Black Friday brilliance from Virgin Voyages
Sponsored by Virgin Voyages
Ready for another Brilliant summer? Make the most of Virgin Voyages’ new ship Brilliant Lady in 2026 and 2027 by checking out its enticing Black Friday offers. Nick Dalton takes a closer look
Due to the recent success of bookings, Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady will be heading out west again in 2027 with thrilling new cruises, from seven to 12 nights. There will be Alaska sailings from two spectacular cities – Vancouver in Canada and Seattle in Washington.
Cruises visit spots such as Icy Strait Point (its mile-plus zipline with a drop greater than the Empire State Building’s height is truly hair-raising), Gold Rush town Skagway and mesmerising places such as Tracy Arm Fjord and the Hubbard Glacier.
Some sailings include Canadian cities Prince Rupert and British Columbia capital, Victoria. In early and late summer cruises also take in the California coast – San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego – and even pretty Astoria in Oregon, at the mouth of the mighty Columbia River. There are even sailings through the Panama Canal to get from and back to the Caribbean for winter.
Now that Virgin Voyages’ Black Friday deals are live, there’s never been a better time to book. The Black Friday offer, running until 4 December, gives customers the chance to secure a second sailor in a cabin for 80 per cent off, plus $500 per cabin in drinks.
The drinks deal applies to select 10-night sailings from San Juan/Miami in suites ($300 for Sea Terrace cabins) with $350/$200 on six-to-nine-night sailings and $125/$75 on four-to-five-night sailings.
Brilliant Lady is the fourth Virgin Voyages ship, all but identical on the outside to Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady and Resilient Lady but with subtle differences inside. The on-deck beach club atmosphere has been refined because, as cool as Alaska is, the weather can be cooler than Virgin’s Med and Caribbean sailings.
The Red Room, home to trademark experience Duel Reality, a high-wire, gymnastic take on West Side Story, also becomes a party venue with once-a-cruise Scarlet Night.
Brilliant Lady’s entertainment is also, well, brilliant. The Manor, the line’s glitzy nightclub has been reborn as a supper theatre club – Murder in the Manor is a wild disco and dance take on TV’s friendly crime capers. And country music themed The Diva Goes West stars towering drag queen, Dixie Krystals.
Virgin Voyages’ out-on-the-edge shows are matched by its devotion to good food. Unlike most cruise lines, almost every dish in every restaurant is included in the price, a major selling point.
There’s no main restaurant either, rather a collection of neat venues… the Wake steakhouse, open-air Dock, and brightly decorated Razzle Dazzle, although that has adopted contemporary subdued comfort with Spanish tapas-and-more Rojo.
Also new is Passport to Flavour, an evening in the Galley buffet, celebrating the tastes of US homeports… meaning cedar smoked salmon from Seattle. Special salmon and special deals – never was there more temptation get a taste of the west.
