Catching Up with Virgin Voyages’ CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu

In the 10 years since Virgin Voyages was first announced, the cruise line has done an almost about-face from positioning itself as outside of the cruise industry to being a major player in the industry.

More importantly, Virgin Voyages has gone from treating travel advisors (called First Mates by the cruise line) as an afterthought to putting them front and center.

In a recent conversation with Virgin Voyages’ CEO Nirmal Saverimuttu, we talked about how some of the line’s early positioning was based on misperception. We also talked about which brand messages he thinks are still being undersold and what’s next for the company.

From outsider to staunch trade supporter

“I think it’s a very fair observation,” Saverimuttu said when asked how the brand went from positioning itself as outside of the cruise industry or in need of the agency community’s help to becoming one of the most trade-friendly brands out there.

“One thing about us as a brand is I don’t think we’re too proud to admit when we make mistakes.”

He added, “When we first came out to market we allowed a misperception to get created about who the product was for and what kind of agency and advisor support we were going to provide.”

Particularly on the marketing and advertising side, he believes some choices were made that “helped paint this picture of a cruise that was an anti-cruise or something that wasn’t for cruisers.”

The early Virgin team made “some mistakes” in communicating the brand because the brand didn’t even quite know who and what it was yet, he explained.

“We allowed things that are smaller parts of the experience to define the entire experience,” he said.

For instance, the buzz about one show (though he didn’t name the show, we assume he meant “Never Sleep Alone”) set up a perception that the line was “too risqué.”

On the advisor side, he said, “we allowed a misperception that this was a brand that wasn’t supporting the agency.”

Part of the came from the fact that when it started, Virgin Voyages began with a set 10% commission and an unwieldy booking process. But Saverimuttu also pointed out that the line has had a no NCF policy and has paid commission on extras like shore excursions and bar tabs since day one.

“In reality, we were one of the few brands to not have NCFs, which I think is probably one of the most trade-friendly policies you can have as a brand,” he said.

Feedback is a gift

On both the guest side (Virgin calls them Sailors) and the agency side, Virgin remained open to feedback, and made changes as needed.

“Feedback is a gift,” Saverimuttu said. “We heard from advisors that we were difficult to do business with… our policies were too strict, our booking engine wasn’t easy to use.”

As a result of the feedback, Virgin quickly upped its commission to 16% and created the LetsGoBook platform and LetsGoBook sharable link, which provides a much easier way for advisors and their clients to make bookings.

More recently, the line launched its “Brilliant for You” campaign, which is all about being the best partner to travel advisors – “better about communication with our First Mates, better about promotion planning…”

Does that mean Virgin Voyages is perfect?

“Absolutely not,” he said. “But we continue to do better… I would like us to be the most trade friendly brand out there and I think our policies would stack up against that claim.”

All the work the line has done to improve its trade-friendliness is working, Saverimuttu told TMR.

“We’ve seen our North American trade business continue to grow significantly year on year… We wouldn’t be where we are without the strength of the trust we’ve developed with the North America trade market. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude to our advisors out there because without them none of this would be possible.”

More help is needed, he added. Virgin Voyages is still a brand that not everyone understands and requires what Saverimuttu called “the assisted sale.”  

Speaking of the trade, Saverimuttu said his focus is getting more advisors to achieve Gold status in the Seacademy program, and qualify for a sailing onboard a Virgin ship.

“We find that people who are getting the Gold in the Seacademy program are more likely to make a booking. I think the number is they’re eight times more likely to make a booking if they’ve done the full training program.”

Sailor feedback

Virgin had to do some work to tweak the perception that potential cruisers had of the line as well.

“The reality is this is a great product for cruisers. It’s also a great product for non-cruise,” Saverimuttu said.

The awards the line has earned have helped, as has leaning into the messaging that Virgin is kid-free.

“The brand is really establishing itself now as an award-winning boutique experience that is kid free, which is a huge point of difference that people love about the brand.”

The line’s reputation for great food and great service has also become well known, and its efforts to add variety to its entertainment has changed the perception of being too risqué.

“We heard a lot about that the entertainment was too polarizing, so we made some changes there and it’s much more balanced.”

Under-emphasized messaging

Though Virgin is known for being inclusive, Saverimuttu said he believes there’s a related message that isn’t getting out to market enough.

“People are really starting to resonate with the no nickel and dime policy we have on board.”

It’s something he said he’s hearing more about from guests and advisors. (At this year’s Travel Market Place in Toronto, TMR also heard a number of complaints from advisors on behalf of their clients regarding the increasing levels of nickel and diming onboard contemporary and premium cruise ships.)

Not nickel and diming, he added, is “very of the moment because I think the consumer is waking up and saying, hold on a second, why should I be paying for those things when I’ve paid a pretty full fare to come.”

“We are very clear about not wanting to charge for everything and not trying to bait and switch people with a low price and then charge for things like Wi-Fi,” he added.

Another message he’d like to see getting out more is Richard Branson’s philosophy of “I want to give you more.”

“The drive for profitability means that [some cruise lines] are deciding to cut quality… I want to talk about value for money, but not because we’re the cheapest, but because we’re the best value. Yes, my price is higher. But look at what’s included beyond the headline rate.”

Awards lead to higher bookings

Though most cruise lines win awards here and there, Saverimuttu takes great pride in having earned several of the industry’s most prestigious top honors last year, namely the Cruise Critic Readers’ Choice, Travel + Leisure’s Best, and Conde Nast awards. (Virgin Voyages also topped this year’s Travel + Leisure list of Best 5 Mega-Ships.)

“We won every major consumer award there was to win last year,” he said, adding that while the awards are validating what’s more important is that they have translated into buzz, which has in turn translated into bookings.

“The ships are almost sold out now over the summer period across the fleet, which is the first time that’s happened,” he said. “We’re getting to a point now where all the industry accolades and awards are starting to get people take interest and learn more about us and that’s resulted in really good occupancies.”

What’s next for Virgin Voyages?

When talking about what’s next for the line, Saverimuttu had a bit of a “don’t fix what isn’t broken” message.

“The heart of this has to be maintaining the culture onboard our ships, maintaining the experience on our ships, not nickel and diming the sailor,” he told TMR. “For me that’s what has to happen first. We treat our people well, and make sure the Sailors have a great experience. Everything flows downhill from that.”

Programs that have had success – such as the Summer Pass and Eat & Drink Festival – will be brought back, and possibly even expanded.

“What you can expect from us at a high level is to continue doing all the things that are working. We’re known for a fantastic service on board, for that unique culture we create. Obviously I’m very focused on that. You’re going to hear us continue to double down on the amazing food we have on board, the amazing service we have.”

One area in which Saverimuttu said advisors can expect to see changes in in the line’s deployments and itineraries.

Both advisors and past guests have said they want more variety. With announcements of more and longer Mediterranean options, longer Caribbean sailings, and the line’s debut in Alaska in 2026, Virgin is making an effort to respond.

“You’re going to see, we’re really starting to offer that full breadth of itineraries.”

As a result, advisors can also sell Virgin Voyages to local markets, rather than clients always having to fly to Miami (or San Juan starting in December).

The response to the Alaska announcement in particular has been “tremendous,” Saverimuttu said, adding that even he was surprised at just how excited guests are and how successful the Front of the Frontier pass has been.