There’s a new cruise line in town, and you may have heard of the name before. It’s making waves in the cruising new cycles and it comes from a very well known brand. Virgin Voyages, of the famous Virgin Group most known for its fiery founder Sir Richard Branson, will be debuting the first of her planned four cruises ships, the Scarlet Lady, some time in 2020. She will be sailing from her home port of Miami and will set out on four and five-night sailings to various Caribbean destinations.
One will be a four and five-night “Havana After Dark” itinerary which will feature an overnight stay in Havana, Cuba.
Future sailors can also choose from two other itineraries - a five-night “Mayan Sol” sailing to Costa Maya, Mexico and a five-night “Dominican Daze” itineraries to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
Though these are short itineraries compared to your typical seven day arrangements we’re all accustomed to, Virgin Voyages emphasizes the fact that their sailors will be able to carve their own paths in each destination. The itinerary planners at Virgin made it an essential point to select places that offer a variety of experiences, having even stated rather bluntly that “this won’t be just another stock tour.”
Perhaps the most exciting feature of a Virgin voyage will be the experience onboard its new ship. The design elements used for their cabins are completely re-imagined and depart boldly from a typical cruise ship layout.
From Travel Insider Report:
The cabin uses intelligent architecture to optimize space and views of the ocean and is custom-engineered to accommodate the Seabed, the first-ever transformational cabin bed at sea, handcrafted by Walter Knoll in Germany. The concept of the Seabed came from the convivial nature of cruising, and gives guests more space for social gatherings in the cabin, eliminating what Virgin Voyages calls “the unspoken awkwardness of inviting new friends over with no place for them to sit but on the bed.” Instead, guests can enjoy their cabin in two distinct ways as a place to party or relax.
Check out the detailed renderings of Virgin’s main cabins and notice the “day” and “night” modes of the seabed:
Mood lighting in the cabin will automatically adjust to enhance the time of day based on where the ship is in the world, reflecting the blue seas and the gold to purple sunsets of the Caribbean. Cabins also will feature PIR presence sensors that automatically detect when someone has left the cabin and go into energy saver mode, where blinds will close and air conditioning will adjust to an eco-saver temperature, conserving energy to support the company’s commitment to operate one of the cleanest fleets at sea.
With a newly thought out design, Virgin Voyages deliberately decided to use top quality materials throughout the cabins, such as a saddle leather chair, complete with refined stitch detail. Most standard cabins will have transitional Seabeds, in-room entertainment with 43-inch plus 4K flat-screen HDTVs, mini-bars, glam areas and flexible wardrobes. All cabins were engineered to optimize bathroom space and feature rain shower heads for a spa-like wash.
All terraces aboard Scarlet Lady will feature custom-designed hammocks, hand-woven by artisans from Yellow Leaf, a social enterprise that fosters women's empowerment and community transformation in rural Thailand.
There will be 1,330 cabins aboard the Scarlet Lady with several cabin categories and 78 RockStar Suites. Every guest wishing to sail aboard the Scarlet Lady can find their special hideaway with roomy XL Sea Terrace cabins, Sea Terrace cabins, Sea View cabins, Insider cabins, Social Insider cabins, which sleep up to four in a chalet-style bunk, and Solo Insider cabins designed and priced exclusively for the solo traveler.
It’s always an exciting time for discerning cruisers when a new cruise line enters the competition, especially when it’s at the behest of a high caliber hospitality company like Virgin. We’re excited to introduce you to Virgin Voyages when bookings open on Valentine’s Day this month! We’ll update you with cabin prices and inclusions within the next couple of weeks as more and more is revealed!
