It was back on 4th December 2014 that Virgin Group founder Richard Branson announced plans to form Virgin Cruises, with the financial backing of Bain Capital, and revealed plans to build two new cruise ships that broke the mould of traditional cruising. On 23rd June 2015 Virgin Cruises announced that it had signed a letter of intent with Italy’s Fincantieri Shipyard for the construction of a trio of new ships (an investment of around $2.55 billion) with accommodation for approximately 2,800 guests. The plan was to deploy the vessels on 7-day itineraries to the Caribbean. The contract for the ships was formally signed on 18th October 2016 and, on this same day, Virgin Cruises rebranded as Virgin Voyages.

On 31st October 2017 Yard No. 6287, Scarlet Lady, had her keel laying ceremony and the ship was delivered on 14th February 2020. The new company’s debut and inaugural festivities were all impacted by the rapid spread of the virus COVID-19, which subsequently became a global pandemic. What followed was an almost unthinkable worst-case scenario for any start-up cruise line. The 108,192gt/2020-built Scarlet Lady began her career by hosting media and travel industry representatives during showcase events at Dover and Liverpool. The ship then continued her re-positioning voyage to the USA ahead of preview events in New York, but these were cancelled due to the pandemic, with the ship proceeding to Miami to lay up in March 2020. Originally, the Scarlet Lady was scheduled to perform two pre-inaugural voyages in late-March 2020. On 12th March 2020 Virgin Voyages announced an initial postponement of the ship’s inaugural season, with the pre-inaugural sailings rescheduled for 15th July onwards. However, with the pandemic meaning a suspension of all cruise operations worldwide, these were cancelled in May 2020. The maiden voyage on 1st April was deferred to 7th August, then 16th October 2020 but the cruising pause continued into 2021.

During her period of inactivity, it was decided to relocate the Scarlet Lady from Miami back to Genoa, where she arrived at the Ponte dei Mille on 6th July 2020. Having been launched by Fincantieri’s Sestri Ponente shipyard, the ship was back in her region of birth for some post-delivery work to various components, fixtures and fittings. The ship then remained off the Italian coast until a new maiden season was announced for August 2021. The ship arrived at Portsmouth for the first time on 21st June 2021 and made several visits to the port before her maiden (MerMaiden) revenue earning passenger voyage on 6th August. Due to the pandemic, like other companies that had resumed from Southampton, the Scarlet Lady offered cruises to nowhere, 3-night weekend and 4-night weekday itineraries at sea before departing for Miami on 4th September 2021 to finally begin her intended Caribbean itineraries. The official full MerMaiden cruise departure from PortMiami sailed on 6th October 2021. At the time of writing, the official naming ceremony, deferred from 19th March 2020, still did not appear to have taken place.

Second Lady Ship

Continuing the theme of doing things differently, the Virgin Voyages fleet members are referred to as Lady Ships and the second to join the fleet, the Valiant Lady (name revealed 19th November 2019, inspired by the Latin word ‘valere’), began construction on 20th July 2018 at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Sestri Ponente, followed by the keel laying ceremony on 8th February 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic caused some construction delays when Fincantieri’s operations were suspended. The float out was originally scheduled for March 2020 but this was pushed back to 20th May 2020 with delivery following on 1st July 2021. Back on 31st October 2018 a €700 million contract was signed for a fourth member of the Virgin Voyages fleet, for delivery late 2023 from the same shipyard. The third sister, the 108,192gt/ 2022-built Resilient Lady, was floated out on 2nd July 2021 at the Sestri Ponente (Genoa) shipyard with the 108,192gt/2021-built Valiant Lady being handed over to Virgin Voyages the day before. A major part of the Lady Ship theme is the Mermaid artwork that features on the bow of each of the newbuilds. The first Mermaid emblem was unveiled for the Scarlet Lady in July 2018, a recognisable image as the same figure has made appearances on Virgin entities before. Designed by artist Toby Tinsley, her likeness appears on Virgin Atlantic and Australia aircraft as well as the Virgin Galactic space craft. Now, she’s portrayed as a Mermaid as the soul and spirit behind the first Virgin Voyages ship and represents a woman of power. In July 2021 Virgin Voyages revealed the Mermaid design for the Valiant Lady, created by artist Hillary Wilson. The Mermaid celebrates the strong, beautiful, friendly and modern embodiment of a black American woman. The inspiration for the Valiant Lady’s Mermaid embodies the spirit of the sea and “captures the energy of a woman moving confidently towards her dreams.” On 30th March 2022 Virgin Voyages unveiled the Mermaid art work on the Resilient Lady, a Latina mermaid designed by oil painter and muralist Jodie Her. Carried as an emblem and guardian of the ship, the Latina mermaid is a strong and powerful figure, a hero of the seas described as unrelenting, courageous, curious and (of course) resilient. Reminiscent of Rosie the Riveter, the Mermaid is proudly brought up to date with Latina representation. Inspired by the powerful images painted on American WWII aircraft, Virgin Voyages’ mermaids are a symbol of individuality and rebellion and are intended to be empowering representations of the brand and its commitment to diversity.

