Tag Archives: Virgin Voyages

Virgin Voyages unveils details of first cruise ship

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Virgin Voyages has revealed its first cruise ship will be adult-only.

The decision to not allow children on board was taken after consulting travel professionals and “future sailors” – Virgin’s term for passengers.

Virgin Voyages three-ship fleet will be known as the “Lady Ships”, a play on the term “your ladyship”, which the line said was a nod to British heritage.

The ship’s design, which was unveiled at a keel-laying ceremony at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Genoa, Italy, today (Tuesday), will feature a silvery-grey hull, with smoked glass and splashes of red, while a mermaid design will feature on the bow of the ship.

The first vessel is due to be delivered in 2020.

Group founder Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Voyages president and chief executive, Tom McAlpin, arrived at the ceremony via a 200-foot crane drop.

Staying true to its promise of breaking with tradition, the line is calling cabins with balconies “sea terraces” and passengers will be referred to as “sailors”.

McAlpin said: “Virgin Voyages is creating a sophisticated ship and a transformational experience that offers our sailors a place where rejuvenating day-life meets exciting nightlife and everything in between.”

A mermaid image with the Virgin logo will adorn the

Customers and travel partners can place a $500 refundable deposit for access to a pre-sale before Virgin Voyages goes on general sale.

Virgin Voyages doesn’t hold back on design partners

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Virgin Voyages CEO Tom McAlpin announced several key design partners for Virgin Group’s first cruise venture, including the team behind hipster hotel chain Ace Hotels.

At a steel-cutting ceremony in Genoa, Italy, for the first of three 110,000-gross-ton ships that Virgin Voyages has on order from Fincantieri, McAlpin on Wednesday listed off the numerous designers and architects who are helping Virgin’s vision of cruising come to life.

“Thanks to them, our ships will be a complete departure from the ordinary,” said McAlpin against the backdrop of a “Make ship happen” banner. “That style that we see in some of the coolest places on land, soon we will see on the seven seas.”

The creative team includes Roman and Williams, the design team behind numerous Ace hotels and the Standard High Line hotel in New York; Concrete, an edgy Amsterdam design company; cruise ship design firm GEM, which has designed vessels for Silversea, Cunard and Princess Cruises; HOSTUDIO, a London-based brand development agency; New York-based architecture firm WORKac; creative agency Chandelier; and global design company HKS.

The first Virgin Voyages ship is slated to enter service in 2020, with two additional ships to follow in 2021 and 2022.

Wednesday’s steel-cutting ceremony is expected to be followed by a keel-laying event toward the end of 2017.

The 2,700-passenger vessels will carry 1,150 crew members.

Fincantieri Finalizes Shipbuilding Contracts with Virgin Worth 2 Billion Euros

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File Photo: Sir Richard Branson with Virgin Voyages' President and CEO Tom McAlpin as he arrives by helicopter for a news conference at the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida June 23, 2015. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
File Photo: Sir Richard Branson with Virgin Voyages’ President and CEO Tom McAlpin as he arrives by helicopter for a news conference at the Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida June 23, 2015. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

By gCaptain.com

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri says it has finalized construction contracts for three new cruise ships worth a combined 2 billion euros with Virgin Voyages, the new cruise ship arm of Virgin Group.

The three ships will be built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri Ponente (Genoa), Italy with delivery scheduled for 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Each ship will weigh about 110,000 gross tons, be 278 meters long and 38 wide. The ships will feature over 1,400 guest cabins that can host more than 2,800 passengers, accompanied by 1,100 crew members on board to deliver the famed Virgin service.

Based in South Florida, Virgin Voyages, formerly Virgin Cruises, is backed by lead investors Bain Capital Private Equity and London-based Virgin Group, whose founder and CEO is billionaire Sir Richard Branson. The shipbuilding contracts were first signed October but depended on closing of the multi-billion dollar financing package.

Steel cutting on the first of the three new ships is scheduled for early 2017, followed by keel laying in Genoa in the fourth quarter of 2017.

“These ships will stand out for original design and craftsmanship,” Fincantieri said in a statement Tuesday. “They will include some highly innovative ideas and design solutions, notably for energy recovery, reducing the overall environmental impact. For example, they will be equipped with an energy production system of approximately 1 MW, which uses the diesel engine’s waste heat. The result is, therefore, a project which distinguishes Virgin Voyages in the worldwide cruise scenery.”

Virgin Voyages’ first ship is expected to arrive at PortMiami in 2020 for a range of Caribbean itineraries.