NEWS SPECIAL REPORT
Virgin Voyages: Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson visits the Fincantieri shipyard in Genoa to reveal more details about Virgin Voyages’ first ship. Amie Keeley reports from Italy
Virgin’s Scarlet Lady ship ‘will make waves in cruise’
Sir Richard Branson has predicted other cruise lines will copy Virgin Voyages in “five to six years’” time.
Asked how he thought Virgin
would be viewed by competitors, he referenced BA’s “dirty tricks” campaign against Virgin Atlantic in the 1990s and an email that went out to staff telling them to “copy” its rival. “Competition is always good in
any industry,” Branson said. “It takes years to build new
ships, so I think we will have five to six years then people will start copying us, but by then we will
“People will copy us, but by then we will have reinvented what we have”
have reinvented what we have.” Branson said he was taking a “close personal involvement” in the cruise line, which plans to launch three adult-only ships, in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The entrepreneur was in Italy to
celebrate construction milestones for its first ship Scarlet Lady, including flooding the dry dock,
and cutting the first piece of steel for its second ship. Branson said: “We wanted to
create a ship we want to travel on. You’re not going to get rooms with massive buffets where people stand in long lines to get food.” Branson said he was 27 when he had the idea for a cruise line but “never got the money together”. “This brand is for young-at-heart people who want to have a good time. If you don’t want a good time, then don’t come on our ships.” President and chief executive
Tom McAlpin said the line would attract non-cruisers or cruisers who “were not being fulfilled”. “We have a different product for
Richard Branson and Tom McAlpin at the steel-cutting ceremony for the second ship
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travelweekly.co.uk 26 July 2018
a different segment of the market,” he said. “We want people who want a different vacation. Maybe they don’t cruise because of how it appeals to other segments of the market, but they trust the Virgin brand. We are creating product that will appeal to cruisers who aren’t being fulfilled and to non-cruisers who want this type of experience.”
Virgin Voyages’
Richard Branson and Tom McAlpin, with Stephen Pagliuca
(centre) of investor Bain Capital
Cruise operator will sail Caribbean, Baltics and Med
The boss of Virgin Voyages said it is looking at creating itineraries in the Baltics, the Mediterranean and the southern Caribbean. The first of three adult-only
ships, Scarlet Lady, will sail Caribbean itineraries when it launches in 2020. President and chief
executive Tom McAlpin said: “We have a lot of different options. We’re looking at the Med, the Baltics and the southern Caribbean. Our sailors want to visit cool places – they want unique places, historic places, off- the-beaten-track places – and that’s want we want to curate. “The next ship will likely go somewhere different [to the Caribbean] but is likely to come back in winter. We want warm destinations as the ships are designed to take in ocean views and are built to enjoy the sun.” He said excursions were
likely to be “more inclusive and personal”.
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