Virgin Voyages has cancelled its March introduction events of the Scarlet Lady in New York and the ship will instead sail straight to Miami, its homeport.
Said Virgin in a prepared statement: “In light of the current news headlines, we want to ensure everyone feels it is the right time to celebrate with us. We understand people may want to focus on other things at the moment, so we have made the decision to reschedule our upcoming Showcase Tour stop and events in New York City. We plan to sail back to New York soon for you to visit her.
“We have absolutely no health concerns or issues onboard and elevated our health protocol and processes when we took delivery of the Scarlet Lady to keep our crew and visitors well and happy.
“With no other events scheduled in New York at this time, we will instead sail Scarlet to her new home in Miami, where we will continue our plans for the launch and welcome our Sailors for the first time.”
Virgin Voyages announced today that the Scarlet Lady has officially reached completion as the new brand took delivery.
On the heels of this celebratory occasion, Virgin Voyages welcomes Scarlet Lady with an approach that takes immediate action to address climate change, according to a company statement.
Not only has the brand designed its fleet of ships to the latest energy-efficiency standards with state-of-the-art equipment, but Virgin Voyages is also offsetting its direct climate change emissions through the purchase of carbon offsets.
This commitment makes the brand the first cruise line to become carbon-neutral for its direct emissions footprint from its first day of commercial operation. The projects that will be supported by Scarlet Lady will meet high-quality, internationally-recognized verification standards, including The Gold Standard and the Verified Carbon Standard.
“It’s wonderful to welcome Scarlet Lady today,” says Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson. “I’m so proud that as we start this exciting journey, we also bring to life Virgin Voyages’ commitment to preserving the ocean and the first of many steps towards a net-zero carbon future.”
“The ocean is our home, and we are on a mission to protect it. The single biggest threat facing our ocean is climate change, and we want to be part of the solution,” said Tom McAlpin, CEO and President of Virgin Voyages. “We are committed to pioneering new technologies onboard and working with our industry peers to advance research and development for zero-carbon fuels.”
Get a first-look of the new ship, along with behind-the-scenes action with Sir Richard Branson himself here…
She’s set to be one of the most exciting ship launches of 2020 (if not ever), and now finally, Scarlet Lady has completed her sea trials. The debut ship from Virgin Voyages, Scarlet Lady, is set to launch in April next year but found her sea legs last month sailing from Genoa to Marseille, and then back again. Setting sail on 15 November, Scarlet Lady sailed from Genoa to Marseille, before sailing back to Genoa on 27 November, arriving three days later.
Richard Branson joined the Virgin Voyages senior management, team The man himself, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson boarded the ship in Marseille, touring the ship with his wife Joan and children Sam and Holly.CEO Tom McAlpin was also on board, along with Chief Commercial Officer Nirmal Saverimuttu, SVP of Design Dee Cooper and CEO of Virgin Atlantic, Shai Weiss. During the excitement, Branson ceremoniously painted the outline of the Virgin flag on the hull of the ship where the Virgin Voyages logo will appear.
Sir Richard Branson looks delighted at his new ship Sea trials to show whether a new ship is smooth, stable and quiet, and will provide a comfortable sailing experience to those on board.“We’re thrilled to have completed such a significant milestone with our Sea Trials and have our amazing crew to thank for their passion and tenacity in this achievement,” said McAlpin.“We’re one step closer to getting our Sailors on the Scarlet Lady and are grateful for all that have chosen to join us on this adventure.”Sir Richard even had a go at painting the outline of the Virgin Voyages flag… Setting sail on her maiden voyage on 1 April 2020, Scarlet Lady is set to change the way non-cruisers view cruising, hoping to attract a younger, new-to-cruise audience.
The first sailing will have special celebrity guest appearances, events and surprises, as she sails around the Caribbean and Bahamian islands. Virgin Voyages’ second cruise ship was also recently announced, with the line revealing Valiant Lady will sail around the Mediterranean in 2021…Visit virginvoyages.com for more information.
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