August 6
Departure
7
nights
6
ports
$1,950
From
Ask anything about Alaskan Glacier Blues & Coastal Views
GoCruiseTravel.com Cruise Data
$279
per night
7
nights
62/100
premium with selective inclusions
Estimated starting fare — verify with cruise line
GoCruiseTravel.com prices this Brilliant Lady Alaskan Glacier Blues & Coastal Views sailing from $279/night (balcony). 7 nights departing August 6, 2026. Virgin Voyages Perk Score: 62/100 — Wi-Fi, specialty dining. Compare 4 cabin categories with real pricing data on GoCruiseTravel.com.
What's Included
Wi-Fi
All Drinks
Specialty Dining
Room Service
Not included
All Excursions
Gratuities
Port Shuttle
Flights
Airport Transfers
Insider Tips
Wi-Fi
The included Basic WiFi blocks video streaming, video calls, and VPN use. Base fare passengers only get dining reservations 15 days before sailing and cannot change names, cabins, or dates.
All Drinks
Despite marketing as 'no hidden fees,' alcoholic drinks are not included in any fare. The Bar Tab add-on starts at ~$300 and up. Tipping on drink purchases is now separate at $20-22/night.
Gratuities
Gratuities were previously bundled into the fare but are now broken out as a separate charge as of October 2025. This effectively raised the visible cost by $140+/person on a 7-night cruise.
Specialty Dining
Popular restaurants (like The Test Kitchen and Gunbae) book up fast. Base fare guests can only make reservations 15 days before sailing, while Premium fare guests get priority access.
Age
Virgin Voyages is strictly adults-only (18+). No children or teenagers are permitted onboard under any circumstances. There are no kids' clubs or family facilities.
Booking
The Base/Lock It In fare is 100% non-refundable with no grace period, no date/name/cabin changes, and no Future Voyage Credit. Only Essential and Premium fares offer flexibility.
Policy Change
The October 2025 VoyageFair Choices restructured fares into airline-style tiers (Base, Essential, Premium) and separated gratuities from the fare. Previous 'all-in' pricing no longer applies.
General
There are no formal nights, no main dining room with fixed seating, and no buffet. All dining is restaurant-style with reservations. This is a different experience from traditional cruise lines.
About the Ship
- Hot Tubs
- 5
- Elevators
- 14
- Cabin Voltage
- 110V & 220V
- USB in Cabins
- Yes
- Pets
- Not Allowed
- Service Animals
- Allowed
- Dress Code
- Casual
- Formal Nights
- No
- Balcony Smoking
- Not Allowed
Accessible Cabins:17
Medical CenterPool Lift
Dietary Options
Gluten-FreeVegan
Your Journey
- DAY1
Day 1
SeattleUnited StatesPremier gateway for Alaska cruises, steps from Pike Place Market and the Space Needle.
- DAY2
Day 2
At Sea
- DAY3
Day 3
KetchikanUnited StatesHome to the world's largest collection of standing totem poles and rich Alaska Native heritage.
- DAY4
Day 4
SitkaUnited StatesAlaska's former Russian capital blends onion-domed churches with a superb totem pole park.
- DAY5
- DAY6
- DAY7
Day 7
SeattleUnited StatesPremier gateway for Alaska cruises, steps from Pike Place Market and the Space Needle.
Plan your days ashore
Day 3 · Sat, Aug 8 · Ketchikan
SightseeingPhoto: Wikimedia Commons (Creek Street(js)06.jpg)
Creek Street
Ketchikan's former red-light boardwalk now sells smoked salmon and art prints. The salmon below kept their lifestyle.
🕒 Boardwalk open 24 hr; shops ~9am–6pm (May–Sep cruise season)
~0.5 km away
S
CultureSoutheast Alaska Discovery Center
Forest Service museum steps from the dock ($5 in summer) — the best rain shelter you'll find that also explains cedar and salmon.
🕒 May–Sep daily 8am–5pm; Oct–Apr Tue–Sat 10am–4:30pm
~0.2 km away
CulturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (THCTotems.JPG)
Totem Heritage Center
Thirty-three 19th-century totems rescued from abandoned Tlingit villages — unrestored, unpainted, and more honest for it.
🕒 May–Sep daily 8am–5pm
~0.8 km away
D
CultureDolly's House Museum
Ketchikan's most famous madam ran a tidy operation here until 1954. The parlour is now the gift shop.
🕒 May–Sep daily when ships are in port
~0.5 km away
S
NatureSalmon Ladder at Ketchikan Creek
Watch chinook force their way upstream from the footbridge on Married Man's Trail. Free, every summer, and unexpectedly moving.
🕒 Open 24 hr; salmon runs peak Jul–Sep
~0.6 km away
S
CultureSaxman Totem Park
Active Tlingit carving shed where master carvers work on commissioned poles — not demos for tourists, actual art in progress.
🕒 May–Sep daily; guided tours ~9am–4pm
~4.4 km away
CulturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (Totem Bight Community House, Mud Bight Village, North Tongass Highway, Ketchikan vicinity (Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska).jpg)
Totem Bight State Historical Park
Fourteen poles and a reconstructed clan house set in old-growth forest 12 km north — needs wheels, rewards the effort.