The Valiant Lady remained dormant until 22nd February 2022, her finishing touches being completed at Civitavecchia, until she departed for Portsmouth, arriving there on 1st March. Interestingly, both the Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady received a cabin décor refresh to prepare them for the 2022 season, perhaps based on feedback from the Scarlet Lady’s initial cruises. Along with her older sister, the Valiant Lady is the largest passenger ship to ever use Portsmouth International Port and the cruise berth there is the extended Ro-Ro Berth 2. The 277.20m long and 38.00m ship has a maximum draught of 8.30m, a moulded hull depth of 11.25m and overhangs the berth. She docks stern-first with the bow lines being taken across the access to Ro-Ro Berth 3 to make fast on the quayside of that berth, thus reducing port capacity when the ship is alongside. Arrangements can be made to use Berth 3 when absolutely necessary, usually when two Brittany Ferries ships call at the same time. After her debut at Portsmouth, the ship made further technical calls, including 6th March, before sailing to the London International Cruise Terminal at Tilbury on 10th March from Portsmouth. Here the ship hosted a Capital Radio celebration launch party night for the ship, with a host of celebrity guests. The Valiant Lady departed the River Thames on 12th March for Liverpool where she arrived on 14th March for a showcase event and departed again 15th March bound for Portsmouth.           At this time Virgin Voyages reported that bookings had soared by 178% in the previous 6 months and that the ship’s Godmother would be singer/actress Jennifer Lopez. This positive news was soured a little by the revelation that three cruises from Portsmouth had been cancelled at short notice, including two 11-night Mediterranean itineraries, because the ship had been chartered by a business customer. This was strongly rumoured to enable a series of reality TV show The Bachelorette to be filmed onboard. The charter period saw the ship spend a fair amount of time at Zeebrugge, plus she visited Le Havre, before a one-way Amsterdam-Zeebrugge-Portsmouth cruise during the week commencing 25th April. The Valiant Lady was expected to bring £1.5 million to the city for every time she called, with around 2,500 passengers aboard on each turnaround. The Valiant Lady entered passenger service on 18th March, carrying her first fare-paying guests on the 19.00 “MerMaiden Voyage” departure for a 3-night minicruise to Zeebrugge. The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth was also illuminated red for the departure. The ship spent a night in Zeebrugge and returned to Portsmouth on 21st March to prepare for a cruise to the Canary Isles, La Coruna and Lisbon. Another Zeebrugge trip was due to depart on 1st April before the break in cruises for the aforementioned charter. However, this departed 18 hours late on 2nd April after a guest deliberately jumped overboard from the ship in the Bay of Biscay, triggering a search and rescue exercise. Upon completion of another trip from Portsmouth at the end of April, the Valiant Lady embarked on a one-way itinerary to Barcelona from where she operated to destinations in Italy, Spain, France plus Gibraltar. She will then reposition to Miami in October 2022 to operate cruises to the Caribbean over the winter, before returning to the Mediterranean in summer 2023. With the 108,192gt/2020-built Scarlet Lady operating from Miami, the third ship (Resilient Lady) will be operating out of Piraeus from August 2022. Initially, the Valiant Lady was scheduled to enter service in May 2021 and be based in Barcelona, for 7-night voyages consisting of three different itineraries namely Barcelona-Ibiza-Monte Carlo-Marseille-Olbia, Ibiza-Toulon-Ajaccio-Marina di Carrara-Cagliari and Ibiza-Palma de Mallorca-Malaga- Gibraltar. The fleet will gradually spread its wings with Singapore and Australia itineraries aboard Resilient Lady advertised from November 2023.

