Will Richard Branson’s adults-only Virgin Voyages luxury cruise line transform the industry?
- The entrepreneur says tickets for Scarlet Lady’s first voyage in April 2020, aimed at ‘young sophisticated’ travellers, are now on sale
Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Group are getting into the cruise business.
The iconic entrepreneur said on February 14 that Virgin Voyages was officially open for business, with tickets for its maiden voyage in April 2020 now on sale.
Virgin Voyages, a joint venture with Bain Capital, will not only be Branson’s first foray into the cruise line business, but also be his first experience with cruises in general. Which means, expect Virgin to break with the status quo.
“I never want to go into a business unless we are going to radically alter it and radically create something that everybody who works for Virgin and everybody who comes into contact with Virgin is going to feel really proud of,” Branson said.
Basically, [Virgin Voyages] want people who are sophisticated and young at heart – people who want to have a good time
Branson, founder of Virgin Group, has a love-hate relationship with the cruise industry.
“I’ve never been on a cruise ship – I've never fancied a cruise ship,” Branson, 68, said.
And yet, starting an adults-only cruise line has been something he has thought about since he was 27.
Branson said the Virgin Voyages of today was not that far off his original vision.