Virgin Cruises to Launch Mid-Size Ships from Miami

Jan115 · June 24, 2015

At an event in Miami today, Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, and Tom McAlpin, president and CEO of Virgin Cruises, announced Fincantieri will build the line’s first three ships.

The first vessel will homeport in Miami starting in 2020. Each ship will be around 110,000 tons with capacity for 2,800 passengers. Delivery dates are 2020, 2021 and 2022.

“This is a very exciting day for Virgin and travelers around the globe”, said Branson. “We now have the right partners in place to build a world-class cruise line that will redefine the cruising experience for good. The Virgin Cruises approach will appeal to cruisers and non-cruisers alike, and we look forward to being in Miami and delivering an experience for people who want a new way to cruise”.

Tom McAlpin, President and CEO of Virgin Cruises added: “Virgin is a customer built brand that listens carefully to what customers want, sharing their ideas on what the new cruise line can do to deliver an incredible experience at sea. We are committed to making waves in the cruise industry, and partnering with Fincantieri sets Virgin Cruises up to do just that. Today’s announcement and Fincantieri’s expertise in prototyping, their creativity and understanding of our vision bring together important ingredients in our future success”.

The cruise line also launched its website this morning at www.virgincruises.com as well as a Facebook page.

Source: Cruise Industry News ("Virgin Cruises Releases Details ...", June 23, 2015

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jacketwatch · June 27, 2015

Wow. Virgin Atlantic reportedly has good CS and good reviews so hopefully their cruise line will be as good too. I do wonder how long it will take to perform like the established cruise lines, say Princess or Celebrity. I would imagine they will have experienced crew members in leadership roles so lets see. I think its a good bet to succeed.

Jan115 · June 28, 2015

I hope they are competitive in pricing because I love the fact that they are building mid-size ships. With the trend to be the biggest, it's refreshing to go back to smaller.

Swath · July 2, 2015

This New Cruise Line should be Interesting

RSMMathews · July 4, 2015

Surely a 110,000 ton ship carrying 2800 passengers can not possibly be called a "Mid Size" ship?

jacketwatch · July 4, 2015

Well some of todays other ships are way bigger like the 225k ton Oasis class ships, the Quantum class is 169k tons and Carnival is building a 6k passenger ships so I see your point but todays ships are getting bigger all the time. It may not be mid size now but by 2020?

Jan115 · July 12, 2015

Surely a 110,000 ton ship carrying 2800 passengers can not possibly be called a "Mid Size" ship?

It would seem so. Given the size of the new 5,000+ passenger mega ships, a 2,800 passenger ship seems to have become the new mid-size ship.

RSMMathews · July 12, 2015

I am sorry. But I make this comparison. A hotel with 1400 rooms is as unappealing as a ship with 1400 cabins.

jacketwatch · July 13, 2015

To each their own . The cool thing is there are so many different types of cruise ships that there is an appeal for people who like them big to people like them very small. Whatever you do keep on sailing ?