Cruising the Virgin Way

The adults-only Virgin Voyages cruise ships, with interiors designed by Tom Dixon and AD100 studio Roman and Williams, are intended to offer something different to the general cruise ship experience in the form of a luxe boutique hotel experience at sea combined with some of the features of a superyacht. The profile of the Virgin cruise ships was intended to be deliberately unique, with a straight edged vertical (unraked) bow, known as a plumb bow and a striking appearance. This bow design has maximum waterline and thus enhances the hull speed. Unusually, the streamlined forward superstructure climbs at an angle directly from the bow to the navigation bridge, giving the ship a very modern look, enhanced by the vast expanse of bridge that spans the front of the ship. The overall appearance could be compared to a combination of the Edge Class (Celebrity Cruises), Seaside Class (MSC) and Solstice Class (Celebrity Cruises). The aft section of superstructure, around 30% of its length, steps inwards from the hull profile to create a wide promenade area on either side and at the stern of Deck 7. This outdoor area overlooking the stern is known as The Dock, a mezze outdoor lounge with bar and a variety of seating including day beds, sofas and traditional tables and chairs, and great views of the wake. This facility is partnered with the comfortable The Dock House, a Mediterranean style eatery and bar indoors. Towering above The Dock, and curving outward, are the stern areas of Decks 8-16. The sight of the vessel rising skyward from here is most impressive, even better after dark when the ship’s balconies are bathed in red lighting and the ship’s wake is illuminated with blue lighting. The Deck 7 promenade encircles the ship with some of the bars and eateries also having glazed and open seating areas along the promenade. These sections have their deck areas slightly extended out over the ship’s sides midships. The 6 lifeboats/tenders on each side are also at Deck 7 level. The appearance of each ship has been the subject of much discussion and endless, repetitive derogatory comments, especially on social media. But this is a modern ship for a modern generation and if the intention was to get people talking, this was a 100% success. The ships also have an all-over grey livery with a Virgin red funnel, stern and main mast.

The Virgin Voyages way also includes every guest wearing a high-tech digital wristband that permits access on/off the ship, opens the cabin door and is used to make purchases, much like systems used by MSC, Princess Cruises etc. All passengers are addressed as Sailors on the Virgin ships with the greeting of “Ahoy!” during public announcements. The crew uniform is also of a more casual type with the Captain and Officers also wearing the same non-formal grey/red attire. The use of technology aboard includes the Virgin Voyages mobile phone application which works to the maximum when onboard the ship. Using the App allows each guest to complete a plethora of tasks including ordering food to the cabin, Champagne can be ordered and delivered anywhere on the ship, the onboard account can be checked, dinner reservations can be made, Sailor Services can be contacted plus information updates and reminders are received. The safety information video must be watched by every Sailor (and confirmed as such) with the content being in the form of a pop/rock music video! Certainly different! Other TV functions in the cabins are restricted until the safety film has been viewed. Muster Drills involve everyone checking in at their Muster Station and then watching a lifejacket demonstration. There are no gimmicks onboard like some cruise brands (waterslides, surfing simulators, robot Bartenders etc) but the use of “tech” extends to the bars and restaurants where the coasters on the tables feature QR codes. These can be scanned with a modern mobile phone camera and the menus are downloaded onto the guest’s phone to permit ordering. Hard copy menus are available upon request but using the codes is a more hygienic solution. For anyone not familiar with this technology, QR code stands for “quick response code,” basically a 2-dimentional barcode that was invented in Japan in 1994. All bar and food orders are also taken on palm-sized electronic tablets. Talking of tablets, each stateroom/suite has a tablet that controls the ambient lighting, TV, curtains and air conditioning, can request maintenance/housekeeping among other functions. Wi-Fi onboard is also complimentary (a premium upgrade is available) with all crew being salaried so “tipping” is not added to each guest’s onboard account either.

