Richard Branson’s cruise line, Virgin Voyages, must be doing well, since it’s ordered a fourth ship even before the first one hits the water. The new ship will arrive in 2023, giving it a one-a-year rate starting in 2020.
Virgin Voyages, which deeply believes in re-inventing its particular wheel, has gone for an unusual ship design, insists on ‘voyages’ instead of ‘cruises’ and ‘sailors’ instead of ‘passengers’ and plans to be strictly adults-only. Branson, the man behind all the other Virgin businesses as well, has a reputation for flamboyance—and making money.
The first ship, whose name was kept secret until float-out last July, will enter service in 2020 as Scarlet Lady, leaving plenty of speculation on naming for the others, all of which are being built by Italian cruise-ship specialist Fincantieri. Scarlet Lady will sail Caribbean cruises, er… voyages… from Miami. Among unusual onboard features, it will have a tattoo parlor.
