters who’ve come before, we’ve been extremely thoughtful about selecting her name; making sure that whatever we call her not only represents her, but represents the values and the beliefs we hold so dear,” the line posted in a statement on its website.
“And as we set out to continually create a bright and radiant experience for our Sailors — much like the sparkling seas she’ll sail on — it was only appropriate that our fourth ship reflect that (yes, the pun is most definitely intended). So it’s our absolute honor to introduce Brilliant Lady to the fleet.”
While few details about the ship have been released, renderings show Brilliant Lady looking similar to her sister ships before. That includes the distinct (and futuristic) looking vertical bow with the sharp-sloping front of the ship. Virgin’s signature gray and red color scheme also make an appearance.
Brilliant Lady’s sister-ships come in at 110,000 gross tons and carry around 2,800 “sailors.” (Passengers are called sailors aboard Virgin Voyages.) It appears that Brilliant will follow that size.
Sailors should also expect that the onboard experience will mirror what’s found on the rest of the fleet. That includes unique features such as being adults-only, and having all food included, as well as gratuities, wi-fi, and non-alcoholic drinks.
There’s no word yet on exactly when and where Brilliant Lady will make her debut. The cruise line says that it plans to release more details “very, very” soon. However, the ship should arrive in 2023.
Current ships in the fleet sail (or are slated to sail) from Miami, Melbourne, San Juan, Barcelona, Athens, and more.
