Virgin Voyages: Cameo on The Real Housewives of Miami
Virgin Voyages has announced that it will feature on Bravo’s series “The Real Housewives of Miami” in two back-to-back episodes, premiering on Thursday, September 4.
The company said in a press release that the collaboration began when Richard Branson invited Miami entrepreneur Marysol Patton on board to toast her recent wedding. Joined by her girlfriends, the Housewives set sail in November.
“We couldn’t imagine a better way to showcase the Virgin Voyages experience than through the fabulous lens of The Real Housewives of Miami,” said Nicole Huang, SVP at Virgin Voyages.
“These episodes truly capture the spirit of our brand: bold, sophisticated and always a little fabulous. We love being the go-to vacation for celebrating life’s biggest and most glamorous milestones,” added Huang.
Virgin added that the cameo underscores its growing presence in pop culture while reinforcing its reputation.
According to the press release, the ladies experienced the company’s most iconic experiences, which included The Perch, a retro VHS-inspired 80s aerobics class, culinary adventures at The Wake and Test Kitchen with an edible theatre.
The group also had bites and Champagne at Richard’s Rooftop.
Virgin Voyages recently cancelled a cruise on board the Scarlet Lady that was scheduled to sail from Miami on April 19, 2026.
According to a statement sent to booked guests, the sailing will no longer go ahead due to a full-ship charter.
“It looks like your Scarlet Lady sailing on April 19, 2026, has been privately chartered. We’re truly sorry for the impact this has on your plans, and we’re here to make it right,” Virgin Voyages said in the letter.
As part of its 2025-26 season in the region, the Scarlet Lady was scheduled to offer a seven-night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean.
Sailing from Virgin’s Terminal V in Miami, the itinerary included visits to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, San Juan in Puerto Rico and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
Affected guests are being offered two options, including rebooking their cruise to the Resilient Lady’s April 18, 2026, cruise.
According to Virgin, the ship is set to offer the “San Juan & Dominican Dreams” itinerary, which also sails for seven nights and features visits to Puerto Plata and San Juan, as well as Bimini in the Bahamas.
Passengers will get the same cabin category on the new booking, with their original paid fares protected, the company added.
If the new voyage costs less than the original booking, Virgin said it will refund the difference to the original form of payment.
All promotions from the initial booking, including Bar Tab bonuses, will also carry over to the sailing onboard the Resilient Lady.
Some cabin categories are also set to receive the company’s Sailor Loot onboard credit as “a thank you for sticking with us.”
The company is also offering similar perks to guests who opt to change their booking for other seven-night cruises in the Caribbean.
Lastly, passengers will be able to cancel their bookings to receive a 100 per cent Future Voyage Credit or a full refund.
MSC has 17 ships in the European market, with 13 sailing in the Mediterranean and four in Northern Europe, said Gianni Onorato, CEO, in an interview with Cruise Industry News.
Onorato also pointed out the new 5,400-guest World Asia, which will debut in Europe in 2026, making MSC the only brand putting new tonnage into the European market.
“The key feature for our European homeporting is accessibility,” he said, pointing to air, high-speed rail and drive-in potential.
“Some ports are responding to this type of need, while others are more difficult.
“With so many embarkation points, we pick up local guests that have easy access in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the UK and elsewhere.”
MSC has key investments in Barcelona and Marseille in terminals, and Valencia continues to become more important as Spain is a key source market for MSC, Onorato said.
“It is really accessible with high-speed trains from Madrid; similar to Marseille with Paris,” he continued.
‘Potential’
The core European markets remain full of potential.
“In Italy, the market is about 1 million guests in a country of 60 million people,” Onorato said. “France is very tiny, as is Spain, and in Germany, we are offering a different product from the national brands; it’s the same in the UK. If guests want a British experience, they can consider one of the other brands; if they want a more international experience, they can choose MSC.”
Germany may represent the market with the most potential, as it’s the largest holiday-package market in Europe, Onorato said.
Emerging source markets include Eastern Europe, highlighted by Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
“These countries have residents who are travelling the world, and a cruise is an opportunity,” Onorato said.
Inventory Management
MSC has a unique differentiator in Europe which is its interporting program, meaning guests can board at any port on an itinerary and then disembark a week later. They are not tied in to starting their cruise on a Sunday for instance.
MSC will then allocate inventory based on multiple homeports on the same itinerary. This means that a ship with a set seven-day cruise with five ports is essentially five different programs from an inventory perspective.
“You need to respect the cabin allocation,” said Onorato. “For the local markets, this makes access to the ships very easy with lower transportation costs.”
‘Growing’
The LNG-powered World Asia will add to the company’s European presence in 2026, while the World Atlantic heads to the U.S. and Port Canaveral in 2027. After that, two more World Class vessels are on order from Chantiers de l’Atlantique with delivery dates in 2029 and 2030.
“We will have continuous and properly balanced growth,” Onorato said.
That includes sourcing European guests for cruises elsewhere, including in Alaska, where the Poesia debuts in 2026. MSC’s initial wave of bookings primarily came from European customers for the Seattle-based program.
Further south, there are programs out of Miami, Port Canaveral, Galveston, and from Brooklyn, while the company expands its Caribbean presence with a year-round program from La Romana with the 2004-built Opera beginning in winter 2026-27 through summer 2027. For the winter 2026-27 season, the Opera will be joined by the 2018-built Seaview, marking the first time the company operates two ships during the season in the South Caribbean.
“I’m bullish on this,” Onorato said. “It’s an interesting program, and going year-round is very exciting. The Dominican Republic is an attractive destination for Europeans, with no visa requirements and good airlift.”
Wetravel2u's Weblog 