Email Glitch Sends Virgin Voyages Guests Into a Panic

All of a sudden, you get an email telling you that your departure port has changed, throwing a wrench into your carefully organized plans.

But this is exactly what happened to the up to 2,770 guests booked on Brilliant Lady’s upcoming 12-night Caribbean sailing, which will embark from Miami, Florida, on Saturday, November 8, 2025.

Instead of Miami, guests were incorrectly told that they would now be departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, which left many panicking about finding new flights and hotels.

But thankfully, this was only a false alarm caused by a glitch in the email system.

“We wanted to let you know that the departure port for your upcoming voyage has been moved to a different location,” Virgin Voyages accidentally wrote in an email to guests.

“Please update your travel plans accordingly to ensure a smooth embarkation experience,” the mistaken message continued.

Adding to the confusion, guests were getting different answers about the email’s legitimacy when contacting Sailor Services, which then spread like wildfire on social media.

“I just got off the phone with them. It’s accurate,” one person said on a Reddit thread about the matter.

“The CS rep initially told me the email was valid and they were waiting on more information. But then came back and said that the email wasn’t valid and our itinerary is still set to leave from Miami,” another said.

“She said that early in the conversation they said it was an official email but while she was on the phone with the agent, confirmation came that it was a mistake,” a third cruiser shared.

The responses suggest that there may have been some confusion on the customer service team’s side of things as well.

Virgin Voyages Issues Quick Correction

Surely to the relief of booked passengers, Virgin Voyages sent out a new email correcting the error within hours of sending the original message.

“If your inbox got hit with something that looked a little…off? That was us. A good ol’ fashioned human moment,” the second email began.

“We apologize for the confusion, and appreciate your patience while we get things shipshape before your voyage!” the cruise line added.

To be clear, the departure port is still Miami – which will be Brilliant Lady’s homeport through March of 2026 – and there is no impact to any scheduled port calls at this time.

The itinerary calls for stops at Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; Cartagena, Colombia; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

The only port call I could potentially see getting rescheduled is the visit to Jamaica, as the port is still early in its recovery after being devastated by Hurricane Melissa in late October.

The newly launched ship did skip what would have been her inaugural call on Ocho Rios on November 3, 2025, and it has not yet been confirmed if she will pivot away from the port on her upcoming sailing as well.

While email glitches like these can be unsettling, they do happen from time to time.

Virgin Voyages is running a major operation, and sometimes a wrong button gets pushed, something gets miscommunicated, and/or technology briefly develops a mind of its own.

The adults-only cruise line has experienced similar glitches in the past.

For example, just about two months ago, cruise guests who weren’t booked on Brilliant Lady’s upcoming New Year’s Ahoy voyage in December were notified that the itinerary had changed.

“I’m not on this cruise. Don’t know why I received this email,” a recipient shared on social media, along with a photo of the letter, at the time.

These glitches are not exclusive to Virgin Voyages either.

Not long ago, Celebrity Cruises accidentally emailed thousands of passengers about itinerary changes for Celebrity Beyond that weren’t real, which was another false alarm that led to panic and confusion.

But what ultimately matters is that all’s well that ends. Brilliant Lady’s next round of guests can take a deep breath and enjoy their sailing as planned.