Of the 17 decks aboard the Valiant Lady, 13 of these have public access and Decks 5 and 8-14 feature the 1,408 passenger cabins. Forward on Deck 15, plus Decks 9-12, can be found the 78 Rock Star Suites, a nod towards Virgin’s origins in the music industry. These are divided into categories including Seriously Suites, Massive Suites, Fab Suites, Posh Suites, Brilliant Suites and Gorgeous Suites. They come with everything from backstage entertainment access to express boarding, a working turntable record player plus a raft of other benefits and complimentary services. These suites are of various sizes including 14 aft corner suites and 7 aft suites. A total of 112 cabins offer long balconies with 1,018 (86%) having a balcony and 93% overlooking ocean views, including 95 window cabins. There are just 105 inside cabins, located on Decks 5 and 8-14. The standard balcony accommodation is known as a Sea Terrace cabin. These are bright and spacious with minimalist décor plus a hanging rail, a small set of drawers with several hangers inside the door, covered by a curtain. There are 2 buttons inside the door for use to illuminate the panel outside in the corridor to indicate if you are not to be disturbed (red light) or want your room cleaned (blue light). Each cabin has its own doorbell too. There is also a floor to ceiling cupboard with a set of shelves plus a full-length mirror, a small table with stylish lamp/wall mirror plus the ”Seabed.”

Décor throughout the ship has a sea life theme but the (Sea)bed is a long king size with a low “box-like” shelf structure next to it. There is no sofa, but there is a single armchair opposite, plus a red stool stowed beneath the desk. There is also a small fridge housed in a cupboard (not stocked, but can be upon request) plus an ice bucket, carafes of water and glasses. The low “box” next to the bed is actually part of the flexible “Seabed” and is there to allow the bed to be split in two (upon a request to Housekeeping) with one half rotating around against the wall, over the shelf (which forms the foundation of the bed section) to become a sofa by day. At night this can return to being a king size bed or can be twin beds, albeit at right angles rather than side by side. This day/night system is a very good way of maximising the space. Despite all the technology, there is a traditional telephone on the table to contact Sailor Services etc. The bathroom is adequate with a walk-in shower (with a large rain head shower and separate nozzle), a small wash basin, a larger than normal toilet (in terms of depth from front to back), a shelf, and storage under the sink. The balcony terrace outside offers 2 metal chairs and a table plus a hand-woven red hammock with the Weaver’s name written on the label. Ours had been made in Thailand. The quality of life onboard is guaranteed by the ship’s “comfort class” certification, testifying minimum levels of noise and vibration.

