Like with most Virgin Voyages sailings, the festivities began the first night with the PJ Party, where I met a 30-something-year-old solo traveler from New York City. She was on her way to link up with a group of friends she made on her last Virgin sailing, aboard the Resilient Lady. “It’s easy to make friends on these sailings because we have every reason in the world to celebrate,” she told me. “Even if it’s totally random.”
According to Richard Kilman, Virgin Voyages’s vice president of entertainment, the programming aboard Brilliant Lady is designed to organically foster connections like this. Nightlife isn’t just a venue you enter, but an ecosystem that unfolds across the ship, letting guests choose how fully to engage. “We intentionally curate these venues and vibes for people to meet, engage, and celebrate together, whether with friends, partners, or strangers who now feel like friends,” he says.
On Brilliant Lady, you encounter this ethos early. Even casual strolls through the casino offer performances in miniature: an impromptu karaoke night besides the retro-inspired arcade, a trombone riff from an unexpected nook, or a trivia host leading a spontaneous game. It’s all executed by a talented group of entertainers, who Virgin Voyages scouts for at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival ahead of planning each ship’s performance lineup.
Throughout the course of the sailing, performers collectively known as “The Happenings Cast” roam the ship hosting spontaneous games, magic acts, and drag bingo (Let’s Play With The Diva was a true highlight). Elsewhere, a live band might perform by a moody cocktail bar that wouldn’t look out of place in New York City. The effect is something akin to curated chaos—not a neatly packaged “party,” but an ecosystem of happenings.
One of my personal favorite spaces to stumble into was The Manor, a sparkling and spacious two-level club that hosts iconic performances and parties. It was here that I experienced the Glow Party—really, a neon-themed dance party—as well as delectable shows with half-moon seating: Up With a Twist, a fabulously sultry roaring ‘20s-inspired production with a live band and dining, and Murder in the Manor, an immersive and colorful ‘80s-inspired performance (inspired by the growing public demand of murder podcasts).