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Editorial The newest Lady, and the one built to roam
Brilliant Lady arrived two years late and immediately became the fleet's pathfinder, the only Lady Ship that can transit the Panama Canal and the first to sail Alaska for Virgin. Her interiors debuted the concepts the rest of the fleet is now receiving in dry dock, so through 2026 and 2027 she is the most current expression of the product. The class limits still apply, compact cabins and boutique scale entertainment, and Alaska sailings carry a stricter 21 plus rule for alcohol and gaming. Choosing a cabin: layout matches Valiant and Resilient with 1,408 cabins across decks 5 and 8 to 15; for scenic Alaska and Panama Canal runs a Sea Terrace earns its premium, midship decks 10 to 12 remain the balanced pick, and the 51 four berth cabins are the ones to grab for groups of friends splitting costs.
This is Cruise Ship Wiki's own editorial summary of published reviews and reference sources. It is not a guest review and does not describe a stay aboard. Member reviews appear separately below.
Photo: Aztec246, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Brilliant Lady is the fourth and newest of Virgin Voyages' Lady Ships, ordered separately from her three sisters in October 2018 and built by Fincantieri at Sestri Ponente, Genoa. Completed in 2023 but held back by construction, supply chain and staffing challenges, she finally entered service on September 5, 2025 with a five night MerMaiden voyage from New York City to Bermuda, roughly 21 months behind her original schedule. She is the only ship in the fleet able to transit the Panama Canal, thanks to an adapted frame with reduced deck and lifeboat overhangs, and she used it in March 2026 on a Miami to Los Angeles crossing before opening Virgin's first Alaska season from Seattle in May 2026. Her bow carries mermaid artwork by Toronto illustrator Janice Sung, and her interiors introduced concepts, including the Spanish restaurant Rojo by Razzle Dazzle, that Virgin is now retrofitting across the earlier ships.
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Specifications
| Status | In service |
|---|---|
| Entered service | 2025 |
| Cruise line | Virgin Voyages |
| Class | Lady Ships |
| Gross tonnage | 108,232 GT |
| Guests (double occupancy) | 2,767 |
| Guests (maximum) | 2,992 |
| Crew | 1,150 |
| Length | 277.2 m (909 ft) |
| Beam | 38 m (125 ft) moulded |
| Draught | 8.05 m (26 ft) |
| Decks | 17 (14 guest decks) |
| Staterooms | 1,408 |
| Shipyard | Fincantieri (Sestri Ponente, Genoa, Italy) |
| Flag | Bahamas |
| IMO number | 9870654 |
| Call sign | C6FQ3 |
| Home port | Seattle, Washington |
| Region | Alaska |
About the Lady Ships
The four Lady Ships are near identical sisters built by Fincantieri at Sestri Ponente, Genoa: about 110,000 gross tons and 277 metres, with roughly 1,400 cabins and capacity for about 2,770 Sailors at double occupancy plus 1,150 crew. Virgin publishes no formal class designation; the line brands the quartet its Lady Ships. Scarlet Lady led the class into service in 2021, followed by Valiant Lady (2022), Resilient Lady (2023) and Brilliant Lady (2025), which carries an adapted frame that allows Panama Canal transit.
Ownership & loyalty
Part of Virgin Group.
References
Descriptions on Cruise Ship Wiki are original write-ups paraphrased from public sources; facts are compiled from the references below and cross-checked. How we source our information.
- Virgin Voyages fleet page - Retrieved 2026-08-21
- Inaugural voyages press release - Retrieved 2026-08-21
- Fincantieri product page - Retrieved 2026-08-21
- VesselFinder, IMO 9870654 - Retrieved 2026-08-21
- Virgin interactive deck plan data (rooms and venues JSON) - Retrieved 2026-08-21