The Lady Has Much to Offer

Guests generally embark on Deck 5 at the start of a cruise and are directed to lifts whilst en-route to their cabins. A sea-life themed carnival atmosphere greeted guests on the maiden voyage from Portsmouth on 18th March 2022 but this quickly returned to the more usual ambience once heading elsewhere on the ship. Besides cabins, Deck 5 has the Sailor Services, the Medical Centre, the Redemption Wellness Spa, the Mexican themed Pink Agave Restaurant and the Razzle Dazzle vegetarian and traditional (with a Virgin twist) Restaurant. The latter eatery takes its name from the dazzle paint applied to warships in World War 1 with the décor being of the same black and white striped dazzle style! This is perhaps the “loudest” décor on the ship but is most effective. Food is certainly a big part of any cruise and the Valiant Lady has 22 different dining options to choose from, all being complimentary. Some restaurants do have a surcharge for those special dining options and reservations are advised for all main venues. The reservation system does encourage guests to rotate around the dining outlets during their time aboard by restricting repeat bookings at the same location. Situated on Deck 7 aft is the appropriately named The Wake steakhouse and seafood restaurant with a light yet stylish décor and varying table sizes. The Wake is accessed via the main entrance above on Deck 7 or from Deck 6. Forward of here is The Test Kitchen (port side), a part cooking school and part laboratory styled restaurant, plus Extra Virgin (starboard side) for Italian cuisine. Moving forward, the lower level of the 2-deck atrium houses the On The Rocks Bar/Lounge with entertainment space plus the High Street retail area (including a Virgin Brand store, the Squid Ink tattoo parlour, the Stubble & Groom Barber’s, The Dry Dock (A blow-dry bar) and jewellery/watch/clothing outlets). Next is the two-storey The Manor Nightclub (port side, complete with glitzy showbiz entrance), the Casino (starboard side) and The Red Room Theatre in the bow. This tiered performance space (6 rows of seating per side) has the multifunctional stage in the centre with show-goers seated either side. Virgin Voyages is the first company to use this format at sea but it does seem strange to be seated facing the other audience members. Acrobatic shows are among the entertainment offered. Deck 7 above is the second of the two main eating/drinking/entertainment decks with The Groupie Karaoke Bar and the Sip champagne lounge sited towards the bow. Midships is The Roundabout atrium with a sweeping curved staircase down to the On the Rocks bar and retail outlets below. This area also hosts the Future Voyage Sales desk, a Virgin Vinyl Store, The Chart Room, the obligatory large model of the ship, the Draught Haus Bar, seating around the brightly lit atrium itself, an entertainment area plus the Lick Me ‘Til Ice Cream Parlour. Facilities towards the stern include The Pizza Place (indoor/outdoor); The Grounds Club Coffee Shop, The Loose Cannon bar, a video arcade (The Arcade), The Social Club (a diner/bar with table football etc) and the aforementioned The Dock House and The Dock situated at the stern. It is worth noting here that basic tea/coffee and water/non-alcoholic beverages are included whilst beer, wine, spirits etc are chargeable, along with specialist coffees from the two Coffee Shops.

