Sporting red clothing and other razzle-dazzle attire, 1,000 travel advisors boarded Virgin Voyages‘ new Brilliant Lady at PortMiami last Thursday. They were joined by Travel Agent Central and other cruise media, as well as VIPs, celebrities, cruise executives, vendors/partners and music luminaries. Throughout the day and night, an epic shipboard, star-studded celebration marked the arrival of Virgin’s fourth new ship to PortMiami for its first winter Caribbean season of homeporting.
Invitees took ship tours led by Virgin executives, inspected staterooms and suites, participated in sales discussions, enjoyed diverse dining and watched new shows and entertainment. Advisors also rubbed shoulders with DJ Khaled, rapper Swae Lee, “Selling Sunset’s” Polly Brindle and actors Agustina Palma and Lilimar Hernandez, plus “The Real Housewives of Miami” stars Kiki Barth, Alexia Nepola, Marysol Patton and Larsa Pippen.
But even as PortMiami rocked in honor of Virgin, the South Florida port also welcomed Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth, an enclave of elegance and tradition. In separate events, travel advisors and media also toured that ship and hobnobbed with Cunard’s executives and VIPs. The 185-year-old Cunard is kicking off its first-ever winter Caribbean season homeporting from Miami.
PortMiami will also welcome many other ships for the first time this winter season — everything from Windstar Cruises’ new Star Seeker to Celebrity Cruises‘ Celebrity Xcel, Oceania Cruises’ Allura and others.
Touring Brilliant Lady
Frank Weber, Virgin Voyages’ senior VP of fleet operations, led cruise media on a ship highlight tour. Most notably, this fourth Virgin ship has a bit narrower structural footprint, so it’s Virgin’s first vessel able to transit the Panama Canal. As a result, a new category of cabins, the Smaller Balcony Sea Terrace staterooms, was created. While these accommodations offer the same interior layout as standard Sea Terrace staterooms, they have more compact balconies. So, instead of outdoor furniture, guests will discover two red hammocks.
Weber also outlined a few other interior venue changes. For instance, the Roundabout, the central hub/atrium on every Virgin ship, has been redesigned. It’s more open in look, has larger panoramic windows, incorporates a redesigned shore excursion area, and its Vinyl Record area has also been relocated to a lower part of the ship.
As part of the festivities on board, Virgin also showcased its robust portfolio of new entertainment. Most notable is “Red Hot,” a new show inspired by Virgin Records’ hits from Janet Jackson, David Bowie, the Spice Girls, Queen, the Sex Pistols and other renowned artists.
We ventured into The Manor, where Virgin debuted “Up with a Twist,” a new Gatsby-inspired supper club performance, while at the same time, dining on a set menu that included multiple food courses and five different creative cocktails.
(Photo by Susan J. Young.)
Also happening at PortMiami, demolition is continuing on Royal Caribbean’s Terminal G. Travel Agent Central could see that under way from our perch atop Brilliant Lady. Opening in 2027, a new Royal Caribbean terminal to be constructed at that site will have the capability of handling the line’s largest Icon-class ships as well as other vessels.
Speaking of Icon-class ships, Royal Caribbean has revealed that its new Legend of the Seas, the next Icon-class ship launching in 2026, will have the line’s first two-story casino, according to Cruise Industry News. Currently under construction at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, the ship is slated to enter service in July 2026.
New Ship, New Collections
In other cruise news, Crystal announced that the steel cutting for its first new build will occur in May 2026 with delivery of the vessel to the ultra-luxury line in May 2028. Silversea has introduced its largest-ever voyage collection for 2027-2028. Viking also took delivery of new river ships in Europe and Egypt. Separately, Atlas Ocean Cruises rolled out its portfolio of 2027 Arctic voyages.
MSC Cruises will set sail with its largest variety of upscale MSC Yacht Club suites in the fleet when MSC World Asia begins sailing in the Mediterranean starting December 4, 2026. Holland America Line has unveiled its 2027-2028 Asia season, which will introduce three new Japanese ports: Hitachinaka, Nagoya and Maizuru, as well as a new scenic cruising experience in Maizuru Bay. In a lighter touch, Holland America also goes glam in unveiling its first lipstick-blending-bar at sea.
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions unveiled its 2027-2028 expeditions. Highlights include the opportunity to experience a solar eclipse near Gibraltar, plus an expanded high Arctic season. A Norwegian Cruise Line survey reveals a new travel mindset that’s reshaping how people think about vacation: the “Joy of Missing Out” (JOMO), advocating a slower travel approach and a different mindset than the “Fear of Missing Out.”
(Carnival Cruise Line)
After a recent dry dock, Princess Cruises’ Sapphire Princess has emerged with some new restaurants. Sister brand Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras is now sporting many newly enhanced spaces after a comprehensive dry dock. Among those changes are the following:
- The addition of new connecting doors across 100 staterooms.
- A revamped Carnival Adventures with a new layout.
- An expanded casino with new slot machines.
- Refreshed retail venues.
- Accessibility enhancements.
Update from Celestyal
Last week, John Diorio, managing director and vice president of business development for North America, Celestyal Cruises, conducted a Zoom briefing for media including Travel Agent Central. He discussed highlights from the 2025 “Heavenly” Greece and Adriatic season and what’s ahead in that region for 2026. Diorio also previewed the Arabian Gulf’s upcoming winter season, where both Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey will operate for the first time.
Most notably, though, he outlined four pillars that Celestyal plans to use moving forward to better differentiate itself within the cruise marketplace:
- One pillar is a stronger focus on Celestyal’s ship sizes that serve just 1,250 to 1,300 guests.
- Another is a focus on Celestyal’s ability to take guests to lesser visited ports. So, yes, guests visit such iconic ports as Santorini or Mykonos in Greece, but they’ll also venture ashore at such off-the-beaten-path Greek ports as Milos, Paros and Kefalonia.
- In addition, the line will showcase its commissionable shoreside experiences. These typically offer a deep immersion into the local culture for travelers, allowing them to learn a local craft or cook alongside a local family.
- And finally, Diorio said the line will focus on greater engagement with travel advisors and is unveiling a new trade engagement program, “Celestyal All Stars,” with a series of upcoming familiarization trips. Plus, the line plans to do more and add new tools including AI to Celestyal Compass; that site already provides advisors with assets for marketing as well as training programs. Travel Agent Central asked about the line’s certification program, and Diorio plans to overhaul and relaunch that within the coming months.
(Photo by Susan J. Young)
More Cruise & Trade News
Criterion Travel, which offers customized educational travel for affinity groups, has chartered an American Cruise Lines vessel, the paddlewheeler American Splendor, for a Mississippi River voyage on March 3, 2026. Oceania Cruises announced which new Food & Wine magazine’s “Best New Chefs” that have been tapped to serve as godparents of the new Allura. The line also relaunched its training platform.
Trafalgar appointed Damien O’Connor as vice president, river cruise. He’ll lead the launch and growth of river cruising with Trafalgar. The company plans to launch a new class of river vessels starting in 2028.
On the trade side, Cruise Planners has introduced innovative training and certification programs. Riviera Travel announced solid results for Riviera Explorer, a new digital learning platform launched this past summer. Thus far, approximately 500 advisors have signed on to complete courses, and 130 travel advisors have graduated from the program.
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