Virgin Voyages' new ship Brilliant Lady will sail from this major US city in 2025

Nathan Diller, USA TODAY
·2 min read

Virgin Voyages’ new ship is on its way.

The adults-only cruise line announced its fourth vessel, Brilliant Lady, will begin sailing in September 2025 from New York.

“The world has been waiting for us to announce Brilliant Lady’s debut, and she’s almost here,” the line’s CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu said in a news release. “At Virgin Voyages, we’re constantly innovating and looking for opportunities to provide even better value for our Sailors with greater choice. Virgin fans have been asking for years 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 5-14 nights in length with new experiences that they will remember forever.”

Brilliant Lady was previously set to start service in the Caribbean late last year, but the line delayed its launch due to “unexpected construction, supply chain and staffing challenges that have delayed the introduction,” the line said in September.

The ship will launch from New York instead and spend its inaugural season on a North American tour, sailing from the Big Apple, Miami, Los Angeles and Seattle, completing a Panama Canal crossing in the process. While similar to Virgin’s previous vessels, the ship will have an adapted frame and is crafted for transiting the canal and navigating waters like those in Alaska.

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Travelers can submit deposits for priority booking on Alaska voyages beginning May 8. “Sailors previously slated to sail on Brilliant Lady will be given priority access to book a MerMaiden voyage,” the line added in the release.

Virgin will also offer a multi-cruise Brilliant 4 You Pass, following the launch of season passes on its Scarlet Lady and Resilient Lady ships earlier this year.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Virgin Voyages' Brilliant Lady to begin sailing from New York in 2025