Virgin Voyages' first cruise ship - the Scarlet Lady - just completed an important step on its journey to its maiden voyage. The ship successfully completed its first round of sea trials in Europe last month, capping off a successful eight days of sailing.
The Scarlet Lady sailed from Genoa, Italy to Marseille, France from Nov. 15-18, and then back to Genoa from Marseille on Nov. 27-30. Upon its return, the cruise ship received the stamp of approval from founder Richard Branson.
3 What Is Virgin Voyages
Virgin Voyages is the sea-branch of a multi-faceted, multi-billion dollar empire built by Sir Richard Branson. As part of the extended Virgin group family, Voyages is the latest vessel to offer transportation to Virgin customers - Branson also owns air travel company, Virgin Atlantic and the futuristic space travel company, Virgin Galactic among others.
The Scarlet Lady is the first of four ships commissioned by the company and can hold about 2,700 passengers. The only other ship to be named so far is the Valiant Lady - that one is expected to hit the waters in 2021. Voyages currently has a U.S. port in Miami, Florida and several international ports including Costa Maya, Mexico, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and Bimini, Bahamas.
2 The Scarlet Lady
The Scarlet Lady is named as an ode to the Virgin groups' heritage - Scarlet was the name of one of the earliest Virgin Atlantic planes. The name is also meant to call attention to what Virgin says is its pledge to a future of fostering gender equality. Launching alongside the Scarlet Lady is a new Virgin program called the Scarlet Squad, which the company says seeks to help women flourish in industries previously occupied by men.
The ship's maiden voyage will set sale from Miami to the Caribbean on April 1, 2020 and will be packed with celebrity appearances, special events and exclusive surprise for the 2,700 sailors who are lucky enough to get on board. It will also be an adult-only ship, meaning no kids allowed - guests 18 and up are able to book. It is also the first cruise line to forgo a buffet. It will instead offer 'Eataly-style' food halls.
1 How To Secure Your Spot
Virgin Voyages on the Scarlet Lady is still offering plenty of spots available to book between May 2020 and April 2021, including the April 2020 Sneak Peak dates. Prices for a 4-5 night stay range between $2,500 and $3,500 USD. If you happen to miss out on the Scarlet Lady - or just want to wait a bit before you cruise - you can try for a spot on their next ship, the Valiant Lady. That one is set to debut in May 2021. Its homeport will be in Barcelona instead of Miami and its route will travel throughout the Mediterranean - plus France, Italy and Spain - instead of the Caribbean. Bookings for the Valiant Lady open Dec. 19, 2019.
Source: virginvoyages.com, virgin.com, travelweek.ca