Virgin Voyages Nears Debut
by Daniel McCarthy /Branson at the launch of Virgin Media. Photo: William Murphy
Virgin signed an initial order with shipbuilding company Fincantieri for three vessels, all 110,000-ton ships that can hold 2,700 passengers.
The first, expected to be delivered in 2020, will sail out of Miami. The other two are expected to be delivered by 2022.
Tom McAlpin, the former president of Disney Cruise Line who will serve as CEO of Virgin Voyages, joined Branson in Miami on Tuesday to announce the order. The venture was first announced in 2014.
Noting that he has never set foot on a cruise ship, Branson said it was an intentional decision to take the word “Cruise” out of the name, calling the word “awful.”
Little is known about what the customer experience will be like on three ships. But Branson vowed the brand will change the cruise industry “for good,” and create boutique experiences on par with all the Virgin brands, including its spaceship tourism venture, Virgin Galactic.
All three ships will have Climeon Ocean, a power system that turns waste into clean energy, which will lower the released carbon dioxide of each ship by 5,400 tons per year.