Virgin Voyages, which started its first season of cruises from Australia in December, has left the market and will not return until at least late 2025, due both to slow sales and unstable conditions in the Red Sea.
The line’s Resilient Lady will finish its current Australian cruises, but instead of moving on to its spring-into-fall itineraries in the Mediterranean by way of the Suez Canal, it will sail around Africa and enter the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar. The re-routing is to avoid possible attacks in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In October, when its Mediterranean season is over, Resilient Lady will not return to Australia, but instead sail Caribbean cruises out of San Juan, Puerto Rico, even if the Red Sea situation has changed, because it has not had success so far in the Australian market, never sailing full. Virgin has not ruled out a possible return to Australia in 2025.