The next public area deck is Deck 15 and here, towards the stern, is The Galley, a large casual venue with various dining areas and a variety of furnishings. Virgin Voyages has revamped the traditional buffet concept to host a variety of ‘street food’ stalls. All tables have numbers so food can be ordered from the QR code or hard-copy menu and the food is brought to the table. The 10 “food stalls” here including Bento Baby, Burger Bar, Diner & Dash, Hot Off The Press (sandwiches), Let’s Taco ‘Bout It, Noodle Around, The Daily Mix, The Sweet Side and Well Bread. Aft of The Galley is the first Korean BBQ restaurant at sea, Gunbae. The Galley on the starboard side aft leads out to an open deck area over the stern and also houses the second premium coffee outlet, the Grounds Coffee Too (correct spelling!) kiosk. Forward of The Galley are two large B-Complex active wellness areas, one on each side of the ship, with the main pool deck area beyond here featuring a standard pool, the smaller Aquatic Club pool and hot tubs. The pool area is served by the Gym & Tonic and Aquatic Club bars and between here and the Rockstar Suites is The Tune Up manicure/pedicure spa plus The Scene, a bookable space for private events. The main sun deck is above on Deck 16, all on one level from bow to stern. Overlooking the bow is the Rockstar’s exclusive Richard’s Rooftop lounge and outside deck area, featuring a variety of seating/sun loungers. Aft of here is the Sun Club Café (port side) and the one outside Smoker’s Area (starboard side). The deck area overlooking the pools below features sun loungers and is known as the Sun Club. There is a considerable array of outside seating including day beds, benches, deckchairs, sofas, steamer chairs and, located around the Sun Club area, red covered benches with large red striped back cushions and footstools. Each is numbered to assist the crew-members when serving refreshments. Located along the starboard side of Deck 16 beneath the funnel area is a line of cabanas for rent, including small ones featuring a day bed and larger ones with day beds, sofas and armchairs. All types include a refrigerator. Maintaining the wellbeing theme onboard, along the port side of Deck 16 is a variety of exercise equipment including a boxing ring, punch bags, benches, circular swings and see-saws, forming part of the The Athletic Club, along with a basket-ball court and a relaxation sun deck with day beds and a bar overlooking the stern. The Net is also located here, a suspended catamaran net located adjacent to the Athletic Club bar. Those brave enough to stand on The Net are rewarded with views down to deck 7, The Dock and the open sea. The highest level of the public decks is Deck 17, which essentially encircles the bright red funnel structure. This consists of a dedicated jogging/walking track (The Runway) affording great views across the ship and the sea, together with an outdoor Yoga space at The Perch, which features sun loungers and a small bar. Six laps of the track equals 1 mile. The design of the public spaces throughout the ship features effective use of curves, circles, bright and airy décor and attractive fixtures/fittings that are generally pleasing to the eye. There is a definite Scandinavian influence in many of the areas plus an overall blend of traditional and contemporary. Anyone assuming that the exterior profile is echoed onboard should not jump to conclusions! As mentioned earlier, there is a sea-life influence everywhere, including the tentacle sculpture at The Roundabout, artwork on deck and the full height underwater scene video screens and sympathetic lighting in the elevators.

What Drives a Lady

The Valiant Lady has a deadweight of 12,741dwt, a net tonnage of 74,502t and is powered by four engines in the form of two Wärtsilä 8L46F diesel generators producing 9,600kW (12,900hp) each and two Wärtsilä 12V46F diesel generators producing 14,400kW (19,300hp) each. The total installed power is 48,000kW (64,000hp). Propulsion is provided by a pair of 16,000kW (21,000hp) ABB Azipod XO propeller units with manoeuvrability assisted by a trio of transverse tunnel bow thrusters. The service speed is 20 knots (37 km/h/23mph) whilst the maximum speed is 22 knots (41 km/h/25mph). Fincantieri says that this class of ships stands out for the design, as well as for the particular attention paid to energy recovery, featuring cutting-edge alternative technologies that reduce the ship’s overall environmental impact. For example, the ships are equipped with an energy production system of approximately 1 megawatt, which uses the diesel engine’s waste heat. In addition to a scrubber system for the waste management of sulphur dioxides, the units are also fitted with a catalytic converter, which reduces nitrogen oxides. Each ship is entirely equipped with LED lights to reduce energy consumption, while the hydrodynamic design of the hull provides excellent performance with consequent fuel saving. Six Climeon heat power modules convert the carbon dioxide produced by the vessel into energy whilst Scanship microwave-assisted pyrolysis technology is also utilised to convert organic waste onboard the ship into clean energy. Virgin Voyages announced from the outset that it had a desire to tackle climate change and is also eliminating single-use plastics for guests, replacing them with recyclable and reusable materials.

Until Next Time….

The Writer booked the maiden voyage of the Valiant Lady from Portsmouth for him and his wife as soon as the sailings went on sale in 2021. Requests via the media channels to view the Scarlet Lady in 2021 proved to be unrewarding so missing a second opportunity to experience this new cruise line from a local port was not an option. Having been hugely impressed by the look and style of the Scarlet Lady, I wondered if a voyage aboard the Valiant Lady would be the equivalent of “never meet your heroes” and end in disappointment. However, I need not have worried. The ship was extremely welcoming, the crew were faultless and the facilities and style did nothing but impress. An unlikely positive from the pandemic was the chance to see the first two Lady Ships at a south coast port in the U.K and, whenever I get the opportunity to sail with Virgin Voyages again, I shall be back aboard again without hesitation!