Brilliant Lady crossed the Panama Canal for the first time on March 26, 2026, moving from the Atlantic side to the Pacific ahead of her Los Angeles inaugural season.
Virgin Voyages covered the moment with a live broadcast called "Sea It Live!" — an eight-hour stream that followed the crossing lock by lock, start to finish. Threading a 900-foot ship through the canal's narrow channels is genuinely impressive to watch, and apparently a lot of people had the same thought.
The canal transit puts Brilliant Lady on the West Coast for what looks like a standout season. The ship — which launched in New York in September 2025 — will be the first in the Virgin Voyages fleet to offer Alaska sailings, opening up adults-only cruising in a region that's been almost entirely family-cruise territory up to now.