🕒 Open year-round daily; visitor facilities May–Sep
~11.8 km away
AdventurePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (Ketchikan from Deer Mountain.JPG)
Deer Mountain Trail
Ketchikan's backyard summit: 3,001 feet from sea level, trailhead under 1 km from the dock. Old growth all the way up.
🕒 Open year-round; summit best May–Sep
~0.7 km away
W
NatureWard Lake National Recreation Area
A loop through old-growth Sitka spruce so tall they filter their own light. Sitka deer are a realistic sighting, 9 km from port.
🕒 Open year-round daily
~8.6 km away
R
BeachRotary Beach
Mostly locals, rarely cruise passengers — pebble cove with mountain views 6 km south. The ratio makes it worthwhile.
🕒 Open 24 hr
~5.6 km away
NaturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (Inside Passage (6).jpg)
Misty Fjords National Monument
Granite walls rise 900 m from tidewater, accessible only by floatplane or boat. A day trip that permanently recalibrates 'large'.
🕒 Excursion tours May–Sep daily (weather permitting)
~62 km away
Day 4 · Sun, Aug 9 · Sitka
CulturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (Native Alaskan Totem Pole.JPG)
Sitka National Historical Park
18 totem poles, old-growth forest trails, and the 1804 battlefield where the Tlingit stood against Russian colonizers.
🕒 Visitor center daily 9am–5pm (May–Sep); trails open dawn–dusk year-round
~1.2 km away
SightseeingPhoto: Wikimedia Commons (1827 illustration of Castle Hill (Old Sitka, Alaska) by Postels.jpg)
Castle Hill
The exact spot where the Russian flag came down and the U.S. flag went up on Oct 18, 1867. Best panoramic view in Sitka, free.
🕒 Open year-round, daylight hours
~0.5 km away
CulturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (St Michaels Cathedral - Sitka - back.JPG)
St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Burned down in 1966; rebuilt identically. Parishioners sprinted in and saved the 19th-century icons — they're originals.
🕒 Mon–Fri 9am–4pm, Sat 9am–noon (cruise season); closed to visitors Sun
~0.5 km away
CulturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (Russian Bishop House August 2005.JPG)
Russian Bishop's House
Built 1843, one of the oldest Russian structures surviving in North America. The bishop's second-floor chapel is largely intact.
🕒 Daily 9am–5pm (May–Sep); NPS fee applies
~0.1 km away
NaturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (Alaska Raptor Center (exterior view, 2010).jpg)
Alaska Raptor Center
Bald eagle flight-training and raptor rehab facility. Injured eagles recover here — you get uncomfortably close to a live bird.
🕒 Daily 8am–4pm (May–Sep)
~1.2 km away
S
CultureClosed on your visit (Sunday)Sheldon Jackson Museum
Alaska's oldest museum, founded 1887. The octagonal building holds a serious Alaska Native art collection: Tlingit, Yup'ik, Athabascan.
🕒 Tue–Sat 9am–4pm (May–Sep)
~0.4 km away
NaturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (Fortress of the Bear.jpg)
Fortress of the Bear
Rescued Alaskan brown bears live in a repurposed industrial tank outside town. Close enough to watch one scratch its own nose.
🕒 Daily 9am–5pm (May–Sep)
~6.5 km away
W
NatureWhale Park
A wraparound boardwalk over Sitka Sound. Humpbacks breach offshore during herring runs — no ticket, no guarantee, decent odds.
🕒 Open year-round, daylight hours
~0.9 km away
S
CultureSitka Lutheran Church
Alaska's oldest active Lutheran congregation, founded 1843. The modest interior outlasted the empire that built it.
🕒 Open to visitors during daylight hours; Sunday morning services
~0.5 km away
CulturePhoto: Wikimedia Commons (St. Peter's-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church.jpg)
St. Peter's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church
A 1899 stone chapel that looks borrowed from rural England. Still holding Sunday services for the same fishing families, more or less.
🕒 Open to visitors when not in use; services Sunday mornings
~0.3 km away
S
CultureSitka Historical Museum
Compact survey of Tlingit, Russian, and American Sitka. Surprisingly deep for a one-room museum; the Tlingit beadwork is the standout.
🕒 Mon–Fri 9am–5pm (May–Sep); weekends by appointment
~1.2 km away
We take no cruise-line commissions — nobody pays us to rank their ship. A few tour links are affiliate links: book through one and we earn a little, but it never buys a kinder word from us.
Before you sail — hotels in Seattle
Arrive a day early and explore Seattle before boarding
Find hotels on Booking.comSponsored
Cabin Pricing
Estimated starting fare — verify with cruise line
At a glance
The fourth Virgin Voyages ship and the first to homeport on the US West Coast. Adults-only, 20+ included restaurants, no buffet, and no gratuities baked into the fare. Brilliant Lady's 2026 Alaska season from Seattle and Vancouver brings Virgin's signature ship-as-destination experience to a new region — quieter ports, deeper fjords, and none of the family-cruise chaos.
Who sails this line
Typical age
30-50
Primary markets
US · UK
Onboard languages
en
Kids onboard
Uncommon — adult-leaning atmosphere
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