Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady Leaves Portsmouth for New York

Posted on 7 September, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

The Scarlet Lady has set sail from Portsmouth, England, after spending the summer in the UK. According to a press release, the 2,800-passenger Virgin Voyages ship is now heading across the Atlantic to New York.

Portsmouth International Port said that over 8,000 passengers enjoyed the Summer Soiree Series, which saw Virgin Voyages launch its world’s first commercial sailing from Portsmouth.

A pop-up terminal was created to host passengers while keeping strict COVID-19 health protocols in place after the CDC cruise restrictions in America curtailed plans for stateside launch, guests instead enjoyed a season sailing in domestic UK waters.

Portsmouth port said that the Scarlet Lady brought a “much-needed boost to the city after a challenging year.” and it felt honoured to receive an open letter of thanks from the Virgin Voyages team.

“(Y) you’ve welcomed us to your home and you will forever have a place in our heart. We couldn’t be more grateful for your support as we sailed for the first time,” the letter read. “While the Scarlet Lady is saying Bon Voyage after a brilliant Summer Soiree season, we can’t wait to see you next year when our second ship, the Valiant Lady, makes her debut, right here. She’s quite the head-turner too, and there’s nowhere else we’d rather start her off.”

Mike Sellers, Portsmouth International Port’s director said: “Seeing the Scarlet Lady in the port has been the result of years of hard work, from securing investment to extend our cruise berth to accommodate larger ships, to building confidence with the Virgin Voyages’ team that we could look after their world-first sailing … Everyone at the port stepped up, during the most challenging time, to make sure this was a success and I’m so proud of their hard work and professionalism.”

Sellers noted that it has also been impressive to see the Virgin team in operation with some spending months in the city to make sure “everything went smoothly, becoming very fond of Portsmouth in the process.”

“We want to become the port of choice for luxury, boutique cruises, and with plans for a terminal extension underway we’re on our way there … We’re looking forward to seeing Virgin’s new build Valiant Lady in the city next year, and welcoming back the team. In the meantime, the hard work continues as we continue to build our position as a major player in the cruise industry,” Sellers said.

Cunard Makes Final Touches to Queen Elizabeth For Return to Sailing on Friday

Posted on 11 August, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

The final touches are being made to Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth as the cruise line prepares to return to sailing on Friday, August 13 after a 17-month break, according to a press release.

“I think I speak for the entire team at Cunard when I say how delighted we are to be returning to what we do best as we get ready to welcome our guests back on board,” said Cunard President Simon Palethorpe.

“We know how much our guests have been looking forward to our first voyage and we hope that they fully immerse themselves in the Cunard onboard experience, as they enjoy some of the most stunning coastlines Britain has to offer,” Palethorpe added.

Following a series of other UK voyages, Cunard’s international sailings onboard Queen Elizabeth will begin in October with a cruise from Southampton to Amsterdam followed by a 14-night voyage to the Canary Islands and Madeira this November.

Royal Caribbean extends Anthem of the Seas Season.

Posted on 10 August, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

Anthem of the Seas entering the river Mersey, Photo credit Dave Jones
Royal Caribbean International has extended Anthem of the Seas’ UK-based season until October and announced plans to welcome international guests onboard from next month.

The ship returned to the UK for the first time in six years in July to restart Royal’s domestic cruise programme.

In September “eligible international guests” will also be able to sail from Southampton, subject to the latest UK government travel advice and their country of residence.

Fully vaccinated travellers from the US and EU were granted exemption from UK quarantine requirements this week.

Anthem’s British Isles sailings feature calls to Liverpool, Belfast and Kirkwall and Glasgow. All adults must be fully vaccinated and all passengers must provide a negative Covid test result before boarding.

Anthem’s extended season opened for bookings on Wednesday (4 August).

Ben Bouldin, Royal’s vice-president EMEA, said the line was “thrilled” with the response to its UK programme since restarting, with cruises achieving “peak guest satisfaction levels”.

“We welcome the recent update from the UK government, which lifted advice against international cruise travel. While this marks a positive step forward in the global return of cruise, there are still complexities to navigate when calling at multiple European ports of call from the UK,” he added.

“This, coupled with the popularity of our British Isles sailings to date, has led to our decision to extend our sailings around the British Isles, and I’m delighted to welcome international guests to experience these itineraries, starting in September.”