Key Aspects:
- Scarlet Lady is the first Virgin Voyages ship to call in Iceland, stopping in Akureyri on August 3, 2025.
- The fourth ship, Brilliant Lady, is preparing for its inaugural U.S. sailings, starting in September from New York.
- Virgin Voyages will enter the Alaska market in 2026 and expand its North American presence with four U.S. homeports.
Virgin Voyages continues its expansion and is becoming a major player in the cruise world.
On August 3, 2025, the cruise line visited Iceland for the first time, with Scarlet Lady arriving for her inaugural call in Akureyri.
The city is the island’s second-largest city outside of Reykjavik and considered the “Capital of North Iceland” due to its location at the base of Eyjafjörour fjord.
The 110,000-gross-ton ship began what is a new itinerary for the cruise line, a 10-night England to Iceland & Norway journey that departed from Portsmouth, England, on July 27, 2025.
Prior to her first visit to Iceland, Scarlet Lady brought nearly 2,700 passengers to Amsterdam, Bergen, Norway, and the Shetland Isles. She followed the first call with a visit to Isafjord, Iceland, and will conclude her voyage in Reykjavik on August 5.
“Scarlet Lady was the ship that started it all, and she’s still setting the pace,” said Virgin Voyages’ CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu.
He went on to say the ship’s arrival reflects a growing demand for the cruise line’s approach to cruises.
Read Also: Who Owns Virgin Voyages and How It All Started?
Scarlet Lady will follow up her maiden Iceland visit with an 11-night sailing back to Portsmouth, returning to each port for a second visit before moving on to more traditional ports in Scotland, Ireland, and Spain before summer comes to an end.
New Ship Nears Debut
As Scarlet Lady was making waves in the North Atlantic, eager Virgin Voyages guests have been watching with delight as the cruise line’s newest vessel, Brilliant Lady, wraps up her final preparations for an official debut.
The Fincantieri-built ship, also 110,000 gross tons and capable of accommodating 2,700 guests at double capacity, recently completed outfitting work in Palermo, Italy, and is en route to Lisbon and the UK for a series of onboard preview events.
Brilliant Lady is expected to launch her “MerMaiden” voyage from New York on September 3, 2025. The sailing will depart from Manhattan at 5 pm and spending an overnight call in Bermuda’s Royal Naval Dockyard and enjoy two sea days.
The call will give media, industry insiders, and cruise agents a chance to preview the ship and will return to New York on September 10.
The ship will follow that sailing with a second journey to Bermuda before a series of fall foliage cruises in Canada and New England into October.
“With each new ship, we’re listening more and refining faster,” said Michelle Bentubo, COO at Virgin Voyages.
She highlights that the company’s newest ship is evolving the guest experience by offering longer cruise itineraries to provide passengers more time “to relax and more space to explore.”
She added that passengers have an “appetite for grown-up experiences that feel effortless, immersive, and fun.”
“We’re delivering that across every part of our offering, from itineraries to on-board design,” she said.
Four US ports will house Brilliant Lady during her inaugural year, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The latter of which will serve as a homeport as the ship becomes the first in the fleet to sail to Alaska.
Brilliant Lady’s Caribbean season will launch on October 16, 2025, and then the brand-new vessel will embark on the cruise line’s first-ever Panama Canal crossing in March 2026 as she travels to Los Angeles.
She will arrive in Seattle in May 2026 to begin her summer season in Alaska.
