Somewhere off the coast of Nantucket, the bass on the pool deck was thumping. The frozen drinks were flowing, the day beds were full of sailors soaking up the sun, and the music simply would not stop. It had been that way for nearly 24 hours, since the Brilliant Lady, the newest 1,408-cabin ship in Virgin Voyage’s lineup, had departed Halifax, Nova Scotia.
I’d been invited on board for one leg of what the company was calling a “friends and family sailing,” a chance to preview the new vessel before its arrival in New York City. And, as far as I could tell, many of those “friends and family” could truly party.
A favorite of T + L readers, Virgin Voyages tops the list of cruise lines in the 2025 World’s Best Awards, with fans of the line praising its no-kids policies, phenomenal food offerings, and a can-do crew that seems to elevate the on-board experience to something beyond five stars.
At the same time, Virgin doesn’t bill itself as a luxury cruise line—or really a cruise line at all, CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu told T+L exclusively while at sea. “People have really started to understand that—if you’re traveling without kids—this should be one of your go-to options,” Saverimuttu said. “There isn’t a great kid-free experience around our price point in cruising—and frankly even in land-based holidays.”
Striking that balance between affordability and panache has quickly become the brand’s calling card since the 2021 debut of Scarlet Lady. With three ships already sailing in the Caribbean and Mediterranean, Virgin Voyages now aims to expand its reach with the help of Brilliant Lady, which channels many of the same fan-favorite features of the existing ships while putting in fresh new amenities for returning guests.
“We’re just trying to find things that are slightly off the wall,” Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group founder, told T+L exclusively during the preview. “Each individual ship stands on its own two feet, and, as we evolve, we’re going to learn from the experiences of our previous ships—but also comes in with a bit of a wow factor.”
Among the highlights for Branson on Brilliant Lady will be the opportunity to sail in Alaska, where the ship will spend the summer of 2026—a first for Virgin Voyages. He’s also a fan of the ship’s fitness facilities, many of which are on open-air decks, and the range of dining options, including a new Spanish-themed venue called Rojo. “I love the fact that there’s no buffets,” he added, with a laugh.
For all the changes, Brilliant Lady remains unabashedly a Virgin Voyages ship, one that seems to overflow with bars and music venues. I counted 16 different “bars & clubs” around the ship, including a spacious Mediterranean venue that felt like Mykonos without the crowds, a poolside spot serving frozen cocktails, several juice bars, and a rum-centric hideaway.
On the entertainment side, live music filled many of the ship’s lounges, and eclectic playlists helped fill the gaps in other spaces, with day-to-night transitions that always seemed to meet the mood. (The tunes even continue in the ship’s staterooms, where guests can tap into Virgin-curated mixes like “Bimini Beach Vibes,” “Let a DJ Save Your Life,” or “Get Loose.”)
Tying it all together is a diverse and engaged crew—now a hallmark of the Virgin Voyages experience, according to Saverimuttu. “We say to each of our crew members, ‘We want you to be the best version of yourselves,’” he explained. “So, what you have is a community of people on board who feel like they can truly be the best authentic version of themselves. And there’s something wonderfully freeing about that, particularly when you’re on the ocean and you’re sailing.”
For his part, Branson agrees that cruise travel can indeed make the world a better place—or at least one where the challenges of life can be set aside for a spell.
“I just had breakfast with one of our customers, and the words they used were so beautiful,” Branson shared, while reviewing some hand-written notes. “‘When you walk on the ship, you’re leaving the world as it is joining the world as it should be,’” he quoted. “Hopefully,” he added, “this ship epitomizes what the world should be.”
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