The Brilliant Lady will join the Virgin Voyages fleet later this year with four mermaidens, exploring all four corners of the United States in her debut season, said Natasha Salzedo, director itineraries and destinations.

The ship first starts in New York before moving to Miami, then the West Coast and then Seattle for Virgin’s debut into Alaska in 2026.

“We are offering long Caribbean itineraries out of Miami on the Brilliant Lady,” Salzedo said. “We already have our mix of cruises, but this allows us to offer a 10-night product, diving further into the Caribbean and hitting different destinations we don’t always visit.

“We can get a little further, including overnight in Cartagena, calling in Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Saint Maarten, which are destinations we usually offer on our San Juan-based ship.”

In Europe, Virgin has new Iceland product coming this summer, Salzedo told Cruise Industry News, plus a call into Norway and new 11-night cruises in Europe. Overnights in Istanbul are another new twist, she said.

“We are working on a variety of cruise lengths to see where the sailor demand is. We also want to be able to curate longer itineraries, allowing sailors to combine back-to-back cruises.”

Evaluating new destinations, Salzedo said the company looks at what the land experiences are, both for shore excursions and for independent guests.

“It’s important for the ship to fit, but that is just one part of the puzzle,” she said.

The puzzle is going to look different for Virgin when the Brilliant Lady sails from Seattle for Alaska cruises next summer. The Brilliant Lady is the only of the Virgin ships that can transit the Panama Canal, with an adjusted superstructure to fit.

Virgin will turn on Thursdays in Seattle for its Alaska program, offering a primarily seven-day product.

Sailing on Thursdays potentially solved two problems: it gave Virgin a slot in Seattle, and because of the departure day, it allows the ship to dock at the limited allotment of Alaskan ports on quieter days.

“We want to lean into our messaging, which is ample time in the destination,” Salzedo said. “There is more opportunity for shore excursions, we are not fighting elbow to elbow.

“Itinerary planning happens years in advance,” she continued. “That is two or three years out. We are working 2028 already, what ship goes where, and what makes the most sense … these are conversations years in the making.”

“A perfect itinerary lights up green for all our metrics,” Salzedo added. “It’s different in all regions, and all itineraries are not created equal.”

Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Spring 2025