Come 2028, Virgin Voyages is heading north.
Valiant Lady will make Amsterdam her homeport for a brand-new Scandinavia & Baltics season, marking Virgin Voyages’ first time sailing the region and introducing Sailors to a collection of destinations never before visited by the brand.
Running from July to August 2028, the new programme features five newly released itineraries, 15 new ports and two overnight destinations, with voyages ranging from the Norwegian fjords to the Baltic capitals and, for the first time in Virgin Voyages history, the Arctic Circle.
It’s a significant expansion of Virgin Voyages’ European offering – and an opportunity for Australian First Mates to put something genuinely new in front of clients planning their next big European escape.
A different way to see Northern Europe
The new collection has been designed around experiences rather than simply ticking destinations off a list.
Take the 12-night Scandinavia & Stockholm Overnight voyage. Sailing round-trip from Amsterdam, the itinerary combines some of Northern Europe’s best-known cities with destinations that even well-travelled clients may not have experienced.
There’s Oslo and Copenhagen, where a late departure creates time for dinner in the Danish capital or Tivoli Gardens after dark.
In Stockholm, Valiant Lady stays overnight, giving Sailors the opportunity to experience both the city and the spectacular journey through its surrounding archipelago.
Then there are ports such as Gdańsk, Poland, with its colourful Old Town and extraordinary place in modern European history; Aarhus, offering a design-forward alternative to Denmark’s capital; and Warnemünde, providing access to Berlin by train.
For First Mates, that combination creates plenty of ways to turn a destination enquiry into a much bigger travel story – particularly for friends, couples and groups looking for a milestone holiday worth planning well in advance.
Fjords without the big-city detour
For clients whose idea of Norway is less city break and more jaw-dropping landscape, the seven-night Norwegian Fjords sailing strips the experience back to exactly that.
Rather than focusing on Scandinavian capitals, the voyage calls at four Norwegian ports selected for their scenery and sense of discovery.
Flåm delivers one of the collection’s showstopper moments, combining a dramatic fjord approach with its famous mountain railway.
Bergen brings colourful Bryggen, its thriving food scene and the Fløibanen funicular, while Molde sits against an extraordinary panorama of mountain peaks.
Then there’s Nordfjordeid, gateway to the Nordfjord region and a destination that brings hiking, cycling, farms and a genuine off-the-beaten-track feel into the itinerary.
At seven nights, it also provides an accessible entry point into the new programme for clients who want to pair a Virgin Voyages sailing with a wider European holiday.
Virgin Voyages goes Arctic
At the other end of the spectrum is a true bucket-list proposition: Virgin Voyages’ first journey into the Arctic Circle.
The longer-form northern itinerary is designed for clients who want their cruise to be the holiday rather than simply one component of it, taking the Virgin Voyages experience into landscapes that are entirely new for the brand.
That sense of discovery is central to the 2028 collection. Every itinerary includes maiden calls for Virgin Voyages, giving repeat Sailors a compelling reason to come back while giving First Mates something genuinely different to sell to clients who feel they’ve already “done Europe”.
And while the destinations are new, the experience on board remains unmistakably Virgin Voyages.
Valiant Lady brings the brand’s adults-only approach north, with dining across more than 20 eateries included, group fitness classes, entertainment and Wi-Fi, alongside Virgin Voyages’ signature emphasis on choice and flexibility.
It means First Mates can sell the dramatic scenery and cultural depth of Northern Europe without asking existing Virgin Voyages fans to give up the onboard experience they already know.
First Mates can sell their way to the Baltics
For Australian First Mates, there’s another reason to start talking about the new voyages now.
Virgin Voyages has launched Sell Your Way to the Baltics, an Australia-exclusive booking incentive running from August 13 to September 30, 2026.
During the contest period, every qualifying 2028 Scandinavia & Baltics sailing booked and logged counts towards the competition, with the First Mate recording the greatest number of qualifying logged bookings taking the prize.
And it’s a particularly fitting one: the winner will sail on a 2028 Scandinavia & Baltics voyage of their choice.
In other words, First Mates who successfully introduce their clients to Virgin Voyages’ newest European destination could ultimately get the opportunity to experience it for themselves.
The incentive reflects the important role advisors will play in the launch.
Scandinavia and the Baltics are considered higher-value travel decisions, often involving longer itineraries, milestone occasions and groups travelling together.
That makes trusted advice, destination knowledge and thoughtful trip planning especially valuable.
For First Mates, the opportunity is to become more than the person who books the cabin. It’s to become the architect of the entire Northern European adventure.
A new conversation for 2028
For Australian travellers, Europe remains an enduring favourite – but experienced clients increasingly want a new reason to return.
Virgin Voyages’ 2028 Scandinavia & Baltics collection provides exactly that.
Think sailing through the Stockholm archipelago, staying out late in Copenhagen, riding the railway above Flåm, discovering lesser-known Norwegian ports or venturing north into the Arctic Circle – all aboard an adults-only ship with a distinctly Virgin approach to life at sea.
For First Mates, those experiences create fresh stories to tell, longer and higher-value holidays to build, and an opportunity to start conversations about 2028 today.
And between now and September 30, 2026, selling those stories could take one Australian First Mate all the way to the Baltics themselves.
https://www.virginvoyages.com/
